Day 79-82: Recovery

Jess and Gon arrived that night, carrying a dead rabbit each in their jaws. Mei didn’t recognise them. Gabu ate them hungrily.

In the morning, Gabu tried walking around again. After some practice, he perfected a half-hop-half-limp that avoided putting too much pressure on his injured leg. Mei protested at first, but Gabu insisted. “How am I supposed to heal without fresh air and exercise?”

Again, Mei stayed away from Philosophy Day.

The next night, Jess and Gon appeared twice, once with a dead squirrel each and once with a raccoon. Neither Gabu nor Mei knew any raccoons personally, so they felt less bad about Gabu eating one—until they realised they felt that way, that is, after which they felt worse.

On the free day, Gabu insisted on both of them visiting Waku Waku Hill again. Since it would take Gabu a large part of the day to get there, they decided to spend the night. As they passed through the forest, Gabu called out for someone to let Greta, Jess and Gon know they were heading south into the hills.

“Won’t Jess and Gon need to know which hill to bring food to?” Mei asked.

“They’ll figure it out,” Gabu said.

Mei had forgotten how beautiful the sunset was from Waku Waku Hill. As for the moon, it was now three quarters full. “Four days left,” Gabu told Mei when he asked; he’d been keeping careful track.

When Jess and Gon arrived to deliver Gabu’s nightly meal (three voles), they found the two of them curled up asleep together near the edge of the plateau. “You should really be more careful around cliffs,” Jess said as they awoke.

“Mei knows cliffs better than anyone,” Gabu said. “He wouldn’t let anything happen, even when we’re asleep.” Mei appreciated the sentiment but wasn’t sure the confidence was well placed. Jess and Gon’s experience with cliffs wasn’t to be dismissed either.

Since they’d come all this way, Jess and Gon decided to spend the night there as well. Gabu and Mei didn’t mind; they’d already made good use of the time spent alone.

When they all awoke, Gabu showed Jess and Gon the berries he liked so much.

“Huh,” Jess said, “I didn’t know there were blueberries growing around here. I haven’t had them in months.”

“Blueberries—is that what they’re called?” Gabu asked.

“It’s what we called them on Gara Gara Mountain,” Gon said, eating a large mouthful of them. “You’re telling me your pack never had a name for them?”

“We never had them back home.”

“Speaking of back home,” Mei said, “we should be getting back in time for Anything Day.”

“We’ve been meaning to stick around for that one of these days,” Jess said. “It sounds like fun.”

“You’re going to love it,” Gabu said.

When they arrived back in the meadow outside Moonrise Hill, the crowd had already gathered for Anything Day. Tanya introduced herself to Jess and Gon and explained how the day worked.

Before they discussed what today’s activities would be, Takkan had an announcement to make, and he dragged Gabu, Mei, Jess and Gon to the centre of the crowd in order to make it.

“Ladies and gentlefolk, the final performance of our musical theatre production One Stormy Night will take place three days hence from noon until sunset. That’s Philosophy Day, or the day preceding the full moon’s night, for those who keep track of such things. The musical will tell the tragic and wonderful tale of Gabu and Mei’s escape from persecution to live among us here in the Emerald Forest. The leading roles will be played by the gorgeous and talented Jess and Gon. Interested persons should assemble at this very spot just before noon in three days’ time. Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful Anything Day!”

“Told you he keeps calling us ‘gorgeous,’” Gon muttered, but smiled wryly all the same.

“Thank you, Takkan,” Tanya said. “I’m sure we’ll all be there. Now, who has a suggestion for today’s activity?”

The consensus ended up being storytelling. Jess and Gon were especially popular for this, since they had dozens of stories that no one had heard before from their time in a wolf pack other than Gabu’s. Gabu and Mei, too, were fascinated to hear what it had been like.

After Anything Day was over, they didn’t see Jess and Gon again until that night, when they arrived carrying a rat and a chipmunk. “It won’t be long before you’ll be hunting for yourself again,” Jess said.

“I hope so. Thanks for doing this in the meantime,” Gabu said as he accepted the meal.

Gabu and Mei spent the free day walking around the forest, catching up with people they hadn’t seen in a while. Gabu’s leg continued to get better, and his mood was considerably improved as a result.

“It’s kind of like learning to fly,” Gabu said. “You start out having to hop to go even the shortest distances, then you can go a little way before you need to rest, and after that, it’s just a matter of going further and further until you have to stop.”

“Just make sure you don’t make it worse by pushing yourself too hard,” Mei said.

“I know. But Mii says I’ve got to regain the muscle strength, and walking is the best thing for that.”

Mei relented. It was nice to be spending time with Gabu outside the cave, after all.