A New Hope?

((Inferno/Rayne continued from: https://incendio.rpg-board.net/t88p30-hunting-party-1#1483 ))

Inferno lead the way to the healer's den, glancing back once to see Eve contentedly laying down half in and half out of the probationary den. Acquainting Rayne with Molly's situation was crucial and foremost in priority, but afterward he would quickly give both Rayne and Eve a run-down on the den situation, so they wouldn't have to sleep in that den anymore. And then after that, Inferno was going to have to get clever to figure out how Eve could pull her weight around here, even if it wasn't much weight at all.

"She's been sick on and off for the past few months, at least," sighed the beta in answer to Rayne's question. He quickly recounted Molly's near fatal starvation and incomplete recovery which caused her to heavily contract Chaos's infection. "So this recent illness has only been for a few days, but it's grip on her is strong after the stress her body's been through," he concluded, stepping into the den and softening his voice, though Molly would likely not wake up even if he were talking normally. Nosing a bundle of herbs of unknown names (to him), Inferno answered the final questions, "She recently took these to help with the fever, and just ten minutes ago she ate one of those blue flowers over there to help her sleep. It knocked her out pretty good. Other than that, there hasn't been much done for her." Inferno looked up at Rayne after he finished, intently watching her for a sign that she had an idea of how to help.

She listened for the most part, studying Molly as they arrived at the den. Her eyes going to and fro from each thing Inferno said she took. She knew, by the looks of it, it probably was bad, she just needed to know how bad. She sat, thinking, her mind running through everything, the symptoms... fever, and besides that she really didn't have much to go off of, other than Molly's previous state, which really didn't help matter's at all. She glanced at the small blue flower he said she ate to go to sleep, starting at it, then back at him,
"How much of that blue one did she take? and had she eaten anything recently, perhaps drank as well? Pluus, if she has a fever, I really suggest you keep from trying to keep her warm, even if she's cold. The fever itself is whats making her cold.. so warming her can actually be harmful in a way, you don't want her body overheating at all."
She explained, looking back at Molly. what worried her more was the blue flower, sure, it would help her to sleep, but it was a strong type of herb, and, depending on just how bad she was, it might do more harm then good. She let out a sigh, shaking her head, other than what she was asking, and making sure of, there really wasn't much she could think to do, other than make sure of course that if and when she woke up, she did eat and get some water, no matter how she was feeling eating was important, though, she probably knew that.

"A whole flower," replied the wolf, circling Molly. "She ate a bit right before, as well as drank earlier. Why?" He looked up at Rayne worriedly, starting to get anxious about where that line of questioning was going. Molly had sanctioned the use of the flower, but now thinking back on it, she was not perhaps thinking as clearly as would be ideal...

Even if Inferno had made a mistake, Rayne was sounding more and more like a savior with every question she asked. Though she hadn't actually demonstrated skill, she was proving that she was analytically-minded and had some basis ingrained in her for questioning. That all was better than anyone could have hoped for, and there was still so much more good to come.

She grinned when he said a whole flower, but, at the same time, if she was feeling at least well enough to eat, perhaps it wouldn't be to much for her. She looked around, then back at Inferno, for now, what little she could do, was mostly make sure that flower didn't do anything bad to her, or at least give her something that would hopefully lessen the effects on it. She just wasn't to sure that this wolf taking the flower was a good idea, not in this bad of condition.
"Well... right now what I can do is give her something to counter-act the flower she took before. In this condition, it probably wasn't the best thing for her, so something to sorta curb the effect might be good. Other than that, she's done mostly all she could do, all we can do is watch her, and make sure she's kept feed."
She explained, walking around, looking for the one thing she hoped to find in here. After a minute of searching, she grabbed some roots she found laying there, dropping them, thinking again, and after wards bit off a small amount, setting them down.
"Can you bring in some water? Since she's pretty much knocked out we need to force feed her these, and the water will help them go down easier. Just a little bit in your maw will do I'm sure."
She asked, smiling lightly.

Inferno almost smiled in pure relief as Rayne easily stepped into the role of healer and starting listing off to-dos - especially ones that she'd be performing. Things really could be ok, at least as far as Molly was concerned. At least now Inferno could put more focus into the rest of the pack when it was needed.

Without a word, the male slipped out of the den and retrieved some water from the remnants of the dug-out stream. Back inside the den, he dribbled a bit of the water onto the corner of Molly's mouth, holding back the rest to finish washing down the roots once Rayne got them into the sick wolfess's mouth. When the roots were down, the beta licked his maw and said, again, "Thanks so much, Rayne. We really appreciate your help. We'll have to get Blitz over here to meet you; he's our alpha. We'll find a nice den for Eve, but you'll probably want to sleep here from now on, as a healer." The wolf was rambling a little, but that's what happened when he tried to get out so much information at once.

She waited as he left and retrieved the water, grabbing the bit of root she had, chewing them a bit before walking over to Molly, letting Inferno dribbling the little bit of water into her maw before giving her the bit of chewed root, then sat back as he gave her the rest of the water to wash it down. She smiled, a bit relieved now. She looked back at Inferno, smiling more as he started to ramble on now. She nodded through most of it, smiling still.
"Alright, it all sounds good to me. It would be better anyhow, sleeping here, just so I can keep an eye on Molly till she gets better."
She said, nodding, looking around, then back at Inferno,
"So... uhhh... is there anything you can by chance tell me about the pack? I feel sorta weird not knowing anything about it, especially since by what you say, I'm going to be able to stay."
She asked, tilting her head to the side. Not only was she relieved that she was in fact, able to help in some small way, but it seemed the seriousness in Inferno had somewhat dissipated, it was relieving in a way, not worrying about him being a bit, uptight... mean person to put it simply. He seemed more caring in a way.

The wolf nodded as he listened to Rayne's agreeable reply. He sat down next to Molly, not concerned yet about the healer overheating or anything, and looked up at the newest member as she asked about the pack. "Ah, I guess you didn't get much time to chat with Sibirskiy," commented the wolf with a slight smile, realizing that the commotion he'd witnessed that morning had been the first fleeting moments of the siblings' reunion. "Well, the pack is rather large now. We have Blitz, our alpha, and his brother Xerxses recently joined. Sibirskiy is one of our hunters, along with KiRae, Laek, and Fallon. We have warriors - Chaos, who is kind of crazy, in an evil way; and then Coven and Pravin. There's Molly here and then Tessa. Many of our members are very new. Sibirskiy hasn't really been here long himself. I'm not sure what exactly you want to know..." finished the wolf, looking quizzically over at the white female. He was so relaxed right now, though - thanks to the huge, doomed weight Rayne's presence and skills had lifted from him - that he was quite at ease with the idea of elaborating on questions, something he usually avoided as much as possible.

She sighed a bit, nodding to him as he commented on her lack of being able to speak to Sib, listening as he went on to name off everyone. It still stunned her, just how big the pack was, but still yet, it was somewhere she would be calling him now, and that sounded as good to her as ever. She shuffled over to a small corner, not to far from Molly and him, and laid down, letting herself relax for now.
"Well.. I dunno, besides what you already said not much. though, I gotta ask, how long have you been here? And, if you know, why did Blitz start the pack? Every pack has some reason for starting behind it, what's this ones?"
She asked, smiling, laying her head over her paws. She was quite content right now, and really not much could make her happier. She finally could settle down, and not have to worry anymore, well, besides the obvious work she had to do here now, but other than that she was worry free.

Laying down, Inferno pricked his ears at Rayne's question. He hadn't considered telling her the story of Silverlight's foundation just yet, but she had asked and he was up for letting her know. To answer the first few questions, the wolf stated, "I've been here for a while...almost a year, I think. I joined at the same time as Fallon, and back then the pack only consisted of Blitz, Chaos, Molly, and a wolfess named Khalessi." It was amazing to think that the pack had more than doubled in size since then, even with the loss of Khalessi. "As for why Blitz started the pack..." slowly began Inferno, eyeing Rayne with a hint of hesitation. 'It's a long, strange story...' But Inferno told it anyway, from Blitz's happening upon Silverlight to the incident in the meadow with the glowing spirit wolf pup. He spoke as detailed as he could on the account, trying to convince Rayne subtly with such a full account that the tale was indeed true. It was kind of a lot to take in, but Sib had done well, so maybe Rayne would have that inate sense of belief as well. Inferno watched the white wolfess carefully once he ended, trying to judge her reaction. "Strange as it sounds," he couldn't help adding, amazingly with a small laugh, "it's all true."

She lay silently, mostly just listening to Inferno. She sorta wondered as he started to speak of the origin of Silverlight, and, was mostly confused. It all sounded like crazy things only thought up by some crazy wolf, but, she could really protest to it, she simply couldn't believe it, then again, not many would be able to. She say up now, her head tilted and her ears perked up, looking at Inferno, studying him now. She wondered slightly if he was just playing with her, but, as he finished, it was quite apparent he wasn't. She sat there, silent for a moment, mostly trying to think of a way to react. She shook her head after a moment, her eyes fixed on him,
"I.. uhhh.. wow. Really, I..."
She stumbled, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
"Are you really serious, or, or are you just joking with me? You gotta understand... spirits? I mean... I dunno, it just sounds... to out there."
She said, not trying to be rude, but, she really couldn't see it, spirits talking to a wolf? How was she supposed to react? She really was lost on how to.

Inferno couldn't help but smile a bit at her astonishment. It wasn't an unexpected reaction, and the beta didn't judge her for it. Just to consider the story was enough for him. "I'm sure you could never have guessed this," said the wolf, inclining his head in exaggerated innocence, "but I don't joke." 'Not anymore, at least,' he amended to himself, though smiling at the contradiction his current joke caused. "Don't worry," he reassured her, moving back to the subject of the spirits, "I do understand. You don't have to accept it immediately, just try not to think of my as crazy until you've gotten to explore Silverlight a little more. It will show you more than I can tell you."

She let herself smile, slightly lowering her head. She didn't want Inferno to think that she thought he was crazy, but, the story.. it was just a bit crazy sounding to her. She glanced back up at him as he spoke, letting herself laugh a little. Well, either it was that he was crazy, or that he was telling the truth... and while she was quite sure it was just crazy she could judge just yet, besides, she did just get here.
"Yah, I suppose your right.... but, it really does sound a bit... unbelievable, and I don't think you can even say it doesn't. "
She said with a laugh, stretching out a little before laying her head down. She wasn't tired, just... feeling a bit lazy. She didn't have much to worry about right now, and by what she figured, nothing to do for now, so what more was there to do then to just lay and rest a while?

The wolf smiled, not objecting to Rayne's claim about the story sounding unbelievable. He didn't need to convince her today that it was true - there was plenty of time for her to wrap her head around it and experience for herself the uniqueness of Silverlight. For now, the female was adjusting to so many new things, including this new responsibility to take care of Molly, that there was no need to lay something else on her.

Smiling, Inferno slowly rose to his feet and stretched, his body more taut than usual with all the laying around he'd been doing the past few days. "I'm going to speak to Blitz. He'll probably want to talk to you," said the male, knowing that a new healer would be big news to the alpha. "I'll see you soon." He left with the instructions vague, hoping that Rayne realized she was free to make a lot of decisions by herself. The one thing the beta considered warning her against was coming into contact with Eve, just in case there was a hint of the infection around still, enough to ravage such a frail, older wolf. He didn't plan to be gone long, though, and would hopefully be returning with clearer instructions...perhaps even the alpha?

The wolf made his way across the clearing and stopped outside the alpha's screened den. The white leader's stress was disconcerting, but hopefully this news would help out a bit, rather than increase the worry. "Blitz?" called the wolf.

It took quite a while for the counter-medicine to work, but slowly the stand-in healer's work started to take effect. Molly even found herself slowly waking, just as Infenro exited the den and went in search for Blitz. Her eyes slowly opened, and she blinked in sleepy confusion as they were greeted with a stranger in her den. She tried to sit up quickly, in surprise and confusion, but she grew dizzy quickly and sank back down onto her side. "Wh-who are you?" She said, finding that her face was slightly numb still from the flower she had eaten to fall asleep and was slowly coming back to life. Her eyes blinked up at the other female in confusion, her nose picking up Inferno's scent on her. "Where's Inferno?" She asked, not realizing that this was the first time she had voluntarily asked for him. Typically she just avoided him. But right now his presence would be comforting and ease her confusion, if only a little.

Blitz looked up in slight surprise as Inferno's voice called his name. He stopped his pacing and moved to his den's entrance. "Yes, Inferno? What is it?" He asked, hoping that the beta wasn't here to deliver any more bad news. He even silently prayed to the spirits that the male wasn't here to tell him that Molly or Chaos had died. That he couldn't bear. But Inferno looked more relieved than upset, so he let his mind settle and grasp onto the hope that rose within him and let the beta speak.

"Two newcomers arrived last night," Inferno began, barreling through that intro before Blitz could become anxious about the thought of new mouths to feed. "One of them is Sibirskiy's sister, and she is a knowledgeable healer. I think you should meet her and see what you think."

The beta was radiating excitement and relief, but his few words didn't do his emotions justice. This kind of news could be babbled about for days. It could also be aired in as little as four words and still invoke an onslaught of thoughts and questions. What Inferno was most feeling was relief: relief that Molly and Chaos would be healed, relief that Molly's burdens could be lightened, relief that Rayne was almost certainly trustworthy.

Blitz's ears pinned back as Inferno informed him of two newcomers. But before he could worry about how they would feed or care for two more wolves, the Beta continued about Sib's sister being knowledgable about healing. Only then did he let himself exhale and sigh softly. If what Inferno said about her was true, then the worries about Molly's health and Chaos's recovery would be greatly lessened.

"You said there were two newcomers?"

He asked, tilting his head to the side and putting off meeting Sib's sister for a few more moments. He wanted all the information before he did anything. He assumed the hunting groups had found Sib, Tessa, and Laek, and since he hadn't heard any bad news from them, he didn't worry about it just yet. For now, he needed to hear everything from Inferno.

"Yes," continued Inferno, realizing that they wouldn't be going anywhere until Blitz had his unspoken questions answered, "Another female named Eve came with her...She's older and pretty frail, but she made the journey here, and I imagine she would be a fine pup-sitter, which we'll need soon..." He twitched his ears and shifted his feet a little, irked with himself for the defensive introduction he gave to Eve.

After a second, the wolf added, speaking more normally, "Xerxses took Coven, Tessa, and Laek; and Pravin took Fallon and Sibirskiy to hunt. When they get back, I think we should get a report on Laek, Sibirskiy, and Fallon; we need a new head hunter." That was an issue that had been worrying Inferno for a while, so since they were on the subject, he figured he'd bring it up. Xerxses and Pravin were good choices as leaders for the hunting parties because of their warrior status and disposition, but the actual hunters would need a leader when they returned. Inferno had finally accepted Khalessi's absence as permanent, and the void left by her leadership needed to be finally filled. The pack would hopefully end up stronger once that was established.

Blitz listened to Inferno speak about Eve, and then nodded as he spoke of choosing a new head hunter. As much as he hated to finally admit that Khalessi was never returning, he knew that they needed to move on. He would truly miss their former head hunter, but someone needed to fill that role now. Also, with Chaos sick and slowy (very slowly) healing, he would need to put someone temporarily into the head warrior position as well. He frowned, nodding slightly as he let his thoughts roll around in his head for a while.

"Alright. We'll deal with that when they return. Since it's getting dark, that should be soon. I would like to meet Sib's sister now. And check on our Head Healer and Head Warrior."

He said, getting to his feet and exiting the den, waiting for Inferno to join him. Then he slowly moved towards the Healer's den, peeking into the warrior's den and smiling as Chaos lifted her head slowly in greeting and shooed him away. Well, it was good to know that her old self was coming back. But she was in no shape to train or lead the warriors for a while. But he didn't worry about that now, instead he came to a stop at the healer's den entrance and looked over at Inferno.

Inferno padded after Blitz as they made their rounds to the sick wolves. He couldn't help but smiled slightly at Chaos's reaction to them. If she was strong enough to want to be alone again, then she was surely doing much better.

As the alpha stopped at the healer's den, Inferno looked back at him, nodded, and walked in. Molly was awake and looking quite befuddled, but Rayne seemed to have drifted into a gentle doze. "Molly, it's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?" he asked, sniffing at her before sitting down by the other white female, wondering whether to wake her up right now or wait for a second so as not to startle her.

Blitz waited for a moment at the entrance before finally following Inferno inside and sitting just inside the entrance. But when he spotted Molly awake, he slowly approached and licked her forehead. "Hey there. How're you feeling?" He asked, laying down beside her and looking down at her small, thin form. "You need to eat." He said, not giving her time to protest. "I'll be back in a minute." He said, nodding to Inferno before leaving to head to the storage den and return with a few animals to eat now and save the rest for later. He dropped one in front of Molly, the other near the sleeping newcomer.

Then he sat down and looked over at Inferno. "I'm assuming that this is her?" He asked, not sure if the beta had ever told him her name. She seemed trustworthy, what kind of non-trustworthy wolf fell asleep in a pack's healer's den? He then looked back at Molly, smiling as she silently began to eat without protest.

"Yes, this is Rayne. She apparently feels even more at home here than she let on before...She was ecstatic about joining the pack - probably because of Sibirskiy." Inferno sighed in relief as he looked down at the sleeping wolfess. It had subtly worried him that he had accepted her without the slightest hestiation, but apparently his desperation had not ended up biting him. Rayne's trustworthiness was well-founded anyway, and her story about her quest to join Silverlight was remarkable. This looked like it'd end up well.

"What do you think?" asked Inferno to Blitz, knowing there wasn't much to go off of, but wondering what the alpha felt anyway.

Molly slowly ate the food that Blitz had offered her, and when she finished, she lowered her head to her paws and closed her eyes, silently listening to the males speak, figuring that they assumed she was still awake. Her ears twitched every once in a while, and she was relieved to feel slightly better than she had before she had fallen asleep. But then again, she was still very weak. The food Blitz had given her would definitely help.

Blitz looked down at Rayne as Inferno introduced her. He hadn't even met her face to face, but for some reason, he felt he could trust her. If she had helped Molly (and by the looks of things, she had already), then he knew he could trust her. "You made a good decision to invite her into the pack, Inferno. I think she'll be a asset to the pack. If she can help bring Molly and Chaos back to full health soon, then I see no reason to not trust her. By the looks of things, Molly is already feeling a bit better." He said, glancing down at the healer who was obviously listening to their conversation nearby.

Inferno smiled, truly glad that Blitz approved of Rayne. The beta had actually met Rayne, and he knew that Blitz's liking for her would only increase upon speaking to her and watching her work. "Yes, she really is a good healer. She's done more for Molly in the few minutes she's been a member than either Coven or I could do in days." He looked over at Molly, closely examining her and confirming that the alpha was right - there was definite improvement. He was fully convinced that healers were amazing, and gifted in indescribable ways.

Now Molly would be able to rest and fully recover without any stress (a break she'd needed all along and now finally would get). Chaos needed the same, and thought Blitz had been thinking about this, Inferno was just starting to mull over the idea of a temporary replacement for Chaos. Only a replacement would force Chaos to take it easy. "What should we do about a head warrior, while Chaos is recovering? We can't let her think she has a job to do, or she'll be back out there the second she can teeter around, which will be long before she's fully recovered." He flicked his gaze over at Molly, though trusting that this conversation would be safe in her ears. Business had to be taken care of, so why not here while waiting for Rayne?

Blitz nodded as he spoke of how Rayne had already helped Molly so much. It would be good for the Head healer to have a break for a while. She would be able to focus on her own recovery without having to worry about the rest of the pack. Hopefully the two females would get along. With Molly being her stubborn difficult self, he could foresee some problems, but hoped that they wouldn't be an issue.

When Inferno spoke of temporarily replacing Chaos, he nodded slowly. "I was thinking about that earlier when you mentioned Khalessi. I was thinking Coven would make a good temporary head warrior. Although, that might irk Chaos into forcing herself up to force him out of the position. They really hate each other. Maybe Xerxses or Pravin would be better." He said, thinking out loud. If they placed Coven into the head warrior position, that would only make Chaos mad and possibly even make her force herself back into the position in order to keep Coven out of it. That would definitely end badly. So he figured they'd need to promote someone else temporarily. But promoting Xerxses would possibly insult Coven and Pravin, since they had both been here much longer. It was a tough situation, and he hoped Inferno would help his thought process settle onto a conclusion.

Inferno flicked an ear back in disagreement when Blitz suggested Coven, but he nodded as the white wolf disregarded that option soon after. The beta almost smiled as Blitz once again revealed his compassionate nature. Inferno had not for one second considered Coven as a replacement for Chaos, and not even for the reasons Blitz mentioned, which he hadn't thought about. Coven was too impulsive, cocky, and obnoxious for Inferno to have considered him, though of course Blitz would somehow find a way to overlook or come to accept those qualities. Inferno never could.

"I think Xerxses or Pravin would be best," the beta immediately agreed. Pravin was who had come immediately to mind. He was calm, observant, and didn't make enemies quickly. Or friends, it seemed. But his detachment to others was not a flaw and wouldn't negatively affect his position as Head Warrior, in Inferno's opinion. But the beta kept quiet and tilted his head at Blitz. "What do you think about Xerxses? I don't know him at all, so I can't really voice an opinion about him. I would feel comfortable with Pravin filling in."