Page 115 of Moon Chosen

Once he was out of the water and on the bed of moss Mari worked quickly. “Give me his knife.” She began cutting his pants to expose the wound in his leg and then ripped his shirt open. “I need you to run back down the path. I’m almost positive I saw yarrow just around that last bend. Pull a bunch of it and bring it back here. I’ll have the strips of moss ready and can bind these wounds so that he won’t bleed out while we transport him.”

“Yarrow about this tall, right?” Sora raised her hand three feet from the ground. “It has lots of small white flowers, smells funny, and its leaves look like a miniature version of a maidenhair fern?”

“Yes, good,” Mari said as she continued to work on Nik. “I saw a big bunch of it spilling out onto the path. Go get it. Fast!”

“I’ll be right back.” Sora hurried toward the path.

“Am I dead?”

Mari startled at the sound of his voice and her gaze flew to his. “No. Not yet you’re not. Don’t talk. Save your strength. I’m going to have to move you again, but I want to pack your wounds first.”

“The pup—safe?”

“Yes. Rigel’s safe.”

“Rigel?”

Mari nodded. “That’s his name.”

“You’re his Companion.”

He didn’t phrase it as a question, but Mari was quick to answer, “I am his Companion.”

And then Rigel was there, putting his head between them and sniffing Nik’s face. The wounded man smiled weakly. “Glad he didn’t die.”

“Well, he’s the reason you’re not dead. You can thank him later—if you’re still alive,” Mari said.

She shooed Rigel out of the way, but the pup only moved a short distance, and lay down by Nik’s feet, watching Mari intently. She wondered at Rigel’s devotion to this man who obviously knew her pup—who had probably lived with him in their elaborate city in the trees—and she felt the sharp sting of jealousy. Was she going to lose Rigel to him? Would her Shepherd want to return to his Tribe and live the life they’d planned for him?

Mari stared down at the moss. Her hands stilled and she felt as if her heart was breaking.

Rigel moved then, coming quickly to her side. He leaned against her, looking up at Mari and nuzzling her with his muzzle as he filled her with love—unending, unconditional love. Mari threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his warm, soft fur. “I’m sorry. I won’t doubt you again. I’m sorry.”

“Ugh, I’d forgotten how much yarrow stinks!” Sora said, then she frowned. “I thought we were in a hurry, so Iranback here, and I do not like running, to find you hugging the creature. Doesn’t seem like you’re doing much hurrying.”

“Just give me the plants and keep gathering hunks of this moss. Oh, and he’s awake. Sort of. Don’t let that surprise you.”

“After today I don’t think there’s anything left that could surprise me.”

Mari smiled grimly at Sora and then began chewing a hunk of yarrow leaf. She spit the leaf mash into her hand and then pressed it to the weeping wounds, motioning for Sora to follow behind her and pack moss over the yarrow. Nik didn’t open his eyes, nor did he make a sound until Mari lifted him to reach the spear wound, then he moaned and his eyes fluttered open.

Mari shook her head at the wound, and spoke more to herself than to him or Sora. “I can’t care for this properly until we get him back to the burrow. I take this spearhead out now and he’s going to bleed too much. It’ll have to be cauterized.”

“What are you going to do about it until then? It looks terrible, all bloody and swollen and disgusting. I’ll bet that river water didn’t help it at all,” Sora said.

“No, it didn’t. It’s going to have to be cleaned and watched carefully, even after I cauterize it. But right now I’m just going to pack it with yarrow and moss. Gotta get him out of here. The more time that goes by since the spear struck him, the worse it’s going to be getting it out and the worse the infection could be.”

Mari chewed the last of the yarrow, spit it around the bloody spearhead, and packed moss over it, laying him back down on the bed of moss. She stood and went to the river to wash her hands.

“What now?” Sora asked.

“Now Rigel is going to stay with him while you bring back dry clothes. Make him as comfortable as you can,” Mari said.

“And where are you going to be?”

“At the burrow getting Mama’s litter. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Mari squatted beside Rigel. “Stay here. Watch him and don’t bite Sora.” Mari glanced at the girl and added, “And if Nik wakes up and tries to hurt Sora,bite him.”

“Really?” Sora grinned.