FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Feyrahl, FurAffinity Edition

Not Without Recourse, Ch 2.4

Kenzie followed Silas, who led her forward through the undergrowth toward the site he'd indicated. She slowed down when he did and the Fox looked back over his shoulder to her. "It is up ahead... the smell of blood is strong here."

The moment he spoke, whatever it was a little further in, started making a strange screeching-warbling sound; it almost reminded her of a cockatoo she'd once seen caught in a screen door... only with a much higher ratio of 'demonic possession' to it. Silas, however, did not seem the least bit concerned. "Ah... that is an Orilis. I recognize its cries of distress."

Despite how casual the Ranger was about it, Kenzie certainly didn't like the sounds; the idea of any living creature in pain was not to her liking. "Are they dangerous?"

Silas continued moving forward, his tail expressive enough for her to realize he was dismissing her concerns. "Not in any life threatening way, though carelessness could cause the loss of an eye or a finger for the unprepared."

Despite his continued dismissals, the Fox did little to abate her fears. "That sounds dangerous to me."

His words weren't so much encouraging as they were challenging but, nevertheless, Kenzie continued forward. As she passed by Silas, she got a better view of the situation and, as she emerged into the dappled sunlight, the screeching immediately stopped. Situated on the ground amidst a collection of small bushes was a winged lizard. Although it was about the size of a macaw, the creature looked like a pterodactyl. It was standing there, head cocked slightly, one wing extended, and the other pulled tightly against its body; she noticed that there was blood dripping from the folded one.

She lingered for a moment, taking in the scene and she heard Cecil approaching from behind them. He stopped slightly to the rear. "An Orilis... and it hasn't flown away."

Kenzie immediately began to assess the situation utilizing her veterinary knowledge. "We don't have flying lizards in my world... do they usually?"

Silas nodded thoughtfully. "Few let Feyrahlians get as close as we are now without fleeing unless they are guarding a nest... but if it were then it would have been silent until we drew near-- it made noise the moment it heard us, which would not have been done by brooding Orilis. Even if it had an injured wing it would still try to hop away."

The young woman assessed that information and hoped that her knowledge of birds would help. Considering there were many similarities between reptiles and avians, it would have to do. "If it was shot while it was in the sky and crash landed into the clearing then it may be concussed... that would explain its odd behavior."

Silas grunted his agreement. "An Orilis that does not fly when danger is near is one that will not survive the night. What do you propose, Kenzie?"

She immediately began reviewing best policy when dealing with an injured bird to start and, if need be, transition to her knowledge of reptiles. "To begin, handle it only as much as is necessary to safely secure it in a transport container... back home we might use a shoe box but I--"

Cecil held out a large pouch. "Will this do, MacKenzie?"

She accepted it, giving it a once over before nodding. "It'd help if there were a little bit of cushioning just in case it jostles on our way back."

The Ranger unwound a scarf from his neck and offered it. "You truly are a nurturer by nature, aren't you, my dear?"

Something about the affectionate title would have made Kenzie blush, especially when the Fox winked, but she maintained her focus on the task at hand, accepting it from him and using it to line the large pouch. She looked back to Cecil. "See if you can find a small stick-- this long. If that is anything other than a superficial wound on its wing I may need to immobilize it."

As the Ferret went to do her bidding, Kenzie moved closer to the strange flying reptile, which continued to stare at her without making so much as a sound. When she drew closer, she watched as it's head drooped to one side, then slowly rose back up, only to droop again. Even beyond arm's reach, she could tell that its pupils were unevenly dilated. She spoke quietly to herself. "Yeah... that's not good."

She almost jumped when Silas spoke up softly from right behind her. "What is not good?"

Kenzie slowly knelt down, inching a little closer as she watched for signs that the Orilis was going to get violent. "I'm fairly sure it has a concussion. That's never a good thing, and it could be life threatening if not handled correctly."

The Fox was relatively blase in his response. "As I said: if an Orilis cannot fly, then it will not likely survive a night in the forest."

The Human pushed the large pouch into his paws. "Which is why we're going to be taking it with us. Back where I'm from when, we treated birds with head trauma. We kept them in a quiet, dark, cool place. It helped to prevent vasodilation of the intracranial blood vessels."

She could hear the Fox's casual self-depreciating smirk in his words from behind her. "I understood 'blood vessels'... but, despite not understanding what you said, I still enjoyed hearing you say it. So what is it you propose, my dear?"

Silas' eloquence and casual praise was frustrating on many levels, but Kenzie set it aside as she regarded the not-quite-three-foot-tall lizard huddling on the forest floor in front of her. In the end, she reached back for the pouch and pulled the Fox's scarf from it. With a slow, gentle toss, she managed to get it to land on the Orilis' head; it barely acknowledged it. From there, Kenzie was able to approach it closer and, just as if she were treating an injured bird, she secured its talons and wrapped her arm gently around the main portion of its body, then called for the Ranger. "Come here... I need some help."

It was Cecil who helped instead, coming immediately to her side with a lengthy stick in one paw. "How can I help, MacKenzie?"

The young woman provided verbal guidance as she transferred hold of the Orilis to the Ferret, making sure he had it secured in his grasp as she began to inspect it, moving the scarf around so that she could look clearly at its wing without unwrapping its head. "Hmmm... nasty gash in the membrane, but nothing looks broken."

Silas nodded thoughtfully. "Mmm... that would make sense. Poachers will, on occasion try to shoot them out of the sky... at least half the time if they hit, it's a wing shot, and they have to track the Orilis' fall. Few are good at that, so most of the time they end up killing an animal for naught."

Kenzie helped Cecil re-secure the Orilis and then grabbed the large pouch and worked with the Ferret to secure the lizard inside it. "All in all, this one has a great chance for survival, so, hopefully, if all goes well in this case, then their disregard for life won't result in needless death."

The Fox flicked an ear. "It is no disregard for life, my dear... most poachers hunt in order to eat."

The woman glanced back to the Ranger. "This Orilis couldn't weigh more than three pounds... how would--"

Both Silas and Cecil looked at her in confusion. It was the Ranger who asked "When you say 'pounds', is this is a unit of measurement?"

She wasn't willing to discuss specifics so she reassessed what she wanted to say. "An Orilis wouldn't make a very big meal."

Silas shrugged dismissively. "If poachers were attempting to shoot a flying Orilis out of the sky, then they would have been desperate. In that case then, yes; something is more than nothing."

Once Kenzie was sure the Orilis was secured she folded the flap on the pouch closed. When Cecil held his paws out for it, she shook her head. "It's alright, Cecil... I'll keep track of it. We should probably get back to the palace so I can put it somewhere safe to rest. Once I can see it's starting to recover I'll need to make sure it gets enough water-- dehydration is a problem for birds, so I could imagine it would be a problem for flying lizards as well."

Silas led the way back to their Heglises, while Cecil remained in lock-step by her side. She was focused on the pouch she carried but, out of the corner of her eyes she saw the Ferret often glancing her way. After the fifth or sixth time she paused long enough to ask. "Is something wrong, Cecil?"

Her question seemed to startle him, but he recovered quickly. "Ah... no... not at all... honestly, I was about to ask you the same thing."

Kenzie turned to regard her bodyguard. "What do you mean?"

Cecil flicked an ear, rubbing his palms on his breeches. "You said you had hope for the Orilis, yet you still look distressed."

She took a moment to assess his words; whenever she was looking after an animal she was often focused on the outcome but he was right: the Orilis, if the care for a bird was a good comparison, was a best case example. She was worried about it, but her mood was more affected by-- she realized why she might have seemed upset. "It was what Ranger Silas said."

The Ferret flicked his ear again. "About poachers shooting at flying Orilis? It does seem foolish considering they would have no control over where a missed arrow would land, but that would be--"

Kenzie held a hand up to stall his comment. "Not just that. When Silas first mentioned poachers I was thinking about something else."

Cecil seemed even more confused. "Those who hunt without approval from the Emperor. That is a poacher. Are there other kinds in your world?"

The young woman let out a slow breath, starting to walk again. "Poachers in my world-- at least the ones we usually hear about, hunt for sport... not because they're hungry."

Her bodyguard followed after her, his voice subdued. "There is a difference in your mind?"

She nodded. "A big one. I don't feel sorry for the ones who hunt for sport."

It took a few seconds before Kenzie realized that Cecil had stopped. She turned back to look at him and, for just a moment, she thought she caught sight of something-- an emotion on his usually unreadable face. That disappeared the moment he saw her looking at him and he cleared his throat. "Sorry... coming."

He took a few quick steps to catch up to her. Once they were even paced, she reached down to brush the back of her hand across the back of his paw. "Everything okay?"

Cecil nodded, and offered the faintest smile; she was surprised at how genuine it looked. "Yes, Kenzie... thank you."