Making Mends

Once Jon was unconscious and Rends assured her that things had been taken care of in the penumbra, Zoe leaves Eaton with Jon and rushes back into the camp to assess the damage caused by the rampaging oxen. She notices a group huddled on the ground around a woman in a bloodied yellow dress, who she recognizes as Mrs. Parker.

"Move aside please. Let me through. I am a doctor."

Zoe shoves through the still-panicked crowd as she draws closer to the unconscious woman. She kneels down beside her to assess her injuries. Despite a number of broken bones and a good deal of internal damage, Mrs. Parker's chest still rose and fell, though it did so weakly.

Gaia be praised, she's still alive.

Zoe turns to a couple of the finely dressed woman hovering over the woman on the ground. She snaps quickly at one and then the other.

"You, get me some clean cloths to use as bandages. You, find me something to sterilize her wounds. She's still alive and I plan to keep her that way."

The two women comply, more out of fear of the rage-filled doctor woman than concern for their traveling companion. The rest of the crowd puts some distance between themselves and the Garou woman, some watching in curiosity, though most are tending to the injuries of others or are trying to reinforce the camp's borders where the oxen had broken through.

The women return, give Zoe the supplies, and join the distant crowd, giving her space to work her magic, literally. She makes a show of pouring the antiseptic over the wounds and bandaging them as she quietly chants to Gaia and utilizes her gift to heal Mrs. Parker's injuries.

A few moments later, Mrs. Parker's eyes flutter open and a look of confusion crosses her face as she lies face-up in the dirt and covered in blood.

"Take it easy there, Mrs. Parker. Everything's gonna be alright. Truth be told, the reason this woman's out with the sheriff's posse is because I'm a doctor and these boys tend to need mendin' more often than not."

She smiles encouragingly as she carefully helps Mrs. Parker into a seated position on the ground.

"Oh, and good news. We found our fugitive and our deputies took care of that beast for ya, so Austin should be a might safer here on out."

Order slowly descended on the ravaged camp, as men and animals regained their composure in the wake of the Sower-of-Fear's destruction.

Lauren Parker took a deep breath as she settled down. The woman was only a few years older than Zoe and solidly built, but her face was soft and kind. She nodded along with Zoe's encouraging words, and looked at the other woman with beatific shock. "Thank you; I thought I was glory-bound for a few moments there." She lightly touched some of the bandages that were woven around her body. "I don't know what you did, but I feel fine as a fiddle." Mrs. Parker closed her eyes for a moment, only opening them when Zoe mentioned the pack dealing with the fugitive man and creature. "Your colleagues even managed to kill the beast? You seem more akin to guardian angels than rangers or doctors."

A crooked mounted figure came slouching out of the pattering rain. Captain Spindle's horse was caked with mud, and the man had lost his hat. The downpour had plastered his long hair to his skull in a decidedly unappealing manner. Somehow, the Captain's pipe remained stubbornly lit, pungent smoke falling heavily down and out of the bowl to crawl along the ground. "Glad to see you alive, Missus Parker." The officer's eyes were hooded as he tapped his forehead, slicking back a damp strand of hair. "You mind showing me the body of this critter, Miss guardian angel? I have heard some strange claims about the animals in these parts and I want to see for myself."

Zoe stood slowly from the mud, wiping her skirt in vain as the mud merely smeared itself over her already stained clothing. Using the back of her hand, she wiped her forehead and shook her head at the Captain.

"Sorry, Captain. 'Fraid the creatures' body's been done away with already. Couple of our posse are very superstitious natives and they demanded we burn the remains of that creature right away. All that's left, sir, is a pile of ashes out in the woods somewhere."

Turning back to Lauren Parker, Zoe smiled. "Call us whatever you want, we're just doing our jobs. One deputy or doctor couldn't have done it alone, but it's amazing what a little teamwork can do."

Zoe winks as she helps Mrs. Parker to her feet. "I'm sure you folks will do amazing things out here in Austin now that the threat of that beast and that there fugitive are behind you."

"Burned it, eh?" Spindle smirked, eyes calculating and unkind. "You burned it. You'd have more luck panning for gold in my chamber pot." He did not urge his mount closer, but rather sat several feet away under the edge of a high canvas awning. "Let's try this again, and hopefully you'll shoot straight with me- where is this creature, ma'am?"

"Whats' gotten into you, Benjamin Spindle? Where are your manners? I seem to recall you being skeptical of any dangerous beasts savaging the citizenry of Austin." Once on her feet, Mrs. Parker scowled up at where the cavalry officer sat slumped in the saddle. The battered soldier seemed unfazed.

"And skeptical I will remain, until proven otherwise. If anyone is going to be making wild-ass claims about nightmare beasts, I'd like to see some proof." His jaw worked as he talked, shifting the pipe from one tobacco-stained mouth corner to the other. "My men and I spent the better part of this miserable night keeping an eye out for any dangerous animals. Never got off a shot, let alone found good tracks. Then this stranger says she and her friends not only hunted down the thing and killed it, but that they also destroyed all evidence of the carcass with a fire in the middle of a rainstorm?" His voice was a low drawl, not devoid of menace.

Zoe shrugged, untroubled by Spindle's interrogation and disbelief. "Look here, Cap, I don't ask questions. If the injuns tell me they burned it up, I believe 'em. 'Sides, these natives got all sorts of strange magic on their sides. Reckon' they could make fire in the rain and even turn your chamber pot into a pot o' gold."

Zoe scoffed and shook her head. "You and your men are used to trackin' men and 'normal' beasts. The natives are much more skilled in the area of so-called 'nightmare beasts.'  You and yours is welcome to keep searchin' the night for that beast, but I guarantee you won't find it."

Zoe turned to Mrs. Parker. "Hope you pull through okay, ma'am. You may feel good right now, but take it easy. Once that medicine wears off, ya might be feelin' a bit of the pain come back.  These men should be able to keep you safe from anything else that may be lurkin' about."

Eaton blinked once as the vision concluded, about to call out to Zoe as she took off towards the camp but a pained growl interrupted his voice, his leg reminding him of his condition. He let the unconscious man fall to the ground as he followed after her, taking care to lean into his staff as his lower right leg dragged through the mud after him like a dead carcass. The closer he got he could hear the agitated voices fire at one another, their voices carrying above the rain.  As he reached the ravaged wagon camp, Mrs. Parker was already healed and talking back to Ben Spindle. After Zoe finished her reassurances, Eaton faced the cavalry officer and added, "You want proof? Yer proof is right here." He gestures around them with a open hand at the wreckage, before snapping the hand back to his staff with another pained grunt.

"Somethin' scared the hell out of those bulls. Just cause it didn't run ya over itself doesn't mean it wasn't out there. My mama told me plenty of stories about fearsome creatures that stalked the unwary and the inept at night. Looks to me that we ran into one of those."

He shoots a glance at Zoe, who saw the gears turning in his mind before he looked back at Spindle, "My friend here isn't lyin': that brute's mud on our boots now. If ya wanna to stop somethin' like this from happenin' again, I suggest ya keep your eyes open a little wider."

He looks back at Zoe, and although his mouth remains a pained grimace she hears his voice echoing in her mind.

"There's still those wyrm spirits swarmin' around here. And by what I found out, that was somethin' really nasty that followed our wanted man to these people. We can't keep lettin' 'em bother these folks! You know of a way we  can find out what's attractin' em in the camp?"

Zoe closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, scenting for the presence of the Wyrm. Though somewhat diminished, the offensive reek still stung her nostrils. The taint still lingered.

It's hard to tell what's causing it, but I don't think we can leave until we figure this out.

She turned to the Captain and Mrs. Parker. "Is the so-called nightmare beast the only issue you've been dealing with around here? Have you had any problems with any of the people in your camp?"

"Alas, I wish that was our only trouble." Mrs. Parker shook her head sadly. "My poor husband fell ill a few days ago at the turn-off. I think he has some sort of fever, but I think it is getting worse. I don't wish to be a bother to you, Doctor, you have done so much already- but perhaps you can minister to him also? Or at least suggest some measures I could take to ease his symptoms?"

The recalcitrant cavalry officer seemed to grudgingly accept Eaton's defense of Zoe's explanation. "Huh. Well, thanks for doing what y'all did. I reckon-" He cut himself off, biting back his words. "I reckon that we will be fine; most of the accidents have been happening in town, foolish errors on the part of the hired help and niggers. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to make sure the other camps are secure." He tipped his hat to Mrs. Parker and Zoe, before nudging his horse back out into the rainy night.

Zoe smiled reassuringly. "Of course, ma'am, lead the way."

Once the captain was out of sight, Zoe turned back to Mrs. Parker as they walked toward her husband's bedside. "Do you agree with the captain's assessment that the accidents are merely accidents? Do you have reason to believe anything else might be to blame?"