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Counting on Radagast to be in Rhosgobel was a frail hope, but it was all that Frida had.
Sage had fallen ill and since Avina’s attempts to help the rabbit had been in vain, Radagast was her only hope. She’d borrowed Hild’s horse and traveled as quickly as she could to Rhosgobel, praying all the while that the wizard could do something to help Sage.
“Oh thanks be, you’re here,” she said as she rushed towards the wizard, taking the rabbit out of the sling she’d used to carry them. “Sage is ill—they haven’t been eating or drinking and whenever they sit, they get up a few moments later to move, as if they’re uncomfortable,” she said.
Radagast looked up, his brow furrowing as he saw the rabbit. “Sage?” he said, looking at the rabbit. “Yes, I remember Sage. They had kits with one of the Rhosgobels—Barley, it was.”
Frida nodded eagerly, glad that Radagast remembered the rabbit. “My sister’s a healer and she tried her best to help, but she’s used to curing humans, not rabbits,” she said as she placed Sage on the table before him. “Can you help Sage?”
Radagast set aside his pipe and looked at Sage, reaching out to touch their side. Sage sat on the table, drawing their feet beneath them as Radagast felt their sides and hindquarters. As soon as he was done, however, Sage got up, hopped a few inches, and sat back down.
“Hmm, just as I thought,” Radagast murmured. “Sage has a stasis—some sort of block in their stomach that makes it difficult to impossible for anything to go in or out. Not terribly uncommon in rabbits: they have a tendency to eat things they shouldn’t, but it becomes a problem if they can’t pass whatever they eat in their stools.”
Frida sighed in relief. She was glad that this wasn’t a rare disease and hoped that the cure was as common as the ailment. “Can anything be done for them?” she asked tearfully. “Please—my sister found them abandoned as a kit and they have no family but me. If you can save Sage, I’ll pay any price you ask.”
Radagast blinked in surprise. “Price?” he said. “Oh, there’s no price—tis an ailment I cure often enough.”
He turned his attention to Sage, gently stroking the rabbit’s head as he spoke to them. “Just wait a moment, Sage—I have something to cure you. Stay right where you are.”
Sage heeded his instruction, waiting patiently as Radagast rushed off into a corner of his hut, muttering to himself as he perused the shelves.
Frida reached out to stroke Sage’s face. “There now, darling,” she murmured. “He’s going to help and you’re going to be all better.”
Sage’s head lowered as Frida stroked it, the familiar touch bringing comfort to the rabbit. They shifted slightly, clearly still uncomfortable from the stasis, just moments before Radagast returned with a small bottle.
“This might not be pleasant,” he told Sage, “but it’ll help.”
He filled a small dropper with fluid and put it to Sage’s mouth, stroking them and murmuring words of comfort until he could feed them the medicine. The wizard’s presence seemed to comfort Sage, as they remained still until he’d finished administering the dosage.
“There now,” he said. “Now we just need to wait to make sure you’re able to eat and pass stools before you and your mother can go home.”
He turned his attention to Frida. “Sage’s mother,” he addressed her, “would you get some hay and water for Sage? They’ll want it as soon as the medicine starts to work. You’ll find some of both outside.”
Frida nodded, not bothering to ask where exactly the hay was—she knew enough about Radagast to know that he wasn’t the best with details. “Is there anything else you need help with?” she asked.
“Would you get some hay for the Rhosgobel rabbits as well?” he asked. “They’ll be jealous if they see you getting hay that’s not for them.”
“Of course,” Frida said as she started towards the door.
Radagast’s voice stopped her before she left. “Oh, and get some water for the mare you rode in on while you’re at it,” he said. “She’s terribly thirsty.”
“Oh dear,” Frida murmured under her breath—in her haste to get Sage to Radagast, she’d forgotten to get water for the horse. “Thank you, sir!” she called as she rushed out to tend to the animals.
Once she was gone, Radagast returned his attention to Sage. “She may not be your species,” he said, “but she’s a good mother all the same.”