ORIGIN - everything stays

The cool, misty air brought with it an impending sense of inescapable pressure. Rain must have been on its way to paint the grasses and leaves of the ethereal Cepheus with fresh dew. Once, Hunter had been excited by the idea of rain. He still was, in some ways-- it didn't rain very often in the caves. It was still exciting, nouveau even! But...

Hunter grimaced as he finally saw his family's home in the distance. He still had a long way to drag his tired body before he could crash, and judging by the atmospheric pressure, he wasn't going to get any good rest. Still, at least if he was home he could probably get his dad or siblings to bring him something to eat.

He SHOULD have been able to catch something to eat on his own. That was why he had gone down to Leo, to go looking for a hare or something... To come limping back home with nothing to show for it really wounded his pride-- and he didn't think he was all that prideful! Compared to the blossoming, surging discomfort that spread through his shoulder and into his lungs with every breath, he should have been able to ignore it. Still it smarted, a sharp bitter taste on his tongue.

Some days, you just had rotten luck. It was fine.

His arm curled against his body, held awkwardly against his chest as though that would make the discomfort magically vanish, more habit than anything at this point. He had to carry his spear in his off-hand to avoid stressing his already sore shoulder, though the weight of it made him miss his old wooden one. The sugilite blade was a prize to behold in itself, but it was difficult not to think of it as... well, a replacement. The butt of the polearm dragged in the dirt behind him as he resisted every urge to use the spear as a walking stick; the last thing he needed was his family spotting him limping about and jumping down his throat.

They cared. He knew that.

But dammit, Hunter just wanted to get better. Back to one hundred percent. Sure, it wouldn't happen overnight. He knew that too. But it had been cycles, and all it took was one growing rain cloud to make his whole body ache.

He didn't know if he wanted anyone to be home or not. He was hungry, but he also kind of wanted to be left alone... At least until he laid down for a minute, and then maybe he could get the twigs and dirt out of his hair and...

Drip, drip, drop. About a good twenty paces from home, and there came the rain drops, big and heavy on to his nose. Surprisingly cold, too. Shivering, he picked up the pace, racing for the back entrance of the house-- the family bedroom-slash-barn, depending on how generous you wanted to be to the open wall plan his father had made to let Carja and the other big siblings able to squeeze in and sleep with the rest of the family if they wanted to. He threw aside the pelts that protected the opening from the elements, gritting his teeth as a jolt of lightning shot up his neck.

"Ffff-oww," Hunter hissed, stumbling forward and flopping down on the nearest bedding he could find with a wet slap of soaking mustelid fur and hair. He neglected to notice that he wasn't alone, and just then, for a mere moment, he couldn't care less if anyone else was around as he tossed his spear aside and rubbed at his collarbone with tightly shut eyes.

@Vivilene

i need someone to look into my eyes and tell me

It was an intricate ritual.

Rain had come in a brief shower about a few hours before Hunter had (unbeknownst to her) stepped in Cepheus. Vivilene had expected it to last longer-- but it was fine. She prepared a blanket; a thick hide, and set the fire low and smoldering. By the time she got sufficiently cozy in her bed for the rain to knock her out, it had stopped. She fell asleep anyway.

What was it about the smell, the pitter-patter of droplets on stone, that eased her entirely? Not that the cervitaur would ever argue with the rare event that brought her peace, but it seemed odd that something as simple as rain could send her to sleep so easily, even after moments it had stopped.

When she woke up, at least, it had continued. A downpour of the heavy kind of rain she liked best with a hard plit-plit-plit-plit of rainwater hitting the roof above the family home. Vivilene would have stretched out and gone back to sleep, if there had not been a series of strange sounds.

The door opened. Someone grunted in pain. The fwap of someone falling.

In her plush bed, Vivilene shifted and cracked open her eyes. The mass of wet hair had made it to a pile of bedding, at least, but she was concerned upon recognizing who that fluff belonged to.

Vivilene wasn't one to interrupt someone's rest, but when Attikias was gone, it was her responsibility as Eldest Daughter to look after her younger siblings in his stead. Even if this particular little sister was only 'little' by mere seconds. She lifted herself from the soft base of her bed and quietly clicked her hooves around the home, slowly, as not to disturb him.

When she approached Hunter in his new bed, it was with some essential items-- some special relics, perhaps. The first was a special kind of blanket, rough and dense to the touch, made of thick linens. It wasn't very nice to sleep under, but it was good at sucking up moisture-- she planted it over Hunter's mass and began gently kneading, catlike, to dry up his fur.

His back, first, to help him get used to the sensation. A circling, back-and-forth motion before she moved onto the hair on his head-- and ahh, there was much more of that. It felt more as though she were scrubbing something out of his hair, trying to dry it, but eventually once he had graduated to damp, but not soaking through, the second item was produced.

A blanket. An actual blanket-- weighted with thick hides and fluff. This was placed over his back and shoulders carefully, and she tucked it into him gently for maximum comfort.

And the third-- if she had somehow not woken him up yet, even with her gentle scrubbing --was a bowl of hot soup. Little chunks of venison in a broth of salt, onion and carrot and spices. With Vivilene satisfied in her Eldest Daughter caring, she stepped back towards the fire with a deep yawn and loafed by the hearth, getting comfortable in her new spot.

They could talk later, whenever Hunter woke up.

"girl you know you gotta watch your health"

@Hunter

Hunter hadn't exactly fallen asleep by the time Vivilene approached, despite the exhaustion that tugged at his bones. Too many thoughts rattling around in his aching head, his arm painted with a generous brush of throbbing heat. He couldn't quite get comfortable, shuffling this way and that-- until he heard the clicking of hooves on the floor.

Then, despite being laid out like an awkward mangled impression of a corpse, Hunter fell completely still. He'd pretend he was sleeping, sure-- better than facing the embarrassment that was already crawling around inside his chest. He was certain when Vi approached him that she's notice the slightest twitch of his delicate ears or the fact he wasn't in a deep, breathy slumber and say something... but no, instead came a thick, heavy cloth that she worked into his fur.

Though her concentration was on pulling the wet from his hide, there was no way she couldn't feel the tension that he held in his shoulder. It was made all the more taunt by his effort to not move; a thick knot that formed in the muscle around the injury after never given proper attention or time to heal. He still expected her to say something, but no, not Vi. She just moved up, drying out his thick hair, the ruffling sensation enough to briefly dull the soreness that pervaded his entire existence.

Hunter nearly whined when she stopped, a quiet huff puffing out from his jaws. He missed the soothing motions immediately, quieted only by the heavy, warm blanket that dropped on to his shoulders. The crackle of the fire murmured in his ears, and the smell of hearty soup drifted idly by his nose.

It was then-- as he only imagined slurping the tasty broth and finally satisfying his stomach-- truly, that he actually did pass out.

It had been a blink and miss it: he jerked upright in what felt like seconds to him but had easily been encroaching on the better chunk of an hour, bleary eyed with a kink in his neck. His stomach rumbled with aggravation that it had been tricked out of a fresh bowl of soup, but that wasn't going to stop him from blinking the sleep from his eyes and reaching out to grab the wooden bowl. It was still warm in his hands, and though they had wooden spoons-- Vivilene even provided one!-- he just raised it to his mouth and sipped at it.

Hunter's gaze drifted over the bowl toward the crackling fire and his sister's silhouette. The fog in his mind cleared somewhat as he stared at her, idly putting together the hazy moments that were almost completely lost to his blackout.

Aahh, I better, he thought reluctantly, dragging himself out of bed. He crept over to the fire, clearing his throat of the mucus that lingered before quietly breaking the silence. "Hey," smooth-like, right? "Thanks, Vi."

@Vivilene

i need someone to look into my eyes and tell me

It should be noted that Vivilene did notice the tenseness, the little discomforts, the huffs.

Her silence wasn't only provided by her muteness, however. Her time healing throughout the Deathmatch had taught her some core tenants when it came to dealing with the injured. The first was that the majority were too proud to admit how bad the pain really was. Some tried to ignore it completely. The second was that if someone can, they will be difficult.

And Hunter-- Hunter was definitely too proud to just let Vivilene tend to his arm, even if he was unconscious. He'd wake up and he'd thrash and he'd cry about it-- and he'd make his shoulder worse. She could help him later, when he was better, when he was comfortable.

Hunter wasn't the only one that needed a nap, anyway.

____

A clatter of the wooden bowl on the stone floor and Vivilene flinched awake. Hunter was moving-- drinking the soup and blinking and eventually speaking, and in quiet response, she dipped her head quietly. Rain still pitter-pattered on the roof above, and the quiet told her that no one else was home. The cervitaur wiggled her nose.

She hesitated. "I saw... you fight." Not accusingly, or degradingly-- merely, Vivilene quietly stated a fact. She saw him fight. She saw him get hurt. With another little wrinkle of her face, reached out and pulled a basket from her corner, next to her bed, and spent a moment rifling through it, silver eyes drifting between the herbs and Hunter. "Um..."

Fingers curled around hardened stems and a glint of magic filled the conversation where she couldn't, verbally-- a gentle touch of thoughts to be shared with her sibling. There were no exact words, but the feeling and implication: Vivilene had been worried. She missed him. He'd been gone a long time, and she wanted to help. Like a whisper, they were then, and then they were gone, and the hybrid was chewing on the stems.

Vivilene mulled on what she had shared, for a moment, as she crunched along. "We have to... look out for each other, you know...?" Her voice was barely above a murmur, not aided by the fact that her mouth was full. "... dad'll throw a fit otherwise."

She spat the paste into her palm and studied it for a moment, before looking back up towards Hunter. "... will you let me see your shoulder?"

"girl you know you gotta watch your health"