And then a sudden jolt of pain lanced through me.
"Agh!" I cried.
I drew back my paw with a hiss. The pain was sharp and stabbing, like a needle.
"Quinn?" Farley called. "What happened?"
I grimaced, holding up my paw. "I don't know. It just started hurting..."
"Let me see."
Farley darted over. His feathery brow furrowed as he stared at the underside of my paw.
"There's a shard of rock stuck between your paw pads," Farley said.
I glanced at my paw. Sure enough, right between the pads was the nasty pointed piece of rock.
"What the hell? How didn't I notice this before?" I asked.
Farley grunted. "Your fox fur, I bet. Look." He brushed aside some of my fur with the tip of his feathers. The light, airy sensation almost made me shiver. "It's so thick that the shard got trapped until you pushed on it."
"Ugh. Is this what they mean when they say beauty is pain?"
Farley snorted. It was the second almost-a-laugh I'd wrung out of him. Maybe if I tried harder I could get a real one.
"I'll get it out," I said with a sigh. But when I put my front teeth against my paw, I couldn't angle it properly. My teeth were big and the thorn was small. Plus it was embedded too deeply to get a grip on it.
Farley watched me struggle with a frown. When it became clear my struggle was useless, he said, "Stop. Give me your paw."
Despite being in pain, I felt the need to tease him. "You have wings. Pretty sure you don't need a paw."
I still didn't know how Farley managed togrowlas a finch but he did it anyway. "I meant, show it to me."
I offered it to him face-up. It struck me how small Farley was. His full height was a little more than the length of my paw.
We wild shifters valued our freedom to live as we liked, shifting back and forth between our forms. To be stuck in one or the other was a terrifying idea. If that was happening to Farley, then I felt horrible for him. As a finch, he was vulnerable. Sure, he was quick and had the power of flight, but that was it.
As I watched him examine my paw, it occurred to me that Farley must trust me enough to get this close. Taboo or not, I was a fox, after all. If I was a shitty person, I could grab Farley in my mouth in one bite.
The mere thought of it made me sick. I pushed it out of my mind, locked it up and threw away the key.
"Can I?" Farley asked gruffly, nodding at my paw.
"Oh, sure. Go for it."
Farley's face screwed up in concentration. He parted his beak and placed it carefully on the rock shard. I felt a bit of pressure but it didn't hurt. With one firm strong pull, Farley yanked it out. A rush of pain flooded the area and I shook my paw, hissing.
"Ow," I said.
Farley spat the rock on the ground. Blood glistened on the tip of it. I couldn't believe that thing had been in my flesh.
"Now just don't step on it again and things will be peachy," Farley said.
I licked my wound. "Thanks, Farley, I appreciate it. I don't know what I would've done if you weren't here."
He grunted and avoided my gaze. "No. My fault. I shouldn't have pushed you up the steeper route. The easier one was a better choice."
I shrugged. "They're both routes up to the same destination, right? Next time I'll watch my step."
