The Wolf, the Butterfly, and the Kraken

Chapter 11

Ygr was exhausted from traveling. “I am going to make you sleep while I work on you today.”

He looked doubtful in the tub, but closed his eyes. I held his head and his pain slammed into me. I couldn’t stop myself in time and a tear slid down my nose. Isa helped me quickly find the pain center of his brain and turn off the pain. Ygr relaxed and I felt his relief. He murmured, “Thank you Auntie.”

“We aren’t done yet. Hush now. The one way you can help me to help you is if your body is rested.” He nodded and fell asleep. I wondered when the last time was that this poor child had slept pain free.

I meticulously explored his body. He had gall stones and 3 growths, and an ulcer. I came out of his body and Iara was watching me, and him. I took a deep breath. Giving news like this was not fun. “He has gallstones, an ulcer, and 3 growths. The gallstones and ulcer I could spend a day on each and they would be fine. The growths are tricky. Each will take time to shrink, and sometimes they come back.” I looked at the child in the tub. “Two of the growths are life threatening. One is near his heart. The other is near his brain stem. The least dangerous one is on his arm.”

“Can you do it? Can you heal him?” She was drowning in desperation.

“I can try. I haven’t done much with growth healing before. I want to try. Ygr seems like an amazing boy.”

She smiled, “We will come every day-”

“He must stay here.” She was shocked. “Transporting him causes him pain. Pain causes exhaustion. Exhaustion means less energy for his body to heal. We are in a battle against time. If there were two of me this would still be hard.”

She struggled between keeping her sick child close and trusting me. “How long will it take?”

“Bring his bed and a few changes of clothing.”

Iara nodded.

I was back inside Ygr before she left. The gall stones could go today. Isa and I started pushing them through, slowly healing the passage behind them. Even then, it wasn’t easy. I was amazed at this child’s level of pain tolerance. Once all the stones were through I went back and made sure there were no places that could get infected.

I felt tired as I opened my eyes fully to watch my nephew. He slept peacefully, painlessly, in the tub. I couldn’t leave him there all day. He had to eat and drink, and get some rest in a bed. I had to turn his pain center back on. But not just yet. I had Isa hold his head out of the water while I prepared a simple meal that wouldn’t upset his ulcer.

I slowly raised the level of pain he felt as his dinner cooked. He woke halfway through and murmured, “I had a dream that it didn’t hurt anymore.”

“I know. It wasn’t a dream. It shouldn’t hurt as bad anymore.”

His eyes watched me, evaluating me just as if he was a watercaster, “Will I live?”

“Maybe. Your mother has given her permission for you to stay here while I try to save you.”

His eyes widened that I would be so honest with him. Then, “What is wrong with me?”

I explained to him about what I had found, and my plan for trying to make him better. “I have removed your gallstones. Tomorrow I will heal your ulcer. That will allow you to have more food.Then after that I will alternate my time between the worst two, hitting your arm once a week.”

“How long will it take?” he asked.

“I wish I could say. I do know that this will be the battle of our lives.”

He blinked, “Our lives?”

I nodded. “If you die while my spirit is inside you I die too. I do not plan on letting you go. If it comes to that I will be there with you.”

His eyes flashed to my belly, “But your cub-”

“Will have a good big cousin to look after him in the afterlife, and my mate, and your mother will sing a most mournful song next Midwinter Festival.”

He sat up in the tub, “Then I will not die.”

“Good. Now, come get dried and dressed. Dinner is almost done. After, I want you to go to sleep.”

Vam came in just after Ygr fell asleep. He smelled of dirt and rain and straw. It was a most pleasant smell. I held him tight and breathed him in. He held me close and patted my back. “My mate you need to go for a walk,” he whispered.

I nodded into his strong chest. We walked to the barn. It was cold outside, but not under him. Under him I was alive and it was Springtime in my heart.

* * *

Iara checked in on Ygr nearly every day. There was little she could do for her son, but she would prepare a simple meal and tidy the den for us. It was hard to tell how well Ygr was doing, but we knew at the end of a day of healing they both would instantly fall asleep if there wasn’t food to eat first.

In the morning they would all but inhale an early morning breakfast, sometimes only a few hours after going to sleep, and be back at the tub. One day Ygr stopped breathing for a full minute and she brought him back with an enormous effort. It was late Spring then, and she was proudly displaying the bump that was our cub. When Iara heard of this she told Joann to let him rest one full day. I agreed. They both needed to rest.

It was supposed to be one day, but both slept through that day and most of the next. Joann was only a little mad at me. She ate a large meal. Iara took Ygr for a walk to get some fresh air. We had some time alone and took a bath together. I could feel the cub.

“What should we name it?” she asked.

“I have considered many names, but none seem suitable for more than a day. How about you?”

“I have not had time or energy to focus my thoughts on anything but Ygr.”

I hesitated. It was hard to say, but, “Have you considered letting him go?”

She looked daggers at me and I surrendered. Then she smiled. “Truly, we are very close to healing the growths on his heart and brainstem. He only had troubles because a small piece traveled through his heart.”

This was good news. “How much longer?”

“About a week more on the dangerous ones, then his body will be able to focus all of its energies on his arm. Maybe 3-4 weeks for that.” She grinned, “Don’t worry, it won’t be long until we have the den to ourselves.”

She knew me. One month. The end was in sight.