Horizon Ridge Blackfish

Edit on 02/21: I'm going to narrate a conclusion and archive this because it's an important thread. Emalee, if you ever want to dig it back up to finish it out more fully, just let me know and I'd love to do so!

Dublin didn't answer her, which of course led Pied to assume the worst. Before she could delve too far into her dismal thoughts, she felt a wrenching pain in her right hind leg. She jerked instinctively, whining and crying through clenched teeth but making a conscientious effort to hold still now. Dublin spoke again, coaxing Pied into a round of low whimpering. "I don't—Kisu?" she began to say when the would-be medic set the bone with a single, precise movement that sent knifelike pain shooting through the Delta's leg again and tore a sharp, keening note of agony from her throat.

"Stop," Pied begged with a gasp. "Please stop..." Much to her relief, Dublin stepped away and the Delta had a chance to gather her wits. Her paw throbbed and she whimpered—and occasionally cried out—in rhythm with the agonizing pulsation. She dreaded what came next, though she tried to tell herself it wouldn't hurt as much. First is the worst, second is the best, she thought dully, a nursery rhyme her father had taught her in her youth.

When Dublin returned after issuing a howl summoning help, Pied found the strength to shift her head to return the she-wolf's gaze. "Can you... make sure Kisu's coming?" she asked, then swallowed thickly and replied, "Yes," in a very dry, reluctant whisper. "Please... make it quick. Do it. Do it now." Somehow, she even managed to roll partially to make the task easier, though the pain became so great that she felt herself beginning to lose consciousness again.

Pied knew a split second of acute agony when Dublin put pressure on her shoulder, then her vision went black and she slumped onto the sand. Her mind simply couldn't cope with the excruciating pain, so it blinked off momentarily. She remained unconscious as the would-be medic quickly ascertained and dealt with her other injures, then summoned Kisu and dragged Pied's small, broken body to shelter.