define('WP_CACHE', true); Chapter 58: Recuperation – Crossed Paths – Logs

Apr 25

Chapter 58: Recuperation

Chapter 58: Recuperation

In Which The Two Can Rest Without Interruption.

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Arrin Woodgreen: The two exit the dim room and into the bright waiting room. He almost instantly senses their party in the room and grins in their direction. “Well that was fun. Shall we head back to Joseph’s then?”

Yazeth: Deke and Nolan had stayed behind as Alvisa had suggested as Kirrian walked off in a huff since even they were no longer obeying her orders. As the rest of the small party stands and exits the room to make the rather short trek back to Joseph’s cottage, Deke addresses himself to Soquan. “Wou’d you like a ‘and, Mister?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan’s startled by Deke’s sudden vocalization and it takes him a moment to reply. “I’m fine. Errr, thanks though.” Jinx chuckles but is silenced by a look from Fiarah. Soquan doesn’t really hear the chuckle, he’s just concentrating on getting himself and Jozra back to Joseph’s.

Yazeth: Deke looks slightly crestfallen but recovers quickly enough. Jinx grins and tugs lightly on Deke’s arm as he exits the building. “You know, you two can follow us back a ways. Just in case.” Deke looks to Nolan and shrugs and Nolan shrugs right back. They stay to the rear of the little party but by the time Soquan and Jozra are over three-quarters of the way there, they realize that their help probably won’t be needed and return to the safe house.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan grins slightly as they reach Joseph’s house and without a word, the otter scoops Jozra up and carries her towards their sleeping area. Joseph makes his way into the kitchen to see what can be done about breakfast and Jinx gives Fiarah a pointed look while motioning subtly to the two.
The pair are now both curled under the covers of the bed and Soquan is curled protectively around his ferret companion.

Yazeth: Fiarah smiles and steps into the kitchen to let Joseph know that the two shouldn’t be disturbed, even for food, until they wake. “Come on now, Jinx. I think there’s a few things that belong to Jozra and Soquan back at the safe house.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Jinx quirks an eyebrow. “They do?” Fiarah gives Jinx a ‘You know what I mean’ look and Jinx gives a nod. “Oh right! Their stuff!” She grins and follows her mentor out the door.

Yazeth: It’s well past mid-afternoon when Jozra first begins to stir with Alvisa’s words echoing in her ears.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan has, and still remains asleep through all this. He’s settled close with his arms around her, snoring softly. Joseph, who had poked his head in to check on the two, softly asks Jozra if she feels hungry.

Yazeth: The ferret nods blearily, still feeling partly asleep, partly awake and not at all whole. That, and it’s just occurred to her that she might be here for quite some time. Just the prospect of this sets the roots of cabin fever.

Arrin Woodgreen: Joseph pads into the room quietly a few minutes later with some heated soup, he helps the ferret sit up gently before handing her the bowl with a grin, telling her, “Eat up, doctor’s orders.”
Soquan remains asleep through this, exhausted by the events from the past few days. However, he does begin to stir partway through the ferret’s meal, the smell of the soup rousing him from his sleep.

Yazeth: Jozra pauses with her spoon halfway to her mouth as the otter stirs. She smiles down at him briefly, swallows the spoonful of soup and asks, “Hungry?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan grins briefly in reply before yawning broadly and stretching in a very catlike manner. “I’m famished.” As if on cue, Joseph putters into the room with another bowl. It seems he had heard the otter stirring and assumed he would be hungry.  Soquan accepts the bowl with a smile as he sits up and digs in hungrily.

Yazeth: Joseph grins, he likes to see his patients eating heartily. “Er, while you’re a, awake… How’s the p-paw, Soquan? It, it seems to have been rather, ah, overlooked l-lately. Y-you really shouldn’t be walking on, er, it.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan pauses his meal just long enough to give his paw a flex and reply. “It feels fine, just a little stiff if anything, it doesn’t really bother me much anymore.” He continues to eat heartily, occasionally stopping to lick bits of soup from his whiskers.

Yazeth: Jozra watches the exchange as she finishes up her soup. As she hands her empty bowl back to Joseph, the healer mouse remarks to Soquan, “Well, m-maybe I should take a l-look at it in a bit. Er, just, ah, just in case.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods and hands off his empty bowl to Joseph as well. “Sounds good, just say when. I don’t want to distract you if you have other things to do.” He settles back comfortably in the bed.

Yazeth:  Too awake to sleep and too tired to do anything else, Jozra lets her mind wander as Joseph and Soquan talk. “W-well I’ll just take these, er, these bowls back to the kitchen and th-then perhaps we could see, ah, about your foot.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods to Joseph. “Sounds good, no need to hurry yourself though.” Soquan’s ears begin to swivel as he slowly blocks out noise from the household and listens to the noise of the bustling city outside.

Yazeth: “Oh-okay.” The mouse then bustles off to the kitchen to wash the bowls quickly and set them to dry. He returns a few moments later drying his paws on a towel. “Um…” Joseph looks around briefly before pulling a chair up near the bed. “N-now, let’s look at that foot.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan is jerked out of his state of mind and is a bit baffled at first. However, he recovers quickly and uncovers his injured paw, angling it towards the healer mouse. “I bet it’s healing fine. It hardly ever bugs me, just a twinge here and there.”

Yazeth: Feeling better or not, it’s in Joseph’s nature to keep tabs on all injuries and illnesses. The healer mouse carefully unwraps the paw and examines the cut. “S-seems to be healing well.” Joseph takes a fresh roll of bandages from his ever-ready healer’s bag and rewraps the paw. “Y-you should try to stay off, off it a little while longer, though.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan nods slowly. “Of course, I would have theses last couple days, but it’s not like I could help it eh?” He gives a slight chuckle, and once his paw is rewrapped, he re-covers his feet.
Once Joseph packs away his bag, he turns to the two. “I-I have to go into, into town for some errands, I trust you two will be alright on your own for a few hours?”
Soquan chuckles again and waves a paw at the mouse. “We’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

Yazeth: The mouse nods and turns towards the closet. “I, I should be back before dark. If you get hungry, ah, there’s food in the kitchen. H-help yourself.” He takes up his walking stick and a small bag and starts out the door.

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods. “See you then Joseph.” He settles back again, going silent for a few minutes. He listens to his equally silent companion breathing for a time before turning towards her. “Joz?”

Yazeth: Jozra’s thoughts meander casually back from wherever they had been. Even she’s not sure where they were. “Hrmm?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan props himself up on an elbow, facing her. “I was just thinking about what happened between Sola and I in the bathhouses, about me not knowing what you look like…” He pauses, his brow furrowing. “There is something I can do to get a rough idea of what you look like, if you’ll let me.”

Yazeth: The ferret’s eyebrow quirks, her interest piqued. “What do you want to do?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan hesitates for a brief moment before replying. “I want to feel your face, I can get a bit of an idea of what you look like by feeling the contours on your face.”

Yazeth: Jozra smiles. For a second there, she wasn’t sure what he was going to ask. She sits up a little straighter, still feeling stiff and sore, and leans forward slightly. “Okay.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan grins and sits up as well. He brings his paws up and he very softly runs them over her face and neck. He deliberately begins to retrace areas he’s been before, trying to get more detail in some spots that were too rough in his mind.
At some point, he changes the method in which his paws are running over her face. His paws move now, leading more with his thumbs, almost the way some beast would mold clay. He begins by gently moving his thumbs along her lips, then down the sides of her muzzle, then across either cheek and down her neck.
If one didn’t know any better, this might seem like a caress.

Yazeth: Throughout this, the ferret sits quite still. The movement of the otter’s paws over her face, while somewhat strange at first, soon becomes very relaxing and Jozra catches herself dozing off.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan finishes not long after the change in the method and he grins at her slightly and takes her paw, placing it on the paw remaining on her face. “Do you mind tracing the outline of your mask for me?”

Yazeth: The ferret frowns slightly. “I might need a mirror first. I’m not sure if Fiarah put they dye on the way I usually apply it.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He thinks for a moment. “Show me where you’d usually have it then.”

Yazeth: Jozra nods and does a practice run, tracing where her mask should be with her own fingers first. After she’s got a general idea of it, she takes Soquan’s paw and runs his fingers over the edge of her mask, starting at nearly between her brows, tracing it like one might draw something with two equal sides. A butterfly, perhaps.

Arrin Woodgreen: His brow furrows while she does this, trying to place this new information to the picture he has in his mind’s eye. After she finishes, he asks rather quietly. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your coloring?”

Yazeth: The ferret smiles to herself. “Well, right now I’m sort of a pale brown all over, except for a rather black mask, of course.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins and settles back down in the covers, but not before giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “Thanks Joz.” He settles down some more. “…now, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna get some more sleep.”

Yazeth: Jozra nods and hunkers down under the covers as well, tired once again. “Sound’s like a good idea.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins and snuggles close. “Warm enough hun?”

Yazeth: The ferret nods sleepily and soon falls asleep.

Jozra

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