Echos of a fateful meeting

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Maybe he did believe in fate. A little. That or he was just a little insane. Which seemed just as valid, considering all ehe other dark thoughts Bastian knew were in his head. Mostly things he didn't want to think about.

He decided not to worry about it and focused instead on enjoying Leti's quiet company. Bastian tried to get comfortable again on the bench but jumping like that had reminded him of the pain. Still, he took after Leti in studying the hills and the forest and the small village below.

Bastian half stood out of reflex to help and then seemed to be reminded all at once that perhaps that wasn't helpful for anyone and sat back down heavily. Just enjoy the sun and don't get in the way. He could do that. He just...didn't enjoy it. He was anxious to be doing things it it felt...wrong to just sit there and watch.

He watched the father and son carry the supplies into their home, wondering what the old healer had done to be awarded so much. Leti had mentioned trading medicine. The soldier was curious, but he didn't ask.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti carried the satchels inside the cave to the stone table. Cain followed behind him seeming to be in high spirits but hobbling a little slower than usual.
As they went it seemed Leti too had been curious about how exactly sending off one wheel of cheese had spiraled out of control. Cain himself seemed quite amused as he recanted that apparently one of the traders they dealt medicine to had apparently taken a liking Leti's herbed cheese. He so happened to overhear when cain was offering it to the butcher and a small bidding war ensued. Unable to get a word in edgewise the men had gone from making modest offers to trying to prove who had the best to offer on principle. In the end once cain was able to calm the two men down it was decided that the butcher would receive the wheel on hand and the trader would receive two leti will make with some of the fruits that had been given.
He had thought he was finally over and done, one large satchel filled with more food than they could possibly need for weeks. Only to then find that seeing him with a full satchel of good some of the villagers saw it as an opportunity to 'pay their dues'. Households they had given services to kept sending someone out to offer him a spare bit of their garden or a bit of their hunt. It almost seemed as though some of the villagers simply didn't want to be left out and were simply making offerings 'on the off chance one of ours makes ill'.
With Cain quite unable to turn them down one satchel became two.

Leti shook his head as he spread the produce and meat across the stone table. Listening to the story made him proud, it was good cheese, and it was nice to see everyone's hard work. He just wished they hadn't done it when he wasn't there to carry it for the poor old man. Not that cain would ever admit he was too old for it. "Really now, I'll be making jams for days with this much." If he wasn't careful to preserve it then much of it would rot before they could eat it.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Bastian followed the pair inside, listening to the tale with quiet interest. He felt a little obligated now to try some of the cheese, as he hadn't before even when offered. He did smile faintly though, at the notion that Leti had made the cheese. Seemed the healer was skilled with his hands in all sorts of ways.

As with most situations in a family or just any conversation not involving him, the man felt like an outsider. An unhelpful and ungrateful one at that, given the tale. He didn't exactly jave much to offer. It was especially confusing when he realized there was meat involved. That seemed unusual for the pair.

It was nearly impossible to keep himswlf from drooling over the smell and sight the food. He gotten most of his appetite back, at least on a good day like this. Certainly none of that would go to waste in his current mood.

[Feleti Eidothea]

The stand outs were a whole plucked and cleaned hen, a few sausages, some exotic looking fruits and a rainbow of vegetables. As Leti stood there thinking about how to sort out all the food he noticed bastian had come in.
He gestured for the man to come sit at the table. maybe he would let the man do a little vegetable peeling...if he was good.
If he had known that bastian felt guilty about not having much to give he would have chastised the man. While he appreciated the villagers generosity Cain had raised him not to use his profession for self gain. While he was certainly proud of his skills as an artisan and chef, he didn't intend to make a fortune off those either.
besides some of the same folks that gave the most were the ones that spoke the nastiest gossip. He preferred genuine gratitude to coin.

He set about putting away the fruit and whatever they wouldn't get to today. Then he fetched a bit of water and two knives.
Leti eyed bastian uncertainly "do you think you could manage peeling some of the vegetables?"
It was a question posed on multiple levels, he didn't want to deal with bastian cutting any fingers off in the pursuit of usefulness.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

The stand outs for Bastian were of course the hen and the sausages.

He wanted to keep moving but he was aware that it was likely best to use the crutches in small instances first. Certainly he wasn't about to defy the healer and risk his privileges just because he wanted to stand. And really his shoulder hurt anyway so he sat down.

There was still nettle tea left over and while it was lukewarm now, that was better than cold. He refilled his empty mug carefully and took a few sips, watching Leti put away the food. It was a lot of food even for three people.

He raised an eyebrow, confused by the question. Had he ever peeled vegetables before? Maybe? Regardless, the hunting knife in his boots wasn't there for show. Not that he had his boots right now but that wasn't the point. The point was he had grown up using a blade. He could hunt and skin animals and throw knives and do all of it while keeping his fingers.

Well, uninjured. With his left hand. Right handed...well, he could still do most of that. He flexed his fingers on his dominant hand and decided the crutches were enough work for that shoulder.

He was desperate to do something though. "Yes," he said with a nod and a faint smile. "I will not cut any fingers off." As if that had been the real question. Bastian looked over the assorted veggies. "Which ones?" Yeah, he had no idea what needed peeling.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti chuckled "alright, well let's see..." He cast his eyes about and gathered up a selection of potatoes, onions, apples and carrots. "These should do, We'll cook up the hen tonight." Generally with meat that large he preferred to slow cook it with the cauldron so they would need a fairly large bed of vegetables.
"wash them and then peel the potatoes, the rest you can just cut into chunks." He demonstrated by dunking one of the potatoes into the bowl of water enough to rid it of any large chunks of dirt and then showing how to peel one with a knife. He was actually plenty confident that bastian could do it but... "make sure to peel them pointing the knife away from yourself, ok?"
He handed the partially peeled potato and the knife to bastian so that he could get to work. Cain watched on with approval from the other end of the table seemingly pleased that he hadn't been made to chop the vegetables this time. He instead sneakily set about pouring himself a cup from a large jug on the shelf.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Bastian eyed Leti, finally understanding. This was for him. And he had no idea how to react to that. It wasn't as if he had ever been given presents or had a birthday. The closest would be his sword he supposed, but that had been a formal act of responsibility. He had earned his rank and his blade. Gifts were...unheard of.

He nodded at Leti's instruction and an slight smile of bemusement lit his eyes at Leti imparted knife safety. Bastian took the knife in his right and spun the blade in a easy and sure manner that utterly lacked flare. He decided against saying anything about what he did for a living.

Peeling potatoes was different than what he normally used a knife for, but much like his tying of the sage, he easily mimicked the actions after seeing Leti's demostration and the desired effect. So he wasn't crafty. He was a great actor.

The soldier made easy work of the task of peeling and chopping, but he moved slowly. He wasn't so sure with his off hand, fancy tricks or not. Bastian noted that Cain was watching them but he didn't look at the man.

He did look up at Leti and smile again. "Just do not ask me to cook," he teased.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti was perhaps just a little impressed by the knife trick. It was apparent pretty quickly that bastian could handle the task so leti set about preparing the hen instead. Rubbing it with spices stuffing it with some of the fruits.
He chuckled at bastian's teasing "I wouldn't dream of letting a strange man touch my cauldron."
It was then that he noticed what cain was drinking. He shook his head "wine already? you'll be drunk before it's finished."
Cain offered an unabashed shrug " A meal such as this calls for wine" his broad smile implying he would have poured a glass for less.
Leti wasn't as bothered by as his tone would suggest but he did tease back "Alright but if your old bones fall asleep at the table before it's done don't expect a wake up call." He turned and began to build the fire to a low burn, setting the cauldron to hang over it. The chef would then take the things bastian had chopped and layer them on the bottom of the caulrdon to stop the chicken from burning.
Cain raised an eyebrow at bastian "care for a drink young man?" he asked causing leti to turn around and eye him in disbelief "father! He nearly died the other day!"
Cain nodded "Yes, all the more reason." It seemed that the old man's monk like qualities did not prohibit a love for drink.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

He watched Leti more than he watched his own hands. It slowly dawned on him that they might not be eating this tonight so he managed to get himself a bit more in check. The hen was already looking like the fancier food he had eaten. He could wait.

Touch his what? Bastian blinked and decided he missed something. He really wasn't used to making jokes.

Bastian had opened his mouth with his own answer but Leti beat him too it. He decided to shut his mouth and instead paused his chopping to pick up his tea and raise it in answer and offer Cain a faint smile before taking a long drink.

Privileges.

Besides, he knew himself well enough to know that he would be able to handle himself even buzzed in his current state. He would in fact love a drink. It would make a lot of things feel a lot better, nearly died or not. All the more reason.

But he was trying to be a better patient.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti watched the exchange with an amused smile.
He finished setting about the chicken to cook and placed the lid onto the giant pot. It would take several hours for the chicken to cook but leti did indeed intend to serve it for dinner. There was plenty of time for it to finish cooking considering it was only just past mid day.
He set bread cheese and some of the chopped apple out to serve as something to hold them over for lunch. Bastian would have to wait a while yet.
Leti sat at the table near bastian and nibbled away at a bit of the apple. Even though he didn't often eat meat he knew it wouldn't take long for the smell of the simmering apple, clove, cinnamon and chicken to fill the cave. Even he would have a hard time keeping himself busy while they waited.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

It was better not to think about drinking. Better to pretend he didn't know where the wine was. He wasn't an alcoholic by any means, but with everything he dealt with and the pain, the notion of a drink or two was tempting. He glanced back to Leti and pushed the temptation away along with the knife.

He leaned against the table and considered the bread and cheese and apple and leaned over to take a bit of cheese out of obligation after all the talk earlier. He winced with using his left out of habit. Stupid. The cheese was good. He let it melt in his mouth slowly and decided he wasn't sure what else to do with himself. A nap actually sounded good for once. To be fair, he had finally gotten to move and eat and do something which wasn't common for him. Throw in the mental work out he hadn't quite finished, and he was tired.

He leaned against the table and quietly stsred at the cauldron on the fire, trying to figure out why Leti had said what he did and not at all understanding.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti and cain munched away at the snacks without saying much.
Though leti did notice bastian's pensive stare at the cauldron. "It'll be ready in time for supper." He informed the slightly confused looking man. He certainly had no idea that bastian was mulling over something he'd said.
He sighed and cast his eyes about wondering how best to fill their time until dinner.
The healer of course wanted to keep an eye on the fire seeing as it needed to keep burning lest dinner be ruined.

He eyed bastian and could see the tiredness in his face "hmmm, maybe a wake up call wouldn't be so bad after all. would you like a rest? I can help you back to the bedroom." Leti offered.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

He blinked and was entirely incapable of the excited and almost boyish smile that flitted across his features. He didn't obsess over food, but he did enjoy it. And meat, especially after not having any for so long, was exciting.

It was an answer to one question at least. He wasn't so worried about the other question. Those happened a lot.

Bastian's gaze had drifted back to the cauldron when the mention of the bedroom came up. He wasn't surprised he looked so tired. He glanced at Leti and then Cain before looking toward the stairs and thinking for a moment. "That...sounds like a good idea," he allowed after a moment, meaning both the rest and the help but he wasn't sure he wanted to admit it.

He pushed himself up from the table and settled his crutches before moving toward the stairs. Down wasn't so physically difficult but balance was a little more important. He paused at the top and stared down at the darkness, caught in another moment somewhere else.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti stood up to follow bastian back to the bedroom and help him settle in.
He made sure bastian was laid down safely before going back to the main room to busy himself with chores.
--
quite a bit of time passed as the healer let bastian sleep until the chicken was ready to plate up.
He went ahead and plated it up slicing steaming hot chicken breast and laying it over the gently stewed vegetables. Even the veggies should be more to bastian's liking having slowly soaked up the broth of the chicken. He even threw a leg on bastian's plate for good measure.
Much to his own shegrin he also brought a glass of wine for each of them, maybe just one glass with dinner was alright. He had noticed the guys reluctance to turn it down. Besides it would go well with the food.
"wakey wakey~" The smile on his face was the proud smile of a craftsman presenting art.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

His dreams revolved around the darkness. Thise steps down into nothing. That hole of the old well. A hell of a lot of falling. At first he slept easily, but after a few hours it was more fitful. Be tossed and turned and mumbled Leti's name and please and a lot of other muffled things.

It was tiring. But it was normal.

Bastian flinched awake at the words that weren't his. He shifted with a groan and blinked himself awake. The scent of food, stewed veggies and chicken, broight him out of the dream a lot faster.

"You should not have done that," he mumbled, not really meaning to say it. It ceetainly wasn't appreciative. Bastian rubbed a hand against his temple and pulled himself up. Bastian fumbled to explain, eyes locked on the plate. "No. I said that wrong," he took a breath. "Thank you, Leti. You...It means a lot for you to do all of this." He left off the 'for me' at the end because he didn't for once imagine he was the only one that benefited. Leti wouldn't do all this for only him.

Food in bed was sweet. Because he didn't want to climbed the stairs again. But he also had sort of been looking forward to it.

Still, he wasn't about to accidentally complain further when presented with the plate. "It even smells delicious," he said gratefully, setting the plate in his lap and starting with the leg. It was like biting into heaven. He took it slowly though their was an excitement to his movements. For the moment, he ignored the wine.