Of the Fells

[KieranSoares]

"It helps with pain and swelling," he murmured, hoping he had remembered correctly. There were so many plants from Vincenzo's garden, and just as many that he ordered in from far away.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Do you know which jar it is in my back?" Valentina asked as Alex nodded and she sent him to retrieve it. "Some honey, a little water, and we will mash it well. That way Shia can drink it without trouble."

 

[KieranSoares]

Alex brought the jars, and went back to get her pestle and mortar. It was almost too heavy for him, being made of stone, but he managed to get it to her.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina dutifully showed Alex what she did step by step. She made him repeat the steps as she ground the herbs and added the water and honey to the mixture. Glancing towards Shia, she saw a smile on his face as he listened to the both of them.

"And then we need to check the bandages on his neck. We will change the poultice on them and then make sure there is no sign of infection." Valentina said. "Why don't you tell Shia about the dragon we met today while I boil some tea."

 

[KieranSoares]

Alex came to Shia's side, starting quietly at first as he told the old Wolf about their walk to the loch and how a green Dragoness had come out of the mist. "She said everyone calls her Khali, and she's over five-hundred years old."

"Ah, I've known Khali since I was a little cub," Shia told him. "She helped build this keep, you know. She and her brothers."

"There are more?" Alex nearly whispered.

"There are plenty of weredragons. But wait until you see one of their wild cousins. There aren't many, but they still exist. I understand one sleeps in Inverness."

 

[heartofcourage]

"The Inverness kipper. The one that Annie keeps telling you about." Valentina commented as she prepped her bandages and the herbal tea for Shia. "Annie has been waiting to meet her for years. Maybe you can help her keep an eye out."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Legend says her family knew her as Invah," Shia told Alex. "I'll bet Annie doesn't know that. But if you want to find a dragon, you have to be patient. Ones who hibernate like Invah only wake and rise from their dens once in a very long while. Sometimes they sleep for a hundred years or even more. But they say dragons can live forever."

Alex was completely wide-eyed in wonder as Shia spoke to him. He took every word to heart so he could tell Annie.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina had a soft smile on her face as Alex sat in rapt attention as Shia told him the story of the Inverness Kipper. It was good seeing the little boy acting like a little boy. It was nice having him interested in learning but it was even better to see him excited over an old fairy tale. Valentina gently unwrapped Shia's bandages and replaced them with fresh ones coated in herbal mixtures to help swelling. Then she handed him the mug of tea and sat down beside the wolf and her little boy.

"Papa always told me about the sea dragons off the coast of southern Italy. I never saw them, though." Valentina said with a smile. "Maybe Uncle Durban has."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'd advise you to take Alex to a Lunar or Erygonian Shaman, their mythology is full of such creatures. Their God of the sea is a great sea serpent and his brother, the God of fire, is a red dragon. The Lunars and their brethren believe all dragons and sea serpents are descended from them." Shia took a sip of his tea and let out a quiet sigh as he began to relax.

"You should rest," Alex told him quietly.

"I'm alright, little cub," Shia assured him.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina glanced towards Alex as he told Shia to rest. She was soon standing from her spot and placing Alex there instead. She handed him his carved dragon and glanced towards Shia.

"Alex, perhaps Shia would like someone to talk to until Sarin comes back." She suggested to the both of them, knowing that Shia would soon be asleep and Alex could watch over him.

 

[KieranSoares]

Alex nodded, content to remain there for the time being. Shia smiled, reaching out to ruffle the boy's hair. "I'll keep him occupied as best an old wolf can."

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina nodded and left the two of them alone, moving to clean and pack away her herbs as they quietly talked. She heard them discussing the were, especially the more exotic ones that lives in far away places. She laughed softly to herself as Alex's voice grew excited, mystified at the world that was beyond his wildest imagination.

 

[KieranSoares]

Theo eventually came to her, opening the door and murmuring quietly, "Love, th' Hirim's Head Elder sent for ya."

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina almost didn't hear Theo's whispered words. She glanced up at him and gave a nod when he talked about the head elder needing her. She quickly packed up her satchel, slinging it against her chest before she stole a kiss from Alex and then Theo and set out on her way.

 

[KieranSoares]

The fairly young and still new Head Elder Linus awaited Valentina in the huge longhouse in the center of the Hirim village in the forest. Being a centaur, he'd been unaffected by the plague along with half the tribe who were also centaurs. When Valentina and Theo were shown in by a fox, Linus turned to them and approached. At his side was his well-known warrior captain Taulin.

"Miss Ambrose," Linus said in his deep rumbling voice. "I am sorry to call you here with no notice. But one new case of the plague has appeared in the village. Thanks to your partner, it has not spread." He brought her to another long house where a dark grey fox was cradling her toddler, a little orange fox boy. He'd already been seen by other healers but they needed Valentina's skill to operate as he was too young to stand against the sickness for very long.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina had never operated on an infant before, especially one so tiny as the baby that was suffering. She glanced towards Linus and then at the mother who was trying to soothe her cub.

"I might not be able to help, but I will try." She murmured softly as she placed her satchel on the ground and got her tools ready to go. "How old is the child?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"Two years. His name is Corhinn," Linus told her. "His mother is Dhalma. Will you need a translator?"

"I can 'andle tha'," Theo told him, and Linus left them to tend to his tribe. Dhalma was in tears as Theo carefully laid the boy before Valentina and Dhalma helped him remove the boy's shirt so it wouldn't get in the way. Then Theo escorted Dhalma out and to her friends so that they wouldn't have to deal with a crying mother as well as an operation. He returned to Valentina to help her, knowing that dealing with such a young child was a risk.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina glanced up at Theo as he held the child still and she took a deep breath to steady herself. She had no idea what the outcome would be from this surgery, but she would do her best to make sure that the mother waiting in the other room did not have to bury her child that evening.

"Pray to whatever God you believe in, Theo. We'll need the help." She murmured softly as she sharpened her father's tools and soon got to work to remove the sores that were preventing the cub from breathing properly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"May th' Goddess no' have t'welcome this one home tonight," Theo murmured in response. They couldn't risk very strong medicine on such a young cub, so there wasn't much they could give him for pain as Valentina had to cut into his throat. Theo could only hold him still. Thankfully the cub was so exhausted that he didn't wake, but that didn't stop him from squirming. Working so close to an artery, it would take all Valentina's skill to succeed without collateral damage.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina was focused solely on the task at hand. She didn't listen to the sounds around her, using her deafness to her advantage to ignore each of the whimpers that the cub made in his daze. The stitches in his throat were fine, barely the width of a hair. He was simply too tiny for anything larger.

 

[KieranSoares]

Once his throat was stitched and his neck bandaged, Theo carefully moved the cub to a soft nest of blankets and let him rest. He kept an ear out for the cub's breathing, and quietly helped Valentina clean everything up. "Yer father'd be proud," he murmured to his love.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina glanced towards Theo as he softly praised her for what she had done. It was then that he could see her hands shaking and just how much it had taken a toll on her. She gave him a slight smile and a nod, still worried that the cub might slip away from them at a moment's notice. When an hour had passed and he was still breathing, she allowed the mother back into the room.

"He needs to be fed in the morning if he is strong enough." Valentina explained softly. "Soft foods that are nourishing."

 

[KieranSoares]

Dhalma wrapped Valentina in a hug with a murmur of thanks before going to her cub. Theo took Valentina away from the village to a quiet little creek, stopping beside it to wrap her up in his arms in the hope to soothe her nerves after he'd seen her hands trembling.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I've never operated on someone so young." Valentina confessed as Theo held her tightly. "It would be like operating on Alex, heaven forbid."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I was afraid tha' was what you were thinkin' about." Theo pressed a kiss to her temple. "But you saved tha' little cub. Y'saved half a village, not t'mention Shia. An' by savin' him, y'probably saved Sarin and a little bit o' Sarah too."