Echos of a fateful meeting

[Sebastian Arcturis]

He'd spent a lot of time sleeping and hardly any of it relaxing unless he was close to Leti. This time, he had finally figured out why. It might have taken Leti kissing him to realize the other man's crush on him, but it had taken quite a bit more for him to accept that connection. Honestly, some of it had jut been about having enough waking hours to process. Just being helped a lot.

Well, that and the fact that Bastian was increasingly aware that he had almost died. A few times. It was...a bit of a wake up called in a different fashion.

"'Nope,'" he echoed, as if testing out the word, trying to keep himself from falling asleep. He was quite enjoying this moment and sleep would ruin it.

It wouldn't be like this. The meaning was lost on him for a long moment. And then he had a guess. Two men laying together wasn't exactly something that was encouraged. Which begged the question. "Does...your father..." He couldn't figure out how to ask, mostly on account of his tired brain processing too slowly for his liking. "Does he know?" He finally settled on.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti was happy just being too. He wanted to tell bastian that it was ok to sleep, that he would still be right here when bastian woke. But he knew why bastian was fighting it. It must be hard to loose so much time to sleep, and to nearly not wake up.
The question of his father brought a small frown to his face. He didn't have to think long, he replied in a slightly concerned voice '' I think so...yes.'' The man had after all caught them both sharing a bed naked and constantly been warning him not to 'get too attached' after all. Still...the way that he had helped save bastian, and the gentle sad way he had held out a change of clothes for leti while leti forced himself to stay awake at bastians side, told leti that perhaps his father didn't hate two men. If anything he seemed opposed to bastian in particular...though he sort of already knew why that was.
" perhaps he hasn't said anything because you'll be leaving once you've healed...'' He mused wondering if perhaps cain just hoped that it would sort itself out and leti would go back to being sexless on the whole. For the moment it seemed no punishment was lined up aside from reality.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Sebastian knew that Leti would be there as he had every other time he woke up but it was still frustrating to have so little control and to be so tired. The nightmares had been rather vivid without any stronger drugs and it made the fears of not waking stick in his subconscious more than he would have liked.

He wasn't surprised at Cain knowing. Maybe monks were a bit more progressive. He decided not to worry about it if Leti wasn't going to worry about it. Cain seemed the type to not dance around something that bothered him. Old people were like that.

Leaving once he healed. The warden almost wanted to stay but that would be lying to himself as much as anyone else. Besides, he wouldn't know what to do here. "Yeah," Bastian mumbled. He was too tired to think about that but he was slowly feeling the tug of self pity deep down. How long had he been here and he still wasn't better? Maybe not long enough but it was frustrating. Strong willed or not, some part of him clearly struggled to keep going. Or maybe that was the problem. Maybe he needed to stop trying. Maybe once he wasn't so tired he would shake that feeling off.

Bastian yawned, his grip on Leti slacking slightly. "You're too comfortable," he accused, fighting his fatigue and the warmth of Leti next to him and the numbing nettle. "...sleep when you do," he attempted to declare, slurring his words a little. He'd be asleep in a few minutes regardless, with or without conversation.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti watched bastian continue to fight sleep and his little declaration made the healer chuckle. It seemed bastian had declared a nap. He adjusted himself to be able to drift off and replied "alright, deal"
He lie there with bastian until the man drifted off and quite a bit longer simply relaxing in their embrace. After an hour or two of dozing off he carefully disentangled himself from bastian's grasp and went to see if cain needed any help.

He puttered about doing various errands for cain and feeling a bit awkward around his mentor. Cain didn't make any moves to continue their discussion of bastian and his new found relationship. When it rolled around to meal time once again it was in a shocking turn of events not soup this time. Leti entered the room with two steaming bowls of lentil rice ,hearty vegetables and of course bread. While it wasn't roast rack of lamb but it was certainly much more substantial then the past few meals. If bastian hadn't woken yet then Leti would nudge him awake with a gentle smile. "supper time."

[Sebastian Arcturis]

The nightmares that always lingered just at the edges of his subconscious quietly engulfed him again when Leti parted ways. Bastian was used to fitful sleep however and he didn't wake up immediately.

He started awake to find that Leti was not, in fact, next to him anymore. Which explained the cold and the fatigue from lack of sleep, and the weird sense of betrayal that he had no business feeling. He couldn't just expect the man to be there. And why was he relying on him being there anyway? Once he left, he'd have to get used to sleeping alone again. He should get used to sleeping alone again now.

Bastian pulled himself up on his elbows slowly, waking himself up and realizing for some strange reason he could see his breath it was so cold in the cave. Actually, that he could see at all was weird. There was a soft of soft eerie glow coming form outside the room, but he couldn't tell which direction. It cast the room in a dim pale blue light. The soldier dragged himself to the doorway, something in his chest pulling him to look deeper down the stairs, into the depths of the cave he had never been before except for him his dreams and even then he had never reached the bottom.

He could hear voices down there. Familiar and unfamiliar. Conspiratorial whispers that enticed him further but the man was rooted to the spot. Walking didn't seem to be the problem so much as a deep seated gut instinct that told him he shouldn't be here. He shouldn't go down the steps, shouldn't be in Leti's room, should sleep with him, shouldn't share food with the healer and his father, shouldn't have even dared appealed to them for help with his injuries (as if he had had a choice). It was a strange crushing wall of guilt that he didn't understand.

And all he could think about was that the voices were getting louder. There was a raised argument. Not heated, but certainly building there from a sort of cold aggression. Bastian tried to take a step backward, suddenly feeling like his might fall forward and then in the same moment his stomach dropped out from under him there was shouting and he was falling, breath physically ripped from his lungs and he couldn't get it back. Only instead of suffocating or slamming into the landing belong, familiar roots spiked up to meet him.

---

The warden started awake, gasping for air like he wasn't expecting it to be there, half rolling over because the force of his breath and the panic clinging to him had his stomach rolling over too. He retched over the side of the bed, holding himself up on shaking arms, covered in sweat and blinking as reality dropped on top of him.

More nightmares.

Bastian groaned and closed his eyes while he got his breath back in wheezing gasps, willing his pulse to calm down. He glanced up at the healer with an apologetic expression and grimaced, not quite trusting opening his mouth. Food. Right. Back down at his breakfast. Well...he was hungry.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti watched Bastian startle awake and wretch with a look of panic on his face. Luckily bastian calmed down quickly enough that the healer didn't jump to thinking bastian needed medical attention immediately. He was regretting not taking his promise seriously enough. He was beginning to wonder how the man ever sleeped if nightmares alone could cause this. Or perhaps there was something about the cave that was making them worse. He knew it wasn't the most comforting place for everyone.

He carefully set aside the bowls with a sympathetic gaze at his tortured patient before fetching some water for him to drink, and a rag to clean up breakfast. He held out the water and began moping up a bit.
"does your stomach hurt? " He asked failing to conceal the concern in his voice. maybe there was a curse preventing him from properly feeding bastian.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

The vomiting was new. Or at least not something he recalled doing any time recently. Waking up in the middle of the night was something he had gotten used to. He hoped he didn't have to get used to seeing his meals more than once. Caves had never specifically bothered the soldier but he'd never spent much time in them. Maybe there was something about being underground that part of him didn't like without realizing it. Maybe it was the similarity of the atmosphere to a dungeon. Maybe it was just stress coupled with physical exhaustion and trauma.

When Leti returned with water and a rag, Bastian had managed to pull himself together and sit up, the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He was staring down the bowls of rice trying to figure out the best way short of crawling (though crawling was not off the table) to reach it because he was hungry and he could tell it wasn't soup and even if it had been soup he was hungry. He accepted the drink and cleared his mouth before shaking his head. "No. Nightmares again. I'm-" he cleared his throat. "I feel okay. More than a little hungry." His tone was the usual factual sort, but a lot softer.

"Sorry for the mess," Bastian added, because while another person's tone might have conveyed the apology, he was more or less sure his did not. And he meant it to. "That is not soup," he said, forcing himself to sound shocked and meaning it as a joke because, despite appearances, he was a little embarrassed.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti frowned not surprised but not pleased by that answer either. maybe he would stick by just a little closer next time.
but if bastian was hungry that was a good sign.
"Be more sorry about wasting food and less sorry about the mess." He replied in a mock scolding tone. It wasn't pleasant to clean sick but he was healer. He had seen and cleaned worse. He handed the bowl of rice and a spoon to the man with force.
with a chuckle he replied "so you noticed, if you can keep it down there might be even less soup on the horizon." Though he was joking it was true that he had spent quite the struggle getting the man to eat the endless soup and was more than happy to get some more solids in the man if he could.
He took up his own bowl and scooped up some of the steamed vegetables into his mouth. They were mostly root veggies like carrots and parsnips. Luckily being healers they weren't limited on seasonings or lentils.

Even leti knew that it wore on the mind to eat the same meal day in and day out. But true to their monk like roots cain and leti lived mostly off what the mountain provided and often ate the same leftovers for weeks. Perhaps that was where leti's weakness for sweets had come from since they were a bit of a rarity.
He chewed happily and added "maybe once you've eaten and had a rest we can try sitting at the table again?" It wasn't much but maybe a change of scenery would lift bastian's spirits, even if said scenery was the next room over.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

"Sorry for wasting food," he amended in agreement of that notion, not quite sure if Leti was serious or not, but Bastian was hungry enough that he considered it a valid point. Bastian accepted the bowl gratefully. Somehow he doubted his input on the food mattered. But...on the off chance it did, he wouldn't mind eating rice and vegetables for a few weeks instead.

"I miss meat," he mused, rather inelegantly shoveling rice into his mouth. The first mouthful was more to get a better taste in his mouth. And then it tasted pretty good and he really was hungry. "But this is better than soup," he allowed.

The soldier hadn't thought he ate anything that fancy. Rice, veggies, soup, potatoes...a lot of the same things. The difference was that he had a lot more fish and red meat. Even dried meat he missed. He finished the rice quickly and considered asking for more but...maybe stuffing himself wasn't the best. It was more solid that anything else he had eaten recently.

Bastian flashed a small smile as he set down the bowl. He wasn't sure he needed more rest or that sitting somewhere else would help but he was too tired to argue. "Sure, Leti." He leaned against the wall behind him and scrubbed his hands over his face and through his hair. He still wasn't sure what to make of the dream. Some of the roughness had faded but most of it he still remembered. He just...didn't understand.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti smiled and took note. He ate meat so rarely that he hadn't really thought about the lack of it. But he did quietly note the review of the food. He idly wondered if he could find the time to bring one of the cheese wheels in to the village to trade. He might be able to get some rabbit or hen for it.

He would be happy to provide more rice and veggies of course.
Leti knew that it was a pretty small incentive he was offering but he wasn't about to let bastian overdo it yet again. He set aside the bowls and moved toward bastian to help him up. He would let bastian lean on him as they made the small journey to the table. Bastian was much more healed than the last time they had done this but Leti was sure that even something small like this was still a lot of activity for bastian.

In the main room of the cave the waning light of the sun drifting into evening could be seen. A warm light filled the cavern from the fire lit in the hearth and it held a stillness that almost erased the chaos that had happened only a day ago. Cain was also sitting already sitting at the table, an empty bowl sitting next to the open book he was squinting at. It was a fairly thick tome but the small illustrations littering the page he was open to implied it was likely a book on healing plants.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

The more he thought about it, the more distracting it was. "My offer of coin still stands." He knew meat could be expensive.

Bastian grit his teeth as Leti helped him up but did his best to support himself. The nettle wasn't nearly enough to stave off the pain of walking on his left leg, and after the last couple nights he was still too weak to hold himself up entirely. He was sure he might be able to use crutches or a wall to move at little in another day or two. As it was right now, Leti wasn't wrong about the stairs being a bitch.

Just moving though felt good. And seeing the sun. He would have preferred to sit at one of the windows honestly but despite finding his voice with Leti, he wasn't comfortable around Cain. And he didn't want to make Leti haul him another few steps either. He settled into the stool at the table, holding his breath for a moment as he got his equilibrium back. It was the first amount of activity he'd taken part in since he couldn't breath and even that little bit had him conscious of pain. But it wasn't so difficult to breath like it had been before. "Thanks," he said softly to the white haired healer, but also to Cain. Bastian refrained from saying anything else, already feeling like he was intruding on the stillness.

His gaze drifted over the massive book in front of Cain but he couldn't keep his eyes off the window and the light streaming it. So maybe the change of scenery was more than appreciated. He felt restless again already which...while also not ideal, was a lot better than where his thoughts had been earlier. Thanks indeed.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti sat at the table with a pile of reed and a something partially woven. He quietly took to working on weaving more of the reeds together in what was probably the start of a basket. While they could salvage earthen ware from older parts of the cave Leti found carrying the lighter baskets up and down the mountain much easier.
Well that and making them was something to do. Yet another way that he and cain had remained self sufficient on the mountain. Unlike many of the other practical skills Leti had this one wasn't something cain had taught him. He had spent time helping one of the women in the village with a skin condition and learned the skill from her in return.

After a moment of silence cain commented "I do hope you will both keep in mind at night that the cave echoes." In a very general casual way as if not addressing anyone in particular but the hint of a smile on his face belied that he was breaking the tension in the room with a joke.
Leti stopped weaving and turned beat red, suddenly very interested in the cracks on the ceiling "Father!" He hissed in an embarrassed whisper. But cain seemed rather pleased with his little jab.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Apparently, Sebastian had missed the memo that it was craft time. Or reading time. He didn't feel the same specific need to be useful as he had before when helping Leti with the sage. Nearly suffocating and the dreams had finally reinforced his need to rest mentally and not just physically. He stared through the book and then the basket Leti was reading for only a moment before leaning his elbows against the table for support and looking back to the window and fading sunlight.

He practiced not thinking about anything until Cain's words cut the silence like a knife.

Dark eyes cut to the older man and Bastian simply stared at him. While Leti exuded embarrassment and alarm, the soldier almost didn't seem to understand, even with the man's smile.

But he did understand. It was a father's blessing, in a way. "Good advice," he said finally, looking at Leti almost suggestively. Maybe it was a little brazen but...as far as Bastian was concerned it was a form of encouragement. At least it made him more comfortable on that account. It was one thing for Leti to say his father understood. It was another for Cain to show as much himself.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Cain continued to seemingly concentrate on his reading but he cleared his throat and added '' Yes well spring comes for everyone, even if it's a bit latter for some...''. He mused in the way only old men can make an obvious statement sound like an ancient proverb.
Leti who had returned bastian's suggestive gaze with a flustered one only grew more embarassed. As if having his father casually mention his taboo sex life wasn't bizarre enough now he was being called a late bloomer. It was true he hadn't exactly been chasing the village girls around like some of the other boys but that didn't make hearing it any less uncomfortable. Clearly this quiet passive aprroval was also another way to tease him.
" don't you get ideas'' leti stammered out to bastian '' there'll be no funny buisness until that hole in your chest is healed.'' He sternly announced before this could get out of hand and seemed to pointedly try to go back to weaving the basket, only much less artfuly than before.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Bastian grunted. Hearing the father talk about his son in any capacity was lile listening to an echo of a life he never had. His own father would never say such things. The man might encourage him to be a classic alpha male of course, conquests and all, but he would cut Sebastian loose or worse if he even suspected his son was involved with another man. Cain's teasing was foreign. And oddly endearing.

He smiled briefly at Leti as the mention of late spring. Well, he supposed that answered a few of his questions. Was he Leti's first then? Bastian had a lot of conflicting feelings about that possibility. It created a lot of pressure more than romantic insight.

He already had ideas so Leti's warning was a little too late. It made it all the more amusing and he chuckled faintly until it hurt and he wheezed slightly. Speaking of that hole in his chest. Well, the new one wasn't so much of a problem.

"I could use another bath," he suggested once he got his breath back. He didn't care how forward he sounded. Seeing Leti so embarrassed was hard to resist. Bastian's gaze didn't leave the young man and his weaving and his hair.