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“Fix it, Papa.”
Wolf turned at the sound of his daughter’s voice. He’d heard her coming, but Scarlet had warned him that he had to wait for them to ask for his help instead of jumping to save them. In theory, he could agree with it. Ran had certainly never appreciated Wolf’s protection because he was too proud to ask for it. But whenever he sensed his children running towards him for help, it was difficult to stick to that theory.
So he was already half turned as she opened her mouth, and was able to take in the full extent of her cry for help.
Anabella was holding a crow, cradled in an ungainly position. Its beak was open, but it wasn’t making any noise. The bird’s eyes tracked his movements as he crouched down to take a closer look.
“Where did you find him?” He kept his voice low so he didn’t startle the bird.
Anabella did that for him. “It’s a girl bird, Papa.” She had jerked back, jostling the bird, who let out a weak sort of caw.
Deciding now was now the best time for an anatomy lesson, Wolf directed the soothing tone at both his daughter’s injured sensibilities and the crow’s ruffled feathers.
“Shh, it’s okay now.” Gently, he transferred the bird into his own larger hands. Anabella hovered, keeping her hand over his as if she was entrusting him with her firstborn.
“Here’s the problem now.” He resettled the bird to let Anabella see that the crow had a broken wing.
“Fix it, Papa.” She tugged at his sleeve with her free hand.
Wolf looked down at her. She still thought her father could fix anything. His heart ached at the mere thought of telling her there was a whole world outside his power to fix.
She sensed his hesitation. How could children be so perceptive Wolf wondered as Anabella put her hands on her hips.
“Uncle Jacin would do it.”
Well. She probably believed everything in the world could be fixed by either him or one of her three uncles.
“I know, honey. I’m thinking.”
“Think faster, Papa. She’s in pain.”
“I know, I know. Let’s go see if Mama can help us.”
Momentarily satisfied, Anabella trotted alongside him to the farmhouse, where the found Scarlet in the kitchen.
“I’ll go get a box to put her in.” Anabella pounded her way up the stairs, leaving Wolf standing in the middle of the room cradling a panting crow.
“Is it a broken wing?” Scarlet moved closer, and Wolf was reminded why he loved his wife so much. No hysteria, no questions, just a quick assessment of the situation.
She pulled her port out of her pocket, tapping away at the screen. A moment later, she turned it to face him, showing a step by step tutorial on how to put a splint on the wing so it could heal on its own.
“Does it look like it’s been in a fight?”
Wolf lifted the bird to eye level. “She doesn’t look battered.”
Scarlet looked up from her port, eyebrows raised. “She?”
“According to Anabella.” Wolf gave a half shrug.
“As long as we have that straightened out.” Her voice was dry, but her lips crept up into a smile as she added, “We know what’s important.”
Wolf gave a low chuckle. Apparently, this was Anabella’s way of protesting the existence of two younger brothers.
Scanning the port, Scarlet chewed her lip. She met Wolf’s eyes, face sober. “There’s a chance it’s too late.”
“I know.”
“Does she know?”
“Hopefully, she won’t have to.”
His thoughts were interrupted by Anabella’s return, her brothers right behind her.
Wolf watched in awe and admiration as Scarlet corralled the three balls of energy into something resembling a cohesive unit. Even though he and Scarlet did most of the work, you wouldn’t believe it from the way each of their children told it.
The bird was surprisingly well behaved, and Wolf counted them all lucky that he was not bandaging any peck holes or bite marks.
Once the bird was situated, hopefully comfortably, in a cardboard box, Scarlet ushered them all off to take a bath, lecturing on the importance of keeping the crow quarantined from the chickens.
“Wait. Stop.” Anabella stopped short halfway up the stairs. “We didn’t give her a name.” Ducking under Scarlet’s arm, she ran back into the kitchen. “What do you want to be called, birdie-friend?”
Wolf choked on a laugh as Anabella adopted one of Winter’s expressions. Scarlet was going to love that.
Seizing the opportunity to skip bath time, both boys followed their older sister.
“Beaky.” Emilio reached over to tap the crow’s beak as he said it.
“No.” Anabella was firm, glaring at her youngest sibling. “That’d be like calling you ‘shorty’”
“Now, now, come on.” Wolf scooped Emilio up to his shoulders before the tears could come. “Be nice.”
“Esmerelda.” Caspian offered.
Anabella scrunched up her nose. “It’s too big a name for her.” At least her preoccupation with the bird meant she didn’t hear Caspian’s muttered complaints about bossy older sisters.
“Beauty.” Anabella announced with finality. “Black Beauty.”
********** ********** **********
Black Beauty became the center of attention. Anabella insisted on getting to tell each of her aunts and uncles the entire story. Scarlet had to discourage her from providing them daily updates.
Luckily, Black Beauty thrived under the constant care. Within a few days, she was hopping around, balanced awkwardly with her splint. Her bead eyes took in every movement, and she had very quickly learned where the food was kept. Even when she appeared asleep, the slightest motion near the refrigerator door had her bright eyes trained on the spot.
Each child had taken over a different aspect of Black Beauty’s care. Anabella saw to food, and Caspian brought in sticks and leaves to make her feel “more at home”. Emilio brought out all his chapter books, carefully sorting through them to find all the best “outdoorsy” stories, showing Black Beauty the pictures as he read.
Eventually, the splint was removed, and Black Beauty could be found testing out her new freedom by flapping from table to counter to bookshelf to floor.
After a few days of this, Scarlet decided it was time for Black Beauty to have her freedom back. She broke the news to Anabella first.
“No.” Anabella tried to struggle her way out of Scarlet’s lap, but Scarlet held her close. “I won’t let you.”
“It’s for her own good.” Scarlet smoothed her hand through Anabella’s hair. “There’s no room for her to fly in here.”
Big tears rolled down Anabella’s cheeks. “Then she’ll be gone forever!” The tears rolled faster now, and Scarlet pulled her closer, letting her cry into Scarlet’s hair.
“Shh.” Gently, she pried Anabella off her shoulder so she could look into her eyes. “It’s a wonderful thing you did, helping her like that.”
Anabella sniffed in response.
“Just think about it. Now you know what to do if you ever find another bird with a broken wing.”
That brought out a hint of a smile. “Can I keep her box all set, just in case?”
“Yes you can. Go give her her dinner. We’ll give her a good night’s sleep, and release her in the morning.”
********** ********** **********
It turned into a very wet morning, and not because of the weather. Wolf was amazed at the amount of tears his three small children could produce when they put their minds to it.
It was a rough start. Black Beauty crashed through a number of branches before settling herself on one, ruffling her feathers and preening as if hiding the embarrassment at her performance.
Anabella held her breath as Black Beauty took off again, her flight slightly stiff.
Wolf put his arm around his daughter once she started breathing again. She turned and hugged him back. Wolf patted her shoulder. His heart constricted in his chest. One day, would he be standing here, watching his children go off to face their own adventures?
His heart in his throat, he could only nod when Anabella asked to stay outside and play. He caught Scarlet’s hand as they walked back to the farmhouse. With a sigh, Scarlet lowered herself onto the porch swing, motioning for Wolf to join her. She rested her head on his shoulder.
Wolf could sense her thoughts mirroring his own as they sat in silence.
“We can do it, Scarlet.” Tentatively, he breached the silence.
“I know. I just didn’t expect the lesson to come from a bird with a broken wing.”
“Maybe we should be grateful. Now we’ll know what to expect.”
Scarlet straightened with a stretch. “All I know is I’m glad we’re still years away from that.
Wolf was confused as she started laughing until she pointed out Black Beauty eyeing them from a nearby tree, recognizable by the way she leaned while sitting.
“Isn’t that the truth?” He chuckled. “We’ll let them go and they’ll come right back to us.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that with Thorne promising them all flying lessons.” Scarlet’s voice drifted off into her thoughts.
“They’ll be back.” Wolf was sure of it. “Nobody makes lemon cake like their mother.”
Scarlet swatted at him playfully. “I can’t hide anything from you, can I? I just bought the ingredients yesterday!”
“I have a sixth sense about these things.”
“That’s your stomach speaking.”
Wolf held up his hands in mock surrender and Scarlet kissed his cheek before disappearing inside.
Just about to follow, Wolf paused cocking his head as he heard running footsteps. He was already turned when all three children burst out of the tree line. Squinting, he saw that Anabella was carrying something. A hawk. Red tailed by the look of it.
She halted right in front of him, took a deep breath, and held out her armful of feathers to him.
“Fix it, Papa.”
The End.