MissingNo
Inactive Member
"B-b-but-!"
"No."
"B-!"
"NO."
Echo growled to herself, folding her arms and pouting. Her mother, Hillrunner New Winds, knelt next to the cot where the young Siamese Kohanian sat and checked the plaster casts on her daughter's legs.
---
Three weeks earlier:
In the attack on the Temple, Rising Echo's legs had been pinned beneath a section of the roof, but fortunately her classmate Winter Swifteyes was able to get her to the healers, who repaired the shattered bones and damaged flesh.
The first few days after the bombing of the Great Temple were tense. A storage building had been cleared and used as an emergency clinic for the wounded to be cared for. Normally there was an area of the temple that operated as a hospital, but the entire structure was evacuated until the extent of the damage was assessed and the place was cleared for habitation again. And there were hardly enough healers to see to the wounded quickly enough; more were called in from neighboring villages. Even so, more died from their injuries waiting to be seen to.
Winter had done what he could at the bomb site, and uncovered several wounded. But he was told to go help in the clinic after night fell, so he went to see what needed done. When he arrived, a nurse noticed his tail was limp. It was broken near the tip, but there was more damage at the base that had pinched a nerve and numbed the entire limb. It was nothing much and quickly dealt with, but even after the break and pinched nerve were healed Winter found that he had a muscle twitch that caused a crook in his tail. It was minor compared to the other injured who needed looking after, so he let it alone instead of asking for help over such a small thing.
He found that Rising Echo had already been seen to by a healer from their own village, but she remained unconscious after her surgery. The healer had taken care of the obvious damage, but there wasn't anything more to do.
Later, as the crisis at the temple slowly cooled, some of the injured were taken back to their homes for more care. The healer took Echo back to her village for further attention, and they were accompanied by Winter.
---
Once home, it was another few days before Echo finally woke up...to find both of her legs in casts. Nothing could have been worse for the energetic feline to find than to be told that she couldn't run! Or climb! Or stalk! But her mother patiently put up with keeping her confined to bed until her legs finished the most critical part of their healing.
"B-b-but-!"
"No."
"B-!"
"NO."
Finally Echo sighed and lay down on the bed, on her side with her face to the wall. This was going to be a lo-o-o-ong recovery...
A clicking noise woke her. When did I fall asleep? she wondered. Then her attention went to the clicking. It was steady, like clockwork, and every few seconds a clack sound was added. She rolled over and her eyes wided.
"Oh wow!" It was a machine! More than that, there was a bag of parts next to it! A burlap knapsack full of minature gears, rails, and cables was next to the small table in her room, and on top of the table was a small construct that consisted of a few of those rails and gears set up so that it transported a couple of marbles in a circular route. It wasn't quite perpetual, though, she noticed. The device was already slowing down. But she was already getting excited. It could be taken apart, and put back together any way she could think of...this would keep her busy for hours!
"Mom!"
There was a noise in the other room, then Hillrunner appeared in the doorway. "Yes?"
Echo was still grinning as she looked between her mother and the machine. "Thank you so much!"
Her mom laughed. "You're welcome, but I didn't bring that. It was the Swifteyes boy, he brought it over while you were asleep. A little strange, he wouldn't stay when I offered...never did stay more than a little while, even during his visits while you were recovering after getting back."
Winter? Echo's grin slipped and became a smaller smile. That didn't sound like Winter...he had always avoided her, it seemed. What was this about? She looked back at her mom, who smiled.
"I'll get a tray. The healer says you should stay in bed at least another two days, then you can use chairs. But it'll be at least a week after that before you can walk." The elder feline left the room, then returned with a tray and set it beside Echo's bed, then went and brought the sack of pieces to her. "Since both of your legs were broken, crutches aren't going to be much use, so you'll just have to bear it until you're healed."
"Mm-hm," was all Echo said, already busy with the first idea.
"No."
"B-!"
"NO."
Echo growled to herself, folding her arms and pouting. Her mother, Hillrunner New Winds, knelt next to the cot where the young Siamese Kohanian sat and checked the plaster casts on her daughter's legs.
---
Three weeks earlier:
In the attack on the Temple, Rising Echo's legs had been pinned beneath a section of the roof, but fortunately her classmate Winter Swifteyes was able to get her to the healers, who repaired the shattered bones and damaged flesh.
The first few days after the bombing of the Great Temple were tense. A storage building had been cleared and used as an emergency clinic for the wounded to be cared for. Normally there was an area of the temple that operated as a hospital, but the entire structure was evacuated until the extent of the damage was assessed and the place was cleared for habitation again. And there were hardly enough healers to see to the wounded quickly enough; more were called in from neighboring villages. Even so, more died from their injuries waiting to be seen to.
Winter had done what he could at the bomb site, and uncovered several wounded. But he was told to go help in the clinic after night fell, so he went to see what needed done. When he arrived, a nurse noticed his tail was limp. It was broken near the tip, but there was more damage at the base that had pinched a nerve and numbed the entire limb. It was nothing much and quickly dealt with, but even after the break and pinched nerve were healed Winter found that he had a muscle twitch that caused a crook in his tail. It was minor compared to the other injured who needed looking after, so he let it alone instead of asking for help over such a small thing.
He found that Rising Echo had already been seen to by a healer from their own village, but she remained unconscious after her surgery. The healer had taken care of the obvious damage, but there wasn't anything more to do.
Later, as the crisis at the temple slowly cooled, some of the injured were taken back to their homes for more care. The healer took Echo back to her village for further attention, and they were accompanied by Winter.
---
Once home, it was another few days before Echo finally woke up...to find both of her legs in casts. Nothing could have been worse for the energetic feline to find than to be told that she couldn't run! Or climb! Or stalk! But her mother patiently put up with keeping her confined to bed until her legs finished the most critical part of their healing.
"B-b-but-!"
"No."
"B-!"
"NO."
Finally Echo sighed and lay down on the bed, on her side with her face to the wall. This was going to be a lo-o-o-ong recovery...
A clicking noise woke her. When did I fall asleep? she wondered. Then her attention went to the clicking. It was steady, like clockwork, and every few seconds a clack sound was added. She rolled over and her eyes wided.
"Oh wow!" It was a machine! More than that, there was a bag of parts next to it! A burlap knapsack full of minature gears, rails, and cables was next to the small table in her room, and on top of the table was a small construct that consisted of a few of those rails and gears set up so that it transported a couple of marbles in a circular route. It wasn't quite perpetual, though, she noticed. The device was already slowing down. But she was already getting excited. It could be taken apart, and put back together any way she could think of...this would keep her busy for hours!
"Mom!"
There was a noise in the other room, then Hillrunner appeared in the doorway. "Yes?"
Echo was still grinning as she looked between her mother and the machine. "Thank you so much!"
Her mom laughed. "You're welcome, but I didn't bring that. It was the Swifteyes boy, he brought it over while you were asleep. A little strange, he wouldn't stay when I offered...never did stay more than a little while, even during his visits while you were recovering after getting back."
Winter? Echo's grin slipped and became a smaller smile. That didn't sound like Winter...he had always avoided her, it seemed. What was this about? She looked back at her mom, who smiled.
"I'll get a tray. The healer says you should stay in bed at least another two days, then you can use chairs. But it'll be at least a week after that before you can walk." The elder feline left the room, then returned with a tray and set it beside Echo's bed, then went and brought the sack of pieces to her. "Since both of your legs were broken, crutches aren't going to be much use, so you'll just have to bear it until you're healed."
"Mm-hm," was all Echo said, already busy with the first idea.
