Moving down to the final one, I notice a black cage instead of a small barrier to keep the animals from falling off the counters, so I read the label first.
Thunder Stag. Male. Est. Age: 1 year old. Ailment: Dehydration. Exposure to extreme cold. Treatment: Fluids, Heat, & Rest.
Looking into the cage, my breath hitches as I see star-filled eyes staring back at me.
Holy shit!
The other guys were all either fast asleep or still drowsy, but this guy is awake and definitely agitated as he paws at the foam ground. He looks like any normal stag, I guess, except he has long gray and black hair along his body and his tail is as long as the Dust Wolf’s. Even with how young he is, his antlers are pretty impressive and look sharp as hell. He rears up on his hind legs and strikes the cage with his front hooves, causing sparks to fly while thunder rumbles inside.
Okay, so he could work in special effects. Got it. Ugh. Fuck me sideways.
I don’t see Taffy around, she must have left the sterile room to cast the Wolf Halk, so I take a deep breath and send up a quick prayer that when I die, it will be fast and painless. I can’t let my fear outweigh an innocent animal’s needs. Plus, there’s just something about this stag that’s calling to me. Ihaveto go in there. “Okay, sweetie. I’m not here to hurt you, and with you moving around like that, I bet that IV isn’t feeling too hot, huh?” I slowly move up to the lock and place my hand over it, judging his mood.
His antlers lower and I know he sees me as a threat and is waiting for a response before he rushes me, but what to do?
Fuck!
This is when I would have used Lynx to help communicate with him. Quickly, I squat down, keeping my hand on the latch and bowing my head.God, let this work.After giving him a minute to get used to me, I slowly slide the latch over and feel the door give. Keeping my head down, I glance up from under my lashes and see that he’s lifted his head and is watching me closely. It’s not pretty but I slowly duck walk to the side, pulling the equipment with me, and slip inside, shutting the door behind me.
I’m gonna die.
Still squatting and keeping my eyes down, I carefully raise my arm up so he can sniff me like a dog.
What the fuck am I doing? He’s not a dog, if anything he’s more like a deer.
What seems like hours must only be seconds when I feel his icy cold breath on my arm, raising goosebumps. Not knowing if that’s a good thing or not, I take a chance and glance his way, making eye contact briefly before I start talking.
“Okay, buddy. I’m at your mercy, here. You’re gonna have to help me out, okay?” I look at his leg with the IV in it and he’s pulled it, so not only is it haphazardly still in him but there’s blood dripping down his black hoof. Taking a closer look, there’s light blue lightning streaks circling around his hooves. Shuffling closer so I’m less than a foot away, I’m trying to decide on my next move when he lifts up his hoof with the IV and extends it to me.
Looking up in shock, I see a tear in his eye and my heart breaks.Hopefully this doesn’t hurt.I place his unique living lightning hoof on my knee and surprisingly enough, it doesn’t cause any pain, just a warmth that seeps through my sweats. I get to work on removing his IV and patching him up as smoothly as possible all while he watches me with his intense eyes. I feel like I’m working on a God and I’m being silently judged in the process.
A gasp has me freezing, and the Thunder Stag charging the cage door blocking me from the intruder.
“Rez?” Taffy calls. Her worried tone gives me pause.
Was I not supposed to help the Stag out?
“Yeah?”
“Oh, Fates have Mercy. Are you okay?”
I watch from between the Stag’s legs as she slowly approaches his cage. A grumbling starts up and increases as she gets closer and I realize it’s the stag. “I think so, though I have no idea what’s going on,” I admit.
“Well one, he wasn’t supposed to be awake. Thunder stags are very rare, but from what we’ve learned they are extremely dangerous,” she informs me as calmly as possible.
Well, that might have been nice to know before I put myself in here with Bambi on steroids.
He didn’t start acting this way until Taffy came in here, so I do the only thing I can think of. “Hey, Taffy. Can you step out of the room?” I ask as I slowly stand up so she can see that I’m okay.
“You want me to do what?” she asks in an incredulous tone.
“Didn’t you tell me to trust my instincts or whatever you called it?”
“An affinity,” she supplies helpfully.
“Then let me try something,” I plead, and she must see the conviction in my eyes because she lets out a huff and leaves the room.
As soon as she’s out of the room, the thunder stops and the stag turns back to me.
