by Keryth » Fri Mar 18, 2022 8:36 pm
Word Count: 527
To Rolim, Kailu is comfort. The warm weight of another draped across them, nose buried in their pelt. Quiet care, leaving behind a favorite food, anticipating needs before they occur, a quiet offering of a treat after eating bitter herbs. The quiet companionship of laying side-by-side, doing nothing in particular but basking in the other’s presence.
To Kailu, Rolim is a rock. Somewhere to return to whenever things become overwhelming, where the scent of blood that clings to him, where the poultices staining his fur wasn’t intimidating. Rolim had spent enough time in the healers’ den to be familiar with the work and the sometimes morbid stories they told amongst themselves.
They had become quick friends, the sickly kit and the healer’s apprentice. Rolim had sat attentively by Kailu’s side as he explained the identifying features of herbs, the dose that would turn a medication into poison. In return, they offered their budding knowledge of the many serpents native to the area.
One day, one of the snakes that had been the subject to Rolim’s fascination for seasons finally struck them. The venom made them stiff, sluggish. But Kailu was almost always by their side, even if they were no longer so prone to illness, nearly carrying Rolim to the healers’ den himself as they became sicker.
As the snake’s bite steadily made Rolim sicker, Kailu had fervently worried, paying rapt attention to how the older healers were treating both the wound and the accompanying venom. He was no full healer, not yet, but he was determined to be one some day.
For nearly the rest of the season, Kailu had been glued to Rolim’s side, terrified they’d once more venture too close to a viper. And come too close they had, ignoring an angry rattlesnake’s eerie warning on multiple occasions, only for Kailu to yank them away before the serpent finally struck.
He had followed around one of the few poison element healers, soaking up all the knowledge he could to keep Rolim safe in the future. On outings, he had taken to carrying a small amount of herbs and treatments for the most common snake species with him, determined to never let Rolim’s life be so close to slipping away again.
In return, Rolim would lay still, faking wounds or sickness and wait patiently for Kailu to practice how to administer the proper treatments to each. As they got scrapes from venturing out of the crevices most of the colony kept to, they would return to be checked over, and offer whatever herbs Kailu had taught them how to identify.
The time the two have spent together had given them a competency in, at the minimum, basic first aid. In events of battle or disaster, Rolim is frequently drafted to help the overtaxed healers, always much more of a scholar than a warrior.
Nearly inseparable, partners in all they do, when one sees Rolim, Kailu tends to not be far behind. They didn’t know it as a kit, feeling weak and purposeless, but their place had been, and will always be, by Kailu’s side. A friend, a partner, their most staunch defender and lifelong companion.
he/him
bird enthusiast
