Alright.

You lay down too. I whisper quietly to the female wolf privately in her mind.

When she still tries to resist by shaking her angular face at me, I add:

I’ll make sure you both get the care you need at the same time.

That finally makes her give in and she settles next to her mate the Wolf King, curling her body next to his and poking her head up so she can lick at his snout.

Now that things were quiet, I could finally think.

Could I try feeding them the Tears?

One glance at the female wolf still licking the blood off her mate’s snout and I veto that thought. I couldn’t think of any movie where things went right by swallowing a mysterious potion/pill. There was a high probability that he would either die or go crazy in the process. Or he might turn into a plant.

Blood still leaked out of her own snout and dripped out of her eyes and ears as she tended to cleaning her mate’s coat. But she didn’t act like she minded at all, ignoring the blood as if it were only droplets of sweat or rain.

That was all my fault. It was because I’d poisoned her.

The other sick wolves no longer made any noise, leaving only the low sound of uneven breathing and keening noises from the larger, healthier pack members. In size, the wolves lying evenly in rows next to Crixus were smaller than the ones poisoned.

[Female Grey Wolf (Poisoned)]

[Male Grey Wolf (Poisoned)]

[Male Grey Wolf (Poisoned)]

The white boxes that appear when I appraise the wolves before me allows me to focus on the status, (Poisoned).

Appraising the (Poisoned) part reveals:

[Poisoned: Suffering from excessive blood loss due to anticoagulation agent.]

Poison…

In my mind, poison was just another form of sickness.

A warm voice whispers in the back of my mind. Full of joy and light, casually speaking to me like I was their close friend.

"You okay? Here, remember to drink the entire bottle before the day ends!"

The image of a brightly colored sports drink settling into my hand, and then looking up to see a kind human face with love in her eyes.

No, not close friend. This must be my mother’s voice! The gentle memory rising up helps me figure out my next step.

Bopping my head against the upright gourd sitting on the ground that I’d set out to clean the Wolf King’s wound, I push it right in front of the female wolf’s face.

Here, drink this.

Seeing that she begins drinking the water, I call out to the goblin who was busy stroking the fur of one of the sick wolves, eyeballing the softness of the silver fur beneath his thick knobby fingers.

Greenie! I need your help. Could you pass out all our gourds to the healthy wolves.

Then I hop up on the closest rock which brings me closer to the eye level of the wolves.

And then I need all you-

I point to the wolves still standing with their attention on me.

-healthy wolves to make sure each sick wolf gets one bottle of water.

Tapping the smooth shell of the gourd, I gesture out towards the sick wolves.

They followed my instructions easily enough, helping the wolves laying down to move towards large indentations in the cave floor where some of them poured the water in the gourds.

That must be easier for them to drink that way.

What else?

Fluids alone weren’t going to be enough. Their bloodstream had poison running through it. Appraisal said it was the excessive blood loss that was the issue though.

Appraisal phrased it so simply, when in reality every posioned wolf had red drops of blood leaking out of their snouts, their ears, from the corners of their angular eyes-

It was terrifying. But still, the smell of this much blood thick in the cave was not making me sick as I would have expected.

Hmm.

If they were losing blood-

They needed to get more blood.

The lightbulb goes off in my head. They needed more blood!

When the female wolf sees my gaze zigzagging between her, the other wolves, and the pile of junk in one corner of our cave, her posture sags, a slow blink making a large droplet of blood fall atop the dry clay on my wing, staining the blue clay red.

I was no doctor. How was I going to do this??

Mate…I will miss running with you.

Her calm voice was full of love as she gives a final lick on the Wolf King’s scar, where he was missing an eye. Sighing, she rests her head on her paws and closes her eyes.

A short sleep..

She whispers. And then passes out, settling into a cloud of crimson-stained silver.

Oh no.

Wincing, I dare not look at the Wolf King’s reaction. He was going to freak out I knew it.

NO!!

AWOOOOOOO!!!

Though her mate nudges her side, she doesn’t get back up.

Though weakened, the Wolf King’s cry of anguish makes every wolf flatten their ears against their head, but I hop forward and wave one wing hard at him.

She’s not dead!! Don’t worry!!

He couldn’t see it from his position behind her, but there was still blood coming out from her ears and snout. And my smaller stature made it easier for me to see the still moving breaths softly gushing out of her chest.

Ears flicker as he rubs his face against his mate’s. His large tail settles over his smaller mate’s body while one eyes watches me, glowering.

Please. Heal my mate.

The heavy scent of blood gushing into my nose makes it hard for me to think while I stroke my beak through the upper part of the lady wolf’s foreleg. Her fur was matted together from the dried blood she’d already lost, and I had to yank a bit harder through those clumps while I eyeballed her fur.

Then.. I- I need blood. From one of you.

The wolves look at each other in confusion when I hop up to them, lowering their heads and whimpering.

When I hop towards them again, they avoid me, slinking back into the shadows. Was this what it felt like when the people at the Red Cross asked for blood donors? I wondered. If so, it was not a good feeling.

Many of them shrink away, while others step forward, then backwards away from me. Looking back at the female wolf, her coat continued to be stained with her blood as it leaked out of her.

It was all shades of grey and red-brown of old blood. There was no way I could find a vein under all that. And not just any vein. I needed to find the point where the thicker veins that carried blood.

Hmmm…

I needed to find a donor.

Would you be willing to give your blood?

I ask the nearest wolf with a dark grey, almost black coat.

No! Use me!

A twisted paw smacks between me and the wolf, and my eyes follow it up to the face of it’s owner, the Wolf King.

Incredulous, I shake my head up at him. He was in no shape to share blood!!

Are you sure? Look at yourself!

You’re wounded and your fire’s out. Though I send a meaningful glance at his back, he still doesn’t seem to understand the danger of what he was volunteering for.

You know there’s a higher chance of you dying if you give her your blood?

She’s my Mate. I will give her my blood.

Hahh.. Shaking my head, I don't bother arguing with him anymore. Wolf King? More like King of Stubbornness.

Okay..

Though I step forward, ready to have the Wolf King’s blood transfused into his mate, I freeze in my tracks.

The most important part! I’d forgotten!!

How was I going to do this?!

It was important the Wolf King didn’t seem me nervous or flustered at all, so I did my best to appear confident while making my way towards the pile of junk we’d gathered.

I needed something, thin, sharp, and pointy.

{Torn Wool Fabric}

Nope

{Wood Button}

Nope.

{Mirror Snake Rib Bone}

Though some of the thin rib bones from the Mirror Snake survived the Subterranean Rat invasion, they were too big to be used as a needle.

Next the the bones were a small row of brown spiky balls, something Greenie picked up in our scouting missions as a new type of ammo for his new slingshot.

[Kurinea Nut]

The brown nut was encased in a little covering completely swathed in spikes, thin and pointy enough to make Greenie yelp each time he picked one up.

Oh! This might work!

Carefully, I cut off a vine from the undulating Siphon Bush in the back of our cave, covering the large hole the Subterranean Rats had come out of.

The Siphon Bush itself worked like a vacuum cleaner when it sucked out the blood. The inside of the vine was hollow, with a set of rib-like protrusions the undulated. The vacuum it created by sucking, as well as the protrusions that moved in sync to move the blood of its prey into the bush itself would work for me as the transfusion tube.

Carefully, I try stabbing the thin brown needle from the Kurinea nut into the center of the vine, where the hollow was.

Crack!

That didn’t work…

The Kurinea Nut needle broke when I tried binding it to a Siphon bush vine.

Both wolves don’t move anymore, the Wolf King lowering his gaze to stare at the ground while he waits for me to continue my ‘healing’ work.

This needle wasn’t going to work.

Something hard and pointy..

The wing that is practically glued to my body with clay and set in place with a splint jerks when I tried to stroke my beak with it.

Another look down at my body.

Wait-

The splint was made of a metal! Maybe we could make that into a needle?

Andvari, do you have the metal stuff you made my splint with?

You mean the Ingni Alumen? Yes, I happen to have a bit here.

Sitting up from his usual spot in the fire, Andvari sticks thick fingers into his beard and pulls out a dully glinting small rough pebble. Yes!

Do you think you can make it like this?

I ask, pointing to the Kurinea Nut cupule (the sharp outside surrounding the brown nut) with the many needles sticking out of it.

But I need it to be hollow inside too.

That should be simple enough. Though Igni Alumen can be soft and brittle. You must treat it with care or it will shatter.

I don’t mind, as long as it’s stronger than this.

For reference, I snap another needle from the Kurinea nut with my beak.

Ahh. That can be done.

Picking up a somewhat angular rock, Andvari begins by rolling out the smooth metal pebble out into a flat shape, and then begins twisting and pounding the metal.

How much of the metal do you have left, Andvari?

I ask, while I have Greenie hold the female wolf’s mouth open and I pour in the last of the water into her throat.

Hmmm.

Taking a moment to fondle his long matted beard, Andvari points up one thumb and pointer finger.

About two fists left.

Good. Hopefully, there was enough needles for all the sick wolves.

The shape twists into a cone, spinning tighter and tighter as Andvari gingerly clasps it between his teeth and continues twisting until its thinner than my talon.

Size-wise it was close enough to the Kurinea Nut needle.

Will this do?

Perfect!

There was no time to marvel at the metal working skills of the dwarf.

Gently taking it from Andvari’s outstretched fingers, I grasp the torn off Siphon bush vine in one talon and stab the larger end of the needle into the vine.

Everything was done spontaneously. There was no way of knowing if this was going to work. But I had to try. Taking a deep breath, I rely on Scent Detection, while also pressing the side of my head against the female wolf’s thick forelimb.

The scent of blood was thicker here under all the fur, and I could hear her heart beat!

It must be here!

Andvari, lend me the sword.

The dwarf had been edging his work-rock closer and closer to me as he hears me muttering instructions to Greenie. With great reluctance, he hands the sword to Greenie when Greenie gently smacks him on the shoulder.

Greenie, please scrape off her fur here.

Here?

Yes.

Scratch-scritch.

Both of us peer intently at the wolf, working quietly while focused on scraping back the fur without nicking her skin.

Soon it was cleaned to reveal pale pink skin underneath, with a large vein ready for me to pierce.

The end of the Siphon Bush vine without the needle I stick into the Wolf King’s open wound, making him groan.

But I ignore it, watching as the vine does it’s job, sucking up his blood in a undulating motion. Now to send his blood into his mate’s bloodstream-

Carefully, I grasp the needle end of the vine with my wing-fingers, tracing the skin for the small bump of the vein with the point of my beak.

I really hoped this would work.