Dangers of the Mountain

He worked diligently and carefully, wrapping the leg tightly to keep the leg stable. It took a good while just for that one leg. His eyes flicked to the hide that Sirius had torn a strip from to bind the head wound. That might be needed for wrapping Cairo’s torso.

He moved to the young man’s hind leg, watching as Ime straightened and aligned the fractured bone before they worked together to align three more sticks with the leg, working carefully to splint the leg—luckily a single break that was clean.

The bear arrived with the wagon, not alone. But before addressing Malalia, he nodded his thanks and gave a murmured, "Thank you, Lady Bear.” Bears were quadrupedal, and he could imagine it had been some measure of strain to pull the wagon in such a way from the Armada and back.

To the girl, Paladin nodded, adding, “The best way to help him is to be calm. I’ll need to get his armor off him to wrap his chest, but first, could you clean his head wound and put a poultice over it? Rewrap it with a fresh doeskin bandage from that set there.”

He nodded to the small stack that had been tucked away in Cai’s various pouches as he and Kayode tied off the bandage on the splint to Cai’s back leg.

Finally, to Sirius, he admitted, “He needs a safe place to rest for the weeks it will take for him to heal enough for long travel. Aurielle will need to be alerted to his accident.”

He turned back to Malalia, settling into teaching mode. He could recognize her inexperience as a healer—her armor marked her as the girl Cai had met and made it for, and she visibly cared for the man. Action would help her fret less and keep her productive and focused, most likely.

“He’s had pain killers administered, as well as something to reduce swelling. He must have struck his head, and we’ll want him to wake up as soon as possible. And once he’s up, he needs to stay awake for twenty-four hours and watched closely. But for now..”

He bent and slipped the buckles of Cairo’s armor, quietly wishing the boy’s foreleg hadn’t been broken… it would have been a lot easier to remove his armor. “Something painfully pungent might bring him around, but he might appreciate being allowed to wait until after he’s been wrapped up… even with the pain medication, this will all hurt like hell. Ime, could you help me lift him, please? Thank you…”

A bubbling, keening whine escaped Cairo's jaws, pain visibly wrenching through him as the wolf and Mandrill monkey carefully sat him up, the monkey supporting him as Paladin slipped the good leg out of the armor and tugged it gently off. Paladin perked his ears, listening for any sign the broken ribs had shifted or punctured a lung with the movement. Luckily, no change other than the soft, whispery whines that came with each breath, barely a noise. The young man wasn’t awake, but the awareness of pain was a hopeful sign.

Paladin and Ime slowly lowered the wolf back to the ground. Nodding to Malalia, Paladin added, "This is how you check for broken ribs with an unconscious patient who cannot tell you their symptoms aloud..." And he waited until she was watching before lifting a paw to demonstrate.