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"Micinksi, what have you done to yourself this time?" Rains Fall asked tiredly, watching as Paytah helped his son limp - more like hop - up the path to the chief's thípi. One of Eagle Flies' arms was slung around his friend's shoulders, Paytah's arm around his waist, and his right foot, which was visibly swollen and bruised even past the top of his moccasin, was held a few inches above the ground while the left bore all of his weight.
"It's nothing. Just twisted it a little while I was out in the woods." He tried to sound casual, but his words were belied by the grimace on his face.
"Somehow I'm sure that is not the full story." Rains Fall held the flap open, allowing the two young men entry, and helped Paytah lower him onto one of the thick buffalo hides that made up the floor of the dwelling. "Shoes off," he instructed, turning around to rummage through a small basket of medical supplies in the far corner. "I need to see how bad it is."
"Here, let me," Paytah said quietly. He slipped the buckskin shoe off as delicately as he could, but even so Eagle Flies still winced, biting his lip to hold back a noise of pain. "Sorry."
"No need," Eagle Flies assured him with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Would've hurt no matter who did it." Rains Fall knelt down in front of him, and he hissed as his father cupped his heel in his palm, turning his foot to one side and then the other.
"There is a good pulse, at least... not cold..." he muttered to himself while he examined the swollen limb. He ran his fingertips over a few different points on the top and the sole, pressing gently and gauging Eagle Flies's reaction. "Can you feel this? And this?"
"Yeah, I can feel it fine - owowow stop stop!" he gasped out, tensing from head to toe when the pressure reached the left side of his ankle.
Rains Fall's brow furrowed as he pulled his hand back, looking carefully at that particular spot. "It hurts the worst right there?"
"Yes," Eagle Flies gritted out. "Felt like a knife going in." Paytah and Rains Fall exchanged knowing looks over the top of his head, which didn't go unnoticed. "I broke it, didn't I?" he asked resignedly.
"It appears so," the older man answered, "I felt something shift when I pressed on it."
"Wonderful." He leaned back against Paytah's chest, closing his eyes. "This is going to hurt, isn't it." It wasn't a question.
Paytah laughed, laying his chin on top of Eagle Flies's head and taking his hand, lacing their fingers together. "Y'know, for such a 'mighty warrior,' you sure do whine a lot. You'll be fine. It can't hurt nearly as much as breaking it in the first place; at least setting it won't require falling out of a tree."
Eagle Flies winced as Rains Fall's eyebrows nearly jumped up into his hairline. Damn it, Paytah...
"Falling out of a tree? What in the world were you doing to fall out of a tree, Wanbli Kinyan?" He shook his head, a long-suffering sigh escaping his lips. "Never mind. I'm not sure I want to know."
"I didn't just decide to go up there for the sake of it," Eagle Flies huffed indignantly, nearly rolling his eyes before he remembered who he was talking to and thought better of it. "I was - ow - helping Chumani's son Chaytan get - mmph! - down."
His hand clenched unconsciously around Paytah's, who tightened his grip slightly in return, while Rains Fall straightened out his foot as carefully as he could and rested it on his thigh. "He went up there with his friends, but they -" He stopped short, inhaling through his teeth with a hiss. "They left him there when he was too afraid to come down after them. We heard him calling for help from the branches, so I went up to fetch him."
"I told you, you should've let me do it," Paytah muttered. "You've always been a terrible climber."
This time he did roll his eyes. "Shut up," he grumbled, elbowing Paytah in the sternum hard enough to earn a quiet "oof!"
"Is Chaytan alright, at least?" Rains Fall asked, stopping their bickering before it could begin. "Was he hurt in the fall?"
"No, Magazu Hinhpayakta," Paytah answered immediately, rubbing his chest with a wince. "He was scared, but Wanbli Kinyan landed on his feet and then rolled onto his back. The boy never even touched the ground until we stood him back up."
A faint smile crossed the elder man's lips, and he looked at his son with something like pride. "I wish you would not put yourself at risk so casually," he said slowly, positioning his hands on the toe and heel of Eagle Flies's foot. "But you did a good thing, so I suppose I can't scold you too much."
"That's never stopped you bef- aaaiiiiii!" he shrieked, as Rains Fall suddenly gave his ankle a sudden, sharp twist that had the bones shifting back into place with an audible crunch.
"Can'te ma'sica, micinksi," he murmured apologetically, holding his leg steady so his careful work wasn't undone. "Oniya..."
"To- ... Toka sni..." Eagle Flies forced out, doing his best to breathe like he was told. "But you could've... warned me..."
His father shook his head, already beginning to wind strips of bandage around the injured limb while he spoke. "You would've tensed up if I had, and it would have hurt worse."
He couldn't really argue with that, so he just sighed again, trying to hold still while the bandaging was finished. Paytah's hand never left his. After a while, Eagle Flies gave it another gentle squeeze, a silent way of saying, "I'm okay."
Paytah didn't speak, but the pad of his thumb traced back and forth over the tiny peaks of Eagle Flies's knuckles. "I know."
"You must keep this foot still," Rains Fall instructed, once the bandages were fully wrapped and tied off. "The bones will not set properly unless you give them time to knit back together. That means no walking on your own, for any reason, unless you want to spend the rest of your life moving sideways like a crab. Do you understand me?"
Eagle Flies sighed, resigned to his fate. He was going to go stir-crazy these next few weeks, he just knew it. "Yes, Até, I understand."
"Good." He packed his supplies away, then stood to make his way to the entrance of the thípi. "I'm going to make my rounds now, and check on young Chaytan. His friends also need a talking-to, while I'm at it. Paytah, please take care of my brave but foolish boy while I'm gone, and make sure that he actually rests." He gave Eagle Flies a pointed look.
Paytah snickered, ignoring the indignant glare the younger man sent him. "Yes, sir. I'll see to it."
Rains Fall spared one last glance between the two of them, his eyes flicking between their faces and their still-joined hands, and a tiny smirk pulled up one corner of his lips. "Good."
They waited a moment, watching him depart. As soon as he was gone, Eagle Flies groaned dramatically. "Crap, I think he knows."
Paytah snorted, raising an eyebrow. "No, really?" he asked, finally letting go of his hand in order to carefully lift his injured leg into his lap. "How could he have guessed, when we were being so subtle?"
"Asshole." He smacked Paytah's shoulder, flopping down onto his back with a loud sigh. The fur of the buffalo hide beneath him was soft and warm, and made him feel sleepy. "Thanks for helping me get home, by the way. Not sure how I would've managed it without you. And... y'know. For helping me keep it together while he set it."
"Of course," Paytah said softly, giving his knee a gentle pat. "Someone's got to be there to pick you up every time you throw yourself headlong into danger. But next time, maybe don't do it quite so literally?"
"I didn't throw myself into danger, the branch -" he started to argue, before deciding it wasn't worth it. "Whatever. Either way, thank you."
"You're welcome, you silly fool. Thechíhíla."
He felt himself flush, but he still smiled, taking Paytah's hand in his once more and pressing a gentle kiss to his knuckles. "Thechíhíla."