continued...Krell lifted her head sharply at the touch on her side. Her ears pricked forward and as the large injured one froze, she brought her nose to the air where she sifted the scents of injury from the healing. She gave a low groan, deep and thrumming through her chest, then flicked her head to the side. The injured one was large but there was a slow reaction time, much like a prey animal and Krell did not need do more than rumble gently to remind him of her presence.
When it seemed the one she was laying beside had gone quiet, Krell did the same. The bitch gave a wide yawn, ending in a high pitched whine of pleasure – a simple act to tell her companion he needed to relax, though she was far from relaxed herself. His uncertainty had begun to bleed through their touching flesh. Yet, she was the mother and as such, her genetic heritage forced her into gentleness. With pups suckling, she was forced to calm, the actions of the pups and the lack of response on the part of the great beast she tended both conspiring to relieve the burn of anxiety his waking had borne in her.
As the sun-fire bled through the room, Krell panted. It was a great deal warmer for the two of them, but she did not try and move. Instead, she flicked her head to the side and licked at his elbow. One damp touch and a sneeze later, she'd let her head fall back to the furs where, heaving a great sigh, she let her eyes watch the door through which her master had gone and through which she could hear the usual movements as the Light Keeper rummaged about in the lean-to beyond the warmth of the kitchen.
Hap returned to the room, humming a strangely bi-tonal song, soft and in harmony with itself. It had removed constraints on its tail which flicked in time to the soft song as Hap went about the room, a stool under one arm and a basket of comfrey under the other. It set the stool upon the floor and without looking at the inert guest nor the quiet dog and her pups, Hap crawled upon the stool to hang clumps of herb here and there along the rafters. It was high and Hap was forced to get onto its tiptoes which was something of a hazard on a three legged stool. Still, the keeper had done the action many a time and did not falter. Again, it leapt down, moved the stool, then stepped upon it once more. This process it completed, stool and herbs, then move stool, until the basket was empty and the rafters hung further with more herb than before. Small hooks had been set into the rafters at intervals for this very purpose, set in every half foot, and the bunches clung together. When the basket was empty, Hap went to draw down the now dried herbs, fingers deftly searching through it each bunch to pull down only one particular plant – a dark browned one which released its smell the more it was handled until the circular room was smothered in pungent scents.
The process was gone about in a manner that was easy, without rush, for there was a good amount of time and not as much to do with it as perhaps there was in the Center's cities. Hap had no social engagements to draw from its tasks, so the keeper could fill hours in as it saw fit. Still, despite the careful ease at which it tended its duties, Hap still managed to get things done rather quickly and when the basket was full, it set the basket to the side and picked up the stool to replace it.
Then, stool cocked on its hip, it looked at the other occupants in the room. The dog and the frozen patient. Hap lifted a slender brow.
“Are you well?” Hap's voice broke the silence, made Krell's tail thump on the fur covered flooring. Hap watched for a half moment, then set the stool down once more, leaving it behind as the keeper went to its patient's side. Kneeling in a smooth transition, Hap reached for the cooled broth. “Well enough to sit up and eat?” it finished its question of the quiet guest.
