Stuck in the Snow... and Lost

[stelmarisa]

Collapsed in the wet snow, Kaven was not awoken by the appearance of the young twins. Neither did their squabbling disturb him, or their attempts at dragging him back into the tent. Instead his mind stayed blank, mercifully free of dreams or anxiety, as if it had fled from the waking horror of his burns and fever. By the time Zurna was bandaging his wounds he was semi-conscious, the the heat searing through his leg forcing his mind into half-wakefulness.

His eyes flickered as she talked to him and a moan escaped his mouth, as he struggled towards consciousness. He  tried to move briefly before crying out, his hand flying to his leg, where the blistering skin was hot under the bandages.

"What happened?" he mumbled, eyes opening to gaze up at Zurna's face, blurry above him.

[GoblinFae]

She startled back to attention by his cry of pain and reached over him to pull his hand away. "Leave it be and lay still. You'll only make it worse," she quietly warned. "And I don't know. I was asleep until the twins woke me up hollering and crying as they tried to drag your deadweight body back inside. I was hoping you could tell me. Looked like you burned yourself somehow."

Zurna blinked slowly as she gazed down at him, feeling the sickness continue to fight for hold over her. "Rest now Kaven. We'll talk when you're better." Her fingers resumed their gentle motion through his hair as she struggled to fight off sleep. "You had me so worried," came out as an unintentional mumble under her breath.

[stelmarisa]

Obediently moving his hand away from his leg, Kaven mumbled vaguely, confused by Zurna's answer. He frowned and rubbed his forehead, trying to remember what had happened. "I remember fire... there was fire everywhere... all over the floor."

He tilted his head slightly, staring around at the obviously undamaged tent. "Where did it go? I was surrounded by fire. That must have been how I burnt myself." He struggled a little in his confusion, but quickly settled down as Zurna resumed stroking his hair.

"I don't know..." he was murmuring as his eyes began closing, but he never finished his sentence. Within a few moments he was asleep again, face relaxing into a peaceful sleep.

[GoblinFae]

Despite the toll it took on her body, Zurna stayed up the rest of the night into the morning, watching over Kaven. It frightened her that he could have burned himself in his sleep and she did not wish to repeat it. As it was she was awake to change his bandages frequently and apply salve to speed the healing and soothe the pain he would feel when he awoke.

By the time morning broke she felt truly horrible. Her throat ached, her chest ached making her struggle for breath and her head felt like a sack of potatoes. 'Mother is going to kill me for this. This is what I get for being lazy. I hope Kaven doesn't feel this bad. Maybe I could get him to take care of me. No!'

Her head shot up and back into alertness as she began to nod off. Looking about and seeing that Kaven was still there, Zurna returned to her musing. 'It's my fault we are sick. I should be taking care of him, not the other way around. He has already done so much for me. Ack! I feel so terrible.'

[stelmarisa]

Not long after dawn broke, Kaven found himself awakening. Proper awakening, not the confusion of hallucinations that had plagued him during the night. He lay there with his eyes closed for some minutes, feeling pleasantly refreshed and cool. His fever had broken and left him in a cooling sweat, and Zurna's attentions had gone a long way towards helping the pain in his leg. This calm didn't last for long, however, as the rest of his body began to wake up and make its aches and pains known to him. As it did, the burn began to sting again, and he realised just how beaten up his body was. He let out a groan as he opened his eyes, leaning up on one elbow to look at Zurna.

He softened as he saw her there, half-asleep and over-tired from nursing him. "Morning," he said softly, reaching out to stroke her leg. "You look exhausted." He sat up properly then, wincing as he settled his leg into position, and pulled Zurna into his arms.

"You're really amazing, do you know that?" He kissed her on the forehead gently. "Have you stayed up all night with me? ... Go to sleep now, and I will watch over you."

[GoblinFae]

"Morning," she croaked back, stirring slightly as he moved. "You shouldn't-Kaven st!" Her protests fell on deaf ears though as he moved her into his lap. Zurna struggled weakly as even the simplest of movements drained her.

Ever persistent though, she continued to fight to get off his lap. "I'm fine Kaven. You shouldn't move so much you'll hurt your leg. Let me up, I want to look at it now that you're awake. A series of deep hacking coughs interrupted her though. Once she settled and her breathing returned to only a light wheeze she attempted to restart her efforts to check his leg.

[stelmarisa]

"Nope. Nope, nope, nope." Kaven caught a hold of Zurna's hands, grasping them gently but firmly. "I am fine. Or if I'm not yet, I will be soon, thanks to you and your nursing." He lifted her hands to his lips, kissing each one in turn, before releasing them.

"Now I want you to sleep, and rest, whilst I watch over you." He touched her forehead to check for fever and stroked her skin tenderly, letting his fingers trail down her cheek. "I have something you can take for that cough, but right now, sleep will do more to help you. And you are my slave for the day, so you have to do it." He grinned, remembering their deal.

[GoblinFae]

Zurna would have protested more if he had not brought up losing the bet. "Low blow. Very low blow Kaven." She pouted and grumbled worse than the twins. Being sick was never something she was able to make the most of. She was known to deny her being in such a state until it nearly killed her, and even then she would only say it was but a sniffle.

"'sides I can't sleep now that it's daylight. I have chores and things to do Kaven. My family needs me! Now quit being a mule and let me look." Zurna returned her efforts albeit much weaker to check on him. "Honestly I'm fine."

[stelmarisa]

"No, I'm not giving in." Kaven smiled fondly, watching this woman who he  loved. Her insistence on looking after him, on completing her chores even though she was so weak, just reminded him of the reasons that he had fallen for her so quickly. Her sense of duty, her goodness and her care for others were so evident to him right then.

But he continued stroking her forehead gently, trying to calm her. "You need sleep, and everyone knows it. You can't do your chores if you are ill or too tired to stand, so sleep now and we can do them later."

[GoblinFae]

The commotion that the pair was creating woke Minali at last. "Zurna Nali, you listened to that boy and rest, or I'll make you stay inside for the rest of the fall!" The girl froze in her place, eyes widening at the seriousness of the threat. "But mo-"

"Don't mother me! The chores have gotten done before you and they will get done after you. This is no way to treat a guest. You should be entertaining him not beating him up."
"I am not beating him up! And how entertaining can I be if I'm a sleep?"

The older woman smiled knowingly and winked at Kaven. "I'm sure the boy can think of something," she muttered under her breath before speaking louder. "If you do not rest then you are of no use. Now sleep before I make you sleep. If you are that concerned about the chores then Kaven can do them while you rest."

Sick and weary, she collapsed back against him. "We'll both rest. It would not do for him to relapse and I did stay up all night. That's why I'm tired. Thank you mother." Zurna closed her eyes, already beginning to fall asleep just sitting there.

[stelmarisa]

Kaven smiled fondly as Zurna argued with her mother. He was sure that soon enough she would agree, bowing to the combined efforts of himself and Minali, and felt comforted that she would get some rest. "You know that mothers are always right."

He chuckled as they continued the discussion, raising an eyebrow slightly as Minali winked at him. He was growing fond of Zurna's mother, especially when she stood up for him in situations like this. He grinned back at her and squeezed Zurna's hands as she fell back against him.

"Good." He reached for a fur, folding it up into a pillow, and slipped it behind Zurna's head. "There, we can both rest, and I will wake you in a couple of hours so that you don't lose too much of the day. How does that sound?"

[GoblinFae]

Zurna grunted in agreement, already too tired to fight anymore. 'I would much rather sleep the whole day away. There is so much to do though. How will I get it done? I feel terrible. Maybe I am sick. What a wonderful day this will be'

She grimaced at the aching feeling that was setting into her entire body. Everything was beginning to hurt from the movement of every strand of hair down to her toenails. "Hate being sick," she huffed, curling up tighter in Kaven's arms.

Sleep came quick and heavy to her. Blessedly no dreams troubled her as she slumbered. The fever cooled some but no matter how many furs covering her, Zurna could not feel warm enough. Throughout the morning family members quietly came and went about their business. Even the twins were respectful of their sleeping aunt and went outside to play quietly.

[stelmarisa]

"I know. But you'll be alright." Kaven bent over to kiss her forehead, smoothing her hair away from her face. "Now sleep, and I'll see you soon."

He stayed semi-awake for a long time that morning, dozing in and out of consciousness until the lines blurred, and he wasn't sure whether he was dreaming or not. He was grateful that they were left alone, allowed to sleep. Eventually he fell properly asleep, propped up against a tent prop, Zurna clasped firmly in his arms.

[GoblinFae]

Climb back up through the layers of sleep back to reality was long and strenuous. Zurna came to slowly and groggily, not remembering who was holding her for a moment. "Ezra?" she moaned quietly before looking back and seeing Kaven.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Her limbs still felt heavy and weak but the fever was gone for now and only the cold seemed to be hanging on. "Are you still feeling sick? How is the leg? I should probably check on it," she decided without waiting for him to respond.

[stelmarisa]

Kaven was called back to wakefulness by Zurna stirring in his arms, and the faint moan of a word. He frowned, unclear on what exactly she had said, but then she was moving and he forgot his confusion.

"Morning." He leaned forwards and kissed her head, pleased to wake up with her. He didn't bother arguing as she spoke, judging from her coherent words that her fever must be gone. "It feels alright, I think." He shrugged and unwrapped his arms from around her to let her move more freely. She wouldn't be happy until he'd let her check on his wound. He could feel that the skin was blistered underneath the bandages, but hopefully it had begun to heal.

"You can check, if you're sure you're up to it."

[GoblinFae]

Eyes rolled in exasperation as Kaven questioned her capability. "A little sniffle is not going to kill me," she bit out, moving down to his leg. With a little difficult due to her hands feeling clumsy, Zurna removed the bandages and clinically examined the burn.

The skin was shiny pink and red as it bubbled up with hot blisters. Zurna growled under her breath as she ran gentle fingers over the surface of the skin. Moving slowly she instructed him to stay put as she wobbled her way over to the medicinal crate again. She pulled out a different jar and came over to liberally apply the thick salve to his leg, hoping it would cool the tender flesh.

"What shall I do for you now?" she asked, rewrapping his leg in new bandages. "I am at your beck and call for the rest of the day now."

[stelmarisa]

Kaven sat quietly as Zurna treated his leg, gritting his teeth against the pain. The skin was still hot and raw and it burnt as she touched it. He sighed in relief when she was done and was wrapping his bandages, and leant his head back against the tent prop, eyes closed.

"Typical, that I get a slave for the day, on a day when both of us are too ill to enjoy it." He grinned evilly before continuing. "Otherwise I can think of quite a few things you could do for me..."

He sat up then and opened his eyes, holding out a hand to her. "But for now, how about a kiss?"

[GoblinFae]

The young woman blinked uncomprehendingly at Kaven. "Why can't I do things for you now? I'm not broken you know," she heatedly defended. 'A kiss? Men!' Crawling back up to him and ignoring his hand, Zurna sat up on her knees beside him. Then, without putting much thought or feeling into it she kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Feel better now?"

A smile twitched at her lips as she remembered what she had called him the day before. "My hero, if that is all you will ask of me then my job is quite easy and losing is nothing to lament over." Zurna rested her back against the same support pole he was using and pressed closely against Kaven's side.

[stelmarisa]

Kaven smiled as she kissed him, his eyes closing briefly again. He slipped an arm tight around her shoulders as she sat down beside him.

"Your job will be easy, my princess." He kissed the side of her head and pulled her closer. "All I ask of you is that you are here, next to me... and bestow the occasional kiss upon my cheek, of course." He reached out for her hand with his free one, thumb tracing patterns onto the back of her hand.

"Being here with you is what makes me happy, no matter what we do."

[GoblinFae]

Zurna smiled warmly and leaned over to hive him another peck on the cheek. "There," she said resting her head on his shoulder. "Why do you call me princess? I'm no princess. In fact, I'm the farthest things from it."

A cough stopped her from protesting further and instead caused her to release a displeased growl from deep in her throat. Settling back against him, she snuggled closer. "What did you write your sister? Better yet, what horrible things are you telling her about the heathen nomads of the north?" There was a teasing lilt in her nasally voice. Butm there was also true interest there as well. Zurna was dying to know what he truly thought of her, how he would describe her to his closest kin.