Walking up to the stone door, Mira could peer through the small window. The person wasn't in full view from the door, but she could hear this soft humming of a woman. Looking around more carefully, she saw this older wolfess with burned brown hair that would drape past her face so only her red pointy ears could be seen. This hair would go down pretty far, about a foot past her shoulders. Still, most of her body was covered in white clothes, with a long-sleeved shirt with many free-flowing straps on it. She was sitting on her red footpaws as she knelt over some papers on the floor. This wolfess hummed as she moved a paintbrush over them, but what she was painting couldn't be seen clearly at the angle Mira was looking from.

"She seems... fine." Mira said, looking at her, then she turned to Loretta, "Why is she in here if she is just.. this?"

"It's complicated," Loretta said, "She has to stay here until she is better."

"Better? What do you mean better?" Mira asked, "Can I go in and talk to her?"

"I mean, technically, if her other family members allow it." A nearby nurse said, "She's been making some progress, and was recently cleared for it."

Loretta looked between the otter and Mira for a short while, and then she nodded looking down, "I'll stay out here, I remember what happened last time."



Mira looked a little puzzled, but as she heard the nurse open the door, she walked in and around this woman. The wolfess still kept painting and didn't seem to notice Mira come in at all, humming as she would stroke colors across the paintings and humming her little tune. She wasn't painting on a single page, she had several papers laid out to act as a large canvas.

Mira knelt to her, a smile on her face, "Hello Miss..."

The woman looked up to her, eyes light blue and a muzzle darker than her children. there were streaks of white running around the base of her muzzle and across her cheeks.

"...My name is Mira," She smiled, "It's nice to meet you."

"My name is Lucrecia." the wolfess smiled, "I don't think I've seen you around here."

"I am a visitor, I wanted to know why you are here." Mira said, "I heard you were sick, but you look just fine."

"I... I am sick, they tell me that," Lucrecia said, "But they told me I am getting better, I might be able to leave real soon."

"That's... nice to hear..." Mira tilted her head, "But... why are you here? You do not seem sick, what happened?"

"Let's not delve into that too much." The Nurse said, "You seem close to finishing your painting, it looks lovely."

Lucrecia looked to the nurse, then looked back to her painting on the pages. "Yes... It's been a few years since I had the chance to try this again, my skills seem to have rusted."

Mira looked down at the painting; it was upside-down for her but she managed to take in the image. The wolfess seemed to be panting another red wolf, the outline was still being worked on, but there were teal eyes and black hair with orange streaks in it. Lucrecia was smiling as she looked down at it, filling out more of the body with red paint.

"Are you drawing someone from the hospital?" Mira asked, "You seem fond of them."

"This is my husband," Lucrecia said, "He had joined the army so he could pay to give us a better life. I'm sure I'll see him again, soon..."

Hearing this made Mira's smile grow, "That's where he was, you must be real excited when you get to leave. Your children will be so happy when you come back."

When that was said, Lucrecia's smile was gone. The paintbrush fell from her hands as she just stared down at her drawing; her hand pressed on the painting, not saying anything.

---

Part 20

Part 19: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/58923015/

Part 21: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/59086238/



Mira (C)  ~calypso

Artison, Loretta, art, and character (C)  WatchNR12