“Thanks… I don’t feel well.”
“No wonder. That thing was big.” Eyeing that angry bite which had started darkening, purple shades creeping onto that smooth skin. “It’s not pretty.”
“It hurts…” Panting softly, he closed his eyes, drained, cold.
Damian covered him up. “I’ll be back. I need to finish the piglets too…”
“Just do your thing…” Opening his hazel eyes. “I love you so much…”
Damian leant down to kiss his salty lips. “Me too. Rest a bit. I’ll come and do your wound. Bring you some food.”
“I’m not hungry…”
“I haven’t even heard this.” Smiling, stroking his face.
Gabe smiled and closed his eyes, plummeting into sleep.
“Hey… wake up…” Waking to his voice, the sky dark. Damian had lit a torch next to their bed. “I brought some water. Let me wash that shit and then we’ll eat.”
“Alright…” He clenched his jaw, moaning when the hot water hit his wound. “Fuck…”
“Yeah… I hope it will do… I have nothing to disinfect this…” Their eyes meeting. Gabe’s heart sank a bit at that slight desperate light in Damian’s eyes.
“Hey, it will be fine, right? We had wounds before.”
“Nothing this deep. It’s a bite. Nasty stuff.”
Gabe smiled lightly. “It will be ok. I can barely feel it.”
They ate, Damian’s eyes on the dark night. Listening to animals roaming the woods, sounds which didn’t make sense to Gabe but were everything to him. Scales sliding in rotten leaves, birds in the trees huddling for the night, smaller creatures pushing the branches and bushes around.
Thinking of those birds eating that dead eel. “We could catch birds like that. Baiting them and then killing them. I could build a sling of some kind and just whack them in the head.” He grinned at the image.
Gabe swallowed, feeling weak. “Ugh… disgusting…”
“Swift death. And they must taste good.” He smacked his lips, pushing a large bite of meat into his mouth. “Eat more.”
Gabe shook his head and handed him his plate. “I can’t… I don’t feel well.”
“It’s the shock. Stupid shit. I won’t let you go alone.”
“I won’t go back there. Might be more of them.”
Damian nodded and tucked him in. “Just sleep. You’ll feel better tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
Gabe woke in the middle of the night, shivering, his leg on fire. He nudged Damian’s back, and he was awake in seconds, turning to him.
“What’s wrong?”
“I have the shivers.”
Damian’s hand went to his forehead. “You’re burning!” Sitting up, a mild despair rushing down his body. “It might be an infection. Hold on.” He went to the fire and brought the torch close, flinging the blanket back. “Shit…” That angry red skin, swollen around purple caked over bite marks. “Shit. Shit. Shit.” He raked his hair, sitting, his mind racing.
Gabe sat up, ash white. “It’s bad…”
“Yes… very bad… Let’s hope your body can deal with it.” His eyes went to Gabe, filled with misery. “I need to cut this out, this festering wound….”
