In the surprisingly large cave hidden behind the rockface, watched by the suspicious eyes of unfamiliar raptorcats, having my own at my back is a great comfort. It’s not that I feel threatened by the mostly Tier one raptorcats – I’ve come a long way from when Bastet’s group chased me through the forest – but I know that I become vulnerable when I go too deeply into healing.

  And no matter how big my health pool is now, I can’t forget that certain injuries can make it empty too quickly even for me to be able to overcome the drain. But with Bastet guarding my back, I know that I will at least have some warning if one of the raptorcats takes umbrage at something I’m doing and attacks. Of course, their Tier three guardian is a different story; even Bastet won’t be able to help me much if the matriarch takes offence at my actions.

  Moving slowly as I enter, I see three adult raptorcats on the left side of the cave with cubs of different ages around them. They growl softly as they see me, clearly warning me not to take a single step towards them that I don’t have to, but they don’t attack. The matriarch must have communicated why I’m here.

  On the right side of the cave are my patients. I let my Inspect go out to examine them. It’s two raptorcats, one Tier one, one Tier two. They seem to be too weak to notice my approach. Neither appear injured at first glance which makes me frown – instead of certain areas being highlighted in red, there’s a slight green tinge to the red glow around them. A disease? Or something which is wreaking havoc on their internal systems like a parasite or internal injury?

  Crouching next to the first – the Tier one – I offer her a Tame Bond, putting in no requirements other than allowing me access to her body to heal her, and promising to drop it as soon as I can afterwards. She looks at me with weak, half-glazed eyes, panting shallowly, but does nothing else. I offer her the Bond again, urging her mentally to accept it: I am here to help.

  After long enough that I’m wondering if I’ll need to use Dominate – I really don’t have enough mana to waste it on making this healing harder on myself – the raptorcat finally accepts the Bond.

  Immediately, I send a wave of reassurance through our new Bond, accompanying it with my sincerity to try to find a way to help her. Even if she isn’t one of my own, I’ve still become enough of a healer to find an appreciation in making what was once broken and hurt into something healthy again. Assuming they’re not trying to kill me, of course.

  Laying hands on her flank, I send my magic into her. My Inspect told me that the other raptorcat is also badly off, but still has more health than this one, which is why I started with her first. Looking through her body, I start to get a better picture of what is wrong.

  Much of her system is inflamed, her internal temperature too high. I can also see that there is a much higher proportion than normal of various white blood cells and other similar defences in her blood. Though I’m still not a doctor, despite my experience with healing magic, I can recognise the signs: these raptorcats are fighting off a serious illness.

  I lean back on my heels and sigh, staring sightlessly in front of myself for a moment.

  The thing is that a virus is the hardest kind of damage for me to heal. An injury is easy now, even a severe one. Poison is almost as easy, though that depends on how wide-spread it is. A malfunctioning organ is harder, but still manageable. Even a bad infection is generally fine to heal, though it can be a time-consuming task to hunt down all the bits of infection in the bloodstream. Viruses and bacteria are a different question.

  Sure, I can take over the viral or bacterial cells themselves – they both count as flesh and don’t have even the beginnings of a will with which to resist my domination. But there are just so many of them, and I have to infuse them with my mana a few at a time – trying to do large swathes of them tends to cause issues for the host. The only time I can do that sort of thing is when healing an injury and sterilising the area which was open to infection.

  My other option, and my generally preferred one on the occasions this has come up, is to do what medicine on Earth does – manage the host’s symptoms and help boost their own immune response. Which kind of just makes me a combination-drug rather than someone really able to intervene. Using healing potions tends to help as well. Of course, although I have health potions with me, I don’t know if they’ll work on raptorcats – that’s not something I’ve needed to do so far.

  River, I send through the Bond. The healing potions you and Tarra made, are they safe for raptorcats to have?

  Of course, she answers sounding almost insulted. I wouldn’t make potions to bring with us which might negatively impact any of your companions.

  I scratch my head, a little embarrassment going through me. That’s a good point. Though, to be fair, I’d rather check than risk using something on this raptorcat which will make her worse.

  Alright, thanks, I tell River, then pull a few general healing potions out of my Inventory. I have ones in there which are designed more for quick healing of wounds, and others which will help our stamina, mana, and health regenerations in our fight with the tentacled beasts. But right now, the general healing potion is probably the best choice.

  Drink this, it will help you, I tell the raptorcat, lifting the wooden vial to her mouth and trickling the liquid in. I know from taste testing it that it’s not particularly nice, but the raptorcat doesn’t seem to notice that.

  I watch carefully as the potion takes effect on her system. Her natural immune response goes into overdrive, cells for fighting off the invaders multiplying at a previously unseen rate and then flocking to the areas in contention. At the same time, the potion’s magic strengthens the body, protecting it from its own reactions to the invaders. Though the raptorcat’s temperature continues to increase, I’m not afraid that she’s about to cook her own brain – the magic from the healing potion stops that.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  It’s a shame that the healing potions do nothing for Energy channels, and they only work on problems that the body recognises as being foreign like cuts, infections, and illnesses. Otherwise I’d have found healing Lathani and the alcaoris hatchlings to be an easier task. Still, at least being able to use them here is helping me save a bit of mana.

  When the speed at which the body is fighting the viral infection starts to slow down again, I take a second vial and again trickle it into the raptorcat’s mouth. Three of them in quick succession is probably the most I can safely offer a Tier one, however. Some potions like the regeneration actually contain ingredients which can build up a toxicity. The healing potion doesn’t, but it does use the body’s natural resources to function. Though I can help replenish some of those resources, others can only be regenerated by sleep, food, and drink.

  But in the end, it turns out not to be necessary for this one. By the time the third vial’s magic is starting to fade, her body has almost completely conquered the virus. I feed a bit of mana into her system to help her mop up the last of the dregs – with so few active viral cells remaining, infusing them and then destroying them is possible.

  She slips into a sleep, finally managing to find some proper rest. Her temperature should reduce now, and with some food and sleep, she’ll be fine. I do a final check of her body just to make sure that I haven’t missed anything, then release the Tame Bond and move onto the Tier two.

  *****

  “Your two raptorcats are fine,” I announce to the matriarch tiredly, coming out of the cave. The area is lit by moonlight, nightfall having happened while I was working inside. The Tier three raptorcat stands and clicks past me into the cave I’ve just left. A few moments later, she reappears.

  You speak truly, she says thoughtfully. I can no longer smell the approach of death for them.

  “Yes, they’ve both overcome the sickness they were suffering from.” I hesitate. “This type of sickness often spreads easily. Do you have any others who are starting to show the same sort of symptoms which they did?”

  The raptorcat matriarch eyes me carefully.

  There are a few others who have started ailing, she admits. I did not realise it was connected, but now that you say it, the two you have healed began with eyes that itched and many sneezes. Now there are three others who are doing the same.

  “The mothers,” I guess, remembering that I heard several sounds which reminded me of sneezes when I was healing the two inside the cave.

  Yes. And one other who has brought most of their food and groomed them.

  I nod slowly.

  “That makes sense. The more contact with the infected being, the more likely it is for a virus to pass.” I make a sudden decision. “Look,” I say, pulling four more general healing potions out of my Inventory. “Tell the mothers that I’m going to feed each of them one of these, and get the other one showing symptoms to come over. If we catch the issue now, it will be easier to heal and they won’t risk getting as sick as the two I’ve just healed. I’ll leave this fourth potion with you for if another one starts showing symptoms. Any symptoms at all, mind.”

  Ideally, I should probably check each of them with my Flesh-Shaping, but I can’t afford the time it will take to inspect everyone with the attention to detail that would be required to catch an incubating virus.

  The matriarch eyes me with an unreadable gaze.

  I will accompany you, she announces – to tell her pack what’s happening, or to keep an eye on me?

  Nevertheless, we head back into the cave and after the matriarch confirms that she’s told the mothers what’s happening, I approach them carefully. They watch warily as I step closer and I’m careful not to go near their cubs. Well, I try to be, but when one disobeys its mother’s obvious instruction and comes over to sniff at my boots, I have to carefully shoo it away. Probably a male, considering what Trouble used to be like as a cub.

  Interestingly, the gentleness with which I move that one cub seems to reassure all the raptorcats a little and the mothers willingly open their mouths for my potions. This close, I can see that their eyes are indeed irritated, and that their noses are running slightly – obvious signs of illness. I even pull another potion out of my Inventory and, with the permission of the matriarch and mothers, pour a little bit into each of the cub’s mouths – only a fraction of the dose I’d give the mothers, but hopefully enough to boost their infantile immune systems just in case they’re in the process of catching what their mothers had.

  After leaving the cave and doing the same with the raptorcat the matriarch calls over to me, I actually take a moment to inspect the other raptorcats too, looking to see if any others have any signs of irritation to their eyes or runny noses. Bastet is my unneeded bodyguard as the raptorcats relax more and more around me. I guess that the longer I’m here without attacking them, indeed, helping them, the more they trust that I’m not going to turn around and do something.

  When I’m finally finished checking over the pack of fifteen adult raptorcats and five juveniles, I turn to see the matriarch looking at me with that thoughtful gaze.

  “What?” I ask warily, not sure if that gaze is a ‘how can you do this’ look or a ‘why are you so odd’ look or even a ‘what do you taste like’ look. Hopefully not the last.

  I can see why my little sister trusts you, the matriarch answers finally.

  “Oh,” I say eloquently. Pride washes over me from the raptorcat standing next to me, gazing at the other matriarch with her own fierce expression. Pride and a deep, unshakable trust which both heartens me for its strength and shames me because I don’t feel I am worthy of it. “Your raptorcats are healthy now,” I say, trying to change the subject. “And my group have had enough time to rest.” That was another reason I didn’t feel too bad about spending time on checking out the rest of the raptorcats on a cursory basis – Windy said that she needed a little more time to recover and Raven was still eating. “If any of the others show the illness in the future, minimise interaction with that member until a few days after their recovery. Hopefully then no one else will catch it.”

  You have done more than I asked for, the matriarch tells me. You have not only healed the two who were close to death, but you have helped ensure that others did not sicken after your departure. In return, I will do more than I promised. Not only will I give you safe passage out of here, but I will accompany you for the first part of it, offering you wind to your wings.

  Now that’s a nice surprise. If the matriarch is able to do something like Windy was, which appears to be what she was indicating, it will mean that Windy can save her mental strength for later, maybe even enabling us to finish the journey without needing to stop again.

  It looks like sometimes altruism is unexpectedly rewarded. There’s only one thing I can say to that.

  “Thank you, we’d be glad to have your help.”

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