Hunting wasn't Shi's strong point, which was a bit ironic considering that was her profession. She never really thought of what she wanted to do when she was a cub, so she fell into the default rank as an adult. She wasn't fierce or angry enough to be a soldier, enjoyed being around others too much to be a guard, didn't like the responsibility of a cub sitter, wasn't adventurous enough for a water seeker...so that left a medic and a huntress, essentially. There were other rolls she could fill in the pride, of course, but they required hard work and determination. Shi wouldn't call herself lazy, though. That was a bad word, especially for the granddaughter of the current rulers of the pride. No, she knew that lazy meant not wanting to get up and do anything at all, which was quite the opposite. Shi wanted to do everything all at the same time. She wanted to bring water to the guards, she wanted to peek in on the cubs to see how they were growing, she wanted to go to the outpost to see if there were any new lions training from other prides. She just didn't want to do the same thing over and over and over...that was boring!
So that left the two professions. A medic had massive responsibility...but so did a hunter. They both provided something that the pride needed: food and medicine. There were many who came back injured from their fights, and medics were there to patch them up. And, without hunters, everyone would starve. While the medic profession interested Shi, she felt that since there were less medics, there would be more of a chance of something huge ending up on her shoulders. She didn't want that! She wanted to blend in with the pride, to walk among the lions unnoticed...kind of. She just didn't want to be a celebrity. As for hunters, there were lots of them! So if she brought home a tiny bird it wouldn't matter so much, because there were others out there doing better than her.
Unfortunately, today she hadn't come across a little bird. She had come across a very large, very angry zebra. Shi had sort of stumbled into the herd without even realizing it, not expecting a massive group of prey beasts to be so close to the Firekin borders. The leader of the herd was, of course, not very delighted to see her, and had chased her out of sight of the herd. A swift kick to the rear end had sent Shi flying, and she limped back home with a grimace. She was pretty sure nothing had been broken, but boy did it hurt! She didn't even make it all the way to her end, stopping to rest under one of the few trees the Firekin had in their lands. Her whole leg ached, even her toes and down her tail! This was not fun...maybe she should rethink that whole 'I don't want to be a medic' thing.
Not far from the tree where Shi had decided to rest stood one of the few medics in the pride. Soleil was rummaging through the pack that she carried on her shoulder, looking for a very elusive piece of plant. It was the last ingredient in her little potion to help soothe the aches and pains that went along with every day training for the soldiers, but for the life of her she couldn't find that one little leaf! She knew she was running out - she had asked Kasoro to get her more the next time he found some out during his guard duties - but Sol could have sworn she had enough for just one more batch.
"Gods blast it," she murmured under her breath, wincing just a bit as she glanced over her shoulder as if a god had appeared at her call. The Firekin weren't too keen on gods and goddesses, but having one as a grandfather let the female be a little more loose with her thinking. Satisfied that she was still alone, she stuck her nose into the pack and nudged some other plants aside.
"No...no...ah ha!" She gently clamped her teeth around the little leaf and pulled it out, its oily coating tasting awful in her mouth. She gently set it in the stone bowl of sorts she had, licking her lips to get rid of the icky taste. There...just a bit more water and it would be ready to mash together. She did just that, tipping a gourd with water in it into the already pasty concoction and, using her paws and another stone, began to grind it all together.
About halfway through mixing, she happened to look up. Green eyes fell on the grey lioness not too far from her, and her ears went up. Sol could tell when another creature was in pain. She had been around so may injured animals since she started her work as a medic, so now it was easy to tell when someone needed help. She watched from the distance she was at, assessing what was wrong with the other female, her paws still working the mixure before her. Finally it was at the proper consistency and Sol stood, intent on going over to see what was wrong with the other female.
She had never seen her before, she noticed as she left her little camp. The Firekin were incredibly vast, though, so she wasn't too surprised. She looked to be fairly young still, for an adult. Perhaps she was one of the newer litters that had been born. As she approached she paused and cleared her throat, not wanting to startle and possibly hurt the female.
"Hello," she said with a calm smile, green eyes gentle as her voice. "Are you all right? You look as though you need some help." She kept her tone light and airy, not wanting to make it sound as though she needed assistance right away. From what she could tell, though, the sooner she helped, the better.
FIN
WC: 1021
