The accusation of âhardheadednessâ was answered with a curl of his lips that may or may not have been a pout, but Vidar let her bend down to work on his leg. He watched her, craning his neck to keep both of her hands in view, but made no attempt to stop her.
He may be hardheaded, but not stupid.
Past experiences showed where the refusal of help led and honestly, heâd had enough of Nadavâs Talks to last him a lifetime.
The water stung and the pressure of the gauze she was stuffing into the wound dragged another low, uncomfortable noise from him, but Vidar kept still until her hands tied off the makeshift bandage, his only movements to assist her or to prescribe a snakelike motion in the air and then make snapping motions with his hand, mouthing âsnakeâ followed by a shrug.
Whatever had decided to try him on for a snack, it had been long, as thick around as his thigh and slippery. From the wound in his leg, heâd call it a lamprey if it hadnât been bigger than any of those suckers had a right to be. Not that he had a way to communicate that right now, but he didnât think that was necessary.
His would be rescuer didnât exactly seem keen on going into the water and if it was something more of the supernatural variety, he didnât think that she would have much of an idea either.
Which was why he was rather insistent in pushing himself to his feet and getting back to the cabin, more specifically the old, robust mobile phone that waited on the counter in the mud room.
His leg ached as he tried to get it under him, but when he carefully rested his weight on it, the feeling of pins and needles  spread like a tidal wave from the wound and took away all feeling from the hip down. In a reflex, Vidar threw out his hand, grasping her by the shoulder to keep himself from collapsing back to the ground.
Definitely something more than just a bite.
Teeth gritted painfully tight, he jerked his head towards the cabin. He really, really needed to send a message or heâd be in trouble.
The walk was slow with the painful numbness spreading into his groin and making it harder and harder to move his leg, but they managed and Vidar pushed open the unlocked door, immediately gesturing towards the mobile phone.
'Here!â, he rasped tonelessly, hands fluttering and once the device was in his hand, he typed out a message.
âNeed help. Got hurt. -Vâ
The phone confirmed the sending of the message with a cheerful little tune and Vidar looked up at his would be rescuer.
'Thank you.â, he mouthed and tapped three bloodied finger against his chest. 'Vidar.â, he pressed out, again in a painful sounding, toneless voice.
âA... snake did this?â Evelyn glanced doubtfully down at the manâs bandaged leg as she did her best to support him. She wasnât exactly an expert, but shouldnât a snakebite look like a pair of puncture marks, rather than the circular, gaping hole she had seen marring his leg?Â
Maybe it was just something snake-like, which opened up a whole host of other possibilities that she most certainly did not like, especially considering how big the thing must have been to take a bite that size out of the man. It made her all the more relieved that they were retreating to some semblance of shelter.Â
Evelyn wasnât exactly what one might call tall, so she swayed a little under the manâs weight when he grabbed at her to keep from falling. She clutched at his clothing, braced her legs, and gritted her teeth, then hauled him towards the cabin. She didnât like the way his wounded leg was dragging, as though he had lost all feeling in it. That couldnât be good.
Entering the cabin, she helped him to the phone as he requested, noting that he was capable of some speech, though his voice was a tattered rasp that seemed to pain him when he used it. At least there seemed to be mobile service out here, which made her feel a little bit better about being out here alone with a strange man, even an injured one. Her own phone was resting in its little pocket sewn into the inner lining of her bag. Wiping her bloodied hands on her jeans-- her clothes were ruined anyway, so she might as well-- she watched him send out the text to whatever mysterious contact he had on there, and nodded in response to his thanks and introduction.
âDonât mention it. Iâm Evelyn.â She reached for Vidarâs arm again and guided him towards a nearby chair. âHere, letâs at least get you sitting. Do you think the wound is poisoned? Because if it is, we need to do something about that right now or youâre going to have bigger problems than youâve already got.â A thought occurred to her, and she snatched her backpack from where she had let it slide to the floor a moment ago, retrieving a small sketchbook and a pencil from inside. Sometimes she liked to sketch the flora and fauna she saw on her meanders, and the little book was about half full of such drawings. She handed the sketchbook and pencil to Vidar. âFor easier communication.â