Enoch Crosslin (crossedwire) wrote in thefield, @ 2009-06-10 13:14:00 |
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Current mood: | contemplative |
Entry tags: | cross, helena, z - 1st tribe - day 23 |
So Far, So Good
Who: Helena and Cross
What: A little bit of medicine administered
When: Early evening, before dinner
Where: The edge of camp
Helena was seated outside of the lean-to where Jasper was snoring gently in her pile of blankets. So far she hadn't shown any symptoms of the illness that was floating around camp but that still didn't seem to stop her from claiming the day for recovery. No one held it against her. Helena herself was feeling worse and worse as the day wore on and she was sure she was coming down with it now. Still, she was helping Thorne by inventorying all of the herbs that several groups had managed to locate, tying them in bundles to be seen to at a later date. she was happy to see that his notebook was very useful here. Whoever its author had been, she or he must have lived in this region at least for a little while.
Separating the greasy feeling neoheather from the mushy scoops of pink lake algae and the fat bulbs from the burnbutter plant, she was practically in a daze, nearly unaware of any movement within the camp.
Cross was aware of the illness that several people had come down with, but thus far he felt fine. He'd spent his day on a variety of tasks, including clearing more ground for lean-tos, bringing fresh water to camp in the largest pot they'd managed to bring from the other camp, intermittently adding wood to the fire, and even helping the doc gather herbs to be used in treating those who had taken sick. He thrived on being busy, because that made it easier for him not to think. Autopilot was a frequent way of life for him.
He'd spent most of the day working with his ragged and torn shirt off yet again, and once he'd slowed down a bit, he realized his shoulders and back felt crispy. Well, could be worse. He could have what everyone else seemed to have, he supposed. He rounded the curve that led past the lean-to he and Helena had built, the one where Jasper was recuperating, and he stopped when he saw Helena sitting outside it, very quietly. "H'lo," he said, gazing down at her, his head canted slightly to one side as he observed that she looked rather out of it.
Lifting her eyes all the way up to his face took enormous effort. Never in her life had her eyeballs felt so heavy before. "Hi, how are you feeling?" she asked. He looked just fine which was a relief. With everyone falling sick around them it was almost hard to believe he still looked so steady and strong. Her fingers wrapped around the fat burnbutter bulb and she glanced down at it. "Hmm, catch any painful sun today?" she asked, knowing he seemed to burn on top of his burns.
"I feel fine," Cross said, lowering himself to the ground next to her so she wouldn't have to strain to look up at him. "Looks like you might have a touch of what's goin' around, though." His fingers pressed to her cheek briefly, and he thought her skin felt warm and a bit damp. They didn't have a way to actually take anyone's temperature, but when he'd been a child, his mother had always pressed her lips or her fingers to his face to see if he felt hot. He flexed his shoulders and sighed when she asked if he'd caught any sun. "Feels like I have. Maybe my skin'll just turn to leather." He couldn't really cover up; he'd be astounded if his shirt lasted another month.
She gave him a slightly wan smile. "I think so too but I'm trying to keep busy without exerting too much energy." She'd denied it for most of the day, helping Thorne tend to the others. She'd accepted some of the bitter compound he was concocting and it had managed to hold off the worst of the symptoms for most of the evening, which was a plus. Seeing that he shrugged his shoulders in that uncomfortable manner she reached for one of the plump burnbutter bulbs. "I have something here to help you with your burn. Want to try it?"
Cross looked her over, his eyes lingering on her face, as if to decide whether or not he thought she was able to help him out, and then he nodded. "Sure," he replied. It was nice to know that they could find natural plants here that could have any manner of uses. Since they had no way to get salves or medicines, it was reassuring each time they found something new. He turned slightly, putting his back to her, figuring there was no harm in trying whatever she had.
Smiling, Helena split open the bulb and scooped out the mushy inside. "Ok, it's going to feel a little cool." In her fevered state, it felt nearly icy. Splitting the scoop of the butter between both of her hands, she smoothed it over his skin gently. It wasn't like hand lotion, Thorne had said. You weren't supposed to rub it in. That would do more harm than good. Just cover the area of the burn. It took an awful lot of concentration just to keep her mind on following the dusky red portions of his burn over his shoulders, down over his shoulderblade and then down his upper arms. Lastly, she smeared it over the base of his neck and noted how long his hair was getting with a smile. "Any better?"
Cross was quiet while she applied the contents of the bulb to his skin. That wasn't surprising, as he was usually quiet. He didn't flinch at the coldness, finding that it felt good on his burned skin. The temperature was very moderate today, but the sun was bright nonetheless, burning people whether it was hot or it wasn't. Once she was done, he flexed his shoulders again. Whatever she'd put on it had definitely eased the sting, making his skin feel less tight and apt to split open at any second. "Thanks," he said, shifting himself back around so he could see her. "Yeah, it's better." Idly, he held one of her still-cool hands to his bicep, though whether to warm it or to cool his skin further, he couldn't have said.
She didn't mind being captured that way and she was more than half glad it was Cross who'd stopped by to visit her just then. "I'm going to take a break from this for a little while," she told him, first wiping the remaining cool bulb-grease on her t-shirt and then pulling his blanket closer up over her shoulders with her free hand. Poor Delilah was still wrapped up in her own blanket. As she pulled the blanket up around herself, she looped her arm further through Cross's and snuggled up to his side. "Are you gonna sit for bit?" Cooling salve or not, the large man was deliciously warm. If she could have summoned up the guts to do so, she'd have climbed right in to his lap for a cuddle under the blankets.
Cross was pleased that she'd stopped working, because that was the next thing he'd been trying to figure out how to dissuade her from. She didn't look well at all, and he thought she should be resting... but then he really had no right to tell her what to do. Her question solved his dilemma nicely. "I can sit," he told her, his tone gentle. He'd been working all day, and he felt perfectly justified to be still for a while. He carefully pulled his arm out of hers only so he could settle it around her, getting her closer to his torso. With his free hand he adjusted the blanket to cover her more completely. Very demonstrative, for him.
Helena sighed appreciatively as a shiver went through her. She let her eyes closed and breathing in slowly through her nose. "I thought I wasn't going to get sick," she said, eyes still closed. "I felt alright this morning." He was warm but he wasn't really feverish, not even counting his burn. He wasn't clammy in the least and she felt bad that he had to put up with her shivers and chills. "Glad you're feeling alright, though," she confessed.
"So far, so good," Cross said on the subject of his health. He usually had excellent resistance. Of course, there was enough of him to fight off any germ that might take hold of him. The same couldn't be said for Helena. "You take the stuff the doc mixed up yet?" he asked her. He figured she probably had, but not knowing for sure, he wanted to find out. His head was tilted down toward her so he could hear her soft words more easily when she spoke.
Even his warm breath (that smelled like grazer stew, and she was glad he'd gotten some though there was plenty of grazer meat to go around) against her face was heavenly. "Yeah, earlier," she said with a drowsy mumble. "Might have to take some more before the meeting." If she was going to get through this election idea, she'd have to tamp down on the illness a little bit longer.
He wasn't sure if she was even looking at him; her eyes were mostly closed. That was all right, though. Since he didn't believe she was aware of it, he occupied himself with looking at her, blue eyes beneath stubby lashes scanning her face as if he'd never seen it before. "Rest now," he murmured. "Maybe you'll feel better for the meeting." Until then, he was content to sit in the fading daylight and provide body heat.
"Mmkay," she said agreeably. Indeed, as she relaxed even further she seemed to shape bonelessly into his embrace. "Wake me up, though, when people start to come back around." She had to look like she had it together for this election idea to work. At the very least, she would see this group of people ushered into a governmented state. They deserved a group of people organizing them and looking out for their needs. Her eyes slipped all the way closed and the tremors seemed to abate in her limbs as she lapsed into sleep.
Cross smiled, deciding that further words were unnecessary as Helena settled in against his side. He could keep completely still with no effort whatsoever, a habit he'd perfected in earliest childhood. He would not disturb her, and she could sleep until she absolutely had to get up. He was prepared to dissuade anyone who might try to wake her before he felt that it was time. He sat, a dreamy expression on his face as the sky darkened around them.