Rini was instantly over the wolf, broken end of his branch poised and ready to spear the animal, his face red and his chest heaving. But he went no further.
Boro had Mati off the donkey a moment later and Sata joined them. Mati clung to Sata with one shaking hand, but continued stroking Tera with her other hand while reassuring the donkey that it was over and they were safe.
Neti and Buna also surrounded donkey and rider with comforting words and caresses.
Ilika stood back, taking in the entire situation, looking for any dangers they had missed, and making sure all needs were covered. He noticed Rini’s decision to not harm the sleeping animal.
Kibi went to the wolf where Rini continued to stand guard. She could see the large animal’s bony ribcage rising and falling slowly. She knelt down and felt his legs to see if any had broken when he landed. “He’s fast asleep, Rini.”
Rini waited a moment more, then thrust the branch away into the woods, revealing blood on his hands and arms.
“How long do we have, Ilika?” Kibi asked.
“About a quarter hour, maybe a little more.”
“Everybody! I want all the dried fish we have left!” Kibi yelled.
“I have two!” Neti called.
“Two . . . or three . . . in my b-bags,” Mati said with a weak, shaky voice.
Boro started digging into Tera’s saddlebags.
“Everyone else, head up the next rise, meet just beyond it!” Ilika ordered.
At that moment Miko arrived carrying Rini’s things. Toli, at his side, looked quite embarrassed. “Mati . . . I’m so sorry . . .” Toli squeaked in a voice close to tears.
Mati gave him a blank look, nodded slightly, then let Boro help her remount.
Buna noticed that Toli felt terrible and needed comforting. Instead, she joined Kibi and stroked the fur of the sleeping wolf before heading up the hill.
Kibi received all the dried fish the others could find, placed it near the sleeping creature, and backed away.
“Good thinking, Kibi,” Ilika said. “Please go look at Rini. I’ll bring up the rear.”
Kibi nodded and dashed up the line of walkers to see how badly Rini was bleeding.
Ilika waited until everyone else was moving, then kept one eye over his shoulder as he put distance between himself and the sleeping timber wolf.
The fox was fascinated. These were definitely strange humans. They had been confronted by the wolf, who was hungrier than ever before, and had somehow put him to sleep. But the strange part was, they didn’t hurt him, but instead left a pile of food! It was something the fox would expect another wolf to do, but had no idea humans were capable of such compassion. The fox watched from a good distance as the humans disappeared over the next hill.
Soon the wolf started waking up. At first he was confused and frightened, and wanted to get away. Then he smelled the fish, and it was more food than he had seen in the last month. He was unwilling to leave it behind.
But he felt vulnerable, with some of his muscles still a little numb, and his mind not yet fully awake. He circled, trying to get his weak body to respond while protecting the pile of food.
He could smell the fox and kept an eye on that direction. No one was going to touch his food — it was all that stood between him and starvation.
He could also smell which direction the humans had gone. They were a strong pack, and the wolf had no intention of following them, especially in his weak condition.
The fox watched as the wolf finally settled down to his meal. Then, giving him a wide berth, she headed off into the woods to see what the strange humans would do next.
The students and their teacher sat on the ground in a tight circle on the top of a rise more than a mile away.
Miko swallowed, noticing Rini’s calmness while ointment was applied to his hands and arms where the rough bark had cut and scraped him.
Ilika explained that he couldn’t use his bracelet at first without dropping Mati and Tera. It was Rini’s blow that knocked the wolf into the clear.
Several of the students commented that sparing the wolf, then feeding him, was not what most people would have done.
“Never, ever, limit yourselves to what other people would do,” Ilika advised. “Cruelty is cruelty, and it doesn’t matter how many people do it.
Boro said it well a few days ago — we are the visitors here. This forest is the wolf’s home, he was alone and very hungry. We can’t blame him for trying to eat some meat that came walking by.”
Buna snickered. “You mean us?”
Ilika smiled. “By feeding him, we reduced the chance of him following us and trying again, and we did a kindness to a fellow creature. Cruelty and revenge have no place in the Transport Service.”
A thoughtful silence lingered for a minute.
“I . . .” Toli started, but became choked on his own shame and couldn’t go on.
Mati scooted over next to him and took his shaking hand. “I know what it’s like to be scared. I used to be scared all the time. I could never get away from anyone or anything that was hurting me. I only quit being scared when I learned to ride Tera, and Ilika made it clear that only strong people who can handle their fears can be on his crew.”
“I . . . think I blew my chances,” Toli muttered, looking at the ground.
“Maybe,” Ilika replied firmly. “It will depend on what you do with this experience, and the experiences you have during the next few months. I’m not going to make any decisions until the end.”
Toli nodded and dropped his eyes back to the ground.
Buna grinned — from the opposite side of the circle.
Deep Learning Notes
What do you think of Rini’s decision to not hurt the sleeping wolf? What about Kibi giving it all their dried fish?
Most people pay lots of attention to what “everyone else” does. Ilika counsels his students to never limit themselves to that standard. What does this tell us about Ilika and his civilization?
NEBADOR BookTwo: Journey 173
