Because I Love You✔️

Chapter 6: Gentle Hands

Chapter Six: Gentle Hands

Blood.

A trail of it had been left on the ground leading to the cage after they'd dragged him away and tossed him back into it. He lay limply, breathing hard and fast, muscles in so much pain that he could no longer feel them, but with his injuries he had no doubt whatsoever that he would eventually die, so he merely waited for the end, counting the seconds going by in his head.

Unfortunately, instead of being left alone, Gus opened the cage and crawled in with a rag and a bucket of water. Xaphile turned his head and mournfully looked at the bars, but when the man roughly started scrubbing his back, he jerked and writhed, letting out an involuntary cry of pain.

Gus instantly halted, hands shaking so much that water droplets fell from the rag and showered across his stinging back. There were several moments of silence, broken only by the sound of a small, involuntary whimper that left his lips before he could stop it, and he turned his tear-blurred eyes to see the man's face twisted up with a choked expression.

"Fool," he growled a harsh, but very shaken voice. "You were such a fool... but I was an even bigger one for unthinkingly leading a naive creature like yourself right to Ella. I am so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Xaphile wheezed. "Please just be gentle."

"I can't," Gus grumbled, shaking his head. "Your wounds need to be cleansed, and as Ella said it's become my responsibility to make sure you're cared for."

"If that's the case... can you find... my locket?" he whispered. "I... lost it... when... she..."

Gus's scrubbing paused and his brows furrowed.

"That strange necklace of yours? Well, I'll see if I can find it after I'm done here."

Xaphile groaned and pressed his forehead against the ground when he returned to scrubbing his back, sending waves of agony through his skin, and the pain went on for nearly fifteen minutes before the man finally forced him into sitting up so he could wrap bandages around his upper torso.

His hands were oddly gentle... almost soothing, in a way. As he was wrapped up, Xaphile's head lolled forward and came to a rest on Octavius's shoulder, which made him stiffen.

"Thank you," he croaked, shivering so violently that he didn't even notice when the hunter's hands stilled. "Thank you for not hurting me with the rest of them."

Gus's arm twitched beneath his head, but after a good ten seconds his hands continued wrapping, albeit quite a bit more slowly.

"Don't thank me," he muttered, sounding thoroughly upset. "It's my fault you're in this horrible situation. I should have just let you go after I found you."

Xaphile didn't respond, merely kept his eyes closed with his head resting on his shoulder. The pain in his body was excruciating. He was relieved when Gus carefully helped him lie back down because even though he was still shirtless, the metal floor of the cage was cold, which was more of a pain killer than a discomfort. He curled on his side, arms resting limply in front of him, and stared into space as Gus slid out of the cage, closing it tightly and locking it.

"I'll return with some food, later," he promised. "Just rest easy until I do."

Xaphile no longer had the will to care about anything like that, he was too tired to even keep his eyes open, so he closed them and let himself drift off, let the pain melt into oblivion, let sleep touch him with gentle fingers, and for a time he drifted through a haze of colors and swirls, but no sooner than he closed his eyes was he woken up again.