It wasnât an offer, or a request, but Dino looked absolutely miserly and Caleb couldnât help himself, couldnât help the trickle of humor in his voice, the thought of climbing the mountain for him again..
What would it be like, in the dark? Could he do it, pull off that feat again, alone or with a team?
Could he be spared that long, was the real question. Longwythe was pretty far out from Meldacio, and any team would be thrilled for a Glaive healer, sure, but heâd have to sell it to the organizers, or cycle himself down that directionâŚ
âI think youâd owe me more than a dinner to climb it now,â he replied, grinning a bit, and it was hard to keep suggestion out of his tone. Maybe ten years ago, but.. It had been ten years. The tangle of marks the Vitalis husband and wife had left on him were special things for him, coeurl heâd keep hunting for, and he had no desire to pass them aside. Dino⌠could have been someone special to him. It had been a Thing heâd entertained himself with back during the Glaives, a fleeting, skirting thing. Heâd flirted very carefully back then, but heâd never really been able to tell if Dino Ghiranze, reporter, jeweler, had been interested in him or not. Not for sure. Not concrete enough to run the gambit and the risk, though at times he had come very close to jumping off that cliff.
But speaking of dinner⌠âI have work I need to do. Thereâs some broth in the kitchen. You should try to get some of it down you while youâre still awake. The Kingâs magic does wonders but while youâre not bleeding to death anymore, you still need to recover.â And then he paused, and gave a pointed look at all the empty beds, and remembered all the other empty beds in storage they could pull out. Remembered how full the tent city had been, outside of Insomnia, those first terrible months. He wanted to joke with Dino, butâŚ
The beds werenât full. He was so glad they werenât full. That there was space for Dino to take, and that Dino was here, taking it. He never thought he would. Heâd hoped and dreamed he would, but heâd never really thought it might happen. And now he was, and Caleb squeezed his shoulder gently.
âMeldacio has empty beds to spare, Dino. You can take up this space as long as you need to.â
Dino blinked once then laughed softly at the mention of owing him more than dinner should he go climbing and gently shook his head. He watched Caleb run a gauntlet of things in his mind however. The tell tale sign he was doing it was that Calebâs eyes would dart from side to side.Â
âHeh, ya never change do ya...âÂ
It was more of a comment to his tells, but at the same time, heâd pretty much confirmed; with the offer of a bed and rest, and healing that Caleb was still Caleb. Even after all this time.Â
Six, where the hellâve I been for that long anyhow? Dinoâs brows furrowed in thought a little before he let out a soft sigh, and he smiled. âFine. Iâll rest up I suppose, since itâs healers orders...âÂ
He glanced back to the room he was in, taking it in for the first time since he was upright before he glanced down at himself. Stitched in places, bandaged in others. He was pretty positive something put him through a wringer--but he couldnât remember what. All he could remember was a cold touch, a laugh, and the smell of something that reminded him of sulfur. Like the head of a lit match...and he honestly could still smell it.Â
It seemed to be in the air, or it was coming off whatever he still wore. He then looked down. Well, Ok, so itâs not cominâ from there.
Dino shook his head again to clear it and let off a little sigh. âYeah, maybe a bit of somethinâ in my belly wonât hurt. Though, I never knew ya to be such a good seamstress...â and he gestured to the stitches that adorned his side.Â
âWho do I gotta thank for keepinâ my insides, inside...?â
