"Hey," I whispered down to her. "We're going to see Kanik, Holly. Yeah? You want to see Kanik?"
She danced at my side, clearly recognizing his name. Her mouth hung open, showing an impressive set of teeth, and her tongue fell out at the side. Those partially floppy ears of hers were up and bouncing with her movement, making her look like she was as thrilled about this visit as I was.
Today, I was doing this on my own. Zasen was out hunting. Rymar had headed to City Hall to let Jerlis know everything we'd learned from Tobias yesterday. No, the day before. Just because I hadn't slept didn't mean the days had stopped churning.
And what a long day it had been. We'd started with a battle, ended with mourning, and then I'd headed back to the forest to make sure the Moles didn't take my friend's body. Finding him alive hadn't been something I'd expected, but God had blessed me. He was alive. Wounded, but very much alive.
That put a smile on my face as I turned into his room. A nurse was there, checking him over, but Kanik saw me. He leaned his head to see around the man, and the tip of his tail flicked down by his feet.
"Holly?" he asked.
She moved, intending to run to him, but I stopped her with a hissed sound. "Wait," I ordered.
That was enough to make my dog whine. She still obeyed, but this was her version of protest, and she deserved to have it. But once the nurse finished poking at my friend, the man stepped back.
"Okay, she can see him," he told me.
"Holly, find Kanik," I said, releasing her.
She didn't even take a step. Holly simply jumped, launching her massive brindle body from my side onto the foot of the bed so she could carefully creep closer. The smile that put on Kanik's face? The way he reached out to encourage her?
"How's he doing?" I asked the nurse. "Does he have an infection?"
Because where I was from, infections killed. They were the one thing that always took a life. Considering the amount of dirt and debris that had been in Kanik's wound, I knew avoiding one was unlikely, but Dragons had medicine. They also acted like this was nothing to be worried about, and the nurse's response proved it.
"His temperature is fine. There's some inflammation around his incision, but he's on enough antibiotics that we're notworried about it. Pus or excessive draining is what we're watching for."
"Redness?" I asked, moving closer so I could see.
But Kanik laughed. "Ayla, my skin's brown and purple there. You wouldn't see anything red."
"Can I show her?" the nurse asked him.
"Of course," Kanik said, patting his other side to move Holly out of the way.
The nurse lowered the blanket, showing the wound. "With the tailed," he explained, pointing to where the cut crossed from Kanik's brown side to his lavender belly, "we look for separation of the sutures like this. When closed, the edges should meet. This puckering means there's swelling. The raised edges of his scales around it will show you how far it extends. Unlike the tailless, his skin doesn't flush, but it gives signs in its own way."
"Will it need to be drained?"
The man smiled at me and shook his head. "Shouldn't. He's on pain killers and enough antibiotics that even if a piece of dirt was missed, he will be fine, Phoenix."
"But?" I asked.
The man gave me a confused look, and Kanik chuckled again. "No buts. Ayla, I survived. Everything from here on out will be easy."
"You took a piece of metal in the gut!" I huffed. "That is not 'easy!'"
"It's recovery," the nurse said. "But he's going to be fine now. The Python is pleased with how he's doing." Then he stepped back. "And I'll get out of here and leave you two alone. Kanik, let me know when it starts to hurt again?"
"Promise," Kanik assured him, still rubbing Holly by his hip.
I moved to take the nurse's place on his open side. "I'm just glad you're okay."
"I really am," he said, moving his hand to hook my fingers with his. "Thank you, Ayla."
"Holly did it," I mumbled.
He made a face and shook his head. "She helpedyou. You're the one who came back for me, and trust me, I will never forget that. You saved my life because you didn't give up on me."
