Emily, Thomas, Laura and Francis were having a most unexpected and interesting afternoon ensconced with those Lind who dealt with healing wounds and diseases amongst the Lind.
They made the acquaintance of an inconspicuous red root with quite amazing medicinal properties. When rubbed on to injuries it not only numbed the wound but cleaned it as well. The Lind had used it for antiseptic and numbing properties in this way as long as any Lind could remember.
When Laura poked at it experimentally with her index finger she was flabbergasted by its effect. Her finger had become numb within a few seconds and stayed that way for quite some time, over two hours by her chrono.
“No side effects so far,” she said.
“For Lind Smaha is good. Cleans and stops hurts,” said the female Lind who was talking to them. Her name was Talya.
The discussion on various medicinal uses for various plants continued and Laura’s finger began, slowly, to return to normal.
It was at this point in time that the unsuspecting Jim was entering Zanatei’s daga.
Thomas and Francis soon became more than a little bored with all the medical talk and moved to the edge of the clearing. They began to discuss Thomas’s experiments with spear and knife making.
“I can’t get the fire hot enough,” Thomas was explaining. “Quite a few implements end up so brittle that they are of no use to anyone. That’s why I have to get back to the settlement, to find out how to do it properly.”
Francis agreed with the boy. Steelwood was hard to mould into shape and needed the most careful handling.
“I think,” he began.
Thomas never heard what Francis thought. At that moment a young Lind female hurtled into the clearing and made straight for Zhenya who was the senior healer on duty.
“Ltscta gin,” she gasped.
Zhenya, the senior healer at domta Zanatei, stood up at once. Talya, the healer who had been talking to Laura and Francis approached the messenger, a questioning look in her eyes. They began to talk together rapidly in Lindish.
What she learnt from the young female made her drop her head in dismay. An injured youngling had suffered a serious wound and one that the healers for all their knowledge and experience would find nigh impossible to cure.
“Fell. Sharp. Blood,” was all that the humans present managed to decipher and it was only Emily and Thomas who understood that it was believed that the situation was hopeless.
As the hurt ltscta arrived, lying precariously over its dam’s back, both Laura and Emily moved closer. As the mother lowered herself so that Zhenya could examine her son, they both glimpsed the large gash along his side. It was bleeding profusely. They were surprised to see that the blood was not red like their own but a dull yellow colour.
“Needs closing,” stated Laura in matter of fact tones. Later she was surprised to remember how calm and collected she was, and also that she had managed so remember so many Lindish words.
“Closing?” asked Talya. “How do ‘closing’?”
With a start Laura realised that the Lind could not possibly know what she was talking about. The art of surgery was unknown to the Lind.
“I need the wound gel,” was the only answer Talya got. Laura realised that if the bleeding was not stopped the lindling (as she privately called the ltscta) would die from shock and loss of blood. Turning to Francis who was standing on the sidelines of the drama wondering what he could possibly do to help, she added urgently, “First Aid Kit in my pack. Go get it.”
He went on the word, running towards Tara and Kolyei’s daga as fast as his legs could carry him.
“Get it numbed,” ordered Laura, pointing towards the Smaha roots then trotting off to the nearby stream to wash her hands.
Talya acted without question and picked up with her mouth one of the roots carefully covered with a large leaf to protect the handler. She brought it over to the injured little one who was whimpering piteously, still lying atop its mother.
Emily took the root, still in its protective leaf covering, and gently rubbed it over the wound and its environs. The whimpering ceased within seconds, then Emily, remembering her first aid classes, applied pressure to the area where the bleeding was fastest.
She got an approving nod from Laura.
Francis crashed back into the clearing, carrying the small medical kit. Under Laura’s directions he helped them lift the ltscta on to the ground. The mother stayed where she was, hopeful that these humans could do something, anything that would give her son a chance to live. She knew that a bad wound like this should mean death but these humans were acting as if they could save him.
“Someone hold him still,” commanded Laura, concentrating hard as she rummaged in the bag for the gel. Emily and Francis bent down to still the patient. The mother looked anxious. What were they going to do?
Laura took a deep breath. Her hand was poised over the edge of the gaping wound. She looked closer. Good, there did not appear to be any damage to the internal organs. If she could stop the bleeding and close the wound the little one should survive. At least this wasn’t the hot season; there weren’t as many flies and buzzers around which were a prime cause of infection.
Emily bent over the wound. At Laura’s nod, she held together the ragged edge of the blood vessel so that the woman would have both hands free to apply the gel. Thomas, standing beside the two Lind healers who were watching, started to look a bit green and soon excused himself. They could hear him being sick in the nearby bushes.
Once she was sure that the blood vessel was no longer spurting out blood, Laura began to close the outer wound. Centimetre by centimetre, she concentrated hard on each one. Sweat began to trickle down her spine and her back began to ache. The blood was still flowing, but was starting to ease off. She drew together the last section of skin at last, applied the gel and sat back. She was exhausted.
As she worked, Laura wondered what the medics would do when their supply of surgical gel was finished. The days of a fully equipped ship’s sickbay with the ingredients and technological means to make the gel were over. She hoped that a gel substitute could be found using native ingredients, having no desire to have to use the emergency needles and thread contained in the kit.
The youngster lay there, half unconscious. His dam nudged him with her nose, urging him to move just a little, to prove to her that he was going to be all right. Thanks to the numbing Smaha root, he had felt no pain during Laura’s ministrations.
Laura caught the mother’s eye.
“It must be kept clean,” she told her, “and he has to be kept warm and quiet.”
The mother looked to Zhenya for a translation. There was a burst of Lindish.
Zhenya turned towards Laura. “Kseniya asks; will Akimei live?” she asked, partly in Lindish, partly in Standard.
“I hope so,” replied the woman. “I’ll look at him again tomorrow. Now he needs rest and warmth.”
“Kseniya, Akimei, stay here,” said Zhenya. “Is warm here.”
Talya and Zhenya continued to watch Laura with amazed gratitude. As Laura went to the stream to wash the blood from her hands they bowed their heads with respect. Bad hurts would not now mean certain death for the victim. These humans could join up the edges and insides too and thus stop the loss of blood that caused the heart to stop. They could not wait to tell the others. As Laura returned to the group Zhenya approached her and crunched up her lips in what the Lind called a smile. Her sharp teeth gleamed whitely.
“Thank you,” she said simply, but there was a deep and heartfelt gratitude in her voice. “More humans heal?”
“Yes,” said Laura, returning smile for smile, “and they are much better than me at it too.”
“You Ruza,” the Lind replied.
Laura was not aware of what the word meant. Later, when it was explained to her, she was both proud and embarrassed about being considered a hero by the Lind. She had, by saving the little one, earned a permanent place in all Lind hearts; she had more than earned her membership in
the pack, paired or not.
The humans left the clearing after some more pleasantries. Kseniya watched them go. Her tail thumped a large thank you.
As they passed through the domta, the word of their recent doings spread. Many came out of their dagas and watched them pass, bowing their heads in Laura’s direction. Others watched silently. A warm feeling came over Laura. Francis, greatly daring, put his arm round her shoulder. Laura made no attempt to remove it.
“I must go find Ilyei,” announced Emily. She looked shyly at Laura. “That was very brave, what you have just done.”
Francis agreed with this sentiment wholeheartedly. When Laura said nothing in reply he answered for her. “Yes it was,” he said, smiling down at her from his six and a half feet in height. “And I know for certain that she hasn’t done anything like it before either.”
“Really?” exclaimed the girl and then sped off in order to be the first to tell this piece of news to the others.
Francis and Laura walked on together. Francis did not speak; he was content just to have this opportunity to be alone with her at last. They did not notice when their two Lind shadows appeared from the undergrowth and padded after them. Their luxuriant tails were swishing fit to burst; Faddei and Asya had reached the culmination of their wait. The moment had come sooner than they had expected. When Laura and Francis returned to their compatriots they would be a couple yes, but they would also be part of an unbreakable foursome that would continue until they died.
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