I giggled and nodded, letting him meander over to his dresser. “Sorry, I’m a little eager to get started.”
With his back to me, Griffin pulled a shirt over his head. I turned around, giving him a bit of privacy to deal with the rest. Even though he’d literally been free-balling it in front of me last night.
“You know, the ladies usually aren’t so excited to get out of my bed, but I’ll forgive you for this, Ro.”
Ten minutes later, we were on our way to the clinic. It was a small building just a few minutes’ walkfrom the main structure, through an outcropping of trees. Morning light poked through the branches, creating dappled patterns on the ground. There was even a gentle mist that hung in the air, and a quiet you could never find in a city.
“This place really is beautiful. I can see why you like it here.” I sighed, brushing my hand against the leaves as I walked. With a nod of greeting, two men passed us, their eyes lingering on me, curious about the presence of an outsider on their horde lands.
Not just an outsider. Ahuman.
“I couldn’t imagine settling anywhere else.” Griffin looked around, a wistful smile on his face. I didn’t see him like that often, and I had to admit that the idea of having a soft-landing spot to count on was nice. It just wasn’t exactly doable for someone in my circumstances.
The happiness in his expression tugged at something inside me. Whatwouldit be like to settle somewhere so idyllic? Yeah, it wasn’t in the cards for me, so there was no use in imagining it, but…
I shook my head, knocking away the unhelpful thoughts. “This is a pretty sizable building. Is this all the Doctor’s office?”
We walked inside the impressive space. “Yep. He’s got five individual patient rooms, a few doctors’ offices, and some exam rooms,” Griffin explained.
“Wow.” I took in the beautifully supplied space. “And how large is the horde?”
“Around three-fifty.”
I whistled. “That’s a good ratio. I worked with a horde in Nebraska who only had two patient rooms for a pack of almost six hundred.”
Griffin led me through a metal door with a large window in the center. “We've always had a pretty large medical center because, back in the day, we had a lot of teenagers getting into shenanigans and enforcers regularly patrolling. Plus, at one point there were nearly a thousand members of the horde. The Alphas like to keep up the same level that we've always had, despite not needing it as much.”
Female births were rare in the dragon community, and as they didn’t like bonding outside of their species much, that meant that the population was slowly on the decline. Three-fifty from a thousand was an extreme decline that set alarm bells off in my head.
“Is the other healer here?” I asked, lookinground the rooms.
“He’s probably still asleep. He’s not here that much. Rory is through here.” He pointed toward one of the patient rooms, leading us down the especially quiet hall.
The room was dark, all the windows closed, giving it a tight, musty smell. A couple was hunched over the bedside of an old-school hospital cot where a boy, who I assumed was Rory, lay. He was so tiny, even for being twelve years old. His sandy-brown hair was drenched with sweat, and he was shivering despite being unconscious. My stomach tightened at the sight, my brain already spinning with potential causes for his condition.
Griffin cleared his throat, getting the parents’ attention. “Leah, Donald. This is Rowan, the healer I told you about.”
The two of them reluctantly pulled their attention away from their child to shake my hand and mumble their thanks. Leah didn’t get up from her seat. Instead, she clutched Rory’s hand in a death grip, like she was terrified he would fade away if she didn’t hold on to him. Neither parent looked like they’d gotten any sleep recently, their eyes bloodshot with dark bags underneath.
My heart hurt for them. Seeing your child suffer was a pain I didn’t wish on anybody. Shifters were usually far more robust, so it wasn’t common for their children to get sick. When it did happen, it was never good, which they clearly already knew.
“Hello, I am so sorry we’re meeting under these circumstances. As Griffin said, my name is Rowan. You’re Leah and Donald, yes?” They nodded. “Do you want to tell me what happened, in your own words? I’m sorry for jumping right in, but I think it’s best I get straight to work.”
“H-he was fine two weeks ago, then he got a stomach bug and spiked a fever.” Leah turned to look at Rory. “He hasn’t been lucid in the last few days.”
I bobbed my head. “What did the healer say?”
Donald answered, his tone clearly frustrated. “That he has a weak constitution. He’s been giving him lots of medications, but nothing’s working.”
“Do you mind if I examine him?” I asked, grabbinga stethoscope from the table and approaching slowly. I put it in my ears when the parents gave consent.
I would need Griffin to get my med bag out of my car. Even though the doctor’s office seemed relatively well stocked, I preferred using my own equipment when possible.
Rory was clammy, and his breaths were shallow. Listening to his lungs, I wasn’t happy with how raspy they sounded and asked, “What medications has the healer been using?”
Griffin spoke up. “They should be listed in Jenkins’s notes. I can go look for you.”
“Any information you can find will be useful,” I told him. “And my med bag, when you have the chance.”
