“Kotori, these wounds are deep, but we can save him. The wound is very fresh, and chances are he has not yet lost too much blood. Tell Geoff to start a fire and light up any metal piece he can. We’re going to cauterize the wounds we cannot stitch, and we will stitch the rest.”
Kotori nodded yet again, entering her state of pure concentration like the first time we met. She quickly rummaged into her fanny pack to bring out the same pair of scissors and spiderlily thread.
“Geoff! Quickly, please start a fire!”
Geoff quickly nodded and began hacking at nearby branches, branching.
“The wolf is in a great deal of pain, we need to use something to sedate him to alleviate the pain. The proceeding process will be very painful.”
…
“Kotori, use the terraqilin, let him bite into it.”
“Mr. Rabbit… I don’t think it’s in any condition to chew or anything along those lines…” Kotori responded.
Kotori quickly took a piece of terraqilin and began nibbling on the tip, until she had a fair amount of grounded up terraqilin flesh in her mouth.
Kotori quickly grabbed the wolf’s jaw by the mandibles and opened it towards her.
The wolf began to growl and jerk it’s body around desperately.
“Calm down Mr. Wolf… We’re trying to save you,” Kotori explained.
Then, she emptied her mouthful of terraqilin mixed with saliva, a long strand of saliva leaving her mouth down into the wolf’s mouth.
Almost immediately, the wolf felt less distressed and began breathing softly, not making a sound.
“Alright, the wolf is well sedated. Do you still remember the surgeon knot?” I asked.
““Two times… Loop… Short end… Through the knot…” Kotori remembered.
“Good. See those 5-6 wounds that are small enough to stitch together? Do those stitches. Keep an eye out for blood loss and I’ll try to put pressure on the areas, though my strength in this body isn’t great.”
“It’s so dark, I can barely see anything…” Kotori noted. She quickly grabbed the oil lamp and placed it right next to the wolf’s mane to try and illuminate the wounds.
“Okay, I see the wounds, I’m going to start,” Kotori said as she began the operation.
I saw one of the particularly grave wounds on the wolf’s right hind leg, with a large chunk of flesh missing, eerily resembling a wolf’s bite. I focus my attention on grabbing the femoral artery shut leading to the leg injury that wound, and press down with the entire weight of my body, making my paws feel numb from pain. There was no way this wound wasn’t going to leave a lasting impression after cauterization.
In a blur of movements while I was constrained to holding the artery shut, Kotori sewed together the little lacerations and cuts the best she could, using the surgeon knot the way I taught her.
“Mr Rabbit, how’s the wolf’s condition?” Kotori asked.
“He’s in critical shape, but keep going, we can do it. I think the terraqilin also slowed down its bleeding a bit, but I’m not going to let go just to verify that!”
I quickly glance at the spots Kotori has been sewing, and realizing the shut parts began to brim with scabs and dried blood.
“I think the blood is coagulating, which will stop the bleeding for the parts you have sewn together so far!”
“Alright.” Kotori quickly responded.
“Geoff, how is the fire going!” Kotori asked quickly.
“No luck Kotori! The wood’s too damp, I can’t start a fire!” Geoff shouted.
“Kotori… You have to use the oil in the lamp to start the fire. It should be flammable enough once you coat the wood in some of the oil,” I suggested.
“Ah alright,” Kotori realized, as she set aside the tweezers and scissors, and grabbed the lantern next to the wolf, leaving a trail of darkness as she went to Geoff.
Kotori tipped the lamp to the side in an attempt to pour the flammable oils onto the dampened wood, leaving the kindling of a small flame.
At first the wood showed no signs of igniting into a greater flame, but as Geoff and Kotori continued to fan at the wood while I held the wound with all my strength. Eventually, the bundles of harvested branches began to ignite into a sizable fire.
“Kotori, place the longest metal tool you have onto the base of the fire. You need to heat it up, but it needs to be long enough to not burn your hand,” I said.
“I… don’t have anything long enough…” Kotori replied. “But we can use Geoff’s hatchet. It should be sufficiently long.”
“Ideally the metal is sterile, but it looks like we have no choice,” I commented.
“Geoff! Can you heat up your hatchet?” Kotori asked.
“Alright,” Geoff quickly responded, as he carefully set the axe end of the hatchet onto the fire.
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The fire began to crackle as the iron starter glowing brighter and brighter. The incandescence of the metal and fire soon illuminated the surrounding forest, whilst the fire left trails of ash and smoke wafting into the air.
The fire began to dance in anticipation of consuming more material, whilst Geoff tended to it, careful not to let it spread.
“Kotori, you need to know the following procedure is only a matter of life or death. The wound needs to be sealed or the wolf will die of blood loss, especially the wound on his hindleg. It struck the femoral artery and if it isn’t cauterized, the wolf will die. It will leave a lasting scar, and likely impede his motor functions, but it is a last resort.”
“It’s fine. I’m sure this wolf will appreciate living more than such an injury,” Kotori reassured.
“You’d be surprised how many people wouldn’t,” I commented. “How are the other sutures you’ve made on the smaller cuts and lacerations?”
“They’re still intact, and for the most part the bleeding has stopped in those areas. I count 3 injuries that I couldn’t stitch together, bite marks too big to stitch together with the technique you taught me,” Kotori observed.
“You need to mentally prepare yourself. The wolf, despite being sedated by the terraqilin, will likely feel the cauterization. I need you to get Geoff to hold down the wolf, as he will likely spasm in pain.”
Kotori ran towards Geoff and whispered my instructions.
Kotori grabbed the hatchet whose metal end was now brimming with heat, emitting vapours as it moved across the air.
“Please be careful Kotori, that will hurt like hell if it touches any of you.”
Kotori nodded as Geoff grabbed the wolf’s legs and torso, leaving the noticeable 3 injuries left to the heat of the hatchet blade.
Kotori swallowed and slowly but surely placed the axe wound on the first injury, on the right shoulder of the wolf, right above the first rib but below the scapula. As the blade came closer to the wound, the residual heat of the axe blade made me sweat and feel uncomfortable, like being trapped in a boiler room 30 feet down.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
A voice screamed in my head, and the wolf began convulsing rapidly, kicking its legs in desperation, while letting out a deafening howl. If not for Geoff pressing harshly on the wolf, it would have likely have caused the axe to fly out of Kotori’s hand.
Kotori slowly removed the axe from the first wound, leaving a trail of searing flesh and scarred remains, but noticeably the bleeding stopped locally on the first wound. It was a success.
“Please… hold on for me.” Kotori pleaded to the wolf, noticeably teary eyed having realized the amount of pain the wolf is in.
The second wound, another bite mark but this time on the back of the wolf, a evident chunk missing of the wolf’s flesh.
Once again, Kotori lowered the axe, slowly onto the wound.
MAKE IT STOP!!!!!!!
The wolf yet again instinctively began to kick and howl, leaving an eerie atmosphere of pain and suffering.
After 7 seconds of contact, Kotori lifted the axe handle, leaving another mark of scarred flesh, but yet again, the bleeding subsided on the second wound.
“Good. Now it’s the last wound. This one is a bit rough, as it’s deep into the artery, so you will need to place it there for a while to stop the bleeding.” I sighed deeply. “This will leave a lasting impression but if we don’t he will die.”
Kotori’s face rolled with tears, drying up imminently from the radiating heat of the axe blade.
I let go of my hands, and blood began to seep heavily from the wound instantly.
Kotori quickly pressed down on the gushing spot, leaving a sizzling sound too horrifying to listen to.
Yet again, the wolf spasmed, kicking, biting and howling, as Geoff held the wolf tightly in his grasp, but not with brute force, but a firm grasp like that of a protective parent.
PLEASE!!! NO MORE!!!
……………………………………….
At long last, the pain subsided, and he lived on. Calmly lying on the ground, falling asleep, it made no more signs of struggles.
“It’s over,” Kotori whispered.
A gust of wind blew on our relieved faces, as the axe began to lose it’s heat. The fire crackling of oil and ash began to dissipate, leaving a trail of smoke and char. The light around us soon began to dim, leaving an afterglow of colours in the night sky.
“You did good,” I complimented.
Kotori grabbed me from the ground and embraced me into her chest, eyes closed, tears wounding up into her eyes again.
“Thank you. Mr. Rabbit,” she whispered into my ear.
“And thank you too,” I replied, as I quickly climbed back into her wicker basket.
“And thank you Geoff,” she said as she turned around, giving Geoff a hug as well.
Geoff smiled and tilted his head down.
The wolf, whose breathing now came to a regular soft breath, laid down there like a little infant basking in the nightly afterglow.
“You’ll be alright, Mr. Wolf,” Kotori avowed in a soft manner, resting her hand on his head.
“The night grows older, we should get back to the village,” I said.
“Right,” Kotori affirmed.
The rustling of leaves revealed there were others waiting for us.
Geoff realized this, quickly grabbing his hatchet from the ground.
Please do not be alarmed. We are here to retrieve our comrade.
“Kotori! Tell Geoff it’s not hostile,” I exclaimed.
“Geoff! It’s not an enemy!” Kotori cried.
Three wolves emerged from the outskirts of the bushes, heads down trying to signify passivity.
The wolf in the middle spoke to me.
“I am Snow, leader of the wolves who are against the ones who aim to hurt you. Please, spend the night with us in our den, and I will explain to you everything. I thank you greatly for saving our comrade, so please, come with us.”
“Kotori, the middle wolf, Snow asks us to follow them to the den, taking their injured friend. Shall we go?”
“Alright, if you think that’s the right thing to do,” Kotori decided as she debriefed the question to Geoff as well.
“I don’t know about this, Kotori, but to be honest, if these wolves were hostile, they would have attacked us already,” Geoff reasoned.
I nodded, realizing the purity of their intent. Was I too trusting…
I was, in all honesty, but I realized that I had become more connected towards the people, the life around me.
And yet, that snow haired girl in my vision, who was she. How did she know me, wherever I was. And how could I thank her for saving me from the bitter cold that would have consumed me.
“Also, I do need your help for one more thing,” Snow added, as he gestured the two wolves beside him to carry the wounded wolf, whose spilled blood now dried and left a mark on the soil.
“One of our wolves learned an Insignia power and cannot control it. We don’t know what to do, we wolves generally do not acquire Insignia powers, but she has. So please, if it would interest you, help us understand more about this.”
Kotori’s eyes widened and she gripped the wicker basket harder.
And thus, as the afterglow of the night began to flicker away, we followed Snow deeper into the forest, leaving behind yet another struggle, and another memory.