Summary:
June 18 2014: Fenris sees Inara in her other job - low cost vet alternative - and manages to bury the hatchet.
M-Town
A pair of apartment blocks located right next to what passes for a park in M-Town. Nice-ish for the area… but still M-Town
Characters
NPCs
- Little Sister, the coyote.
Mood Music:
[*]
It's the day after the fiasco at the zoo, a beautiful morning. Inara is doing her second job, the one she doesn't get paid for. She is offering free veterinary help to those that can't afford it to people here in M-Town. And yes, sometimes it is the animals themselves that come to her for care. She is holding a python about her at the moment, feeling it's body and smiling. "Congratulations. She's going to be laying a clutch soon." "What? I thought I bought two males!" "Well, that was your first mistake. Two males would have likely tried to kill each other." She nuzzles with the snake that flicks its tongue at her, scenting her. "Come back any time. I would love to see your clutch." Uncoiling the snake from her neck to hand it back, she looks around to see if there is anyone else today.
*
One nice thing about working part time and being, frankly, pretty comfortably well off is that Fenris has plenty of leisure time. He'd not been here when Inara set up shop for the morning but he heard a couple of squirrels chittering about it as he came back from his walk in the park. Rounding the gated entrance he nearly trips over a coyote laying forlornly on the sidewalk, looking quite sick.
Coyotes aren't wolves, but they're kin even if they do go a bit more for scavenging than hunting. Fen kneels down. "Little sister," he addresses the fallen animal. "What's wrong?"
*
On the other side of the street, Inara is talking to a person about their cat's health, being far more sympathetic to the cat then to the human. Okay, her bedside manner with people needs work, but she's not *their* doctor.
The coyote whimpers she's just out of view of the street, having crawled over towards some bushes. "Loud, stinky monster with big white eyes. It ran at me, hurt me, then ran away."
*
Fenris has healing magic and does use it on animals during the course of his work. Healthy animals that are not frightened or in pain are less likely to do things that may require a park ranger to shoot them. He puts some of it now into the coyote to ease her pain and stabilize her. He's about to put a larger surge into her - which takes a bit of effort - when he realizes that Inara is just around the corner. So instead he reaches down and picks her up.
"Don't worry little sister. We'll see if the human over there can help." With that he starts walking over toward Inara's apartment.
*
It's a slow day today for Inara. Sometimes there are people actually lining up for her free veterinary care. True, she can't prescribe drugs for them, but she can usually help in other matters. And she can tell people if things are serious enough to actually need a licensed vet. She is about to head in for the day, maybe go for a walk in the park or something when she see the man walking towards her with the coyote in his arms. Her eyes go wide in alarm and she rushes over. "What happened?" She isn't asking him. She lays a hand on the coyote's head as she tells Inara the same thing she said before. "Ah, car. Bring her into my apartment," she finally says to him.
*
Fenris nods and follows her, listening to the coyote breathe. He's not nearly as… passionate about animals as Inara is, but he doesn't have a human viewpoint on the matter either. He routinely speaks to both and doesn't particularly value one over the other. Eyeing the cleared table that serves as the examination space once he's inside, he sets the coyote down and steps back to watch Inara work.
*
The apartment is small, only really the one room with a bedroom that is more an offshoot of the main room then a room of its own. It doesn't even have a door. A king sized bed is almost the only thing in that room, dotted with napping cats and dogs. The 'examination table' is nothing more then her dining table that has been sanitized. Usually, she doesn't actually need to bring animals in here. Usually she can just talk to them and hear it from them what the problem is. She gestures to the table, washing her hands at her kitchen sink. "Put her there while I get cleaned up."
*
Glancing up from the 'patient' he watches as Inara scrubs up. She clearly has some training which makes sense considering the book he saw her reading the other day.
*
Pulling a pair of rubber gloves from a box on top of the fridge, Inara points to something that looks like a high end fishing tackle box. "Get that for me, would you?" She strokes the coyote's head. "Shhh. It will be alright. I'll do what I can. I promise." She looks over the coyote as she runs her hand gently along her side, looking concerned.
*
Fenris can, thankfully, quite easily reach it. He hrms at its weight as he brings it down to set beside her and flips the latches. "What do you think is wrong with her?" The bad thing about using magic for healing is that Fenris doesn't have a whole lot of anatomical knowledge. When you're breaking the laws of reality, you really don't need it. So he has no way of knowing really how bad it is.
*
The Persian woman reaches over for a syringe in a wrapper and a small glass vial. It's almost empty. She takes a deep breath and gets the last of what is in the vial into the syringe. She looks to Fen as she injects it into the coyote. "From first glance? Some broken bones. I'm worried it might be internal bleeding. I don't exactly have a proper surgery in here." Once the animal is sedated, she starts to use her hands, palpating the bones to look for anything broken. "I might have to see if I can't get a friend's help."
*
"She was hit by a van. At least she wasn't pregnant." He'd be surprised if there weren't at least a few things wrong.
"Friend's help? A vet you know, perhaps." He could get them there, though he's not sure she's ready for the mode of transport he routinely uses when he's in a hurry. Still… if it'll save the coyote…
*
Inara shakes her head. "No, a janitor," she says, not bothering to explain. "Three broken ribs. A broken femur. I'm not liking the way her belly feels." She looks at the clock. "Can't go till after hours. Help me get her on the bed. We can keep her warm till we can get her to Central Park."
*
Fenris picks the coyote up, again, very gently and with the experience of someone used to moving injured animals. "Is she going to make it that long?" Frankly Inara would know better than he and but if she's not he'd be remiss if he didn't try to help Little Sister himself.
"Shhhh." He murmurs softly as he picks their patient up. "You're going to be okay. Promise." Setting her down he looks about for a blanket or fleece to wrap her up in.
*
Taking a deep breath, Inara shakes her head. "I don't think so. I'm pretty sure she's bleeding internally. I hope if we keep her warm and comfortable, maybe she'll make it long enough. If not, at least we can make her comfortable." She goes to the closet and pulls out a blanket, draping it over the coyote and then laying down beside her. She strokes her fur, the coyote's breathing labored even though she's sedated.
*
Fenris sighs. He was hoping that would not be the answer, but… "Do you have any sage? Sage and hot water, please. Quickly." His voice is low enough not to disturb the coyote but very urgent. As if, maybe, this'll make a difference. "Fresh would be best."
*
Inara is cooing soothing words in Farsi to the coyote when Fenris asks his question. She shakes her head. "Sage isn't something I use, but.. hold on." She remembers the circle of light, the sudden transport to the floor of the quarry. If this man has magic to heal the coyote… She gets up and runs out of the apartment, up the stairs. It isn't long before she comes down with a native american smugging stick.
"Will this do?"
*
Fenris nods. "Yes, that will do." The injuries are serious, but repairing a coyote's life force is not like repairing an asgardian's, so it should be easier. Really it's just the ideas represented by the herbs or stick or other focus that are important. Most aren't magical enough to be of any more assistance than acting as sort of a pattern through which to push a spell. The ones that are tend to be jealously guarded by those with more magical talent than he. Fenris lays the stick against the coyote and his hand against the stick.
"Vicicus." He murmurs.
It's barely more than a whisper but it seems to resonate and softly echo about the room. Soft green light starts to emit from the stick, flowing down into the flesh and bones and veins of the animal, mending and knitting that which was broken.
*
Inara paces the floor now, watching, worried. She knows she could help the beast if only she could get her to a proper facility. "How can I help?"
*
"Come sit and touch her." He says softly, as if concentrating a great deal on something else. Fenris is capable and knows a lot but he's not a potent mage by really any standard. Potent enough for this, certainly, though. "You can lend some of your energy to her healing. You seem to care enough about her."
*
Nodding, Inara comes over to the bed, sitting close and laying a hand on the coyote's head. She nods up at Fenris, forgetting how angry she was at him the day before. "I care about all life. Even humans, though they confuse me. Just, help her. Take whatever you need from me."
*
"It won't be much." The coyote is practically glowing from within now. The glow grows even brighter when Inara puts her hand on her. The light brightens to the point that it's hard to see anything in the room and then abruptly cuts off as the spell ends, finding nothing else within the beast to heal.
"There you go, Little Sister… how does that feel?"
*
The coyote is still sedated, but conscious enough to look up and start licking at hands and wagging her tail. "I feel good. Hungry. Hunt now?" Inara smiles and hugs the coyote close.
"Rest first, food after." She lays on her bed, sighing happily.
"Thank you, for whatever it is you've done." She offers a hand, burying the hatchet. "I'm Inara Bahrami. Yes, I know you already know my name, but this time I'm giving it to you, not you taking it from my name tag."
*
Fenris smiles. "Jeremiah Wolfson." He takes her hand and shakes it. "At least, that's what I answer to these days." Some small measure of honesty in a situation where being brutally honest can be very dangerous. "And you're welcome, though honestly, that was for our Little Sister here." He says with a gentle tone.
*
Inara lays down again after the handshake and cuddles with the coyote. She regards the man as the coyote falls into slumber, smirking. "Well, you may as well lay down and keep her warm on your side. The bed is big enough." It certainly is. Why does a single woman need a king sized bed? And the answer comes and cats start hopping up, laying down and purring to comfort the coyote.
*
That draws a raised eyebrow. He smiles and lays down, moving close to get the she-coyote warm again. The presence of so many cats draws another questioning look. Sure he'd seen it in action but goodness. Seeing it and experiencing it are two entirely different things. "Do you do this every night?" He asks her, not really expecting a response. It's not that bad really. Different, but as the animals pile in and he watches Inara he reflects that it's not that bad at all.
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