Chapter 180

March 13th - Day before the Event

4:00 PM

"You are one noisy bugger, you know that?" Matis Vilkas commented as he worked. He was in a situation that he had found himself in time and time again ever since starting up this job with his wife. He was used to being a hunter, taking down wild animals for food. However, he also had training as a vet to make sure that the animals he had hunted would not suffer in agony. That was at least his original reason. Along the way he had met his wonderful and caring wife Charlene, and now they travelled the wilderness taking care of animals that would be fine if they had minimum help. Such as the pregnant caribou underneath him with a dislocated knee on their front leg.

This one was one that Matis could not leave well enough alone, nor could his wife who was helping to keep the animal stationary. After all, getting a dislocated leg back into place was risky enough as it was, with the chance to pinch nerves and blood vessels when putting the limb back into its socket. The entire situation would only become worse if the patient was moving about and struggling, aggravating the issue. Thankfully, the caribou below them was just crying out, in a mix of fear and agony. They were big and strong, but they knew when it would be disadvantageous to move. However, that was not so much because of the pain that it felt or the humans on top of her. No, she had tried to run on that bad leg, albeit not getting far at all. What kept her in place was the paw of the third member of the Vilkas group that was lightly pressing down on the side of the caribou's head, keeping it placed against the dirt and roots beneath it.

The mountain lion named Sheera calmly kept her front paw in place, keeping her eyes locked with those of the soon-to-be mother on the ground in front of her. To the poor animal, she must have thought this was the end, and was basically calling out her last will and testament. After all, it was hard to explain that Sheera had no interest in eating any of their patients, especially with how their taste compared to the cooking she had been getting spoiled with for the last nine years. She knew what the two Vilkas' did with their time, given that she was on the receiving end of their care when she was but a cub. With no one else to turn to, and feeling lost, she had joined up with them and had been inseparable ever since.

All in all, the help of the two strong women on either side of him made Matis' job a lot easier than it would have been if he was on his own. He wanted it to be put back in place before they left the poor animal on its own. After all, a dislocation could take weeks to heal on its own, and the resulting muscle atrophy would be dooming up here in the north. Whether a pack of grey or arctic wolves came across them, neither the mother nor its offspring would be able to live long. There would be no ability to run away to safety, with a limited ability to go and get food and water in plentiful enough quantities to support two.

After making sure that none of the ligaments were torn, and all the supplies he would need for the follow up were ready and waiting beside him, he carefully and quickly relocated the caribou's knee cap. It must not have been pleasant at all, due to the large bleat the animal made out in response to the sudden change of positioning of their bone. Matis did not let any time waste though, taking a biodegradable bandage and wrapping up the knee snugly in a splint with two branches. The bandage would only last a week before it would start to fall apart from both the use the caribou would get out of it, as well as just the wear and tear of the elements, but that was more than enough time to make sure that the bone would set in place properly. Once he was done and satisfied with how the injury was treated, he called out in a calm voice, "Clear!"

All at once, the three of them backed away from the caribou quickly and gave it some space. Which turned out to be a great move on their part, as once Sheera's paw came off their head, the caribou bolted upright and made off as fast as it could, as the splint was hampering their ability to move expediently. Quickly, Matis and Charlene went around, cleaning up what they could from the area to make it as if they were never there. Sheera just passed the time watching out, should a bear or pack of wolves come through the trees. It wouldn't have been the first time, and by now, they were all getting quite used to something big and/or angry coming upon them. Once the two were satisfied with how they were leaving the area, they started walking back to their car, hand in hand. With Sheera walking alongside Charlene, they just enjoyed the sounds of nature as they were glad of another job well done.

They had driven a good ten minutes into the bush before their vehicle was unable to continue, and then had walked out a couple hours in a circle from where they parked. Thus, it took them a few hours to get back to the car. It was right where they had left it, albeit with a heron perched on top. When they saw no signs showcasing the start of a nest, they gave Sheera the ok to go and scare it off. Thankfully it flew off without a fight, giving them easy access to the car. Seeing where the sun was at, Matis looked over at his wife, "Want to just camp here for the night? Drive back home in the morning?"

"Sure, that works for me." Charlene replied. "It will be good to spend one last day enjoying the outdoors before driving to the other side of the province for our little girl's birthday." Smiles were had between the two of them, before they each went about their tasks. Matis started getting the tent set up, with a helping hand from Sheera. It hung off the ground to make the mornings more pleasant, but it required just a little bit more work than a standing one. Meanwhile, Charlene started setting up a firepit, so as to start working on supper.

Huge thanks to my Elder Wolves Viktor, Saganatsu, Eeleater, John, Hades, Sir Hellington, Onean, Sebastian, Adam, and Kevin for supporting me and my writing! Remember that I keep Patreon ten chapters ahead at all times. Our next goal on Patreon will be getting up to 50 patrons, which I will then spend more time each month writing some side stories and shorts that show other perspectives throughout my stories!

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