The rest of the gathering was uneventful. Enzo found a few more mushrooms, some wild onions, and scallions, but the tribe already had them. He didn’t waste time after they finished gathering.
He ran to his hut, placed some things into the hut visibly, and threw the others into the space. He would need to check the space later and see the difference between the mushroom he picked earlier and the other items.
Grabbing some fruit to eat on the way, he went to Gato’s hut. He called out and was told to go in.
Inside, Gato was setting out herbs to dry. He looked over at Enzo when he walked in. He glanced at the person on the bed, half expecting him to still be in a coma. He wasn’t.
When Enzo looked over, he met a pair of golden eyes that made him gasp. They were sharp and wild. He stopped moving as those golden eyes stared at him. He felt he was being stared at by a wild animal.
But he couldn’t bring himself to look away. The rest of his body was still dirty, but the wound had scabbed over, which made Enzo marvel.
A wound like that being healed in just a day was unheard of. He wondered what type of medical skills Gato had or what herbs he used to make him heal so quickly.
Only when he looked away did Enzo release a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
"Gato," he said, turning towards the older man, "I’m back."
He grunted, then spoke to Enzo, "Come take a look at these."
Enzo turned away from the man with the beautiful golden eyes and walked over to Gato. Gato handed him some herbs.
"Spread these on the fur over there."
Enzo was confused. Did Gato call him here to help work? He didn’t think so, but he didn’t ask questions. Instead, he used his plant appraisal ability to see if he could see anything from plants that had already been dug up.
He walked away, touching each plant. A small smile curled at the corner of his mouth when he saw the screen. The plant he touched was a simple hemostatic.
Touching them one by one, he figured out what each plant did, and surprisingly, he remembered their properties. It was not to the point of having photographic memory, but he could identify them.
When he finished, Gato said, "From today onwards, whenever you finish gathering, you come to me."
Enzo looked into the man’s eyes. Understanding dawned on him; still, he asked.
"Gato, what exactly do you need me to do? If you need help sorting your herbs, I’m sure some more experienced people can help you."
Gato waved his hand. "Knowing herbs is different than dealing with them and knowing medicine. Though I am not sure where your knowledge comes from, I have a feeling that you’ll give me a surprise."
Enzo saw Gato’s eyes flash with something he couldn’t quite name. Surprised by the comment, Enzo wanted to respond, but thought against it.
Gato saw he didn’t say anything and changed the subject.
"Would you like to check on his leg?"
Enzo knew who he was referring to. He looked over at the beastman who had once again closed his eyes.
Both of them walked over.
"I’m going to check your leg," Gato said. "I want you to try moving it."
Before Enzo could say anything, the man moved his leg. Seeing this, Enzo moved forward and stretched his hand out. His warm hand touched the beastman’s leg, and the beastman froze.
His golden eyes snapped open, and he stared at Enzo.
Enzo realized his action was too abrupt. He coughed and removed his hand.
"Sorry," he murmured. "But you shouldn’t move your leg until it’s healed."
Golden eyes turned from Enzo to Gato. Gato smiled amicably. "The leg is already healed."
Enzo thought he didn’t hear correctly. He said, "What?"
"The leg had already healed," Gato repeated.
Enzo felt his ears buzzing; he looked at Gato suspiciously. There was no way someone could heal a broken leg in a day or two.
Seeing his disbelief, Gato continued, "Males heal relatively quickly. The reason we never had the treatment for legs you gave me was because by the time males receive treatment, the bone had already grown crooked.
It was the same for his leg. The bone had already begun fusing, but it hadn’t finished, so I severed the mild fusion and set it according to your method. Surprisingly, it worked."
Gato smiled at him, heartily and gleefully.
Enzo ignored the fact that he had just admitted to breaking the beastman’s bone again and focused on the recovery capability.
"Then what about the wound on his back?"
Gato waved a hand dismissively. "The wound was deep; it would have been difficult for it to stop in a short time. But your method of pressing worked as well. It stopped the large blood flow and gave me time to put the herb salve on the wound. It healed by itself after that."
Once again, Enzo was left speechless. Golden eyes watched the interaction and said nothing.
Unbeknownst to both Gato and Enzo, although Golden Eyes appeared indifferent to their conversation, he was listening intently; even more so, he found he couldn’t stop looking at Enzo.
The small frame wasn’t attractive, but there was a smell on him that attracted him to Enzo. He knew it was the sub-beast’s own scent. And to Golden Eyes, it was the first time he reacted so strongly to a female’s scent.
He didn’t say anything. He heard Gato mention that Enzo would be coming back. During the time he was resting, he would take the time to find out whether Enzo had a partner yet, though judging from his stature, he was still a cub, so he didn’t have much to worry about.
Even if Enzo did have a partner, he could prove his worth. He would defeat as many as possible to get him.