my little helper

Nephele Fritz

It was almost the end of a particularly long shift when Nephele decided to call it a day. Her patients were due to head back home and she had already instructed them on how to care for their wounds. She would see them tomorrow if there were any issues. There was only the tidying up to attend to and she knew just who to ask to help her with it. Anthe was always willing to help around the clinic when her mother needed her to and it warmed Nephele to see her turning into such a kind hearted young wolf. In ways her children reminded her of herself and Callister when they were puppies. Just like her litter there were three, two daughters and a son. The three headed god would not claim them like it had taken from her and her siblings. She trembled slightly at the memory, but forced a smile on her face when she called out for her daughter.

"Anthe? Can you help me put these herbs back, sweetie?" she called softly, knowing that her sweet girl would not leave her waiting long. All were neatly piled up into bundles already and Nephele knew where each needed to go, but she loved sharing what she did with her children. Part of her hoped they might take an interest in their mother's clinic, but she would never pressure them. If they grew up wanting to work somewhere else she accepted that possibility.

@Anthe

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anthe,

Thrums of busy nature escalated within the clinic. A constant reminder that life could always take a turn for its worse, but that most times remedies were easily at the paw-tips of a wolf should they hold such knowledge. Busy as the clinic was, only the deepest of vibrations from the steps of others alerted Anthe to patients coming and going. Audio lacked within the bat-like ears that topped the slender crown, though she had never let this cripple her. Near the brink of adolescence, Anthe's skills in lip reading and other non-audial cues had built to the point that she could go nearly undetectable to her shortcoming.

The call back to her had only just registered in the range she could hear, causing the smoke visage to perk towards her mum. Cherry eyes picked the form from the depths of shadow in the clinic, the lights flickering as she had found the lips of the adult moving with enough of the question still posed on the lips to have read what she needed to nod. "Yamum." Words had interlocked as her deep honeyed voice wove them together for lack of proper hearing even onself.

Eager steps tread across the clinic's floor to gingerly have collected the herbs betwixt her jaws. From days prior to helping her mother she knew where the store rooms housed the remainder of the herbs. What her mum did brought a fierce admiration, as Anthe's empathy bestowed upon her the want to give back as much as her mother had to those in need. Upon some invisible pedestal Nephele sat; an image of absolute purity to Anthe that she strove to give back as much as her mum had.

Nephele Fritz

Her precious daughter answered her call with all the eagerness and willingness to help that the monochrome nurse had expected. It might have seemed tedious and boring to most other youths, but Nephele was glad that Anthe seemed to enjoy helping her with her duties. Maybe they’d make a nurse of her yet or if she prefered growing the herbs instead she could help Kylar out with the garden. There was always something for eager little paws to help with and Nephele delighted in teaching the little ones what she could. She wasn’t the best at demonstrating or describing what she intended, but she was patient enough to keep trying until her message was clear.

She shuffled over to where her daughter’s answering voice rang in her eyes and touched her nose to her chest. It was the touch language that she had developed with Callister that she was trying to teach to all her children. A touch to the heart was a gesture of love. It meant. I love you. She was hopeful that her daughter remembered the meaning behind the gesture as it was a helpful way for the blind mother to communicate with her hard of hearing daughter.

“What’s this one?” she asked and stopped in front of a clump of lavender, assuming the role of teacher testing her child. It didn’t matter to Nephele if Anthe couldn't remember because she was happy to remind her of its name.

@Anthe

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anthe,

Too young yet to identify with a particular lifestyle choice, Anthe was not certain she would take up the art of nursing that her mum had taken to; although, the youth felt an affinity towards the idea of helping the injured and sick, even at the expense of her own life. Something about aiding others left a feeling of warmth within her small chest. One she hoped might grow as she learned more of the skills Nephele had to pass down.

As her mum's snout pressed into her chest lightly just at the position of her heart there was a soft murmur of happiness that escaped ink lips. I love you, too, Mum. She thought as cherry eyes locked onto the milky orbs of within her mum's face, content to know that even with their differences there was a bridge between them. One paw step forward, Anthe's pallid muzzle had reached to mimic the same motions that @Nephele had displayed. Touch language felt important to her, for she couldn't always hear others as clearly as they heard each other.

The mood shifted abruptly as her mum took the role of teacher. They had moved to stand before a pile of lavender, though Anthe didn't immediately identify the herb. "What's this one?" As their proximity was much closer than before it wasn't hard for Anthe to hear the words clearly this time without straining. A small intake of breath followed by a long pause would bring Nephele an answer before any words were uttered by the smaller youth. "I dun 'member." Head had drooped as cherry eyes peeked up at the soft features of her mum to see if any disappointment could be found there.

Nephele Fritz

I dun 'member. Nephele felt her heart melt at the cute way in which Anthe spoke. It did not matter to her mother that she had forgotten. Nephele had struggled to remember the names and scents of each of the herbs Kylar was growing in their new garden when they’d first settled here and the pups were much younger. She was confident that she would remember them in time and Nephele was nothing if not patient. In the days after the sacrifice had taken place she and her brother Callister had struggled to communicate with each other. Without eyes she could not see his gestures of frustration when her tongueless brother tried to make her understand what he wanted from her. They had found a way to understand each other and she was confident that she could teach her daughter even with the barrier of senses between them.

“That’s okay,” she reassured her, a warm smile touching her soft features. She would take it slower this time, not push or rush her child into learning. “Want to know?” she asked, giving the option to Anthe whether or not she continued this lesson or not. She spoke slowly, trying her best to make her lips pronounce them as visibly as she could.

She was still nervous that she wasn’t going to be the best parent for her children. Her worries bubbled up inside of her, but she refused to listen to the voice that taunted her. As long as her children woke up with full bellies and love in their hearts it was all that mattered. Nephele would keep trying for them and working harder to be the best mother she could.

@Anthe

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