Chapter 7: The Healer (written from November 6th to November 8th, 2021)
Not long before the owl was roused in the decaying pine, the storm had reached its climax. All of Jasper was under the sierra of soiled clouds, its rain bulky and consistent. Although the day was comparable to a night, there were hardly a few seconds without a blinding flash. Near the bottom of the hillside that served as the outer boundary of the Omega district, a four-year experienced pack healer named Freya was collecting herbs, particularly homing in on the ampleton shrub whose seeds induced an analgesic effect. Healing was one of the most distinguished occupations that an Alpha could have, perhaps the most complex. One of the many disciplines of healing was herbalism. Excelling in it required the knowledge of every known herb, its locations, and how to process them so they can be administered safely. For instance, it was optimal to pick ampleton nuts during huge downpours. The rain softened the durable outer shell so it could be chewed off to expose the valued kernel. Freya tried to examine the wet shrub for the ripest of fruits, a challenging undertaking, for the plant waved furiously in the thundering winds.
Freya didn't feel encouraged to hasten. Mother Nature didn't frighten her. Being one of the most seasoned healers in the Valley, she was capable of being calm in the most stressful situations. Her job demanded this type of tolerance. She was convinced that she had seen everything in terms of injury. Alphas, after all, were a physically active bunch and, thus, prone to all kinds of bodily damage, especially during encounters with prey, but one sight would stand out among the rest of times past. It would be the first time she ever gasped in surprise.
A groan caught her attention. It sounded close. Somewhere behind the shrub, she deduced. She peered through the prickled interior and saw a dark male pup stuck in the exposed root system of a tree. Normally, at the sight of something concerning, she couldn't help but be phlegmatic, but the lone pup with his dim yelps kindled maternal feelings she was not aware of. The muddy ground beneath him was a part of a scarp attached to a terrace. Small streams were flowing down the entire hillside, and one had been eroding the soil around the tree. It flowed right beside the pup whose body was held at a roughly seventy-degree angle. It seemed he was propped up by a root, preventing him from sliding out of the tree's web-like root system.
Freya didn't wait to climb up the scarp. It was a race against time. If the running water freed the tree, it would drop and likely take the pup with it. She made it to the terrace and protruded her head and chest from the edge, sticking her snout into the root system below. Once within reach, she grabbed his scruff and pulled him up but doing so led to a bloodcurdling scream that rivaled the howling winds. Blood gushed out and dribbled down the pup's legs. Freya laid him next to her and quickly searched for the cause of the bleed. There was a long slit on his abdomen. When the pup had fallen, a root had pierced him, almost going all the way through and spearing his back from the inside. Freya had unwittingly taken him off of the spike, unplugging the holes in the blood vessels. Now, with a wound this extensive, he was bleeding profusely. She needed to take him to the healing den as soon as possible or else he could die. He was already on the brink of unconsciousness. Just at that moment, the tree collapsed, yanking the roots out, and crashed into the shrubs.
Later...
Almost to the den, Freya was beginning to think it was too late to save him. She had been carrying him by the scruff for twenty minutes. He was certainly unconscious. She was beginning to think of how she was going to report this matter to the second-in-command, a rather callous she-wolf whom Freya despised. Why would she bother notifying the second-in-command when she knew the callous she-wolf wouldn't pay much attention to a dead pup?
One of Freya's trainees was immediately alert when the healer entered the den with the bloodied wolf. Freya came to her after he was placed in the infirmary chamber.
"Are you the only one here?"
"Yes, ma'am!" said the trainee. "Your assistant left a few minutes ago."
"This is not a drill. He is falling, and I'm assigning you to him. Today, you're going to be my assistant. I'm counting on you, Eve."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Now get the wrappings," she ordered. "We need to stop the bleeding."
Eve, a pup of gold fur, hurried to the supply chamber and grabbed strips of proten bark, a thin, flexible type of bark that was ideal for bandages. She briefly went outside, letting the rain soften the bark before she went to the infirmary chamber. Both she and Freya wrapped the bark around the dark pup's abdomen. His body was cold and limp. Things looked bleak. "I was probably too late for him," said Freya, sorrowfully. "But we had to try."
"Who is he?" Eve asked.
"I don't know. I found him on the escarpment near one of the Omega grounds while I was getting more ampleton. I have no doubt that he tumbled down the steep slopes. Eve, a tree root penetrated his peritoneum. Very likely that some of his small intestine was severed or at least perforated."
"We can't do anything about internal bleeding, can we?"
"No, Eve. Our paws are too big, and we don't have opposable digits. I've been lobbying the second-in-command, that we should have the pack leader make some sort of deal with the squirrel community. Their forepaws are nimble and have opposable toes. Imagine the applications! We could direct them to do precise surgery! But that dense second-in-command won't listen to me. If I was a less dignified she-wolf, I would challenge her to a duel!" Eve then focused her attention on her assigned patient. Although unconscious, he seemed to be in a tranquil dream. One wouldn't think at first glance that he was actually dying.
"You know, I believe he will make it. His toned physique suggests to me that he's an Alpha." Freya, however, remained skeptical of a good prognosis.
"Do not doubt my belief in hope, but I prefer more evidence. Try not to get attached, little one. It will only hurt you more."
"I don't mind getting attached 'cause I'm confident that he will live."
"I'll tell you what. If he wakes up, you shall be my protégé." Eve then gasped. It was her dream to become the head of the Western pack healers, to have Freya's position. Being Freya's protégé would put Eve right where she needed to be to become the next chief pack healer.
"Then your protégé I shall be..."
Later...
After an hour, Winston's regained consciousness. At this point, the storm was still intense, but Freya had exited the den to look for meat. It was just him and Eve. He could hear the gold-colored pup humming to herself. She scoured the supplies for more proten bark as he lay on his back with multiple pelts beneath him. He attempted to move but stopped cold once the fire in his stomach raged in response. He gave a loud whimper and ground his teeth.
"Wow, that's quite a pain! Goodness gracious..." Eve turned her head. Two prominent hair curls were on the back edges of her left and right cheek respectively.
"You're awake!" She ran to his side and placed a forepaw on his chest. "Don't move, m'kay."
"Where am I?"
"You're in the Pack Healers' Den for Males. My mentor rescued you. Your abdominal wall was breached. Honestly, you shouldn't be alive right now, but I knew you would wake! I told my mentor that I believed in you! But I wasn't expecting you to wake this early. If you're awake now, the bleeding must have stopped already!"
"Oh, gosh... Sanja! Where is she?!"
"Who is Sanja?" she asked.
"Oh... Umm... she's a friend of mine. I was with her before... I guess before I fell." Eve then giggled.
"Is this a wolf you like?"
"What? No, no, no, no. It's not like that at all. I'm more of like her instructor."
"Sorry."
"No, you're fine. What's your name?"
"Eve," she answered. "Yours?"
"Winston."
"Nice to meet you, Winston. If you don't know, you're my patient."
"How long do I have to stay here?"
"Until you can walk without your guts spilling out. That may take a moon cycle or two."
"Oh, gosh! I don't have a moon cycle! I need to find my friend! I need to know if she's okay!"
"Winston... you're in no condition. When my mentor comes back, I'll tell her to look for your friend."
"NO!" Winston shouted. He immediately regretted being so loud.
"Uh, no?!"
"I mean no, I don't want you to do that..."
"Why not?"
"Umm..." Winston didn't know what to reply with. Under no circumstances could he let Sanja be discovered. "Sorry. I can't say. It's complicated."
"What's so bad that you need to keep it from me? I only wanna help you! I promise it'll be between us."
"No, okay! It doesn't concern you!" Suddenly, Eve put her forepaws on Winston's neck and pressed down.
"EVERYTHING ABOUT MY PATIENTS CONCERNS ME! NOW TELL ME BEFORE I RIP THAT CUTE TAIL OF YOURS OFF AND SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR—"
"Can't breathe! Can't breathe! Eve, you're on my—"
"Throat!" she exclaimed. She removed herself from his neck. A look of horror was on both of their faces. "Oh, my... I'm so sorry!" Eve buried herself in her paws and broke into a sob. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Ughhh! I've never gonna be the chief healer if I keep choking everyone that comes in! Curse you, Eve! Curse you! Freya's gonna kick you out; I know it!" Winston wanted to give Eve a piece of his mind, but after listening to her self-reprimand, he hesitated and tried to understand. He didn't want to be stubborn and quick to retribution like his father.
"I... I'm not gonna tell her. Don't worry."
"You're not?"
"No. It seems being a healer means a lot to you. I won't take that away. Please don't cry. Water is the last thing we need," he said, eyeing the rain outside which was beginning to abate. Eve chuckled before wiping away her tears.
"Hmm. You're funny."
"But what was that?" Eve then sighed. Winston could see that it was obviously a sensitive issue for her, but Eve could see that he was only curious as opposed to being judgemental.
"IED."
"IED?"
"Intermittent explosive disorder... Something I was born with, I guess. I get these bursts of rage that I can't control."
"Wow."
"You must think I'm a freak."
"What? No, no, no. You're no less of a wolf than me," he assured. "Never put yourself down like that, Eve. With that attitude, it makes it difficult to cope with."
"I keep trying to hold myself back, but..." She couldn't finish the sentence.
"Maybe holding back is the wrong approach. An Alpha once told me, 'Distinguish your rivulets from your rivers. You can change the flow of rivulets but rivers—not so much. Let the flow take you, not break you, and you may find where your answer comes from.'"
"I don't know, Winston..."
"If I'm not mistaken, you said you believed in me. Now it's my turn to believe. I believe in you. You're no freak. You got this."
"You're not some lowly Alpha, are you? No, substandard Alpha has such a way with words."
"Technically, neither of us are Alphas."
"Not yet," she replied, "but I hope we see each other in Alpha School. You've made me feel better about myself than anyone else has ever had. And I'm highborn. If it wasn't apparent, I come from an illustrious line of gold-colored females."
"Oh, I've heard of them! Yeah, they're quite scrupulous."
"I'm expected to be amongst the best of the best, but so far, my family sees me as a disappointment. I need to prove them wrong. No, I will! I'm tired of their ridicule! I will be the best healer there ever was!"
"Sounds like to me you've already proved them wrong."