Yu’s stomach clenched at the notion of food, and for the moment, his eyes stayed locked on Bubs. He willed him to look up, to glance in his direction, to see him, but the mianid never turned away from the human. His deliberate motions stayed smooth, methodical, as he worked to free the human’s right leg first, then her left.
Yu understood the process well enough, though his view was obscured by the borman. For all he had retreated to the wall, his bulk still blocked half his view. Atop that, Bubs’ hunched figure covered a big part of her legs.
From what Yu could see, the human wore a second layer of clothes under her trousers, some sort of tights that ended in long socks. At least her left leg was covered like that. On her right, all clothing was torn from the knee down, from where the broken bone was visible. Instead, the lower leg was wrapped in thick compresses and bandages. They protruded from under a second splint, this one cobbled together from what seemed like two overlapping plates of armour — perhaps a vambrace, or a shin guard. It had been fixed in place with brutal efficiency.
Bubs did not touch it. Not yet. Instead, he changed stools.
With Bubs out of his line of sight, Yu could see the human’s upper tight, now uncovered — and recoiled. Where the bone jutted free, raw and white, the giant wound was covered in a bloated mess of blood and mottled bruising. It spread up from the knee to the flank like black moss. It only hinted at the true extent of the injury and the pain.
On her left side, Bubs worked quickly, cutting through the tights, peeling back the fabric. That leg, too, was discoloured. There was deep blue and black pooling beneath the skin like submerged ink. The stench hit seconds after Bubs eased off the boot; sickness and rot.
It pushed Yu’s hunger down hard and made his beak clench shut. His gaze skittered away, toward the other figure on the adjacent cot. Still motionless. Still waiting for examination. Still awaiting treatment. Second to the human. It irritated Yu.
Pages:
Pages:
Pages: