Page 17 of For the Strange and Surprising

His back is split in a diagonal cut, from the center of his left shoulder blade to the bottom right of his rib cage, and it’s deep. There’s hardly any fatty tissue, but I can see his muscles bunch as he flinches again. Dirt and pieces of foliage are stuck to the edges, almost like he rolled around on the ground before he came in.

I’m sure that’s not the case, but it’s filthy, nonetheless.

“Ada,” Imryll calls out to me.

I blink my attention away from the man’s back and face the doctor. “Yes?”

“Could you pass me the crab berry milk, please?”

“S-Sure,” I respond, wincing as I think about the stinging I felt versus having it put in a cut that... bad.

“Ada?” The man tests my name out as he studies my appearance. “I’ve never seen you before. What tribe are you from?”

“Uhm... I’m not from a tribe. I’m from Florida.”

He squints at me, the right side of his face bunching up as Imryll wipes the debris off his back with a damp cloth. “I don’t know where that is.”

“I’m getting that response a lot,” I admit with a tired smile.

The day is finally catching up to me. All the adrenaline has faded. All the new information sits heavy on my mind, and I just want to sleep. I’ll process everything once I’ve rested.

Hopefully.

I don’t know where to begin, though.

“What happened to your arm?” He tips his head, casting his dark gaze at the now-stained bandage I’m holding.

I glance away as I remove it, refusing to look while I’m standing.

He sucks in a sharp breath between his teeth. “Why didn’t you stitch her up, Imy?”

“She refused. I still need to wrap that bandage around her arm to help the healing.”

“Come here,” the man says gently. “Let me wrap it. I’m better at it than the doc.”

Imryll scoffs. “You should be. I’d be pissed if you hadn’t learned a few tricks by now.”

He looks over his shoulder to smirk. “You focus on your job, and I’ll focus on mine.”

“Yeah, right. I’m going to space the stitches out. Some parts of the wound are thinner than others, so we can wrap your torso with some—”

“I know.”

“You should introduce yourself to the lady,” Imryll comments with a grin. “Unless you want to get screamed at like the rest of us.”

I glare at him, and he shrugs at me.

“He’s an animal, Ada. He has to be reminded that he’s a Mongrel.”

“Where I’m from,” I mutter, sighing heavily. “Those are the same thing.”

“I’m Connak,” the man says, reaching out to grab my left hand.

He drags me toward him as Imryll fusses. “Damnit, Connak. Be still.”

“Connak Moonshadow.”

I tense until he lets me go, but I don’t have time to back away. He’s already taken the bandage from my hand before I can react. He whistles low as he examines my arm again.