“Can you save it?”

“I think so. It’s strong, but it needs deep work. Will you monitor me?”

Ani looked at the new creature. It was still sitting there, its stick across its knees. Could she trust it not to attack while she was monitoring Ninto? She remembered the crack of the stick as it struck the taira. Clearly the creature was capable of killing, but it hadn’t attacked her or Ilto.

Ani flickered her assent. They linked, and Ninto entered the taira. Ani monitored the balance and flow of Ninto’s body. Ninto healed torn flesh, soothed swollen tissues, and knitted the cracked skull together. The taira was strong, so Ninto was able to draw on its reserves of fat and protein to help heal it.

The healing complete, Ninto and Ani withdrew. The taira was hungry and had a noticeable dent in its head, but it would survive to sire more cubs during the rainy season. They waited until it got up and trotted off into the forest, shaking its head in irritation.

The new creature was gone, but its fresh trail was easy to follow. They caught up with it around mid-morning, sliding down out of the trees. The new creature stopped and turned orange with fear, holding its stick crossways, ready to defend itself. They squatted down out of range of the stick. Ani reached into her bag and pulled out a ripe tumbi that she had found while tracking. She rolled the fruit across the leaf litter to the creature. It picked it up and ate it. When it was finished, Ani and Ninto picked up their satchels and beckoned to the new creature to follow them. It sat down, refusing to move. Irritation forked like yellow lightning down Ani’s spine. She beckoned again, more emphatically this time. The animal sat there, shaking its head in a gesture of refusal.

“What should I do now?” Ani asked Ninto.

“I don’t know. You could sting it and carry it home, but it would be a lot of work, and it would probably run off again as soon as it got the chance.”