Playing hide and seek

[Anadwen]

"I think I'm gonna throw up. I don't want to eat." Aldanith growled, closing his eyes and pressing his fingers on the side of his head. "I just want a glass of water, I'm hungover as f***. And make it cold."

He breathed in and out, trying to pull his attention away from his discomfort by focusing on his breathing, and sled onto the floor.

[Alegretto]

"Fine, fine. A glass of water for the delicate little elf." She smiled as she grabbed a bucket and took it outside. A well was nearby and it only took her a short time to fill the bucket and return with the water. She poured a glass and of water and put it on the table before going back to cooking the eggs. Fine if he didn't want any, more for her.

[Anadwen]

Aldanith picked the glass, put down beside him, up, and slowly drank what was inside. It refreshed him a little, and cleared his mind, but otherwise, he'd need a whole bucket of that - poured onto his head. "Does this have a garden... And do you have a jug, or a bucked?" he called out, forcing himself up on his feet again.

[Alegretto]

"Bucket's by the front door and garden's out back." she shouted over her shoulder while cooking the eggs. "What'ya need  it for?"

She finished cooking the eggs as she talked and slipped the eggs onto a plate.

[Anadwen]

"A cold shower." Aldanith groaned, rubbing his eyes as he shuffled to the door to pick up the bucked, and begun walking towards where he thought the garden should be, shielding his head from the light with the bucket. "I feel like shit."

[Alegretto]

"You look like it too!" She shouted at the elf as he walked out back. She picked up her plate and walked over to the table. She set the food down and pulled out a seat so she could begin eating. She was ravenous with all that running around last night.

[Anadwen]

Aldanith stopped somewhere in the middle of the garden, and slowly picking the bucket up, the poured all the icy-cold water over himself, although the morning itself was cold, windy, and dark clouds from yesterday still hid the blue sky.

He dropped the bucket and kicked it somewhere away, sitting down in the large puddle he left in the garden. His hands hid his face, water flowing down his sharp features and pouring down his hands. It was freezing cold, but it helped wake him up...

"Can you bring me another bucket and pour it over me?" he called out through his fingers.

[Alegretto]

Grace sighed at the elf's yell. He was being such a pain, but he was so pitiable. She finished off her remaining of eggs, and then yelled back: "Sure, just give me a minute."

She went out back to pick the bucket up. The elf was sitting in the water, looking for all the world like a drowned cat. Yep, very pitiable. She lifted the bucket and brought it to the well, repeating the exercise of getting water into the wooden vessel. She brought it out back again. "Alright, stand up. I'm gonna pour this on you but after that you've got to dry off before you catch a cold."

[Anadwen]

"I can't catch one." Aldanith muttered, shakily standing up, and taking the bucket from Grace's hands. He pointed at himself. "Elf. We're immune to that." And closing his eyes again, he bent his head back, and poured the water onto his tall, lean figure. The cold water drenched his hair and clothes, sticking it to his body and dripping down, and he didn't stop until the whole bucket was empty, drinking some of the water in the process, too.

The bucket landed on the ground with a hollow thud, and Aldanith shook the water off, delving into his hair and slicking its long wisps back. Even despite such a poor state, he retained his grace, and when he glanced at Grace with his cold, hard eyes, he didn't look so pitiful anymore.

[Alegretto]

She shrugged at the elf's first words. "Learn something new ever day I guess." She watched as the fellow hosed himself down. You know, he didn't look half bad...

She shook the thoughts out of her head. He might be a pretty boy but that didn't make him any less annoying. "I'm gonna go grap you some linens to dry off with anyway. Don't want you dripping all over the floor when you come in."

The half-orc went inside looking for those linens she mentioned.

[Anadwen]

Aldanith gave her a nod, and took the wet shirt off, dropping it somewhere onto the ground, just a soaked black bundle. Even though he was half covered with wraps from yesterday, the wiry muscles underneath were still visible enough. He squeezed and shook some water out of his hair, like this reaching almost to the half of his back, and waited for Grace to bring him something to wipe the water off himself.

[Alegretto]

Grace walked back outside, having found the linens in one of her closets. She stopped cold when she got to the doorway, staring at the elf. He was really very handsome, and muscled quite nicely...

She shook her head again. This was not the time to be admiring the admittedly very pretty man. She handed him the linens. "Here, dry yourself off."

[Anadwen]

"Uh... Thanks." Aldanith muttered, taking the towels that were handed to him, and throwing one over his shoulders, and the other one onto his head, to wipe the water off his hair and face. The cold water woke him up quite well, and got rid of almost all headache from yesterdays's wine. He dug his head into the cloth, hiding his face behind it, and brushed the water off his skin, moving it onto his hair shortly after. He blinked into the dim light, and yawned.

"Yeah, now I'd sleep again." he groaned, pulling the linen over his shoulders.

[Alegretto]

Grace shrugged. "Bed's still open if you wanna sleep more." She pointed back towards the back door. "And I know you don't like answering questions Aldanith, but I gotta ask, are we gonna see more people coming after you? I want to know how much trouble I'm in exactly for putting you up."

[Anadwen]

"There shouldn't be any more," Aldanith replied, walking into the house again, leaving damp footprints on the wooden floor. "The person that's sending them should quickly realize that they won't get me easily."

He walked into his room again and sat down onto the edge of the bed, rubbing his right arm with the metal fingers of the right, and eventually begun taking the wraps off. "It's all soaked, I need to change..." he growled.

[Alegretto]

"that's good to know." She responded to his answer.

When he went back to the house, Grace followed him in. He went to the guest room with her close behind, but she didn't enter after him. Instead she stood in the door frame and watched him pick at his bandages. "Change?" Grace asked. "Change what? Your bandages, your clothes, your attitude?" She smirked at that last one.

[Anadwen]

Aldanith raised his glance, showing her the most cynical, cold pair of eyes one could imagine. "The first two." he said quietly, and looked back down at his right arm, crossed by a large number of freshly sewed wounds. On many places, the stitches appeared torn, and the cuts were opening again.

He sighed. "Could you get me some clean ones? And a needle and thread, if you have any." he asked her, hiding his arm under the cloth.

[Alegretto]

Grace felt those cold eyes on her. She suddenly remembered how this elf had killed six men last night. Still, she was not going to be afraid. When the elf pulled out his stitced-up arm, the half-Orc winced and looked away.

He asked for some things, and she nodded and said "Sure." Grace went to look for some clothes and bandages. She had a needle and thread as well, she could sew up clothing, just not people. She found one of her larger shirts and a pair of trousers in her closet, her clothes might be a little short and baggy on him, but they would fit better than most people's; she grabbed the bandages out of a cabinet; and pulled the needle and thread from another drawer.

She returned with the acquired items and handed them to Aldanith. "Here you go."

[Anadwen]

"Thank you." Aldanith took the things without giving her another look, and put everything except for the needle and thread away. "If you don't want to see something similar to yesterday, you should better leave." he warned her, and took the needle to the fingers of his left arm. On the first place where he noticed the stitches breaking, he pierced his own skin with the needle, and calmly closed the wound on the side of his wrist, without even wincing a little.

He continued in it in silence, sewing up everything that needed it with precision that was almost surprising. He was used to doing this himself - more often than not, a healer wasn't nearby, and he had to rely on himself. Bandages were a bigger problem, on the other side, and when he put down the needle, he looked up, searching for Grace. "I need another hand for this..."

[Alegretto]

Grace heard the elf's words. Yep, time to leave. She walked out of the doorway and went to sit at the kitchen table. This elf was an enigma. What was he? Able to kill men so quickly, able to sew himself up. Was he a soldier? Maybe a bounty hunter? She sighed. She didn't like mystery, but Aldanith was never exactly forthcoming.

She sat alone for a few more minutes, and then heard the elf call her. She walked back into the guest room, but immediately looked away again. The elf's sewed arm was exposed. "What'ya need?" She asked him while doing her best to avoid seeing his arm.