Kuhle continued to regale them with everything that crossed her mind on the way over to the sick animals.
Lilau glanced up at the iridescent river in the sky for the fourth time since they’d left. It had remained on its course since its first appearance, yet the pull to follow it had vanished. Perhaps this was where the golden snake wanted her to be? She didn’t know what to think about that. The Horse Tribe were fair in their treatment, far more so than the people she grew up alongside. Still, she felt no greater connection. If the Chief told to her to leave and never return before sundown today, she would feel no regret.
She tore her eyes away from the rainbow that no one else could see and focused back on the lanky girl in front of her. They were walking, Great Wolves deigning to be transportation for their Bonded alone. It was a trait that, according to Kuhle’s current tangent, her people’s Great Horses also had.
“I know it’s a pretty far way out, right? But we don’t want the sick animals around the healthy ones. Mom says that would make it spread quicker, but it seems to spread fast, anyway, you know? I wish I was Bonded already, or that we could ride one of the Great Horses, but that’s disrespectful and all. Plus, there was that one time when Iafa tried to ride an Unbonded horse. It broke her arm for her, then as soon as she healed, the Chief made her help with calf and lamb watch the entire season. No way I want anything to do with that. I get in trouble enough as it is. How about you?”
Lilau was spared trying to plan an answer as they got within shouting range of people and horses surrounding a large cluster of cattle and sheep. Nearly the entire village milled around the animals.
Chief Zulni lost no time in waving them over. “Lilau Noka, Kuhle’nava! Good to see you two finally made it. Let’s get you over to Medicine Maker Dali so she can get you started.”
Lilau watched the sick animals. Each one had a ribbon of cloth threaded around both front legs, looped and tightened in such a way that it forced them to hobble, an energy intensive movement that made them complacent to stay where they were.
The cow she was staring at turned. Lilau’s eyes widened as a creature that clung to the side of its abdomen came into view. Three twig-thin, bristled and multi-jointed appendages sprouted from each side of a gray, oval body that glistened in the morning sun. What she guessed was a bulbous head turned inward against the cow’s hide. The creature’s six appendages didn’t have visible ends, instead plunging bloodlessly into the beast’s viscera. Although it was not bigger than the bottom of her shoe, bile rose in the back of her throat. She stopped as nausea welled up. It felt wrong.
What do you see? Makotae’s head craned around, trying to discern what had upset her. Kuhle and the Chief echoed his question as she pushed the image to him.
He shook his head hard with a snort. Ugh, it’s like a bloated tick the size of my snout. Now I feel ill. Is that really a Fokla?
She didn’t want to believe so, even considering her less than pleasant encounters with the other creatures. The others had felt as if they were merely doing what they existed for. While these looked well-equipped for whatever task they had, it felt malicious in a uniform way, as if a greater intellect was using them as weapons.
“Lilau Noka?” Chief Zulni repeated, “are you alright?”
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She pulled her eyes away from the sight, only to catch sight of another, then another, and another, all attached to the sick animals.
“U-Um, I’m fine. Just surprised about how many are sick is all.” She wasn’t ready to admit what she could see to someone who wouldn’t let her out on her own.
Chief Zulni nodded, his mouth set in a grim line. “There are more every day, I’m afraid, and more who have already died, but the Medicine Maker seems hopeful for this new batch of medicine. She feels we are getting close to a cure. Shall we continue?”
“Uh, yes.” She kept the animals in her peripheral as they moved among those gathered. Her heart was pounding and her palms were sweating by the time they found the Medicine Maker. A tall, smooth-skinned woman whose only hint at her older age was the small bits of peppering throughout her close-cropped black hair.
The Chief clasped hands with her. “Medicine Maker Dali, I’ve brought two more eager hands.”
Dali gave Lilau a stern once-over, distrust clear in her eyes. “It’s true we could use extra hands, but is it wise to allow this girl to help?”
Chief Zulni straightened up at the challenge. “It is my decision that she and her Great Beast have the chance to help us further.”
“As you decide, Chief Zulni.” Her expression never softened as she handed the two of them large bowls of boluses. “Kuhle, you two are to go with the Chief. He and Anli will restrain the animals while you two will give the medicine to them.”
Maybe she could get away without touching them. She didn’t want to see if the parasites would react to her touching their hosts.
The Chief clapped his hands together. “You two are the last to arrive. Now that you have what you need, we can get started.” He called the crowd to action with a shout.
Lilau slapping her hands over her ears in surprise. She had no time to recover as Kuhle grabbed her arm, pulling her along with the flow of chattering villagers heading towards the mass of parasites and livestock.
A horse the color of a storm cloud trotted up to Chief Zulni’s side.
“That’s Chief Zulni’s horse, Anli,” Kuhle informed her. “She’s the lead mare in the village’s herd, of course.”
The Chief, well within earshot, laughed. “She is smart and strong, excellent traits for a leader and excellent traits for helping us today. Anli, if you would?”
Anli pushed off with a snort, closing the remaining distance between them and the nearest cow in a couple of strides. Right before she collided with it, she planted her hooves, pivoted and hit it in the haunches with her own. The brown-hided creature let out a low moan as its balance shifted, its attempt at maneuvering its hobbled front half hastening its fall.
As soon as it hit the ground, Anli was over top, plopping down on the cow’s middle as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Of course, for all Lilau knew, it was for the Horse Tribe.
Lilau wondered what the parasite was going to do about all of this. It hadn’t been on the side facing them, which meant it was now pressed against the ground under the combined weight of two animals.
She eyed Anli and the cow, heading up the rear as the Chief positioned himself over the cow’s head.
Kuhle moved forward, bolus in hand. “I’ll show you what to do first, so get close so you can see well, okay, Lilau?”
Close was the last thing she wanted to be. Still, she didn’t want to seem obstinate. Lilau moved up to the cow’s mouth, eyeing it intently as she crouched down to watch Kuhle pop the medicine into the back of its throat.
From a distance, parasites notwithstanding, the animals didn’t look that sick. Up close, it became obvious. The cow’s eyes were red and puffy, its mouth mirroring the inflammation with its splotchy red inside and swollen tongue. Her training with Mara kicked in, her curiosity dulling the fear of the parasite. “What are the symptoms of this illness?”
Chief Zulni answered as he continued to hold the mouth open for Kuhle to push another bolus in. “Redness and swelling in the eyes and mouth. Also they quit eating, get tired, get slower until they die. Usually takes half a moon, maybe a bit more. Have you seen it before?”
“No, but I....”
Her words died as a bloated head appeared from behind the cow’s shoulder. The face, if she cared to call it that, sported four round, beady black eyes above a circular hole full of flesh-colored ridges. Lilau felt its raw malice as it stared at her and screeched.