Ahhhh!!!

Io nodded as Zee spoke of asking her mother. She wondered what the woman was up to, if anything. Perhaps she was simply upset that Mort had gotten hurt. It was strange, but there could be something more to it. She might ask on her own.

Zee asked what she might need and Io pushed the two wrapped items towards her. "Give him willow bark if the pain is bad. The salve, rub onto his paw and it will help to numb the area. He needs to stay still or the bone could break rather than fracture." Her gaze drifted to the boy. "I'm not worried. He's a smart one, despite his hysterics. He just has some growing to do." Again, that pang thrummed within her. That desperate ache to have a child of her own.