Page 14 of For the Strange and Surprising

“That’s grand,” I reply dryly. “And where’s the Lidocaine? When do you numb me? ”

“I don’t.”

“Then who does?”

His brows furrow. “No one.”

I pull my arm away from him. “No, thanks. I don’t need stitches that bad. I’ll take a few bandaids, maybe some super glue, or duct tape. Anything adhesive will work.”

“I’m not familiar with those terms. And I don’t think adhesives would be sterile.”

“A bandaid? The little, sticky bandages that stick to the skin and cover the wound, so it doesn’t get dirty?”

That’s a shit explanation, but it’s the best I can come up with on the spot.

He shakes his head, his mouth gaping before he removes. “So you don’t want me to close the wound? It’s not a small scrape, Ada. It could get infected if it's not properly cared for.”

“I’ll do my best to keep it clean. You’re not stitching me up without numbing my arm first. I don’t know what kind of pain tolerance Mongrels have, but I don’t have it.”

He nods as he listens to me, and Talodus sighs.

“Use the crab berry leaves. It’ll take a couple of extra days, but they should heal her.”

“Right,” Imryll agrees, not taking his eyes off me. “We can do that. You’ll have to change the leaves every two days until the cut is closed.”

“Okay. No problem. Cranberry leaves sound great.”

Talodus clears his throat as he corrects me. “Crab. Berry.”

“With the wound being so... open,” Imryll begins, then grimaces. “It will sting for a few hours.”

I smile reassuringly at both of them, even though I have no idea if I can handle anything else today. I don’t know what a crab berry is, but it can’t be worse than feeling every puncture of that needle as he sews my forearm back together.

“That’s fine. I’ve had a long day, and as soon as I can clean myself up, I’ll be asleep, anyway. I doubt I’ll notice it after the initial application. I’ve been in shock since the storm appeared out of nowhere this morning, so even if I do, it won’t be anything new. Just get it over with.”

“If you insist,” Imryll acquiesces as he stands.

He opens another cabinet and removes a mesh bag full of long, waxy foliage that looks like tulip leaves. He takes two out and puts the rest on the counter as he opens a drawer and pulls out a white wrap. When he sits in front of me again, I show him my arm without him asking.

“I’ll send an extra one with you in case you can’t get by to see me. I want you back here in four days so that I can make sure you’re healing properly.”

“Yes, sir.” I touch two fingers to my forehead and salute him.

He tilts his head and blinks at me. “I don’t know what that means.”

“Yes. I’ll change the leaf in two days and be back to see you in four days. I won’t forget.”

Imryll glances around as if I’ve just reminded him that he’s forgotten something. “Talodus, would you hand me that—”

“Here,” the Mongrel guard replies, handing over a glass vial of muted yellow…

“What is that?” I question, my voice a little too loud in the cramped space of the exam room.

“It’s the milk that comes from the crab berry leaves. I’m going to apply it to the inside of your wound. That’s the part that will sting, but it should close up rather quickly once we wrap your arm. It will be tight, but you can loosen it a little in the morning.”

Ecaeris stops beside Talodus as Imryll is explaining this to me, and he’s empty-handed. No food or water in sight. I narrow my eyes at him, and he huffs.

“Don’t throw a fit. It’s in your room. My mother has gone over the top to make sure you’re comfortable before you burn our village to the ground.”