Horizon Ridge Blackfish

As Dublin spoke, Pied finally ceased struggling against the insurmountable pain. She focused on the other female's voice, feeling the panic subsiding ever so slightly as the Kappa's firm, gentle tone reassured her. Pied clung to the words you will not die in my care with particularly desperate hope.

Disturbingly, she felt the sudden urge to laugh. She hiccoughed instead, which sent a splinter of pain through the center of her body and elicited a deep groan. I was supposed to go see Hawkeye today, she thought bemusedly, then panic abruptly sunk its talons into her sharply once more when she remembered why she'd been planning to visit the plateau. Will I be able to have pups...?!

Dublin's utterance of her name knocked her back into focus and she lifted her head a few inches without thinking, only to wince and let it drop back onto the sand. She mentally backpedaled, replaying Dublin's assessment. Bruises, right hind paw broken, left shoulder dislocated...

"My neck?" Pied gasped. "My back? What about my insides?" Realizing she'd ignored the would-be medic's questions, she clenched her teeth together—accidentally biting her wayward tongue in the process—and said, "Do the worst one first, please." She closed her eyes, fighting back tears.