After a moment’s hesitation he held out the paw to Lusa, who unwrapped the leaves, feeling slightly worried about what she was going to see. Yakone winced, and started to draw his paw back, as if he was worried, too, then stopped and let Lusa finish.

But this time the bad smell had gone, leaving only the sharp tang of the green sticky stuff. The wound had closed up and looked clean and pale.

“The flat-face herbs worked!” Lusa breathed.

“I told Yakone what you did for him,” Kallik said.

“Yeah, thanks for that.” Yakone dipped his head toward Lusa. “You were really brave.”

Lusa shrugged, feeling hot with embarrassment. “I had to try everything I could to make you better,” she told Yakone. “I couldn’t have done it without Ujurak.”

“I’ll thank him, too, the next time I see him,” Yakone promised. “If I recognize him!” His gaze flicked to his injured paw and he held it up, examining it with a look of horror in his eyes. “I didn’t realize how much of my paw I lost in the trap,” he said.

“It’s not so bad,” Kallik assured him, brushing against him comfortingly.

“But I’m missing two toes!” Yakone hunched his shoulders. “How am I going to cope without them?”

“You should be glad that you’re alive!” Kallik told him; Lusa could see that her instinct to comfort Yakone was giving way to frustration. “We defended you against coyotes and wolves, Lusa risked her life going among flat-faces, and you’re upset about a couple of toes?”

Yakone met her gaze and heaved a deep sigh. “But how can I hunt with only half a paw?”

“You haven’t even tried yet,” Lusa pointed out. “Come on, Yakone, stand up and start walking.”

Yakone shook his head. “I’m too tired,” he said. “Maybe I’ll try tomorrow.”

Lusa opened her jaws to encourage him, then closed them again. He’s been so sick; it’s bound to take him time to recover.

But on the following day Yakone still wouldn’t venture out of the den. “I feel too shaky,” he said. “I need a day or two to build up my strength.”

“But he won’t build up his strength if he doesn’t move,” Lusa told Toklo as they shared a squirrel under the tree outside the den. “Somehow he just doesn’t want to.”

Toklo shook his head, baffled. “That doesn’t make sense! He isn’t sick anymore, so he must be dying to go hunting.”

“I know.” Lusa was just as puzzled by Yakone’s strange behavior. “He’s always been brave and strong. So why won’t he try walking?”

“It beats me,” Toklo confessed, crunching up the last mouthful of squirrel. “But we can’t hang around here forever. Sooner or later, Yakone has to—”