Bagsedareth

Sebastian was back on his hooves, dusting his arms off while Habru continued to try to block anymore precious blood from Briess' wound, when the soft thump of hooves came to his ears. Sebastian pulled his eyebrows together and looked over, only to spot a young female centaur trotting up to the scene. Sebastian was slightly confused, wondering where she came from and how long had she been so near. By the looks of it, she was indeed young, but seemed a bit smaller then the advrage size a normal centaur of her age. Sebastian noticed her red chestnut pelt with an unusual blonde colored tail. At her approach, he didn't know wiether to be suspicious of her sudden appearence, or to just step aside and see if she would be of any help.

The girl stopped near Habru, who was still knealing by Briess but Sebastian could tell the stallion was clearly aware of the filly's presence. A different flash went through his green eyes that Sebastian took notice of, and wondered if Habru was going to threaten the chestnut filly. He took a step up just incase. His anxiety bolted up when she walked straight up to him and asked softly, "May I be of assistance?" Sebastian stared at Habru, preparing to lunge at him if neccisary. Habru rose his eyes up to the young centaur and glared at her for a moment. Sebastian was tense at first, but something softened slightly in the golden warrior's hard green eyes and made him relax. Habru blinked, looked back down at Briess for a second, then removed his hand and rocked back up onto his hooves. He flicked his tail in annoyance but backed off just when little Anang galloped up with a clutch of pale pink flowers. Sebastian snorted, wondering if the filly brought the flowers because she thought that Briess was dead. He then almost shuddered at the thought and tried to push it out of his mind.

Habru kept and eagle's eye glare on Anang as she quickly trotted up to poor Briess, even though he knew the gentle pale filly couldn't harm her, he still felt very protective of Briess. Along with a feeling he has never revealed that has krept through his mind for a while. He blinked slowly and turned his eyes down at the ground, thinking.

Sebastian noticed Habru's silence and stillness while Anang helped Briess' wounds, which her method deffinantly proved that the flowers were not to lay in a grave. To his amaze, she was using the flower petels to paste over the wound after being chewed thoroughly.He blinked in awe and thought, 'She's a smart little one, Temujin must be proud of her.' Sebastian then peered over at Habru, who was still lost in his thoughts. Sebastian shook his head softly at him and thought to himself, 'What a uptight being of a centaur.'

<What a foolish thing to do!> Rana chastised herself angrily as Habru’s fiery green eyes met her own. She had seen this centaur attack his own tribe member just moments before, and now she was standing in the midst of strangers, just a breath away from the largest and most volatile of all. Rana looked the warrior full in the face, awaiting his decision. All at once, his gaze softened, and he stood up gracefully, backing away from the wounded mare. Relieved, Rana nodded her head respectfully, touched by his trust, and knelt down to inspect the wounds. She was surprised to see the young filly there, intently chewing and applying a bright orange paste to a deep gash in the mare’s shoulder. “Calendula!” Rana smiled. She had received extensive training in medicine from her mother, who was the tribal healer and midwife and she knew that the orange-gold calendula flower was just what the wound needed. It would staunch the bleeding, prevent infection, and promote healing. Impressed, Rana let the filly continue with the treatment as she began a thorough examination.

Starting with the head, Rana gently moved her hands over the fair skin and dark hair, searching for punctures and fractures. The anterior base of the skull was bleeding heavily where a large flap of skin had been ripped away, exposing bone. “This will need to be sewed up soon, before she loses more blood,” she noted, worried. <I hope somebody here has a sewing kit.> Her hands gently moved to the mares human back. Gently removing the bow and quiver, Rana saw that the skin was raw with claw and tooth marks. They were extensive, but not deep. Thankfully, the lungs had not been punctured and the wolves had missed the vital areas of the neck. As she continued her examination, Rana found many similar abrasions. There was one particularly deep wound just under the Arabian’s equine ribs on her left side. Relieved that no major organs appeared to have been damaged, Rana stood again. Turning to the large green-eyed centaur, she said solemnly, “My name is Rana. Your friend has lost a lot of blood, but she should recover quickly once we control the bleeding. I don’t suppose you have a needle and some thread?”

Habru's distant look to the ground vanished and returned attention when the chestnut filly reported to him about Briess. He gritted his teeth slightly when he heard that she had lost a dangerous amount of blood, but stopped short when she added that Briess will recover if the bleeding is stopped. Being at the head, Habru believed the wound on Briess' head would have killed her or damaged her to a way, that she would no longer be the same as she was.

When the filly, or Rana as she introduced before the report, asked if he or the others had a needle and thread, Habru nearly snorted. Living as an outcast or a born wanderer of Bagsedareth, the baring of objects such as a needle and thread was thought to be silly and more of a tribal object to have. Asking them for such things seemed like a joke for outcasts. 'But of course, she doesn't know that we're outcasts,' Habru reminded in his thoughts. Before he gave any reply at all, Sebastian decided to take the attention off of him and answered, "We don't carry such things, Rana. I'm sorry." Sebastian then remembered another centaur that migt be of assistance for the moment. He looked over his shoulder and asked, "Where's that other centaur? The clydesdale warrior."

Temujin had walked away from the group a few feet as the young filly laid herself onto the ground, her forelegs, tucked under her gently. The little filly looked down at her legs, seeing the red-ish pink that stained her coat, but she didn't much mind of it. The large centaur male stood beside her, watching oer her closely as he's done for quite some time now. Soon he'd heard himself being mentioned over near the group, there wasn't any other large Clydesdale centaur there.

"I'll be back, stay right here," he looked upon the filly as he spoke, his large hooves soon bringing him over towards the group of centaurs whom still stood around the injured one. "Am I needed for something?" Temujin questioned, his eyes going over to Sebastion. For a breif moment he looked back towards Anang, who'd laid in the grass, playfully picking at the green plant. The wind seemed to blow the grass around, making it look like an ocean of a lush green kind. A smile graced her lips as she watched it, feeling peacful amunst herself.

"Yes," Rana answered the Clydesdale quickly. "I need a needle and thread to stitch up the mare's wounds. If you don't have any, we may have to improvise. She has already lost a lot of blood." Her voice was soft, but urgent; she wanted to inspire action without alarming the green-eyed centaur.

Temujin looked around for a moment, he didn't have a needle or thread on him, but he knew what could be used as a subsitute for now. Quickly he walked over to one of the dead creatures and knealed down, ripping one of it's claws from it's paw. The shape would be good for addint the stictches in, but it needed to be widdled down into a thinner size. The male pulled out his sword, carefully holding onto the blade, close to the tip as he begane to shave off quite a bit of the claw. Soon he'd had it to the a perfect thin size, enough for him to create a small hole at the end to put the thread through. Yet, they didn't haven any thread as well, but there was something that would be strong enough. Temujin placed the newly created needle in his teeth as he curved his body around, plucking one of the thick hairs from his tail. Once he'd done he brought the two items over to her, handing them down to so she may begin to sew the mare's wound.

In the backgroung Anang watched him as she laid upon the ground, it was quite a sight to see him doing something like that. She smiled softly and looked down, picking at the blades of grass one-by-one.

Rana watched the quiet centaur curiously and smiled when she realized what he was doing. As she threaded the cleverly fashioned needle with the centaurs own tail hair, she admired its simplicity and effectiveness. The slight curve of the claw reminded her more of a bobcat than a wolf. No wonder the creatures were able to do so much damage, whatever they were. Rather than hindering her, the curve of the needle actually made her job easier, and she quickly closed up the large, bleeding gash. The job done, Rana rose and addressed the group. "she should be fine now, I expect. With the calandula flowers the little one used she should heal quickly. There appears to be enough left over for the rest of you as well..." Before she could continue, a piercing howl sounded from deep within the forest. It was much like a wolf's but not quite. There was a rough, high-pitched quality to it that made it sound almost like a scream. "The Howlers are a ways off now." she had come to calling them Howlers in her mind, these unnatural creatures that hunted like wolves but possessed the claws and teeth of a big cat. Rana felt that the entire group ought to leave this place at once. It smelled too much of blood and would attract every predator from miles around. Besides, the Howlers might come back. Though she was nervous, Rana kept silent. She was too young to be ordering a bunch of adults around and she was acutely aware of being a stranger, though they seemed to accept her presence with a surprising amount of trust and kindness. "Like I said, my name's Rana. What should I call you?"

Watching Temujin gather up and make a quick needle and thread out of using a simple claw and tail strand, Sebastian felt a pit of guilt in his stomach. The fact that he couldn't help his friend and having to lean on complete strangers to save her life made him feel stupid and useless as a friend to Briess. Sabastian was sure Habru was feeling the same way, but it only worsened the matter.

Sebastian gritted his teeth and cursed himself in his mind for not knowing how to make a simple needle and thread. 'That's so pethetic!' He scolded in thought. 'I should be able to figure up something like that!' He tried not to let it show, but Sebastian was sure that a pinch of his guilt showed in the wrinkles of his fore head. The skills of producing something out of natural objects around them, such as making healing paste from flowers and making a needle and thread out of claw and mane, was a tribal tought skill though. And, of course, Sebastian, Habru and Briess were not apart or a tribe. The only skills they needed really was how to find good source of food, make shelter if needed, listen and watch for signs of upcoming weather, navigate and fight off threats. Basicly, they have to know how to survive with few and making healing medicine or needle and thread wasn't part of their ways of surviving. Now, as Sebastian thought about it, maybe it should be. If they come across something as deadly as those pack of horned wolves, a method like this should be known.



Habru had remained quiet while the young fillies healed Briess. He stood near Sebastian's shoulder a fox-length away, eyes hard and watching the two centresses. For a while he had been caught up in his thoughts of Briess and let his train of thought sail through his mind of words he had never spoken or never intend to say. It was untill the centaurs knelt by his friend that Habru was snapped back to the moment and kept eye on their every move. Though not saying it, Habru didn't trust them. He didn't trust anyone. And as he could do nothing to help poor Briess, he took upon himself to at least watch over her and protect her if needed.
'I should have chased after her. I shouldn't have let her attack those beasts head-on, or atleast have been there before the wolves even laid claw on her. Then I wouldn't have to rely on complete strangers or children to heal her wounds!' Habru thought bitterly.
The angry flame that was flickering within him was thankfully cooled at the chestnut filly's word that Briess was going to be okay after she had stitched her major wound, but it left a sour grimness in Habru. As he looked over to Sebastian he quietly vowed never to leave Briess at the fate of danger ever again.

A strange high pitched howl sound deep within the forest that alerted both Sebastian and Habru and both jerked their heads to the trees, tensed for another fight.

"The Howlers are a ways off now," The chestnut filly spoke. 'Howlers?' Sebastian questioned in his thoughts. The girl must have given them a name to call them by. He flicked his dark tail lightly and peered over to Briess, half hoping she'll wake up soon. But a part of him was hoping she would remain unconcious so her wound would begin its process of healing so she wouldn't have to wake up in pain.

He sighed through his nose and looked over at Habru with a reading in his eyes that the golden stallion could clearly see. They needed to leave, but how were they going to travel with an unconcious mare? Their thoughts were inturrupted when the chestnut filly introduced herself a second time, but added the question of their names aswell. "Like I said, my name's Rana. What should I call you?" She asked.
Sebastian broke his gaze with Habru and looked back at Rana. He blinked, then decided to be the first to be introduced. With a dip of his head, Sebastian replied, "I'm Sebastian." He then looked towards Habru and added, sparing him from opening his mouth, "and that's Habru." In response, Habru dipped his head slightly. Some thin locks of black mane fell forward towards his brow.

Temujin heard the howl deep within the forest, it was distant, but it didn't make it any less alarming. His eyes glanced down upon the other centaurs and over to little Anang, they certainly needed to get out of their current area, but how? With on mare down and unconcious, it almost seemed imposible to do. The newest centaur to come into the group soon spoke, telling upon her name, then asking for theirs. Though the situation didn't call for introductions but action, he gave her his name anyway.

"I am Temujin," he spoke towards her, "and over there is Anang." Temujin looked over to the spot Anang had been laying it, but didn't see her there and quickly he began to worry greatyly. His worries didn't last too long as he felt a pair of small arms wrap around one of his hinds legs. The large centaur looked back and to his satification it was Anang. It seemed the howl scared the little filly from her spot, causeing her to quickly trot over and cling to him. He let out a sigh of relief.

Anang looked up at him, fear could be seen upon her face, "I don't like it here anymore Temujin, can we go?" The filly's eyes began to tear up slowly. Temujin nodded at her, his eyes returning to the rest.

"We must go," he said bluntly, "if needed I shall carry her, my body is large enough to do so." He waited for the two males to speak, he didn't want to grab the injured mare without their consent, he did't want them to be uncomfortable with such an action.

Relieved that the others had recognized the danger of remaining in the glade, Rana immediately looked around to assess what items she could bring with her. Just off to her left, she saw the lifeless body of the deer that had been felled in the hunt. Two arrow shafts stuck out of the body. Where they had pierced the animal's side, the pelt was stained with blood. Flies had gathered, buzzing, around the glassy, lifeless eyes that stared off into space. Rana's stomach rumbled causing her to sigh in exasperation. Even after all that danger, she was still hungry.

Reaching around behind herself, Rana plucked out one of her own tail hairs and used it to tie the Howler-claw needle around her neck. Then, she stepped up to the deer and tried to lift it. It was heavier than she had expected, so she laid down next to it and, turning her torso at an awkward angle, pulled it up onto her back. Carefully, she stood up, keeping her equine back level so that it would not slide off. Normally, she would have strapped the deer to her back with a rope, but it didn't seem that anyone had any. She just hoped that would move slowly enough that she could keep it balanced. If she lost the deer, the chances of finding anything else to eat that night were slim. Besides, she wanted to use the hide to make herself a pouch and, perhaps, some cords. A deer carcase held endless possibilities for tools. It would be a shame to leave it behind.

"....needed....I shall....her..." The words of one of a centaur faded in and out of Briess' hearing; she was too weak to try to try to distinguish exactly whos voice it was. Her whole body felt like a dead weight, feeling numb and empty. Feeling this way, Briess hardly knew where she was or even what she was laying upon.

In the darkness behind her eyelids, Briess continued to drift in and out of her mind. Unaware of the concerned centaurs that surrounding her and of the danger that the howling beasts of the forest may return to their location. Even though she was awake, Briess was too weak and dazed to make her concousness known. Thus, she laid there still and silent, waiting for her mind and body to regain their strength.

Soon, the wavering of her concence seemed to settle to clarity and the dull numbed nerves of her body gained life. Briess then became aware of a painful throb at the back of her head. Her brows pulled together as the pain became more distinct and a frown deepened on her lips. It only took a few more seconds untill the pain made her teeth grit and release a soft moan. The pain was enough to sharpen her senses and cast away the dull feeling that her body was under. Briess opened her eyes to see blurred blades of grass infront of her face.

She cringed as the throbbing pain at the back of her head sent burning sensations throughout her skull and neckbone. Overwhelmed with the pain, Briess could no longer stay laying down but forced to sit up. Face twisted in pain. Her vision blurred, unable to see the group of centaurs around her.

Anang had noticed the mare with the serious injuries sit herself up and quickly she trotted over to the female, "you shouldn't sit up, you'll only hurt yourself further." The young filly pleaded to her, hoping she'd listen. The little filly threw her front legs over the body of the mare, hoping to keep her from getting up any further than she already was. Temujin had noticed the mare sit up as well, but felt it best that young Anang go to care for her than himself, she was less threatening and knew what she was doing. The male looked around at the surrounding area, it was clam for the moment, but with all the bodies lying on the ground there would surely be more dangerous creatures coming to feat upon them.

"We all need to get going," he said to the group of centaurs, "if we stay here any longer there is a chance larger more frightening creatures will show up, and we certainly don't want to get caught with them."

((short.. sorry XP))