My little Tavi

Who could have done this? It must have been the first person who found Octavia, the one who held her captive. He must have noticed that she had escaped, and somehow tracked her to my house. What should I do? Obviously giving up Octavia is not an option, I have promised to never hurt her. But what would happen if I don’t?

“Is… is anything the matter?”

Octavia’s voice brought me back to reality. I turned my head and saw Octavia’s face. She seemed puzzled, but the longer I stared, the more worries I could read from her face.

“It’s… nothing, I was trying to remember the number of a friend who may be able to help replace that window.” I said as I quickly put the rock into my pocket. I didn’t want to lie to her, but right now she needs rest and this awful news is best kept away from her. I will find a time for that later.

I took a peak at Octavia without her noticing. Luckily she had believed my lie and lain back down. Then I saw that the bandages on her body was getting slightly loose, and some blood spot had begun to soak through.

“Oh shit, I almost forg…”

Octaiva shuttered at my words. She turned to me and narrowed her eyes, “Excuse me?”

It took me a while to realize that I should probably not swear in front of her. I blushed a bit and said, “Sorry… I mean, I should probably change the bandages... if you don’t mind.”

Octavia looked down at her sides and immediately frowned, “Yes that would be… very much appreciated. Thank you.”

I quickly rushed out of the room and returned to my own. I took the rock out of my pocket and shove it into the drawer of my desk. I then went downstairs to get the medical bin and went back to Octavia’s room.

“Here… can you lie down on your side?”

Octavia obliged. She turned over and lay down with all of her legs on one side and her face turned away from me. I used the pair of scissors to cut the bandage loose, exposing the wound. It looked bigger than I remembered. The cut lies underneath her grey furry coat, and some blood is leaking out of it, painting some of the grey fur crimson red. Luckily the wound still looked clean, and the fur was not too long to get in the way. I used my fingers to separate the fur and skin to expose the wound more to examine further, but then suddenly I heard Octavia drawing a sharp breath. I felt her muscles tensing up as the fur on her body stood up slightly again her skin.

I placed my left palm on her head, “Sorry, did that hurt?”

“Yes… just a bit.”

“Sorry, I will try to be gentle. It will be over soon, so just hold on.”

Octavia nodded in silence and relaxed a bit. I looked closer at the wound. Luckily it was clean, and was not too deep. She must have gotten caught on the sharp tip of the metal bars and drag it across her body. I cringed from only imaging the pain she had gone through. She must had been desperate to get out of that place, which only fortified my decision to keep her away from the kidnapper.

I gently brushed her fur to the side so they don’t get near the wound. I then used some clean water and wet towels to wash the wound. I could hear Octavia drawing in breaths each time I touched the wound, but she tried to stay as still as possible. I then got some patches and dipped some medicine on them to help heal the wounds. I held it in my hands and said to Octaiva: “Sorry this might hurt a bit, just hold on, okay?”

“Okay…” Octavia replied, her voice slightly shaky.

I took a deep breath and held the patch against her wound. Octavia’s body tensed up for a couple of seconds. Her tail shot out besides me like a stiff broom. And then slowly she calmed down, her muscles relaxed and her tail went back to their original position.

I tried to not get distracted by her tail and grabbed the bandages. I put it tightly over her body and wrapped it around her.

“There, can you sit up slowly?”

She took a deep breath and sat up as slowly as possible. I put both ends of the bandage in my right hand so I can help her up with my left hand.

“There. Now, can you lift your han… I mean hooves?”

She lifted both of her front hooves. I held the bandages and wrapped them tightly around Octavia’s body, passing it from one hand to another. I made the bandages wrap around Octavia's waist about four times, and then I tied a little knot with the two ends and cut it off.

“There you go. That should last another two days. Try to not move around too much or it may come loose.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate your help.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m glad these skills I learnt years ago can be actually useful.”

Then, just without a warning, I felt something warm against my chest. I looked down in surprise, only to find Octavia leaning herself against me. The right side of her face was pushed against my chest, and her muzzle was buried inside my jacket.

My brain went completely blank. I mean I did give her a hug before, but this was completely different. I couldn’t think of anything except how warm she was, how lovely that furry grey coat and how smooth her black mane is. Her eyes were closed, and her lips were curving upwards to reveal the smile of an angel. We were right next to each other, so close that I could feel her drawing each breath, her each heartbeat, so slow and rhythmic and peaceful.

That moment, time seemed to have frozen as well as my heart, which soon started melting down into pieces. I have never felt anything like this before. It was like taking a peak of a whole new world, full of happiness and wonder, things that I thought had left me a long time ago.

Oh how I wished from the depth of my heart that this moment will last forever.

“Thank you.” Octavia whispered.

“No, thank you…” I whispered even more quietly.

“Huh?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”