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'Ouch!' The though ran across my mind as I struggled to collect a thick leaf from an aloe plant, the spiky edges trying to cut into the edges of my mouth. Clearly, yanking the fleshy leaves was not the most effective way to gather them. With one of the leaves still in my mouth, I tried a different tactic and bent the leave back until it snapped. Finally. I set the leaf aside and began to gather several more leaves, adding them to the pile each time. Before my training with Sikeax, I had known about the plant and recognized it's appearance, but it was thanks to her that I was even aware of the healing properties.

Once I was satisfied with the amount of leaves, I began the tedious work of weaving them into my mane, just as I had done with the bleeding heart. Until I was able to get a bag, I would have to settle for my hair. The bleeding heart was still carefully tucked into my mane, while the thorns of my aloe leaves helped to grip onto the looser strands of my mane. I looked pretty ridiculous, and the heavier leaves pulled and tugged uncomfortably, but it would have to do for now. I turned to head back to the herd, climbing up the nearest dune and walking along the highest point while humming quietly to myself. A black movement caught my attention from the corner of my eye, and immediately I glanced over.

As soon as I recognized the figure as Bucephalus, my auds pinned back against my metallic crown and I nearly stuck my nose in the air to carry on minding my business. However, there was something odd about seeing him walking along the sand. 'Strange, usually he's flying...' This thought made me stop in my tracks, peering down at him from my dune with scarlet eyes, auds relaxing from their resentful state. Bucephalus was...limping? My left foreleg lifted to go help him, but I froze. No, he didn't need my help. There were other healers that could tend to him, ones that he couldn't hurt so easily. No, let the son of a bitch suffer. I turned back towards the direction of the herd, but didn't get very far. I had not even gone halfway down the dune before the guilt swept over me, ashamed from turning away from him when it was my duty as a healer to help. I had been working so hard recently for this position, and he was technically my leader now. Auds flicked back and eyelids clamped shut at that little reminder, gritting my teeth together before finally turning about around. As much as I didn't want to help him, the better part of me knew I should.

As the stallion was limping along, it was fairly easy for me to reach him at a light trot, approaching his shady tree carefully. A low nicker to announce my presence came as I approached him from the side, slowing down to a walk. Now that I was closer, the injuries that laced across his skin were more prominent and that pesky pang of guilt returned in my heart. "You need a healer." I stated the obvious, standing over him while searching for his golden eyes, giving it my all to hide the pain and nervousness I felt around him. Whether he liked it or not, I was not going to leave him alone until I could do my job. Before he could deny my statement, which only a fool would, I reached over my shoulder for the bleeding heart flower. Carefully I pulled out a small bunch, gingerly holding the plant between my lips and placing them on the ground before him. "Eat these, flowers, roots and all. " Not only would the root help with the physical muscle aches and pains, buy the flowers were supposed to act as a calming agent.

Looking closer, I noticed that the wounds across his back were blistered and lightly burned. Lowering my muscle carefully, without touching, I could feel the heat rising from the burns. I turned back to my mane again, pulling out the largest leaf I had collected and started chewing softly to loosen the juice and pulp. On the end that hand been split, the crushed insides of the plant began to ooze out like gel. Quickly I leaned over the stallion and tilted my head to the side, letting the gel slide out of the leaf and smear onto his burns. I kept softly chewing on the leaf, working to squeeze all that I could out of it.