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also noticed some of the injured making to the numbweed brushes and rubbing against the leaves.
Piemur waded to the bank, calling for Parii -as he sank to the solid ground. His arms and legs felt leaden from his efforts to discourage fish from eating him.
Farii burst into view just above him, cluttering with re-lief and anxiety. She landed on his shoulder, wrapping her tail about his neck and stroking his cheek with her head, one paw wrapped around his ear, the other anchored to his nose. They comforted each other for a long moment. Then Piemur felt Farli’s body go taut. She peered around his face and began to chatter angrily. Twisting about, at first Pie-mur saw nothing to alarm him. Parii loosed her hold on his nose, and he realized that she was pointing skyward. He saw the wherries then, circling high, and knew that something had not survived the Fall. If wherries were after it, it was something that would also feed him and his fire lizard.
Farii seemed as eager as he to beat the wherries to their victim, and she chattered encouragement as he found a stout stick and made his way up the riverbank.
Most of the creatures that had taken refuge in the river had disappeared, but he kept a wary eye for snakes and large crawlers that might also have found sanctuary in the
nver.
He saw the bulge of the fallen runner beast, half-hidden under a large numbweed bush. To his surprise, it heaved upward, its bloodied flank crawling with grubs. The poor thing couldn’t still be alive? He raisedlhis stick to put an end to the creature’s pain when he realized that the movement came from under the animal, spasmodic and desperate. Farii hopped from his shoulder and cluttered, touching a tiny protruding hoof that Piemur hadn’t noticed.
It had been a female runner beast 1 With an exclamation, Piemur grabbed the hind legs and pulled the corpse from the youngster the female had given her life to protect from Thread. Bleating, it staggered to its feet, shedding a carpet of grubs, and hobbled the few steps to Piemur, its head and shoulders scored here and there by Thread.
Almost absently, Piemur stroked the furry head and scratched behind the ear cup, feeling its rough tongue licking his skin. Then he saw the long shallow scrape on the little beast’s right leg.
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“So that’s why you didn’t make it to the river, huh, you poor stupid thing?” said Piemur, gathering it closer to him. “And your dam sheltered you with her body. Brave thing to do.” It bleated again, looking anxiously up at him.
Farii chirped and stroked her body against the uninjured leg before she moved on to start making a meal off the dead runner. With a sense of propriety, Piemur took the youngster off to the river to bathe its wound, treat it with numbweed and wrap it with a broad river plant to keep off insects. He tethered it with his fishing line and then went back to slice off enough meat for several meals. The wherries were closing in.
Farii was sated enough not to resist leaving the carcass. Nor did she object when Piemur carried little Stupid back to their forest shelter.
As Piemur settled down to sleep that night, he had Stu-pid curled tightly against him along his back and Parii draped across his shoulders. He had fully intended to use the interval between this Fall and the next to make his way to the Southern Hold, but he really couldn’t leave Stupid, crippled as well as motherless. The leg would heal with care and rest. Once Stupid was walking easily, after the next Threadfall, he would definitely make tracks to Southern.
Despite the lateness of the hour, the Masterharper could see light coming from his study window as he wearily made his way from the meadow where Uoth and N’ton had just left him. He was very tired, but well satisfied with the results of his efforts over the last four days. Zair, balancing on his shoulder, cheeped an affirmative. Robinton smiled to himself and rubbed the little bronze’s neck.