teaism | pls don't judge me I have so many injured guren icons okay

pls don't judge me I have so many injured guren icons okay

[Compared to this, the talking furniture from ages ago seemed almost pleasant. The door clicks shut behind them, and Guren almost wants to drop down right here. It's the first building they've come across in a while now— some sort of cabin in the woods that's falling apart just like the rest of the town they'd started in. Guren was bleeding from a variety of areas— a number of spots on his torso, his head, his face, his thigh— and that doesn't even start on the broken bones he's sporting, but he had a demon to take care of those injuries.

The man he was trying to support next to him was a different story. Hadn't they said something about not wanting to test if he could die and come back...?]

Look at me, Dex. [Guren wasn't trying to hide his worry now. He'd arrived too late, or at least that's his perspective. He shows up and something is nearly finished toying with Dextera like he's some sort of doll— something grey, with wings. Guren couldn't grasp what was happening, but interrupting had shown him that he was nearly outmatched. Nearly. With some biting words, he'd slain the creature(?) just before he was about to be offed himself. It was risky, to say the least.

But they're indoors now. Indoors, and there have to be supplies they can make use of somewhere. He staggers his next step forward as he tries to lead Dextera in, coughing blood against the back of his own hand. He's noticing that even his own injuries are staying longer than usual, somehow...]

Damn it...

[But he needs to know how Dextera is doing. How much can he handle? Guren doesn't want to find out his limit right now. One hand grips at Dextera's shoulder. They've been supporting each other the whole walk here, and he's trying not to weigh him down. His other hand, though the back of it is bloody now, rests against Dextera's chest carefully.] Sit down here.

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[ he's going to eat it but that's fine because he's definitely not going to let guren get a load of that one ]

Two hours... I hope it doesn't take that long.

[ it's a while to wait and hope that nothing goes wrong, especially with how unpredictable the area can be, and the monsters that are twisted and grotesque and occasionally too aggressive. dextera takes the stopwatch, but he's frowning. ]

Don't die.

[I knew he was going to fucking eat it.

He smiles a little, now that Dextera has finally given in to this point. He'll make it faster to gather what he can, hopefully. The fog is worrying but he's rested, so it should be fine.]

I won't.

[Leaning down, he takes Dextera's chin gently and kisses him. It's a longer one this time, slow and full of emotion and maybe too much like a farewell kiss. He does intend to come back, but there's always risk, of course...

When he's done, he pulls away, his own hand lingering for a minute before he's moving to step back.]

Only leave that spot if you're in trouble. I'll be right back.

[ dextera likes to be kissed. he doesn't like that guren is treating this like a last kiss, though he tries not to dwell on the could-bes and what-ifs when guren hasn't even left yet. he's resilient. he probably wouldn't have even gotten so hurt if he hadn't been trying to protect dextera yesterday.

dextera starts the watch, before guren has even gotten a chance to get out the door. ]

You'd better be.

[Guren gives a smile to those words, that face, and that watch all before he steps out in a hurry. That cheater... but it's fair, he thinks, to lose a minute or two to a goodbye. He spends another minute downstairs gathering items he could use, and then at the door to the cabin, applying fuda that will mask its presence. You know, just in case.

He plans on being gone for only an hour, but various scenarios keep him away for nearly two. He's pushing the time on that stop watch by the time he gets close, and while he's trying to wrangle some sort of animal back with him, two hours has passed. He only has feeling to go on, but he knows that it's about now, that Dextera must be worried sick, moving—

The animal is some sort of large... rat, or something. It has an extra set of legs and a third eye, and Guren is sick and tired of its stupid prehensile tail trying to grab the supplies he's gathered in a basket in his arms. Arriving back at the cabin is a little loud, thanks to all of this. Guren drops the animal in the door, watching it immediately scurry away.]

You little—! [Augh, whatever!! It's in the house, he'll deal with it later. For now, he needs to see where Dex is, and so he steps further into the cabin, calling out.]

Dextera? [He's got a basket full of plants of various types as well as a big jug of water strapped to his back, so it looks like things were successful. But he's also got a deep cut on his cheek that wasn't there before, and his hands are both covered in smaller cuts, like frown a rose bush. His hair is messy, too, the biggest sin.] Hey, Dex!

[If Dextera is in too much pain to have gotten far, Guren is heading straight up to where he left him, anyway.]

[ dextera was already mobilizing around the one and a half hour mark, but he knew that if guren followed through on his promise he would be furious to find dextera seeking him with another thirty minutes to go. when the watch hits two hours, his stomach curls unhappily—worry sinking its tendrils into every nerve, until he’s willing to push past the pain to find guren.

guren finds him first, though. dextera is ready to head out the door when guren reaches the bedroom, and all at once, the fear drains out of him and he ignores the pull of his injuries and the supplies in guren’s arms to hug him around his neck.

a dramatic reaction for guren, perhaps, who has known exactly where he was all this time... but dextera has only had the worry and the silence to deal with. he’s not used to waiting, and he’s discovered very firmly that he doesn’t like it.

when he pulls back, he touches the cut at guren’s cheek. ]

You’re bleeding.

[ he’s not thinking about the animal that guren may or may not have brought back, but he does hear a terrible scratching from further in the cabin. ]

[It's not dramatic. He knows what he just put Dextera through. So, he moves the basket to the side so he can properly accept this hug.]

Yeah, I tripped and fell. [The biggest lie he could ever make, and he's hoping that even if Dextera isn't so gullible, he'll think that the light way he says it means that it's not a big deal. It's just a single cut, after all, deep but not serious.]

But you're probably bleeding again, too. I found plenty, so let's get you somewhere I can look at your wounds. [He covers the hand on his cheek with his free one, a silent "Sorry I was late" since he won't say it aloud.]

[ stupid, dextera wants to say, surprising even himself with the vehemence he feels it—but it doesn’t actually make it out of his mouth. guren is almost certainly lying about tripping, but it doesn’t seem like he’s hiding anything severe. ]

Did you find...?

[ he trails off, his fingers twitching as if to gesture for some kind of animal, but he doesn’t actually know what kind of thing he wants to describe.

not that the creatures here really match up well with normal animals, but that makes them easier to depersonalize. ]

[He ran into something dangerous out there— but it was that same thing that led him to what he needed as far as plants went. He'd gotten away, anyway, with only a small scratch!! For now. The fog made him feel even more disoriented than usual, and he could swear it was bringing out more dangers.]

Oh, yeah. [The animal, right? He sets his basket down and turns to look at the door he walked through.] Stupid thing was giving me hell. It's somewhere around here.

[As if on cue, it sounds like a number of cans topple over downstairs.] Want me to go grab it?

[ dextera would grab it himself if he thought he could, but he can’t move like he wants to. as things are, the creature could probably kill him before he got ahold of it.

he nods, and slowly picks his way back over to the bed to sit down before he keels over. ]

I just need it for a second.

[ ominous ]

...Okay.

[He's slowly pieced this together by now, and he's not even sure how to react. It's a good thing he didn't have any time left, since his original thought was that he'd have to find something cute. This was just an abomination.

He takes the water jug-thing off his back and sets it down with the other stuff, stretching his arms.]

Hold on.

[And off he goes... There's some yelling from downstairs, because this thing is getting into things it shouldn't be, but ultimately it doesn't take long for Guren to grab it by the back of the neck and carry it upstairs. He holds it out to Dextera...

And once he takes it, he just kinda stands there, staring. Is he really gonna eat it.]

[ well... don’t stare at him!!

dextera has a firm grip on the creature despite its wriggling, but to save both of them—all three of them?—some effort, he holds it slightly out of guren’s direct point of view and kills it with a surprisingly efficient twist of the neck. ]

...

[ he should eat it, but this moment is... a lot. he looks back at guren, his mouth twitching in a frown. ]

You don’t have to watch.

[It's just a shitty animal that was a shitty pain in the ass, but somehow Guren is a little sad. It's a tiny sting at his heart, but he still hates himself for it. What is he, a kid... Kureto would laugh if he saw this. He bets some twitch of his finger gave it away, even with his blank expression.]

Right. I'll start with some of the medicinal plants I brought back.

[He turns, moving over to the door where he'd left them, and keeps his back on Dextera as he works. His hands are all cut up, but that doesn't matter. He can work with these to make them what he needs them to be. It looks like the first one he's dealing with needs to be crushed, so he's using a makeshift bowl to do that... He's over here playing doctor, basically, making some Convenient Meds.]

[ it’s not that dextera likes killing things, or even eating them, but they’re a necessity of survival. the way that some people have healing potions or magic or demon-regeneration... he has this.

he’s going to be very quiet about this, as quiet as he can manage by timing himself with the sound of guren’s work. ]

...I’m done.

[ for what it’s worth, it tasted bad!!! dextera hides any fresh blood by wiping it off on his coat or old bandages, and the worst part of it all is that he really does look better.

it’s not just that he was hungry—it has, actually, helped him heal up. ]

[Guren glances back, and he's surprised to see that Dextera actually does look better.]

You look like it actually helped. How are you feeling? [He doesn't know how any of that worked, but he still has plants and junk to help in the meantime! One for pain relief, one for accelerated healing properties... plenty to save for later.]

[ haven’t you ever felt alive after eating something raw, guren ]

Better. I can move, but...

[ it was small—which is for the best, in this case, since he would extremely rather not have had a big creature to deal with right here in the same room as guren.

his wounds haven’t closed completely, but they are... more all right, than they were. ]

I think I’d prefer the plants.

Haha, good. I'll make tea with one of them in a minute, but...

[It won't taste better, anyway. And first, he has weird alien plant paste.] Get your clothes out of the way. I'm going to clean you up.

[The sexiest way he could possibly say that, of course. He's gathering whatever he can carry and bringing it over, now, including his bowl of what looks like... mashed leaves and water. It is. All of this is going to be a type of leaf with water, but that's what they've got!!]

[ hot!

dextera obliges, though, glad to peel out of his clothes when it’s stuck to him in odd places from the dried blood. he winces, pulling at the wounds that the fabric of his shirt has dried against. ]

Are you sure this is going to work?

[ leaves and water... it’s so holistic. ]

No. [ At least he’s honest. He sits on the bed next to Dextera, a wet washcloth in one hand and his dumb bowl of plant paste set nearby. ]

But it’s not poisonous. [ Don’t ask how he found out. ] And even cleaning them off will help you in the long run. Let me see.

[ He places one hand at Dextera’s stomach, the other pressing the wet washcloth to wounded skin, trying to dab at it so the shirt can come loose easily. This is going to be a lot of touching. ]

[ dextera doesn’t ask how guren found this out, though he does wonder for a moment if guren has any room to judge him for eating anything that’s handed to him.

he draws in a sharp breath, but guren’s touch is gentle, even soothing—and the water is quick to rehydrate the wound and free his shirt. ]

...

[ he goes quiet now, transfixed by guren’s hands cleaning him up, dabbing gently at his cuts. ]

[Is it weird to still want to kiss a guy who just ate a giant mutant rat?

He really is distracted, even as he works. He's doing the touching, but watching how focused Dextera is on it is endearing. It's easy to let his touch linger more than it needs to and focus on his own breathing.

But if he gets too worked up over tending to someone's wounds, it'll definitely be weird, so he eventually breaks the silence while he's testing some of this alien plant on a cut. Supposedly, it'll ease irritation and accelerate repair...]

There are more of those weird things out there. [He decides to share that now, covering one wound with a much better bandage. He scavenged some other house in the woods, apparently, since he pulled these out of his jacket just now.] I have a spell in place on this cabin so it's not as noticeable, but if anything strong like that gets too close, it probably won't be enough.

[He frowns. Really, he just wants to relax and explore what exactly these feelings are with Dextera, but apparently they're not allowed to have a break where they can truly relax.]

[ to guren’s benefit, the mutant rat mostly tasted like ash—if there’s anything lingering, at least it isn’t deeply unpleasant! just a little bit. ]

Huh?

[ he’s openly distracted when guren speaks again, blinking his way out of his reverie as his mind hurries to catch up with what he just heard. more of those monsters—great. they’re in no shape to fight, and dextera is in a similar boat. he doesn’t want to spend this time together worrying about the next time they’ll be attacked.

he frowns, brushing his fingers along guren’s when he’s close enough. ]

I think I can purify them. I just... need some rest.

Really?

[That's worrying, Guren thinks, but if he really can do something like that, then victory would be a lot easier. If he could provide backup, or a distraction, or both, then Dextera could manage to do the rest without interruption or pain, right? Guren hums, plotting it out in his mind.]

Then we'd just have to stay here and hope no one finds us. [Still a risk, but a lot less of one. And... time for actual rest? He glances at those fingers that had brushed against his own, grasping back at them as he slides past to treat another injury.]

That could work, but I need you to be sure that you can do it, and rested and healed as much as you can be.

It’s just exhausting. It doesn’t... hurt.

[ it takes it all out of him, which is why he passed out initially on top of all the injuries he’d sustained. with some rest and guren’s kind hands tending to his wounds, he should be able to purify any creatures they run across without killing himself. ]

If you don’t mind waiting, I can take care of us. Of it.

[ a quick correction that really makes more of a problem than it was to say in the first place! they are a unit, there’s nothing wrong with us, but now he’s shy. ]

[ Of us, of it. Guren cracks a smile at the correction, setting aside his plants and bandages. He’s treated and cleaned every one, now, but with everything set to the side, he still rests his hand over Dextera’s chest. ]

I don’t mind. It’s almost like a vacation. [ Haha, hardly, but he can dream. His fingers smooth down his skin a little, and he watches, eyes brighter. Dextera is all clean now and he’s still a bloody mess. ]

I’m counting on you. I’ll be ready to make it easier however I can.

[ dextera is grateful not to be called out on it, though guren's hand is still on him and that's almost more embarrassing. guren pls... ]

You can make it easier by looking after yourself, too.

[ he's not interested in giving guren blood poisoning, so he doesn't take any of the cloths that were used to clean and dress his wounds, but it's clear what he means when he touches on his own cheek along the spot where guren is bleeding, and then covers guren's hand with his own.

he's a little scratched up... it's nothing bad, compared to what they've both seen already, but a cut is a cut. ]

...I don't want you to bleed on the pillows.

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