The pudgy doctor pushed her way past a few other doctors that dared to be in the hallway. "Top priority," she hissed as she went, and they cowered away.
Silver watched the others, one unicorn, a cat, and a dog. It seemed, even round and pleasant, a jackal was a jackal, and could command space and respect. He kept pace with her and moved past her only when she waved him into a small room. There was an obvious table for a patient, and he wrapped his magic gently around Nefertari. "There?" he asked even as he lifted her with the utmost care.
"These are about the only times I'm specifically glad for unicorn magic." She closed the door and looked to Silver with a smile. "Yes, right there, put her down nice and evenly. Let's have a look at her." She stepped forward on her plump legs, spritely in movement despite it. "Mmm." She began grabbing things from shelves. "The bleeding is the first priority. You may wish to wait outside."
He could do that, or... He focused his magic upon his downed wife even as the nurse pulled the stained clothing free. He brought his grip tighter around where the blood was escaping, conforming to Nefertari's shape precisely with an intense stare. His magic was serving as a makeshift bandage, waiting for the real thing to do its job.
"I'll need you to pull them back as I get to each wound, but I appreciate the effort." She pulled a stool-like chair over with a rough yank and sat down. "Let's get to work." Her eyes lifted from Nefer to Silver. "I'm Doctor Running Paw. You are Prince Silver Watch." She pointed at a wound and waited for his magic to recede from it. "And today, I will be applying stitches to your wife. Have you ever seen a stitching?"
As it turned out, Silver hadn't, and cringed when needle touched flesh. "I had them, once." He glanced away a moment. "I cut my ear when I was just a b--foal. I wasn't even sure at the time I needed them, but the doctor insisted, so I got them."
"Good to hear you're not entirely new to the idea." She leaned in as she worked, working her agile and gloved hands quickly to bring thread across the wound, pulling the two sides close together. "This will be slow work, but good things don't come fast." As she labored, her ear swiveled towards Silver. "Since you have nothing else to do, tell me how she became your wife. I know the official story."
Silver tapped a hoof on the ground, making soft noises against the tile. The room smelled of the blood of his wife, and the cleaning solutions that tickled at his nose. He could hear other patients and doctors speaking faintly elsewhere in the building. "Well... Would you believe I met her first in a dream?"
She did not reply, not at first. She finished the work on that particular wound, sat up, and stared at Silver. "Many a male has tried that line on many a female. Rarely does it work on its own. Did you also see me in one of your dreams?"
Silver's ears pinned against his head. "No insult intended, but no." He didn't even know jackals had doctors, but it was nice to know they did. "I met the Anubites there though, as a people, and she was a shaman there."
"A deeply fated union then." She indicated the next cut and began as soon as magic wasn't in the way. "The spirits whispered her into your head, preparing you for this eventuality, or so some would say." She sucked air through her teeth, ending with a pop as her tongue hit the top of her mouth. "I don't put too much stock into it, though here you are, proving me false. Was it 'love at first sight' when you saw her in the waking world then?"
"Not... so much." Silver squirmed faintly before stilling himself. He was a prince. It would not do to look like an uncomfortable child. "We began as rivals, enemies even. She has worked against me and my family at times."
"And yet...?"
Silver raised a hoof, bottomside up. "And yet, we are wed, and still I work to... It's complicated."
"Life tends to be." She moved to the next largest site of injury. "Still, to be wed to a shaman... Most males would give much for such an honor, but I don't hear it in your voice. I would be trembling for what is given to me here, but that would be bad for her."
There was no movement, but Nefertari was suddenly holding Running's right wrist. "That is enough," she grunted out, her eyes open.
Running started with surprise. "O-oh! I thought you'd be, well, welcome back, honored shaman." She dipped her head at her patient. "You're still very hurt. May I proceed?"
"You may not." Nefertari pushed her way to sitting upright in what had to be a painful motion, but she showed none of it. "I will live, and that is all I need."
Silver quirked a brow at his wife, as lovely and stubborn she was. "You realize you're only not bleeding everywhere because I'm holding it in at the moment, right?"
Nefertari looked down at herself and saw the silvery patches that dotted her form. "I... see."
"With your consent," spoke Running as she stood. "I would gently--"
"There is no need." Nefertari slowly laid back down. "Proceed."
"But... you're still awake." The doubt in her voice was palpable.
"And so I will remain. The pain will remind me to not allow this to happen again. Proceed."
"As you wish..." Running sank back into her seat. "It is an honor to serve you, shaman." She resumed the slow task of stitching Nefertari's flesh. "This will also help minimize scars that might form if you simply endured. You are Nefertari, are you not? It would be a shame for you to become disfigured."
Though Nefertari did not reply save for remaining stoic in the face of the pain, Silver leaned forward a little. "Does Nefertari mean something?"
"Mm? Yes, of course." running nodded her head. "Most names do, even if their bearers are unaware of them. I am named because I like to run across the sands, even if I am a doctor." The pudgy doctor smiled as she worked. "Nefertari is a beautiful companion. She has fulfilled the latter, and I will safeguard the former."
Silver's ears pinned back. His wife was called 'pretty wife'? That was far from the image he had for her, as a striking and deadly female of determination and skill. Would people think he gave her that name, in some immature way of saying 'I got the good one?' He shook his head with a growing frown. "Is there tradition behind the name?"
"That one?" She kept moving on, but arrived at Nefer's shoulder. "I had been putting this off. I will have to be more thorough here..." She got to work, mending the broken flesh as best she could. "But... yes... Nefertari is not a name granted lightly. To do so without blessings from the spirits, the traditionalists say, is to invite disaster. She had that name before leaving to Equestria, I know that."
Silver sagged with relief. He wouldn't be known as someone that gauche. "She is my Nefertari, and I love her. Please... help her as best you can."
"As if I need reminding of my duty." She rolled her eyes in a sharp and fast motion, needing her attention on the injury. "I am not a traditionalist, I will note. I don't believe in... many of the old ways. I'm not even a warrior. I'm a doctor, and proud of the fact." She sat back a moment. "If I were this torn, I wouldn't even dream of asking them not to sedate me. This must hurt terribly."
"I will manage," grunted Nefertari. "Not a warrior... These are dark times, where a shaman must be tended by one that discards their warrior roots."
"I am ready," countered Running as she resumed her work. "I am ready to join a new age; one that you are making, shaman." Her eyes raised a moment towards Silver. "Is it true? Is there a home for us in Equestria? To live among the peaceful ponies and save lives there seems as a dream to me."
Silver glanced towards Nefertari, but there was only stoicism to read on that face. "I think there is. I would welcome any jackal that came with peaceful intention. I mean, we've only just met, but you seem like a lovely person."
Her cheeks darkened. "They say you have a tongue that matches your name, Silver. You have bent angry demons to your side. Are you seducing me?"
Silver started at that. "W-what? I was... I'm just saying what I see. Is a compliment that rare?"
Running grunted softly as she moved away from the shoulder and began working down Nefertari's form. "He must drive you to distraction, honored shaman. Does he truly have such an innocent outlook? To answer your question, yes... Most fear us, or respect us. Few speak of how nice or 'lovely' we are."
"Then they are blind." Silver closed his eyes, still focusing on keeping his magic in place. He was getting a growing headache from the constant effort. At least each wound she approached was just a little less pressure. "You're just that."
"Just what?"
"Pretty."
There was an uneasy silence, then a sharp pain in his chin. He snapped his eyes open and found Nefertari grasping his snout roughly, her claws pressing into him.
Running shook her head. "You have offended your wife, calling another pretty. Do you seek to grow your harem?"
Silver could not speak, his mouth held shut. Nefertari did it for him, "He has a fetish for females on two legs, which you happen to be. He also likes breasts, which you have in abundance, my overweight doctor."
Running's blush grew intensely as she shrunk in place. "W-why would... A pony? I mean..."
"He has unusual tastes, but easy to predict." Her eyes were on him, staring, daring him to argue any of her points. "But he is mine. If you want him, you must pass through me first."
Running recoiled at the very idea. "I would never think... Shaman, I may not be a warrior, but I am not without morality." She pointed at her patient. "You are a shaman, and I respect that."
Nefertari's grip on Silver's snout slackened, and her hand fell away, thumping against the side of the table limply. Whatever burst of strength she had was gone. "Proceed."
Silver watched in uneasy silence for a time, perhaps a few minutes before he allowed words to slip free, "I only spoke the truth, Nefer. I can admire a painting's beauty without wanting to take it from where it rests." He quirked a smile. "It may be hard to imagine, but I lived most of my life assuming no female would have a use for me."
Running stood up. "You are..." She put a gloved hand down on Nefertari's belly. "You will heal. You may call on your spirits, if you wish."
Silver released his grip, not even sure anymore what parts of Nefertari he still held. The headache moved, somehow becoming both deeper but lighter. The building pressure abated. "Thank god."
Nefertari pushed up to sitting. "I will learn what god you invoke so easily, and never with a name. Do you have any faith?" She threw her legs over the side of the table and slid to her feet, wobbling faintly. "Thank you, Doctor. You have served me well. What do we owe for this service?"
Running held up a hand, palm facing the two of them. "I would not accept a single coin for this. Shaman, Prince, please never need to come to me in such a state. I do not know what led you to this, but I would not wish it to happen again."