30 Pieces Of A Whole Ch. 3

Chapter 3: Injury

THWACK!

"OW!"

THUMP!

((Dak!))

Dak cursed as he rubbed his skin beside his horns to relieve the new-found ache. Looking at the said arm, he now saw a huge gash on his upper arm close to his shoulder; it already bleeding dark blue/greenish blood and having it trail down his limb. He frowned. Figures. That's what he got for not being careful.

Dak was just harvesting some back from the Stoola tree as per usual when Aldrea, flying the Chadoo form, suddenly appeared. No doubt for another one of her friendly visits.

He only wished that he wasn't in the middle of slicing off that incredibly tense and sharp-barked branch when he raised a hand up to greet her.

Before he realized it, the branch flung out of his hands and snapped back; hitting Dak square in the horns and slicing a good bit of his arm before the shock of it sent him to the ground.

Now, here he was; looking pitiful with sore horns and a bleeding arm. Great.

As he sat up stiffly, Aldrea was quick to land on the ground, morph back to her Andalite form and trot over to him; worry clear in her bright green eyes. ((Dak, are you alright?)) She asked worryingly as she rushed over.

Not wanting to worry his friend, Dak waved his hand off to her in reassurance. "Yes, Aldrea, it's alright, don't worry."

((I'm worried.)) Aldrea shot back as she carefully took one of his bladed arms into her own delicate hands and helped him up to his feet. When she caught sight of his arm, she gasped in surprise. ((Dak, you're bleeding!))

"It's only a little flesh wound. Nothing to fret about." Dak tried to coax her but Aldrea immediately said, ((Nothing to –? Dak, it's covering nearly half your arm!))

"Hork Bajir heal quickly. I'll be fine." Dak stated, pressing his hand against the gash in an effort to stop the bleeding.

((But by the time the arm heals, you'll probably end up getting an infection. Didn't you tell me once that an elder Hork-Bajir once died from a wound like this when he was harvesting bark once?))

"Well, yes, but –"

((Don't argue with me, Dak.)) Aldrea then took his hand and begun to pull him along. ((Come on, I'll take you back to my scoop and see if I can –))

Dak suddenly rooted himself to the spot. Aldrea nearly stumbled from this in surprise. Looking at him through her stalk eyes, Aldrea tried pulling him along again but he refused to budge. Finally, she stopped and sighed, ((Dak, what are you doing?))

"What does it look like?" Dak blinked down at her.

((You acting like a child and refusing to move.)) Aldrea stated bluntly.

"I am not acting like child!" Dak said indignantly.

((Then what are you doing?)) Aldrea asked.

"Can't you just try and treat my arm here?"

((Why? How come?))

"No offense . . . . But I really don't think it's a good idea to try and take me to your scoop."

((And why is that?))

" . . ."

((. . . . . . You're still afraid of the syringes and needles in the clinic, aren't you?))

Dak, after a moment or two, nodded with a hot face.

Aldrea immediately sighed in both their heads. ((Dak, my mother's not going to try an attack you with a needle.))

At this Dak snorted, "You tell that to that poor plant's petals she skewered!"

((Dak, for goodness sake, she wasn't –)) Aldrea began but stopped short and palmed her face in irritation. ((Alright, look, the more we argue, the more time we'll waste; so if you tell me what to find to use here, will you let me treat you?))

"Yes." Dak nodded.

((Good. Now sit.)) Aldrea ordered, gently pushing him to the ground. Dak complied with a slight smile. ((Now, what do we need?))

After nearly two hours of surprisingly complicated explanations, somewhat comical attempts of pulling bark off of trees and getting loose from sticky tree sap and a few moments of heated bickering; Dak found himself with Aldrea carefully tying a piece of vine around a large and tightly wrapped leaf that acted as a makeshift bandage. She had set herself down on the ground nest to him and all her eyes were shining with concentration as her fingers trembled while she tightened the knot and doubled it for good measure. All the while, he watched her with a calm and quiet gaze.

Finally, after a few more seconds of silence, she finished and leaned back to admire her handy-work. ((There. It's not perfect, but it should be able to hold you over until that gash heals. How does it feel?))

Poking the leaf experimentally, Dak said, ". . . It still feels a bit tender but it's better than it was before." All the while, testing the bandage as he rotated his arm a few times. It bunched up a bit around the middle and it itched where the edges touched his elbow blades. "I only wished you found a much softer leaf."

Aldrea, noticing his discomfort, couldn't help but look away and huff indignantly, ((Well, if you don't like it, I'm sure we can take you to the scoop to have it checked out –))

"I never said I didn't like it, Aldrea." Dak said abruptly, cutting her off. Placing his hand on her shoulder to grab her attention, he added, "If you really think that it's necessary for me to keep it on than I will until you say otherwise. After all, I can't let all your hard-work go to waste now, can I?"

This time, Aldrea was the one whose face grew hot. She blinked at him for a few moments in surprise, her hearts beating profoundly. Suddenly, she snapped her head around and crossed her arms in embarassment as she said in a mixture of breathlessness and crossness, ((You better not. Or the next time you hurt yourself like this, I'll force you to the scoop and stick you with a needle myself!))

Dak, easily catching her tone, smiled, "Is that a threat I hear, Aldrea?"

((You better believe it, Dak.)) Aldrea smiled with her eyes.

"Oh, that I do, Aldrea." Dak replied as he rubbed the bandage in absent fondness. "That I do."