Niro was kind of lucky that he was hurt so badly, because if this moment had been less serious when he asked if he was dead she would have picked up all her children and let it rain puppies onto the bed to prove that he was still alive. But their nipping and gnawching and playful paws would only cause him terrible pain right now, so she let them remain there on the floor, blissfully unaware of their uncle's plight. The one still chewed on her tail, others were sniffing their way around the room.
She bent over the bed, taking her brothers hand gently – as long as she didn't see any wounds or bandages there – and looked into his face though his eyes were now closed. He must be tired, he must be pained, and she wondered what she could possibly do for him. She had no idea what horrors lay beneath the bandages, or who had come to his aid and patched him up, but she knew that with this much gauze and rags that none of it could be pretty. He wasn't even sure what happened, it seemed, and she frowned at this. Was his memory just short from the trauma or had he sustained a head injury too?
“Have you seen Amaranth yet? Who is taking care of you?” Yeah, aparantly she didn't pay attention when he said that he didn't know and he had just woken up.
“You're not dead. Thank god you're not dead. Where did you even go for this to happen? Niro, you have to stay home, you have family. What if... whoever it was hadn't found you?” She lay her head beside him on the bed, staring up at his closed eyes. From the looks of it it would have been very likely that he wouldn't have returned had he not had a stroke of luck. As she stared up at him she suddenly noticed something was missing... “Your hair...” She reached out to carefully let her hand brush against the torn strangs. His mohawk was gone.
She was silent for a minute, and then said. “Your nieces and nephew are here.” She was sure he knew. They weren't exactly being quiet. Luckily they did not know enough to understand all of the words they spoke, either. “Can I get you something? You must be hungry? Thirsty? I can make broth.”
There was a sudden clacking sound at the window and it startled Orin. She jumped up and looked at the glass, and noticed for the first time that Marahute was perched upon the sill and now knocking fervently to be let in. “How long has she been there?” She wondered rhetorically as she moved to the window and opened it, letting the eagle in. The huge bird leaped from the window sill and soared over to Niro's bed, perching on the post there.
As soon as the puppies saw her they screeched in unison, “Birdieeeee!!!!” and clustered around the bedside trying to get a better look, barking and yipping and whining all the while.
Photo courtesy of Alaskan Dude
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