Seto woke, the early morning frost making his trench coat stiff, feeling much like a cold sheet. Rubbing his eyes he shoved the expensive jacket to the ground, his blue eyes squinting open against the morning sun's rays. It took a moment to adjust to the brightness of the world, and when he did he noticed Joey was shaking in his sleep, the fire now nothing more than a glow of dying embers.
The blonde had dark circles around his eyes, his face pale, symptoms of a late night. Seto could only guess he had stayed up late, watching for Ciaran, apparently unsuccessful. A slight feeling of sympathy wafted through him, but only slight, and left as quick as it came. So what if he was up late? It was his own fault.
Rather than wake him Seto stood, stretching his stiff limbs and grabbed a nearby log, tossing it carelessly into the fire. Embers scattered like fireflies, a few flames licking to life. The thud of the log hitting earth startled Joey. Typically a hard sleeper Seto's eyebrows rose when Joey sprang to life, his eyes darting around wildly.
"Ciaran?!" his sleep glazed eyes scanned the area, his face falling into a look of disappointment when he realized it was only Seto who had woken him.
Suppressing the need to chastise Joey, Seto rolled his eyes and kept his remarks to himself for once. Thankfully the fire was beginning to rekindle, and Seto leaned over it, hands outstretched above the weak flames.
"Morning, sunshine." He grinned, his lips twisting into a smirk. Although he couldn't kick a man while he was down, he couldn't help the urge to nag at Joey at least a little bit.
Frowning a deep frown Joey wiped his nose with the back of his hand, sniffing hard against a clogged nose. His face felt hot, despite its pale appearance, and his body shook with fever. With a groan of displeasure he lay back down against the cold ground, appreciating the cool feeling it offered against his hot body.
"I'm going back to sleep." His voice cracked in a sickly way, causing Seto to now frown too.
Without permission he stepped over to Joey and laid the back of his hand to Joey's forehead, cursing at their luck. Although he wasn't a doctor years of tending to his little brother had taught him a thing or two, and he knew well enough that Joey had a fever. When Joey didn't rebut against Seto's touch it only further confirmed his suspicion.
"Great." Seto sighed as he stood, looking down at Joey who had fallen back to sleep.
Knowing the potential dangers Seto went to his back pack and began to rummage. A feeling of helplessness soon settled in as he looked at his options. Tylenol, Advil, Robitussin, Theraflu, and finally Sudafed. A great selection if Joey had the warmth of a bed and the time to recover, but here in the middle of winter, in the woods, both were lacking.
Uncapping the bottle of Theraflu, Seto stood and went back to Joey, who was now coughing in his sleep. "Joey, get up." Seto tried waking him first with his voice, then when that failed he nudged the young blonde awake.
Groggy and laden with fever Joey opened his eyes and sat up, trying to listen to what Seto was saying. His face hurt, his lungs felt heavy and worst of all he wasn't hungry. The day Joey Wheeler didn't eat was the day the god's fell from the skies, a fact that only worried Seto more when he asked if he wanted breakfast.
"Fine then," Seto snapped impatiently, knowing the medicine would work better if Joey had eaten. "Just drink his then." He lifted the bottle to Joey's lips, waiting for him to take two good swigs before taking the bottle back and recapping it.
Without complaint of the horrible taste, or being woken up again, Joey settled back down to sleep, leaving Seto looming above, a look of concern and concentration on his face.
Knowing travel would be nearly impossible for the day Seto added more logs to the fire, slowly coaxing it back to life. He even took the time to warm his jacket, holding it by the fire to ensure that no moisture would linger from the frost. Once he was satisfied he laid it over Joey, who although still shook was no longer coughing.
Now better assured that Joey was warm he began to wonder through the woods, stretching his memory back far, reaching out to books he'd read in school. Biology, Geology, and Anatomy. Each subject swam facts through his mind as he began to find things. Willow bark to cool fever, peppermint to ease the pain in mouth or face, marshmallow to help inflammation of the lungs, and ginger for all the obvious reasons.
Of all the things he needed the marshmallow plant proved to be the most difficult, taking most of day to be found, tucked away in a thicket it's pale green leaves and tall shape gave it away.
Only once he was satisfied with his collection did he make his way back to camp, finding Joey still asleep. Not bothering to wake him Seto set the herbs down and scrounged around for a large flat rock, one suitable for working upon, then another smaller one, suitable for grinding.
Now he separated the Willow bark and peppermint, leaving the marshmallow and ginger nearest. Sticking the two together he began to mash them with the smaller stone, watching carefully as the marshmallow's healing secretions mixed with the bits of ginger. The slow process continued until he had a fair amount of both ground down, then using his fingers he gathered up what he could off the stone and went over to Joey.
"Joey," he poked at the sleeping blonde who didn't move "Wake up." Another nudged followed by more sleeping.
Sighing, and knowing he had no other option, Seto kneeled down and opened Joey's mouth, wincing as he stuck his fingers under Joey's tongue, making sure to get as much as a salve into his mouth as possible. The harsh taste of raw ginger caused Joey to frown in his sleep and swallow hard, satisfying Seto who was sure he'd swallowed most of the medicine.
The peppermint and willow were easy enough to for Joey to manage, as they just needed to be shoved between his teeth and cheeks. Unable to do anything else Seto added more wood to the fire and sat down by Joey, hugging his knees close to his chest as he watched the flames dance.
Miles away black wings glided upon the warm air, the sun brilliantly warm despite the bitter cold that lay below. Ciaran thrust her powerful wings again, sure to stay above the cloud cover, lest she fall back into the winter weather. Her red eyes took notice, not what was in front of her, but what passed beneath, trees, cattle, herds of deer grazing about in open meadows, unaware of the looming threat from high above.
Ignoring these distractions she continued her flight, only faltering when an updraft caught her wings, or a flock of geese interrupted her path. Hours she continued, the sun slowly setting, relenting long last to the moon. It was only when darkness began to swallow the land did she find what she sought.
Far, far below the midnight black dragon saw clusters of yellow and red glows, and only the eyes of a dragon could make out the roof tops of the town. Successful at least she descended, diving into the clouds, her scales dripping moisture as she emerged, wings and body angled for the unsuspecting town.
Only when she was close enough to make out the horses and the people did she slow her flight, mindful of the shadow she may cast, warning any peasants of her coming. It was true enough that she was clumsy about the forest, but her master allowed her to roam, and with the freedom came a useful skill. The shadows of the night sky where her friend, like a shark in the depths of the sea, she waited and once found the two reunited, a unity of stealth and silence.
The hours of hunting Joey had allowed her to indulge in now allowed her to become close to the village, a familiar smell filling her nostrils as she inhaled deeply and expelled a breath of smoke. Knowing she was close to what she searched for, she was careful to lower herself onto the strong branches of an oak tree, one not yet old enough to submit under her weight, or young enough to lack the foliage or height she needed. It was here she watched.
A mother ushered her child into the house, a man and his mule ambled down the street, a cart full of dry meat and vegetables pulled along. Then a noise, a most terrible noise. The mule stopped in his stride, taking a step back, his ears flickering with fear and uncertainty, the mother took her child by the hand and pulled him into the house, slamming the door behind her.
The farmer shook his head and took his mule's bridal in hand, pulling the beast's head down and forcing him to walk on. Perhaps Ciaran would have taken the opportunity to steal the man's cart, an easy task at best, but her focus was now on a large barn that lay at the center of the small town. A run down shack at worst, and a barn that would keep rain off at best, the building was nothing like her home.
Yet still….
Another cry this time solidify her resolve, and with clear resolution she took flight from the tree. Her bones ached, her stomach turned empty, but she flew into the night with haste. Her master had commanded her, and so she obeyed.