Little Small Horns

After The Attack

   Stem woke up in the infirmary, her back and sides bandaged. She felt a sharp pain slicing through her from where her cuts were. She didn't completely remember what had happened, all she knew was that they saw something, it attacked, she attacked, and then darkness.
   She saw Banana walk into the infirmary, "Hey," she said, her voice shaking, "do you remember what happened?" She asked.
   "Thing, hide, attack. OWWWW!" She screamed as the healer unbandaged her.
   "Oops! I'm so sorry!" The healer apologized, "I'm kind of new at this. My name is Gem." The SeaWing said.
   "No, ugh. You're fine, just doing your job." She grumbled, teeth clenched.
   Gem poorer water on the claw mark cut to clean them out. After that, she dried them with a woven cloth, spread mud over the wounds, and re-bandaged them. Smart Stem thought, still grinding her teeth in pain.
   Stem realized that she couldn't feel her tail, she tried moving it, but it didn't work.
   "My tail. My tail! OH FOR MOONS SAKE! I CANT FEEL MY TAIL!" She panicked, "WHY CANT I MOVE MY TAIL?" She demanded.
   "Oh, uh. I don't know! I'm new I don't know all of this!" Gem said running out of the room.
   "Oh no! You can't move it?" Banana asked, "I'll go get Clay!"
   So Stem waited for Clay to show up, and when he did, he said "You can't feel your tail?"
   "Well, do you think I would be in full panic mode if I could?" She yelled, "DOES THAT SEEM NORMAL TO YOU?"
   "Umm? Let me see your tail." He said, ignoring her question.
   "Well come here because I can't move closer because of pain, and, oh wait! I CANT MOVE MY TAIL!"
   He went over, picked up her tail, and sighed. Not a good sign. She thought how did this all happen again?
   "I think it's broken," he said sadly, "but you should still be able to feel it."
   "Then why can't she?" Banana said stepping back into the room.
   "I don't know." Clay answered, "I'll need to get Starflight in here to feel it out."
   "I'll do it!" Banana volunteered, cheerfully. Then she ran out of the room before he could respond.
 
   She came back a while later with the NightWing that Stem recognized as Starflight.
   "Okay what is it?" Starflight asked Clay.
   "Stem and Banana were attacked, by... something. Banana is fine, but Stem got clawed everywhere, and can't feel her tail." Clay explained, "I think it's broken, but why can't she feel it?" Clay asked.
   Starflight took a few steps toward her, held out his claws and felt around for her tail. Once he had it, he shook his head.
   "Well it is broken," he said, "but I think there's nerve damage."
   "What does that mean?" Banana asked, concerned, "will she be able to use it again?"
   "We can fix the break, but there might be permanent nerve damage. We couldn't fix that." He sighed.
   "So I might never use my tail again!" Stem cried, tears already running down her snout.
   "Sadly, yes." Starflight answered, "We'll bandage up your tail, and fix the fracture. We'll just have to see if the nerves will fix themselves."
   Stem wanted to fly away, noticing now that her tail would drag her down.
   "So I can't fly?" Stem asked. She heard Banana gasp, "Like if this doesn't heal, I won't be able to fly again?"
   "Oh no!" Clay said, "If she isn't able to fly, that means she can't leave the mountain."
   They all went quiet, until Stem began weeping. "That stupid, stupid, gremlin ghost!" Banana yelled. "Did you catch it?" She asked Clay.
   "No," he said, "no it got away before I got a good look at it." He mumbled. There was a loud ᗷᗩᑎG that came from the library, everyone ran out there.
   "Stem, wait!" Clay called to her. But she had already gotten up, hunched over in pain, and began walking over to the library. She had a feeling that she knew what had happened, but she kept going.
   In the library she saw ghosts everywhere. She turner back toward the infirmary, hoping not to be seen, but she realized that her cuts were reopening, and blood soaked through them.
   She panicked, pain soaring through her, then she felt something grab her. She threw her tail at it, but it was Clay. My tail! She thought, then fainted from blood loss.