Echos of a fateful meeting

[Sebastian Arcturis]

For Bastian, it was a combination of a lot of things. Most of which he didn't talk about. His most recent escapade in the forest was just fuel for the fire.

It felt at once...awkward and natural. He couldn't quite decide which feeling he preferred. Certainly one of them felt more enjoyable. It made it a lot more natural when Feleti agreed to his request. He more than appreciated having the other man there to help him sleep. Surprisingly, the second attempt was a lot more restorative and while he mumbled about darkness and stairs when Leti got up, Bastian didn't wake.

He woke a little while after his breakfast had been delivered, though at this point, it was more like lunch and not very warm. But he was hungry and it still tasted better than a lot of things he had eaten. The tea...he smelled and tasted it out of curiosity and found it decidedly...green. If something could taste green. He wasn't so sure he liked that.

Bastian leaned back after he was finished with lunch and tried to relax, propped against the wall and all the pillows within reach, minus one he situated under his leg with a bit of grumbling. He stared up at the ceiling for what felt like a hours but was closer to a handful of minutes, gently tying with some of the bandages across his chest. He would have to talk to Leti soon about the discomfort it was to breathe, but if he understood anything from last time, he still have a while before it hurt. The bath seemed to have helped.

He flipped through the book on herbs again, reading over entries for anything he vaguely recognized. Sage seemed particularly useful, but beyond the potential for treating depression, not very applicable. Still, it was sort of nice to know what it was exactly he had been helping Leti collect the other day. There were...entirely too many herbs to read through, but...he had nothing better to do.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti finished up what he was doing and did a few more chores about the cave. He didn't really need to but he felt a sudden bout of nervousness about talking to bastian. Which was ridiculous in a way seeing as he hadn't felt that way at all for most of their week together and had slept with the man in both senses of the word.
Though he knew that the feeling came from a vague uncertainty. He knew at least that bastian remembered it, and that he hadn't felt forced into it....
but there was still a vagueness to it, something he couldn't put his tongue on. Like they were both avoiding looking at something directly. He wasn't sure he was ready to talk about feelings, as open as he usually was. Maybe it had been the talk he had last night that had magnified it in his mind. Either way he couldn't avoid his own patient.

He poked his head into the room an smiled at bastian leaning on a hill of pillows. "How are you feeling? did you drink the tea?" Seeing his face somehow helped with the nerves a bit.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Sebastian was quite glad for any excuse not to keep reading. He was tired of that after only a day, apparently. But also he sort of missed having the healer so close by all the time. He smiled slightly at Leti when he rounded the entryway.

"Sore," he said, with the usual vague answer. He was more than a little sore, probably, but he didn't like complaining. "More than a little bored."

He glanced at the now cold tea. It wasn't a guilty look that he returned to Leti but a confused one. "No," he said and then added, "Was I supposed to?" Because it tasted...weird. Only that was a lame excuse to say out loud so he didn't. Also, of course he was supposed to drink it, he doubted the man would give it to him for no reason.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti studied the man's face already knowing that bastian had a tendency to downplay his health.
He seemed to accept that answer until the man told him he hadn't drank the tea and then it was leti's turn to be confused.
He blinked rapidly putting his hands on his hips as if the answer should had been self evident.

Then he remembered that not everyone grew up with an herbalist. "If a healer give you tea, you should drink it." He replied as if it were common sense. Then a returning a bit more to his usual soft tone he added "It's nettle, to help with the pain." It would be anywhere near as effective as the theriac had been but Leti had discovered quite quickly that bastian would definitely overdo it if he couldn't feel the pain. Though he had to admit the healing was going well all things considered.
He frowned at the cup and crossed his arms "Now you'll have to drink it cold." In his mind nettle tea wasn't very tasty but it was better warm with a bit of lemon than chilled by the cool cave floor. He sighed, "I had hoped it would have had a chance to numb you up a bit before we change the bandages today..."

[Sebastian Arcturis]

If a healer gave him tea, he should drink it. Well...actually he couldn't argue with that. It was reasonable enough. At the same time, Bastian found himself enjoying Leti's not quite indignant and very confused reaction, especially his hands on his hips. It was...cute. Still not a good enough reason to not do what he was told, he supposed, but certainly worth it in this instance.

Nettle. To help with the pain. "Oh." He glanced down at the book sitting open on his lap, turned to a page on rosemary. He couldn't recall if he had flipped over a page on nettle or not. Likely there was one in there. Still, he figured Leti was a better source material than the book, at least in most cases, considering his line of work.

Bastian picked up the cup gingerly and considered it a moment, flicking his gaze at Leti and the command structure he used. Have to drink it he had said. He raised and eyebrow and then shrugged. He didn't like being in pain anyway. He treated it like he might a long shot of shitty spirits. Less about the flavor and more about the heat on the way down and the bit afterward. It wasn't nearly so bad. Thank you, sir, may I have another? was the passive aggressive air with which he very carefully turned the empty cup upside down and set it back on the floor.

"Again?" Bastian asked about the bandages with slight concern, as if nothing had happened. He grimaced at the lingering taste in his mouth.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti watched him make a big show of forcing the tea down with amusement. It wasn't the first time he had seen someone down a nasty tea but there was something humorous about the face the man made at him afterwards. He had given bastian the tea for his own benefit of course. It was childish how fussy the man was about doing things that were good for him but luckily leti found it endearing.

"well we ought to change at least some of them everyday...yes" He planned to leave the leg alone for now but the chest and shoulder wound needed to be changed frequently so that he could see the progress and apply ointment.
He faltered for a moment "Let's...give the tea a moment to settle first..." He left to fetch some buckets of water, he wasn't going to drag bastian into the bathroom today.
He placed them down and pulled out the chair from in front of his desk. That said outside of preparation, he wasn't sure how else to stall aside from just waiting. He hesitated for a moment wondering if now was the time to bring up what had happened between them....
He decided it would maybe make for a good distraction while he did the bandages.
"right, let's get you up." He said indicating he would help bastian into the chair.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Knowing the intended purpose, he probably would have drank it before, regardless of his personal opinions on the taste. He did struggle to take specific care of himself, largely because he was used to pushing himself.

Everyday. That sounded painful, nettle tea or not. So much so that he winced at the thought of it. As for waiting for the tea to take effect, he didn't find anything awkward about that. He'd spent most of the last few days waiting. A bit longer was mental torture, but not impossible.

When Leti returned with water, he was a little surprised. He'd been expecting to be half carried to the tub again. He was at once relieved and a little disappointed. On one hand, he didn't need to walk that far. On the other, he didn't get to walk that far. And...well, the wash room had some other connotations now.

The man took a deep breath and held it as Leti helped him up and into the chair, keeping his weight off his left leg. He let out a breath of air, closed his eyes, and settled back heavily. It wasn't as comfortable as the pillows and it took a moment and a few focused breaths to get used to the new position. He could probably hold himself up away from the back of the chair if he needed to it was just easier to lay back. "Ready," Bastian mumbled unconvincingly, clearly not interested in stalling.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti watched him settle into the chair. He could see the pain on bastian's face and it worried him a bit.
He offered a half smile to the little declaration and fiddled with the fresh bandages.
"about....the other night...." He wasn't sure at all how to actually bring it up. He soaked a rag and pressed it gently to the bandages on bastian's chest. The hope being that the wetter bandages would be easier to remove.

He held it there with a slightly uncertain face "I...." Now that he had decided to talk about it he had no idea how to ask what he was wondering. Leti met bastians eyes as he tried to figure it out "was it....alright..." The man found himself unable to start from anywhere else. He knew that bastian didn't feel like he had forced it but bastian also hadn't been...sober. It was possible that after some time to reflect that maybe bastian wished it hadn't happened.
He knew that this was odd, that the burst of passion they had was very out of the ordinary. Yet he knew that ever since he had laid eyes on the injured man, every moment had been leading to that. Perhaps it was wrong. He had known that it was strange enough to not actually tell the one person he could ask advice.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

He wasn't sure if it hurt more today or if he was getting tired of keeping it to himself. It was probably for the best he didn't, but Leti wasn't asking him to be specific or perhaps more reliable, poking him

Not many things made the soldier uncomfortable, but the 'other night' did. There was no question about which night the man meant either. Any initial thoughts Bastian had were lost as Leti pressed the cloth against his chest. The cold felt good, but the pressure not so much. He closed his eyes again, trying to focus on Leti's words. Clearly the other man found something uncomfortable about it too. He did look back at the man as he stumbled through his words.

Was it alright? Bastian didn't understand. But it wasn't confusion but a smirk on his face. "'Alright' is hardly a compliment," he noted and then chuckled. Which hurt, so he stopped quickly with a wince. "You were more than alright," he said, stating a fact.

It was...weird. Talking about the passion they had shared together. But it didn't cross his mind to wonder if Leti had taken advantage of the state he was in or if he had lost control of himself. He might not entirely understand his feelings, but Bastian wasn't in the market for worrying about what had happened. He had enjoyed himself. So had Leti.

Did he know what that meant going forward between them? Not at all. Did he want to do it again? He certainly liked Leti.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti blushed a bright pink from ear to ear at the unexpected compliment. He certainly hadn't meant to imply anything about their, uh, performance. He supposed it had been a pretty indirect question.
"oh!, no I, oh" He babbled a bit in a flustered tone. He certainly had enjoyed it, so much so that he'd gone out of his way to try and figure out more on how to go about it.
He gently began unwrapping some of the bandages around bastian's chest and checking to see how things were healing. It looked pretty good, especially considering it had been reopened twice now. But at least the surface of the wound was knitting together quite nicely. There was less scarring than one would think, especially give the lack of stitching. He applied new ointment to the wound with feather touches. The quite time of focusing on the wound giving him time to gather his thoughts.
"I....I didn't know if maybe...you just, got swept along with the theriac... it is pretty powerful..." He tried to explain.
With satisfaction he began to bandage the wound back up. This part unfortunately would cause him to put unavoidable pressure on the wound, they needed to be tight enough to hold in bleeding if bastian did something reckless.
"I thought perhaps....you might regret it..." He confessed as he finished up the chest bandages and moved on to the other section, applying a damp rag to his shoulder. The process bringing him rather close to bastian again.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

The other man's confusion was amusing but the attention to his chest was more than distracting. Even the light touches had him panting and hot and not in a fun way, the nettle only slowly working in. It might have looked good to the healer but it didn't feel good. Bastian wasn't sure what the wound should look like but Leti seemed pleased so he would have to take that as a good thing.

"Yes..." He gripped Leti's arm tightly as he started to to re-bind it. "Fuck...I already can't breathe..." he mumbled, shaking slightly. He really should have drank the tea sooner. "But...that does not mean I regret it. I do not."

"Do you?" he asked, struggling to keep his breathing normal. The new normal anyway. His eyes found Leti's silver ones, searching them, wondering if he was being too...blunt.

[Feleti Eidothea]

The grip to his arm certainly drew his attention.
Seeing bastian in such visible pain was hard to watch. He almost reached out to try using his gift but the breathing returned to normal soon enough. If it weren't for the pain it had cause bastian just to say the words he would have been very relieved to know in definitive terms that not only had bastian enjoyed it but he didn't regret that he had.

As bastian's deep sharp eyes looked into his Leti found a surge of affirmation. "No. No I don't. Not even a little." He replied just as softly as before but this time with a bit of confidence. He was overcome with the urge to kiss bastian in that moment but....the very recent lack of breathe stayed him. He didn't want to cover bastian's mouth just after the man got his breath back. Well. No he very much did want to, but he wasn't going to.
He let the rag just soak for a moment hoping the tea would kick in before actually peeling the bandages away.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Bastian knew it wouldn't hurt so much if he relaxed and didn't talk. It would also hurt less if Leti didn't touch anything but that besides the point. So attempting to relax it was, which the tea seemed to be helping with finally. It wasn't anything like the theriac where he had been...a little off balance mentally. The soldier felt like himself. And while there was still a dull pain on contact and breathing, the ambient aches melted to the background.

It was a relief to hear he wasn't the only one. It was a little alarming just how tenderly and enthusiastically the other man said it in return. Bastian wouldn't have known what to do if the man kissed him right then. It did feel appropriate...but he should probably wait until after Leti was done cleaning his shoulder.

He smiled faintly. "Good." Perhaps more than the nettle settling in, Leti's affirmation helped Bastian relax. "Good," he repeated, closing his eyes. The second was more for himself than Leti.

[Feleti Eidothea]

He applied the ointment to bastian's shoulder with a bit of a smile on his face.
Leti carefully bandaged the shoulder back up and they were more or less done.

But instead of gesturing for that he would help bastain down from the chair he seemed to hesitate about something instead. His expression was almost a bit...mischievous. "well....if neither of us regretted it then...."
His hands drifted down bastian's arm as he moved to stand behind the chair instead. Without much warning he took hold of bastian's wrists and made to tie his arms loosely behind the chair, leaning in to almost whisper into the man's ear "why don't we ...try it again?"
He moved back to the front of the chair so that his own apologetic expression could be seen. "I thought you might not ....overexert yourself, If you stayed in the chair." He explained without really explaining.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

The second time around wasn't so bad at least. He was sort of looking forward to returning to his pillows and then the coy look Leti gave him made him...excited and uncertain and like he couldn't breathe for a split second. Like his heart skipped a beat and it was at once painful and exhilarating and all the guy had done was look at him and begin to speak. What the hell was wrong with-

And then Leti was stepping behind him and pulling his hands behind his back and tying them together around the chair.

Bastian blinked, back going stiff against the chair and then he really stopped breathing for a moment. "Leti...?" He shivered, caught between nerves and a sensation he had never felt before but immediately recognized as the term 'butterflies in his stomach.' If he hadn't been paying attention before he certainly was now. The man had been so close to him and touching him and he hadn't really thought about it but now...now it was all he could think about.

Well, that, and the fact that he'd just been bound to a chair and that had a lot of mixed emotions tied up with it. It screamed interrogation and terror and pain to the warden, triggering a plethora of alarm bells that another part of him ignored or silenced. Try it again, he'd said. Bastian really wanted to. But being tied to a chair was...well...limiting in his inexperienced mind. And also did he mention the primal terror there? Because it was there.

He couldn't overexert himself. He couldn't hardly exert himself because loose as it was, moving his bad shoulder like that wasn't a pleasant alternative. He took a breath finally, eyes locked on Leti's the entire long moment. Bastian licked his lips and nodded careful. "Okay. Okay...what do...uh..." his tone was relaxed but he couldn't figure out his words and frowned slightly at himself for a split second but then the expression was gone.