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It had been a few weeks since Erling had last seen the shy little healer. He had followed her instructions religiously, and his paw was fully healed. Not even a limp! While Erling was pleased with the healer's help, he hadn't visited to thank her. He was thankful, of course, but ... going around whispering polite pleases and thank yous was alien to his nature. Maybe a flowery little female might go about delivering pleasantries, but Erling wasn't going to go simpering to and fro.

So after some thought and a little bit of luck, Erling was bringing Aino a proper gift. Dragging the miserable 'gift' by the scruff of its scrawny neck, Erling finally dumped it down outside of Aino's den. Spitting out a mouthful of fur, Erling cleared his throat. "Healer!" He bellowed.



***

She had always prided herself on her swiftness, but her quick feet hadn't saved her when she galloped nearly headfirst into the crafty brown lion. He had sprung up out of nowhere, hidden in the tall grass. The cheetah had expected to tease him a bit and then run on, laughing, but she had never encountered such a nasty lion before. He had laid her out with a paw to the side of the head and then dragged her bodily back to his pride's territory.

At first, the cheetah had feared he wanted to eat her, or perhaps take advantage of her, but instead the big brown lion had simply dragged her through his territory as though she were a cub. And now she was unceremoniously dumped in front of this open den. Cowering, the cheetah wondered what was going to happen to her next.

Erling was pleased when the healer appeared quickly. She was prompt. Efficient. And she was spattered with blood today, which gave her an uncharacteristically fierce appearance that Erling rather liked. Erling raised an eyebrow, looking at the lioness thoughtfully. She didn't seem as meek as she had today. It might just be the effect of the blood in her fur, but it was still appealing.

"It's for you. A thrall." Obviously. The dark brown lion paused, not quite sure what to say next. Erling had been able to give his wife gifts with sweet words, but she was his wife. His soulmate! And she would never have let anyone know that Erling was, in his heart of hearts, a bit of a softy. This Aino was an unknown quantity, practically a stranger, and she might laugh at him if he gave her some speech about how much she had helped him.

Not to mention, spelling his thanks out would be confirming that he had desperately needed a healer's help. How embarrassing.

"Your cave is a wreck. You need someone to clean it up, if you're too busy to see to it yourself," Erling said stiffly.

***

The lioness that came to the mouth of the cave was smaller than her captor but no less intimidating. Alarmed, the cheetah noted that the lioness's fur was speckled with blood. And there was that greedy look on the lioness's face... did she eat cheetahs, perhaps? The cheetah had never heard of lions eating cheetahs, but then she had never heard of lions capturing cheetahs, either!

"I can clean," she said quickly when the dark brown lion spoke. Cleaning would be much better than being eaten. "I can clean anything you want."

Erling hmphed himself, slightly miffed that Aino didn't know he was a captain.

Well. He supposed she didn't get out much. He hardly ever saw the quiet lioness ... of course, it would be hard to spot such a soft-spoken lioness in a pride full of lions that seemed to make it their life's mission to be as loud and obnoxious as possible.

"That's Captain, Healer Aino," Erling reminded her mildly. He wasn't going to snap at the healer for forgetting his rank, but he did have his pride. He looked at the cheetah himself. "She is a cheetah. She was very fast, out in the open." Erling shrugged. "I suppose I could break one of her legs for you," he said, a bit reluctantly. Erling wasn't one to maim thralls, but he knew it had been done. And if Aino was concerned about keeping track of the cheetah ... Erling wouldn't be thrilled about it, but he would do it for her. He was a practical lion.

***

When the big gruff lion started talking about breaking her leg, the cheetah shrank against the lioness. They were both frightening, but at least the lioness didn't look like she was going to break anyone's leg. "I'm not going to run away," she protested, looking desperately from one lion to the other.

So the Healer was pleased with his gift. Very pleased. Erling felt satisfied. Once the cheetah was all settled in, he could relax knowing that his debt to the Healer was settled. And that she would be happy enough with his present not to tell anyone that he had come to her needing help.

Even though it might be necessary in the future (you could never tell with thralls and their promises, they tended to be a dishonorable lot) Erling was glad that Aino didn't want him to break the cheetah's leg. It would lessen the cheetah's utility while it healed, for one thing. It felt a bit gruesome for another, even though he saw the need in it and wouldn't have hesitated.

Erling shrugged at Aino's question. "No name, none that I know." He glanced at the cheetah. She was a plain sort, but pretty enough; she would make a perfectly nice-looking accessory for Aino. A fresh name would suit her as well. "You should name her. I hear thralls do best when they cut ties with their old life," Erling said sagely. So he had heard, at least. While he had captured many thralls in his day, he had never bothered to keep one.

***

So she wouldn't even be allowed to keep her name?

The cheetah wasn't thrilled about this turn of events, but at least nobody was talking about breaking any of her appendages any more. She was fast, but she couldn't stand the thought of running away and having this lion chase after her. She was sure he would keep trailing after her until he caught her, and then he would break one of her legs and drag her back to serve as a cripple. She sniffled, feeling sorry for herself.

"I'll take any name you like," she said gloomily. Might as well be agreeable instead of risk the wrath of either of these lions. Aino might look a bit softer despite the blood on her, but the lioness hadn't seemed bothered at all by the suggestion of crippling her!

Erling hadn't had any intentions today beyond repaying Aino for her healing. He had judged the Healer a meek, mousy sort of lioness. Seeing her talk to the cheetah livened his interest somewhat. She was quite business-like. Stern. Erling approved. He had half-worried that the thrall would be too much for her to handle.

"I'm sure you will need the help once the Reavers return," Erling said, smiling at the healer. "Untrained, some of them. With a new Captain too." He shook his head. "Bound to be some with injuries."

And those injured ones would doubtless be full of complaints for Aino to deal with. Erling was beginning to feel a bit bad for how surly he'd been on their first meeting.

***

Iida was feeling more and more disgruntled with every word these lions spoke. So this lioness was some sort of healer. That was better than the lioness being a butcher, but Iida still wasn't very excited about it. From the amount of blood on her the lioness looked like she spent her days ripping apart carcasses rather than gently applying salve to people.

"I'll try not to be weak," Iida said, darting glances between the healer and the big brute of a lion that caught her. She was tempted to ask just how long she would be Iida-the-worker, but she had a sinking feeling that the answer would be forever. "I don't know much about healing, but I'll try to learn."

She dearly hoped there was someone in this horrible pride in the same situation as her, someone that could commiserate with her.