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 Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 6:55 pm
 Something wasn’t right. Orithia had been healthy for many months now, no longer suffering and being held back by the sickness that had taken hold of her body during her puphood. But the last few days now she had felt exhausted and weak, far too weak. It didn’t seem fair, to be illness free and then all of a sudden have it come back – and in full force too. Right now she should be out amongst the pack, doing training, checking on others, but no, she was curled up in her den. Orithia knew that she should go and talk to her mother, or more importantly Yakut, and see about getting some herbs to fend this off, but her whole body shook at the mere thought of moving right now. This was the last thing she needed, and all she could do was prey that Enyo did not find her and take advantage of her current weakness.
Laying her head on the cool floor of her den Orithia tried to get the shaking under control. She knew that she would need to eat, need to gain her strength to fight this off but last night she had barely been able to keep her dinner down as the pack feasted on it’s newest kill. In fact, she had excused herself so that she could get away from the meat. Though her stomach had settled down since then she still felt on the verge of heaving every now and then.
The pack was surely aware of her absence by now and no doubt someone would come looking for her soon enough. Oh if only Apollo was here, but he was down south visiting with his family for the next few days. For now she was alone, and Orithia was both glad for that and yet horrified by it.
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 6:59 pm
 Penthesilea had been busy this morning and had not yet realized that her daughter was no where to be seen. The pack was full of activity, training, new duties to hand out, those to check on. Of course the moment she realized that Orithia was not out with the others the Queen went to look for her wayward daughter. The first place she looked was the southern border, Orithia had taken to visiting the southern pack quite often and generally did so when others were busy with their duties so she could slip away unnoticed. Yet as the Queen reached the border she could not find her daughters scent anywhere. That worried her greatly. Other than visiting YMCA her daughter was not the type to just run off without telling anyone - yet lately Orithia had been spending less time down south now that Apollo had come to live up here. Her heart skipped a beat and she wondered what was happening. Turning the Queen raced back to the dens, at least she knew Enyo hadn’t gone and attacked her sister again as she had spent nearly the entire morning within eyesight of her second eldest daughter.
Sliding to a stop at her daughters den Pen lowered her head to look inside. What she saw made her want to cry. Orithia was curled up into a ball at the back of the den, shaking badly. Instantly the queen slipped inside to see what was wrong. “Orithia.” She said as calmly as possible, and went about looking her daughter over for injury. She was not hurt, though after touching her nose against her daughter Pen realized that her skin was hot to the touch. Not a good sign at all. “I’m going to get Yakut.” Giving her daughter a reassuring nudge the Queen raced out of the den and towards the last place she saw Yakut.
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 7:03 pm
 Laying under a shady tree Yakut was resting. Today she had felt something, though when she had asked the trees about it they remained silent. It was strange to not get the answers she sought but that could mean a number of things, the trees did not always know the answers. Above her the leaves of the tree danced gently in the breeze, almost mocking her with their silence. Huffing slightly the horn adorned wolfess laid her head upon her paws and closed her eyes. Thoughts drifted back to this morning activities, her meeting with the queen, her time spent with her children and…wait a second, she had not seen Orithia at all today. Suddenly her head snapped up, and her eyes fell upon the Queen as she approach, worry painted across her face. No.
Raising to her paws Yakut nodded her head, now she understood what that feeling had been earlier. “The child suffers once more.” She said before Pen could say anything. Truly the Queen did not need to explain, between Orithia’s absence today and the look on the pale females face it was all to clear. Not wasting any time Yakut hurried to the dens and slipped into the one occupied by the young princess. This looked quite bad. Stepping forward she began to examine Orithia closely, noting her burning skin, shaking and frightened look. Letting out a deep exhale Yakut turned and left the den without a word.
The dark pelted female returned moments later with a small turtle shell in her mouth. Within the shell was a variety of herbs, plants and berries that she commonly used to heal most of Orithia’s prior ailments. Picking through the contents of the shell Yakut finally picked up a few dark colored leaves and placed them in front of Orithia’s mouth. “Consume the leaves.” She told the princess.
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 7:06 pm
She had barely noticed her mothers initial entrance into the den, she had heard her voice, felt her touch but her eyes had remained half closed. Much as she tried to talk, to explain what was happening Orithia found that she could not find her voice. Her mouth merely opened and then closed in a vain attempt. Blurry eyes watched as her mothers pale hide slipped from the den and then she was alone again. What was happening? Why was she sick again? She had been so careful to keep warm during cold nights, to not get overheated, to back off on training when her body felt tired, and yet somehow she was suffering more now that she had during her puphood.
Two figured entered not long after her mother had left, weakly she lifted her head just enough to see who it was. Her mother and Yakut. The Shamaness looked her over and then disappeared while her mother seemed to pace at the entrance. Orithia had to close her eyes as watching her mother pace made her head spin and her stomach churn. Soon enough Yakut returned and demaned her to eat leaves. Reluctantly Orithia went to do what was bid of her, knowing that they would help her get better. Yet the moment the leaves touched her tongue her stomach lurched and she heaved, though nothing came up.
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 7:09 pm
Pen never even got to say a word to Yakut, the Shamaness was already on the move and speaking about Orithia’s health. Slipping into the den behind Yakut she watched the Shamaness examine her daughter and then leave. The few short moments that she was gone was agonizing to the Queen and she took to pacing in the den while she waited, all the while keeping her eyes on Orithia. Finally Yakut returned with a shell full of various antidotes and after rifling through them she demanded Orithia to eat some leaves. There was a moment of relief in the Queen’s eyes, the leaves should help…but then Orithia heaved and was unable to eat the leaves. Instantly she was at her daughter’s side. What was happening? Eyes went up to Yakut, she wanted to ask her many questions but yet at the same time didn’t want to have Orithia overhear them should the diagnosis be worse than normal. Turning her attention back to her daughter she asked a simple question. “How long have you been ill?” Hopefully Orithia had the strength to answer.
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 7:13 pm
Regaining herself a bit after her bought with heaving, Orithia pulled her head so that the leaves were no longer in front of her nose. Those leaves had once helped her when she was sick as a pup and now they seemed to only make it worse. Her mothers voice sounded so loud that she cringed away from it. Yet the words had managed to slip through and Orithia was then forced to think back. How long had she been feeling ill? Well today had certainly been the worst in a long while, but the last few days she had found herself with less energy than normal. Obviously she had been foolish to overlook those signs as now she was suffering. Opening her mouth Orithia forced the words past her dry lips and tongue. “D…days…” That’s all she could say.
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 7:19 pm
Yakut watched carefully the Princesses reaction to the leaves. No, this wasn’t good at all. Worse was that she had apparently been not well for a few days now. Foolish. Yakut wasn’t sure what was worse, the fact that she hadn’t noticed it until now or the fact that the princess had kept it hidden from them. Orithia should have known better, should have sought her out at the first sign. But perhaps she had figured that she was strong enough now to fight it off without help. Clearly she was not at the princess was in bad shape. Sighing Yakut dug through the turtle shell once move, removing leaves and sprigs of plants until all the remained were several different berries. Using her paw Yakut quished the berries and mixed them together until they formed a bit of a paste. If the princess could keep this down it should help until they could figure out what was wrong with her.
Scraping up a bunch of the paste onto the pad of her paw Yakut then used her nose to lift Orithia’s lips and smeared the paste onto her teeth. Then she lowered the girls lips once more. “Slowly lick the paste from your teeth.” She instructed. “You must do this.” The command in her voice could not be ignored. This was a dire situation and was certainly no time to not listen. “It will ease the pain.” She remained close, ensuring Orithia did as instructed before motioning for the Queen to follow her out of the den.
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 7:23 pm
Days? Why had she not said anything? How could they had all missed this? The Queen’s mind reeled with questions but she knew Orithia was in no shape to answer them. All she could do was watch as Yakut prepared and then applied a paste made from berries to Orithia’s teeth. Then she watched her daughter struggle to do as commanded, each time she licked her teeth her body convulsed, fighting her attempt to swallow it. It was painful to watch but she had to ensure her daughter did as instructed so that she might get better. When it was over the Queen followed Yakut out of the den. “Is it not what she had before?” She finally asked as they stood at the entrance of the den.
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 7:40 pm
The paste tasted terrible and made her body shakes each time she licked some from here teeth. But at least it wasn't as bad as when she had tried to eat the leaves. Though blurry eyes Orothia watched as her mother and Yakut left the den. She wished they would just say things in from of her but understood that they wanted to keep her calm throughout this. What was happening? Well she couldn't clearly hear her mother, as the pair was talking in hushed tones. Apollo, why couldn't he be here, he would tell her what they were talking about.
Slowly the paste began to numb her body and mind. The soft voices of her mother and Yakut began to fade even more as she began to slip into a medicated sleep. Whatever was happening she would need to find out once she awoke.
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 7:45 pm
“I fear not. Something new is taken hold of her. The paste will help, it will buy us time to find out what’s wrong.” But the paste would only work for some long, at some point they would need the real cure of whatever ailed the princess, and depending on what it was they needed to find that out fast. She glanced back into the den for a moment. Yakut could see that the paste was doing it’s work as the princesses shaking was slowly subsiding and her breathing was becoming more steady. Returning her gaze to the Queen the Shamaness shook her head slightly. “Until I know more, that is all that can be done.” After a moments pause she continued. “We must find what is effecting her. Talk to the pack and see if they noticed the princess acting oddly, seen her eat anything unusual. Anything.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 7:57 pm
Penthesilea let out a ragged breath. Her daughters health had been steady these last few months so to see her fall so ill so quickly did not bode well. Listening to Yakut’s words she nodded her heard. “Yes, we mustn’t waste any time in finding out either. I will go at once and start speaking to the others. I wish for you to stay here with her until I return.” With Yakut here she would be able to concentrate on speaking to the others, knowing that if Orithia began to take a turn for the worse that the Shamaness would be at her side to see it through.
---
Two days went by with no improvement to Orithia’s health. After questioning every single member of the pack Penthesilea was left with only more questions. No one had seen the Princess consume any unusual, nor go near anything that she didn’t normally, they had not see any major change in her behavior either. This was truly a mystery and if they didn’t find an answer soon then they might well lose her. There was one final place that she had not looked, and it was high time she did that. So after checking in on Yakut and Orithia the Queen took off to their southern allies, a place that Orithia often visited in hopes of finding some clues. There was a theory that the queen had, yet her daughter was still young, an adult yes, but surely that theory was not to become reality. Pushing that thought to the back of her mind Pen headed south to find answers, but also bring back Apollo just in case her theory was wrong and Orithia was truly getting sick once more - for better or worse.
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 7:25 am
Orithia awoke feeling just as terrible as she had the previous day. Everything Yakut had done to try to ease the pain and find a cure seemed to only be a temporary fix - and generally involved slipping her into a slumber. Muscles ached from being confined to the den over the last few days and her small protests had done nothing to allow her to go out and stretch them a bit. The reason for her sickness had not yet been discovered and from Yakut's mumbling Orithia figured it might be something bad, very bad. What would happen if she were to not recover from this and die? The pack would mourn yes, but it would also mean Enyo would have a shot at being second Alpha - if mother allowed it of course.
Speaking of her mother Orithia wanted to know where the Queen was. "Mother?" She called out weakly, eyes cracking open to scan the den, they settled upon Yakut. Not quite the wolf she wanted to see at this point but hopefully the horn adorned female would know where her mother was.
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 7:27 am
Three days now she had been trying to find a cure for Orithia's new illness. It was so much like the one that effected her as a pup yet had a much stronger hold on the poor girls body. All the old cures either did not work or had some sort of negative effect on the Princess. At this point she relied on the berry paste to keep Orithia calm and unmoving - but that temporary cure could only be used for so long before they needed to find the truth behind things. Food was still something the Princess struggled on keeping down and if she didn't start eating soon they would really have a problem on their paws.
The Princesses voice brought the dark pelted wolfess out of her musings and she turned her head to look at the younger female. "Your mother has ventured to the allies in the south. Seeking answers about you." Standing she made her way over to Orithia, pressing her nose against the female. Well her fever had finally broke, that was a good sign, but they still needed to find out what had made her sick. Granted, last night as Orithia slept soundly, she had inspected the young female closely and had come to a conclusion that had previous not entered her mind. But she would need to wait until the Queen returned and ensure nothing had been consumed or done at their southern allies before announcing what she believed it was now. Best to keep treating it as an unknown in case she was wrong about her guess. "She will be back soon." Hopefully, Yakut added mentally.
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 7:30 am
Her trip to YMCA had not provided her with the answers she had been hoping for. In fact it had only left her with more questions. Now they would have to hope that Yakut had found the source of the problem or else... - no she would not even think that, losing Orithia was not an option. The journey back to be pack had been made in silence even though she had Apollo in tow. It was not that she did not wish to bring the male along or talk with him, but there was too much on her mind to suffer idle chatter for the long walk. She had already explained the situation to him, Chiv and several other members of the pack in hopes they would possibly have an answer for her, perhaps her daughter had consumed something unusual down there, or accidentally touched a poisonous plant without realizing it. They had not. Which left her to return home, bringing Apollo along with her in case Orithia took a turn for the worse. That way he could at least see her and she could see him.
As they made their way to the heart of the pack lands Penthesilea took a deep breath, pushing all concern and fear down below the surface and regained her composure and walked tall and proud. With a single glance at Apollo she slipped into Orithia's den, immediately moving to her daughters side and giving her a reassuring nuzzle. "I'm back...and I brought someone to see you." As she turned her gaze towards the den's entrance where Apollo was the queen's eyes caught Yakut's for a moment and gave a small shake of her head to let the shamaness know there were no answers given down south.
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 12:01 pm
Apollo had returned with Pen readily enough, he didn't even notice the silence in which they had made the trip - he was far to busy thinking of things himself along the way to notice. It seemed viciously unfair that he had agreed to stay here and give up his free life only to have Orithia taken from him so soon...
If anything happened to Orithia..well he decided not to dwell on that to much and was jarred out of his thoughts by Pen's invitation inside, slipping into the den he squished himself in beside Orithia - not really caring if that was against decorum - and gently licked his mates muzzle and cheeks in reassurance. "How are you feeling? " He asked her though even his unpracticed eyes could tell she wasn't feeling well. Apollo didn't understand..she had been fine when he left, they enjoyed a few nights together and then he'd gone home to visit with his family. Things had set upon poor Orithia so quickly though the foul smell of several herbs in the den had him wondering if part of his mates lackluster appearance was due in part to the drowsy after effects of whatever it was the witchdoctor had been foisting off on her. "I don't understand..you were fine when I left, fine the weeks before when we were together" His eyes flicked slightly to the other two wolves in the den somewhat unsure if Orithia had actually told them just how together they had come to be lately..not that any of it mattered now..not with Orithia being sick.
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