The Wayfarer Way Station

Greenland is fucking cold. While most of the wolves enjoyed the cold weather, since they ran warm all the time, most of the group didn't mind Greenland's freezing weather conditions. The exception to this was of course Nokomis. Even though she was layered in many articles of clothing, was wearing a hat, scarf, gloves, boots, and a wool cloak, she was still frozen to the bone. She felt the chill in her core, which probably wasn't a good thing. They'd been in Greenland for four days and the temperatures were slowly dropping with each passing hour.
"Noko, hurry up!" Dakota yelled. Nokomis didn't reply, not only was she cold but she was getting light headed and her ears were ringing. Shit, not now. "Noko, we'll leave you behind if you don't hurry up!" Aron frowned and turned just in time to see the young woman collapse. He growled to himself as he sprinted to her.
"Nokomis, it's not that-" He stopped as he knelt down beside her. "Nokomis?" He shifted her so he could see her face. "Shit." He picked her up and sprinted back to the group. "She passed out."
"How long do these normally last again?" Chezza asked, worry in her voice.
"Depends, her shortest was about a half an hour. But I've seen her unconscious for a few hours, it usually depends on if she has a seizure." Dakota informed as he looked at the fallen girl.
"Let's keep movin', we need to find somewhere warm for her." Sage said and started out.
"This is Greenland, you may not find a village for weeks or months." Aron informed gruffly as he angled Nokomis into him.
"What about a cave or somethin'?"
"There are rocks and ice patches."
"What did you normally do?"
Aron clenched his teeth, not wanting to think about the past. "Snow dens."
"We'll continue longer and if we don't find anythin', we'll start makin' igloos." The party started again for another hour when they finally gave up and began constructing snow houses under Aron's supervision. Nokomis started shaking in Aron's arms, startling him.
"Dakota, what do I do?" He growled.
"Let her be, not much we can do. Make sure she doesn't hurt herself." He replied nonchalantly.
"Hurt herself?"
"Ever see a seizure? If it gets violent enough their limbs start flying everywhere. It's kind of freaky." He walked away to finish the den he would be sharing with Corbin and Rhyme.
"Get her inside. This weather can't be helpin'." Sage motioned to a den a few feet from the pair.
"You sure, I can make one." Aron looked down.
"Next time, for when you aren't hold a youn' woman who is probably half frozen and havin' a seizure." He gently pushed the wolf and watched as Aron carefully maneuvered inside.
"When you first put him in charge of watching over her, I thought you were crazy." Chezza sauntered up to Sage as she blew into her hands. "I was afraid he'd kill her or not keep an eye on her."
Sage shook his head, "He'd have to look after her, I gave him orders."
"What was your reason behind that?" Her gold eyes glittered. "I know he is your Omega, but you could have put anyone on babysitting duty."
"That youn' man needed someone to look after, to give him a purpose. Whatever happened here, scarred him and made him closed off to the world."
"Why her? She's human and he clearly does not like them."
"He doesn't, he was Light before he joined my pack."
"What? Then why did you pair them?" She was close to strangling the Alpha.
"Because she isn't the type to push. He may not like her, but when it comes down to it he'll protect her like he did when we were attacked by the fairies, ghouls, Furies, and sand serpents. She's very observant and probably figured out by day two that he would protect her even if he ignores her half the time."
"You put a lot of faith in something you weren't sure about."
"I've known him for two years. He may not seem it, but he finds it his duty to protect. I have a feelin' in his previous pack he was high rankin'."
"Then why is he still an Omega?"
"He started off as one because we took him in, after that he was never driven to rise in the ranks."
"He is strange."
"No, he is a wolf that has seen somethin' terrible happen to his pack. I have a feelin' humans had somethin' to do with it."

Aron was laying out his mat when he heard Nokomis groan. He turned to see her blinking and trying to sit up. He shuffled over to her and placed a hand on her should. "Careful."
"I passed out again, right?" She whispered in a tired voice.
"And started seizing."
"No wonder I am tired. I am sorry." Nokomis looked down.
"I don't think you can help it." Aron replied flatly.
She chuckled, "I guess. What did I miss?"
"We walked another hour and then made snow dens." He motioned around him.
"It is a nice den."
"I guess."
"I take it you did not make this one?" She smiled, receiving a glare.
"No."
"I see you are awake, Nokomis." Sage smiled as he crawled into the space. Like Aron, he was hunched over to fit in the small space. Nokomis couldn't complain, it was warm in the snow den.
"Yes. I am sorry for causing trouble." She bowed her head.
"Don't worry, we would've stopped anyway."
"What did you want Sage?" Aron asked, uncomfortable with how small the space was with two large men and a rather tall woman.
"Can't I check up on you two?" He raised a brow at the younger man. Aron shrugged and looked away with a scowl. "Well, I wanted to make sure Nokomis was okay and to inform you that we will be leavin' later in the day so it's a little warmer for travel." The pair nodded. "Eat and get some sleep. Especially you Nokomis, you look exhausted."
"Which is ironic considering I was passed out for who knows how long." She said bitterly, she never hated her condition as much as she did right now. Sage patted her head, put a reassuring hand on Aron's shoulder, and then retreated back to his snow den.
It was three and a half weeks later when Nokomis finally got to see the pack in their wolf forms. They were finishing up the last mile for the day when all the shifters went on high alert. Aron and Dakota shifted closer to Nokomis as she pulled out her bow and strung it. "What is wrong?" She whispered. No one had to reply as five snow giants burst from the ground and started attacking the party. The pack quickly shifted and began the assault on the giants, drawing their attention away from everyone else. The panthers retailed their human form, finding it easier on them to attack with weapons instead of teeth and claws made for warmer climates. Rhyme and Corbin worked together by confusing a giant and then toppling it with a gust of already frozen wind. Dakota stayed back and aided where he was needed. It always amazed Nokomis how well the party worked together when a fight broke out when normally there was bickering.
She did her best to fight but often her arrows were diverted by the sudden wind change. On occasion, Corbin would guide one of her arrows and give it a little extra acceleration to stick. She was aiming at a giant when she was suddenly knocked off her feet. Nokomis yelped as she let an arrow fly stray and sprawled on the ground. She turned to see Aron's wolf be grabbed by giant hands. "ARON!" She yelled, watching him struggle. He growled at the monster and tried to wiggle out of its grip, but he was held too might. The giant tightened its grasp causing the wolf to yelp in pain. Aron twisted sideways and bit down on the giants hand.
The giant roared in pain and flicked his hand. Aron went soaring, hit the groaned, and rolled to a stop. "Shit." Nokomis ran to Aron to find him passed out naked in the snow. She glanced back to make sure they weren't in any immediate danger then knelt down next to Aron. She carefully turned him over, mindful of his neck. She quickly made sure he wasn't hurt and then tried to wake him.
"Aron. Aron, come on." She kept shaking him until she heard her name called. She turned to see a giant heading her way. "Shit. Aron!" His eyes snapped open and he took a swipe at her. She pulled back, but was clipped across the cheek by one of his clawed fingers. He growled and he crouched with wild eyes. Still aware of the giant heading their way, Nokomis calmly said, "Aron, it is me Nokomis. Aron?"
It took him a moment before he shook his head confused, "Nokomis? My visions blurry."
"You hit the ground pretty hard, you probably have a bad concussion. We shall worry about that later, but right now we need to move. I am grabbing you arm." She moved forward and started dragging him out of the way. "I suggest shifting, you will get frostbite otherwise." He didn't say anything as he started the shift and she felt fur start to sprout from his skin. The white wolf that now ran beside Nokomis was large; proportional to the man that once ran in its place.
Nokomis stopped and drew her bow. She heard a whine behind her and then felt some pressure against her leg. "Sorry." She muttered, and then took a deep breath. She let it out slowly as she released the string between her fingers. The arrow struck the giant in the eye, causing it to release a blood curdling shriek. "Run!" She turned, grabbed the scruff between Aron's shoulders and ran.
Half an hour later, the party ran away from the wounded giants and didn't stop until they knew they were far away from the enemy. Once they stopped, Sage shifted back to human and called, "Status."
"My Leap has sustained some damage, but Water boy did a pretty good job at keep us healed." Chezza grinned as Dakota scowled at her. She handed Sage his bag, so he could put some clothes on. He nodded and started rummaging through it. Chezza not hiding the fact that her eyes scanned the man's body before she turned back to her Leap.
"I'm fine, though a little tired from having to patch you up." Dakota mostly directed the statement at Chezza who laughed.
"I'm fine." Corbin replied with a bored expression.
"Me too, though I am quite cold." Rhyme said, pulling his coat closer.
"Pack?" Sage asked, slipping on his cloak.
Most answered with an 'I'm fine' except Aron. "My vision's blurred and I probably have a serious concussion. And a few bruised ribs." He was back to being in his human form. Nokomis gave him his bag.
"Nokomis, are you able to give him a thorough exam?" Sage asked.
"I have learned, but Dakota may be better at this since he is a healer." She replied.
"If he can tell me what hurts, I can most likely fix it. I don't do exams." Dakota replied with his nose up. Up close and personally with a man, no thank you.
Sage looked at the young man exasperated, but didn't say anything. "We'll camp here and you can look at Aron when we've finished. How are you?"
"Yes, sir and fine." Nokomis nodded. Everyone got to work except Aron who was forbidden from helping.
"This is stupid." He muttered annoyed.
"We don't need you hurtin' yourself more. Relax for once." Sage patted his shoulder. Aron didn't reply as he simmered angrily. He started pacing until Sage told him the den was ready; his head throbbing.
"I am going to be touching you." Nokomis informed as she scooted closer to him while Dakota waited off to the side.
"You can play doctor with me anytime you want, Noko." Dakota smirked.
Nokomis ignored Dakota as she started, "Where does it hurt the most?"
"My head, right shoulder, and ribs." Aron replied simply.
"How are you feeling right now?"
"Annoyed." She poked him on the nose and he scowled before stating, "I have a headache, I'm a bit drowsy, if I shift my eyes too quickly I see spots of lights, my vision is blurry, my balance is a bit off, it hurts to lift my arm higher than my waist, and it hurts to breathe. Other than that, I'm a bit sore all over my body."
"Thank you." She pulled her bag over and found a flashlight. "I am going to flash a light in front of your eyes." She turned the light on and started waving it in front and then away from his eyes. She scowled noticing the different sizes of his pupils and how slow they reacted. Then she checked where he pointed to on his head and felt a bump. He flinched when she prodded it, but didn't do anything more. "How is your neck?"
"Sore." She nodded again and started feeling it. Aron pulled away initially, surprised at how cold her fingers were on his skin. Next, she examined both shoulders and arms.
"Your shoulder is dislocated. How you ran and fought as a wolf surprises me." She thought aloud the latter.
"Wolves are resilient."
"Apparently. There is not a lot of swelling surprisingly. I am going to re-locate it." Nokomis settled herself by his shoulder. "Breathe with me. Inhale." She breathed in deeply. "Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Ex-" As he exhaled, she jerked forward, popping the shoulder back into place. He growled at the pain and then grabbed his shoulder. "Good job." She gentle placed a hand on his head before moving back towards his side. "Dakota, please do something about the shoulder."
"I don't know, I like seeing the way he actually shows pain." Dakota smirked.
Aron bared his teeth in Dakota's directions, while Nokomis replied, "Stop being a sadist and help. That is your purpose here."
"Fine, anything for a woman." As Dakota did his magic, Nokomis continued poking and prodding.
"What is the extent of your healing abilities?" She asked finding two cracked ribs and mostly bruised ones.
"I can fix any break, reduce swelling, heal wounds, things like that."
"How about bruises?"
"One of the few things I can't make go away."
"Okay. Well, do what you can. Will you be able to help with his concussion?"
"Not really. Maybe reduce the swelling, but it's a brain bruise therefore I can't do much."
"Thank you. Aron, you will be sore until your body heals. You have bruised a few ribs and you have your concussion. Besides that you are fine."
"Awesome." He replied sarcastically.
"To make sure the concussion is not too serious, tonight I will be waking you every few hours."
"Why?" Aron scowled.
"Part of it to make sure you do not slip into a coma and partially to make sure it does not get worse. Do you remember what happened?"
Aron thought, "Not really. I remember pushing you out of the way and then someone waking me up."
"Do you need me anymore?" Dakota asked impatiently, done with his task.
"No, you may leave."
"Thank gods." He left, leaving the pair alone.
"A giant picked you up and started squeezing you thus the bruised ribs. You bit him and he threw you from a height of at least 30 feet and over about 100 yards. You hit the ground so hard you shifted back. Is there anything else you do not remember?"
"Unfortunately I do remember the past."
"That is a good thing."
"Maybe for you." He growled.