NessiUmeko was fit to be tied. The pride was having a big celebration and as a result there were battles happening. Each division had its own brackets and champions were to be named. Her son was in the competition and Umeko hated it. She knew that she should be proud, after all it was the way of the pride. Not to mention that her son Torolf had even made it into the second stage of battle. She had a small part of her that was really proud of her, but she didn't want him to get hurt. She was always such a worrier.
She was passing back and forth outside her den. She was trying to push the thoughts from her head. Her son wasn't fighting today so she was staying away from the battling area. As a nurse she would likely have to deal with any of the fallout that occured, but she didn't feel a need to watch it happen as well.
Moose
Vittorio wasn't sure why he hadn't entered the tournament. He had been goaded by his friends, pushing him to test his skills against the larger lions, and still he had refused. Even Liran had entered. His sweet, lyrical brother was kicking tail while his brute of an older brother stood on the side lines.
He tried to pretend his lack of entry wasn't Mirashi related, but who was he kidding? Vittorio had been pining over her since the day his mate had kicked him out. There were only so many activities one could do to keep their mind off the hurt before returning to those old worries. What if she never let him come back? Did he even really want to?
Vittorio growled and shook his head. He needed to see a healer about some of his more recent wounds anyway. The petite male's hide was covered in scars of varying sizes and shapes, with three large open gashes on his rump. He was making his way to the den of a known nurse, hoping that at least something could would come of the day.
Nessi
Umeko saw the petite lion coming her way. She recognized the lion by his colouring. There were only so many purple maned lions in the pride. She knew he had family here too a couple of brothers she thought. She put on a polite smile as he approached her, shifting into healer mode.
"Hi there." she said to him as she scanned his body looking to see what he might be seeking her attention for. It didn't take long before she saw the large open wounds on his back end. Not to mention he was riddled with scars, a typical stormborn she thought to her self. He was small for the typical stormborn, but he was clearly a fighter.
"Seems to me that you are in need of some care there." she said, she rose to her feet and picked up her bag of herbs, it wouldn't take her too long to treat these wounds, it was a fairly common one around here.
Moose
Vittorio's smile was instantaneous, but tense. His soul was aching as much, if not more, than his body and it showed. "Only if you're able and willing to help. You are the healer, right?" That seemed like a stupid question to him. If she wasn't, why would she be digging around for bags and supplies?
Shaking his head, the small male found a nice place to sit down. Unfortunately, in the state he was in sitting down was harder than he had anticipated. He more or less thumped over on to his left side with a hissing groan. "Ow ow ow-" Vittorio muttered under his breath. Finally giving in, the pale Reaver settled for laying down completely to take the pressure off.
He turned to look at the healer. "...you've got a boy in the tournament, don't you?"
Nessi
"Yes I am the healer." she said quietly gathering the last of the things she need. She watched as he tried to sit and then fell over onto his side. "You know it's actually better if you are lying down." she told him. She shoved some herbs into her mouth and began to chew as she bent to get a good look at his wounds.
"There is no infection so that much is good." she said to him taking the herbs from her mouth she held them in her paw for a minute. "This is going to sting, I am sorry for that, there is nothing I can do about that." she told him as she took the herbs and pushed them into the wounds." She cringed as she did it because she knew that it was going to hurt the poor thing.
"Yes I do have a boy in the tournament." she answered him as she worked. She had a soothing voice, very calm and collected. "He is doing quite well, already made it to the second round."
She tried to keep her tone light as she spoke of her son in the tournament. She was trying to distract the male with conversation as she worked on his wounds. Though she was pretty sure she was doing a poor job of it
Moose
"Oh well...awesome. Totally meant to do that." Vittorio grimaced. He sat up enough so that his upper half was propped, but for the most part his body was stretched out. "They're recent. A couple of rogues wanted into the pride and one of them tore into me pretty good. Cheeky b*****d." The last bit was said on a whispered muse, almost as if he hadn't meant to say it at all.
"It's fine I can take i-!" Vittorio yowled before stuffing his paw into his mouth. It wasn't the most dignified response, but dammit, that hurt! He breathed steadily through his nose and out his mouth to ride out the pain. Before too long he was removing his paw to respond. "Did he? I saw part of his first match, but I was pulled away before it finished."
There was something about easy conversation that seemed natural to him. Normally Vittorio was trying to keep his brother quiet, and prying words out of his mate. He lived in a world of extremes with no common ground. She was...calmer, gentler in her mannerisms, but not cold like Mirashi. No, that's not fair. It's just how she is. She's poised. Dignified. And neglectful.
"Your husband must be proud. Strong sons are a big thing here."
Nessi
Umeko finished up wrapping the wounds. When the male mentioned her husband she stummbled a little. "I have no husband." she told him her voice barely audible. She hated when the topic of Bjorn came up, it was still a painful subject to her.
"I raised my cubs on my own all eight of them." her voice was filled with pride, she hated the circumastance but overall she was pleased with how her cubs had turned out, no help from their father.
"Actually thats not fair to say, I had help. My best friend Anika was around. But right before I had my litter she had had her own seven cubs. She is a Reaver so I watched after them most of the time but she was around too." It had been a busy time of life when all thirteen of them had been litter, some days Umeko wondered how she had survived it.
Moose
It took Vittorio a full minute to catch why her stumble bothered him. It wasn't until she started talking about her cubs that he wanted to kick himself. "I'm...s**t, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have...I didn't mean to upset you." His face was a torn mixture of emotion. Some of it worry, inner regrets and mostly concern for the healer.
"You've faced so much, but you stand as tall as a Goddess." Eight cubs. EIGHT. With her friends seven on top of that. Vittorio couldn't manage to babysit his friend's four cubs without wanting a nap, let alone a hoard. "That's...I...Gods above, that's a lot of cubs. How did you manage it without going insane?"
He looked to his wounds then, smiling a little easier now that they were taken care of. "One day I would like cubs of my own, but maybe not as many as that."
Nessi
Umeko smiled as she came around and sat in front of the male she was done patching him up. She was hoping she even did a good enough job that these wounds would not leave a scar like all his others had.
"Cubs are a blessing." she said, "However I am not sure that I came out of the experience as sane as I was when I went into it." she laughed. There were many times that she had wanted to pull her own hair out, but she had made it through alright and the cubs had all turned out amazing as far as she was concerned.
"I am sure you will know when the time comes, though sometimes that time comes earlier than you think it will." she was reflective as she spoke, her time had certainly come in a different way than she had hoped but she was happy with her cubs and how they turned out none the less.
"You are all patched up now. Come back and see me in two days so I can check the healing process." She told him.
Moose
Shaking his head on a grin, Vittorio looked up at the female with a new found respect. There was so much about her to be admired; the way in which she treated his wounds, her open heart, the way she spoke of her cubs...He wished all females could be like that. "My friend is the same way. She's a Reaver, and I don't think she's wanted to go on a viking so bad in her life." He chuckled. Mitra was pulling her fur out trying to keep up with her brood, and they were so small compared to this females.
"...Or later." Vittorio piped in bitterly. He averted his eyes long enough to take a deep breath to calm himself. He didn't want to open that topic to a stranger. "Thanks for helping me out. If you ever need help with anything, let me know." As Vittorio stood, he had a bit of a hobble but he was otherwise steady. Smiling tiredly at the female, he dipped his head and ventured on home.
