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[dadication]

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[dadication]

Well it seemed that between the two of them they would have a varied diet. If they had to stay here a few weeks, he wouldn't have to go to town too often, and they could take what they caught with them if the time came. "Alright, it seems that we will be set for food. I can collect some berries and fruits, though it's late in the season now." Foraging he could do when there was time.

He nodded, packed up his stuff, took his bucket to grab water and glanced towards Gabriel. "We'll see. I don't think I need basking the same way you do." But if they lay together in the sun, it might be worth it for the rare opportunity of closeness. "I'll be back."

He headed out of their cave and went to check his snares. Two rabbits caught and the other still bare, so he left them set again. He washed his face and hands before gathering water from the stream, hauling it back up to their cave. He spotted some edible berries on the way back and gathered two handfuls of that before he was heading back up to the cave. He didn't see sign of pursuers and was just as glad for it.

He set the water bucket down as he entered and brought over rabbits and berries to the fire.

[gr1m]

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly. "You never know, might be something you could enjoy just for the sake of laying under the warm sun." Tipping his head as he let Jack go and let the blanket drop from around his shoulders.

Kept the majority of the blankets draped over his coils as he moved to rummage and take out the pan so he could get it over the fire, cracking a couple of eggs in along with a bit of what he found to be salt. Sitting in his own coils as he let them cook slowly as the pan heated up over the fire.

By the time Jack returned the eggs were slipped on to a makeshift plate, Gabriel looking up- "You can eat these and I can take care of those rabbits." Skin them and all so he could get them cooked up, too.

[dadication]

Relaxing wasn't something that he did much, didn't like how it made him feel more isolated and like he might be attacked at any time because his guard was down. Gabriel was probably right that he would probably enjoy, especially with the gorgon nearby and the both of them on some sense of guard so there was coverage even while relaxing.

He returned to the smell of cooking, finding it oddly nice to have someone else cook a meal for him. He handed over the rabbits and sniffed the air. "I'll grab more firewood from the stack outside so we have coverage before eating," he murmured and left to do that, grabbing large armfuls to put in the cave with the half stalk they still had. Now he wouldn't have to worry about it.

He seated himself, tasting one of the berries. They were late in the season but still tasted good. "Eat as much as you want and need. I can always catch more. Right now we don't need to preserve supplies since I can go to town."

[gr1m]

The tip of his tail pushed the 'plate' of eggs over in front of Jack while Gabriel was skinning and taking apart the rabbits, only putting the various parts in the pan to cook when he was satisfied. A few herbs and seasonings were tossed in as well as the lot of it went over the fire to cook, tending to the rabbit meat after wiping blood off his hands on a cloth.

"I'll eat one these are cooked, and you eat those eggs so you don't have to wait the entire time." Judge how the fried eggs tasted as he dealt with the meat, coiled close enough to the fire he was both warmed and able to turn the various parts of rabbit to cook them evenly.

[dadication]

He took the plate when it seemed that the gorgon would insist and he began to eat the fried eggs. Even with just some salt, they were delicious. The yolk was just right to be a bit runny and he nodded his head as he ate his way through them, even if it didn't take long. Jack didn't waste time when it came to eating, mostly because he was on the move a lot as it was.

"Smells good," he murmured as he polished off and cleaned the plate and put it forward so Gabriel could use it. He then took a bit of risk and shifted to lean against the gorgon's coiled body, avoiding wounds as he settled in. He grabbed a few berries and chewed on them. "We should finish off that cake that I brought."

[gr1m]

The snakes kept his hair 'tied' back neatly, coils shifting a bit so that Jack had something easier to lean against so he could be close and comfortable. Took the smaller pieces of meat off first since they cooked faster, not wanting them to dry out. "There's still two, isn't there?" Since Jack had gotten three and he'd only eaten the chocolate one, so two should have been left as Jack hadn't eaten any.

"Taste one of those for me, to make sure I got the seasoning right." Wasn't fancy, but he'd at least added more flavor that would pair well with the way rabbit meat could swing.

[dadication]

"Yeah, there is the marble and the vanilla one left," he murmured as he leaned on Gabriel's coils and made himself comfortable there. He pulled his bag closer so that he could pull out some apples and began to peel and slice them. "I can always pick up more if you like them next time I'm in town." They deserved a treat now and again, right? It wasn't like he had anyone to eat it with otherwise.

He leaned forward to grab one of the smaller cooked pieces of meat, chewing on and and nodding his head. "I like it. Seasoning is good and the meat is cooked perfectly," he murmured. He returned to peeling two apples, slicing them off and offering one slice for Gabriel.

[gr1m]

"What's a marble cake?" Vanilla he could guess, he knew what vanilla was, but not marble other than it being a type of stone. Stone was not edible for humans and he didn't imagine it could be made in to something nearly as good as the chocolate cake. "I think you should, if you can afford to do so, yes." Cake was very, very good.

Gabriel leaned, taking that slice of apple directly from Jack's fingers as his hands stayed busy with the rabbit meat. A brush of lips against skin before he was sitting up again and plating the larger and still on the bone pieces of rabbit. Pan set aside so it could be dealt with once it was cooled.

[dadication]

"Oh, it's a cake that usually has vanilla and chocolate combined in it, just layered and swirled together before baking." He didn't often eat cake, but this was a special occasion and they were going to be in one place for a time, so it was safer to keep as he had less risk of crushing it on a journey. "You should try that one next. I think you'll like it if you enjoyed the chocolate." He nodded his head, thinking he'd try to drop in earlier for better selection. "Alright, I'll see what he has next time I'm in town."

He shivered across his shoulders at the feel of those lips briefly on his fingers, and it was a tactile response he wasn't used to. People didn't put their mouths on any part of him much, if at all. He knew it was just a passing sensation and meant little as Gabriel's hands were occupied. He still finished slicing up the two apples, taking and eating a slice for himself.

"Are you feeling like most of the toxin is out of your blood?"

[gr1m]

He was quiet for just a moment- "So it looks... marbled?" Like the stone had swirled sort of color variations in it, especially noticeable when polished or parts of it were broken in to. At least that way calling it a marble cake made a bit more sense to him. Still, more cake was certainly something to look forward to in the future.

"I think it might be, I still feel a little tired, but no where near to the extent of yesterday." So it was getting worked through better no that he was eating anything and resting- on top of having no more inflicted upon him to keep him out.

Set the plate full of rabbit meat between then, already taking one of the larger in bone pieces for himself to eat off of.

[dadication]

"It does, yes. The icing is still the same like the cake you had last night," he said. He had a feeling that he was going to get the gorgon hooked on sweets if he kept bring them in for Gabriel to try. That could make travel interesting if they needed to stop by baked shops on their journey along the way. He didn't mind honestly.

"You're also dealing with healing wounds which probably saps your energy," he murmured, though there was an undertone of relief that Gabriel was feeling better and hopefully on the mend now more than ever. After all, he recognized that as good as this place was, they couldn't stay the winter here.

He slowly chewed through another slice of apple so that Gabriel could have choice picks of the rabbit meat. He was content to recline against that coiled body and keep an ear out for signs beyond their cave, even if there weren't any at present. "I'll wash your wounds after breakfast. Enough water for the both of us to bathe."

[gr1m]

"Think the marble is the one I'll want to try then, since it is a mix of chocolate and vanilla." If Jack didn't mind at least, or so his tone implied as he glanced up at the hunter for a moment.

Gabriel nodded a bit, because that was undeniably true, it had simply been a long time since he'd been through something like this- well, he couldn't say he' ever been captured before. Not quite like that at least, when he was younger he did have to escape an attempt made that left him wounded, but it had just been one hunter trying to get an 'easy' kill on a lone young gorgon.

He was eating that meat slowly, already picking up a second piece to pick off the bone. "It will be nice to wash off the blood and grime at least."

[dadication]

"Good, you eat that one. I like vanilla best," he murmured with a hint of a smile on his lips, like he had somehow tricked Gabriel to eating the piece he wasn't as excited for. Truth be told, he had cake so infrequently that he would eat whichever without complaint.

With them both settled in to eat, Jack rifled through his bag for the block of cheese that he had acquired, cutting off a chunk and offering it to Gabriel. "Put the meat on that. It will taste pretty good," he murmured, even as he was cutting himself off a part as well and began to pick at the meat to add to his bits of cheese. Tasted like heaven.

"Be good for both of us to be clean," he agreed. It seemed like it would be a big job washing down the sheer bulk of the gorgon in this form, but it would be worth it. He needed to have a close look at those wounds after all. "Figure we clean us both up and then bask for a few hours?"

[gr1m]

There was a soft amused sound as he hummed. "Sounds like a win-win then, huh." Tip of his tail curling over one of Jack's legs as they sat there.

He did take that piece of cheese, tongue flicking out briefly before he was tearing off pieces of meat to eat with bites of that cheese with a low noise. "Think if we can manage like this we'll never really have much to complain about with food." Even if Gabriel was watching Jack, to make sure he was eating enough for himself. Both of them needed to eat to get by.

"Sounds like a good plan to me." Glancing down at himself briefly- "Might still be stray bits of skin stuck to my scales since my shedding was interrupted."

[dadication]

"Definitely a win-win," he agreed with a nod of his head. He tipped his chin slightly so he could watch as well as feel Gabriel's tail curling over his leg, and he shifted to extend it a little to make the action easier. That seemed a common theme between them the last while.

Jack was eating more than he would otherwise, aware of Gabriel's scrutiny. Because he had already eaten some eggs, he could get away with eating slower and instead chewing on apple slices, cheese and meat. Hell, sometimes he just put apple on top of the meat and cheese and that didn't taste bad either. Maybe needed to pick up some honey next time he was in town. "No, though feeding will get more difficult as the fall deepens and gives way towards winter."

He reached out a ran a hand over a part of Gabriel's tail, feeling for scales that might still be loose and need to be scrubbed off. "That can't be comfortable. We'll get you shiny and new again."

[gr1m]

A time or two Gabriel leaned over and snagged an apple slice right from Jack's fingers, same as he had when cooking. Just when he was holding it long enough that the gorgon could just snag it easily before following it up with cheese and meat. "May have to get more food from towns and villages by then while on the move." While staying at inns or barns, whichever.

Gabriel shuddered just a little bit as Jack would feel a place here or there where skin was hanging off scale, and the different could be felt between the rough and patchy skin and the smooth scales beneath it.

"Itches worse that dried blood on skin."

[dadication]

It was an interesting dynamic that they had developing with each other, and he didn't mind it at all. Now that he was used to the idea. He enjoyed that they had a level of trust and easiness about their interaction, even if his fingers seemed to tingle every time Gabriel's lips brushed them as he stole an apple slice. That was a reaction he would have to ponder. "I know and checked out some of the places along the way here. Not sure how far North you traveled before capture, but there are at least farm establishments along the way."

His fingers were sensitive and found those loose scales or patches that hadn't fallen off properly. He scratched at them or picked them off carefully. He figured a good soak would help with that, even if it was just with a cloth and a bucket of cold water. Right now, he just scratched at what he could.

"We'll make certain you're cleaned up nicely for your time in the sun." Also he figured it would make Gabriel more comfortable as well.

[gr1m]

He licked over fingertips as he finished off the meat he could eat, reaching over so he could wrap up what he could tell wasn't going to be eaten by Jack. Still enough left out for him, but the rest was going to be tucked by the fire so it could be kept warm, same way he did before so it'd remain moist as well. Maybe tucked an apple slice or two in with it. "They'll do I think."

That tail of his pressed up against scratching nails with a little bit of a shudders. Very clear that whatever he was managing at least felt nice since his coils were wrapping closer around Jack.

"Sunlight and fresh air is always good, even if I shouldn't bask for long." Weather getting colder, sun couldn't stave away the chill for long.

[dadication]

Jack had finished off what he could eat for breakfast, not about to overeat just because the food was there. After all, there was still cake to consider, but he figured that could be a reward after bathing and resupplying the cave for the night hours. He let Gabriel take care of packing up their left overs. They had some food to snack on rather than eat lunch or just snack on. "We'll make it work, yes. Keep us both safe first and foremost."

He noted the reactions by touch more than sight, and it seemed that he had found some itchy spots. That was good. That prompted him to start removing the bandages that covered the many wounds that Gabriel was in the process of healing, touching their edges even as he pulled the bucket of water closer. "How do your wounds look? Is the infection gone?"

He had some spare cloth and dipped it in the bucket before he began to clean each of the wounds first. Then he shifted gears to scrubbing as Gabriel's scales, removing unfinished shed but also washing away blood, dirt and what smelled like old ale of some kind. "Clean you up and then you can be in the sun while it's warm."

[gr1m]

They could manage, even if for a while Gabriel would be less help than he likely wanted to be due to his injuries. Still, soon enough he'd be able to do more rather than just be a bit of dead weight and an issue due to his current state of size.

Gabriel sat up enough that he could get a look at himself better, while also not getting in the way of bandage removal. "They look like they're healing and a majority of the infection is gone- cleaning the wounds will likely help get rid of the rest of it. I can create a salve with some of the other herbs you brought back to help fight any that might still remain after." All the better for the re-bandaging, really.

Did his best to keep himself still while wounds were being cleaned, uncoiling just so Jack could get at them easier. Couldn't help the shudder or the small hitch of his breath as the scrubbing of his scales started, stretching out under it as he bit his lower lip. Doing it himself had always been nothing, but the fact it was someone else apparently felt... nice. "Appreciate the help, it would take me ages to do this alone," and basking after sounded better and better.

[dadication]

He nodded his head at Gabriel's assessment of his own wounds, aware that not being able to see properly was a detriment in a situation like this where the nature of a wound required inspection. He could tell there was a bit of infection based on the smell, but he wasn't certain that it was just from the cleaning or if that corruption still inhabited the flesh in question. He had healed with magic what he could, and the bandaging and rest would have to be the other side of the equation.

"We'll clean them out properly and rebandage once I'm finished scrubbing the loose scales off," he remarked. Now that was honest work, it felt like. It felt good scrubbing away the old flesh, peeling parts away and taking out the itch that clearly went with them. Despite his blindness, he was actually very good with using his fingers to find all the scales that needed to be shed.

From the Gabriel's scales meeting flesh and downwards he went, scrubbing, cleaning and running his fingers over the scales to be certain that he had removed all the failed shed away. "It's not a problem. I have a long attention span for such tasks, and it clearly makes you feel good to have it all removed too." Scales were thoroughly washed down, soaking any stubborn old scales. "Does it hurt for me to do this?"

[gr1m]

The dead skin peeled away easily enough once soaked through, and Gabriel was practically rolling over for it just so the bits of peeling he didn't have time to get off could be gotten at. Even those on his scutes- "You can imagine how itchy it gets, enough to put anyone in to a bad and snappish mood. Reason I try to hit p a hot spring to make my shed that much easier. Painless in a figurative way," but he'd been interrupted.

He shook his head, fingers curling a bit as he let Jack work. "No, it doesn't. Hurt more to leave them alone, it can damage and impact how my scales grow if it's left for too long."

[dadication]

It took well over an hour for him to remove all the dead and unshed scales, making certain to run his palms over the entirety of Gabriel's snake-like tail at least twice without his magical sight so he was certain that he managed to remove everything. From hips to tip of the tail, top to underside, Jack was certain that he had done a good job. Plus, he would secretly admit that he had a hard time getting enough of the tactile beauty of Gabriel's form.

Once he was done, he rewashed out Gabriel's wounds and then added whatever poultice that the gorgon had made before bandaging again. "You should be alright now. I'm certain I removed it all," he said with confidence as he worked wrapping the wounds. Everyone needed to be clean and well-kept.

He moved the bucket closer to Gabriel's torso after that, so he could use a fresh cloth. "Would you like me to wash the rest of your down as well? I'm not sure how to wash your hair, I will admit."

[gr1m]

There was not a single complaint from Gabriel, moving and arching coils as needed in some effort to pull things in for Jack to get to easier. The only really tender areas were the few unfortunate patches near wounds, but he trusted that Jack would be as careful as he could be there. He was relaxed and just a little tired after, but it was good work.

"I think that you did, yes. Everything looked good before wrapping," even before Jack was applying the poultices. The random itches and irritations were gone, and there was only the slowly numbing sting under the bandages left as the mix did it's job.

Gabriel sat himself up a little more as he reached for a cloth. "If you can help with my back I can take care of my hair?" A compromise, because he knew he had some wounds on his upper body as well, especially from behind.

[dadication]

He nodded his head, and he began to remove his clothing and leathers. He was going to need a washing as well, and he figured they may as well get that sort of thing done back to back. He also had little reason to be shy with his nudity considering Gabe had already seen him that way once, and he was blind so what was the big deal being naked anyway? Besides, his trousers were wet from his previous washing so they needed to dry.

"I can do that," he agreed, though he would be trying to figure out how to wash that hair anyway. He reached out to stroke his fingers down Gabriel's back, touching the edges of each of his wounds first to find them before he applied the cloth and began to wash the gorgon down. He was careful around tender injuries but he washed old dirt, grime and blood off of Gabriel's skin.

The gorgon probably looked better. He definitely smelled better. Jack washed Gabriel's shoulders and arms too just to be thorough. Then he stepped aside to rinse out the cloth and start on himself. "I'll bandage your back and chest once I'm finished and you've had a chance to try." Air would help dry out some of those wounds.