He had never felt so wholly alone before. So helpless and afraid. He never wanted to feel it again, either, but at the moment there was no escaping the crippling anxiety, the weight of his guilt and the depth of his sorrow. How could a day that had started so joyfully, a time in their lives that was meant to be a new chapter, a new family, have turned into something so terrifying? He had thought she was going to leave him, and even now, sitting near her, eyes earnestly lingering on the slow rise and fall of her chest, he worried she might not be strong enough to stay.
Zonga could only silent hope she was. Simply because he was not strong enough to survive without her.
All his life, Zonga had been alone and quite content in it. After meeting Laika, his whole world changed. In fact, he had trouble remembering his life without her in it, and those memories often replayed with a shadow over them in his mind, as though Laika had brought light and meaning with her, and made his existence worth remembering.
When she whimpered, he moved to her side, knowing she was in pain. There was very little he could do for her leg, which had been broken in a terrible fall. She had gotten it caught in a pocket of mud, a sudden hole of bog and mire in an otherwise smooth and healthy looking terrain. Her bright pink fur had been covered in the disgusting muck that had tried to consume her, and it took him some time to clean it. He had found a small pond near enough by to bring her to, and had set up a little area for her to rest in. As comfortable as he could make it.
The sun was setting on the second day since the accident, and she still had not woken up.
He had meat sitting beside her, from a hunt just earlier that evening. He made sure to keep the kills he brought for her fresh, not knowing when she might wake up and not wanting her to be hungry when she did. Night was settling and he didn’t want her to be cold, seeing her shivering already, so he moved to lay carefully beside her. He licked her head gently, lovingly, and then sadly nestled his next to hers on the floor. His nose touched her muzzle.
His eyes were just closing when he felt her bump against his nose, her head moving enough to touch him to get his attention. Eyes snapped open, he pulled his head up to look at her, hope rising in his chest like sunrise piercing through a torrential night. For a moment he held his breath, she had gone still again, but she moved after a few agonizing seconds and let out another soft whimper.
“Laika,” he said softly, moving around her to sit near her face, licking her encouragingly and nuzzling her. “I’m here, you’re okay. Wake up, my flower.”
“Zonga…” her voice was like the herald of angels to him, and he barked excitedly because of it. She whimpered painfully, but nuzzled him as affectionately as she could. “What happened… why does my leg hurt… oh, Zonga, it hurts so much…”
She was crying, and he felt his heartbreaking.
“You hurt yourself, lovey, but you’re going to be okay. I’m going to take care of you. I got you food. I can get you some water, it’s just over there. I can get you leaves to keep you warm, or anything you need. I need to look for herbs… anything to help you with your pain. I’m so sorry this happened, Laika. If I were faster, or if I had been paying attention, you might not have…”
“I love you, Zonga,” she whimpered, cutting him off. “Can you stay with me? It hurts less… if you’re with me. I didn’t see… I smell bad.” She whined, a high pitched sound, and moved to try and get more comfortable. It wasn’t working, but she looked at him and the tip of her tail began to flick up and down, until the motion was enough to move most of the fur and indicate a proper tail wag. Zonga watched her, incredulous, as she smiled at him. Her eyes lit up, the same way they always did, save the unwelcome addition of pain swimming behind her happy innocence.
“Laika…”
She shushed him and he moved to her, settling down behind her once more. She was laying on her side, and now he was against her back. She shifted toward him, laying her head on his paws, face sideways against them, and he put his head down in the soft fur of her neck. Closing his eyes, he tried to will his strength into her, and got the funny feeling that she didn’t need it. Her tears had stopped, and her whining was softly now, the pain forcing sounds from her throat now and again, but she seemed to be mastering them for the most part.
He always underestimated her strength, and now was no exception to that. But he didn’t realize that she was strong because he was there, and without him she would have been lost long before this encounter with an unfortunately placed sink hole.
“Just stay with me,” she said softly, as if reading his thoughts and wanting to reassure him, “and the pain goes away.” He smiled, and didn’t realize that she was comforting him, when he should have been comforting her. She snuck into his heart, as she had the first time he met her, surprising him with her depth and just how much she understood about the world and the creatures living in it, despite how simply she lived her life and how she gave her love to that world freely. She knew he was scared, and that he was upset because she was hurt. She didn’t need him to tell her he loved her, because she knew that as well. If she were in his place, and he were injured, she would be terrified. Moreso than she was now, as the injured party herself. She felt she could offer him what comfort she could, and be strong for him.
He was already dealing with the very real fact that she had been hurt, and that he had thought she would die for a short time there. If she could lessen his burden simply by being stronger for him, for dealing with the pain and the weakness, and getting herself better faster, then she would do so happily and eagerly.
Because, in the end, she just wanted to see him smile again.
(Word count: 1,123 in Word)
