Chapter 27: Midnight Panther
The Midnight Panther lay on the ground limply. It had several scrapes, bumps, and gashes on its head and forehead as well as on its front legs. The Roaring Boar had managed to give it a proper beating during the few steps it took to reach the tentacle's range.
Nick couldn't just leave it like that. He couldn't do anything if it got a brainbleed, but he could tend to the wounds on the surface. He went inside and retrieved a bowl of warm water, a bundle of towels, and some rubbing alcohol.
However, the Midnight Panther wasn't completely unconscious. It started moving when Nick got close. It managed to raise its head and growl at him. If Nick so much as tried to put his hand close to the panther's head, he would lose it.
Nick frowned. That made helping the panther a lot more difficult.
"Hey, I don't mean you any ill. I just want to help you, alright?" He said in a gentle tone. In response, the panther hissed threateningly at him. It shifted its body slightly in preparation for an attempt to get up.
"Alright, alright, I'll back off. But don't get up. You don't want your injuries to worsen." Nick wasn't sure if the panther understood him, but it stopped moving when he backed away a couple of steps. It was still glaring at him with blood dripping from its face, though. As soon as he shifted his feet forward, its lips rose in a growling hiss.
Nick sighed.
The panther needed to rest, so continuing to provoke it into moving and staying on alert wasn't good for it. But those injuries weren't something a nap could cure. There was a lot of dirt in them. Even if the panther survived the concussion and cerebral haemorrhage, its wounds would get infected. An infection that close to its brain and eyes would be fatal, maybe not instantly, but the Midnight Panther didn't look like it would survive.
Nick feared the worst.