Pain threatened to steal the warm rest I had garnered for myself. 'Go away pain I'm busy', was my last thought before darkness overwhelmed me.
Flin kept pulling Roric along by keeping a hold of his tunic at the shoulder with his teeth for over two hours through the swamp. There was an upraised grassy knoll in the swamp, which was dominated by a large shade tree and it was to this that Flin drug Roric.
Flin pulled his master under the shelter of the tree away from the pounding rain and let go with his teeth. The little rider on his back slipped down off the saddle and in the process fell the last several feet to the ground. Flin reached around to snuffle her head once, as if to see if she was hurt, but she was alright.
Little hands went to work and soon there was a small fire going despite the rain. The little hands found the cut on Roric's shoulder and paused there for a moment. She left the fire and ventured out into the storm. She came back minutes later with a toad and a couple of leaves from a Catafy bush. Mercilessly smashing the toad and leaves together with a rock on top of a bigger rock, the girl added tree moss to the concoction.
Then she placed the concoction over the fire on a piece of bark. Pulling the bark off the fire before it was consumed in flame she quickly stirred the gooey paste with a small stick. Taking the stick she placed a bunch of the slimy green gunk onto the furrow mark across Roric's shoulder. At the contact of the potion with his skin, Roric came half alert out of pain, but the little girl put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back down as best as she could. The girl waited for a while and then leaned down to listen to Roric's chest. Seeming satisfied the girl got up and approached the big black stallion. The object of her fascination being the saddle bags and the blanket role, which were so high up and out of her reach on the stallion's back. The big black horse looked down at her and seemed to read her intentful gaze. He laboriously got down onto his knees and then rolled onto his side. The little girl quickly got the blanket role from behind the saddle and the saddle bags and then stood back, as the big stallion rolled back up to his feet. The girl reached into her pocket and pulled out a familiar treat and handed it up towards the big head, with no fear in her actions as Flin accepted the carrot from her. Leaving Flin she came back to Roric. Sweat was beading up on his brow, which she wiped away. She unfolded the blanket over Roric and then ducked under it too. The girl laid her head on the big muscled chest of her new guardian hoping that the strong beat of his heart wouldn't stop.