Closed An Unusual Patient(Spirit)

[Minosayaa]

17th of Winter 513AV Mino bounded through the snow, she was leading a hunt today and she was tailing a good sized elk.The snow was fresh and the sled slid over it with great ease picking up speed as it went. Most dogs would have tired out by now and the other sleds had slowed to a snail's pace. But she was just getting started, she'd chase this elk until it was exhausted. Then track another one and repeat the process. Mino would do this as many times as she could, the bigger the haul the better. All was going good Mino had run the elk to it's limit and it was taken down. The team took a rest and Mino was unharnessed from the sled. She was panting from the good run.Good run! Good run! Everyone did great! Mino made sure to congratulate everyone, before sitting to rest for a moment. Surveying the area around the hunting party Mino noticed they had approached a heavily wooded area. A sudden rustling from deep within the woods caught her attention. She turned to the Vantha leading the party Diddja hear that something? I think.... Imma check it out. Okay?"Go check it out girl. See if you can scare it out for us." Mino got to her feet, Will do. I'm off! She gave a look back before disappearing into the thick woods. Mino made her way through the woods as quietly as possible. keeping her ears open for any noises and her nose to the ground. A noise caught her attention, she lifted her head to the sky to see a bird take off into the wild blue sky.Hmm, nothing so far. Suddenly another noise, Mino snapped her head in that direction and crept stealthily toward the noise.A buck, and he's HUGE! She had to figure out how to spook it out in the right direction.Okay, here I go! She made her mad dash to herd the buck out, darting here and there. It all was going great and then pain. A yowl of pain pierced the air. Something had her foot. What? Some sort of snare? But we don't use these or even use snares here. Poachers!? They're hunting this far out?! This..it..hurts.. She whined in pain as the hunters made their way to her. I-I'm sorry the elk got away cause of me... Even being in her dog form you could tell she was upset. After being freed from the rouge snare, Mino was placed in a position she had never been in, she was carefully loaded into a sled. But, I... I can still lead no need to turn around! Okay, I might be lying a little...or a lot. She wondered if this was what the elk saw as the sleds pulled away. No they were dead on the sled, Mino was far from dead. Instructions were given and the sleds headed home taking Mino to the animal clinic. It wasn't long before she found herself in a room within the clinic where a large dog sat watching her. Maybe she could strike up a conversation...Um..Hey there. My name's Mino. I'm kinda nervous, never been here before. Do you live here or maybe know the doctor? Is he nice?She cocked her head to the side, waiting to see if the large dog would engage in conversation with her, most dogs didn't mind chatting. But you never knew.

[Spirit Frostfawn]

Wind had been watching the entrance to the stables when the odd dog came, waiting for Spirit to come back. Sometimes she went out then in, sometimes petting him. He wasn't allowed in, though. The important woman petted and fed him, but scowled when he tried to follow. The horses also jumped, and no one liked that. So he sat outside. Sometimes the other two came, sometimes the puppy. But usually... it was just him. He was patient. Sitting was nice, and let him rest and watch. But he would have liked to sit and watch with Spirit...

However, the new arrival gave him an excuse to take action. A dog younger than himself was set nearby, and the man with him left to go inside. He eyed the new arrival, pleased to see a coat and complexion similar to his own. Hello he said to his younger, wagging his tail just slightly. He pushed himself up slowly from the snow, and padded over to sniff Mino. I am Wind. I know a healing-person. My person. She is nice. I will get her for you. The other dog talked in a complicated way, as if she was... smarter. Different? She looked and smelled like a dog, though. Some were funny like that. Still, with a little woof, he puttered off to find Spirit.

------

Spirit glanced down at the tug, raising both eyebrows in surprise when she spotted wind. Her companion was tugging on the corner of her jacket, looking impatient. She frowned at him, pushing him a little off so he didn't tear the apparel. "Wind! What are you doing in here? You know Lusina doesn't like it..." He was normally so well behaved, and hadn't done this before. "Go outside," she told him, slightly concerned. That done, she returned to her work... but again, that tug. A small bark accompanied it.

Wind walked a little away, looked at her, then turned back. One of the horses nearby whinnied nervously, but most of them were alright with the predator's arrival. He came back, tugged again, and repeated the action. "You want me to... follow you?" she guessed hopelessly. She knew the dog was smart... but never this smart. It wasn't her training that caused this activity. A small frown on her face, she followed him, much to the canine's delight.

Once outside, the sight that she beheld explained more than enough. A younger Zypherian, looking utterly pitiful, sat in the snow. Wind dashed up as quickly as an old dog could, and sniffed the creature in greeting. He pushed Mino with his nose, urging her towards Spirit, saying Here, here. She is Spirit. The girl crouched before the dog, talking to it herself. "Hello... who are you? What are you doing in the snow? Hurt or something?" If Mino didn't move, she wouldn't notice any problems, but once the Kelvic attempted to limp over with a hurt paw... the Frostfawn would take action.

"Ouch! What happened to your paw? Let's get you inside..." The words weren't meant to mean anything to the dog, but rather comfort her with the calm tones. It was a tactic Spirit had learned with other animals. Talking - even if you weren't understood - always helped. If you didn't get the words, you got the sound. "There's a place inside I can take you... come on..." That done, she would help Mino inside, either by supporting her weight as she walked, or flat out carrying her. The latter, however, would be much more awkward, and take nearly an age. She wasn't particularly strong, and carrying working dogs wasn't what she did for a living.

OOCI couldn't help the little thing with Wind...
Also, just note that there are no forests in/near Avanthal. Think tundra. Rather than an animal clinic, there's just the stables... I assume whoever led the team went off to find Lusina, but Wind got there first.

Alright with you?

[Minosayaa]

Mino watched the older dog leave and return with his human. She sniffed back at Wind.Thank you, Wind. Your human is very pretty! Her name is Spirit you said? She gazed up at Spirit with her large brown eyes,My name is Minosayaa or Mino. Can you really help? I got caught in a poacher's snare, the was something metal on it. I think it's to bleed out the prey faster... All I know is than it wasn't one of ours. Mino hobbled to her legs Urggg, hurts. They had somehow managed to limp inside Mino decided that her front paw being the injured one shifting would be the only way to remedy this.Wind, in a little bit I'm going to be a human for a while. You see, I'm a little of both sometimes I'm a dog and sometimes I'm a human. But I always speak dog. I'd like to speak with you again sometime, if that's alright with you. For helping get me help, do you want me to tell her anything? Wind has to be around twice her age and spoke better than most dogs she'd talked to when it came to topics.But then again older dogs almost always did. They had seen and smell life, where as with pups their main topic was something usualy something along the lines of 'Guess what! I chewed a shoe!'

[Spirit Frostfawn]

Wind tagged along as the pair of human and dog made their way to a room especially for the ‘canine’ kind. He wanted to see more of this… and he was allowed in this room anyways. There, he could be with Spirit. Mino began talking, though, still in her complicated way. She explained how she was dog and human… Wind looked a little skeptical. He hadn’t met and dog-humans. Nothing of the sort. Wait. No. Spirit’s friend. The big cat one who growled. He’d come for a while, then left. Spirit seemed sad after he left, but he didn’t know why.

Say? he said, surprised. He’d never really talked to Spirit. She didn’t understand him. He stood blankly for a few moments, before remembering something he’d always wanted to apologize for. Most dogs his age would have forgotten, but he prided himself on a good memory. Well… it was the only thing he remembered from all those years ago… Tell her I am sorry for eating all her food that time. And throwing up. I didn’t know. Remembering made him feel even more guilty, but he wasn’t going to mention that to this funny youth.

Spirit, on the other hand, found the dog’s interaction interesting, though unusual. The female seemed amazingly talkative, compared to most of the dog’s she’d met before. Still, being chatty had nothing to do with actually dealing with this forepaw. Sprained or broken? She couldn’t quite tell. If it was broken badly, it might have to be re-set… but hopefully not. There was no blood or protruding bone to imply that it was a massive injury, just a small, painful one. And sprains were often more painful than breaks, if she could remember correctly. If only dogs could explain what they felt, and what happened to them…

She hoisted the dog onto a small bed in the warm room, close to the brazier that was usually set in the middle. Not too warm, not to hot. The bed was half for the dog’s comfort, and half so she wouldn’t have to bend in half to do any sort of fixing. A double win. ”You stay there,” she told the injured creature, rubbing it’s head a little and smiling. ”This will hurt, okay?” That statement was more apologetic, the only way to prepare a creature for the poking and prodding that would explain the injury.

OOCI left off actually starting to check if it’s broken or sprained in case you want to shift before then…

[Minosayaa]

Wind, I'll be changing now. I won't be able to speak to you, but I'll still understand you. You're a kind dog. I'll tell her for you. Mino waited until Spirit had hoisted her onto a bed. She sat there and let the light take over. She reemerged as a naked teenage girl with short choppy black hair she had the same large brown doe eyes as her dog form. Mino waved to Wind, "Heya, Wind. See, I told you." She turned to the woman in front of her, "It's nice to meet you Miss Spirit. My name is Minosayaa a Frostfawn sled dog. I'm here today because some poachers decided to lay snares, and mean the nasty kind and I got caught up in one. I don't think it's broken, but it's painful. Your friend over there is very kind. I think I'm a little too chatty for him though. But still, a good guy. In fact, for being so kind as to go and get me help I made him a promise. I said I'd tell you anything he wanted to let you know." She smiled at Spirit. She'd give both Spirit and Wind time to process what had just happened.While they did that Mino happily enjoy the warmth of the brazier.

[Spirit Frostfawn]

Spirit had been about to poke the dog’s forepaw gently, when it was no longer a forepaw. It was an arm. A small, thin… human… arm. She stared at it in shock, only noticing that change rather than anything else. She was too surprised to let the word ‘Kelvic’ click in her mind, until her gaze drifted up to stare at the naked girl who sat where the canine had before. A few more moments of surprise passed, where she opened her eyes, and closed them again repeatedly. Only when she remembered Kaden did she mutter ”Oh.” The girl before her was both dog and human, a Kelvic, like her former bonded. The memory brought a sad pang to her heart, missing the big tiger and his funny ways. It hadn’t been too long, and she still hoped for his return… he and Ticker just… left… one day, and never came back. He’d done that a few times, for three or four days, and for a little while, she wasn’t concerned. He was a tiger, and needed to hunt. But it had been much longer than that…

The Frostfawn shook her head to bring herself out of the painful thoughts, and stared at the girl who called herself Minosaaya. The rapid explanation was quickly absorbed, fulfilling a wish the Vantha had had earlier. ”Okay. Snares. Right. Ouch. Not broken? You can’t be too sure, though… what kind of snare?” If it was something small, like a rabbit snare, then there wouldn’t be too much of a problem. Her practical train of thought was once again pulled away to stare again. At least she was more comfortable with a Kelvic of her own gender, rather than Kaden’s unabashed transformations. ”Wind… talked?”

She was flat out shocked. She knew that dogs talked to each other… what else did the barks mean? But did Kelvics speak to other animals of their own kind? So this Minosaaya spoke… dog? It was an odd thought, but, in retrospect, logical. She looked a little embarrassed at her earlier shock – this was all to strange – realizing that the dogs had been particularly talkative. ”What did he say?” she finally asked, curious. What did dogs talk about anyways?

”Back to your paw… there’s about three options. You have to decide on a form you want it healed in. If you shift while the binding is on… well… all the sizing is ruined. Dog to human, it will be too tight, and cut off blood circulation. Vice versa, and it’ll be too loose and slip off. With the human form, you have another choice, other than me dealing with it… You can always go to the Whitevines, who are generally more skilled on human patients than myself.” She felt a little odd about it all, but it was what she’d figured out on her first few days with Kaden. He’d gotten stitches that time, and broken a few while shifting, the dolt. She’d even warned him against it, though it had been more of a guess that time.

[Minosayaa]

"You know, the kind of snare used to snag a leg, I wish it had been a rabbit snare. I could of gotten out of one of those." Mino noticed Spirit's stares, "I'm.. not...making you uncomfortable being.. like this, am I?" She gestured to her own naked frame. "Wind wanted me to tell you, he's sorry. Apparently many moons ago he ate a bunch of food he shouldn't of and got sick... Everywhere. He's sorry for that, even though it happen a while ago. He didn't know he'd get sick. That was his message for you." Mino enjoyed this, relaying messages from pets to their humans. Getting to see the connection between the two parties. "Just wrap up my hand. It's less painful as a hand than a paw. I trust you'll do a fine job. No need to go to the Whitevines. Wind says you're good at what you do, and he seems like a trustworthy guy. I like speaking with him..He loves you a lot, y'know?" She turned to Wind giving him a warm smile "I told her for you."

[Spirit Frostfawn]

Spirit frowned when the snare explained was 'the kind used to snag a leg'. Wasn't that the purpose of all snares? Her question was what size said snare was. Apparently not rabbit size. "All snares are used to snag legs. But the leg of what animal?" Her tone was a little grumpy at this, from the confusion and lack of a firm answer.

"Uncomfortable?" she repeated when the question was posed, a little surprise. Kaden had never asked. Actually... he hadn't understood in the first place. He'd never noticed anything wrong with his nakedness. Maybe this Kelvic was a little more... worldly. Used to human reactions. "Well... uh..." She hesitated a little. She was able to ignore it, as she'd had practice. "Not really. As long as no one walks in..." She gave a weak grin. That would be hard to explain. Why there was a naked girl in the room meant for healing animals.

The next statement was even more shocking. This Minosaaya kept putting her off balance, just like Kaden had. Was it a trait of all Kelvics? She shook her head... she needed to stop worrying about the tiger. "Food... sick?" She vaguely remembered an event like that, so many years ago. What was she... nine... ten? It had been her birthday, and Wind had gorged himself on food that just didn't agree. The next day had been a minor disaster, but an interesting lesson. She was more amazed that they'd communicated on that level. She knew dogs talked, but... talked about that stuff? It was just a little strange. "Oh. I remember. Well... thanks..."

She glanced over at Wind and grinned at the old hound, before rubbing his head. "You're forgiven," she told him with a mockingly serious tone. "I'll do that," she added to Minosaaya, glancing over at the younger girl and nodding. "The... wrapping your hand thing. It's pretty simple." However, as she said this, ideas were forming in her head. Minosaaya had a convenient communication with dogs, that made it easy for statements to be directed to humans as well. And back? Could someone give a complicated command through the Kelvic? It was a thought, and one with quite a bit of potential...

She frowned and turned to grab a roll of bandages. She carefully took her patient's injured arm and began to wrap it around the wrist. She went in diagonals, so she was able to cover as much skin as possible. She tried to be careful not to make it too tight, and occasionally tested the resistance with a finger underneath the bandages. Within moments she was done, practiced in the simply little act of medicine. Her mind was more focused on the slowly forming idea...

Communicating orders to dogs. Commands. Explanations. Training them to do what you want with little resistance. You could train a puppy in the basics in days if you could do that. Well... excluding the fact that puppies were a little stupid in the first place. Older dogs would be quick to train though. Those with dogs that needed quick training would quickly go to someone who provided such services, right? It would be... amazing.

She stared a little at Minosaaya, surprised at her own relevation. "You know..." she began, wondering how to put it to the young Kelvic. "Your ability to communicate with dogs and humans would be an excellent way to train puppies. Instead of using repetition and bribes, you could just explain why, or whatever else was needed... It would speed up the process, and make it more reliable..." Her expression was locked in curious contemplation,as she slowly realized the potential for this. She could figure out how to best handle dogs and puppies that way, how to best teach them. If that was her work, her job... she'd live the life of her dreams. Being an assistant vet was great, but that... that would be perfect. She could almost drool at the potential.

OOCSort of putting out a plot/proposal/idea Able came up with... If you want to talk about it OOC, just PM me, but it'll be interesting to see how it turns out IC.

[Minosayaa]

Mino gave a strange glace at Spirit as she gave off a grumpy vibe. She gave a grunt, "Deer snare or elk if you prefer....." Humans, they got irritated so easily. She never did understand why they did that. Didn't they understand that somethings were hard for her to understand? It wasn't her fault she was broken minded. Spirit seemed confused at her question, "Most humans go about trying to cover me up or scold me. The Red Diamond makes me keep spare clothes in the back for when I shift." Mino snorted a laugh, "Most of the Frostfawn's know who I am, so they wouldn't be too surprised. I'm quite well known for indecency." Mino tried to read Spirit's reaction behind her eyes. If you really wanted to read a person's emotions you had to look in their eyes. No, past their eyes to somewhere else, in that place you could see so much about a person. But to get there you had to go through the eyes. Mino deemed that something was attempting to hold her attention. But what? It didn't matter really, she'd find out if she felt it necessary. Sitting still Mino allowed her hand to be wrapped. Spirit had gone silent after she had delivered her message. Spirit was thinking of something. Before she knew it Spirit had locked eyes with here. Mino listened to Spirit's revelation, straight faced the entire time. She already gave orders to her fellows pulling sleds. Her abilities were also why she was used to ship goods. Mino looked down at nothing in particular, "Heh, is that what you wanted to do with your life or is this simply your greed speaking?" She quickly locked eyes with Spirit, "And when I die? How will you continue your business? I'm already five. Also once other breeder figure out what you're doing or how you're doing it. Couldn't they get canine kelvics of their own? There's a whole chain reaction that follows. I'm not saying it wouldn't work. Or that I'm disinterested. But, you should think about this, it's not something to decide in a day." oocMino isn't trying to be mean. She's just asking is giving up caring for sick animals what she really wants.Giving up what she's worked for.

[Spirit Frostfawn]

OOCI’m not insulted. You have quite the point. However, Spirit… is a different matter. XD

…this was remarkably emotionally exhausting to write. Wow…

As Minosaaya’s rebuttal slowly came, Spirit’s face paled. Greed? When Mino died? She didn’t want to think about that! It was horrible! And business competition and all that… why would you do something like that? Why would you think it? But this Kelvic was accusing her of doing just that. She just wanted… time for her dogs, room for them, other dogs and friends to play with. If she worked there, she’d be able to train and work with puppies, breed her own, and even use her medical skills once in a while if an injury came around. Mino could teach dogs how to pull sleds, her cousin could teach them how to hunt. It would all be… good. Be… fun!

”Wha…wha…. No!” she squeaked, practically squirming in irritation. Unknown to her, a few tears formed around the corners of her eyes. It didn’t make sense, it wasn’t right. That wasn’t the point. Her face was contorted into what could have been an amusing expression, from any onlooker’s perspective. Wind, noticing the anxiety, sidled up to her and licked her fingertips reassuringly. That taken care of, he glared at the human-dog and growled quietly, blaming Mino for causing his friend to be like this.

”That’s not the point! I could… I could… help dogs, and train them, and breed puppies, and give other people dogs, and take care of them… and my dogs would be happy too and run around and play and…” She ran out of breath, face red from a strange mixture of embarrassment, annoyance, and confusion. The money would be nice. She could pay more attention to Silver, get the dogs all nice beds, more food, but…. she wasn’t greedy. Just people coming to ask her to help with their dogs would be enough, would be great.

In moments she was tired from all the stress and confusion. She sat down heavily on the opposite bed and held her face in her hands, still shaking her head. Wind leaped up to take a place beside her, laying down to rest his head on the girl’s lap and stare imploringly at Mino.