Chapter Seven: Tending Hurts
When David returned carrying a large picnic hamper, Cuddy had been coaxed into Jenny's lap and she was stroking his fur and crooning softly to him.
The dwarves looked on with undisguised anticipation as David began unpacking the hamper. They were hungry more from the deprivations of the Winter than from their time as statues; nothing about their bodies had changed while they remained set in stone. Yet they had missed the taste of food and the act of eating, and now eagerly accepted the thick sandwiches David handed out.
"I know Talking Animals eat some of the same foods as humans," David said to Cuddy, "so I have a sandwich for you if you prefer. But I also brought this."
Cuddy's nose twitched as David pulled a fresh, juicy carrot out of the basket, the largest the rabbit had ever seen. He whined softly in the back of his throat, the first noise the dwarves had ever heard him make, and David chuckled at his abundantly clear choice.
Next he produced cups and a bottle of lemonade, pouring some for Cuddy and for himself and Jenny as well as the dwarves.
"Thank ye," Thompkins said gruffly; the other two merely nodded, biting into their sandwiches with relish, and Cuddy looked up from gnawing blissfully on his carrot to flick an ear.
"I'm David," he introduced himself, "and this is Jenny. I know the names she calls you, but what are your real names?"
"Sonnagan," Thompkins replied.
"Dekhoffyn."
"Rarmitton."
"And what about Cuddy?"
Rarmitton shrugged. "We were always hoping he would recover enough to tell us; we never gave him a name, so Cuddy will do well enough."
"What about the rest of you; which names do you prefer?" David questioned.
Sonnagan glanced at Jenny, staring at him with wistful eyes, and knew what his answer had to be. "Ye c'n keep callin' me Thompkins, if ye want."
"Makes no difference ta me either way," Rarmitton agreed.
The dwarf she had called Willikins scowled. "Dekhoffyn," he said firmly.
David nodded agreement. "We can talk after you've eaten," he told them, taking a sip of his own lemonade, "but if you don't mind, I'll look at that knee now; it looks like it's still bleeding."
Thompkins nodded, wondering if this boy was some kind of healer. He thought he seemed too young, but what did he know of judging ages in sons of Adam?
And indeed David's hands were surprisingly gentle, if a little too clumsy to be professional, as he untied the blood-spotted handkerchief and eased it away from the wound. A scrap of cloth came with it, leaving a round hole in Thompkins' trousers; it had been part of the chip when he was stone, but could not adhere to itself as flesh did when he was brought to life again.
David pulled the leg of Thompkins' trousers free of his boot and rolled it up to gain access to the wound. A ring of red surrounded the dead white flesh that had been the chip, blood still oozing out in places.
"My father's a doctor; I wonder if he should see this," David mused.
Thompkins looked up quickly, nearly choking on a bite of his sandwich. "No!" he said fiercely. "I've heard of things that can happen to Narnians in the World of Men; they put us in shows. The fewer people who know about us the better."
"Daddy'd never!" Jenny protested.
"Aye, Daughter of Eve, but he might mention it ta someone else, an' then… Best not to risk it; my knee'll be all right."
David frowned, biting his lip; torn between wanting to treat this "patient" himself and the worrying knowledge that it truly needed professional care. "How thick was that piece of stone, Jen?"
Jenny held up two fingers about a quarter inch apart. "An' I washed it good an' everything!" she declared earnestly.
Thompkins winced and turned a shade paler as David's fingers gently probed the wound. "You'd better let Dad see," he told the dwarf seriously. "I think a piece of bone broke off…"
"Well, unless yer father can glue it back, there's not much he'd be able ta do about it. You just fix it up as best ye can, an' I'll be all right." But he laid the rest of his sandwich aside, the pain making him feel slightly sick to his stomach.
David sighed. "All right…for now," he agreed reluctantly. "This is going to sting," he warned, tipping the bottle of iodine over a pad of cloth. Thompkins bit his lip hard as David applied the cloth to the wound; just enough raw flesh was exposed around the edges for it indeed to sting badly. But the cream David applied next was cool and soothing, affording him a measure of relief.
"I'll check it again later," David promised, fastening a bandage around it before rolling the dwarf's trousers down again. "I brought some aspirin, if you need it…?"
"Aspirin?" Thompkins questioned, his brow furrowed.
"It's for headaches," David clarified, "but I think it helps with any kind of pain. Do you want some?"
Thompkins nodded, his knee throbbing too much to worry about pride.
David frowned at the bottle. "Mum takes two for her headaches, but I guess a dwarf had better only have one." He shook the pill out and handed it to Thompkins. "Just swallow this."
Thompkins washed the pill down with a sip of lemonade, then leaned his head back against the wall, watching through half closed eyes as David gathered the supplies together and returned them to the basket.
After a few moments, a little colour returned to Thompkins' face, and he took a bite of his sandwich, chewing slowly.
The others had finished their sandwiches, and David took a bag of cookies from the basket and passed it around. "You'd better not have any," he told Cuddy consideringly. "I don't know if chocolate is good for rabbits."
He took two cookies for himself, then set the half full bag back in the basket. "And now," he said, settling back on his hand, "why don't you tell us your story?"
Next chapter coming next week!
I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know! (Note that this story is formatted using British spellings.)
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