The new field hospitals that were being set up along the outer defensive ring that wrapped around the Lycan King's castle hadn't taken too long to relocate from their previous position, even though there had been a few small delays.
The ground here was uneven, mostly packed dirt and broken stone, but Alpha Felix had already turned three of the cleared sections into organised treatment zones.
He stood in the middle one now, directing two hybrid healers who were unloading crates of supplies.
"Separate the burn wraps from the bone splints and where possible, group the items needed to treat specific injuries that we're most likely to encounter in one place. It should make treatment more of a 'grab and go' situation rather than a 'hunt high and low' one." He smiled grimly as the healers chuckled and nodded their heads, "We should probably have the triage area somewhere in between all three of these areas and that way we can funnel the injuries into separated areas."
He paused and frowned as his eyes landed on something else,
"And keep the water barrels covered. The dust out here is awful."
Aoife walked past him carrying an armful of folded blankets and Orynn padded behind her silently taking every movement of the camp in as they passed. His bare feet barely made a sound on the ground, and every few steps he made a soft trill, like he was thinking out loud.
"Aoife," Felix called. "That's too much for you to carry. Give me half."
"I'm fine," she said, shifting the blankets against her hip "Stop fussing."
Orynn trilled again, the noise sounded curious almost and a warm pulse brushed the side of Aoife's mind.
Are you sure?
Aoife smiled without stopping.
"Yes. I've carried far worse in the service of that wretched Eromaug."
Orynn gave a brighter chirrup, clearly unconvinced but following anyway.
Felix hated that…how natural it all seemed between the two of them. Aoife speaking mind-to-mind with someone else. Someone who wasn't him. Someone who wasn't even fully human.
His wolfs jealousy rose to match his own and he pushed it down again hard. He didn't have time for jealousy, and neither one of them deserved it, but he couldn't help his instinct.
Aoife set the blankets on the supply table and turned to Orynn with a serious look on her face.
"Okay. We're stabilising the wounded next. You can help me settle the healing flow and direct it properly. You're getting much better at it."
Orynn's whole body seemed to tremble with excitement and his next chirrup was one of sheer excitement. His voice slipped into her mind again quickly, radiating nothing but happiness.
Show me again? There's so much to remember I don't want to get any of it mixed up.
Aoife chuckled softly and raised her hand, touching the air in front of her with two fingers. All of a sudden it seemed to part and the faintest string of light responded, soft and steady.
"Follow this shape as a guideline and try not to push your energy too much. Let the magick move with you. Our specialty is old and likes to think it knows better sometimes. It's our job to guide it to the correct places."
Orynn tried to copy her and she suppressed a smile at the focused expression on his face. His first attempt was too strong and the light snapped at him like a spark, making him chirp in a mix of surprise and then anger as he seemed to tell the empty air in front of him exactly what he thought of it.
Aoife couldn't hold it in a laugh spilled out, but Orynn didn't look offended in the slightest.
"Not like that. Softer." she corrected him, her face still lit with a radiant smile.
Felix watched from a few paces away with his jaw tight. She never laughed that easily before the resurrection. Not even with him. What made Orynn so special?
He carried a crate across the clearing and set it down harder than he meant to. One of the healers glanced over, but Felix waved him off.
"I'm fine, I just slipped. You can keep going. We need four more tables up before sundown."
Aoife knelt beside a wounded soldier and beckoned Orynn closer.
"Here look. Can you see how his lines are different from everyone else's?"
Orynn hummed and nodded in response.
"Everyone's pattern is a little different, but the same sort of areas apply to everyone..well, with a few variations of course, but we'll get to that when you've been working at this a little longer.. You need to start here," she said, indicating an area on the man's body as he watched on with a mix of curiosity and panic, "It's the lower lines that you need to focus on first because they help with the pain."
Orynn lowered himself beside her, his tail curling neatly around his legs. On the first attempt he brought out a small, gentle pulse of magic and directed it to the area that Aoife had indicated.
The soldier gasped as the pressure eased from his wound and then laughed in relief as he allowed his head to sink back onto the pillow..
Aoife grinned happily and rested her hand on Orynn's shoulder, squeezing gently.
"That was perfect! Well done! You know, it wouldn't surprise me if you surpass some of the apprenticed healers at this rate!"
Orynn chirped a soft sound that could only be described as proud.
Felix felt the stab of jealousy then and it took him completely by surprise. He stood there for a moment, watching them with his arms crossed.
Aoife didn't even bother to look his way. She was too focused on what she was doing, and completely calm about the fact that she was linked with someone else in a way that he could never match.
She's your mate, he reminded himself. Not his. Stop being such an asshole Alpha.
But Orynn stayed glued to her side like he had known her forever and it irritated him no matter how hard he tried to ignore it.
Felix forced his attention back to the crates.
"We're moving the triage stretchers to the left side," he called. "Make space for the next group coming in."
"I'll help when I'm done with this one." Aoife said as she finally looked up at him.
"Okay." Felix nodded and his gaze slipped to Orynn even though he didn't intend it to.
Orynn hummed at him and offered what Felix thought might have been a smile. Whatever it was, it was something that was somewhere between curious and wary.
Felix didn't bother to return it. He wasn't sure he could carry off a convincing mask that wouldn't terrify Aoife's new best friend, and the last thing that he wanted to do was alienate her.