41

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Tanya entered the happy grange building with her daughters and Dancing Bear. She smelled the pungent sage immediately and heard the low harmonies of Nighthawk and Sage Eagle. She stopped at first and simply listened, not wishing to interrupt. It reminded her of that blessing they’d given her when she first arrived. She had been tempted to ask for another – just to listen to their voices again – and to have the undivided attention of Sage Eagle again. She might have, too, had it not been for his animosity towards her.

Somehow, she couldn’t resist walking with her crutches that last couple of steps into the grange hall where she sat silently, motioning to the girls to be equally silent. She listened and watched as the two very handsome men performed their ceremony. Once again, she found that ancient connection to the land around them and could imagine these two performing the same ceremony around a tipi on the plains to the east. This was an image she knew she would remember for the rest of her life, even if Sage Eagle never offered a kind word to her again… even if she had to move away from Ba’a O’ng.

Skye pulled on her arm urgently.

“Stop it!” Tanya hissed.

“Haiwi wants us!” Skye urged.

“Haiwi?”

“Dove!”

With a final glance at the handsome Deme’o’ng men smudging the room, she picked up her crutches and went with her daughters out of the doors and down the long corridor to the back of the building.

“Look!” Little Deer told them as they reached a door that opened to a nearly-hidden cupboard. Tanya crouched as much as she could and looked into the dark corner. She could see balls of fur moving around, mewing quietly.

“Hand me one,” Tanya instructed.

“Are you sure?” Little Deer asked.

“They’re moving around – at least four weeks old, I reckon. I need to make sure they’re healthy.”

Little Deer handed her a hissing kitten that was white with black spots here and there. Tanya felt the belly and knew there was a problem. “They’re not being fed well enough,” she said with concern. “Momma might have a problem or is too inexperienced.”

“Spot?” Little Deer asked.

Tanya shook her head. “I don’t think they’re Spot’s kittens. Hand me another one.” She handed the first one to Skye and picked up a black one. Again, the belly wasn’t as fat as it should be. “I think we’re going to have to rescue these guys.”

They were joined by others at that point. Tanya handed the black one to the waiting hands next to her, then picked up a little calico who was even skinnier than the others. Another white one with a few spots came out next.

“The final one is dead,” Little Deer pronounced, pulling out the stiff, still body.

“I think we’re here just in time,” Tanya said, looking up for the first time. “Is there a vet in Ba’a O’ng?” she asked, looking to Dancing Bear.

She shook her head.

“Raw milk?”

Dancing Bear nodded.

“Raw milk and a syringe or small bottle – a doll’s bottle would do,” Tanya said.

“Dove has a doll’s bottle we could use!” Little Deer replied.

“It might get destroyed,” Tanya added, looking at the three-year-old.

“We save kittens,” Dove replied maturely.

“That’s a good girl!” Tanya praised automatically. “Let’s get them back to Dancing Bear’s.”

“Are you sure?” Little Deer asked. “Your foot...”

“This is something I can do even with my ankle! I will save these kittens!” Tanya handed the white kitten to the nearest pair of hands. She grabbed her crutches, grateful to get her weight off her throbbing ankle again. “Protect them from the cold as we go outside,” Tanya instructed. “We do not have long to get a warm meal inside them.”

“I will take Dove to get the bottle,” Little Deer said, going the other direction.

Dancing Bear carried two kittens and, to Tanya’s surprise, Sage Eagle carried the other two. Inside, Tanya sat and took delivery of the four kittens. Dancing Bear found the milk and got it warming on the stove, then she found a small box and a blanket, then filled a water bottle with hot water.

“You have done this before,” Dancing Bear observed.

“Back in high school. My mother fostered stray cats, so I learned how to care for them – even in emergencies. My husband wouldn’t allow me to have cats. I’d almost forgotten how nice it was to have them around.”

Little Deer came back with Dove and produced the tiny bottle. It wasn’t perfect, wasn’t even intended to be used with food, but it would be enough to save four furry lives.

Milk in the bottle, Tanya instinctively double-checked the temperature on her wrist pulse point. It was good. Then she picked up the tiny calico and put the plastic teat into her mouth, squeezing slightly to make sure a drop of the precious liquid landed on the kitten’s tongue. A moment later, it clamped down and drank.

Tanya breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at Sage Eagle, not caring what she might see in his eyes. “Can you get a couple of syringes from the clinic?”

He nodded and left.

“Won’t the bottle work?” Little Deer asked.

“For the moment… but I think they’ll break it before the kittens are strong enough to eat on their own.”

The calico stopped drinking and Tanya moved on to the white kitten. As the kittens drank their fill, she put each onto the warm water bottle.

“They won’t stay in the box for long,” Tanya said. “They’re old enough to be running around.”

Sage Eagle came back with some syringes. “Anything else?” he asked.

“At this stage, they need solid food as soon as we have them out of the woods. Soft, canned food.”

“Done,” he said, disappearing again.

“I need to go and help with the meal if you can spare me,” Dancing Bear said.

“I’ll be fine, but the kittens need me more tonight,” Tanya replied.

“I’ll take the girls – and bring you leftovers,” Little Deer volunteered.

“Thanks.” She smiled, realizing that she really did feel like she almost belonged. She should ask Nighthawk if she could stay – and felt that tonight would be the best timing… but the kittens would come first.

♥♥♥