Where does a girl go for a bath in this city? (Sylkra)

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

54th Day of Spring, 512 AV Minerva yawned as she slowly came back to consciousness after a long, restful night's sleep. It was just around sunrise, and she was the sort to usually be up early. Later this afternoon, she would end up having a strange fortune telling. But she didn't know that yet. She also didn't know why her bed smelled like wet dog. She opened her eyes and then remembered... she'd let the stray Kelvic, Sylkra, spend the night. Mumbling under her breath and wishing for something warm to drink, she sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Oy, wake up you," she said, nudging the wolf gently. "I need me some breakfast... an' a bath..." She had smelled bad enough yesterday, but today... whew! Of course, she didn't know where she could GET a bath in this city. She pulled on her clothes and gathered her things together, trying to figure out what to do about food and hygiene today. Maybe Sylkra could help... she surely had to know he city better than Tock did, considering she had only been here two days.

[Sylkra]

Sylkra was dreaming about a giant, floating, deer when suddenly something woke her. It was a hit, a nudge more, but it was hard enough to wake her.

She woke up, startled, in a bed. An actual bed that was warm. Licking her underside, she cleaned herself. Going for half a season without taking a bath would do that. She shook her pelt, now dry and soft, and stood up on the bed. Beside the bed, getting all dressed and ready was a girl. Sylkra tilted her head.

But then she remembered. It was why she was so warm and dry. The girl had taken her in yesterday. Sylkra sat in the bed, and let out a huge howl. It was very loud, and Sylkra hoped it would get the girl's attention. She loved when the girl pet her. It felt so... good. And hypnotizing.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Minerva jumped, halfway through putting her shirt on, when she heard the howl. She arched an eyebrow at the wolf, not sure why she was howling. "Ya awright?" she asked, pulling her shirt the rest of the way on. Then she stepped over to Sylkra and grabbed her head with both hands, rubbing her and scratching her ears. "Whatcha want, Sook? Ya 'ungry? Let's go find us some tuckers, aye?" She finished dressing and opened the door, patting her thigh to beckon the wolf over. "Come on," she said. "Looks like a nice, warm day out, aye? Let's go find some grub, an' 'en someplace what fer ta get cleaned up, aye? Aye." It was a nice, sunny day outside. The sea air was still a little too... oceany for her tastes, but oh well. At least it was warm. She led the way outside, her pack and her tools with her just in case inspiration might strike. She never went anywhere without tools and paper, to be ready to sketch, build, or whatever else might strike her. Though once they were outside, she stood with her hands on her hips, looking around uncertainly. She still didn't know the city well. "I dunno... whatcha think, Sook?" she asked. "Where ya wanna go?"

[Sylkra]

Sylkra rolled over as Minerva pet her. It was so good, so... Relaxing. She let out a low growl, only out of pleasure. Minerva really knew how to scratch. But then she got up of the bed, and the feelings ended. She rolled back over quickly, and onto her paws, still sitting.

She hopped off the bed, and followed Minerva out the door. As soon as her nose touched the warm spring air, she started sniffing it. Raising her head, she walked out quickly and started sniffing the air, raising her nose as high as possible. She even got up on two hin legs, but only for a couple of seconds because soon, she lost her balance and got back on all fours. There was many scents, including children, salmon, and berries. Her nose caught one in particular, that of the forest.

Following the scent, it carried her down the streets, out of Zeltiva, and into the forests. Sylkra was so occupied in doing so that she didn't even pay attention to whether or not Minerva followed. She quick looked behind her to see if Minrva was there.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Minerva followed the wolf when she started moving off. "What's 'at, girl?" she asked. "Breakfast?" Her stomach was grumbling, and if the wolf smelled food, she would be all for it. Trusting the wolf's nose, she followed along, not really paying much attention to where they were going. She still didn't know the city well at all. One street looked the same as another to her. Before she knew it, though, Sylkra had led her down the main road that led out of the city. She was so unfamiliar with Zeltiva that at first she didn't realize they had gotten so close to the city limits. When the buildings dropped away behind her, she hesitated. "Oy, Sook, not too far, aye?" she called out to Sylkra. It was dangerous outside the city. Though... it should be all right, as long as they didn't go too far. Besides, Sylkra was a wolf. She should be well versed in the dangers of the wilderness. Still, Tock checked the mallet on her belt. It wasn't much of a weapon, but it was better than nothing. A little uncertain, she caught up to the wolf and patted her furry head. "'Ere anythin' good ta eat out 'ere?" she asked. "'At why ya brought me 'ere?" She certainly didn't want to get lost in the woods on an empty stomach.

[Sylkra]

Sylkra, ignorant as she was, completely missed Minerva's words. She was too engulfed in sniffing out some prey. Her nose caught the scent of deer not too soon, and she ran off, in search of it. Her mind only thought of the hunt, none of Minerva. She raced through the trees, and came to a sudden halt when not too far away from her was a deer.

It grazed peacefully on grass. The deer, pretty much a fawn, still had spots on it from it's childhood. Sylkra did not care for the age though. All that mattered was the meat.

She crept toward it, making sure not to step on any leaves or branches that would give away her position. Her body, luckily, was downwind of it, so it did not smell her either. She waited until she was about 5 feet from the docile thing, and then pounced. Sylkra was a very good jumper. She landed on top of it, and heard something snap.

She panicked, sure not what to do. Was it the deer's leg or hers? Her heart raced and her breath sped up. She was sprawled out on top of the deer, not daring to look at any of her limbs. For the first few minutes she lay there panicking, she felt fine. But then, she felt a chill run up her back right leg.

It was all she could do for Sylkra not to faint. She darted her head over to her leg, and was a centimeter away from passing out. Her leg was broken.

Sylkra let out a shriek of pain, followed by various howls. They echoed through the forest, scaring birds out of the trees. Sylkra could not do anything, except sit there and pray MInerva would come.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

"Oy, Sook, where ya goin'?" Minerva called out when the wolf suddenly took off running again. She didn't know what had gotten into the creature, but she wasn't going to go chasing after her as the wolf ran off Gods' knew where. She followed at a slower pace, hand on her mallet, alert for possible danger. When she heard the first howl, she wasn't sure what to think. But when more, painful sounding howls followed, she picked up her pace. She hurried up to find the wolf lying atop a deer, and asked, "What's wrong, Sook? What is it?" Then she saw the wolf looking at her leg, and kneeled down next to her. She was no doctor, but when she saw the misshapen bend in the leg, it was easy to tell what had happened. Her face paled, and she looked around, wishing someone were there to help. But they were too far away from the city. She swallowed, and started gently stroking the wolf's fur to calm her. "It's okay, Sook," she said. "Yer gonna be all right... jus' lemme think..." What could she do? She didn't know how to set a broken bone. She might make it worse if she tried. She also wasn't strong enough to carry the wolf. She looked around, and decided there was only one thing to do. "'Old still, Sook, okay?" she said. "Jus' don't move..." She got up and pulled out her hatchet, stepping over to a small sapling. She started chopping down near the base. The baby tree was barely thicker than her wrist, and came down easy after a few minutes of chopping. Then she cut down another, and started chopping off the branches. She worked as quickly as she could, taking off the branches with clean, even strokes. As soon as she was able, she had two long wooden poles that would serve as the beginning of a stretcher. "Okay, I need 'at," she told Sylkra, pointing to the deer. Gross as it was, she'd need to skin it. The hide was the only other material she had available. She'd need it to lash the poles together.

[Sylkra]

Sylkra's eye swaggered with the pain. But she wasn't about tho cry. She whined and whined her heart out, and eventually, and thankfully, Tock came. At the very sight of her, Sylkra wagged her tail and barked and her eyes lit up, happy to see Tock. She whined, only this time with happiness, for help had arrived. Tock's sight made her feel so much better.

On command, Sylkra rolled off the deer, careful not to bend her foot. She was obedient like that, she would slit her own throat if someone told her to. It was just her dog-like nature.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock worked quickly to skin the deer, gagging a bit at the disgusting sight and smell. She'd never done something like this before, and she certainly didn't know how to do it in a way that would preserve the hide. It only needed to last until they got back to town though. She cleaned off the hide as best she could until most of the gore was off it. Then she firmly tied the ends to the sticks she'd prepared. It wasn't the best job she'd ever done, but the makeshift stretcher would do to get the wolf safely back to town. She double checked the ties to make sure the hide wasn't going to come loose, then turned to Sylkra. "Awright Sook," she said, "gonna getcha back ta town now, aye? Jus' 'old still..." She carefully and as gently as she could dragged Sylkra onto the stretcher, trying the hardest she could not to aggravate the wounded leg. Once she was set, Tock stepped to the front of the stretcher and lifted it carefully. The rear ends of the sticks dragged against the ground, and it would be a bumpy ride, but it enabled her to support the wolf's weight without dragging her bodily across the ground. She moved as quickly as she could without risking dropping the wolf, and made her way back to town to seek help.

[Sylkra]

Sylkra winced slightly as she was obviously very carefully placed onto the wheel gently. She did her best to look back at Minerva and smile, but being a dog, it was hideous. So she looked back to her front, and slowly and carefully eded her way down the hill.

When the two reached Zeltiva, Sylkra was relieved to find home. She looked at Minerva, glossy shiny eyes looking at her proudly. She barked, and panted with joy. A better smile, than the agonizing one earlier, spread across her face. Sylkra wanted to jump, but her leg ached too much. She had no idea where the doctors were, so she decided from this point on the let Minerva lead.