The Wildness Within

Cold and Warm 2

'Yes,' Augus said, walking closer to the both of them but pausing before he was near enough to look at Gwyn's wound properly. He felt Augus' gaze, couldn't not, and was glad that he was facing away, and that his eyes were closed, and that Ash's touch was lulling. 'Honestly, could you get that glamour up any higher?'

'Probably not,' Ash said, laughing. 'It's working though, right?'

Maybe it was, but Gwyn didn't care either way. It was so tiring to feel so afraid all the time. He just wanted to rest.

'Mm,' Augus said, his own voice easing. 'It's good. All right, Gwyn, I'm going to kneel by your side and lift your shirt up. Do try and hold back any tantrums until after I've looked after you. I can measure your lack of gratitude later.'

'I take it things went super well then?' Ash said, as Augus knelt exactly where he said he would.

Gwyn couldn't stop himself from twitching when he felt fingers at the hem of his shirt. And then Ash was hushing him and stroking his hair, and Augus placed the flat of his palm in the middle of Gwyn's back. Not petting, not stroking, just...a stable touch. Gwyn swallowed. This was the closest he'd let two people get to him – voluntarily. It stirred a shakiness in his chest, made his lungs feel weaker.

'The Raven Prince removed the aithwick,' Augus said quietly, peeling Gwyn's shirt back where it had stuck to him because of skin and blood. 'Damn it. Fluri...she did the best she could with this, but it's a wound made by old magic. It will be resistant to healing. I'm not sure what else I can do. Let's see.'

A snap and a click of the first aid kit being opened, and then fingers carefully pressing around the edges of the wound. Gwyn didn't whimper, not at pain so mild, but he couldn't stop his breath from catching at the threat of it. His arm tightened around Ash's thigh, he pushed his forehead into Ash's knee.

'It's okay,' Ash said, leaning his head closer to him. 'It's going to be fine.'

'He's selectively mute, Ash. He's not an idiot.'

'I'm not treating him like a fucking idiot,' Ash said, a bite entering his voice. 'I'm treating him like someone who's maybe been tortured and treated like shit all his life, okay? You have your way of dealing with him, and I have mine. If my way didn't work, you'd be fucked right now, you know that?'

A tense stillness, the warmth faded, and Gwyn held his breath. He couldn't help it. He could feel the strain between them both and was afraid of what-

'Apologies,' Augus said, and then another long pause. 'Ash, I'm just-'

'I know. Fuck, I'm sorry. I'm just...worried.'

One of Ash's hands moved from where it had been resting on Gwyn's head, and Gwyn could tell that Augus had shifted, had reached out. He wondered if they were holding hands. He knew it was something to do with touch. The warmth returned to the room again and Augus sighed.

'We have two weeks,' Augus said quietly. 'The Raven Prince is giving Gwyn two weeks to heal, two weeks here to recover, and then he wants him as an apprentice. For magic. Apparently Gwyn has enough potential that the King wants him. As for helping out in the manner of protections and intervention, I think he's slighted enough that the An Fnwy estate didn't release a potential Mage to him, that we have nothing to worry about there.'

'An apprentice?' Ash said, returning his second hand to Gwyn's head and curving it protectively around his ear. 'Did Gwyn get any say?'

'It's the Unseelie King,' Augus said, sounding so tired that Gwyn wanted to see his face, but not enough that he wanted to give up the oddly comfortable position he'd found. 'How much say do you think we really have?'

'Yeah,' Ash said, and Gwyn could hear the frown in his voice. 'That's not good enough. Look, I get that you don't want to upset him, but I don't really have much to lose, and-'

'Except your voice, or your life,' Augus said. 'I'm still thinking about what to do about all of this, but I'll not let you put yourself further in danger. And this is something I'll put my foot down over. Our first priority is to make sure he's safe from his family, and that no further harm will come to the both of us. Then we can address the Raven Prince. Yes? We have two weeks. Do I look happy about this? I can assure you I'm not, but I do know what our priorities are.'

At that, Ash went quiet, and Augus started rummaging around in his kit. Gwyn could catch the faint scent of herbs, some noxious, some pleasant, others astringent or fulsome. He pressed his nose into Ash's denim to focus himself. Silt and water and musk and salt and the human world. It was familiar.

He gritted his teeth when Augus started wiping away the blood with a rough cloth. Augus wasn't gentle – the blood was stubborn and had already started coagulating and sticking to his skin – but nor was he unduly rough. Where possible, he braced Gwyn's skin with his other hand so that it wouldn't pull as badly on his wound. But it hurt. And it reminded him of bad things. Of screaming on a table while his father and mother stood over him. Of threats and the shards of anger and hatred in their eyes when he'd been too young to really believe that they could loathe him that much.

'Why's it so bad?' Ash said.

'They cut away some of the rib with ingrit and it won't grow back. It's a permanent loss. Bone trauma hurts. You have his remarkable pain threshold to thank for him not being particularly bothered by the pain.'

'Fucking hell,' Ash said quietly, his hands momentarily tightening where they rested on Gwyn's head. Then they started stroking again, the movements slow.

Gwyn hissed when herbs were sprinkled directly into the wound. They felt caustic, sharp, and it made everything worse for enough seconds that when he became aware of his surroundings again, Ash was hushing him and Augus had both of his hands resting on Gwyn's bare skin. One just above the wound, and one on his side. It was steadying. Gwyn shuddered, went as limp as he could manage.

'Good,' Ash whispered. 'That's good.'

'It is, actually,' Augus said, sounding as tired as Gwyn felt. 'Everything's healing a bit faster now, and the wound will hopefully be closed in an hour or so. But the bleeding's definitely slowing. If you can keep him in this position for a little longer?'

'Yeah, I don't think we'll have any problems with that,' Ash said. 'Poor thing is pretty touch-starved if you ask me.'

'Yes,' Augus said speculatively. 'You'd think he'd hate it after everything he's been through.'

'Nah,' Ash said, and Gwyn's ears pricked, curious, because like Augus, he also assumed he'd hate touch after everything he'd been through. 'Like you said, he's not an idiot. But it's more than that. He's lived through his instincts for a really long time. Almost any wild animal will gentle once they realise you mean them no harm. Birds preen each other not just to remove parasites but also because they enjoy it. Deer stand flank to flank for body heat as well as protection. Dogs will tangle in a puppy pile for pleasure as much as anything else. I think he can just tell the difference, y'know? Even if his mind is scared, I think his body knows.'

Gwyn stared ahead, his brow furrowing. Could it be that simple?

'Besides,' Ash said, tangling his fingers in Gwyn's hair in a way that sent warmth racing through his skin, 'if you want him to heal or start getting better, or whatever, this will help. Trust me. On his terms? This will help.'

'And you know it's on his terms, do you?'

'Yeah, well, he didn't destroy my ankle, did he?' Ash said, laughing.

Gwyn's lips quirked up, his eyes closed. He almost wanted to laugh with Ash, which was a strange thing to feel, because he didn't laugh around other fae anymore. Not really.

Gwyn wished he could have both at the same time – Augus squeezing his wrists in that terrible grip, Ash stroking his hair like he was a wild creature. The anchor and solace both. But it was a miracle they weren't injuring him or harming him, and he would accept whatever he could get for as long as it lasted. He was too hungry for it. He'd take what he could before Efnisien came and killed them both.