foxes and hounds
for Ianto
Juniper Dubois
the Amberwing
Diplomat

Age: 57 | Height: 4'8 | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 3 - Strg: 13 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 12 - Luck: 15 - Int:
Played by: Bees Offline
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Posts: 417 | Total: 1,206
MP: 1749
#1
JUNIPER
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
Juniper moved carefully -- silently -- through the brush of the Wildwood, at home here as she had never been in Sidhe Village. With DeepFrost wearing on, she could use some new furs to keep her warm -- and the entire village could use meat. It improved her reputation a little if she helped with the common provender, and it never hurt that she could give herself first pick of the meat.

She walked slowly, her bow in her hands but not drawn -- she was well practiced, and could draw and fire in an instant if need be. As, she discovered suddenly, it was: a flash of fur in the underbrush, and she had sent off an arrow faster than thought. She knew without looking that it had hit home, and allowed herself to make a little sound as she left the ground and flew over to the animal, hoping it was dead and not just wounded.
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.



table by Skylark
Ianto Dea Arduinna
Merchant

Age: 30 | Height: 6'0 | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 10 - Int:
Played by: Honey Offline
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Posts: 852 | Total: 16,318
MP: 0
#2
IANTO
there's a bulletproof bond
The world blanketed in snow was something Ianto could enjoy, actually. As much as the sun drenched days spent propped out of his wagon were enjoyable, there was something magic in the crunch of his paws on the ice, of digging through the white crust to whatever lay beneath. And given the turbulence of the Greatwood lately, he was content to spend some time following his nose and giving in to instincts that were much simpler, much more free in a way.

Then someone shot him with a fucking arrow.

It came from between the skeletal trees, lancing through the air to thock into the deep russet fur of his flank. The force of it staggered him across the snow, leaving him dazed and bleeding. Involuntarily he shifted back to himself; a dishevelled and eclectically dressed man with an arrow poking out of his side, a fae curse slipping from between his lips.
between me and you

Coding base by Sky!
Juniper Dubois
the Amberwing
Diplomat

Age: 57 | Height: 4'8 | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 3 - Strg: 13 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 12 - Luck: 15 - Int:
Played by: Bees Offline
Change author:
Posts: 417 | Total: 1,206
MP: 1749
#3
JUNIPER
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
Juniper heard the curse before she saw the man, and for a moment she was simply baffled. Clearly he wasn't Fae, but that was a Fae curse, and what was he doing where her fox ought to have been? She spotted the arrow sticking out of his side at the same time that she recognized him. Ianto, the only outsider permitted in Sidhe Village, by Arduinna's influence. Juniper had always avoided him -- she didn't want to further taint her reputation by actually being seen with an outsider.

And now here he was, bleeding onto the forest floor, and no sign of the fox she'd actually shot at ... (Unaware that Ianto was Attuned, Juniper hadn't put two and two together yet.)

"Did I hit you?" she asked, a little stupidly.
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.



table by Skylark
Ianto Dea Arduinna
Merchant

Age: 30 | Height: 6'0 | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 10 - Int:
Played by: Honey Offline
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Posts: 852 | Total: 16,318
MP: 0
#4
IANTO
there's a bulletproof bond
Ianto didn’t like pain, but he was unfortunately very used to it, with the life he’d led so far. So, taking slow and measured breaths through his nose, he inspected the damage as best he could. (Which didn’t show very much, honestly, other than an arrow poking out of his side and blood seeping through his fingers). He glanced up at the sudden sound of a voice, blue eyes tinged with gold as he tried to shift them to see better.

”Unless there are other hunters around I would say that you did.” He forced the words, trying and failing at a smile. ”Hunting foxes, were you?”
between me and you

Coding base by Sky!
Juniper Dubois
the Amberwing
Diplomat

Age: 57 | Height: 4'8 | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 3 - Strg: 13 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 12 - Luck: 15 - Int:
Played by: Bees Offline
Change author:
Posts: 417 | Total: 1,206
MP: 1749
#5
JUNIPER
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
"A fox. For a winter coat ..." Juniper frowned, looking around. She didn't see any sign of the fox around, and she would have said she was too skilled a hunter to just miss a grown man standing next to her prey. Not to mention that presumably his presence would have scared the animal. Unless ...

Oh. Oh no.

"Are you ... Attuned?" Juniper had never gotten close enough to Ianto before -- or even listened to enough gossip about him -- to be sure.

Well, whether her guess was right or not, she had just shot a man, and that was a problem to be dealt with. As a hunter, Juniper had a little experience with wounds, but she wasn't carrying first aid supplies. "Do you think you can walk, if we get it bandaged up?"

If not, they'd be in a bit of a pickle, as Juniper most certainly couldn't carry him.
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.



table by Skylark
Ianto Dea Arduinna
Merchant

Age: 30 | Height: 6'0 | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 10 - Int:
Played by: Honey Offline
Change author:
Posts: 852 | Total: 16,318
MP: 0
#6
IANTO
there's a bulletproof bond
”I mean... I would make a mighty fine winter coat,” Ianto murmured, though most of the humour was stolen from his tone by the... y’know. Arrow in his side. He nodded once at her question about being Attuned. ”Guilty as charged. Name’s Ianto. Nice to meetcha.” Or it would be when this mess was hopefully all sorted. He didn’t plan on dying.

”Uh...” Glancing down at the arrow again, he managed the briefest of shrugs. ”Don’t reckon I have much of a choice, eh?” With another Fae curse, the merchant shifted painfully to try and find his feet, keeping himself as still as possible so as not to bend into the arrow. ”The village isn’t far, I don’t think. It’s ok - I’m allowed there, promise.” He was not to know that his reputation preceded him.
between me and you

Coding base by Sky!
Juniper Dubois
the Amberwing
Diplomat

Age: 57 | Height: 4'8 | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 3 - Strg: 13 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 12 - Luck: 15 - Int:
Played by: Bees Offline
Change author:
Posts: 417 | Total: 1,206
MP: 1749
#7
JUNIPER
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
"You would, more's the pity," Juniper said, with mock sorrow for her lost coat. She realized once she spoke that Ianto might not take the joke too well, considering that she could have killed him. Well, too late now.

"I know who you are, and I know where you're allowed." As if any of the Fae hadn't heard of Ianto -- by name, at least, even if they couldn't recognize his face. "My name is Juniper."

Realizing she was still holding her bow, Juniper slung it over her back. But even as she moved to help Ianto up, she added, "If you can't walk, I can go get help, but I'd rather not leave you here alone. Are you sure you don't want to take the arrow out and get some kind of padding on the wound first?"

As a hunter, Juniper knew how to get her own arrows out of flesh -- though usually the flesh she removed them from was dead and thus didn't mind being mauled about a little. The thought of doing that to a living man was ... not pleasant. And she didn't have bandages, either, though she supposed some piece of clothing or other could make some makeshift ones.
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.



table by Skylark
Ianto Dea Arduinna
Merchant

Age: 30 | Height: 6'0 | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 10 - Int:
Played by: Honey Offline
Change author:
Posts: 852 | Total: 16,318
MP: 0
#8
IANTO
there's a bulletproof bond
”Oh, that’s good. Hi Juniper,” Ianto mumbled, reaching out with a free hand to lean against a frost-crusted tree, not really wanting to shift about or walk too much. She was right, and he really should get that arrow out before they went any further, but then he had absolutely no idea how to go about it, or whether it had hit anything important. Either way, the fox did not want to be the one to touch the damned thing.

”Would you kindly do the honours?” he asked the Fae at his side; blood was all over his hand by now, and staining through the coat he wore. ”Don’t know whether to say nice shot or not. Should be grateful it wasn’t anywhere more vital.”
between me and you

Coding base by Sky!
Juniper Dubois
the Amberwing
Diplomat

Age: 57 | Height: 4'8 | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 3 - Strg: 13 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 12 - Luck: 15 - Int:
Played by: Bees Offline
Change author:
Posts: 417 | Total: 1,206
MP: 1749
#9
JUNIPER
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
"You should probably sit down if I'm going to take the arrow out," Juniper replied, though she hated to tell him that all his effort getting to his feet had been wasted. Fortunately, she didn't use barbed arrows, so it should be fairly straightforward to just pull it out. But she didn't want Ianto to stagger or fall as she was doing it; she could imagine all sorts of unpleasant consequences for that. And she knew from experience -- with animals -- how much he'd bleed once that arrow came out and stopped blocking the wound. She took off the scarf she was wearing, with a little regret because it was one of her favorites and the blood would probably never come out of the white cloth, but it was a long, thick piece of well-woven fabric, so it might manage to slow the bleeding until they got to the village.

Should she try to cut his coat and shirt away from the wound? Juniper decided against it. It would have to be done eventually, she suspected -- perhaps someone would have the unenviable job of picking fibers out of the wound before it got infected -- but she didn't have the expertise. Better to leave that to a proper healer, once they got him to a proper healer.
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.



table by Skylark
Ianto Dea Arduinna
Merchant

Age: 30 | Height: 6'0 | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 10 - Int:
Played by: Honey Offline
Change author:
Posts: 852 | Total: 16,318
MP: 0
#10
IANTO
there's a bulletproof bond
Ianto had to laugh - what else could you do, after spending all the energy and pain to get up only to be told to sit down again. ”You reckon the wound will be worse if I turn into a bird?” he asked, the question more random than intended. Gingerly he set himself back down to rest against one of the trees, nodding for her to go ahead with whatever fresh hell would come from taking the arrow out of his side.

”It’s only a little bird. Easy to carry, probably.” Smiling weakly up at Juniper, he raised his free hand (the one not covered in blood) to rake it through his coppery hair. His teeth started to chatter too; likely a mix of cold and shock. Raising an eyebrow at the scarf, Ianto sighed and nodded to his own. ”Use that instead,” he suggested. ”Yours is too pretty to ruin.”
between me and you

Coding base by Sky!
Juniper Dubois
the Amberwing
Diplomat

Age: 57 | Height: 4'8 | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 3 - Strg: 13 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 12 - Luck: 15 - Int:
Played by: Bees Offline
Change author:
Posts: 417 | Total: 1,206
MP: 1749
#11
JUNIPER
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
"I don't know," Juniper said, in response to the bird question. Certainly it would be easier for her to carry him back to the village as a bird, but she didn't know what kind of strain changing shape might place on the wound -- and he had already done it once, from fox to man. If he hadn't ... she shuddered to think that she might have put him out of his misery, then taken him home and skinned him, all without realizing what she'd done. No one would have ever known ... But Attuned changed forms when hurt, didn't they? Juniper really didn't know anything about them. "If you think it'd be easier on you than walking ..."

She certainly couldn't carry him in his human form.

"Thank you," she added, taking his scarf -- unwinding it from around his neck, an uncomfortably close process, and she marveled a bit that he was being kind to her, saving her own scarf, when she'd just shot him. She hadn't had time to form an opinion of Ianto yet, not really, but later that would be her first impression: kindness to the woman who'd almost killed him. "Brace yourself, and try not to bite your tongue."

With that, she pulled the arrow out and immediately pressed his scarf to the wound.
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.



table by Skylark
Ianto Dea Arduinna
Merchant

Age: 30 | Height: 6'0 | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 10 - Int:
Played by: Honey Offline
Change author:
Posts: 852 | Total: 16,318
MP: 0
#12
IANTO
there's a bulletproof bond
Of course she didn’t know. If he didn’t know then he had no idea why he had expected she would - but these weren’t exactly normal times, were they? Ianto took a slow, deep breath in through his nose and nodded to tell her it was fine as she looped his scarf from around his neck. ”It would definitely be easier to carry,” he murmured. Though whether or not he would bleed worse, or bleed out quicker, or whatever else might go wrong was absolutely beyond him.

”I’ll do my best,” he said, already wincing as he moved his hand from the wound to let her get to it. And it was over quickly, to be fair to Juniper - but Ianto wasn’t an especially proud man, and he only even tried to stifle his yell of pain to save it echoing too much around the woods. Hissing out a string of curses, he pressed his hand over hers to cover the scarf and apply pressure to the wound.

”Well that hurts like a bitch, I’m not gonna lie,” he said with a weak laugh. ”Can you check how bad it’s bleeding in a sec? If it’s manageable I’ll shift. Can you fly?”
between me and you

Coding base by Sky!
Juniper Dubois
the Amberwing
Diplomat

Age: 57 | Height: 4'8 | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 3 - Strg: 13 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 12 - Luck: 15 - Int:
Played by: Bees Offline
Change author:
Posts: 417 | Total: 1,206
MP: 1749
#13
JUNIPER
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
Juniper winced in sympathy as Ianto yelped and cursed. She'd never been shot with one of her own arrows, but she couldn't imagine it was fun.

Ianto didn't need to put his hand over hers to help with the pressure, but she didn't stop him, either. Anything that might help keep his mind off the pain. His scarf was soaked almost instantly, and Juniper realized that they might have to use hers anyway, as a backup. Not yet, though: she didn't want to take the fabric away from the wound yet and risk him bleeding more. She watched as the blood soaked through onto her hand, turning her fingers scarlet ... The sight didn't distress her. As a hunter, she had seen plenty of blood on her own hands.

Juniper waited, waited -- a balancing act, a gamble. Take the scarf away too quickly, and he might just bleed even more; wait too long, and he'd suffer from blood loss. Finally: "I think it's time to take a look."
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.



table by Skylark
Ianto Dea Arduinna
Merchant

Age: 30 | Height: 6'0 | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 10 - Int:
Played by: Honey Offline
Change author:
Posts: 852 | Total: 16,318
MP: 0
#14
IANTO
there's a bulletproof bond
It was actually sort of worse, now that the arrow had been taken out, Ianto growing markedly more pale as he gazed down at the blood soaking his scarf and their hands. ”I’d prefer that to be on the inside,” he mumbled, offering Juniper a lopsided smile and letting out a shaky breath, waiting along with her and hoping against hope that it wasn’t bad when it was time to check.

And then it was time, and Ianto peeked under the scarf with caution. It was still bleeding, but more sluggishly now, and he couldn’t afford to wait any longer without getting someone more medical than the two of them to look at it. ”It will do,” he said. ”I’ll do my best to stay awake, so I don’t shift back while we’re on our way.”

He laughed, but it was a real concern; still, there was no time to lose. Shuddering, the man shrank away and became a fluffy cardinal on the snow, swamped in a bloodied scarf with ruffled feathers. Chirping pitifully, Ianto should at least be easier to carry.
between me and you

Coding base by Sky!


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