But even a tame bird could become incoherent if badly upset, and something had upset the owner of the new voice she suddenly heard in her head. :No! ... sharp ... hard ... hurt!: Maja set down her tools and headed toward the voice, meeting the novice who had been sent to fetch her on the way.

He led her to the infirmary, where Sara, a young Healer Trainee, was attempting to hold a finch in one place so she could Heal it. Maja couldn't see the full extent of its injuries from the doorway, but she could see a miniature dagger stuck in one wing. The bird, which was a combination of colors (gold, purple, red, and blue) not commonly found together in nature, thrashed about mindlessly, and the confusion was made worse by a girl of about ten who was sobbing hysterically. She was being restrained by a man who was probably her brother; the resemblance was strong, but he didn't look old enough to be her father. He also looked extremely annoyed.

"Maja!" Sara looked up in relief. "Can you get through to the bird? I can't do anything to help it if it won't hold still!"

"May I suggest that we start by clearing the room?"

The young man scowled at Maja. "I'm not leaving without my dagger."

"You'll get it back much faster if you wait for it outside," Maja said calmly. "The sooner the room is quiet, the sooner we can remove it from the bird's wing."

He promptly left, dragging his sister with him. By the hair.

Once the door had been closed and the girl's crying was at least muffled, Maja moved to stand at the shoulder of the Healer Trainee and mentally reached out to the bird. :Be still, little one.: The bird stopped thrashing, looked at her, and cocked its head, obviously trying to puzzle out what sort of bird Maja was. She held the link with it while Sara removed the dagger and worked her Gift on the wing. Now that the bird had stopped fighting, it didn't take long.

"All done," Sara said with relief, placing the bird gently in a cage at the side of the room. "It was a lucky hit--"

"It must have been well-nigh miraculous to hit a moving target that small!"

"No, I meant lucky from the bird's point of view. It didn't hit anything vital, nothing broke, and the wing should heal cleanly with no loss of flying ability."

"That's good news." Maja picked up the dagger and studied its jeweled hilt, frowning. "I'll return this to its owner, shall I?"

Sara sighed. "I wish I could confiscate it."

"I sympathize, but I don't think you have grounds for that," Maja pointed out. "But we can keep the bird, at least for a while, if you express enough concern for its recovery."

That got a grim nod in reply. "That, I can do."