With the little cloth left of my shirt, I tried to cut some strips. I had to bandage both my wounds and the Lirak's. I cleaned the cloth with Mundatus and began bandaging my arm and then my foot. The wounds were ugly and large, but at least not fatal; at least I hadn't hit any arteries. The largest had been the one on my leg, into which the Luven had sunk its teeth and then ripped off a piece of skin before trying to flee. While I was treating myself, sitting next to the little puma, I wondered why it was always alone, trying to steal food or hunting without its mother. I tried to reach out with my hand, but a low growl alerted me, and I cautiously moved my hand away. The Lirak tried to stand up only to fall again.
" Come on, kiddo. You've seen me before. I just want to help you; you don't have to be afraid, " I tried to calm him down. Apparently, even though we'd met before, he still didn't trust me.
I tried to approach again, but he moved away again. I decided it would be best to stop forcing him, and instead went to look at the Luven lying in the area. The one closest to us was the one with its throat ripped out.
With the knife, I made a cut along the loin and took some meat. I applied fire to it with the Ignis spell to make it softer and cut it into smaller pieces.
I tried to hold the small pieces up to the Lirak's nose. He immediately smelled the scent and raised his head slightly. When he saw it was my hand holding the piece of meat, he tried to resist, but gave in to the temptation. He began to eat and gently inched closer and closer. I was dragging myself along, still on the ground, so as not to alert him. When I was close enough, with my bandaged left hand, I tried to touch his head a little, while continuing to feed him with the other. He noticed, but didn't give it much thought. When I stroked his soft fur, he shuddered; it was as if he was telling me not to overstep my bounds.
After waiting a while for him to process my presence so close, I tried to bring my hand closer again to bandage his wounds. He was still oozing blood; I had to try to stop the bleeding as quickly as possible.
Finally, he let me approach, and I began to bandage him. I noticed that most of the blood was coming from one of his paws and his left side. One of the wolves' claws had penetrated quite deeply and left a nasty open wound in the rib area, leaving almost one of his ribs exposed. His paw was also in very bad shape; it had bite marks and looked like it had been broken.
When I moved the front paw, which was in the worst condition, the little puma fainted with a slight squeal. The pain he endured must have been too much to make him faint. But for me, it was a good opportunity; I could handle him much more easily; now I could start bandaging him, without fearing his reactions.
After a very long time, it was finally over. I managed to splint the broken leg and also stop the bleeding.
I'd been collecting some of the Luven we'd killed; carrying them all would be impossible. I collected the hides and meat from the two that were in better condition, wrapping them in leather. I'd also cut off some of the claws and removed some of the fangs; perhaps they could be used as raw materials.
With all that ready and a little more rested, I gathered the Lirak in my arms and headed toward the edge of the forest. My pace was very slow; my wounds and the puma's weight made it difficult. I had to take breaks and hide several times; thank goodness the little one was still unconscious.
After about two hours of walking, I managed to get out of the forest. I was so tired that as soon as I stepped on the softest grass, I fell to my feet. I tried to prevent the Lirak from getting hurt any further. While I placed him beside me, I meditated for a short time, to regain my energy and make it home. I recovered a little and set off again.
As I approached, I felt very dizzy and couldn't take another step. I tried to hug little Lirak tightly, but the next moment I fainted.
As I was falling, the last thing I heard was a faint scream. Someone was calling me.
I was facing a giant wolf, next to me was a dark golden puma, with long claws, oval ears and a white chest with long fur. The wolf was growling, showing its long fangs, its fur was dark blue almost reaching a black tone, it had a pair of horns on its head and was showing its teeth to the puma and me. From one moment to the next everything began to turn dark, it seemed that the shadows were swallowing the puma and me. I was scared, but in my hand I had my saber and on the other side was the puma.
With a great leap, the puma began to attack the gigantic wolf. It was jumping from one side to the other, so fast it was barely visible. I didn't know what to do. I tried to cast some spells, but I couldn't concentrate in the darkness. Suddenly, everything began to slow down. Now the puma was fully visible, and the wolf's swift claws, trying to capture the puma, seemed to move at a snail's pace. With the possibility of seeing everything, I threw one of my daggers at one of the wolf's eyes, which angered it.
The battle had gone on for a long time. We all had large wounds. The puma had lost one of its legs, and I had lost an eye with one of the wolf's claws. The gigantic wolf continued to attack savagely. Suddenly, as I was taking a breath, I saw the gigantic black wolf staring at the puma with eyes of greed and rage. With a single, unnoticed bite, it tore off its head. I stood there frozen in place. I was stunned by the sudden change. A moment later, I was able to scream.
— Nooooooo — I said as I began to run towards the wolf in blind rage, which with a swipe of its paw, sent me flying with my entire thorax destroyed.
—Sam ! Sam! Everything's okay, calm down, what's wrong ? — I heard someone say. My whole body was hurting.
— Sam, Sam.. wake up — They kept screaming.
After a few seconds, I opened my eyes. They were filled with tears. My mother and father were staring at me, frightened. It seemed the entire battle had been a very real and cruel dream.
" Where is he? Where is he? " was all I could think. My mother looked to the side, and I followed her gaze and caught a glimpse of little Lirak. He was still lying down, apparently asleep. He looked much better than when I brought him in.
After being able to see it, I took a deep breath and was finally able to calm down.
" It was just a really bad dream ," I mumbled, my parents still staring at me worriedly. I decided to break the ice and asked,
— Mom, how long has it been? And how come I'm so well now with all the injuries I had? How's the Lirak doing?
My mother put on a serious expression and glared at me. My father also looked very serious. With both of them looking at me like that, I got scared. Apparently, I wasn't unconscious for just a few hours.
— Sam, this time, you've gone too far. Your injuries were so severe, it was a miracle you were able to walk home, let alone carrying that animal, not to mention your greed. With all your injuries, carrying another one, equally or worse injured, and yet you still thought of bringing back souvenirs of your kills? What were you thinking ?
— Sam, your mother is right. All these things you're bringing aren't necessary. The most valuable thing is your life, and if you can't even take proper care of it, you'd better not even think about going back to the forest. It seems we've given you a lot of freedom, — My father said. I was surprised, but not too surprised. I knew I had greatly overestimated my abilities this time, but I couldn't let the little one die. He had also saved me once.
I stayed silent for a long time, just looking at them.
—So there are no excuses this time, right? — my mother said after a while.
— Mom, Dad, this time I won't apologize. I was so hurt getting into a fight between a pack of Luven and little Lirak. The first time I entered the forest, the little one was the shadow that saved me. When I saw what was happening, I felt responsible and wanted to help him too. I've met him several times, and he's always been hunting alone or stealing food from me. But he's never tried to hurt me. This time I just wanted to help him, and it turned out this way—
After telling them the story of why I wanted to help him and what we were up against, my parents stood still and pale, as if they had seen a ghost.
— I understand you wanted to repay the help you gave, Sam. But risks must be controlled, and you were very lucky that the Lirak didn't escape. If he had, you'd be Luven's food now , my father said with a disapproving look. My mother just nodded with a look that confirmed what my father said.
I stayed silent, waiting for them to say something else, but the room was completely silent.
—Father , I understand that you're upset. But it was something that if I didn't do, I'd be haunted by that memory for the rest of my life, the fact that I didn't help and just ran away. I hope you understand my feelings too.
— Sam. I understand, but seeing you bedridden these five days hasn't been easy for us. I went to find Grandma Thea as quickly as I could, and with what we had, we got her to heal you both. We barely slept, and we didn't get a good night's rest, either, " my father said with a tired look.
— Sam. You're our only son, and that's irreplaceable. Seeing the always-active boy lying in bed for so long has scared us a lot, and we've decided you'll be grounded for a long time. You won't be able to go into the woods anymore until we say otherwise . —
I was about to object to my mother's last words, but her serious gaze stopped the words in my throat. I could only nod slightly and look listlessly at the two of them.
I understood them and their concerns, but being home for a long time would be very boring.
" Mother, how is he? " I asked about the Lirak's condition, directing my gaze toward him.
—Grandma said he was a little more stable, but the blood loss he suffered had been nearly fatal. And it was unknown if he'd even be able to wake up; his leg and the wounds on his side were so severe. Thanks to your care, he was able to receive treatment from Grandma. If it weren't for that, he wouldn't be in the room , my mother said, looking at him.
I stared at him for a while, until I lay back down. My mother had brought me some meat soup; I had to eat it to recover.
I asked him if the Lirak had eaten anything, to which he just shook his head.
I quickly went back to sleep, all I could think about was everything that had happened and the strange dream I'd had. At least for now, I'd have plenty of free time; the punishment my parents had decided on didn't seem too easy.