Trials of Life

Summer, Year 759 of the New Age
Glenmore, Glenwood

Alize
It had been a fun class as the classes with Huisha always were. She had kept to herself at first, at the back while the others talked. Gavin talked the loudest as always, Muriel agreeing with him but it seemed like Levon had found a little bit of courage today. It might also have been the way Huisha spoke to him and how he had praised the colt at the first couple of questions that he had answered correctly. Gavin had replied first, but the wrong answer and Alize couldn't help to find amusement in it. She knew it was bad to gloat but with that mudface. Not only in Huisha’s herb classes he was like this, also when playing with others. Luckily she and Eila didn't live near him so it was only when she was here she had to deal with him, but that was certainly enough.

Of course she couldn't help herself when Huisha started to ask the perhaps more tricky questions. She didn't get them all right, probably to Gavins great joy because he laughed outloud, and making a face that in turn made Muriel giggle. That was probably what he wanted in the first place. Most of them she did get right and she felt her heart beating a little faster as her big idol, next to Daddy and her brother, nodded and smiled at her. He hadn't said anything more about that doefriend of his. Perhaps...maybe they were not together anymore? It had been hard but she had done her best to pretend that she was all over what had happened last class but she snuck him a glance now and then.

Levon had found a birds nest on their playbreak. There had almost been a fight between herself and Gavin this time because the ruddy colt had tried to knock the nest down just because he couldn't see the babies inside. None of them had been able to see them but that didn't make the find any less. They could hear the baby birds, couldn't they? Apparently not in Gavin’s eyes. He had pushed her rather hard to get her out of the way when she had blocked his path when he wanted to give the tree another shove. It had hurt her shoulder a little but she had refused to move. Above the daddy and mother bird had begun sounding rather unhappy. She had to stand firm for their sake...and the babies. At that Huisha came, with Levon trailing behind. Muriel had just stood behind Gavin, probably giving him some support by just standing there. Huisha had talked to Gavin in private so she wasn't sure what he had said but Gavin had remained quiet the rest of the class. His looks he sent towards her however wasn't kind. Partly she wondered why Huisha hadn't spoken to her. Was he waiting so he could talk to her parents? What if she wouldn't be able to continue with Huisha’s herb classes?

All too soon the class was over and she walked slowly down the path that led to home. Suddenly there was like the forest went silent, a rather high pitched shriek, and somewhere close to her the bushes moved. Alize stopped midstep, unsure what it could have been. Then something brown and grey darted across the path right in front of her. The filly shied to the side at first, eyes wide, she had no clue what it had been! Then she noted the trail of red on the ground left behind by whoever had crossed it and her eyes grew big. Blood! Now as she lowered her face to the ground she felt it's slightly metallic scent in her nose as well. Peeking into the bush she saw what the thing had been, a bunny, a very small baby bunny and it was bleeding, quite badly it seemed. It had a big wound on it's side, the skin was even hanging loose a little, like something had sliced it. By the looks of it, it was like someone had tried to grasp it but missed. She could tell it was made by a meateater but not much else since she hadn't seen much of what meateaters ate or rather how they ate and what they left behind. Neither mother or daddy thought it was something either her or Eila needed to see right now.

Instinctively she knew the bunny needed help. Grandmother was too far away and...the baby bunny needed help now! She glanced the way she had come. Huisha! Yes, Huisha would know what to do! She whirled around and dashed back on the path, calling his name as she ran, in case he had started to move off from the glade they had their classes in.

Huisha
Huisha was still in the glade where the lessons were held when he heard Alize’s voice calling out his name. He turned in surprise; hadn’t she gone home already? The lesson had gone well and no one had any questions afterwards so he hadn’t expected anyone to stick around. He could hear the distress in her voice as she came closer.

He wondered briefly if Gavin had said something to her. He’d had to have a few stern words with Gavin during class about harassing defenseless animals and his classmates. It wasn’t the first time and he suspected it wouldn’t be the last. At the time Gavin had seemed to get the message but if Alize was running back…

“Alize? What’s wrong? Are you okay?“

Alize
All at once the forest seemed darker and thicker than before. Had the trail to the glade really been this long, so narrow? Had it been so many branches that looked like they tried to grab you? She didn't recall details on where she had been from when she was very little and had become lost, it was more the fear she felt and now remembered, and then of course the feeling when Huisha found her. Now of all times the fear came back, more intense as the image of the bleeding bunny also made it's way into her mind. Tears filled her eyes as she ran, she stumbled a little but gained her footing, she ran faster and faster to get to the one she was sure could help. He had always helped her!

Perhaps her bleats for him became a bit too frantic and desperate when it wasn't really needed but with her vivid imagination feeding her mind for each step she took. The blood seemed to  follow her as she ran. Glowing eyes was looking at her from the undergrowth, roots that wanted to trip her and branches that stretched out to get her mane and tail, to hold her down. They all belonged to creatures that surely also had big fangs that would bite into her flesh if she slowed down the slightest and then they would eat her!

“HUISHA!“

Hardly slowing her speed down at all, she ran into him, felt his warmth, and she buried her face in his chestfur, inhaling his scent. Saved. Safe! Well, almost anyway. The bunny wasn't safe yet. She felt a touch and she looked up at face of her idol, her eyes blank with tears, with glowing hope in them that he would be able to fix this, like he had fixed her knee that time.

“Huisha...it...much blood...all over the trail...and the skin...it hanged down...and you could...could...almost see inside! You got to come and help!“

Huisha
Alize ran to him full tilt, and he rocked back with the impact when she collided with his chest. He listened to her bleating for a moment before he could make out the words.

He tried to comfort Alize as best he could, draping his neck over her as he had before when she was so lost and afraid. She was such a levelheaded little doe, it must have been something horrible to upset her this way.

“Blood? What, where? Who is it? Can you take me there?“

Immediately he started imagining the worst. Had a fox gotten ahold of Levon? The poor boy was never as fast as the others….


Alize
With an exaggerated series of nods the pale little doe backed away from her stag in shiney antlers, or who would be when he had lost the velvet that now covered them. They were still pretty in her eyes. A quick dip with her head to wipe her eyes and her nose against a foreleg and then she tip toed in place since she moved about a little quicker than the stag.

“It's this way Huisha, it was just by the trail...I didn't see or smell a thing...and I am careful and listen to the birds when I'm alone...just as daddy and grandpa taught me... Mother say the birds can tell us a lot if we just stop and listen for a little bit. They might not talk like us but...“ A little root made her lose her balance for a moment but it was quickly regained. “...and I wasn't daydreaming at all...not so much anyway...I kept my eyes on the trail, and my ears alert...but then the forest just went silent, Huisha...it was a little scary so I stopped, in case it would be something bad. Mother said that I can't really hide well since my coat is so pale, but daddy said that even if my coat is pale one can still hide, sometimes you just need to stand perfectly still. So I did stand perfectly still.“

The doe took a deep breath. It was tricky to talk fast and a lot at the same time you tried to hurry your step. Soon she came to the point where she had left the little bunny. In the soft dirt one could see where she had twirled around and ran off. “I stood here...“ she said in case he hadn't seen the tracks. “I stood here when the forest became all silent...not even a little peep...but then it was a scream and something ran in front of me.“ She glanced up at the stag to check so he listened. Sometimes some grownups said they listened but they were either looking away or doing something else. Huisha was focused on her however. She pointed with her nose. “There is the blood...it's a lot of blood i think...that can't be good right...grandma I think used goatweed (St. John’s Wort) on a bleeding wound once...I just know the name...not how it looks like...“ The filly shook her head like she realized she strayed a little bit from the topic on who it was that was hurt. “... And then...and then it ran into...or under that bush...“ She pointed with her nose again.

Bowing down and tilting her head a little to the side, she could still see it. The little bunny hadn't moved much and now it lay on it's side panting. It's mousy brown fur on the flank and down towards a hindleg  was darkcolored with blood, the skinflap that Alize had seen had gone back over the wound. It was really just it's quick breathing that told it was alive. A swarm of flies that flew around it's ears as well as the wound, but it hardly move an ear to chase them away.

“There it is, Huisha...“ the little doe whispered “who can have hurt it like that? You have to help it! You can do magic, can't you...magic fix most things...“

Huisha
Little Alize was rambling now, she must be shaken if she was reacting so violently to what had happened. Huisha watched her carefully to make sure she wasn’t in shock until she led him to the rabbit.

The poor thing was virtually paralyzed with fear. No wonder, with the wound to its leg… Huisha immediately began making a list in his mind of what herbs he would need to treat it but deep down he knew it was no use. He could tell a fawnling to change the poultice every two hours and keep off the leg, but a rabbit wouldn’t understand. Even if they did manage to stop infection from setting in, the rabbit would never run again and would be easy pickings for the first fox to pick up its scent.

But Alize was looking up to him with such utter confidence in her eyes… he had to try. Not trying would be admitting failure before he even began. If there was even a chance he could save the poor thing…

“I’ll do what I can, Alize. It looks pretty bad.“

He used magic to pull a delicate little web of vines from the ground and fastened it around the wound, holding it together. It wouldn’t stay in place if the rabbit moved but the little thing didn’t seem to be going anywhere. It hardly seemed to know that the two fawnlings were there.

“Alize, can you fetch me some aloe? There is some just off the path…“

Alize
Aloe! Why hadn't she thought of that? She nodded and ran in the direction he had told her she could  find it. Would he think she was a bad student now? She should have know aloe was good, she should have known. It had been good for her wounds so why wouldn't it be for the rabbit! What if he thought... no...focus...find aloe! She wished she had Huisha’s magic to feel the earth and plants around her but both grandma, grandpa, mother and daddy...and of course all of daddys siblings had warned both her and Eila to try and use their magic before they were old enough. ‘Things end badly for those that are too eager’ grandma said. What happened exactly was a little vague but it ought to be terrible since all of her relatives to tell them this. Instead Alize had fantasised on what she would be able to do at some point.

Those fantasies however didn't help her now. Tears welled up in her eyes again. What if she didn't find any alo- OH! She made a sudden stop and felt relief wash over her as she saw the plant Huisha had asked for. She sniffed it to make sure it was the right one. Grandma had said that some plants was liers, mimicking a look of some other plant. That could be very bad if you meant to give it for someone to eat. She broke off a little bit and looked on the inside, sniffed at it and tasted carefully with her tongue. Yes, it was the right one. She hadn't heard of anything looking like aloe but wasn't, but it would be embarrassing if she would bring Huisha just that if such thing existed. Especially at a time they really needed it.

Had he said how much he needed? He had only used a little on her knee. She looked down at the plant. You should never strip a plant completely, that much she knew. If she took three leaves, it would leave plenty left for the plant to survive, if Huisha needed more she would need to find another plant. Quickly she broke off the amount she decided to take and brought them back. The knot in her stomach grew when she saw his face.

Before she spoke she carefully laid them before him. From her grandmother she had learned to show the plants respect,not just tossing them here and there, but to lay them down on the ground gently. The Sky King had given of his light to feed the plants and they deserved just as much respect as their deity. “Here Huisha, is this enough?“

She looked at the wounded rabbit with worried eyes. Somehow it seemed like Huisha had been able to get it out from under the bush. It didn't look well at all. Alternating her glances between Huisha and the rabbit she eventually laid down close to the rabbits head. She gave it's nose a light soft touch with her own. It felt hot and just as she touched it, the little rabbit trembled. Poor little thing...

“Can I do something more, Huisha? Do you know who did this? A fox don't have that sharp claws right?“ The last added with a little tremble in her voice. She had been told she was getting too big for a fox now...but if it could give scratches like that...it didn't need to bite you to do damage.

Huisha
Huisha watched over the poor rabbit and carefully pulled it out from under the bush using the delicate vines while Alize went and fetched the aloe. In the light he gave it a closer look.

No, this didn’t look good at all.

He was caught up in thinking through any possible thing he could do when Alize returned, carrying the herbs.

“Oh, yes, I think… I think that’ll do.“ Huisha didn’t actually think any amount of aloe would help this poor creature but he had to try.

For everything that he knew about herbs, he simply wasn’t a healer. A real healer could make complex tincatures and potions to ward off massive shock like this. Despite his huge garden of exotic plants, he didn’t really know any more than the basics. Take a plant with helpful qualities, mash it up, apply to wound. That was the extent of his healing skills.

He didn’t want to tell Alize that. He didn’t want to see the heartbreak on her face when she realized that there was nothing he could do. He saw then how she must seem him- all knowing, all powerful. If only he were.

Carefully he applied the aloe to the wound. If nothing else, the cooling gel would help bring down the temperature of the little rabbit. It was burning up.

He watched its breathing carefully as he responded to Alize’s question. “I think so… I don’t know anything other than foxes that would attack a rabbit.“

He saw the tiny creature’s breathing hitch and the dread began filling up inside him. One gasp, another, and it lay still.

Alize
She waited for the next laboured breath, but none came. Tilting her head just slightly she looked at the young rabbit. Huisha had helped it, put good herbs on it's wound, something that made things good again. She hadn't even gotten a scar on her knee. Carefully she gave a soft nudge but the little body didn't move. It's eyes was open but it didn't blink.

“Huisha? What...what happened?“ she began, a bit unsure. Deep down she knew. Mother had said that all things didn't live forever, that life ended sooner for some creatures. She had never seen someone die. Had she been too slow? Had she gotten old Aloe, that was weaker than others...in their healing power...perhaps the younger leaves were better? Had more...good in them? She had just thought of the plant, that it was perhaps easier for it to spare leaves if she took the older one than the new the plant just produced. He spoke, just confirming her fears.

Getting up on her feet she went to the stags side, sorrow rising inside her. “Huisha? Why didn't the Aloe help? Why...did it die?“

Huisha
He shook his head sadly at Alize’s confusion. “I don’t think there’s anything we could have done. An injury like that… maybe a princess could have saved it. Herbs take time to work, and the rabbit didn’t have that kind of time to spare.“

The injuries seemed to be mainly internal for the poor creature hadn’t gushed blood everywhere. For that Huisha was grateful. If Alize had to witness death, at least it hadn’t been a horrible bloody one.

“There’s only so much herbs can do on their own. A gifted herbalist maybe could have distilled them into something more powerful… I’m just a gardener.“

Maybe it was his imagination but he thought he could see an air of disappointment in her eyes. She had come to him for help and he’d failed her. She was so young; too young to really understand.

Alize
She couldn't help that she felt sad, that tears filled her eyes just a little. If only she had been a princess. If she had been, maybe she could have helped save the rabbit. Mother said all does had a little bit of the First Doe in them but it was only Princess Does that were in her image and that held what she called light magic. Soon, when she was big enough mother said she would be able to handle earth magic, just as she, daddy...and Huisha. She looked up at him as he spoke. She tilted her head. Just? She flattened her ears back a little but only for a short moment. How could he say that?

“No.“ she said firmly and shook her head “...no, Huisha! I might just be a young fawn, and I haven't seen all the wonderful things in Glenmore and wherever you travelled in your years, and being a doe I probably won't see them all but...“ her voice quivered a little, filled with emotion both from what she just had seen and how she still felt about the older stag. She didn't want anything more than to bury her face in his chest hair and hear him say that he like, liked her too but...he had a doefriend and she had promised him... “...but you are nothing but ‘just’ a gardner Huisha! You might think so but if you think of it...how many come for you for help? For your charms you make? They wouldn't visit a ‘simple’ gardener if he wasn't as talented as you!“ The little doe bowed her head to rub away the tears that come out, even if she didn't wanted to cry in front of him again. Looking down at the little dead body she sighed deeply before she looked up.

“I might not be a princess with light magic...and I'm not good as you on all the herbs there is...but I swear on my tail I will study hard to learn them, and learn everything else that I can, on both herbs, healing and magic...so maybe next time I will be able to help more.“

The little doe sniffled and rubbed her head against her other foreleg. Stupid tears! She wasn't as good as her sister at things like running, but she always tried her hardest. She heard some say that twins were doomed from the start of their life, being small and having most of the time complications at their births that might affect their minds. Alize gave a short snort at the thought. She might be somewhat on the small side but she wasn't stupid. It was hard to ignore Gavins words sometime, so far she had been able too, but she knew that one day he would say something really bad and then...

Huisha
Alize’s words took him by surprise. He knew she thought highly of him, but all that? He hardly thought of himself as more than a trader and hobby-magician even after all the recent developments.

“I suppose I’m not without talent,“ he admitted. “I just didn’t have the talent this rabbit needed at the moment it needed it. Learning to accept things like that is part of life, I guess.“

The determination in Alize’s voice made him turn away from the poor crumpled rabbit to look at her, really look at her.

“You will,“ he said. “I’ve never seen a fawn with so much potential. You’ve got the intelligence, you’ve got the will- I don’t imagine there’s anything that could stop you. I know I’ll do everything I can to help you get there.“

Alize  
His praise made her happy, and she wanted to take a step closer, put her pale nose against his dark, but she chased the thought away. Her smile faltered a little. He had his doefriend, and he ought to really like, like that doe just as much as she like, liked him. That didn't mean she gave up or stop feeling the way she did about him. She sighed. They would probably say she had been rude or too bold talking the way she had done, especially to a older stag, but it wasn't just ‘any’ stag - it was Huisha. Next to Eila and her brother, he was the only one she felt she could really talk to without having to think on how she was acting. A soft sigh and she looked up at the stag.

“I won't let you down, Huisha, no matter what it takes...I promise...“