Given how comparatively small the boy was, Aurus didn't struggle terribly much getting him back home. He was fatigued by the time he got there, of course, having walked through most of the night already, but his burden ultimately had only made his legs a bit more tired than they would have otherwise been.
The cave where Aurus made his home did not have a bed per se. Instead it had a naturally grown hammock of leaves and woven vines, suspended between two trunks that the sylvari had grown out of the earth. Shifting the boy into his arms as he entered the cave mouth, he lay him carefully down here, then set aside his weapons, stripped off his gloves, and set to work. Given how the boy seemed all but dead to the world, Aurus didn't worry about waking him.
He filled a bowl of water at the back of the cave and, using a cloth, wiped what dust and grit he could from his mouth. Then, holding him partially upright, he squeezed a thin slow dribble of water between his lips. This he had to do again and again so as not to risk choking him, but once he'd managed to get a full bowl down his throat he figured it ought to be enough to allow some manner of recovery. Beyond that, all he could do was put a cool, damp cloth on his brow to try and ease the heat of his sunburned skin.
Standing back to consider his "guest" for a moment, Aurus did what he could to try and figure out where the boy had even come from. There was nothing in his pockets that answered the question clearly. There were, he felt confident, no human settlements within easy walking distance of his home. But then if this boy had come from someplace within easy walking distance he likely would not be in the state he was in now. He obviously wasn’t Elonan though, so he had to have come from Ascalon—from Ebonhawke? It was a damn long way. Well, hopefully when he awoke he would be able to offer some answers.
Turning away, the sylvari went to prepare himself some breakfast and sit down to meditate. Wary that his guest might wake at any time and keenly aware that he did not yet know whether the Margonite’s touch might have warped his mind to hostility, Aurus carefully kept his weapons within easy reach and where the boy would not be able to grab them if he awoke. Several hours later, though, it seemed the boy showed no signs of stirring.
Aurus checked over him again, dripped more water into his mouth, felt his pulse and the temperature of his skin.
The sun was up now and rising in the sky. Though it was far cooler in the cave than it was outside, the heat was nonetheless rising in here too. It was the part of the day that Aurus would always opt to spend inside regardless, and since the boy still showed no signs of waking, he picked a comfortable seat on a broad sandstone shelf, leaned back into the smooth curve of the alcove, and lightly slept for a while.
***
Two days later, the routine that Aurus had established on day one persisted.
When he awoke in the morning, he checked on the boy, gave him water and some broth made from boiled cactus fruit. Then he went out to do his first circuit of his lands.
The first time he'd done this he'd worried about leaving the boy alone, lest he either woke while Aurus was gone or else lest something come to harm him while he slept unprotected. It was a risk either way: if, for example, the two remaining Margonites were watching from afar and merely biding their time, leaving the cave could give them their opportunity. But if Aurus did not make his usual patrol, it would take no time at all for his territory to grow more wild and dangerous again.
In the end, he'd decided to head out seemingly on his patrol and then double back and watch to see if anyone or anything approached the cave mouth. After half an hour, he'd been satisfied enough that no threat lay in wait, and he'd thus been patrolling at his usual morning and evening times ever since.
When he returned from his morning circuit, he ate, meditated, checked on the boy again, meditated some more, and then patrolled again before his evening meal. He'd also grown a second hammock towards another alcove of the cave a short distance away--at this point he had no idea how long the boy would remain unconscious or what he would do if he did not wake, but he still had to manage his own life within this limbo.
He'd more or less blocked off a five-day window in his mind: if the boy had not awoken in that time, Aurus was going to have to find a way to get him to civilization and into the care of someone who knew more about human ailments and medical treatments than he did. Because by now, Aurus had given him the best herbal tinctures he could think of, added a variety of remedies to the water he dripped into his mouth, and checked his body over for snake or spider bites, just in case (which had necessitated at least mostly undressing him). It all turned up nothing and so far hadn't seemed to make any noticeable difference in his recovery at all. The best that could be said was that his sunburn now didn't look so bad, a fact which made the stark paleness of his skin stand out even more.
no subject
The cave where Aurus made his home did not have a bed per se. Instead it had a naturally grown hammock of leaves and woven vines, suspended between two trunks that the sylvari had grown out of the earth. Shifting the boy into his arms as he entered the cave mouth, he lay him carefully down here, then set aside his weapons, stripped off his gloves, and set to work. Given how the boy seemed all but dead to the world, Aurus didn't worry about waking him.
He filled a bowl of water at the back of the cave and, using a cloth, wiped what dust and grit he could from his mouth. Then, holding him partially upright, he squeezed a thin slow dribble of water between his lips. This he had to do again and again so as not to risk choking him, but once he'd managed to get a full bowl down his throat he figured it ought to be enough to allow some manner of recovery. Beyond that, all he could do was put a cool, damp cloth on his brow to try and ease the heat of his sunburned skin.
Standing back to consider his "guest" for a moment, Aurus did what he could to try and figure out where the boy had even come from. There was nothing in his pockets that answered the question clearly. There were, he felt confident, no human settlements within easy walking distance of his home. But then if this boy had come from someplace within easy walking distance he likely would not be in the state he was in now. He obviously wasn’t Elonan though, so he had to have come from Ascalon—from Ebonhawke? It was a damn long way. Well, hopefully when he awoke he would be able to offer some answers.
Turning away, the sylvari went to prepare himself some breakfast and sit down to meditate. Wary that his guest might wake at any time and keenly aware that he did not yet know whether the Margonite’s touch might have warped his mind to hostility, Aurus carefully kept his weapons within easy reach and where the boy would not be able to grab them if he awoke. Several hours later, though, it seemed the boy showed no signs of stirring.
Aurus checked over him again, dripped more water into his mouth, felt his pulse and the temperature of his skin.
The sun was up now and rising in the sky. Though it was far cooler in the cave than it was outside, the heat was nonetheless rising in here too. It was the part of the day that Aurus would always opt to spend inside regardless, and since the boy still showed no signs of waking, he picked a comfortable seat on a broad sandstone shelf, leaned back into the smooth curve of the alcove, and lightly slept for a while.
***
Two days later, the routine that Aurus had established on day one persisted.
When he awoke in the morning, he checked on the boy, gave him water and some broth made from boiled cactus fruit. Then he went out to do his first circuit of his lands.
The first time he'd done this he'd worried about leaving the boy alone, lest he either woke while Aurus was gone or else lest something come to harm him while he slept unprotected. It was a risk either way: if, for example, the two remaining Margonites were watching from afar and merely biding their time, leaving the cave could give them their opportunity. But if Aurus did not make his usual patrol, it would take no time at all for his territory to grow more wild and dangerous again.
In the end, he'd decided to head out seemingly on his patrol and then double back and watch to see if anyone or anything approached the cave mouth. After half an hour, he'd been satisfied enough that no threat lay in wait, and he'd thus been patrolling at his usual morning and evening times ever since.
When he returned from his morning circuit, he ate, meditated, checked on the boy again, meditated some more, and then patrolled again before his evening meal. He'd also grown a second hammock towards another alcove of the cave a short distance away--at this point he had no idea how long the boy would remain unconscious or what he would do if he did not wake, but he still had to manage his own life within this limbo.
He'd more or less blocked off a five-day window in his mind: if the boy had not awoken in that time, Aurus was going to have to find a way to get him to civilization and into the care of someone who knew more about human ailments and medical treatments than he did. Because by now, Aurus had given him the best herbal tinctures he could think of, added a variety of remedies to the water he dripped into his mouth, and checked his body over for snake or spider bites, just in case (which had necessitated at least mostly undressing him). It all turned up nothing and so far hadn't seemed to make any noticeable difference in his recovery at all. The best that could be said was that his sunburn now didn't look so bad, a fact which made the stark paleness of his skin stand out even more.