The zorel snorted, a faint puff of steam coming from her flaring nostrils, and nodded her head again.
“Good.” Elli ran her hand lightly over the long flank, stroking the rough scales—each as broad as her palm—that became feathery fur on the hindquarters.
When she got to the left hind leg, she took a moment stroking and soothing it. She could feel the heat and pain from the strained muscles—Looney had been favoring it for quite some time. Then, gently but firmly, she lifted the back hoof and looked inside.
The soft inner part of the hoof was called the “sponge” and Looney’s was clogged up with packed-in dirt. Sticking out of the left side of the dirt clod, and no doubt digging into the tender sponge, was a hard piece of purple quartz about twice as big as Elli’s thumb.
Finding a stick in the road, she dug quickly and carefully, clearing the dirt and muck and getting the quartz to come free at last. Looney shivered but held still for the operation. Elli finished clearing her hoof and then set it down gently on the road.
“Now try it,” she said, speaking to the zorel, not the woman driving the cart.
Looney snorted and took one tentative step, then another. She tossed her head and stamped hard on the dirt road—clearly the pain was gone.
“Good girl! That’s better, isn’t it?”
Elli smiled in delight and came up to stroke the arching neck again. When she touched the doe, she felt a rush of relief and appreciation coming from Looney.
“You’re welcome,” Elli told her, looking into the big brown eyes. “Now you should be able to pull this heavy cart to town with no problem because you’re such a strong, brave girl—aren’t you, Looney, my love?”
The zorel snorted and gave a little prancing step, as though she couldn’t wait to get started.
“There—she’s all ready to go.” Elli looked up at Tully, who was staring at her with something like awe on her face.
“Can you talk to animals, then?” she asked as Elli retrieved her small case from the side of the road and climbed up into the wagon to sit on the narrow wooden bench beside her.
“Well, anyone can talk to them,” Elli said as the other woman shook the reins and Looney started off at a brisk trot. “The question is, will they listen to you. Zorels mostly listen to me,” she explained. “They have since I was little. I just…understand them, I guess.”
“I guess you do,” the woman said, still looking at her wonderingly. “Why, I ‘ent ever seen that beast behave so! Quiet as a lambkin she was when you touched her, though I’ve seen her kick a grown man across the stable yard for even getting close to her hind quarters!”
“You just have to be kind to her,” Elli recommended. “Talk to her—let her know you only want what’s best for her. Look in her eyes and let her feel your love.”
“Ha! Feel my love indeed,” Tully snorted. But she didn’t make fun of Elli and she was willing to trade half the split thunder melon for the piece of purple quartz that had been clogging up Looney’s hoof.
As the wagon moved briskly down the dirt road and she ate the sticky-sweet melon, Elli felt her heart lift to the pale purple sky. She was leaving the awful Priory of Extreme Atonement behind and even better, she was on an adventure!
No, not an adventure—I’m on a quest, she told herself. A quest to save the old Priestess Superior’s life.
She was going to get a piece of the Tenebrian Healing Lattice no matter what she had to do to get it, she decided. But for now, she was just going to enjoy the ride—enjoy being outdoors and near her beloved zorels again. Truly, the Goddess was good.
Elli just hoped she would help her in the rest of her quest. But only time would tell about that…
Eight
They made brisk time now that Looney was no longer in pain. She was able to jog along, pulling the heavy cartload of thunder melons as though it was a load of feathers. As she ate chunks of the sweet, sticky thunder melon, Elli talked to Tully, trying to find out everything she could about Capital City and the Crown Prince of the Tenebrians and his palace.
“Don’t know much about ‘em but the rumors I’ve heard, to be honest,” Tully told her, taking a chunk of melon for herself. “They keep to themselves, mostly, which suits all of us. They’re humanoid, same as we are, but they’re strange, ya know?”
“Strange how?” Elli asked, licking juice that had run down her wrist. She was going to have to change to her clean robe before she presented herself at the palace—the one she had on was covered in dust and pale green thunder melon juice.