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[dadication]

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[gr1m]

"Easier to remove and harvest from tomorrow if it's still there, yes?" He wouldn't take help in covering up the corpse when it was mainly just working on traps and runes down there, causing a few tunnels to seal and all so that nothing could get in without his knowing.

His hood was pulled up with a little hissing from snakes as they settled in under it, making sure armor was buckled securely and he had his crossbow with him. "I won't be long if you remain awake- and I will."

Once he was sure the fire was in no danger of getting out of hand he was leaving the room, steps fading away as he went about his business of fiddling about with traps to seal certain tunnels; he'd done it before for other reasons, but for now it would do to make sure there'd be something there tomorrow and only the corpse. Definitely dead at least, and the walk of rounds still went as they usually did, making sure he didn't miss anything.

[dadication]

Jack listened to the motions of Gabriel around the room and the hisses of the snakes that seemed to add commentary during changes. He supposed that was normal, and it wasn't with a sense of dread that he was left alone in an unfamiliar room. That part was actually fairly normal as he traveled around a lot. The crackle of the fire was a comfort.

He didn't sleep, couldn't yet. His mind was too wired with the strangeness of this situation, of a gorgon offering room and board to a hunter whom he had claimed to hate before. He supposed being different than the other encounters with hunters meant that he had earned a different outcome. Plus, he couldn't be turned to stone with sight.

His eyelids were closed and he looked relaxed enough, but it would probably be impossible to tell if he was sleeping or awake. He was thinking, something he found was necessary to consider the next day, and tonight he was simply waiting for the gorgon to come back to determine what would happen next.

[gr1m]

Things were in the all clear by the time Gabriel reached the end of his walk, letting out a soft breath as he made one last pass by the carcass, a few bolts collected simply so he wouldn't have to make more of them. It didn't hurt that he did know every twist and turn in this abandoned mine and the cave systems that it had run in to before it had been left forgotten.

Gabriel made his way back eventually, letting the collected bolts and crossbow both rest on a worktable before he was pulling off the hooded cloak with a soft hum as snakes hissed. Going about removing armor and some of his clothing to get more comfortable, smoothing down a looser shirt.

Did help himself to a drink, a bottle pulled from a shelf and poured in to a cup, leaning near the fireplace as he did watch the hunter quietly for a moment. Still there on his return, as if he half suspected him to be gone before returning.

[dadication]

He was already estimating for time that Gabriel was gone for, and he actually didn't doubt that the gorgon would return. After all, there was still food, supplies and a fire burning down slowly. It made no sense to abandon it unless it was some kind of betrayal and in that case, he expected that the gorgon to be a lot more stand-offish with him at the request to touch his face.

So it wasn't a surprise when he heard foot falls beyond where he was resting, and while he couldn't be certain that it was Gabriel, he didn't move all the same. It wasn't until he heard the familiar sound of hissing that he knew that the gorgon had returned a few hours after leaving.

It wasn't difficult to pinpoint what Gabriel was doing either, not with the shuffle of clothing, armour, weapons and the like. He could pick up the sound of a drink being consumed as well, and that simply caused him to shift to press more of his face into one of the pillows.

"...need me to keep watch at all tonight?"

[gr1m]

Couldn't be that surprised that the hunter was awake, or had woken up when he re-entered the room. "No, there's a ward set up for that." Which meant that the gorgon himself was likely going to let himself rest, too.

Cup emptied and given a little rinse as well, boots were slipped off-

Gabriel was walking to another side of the room, and there was a large flat rock there he moved on to. The sound of scales brushing over stone and he let himself curl there among sudden coils, relaxing on that warmth. Head rested on his own arms as even the snakes of his hair began to settle. The fire was low, giving off just a little light, an even if he knew there would be alarm if anything came down certain tunnels the snakes would still spot anything amiss.

[dadication]

"Alright then," he murmured, leaving it at that. He probably needed the rest anyway, but he was more than willing to do his fair share when it came to keeping a place safe.

He listened as the gorgon moved around the room and was clearly removing a few more items of clothing, and if he expected Gabriel to climb into the massive bed with him, he was definitely mistaken. He lifted his head at the sound of flesh on stone, curious as he tried to locate exactly where in the room it was at.

Soon he was laying his head back down and settling in himself. Seemed secure enough. It took him some time to find a comfortable enough spot and trust his surroundings even to actually sleep, but he did manage it. Definitely was much needed rest anyway.

[gr1m]

Gabriel did sleep eventually himself, rested amongst coils on that heated rock; sometimes it was needed, that urge to simply, well. Feel secure in a way that involved something so much further away from human that he already was, a long and muscled tail and body that matched the snakes that made up some of his hair.

Did sleep silently, those smaller snakes hissing on occasion amongst themselves as the fire eventually burned itself out. Remained warm, quiet even with only the snakes as a bit of noise so there was no dead silence.

He found that dead silence worse, and perhaps it was why they took it upon themselves to keep up some little bit of noise so he could sleep.

[dadication]

He slept better in silence, though it was hard to achieve for him. He didn't have sight any longer to simply pop an eye open to peer about when something was amiss, so he relied more heavily on his hearing to alert him when something required his attention. It was a unique experience sleeping with the occasional sound of a low snake hissing.

The distance was far enough away that he wasn't disturbed, and if anything, their sound made it clear that Gabriel was still settled on that warming stone and not moving around the room too much. With the first burning down, he snuggled more into the furs and slept on, letting the hours tick away.

Strange to sleep well in the presence of a creature that could kill him outright if it was wanted. The same could be said about him, since a simple spell would allow him his sight and he could kill the gorgon from across the room. Neither happened.

Instead he woke sometime in the early hours of morning, stretching in bed and sighing as he came back to himself. He whispered soft words to cast the spell of sight, allowing his world of come into focus with the help of the spell. It wasn't perfect, but it allowed him to look around the place and be aware of things. He sat up in bed, rubbing his face with the heel of his hand and looked over at the gorgon who was... well, half snake. Of course he was.

God he needed a drink.

[gr1m]

The snakes hissed louder after Jack sat up and- well.

Gabriel made a low hissing sound himself, curling up more on that rock as if he didn't want to be woken up despite the snakes trying to act more as an alarm to wake up than anything else. There was no distress, simply them noticing the hunter was awake. Sitting up and moving.

Coils shifted even, because there was a lot of that tail that more than took up the entirety of that rock that was nearly the size of the bed he'd let Jack have for the night. His torso turned, laying somewhat on his back and head pillowed on part of his own tail.

[dadication]

Well, three could play the hissing game. When it seemed that the snakes were having a right go of letting the whole room know that he was moving around and awake, he hissed at them, though he knew nothing of actual snake language. Hopefully he wasn't swearing at them mistakenly.

He watched the gorgon shift and the sheer length and girth of that tail would certainly be enough to kill a grown man. So far, not formally awake over there on the stone, so he pushed off the fur that was covering him and slipped from the bed. He walked with a limp, wincing a little in discomfort from his leg.

He made his way over to the quiet embers and built up another fire with the wood available, intent on finding his pack and making some coffee. He was going to need it today. All the while, he watched the gorgon's outline.

[gr1m]

They hissed louder as if challenged, a few lifting themselves up and swaying a little.

Gabriel, in his half asleep state, swatted at them a bit as the rest of him stretched out, part of his coils spilling on to the floor. At least that part of it was warm due to how close it was to the warm stone. So while Jack was reminded of his injuries, the gorgon was at least pushing himself up in to a sit, rubbing over his face as a few snakes moved their heads to the sides of it and others watched the hunter still.

Still wearing a loose lace-up shirt and... that was about it, hands fallen to coils, swaying a little as he sat.

[dadication]

Apparently hissing didn't work. Whatever. He wasn't about to argue with the guard snakes, though he had hoped the gorgon would sleep longer. He supposed that it was a matter of some small measure of trust between them that they had slept at all.

Fire stoked to life and needing to be fed, but he was rising to find his kitpack and pulling it closer so he could rifle for some precious coffee and his kettle to heat some water. He added some to it and allowed it to warm with the fire that was coming alive, glancing over at the gorgon that seemed rather sleepy still.


"I didn't realize you had two forms," he murmured softly. "You can choose to have a tail or legs then?"

[gr1m]

He yawned wide, jaw cracking just a little from it just due to how far it had stretched, some hair fallen over shoulders and a few snakes moving to wrap it and other snakes up as if it were some sort of hairtie. Let him deal with it all later-

An eye cracked open. "Comes with having one parent as a human, and either has it's own advantages." What those were between them exactly he wasn't going to say. He was moving off that stone, moving up as tail turned to legs and he had to grab a pair of pants to pull on. "Sometimes it's more comfortable to sleep in that form."

Personal taste there.

[dadication]

He was seated next to the fire so that he could more readily feed and build it back up, his magical sight more directed outwards so he was aware of the gorgon rousing himself from sleep completely. It was... a rather different experience since he could 'see' rather than having to feel for everything, and honestly, the mixture was good.

"Do I dare ask how many creatures you've choked the life out of with those coils of yours?" He was poking the flames, turning wood over. "And as you said before, every gorgon has a human parent out of the two." Now he knew more advantages. Soon enough he was going to be the most knowledgeable hunter when it came to gorgons.

The transition was interesting to be aware of as well, smooth and easy, like sliding into a different shirt or something. "You appeared comfortable. Slept well by the sounds of it too."

[gr1m]

"Don't think you do," because more of that had happened when he was younger and had little else at his disposal. A desperate sort of act to keep himself alive until he could do more to defend himself against those he came upon. "A human parent that loves them as much as they love their gorgon mate," or so he had observed while he'd had his parents.

Pants were tied as he let the hunter feed the fire, going in to on of his food storage to pull out a few things. Some fruit, a few pieces of wrapped meat. He could smell the coffee warming but said nothing of it.

"Well enough. How was your rest?"

[dadication]

Jack went very quiet at the little details of Gabriel's parentage, face tipping to make it seem like he was looking into the fire. His fingers laced together and he slowly nodded his head, and he could assume based on the way that Gabriel spoke that those parents were long dead. "You must miss them," he said softly. "How long ago did they...?"

He was back to poking the flames, feeding them until the size and heat was satisfying enough and knowing that the coffee would boil up nicely. His thigh ached, but it was easy to ignore as he busied himself with pulling out two mugs.

"Slept well," he agreed. "You hiss when you sleep." More like the snakes hissed, but it could be one in the same. Also a play on snoring.

[gr1m]

He was quiet for a while, as if Gabriel wasn't going to answer, just the sound of fruit being sliced. "A few decades ago," he couldn't remember the years exactly, but that was close enough. "A hunter found us, and my father fought him while my mother hid me before going to fight at his side." Neither came back, but by the tone....

Gabriel had seen what happened, what became of them. The sound of slicing never stopping even as he spoke, moving on to the meat.

There was the low hissing of a snake- "Do I?" He wouldn't know, truthfully, same as snoring.

[dadication]

A part of him wondered how far would be pushing too far, and he was fine with a non-answer as well. He certainly didn't take any pleasure discussing his family or the resulting scars that came from it. If gorgons were as loyal as they seemed, then it was a sore subject indeed. Maybe he wanted a sliver of a moment in sharing in pain that he could relate to, that others suffered as he had.

"A hunter..." He couldn't say he was surprised. "The snake purge." That's what the Guild called it when the hunt to eradicate gorgons had been at its peek.

He was stirring the brewing coffee, checking its readiness. The hiss might have been him being called traitor for selling the snakes out. No regrets yet. "You do. They seem as active at night as during the day. Your own personal little tea kettles."

[gr1m]

"My father did ultimately kill the hunter," A man that had been a skilled fighter, "but the blindfold he wore had been ripped off and neither of them could act quickly enough to prevent him from catching a glance of my mother's face." So he turned to stone, naturally, that part didn't need to be spoken- "In her grief, my mother fell upon his sword-"

Gabriel hissed, knife dropped on the table as he took hold of his hand, a bit of blood dripping to the floor. What he had been cutting was spared any blood, but he still moved to try and take care of the wound himself. See if it was more minor than it felt or not.

[dadication]

He supposed he was supposed to root for the hunter but he didn't at all. It was a shame to rip a seemingly happy family apart like that. Yet another orphan created from a bounty that had no real base back then. Most gorgons did little if anything to harm humans. "She must have loved him very much to leave her child behind."

His head rose from the coffee at the hiss and it didn't take long to smell blood. He rose from his seat by the fire and moved to offer assistance. "Here, let me help. How deep is it? I shouldn't be distracting you with such painful talk."

[gr1m]

A few of the snakes' heads had crowded around his face as if the look at the cut as well without getting in the way. Still, he let Jack take his hand, blood actively flowing from the cut. He hadn't cut off a finger, but it was deep enough to be a bit of a problem- "She blamed herself for his death, that grief deep enough she forgot everything but that," and it had been enough to leave him alone.

Had been enough for him to hate hunters, laying the blame on that rather than his mother. The hunter was why the blindfold was gone and neither of his parents could react fast enough. That he watched the hunter bleed to death near the statue made of his father and the cold body of his mother before coming out of hiding.

"I- there's some bandaging I can get."

[dadication]

It wasn't strange that Gabriel felt about hunters as he had once felt about monsters and other creatures that required to be put in check. His own hatred had faded down to a wary kind of loneliness, like he was doing the jobs because there was nothing else. Sometimes he mustered his hot anger and rushed in headlong, but it was rare these days.

"He knew the risks having a lover that could turn him to stone," he pointed out logically, aware it wouldn't make any different. Her grief had clearly been horrible and deep, unreasonable.

He shook his head as he used a finger to smear the blood to look at the wound. It was deep enough to be concerning, nothing so simple as a bandage would fix. "Hush, I've got this," he murmured as he examined the wound before more blood welled up. It coated his fingers and his hands but all the same, he wrapped his palms around that wounded finger and called upon his magic to press warm healing into it, stopping the bleeding, knitting the injury so it was little more than a surface wound. Not perfect, but good enough for a bandage now.

He sighed and sagged a little. Healing magic was one of the hardest to learn and some of the hardest to cast. "Let's wash it up and bandage it now. Might itch for a day or two."

[gr1m]

Yet here they were, a hunter of monsters and what most would call a monster.

"He did, reason he took every precaution he could, and all it took was one hunter." One determined to use a gorgon's mate against them in order to get his prize, and likely would have tried hunting Gabriel down if things had gone as wanted. He'd made sure some creature ate that body while his mother's was left alone.

A shoulder shifted to help keep Jack from sagging further, a few snakes brushing against the sides of the hunter's face. "You didn't have to-" Use up energy needed to heal himself just to take care of a bad cut, but. Well. This entire encounter had been filled with surprised from the start, hadn't it. "I've a wash basin, c'mon."

Would lead them both to it, and there was enough clean water to wash off all of the blood. He'd do something with the bloodied water later- "Do you need to sit?"

[dadication]

Honestly, this was the most genuine encounter with anything and anyone that he had had in what felt like a long time. It was difficult to think of why they were doing any acts of kindness towards each other, and yet here they were. He liked to think that Gabriel had started it with treating his wounds, so this was fair.

He blinked when the snakes came at him, facial expression freezing for a moment before they just bumped and brushed by. That was... not what he was expecting. This encounter was only getting stranger the longer they stayed together, and he found himself tired and confused all over again.

"And you didn't have to carry me up here and treat my wounds either," he pointed out as he allowed himself to be blindly lead to the wash bin. He dipped his hands in, washing off the blood as he leaned a bit more heavily than he would like on the gorgon. "I can stand, just need to lean a little."

With his hands washed and that wound clean, he lifted Gabriel's hand to inspect his work. It was neat and clean, better than he normally did. "We should dry it and bandage." A deep tired sigh. "Sorry, but I might have to stay here the day with you. Just need a bit of rest." And coffee... which was still on the fire boiling away.

[gr1m]

"It was either that or dump you well outside of the mines, and I doubt anyone would have found you." In time to get wounds treated well enough that he wouldn't get sick of something. So in Gabriel's mind it was better to carry and treat the hunter himself, especially after fighting with him rather than against.

He sighed softly, snakes curling back in to place amongst his hair. "You're fin staying to rest, really." It wasn't as if anyone would find the hunter here, the gorgon lived alone.

Did perk up a little and leave Jack standing there by the wash basin, and pulled that coffee from the fire so it wouldn't burn once he noticed it again. Had a cloth wrapped around is hand to prevent burning, too- "I can cook breakfast for the both of us- after drying and bandaging." So get something more in to Jack than just coffee.