Ask to Join Scars, Salves and Secrets

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
⋆｡°✩ ⭒ ──● 𓄿 ●── ⭒ ⋆｡°✩

Kosmo scented the blood despite her best efforts to keep its flow from giving way to the wind. He stepped from between the pines without hurry, mismatched eyes settling on Vivica as she bent to her hind leg, limp worse than perhaps she'd care to admit.

He took in the angle of her stance and the tightness along her spine. "Stop." He didn't step close to inspect, not yet. "Can you walk?" He asked, already assuming she could.

The lavender scent stirred as he began moving at a measured pace, slow enough that she wouldn't have to leap or strain to keep up. He didn't look back immediately. He trusted pride would get her on her paws before gratitude ever would.

All of his senses were alert just in case her attacker returned. Odd eyes moved even as his body arced in a trajectory that seemed muscle memory. "I have a place if you'd like to keep that leg useful." He briefly turned his head back to her, edges of his lips curling.

"You can trust me. I'm a healer."

She who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.

◇─♖─♦️─♖─◇

Part of Vivica, something deep and angry, wanted to whirl around and snap at Kosmo as he approached, but she didn't act on it. Something else that was more reasonable and witty fought the urge and won. Kosmo's face was familiar enough for her to remember him by name. Considered himself a healer? Vivica didn't find many of those where she was from, cats just took wounds in silence instead of taking help from others, Maverick's rule had enforced it, Vivica was not so ignorant.

"I can limp" She said in good humor, her fur still ruffled from the previous scuffle, assuming one of many if that tortoiseshell was hanging around Whitehart. "If there is no jumping over anymore fences, I'm sure I'll be able to make it wherever you need me to go." Vivica still wasn't sure how much she could trust Kosmo, but what other choice did she have, stumble off into the distance to get shoved in another bare plastic den and taken away again? Not for Vivica.

She rose to her paws again, the injured leg lifted just enough from the ground to stop it from dragging and close enough to land on it if it truly mattered. She hated the sensation of helplessness, that she isn't able to do everything by herself, but the mark of a leading cat is not just power, but to know when to let another cat take charge. "Lead on." she croaked out as a short-lived throbbing pain wretched her leg, causing it to tense to flinch back in instinct. The sooner this was over the better.

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
⋆｡°✩ ⭒ ──● 𓄿 ●── ⭒ ⋆｡°✩

Kosmo adjusted his stride without making a show of it. The path he chose angled away from the more exposed fencing and toward the older edge of Whitehart where the neat line of trees thinned and the world felt half forgotten into a bit of wilderness all his own.

They approached a sagging stretch of fence behind an abandoned house on the outskirts of Whitehart. The yard beyond had long since surrendered to wild growth and Kosmo paused only long enough to glance at her leg. There wouldn't be any jumping necessary.

He slipped sideways through a slanted fence post where the wood warped and sat nearly hidden within the ivy. His slim frame made it look effortless.

The backyard opened into a sheltered clearing where he had taken Mistyleaf moons ago. A twisted oak dominated the far edge. Kosmo moved straight toward it. "Wait here."

At the base of the tree he did not stop. Instead he leapt where he found a familiar notch in the bark. Halfway up the trunk he disappeared around to the far side. For a heartbeat there was only the sound of bark shifting under his weight.

There was a rustle within the hollow before pulling out a grape leaf in his moouth and could be seen again as he stepped out onto a branch. His mismatched eyes blinked down at her before he carefully slid down the vertical drop and lifted himself confidently onto all four of his paws.

"So...What happened to you?" He meowed after putting down his package, already nosing through the chosen herbs without looking over at her.

She who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.

◇─♖─♦️─♖─◇

Vivica limped after him without argument, as being argumentative wouldn't help in this situation, it was her luck that she had found a healer at all, she wouldn't simply ignore orders that could help her. 

She travelled through the open fenceline and into the herb garden, so it smelled and sat in an open patch in the clearing, then moved to lay down on her side, injured leg withdrawn but her tail swiftly covered her belly. This was meant for healing, trust can come when he's earned it.

"Another cat did it. A tortie." Vivica replied, refraining from licking at the wound and instead, moved her tongue to her paw as an alternative. "She ambushed me from the neat line of trees, jumped on my back. Her back claw did it before i could whirl around. Managed to give her a little something on her face to remember me by." Vivica inspected her claws as she regaled the story onto Kosmo, clearing out dried blood with a few licks.

Her nose twitched as the a bruise on her chest from the impact throbbed, however it was manageable and wasn't swell, she was sure it was fine. "I slipped out from beneath her and slipped through a little maze of brambles. I may know how to fight but I know when not to. I didn't have anything to offer her, no did she, there was nothing to die over." she replied, no watching Kosmo organize the plants with precision, something she didn't often see, not even with the twolegs she shared a home with.

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
⋆｡°✩ ⭒ ──● 𓄿 ●── ⭒ ⋆｡°✩

Lavender. Comfrey. Yarrow....

His mismatched eyes lifted to her as she spoke of the ambush a painted scene all too familiar. His movements slowed n calculation, motions hidden behind his eyes. He lapped up a leaf and chewed it into a pulse, extracting the oils.The scent thickened in the small clearing.

"I see."

His mind was already fitting the pieces together. It seemed the mad rogue was expanding her territory. Even Whitehart wasn't far from her reach - Vivica's attack had proved that she feared nothing, not even the threat of humans.

He licked the mixture onto his paw as he stepped closer to examine her body properly, nostrils flaring while he tested the distance between her breaths to the heat resonating from the wound. "You're fortunate...She usually kills her victims on the spot."

He began pressing the crushed herbs gently into the torn skin without apology. Healing oft hurt. And this required pressure. "You did right...Living to fight when it matters is worth more than dying over nothing." His eyes narrowed, silently acknowledging her strength. Either way she proved she wasn't your common house cat.

"The Clans have been having a rough time of her..."

She who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.

◇─♖─♦️─♖─◇

Vivica nodded, understanding how lucky she was, she knew that already. She didn't doubt that if the rogue had gotten to her again, she would have torn her apart, but what caught her attention was mention of 'clans' something she was unfamiliar with for certain. "Forgive me for my carried ignorance, I've not been here long. What are 'clans'?" She asked, tilting her head, if they were anything like her old life, she didn't have a lot of interest, she didn't decide on starting anew for nothing. And she wouldn't take a chance if her attacker had been bothering them, seems like more than one... agitation towards her from other cats would be the last thing she needed.

The sting of the herbs made Vivica hiss through her teeth, but she held her tongue about it. Without pain, success wouldn't feel as great. Perhaps the stinging had its way of healing her, perhaps it is how they worked and did their job correctly. Whatever the reason, the most that was given now was an uncomfortable twitch of the whiskers.

Her orange eyes glanced over at the cinnamon tom as he tediously placed the mush unto her wound, her leg twitched as he touched it, not by choice, but perhaps an involuntary spasm from Kosmo working on the sensitive area, however Vivica just glanced down at it like the limb wasn't her own, then let out a soft huff as if to express distaste in her own reaction to the foreign activity. "I was never healed, not where I'm from. You survived a wound or you didn't. I'm lucky, not just from this rogue, but from past incidents." she added, it wasn't deep information she didn't want spreading, being healed was the unusual act, to Vivica anyway. 

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
⋆｡°✩ ⭒ ──● 𓄿 ●── ⭒ ⋆｡°✩

He anchored the poultice with deliberate care before finally leaning back to study his handiwork. He sniffed at it once before he spoke. "The Four Clans are part of the forest there -" He motioned slightly with his chin in the direction. "Hierarchal and well-bodied with a set Code they must follow. Very territorial." He warned.

His gaze shifted to her again as she endured the sting without complaint as she spoke a note about her past live. An ear flicked. "I know the kind of place you're describing." He turned down towards the leaf unfurled and revealing the many sources he could pull from.

" Where 'weakness is an invitation' and where 'help costs something later'." His eyes lifted, mismatched and steady. "Does kindness sound odd to you?" The question was light...almost teasing. A part of him tested to see how strong the memory was, or if it seemed nostalgic or lacking.

With his jaw twitching faintly with an inviting grin, he nudged the leaf towards her where a shine of a black seed could be seen. "Seed of poppy. Take one. It will take the edge off. Dull the pain..."

Herbs had angles, some obvious, others hidden. Some forbidden... Kosmo considered him a master of most. In this situation he would heal so she could stand on her own again when she seemed to clearly prefer standing.

She who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.

◇─♖─♦️─♖─◇

Vivica shot a glance Kosmo's way, lacking what it needed for the expression to be read clearly as she dipped her head to examine the poppy seed before catching it with her tongue and swallowing the tiny black seed. "Among other things." She spoke, she wasn't used to prying, even if it was coated in teasing remarks, the cats she knew simply let her be, and perhaps that was part of the problem.

"Kindness? No, some were kind." She replied, giving her paw a few licks, cleaning the dirt from beneath her claws so they shone white again. "But not many. Out there, there were little cats one could trust. Death was behind every tree, cats adapted to the truth or lived in naive ignorance. I'd assume you can guess which cats lived." There was no aggression in her tone, just a vibrant memory and a hint of truth. The involuntary twitching over her leg seemed to relax as the poppy seed had taken affect to lull the pain into something manageable.

"You seem to interested in what my life was like without sharing your own." Vivica added, though her mind drifted back to the rogue, the one that attacked her. If she could follow her paths, if she could mark where this cat went, she might be able to take her by surprise, or figure out a way to lure her into a trap of some sort, but these territorial clans would be a knot in the rope of the goal. Unless she was able to befriend them. But that didn't seem likely.

For a moment, Vivica was silent, eyes narrowed as she followed Kosmo's gesture towards the forest and flicked an ear. "I'll repay your gesture, Kosmo." She finally decided, twitching the tip of her tail. "When I find my way."

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
⋆｡°✩ ⭒ ──● 𓄿 ●── ⭒ ⋆｡°✩

Kosmo watched the moment the poppy seed softened her edges. The tension seemed to melt from her spine, softening the guarded set of her jaw. He was attentive to the unspoken words of the body, and even the light accusation of asking without offering in return.

The cinnamon toasted tom loosed an easy chuckle. He leaned back toward his stores, nose working through the tucked bundles until he pulled free a fresh sprig of catnip. The leaves were vibrant despite their drying edges. He slapped it against the underside of a paw, before rolling it in the moss, erupting the foliage with lifting fragrance.

His eyes didn't leave her. "You probably wouldn't be interested." Whispered around the herb before he indulged with a brush of his cheek, tickling his nostrils as he allowed the silence to stretch. It was more than a few moments before something touched his eyes.

"I learned early what it meant to be useful or be gone." He swallowed, then nudged the remaining catnip closer to himself rather than offering it. "Some cats fight with teeth. Some survive by knowing what keeps others alive."

" - And I don't keep tally marks. At least, not usually..." 

She who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.

◇─♖─♦️─♖─◇

She eyed the catnip as it was rolled in the moss, but didn't seem to care much for it beyond that, from her knowledge, her humans had some of their own for her when they thought to put it down for her. Not like it was a desire of hers to indulge without limit. But it was an option. She often didn't even eat the food placed before her in the giant nest, she ate enough to lessen concern, but her heart lied with the hunt. She'd rather earn her keep than it be given to her so freely.

"Is that so?" Vivica replied, glancing at her own wound with interest before sniffing at the pulp the tom had applied. Strange cat, this one was, but not useless. Everything had its use, but Vivica had a feeling she hadn't seen the extent of it yet. "Some know when to act in the face of adversity, or observe to watch how others act, to use that knowledge and follow through with it. There would be a result without sheathing one's own claws." she added, giving her injured leg a cautionary nudge, the pain had dulled yes, but she could still feel it there.

A wry smile curled Vivica's lips, a little more calculated than genuine, but there was something behind it. "But any get the job done fine if you're smart about it" there as a moment where Vivica sat with her ache, shutting her eyes to truly be one with it. Then they snapped open. "The pain is present still, as I hoped it would be. It's nice to know I'm still alive."

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
⋆｡°✩ ⭒ ──● 𓄿 ●── ⭒ ⋆｡°✩

There tucked beneath the comfrey and yarrow a darker sprig lay untouched. It rested there glossy and no less inviting than lavender, as if it had always been waiting for the right moment. That would have been a different choice...a darker one.

For a heartbeat his mind entertained it: how easily the black berry could have replaced the poppy. How quickly pain could have become silence. He imagined the tide of emotion that could follow...fear, fury, acceptance. All precious emotions that could only occur if a cat was living.

His whiskers twitched faintly with the thought as he left the plant in peace. Instead his muzzle hummed around the catnip. "You're right...Claws are just one language." His mismatched eyes lingered on her wound, then lifted to meet her wry smile. "Watching. Waiting...Choosing the moment that costs you the least." It guided a cat to make lifesaving choices.

His tongue swiped over the paw that crushed the catnip, nostrils flaring delicately as the odor played with his senses in a subtle way. "There's no greater gift than life." He shifted back to gently swipe the dried herbs back onto the leaf, securing the package for transport once more. "Everything else is...negotiation.'

She who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.

◇─♖─♦️─♖─◇

Vivica’s posture remained resolute and straight enough not to seem like she was slouching but loose enough that she wouldn’t be caught trying to act higher than him. Kosmo knew this place better than she did, and until she rebuilds, it would be his call. However, all of Kosmo’s words were nothing more than that to her.

“Actions speak louder than words, Kosmo.” She responded, giving her paws a stretch and curling to clean up the paw pads on her hind legs instead of looking at Kosmo directly. “They can trick, they can speak with so much finality that one would not know if your words are truth or a well crafted ruse, but it means nothing if there is no follow up.” she added before pulling herself up onto her paws, well, the three good ones and took another glance at her mended wound.

At Kosmo’s mention of life, Vivica’s ears twitched “Life is a guarantee, as is death. There is a balance, everything that one does in their time leads to either, or perhaps both. But it wouldn’t be wise to let one go to waste, or you may see the second sooner than one would hold.” She wasn’t speaking about him, but about a greater demographic that she recalled with distaste regardless, it was in the past.

Vivica shook out her pelt, her injured appendage twitched ever so slightly, however it didn’t seem to bother her, not now. “Is there anything else you’d need to do before my life continues on? Oh, healer.” She asked, however there didn’t seem to be any venom in her tone, just a dry set of words that were made to have no further meaning. Vivica was good at that.

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
⋆｡°✩ ⭒ ──● 𓄿 ●── ⭒ ⋆｡°✩

Kosmo turned a calm ear towards her at her correction. A more prideful cat might have bristled, or a more sober cat... but the tom gave her a subtle grin. He was used to listening to the half delierous ramblings of half-dying cats whether or not they made any sense at all. To some Vivica seemed a cat in her element.

He rose smoothly to his paws as she did. His motions were unhurried as he fixed the herbs back in his bundle. "Follow up." His eyes slid to her injured leg as she tested her weight.

At her commentary on life and death, one ear flicked. When balance was natural it could also be enforced. Whether that enforcement came from claws, hunger, fate or something more subtle he did not specify.

"Try not to exerte yourself. Keep it dry. If it swells come back before it festers - you'll be able to tell by the smell if it's too late. I won't chase you."

He turned without flourish, half tail settling into a relaxed arc as he began moving back towards the tree and climbed towards the hidden stashe. No demand for gratitude just the departure of a cat who preferred to let time prove his convictions.

She who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.

◇─♖─♦️─♖─◇

"I'll find you." Vivica responded, giving the paws a slight stretch, gritting her teeth with the tired ache of the wound, even with the seed of poppy, there was little she could truly do about it to make it completely painless. "I won't come if I keep my leg. My appreciation for this will come, not yet, but you will see it." She promised almost coldly before weaving around the herb garden, following the path the two had taken to get here.

When she got to the fence, her orange eye scanned it up and down. She run a pink paw pad down the post as if trying to read the rippling of the wood, manufactured as it was. Vivica's claws unsheathed quick and scraped along the fence, making hollow depressions, like the mark of a fresh wound, something to keep her in his mind, even if Kosmo brushed away her presence, he would remember her marks, as brief as they were.

Then, as quickly as she came, Vivica squeezed through the fence the wood pushing her sides but despite that, she seemed better than she was. However as her tail slipped through the gap, the tufted tip flicked upwards, perhaps an acknowledgement, perhaps challenge, perhaps nothing at all. But every movement was made with purpose, especially for Vivica.