Just Another Day

Shanku used her dagger to cut strips off the lower part of her frock to use as bandages. By the time Hilael could coax Ina down from the tree, Shanku had cleaned and dressed her injuries, and Katari had caught a few fish for their supper and had nearly finished roasting them. Innugati settled down on Hilael's furry back and finally seemed relaxed again.

"I suppose she makes a pretty good little warning system," Katari remarked numbly and Innugati trilled proudly.

"You lot seem pretty shook up," Shanku commented curiously. "The yamaer didn't get to you like this."

"For one, it was a boar. For another, it wasn't just a dumb beast. That was intentional," Katari said.

"The corpse needs to be dealt with before it attracts scavengers," Shanku said and looked over at where the boar monster was still pinned to the ground with Katari's makeshift spear. "What a strange creature. It almost had hands, like a cervitaur's hands. I wonder what it wanted?"

"I wonder if there are more of them out here," Katari said. "We should roost in the trees tonight."

"How will Shanku get up with those ribs?" Ina asked quietly.

"There's enough vines we can haul her up," Katari suggested.

"It's not that deep," Shanku huffed. "I could climb up on my own. Hilael, did you ever find your pants?"

Hilael just laid down with his ears flat back and looked away. In the process of diving down to rescue his sister, he had shifted, and his pants and slipped off his fluffy backside, landed in the creek, and floated away.

"Well, that explains why you haven't tried to change back then," Shanku giggled. "We should get you a proper belt. So, are you just being your quiet self, or can you not talk? Huata was chatty enough when she changed."

Hilael snorted and curled his tail around his hindquarters, deciding to ignore her.

"Here, let me help you out of your shirt. It can't be comfortable with all that fur in this heat," Ina offered, and Hilael consented to have what was left of his clothes taken off. "I guess you'll have to stay like that until we get back to the village then, huh?" Hilael laid back down and looked away.

"Well, that's twice now I've had somebody go all the way in the process of trying to keep me from getting mangled by something," Shanku sighed. "If it was as simple as wanting to protect somebody, you'd think I'd already got there myself. This isn't the first time I've fought hard to keep somebody else safe."

"You're too angry," Hilael said bluntly.

Shanku tilted her head curiously. "I guess so. Anger maintains the feral form, and that pig really got under my skin, literally too. Getting to the true form is gonna be hard."

"Well, let's get started on bed and night watches. I want to start putting this day behind me," Katari said. The others didn't argue with him. Katari smothered the fire as Ina and Hilael flew up to the branches. Shanku took advantage of the various vines growing up the trees and climbed to the top. Katari nervously hauled the boar monster into the jungle a ways from camp and tried to give it as proper a rest as he could.

"I don't know if that'd meet the approval of the Skihva, but I don't have a shovel," Katari said after he returned to his comrades.

"I'm sure you did fine," Shanku said encouragingly.

The Sylvans tried to settle down for the night, but were either too nervous or too sore to sleep well, and they were on the trail again early the next day. The remaining trip back to the village was uneventful, albeit a bit slower to accomodate Shanku's injuries, and they were relieved when they could smell the smoke from the village cooking fires. Salim at first was very excited to see Hilael enter on four feet, but then quicky became concerned when he saw Shanku limping in behind the rest. The tired Sylvans were ushered back to Yaj's guest quarters and interrogated on the nature of their journey. Shanku was least emotionally affected by the attack and explained what happened.

"Ah," said Salim solemnly. "A boar demon. They haunt the deep jungle and are driven by greed. He must have thought you had something of value and wanted it for himself. Perhaps your silver pendant?"

"Well, a friend was kind enough to show me how to make it, so for sentimental reasons, I'm not handing it over to any grubby demons," Shanku growled. "An awful lot of fuss for such a small bit of impure silver!"

"Did either of you two manage to shift while you were out?" Salim asked. Katari and Ina shook their heads.

"Your day will come," Salim nodded. "Have a hot bath and a bowl of soup. You deserve a rest after facing such a fiend."

Hilael stayed behind as the other three went to get cleaned up.

"So you have been in the goblin form before then?" Salim asked suspiciously.

"I didn't want to tell them," Hilael said lowly. "I wasn't proud of that day."

"Now they know," Salim pointed out. "You should tell them."

"Shanku seems to think I haven't yet and somehow skipped that step, but even if she asked, I don't want to share the details," Hilael said flatly. "This is sufficient."

"Each are entitled to their secrets," Salim nodded. He picked up a fresh change of clothes and handed it to Hilael, who took them in his mouth. "Whatever your history, you also deserve a hot bath and good meal." Hilael bowed his head to him and trotted off to the bath house.

Shanku's mood was more foul than the poultice she wore. Hilael had returned to the common form and with the aid of the local apothecary had worked up a slimy mess that would help Shanku heal faster, but it was very pungent and acrid. Ina was back to her bubbly self and Katari was helping chop wood to finish working out his own nerves. Shanku was on strict orders to rest and was grumpily sitting on the porch as the village bustled around her. The boar's tusks had laid her ribs open to the bone and the gash on her arm was almost as deep. The thorns hadn't helped much either. One of Yaj's younger sisters, Vahini, had been tasked with looking after the injured Sylvan as part of her daily duties.

"Be still, or it won't heal right," Vahini chided gently as she changed Shanku's bandages.

"It is setting my nose on fire more than Innugati did that scoundrel's! I can't even feel my ribs over the pain in my sinuses," Shanku whined as her eyes watered. "Is that stuff the purest concentrate of garlic ever made or something?"

"You kurach complain too much of smells," Vahini tsked. "Better to burn a few nostril hairs than get an infection."

"I'm already infected," Shanku grumbled, "with goop!"

"Is Shanku complaining about getting doctored again?" Katari asked as he stepped inside. Vahini made an annoyed face in response. "C'mon, Shank, it's not that bad! Think of all the mosquitoes that won't be biting you for a while. I'm getting eat up out there."

"I'd rather be swatting bugs," Shanku harrumphed. "How's Hilael? I've barely seen him this past week."

"Out studying plants, I assume," Katari shrugged. "Salim says he's going to take all of us out himself after you heal to show us some of the ruins in the jungle. May even work with Ina and me a bit, too."

"Good, good," Shanku nodded. "Poor ol' Ina was so scared. I don't think she's got a mean bone in her body. If she turns, I'll be more shocked than anything."

"She's positively buried herself in chores," Katari said. "She has washed and folded just about every piece of linen in this house, repaired your clothes, and I think I even saw her scrubbing a wall. Honestly, I think Hilael is hiding from her because she's been fussing over us almost nonstop."

"Oh, I know," Shanku groaned. "Whenever Vahini is not here to check on me, Ina is popping in a hundred times a half-candlemark."

"Not to be rude, but, you stink, so I'll see you later," Katari said deviously and ducked out of the house before Shanku could throw something at him.

I'm not laid up! I'm grounded, Shanku fumed. She sighed and tried again to resign herself to being patient, but before another week had passed, she was out of the house and hiding in the trees gathering bits of fruit and vegetables to bring back to the village, or getting distracted watching strange insects she hadn't seen before. A month later, Salim found her under a bush watching a large centipede the day he intended to take them out into the jungle.

"Are you ready to go, or would you like to get to know the bugs better?" Salim asked with mild annoyance.

"Of course I'd like to go!" Shanku said as she sprang up. "I just need to get my—" Shanku paused and caught in mid-air her satchel that Katari tossed to her, "—pack. I'm ready!" Salim began to lead them out as Shanku took up her place in the rear and tied her pack straps. Her ribs were still very tender, but she would not stay behind.

"Winter is a quiet time in the jungle," Salim said as the last detectable remnants of the village faded away. "A good time for exploration. Although, I suppose, the jungle only has two seasons: raining, and not raining."

"How far out are these ruins you want to show us?" Ina asked.

"Several days walk," Salim replied, then glanced over his shoulder with a grin. "Don't worry. We will have more than rice cakes. We will have a good hunt!"

"But I thought none of the Skihva ate meat?" Ina wondered.

"Yes, the Skihva are vegetarian like many other little monkeys in the jungle, but we kurach are not, including those of us of the Fazid clan who live with the Skihva," Salim said. "They accept that we are still animals, and are satisfied so long as we give our kills final rites."

"Well that was a whole lot of worry over nothing," Ina grumbled.

"What will we be hunting?" Katari asked.

"Deer, monkeys, pigs, and perhaps a few rodents and fish," Salim replied.

"Not feelin' the pig," Ina said leerily.

"Don't worry. I have a proper spear for handling both boars and boar demons," Salim said and tapped his spear against the ground that he was using as a walking stick before continuing. "We will eat well on this journey."

The Sylvans perked up a good bit on that notion. Salim was a knowledgeable guide and pointed out a multitude of tracks, sounds, plants, and landmarks as they went. When he found a set of tracks he liked, he motioned for the others to be quiet and for Katari to follow him. They returned later with some more of the fanged deer that Katari and Shanku had caught on their last trip. Salim prepared their supper and smoked some of the meat for their next few days of travel. Katari was disappointed he wouldn't have time to preserve any hides on this trip.

Salim did not set any campfires, and instead showed his students how to create temporary slings in the trees from the ample supply of vines. It was still necessary to set a night watch in case any hungry leopards stalked nearby, but gently swaying in the night breeze in a leafy hammock proved to be some of the most restful nights the Sylvans had had so far on their journey.