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“You should go back to your parents little one. I’ve kept you here long enough.” Imrra looked down at the child that had cried and started the battle with his actions. “Yes sir.” “Remember,” Imrra said to the child, “You did a good job doing what I told you. You have a talent for acting. Do not let that talent go to waste, I may need you again one day.” The child nodded. “I will be sure to practice often Chief.” Imrra smiled and patted him fondly on the head. “Good, now get going. Tell your parents that they have raised a good son that has made their chieftain proud to have him in the tribe.” “I will sir.” The child bowed and then ran out into the morning light.

Imrra was about to sit down when someone stormed into his hut. “Imrra!” Selka yelled as he passed through the doorway. Imrra looked over at his little brother with an annoyed expression. “What do you want Selka?” “I cannot believe you would sink so low as to what you did last night!” “Do not bother me right now Selka. I need to do some thinking.” Selka, despite his anger, couldn’t help but smile slightly. He knew what his brother would need to think about. “Think about what Imrra? About the fact that your plan didn’t go like you had wanted it to?” “How was I supposed to know there were Nigrum Mortifer warriors hiding in the jungle?!” Imrra said loudly, his own temper flaring. “We may have won the battle, but we lost more warriors than we should have because of them! All of those furs should have been dead by now!” Selka smiled a little wider at his brother’s tirade. Imrra scowled at him “What are you smiling for?! For all you know that bitch of yours is dead by now!” “Do not talk about her like that Imrra!” “Or what?! Are you going to stand up for her and punish me?!” This made Selka purse his lips in silent frustration. Selka sneered. “I knew you would not. You lack the guts to face me because you know I could kill you without much effort. Do not forget that I am the chief for a reason! Now get out of my site! I need to think about what I am to do about those surviving furs and I do not want to waste my time arguing with you.” Selka’s forked tongue flicked out in agitation. “Fine.” He walked back over to the doorway and looked back at his brother. “By the way, I know Bethany is not dead. I have searched through the bodies. That is why I was smiling. Unlike you I still have something to live for other than some petty vengeance.” Imrra glared at his little brother’s back as he left the hut. He decided that it was time to come up with a plan on how to make sure the rest of the furs perished and how to pay back the Nigrum Mortifer tribe for their interference.

******

(The previous afternoon)

Erin had been told to wait in one of the rooms of Zassira’s hut when they had arrived at the village. The stretcher-bearers had taken Beth into the room that served as the infirmary so that she could be tended to by the owner of the hut. Soon after, Erin saw another pair of Black Mambas carrying Nick on a stretcher. She had seen that he was unconscious and had watched as they carried him into the infirmary room as well. She was starting to get worried about the two. Unable to sit down anymore, the ferret lifted herself off of the floormat and started to pace around the room.

Meanwhile in the room that Beth and Nick had been taken into, Zassira and Zila put their knowledge of healing to use. Zila had settled for treating the Beth, doing the best she could to close the gaping wound in her side. Zassira ended up treating Nick. She had been pretty hesitant at first but eventually got over it and did what she had volunteered to do. She cleaned the gash on his torso and sutured it after trickling an herbal narcotic down his throat to numb the pain. Once they had finished and their patients were sleeping, the two hatch-mates washed their hands in a basin and sat down on a couple of floormats by the wall. “How’s the ferret doing?” Zila asked, sipping some water from a wooden cup. “He just needs some rest,” Zassira replied. “How was it touching a fur for the first time?” Zila asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “A little strange,” Zassira said, smiling very slightly, “I’ve never touched fur before, but I guess it wasn’t so bad.” After a few moments had passed, Zassira asked Zila, “How is the Bulldog doing?” Zila sighed and frowned. “I’ve done all I can, but I don’t know if she’s going to make it. The wound was pretty deep. We’ll just have to keep a close eye on her and hope she can get through this.”

The two stayed silent for a little while longer. Zassira was the one to break the silence. “We should probably go tell their friend the news. She’s been waiting in the other room for awhile.” Zila nodded and stood up. Zassira stood up as well and followed her hatch-mate into the room where Erin had been told to wait.

Erin looked up as the two black mambas entered the room. She went over to them, worried about what the news might be. “How are they?” She asked. Zassira decided it would best to tell her about Beth last, so she spoke first. “The ferret-” “Nick,” Erin interrupted. “Nick,” Zassira began again, “is doing fine. The cut wasn’t too deep and I was able to close the wound without much trouble. He just needs to sleep a bit and then he’ll be able to walk around and do whatever he has to.” Erin nodded. “That’s good. How’s Beth?” Zila readied herself to tell her. “I don’t know if Beth will survive or not. The wound is deep and she lost a lot of blood. I need to keep an eye on her and see how she progresses. As of right now though, the odds are against her.” Erin looked down, trying to hide the tears that were welling up in her eyes. Zila placed her left paw gently on Erin’s shoulder. “I’ve done all I can. The most we can do right now is wait and see how she does over the next few days. I wish there was more I could do.” Erin looked back up at Zila, forcing a smile. “It’s okay. I know you would do more if you could. You’ve done all you can. I can’t ask for more than that.”

Zassira heard a stirring come from the infirmary room. “I’m going to check on them, are you going to come along Zila? You can come too Erin.” No matter how uncomfortable Zassira was around furs, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the ferret fem. “Maybe right now’s not the best time,” Zila said. “They still need their rest. How about you and I go get something to eat Erin? I’m pretty sure you haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.” Erin thought for a few moments. She nodded after making a decision. “I guess it would be better if I wait to see them. I don’t know if I’m ready to see Beth yet.” She looked over to Zassira. “If they ask for me, please come and get me. I can’t turn them down if they want to see me.” Zassira nodded. “I’ll do that.” “Thanks.” “Come on Erin, we should get going,” Zila said, smiling a little. “We can see if there’s anything you like. If there isn’t we can have the cooks make something that you want.” Erin nodded and followed Zila out of the room and then out of the hut. After they had left, Zassira went back into the infirmary to check on the two injured furs. She was a little uncomfortable being in a room alone with two furs, but she was quickly getting used to it. That and the fact that they were unconscious also put her more at ease. She walked over to the floormat that Nick was laying on. She had to admit that she was pretty curious about the ferret. Kneeling down, Zassira studied Nick’s face, her tongue flicking in and out of her snout unconsciously.

Nick came awake, but kept his eyes closed. He could feel a slight throbbing on his chest and stomach where the halberd had slashed him, but other than that he felt that there was nothing else wrong with him. He opened his eyes and was startled to see a snake with the same coloring as the ones that had come in to help the caravan. He couldn’t help but smile a bit at how cute she looked with her tongue flicking out of her mouth. Zassira herself was a bit startled when Nick opened his eyes all of a sudden. “Hey,” he said. She was embarrassed at having been caught staring at him and turned her gaze away from his face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare,” she said. “Don’t worry about it,” Nick said simply. An awkward silence fell between them for several minutes. Nick sat up and leaned back on his arms. “Where am I?” he asked. “You’re in the Nigrum Mortifer village,” Zassira replied nervously. “You were brought here by the stretcher-bearers.” Nick nodded. “I remember being carried by them before I passed out.” He fell silent and thought for a moment. “Beth! Where is she? Is she okay?” Zassira didn’t say anything merely moved aside, allowing him to see Beth across the room. Nick saw her and looked at Zassira. “Is she going to be okay?” Zassira looked away from him again, partly from nervousness and partly from the fact that she didn’t want to tell him that his friend was probably going to die. “Miss…” Nick faltered. “Zassira. Zassira Gemma” “Ms. Gemma. Is Beth going to make it or not?” Zassira sighed. “I don’t know,” she said. “There is a chance that she may live, but I’m not sure. She was injured badly and the spear had gone pretty deep. She lost a lot of blood on the way here. My hatch-mate has done all she can to keep her alive, but there is only so much that we can do.” Nick looked down at the ground. He had never seen anyone die before and he didn’t think he could handle it if it was a newfound friend that was the first. “I’m… very sorry,” Zassira said unsure of what she should do.

Nick decided to change the subject, feeling the uncomfortable atmosphere building. “So… Ms. Gemma-” “Please,” Zassira interrupted. “Call me Zassira. I’m not used to being addressed by my last name.” “I’m sorry. Zassira,” he began again. “May I ask you a question?” Zassira nodded warily, wondering what he would want. “While you were talking, you said ‘hatch-mate’. What does it mean?” “A hatch-mate is someone who breaks out of their egg within an hour of another. Snakes only can become hatch-mates if they are in the same tribe though.” Nick was intrigued and decided to try to find out more. “How many do you have?” Zassira decided that this fur wasn’t too bad. He was actually pretty polite. “I have two. Zila is one of the. She is the one who treated your friend. The other one is called Koren. He is the chieftain of this tribe.” Nick nodded.

Suddenly Nick felt the pain in his cut flare up and clamped his paw over the cut. Zassira quickly went over to the table and picked up a cup filled with the green narcotic liquid that she had trickled down his throat earlier. “Here take this, it’ll help with the pain,” She said, holding the cup out to him. Nick took the cup and downed it. Zassira watched him carefully. “It will take a few minutes to take affect,” she said. Taking grasp of his shoulder, she pushed him back down into a laying position on the floormat. “You need to rest some more. The medicine I’ve given you will also help you fall asleep. Nick closed his eyes and nodded. “Thank you Zassira.” “You’re welcome.” On impulse Zassira stroked his head until he fell asleep. She stopped once she realized what she was doing. Embarrassed with herself, she went over to her floormat, sat down, and leaned up against the wall. Closing her eyes, she slowly drifted off to sleep.