A Greater Lesson

Chapter 9: We're Leaving

I set the animal I was skinning for dinner aside when I saw the wound.  Roux limped into the doorway and fumbled down the steps.  My jaw dropped as I ran to help him.  He had a huge gash on his hindquarters that curved into his spine.

“Lay down, lay down,”

I gently pushed on his back so he lowered himself down right there at the foot of the steps.

“Shhh… you’re fine… shhh,” I inspected the affected area and estimated the damage.  I hurried to the corner of the room by the lamp to retrieve my small sewing kit.  I had used it so many times for my own reasons, but until recently, I had never used it on skins still attached to living things.  Zorxik was the first time.  Now I was glad to have had a smaller cut on thinner skin to practice on first before having to tackle this one.

I had done about three stitches before Xik busted down the stairs.   He looked down at Roux and winced before dodging him to come sit by me.  He seemed to know that it had happened already.  I continued to sew up the oozing wound for a few moments while he caught his breath.

He put his hand on my shoulder, “Riv.”  I paused and looked into his eyes.

“People are going to come looking for Roux,”

“What?  Why?” I demanded.  This couldn’t be happening.

He took a deep breath and looked at Roux.  “They…”  He looked back at me.  “They think he’s made out of gold.”

At first I was angry with Xik.  Was this one of the tall tales he told that got out of hand?  Had they taken him seriously?  Had he told them about Roux and the gold?  Before I had gathered my thoughts enough to yell at him, he explained further.

“A man was in the jungle and claimed to have been attacked by a jaguar matching Roux’s description.  All he remembered about it was that he speared it, it had stripes on its cheeks, a ‘black diamond’ on its forehead and gold dust on its claws.  Their imaginations got the best of them and they decided that it was a golden jaguar.”

I continued sewing Roux’s wound.  His hide was thick and hard to get through.  The poor guy whined every time I pushed the needle through.   I couldn’t handle the information right now.  Roux was in no condition to put up a fight if he had to.  Usually, I wouldn’t worry about him having to face the jungle with his wound.  He usually had no reason to fight, but now the entire village was after him.   Maybe even neighboring villages if word traveled as fast as I thought it did.  My stomach churned.  I had no idea what to do now.

Xik moved his arm to wrap it around both of my shoulders and pulled me closer.  “I don’t think you guys are safe here anymore.  I think you should leave.”

I snapped my head around to face him and shrugged off his arm.  “Where would I go, Zorxik?!  Do you have any idea how long I had to adjust to this kind of life?  I can’t just pick up and leave now! I can’t rebuild this somewhere else!”  Tears pricked my eyes and even though I blinked them back, my feelings became evident it my voice. 

“I’m certainly not going back to living around people!  I’ve become a freak!  It’s been three years, Xik!  Three years!  I hate people and now they’re coming to me!”  I dropped my head and sobbed into Roux’s fur.  I couldn’t blame this on Xik, I didn’t want him to leave.  He was just giving me a heads up, but it just brought so many bottled feelings to the surface.  So many memories.  I expected his hot head to yell back at me, but I was surprised at his response.

“I will help you, but you have to get out of here.”  I smiled a little at the gesture, but of course he couldn’t see my face.  “Roux is in danger and if someone finds you protecting him, you might be too.”