61 So long gone?

Xin Yi put some more wood onto the fire. It burned bright and warm; welcome in a chilly night.
" She's been gone a long time." It was more a statement than a question. I agreed.
"Mm, not known her to go off for this long. I'm hoping she's alright. It's awfully quiet up there, not heard a sound since she left." I looked at Xin and knew she was worried. "She told us to stay and keep these three safe. Best we stay put, she could come back any time." Looking around the camp, "any water left, really could do with a small cup, warmed"
With that Xin Yi reached beside her and pulling out a bamboo jug, poured some into a cooking pot. " Give it a few minutes and it'll be ready." She smiled, but it masked a multitude of concerns.
It seemed as though Niao wasn't going to get back. Dawn was just breaking over the ridge, throwing light on our three sleeping beauties. They began to shift, and rubbing their eyes and stretching their limbs, they looked around.
Bǎo was the first to comment, "Where's Niao? Why isn't she back?"
"No idea," I said, " but knowing her, she'll arrive soon now there's light enough to find her way. Don't forget there aren't torches out here like in camp."
Bǎo nodded and fell silent.
" I need a pee." It was Fù. His brother nodded and they both looked to us.
"Stick together okay? It's not safe to wander alone." 
"But Niao is alone, will she be all right? I mean, she's a girl." Bó looked confused.
I threw my head back in laughter, followed quickly by Xin Yi who, rocking with laughter, looked at Bó, " don't you get it, she is as much a part of this natural world as that big cat is or the wolves are. We're the outsiders. We're the ones who are vulnerable. It's unlikely anything would happen to her. If it was, it would have happened years ago when she was a little girl wandering alone."
I looked at the confused brothers, " it's OK, you won't get it any more than I did to start with. Go off and have that pee, then come straight back."
The pair scuttled off, whispering between themselves.

I smelled blood first and whipped my head round, 'is she hurt?' I was panicking, heart thumping. Xin Yi smelled it too. She got up and following the smell.
A few minutes later, Niao appeared, one arm slung over Xin Yi's shoulder. She had deep gouges across her shoulder, " she jumped me, but I couldn't kill her because of her cubs, I could only disable her." Niao looked at me, knowing I would be worried, " once she was down and the cubs were around her, I went and made a kill. Not easy though, the terrain is awful. 
I brought it back to her and placed it within her reach. She'll recover but at least she's got a fat belly and can nurse her sore shoulder as I will mine." Niao wryly smiled, " and it really hurts."
She sat down and looked at me. " Huáng, sort it out for me. You know the best way to deal with it. If it needs stitching then the needle and thread..."
"I know," I replied, " let me deal with it. Xin can you heat some water please?"
She nodded. She knew what to do. The three men looked on shocked at the state of her. What shocked them more was her lack of emotion; no tears, no histrionics no feeling sorry for herself. 
When Hao Yang  peeled back her blood soaked jerkin and they saw her upper back, they realised this wasn't the first time she'd been injured.
I wanted to cry. I wanted to wrap her up in safety and protect her from the world but I knew she'd never let me.
I began cleaning the wound. 
"I'll go hunt." Xin Yi ever the practical voice of reason, " shouldn't be long, but we all need to eat. Bó, Fù, take the bamboo jugs and get water." They nodded and disappeared, fulfilling a task and making themselves feel useful.
"Anything I can do?" Bǎo looked at me, "whilst you're doing this it would be sensible if I went and collected more wood for the fire. I suspect we'll stick here for at least half a day?"
He didn't wait for a reply. 


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