Much to Wylen’s relief, the cave was utterly devoid of any harmful beast. After carefully scrutinizing the hollow interior, he made sure there wouldn’t be any surprises to intrude on them when nightfall came. So, with that, he put away his arrow and paced back to the mouth of the stone grotto.
His eyes fell straight to Jaelan and quickly accessed the wellness of his companion. Although standing at his full height, the pale warrior leaned heavily upon the mountain’s rocky side. His lips trembled along with his chattering teeth as rain and wind barreled into him from the side. Regal as he once was, there was no denying it now. When sickness plagues a man, almost nothing could obscure it.
Still, Jaelan kept a firm grip on his sword and jerked to attention when he caught sight of Wylen. Upon seeing the taller warrior signal that all was well and good, Jaelan expressively sighed in relief and stepped forwards.
After Jaelan sheathed his sword, he entered the cave and cringed when the sound of their collective footfalls created an unholy echo inside the grotto’s walls.
“There is some dry wood here.” Wylen motioned to a few small logs visible by the light that penetrated through the cave’s entrance. Someone must have stashed them here previously. “I’m going to go try and find some more kindling we can use.”
Jaelan nodded as he looked at the measly supply of firewood. They wouldn’t serve to keep them warm for very long.
In this downpour, however, it would be even more tasking to find something of use. After all, starting a fire from wet tinder was tedious in and of itself.
“Mn, I’ll come too.”
Wylen whirled around. His eyes flashed with surprise and a hint of irritation. “Jaelan.”
“I’m fine.” The shivering man grunted as he swiped a damp and clammy palm across his forehead. “We need to find usable kindling before it grows dark.”
“I can do that just fine,” Wylen said shortly. “There is no way in hell I’m letting you go back out there in the condition you’re in.”
“Wyl—”
“I’m going.” Tersely Wylen turned around and removed his pack. He dropped it on the ground before shaking some of the water out of his soaked hair. “You try getting a fire started with the supplies we have here.” And before Jaelan could even draw breath to start an objection, the warrior was treading out of the cave.
Wylen inwardly shivered as he stepped into the watery onslaught, fingers almost numb with cold as he turned his head in the direction of the thick forest. Determined, he brushed his running nose with the back of his hand and fixated on his path. Careful of where he stepped, Wylen returned to the wood and began vigorously searching for any dead trees in his immediate circumference. His eyes scanned through the vicious torrent as the wind whipped through the canopy above. The green foliage shivered upon the long branches as they were speared mercilessly by the piercing rain.
Cursing under his breath, Wylen wiped at his face, cold and wet. Only after a good ten minutes of surveying the dense wood did he find a dried sapling, naked and bare. Eagerly he dashed toward it and hurriedly begun to break off twigs that weren’t in contact with the ground. He applied strength to his arms and grit his teeth when the rough bark dug into his palm. Nonetheless, he added more pressure, twisting the obstinate branches until he could completely detach them from the rotting limbs of the tree.
After he accumulated as much as he could from the dead birch, Wylen turned his attention to the live ones, evaluating them with an expert eye. With his precious cargo tucked under his arm, he marched toward his next target.
Resolute, he got to work.
Immediately he went for the branches closest to the trunk and lowest to the ground, knowing they would be the driest. Bending over, he reached for the knife in his boot, then brought it to the live branches and began cutting. He grimaced as one particular wind pressed into him from the back, nearly plastering his front to the tree trunk. Only after he dug his heels into the saturated soil was he able to battle against the onslaught and get back to hacking away at the branch.
Back in the cave, Jaelan worked as quickly as he could at creating a bed for the fire to get started. After rummaging a bit near the measly pile of logs, he found a small bundle of twigs held together by a ratty cloth. Thankful for even that tiny token, he got out his knife and began peeling the twigs in an effort to expose more surface area and get the fire started faster.
As he worked the knife over the dried sticks, he tried to keep his focus. His fingers trembled. More than once, he found himself having quite a close encounter with the sharpened end of the blade. However, Jaelan was stubborn and kept to his task, disregarding the pounding in his head that seemed to grow in intensity with every passing minute and the dizziness that would assail him with any quick movement.
Luckily though, he had managed to finish off the bed for the fire by the time Wylen returned.
As soon as Jaelan saw him, he jumped to his feet only to regret it a split second later as a wave of lightheadedness hit him full force. Unable to keep his balance, he hurriedly grasped for the rocky wall and steadied himself.
“Jaelan!” Wylen rushed forward and threw his toiled work to the ground without a second’s thought. He reached for the shorter warrior, “Are you alright?”
Wordlessly Jaelan nodded as Wylen’s arms came to support him. When he was sure of his footing, he pushed the other away and pointed to the fire.
“W-Wylen…s-start it p-please.” He stumbled and then tried to sit.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Like a hawk, Wylen swooped to him again, lowering Jaelan until he was sitting as comfortably as he could.
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“I’m alright,” Jaelan whispered with his eyes closed.
“You don’t look it.”
“Fire…p-please…”
Reminded of the task that still needed completing, Wylen jumped to work. His already numb fingers dug into the wood as he assembled the rest of the kindling. Out of one corner of his eye, he watched Jaelan. Apprehension grew at seeing the soaked warrior lean hazardously forwards. A fear he had never felt before took captive of his heart. Anxiously he worked to start the fire, ignoring his own chill and the cold from the wet tunic and pants.
All he could think about was how poorly the other was fairing. It was a stark contrast to what he was used to. Even more so, it was an incredible divergent from the Jaelan from only a couple of hours prior.
When he managed to get a flame started, Wylen wiped at his face and turned to Jaelan only to find the pale warrior slumped against the cave wall.
In alarm, Wylen reached for him. “Jaelan!”
The other didn’t answer.
Fearfully Wylen gazed into Jaelan’s face, noting the other’s eyes were closed. Hurriedly he maneuvered around the unconscious warrior and held his head steady as he brought his lips to Jaelan’s forehead.
Hot.
“Argh!”
More concerned than before, Wylen hurriedly began to tug on Jaelan’s clothes, knowing it was pertinent to devoid the unconscious warrior of them. The soaked through fabric would only worsen the smaller man’s condition, and in their situation, it might prove to be even fatal. Wylen wasn’t a master of medicine, nor was he an expert on Jaelan’s race. He didn’t know how serious something like this was for the half-god, but all he knew was that a fever such as this had claimed more lives than he could count in his clan.
Anxious, he threw off Jaelan’s boots and tossed them to the side before attacking the trousers stuck to the warrior’s slender waist. The skin his fingers skimmed over was cold to the touch. And that only made Wylen’s worry grow. If he could feel the cold off Jaelan’s body, it meant that the warrior’s body temperature had dropped far below his own.
He needed to get Jaelan warm immediately.
Quickly he peeled off Jaelan’s shirt and threw it to the side, not stopping until the young warrior lay fully naked. When he was through, he hurriedly began to remove his clothes. It wouldn’t do if both of them fell to fever.
Upon discarding the last of his garments, Wylen rubbed his biceps. His fingers trailed over his tattoo before he turned back to Jaelan and hurriedly gathered him into his arms. Then carefully, he maneuvered them closer to the fire, making sure Jaelan’s body was exposed to the radiating warmth as much as possible. Naked and clammy, he held the other close and gently tucked the long sable locks of wet hair behind Jaelan’s ears.
Even in sickness, Jaelan was something truly amazing to behold. It was as if a skilled painter had somehow managed to make his masterpiece come to life. The amber glow from the fire only served to highlight the warrior’s exquisite features. For what might have been the hundredth time since he knew him, Wylen found himself completely captivated by Jaelan’s mouth. Without any conscious thought, his fingers reached over and ran alongside the bottom of the man’s lip, feeling the smooth texture with the pad of his thumb.
“Jae…” He mumbled aloud, almost as if entranced. “…Jaelan…”
Shadows played on the grotto’s rocky walls as Wylen leaned down and pressed his cheek against Jaelan’s face, inhaling the same ghost of air as the other. Even in a condition such as this, his heart fluttered as if it had wings. He swallowed thickly and allowed his fingers to trail down from Jaelan’s mouth down to his throat and then further to his chest. Gently he pressed his palm to where the smaller man’s heart resided. Then he concentrated hard and tried to focus on the rhythmic beat. After a minute or so, a small smile flickered across his face as he felt the faint thrum of the other’s heart. Pleased, he moved his hand to Jaelan’s waist and tightened his hold on the unconscious warrior, finally allowing himself to drift off to sleep.
:::
Jaelan buried his face in the fur pelt as a gust of wind blew into his face. He winced as his eyes squinted and shut as he waited for the assault to cease. Behind him, Wylen was doing much the same.
“Argh!” He heard the warrior growl, “If this weather keeps up, we’ll be delayed by a half a day’s travel!”
Grunting, Jaelan looked up to the sky to gauge how much daylight they had left. They weren’t far from the mountain of seven peaks. Maybe just another two or three days, and they would be there. He could already see the magnificent range of rock from where he stood. Inadvertently his excitement grew. After almost a whole month of tasking travel, he was finally almost there.
“We can stop for the day, I guess.” Jaelan turned and squinted at Wylen, only to burst into a fit of laughter at seeing the expression the other was currently making.
“Hey…” Wylen dropped his arms and pouted, not in the least bit amused. “Not all of us can squint into the wind and look like a water nymph doing so.”
“You look like a chastised bear!”
Irked, Wylen blew a puff of air out and watched as it clouded in front of his face. “Well, this bear is cold and hungry. Maybe it will eat you.”
“I’d like to see the bear try.” Jaelan wiggled his eyebrows playfully before he stepped towards Wylen and threw an arm over his shoulder. “Hey…Wylen…we can always share body heat if you’re that cold.”
Turning scarlet at the reminder of their night in the cave a week ago, Wylen tucked his head into his chin and pushed away from the laughing man. It was just his luck that Jaelan had awoken before him. Wylen inwardly kicked himself as the embarrassment washed over him, new and fresh.
He somehow managed to wrap his whole body around the smaller man in his sleep, pressing into him like a second skin. When Jaelan had rudely shaken him awake, Wylen was forced to feel shame unlike any he had ever felt before. Naked and only half awake, his arousal was standing at attention, large and proud.
“You were so happy to do it before.” Jaelan cockily turned his head to the side, having more fun than he should at tormenting the taller man.
In all honesty, there was more to it than that. The constant jokes made about that day were his only way of dealing with his distraught thoughts.
He had been more affected by that morning than he cared to admit.
It wasn’t Wylen’s fault. He had tried to do the best he could, thinking that Jaelan was in danger from the fever. There was no way he could have known that all Jaelan needed was just a couple of hours of deep sleep to be back in perfect condition. He was half god, after all. A simple fever had no chance of doing him in.
When he had awoken that morning, his whole body went rigid as he stared wide-eyed into Wylen’s sleeping face pressed to his. It immediately turned his heart into a thumping drum. Blood rushed into his cheeks and groin simultaneously as he accessed their position.
Wylen had been almost cocooning him with his body. One leg had been thrown over his torso, and an arm was draped over his chest, pushing him into Wylen’s warm and inviting bulk. Yet, the most distracting and heart rate tripling effect was due to the hard organ poking him in the thigh.
He could feel Wylen’s breath tumble down his cheek as the man slept, exhaling soundly. A small moan, however, escaped that bowtie-shaped mouth when Jaelan moved his leg.
Almost as if entranced by the sound, Jaelan found himself intentionally moving his leg in such a way to make the sound come again. His own groin twisted with the heat of arousal at Wylen’s state. Again he moved his leg, feeling the organ rub against his skin.
However, when Wylen moved in his sleep, Jaelan was somehow released from whatever spell he had been under. Mercilessly he pushed Wylen awake. Only then he realized that he needed to think of something quick to hide the state of his own disloyal body.
“Let’s just make camp,” Wylen grumbled. “I’ll go find us something to eat. You start the fire.”
“Mn, alright.” Jaelan smiled and then rushed to the marching warrior. He leaped in front of him and made Wylen stop short. “Only no more rodents…there is only so much of that I can consume. Try and get a rabbit this time, okay?”
Wylen found himself pouting once more, unwillingly melting upon gazing into Jaelan’s expressive eyes. Blinking, he coughed and pulled himself together. “Hey…it’s not like I can magically make a rabbit appear out of thin air.”
“You have a god-given talent with that bow.” Jaelan motioned to the quiver of arrows on Wylen’s back. “Make use of it.”
“Jae…”
“If you can get a rabbit,” Jaelan smirked and leaned forwards. “I will stop teasing you.”
Wylen blinked and then smiled as if gold had just poured from the sky.
“One rabbit coming right up.”
:::
Stepping carefully in his fur-lined boots, Wylen coughed and brushed his bare fingers against the frost-covered rock. They had only been scaling the mountain of seven peaks for an hour, and already the frigid air had infiltrated his lungs. He grunted and moved forward only after making sure the rope he had tied to his waist was secure.
Jaelan led on a few paces ahead.
It seemed that the treacherous mountain had nothing on the sure-footed warrior. Jaelan traversed the rock as if he were down on the solid ground, walking amidst a meadow of fine grass and flowers.
Another cough assailed Wylen, and he gave his head a good shake.
To each his own, he assumed.
“Anything yet?” He called out, already weary of this climb and eager to reach the blasted cave and start a roaring fire. The pack he carried was full of kindling just for that.
Up ahead, Jaelan peered across the distance only to shake his head a few moments later. “I don’t see it.”
“Ugh!” Wylen bit back a curse and trudged forward. The cold already had numbed his poor digits to the point that he could barely feel them. “Of all the caves in the land, why must it be the one atop a snow-topped mountain!”
“I second that!” Jaelan called and turned his head down to grin at the blustering warrior.
Already having reached midday, Jaelan sighed and returned his attention to exploring the seven-peak mountain. His large eyes scanned the perimeter, hoping to catch a glimpse of the prophesized cave he was supposed to find. To his immediate chagrin, he couldn’t even spot a hole. So, with a grunt, he continued. He glanced backward every so often to make sure Wylen was doing alright.
The solid warrior wasn’t the best of climbers. Jaelan had taken it upon himself to tie a rope around the pouting man, making sure to secure him to himself just in case Wylen lost his footing and managed to tumble.
The thought of Wylen falling down the rocky slope made every fiber of his being quake with fear. He didn’t want to chance fate. If the warrior stumbled by some terrible odds, Jaelan would do everything in his power to haul him back up. And if he couldn’t, well…he didn’t want to think about that.
For the next two hours, they climbed.
Higher and higher, Jaelan dragged them. His fingers dug into found perches and hauled him upwards. Behind him, with much cursing and foul mouthing, Wylen followed. His face was red with exertion as his biceps rippled beneath the fur pelt. When his boots slid across an icy patch, he caught himself and exploded into a cloud of explicit words. Their nature was so vulgar it made Jaelan turn around, jaw unhinged.
“Hey!” He called to the swearing warrior. “You alright?”
“God damn this mountain!” Wylen seethed and rubbed his nose. “Do you see it yet?”
Jaelan shook his head and pressed his tongue into his cheek. A few tendrils of his long black hair came loose from behind his ear and fell across his face. Almost automatically, his hand brushed them back in place.
“Not so much as a burrow.”
Another slew of indecent language sailed free from Wylen’s mouth, and Jaelan couldn’t help but give a small laugh. He turned back to look ahead and continued to climb. It was only after another hour and a half of vigorous ascent that he finally spotted something in the distance.
Jaelan stopped short and focused on the distant object, his eyes sharp.
Puffing behind him, Wylen hauled himself across the stones and leaned against the rocky wall to catch his breath.
“I see it!”
Never were words so sweet. Wylen jerked forward and quickly made his way to where Jaelan stood. He peered over the other’s shoulder in the direction the smaller man pointed. Sure enough, there in the distance appeared to be a dark opening belonging to a cave.
A large grin plastered itself to Wylen’s face, and he reached over to squeeze Jaelan’s shoulder. “About time!”
Without wasting another precious second, the two of them hurried to the cave. It took them about an hour to get to the mouth of the grotto.
When Jaelan gazed at the entrance, adrenaline in his body surged. Even though the opening wasn’t overly large, a full-grown man could easily pass through it. So, without bothering to admire the intricate structure of the stone edifice, Jaelan darted inside.
They are absolutely great together! Funny and cute, lots of teasing, I love it.
thanks for the chapter! <3
Haha yeah they like to tease each other and themselves 😎