That sounded right?or rather, it sounded true. It didn?t make me feel any better, but it helped me understand why I felt like tearing Nikanj loose from the male and standing guard to see that it did not approach him again.
Nikanj came over to me after a while, smelling of the male, tasting of him when it touched me. I flinched in resentment.
?You?ve done a good job,? it said. ?How can you do such a good job with Humans and such a poor one with yourself and Aaor??
?I don?t know,? I said bleakly. ?But Humans steady me somehow. Maybe it?s just that Marina and this male are alone?mateless.?
?Go rest next to him. If you want to sleep, sleep linked with him so that he won?t wake up until you do.?
I got up to go.
?Oeka.?
I focused on Nikanj without turning.
?Tino made crutches for him to use for the next few days. They?re near his foot.?
?All right.? I had never seen a crutch, but I had heard of them from the Humans in Lo.
?There?s clothing with the crutches. Lilith says put some of it on and give the rest to him.?
Now I did turn to look at it.
?Put the clothing on, Jodahs. He?s a resister male. It will be hard enough for him to accept you.?
It was right, of course. I wasn?t even sure why I had stopped wearing clothes?except perhaps that I didn?t have anyone to wear them for. I dressed and lay down alongside the male.
2
The male and I awoke together. He saw me and tried at once to scramble away from me. I held him, spoke softly to him. ?You?re safe,? I said. ?No one will hurt you here. You?re being helped.?
He frowned, watched my mouth. I could read no understanding in his expression, though the softness of my voice seemed to ease him.
?EspaNol?? I asked.
?PortuguEs?? he asked hopefully.
Relief. ?Sim, senhor. Falo portuguEs.?
He sighed with relief of his own. ?Where am I? What has happened to me??
I sat up, but with a hand on his shoulder encouraged him to go on lying down. ?We found you badly injured, alone in the forest. I think you had fallen from a tree.?
?I remember
my leg. I tried to get home.?
?You can go home in a few days. You?re still healing now.? I paused. ?You did a great deal of damage to yourself, but we can fix it all.?
?Who are you??
?Jodahs Iyapo Leal Kaalnikanjlo. I?m the one who has to see that you walk home on two good legs.?
?It was broken, my leg. Will it be crooked??
?No. It will be new and straight. What?s your name??
?Excuse me. I am JoAo. JoAo Eduardo Villas da Silva.?
?JoAo, your leg was too badly injured to be saved. But your new leg has already begun to grow.?
He groped in sudden terror for the missing leg. He stared at me. Abruptly he tried again to scramble away.
I caught his arms and held him still, held him until he stopped struggling. ?You are well and healthy,? I told him softly. ?In a few days you will have a new leg. Don?t do yourself any more harm now. You?re all right.?
He stared at my face, shook his head, stared again.
?It is true,? I said. ?A few days of crutches, then a whole leg again. Look at it.?
He looked, twisting so that I could not see?as though he thought his body still held secrets from me.
?It doesn?t look like a new leg,? he said.
?It?s only a few hours old. Give it time to grow.?
He sat where he was and looked around at the rest of the family. ?Who are you all? Why are you here??
?We?re travelers. One family from Lo, traveling south.?
?My home is to the west in the hills.?
?We won?t leave you until you can go there.?
?Thank you.? He stared at me a little longer. ?I mean no offense, but
I?ve met very few of your people?Human and not Human.?
