There was a great effort put into arranging the hunter’s appearance as he straightened his shirt while standing in front of the mirror. His feet were parallel to one another as he stared at his own reflection while standing in the foray of his home. Glasses were clean enough to reflect some of the light given off by the candles in the wall sconces. Deep black hair was cut just right to make sure that it was put in each of their proper places. Hatori was notorious for keeping up appearances, even if the rest of the Ito’s were less included to do so. He took in a steadying breath as he knew that the day was going to hold certain annoyances that would push even his sense of patience.

Pale skinned hands pulled on the edges of his waistcoat before he moved out of his home to the main section of his village. His brown eyes took in the buildings that had been set aside from the rest of Faradrim Village especially for his family. The Itos were a clan unto themselves within the Jiyu Clan. He took in a sharp breath before allowing his booted feet to crunch along the gravel path to take him through the quartered off village. His gaze fell upon the house that was further away from the rest; it was ransacked appearance gave off the image of foreboding. It was the essence that they all wished for it to give off. The Cat’s house. Hatori’s face remained unmoving as he looked upon the outside walls.

He had no feelings one way or another in regards to the Cat; the hunter was one of the few ones to feel that way. In many ways, there was pity felt towards the cursed Cat. His curse was more extreme than the rest of the Ito’s. This led to the Cat holding himself up in his home to ignore the rest of the population. Anger had grown in his heart just like most of the previous Cat’s in the clan. Few ever dared to come close to the home; Hatori was one of the few considering that he was the healer of the family to specifically tend to the Itos. Even though they part of the Jiyu Clan, many refused to come close to them due to the family curse.

Hatori let out small sigh while adjusting the glass that rested upon his nose before moving further to main gate that led to his family’s portion of the village. There was a lack of enthusiasm in his walk as he moved into Faradrim’s walkways. Supplies were low in his medical facility and restocking was necessary. Hands were placed carefully in his pockets as he moved through the growing crowds. It was always nerve wrecking when he had to move in the general population. There was no telling if his curse could be triggered while among the normal members.

He was safe, that was what mattered, he was safe and he was hidden… for the moment. Jenha winced, hand on her side, putting further pressure on the stab wound as she forced one foot in front of the other. She could not think about the trickling, warm sensation tingling its way down her leg, if she did that she was liable to stop… if she stopped she wouldn't be able to continue on, which would mean she would die. And that just wasn't an option was it? Not with Ulfur waiting for her; the wolf's wounds were superficial (luckily), she had born the brunt of the wounds in that sense - but she still could not leave him alone forever, he was her life. 

They had been ambushed by some of the FlameGarde - the Pack was getting more and more hostile towards the other Pack's year on year, they had almost eradicated the FrostGarde from existence… not that the ForestGarde had done anything to help their icy brothers and sisters - a sticking point for Jenha, even now she could not rid herself of the guilt she felt for not helping their brethren… though she didn't really remember much of her life at that point either… she could not for the life of her recall where she had been at the time… and no one in her Pack would tell her, in fact they all snorted and glared at her when she asked. The AllGarde only knew why, clearly she had pissed people off but whatever, what the heck was new?

Wincing she took a deep breath as she forced herself onwards. This place seemed familiar… but she knew for a fact that she had not been here with the others, she wished Ulfur was with her, he'd remember - the wolf remembered bloody everything, an annoyingly useful trait of his. Shaking her head the woman continued on, bolstered by thoughts of her wolf-bondmate. Suddenly she found herself on the edge of a village, the Earth mage blinked, confused as to how she had not heard of this place - it was on no map she could recall and they had been to most of the towns and villages in the area close by. Never mind, whatever, right now it was sent by the Celestial Packs for all she cared, the AllGarde was smiling on her today… 

Biting her bottom lip the woman stumbled into the village, ignoring the looks of those who spotted her, bloodied and battered. Her hand slipped from her wound and Jenha stumbled, pitching forwards as her feet refused to go any further. Her last thought as her mind went blank was that the man in front of her was extremely handsome… and that he would be stunning if he smiled…

There were a few people that knew who he was. As he passed by Hatori noticed a few glances that were disguised the best that they could. Out of all the Ito cursed members, he was the least to stand out amongst them. Hatori was able to keep his mannerisms as close to as the others as possible. There were even at times that the Matriarch had tapped into the healer’s medical skills for the general population. Matriarch Uial was one of the few who were truly aware of the curse and how it worked. There were others, but they were few and far between. Hatori was one of the ones that made more often trips (in comparison to his family) to the Jiyu main portion. Uial was doing her best to help make things more tolerable for the Ito Clan. It was difficult for her to work against generations of traditions. Hatori could appreciate the effort being put in even if he didn’t see it changing much.

Murmuring caught his attention along with the scent of blood in the air. Many people looked over to see a woman staggering through the street with blood dripping down her side. Hatori’s instinct was to lung to help her, but that was the problem: she was a female. His spine seemed to freeze as he tried to figure out the best way to handle the situation. How had she made it so far into the Village without anyone impeding her progress? Was she someone who had previous credentials?

Some of the guards were making their way over to help the woman, but she lurched forward towards Hatori to quickly. When her face looked up for the eyes were connect he felt his chest stop. Jenha. She was about to fall on him, but he couldn’t allow that to happen. Hands reached out to grab her by the shoulders to keep the woman from falling on the ground face first. ”What the hell,” he muttered under his breath. The guards stopped next to him with weapons sheathed on their backs. It did not take them long to realize who he was….what he was. ”Take her to my clinic in Ito,” he instructed to one of them. A piece of paper was handed over to the other guard. ”I need these supplies. They were already paid for. I will need them to tend to her properly.” Though they were hesitant for a breath, the pair followed his instructions.

Hatori could feel his heart beating quickly in his chest as he took the lead back to his clinic in his accursed section of the Village. Jenha was placed carefully on a raised table in the designated room. He had already rolled up the sleeves of his white long-sleeved button up shirt. It went unnoticed for a bit that he was grinding his teeth together. Why was she back in the village? Why was she back? Hatori made no mistakes when it came to dealing his memory alterations. It should not be possible that she remembered what had happened before to find her way back to Faradrim. Though his mind was working fast paced, there were no expressions on his face.

Instead, his long fingers worked to push back her shirt to expose the injury. It was a stab wound. The healer inhaled lightly as he made effort to calm down his emotions. Who had the audacity to stab her? ”Miss, I am going to tend to your wound. Some medicine will be used as well as magic. Try not to move. We are here to help you.” His tone was flat and rather matter of fact. He knew he never had much of a bedside manner.

Then he got to work. If he had been asked later what he had done there would have been no answer. It was instinctual when it came to tending her. Once he was done, Hatori took up his seat at the work table on the side wall in the same room to keep records. Not only have that, but to keep his head cleared from everything rushing through his mind. His attendant had left the room to go about her work.

Jenha barely registered the man's hands as they grasped her shoulders; stopping her from falling onto her face and potentially causing herself even more damage. She was grateful for that, though she did not have the strength to thank him for his quick thinking. As soon as she thought it, her mind went blank and she blacked out…

When she came to, she realised that a man was speaking to her. Her head rolled slightly as she forced her body to comply with her wishes, eyes opening slowly, her eyelids heavy, as she looked at the man she had seen previously. He had a nice voice, it was soothing, if a little abrupt and strict. "Typical healer," she thought, smiling inwardly, though her body did not have the strength to mimic the expression outwardly. "Why do so many healers have such terrible beside manner?" she thought, her gaze following the man carefully, intrigued by him. "You'd be gorgeous if you smiled… that said you're pretty bloody good looking anyway. You can heal me anytime." 

The woman did not move; allowing the man to carry out his work without a fuss. In truth she was still pretty numb from the pain and her long walk to find this place, again her mind drifted to Ulfur, she knew he was safe but that did not mean she felt any less uneasy at having such a distance between them. As he moved to sit at his desk Jenha continued to watch him, something about the man was utterly intriguing to her. She wondered why he looked so utterly sad, there was something in his eyes, some pain or other that his stern expression tried to hide - but his eyes (those gorgeous orbs, hidden behind his spectacles) betrayed him. 

"Thank you," she uttered softly, her tongue flickering over her dry lips as she concentrated on the words and not how dry her throat was. "I am in your debt. I have no money to offer for your services, but maybe I can pay you in another way. Maybe I can make you smile?" She said boldly, her eyes fixed on his as she grinned at him, wondering what he might say to her. She had a feeling that the man was extremely stiff… but that only made it more fun to talk to him. 

Hatori glared hard down at the papers upon his desk as he waited for Jenha to come back to consciousness. It was clear his annoyance was not at the papers, but at the fact that she had returned to Village. The fact that she had been attacked was another matter that would need to be handled. He had a good guess of who it could have been. The FlameGuard were set enemies against Jenha’s family pack. His eyes closed as he thought about the enemies that typically had surrounded her. For a rather ill-typical moment he ran his hand through his silken black hair. Hatori was frustrated. Frustrated that he had allowed himself to touch her gentle skin while tending to her. It had not been a medical healer’s touch, but one of a frantic lover. Teeth were clenched tightly as he went back to his paperwork in an effort to bring his senses back to where they should have been.

It took all of his willpower not flinch at the sound of her voice. Though her voice was weak with her injury, she still had that velvet tone that had always managed to get through his defenses. The healer kept his back to her as she continued to talk as he pretended to keep writing his notes. He had to steel his face before turning around to address her as if they didn’t know each other. This was not going to be an easy thing do for him. If anyone could get through to him, it had always been Jenha.

He stood up smoothly from his seat while stuffing his hands in the pockets of his doctor’s coat. His head was tilted to the side slightly and brow raised from beneath his glasses. ”You have no need to repay me if that is what you are concerned about. It is a doctor’s job and oath to heal those in need. Your need was quite obvious as you collapsed.” Hatori moved to the side of the table while looking down at her. Her boldness had not ebbed away over the years; that was a good thing for him to see. Even after everything, he had not diminished what made her….her. That solid gaze of her’s did not falter as he looked down at her. Why was she always this forward to an extent that it would set him on his heels?

In the end, Hatori released barely a sigh before leaning his hands on the side of the table. ”You need to rest as well as have some nourishment. I will have my assistant bring you some food and drink to make sure you eat properly.” He pushed away from the table to move to the door to call for a platter. When he turned back to where Jenha lay, he had to steel his features once more. ”What brought you to Faradrim? Why were you in the mountains?” Now it was not difficult for him to keep his face stern. Answers were necessary, and they were necessary now.

She watched his movements, eyes fixed upon the man's face as he turned to look at her. He truly was handsome, something about the cold aloof manner he exuded only made him more attractive to her - Jenha wanted to see the man behind all of this doom and gloom, after all, there had to be someone warm and more fun behind all of this ice, she refused to believe that this was the true man behind the Healer. As his brow lifted all she wanted to do was reach out and remove the glasses from his face so that she could see his beautiful eyes without the spectacles in the way. 
"I'm not part of your people, I doubt free services extend to visitors from out of town even if they do collapse on your doorstep, though I am grateful for you saving my life. I am under no delusions that I would have survived unless you had intervened when you did," she said softly, her eyes never leaving his as she spoke. 

She'd put him on the backfoot, good, she had to keep him on his toes - it was the only way she was going to get the man to open up and relax around her. As he sighed she grinned, she was winning. "Thank you, I would appreciate that," she replied. "Chance, I was chased here by my Packs enemies, it took some time to lose them in the forest and hide my Dire Wolf where he could recover and not be found. I kept going in the hopes of finding aid. My people are nomadic, we pass by the mountains every year but when we were ambushed I was forced to flee across them and ended up here. It feels so familiar to me, like I've been here before, but I've never crossed the mountains until today… maybe I dreamt of it."