Welcome to Gaia! ::

Erling was in a foul mood. He had lost another potential thrall, and it was not sitting well with him. Were his reflexes slowing? Was he truly such an old man now? He snarled irritably as he limped towards the healer's den. No, it wasn't his age. He was older than the fresh young reavers, but he was large, powerful, and experienced. The problem was going after small creatures for thralls. He couldn't match their agility. Yes. He was simply too big, too tough, to catch little weasely creatures. Erling's dignity could be satisfied with that.

His latest failure had actually managed to injure him. He held his hindpaw up as he walked, wincing when it dragged against the ground. The nasty little outlander had gotten a good bite in, crushing his paw. Other slashes and bites marred his coat, but those could be ignored. They would make fine scars. He was forced to seek a healer for the paw, though. A crippled captain would never be able to lead a raid.

Finding himself outside the healer's den at last, Erling drew to a halt. He didn't know this healer. He tried to visit healers as rarely as possible, and had never seen this one before. "Healer!" Erling bellowed, annoyed by the necessity of visiting.

The Healer that scuttled out to meet him looked almost frightened. Maybe his shouting had alarmed her. His injury had put him in a fine temper, but he wasn't angry with the poor Healer. Having only a single daughter to carry on his bloodline, Erling had a good deal of sympathy for the Stormborn that got less glory than the raiders. He hadn't meant to terrorize this female. "Healer," Erling repeated, forcing his tone into something more pleasant. Slightly more pleasant. It was difficult to sound cheery with a mangled foot.

"I have a scratch on my foot," Erling said stiffly. "Maybe you have some herbs, or whatever it is you use." It was more of a severe, near-crippling bite wound than a scratch, but he had never whined in his life and he wasn't about to start now! And how exactly did he show his hind paw to her? Flop over on his back with his feet in the air like some fool cub? He settled for lying down on his belly and stretching his foot out towards her, feeling supremely foolish. This was just embarrassing. If that damn outsider hadn't slipped past his guard, he wouldn't have to be here looking like an idiot. This Healer would probably laugh at him.

Erling shifted his forepaws restlessly, grumbling under his breath as the healer sidled up to him. As embarrassing as it was to have to seek help, it would be much more embarrassing if his foot healed wrong and he lost the ability to lead raids! Erling was very experienced in battle and a talented commander, but there was certainly no shortage of young Stormborn eager to test themselves against the older lions.

He ground his teeth when she asked him about the bite. He had to remind himself that she wasn't another reaver or captain that would scoff at his injury. No, this shy little lioness was certainly no reaver ... but she was a Stormborn, and there was always the possibility that she would sass him! He cast a suspicious glance at her before replying.

"I was hunting thralls," Erling grumbled. He darted another of those suspicious looks at her, wondering if she would laugh. Bitten by a thrall!

Erling winced as she started cleaning the bite, but he wasn't going to start bellowing and thrashing around like a cub. He held perfectly still, doing his best to ignore whatever mysterious things the healer was going to do to his poor foot. He had never had much to do with healers, but he was very familiar with the sometimes alarming rituals of the priestesses after seeing his daughter go through priestess training. Females could be quite cold-blooded when performing their magic. He didn't know exactly what healers did, but it wouldn't surprise him if she wound up wanting to sacrifice a live adder and wrap it around his paw or something of that nature.

As aggravating as the whole situation was, Erling couldn't help giving a reluctant laugh at her comment. "No, they didn't want to be caught." He snorted, flexing his claws and digging them into the ground as though clawing at the impudent beast that got away. "I would do as much and worse to anyone that tried to take me for a thrall." The very idea of a lion trying to take a Stormborn captive was ludicrous though, and he laughed again.

Erling was waiting for the pain to start, but it still surprised him. He fought to keep still, making a sputtering noise of agony and indignation through clenched teeth. It stung! This was worse than getting bitten in the first place! The pressure of the original bite had numbed it somewhat at the time. This offensive stinging gloop was just insult on top of injury.

He wanted to curse, loudly, but with some effort he managed to keep from bellowing. "Woman!" Erling rasped finally. He glared at the healer. "What is that awful stuff?" He wouldn't put it past her to use some stuff that stung unnecessarily just to teach him a lesson. Females could be tricky like that.

Suffering a wound to his paw and to his dignity, Erling felt righteously indignant towards the world at large. He wasn't too self-absorbed to see that he had made the healer nervous, though. He was used to confident Stormborn females with smart mouths, so it was a bit strange interacting with such a shy one. Erling was a bit abashed. He had never believed in browbeating or bullying Freeborn. He would have to be careful not to snap at her.

"A week of rest!" Erling frowned, annoyed at the inconvenience. Still, the healer probably knew her business ... and he had no interest in being crippled. He gave the healer a challenging look. "I'll rest for the full week, healer. I'm not some fool young reaver. I know my limits." He stood carefully, keeping his weight off the paw. "What if these leaves fall off?"

Erling was proud of his scars, but he didn't feel the need to go out and collect many more. As he had grown older, he had come to realize that coming out of a battle unscathed was a better display of skill. Still, he supposed this one would be satisfactory. He just wouldn't tell anyone he had picked it up trying to catch a damn thrall.

He nodded at her instructions, slightly relieved that he wouldn't have to come back and see her again. Not that she was unpleasant - she was actually rather nice, for a such a shy little thing - but he didn't want everyone to think he was some weakling that needed healing constantly. "I'll rinse it well. Thank you." He squinted at the healer, realizing he didn't know her name. "By the way, what's your name? I'm Erling. I feel foolish calling you 'Healer'."

He wasn't sure what she meant by healing keeping her in the pride, but he decided to file it away and ignore it for now. So her name was Aino, eh? Aino was an unusual name, but Erling liked it. He returned the healer's smile, pleased that this embarrassing meeting was done with. He would follow her instructions exactly and hope that he wouldn't need to seek her out professionally again!

"Thank you, Aino," Erling said gravely. "I will keep that in mind." He nodded to her and turned to go. Maybe he would visit her once his foot was healed up, just to show her how nicely the healing had gone. He didn't want her thinking he was going to cripple his own foot like an idiot.