[13] A sound, the wet smell of a fur, her senses woke up form that calling and so did she. She slowly opened her eyes and saw something in her foggy sight. She moved her arm and grabbed the stranger, felling her soft fur that caressed her skin.
« Calm down, dear, I am here to help you. »
It was a warm and motherly voice. It was not an animal ready to attack. The stranger also spoke the Zhyun dialect, a plus. Vastayas had too many dialects, and she could not understand most of them. The common language was familiar to her. She would not have a communication problem.
She left her arm and leaned down, relaxing her muscles. She opened her eyes and could visualize the figure in front of her.
She was a short Vastaya and looked like an otter. Her whiskers seemed the ones of a goat, and around her face, there were garnet growths similar to some small pectoral fins. She wore a turtleneck light green vest with two large half sleeves adorned with darker edges. On it, she had a pastel yellow sleeveless jacket.
« It was you who rescued me? » asked, hoping finally to answer to that question.
« No, I am here because who found you requested my help. Poor thing! She was desperate, and I can understand why. »
A half-dead end, she had not seen her savior, but she could tell she was female and a Vastaya. No one of her kind would have helped a human, or at least that was the practice of her tribe.
Her interlocutor looked inside her bag and took out a bottle filled with an ointment, along with two long smooth splints. She also picked some pieces of fabric, and they were well cut and sewed. One of them was longer and bigger.
« Are you able to sit? »
She nodded and obeyed, holding a spasm of pain.
« Mh, I am surprised that she was able to heal so well the minor injuries. That arm has a terrible angle. I think the bone is growing in the wrong way. »
Her suspicions were correct, that pain was not normal. Probably her savior decided just not to worsen the injury and to keep her alive. She already did so much. She could forgive her that mistake.
« I have to check if there are other fractures but, because I do not see other bruises, I do not think so. I could hurt you, but… »
« Do not worry, it will not hurt as when you break my arm again. » she said.
The Vastaya was surprised. She did not want to make her worried and nervous, relying on her medical ignorance.
« I know how it works. I had already seen it when I was with my tribe. »
It was when they liven inside that lush forest, and now it was only an empty and wild field.
The woman nodded, and she began to touch her hand and her wrist with her soft paws. She instinctively flinched, felling her touch too close to the fracture.
« Does it hurt? » she asked calmly.
She shook her head, biting her lips. The forearm was pulsing more than before. The idea to break the bone gave her nausea, and she could not even bear the thought to tighten that point.
« It is just a reflection. This point gives you all the pain. » she said, pointing the purple area on her skin.
The Vastaya checked her elbow, then her arm and her shoulder. She did not feel other pain but, the one that was coming from the fracture.
« Fine, I think we can go ahead. Relax while I prepare something to ease the pain. »
She nodded and tried to lean on the wall, taking deep breaths. She had to rely on one single thought: that infernal pain would have been over. One quick and precise gesture and after everything would have been more comfortable.
« You belong to the Lhotlan tribe, do not you? » asked the woman, crushing some grains in a small bowl.
Hearing that name made her curl her ears. She knew her people, and maybe she could tell her what happened to them.
« Y… yes. Have you met them? »
« Many years ago. You know, I am a nomad Vastaya, I have decided to bring my medical knowledge to the other tribes. Once I stopped by your people, but I think it has been a while.»
She nodded, disappointed. She got nothing; her only hope was still the witch inside the temple.
« You are the first that I see after years. Unfortunately, the war with Noxus created great problems also to the Vastaya in these lands, so I have decided to dedicate myself to them. I still do not understand why humans are capable of such horrible things. »
She concentrated on her words. They could be a good distraction from the pain.
« They are humans. I would not be so surprised. »
A funny smile appeared on the Vastayas's chubby face while she fulled the bowl with the substance inside a goatskin.
« I see that you have not changed; you are still skeptical and distrustful. But I can not say you are wrong. » said the woman, giving her the decoction.
She moved away from the wall and approached, grabbing it. She brought it to her mouth, but the Vastaya indicated her to wait. She obeyed, lowering the bowl.
« I have to give you an explanation now when you are still conscious. After I repeat it also to your friend », she stared, taking a packet from her bag, « You have to put this ointment twice a day and do not have to take a bath before it dried out. »
She nodded, trying to memorize the information.
« Then, the herbs inside this », she explained, shacking the packet, « You have to take them as infusion thrice a day after the meals until your bone will be fixed. I will leave you also some herbs for the pain, the first days the fracture could still hurt. »
She confirmed again that she had understood, but hoped not to forget everything when she would have drunk the decoction. She did not trust so much her savior: she had never seen her, and even on that occasion, she did not care to show herself. She left her in the hands of a stranger as much as she seemed a good person.
She drank the liquid and waited for it to take effect. The Vastaya gave her a piece of wood, and she took it in her hands.
« Put it in your mouth and bite it; it should help you. »
She wanted to feel the first results of the medicine, and then she would have done it. But speaking had distracted her, so she decided to follow that path.
« The woman who saved me… do you know who she is? » she asked.
« No, and I have no idea to which tribe she belongs, but I think she is a good person. She has tried to help you as much as she could and was very worried about your arm. She was lucky I was in that village. After the war just a few Vastaya want to leave their households. »
She felt a little dizziness, but she could still understand her words. She could already ask her to carry out the operation, but she was still too tense. She was sick of the pain, but she was not ready. She asked only some more time, not too much.
« But… why did she not show herself? »
Her head spun, leaving the world outside of her perception. She could not hesitate anymore. She had to do it after the Vastaya's answer.
« I think she is timid, she was even afraid to talk to us. »
She nodded and put the wood inside her mouth. She barely heard her words.
She noticed late that the woman had come near. She took her forearm and knew that only because she felt pain, uncomfortable ad a needle stabbed on her skin.
« Take a deep breath. »
It was time. The Vastaya she was going to break her bone again. The world became further, the senses more muffled, but she still felt some pain. She hoped that everything would have ended quickly.
She inhaled enough air, and the Vastaya acted immediately, breaking the ligament with a single crunch.
She felt the pain, more vivid than the continuous pulsations. She bit with strength the piece of wood, holding a scream. She tried to push away the woman, but her steady grip blocked her left hand.
She sank her teeth inside the sharp stick and tried to forget about the intense pain. It was still pulsing as her heart, it did not want her to breathe. A tear came down on her face but she almost did not realize it, she was too focused on her forearm.
« Calm down, calm down, it is over. » whispered the Vastaya, caressing her head.
She trusted her and relaxed her muscles. Everything would have been over; she repeated it as a pray. It was only a moment after the pain would have been less.
The sedative became stronger, and the stick came out from her mouth. She was not able to hold it.
She took another breath, and it gave her considerable relief. She got rid of her tension and slowly, the pain was decreasing.
The Vastaya picked up the ointment and asked if she could put it on her wound.
She nodded instinctively; she could not control her will. She acted, but she did not realize it. Maybe if she got some sleep, it would have been better.
He felt some pain, as always, but this time there was also that fresh ointment. It gave her a good feeling. She knew it was impossible, but she thought it was already working.
The woman went on with the operation and tied up the new splints. She also took the big piece of fabric. She put it under the wound and after she asked her to lower her head.
She obeyed and found herself with a bandage that held her arm. It was a huge step forward than using only her strength.
« Now try to get some rest. I will stay here a little bit so that I can control your recovery. »
She followed her words and laid down, trying to be lulled by the hug of the sleep.