Someone get this collar off! (Kye, Jasper)

[Kye Rivers]

Kye hadn’t gone very far, following the stream and not considering that the wolf would not have sped off as far away as it could get, when he spotted them – the young woman, armed and wary, and the wolf. The animal was standing in a defensive posture as well, ears back and cautiously watching this girl. Kye, completely taken aback at the scene, simply stopped. Gem whined anxiously in his arms. His eyes went from the wolf to the woman, and he said, “My dog’s already tangled with it. It’s probably hurt, so be very careful.” He then looked again at the wolf, which was certainly behaving quite strangely for a wild animal. It was then that he finally looked closely enough to see the tight collar. Kye’s eyes opened wider. “A collar . . . what the hell . . . “ he said, with a puzzled frown. But the heavy weight of the dog in his arms made it impossible for him to ponder further. To the girl, he said, “I’m circling around behind you. My camp is just down stream, in the flat below the rise. I’d love to stay and see what happens here, but my advice? Leave the damned thing alone. I’ve got to see to my dog.” He began walking again, skirting around behind her, and making as much haste as he could to get to the camp where he could put Gem down and start tending to her wounds – the ones that damn wolf inflicted.

[Jasper Rainsong]

Jasper's eyes snapped upward as the man stepped into view, a Deerstalker in his arms. The poor dog was injured, probably, Jasper thought, by the wolf before her. She took in the bow slung across his back and the arrows over his shoulder before she answered him. "Thank you for your concern, foreigner." She grunted, none too politely. Turning her eyes back to the wolf, Jasper slowly bent, placing her sword on the ground before straightening again, holding her hands out in front of her. "Hey there..." She murmured gently in the calmest voice she could muster, holding her hands in front of her, palm up and she slowly approached the wolf. When she was close enough she knelt, careful not to make any sudden movements. "Let me take that off for you..." she said quietly, reaching slowly for the collar around the wolfs neck.

[Natsuki]

Natsuki eyed the girl with suspicion as she knelt down in front of her, arms out stretched. There was a calmness about her that made Natsuki feel at ease, when she was normally quite jumpy.

She allowed herself to glance at the hunter that had appeared for the second time today; Natsuki sensed anger, that was probably her fault. And she made a mental note to make it up to him, she did feel a little bad about attacking the dog.

The wolf didn't move, her fur bristled and her ears stayed flattened. It seemed the girl intended to remove her collar, which Natsuki was only too pleased about.

[Kye Rivers]

Kye stumbled along, his arms beginning to really ache with the awkward angle of holding onto Gem. But within just a few minutes, the trees began to really thin and then he was out into the verge of grass that swept up the rise to meet the woods. There was the camp, and his two companions, seeing him, hustled forward to help. Laying Gem down in a flat, grass covered spot, Kye eased down onto his knees, and once again examined the wounds. The dog was still patient and only whined quietly, while Kye began to use water from the stream to dab at them. He was talking to the others about what had happened, and one of them, at mention of the collar, muttered, “Probably a kelvic.” Kye’s eyes snapped up to his friend, and he suddenly felt like an idiot for not thinking of that himself. Of course, he was a fair bit distracted by Gem’s situation. He felt a fair bit more sympathetic towards the creature now. He’d always had a liking for kelvics. Most were simple and straight forward creatures and it seemed the less savory aspects of human behavior were often missing in them, which was nice. Well, perhaps the young woman he had encountered would tend to the kelvic. He had his own work cut out with the dog.

[Jasper Rainsong]

"That's good, don't move..." Jasper murmured, sliding her fingers through the wolfs thick, brindled fur, searching for the buckle on the collar. Finding the rusted metal she pried it open and pulled the leather through. Pulling the collar away from the wolfs neck she sat back and took a deep breath, letting her eyes droop shut as she realized how insane what she had just done was.

[Natsuki]

Natsuki felt the girls soft hands on her neck as she removed the collar. She had grown used to the tension on her throat, and now that is was gone Natsuki realized just how tight the leather had been.

The wolf took a few steps back, shook herself and stretched her sore muscles. Then, she shifted. Her wolf form dissolved in the midst of the usual swirling lights.

Replacing the wolf, kneeling on the ground, was a girl. Her tangled brown hair fell over her shoulders and down her back; her skin was lightly tanned and virtually flawless. Underneath the girls long nails was a mixture of blood and dirt. And her eyes were a strange combination of brown and purple.

Natsuki sat back, seemingly unaware of her lack of clothing, and looked at the girl.

"Thank you" she murmured, her voice had always been quiet and she hoped the girl could understand her.

[Kye Rivers]

Kye did what he could to wash away the blood, getting a good look at each and every tear. The worst one was on her throat, a gash about two inches long, and the blood continued to seep from it. In the end, Kye sent one of his buddies to fetch his extra shirt*. He used the linen fabric of the body of it as a pressure bandage, slicing off the arms with his knife and using them to tie the rest of it about Gem’s neck. It was make-shift, but it was all he had. The important thing would be to keep the dog still, to allow the blood to clot, but already she was revived enough that she kept trying to get up and lick at the wounds on her side. All he could do was to stay by her side and stroke her silky ears, muttering quiet words to soothe her, giving her the stay command each time she tried to rise. He had a momentary wish for another dog in their camp, for often he had seen dogs tending to another’s wounds, licking them clean and keeping them clean with their tongues. Poor Gem, she had no way to get at the hole on her neck. Settling down, Kye made himself comfortable and prepared to wait, and hope. *price of 1 SM deducted from ledger

[Jasper Rainsong]

Jasper gave an embarrassingly high pitched shriek of shock and tumbled backwards onto her rear as what had once been a wolf changed into a girl. "Oh Zulrav!" She murmured in shock, realising what was happenening. A Kelvic! She had heard of Kelvics before, but until now she had simply assumed them to be a far fetched tail for children! Cheeks burning from her embarrassing reaction and pushed herself back into a sitting position. Realizing that the girl was naked Jas shrugged off her jacket hurriedly, exposing her Windmarks and held it out to the girl. "No problem." She murmured in Common awkwardly. "Sorry for over reacting."

[Natsuki]

Natsuki took the girls jacket and quickly slipped it on. She knew how humans felt about nudity.
She noticed the girls Windmarks and figured that she was Drykas. Natsuki cleared her throat.

In Pavi she said quietly, "Happens all the time... My... clothes are somewhere" Natsuki then remembered the hunter and his injured dog, "I... want to find that.... hunter. Feel bad about hurting his dog"

[Jasper Rainsong]

Jasper relaxed slightly as the girl spoke in Pavi. "Well, i'll walk with you if you want? It's in the same direction that i need to go anyway." She said in her native language, straightening and stretching her arms. Jasper didn't say it. but she also wanted to see what the foreigner had been doing walking around as well. The Sea of Grass wasn't the safest place to wander around with nothing but a bow and a dog. Though Jasper loathed to admit it she was feeling a bit protective of the area as well.