Everything hurt.
His back felt like it was burned, his side felt like it was on literal fire, his pulse was pounding against the inside of his skull- everything hurt.
The worst of it all, though, was the nausea.
He wasn't sure what had woken him or how he was even awake in the first place. Beyond the pain and the nausea, he was exhausted. It dragged at him, keeping him in a weird limbo between unconscious and alert to the point that he was certain he dreamt at times. There was no way he and Kaveh were out in the desert with him feeling like this but he had this vague impression of Kaveh against his burning side taking his weight, talking like always, - not that he could remember what Kaveh had even said - and the grit of sand in his shoes. There wasn't enough sand near home for him to have it in his shoes so it had to be the desert; but there had also been so little light and the terrain didn't give like sand normally did so it definitely had to be a dream.
The nausea got stronger.
He wasn't going to be able to ignore it for much longer. He knew there was no avoiding it but he didn't want to be sick. He hated it, hated every bit of it, and the thought of doing it with everything hurting-
Something rubbed at his face, something blessedly cool. It was a struggle to even get his eyes to open so it was no surprise when all he saw was a blur. What he could tell, though, was that Kaveh was beside him, caring for him like he always did.
He hated it. It always felt like he was doing the Empath a disservice by relying on the other to help him when he was sick like this. It wasn't like Alhaitham couldn't take care of himself.
No, that wasn't fair to Kaveh. The other man had been adamant about being able to help when Alhaitham was sick, repeating each time Alhaitham fought him on it that it was easier to help him than to let him waste away in his room until he got better. Occasionally Kaveh would mention it was another way to pay Alhaitham back for letting him live in Alhaitham's home but Alhaitham hated that even more.
The nausea swelled.
He sucked in a breath against it. Kaveh's hand was on his shoulder, a weight Alhaitham was sure was meant to comfort, but he pushed against it anyway. "G'nnu," he forced around the nausea, "be sick."
Kaveh pulled away sharply. Briefly Alhaitham wondered where he was going only to have his entire focus be brought back sharply to the point that he was going to be sick and soon. The only challenge was that moving was going to be nearly impossible as shifting to roll sent waves of agony through him.
The nausea was bolstered by it and he really was going to be sick.
Kaveh - blessed Kaveh - was back and practically manhandled Alhaitham through the pain. Alhaitham tried to quell the nausea long enough but as soon as he was even remotely leaning over, the nausea won out.
How was it possible that everything could hurt more? Tremors skittered down his spine and shook his arms but he couldn't tell if he was shivering from a fever or from the agony. Kaveh was the only reason he was even remotely upright. His vision swam too much to see if he had managed to not be sick all over Kaveh. "S'rry, Kaveh," he mumbled, though Kaveh's name was more like a breath than an actual word.
He flinched as something pressed against his face, not that he got very far. It took too long for his brain to figure out Kaveh was cleaning his face. He tried to keep his head still for the other man but it quickly grew too heavy. His forehead rested against something warm - Kaveh's shoulder or neck had to be close so it was probably propped there - and unless Kaveh moved him, that was where it was staying.
A new thing pressed against his lips. It startled him back into a weak attempt at awareness.
"Drink." The word sounded weird, almost like it wasn't Kaveh's voice but, no, that wasn't right. Who else would it be other than Kaveh?
Cool water was tipped into his mouth, disrupting his thoughts as he became hyper aware of how dry his mouth and throat were, how his throat burned, and how good the water tasted. He greedily drank until Kaveh was forced to remove his access to it. "Hey," was sharp and quick, offended on the edges even, "not so fast or you're going to make yourself sick again."
No longer feeling nauseous, exhaustion overwhelmed him. He gave a hum because the words - if any - wouldn't form even if he tried. Kaveh's presence and warmth only encouraged the exhaustion and he passed out again.
Waking was slow but his head was clear despite the ache that had settled in it while he had been unconscious. He must have hit his head somewhere on the way down. That or the pain was giving him a headache. His upper back hurt, like it was raw, and fleetingly he wondered if he had scraped it during the dune collapse - would explain how he had hit his head - but it was overshadowed by the injury on his right side.
His entire right side felt like it was on fire, from under his pectoral down into the leg joint and easily halfway into the rest of his torso. Whoever had sliced into him had apparently missed anything vital because he was still alive after however long he'd been unconscious. His pulse was even steady; he could feel it in the depths of his headache.
A shudder skittered down his spine. There was going to be sand in the wound. There was going to be sand everywhere and trying to clean and dress the wound was going to be infuriatingly difficult.
It didn't matter. He had to get up and get the otherworlder out of there. There was no telling how long until Fatui found them and he had lingered long enough.
Still, though, he allowed himself a few breaths in the hollow ache that gnawed at his chest, indulging in the need to worry after Kaveh as if it would do either of them any good. Had he dreamt between falling into the dune and waking, he would not be surprised to learn it had been about Kaveh with how thick the hollow ache was. Unfortunately, the dream had slipped through his fingers long before he had woken up, leaving him to speculate instead and he could do that while he got the otherworlder and himself somewhere safer.
Opening his eyes only made the world spin around him and he quickly closed them before the spinning could make him nauseous. Right now nausea was the last thing he wanted to deal with, especially with how much his side already hurt. Exhaustion hadn't left his body as it had his mind. His left arm felt heavy and slow to respond as he raised it. Holding his side was going to be excruciating but he couldn't risk-
A hand grabbed at his wrist accompanied by a rush of air. Alhaitham's eyes snapped open as adrenaline erased the weight of his limbs for the heart stopping seconds it took for his vision to steady. "Don't," accompanied the grab, and while the word was crisp and sharp, the hostility was feigned at best. Instead of pain or a yank of some fashion, the hand around his wrist was firm but careful to not cause pain as his arm was directed back to his side. The blotch over him, pale and dark in almost equal parts, moved with the unexpected handling. The only thing that kept him from fighting back was the blotch being too small to be one of the Fatui. "You move too much and you ruin all my hard work."
The voice clicked before his vision cleared and the realization stole the tension from his body.
Wanderer was leaning over him. Once his vision cleared, he could see that the other was without both hat and outer layers, leaving Wanderer to look even smaller than he already was. Wanderer had settled into a sitting position at his side, not that there was much room to be anywhere else. The way the ceiling curved and what walls Alhaitham could see spoke of a small hollow in the stone. If there was any sort of opening, Alhaitham couldn't see it. There was a single weak source of light somewhere above and to the right of Alhaitham's head and it left half of Wanderer's face in shadow until the other faced the light source, messing with something.
"I don't even know why I talk to you. It's not like you're even awake enough to listen to me." Despite the annoyed - and slightly pained - look on Wanderer's face when the other turned back, Wanderer's touch was incredibly gentle as he slipped a hand under Alhaitham's head and lifted it so Alhaitham could take a drink of what looked like water. His left hand came up again before he could think better on it and Wanderer glared at the offending limb, pressing the bottom of the cup into Alhaitham's arm to force the limb back to Alhaitham's side. "What did I just say?"
"C'n m'self," he managed around a lead tongue and dry throat. Only, the poorly spoken words scratched at his throat and immediately threw him into a coughing fit. The cup was against his lips and water pouring into his mouth before he had managed more than the initial cough. The cool water soothed most of the irritation but the urge to cough didn't go away. Even when the last of it slid down Alhaitham's throat, he started coughing again, though with less scratching and sounding a lot less dry.
"Idiot." Despite the intended bite of the word, Wanderer quickly put the cup down and slipped his arm under Alhaitham's shoulders. With apparent ease, the smaller had him half upright and turned into Wanderer, protecting Alhaitham's right side as much as possible.
The fit was short but it irritated everything. Wanderer shifted under him and Alhaithaim braced to be laid back down but instead, a strong smell made him crinkle his nose and urged his mild headache into something that was harder to ignore. Nausea slapped him in the face and he swallowed against it, willing it away before it grew uncontrollable. "What-" he started, before something cold was pressed to the center of the burning on his upper back. He sagged into Wanderer with a low groan as the burning and irritation was soothed by the cool substance. Without so much as a word, Wanderer finished lathering his back before pressing something against the substance, possibly a strip of cloth or hide to keep the substance and burn protected.
It took a good while before he realized he ought to be surprised by the lack of comment, too lost in his relief that Wanderer hadn't said anything about, well, any of it.
Alhaitham tried to assist Wanderer in laying him back down but when all it did was make his side flare and pull a sharp hiss of pain from him, Wanderer tightened his grip, forcing Alhaitham to give Wanderer his weight again. "The Akademiya's Scribe is a fool," Wanderer ground out. Even without seeing it, Alhaitham could feel Wanderer glaring at the back of his head. "Your stubbornness is only making it worse. This would be so much easier if you were properly unconscious."
"I would gladly be unconscious if that was an option," he drawled back, though his snide remark lacked the bite he intended, making him sound tired. "Unfortunately, I am very much awake."
Wanderer tensed under him but it was fleeting. "Oh. Good." Wanderer's voice flattened. "Don't fight me or I will drop you."
There was the initial, involuntary flex when Wanderer started moving him but Alhaitham managed to quell it and Wanderer didn't drop him. As Wanderer's hand slipped from behind his head, he couldn't help the fleeting thought that the threat had been an empty one.
It took a moment of Wanderer fiddling with something before Alhaitham managed to word his question. "How long has it been since the dune collapsed?"
"A few days, give or take." Water was poured into a small container, most likely the cup. "Their little light trick dumped us into a cave system that doesn't seem to have an exit; well, beyond the hole they bore into it and they're currently camping that particular exit."
"Have you managed to explore much of it?"
Wanderer turned back to him with the cup in hand. "Hardly. The Fatui are everywhere and leaving you alone with the otherworlder hasn't been an option."
Alhaitham recoiled from the smell, the nausea quickly going from low level to holding the majority of his attention as Wanderer pinned his left hand again. "That smells horrendous," Alhaitham bit out, glaring at Wanderer.
Wanderer glared back. "It's supposed to help your injuries but if you'd rather be in pain-"
"I would rather not be sick."
Wanderer stilled before his gaze shifted to something flat but less abrasive. "You have to get something in you. Your wounds are a hindrance and if you really do end up being sick again, you're only going to get worse."
Again? "Dehydration is the main concern-"
Wanderer cut him off. "And so is a lack of energy. I can't carry you and the otherworlder, now can I? And we both know who I'm ditching when it comes to that."
Involuntarily, the moment on the balcony where the Dendro Archon was telling him to come home flickered across the forefront of his thoughts. He didn't need to be reminded of it to know who was the priority here. "Being sick risks making my side worse," Alhaitham said calmly, albeit tightly. "As long as I'm able to keep down water, anything else can wait until the nausea goes away."
Wanderer let out a tsk as it seemed Alhaitham won that particular argument. Wanderer sat back, gaze going towards the light source as he moved to deal with the cup. Wanderer's gaze suddenly narrowed and Alhaitham heard the splash of water on stone as Wanderer rose to his knees.
Alhaitham opened his mouth to ask but Wanderer covered it, pinning Alhaitham's head in place as Wanderer leaned over him, tugging at something Alhaitham couldn't see. "We have to move," Wanderer said, the words barely more than a breath. "I'm going to get you on your feet but you will have to walk on your own." For a moment, Wanderer's expression twisted with something Alhaitham couldn't decipher as the smaller leaned back. "Do what you can to not make your side worse. Don't need you bleeding out."
Wanderer grabbed Alhaitham's left hand and brought it to the injury. Alhaitham noticed the wrappings for the split second before the excruciating pain crashed over him. He was certain he would have screamed had it not been for Wanderer's hand still covering his mouth. A heavy sweat broke out as he heaved air through his nose, desperately willing the nausea to subside.
Wanderer's hand slipped from his mouth and he greedily sucked in deeper breaths.
He was going to be sick.
"Don't let up on the pressure," Wanderer warned him as Wanderer's hands moved.
Alhaitham was shivering by the time Wanderer got him on his feet and wrapped a swath of fabric around Alhaitham's bare torso. Vaguely Alhaitham wondered what had happened to his shirt. His sleeves were missing too. Wanderer leaned him against the wall near the exit before disappearing. He couldn't quite feel his legs and the nausea had settled into the hollow of his throat, a solid weight that only made his torso feel heavier. When Wanderer returned, it was to pause at his side long enough for Alhaitham to see the otherworlder unconscious in Wanderer's arms. "Head down the tunnel. I'll erase any tracks you leave behind."
Alhaitham shoved off the wall and started to walk.
It was more of a trudge than anything else as feeling never returned to his legs but Wanderer never told him to pick up the pace. The pain in his side subsided to a dull roar but the nausea never calmed down. It made tracking time impossible and the distance feel exponentially longer. He lost himself in the monotony of it to the point that when Wanderer touched his back, he startled and stumbled over his own two feet before Wanderer's hand found the crook of Alhaitham's elbow and pulled him to a stop.
"Over here," Wanderer directed.
Wanderer led Alhaitham to the other side of the tunnel where a narrow crevice was hidden behind a wall of stone. How Wanderer had seen it in the dim tunnel, Alhaitham couldn't fathom; Alhaitham was barely managing to not run into any walls. Wanderer tucked the otherworlder into the crevice before turning to Alhaitham. "I have to deal with the Fatui tailing us. Are you going to stay standing?" Alhaitham nodded. He felt absolutely horrible but if he sat down, he knew it would only be worse getting up to move again. "Then stay here and stay quiet."
"Wanderer," he bit out but the smaller was already slipping back down the tunnel. Alhaitham belatedly realized that Wanderer was wearing his hat again. With a frustrated sigh, he shuffled into the crevice without stepping on the otherworlder and let the stone take his weight.
Alhaitham lost time. The fighting echoed through the tunnel but he couldn't quite remember if it had been going for a while or had just started by the time he became aware of it. He let it take his attention and tried to track the fight on sound alone.
Something scraped against the stone wall not far from the crevice's entrance and Alhaitham's mouth went dry. With adrenaline surging through his veins, he slowly took his weight off the wall. His legs felt like they were quaking under him even though he could hardly feel them but he barely noticed, all of his attention on the crevice entrance. He didn't dare summon his sword but he pooled the necessary energy to do so in his hand, ready to pull it out of subspace at the first hint of an enemy.
A shadow filled the entrance and Alhaitham tensed.
There was a flash of light that was quickly followed by a cry, though be it of pain or anger, Alhaitham couldn't tell. The shadow disappeared only to be replaced by another.
"Cry louder!" filled the crevice with a burst of anemo that tugged vehemently at Alhaitham. He sagged back against the wall, recognizing that shout more than he had expected to.
The fight wore on but that was the only altercation near the crevice. Alhaitham jolted upright when something touched his arm but only found Wanderer standing in the remaining crevice space. Wanderer looked a bit battered but whole, even a touch pissed as the scowl faded. "All clear. Come on."
Alhaitham stepped out of the crevice and settled against the wall so that he could watch Wanderer. Be it exhaustion or a lack of caring, Alhaitham found the pair of words that had been dancing among his thoughts slip off his tongue. "Hat Guy."
Wanderer's head whipped around, confusion and apprehension warring on the smaller's expression despite the sharp smirk Wanderer sent his way. "What you do; hit your head while you were in here?"
"Ah, no." Alhaitham dug the heel of a hand into an eye, trying to stave off the pressure of a headache. "I was trying to figure out why you looked familiar since the night on the balcony." Wanderer gained a flat look and Alhaitham was oddly reminded of Kaveh. "I am aware of the irregularity with my lack of recall after Jiwani and the Emerites-"
"Two weeks ago," Wanderer snapped, standing abruptly. His grip on the otherworlder was sure; the unconscious figure didn't even shift with the jarring movement. "You're expecting me to believe you forgot about someone in a matter of days-"
Alhaitham cut him off, too tired to deal with an argument. "I am aware of how it sounds. I can assure you, you are not special in this." Wanderer's expression darkened. "Even if I hadn't been sick shortly after the event, I would have had a hard time placing where I knew you from. Names are far easier to remember than the faces that go with them." He met Wanderer's glare head on, reiterating with a bitter tone, "I don't forget people and their actions; I forget their faces."
Wanderer's gaze narrowed and for a moment, they stood there before Wanderer huffed and looked away. "Whatever. Keep going that way."
When Wanderer stopped him again, the smaller got in front of him and slowed to a stop. The tunnel was crossing several others in quick succession but instead of just continuing down any number of them, Wanderer's gaze drifted around almost as if he was listening for something.
The sound of running water drifted from the tunnel opening just behind Alhaitham's right shoulder.
"You hear it too." Alhaitham looked back at Wanderer and found an interested expression focused on the tunnel. "Let's see if we can find its source."
The tunnel floor went from sand to stone before long and Wanderer moved to take the lead. It wasn't until Alhaitham felt something brush against his head that he noticed the tunnel was shrinking slowly around them. Wanderer glanced back when Alhaitham started to drag a hand along the ceiling but said nothing. Alhaitham wondered if he looked as sick as he felt.
"Here." Alhaitham jerked to a stop half hunched in the ever shrinking tunnel coming out of the daze he had been walking in. Wanderer was moving away towards the left but there was no risk of losing sight of him. The tunnel had come to an end into a pocket that had a high ceiling and was significantly wider than the tunnel. Crystals glowing with some sort of light sporadically jutted out from the walls, the selfsame crystals that had been sparsely illuminating the tunnel they had been walking down. A significant amount of water was pouring into the space from the wall Wanderer was approaching, creating a pool at the base of the wall before flowing towards the opposite wall and through a crack in the stone. The widest portion of that stretch of underground river Alhaitham could almost step over if he wanted to. That wide portion also looked incredibly shallow, possibly no more than ankle deep.
"Hey." He looked over from where he still stood hunched over with a hand on the ceiling. Whatever expression Wanderer wore, Alhaitham couldn't make it out and the smaller's words gave nothing away. "I won't be able to catch you if you collapse way over there."
Wanderer had situated the otherworlder into a nook near the pool by the time Alhaitham managed to join him. Wanderer stood and without a word wrapped his arms around Alhaitham's chest and took his weight. It wasn't the most graceful descent but Wanderer was steady under him and made sure Alhaitham didn't end up injuring himself more.
"I'm going to take care of the otherworlder's injuries first." Wanderer shoved something edible into Alhaitham's hand and situated a cup of water within reach. "Eat that and drink all of the water." Wanderer glared at him. "And don't fight me on it. I'm not above forcing you."
Alhaitham raised the edible thing - he knew what it was but the name eluded him - and took a bite of the shaped rice ball. The rice was mildly fragrant and he was grateful there was no filling.
Wanderer watched him until he took a second bite before turning to the otherworlder.
"How bad are their injuries?" Alhaitham asked before popping the last bite of rice into his mouth and picking up the cup.
"Serious but nothing as life threatening as the one you've got. Anything that could bleed was cauterized by that beam and now it's just making sure the scabs don't dry out."
Wanderer picked up an unwrapped otherworlder who was bare except for what looked like skin tight shorts and kicked off his shoes before stepping into the pool. Immediately Wanderer was crotch deep in the water as he was forced to sit on the edge to try and reach the bottom with his foot. Seemingly unbothered by the situation, Wanderer simply eased the otherworlder into the water until he was able to get a hand free. In the blink of an eye, Wanderer was in the water as well, the level settling just below his ribs as he floated the otherworlder about. After a moment of wandering the small pool, Wanderer situated the otherworlder on the stretch leading to the other end of the cavern just before the underground river flattened out.
The water darkened as Wanderer washed the otherworlder's injuries, the darkened water swirling around the pair before being caught in the current and sent downstream. Wanderer's description of the otherworlder's injuries had been severely lacking. The entirety of the otherworlder's left side was completely charred as was most of their back. Portions of the injury were a raw red, almost as if they were bleeding without actually bleeding, and most of the charred areas looked like they had deep, painful cracks running all throughout. There were two other burns, one covering the right shin and another on the right side of their neck that stretched over the top of their shoulder and caught the bottom of their ear.
"Have they woken at all?" Alhaitham asked.
"Not that I've noticed."
Alhaitham finished off the water. The cup clattered a bit louder against the stone than he had intended. "Hopefully that means they are oblivious to the pain."
The sounds of the running water and Wanderer moving about the pool did little to keep the exhaustion from pulling him under.
"Hey, wake up." Alhaitham blinked blearily at Wanderer as the smaller pushed another onigiri into his hand. "Finish that while I finish up with the otherworlder."
Seemed his brain finally woke up, not that he was sure how he had forgotten the name of the shaped rice ball to begin with. Alhaitham lifted the onigiri and took a bite, finding to his surprise more than just rice this time. Hunger gnawed at him and he took a larger bite. Wanderer, with a satisfied look, put another onigiri on Alhaitham's chest before going back to the otherworlder.
It wasn't until he bit into the second one that he realized the nausea was gone for the first time in far too long. Instead, the gnawing hunger had taken its place and he was not about to complain about that.
Wanderer smeared a substance over the otherworlder's injuries before protecting the injuries and rewrapping the otherworlder. Alhaitham suddenly realized why Wanderer was missing his outerwear: he had used it as bandages.
"Nausea's gone, then?" Wanderer asked as he squatted at Alhaitham's side. Wanderer seemed oddly subdued. Maybe it was exhaustion.
"For the time being." Alhaitham flinched when Wanderer pressed on the bandage covering his side, though the pain was less than he had expected. Wanderer must not have pressed on the gash itself.
Wanderer's expression tightened. "I have to wash it again."
Alhaitham flinched again and it wasn't because of Wanderer's touch. "It can wait," he said because it had to wait. He couldn't deal with that sort of pain right now, not when the nausea had finally subsided and he was being able to eat. Wanderer's expression held an apprehension he found himself echoing. Not unless they didn't have a choice. "Unless we can't stay."
Wanderer shook his head. "We don't have to move yet but I'd rather not push our luck anymore than I have to." Wanderer stood up. "See if you can get some more sleep, then. I've got bandages to wash anyway."
Oh. It was the abrasiveness. For some reason, Wanderer wasn't being the abrasive stranger he had been earlier. Alhaitham wondered if it really was due to exhaustion or if a part of Wanderer's abrasiveness was for show.
Time was impossible to track without something more substantial than running water and Wanderer washing things in the pool. Alhaitham wasn't sure if it had taken a matter of seconds or a good portion of an hour to pass out again but it felt as if he had just fallen asleep when pain flared in his side and dragged him back awake. A breathy noise escaped him as he shifted about as if it would alleviate the pain, but Wanderer's hands found his shoulder and abdomen, the smaller's words not far behind. "You're ok; it's just the bandage. It's sticking." Wanderer held Alhaitham's watery gaze for a moment before sitting back, his right hand ghosting over the wound. "Seems like you're going to have to be awake for this." Wanderer stood up. "The water is warmer than it looks and it would probably do you some good to get a proper wash. Soaking the bandage might help remove it."
It wasn't until silence stretched between them that he realized Wanderer was waiting for some sort of reply. "You're…what, asking for permission? If I had remained unconscious, you would have simply moved me into the pool without hesitation."
Wanderer glared at him but it was negated by how tense the other had become. "I can leave you in your own blood and sweat if you want. I don't have to be doing any of this for you."
It was the first time Alhaitham saw Wanderer be put on edge not by a threat, but by embarrassment. It was…strangely reassuring. It gave the aloof stranger that Wanderer was a more human appearance. It lent to the impression that Wanderer wanted to help but the abrasive persona that the other was maintaining wouldn't allow for such soft emotions. It was a rather endearing impression even if it wasn't accurate.
It made him think of Kaveh.
He hoped Kaveh was ok.
Alhaitham carefully rested his left hand on his injury. "I would appreciate the assistance, if you are willing to give it."
It wasn't until Wanderer started pulling off Alhaitham's shoes that he realized the other part of Wanderer's unease with the whole situation. The next moment was going to be oddly intimate for both of them, especially since this would be the first time Alhaitham was properly coherent during such care. Alhaitham was very much aware of how much help he was going to need to just get into the pool, let alone tending to anything else, and while Wanderer certainly wasn't at the top of his list of people he'd want helping, he certainly wasn't near the bottom either.
That did not stop heat from filling his face as Wanderer placed his hands on Alhaitham's thighs and said with that familiar abrasive edge, "Unless you want wet pants, I'm taking these off."
"I know." Both a lie and the wrong words. There was no point in sharing that he had not in fact realized that was going to be a part of the whole process and simply corrected his statement. "I would rather have dry pants, especially if we have to leave before they have a chance to dry."
He went to add more but Wanderer was already moving. "Fantastic." It sounded sarcastic but the abrasiveness was gone again. "Resist helping if you can. I don't want to deal with your side bleeding freely again on top of everything."
Wanderer made quick work of stripping Alhaitham of his pants, even taking care to shake them out and do a quick fold before setting them aside. The pants ended up being the only hiccup as Wanderer helped Alhaitham up and into the pool with no comment beyond the occasional direction.
The water was indeed warmer than Alhaitham had expected. The water flowing into the pool from the wall was cold but a secondary flow was obviously heated. Wanderer didn't give Alhaitham a chance to figure out where the heated water was seeping in from. The moment Wanderer had Alhaitham in the pool properly, he was pulling Alhaitham back and off his feet, forcing Alhaitham to float on his back as Wanderer dragged him to the same spot he had washed the otherworlder in. The water there was the perfect warmth that nearly had Alhaitham asleep again as Wanderer moved him onto a submerged shelf of sort off angle from the downstream flow.
"I need to wash your back."
Alhaitham lifted his head out of the water and moved to roll over, forgetting for a moment that Wanderer would do it for him. Wanderer's hands found his chest and arm, stalling his movement long enough for the smaller to get into a better position. Sure enough, Wanderer didn't let Alhaitham help and rolled him onto his stomach, ever mindful of injuries. Alhaitham did tuck his left arm under his head, though, to keep his head out of the water as Wanderer got to work.
Pain prickled on his back not unlike washing a still partially raw sunburn. Even being in the half asleep state the water had lulled him into wasn't enough to keep the sensation from drawing his attention, especially when he couldn't immediately recall what had happened to his back. He remembered the dune collapsing beneath his feet and was fairly certain he had handled the situation properly but what exactly he had done to his back wasn't coming to mind.
"Seems the food actually did something," Wanderer commented, breaking the silence with a voice that was quieter than Alhaitham had expected. "This doesn't look like it's part of the otherworlder anymore."
'Part of the otherworlder'? Alhaitham opened his eyes but found his need to ask after the comment suddenly lacking. In quick succession, the thoughts of the otherworlder went to the otherworlder's injuries which had to be the only point of similarity which also meant that at some point one of those beams had caught him across the back of his shoulders.
Wanderer stilled in the water beside him. He looked back, finding a curious but closed off look on Wanderer's face. "You don't remember getting hit by it."
Alhaitham frowned. Had he said something or had Wanderer just picked up on Alhaitham's realization? Not that it mattered now. He settled against the stone in lieu of shrugging. "No." No, wait. That wasn't accurate. He could half remember throwing open his glider and it failing shortly thereafter, but it was such a vague impression, he wasn't sure if it was real. "Not completely. A lot after I was stabbed is hazy, especially around the dune collapsing. I remember the sand giving out underfoot but that's about it. I had assumed I had hit my head and back but that left a gap of time I couldn't account for."
Alhaitham didn't even notice the silence between them until Wanderer spoke again what had to have been minutes later. "They shot two beams at us," Wanderer said, his voice sure but only loud enough to fill the small space around them. "The first took out the dune beneath you." A pause, like Wanderer was pulling in a breath. "The second caught you across the back." Wanderer's tone shifted into something more teasing, something sharper. Abrasive. "Whatever glider you had doesn't exist anymore. Hope you weren't attached to it."
Alhaitham opened his eyes and watched the water lap at the pool's edge for a moment before looking back at Wanderer. "Where were you?"
Wanderer stilled, hands carefully splayed over Alhaitham's back. There was a shuttered look to Wanderer's expression even with how neutral the other had managed to make it. "Above you." Wanderer blinked and went back to washing Alhaitham's back, hands rubbing beyond the injury to clear off grime and whatever else clung to him. The touch remained firm enough to clean but gentle enough that it could be counted as caring. "Was expecting to grab the otherworlder from a dead body when I dived after you."
There was a flicker of a smudge of white and blue and teal across his memory with the echo of pain. "How was landing with both of us?"
Wanderer pressed a hand to the front of Alhaitham's hip and gripped Alhaitham's arm, giving Alhaitham just a second to register what Wanderer was doing before he was flipped over. "I managed not to injure you both more, at least."
Alhaitham flinched as Wanderer's fingers slipped under the bandages even though no pain followed the action. He forced himself to relax, to keep talking. "What about yourself?"
Wanderer shrugged but didn't answer. Instead, Wanderer gave him a hard look. "I'm going to start pulling this off. Do your best to not scream."
"Do your best to not hurt me." It came out with far less bite than he had intended. He wasn't even sure he had managed to keep his unease out of his words either.
Surprisingly, Wanderer's expression softened. "Of course. I'm not cruel."
Alhaitham leaned his head back and closed his eyes, unable to keep the stress from showing with how deliberate he kept his breathing. Wanderer's fingers against Alhaitham's skin held Alhaitham's attention. He desperately tried to get his mind to focus on his breath or something - anything - that wasn't Wanderer's fingers but his mind wouldn't relent. He was hyper-aware of Wanderer tugging at the bandages, unwrapping what he could until something snagged. Alhaitham's breath hitched as faint pain skittered along the injury from the slight tug. Wanderer seemed to pause over him but when Alhaitham forced his breathing to continue, the other started to work the bandage free. No matter how slow and careful Wanderer was, the pain increased and started to dig deep into his side, sending a weird numbness into the rest of his body. More than anything, nausea was coiling in his gut stealing what little attention remained.
Wanderer's hand - heavy and warm - splayed over the center of his chest; Alhaitham gripped at it, not even realizing he had done so until he registered air on his wet hand. "Hey, I'm almost done but you need to keep breathing for me."
Alhaitham sucked in a breath through his nose, held it, and breathed out through his mouth only to hold that exhale before breathing in through his nose again. He hated it, hated breathing like that, but all he could remember was Kaveh walking him through those very steps over and over during the harder moments while he had been sick and how it seemed to work to some level. Every little tug disrupted his thoughts, though, and he would lose focus. Wanderer's voice suddenly filled the air as a rumble of directions to be followed. The smaller counted and directed him through the breathing steps until the words all muddled together in his head with the nausea and half pain and-
"Done. It's off," Wanderer said abruptly, breaking into Alhaitham's churning thoughts. Wanderer gave Alhaitham's hand a squeeze; he realized Wanderer hadn't pulled his hand out from under his and had instead curled his fingers around Alhaitham's own. "I still have to make sure it's clean but I'll need my hand back for that. I need to get the injury out of the water."
He didn't want to let go. It was an irrational desire to hold on to some semblance of a safety tether and he knew it but it still took longer than he cared for to let go. Wanderer didn't say anything about it and simply moved Alhaitham higher on the ledge, adjusting him slightly to get the entirety of the injury out of the water. The nausea settled thick in Alhaitham's chest.
"It looks better than the last time I looked at it," Wanderer said, fingers pressing along the injury and drawing out a pained gasp from Alhaitham. He was sure Wanderer hadn't actually touched anything raw but it had certainly felt like it. "There's some bleeding but it looks like it's probably from the bandage sticking more than anything else."
"That's good," Alhaitham managed to ground out.
Wanderer's hand found his chest again for a brief moment. "I'm going to make sure it's clean now. Try to bear with it."
The nausea spiked as the weird numbness rushed through him. He did what he could to keep the nausea in his throat but it was a losing battle. If Wanderer didn't finish soon, Alhaitham was going to be sick regardless if the other was done or not.
The world moved without him.
What little hold he had on the nausea broke and he was immediately sick. It was short lived - thankfully - but the nausea still sat in his throat so thick he wasn't sure why his body thought it was done.
Something pressed against his chest. Confused, Alhaitham opened his eyes to find himself on his good side with Wanderer's hip against the center of his back. He realized it was Wanderer's arm draped over his chest only when it moved as Wanderer looked down at him. There was something tight in Wanderer's expression. "I have to touch it again; I'm not quite done yet."
Alhaitham closed his eyes at that. Of course there was. "Then finish," he bit out, his breathing picking up.
Wanderer didn't give him a warning. The nausea thick in his throat overwhelmed him but the weird numbness was faster and stole his consciousness instead. If he ended up sick a second time, he couldn't remember it as he came to.
Wanderer had returned him to where he had been laying - or close enough to - with dry bandages wrapped around his middle. Wanderer was shoving Alhaitham's left shoe back on when the smaller noticed Alhaitham watching him through half lidded eyes. "All clean and bandaged up," Wanderer said, finishing with Alhaitham's shoe. "Still nauseous?"
Yes but not in the way Wanderer was asking about. "Hungry."
Wanderer gave him a skeptical look as the smaller settled at his side. "You're hungry?"
Alhaitham shrugged his left shoulder. He was too tired to explain the oddity that was most of him. It didn't seem that Wanderer had been looking for an actual answer anyway as he pulled a pair of onigiri from subspace and placed them on Alhaitham's chest before grabbing a pair for himself. Silence settled between them as they ate and Alhaitham let his thoughts wander. For the first few moments his thoughts drifted over the subject of subspace storage and how different their situation would have been had any of them required a bag to carry food and water at minimum. This water source would have been a godsend and any food would have had to have been scavenged. Not to mention the healing energy some crafted foods carried would have been sorely lacking in whatever food they would have found.
Alhaitham looked at the last of his second onigiri. "Do these have healing energy?"
Wanderer popped the last of a fourth onigiri in his mouth. "Not as much as you clearly need." Wanderer pulled out another pair and placed them on Alhaitham's chest. "I'm not a healer and these have lost what potency I had managed to get in them."
Alhaitham let the onigiri sit on his chest as Wanderer stood and moved towards the otherworlder. There were many aspects of the subspace storage system that was still being studied, including how it kept things fresh far longer than what should be possible yet drained healing energy from the food the longer the food remains within. If he remembered correctly, the research team on that particular study had just applied for more funding. Hopefully it had been approved.
Fabric fluttered over him, startling him out of his thoughts. Wanderer either hadn't noticed or completely ignored Alhaitham's jerk back to alertness and snagged the uneaten onigiri before settling the fabric over Alhaitham's shoulders. "Go back to sleep sleep. I'm going to see how close the Fatui have gotten and probably divert them while I'm at it."
"Don't do anything too reckless."
Wanderer snorted as he stood, his reply cocky but less abrasive that before. "Please. As if I would do anything as stupid as risk my neck for you two."