The Felines of Pern Chapter 8
It was a busy, exciting day at Honshu Weyrhold. Talina's gold Arwith had begun laying her latest clutch of eggs.
She would have very much preferred her home Weyr of Monaco Bay, but Monaco Bay was still cleaning up after the fireball flood, and the hatching sands were still under several inches of water. Most of that weyr's inhabitants were living as refugees among the inhabitants of Honshu, which put some strain on all of them. Arwith, in particular, was upset at having to use hatching sands that she hadn't examined and prepared beforehand. But dragon biology would not take "later" for an answer, and so far today, she had laid five eggs in the Honshu sands, including a gold queen egg. The process would take days before the last egg was laid; Arwith was a true daughter of Ramoth and produced eggs by the dozen.
F'lessan, as Weyrleader and Holder of Honshu, was responsible for the hospitality of the many guests who arrived for this special event. Talina's family from Ruatha wanted to see what her dragon was up to; her friends from Benden Weyr were curious; friends from several Holds and Halls where Talina had fostered, prior to being Searched, all wanted to share her joy. Nearly all of the young men in the area put in an appearance, gazing on the eggs as they hardened on the sands, and hoping to be chosen to stand on those sands when the eggs hatched so they could pair off with a dragon. There were many, many people dropping in on Honshu on short notice. They all needed food, drink, a place to sleep for a night or two, and a place to relax and enjoy the company of all the other guests. F'lessan did his best, but halfway through the morning, Tai found him leaning against a wall in a remote part of their Weyrhold instead of trying to complete his newest errand.
"I can't understand it," he complained. "I've got no energy! A few simple tasks like this shouldn't leave me exhausted. What's wrong with me?"
"Well, let me guess," Tai said thoughtfully. "Could it be because your body is still mending itself from a serious injury? Could it be because you're stressed after your dragon took an even more serious injury? Could it be because all these uninvited guests could wear anyone out, even if he wasn't recovering from a dual trauma like that?"
"I'll go with Option Number Three," he decided.
"I'll go with 'all of the above,'" she told him. "And I'll also take over the host's duties, while you get the rest that you need. Mirrim will help me; she's got more energy than both of us put together. Go sit with Golanth in the courtyard for a while, and if anyone pesters you, tell them you're not feeling well. That's the truth!" She gave him a gentle nudge toward the main doors, then hustled off to find Mirrim.
F'lessan and Golanth were drowsing in the midday sun when the dragon suddenly lifted up his huge head. Someone is coming.
"Golly, someone has been coming every minute ever since the sun came up!" F'lessan complained. "Can't they give us a break, just for an hour or two?"
Please do not call me Golly. The one who is coming is the feline we met in the forest.
"Golanth, are you sure?" F'lessan exclaimed as he struggled to his feet. "Can you tell one feline from another like that?"
It is her. She is asking to speak to the two of us. She calls you F'lessan, not Modoc.
"Where is she?"
She waits just beyond the edge of the forest.
"Call for Tai! No, Tai is busy, and I don't want to scare all our guests by telling them there's a feline here. Call for Jaxom and Ruth."
They are getting ready to fly back to Ruatha. They have stopped their preparations and they are coming.
Two minutes later, the white dragon with two riders glided down and landed in the courtyard next to the much bigger bronze dragon. "Golanth called us," Jaxom said as he leaped off his dragon's back. "He said it's important. What's going on?"
"Our feline is here," F'lessan explained. "She's calling for me and Golanth, and I want somebody else beside me when I start a conversation with a completely unknown being."
Jaxom stopped in his tracks. "So you've invited us to a feline's lunch party?" he said dubiously. "Am I supposed to be a snack, the main course, or dessert?"
"I think the answer is 'none of the above,'" F'lessan replied. "There's only one of them, she's on our home turf, and she's given up the element of surprise by calling out to us, so I don't think attacking us is on her menu."
"That's a poor choice of words under the circumstances," Sharra complained from Ruth's back.
"Point taken. Anyway, I asked you to join me for moral support, not because I'm expecting a fight."
That is good, Ruth chimed in. I do not approve of my friend being eaten.
"We can stay, as long as you think it's safe," Sharra assured F'lessan as she gracefully dismounted. "I told Brand we'd be back in time for supper, and that's hours away, even by Ruatha time."
"Don't time it on my account!" F'lessan urged him.
"I don't think we'll have to," Jaxom replied. "Now, where's your pet feline?"
"She's no pet," F'lessan said tightly. "A pet wouldn't have tried to kill me and eat me. The last time we saw her, she was telling us to leave her land. Now she's on our land. We have to find out what she wants. This might be the breakthrough I've been hoping for."
"Then let's go," Jaxom said. "Ruth, stay close. Do you know where she is?"
Golanth says she is hiding behind that low bush with the yellow flowers. The two young men and their dragons slowly walked toward that bush.
"Golanth, ask her what she wants," F'lessan asked.
For an answer, the spotted cat stepped out from behind the bush. She was a magnificent sight, lithe and athletic, and the fact that she had tried to kill F'lessan on several occasions didn't dampen his admiration for her.
She says she is looking for a healing for her injured flank. She says we told her that humans are good at healing different kinds of creatures. She needs to see if we were telling the truth.
Jaxom blew out the breath he'd been holding. "Well, we sure stuck ourselves into it this time! Ruth, did you have to tell her all that about us?"
You told me to. Ruth sounded reproachful.
"Well, you didn't lie," Jaxom added. "We do have healers who are good at their jobs."
"But will anyone want this job?" F'lessan replied. "The rest of Pern is trying to cut down on the feline population, not save their lives."
Sharra got a look at the cat's injured side and shook her head. "That looks infected. The cat must be in a lot of pain. If she's as intelligent as we are, then we can't let her suffer."
"Sharra, keep your distance!" Jaxom warned her. "That creature is a known killer. You can't do anything for her without getting within biting distance, and biting is bad. Right, F'lessan?"
"I'll admit, I'm conflicted," F'lessan admitted. "I don't want any animal to suffer, especially an intelligent one, but I don't want to give her another chance to eat me, either."
"Then we'll let the Beastcrafters make the decision," Jaxom decided. "Healing injured creatures is their job. You're the Weyrleader; you can ask the Beastcraft Hall to send a Healer by dragonback, and then you can wash your hands of the whole matter."
"I won't completely back away from this," F'lessan said, "but I'll take a break from it. Golanth, please bespeak Barnath at Ista Weyr. Ask him to tell G'dened that we need a Beastcraft Healer as soon as possible."
After a moment, Golanth said, G'dened will send a bronze to the Beastcrafthall, along with a message to Master Sograny. He wants to know what kind of animal the Healer is going to heal, and what kind of sickness the animal has.
"Tell him… tell him it's a wild animal with a deep cut on her flank. Her survival is important."
Rit wants to know why we are standing here, doing nothing, Golanth said.
Ruth answered that. We are summoning a Healer to look at your injury. The Healer will be here soon. Is there anything we can do for you while we wait?
"I am thirsty," she answered, and Ruth translated.
"I'll get a servant with some water," Sharra said as she ran back toward the main buildings.
"Bring some meat, too," F'lessan called after her. "Rit may be hungry."
"She always looks hungry," Jaxom lamented.
"'Hungry' is bad when we're talking about felines," F'lessan nodded. "I wish it wasn't so hard to trust her. I want to communicate with her so badly!"
"Ruth, tell her it may be a while before the Healer gets here," Jaxom told his dragon. "Maybe she'd feel more comfortable in the shade?"
She says she is accustomed to being in the sun, and it does not bother her.
"Okay," Jaxom shrugged. They stood there, stiffly and awkwardly, waiting. A few minutes later, Sharra returned with two servants, one with a pan of water, the other with a platter of broiled wherry meat. Both of them took one look at the feline and stopped short, unwilling to go a step further.
"Fine, I'll do it," Sharra sighed. She took the water pan first and slowly approached the great cat. "I've brought you some water."
She says thank you.
"Sharra, be careful!" Jaxom urged her.
Sharra set the pan down in front of the feline and quickly backed away. The cat stretched her neck toward the pan and lapped up its contents for nearly half a minute.
"Ask her if she needs food," Jaxom said to his dragon.
She says yes, she is hungry.
"I'm not surprised," Sharra commented as she set the meat platter before the cat. She wasn't quite as nervous about being that close to Rit as she'd been a few moments before. "It must be hard to hunt with an injury like that."
The feline hesitantly took a bite and swallowed it. She says it is partly burned. She says it tastes odd, but she cannot afford to be choosy. A few minutes later, the platter was bare.
That was when a large shadow passed over them. It was a bronze dragon, coming in for a landing. Rit flinched but held her ground.
"Is this another party guest?" F'lessan asked, hoping against hope that it wasn't.
No, it is Koloth from Ista, and he bears a Beastcraft Master Healer.
The dragon landed in the courtyard, discharged his passenger, and immediately leaped skyward and went between. "He must be in a hurry for some reason," Jaxom observed. "Is Ista flying Thread today?"
"They flew Thread yesterday," F'lessan answered. "Koloth is one of the Oldtimers. He's probably tired and wants to take a day-long nap."
"Fair enough," Jaxom nodded. A minute later, they were joined by the Master Healer, a woman in her early fifties with shoulder-length hair and a kindly expression.
"Master Ballora!" F'lessan exclaimed. "Welcome to Honshu! Your Hall sent the best, I see."
"You flatter me," Ballora replied. "Now, where's my patient?"
"She's on the other side of Golanth," Sharra told her. Ballora stepped around the huge dragon, took one look at Rit, and stopped in her tracks.
"This is the creature you want me to heal?" she burst out. "I thought we were trying to reduce their numbers!"
"Preventing the conception of new felines is one thing," Sharra replied. "Allowing an intelligent creature to suffer… that's something very different. I'm a Healer of humans, and it's my job to heal anyone who's hurting, even if he's a criminal. I don't have the right to pick and choose who I'm going to heal."
Ballora nodded after a moment. "A patient is a patient, I suppose. I've never worked on felines before, but I love a challenge. Exactly how intelligent is she?"
"We talk to her and listen to her, using our dragons as interpreters," F'lessan said. "She has a language that we can't understand. She's not a brilliant conversationalist, but she thinks, she feels, and she communicates."
"Then please tell her I'm going to check her out, and I'd appreciate it if she didn't bite me," the Healer said with a hint of nervousness. After a moment, the cat chuffed. Then Ballora looked startled.
Jaxom smiled. "Let me guess – Ruth just translated Rit's words straight into your mind?"
"A dragon never spoke to me before," she admitted.
I like her. She is kind-hearted and she cares for all intelligent creatures equally.
"Ruth isn't nearly as picky as most dragons about whom he talks to," Jaxom explained. "If he likes you, then he'll talk to you."
"Well, I'm glad I passed his test, then," Ballora said. "This will be a 'first' for me. I'm not used to my patients telling me where it hurts. Ruth, can you ask her where it hurts?"
Ruth asked Rit to turn around instead. When Ballora saw the injured flank, she let out a low whistle. "That looks bad, very bad. I'm going to have to probe it. Please tell her it's going to hurt when I poke at her injury, but I have to know how deep it is." After a moment, the cat chuffed softly and flicked her tail back and forth.
When the Healer's fingers touched the wound, Rit stiffened, snarled, and bit the air viciously, but didn't turn back toward Ballora. The Healer froze, waited to make sure the cat wasn't about to take her arm off, and continued. Rit quivered all over and lashed her tail from side to side, but waited, unmoving, until Ballora was done.
"It's very infected," the Healer decided. "Left untreated, it will kill her in a week. I'll have to debride it, and I'm going to need some kind of powerful antibiotic. The ointment I brought with me won't be strong enough."
"How about the new yellow powder?" Sharra asked. She pulled out the tube from her travel pack.
"I haven't used that stuff yet," Ballora said. "They've just begun to mass-produce it, and almost all of it is going to the humans and the dragons. But I think it will work just fine on a feline. Ruth, please tell her I'm going to pour this powder into her wound, and then cover it. It will feel slightly cool at first, and then it won't feel like anything. She must not lick it. It will probably taste terrible if she does."
She asks what good a yellow powder can do to heal an injury.
Sharra spoke up. "I've used it on my own son and on our livestock. I don't understand the principle that makes it work, but it definitely works. If the Healer says it will do good things for you, then you have to trust her. I know it won't hurt you."
She is unconvinced, but she will allow you to try.
"That's very kind of her. Make sure she understands that the Healer has to remove the infected tissue first. That part is going to hurt."
She asks, "Is that necessary?"
"It's absolutely necessary," Ballora said, speaking to the feline. "If I don't debride the wound, then the antibiotic won't work like it should. If you want to live, then I have to do it."
She says she is ready. You may proceed.
"You might find it easier if you lay down," the Healer told her.
She says, "I am a hunter and I do not fear pain. I will stand."
"As you wish." Ballora pulled some small metal implements out of her bag. "I'll do this as quickly as I can." It took her about ten minutes, during which time the feline stood stiffly, lashing her tail, quivering all over, visibly wincing now and then, but not moving otherwise. At last, the Healer put her implements down. "You're a very brave feline," she told Rit. "I've seen humans who endured that kind of treatment worse than you just did."
She says, "I am a hunter."
"That was the hard part," Ballora said. "This next part won't hurt at all." She sprinkled the yellow powder into the wound, then applied a simple dressing. "I'd like to refresh that powder and change the dressing twice a day for a while," she decided. "Sharra, you've got only one dose of powder left. Can you get more for me?"
"Consider it done," she nodded. "It's for a good cause."
"What, exactly, is the good cause?" Ballora asked.
"We're trying to reach some kind of understanding with the felines," F'lessan told her. "We want to find out why they're attacking us, so we can work out a living arrangement where nobody attacks anybody."
"That sounds like a very good cause," the Healer nodded. "If you succeed, will you still need my idea about reducing their birth rate?"
F'lessan shrugged. "That's not my decision. I just want to go down in Pern's history as the last person who ever got attacked by a feline. Nobody else should have to go through what I've gone through, and if I can help to arrange some kind of peace between us and them, I'll call it even."
Ballora nodded. "Pern's history isn't my decision, either. I'm just a healer of animals. If you think it's important that I heal this particular animal, then I'll do my best."
"We expected nothing less," Jaxom said. "What are your instructions for the patient?"
"She needs to keep that dressing on, and keep it dry," the Healer recited. "As I said, I'm going to change the powder and dressing twice a day. She needs to rest as much as possible, so she doesn't put any strain on the injured muscles. Once the infection is under control, I'll have to stitch up the wound so she doesn't keep re-injuring herself."
She asks how she can hunt for her food if she cannot use those muscles.
Jaxom and Sharra looked at F'lessan, who returned their looks blankly. "What do you want from me?"
"This is your Weyr," Jaxom reminded him. "I can't feed her; only you can do that."
"I'm not sure I should," F'lessan said. "I've got a double load of guests here, watching Arwith lay her eggs. I've got refugees from Monaco Bay who are probably stuck here for weeks. I can probably scrape up enough meat to satisfy one more guest, even a feline guest, but it's the people's reaction to her being here that worries me. Either they'd panic and run away screaming, or they'd kill her before I could explain that she's not hostile." He paused. "Jaxom, maybe you should feed her."
"Are you suggesting that Ruth and I bring her food from Ruatha?"
"No, Lord Jaxom of Ruatha, I'm suggesting that you take her back home with you. She'd be closer to the Beastcrafthall, she could share Ruth's living quarters, and I wouldn't have to worry about my guests panicking at the sight of her."
"People can come up with lots of reasons to panic," Jaxom replied. "The last time a feline came to the Northern Continent was in the time of Moreta, and do I have to remind you how that worked out? If people knew I'd brought in another feline, I could have the mother of all panics on my hands. The other Lord Holders might even close their borders against me."
"So don't tell anybody," F'lessan shrugged.
"How am I supposed to hide a creature who's that eye-catching?" Jaxom retorted.
"There's one other reason that F'lessan might have a good idea," Sharra cut in. "He and Golanth are still a little nervous about their first encounter with the felines, and Rit is bound to pick up on that nervousness. You, Jaxom, don't have any bad associations with the cats; you're just curious about them. Rit will find your company less stressful, and that will speed her healing."
"Suppose she decides to chase down my best runnerbeast stallion and eat him?" Jaxom asked.
"Tell her not to," F'lessan said.
"Keep her belly full of meat that isn't from your best stallion," Ballora added, "and she won't want to chase anything. Besides, she's under doctor's orders not to hunt."
"Do we have any idea how well these felines take orders?" Sharra wondered.
"No, we don't," Jaxom admitted.
Rit is an intelligent, sensible creature who respects power. I think she will obey me if I give her instructions.
"Then I guess Ruth has settled it," Jaxom said resignedly. "Now, will the patient agree to this?"
When Ruth translated their intentions, the feline snarled and threw herself to the ground, lashing her tail. "I don't need a translator," Sharra said, "to take that as a strong 'no.'"
She thinks we are taking her away from her forest and the others of her kind forever.
"No! Tell her it's just until she heals. Then we'll bring her back. I promise."
She has no idea whether or not your promises can be trusted. I told her you are a Lord Holder. She wants to know if that is the same as a Ted.
"What's a Ted?" Jaxom asked blankly.
"I can take a good guess," F'lessan said. "These felines were treated with mentasynth by one of the original colonists, a man named Ted Tubberman. I know that the doll-fins call their leader the Tillek after James Tillek, who was the principal man who worked with them when they all came to Pern. Maybe the felines call their leader the Ted for the same reason."
"That's a reasonable guess," Sharra nodded.
"Okay," Jaxom said. "Ruth, tell Rit that I'm the Ted for the people who live near me. If I make a promise, then I keep it. Lady Sharra can bear witness to that. We will bring her back when she is healed enough to hunt without hurting herself." Ruth translated.
The great cat raised her head to look at them, but her tail was still swinging back and forth. "I think you need to sweeten the deal," F'lessan suggested.
"What have I got to offer that a feline would want?" Jaxom wondered.
"Remember what we were talking about during our AIVAS lessons?" F'lessan hinted.
"Our AIVAS lessons?" Jaxom's face went blank, then suddenly lit up. "Oh, yes! Curiosity! Ruth, tell her that she'll be the first of her kind to see the Northern Continent. She's going to see and hear things that no feline has ever experienced before."
She wants to know what kinds of things.
"She'll live with you in your weyr. She'll see human society. She'll never go hungry or thirsty."
She says she has slept on tree branches all her life and she doesn't want to share living quarters with me. Ruth paused. Do I smell bad?
"To me, you smell wonderful," Jaxom smiled, and rubbed his dragon's neck. "To a feline, who knows what you smell like? I don't think that's the problem; I think she just loves open spaces and freedom. Tell her that we have some good-sized trees in Ruatha Hold, and if that's where she prefers to sleep, then she's welcome to do so, as long as it doesn't strain her injury."
The cat's tail wasn't lashing so furiously now. Jaxom suspected that his approach was working. "And we've got runnerbeasts in Ruatha. They're the fastest runners on Pern. Maybe she could learn something from them."
The cat got to her feet, walked right up to Jaxom, looked him in the eye, chuffed and coughed, and backed off. Jaxom forced himself to relax. Sharra tried to hide a smile.
"At a guess, I'd say she doesn't believe you."
I am not sure how to translate that, Ruth admitted. It has something to do with male herdbeast droppings.
Golanth added, I do not understand how that relates to the question.
"Okay, tell her this," Jaxom said. "I think my runnerbeasts are faster than she is. If she comes north with me, then here's the deal. As soon as she is fully healed, we'll have a race between her and my fastest runner. If she wins, then she can feed on her choice of animals from my herds for a week."
"You'll be sor-ry," F'lessan sang.
As Ruth translated, the cat came fully alert. She stared at Jaxom, blinking, her tail motionless.
"Does she want to know what will happen if she loses?" F'lessan wondered.
She says she will not lose. She accepts your offer. How are you going to take her to your home? Will she have to ride on a dragon?
"Yes, but it will be quick," Jaxom told her. "Ruth, explain to her what going between is like."
"Hold on," Ballora cut in. "It's time for the healer's opinion, and I just thought of something. I know for a fact that going between is hazardous when someone is injured; that's something I remember from my early training as a Healer of humans. This feline is my patient, and I'm not willing to expose her to the cold of between in her condition. It could kill her."
"She makes a good point," Sharra nodded. "I hadn't thought of that, either."
"Flying straight would take days, even for a bronze," Jaxom pointed out.
"Going by ship would take even more days," Sharra added.
"Waiting for the antibiotic to take effect will take just a few days," Ballora said.
Rit wants to know why we cannot make up our minds, Ruth cut in.
"Tell her to – no, that's ridiculous," F'lessan said. "She can't stay out of this. She's kind of in the middle of it."
It was around then that they noticed a hubbub growing behind them. Some of the guests could see the strange tableau of three species taking place near the edge of the woods. They were pointing and animatedly talking to each other. Most of their words were inaudible, but Jaxom heard the phrase "killer felines" several times. A few seconds later, Golanth bespoke F'lessan.
Tai asked Zaranth to relay a message. She says almost all of the guests want to go home, right now! They are afraid of the feline. Tai says it will take every dragon in the Weyr to bring them all back where they came from.
"Then do it!" F'lessan exclaimed. "We don't want to keep all these uninvited, noisy, hungry guests here against their will, now, do we? Muster all of our riders, and grab a few of the Monaco Bay dragons as well. The sooner we get all these chattering Holders out of here, the sooner our food stocks can get replenished, and the sooner we can take two breaths without being interrupted by some Lady Holder's cousin who's offended because she can hear the snoring of the person in the room upstairs."
She wants you to help organize the dragons and riders. After all, you are the Weyrleader, and you are well-rested now.
"Fine, tell her I'll be there in a few minutes," F'lessan sighed. "I'd love to run up there and help, but I can't run." He turned to Jaxom. "Can you, Sharra, and Ballora handle this situation until I return?"
"We'll try," Jaxom promised. F'lessan hobbled away, relying on his crutches as little as possible; Golanth went right beside him. After going about thirty feet, he tripped in the sand and fell headlong.
"I'm all right, I'm all right," he reassured them as he scrambled back to his feet, brushed the dust off his clothing, and kept going.
"I'm not convinced that he's all right," Sharra murmured, "but I'm not his healer."
"Well," Jaxom commented, "it looks like F'lessan's grand project just turned into our grand project."
Rit wants to know what is going on.
"Tell her that we aren't accustomed to healing felines," Jaxom said, "and we're trying to decide the best and safest way to treat her. That's the absolute truth. I have a feeling that she's going to do most of her healing here at Honshu, now that the issue of her scaring the guests has taken care of itself. Once she's fit to travel, we'll take her to Ruatha and I'll keep my promise to her."
Ruth transmitted that to the cat. Rit processed the idea for a moment, then chuffed. She thinks that is the course that will bother her the least.
They stood there for a few awkward seconds, looking at each other.
"While we're here," Jaxom thought out loud, "maybe we can learn a few simple words in each other's language."
"Is there a problem with running your thoughts through your dragon?" Ballora wondered.
"Not at all," he answered. "I just think it would improve relations between us if we could actually talk to each other. Ruth, ask her to say the word 'yes' in her language, so we can learn it."
The feline let out a short coughing sound. Jaxom tried to copy it.
She says, "You are close." She knows what you mean. Try to make the initial consonant harder.
He tried again. She says that is better.
"Good. It's a little hard on my throat, but I can do it. Now, how does she say 'no?'" The cat coughed again. "That sounds just like her word for 'yes.' Ruth, can you hear a difference?"
The 'no' sound is pitched higher. Jaxom tried it again. Rit chuffed 'yes.'
"Does she mean 'yes, I did it right' or does she mean 'I just said yes instead of no?'"
She means you said it right.
"Excellent!" Jaxom exulted. "We're actually talking to each other! Now, you two should try it." They all practiced saying 'yes' and 'no' to each other in feline language until Rit said to Ruth, "Tell them I need to rest."
Jaxom said "yes" in feline language and gestured toward a shady spot under a low-hanging tree. The feline strolled easily over to the shade, carefully gathered herself, and sprang seven feet straight up to the lowest tree branch. She found a comfortable spot, draped herself over the branch, and was soon fast asleep.
The three humans let out a collective sigh.
"I'm not accustomed to my patients talking to me," Ballora decided. "For a creature who came to us begging for help, she acts awfully arrogant."
"Maybe that's her personality," Jaxom suggested. "Or maybe it's an act to cover up her nervousness. It must have taken a lot of courage to walk into our camp alone after all the hostility we've shown toward each other."
"We just showed some courage, too," Sharra said. "I can't believe we just fed a feline, doctored a feline, talked to a feline, and lived to tell the tale!"
"It's quite a tale, too," Ballora nodded. "Maybe the Harpers will want to tell it someday."
"But they can't tell a tale until it's finished," Jaxom added. "And I have a strange feeling that this tale has just begun."
o
A/N
The idea for the yellow powder came from an incident in my childhood. When I was 12, I wiped out on my bicycle at high speed and I badly skinned my knee, elbow, and shoulder. Rather than take me to a doctor, my father (who was a traveling salesman for veterinary medicines) decided to treat my injuries with one of his samples, a yellow powder called Amifur, which was an antibiotic for livestock. I was very offended that he wanted to give me animal medicine instead of medicine that was meant for people. But it worked.
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