Chapter 83: Examine.
The sound grew louder as they drew back, staring around.
"Do you think we’ll be able to leave at this point?" Eris asked.
The rocks shattered and another beaver emerged from them. It was as huge as the first one, brown and all. But this one didn’t seem as active as the first.
This second beaver staggered after breaking through the rocky wall. It let out a low moan as it looked around and then fell on its stomach.
They paused, watching the beaver move on its stomach for a while, struggling to get on its feet. It was clear that this beaver wasn’t really in the best condition.
"What’s wrong with it?" Luka asked.
Eris shrugged. "I don’t know. Maybe this is our cue to run away?"
They were contemplating that when the first beaver suddenly got up from where it lay. It was conscious again, letting out a loud snap while making its way towards the one lying on the floor.
They all stepped backwards, startled while watching them. They watched as the first one ran its nose around the second, groaning some things that seemed like words to them. The two were making some sort of communication that Sunnie didn’t seem to understand at all.
"What’s going on there...?" Sunnie stared.
"I think the other is sick... And it’s a woman..." Little Black explained.
They stared for a while, watching as the first comforted the second. The second looked up at them and groaned some sounds that seemed like words.
Sunnie and the rest didn’t understand, so they didn’t know how to react. But Little Black said, "She’s apologizing to us on behalf of her husband."
They all stared at Little Black, shocked.
"You understand it?"
Little Black shrugged. "Apparently I do. I’ve lived here long enough to pick up a lot of things."
They blinked and stared back at the sick female beaver who was still speaking. "What’s it saying now?" Sunnie asked, curious.
Little Black stared. "She’s saying that her husband was being rash and unreasonable by kidnapping the little one... But she’s apologizing while saying that it’s all because of her..."
"She says that she’s been sick for a long time now, and because of that she can’t give birth and keeps losing her babies all the time. Her husband is sad and had always wanted to get her a baby to comfort her..."
"And so her husband did it..."
"She apologizes again for her husband’s behavior and hopes we forgive them and not hurt her husband anymore. She promised that he won’t do that again."
As they heard that, everyone was quiet for a while as they watched the female beaver lower her head as a means of apologizing.
Sunnie suddenly felt bad. She sighed as she stared at them. She understood their pain for some reason, and she couldn’t help but understand the husband who wanted to make his wife feel better.
"I think this is our cue to say ’okay, we get it’ and leave, don’t you think so?" Eris leaned closer to Sunnie and said.
But Sunnie didn’t want to just leave. She turned to Little Black and asked, "Can you communicate with them? Like speak with them?"
Little Black shook his head. "Well, I’m not that perfect, but I can try with sign language," he explained.
Sunnie nodded. "I guess that would do then. I’d like you to tell them something."
"What?" Little Black asked.
Sunnie turned to them. "Ask them what’s wrong with the female? Maybe I can see what I can do to help her."
Little Black used sign language and spoke to the beaver. He wasn’t that perfect with his gestures, but they understood him.
They hesitated without saying anything. The husband didn’t trust them enough to speak, but the female spoke anyway.
"It’s a strange illness..." Little Black interpreted. "One that always hurts her stomach from time to time and affects her delivery each time, making her lose her children."
Sunnie thought for a while. "Ask her if I’m permitted to come and check her out. Tell her I’m a skilled doctor."
As Little Black conveyed the message, the male beaver groaned, heavily opposing the idea of anyone getting close to his wife. But the wife had no issues with it. She managed to convince her husband to calm down as she said.
"... if you want to try, she says you can come," Little Black interpreted.
Sunnie nodded with a smile as she handed Azure the baby.
"Are you sure about this...? They can be dangerous..." Azure confirmed.
Sunnie smiled. "Don’t worry, I’ll be fine." She explained as she turned and made her way towards the beaver.
Eris followed along with Little Black. As they arrived at where the beaver was, they met the male beaver’s alert eyes. But they ignored him.
Sunnie approached the female who was lying on the floor on her stomach. She let out a warm smile as she said, "Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. I won’t hurt you."
It wasn’t a language the beaver understood, but the feeling of safety was something universal enough for her to understand.
Sunnie slowly ran her hands through her fur, feeling her body while summoning her system for diagnosis. She gently felt through her body and down to her stomach side while she stared at the system.
The husband stared, alert, ready to strike if they did anything funny. But Sunnie didn’t bother looking in his direction.
The system had done the diagnosis, and Sunnie was left reading through it.
"You have some blockage around your stomach side..." She explained as Little Black translated using sign language. "It’s quite poisonous but not extreme. Rather, it’s not making the body comfortable enough to hold the baby, and so it ends up making you lose your children."
The beaver was shocked as she stared at her husband. It was clearly their first time hearing such a diagnosis.
The female beaver instantly asked, anxious, "Can you do anything about it?" Little Black interpreted.
Sunnie nodded. They all understood.