Tucci was watching carefully as Wahed returned to the den. He had been out for a few hours, and Tucci was certain that he was just not going to come back. He thought this had been a mistake, that the wild dog was going to go and run off and get some back up and come back to hassle the God, to take the injured, winged lion away for their own use or amusement, and Tucci would be left cold. He was a few minutes away from leaving Uzembe’s side again and going out to find Wahed, but he did not want to leave the injured God for too long. He was in a lot of pain, that was clear, and Tucci was legitimately worried that he was worse off than any of them thought.
Uzembe was tired, and he was not sure he had ever felt this terrible before. Being a God, he sort of avoided all the troubles of the mortal coil, so he was not concerned with things like illness or mortality, because he did not have to be. But being this badly injured made him worry that maybe he was not as invulnerable as he was made to believe. Maybe he was just as mortal as all the others, and he was just able to fly. His wings had certainly not helped him so far, and he was really starting to feel like he was on his way out. He had never really been afraid of anything before, and he could not say he liked the feeling at all.
Wahed was working as hard as he could to help his new friends. He was a little overwhelmed, meeting a lion God, but it was one that was in need of some help, and he was the only one around that could offer it to him. That made him feel motivated, important even. This was the most focused he had ever been on anything before, because usually he just wandered through life. Literally, since he never had a home to settle down in, and had nothing to worry about or tie him down. Now he was dedicated to the idea of finding some herbs to help the God heal, and close those bad wounds he saw on the God’s back. Whoever had done that had not meant to leave the God alive, if that were even possible. Thankfully, Wahed managed to find what he was looking for, and brought back as many of the different herbs as he could.
Tucci looked up when he heard someone at the entrance to the den. It had a large tree growing in front of it, which blocked the view of it from most unless they were really looking. Unless one knew it was there, of course, and he was tense to see if this was Wahed, or if his fears were coming true and there was a huge pack of wild dogs waiting for them. He did not smell anything out of the ordinary, though, and saw Wahed padding in with a mouth full of uprooted grasses and leaves. He relaxed a bit, actually glad to see the wild dog as he approached, wagging his tail.
“You got the herbs? Will they help? Do you know what you’re doing?” Tucci was skeptical still, but the relief in his tone was all too clear. He moved forward and sat down very close to the wild dog, tilting his head to the side. Wahed lowered his head and put the herbs and grasses down, making a face and clicking his tongue a few times to get the taste off of his mouth. He looked at the lion and offered him a reassuring smile. It was kind of nice to see a lion, who Wahed had learned was a relative stranger to the God, so concerned about his safety. It was clear that Tucci wanted nothing but the best for the God, and to see him healthy and up on his feet sooner rather than later.
“Yeah, I know that I can make a good salve from these. It should numb the pain and encourage the wounds to close and heal up quickly. I’m not sure if lions are the same as wild dogs, or if lion gods are the same as lions, but I think it can help. I’m doing my best!”
Uzembe opened his eyes, laying on his side and breathing slowly as he rested. He was listening to them talk, and he smiled thinly as he looked at the wild dog.
“Thank you for all your help, Wahed. I trust you’ll be able to help. I’m sure this salve will help me a lot. Anything would be really good for me at this point because I’m… I’m feeling very sick and very tired because of these wounds so any kind of help I could have… I would really, really appreciate it. I’ve never been this hurt before… at all. I appreciate it.” He spoke calmly, though inside he was still feeling a bit of panic and he was still very nervous about his status right now. He was not sure this was normal and he did not know how to deal with the level of pain that he was under. He just wanted to be free of it and to get back to the skies, back to the God domain, where it was safe for him.
“Uzembe,” Tucci said carefully, but he stepped back, metaphorically, and nodded his head. He was going to let Wahed do what it was he said he could do, and that was important. He took a breath and shook his head though, not looking sure as Wahed moved to start mashing the leaves and grass together into a gross smelling, even worse looking paste of some sort. Tucci wrinkled his nose but took mental notes as this whole thing happened, wanting to make sure he knew what was being used and how it was made so he could do it later. He was an inventor, after all, and to invent the next best medical herb, say, he needed to know how to make the standard ones.
Once the paste was made, Wahed moved over to Uzembe with the paste in a leaf and did his best to apply it to the long gashes down the God’s back. Tucci moved to help him, and soon enough the two had managed to spread the paste as best they could. The black lion sat down near Uzembe’s head, tilting his head and looking at the reaction the God had to the paste. For himself, his own paws were tingling a bit for the potency of the concoction. It told him that the stuff might actually work to numb pain, if his own toes were going numb just from touching it briefly. He was hoping that would ease the pain the God was in substantially.
“That should do it,” Wahed said, sighing softly. He shook his head and smiled gently as he looked from Tucci to Uzembe. He was glad to see them being friendly, and he was sure that the God would be alright in due time. He sighed and relaxed a bit, sitting down and wagging his tail behind him. Tucci looked at the wild dog and actually offered him a smile due to his efforts for Uzembe. He nodded his head graciously and took a deep, slow breath that he released as a sigh.
“I can feel it working,” Uzembe said thoughtfully, though his tone was very sleepy and heavy. He was quiet, but he smiled and closed his eyes contentedly. He was glad that the pain was pulling back, as he had hardly been able to deal with it. It got so bad and overwhelming, but now he could finally rest and take some actually recover. He was hoping he would not be cooped up too long, but at least he had some friend to help take care of him now. And he would return the favor to them some time, when he was able to and he could go out there and fly around again. There had to be something he could do for both of them to thank them for all their effort.
Tucci looked at Uzembe and noted he had gone to sleep. He looked over at Wahed again, smirking a bit.
“I think I will go out and get us all some food, if I can. Did you want to come with me to hunt, or are you tired from your outing? I think it might be better if one of us stay here and take care of him. Make sure no one comes and finds him like this.” It was Tucci’s roundabout way of being nice to Wahed, and repaying him. He just wanted to let the wild dog rest a bit, after doing so much. Hunting was the least he could do to help them. He was feeling a little useless.
“Alright, I’ll stay here then. Thank you for the food, when you bring it! Uzembe will be safe with me.”
“I know he will. Thank you.” He meant for more than just his effort with the paste. Tucci chuckled and took his leave, heading out to go and get food for them all.
Word Count: 1,555 in Word
