[Jaykobell]

When Mynol heard his name, his bright pink eyes flew towards Aodh in a flash. He stared at the Calami, trying, to the best of his very restricted abilities, to understand what Aodh was telling him. He couldn't quite understand everything, but when he saw that Aodh was feeling just fine, he started to think that he had done something wrong. Aodh wasn't trying to flee or trying to get away from the big mechanical cat. Why...? Somehow, Mynol's brain could formulate that there was probably nothing to fear...

Slowly and hesitantly (mostly from shame), Mynol slipped his teeth out of Stribog's paw. He looked up at the Khimera the whole time, his widened eyes expressing much shame as the Darkflame withdrew from the demonstration scene.

Stribog watched the Darkflame back away, but the frightened pink eyes refused to let him go. They were still watching the Khimera, ready to widen even more would something happen to the Calamikuhna. But now that his paw was free, Stribog went back to the demonstration by unsheathing a claw and gently slicing down Aodh's numb leg. The skin gradually came apart as Stribog sunk the claw deeper into the flesh, and after a few cuts, one could reach a paw inside the incision to feel muscles and bones. And through it all, Aodh shouldn't have felt anything, apart from a small pressure when Stribog would cut deep into his leg, but no pain in any way.

Stribog then stepped back and sat down on his haunches. "That's all there is to it. The rest would be to fetch the bones, and then to suture the incision." With that said, he bent his back so his muzzle could reach Aodh's leg, and while squeezing the cut shut with his paws, he blew cold, icy air again so it would suture the wound.

[Kodai]

Aodh's leg twitched slightly as Stribog cut into it, but other than that and the pressure, the Calamikuhna felt nothing. Stribog had done a wonderful job of numbing his leg. Now, if Mynol would get the message, they could operate on him and make him better. Pushing himself up again, Aodh turned to the Darkflame and tried to read his expression, to see what he had thought of the demonstration. He could see that Mynol still felt ashamed of having attacked Stribog, but that was understandable. Having pounced on someone to protect a friend, only to find out that your friend didn't need protecting would make anyone feel silly.
"Mynol... It's all right. Do you see? This is what we want to do with you. To help you. To make you feel better. Please, try to understand..."

[Jaykobell]

Mynol's eyes had widened when he saw Stribog's claw cut Aodh's leg open. He'd felt like bouncing at Stribog again, even though Aodh had already told Mynol not to interfere (or something of the like, right?). But when the Darkflame looked at Aodh, the only thing he saw was the Calami moving his leg upon feeling something on it... wasn't Aodh in pain? How come Aodh wasn't feeling any pain? Isak had done similar things to Mynol before, and the Darkflame remembered that it had hurt quite a lot... was Aodh just good at hiding the pain? But even so, the Calami really didn't seen to be in pain at all... But why? Mynol wasn't scared now. He was confused.

And then Aodh spoke again, even though the words didn't quite form anything in Mynol's brain. But he understood his name, and he understood 'please'... And now that the Darkflame was thinking about it, his leg hurt, didn't it? ... Maybe it'd be best for him to let Stribog do that on him, right?

Finally Mynol tried to say something. "Is... Is..." He looked around impatiently and desperately and looked down at his forepaws. "Is... yes...?" He probably meant that he was fine with Stribog trying this thing on him, but with his very restricted vocabulary, he didn't quite know how to convey his message...

[Kodai]

Is yes? What did that mean? Thinking hard, Aodh figured that it must be Mynol's way of giving his consent. After all, if he didn't want them to perform the operation on him, he would surely be acting more afraid and say 'no', right?
"I think he's saying that it's all right to do it on him, Stribog," Aodh told the Khimera, just in case Stribog was having trouble deciphering the message as well. Getting up stiffly and limping on his still numb leg, Aodh went over to Mynol and stretched out beside him, the giant Calamikuhna almost wrapping around the small Darkflame protectively. "It'll be fine," he purred in a soothing voice. "I'll be right here for you, Mynol. You have nothing to worry about."

[Jaykobell]

Stribog hadn't quite understood the message, but it became clearer when Aodh said it was probably Mynol's way of agreeing to the operation. He watched as Aodh wrapped Mynol protectively, seeing more than just protectiveness... The words, the body language... It was clear Aodh had warmed up to the small Darkflame, whether it be in a loving way or just as a friend. Either way, it was clear the Darkflame had become rather important to Aodh...

Mynol wiggled when he saw Aodh limping over, but soon found comfort in the protection offered by the Calamikuhna. In a way, it was ironic. Mynol's father was a Calamikuhna... even though he was now a Panzer, Isak was a Calamikuhna, once upon a time. And yet Aodh was the only Kuhna he had learned to trust so much, even though Aodh was the same species as Mynol's cold-hearted father... Aodh didn't know Isak had been the one beating Mynol up back in the Slums, and Mynol knew who Isak was only subconsciously. Nonetheless, it was quite amusing and ironic, when one would think about it... All that to say that Mynol found great comfort in being close to Aodh, even though Mynol couldn't understand anything Aodh was saying. But the body language was enough to show the Darkflame the Calamikuhna cared...

Thinking this would help for the operation, Mynol gingerly lay down on his side, looking up at Aodh from the floor. While Mynol still seemed scared a little bit, his eyes showed that he would try to go through the operation.

"This shouldn't take too long. While he does have a few bones here and there, it shouldn't take more than half and hour, a full hour at the very most..." With that said, Stribog set off the operation, starting with Mynol's leg (he figured this would put the Darkflame's state of mind into a calm state by going through the same experience as Aodh). He numbed, opened, and pulled the bone fragments out of Mynol's leg; they were easy to spot in-between the muscles, considering they were awkwardly positioned and were obviously not bones from Mynol's leg. Once the bones had been taken out, Stribog sutured the incision, and then moved on and on, picking the necessary bones throughout Mynol's little body.

Aodh would be able to feel how shaky Mynol was when Stribog started. But as the Darkflame realized he really wasn't feeling any pain he stopped shaking and let Stribog do his work freely. And besides, Aodh wouldn't let Stribog hurt Mynol, would he...? The Darkflame knew Aodh would interfere if something bad happened.

Once every bone had been taken out and every incision sutured, Stribog stepped back and sat down on his haunches. "There you go. The kid should be fine now. Just make sure he doesn't push too much, or the incisions could reopen. They should heal in a couple of days, and his ribs will eventually grow back after a few weeks. He should pull through just fine." The Khimera hoped nothing had worked its way into Mynol's body while he was operating. He'd gone through the operation quickly for a reason... but everything had gone well, and the Darkflame had cooperated.

[Kodai]

At first, Mynol's shakiness made Aodh nervous. What if Mynol got scared and changed his mind about Stribog performing the operation? But eventually Aodh learned that there was nothing to fear, and he relaxed. Curious as to the procedure, he watched the Khimera work, observing him remove all of the little bone shards with great precision so that he didn't damage the muscle tissue or any of the bones that were supposed to be there. All of this medical business was very intruiging... Perhaps he should look into it more? Or at least look into basic procedures, so that he could be better prepared for the ailments that his sister and brother were always getting into. Cuts, scratches, bruises... but such was the life of Kamo-bred Kuhnas. ...Except for himself, being a Calamikuhna.
When the operation was over, Aodh gave Mynol a little lick on the head with his tongue as if to say, "There, that wasn't so bad now, was it?" He didn't realize exactly how much he cared for the little Darkflame, nor did he see just what his body language was saying... but he was saying it nonetheless, whether he realized it or not.
"Thank you very much, Stribog," Aodh nodded to the Khimera, gratitude shining in his eyes. "It's a good thing you found us... I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't. ...And I don't want to really think about it, either," he added, a frown passing over his face.

[Jaykobell]

Mynol found the courage to purr when Aodh licked his forehead once the operation was over, the numbness making him feel strange and sleepy. Maybe... maybe he could take a little nap now? All that stress and the operation and the demonstration... Mynol let his head rest on the floor and he closed his eyes, trying to get as close to Aodh as possible.

The Khimera simply shrugged at Aodh's words of gratitude, as if the whole thing had been nothing, as if anyone could have brought them here, observed inside Mynol's body with an x-ray machine, and operated on the Darkflame. "You can call yourselves lucky, I suppose." What would have happened had he not stumbled upon these two? Would the bone fragments have stabbed through Mynol's body after a while? Would the two have been taken away by some humans? What could have happened? So many things could have happened. So, so many things. Fortunately for both Aodh and Mynol, things had turned out well. "What are you two going to do now?"

[Kodai]

Looking down at the sleepy Darkflame, Aodh answered, "Well, I suppose Mynol has the right idea -- we'll rest for now. After that..." He frowned again. "After that, I don't really know. I can't take him back to where I found him, or we'll both surely be killed. And I don't know where he lives, so I can't take him back to his home. I would take him back to where I live, but... I'm not sure if that's such a good idea, either. With his size, and the amount of Lucain we have... I'm not saying they're all mean-spirited, but some of them might give him a good chase, if you know what I mean. Some of the Kuhnas there might, too. And then there's the Khimera... No offense to you, Stribog, but the Khimera I know can be downright nasty, even though she doesn't usually take it out on us..." If he couldn't take Mynol back to either his home or Mynol's own, where could they go?

[Jaykobell]

Stribog tilted his head, wondering what to reply. Indeed, where could Aodh and Mynol go? "Well, yes. I see what you mean... he's quite small, and he seems unable to defend himself properly... The poor kid seems even unable to speak or understand words." When it came to the talk of nasty Khimeras, Stribog shrugged and shook his head sadly. "I understand what you mean. Not every Khimera gets to live a normal life like I have... many of us come from the Industries, I guess it's normal for most Khimeras to feel... aggressive, or something of the like." He looked down at the sleepy Darkflame, again the thought of 'where the two of them could go' surfacing. He then remembered how the Reitcon Kuhna from earlier (who had skipped off to do her errands, probably) was staying under Eirian's care, helping out the Lucain whenever she needed help. Maybe Eirian would be kind enough to accept these two youngsters in her center for the time being...? "Well... Eirian likes getting help. Maybe you two could ask her if you could stay here for a little while? If you really have nowhere to go right now..." Aodh seemed to have a home, but if he wanted to stay with Mynol, it seemed to be a no-go to bring the Darkflame to Aodh's home...

[Kodai]

"Really...? You think she'd let us do that?" Aodh was a little incredulous. After all, she barely knew him or Mynol. Would she really let them both stay here for a while? "Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask if we really don't have anywhere else to go... which we don't." Failing to suppress a yawn, Aodh laid his head down on his paws and mumbled, "Er... if you could ask for us, Stribog? I feel sleepy myself, and I don't want to leave Mynol alone right now, so soon after the operation..." The Calamikuhna shut his eyes, and pretty soon, he was asleep just like the Darkflame. It looked like they were going to stay there for at least a little while longer, whether Eirian would let them stay or not.

[Jaykobell]

Stribog nodded to Aodh's request, leaving the small room to talk to Eirian as soon as the two Kuhnas had fallen asleep. He supposed the female Lucain was in the back, most likely sorting her needles or files or something. He could hear some ruckus as he came closer to the back of the small acupuncture house, and as he poked his head through the corridor that lead to the other room, her noticed the female Lucain. "Eirian? Got a moment?"

Eirian twisted her head around to look at the Khimera over her shoulder. "Yes, Stribog?" She left whatever she was managing and stepped over to the corridor, tails slowly twitching in wonder. "How are your two friends? The Kuhnas?" Since Stribog had just brought them in for help, she didn't know their names; she'd had no time to ask them. Makena had been very carefree out of late...

"They're fine," Stribog replied with a flick of his own tails. "But they have nowhere to go... I was wondering if you could take them in for a little while. They would help you in fields Makena can't or won't help you in... The little one -- the Darkflame -- has some problems with understanding words, but the Calamikuhna can understand him in his own way. I'm sure they would be a great help to you." He went on by giving the Lucain good arguments about how the two Kuhnas would be of a great help to her, what with Makena being more and more carefree about her work.

Eirian listened to Stribog intently, flicking her tails and twitching her ears. "Well... they do seem like they need a home... at least the little one does. They were in such a bad shape when you brought them in..."

The two discussed of the matter at hand for some time, and once Eirian had made up her mind about letting them stay, the Khimera and the Lucain thought about telling the two Kuhnas the news. But when they stepped into the other room, they spotted the two felines on the ground, curled up into two balls of dark fur, sleeping soundly. Stribog nodded to Eirian and left the home, bringing the x-ray machine back with him, while Eirian skipped off to prepare a good room for the new residents.

-- The End --