Something like home (Highway!)

[Zero]

Nisha took his words into consideration, Kyt did have some good points. However, she was pretty sure he underestimated his own ability to find work. Being blind was only a minor setback, surely he could convience them with a demonstration. "They might not believe it at first, but you could prove it, then they might be willing to let you work for them even if you are blind. And dirty and disheveled can be fixed." Not without money, but it could be done. "If you're more comfortable with healing then just do that. It was only a suggestion. I'll try to think of other things."

She wondered if there was work she could do for money. With her physical limitations there were plenty of jobs she couldn't do, but there were surely some that she still could manage. Nisha was excited about doing things at the house, but she felt terribly useless still. Her hand put gentle pressure on his as they reached to creek, stopping a few feet away. "We're here, the water is cold, so be careful you don't fall in. I bet I could carry buckets back to the house to heat for bath water...we'd need a tub, though. I'll have to think about that." It would take her a long, long time to carry enough buckets for a bath. She would have to rest frequently, but stubbornly she thought it was doable.

[TheHighwayman]

"You mean we could carry buckets? What would we keep the water in, and how would we heat it? We'll have to buy some sort of tub for that, and even then I think having warm water is a bit more than we can manage right now." Setting his walking stick down on the bank, Kyt stepped into the water. He dunked his cloak into the river and felt around under the water with his free hand. Finding a somewhat flattened stone, he began to scrape the dirt away from the cloak- simple, but surprisingly effective. Of course, the rest of his clothes were getting soaked in the process, but for the moment the though of attire that wasn't covered in months worth of filth outweighed the discomfort.

"If you really want a bath, we'll find something to put the water in- and who knows, maybe our fire will be able to heat it well enough to work. Though I think it might be easier on you just to use the stream." Kyt continued scraping at the worn cloak, but ceased speaking for a moment as he dunked his head under the water. He held it there for a moment, then stood back up and shook the water out of his hair. "Unless you've thought of something I haven't?"

[Zero]

Nisha made a face, heating water enough for a bath would be time consuming. His arguments were valid, of course, Kyt seemed a very pratical man, which was probably a good thing. Still, she couldn't help but think some wishful thoughts. "The only way to heat it would be one pot at a time. We really don't have the rescources for it right now, I guess."

Sparing him a glance, and a frown, as he started washing his cloak, she moved just downstream a couple feet so she could wash the dinner dishes. The thought of a warm bath was set aside as she tried to think of other things that could be done. With chickens, they would have a steady supply of eggs to eat. Surely there were berry bushes this close to a creek, she could pick those too. Maybe some wild onions would be available.

Her attention was brought back to the present as he mentioned bathing again. "Oh, yes, I can just use the stream. It will be cold, but oh well. You're going to catch a cold like that, getting your head and clothes all wet."

[TheHighwayman]

Kyt shrugged. "Well, given my normal state lately has been sick and hungry, I think I can handle just being sick. Besides, it's a little late now." Satisfied with the state of his cloak- which was by no means completely clean, just no longer filthy- he stood up, wrung out what water he could, and laid it on the bank to dry. Looking at his waterlogged sleeves and starting to pull off the shirt, he said, "I might as well wash this as well, while I'm at it." By now his breeches had been drenched up to the knees, much more so than the shirt, but at least he showed no indication of planning to pull those off as well.

Resuming his scraping, he shivered a bit. The water was much colder than he'd have liked, but at least it felt a little bit refreshing to the healer. It wasn't often he got the chance to take advantage of large amounts of water, given how much time he spent in the city, and he planned to make the most of this stream. "Rather convenient, this stream being so close. Though I imagine that might be part of the reason the farm was built here. You know, we're rather lucky, having a place- however run-down- to stay for free."

Kyt wasn't quite as thorough with the shirt, already wringing it out and leaving it to rest with his other things, but he seemed content with the fact that his attire was no longer caked in grime. "Need any help with the bowls?" he asked.

[Zero]

Nisha might have argued with Kyt, but he was right, he was already wet so it was a little late to be taking precautions. Still, the sooner he was warm and dry, the better. As she finished scrubbing the dinner dishes she averted her eyes as Kyt removed his shirt to clean it with his cloak. It didn't make her terribly uncomfortable, seeing Kyt with his shirt off, but still she didn't want to stare at him either. It would be rude, for one thing. Improper for another.

"Yes, we're very fortunate. Just think of how nice it will be when it is fixed up a little. It might not ever be a palace, but for just the two of us? It could be a proper and cozy little home." Nisha liked that thought a lot. Being a vagrant, now knowing where she was going to rest each night, it put a lot of stress on her. Just having a place, even as shabby as they had, to call her own was a huge burden off her shoulders.

Standing with a smile she stacked the bowls inside each other. "Nope, dishes are done! Are we going to stay here until your clothes dry out or should we carry them back and find something to hang them up with?"

[TheHighwayman]

The young healer chuckled when he noticed Nisha was averting her eyes; while he understood most matters that were of concern to normal people and not to himself, modesty was one that had always seemed a little bit odd to him. Trudging out of the stream, he began folding up his shirt and his cloak, scooped up his walking stick, and looked back at Nisha. "I'm ready to go now, actually. They clothes'll probably take a while to dry, and as much as I like the water it's probably best I get to drying off fairly soon myself."

With that he started off, retracing the path they'd taken perfectly. On the soft ground his walking stick made no noise, but just watching it one could almost hear the steadytap, tap, tap that usually accompanied Kyt's plodding. After a few steps he stopped. "Oh, I just had an idea. Would you mind if I set up a sort of office at home? It might make my services just a little more credible if my clients don't have to find me wandering the streets, and letting those who need healing come to me would certainly make me easier to find. Of course, if you don't like the idea I can keep on as I've been doing without trouble."

[Zero]

Nisha felt less anxious around nudity than most people, though she still held some sense of modesty. Living among werewolves did lend to more natural thought, and technically speaking, being completely naked was more natural than the clothing they paraded around in. Still, she had been raised a lady, sort of, and staring at people was rude in general, staring at naked people could be misunderstood.

"In a few months when the weather gets hot, we'll probably appreciate this cold little stream a lot more." It would be nice to escape the summer heat in a cold-running creek. It wasn't deep enough for proper swimming, but that slightly deeper pool would be enough for cooling off in. That was actually a pleasant thought. Nisha really wasn't capable of real swimming, not for any real amount of time. She'd envied her brothers during the long summer when they would simply leap into the pond. Her father had let her play in the garden fountain, though.

She followed Kyt, keeping a watchful eye on him to be sure he didn't stray off the path or get tripped up, but she didn't try to hold his hand or lead him as they walked back. "An office? Hmm...Well, there are a couple rooms that might be able to be livable with some repairs, if we fixed one a bit I think it would be a good idea. You might not have to travel back and forth to the city so much that way."

[TheHighwayman]

Any fears Nisha might have had about his ability to make his way back without incident were unnecessary. The young man had gotten plenty of practice at memorizing routes and dealing with his handicap, he wasn't about to have difficulty with something like this. "I'll have to get working on that, then. It might allow me to start spending more time stockpiling herbs and leave me more than just my feeble magics to rely on, once everything is set properly...  I think there may not be a need for me to seek another profession after all." The healer gave a satisfied hum and hastened his step.

"And there's no need to keep watching me like that," he added. "As long as I've got my wits and my walking stick about me, I'll be fine. I've gone nineteen years without my sight, I think I can handle a fairly straight path." There was more amusement than annoyance or defensiveness in his voice, but he clearly was just a little bit bothered by her concern.

Kyt shivered a bit and hurried even more. "Come on, I'd like to get in front of a fire or under a blanket as soon as I can. Huh, you'd think having to tread carefully my entire life would've made me wiser than to go playing in a river in the evening." He shook his head and gave half a grin. "But no, still just as pigheaded as anyone else when it comes to my own well being."

[Zero]

Many fears and worries were unnecessary, that didn't make them go away. Nisha didn't doubt Kyt's ability to get around, she just worried because that was what she did. When he called her on it, a blush spread through her cheeks and she was glad he could not see it, but she knew at the same time that he would know. Getting used to his particular quirks might take some time, she thought. He couldn't see, but somehow he would always know.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to. I know you'll be fine and don't need me to fuss and worry over you. I just don't want anything to happen to you." The last sentance was mumbled gloomily. After Gavin had disappeared, she still worried about what could have happened to him. Perhaps she was just afraid of being left alone again. Still, she stopped watching him and instead focused on watching where her own feet were stepping. Wouldn't do to worry about Kyt and then go tripping over something herself.

She did smile a bit as he called himself pigheaded and picked up his pace. "You can do both, I'll hang your clothes to dry and you can wrap up in your blankets and I'll stoke the fire. Hopefully you won't get sick." If he did, well, she had warned him.

[TheHighwayman]

While the young healer had been able to hear her mumbling- if not make out every word of it- and figure out the gist of what she'd said from the bits he understood and what his more unique gifts told him, he decided not to say anything. Soon his count and the lessening of plant life around him told Kyt that they'd arrived. Walking straight to the fire and kneeling down, he set to stirring the flames back to life. "I can take care of the fire. Would you mind hanging these on something for me?" he asked, holding out his shirt and his cloak.

In what seemed a shorter time than anybody could have done so normally, Kyt had the fire roaring again. Had he used his magic somehow? He didn't seem tired by it like his other use had left him. "Old trick of mine," he said. "Well, old trick of the old man's, I just copied it." With the fire going, he crawled over to his makeshift bed and buried himself under all but one of the blankets. "You know, I know full well you left me more of these than you did yourself. For one night I was willing to accept the charity, but you really should take one or two back for yourself." After a brief pause, he added, "And I'm not just trying to turn down generosity, it's just economics. I'm used to sleeping out in the cold, so just having a fire and a single blanket is more than enough for me. You no doubt have grown accustomed to what little you have. I'm just trying to make it so both of us can be comfortable."

((OOC: Sorry it took so long to reply.))

[Zero]

The remainder of the walk back was spent in silence, Nisha unable to think of anything to say. Once they had reached their little home, she took his shirt and cloak and wordlessly hung them over whatever she could find to lay them out to dry. Broken chairs were all she had for now. Maybe she could get a clothes line hung up somewhere. That was just one more thing to add to the ever growing list of things to do around here. It seemed a daunting list, when she stopped to think about it, but she refused to do that, merely picking one thing at a time to worry about.

When Nisha turned back to the fire, he had it blazing good again, even though she had only turned her back on him a few moments. She tilted her head as he explained it was a trick he'd been taught. "That's a neat trick." Gavin had taught her how to start a fire, put out a fire, and bank a fire, but that was about her extent of knowledge on the subject of fires themselves. Now what she could cook with different types of fires, that was another story.

She walked over to her bed and sat down on the blanket she had kept for herself. Nisha had known he would try to give back some of the blankets eventually. Still, she made a face. "It's okay, I don't really need them. Besides, you did that magic thing on me to help keep me warmer, remember?" The fact that she didn't sleep much didn't lend to her needing a great deal of comfort, at least in her mind. She wondered how long it would last. Surely it couldn't be something permanent. 

((OOC: It's all good. No worries.))

[TheHighwayman]

"The spell only had so much power in it- it'll likely fizzle out in the middle of the night. I'm a little surprised it's not run out already, to be honest." Kyt moved to hand over the blanket, but with a grimace he halted and slapped a palm to his forehead. "Well, now I feel stupid. Should have thought of that earlier- I can just refresh the stupid thing." Setting the blanket back down and chuckling at his own shortsightedness, the healer rubbed his hands before the fire.

"So, herbs. Hrm... I wonder..." he muttered. "Let's see..." The young healer began lowly rambling a long list of plant names, each barely audible, as he grew completely still. Kyt's breathing slowed, and his eyes brightened to glow slightly through his blindfold. Limbs stiff and unresponsive, he'd almost appear corpse-like if not for the fact that his measured breathing continued and still the list of herbs continued, looping over once he reached the end. A few might be recognizable to Nisha, should she care to listen to it, but the majority would only be of concern to Kyt himself. Any attempt to rouse the man from whatever stupor he'd induced would go without success.

He remained like that for about five minutes, before finally his head snapped up and he took in a deep breath. Kyt rubbed his forehead and groaned, trying to get his bearings back from... whatever it was exactly he'd been doing.