K’luha was quite unaware of the symbol that was drawn around her. In fact, she was almost completely unaware of what was happening around her. But she could feel Tahj and continued to hold the child’s hand as if it were her last lifeline. After making it so far, she felt almost as if she would be at peace if she passed now. She had made it home after all, but Tahj still needed her. And her family cared for her and would be saddened by her loss, wouldn’t they? She tried not to let her mind wander there in the painful waiting. She focused what she could of her mind on K’zhumi.
By that time, she could feel Zhumi ripping the light cotton cloth from her hip and exposing the injury. It was ugly. The skin looked as if it might be dying around her hip, raw and various colors that were certainly not her skintone and even more certainly, bad colors for skin to be. Her hip stuck out oddly. The exposure also brought visible a raw and red strip across her body were she had been tied down. The movement of the cart and the tightness of the bindings, which had been tight to ensure she would not get up or try anything else dumb, had rubbed the skin raw and it seemed to be in the beginning stages of an infection.
The cold paint across Luha’s hip made her squirm uncomfortably. Although the cool was a nice relief from the hot, it felt strange and she felt like she didn’t want to show her body in such a state to anyone. When at least the strangeness of the brush and paint left her, something else was pushed to her lips. Medicine? Luha frowned a bit, but drank it anyway. Don’t fight and it would be outside the pain? Floating? What could that really mean?
Luha tried to think deeply on what that meant. But she didn’t have to think long at all. In fact, in only a few moments it became very hard to think straight. Even harder than it had been when she could only feel pain. But now the pain seemed to be somewhere below her and she felt as if, indeed she were floating! The sudden energy that flowed beneath and through her made the hair on her ears and tail stand up, and sent K’luha into a giggling fit. It tickled! She wasn’t sure why it did, but she couldn’t quite recall why she was being tickled or when she had last felt so carelessly happy. Her death grip on Tahj released and instead she sort of limply left her hand with Tahj’s. Kluha body didn’t seem to really want to work the way she wanted to it anymore, which was also funny for some reason. Hilarious, actually. And K’luha continued to giggle uncontrollably.
By that time, she could feel Zhumi ripping the light cotton cloth from her hip and exposing the injury. It was ugly. The skin looked as if it might be dying around her hip, raw and various colors that were certainly not her skintone and even more certainly, bad colors for skin to be. Her hip stuck out oddly. The exposure also brought visible a raw and red strip across her body were she had been tied down. The movement of the cart and the tightness of the bindings, which had been tight to ensure she would not get up or try anything else dumb, had rubbed the skin raw and it seemed to be in the beginning stages of an infection.
The cold paint across Luha’s hip made her squirm uncomfortably. Although the cool was a nice relief from the hot, it felt strange and she felt like she didn’t want to show her body in such a state to anyone. When at least the strangeness of the brush and paint left her, something else was pushed to her lips. Medicine? Luha frowned a bit, but drank it anyway. Don’t fight and it would be outside the pain? Floating? What could that really mean?
Luha tried to think deeply on what that meant. But she didn’t have to think long at all. In fact, in only a few moments it became very hard to think straight. Even harder than it had been when she could only feel pain. But now the pain seemed to be somewhere below her and she felt as if, indeed she were floating! The sudden energy that flowed beneath and through her made the hair on her ears and tail stand up, and sent K’luha into a giggling fit. It tickled! She wasn’t sure why it did, but she couldn’t quite recall why she was being tickled or when she had last felt so carelessly happy. Her death grip on Tahj released and instead she sort of limply left her hand with Tahj’s. Kluha body didn’t seem to really want to work the way she wanted to it anymore, which was also funny for some reason. Hilarious, actually. And K’luha continued to giggle uncontrollably.
![[Image: urVhoNf.png]](http://i.imgur.com/urVhoNf.png)
