Practice Makes Perfect

[Arctic Fang]

"Wait," Aryela said, in a tone that seemed more commanding then a kind request. Next she added what seemed like more of a request but it's tone still held a hint of duty to be kind to the Captain. "Please," was the added last word. But still whether or not she meant the tones to be a certain way or not Arctic couldn't resist listening to her and to remain where he was standing. He nodded calmly.

The white male wolf 'had' planned on nursing his own wounds once he got back to his humble abode, his Captain's quarters aboard his ship, but it seemed that the femme wanted to assist him in that department. It was good practice and so he'd allow her to do so. Another reason might be that he wished her to not have feelings of guilt later if she had let him leave without at least an offering of assistance. Arctic would hate or any beast to carry such feelings because he knew all to well what such emotions could do to a beast.

A voice behind him began to chime out a song and the Tavern seemed to melt back into a normal mood for such a place. Arctic watched as the she-wolf returned with a tray full of supplies to fix his wounds. Art knew that's why she headed toward the kitchen in the first place. The pair moved to a table. Art lifted his paw to his eye and touched it. He grimaced lightly. Really he hadn't noticed the wound there, even if it was still swelling. His temper had gotten the better of him and when he got like that he could become very numb, even to his own wounds.

"Please, allow me to help..." Arctic had all intentions of letting her help but he still wasn't sitting down. His blue orbs watched her as she took a seat and then gestured toward a chair that was across from her. He moved toward the table even further and then finally sat, a waitress immediately was dis-batched toward the two higher ranked beasts, bringing them what they had been previously drinking. "If you insist." Arctic longed to smile at her but her previous attitude toward him held such an expression back.

[Aryela Jade Secray]

"If you insist."

Aryela flicked an ear, trying to gauge Arctic's response. He didn't appear extremely reluctant, but by his tone, he wasn't exactly pleased with her request, or rather, her demand. But then, she could just be misreading his reaction. He had stopped to listen to her. He had seated himself across from her. While Aryela was certain he could have tended to his own wounds outside of the tavern, maybe the idea of having someone help him was more appealing. Unfortunately, when it came to healing, Aryela found it difficult to read beasts. She focused so much on the task that she didn't pay attention to subtle body movements that would have told her what her patient was feeling. That was one reason she wouldn't have made a good healer.

Aryela scooted her chair closer and sifted through the things on the tray. After a moment, she took a cloth and dipped it into the warm, soapy water. She squeezed it out and reached out, pressing it gently against his swollen eye. She wanted to make certain that there weren't any hidden cuts, and if there were, she wanted to clean them out before she had him put the meat over his eye. Her touch was light and gentle, juxtaposition to her stiff and cold demeanor.

After caring for the eye, she pressed the meat against it and gestured to his good paw. "Hold that steady. It'll help with the swelling."

That done, she rinsed out the cloth then soaked it again before reaching out for his larger paw. Her silver wedding ring glowed in the candlelight as she pulled his paw towards her. Her fingers worked his loose, allowing her to see the damage a little more clearly. It wasn't too bad, but it could certainly get worse if left unattended. Aryela began to gently wipe the blood away. She moved each finger slowly to be sure that he hadn't jammed, sprained, or broken any of his limbs.

"Tell me if moving your finger hurts too much. I just want to be certain nothing is broken," she said, her brow furrowed in concentration. She quickly brushed a piece of headfur out of her face as it slipped down her shoulder, revealing the nasty scar that ran beneath her eye and down her neck, marring her visage. As she worked on stretching his fingers, she took a salve from the mixed herbs and rubbed them over the cuts to help ease the pain.

[Arctic Fang]

There were so many things that the male was feeling right now that it was hard to pin-point just one and so he thought that he was able to fool anyone into confusion. He wanted to get close to someone. He longed for it. But she had already given him the cold shoulder at the target range. On the other paw though he found her so mysteriously attractive. What in the hell was wrong with him? Inwardly he groaned with his mixed emotions. It was as if they were scattering everywhere like sparks that flew from a piece of snapping wood in a campfire. And on top of all of this he was wondering what ever happened to his supposed wife. She vanished into thin air without so much as a word. It wasn't like he hadn't spend a season now looking for her. But to no avail.

The brute leaned forward as she began to tend to his swollen eye. He couldn't help but to look into her own eyes and to wonder what was going on in there. What sort of things had she endured in her life thus far? She was beautiful. Why wasn't she with a male? Perhaps she was. Maybe he was at home waiting for her, out to sea or on a mission away from Fort Emerald Bay. All of these questions he had building up in his brain, really ever since he met her they began to form there.

He listened to what she said about holding the raw meat to his eye, never really understanding why such a thing would help a wound but he did as she requested. Art then nodded, taking a drink soon after, right before she pulled his cut paw toward herself. Immediately he noted the shimmer of the wedding band. She 'was' married. His heart sank lightly as he let out a sigh. Perhaps it was all for the best. He probably should have never gotten involved with a female to begin with. Part of him felt like he'd be a loner until the day that he died. Fate always seemed to have it in for him.

There was a large part of him that was still very interested in her, even if she had a mate. He knew that it wasn't right but something about her intrigued him so. "That one. That one hurts." Arctic winced only slightly as his good eye twitched due to the pain when she got to the middle one. He would be damned if he was going to allow her to see him in any other light except for a brave and tough one.

His line of sight lifted to see her when she moved a piece of hair from her face. He noted the scar that traveled down her face and to her neck. The Captain's respect grew for her. What ever she's had to go through in her life seems to have not broken her. But then again she could just be putting on a brave front like him. Arctic swallowed hard. He couldn't bite his tongue anymore. He had to speak to her on a more personal level but with a large amount of caution on how he used his words. "Do you eat here often in the evening?" His gaze now averted hers as he quickly looked down to watch her work on his knuckles.

[Aryela Jade Secray]

"That one. That one hurts."

Aryela frowned deeply and turned her attention back to his aching finger. She moved it up and down a few times, then side to side. Hmm, doesn't feel broken. Possibly sprained. The bone would have given way if it had shattered. The she-wolf took the damp cloth and wiped down the knuckles, careful not to disturb his injured finger too much. After mixing a few herbs with one paw, she lathered some of the paste over his bruised and bleeding knuckles. They were starting to swell, but the herbs would help with that.

Once she was certain that his wounded finger and his closest digit were clean, Aryela grabbed a small, thin piece of wood that she had asked the shrew waiter to collect for her. She fitted it against one of Arctic's good fingers, and his bad finger as well. With calculated, slow movements, she bound a bandage around the two appendages.

"I don't believe it's broken, but I think it's best to keep it steady so you don't do further damage to it. Leave the bandage and the wrappings on it for a couple of days and we'll check the swelling." Or a healer could check the swelling....She wasn't committing to be his caretaker, but then again, she should probably finish what she had started.

Once she had taken care of his fingers, she turned her attention to the rest of his bruised paw, glancing now and again at his eye to see if the swelling had gone down yet. While she worked, Aryela barely said a word. She was concentrating too hard on what she was doing, and distractions would not be received kindly. Her ears even flicked back when the waiter returned with their drinks. Hers went untouched for the moment as she finished up on his paw and began to bandage the wounds.

It was strange to heal another beast. Yes, she had mended quite a few wounds during her travels, but the last male she'd really aided was her mate. It had been a silly accident. He'd been out on one of his missions and had cut his arm on his own blade by mistake. Aryela had scolded him for a good hour while she tended to him, but he had just sat there with that half-smug, half-amused smile on his face. No matter how anger she was, Aryela could never keep her rage when he smiled at her like that.

Sorrow crept into her eyes for a moment, but she stubbornly pushed it aside, keeping her head bowed so Arctic wouldn't be able to see it. The last thing she needed was for him to start delving into her past.

"Do you eat here often in the evening?"

"No," Aryela replied, not even considering the implications behind his question. "I typically eat in my office or with Tara, one of my trainers. She usually has to kick my tail to force me to leave my paperwork." She smiled slightly. She was very fond of the black squirrel, though Tara could be a bit of a pawful.

Aryela leaned back and tied off the last bandage. "There. I think you'll live," she said in a light voice.

[Arctic Fang]

The brute clenched his jaw. There was nothing in this world that he would do to make her think that he was weak. Oh sure he had feelings and he had a bigger heart then most of those of his species and gender but in this situation it called for him to put on a brave face. Male's often reasoned differently then the females. He hoped that he wasn't putting her off by his clear determination of keeping a straight face, only slightly curling his upper lip. "I don't believe it's broken, but I think it's best to keep it steady so you don't do further damage to it. Leave the bandage and the wrappings on it for a couple of days and we'll check the swelling." Arctic grinned very lightly. So there was a chance that he would be seeing her again. He counted on that now, so much so that he nodded.

A few moments went by. Silently he had already calculated in his mind the fact that he would be seeing her again but for now he would refrain on commenting about this because she continued by answering his question about eating here. The femme likely revealed more then she wished or thought that she had. Arctic had a way of gleaning more from a response then the typical male. He was very keen and aware.

He watched as she sat back and stated that he'd live, causing him to laugh softly. She thought that she was hiding her expressions from him but he was sure that he caught whispers of sadness etch across her face from time to time. Arctic took a deep breath, fully aware that his opportunity might be slipping away. He needed to secure his next meeting with her. "Well where do I need to come to see you? About my paw that is. I'm here pretty much in the evening but we can meet some place else more private if you wish." Arty cocked his head so that his baby blues would be able to capture more of her facial expressions.

In the meantime he couldn't help but to think about how she intrigued him so. She was unlike any other female wolf that he'd met before. There was just something about him and made him want to gravitate to her. Maybe it was the fact that she 'thought' that she was fine alone most days or the way that she put up a wall around herself was perfectly normal. Arctic knew the feeling all to well. He has lost much in his life but he knew that he didn't want to be alone for the rest of it. Surely life would give him a break sooner or later.

[Aryela Jade Secray]

Aryela grabbed a fresh cloth and dipped it in the extra bowl of warm water. Carefully, she scrubbed her paws clean, making certain that she rinsed off all of Arctic's blood. He hadn't been bleeding badly, but Aryela still didn't want a single drop on her paws. She was quite sure that all healers did the same thing so they didn't spread germs, but Aryela had other reasons for it as well. She was a warrior, a teacher, as well as a mercenary, but unlike many sell-swords, Aryela refused to take jobs that forced her to kill. Her mentor, Red, had never had trouble taking on an assassination job, but Aryela could not bring herself to do so. While she would kill in the heat of battle to defend her friends, family, or followers, Aryela didn't enjoy taking another beast's life. She knew all too well what it did to those who were left behind.

As she wiped off her ring finger, she stared at her wedding band for a moment, her face like stone. Fighting back a sigh, she pulled her fingers away and dropped the cloth onto the table. It's been a bad week... she thought to herself. I'm already forgetting you, aren't I? It's not fair...you haven't been gone long. Perhaps if she had been there when her mate had been killed instead of stuck in chains it would have felt more real, but there were some days that she expected him to walk through the door, laughing at her foolishness. When we made those vows, we promised to be with each other forever....you broke your word. It was silly to be mad at the dead, but Aryela felt cheated. In her eyes, he'd gotten the better deal. He was dead. He didn't have to mourn or feel left behind. I do, and it's made me so closed off from other beasts. Where's the she-wolf who gladly taught young beasts how to read, write, and heal? Where's the she-wolf who would happily sing when you asked? Buried with you I suppose....where ever you're buried.

Aryela flinched. That...was not a pleasant thought.

"Well where do I need to come to see you? About my paw that is. I'm here pretty much in the evening but we can meet some place else more private if you wish."

The she-wolf breathed out slowly and fought to put a small smile on her face, but it was strained. "You can meet me at the infirmary. There are more supplies there, and if your fingers are not healing as well as I had hoped, then another healer, who is more experienced, will be able to look at it." She could have just asked him to visit her at her office, but that seemed silly, especially if she needed more supplies. Aryela did not have an abundance of healing supplies anymore, though she wondered if she should start collecting again.

The tavern broke out into applause as the bards finished their next song. Aryela grabbed her mug and took a deep sip, trying to drown out some of her emotions. They're raw tonight...wonderful. The sooner I get back to my room the better.

"Let me return these. I'll just be a moment." She stood without waiting for a response and brought the tray of healing supplies back to the bar. By the time she returned, Aryela had managed to collect herself. The mask of the General came down again, and she bobbed her head to Arctic. "It's getting a bit late, and I have an early training session in the morning. I hope your paw feels a bit better tonight, and I hope that you have a nice evening." She nodded her head and took a slight step back, but waited just long enough to see if he had any parting words. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tara watching her suspiciously, but the she-wolf ignored her.

[Arctic Fang]

Some beasts never let their wall down once they had it up. Arctic wondered if this female would live out the rest of her days so heavily guarded. Thoughts of how she got so cautious ran through his mind as did the fact that he'd probably never find out. He was a good enough looking male, very good looking as a matter of fact, but he didn't seem to have very good luck with the ladies. Bad fortune seemed to follow him where ever he went. It was hard to not let it get him down. Arctic spent much of his time talking to himself, telling himself that he was better off alone.

His eyes burned into her like a branding iron as she spoke and yet his gaze appeared so gentle and tender as if he were studying her, and oh yes he was. Quickly he shook his head and responded. "I'd rather if you looked at it." The brute failed purposefully to say why but instead he buried his nose into his drink, only glancing over the rim at her.

The moments of silence were torturous but still relaxing. It gave him time to study her, that is until she got up. This was when the white wolf stood quickly. At first she spoke as if she were returning but then her words seemed to indicate that she wasn't. Gesturing with his good paw Arctic was about to speak, to say something that firstly came to his mind but instead he said something entirely different. "I... Well okay then. Until we meet again I hope all goes well with you. Have a good evening. I'll be heading home as well." Fang moved, almost knocking his chair over but catching it with a quick paw.

After a few moments of shuffling around he turned back to Aryela and sheepishly grinned, his face blushing slightly because he felt more like a nervous pup that had a crush. Of course he did his best to ward off such feelings as he cleared his throat, immediately afterward giving the femme a polite smile as he slowly sauntered by her with their glasses. He assumed that she said all that she needed to. It seemed clear that she didn't want to spend another moment with him, for reasons unknown to him.

Arctic stepped to the bar, toward a section that was vacant of a tavern patron. He promptly gave the barmaid the drinking receptacles and then ordered a mid-night snack to go. Naturally he gave her enough money to pay for what he drank, ate, was going to eat, for Aryela's food and beverages and for the healing supplies... with a little left over for a tip. He nodded and then turned to see where Aryela was, or if she was there at all. Surely he would have noticed if she walked passed him already.

[Aryela Jade Secray]

"I... Well okay then. Until we meet again I hope all goes well with you. Have a good evening. I'll be heading home as well."

Aryela arched an eyebrow at Arctic's rather hurried speech. Apparently he hadn't expected her to leave so abruptly, though Aryela didn't think she had been abrupt....or had she? She had finished tending to his paw, and she did have an early morning session. The she-wolf shifted a little and watched as Arctic nearly sent another chair crashing to the ground. Fortunately, he caught it and righted it before calling too much attention back to them. Standing in the middle of a fight had been enough attention for one night for Aryela. She glanced over at Tara out of the corner of her eye, but the squirrel was actually too involved in the bards to notice. Finally! Something the squirrel actually enjoyed! Aryela had been beginning to think that Tara hated everything.

The she-wolf smirked to herself then watched Arctic head towards the bar to pay for his meal. She ignored her bill for the moment, knowing the bartenders would just put it on her tab. She had no idea that Arctic was actually paying for her meal. She flicked her ears and uttered a quiet sigh to herself. Well, back to business.

Quietly, she turned on her footpaw and started for the door. As she passed Arctic, she murmured, "Have a good evening," before she walked out the door. The cool air washed over her, helping her push aside her nerves from the fight. She hoped that the drunkard's friends had managed to get him some help at the infirmary. If she found them lurking outside, planning to cause trouble to some unsuspecting bystander, she was going to give them an earful...if not something worse.

Aryela moved through the night, her steps light, and her eyes resting upon the moon. The sorrow she had felt over her mate's death anniversary suddenly hit her again, and she closed her paw into a fist. If I had had the chance to say goodbye...it wouldn't be so bad, she thought to herself, but neither wishes nor regrets would bring him back.

The she-wolf lowered her eyes and continued on, her tail and ears actually drooping. Alone, she could as she felt. In front of beasts though, her mask had to stay on if only to save her reputation.

ooc: Gah! I hope that works for you. Either we can continue with this post if you have an idea, or we can just start a new one when Arctic has Ary check his paw. Completely up to you.