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"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Aya whimpered to himself as he limped horribly along from the training field. It wasn't even try-outs and he had already hurt himself! The game of Kikombe wasn't hard to pick up, but that shell was a lot harder than it looked and, rather than trying to hit it with the bottom of his paw, he had let the huge hard shell rocket right into his ankle. It hurt quite a bit and he had been told by the senior players to go find a medic to make sure it wasn't broken.

Ears down, tail between his legs, the large wild dog hobbled over to the medics quarters. There were usually one or two milling about during training season, he had been told. Normally there would be a pawful on the fields during try-outs and actual games, but this was their off season. No one got too hurt while playing friendlies and honing their skills, after all. No one except Aya.

He whimpered softly before finding a place to sit. The area looked a bit deserted, and he licked his lips. "Hello?" he called out weakly, front paw in the air so he would remember not to put pressure on it. He really hoped it was just a bruise...if it were broken he'd be in some pretty serious trouble.

"Is anyone here?"

Aya sniffed the air after calling out, hoping to pick up the scent of one of the medics. He was fairly new to the pride still and didn't know names, but he had spotted a few that helped heal the others walking around with injured players. Some looked worse off than others, but they all had smiles on their faces. It seemed the medics here knew their stuff.

His ears lifted as he heard a sound and, sure enough, another wild dog emerged from a small den. His tail began to wag just a bit as the smell of herbs and berries reached his nose: a medic! At her call, he carefully got to three feet and hopped over to her, each motion jarring his injured paw, making him grimace.

"Thanks," he said weakly, stopping a few feet from her, unsure if he was supposed to enter the den or not. "The shell hit it," he said as he sat again, avoiding her gaze. Players didn't get hurt this time of the year, after all. He was still learning, though, and could blame it on his inexperience.

Aya's ears, which had slid into a downward position as he had spoken, perked up just a bit. Other people hurt themselves during training? Well...that was a load off his mind.

"Yes...my sister and I just arrived here a few weeks ago," he said. "I'd been trying to pick a title and it took a while, but I finally decided on being a player. The games look so fun I couldn't pass it up." Unfortunately, he didn't quite have the coordination down yet.

As she asked him to move his paw, he tried, but yelped softly as soon as he lifted it. "No," he said weakly. "Well I mean I can but it hurts too much. It's not broken, is it?" he added, fear clear in his voice. If it were broken that would be the end of his career for the year, he was sure. She didn't seem too concerned, though, so there was that slight hope that it was just a sprain. Then again, Aya always did think the worst of situations.

"Oh...you can call me Aya," he said. "My full name is a bit long. And um...what's yours?"

"Safi," Aya echoed, committing the name to memory. "That's a nice name as well," he added with a tiny smile. Everyone had such lovely names, he thought to himself as he watched the medic bustle around to get the things he'd need. She seemed to know exactly where everything was, so she must be good. She'd had to have been here quite some time getting to memorize where everything went.

When she returned, he paid close attention to her instructions. He felt relieved that it was just a sprain, but didn't like how long it would take to heal. Four weeks?! Ugh...well, he'd keep in shape as best he could. Maybe running around on three legs rather than four would help his speed...or something. He was sure he could find a trainer that would enjoy the challenge.

"Okay," he murmured, watching how she wrapped his ankle up. With the extra support it didn't hurt nearly as much. "Thank you," he added with a tiny smile, his ears perking up a bit. "It feels a lot better all ready!" With her help he was sure he'd be back on the field in no time. "How long have you been a medic?" he asked, standing up to test his weight on the wrapped paw.

A month and a half? Not nearly as long as Aya had thought! She must be very smart, then, to know everything she knew. Or perhaps she came from a different pride that she had a medical background in, or she had learned it on her own before coming here. Either way, Aya was thankful that he was in such good paws.

He nodded as he was given more instructions and carefully lifted his paw into the air again. He didn't mind having to limp around for a week, if it meant that he'd get better faster. "No questions," he said with a little smile, his tail starting to wag again. "Thank you, Safi. I felt so silly getting hurt but...I'm glad I did!"

Well, not glad that he had been injured, but glad that he had gotten to meet her because of his injury. "I'll make sure to find you again if I run out of the flowers."

Aya tilted his head as Safi spoke, nodding just a bit. He supposed he could go and watch the veterans play...maybe even get some tips from them on how to hit the shell so it didn't hurt so much! Canine paws were much smaller than feline, so he'd have to find a wild dog or hyena, but he was sure he could do that.

"Oh..it's all right," he said with a little laugh. "I don't mind!" He was used to his sister talking all the time and, while he loved his sister very much, he had gotten good at blocking some of what she said out. Safi spoke about interesting things, so it wasn't hard to pay attention.

He nodded, tail still wagging. "Of course! And I'll be sure to come back if it gets worse," he added, hoping that he wouldn't trip and fall while walking around for the next week. He'd have to be careful about that. Turning, he headed out of the den, limping along very carefully so he wouldn't make a fool of himself and hurt himself worse right in front of the one who had just healed him.

"Thank you!" he called out over his shoulder, smiling back into the den.