* Life {Private} *

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    "I don't know..." Kodiak answered absentmindedly, scenting the cool air. It did smell like night time. The wolf couldn't believe that they had been down in this cave that long.
    "I guess we just lost track of time." Chenoa whispered as she moved past the others to stand beside her mate. Kodiak moved forward, still scenting the air in the cave.


    Willow remained silent, still looking at the light. She hadn't forgot about the thing in he mate's neck either. She was nervous about removing the strange object. What if she went too deep? What if he developed an infection? The healer was worried about messing up and endangering Jet's life.

    Huffing out a long breath and tired of all the pretense, he scrambled forward as fast as he could. And since they could now see each other, he flashed apologetic looks back toward the others. His closed in feeling was returning again, and he wanted out. On the bright side the tunnel sloped up. It opened into a larger area, and then... He found himself inside the mouth of the cave, overlooking a grassy slope that went down to a river. Huffing out a sigh of relief, the wolf-dog flopped to the ground, but not before letting out a celebratory bark. "We did it!"

    Kodiak and Chenoa followed Jet out, their tails wagging and their ears perked. Even though they were nervous about the cave, they were just as weary of the outside. They humans could have been there. Chenoa glanced up at the sky, "I so glad we're out!" Kodiak smiled at his mate before looking around at their surroundings, cautiously scenting the air.


    Willow shook her head, the movement and voices of the others snapping her out of her thoughts. She quickly followed her friends. She smiled faintly when she saw her mate flopped down in the grass. How am I going to get that out his neck? She wondered again as she watched him. She could shake the "what-ifs" echoing in her mind.

    Closing his eyes for a moment, he allowed himself some respite. Knowing he had a way out instantly quelled any memories that had been threatening to rise up. He didn't have to worry about that any more. But he did have to worry about his neck. But they could do that tomorrow. Jet knew that Willow could find something, probably some more of those seeds, to put him to a sleep so he didn't feel anything. And even if he did... he'd had his neck bitten in to before.. so it wouldn't really matter.

    Willow stepped closer to Jet and gently pressed her nose to his cheek in an affectionate gesture. "Would you prefer if we found a different cave to take up in while I work on your neck? I'll need to gather some herbs and I don't know how long it will take to get that out..." The black she-wolf trailed off, turning to look around. It may have been drawing closer to spring, but it would take time for herbs to grow. As she waited for Jet's response, she listed off the herbs she would need to look for in her head.


    Chenoa and Kodiak turned to Jet, waiting to hear his response.

    He sighed, thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No. This cave is fine. I'll wait a day tomorrow though. We can go out and look for what you need. But if we don't find it.... I suppose you can attempt to take this out anyway. I far prefer dealing with pain than having to constantly run." Jet answered, staring outside. He knew they would be safe for a few days at least, if those humans had indeed been after him. The tunnels had probably thrown them off quite a bit. He just hoped it was for long enough.

    Willow nodded, turning back to Jet and the others. "Alright. I can search for the herbs tonight."
    Kodiak shook his head, "No, it'll be best if you get a good night's rest. I'd imagine that doing something like that couldn't be easy when well-rested, let alone when you're exhausted. You can leave to look tomorrow. I can take watch tonight and sleep at dawn."
    Chenoa turned to Willow, "I'll get some rest to and help tomorrow with gather herbs and with that thing in Jet's neck." Willow nodded in thanks.

    He frowned. "Ya. I wouldn't want to do that now anyway." He confirmed. He thought he'd made that clear.. but his mind was so hyped up at the moment he had no idea if he'd come across clear or not. "And plus... I'd like to help you look for your things tomorrow. Plants." He added, crawling to one side of the cave and sheltering down behind the rock. A strangely cold wind blew in through the cave, and the rock helped to block some of the coldness. "Night.."

    Willow nodded also thanking her mate, "Okay, if you're sure. Goodnight, love."
    Kodiak nudged his foster sister, "Go on rest. I'll wake you at dawn. Chenoa," he turned to his mate and gave her loving lick on the ear, "You get some rest too."
    As Willow and Chenoa went back into the cave. Chenoa curled up not far from where Kodiak chose to sit and Willow found a place close to Jet. As he sat gazing out of the cave, Kodiak thought about what was to come. He knew that Willow was anxious about tomorrow and since she was without herbs it made that anxiety worse. She had always hated when she was out of any herbs. Back when they have lived with their pack she had said that herbs always seemed to be needed to most when you had run out. The worry about humans finding them was probably only adding to that stress. He knew it was stressing him out.

    The wolf-dog closed his eyes, but sleep was still difficult for him. His mind was so wound up from the events of the day, that it took several minutes for it to wind down enough for him to feel tired, and even more after that for his mind to actually fall into the strange state called sleep. And even then, he had some weird dreams.


    During one, he was running across a frozen lake. Something was chasing him. He couldn't see it, but from the vibrations in the ice and the sound it was huge. At least, until the ice cracked. And then he fell in and seemed to be unable to swim. So he sank, and sank... and then that was the end of that. Jet managed to achieve restful sleep after three dreams, and his mind reveled in that state.

    Willow sleep was restful, but she wished that she had at least on dream in which the spirits visited her. She wanted to consult Cascade before going through with removing that thing in Jet's neck. The black she-wolf was stiff when she was awoken by Kodiak; she had been in the same position the entire night. After awaking, she laid on the floor of the cave quietly, going over herbs in her head. Poppy seed... comfrey root...marigold...wild garlic...cobwebs...chervil...horsetail...burdock root...and probably some lavender and thyme to help relax him if he gets anxious.


    After Chenoa had been woken, Willow got to her paws. They and Jet had much to gather, but she wanted to try and find some of each herb if it was possible. She wanted to prepared in every scenario. She wasn't quite as concerned about burdock root as chervil and horsetail could both treat infections, but it would be nice to have some for extra help. The rest was to either relax him, help with pain, or treat the wound and hopefully prevent an infection from even starting.

    Shaking his head a little bit, Jet eventually found himself awake. And found all of the others awake too. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he sat up quickly and sighed. "Sorry..." Jet muttered, standing to stretch himself out and wake up more fully. "So... are you ready to go? The sooner we get this over with, the better." He said.


    He wasn't particularly nervous about pain or infection. He knew she would be able to take care of that. He was just worried about finding the small metal chip in his neck, and causing too much unnecessary damage. He knew that the scruff of ones neck was designed to resist pain to a certain point, as mothers often picked up their pups there, and that was the reason for the extra skin. But how would it feel..?

    Willow gave her mate a loving smile and padded over to him, pressing her black nose to his cheek. "Don't apologize. We haven't been up that long. And we're ready when you're ready."
    Chenoa nuzzled Kodiak as the male turned to them, "Be careful out there. And I hope you can find what all you need."
    Willow nodded to her foster brother, giving a small smile, "You be careful too." She hoped she could at least find some of the herbs she would need. Normally the healer wasn't this nervous about treating something. But, this was something she had never done before. Sure, she had removed gravel from wounds, as well as glass, splinters, and wood. But she had never removed something embedded into the neck. And what was more she about to try this out on her mate.

    Jet nodded, but could still sense uneasiness. And at one point, he too would've been uneasy. And perhaps downright untrusting. But his time with these three had drastically changed him. For the better, too. He had faith in all of them, and in himself now, that things would be okay. And after a few days, they would find a home. Raise a family, begin a pack... who knew. It brought a smile to his face. "Don't you worry about me, dear." He murmured, so that only his beloved could hear. "I'll be fine. Especially under your care. I've faith in you."

    The muscles in Willow's neck and shoulders slowly relaxed. Jet's words, as well as his calm and confident expression, helped to sooth the she-wolf's frazzled nerves. "Thank you," she whispered back to her beloved, "It means a lot to hear you say that." After nuzzling him in gratitude, she spoke louder to address him and Chenoa, "Are you guys ready to head off?"


    Chenoa stepped forward, her ears perked, "I am."

    Jet shook his head. "No. Thank you. For not giving up on me." He replied, before making his way outside, taking a few steps along before realizing he had no idea what he was looking for. He knew that they'd probably need the seeds, and the poppy plant was the only one he was familiar with. Jet was sure that he could find one of those, if he needed to. But he might be able to look for something else too. "So what's the plan? We all going to split up? Or go in groups..? Or together..?"

    Chenoa glanced around, sniffing the air. "Normally I'd say go in groups or split up, but I'm sure there will be herbs we wouldn't recognize without Willow and plus this is all unknown territory. So, I guess we should all go together." The white wolf turned to her friend, "What herbs do you need?"


    Willow smiled back at her mate. How could I give up on you?. Upon hearing Chenoa's questions, the she-wolf turned to her friend to answer. "There's quite a few I'd like to have on paw, but some are more important than others. I'd prefer if we can find them first and then look for the lesser ones if we have the time. Of course, if we find those while looking for the ones that are more important, we will grab them." She paused and looked around, smiling when she heard the river nearby. "It's a good thing we're near a river cause I'll probably need horsetail. And I'll need poppy seeds, chervil, marigold, cobwebs, and some comfrey root. Those are the most important, but if anyone sees any burdock root, lavender, or thyme, grab that up too."


    Chenoa listened to the list of herbs in a thoughtful silence. She couldn't be able to recognize a few of those. Namely chervil, burdock, thyme. Poppy seeds, marigold, and comfrey were plants that were used a lot to heal wounds and Chenoa had grown to recognize them. She could only recognize lavender by its scent.

    Jet let out a small sigh, making his way outside. "Sounds okay, then." He said quietly, still feeling a little bit ashamed and angry that he was the reason why everyone had to do this. Part of him hoped that he'd get some kind of chance later to repay them for their helpful actions. He'd get a chance eventually, he supposed. The wolf-dog then looked up, into the outside world. "Well let's go, shall we?"


    His limbs were filled with a strange sense of energy, that seemed to come on all of the sudden. And it felt good. Somewhat strange, but good. It was enough to even bring a smile to his face, as he padded forth into the unknown wilderness.

    Jet's smile was contagious. When she noticed the content and happy look on her lover's face, Willow's own lips curled into a smile. It was like she was looking at different canine than the one she had met out in the snow several moons ago. She was glad that he was no longer bent on ending his own life.


    Chenoa padded a few paces behind Willow and Jet, her head lifted high so she can scent the breeze. After a good few minutes she caught the faint scent comfrey. It wasn't strong, but it was there. "I've scented some comfrey," she announced to the others as she looked around. That's when her golden orbs landed on the large leaves of the comfrey plant. There were only a few small, purple bell-shaped flowers flinging to it's stems. The little flowers were wilted and clearly suffering from the cold. Will this still be good to use?"
    Willow nodded as she began to dig up the black-colored roots of the plant. It was a small patch, but it was better than nothing. Maybe we'll find some more out here.

    The others quickly overtook him, and he was perfectly okay with that. Jet was just out here to relax himself with a nice walk before.. well, before someone attempted to pull a tracking device out of his neck. It would be a horrible thing for sure, for them. It made him glad he wasn't them. For he wouldn't have been looking forward to trying to bite out a piece of metal no larger than a newborn's paw from his lover's neck.


    But he was truly faithful. They would find a way to get it out. He knew it was in the scruff of his neck, and hopefully when bitten down on gently, would feel like a lump, almost as though it were a tick. But It wasn't very far beneath his skin, he knew that, for he'd been awake when they'd but it in. And that hadn't been a fun experience.


    When the two she-wolves finally found something, it forced him to stop. Glad to do so, he looked at the plant, wondering how someone managed to learn all of their names, what they did, their separate scents and such. For to him, they all were the same, or similar. By scent, sight, and taste. All nasty. So he set himself to guard duty, making sure nothing would sneak up upon them during their search for.. whatever was needed.