Pour it
She weighed the decision, as she had for most of this, with care. On the one hand, she didn’t even know if the potion would work as it was advertised, yet, on the other hand, she didn’t have the luxury of trying to get to the city and find an actual first aid kit to buy and use. What struck her as off, though, was the fact the directions worked for drinking or pouring onto the wound.
‘What the hell kind of tonic can be both?’ she wondered.
She didn’t dare see what was really inside the potion, since, well, logic made it harder for her to believe a potion could work both ways. Still, she supposed it still ended up in the same area… sort of.
Kris made her decision. She undid her bloody jacket from the woman’s leg - grimacing at how messy it was, and doubting she’d be able to get it clean anytime soon - and tossed it aside. Then, she undid the potion’s lid.
Curiosity got the best of her, and she brought it to her nose for a quick sniff, only to recoil at the odor that slammed into her nostrils.
“Jesus, that stinks,” Kris muttered. “Gross.”
She hoped the nasty-smelling stuff would help, though, and proceeded to pour it down onto the cat woman’s injured leg. She angled it close, ensuring she got it in the wounds. The woman gave a loud hiss - Kris figured that meant she was getting the stuff where it needed to go, at least. Yet Kris stopped before she’d emptied the potion bottle. She checked to make sure she got most of it into the bleeding wounds, giving the leg a brisk once over to double check.
‘Looks like I did,’ she thought. She then used what was left and dabbed it onto the woman’s injured arm. Inside, she felt a little swell of pride. ‘See, I’m resourceful enough to make use of it for two spots that were hurting. I hope.’
With little else to do, she discarded the empty potion bottle.
She sat down, pulling her cell phone from her pocket. She checked first to see the battery level - 90%, thankfully - and the bars she had. Enough where she made sure to send text messages to her mom and her friends again, and her dad, too. She waited till they were confirmed to be sent, smiled a little, and put her phone away.
A cool breeze brushed past her. She sighed to herself. While she sat there, Kris took in the woman’s features now that she was closer to see better.
The woman had short, pixie-length black hair that was a little messy and choppy, like she’d cut it herself - or at least, that’s what Kris imagined was the reason. Her features were, like she’d thought she’d seen before, ‘normal,’ but with an obvious feline edge to it. Her skin seemed to be fur, an golden yellowish colored fur that was darker at the face, the neck, the arms, with white fur and those deep black spots all over. Kris couldn’t tell if this woman was trying to be Cheetara, or, if she was aiming to be a jaguar. One or the other.
‘She must’ve really had extensive surgery,’ Kris thought. She was impressed, even if still fairly weirded out about it.
She was, at least, wearing clothes. A short sleeveless cropped top that seemed to be made of… fur? Leather? Or both, it could be, that left her muscled arms and muscled stomach exposed, along with a pair of leather pants - though the pants were torn quite a bit, especially at the right leg where she’d been caught in the ropes - and boots, of all things.
It was an odd combination, Kris felt. Fairly normal clothes, yet she looked like she was going to a Halloween party.
Even so, Kris wondered what to do with herself next. The strange woman was unconscious and would likely wake up - and then… what? Kris didn’t expect a ‘thank you’ or anything, and, the longer she stayed, the later it would get, and the last thing she wanted was to be in the forest when it got too dark.
She felt a little antsy and began mulling it over.
‘Well,’ she thought. ‘I could just go. I’m sure she’ll be okay. I hope. I mean, it’s hard to tell with that stinky potion thing, but…’
Her lips pursed. Kris had to weigh whether or not she should go now and hope the cat woman would be okay alone, or, wait for her to wake up and chance it being later in the day. She had her phone on hand, yes, but, no jacket, and, there was no telling what else could happen if she ventured back at night.
But she had to decide.
Written by Hollowpages on 10 February 2020
