In His Name

Chapter 46 - Clarification

Consciousness comes to the sound of soft bells filling the air, humming a pretty melody. Next Rosco notices the horrible pain in his neck. A groggy groan pulls itself from his throat. His shoulders roll to relive the tightness, only for the motion to send spikes of pain down his back. His face twisting into a wince, Rosco pushes away from the stone wall of the fireplace, the blanket Dora wrapped around his shoulders the night before slipping down to his waist. The humming stops at his movement and his eyes open to find the God of death, the Spirit of the mountain and a Wildflower all staring at him attentively.

"Uh, morning?" he half greats half questions, glancing uneasily between the three sets of eyes all trained on him. Was something wrong with his hair? Quickly reaching up to check.

"Are you alright?" Dora asks slowly, concern coloring her features.

"Oh, yeah!" Throwing on a bright smile to ease her worries. His hand rubbing at the crick in his neck, "I think I'm just sore from sleeping in such a weird position."

Perking up, Manadora claps her hands together, "I'll give you a back rub!" hopeful glint in her eyes. Hayden immediately shoots her a death glare, the temperature of the room dropping noticeably.

"No thank you." Rosco shutters, shaking his head and cringing at the pain, "I'm not a fan of back rubs.

Hayden stands, his boots clicking against the wooden floors as he approaches. Rosco's gaze trailing up the line of his body, meeting his eyes when he comes to a stop in front of him. The god's expression is totally unreadable, but he shoots Dora another look before he reaches out, trailing his fingers down the back of Rosco's neck in feather light touches, just to the point where the collar of his shirt covers his skin. A sound climbs up Rosco's throat, but he swallows it down. Shivering at the touch that is over almost as soon as it began, goose bumps rising over his body. The pain is gone, replaced entirely by a slew of thoughts Rosco is instantly ashamed of having. A flush coloring his cheeks, neck, and ears. Hayden's face morphs into a smug grin while Dora whispers 'show off' under her breath, sending Tansy into a frenzy of very poorly concealed giggles.

Dissatisfied, Rosco pouts, both at himself and at his companions who all seem to be having a marry time at his expense. "Thank you." He mumbles out, pulling the blanket back up around his shoulders to hide. The path of Hayden's fingers still hot on his skin. Content he's won whatever game he's playing with the mountain spirit; Hayden wanders back off to his corner in a much better mood while Dora's has soured significantly.

"Tansy wanted to wake you," She pouts, "but Hayden and I thought it best to let you sleep a while." coming to sit on the hearth opposite him, with Tansy and the fire between them.

"How long have I been asleep?" Rosco asks, reaching up to untie his hair, fluffing his curls back to life with his fingers, hoping a distraction will help him forget his flustered feelings.

"Not too long." She assures with a smile. Tansy eyes roll in disagreement.

The sass catches his attention, "What have you got there?" Rosco questions, shifting to get a better look at the staked objects Tansy is roasting in the fire.

The wildflower beams, straightening their spine, gesturing for Dora to explain.

"Mushrooms," the girl complies quickly, "Tansy went to gather them for you to eat after the rain finally let up, they were worried since you hadn't eaten anything since yesterday morning." Twisting at her fingers, "but I was the one who suggested we cook them." Her wide gray eyes begging to be praised.