A Lesson in Reality

[Crue Sarish]

?Salt and salve, where?d that mad badger learn to sail this vessel!? Crue shouted after the Zephyr was suddenly pitched to the side and she was knocked to the ground. Fortunately, nothing sharp had been in the way to break her fall and she only lightly bruised her right knee when she hit the deck. Adjusting the white bandana across her brow she growled, ?Best pray none of my tonics broke!?

Considering the possibility that someone had been injured in the impact, she slung her emergency kit over her shoulder and left to check if anyone above deck required her immediate attention. As she headed toward the deck, her steps were punctuated by the sounds of the timbers popping. Accompanying that noise was a shouting match that was taking place between the crews of the two vessels. She watched as the hares and otters and other steel-wielding sorts threw down both curses and arrows upon their enemy while they received the same in kind.

?Volley!? several shouted and those on the deck took cover from the slough of arrows and stones heading toward them.

From the relative safety of the stairway, she peered up toward the helm. Atlas Stormstripe surveyed the scene with a cold, bloodthirsty stare, and if Crue had to guess as to why the Badgerlord still stood by the helm instead of rushing into battle, it was only the idea of hitting the ocean instead of the ship that kept him there. His sword was half-lifted in anticipation of the wrath he would unleash, which was the squirrel maid?s cue to return to her sanctuary.

She saw no immediate casualties and ran back toward the infirmary. The injured would likely be brought to her when the real fighting started.

As soon as she entered the door, she was greeted with the sight of two young beasts close to her bed. Crue immediately recognized Plink, who was helping Scully through an open square in the floor. The cabin boy gasped when he saw Crue staring at them, causing Plink to drop his paw and turn.

Plink?s eyes were wide and fearful. Crue froze, recalling the same expression from earlier, when Atlas was moments from taking her life?. She recalled a memory of her sister who had that same expression before she died, that same fear of death? A sister whose favorite game had been taking and hiding Crue?s toys and books and shoes? Who had not been much younger than the wisp of a beast before her? Who had been sentenced to death without just cause?

Plink slunk against the bed until only her eyes and ears were still visible. ?Please, miss,? she pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper. ?Just let me go. I just want to go.?

For a brief moment, Crue?s eyes narrowed as she recalled the the sense of betrayal that Plink had perpetuated. The sleep she lost to anxiety and dismay, the lack of trust she had for her crew mates, the fear that someone might be poisoned and it would be her fault for providing the means? Just as quickly, those harsh feelings began to fade. Somehow, with the Zephyr facing dangers from both within and without, it didn?t seem to matter as much. When the battle ended, Atlas would still come to claim a vengeance he didn?t merit, to mete out a punishment that was undeserved. If that came to pass, some of that blood would be on Crue?s head.

She lifted her paw to shush them. She turned in the doorway and looked out to see if anyone was nearby. A couple of hares were running in her direction and she turned to whisper to the two, ?Stay back!?

She didn?t check to see if her order was followed, turning back to watch the two goodbeasts pass by without even glancing in her direction. ?Go now,? she ordered once she was relatively certain it was safe. When she looked back, the two were replacing the loose floorboard. ?I?ll get those. Get out of here, and don?t you dare be seen!?

The two did as she directed, springing out of the room and down the corridor. She hastily replaced the floorboard as she thought about what the future would hold. The rat would likely not survive the next few hours. Be it by battle or badger, Plink would probably be killed, and Crue suddenly found herself saddened by the thought. Whatever the youth had done, there was seasons enough to turn her life around, to have that second chance to atone for the wrongs she?d done.

On the other hand, Plink had not offered a word of thanks in her rush to escape?.

She had just begun to wonder what Scully was doing with the convict when the ship was rocked by an even stronger impact. Her ears were filled with the sound of thunder as her body was thrown roughly against one of the beds, bruising her left side before she fell to the ground. Her claws reached up and grasped the bed frame, determined to keep herself from being tossed any further. Once the ship ceased its moving, Crue gingerly stood up, glad none of her ribs had been cracked.

She checked her stores to make sure nothing was broken, and during the process a small group of beasts entered the room. Two otters carried a brown squirrel between them and set the smaller beast on one of the beds. Another bed was soon occupied by a shrew who clutched his head in pain, brought in by a pair of older hedgehogs.

?What?s going on out there?? she asked before she went to pour some water onto a cloth for the shrew?s head. The squirrel?s leg was a less pressing matter.

?Cap?n rammed the vermin!? one of the otters replied.

?Twice, didn?t he??

?An? got us bloomin? stuck this time! Ain? movin? either vessel ?til the battle?s o?er.?

Crue noticed that a few details were missing from the story. ?The fighting?s started already??

The otter laughed. ?Yes, ma?am. An? it won? be a fair fight, neither, not with our crazed Captain an? tha? ruddy huge sword o?is!?

With Atlas leading the charge, Crue realized that the crew aboard the Zephyr would be safer than those doing the real fighting and her talents would be needed on the other ship. Before anybeast could leave the room she stated, ?I will be needed there, but I need someone to look after these two. Are any of you capable of doing so or know who is??

One of the hedgehogs replied, ?We're not as learned as you, Miss, but me 'n me friend 'ere 'as seen our fair share o? mates battered n? bruised in the past. Jus? tell us what t? do an' we?ll keep ?em as patched up as we can.?

Crue pulled out all the supplies that her stand-in would likely need. She wrapped the shrew?s head in the cool cloth, instructing that it be changed once it grew warm. Then, with the otters to hold her other patient still, she set the broken bone and wrapped it tight in a splint. With that taken care of, she again slung her emergency kit over her shoulder and nabbed a small chest of supplies she had prepared for just such an occasion.

?Remember, don?t let him sleep until I get get back!? she instructed as she followed the otters out of the room. They headed up to the main deck and rushed to the bow of the ship, quickly crossing the makeshift ramp down to the pirate vessel. Her nose was assaulted with the stench of blood that only grew stronger the farther along the deck she went, and she had to step carefully at times to keep from slipping.

The healer set about her task diligently, calling for the wounded who could be moved to be brought to her while those soldiers still fighting nearby kept her safe. Her first patient, a hare with a gash along his shoulder, howled piteously as one of his comrades seated him before her. With a couple of precise cuts, she removed the sleeve and poured a small bit of powdered Mother?s Heart over the wound to help staunch the bleeding. After threading one of her small needles, she drew twelve stitches across the wound, just enough to keep it closed for now.

Slapping a bandage over it for the time being, she turned to the nearest soldier and ordered, ?Take him back to the infirmary and tell the boys to finish closing him up! And send stretchers and beasts to carry them!?

A few more beasts showed up, one sporting nasty cuts along his legs, one suffering from a shattered shoulder, and another knocked senseless. Another patient was brought to her, then another, and as the wounded continued to grow in number, the number Crue could adequately attend to grew less and less. Instead of wasting time closing wounds, she wrapped tourniquets around the affected limbs when possible, and shoved styptic herbs and bandages onto the rest. She sent orders with the stretcher bearers when she could, and eventually even that became rare as she fixated on those left in her care aboard the pirate ship.

She began to develop some difficulty seeing with the sun beginning to slip below the horizon. To add to her consternation, she had a difficult time staying in one place to assist her patients. Some of the pirates employed their slings with deadly force and she moved around to keep from making an easy target, three times nearly tripping over the body of a dead pirate. Unfortunately more than one beast was struck by a stone in her defense. While she grew increasingly worried about the beasts she could or couldn?t help, one of the hare soldiers fell to the ground near her feet, eyes vacant and a small pool of blood leaking from a crack in her head. Her resolve began to crack.

Too much! her mind cried out. I can?t keep up!... So many wounded? She looked upon the body of a slain weasel upon the deck. So many dead?.

I need to relax and just do what I can. She took a cleansing breath and gave a mouse a tonic to dull the pain before sending her along with the rest of the wounded.

I can?t save everyone? Her footpaw slipped on a patch of gore as she headed toward a new patient.

...but I can?t save enough. Her paws felt wet and sticky as she reached into her trunk for more mother?s heart. It would be easier for her if someone lit a lantern or two so she could see what she was doing.

Time marched on, though Crue was not mindful of its passing as she worked. It didn?t immediately register to her that the sound of clashing steel had lessened, but she did hear a voice roar through the din: ?YOU ARE HEREBY RELIEVED OF ALL SERVICES TO THE WAVERUNNERS, SWIFTPAW!"

Crue stood up and turned toward the speaker and was able to make out the clearly visible Badgerlord, his once gleaming armor now scratched and stained by combat. Atlas was in the center of a wide ring of empty space, neither Waverunner nor pirate standing anywhere close by if they could help it. She sought to get a better look, moving closer until she could see a figure crumpled against the mast. Squinting at the shadowed figure, she finally discovered Frederick Swiftpaw sprawled on the deck. Blood dribbled from his mouth while he struggled vainly to rise. His commanding officer glared mercilessly through his devilish eye.

The healer cried out at the sight of the Colonel?s helpless state. She took a step toward Frederick, wondering if she could possibly keep him alive. She didn?t think of Atlas or the pirates or of the wounded she was leaving behind. This beast had to live? she had to at least be able to save him.