“Drink.”
Jiwekali felt someone push something against his lips and instinctively his parched and cracked mouth opened. Tepid water trickled into his mouth and he couldn’t fight the soft groan that lurched from his throat. It tasted so good, so good. Jiwekali would drink forever if he could, but soon enough the water was pulled cruelly away from his lips and he fell back, defeated.
“Not too much,” the voice said softly, “T’will make you sick.”
There was a soft rustle, and the next thing Jiwekali felt was a gentle brush of dampness against his crusted eyes. They were glued shut by a mixture of sand and mucus, and the gentle herbal scent of the water that the stranger used was soothing on his fur and skin. He dozed as the stranger worked.
Coolbreeze hadn’t been expecting to find a near-dead lion wasting away in the middle of the vast desert. She hadn’t been expecting to find herself drawn to him, and she certainly hadn’t expected to find him breathing. It had taken every ounce of her strength to drag him off of the hot sand of the desert and into the shade of a huge outcropping of rocks. She’d been watching him for days now, but today had been the first time he’d willingly taken water from the coconut shell she used to store it in.
Having left her pack, the Peke Na, months ago in order to gather as much information on healing as she could, Coolbreeze felt relieved that she’d had a full stash of healing herbs and tinctures stored in various pouches she carried. He was lucky that she wasn’t someone else, someone who wouldn’t hesitate to finish him off and pick his bones clean.
Finished cleaning the muck from his eyes, Coolbreeze turned to the small snake she’d killed and meticulously cleaned. Snakes were easy to find in the desert, and this one didn’t have much meat but it would be enough for the two of them. When the dark-maned lion showed signs of rousing, she swiftly bit a bite off of the snake and chewed it swiftly. She would have to feed him fast – he wafted in and out of consciousness fleetingly, and offering food and water was important.
The flesh in her mouth now chewed, she moved closer to him. “Open your mouth.” When he promptly obeyed, she transferred the food from her mouth to his and then softly whispered, “Swallow.”
Jiwekali did. It was hard to work the soft meat down his dry and swollen throat, but he did as she said. His tongue was still so cracked and dry that he couldn’t properly taste the food, but having something in his stomach made him feel revived, even if by just a little. With effort he worked open his eyes, catching sight of his savior now. She was wild dog with gentle golden eyes that watched him attentively. Her mouth worked as she chewed, once more moving forward to transfer the chewed meat into his mouth so that all he would have to do was swallow, which he did willingly.
“You are very sick,” Coolbreeze whispered as she nosed open a pack that rested on the ground near him. “Your paws are cracked from the heat of the sun; your nose is dry and burned. This,” she dropped a leaf-bound turtle shell on the ground near him and proceeded to dunk her paw in it, “is a tincture that I was taught to make by the healers of the Tuait’tekem pride. It will soothe the burn and aid in healing the flesh of your feet and nose.” With a gentle touch she applied the cooling mixture.
“Y-your name,” Jiwekali ground out, eyes closed as he let the wild dog tend to his wounds. It was important to him that he knew her name. He might live to see another day thanks to her. More importantly, he wanted to say her name when he thanked her for saving his life.
Those watchful golden eyes of hers shot to meet his turquoise gaze. “Coolbreeze is my pack name. You may call me Tuuli. I hail from the Peke Na Pack – I am on a quest to learn and gather as many beneficial healing methods that I can before I return to my pack with my knowledge.” She shrugged and carefully placed the excess salve in the turtle shell before she wrapped it again in a leaf and placed it in her satchel.
“I am Jiwekali. Tuuli, I thank you for saving my life. I… I would have died if not for you. I may still,” he added, closing his eyes.
“Yes, you might. I will watch over you as long as you show progress. You must do all that I say, Jiwekali, for if you do not then what is my purpose here?” Idly she bit off another bit of snake flesh, chewing it thoughtfully before swallowing. “I must ask you – how did you find yourself in such a situation?” It was strange that a lion would willingly starve himself. Very strange indeed, but Coolbreeze was not one to question the motives of others.
Jiwekali was silent for a long moment after she had posed her question. How did he answer this? Could he answer this? She deserved to know. He owed her his life, after all, and she had been so patient and thoughtful. “I… lost my family. I went to help a friend chase off a pack of hyenas that had been tormenting his family. In saving his family, I lost my own.” Jiwekali swallowed painfully, the emotional lump in his throat choking him. “When I returned home, my mate and our cubs were gone. I have been searching for them – I did not find them.”
Coolbreeze had listened with her full attention and could not help but feel sorry for the lion. “And so you starved yourself? You did not nourish your body so that you might continue on in your quest for your family?” She gave him a look and had he caught it perhaps he might have felt somewhat chastised, perhaps guiltier than he already felt.
“It did not cross my mind to eat,” he explained stiffly, “I thought only of finding my family. I waited for them at our home-den for nearly a week. After that I was frantic, and searching for them was the only thing that I could think of.” Jiwekali clenched his jaw and opened his eyes, searching for her face. “My son and my daughter are both young. My mate is kind and gentle, but capable. Still, a father’s fear is suffocating. I could not sleep. I could not think of food, I could not think of water. I could only think of my family, lost to me. Were they frightened? Were they dead?” His voice broke and he closed his eyes again, defeated.
Coolbreeze softly shushed him, brushing a paw against his limp mane. “Jiwekali, these questions are not ones that you can answer, nor can I.” She didn’t know what else to say to make him feel even marginally better, and perhaps there was nothing more that she could say. All she could do was help this lion and watch from the sidelines as he fought his own inner battles and struggled with his turmoil.
Exhausted, Jiwekali slept fitfully once more. If he called out for his mate, Coolbreeze was there to softly brush his mane from his eyes. That seemed to calm him, and like a guardian angel, Coolbreeze watched him as he slept.
WC: 1,263
