what doesn't kill you [Hadyn/Worso]

[Seneschal]

Hadyn remained where he was, dozing. He worried for Worso, but told himself that the other knew what he was doing, even if it didn't seem like it--and besides, he had probably come up for air when Hadyn had been swimming and not paying attention. The warm sun on his back was lulling, and in conjunction with the soft sounds of cicadas and birds droning in the background, and before he knew it he was asleep there.

When he woke about half an hour later it was because he was very hot and also very sunburned. Sleepily, he climbed off of the rock and shuffled to an area he knew was about ten feet deep right by the shore and jumped in. The water felt icy on his hot body and he surfaced with a shocked gasp, eyes wide. "Cold! Holy..!" He flailed a little and then swam as quickly as he could towards the shore and finally stood in knee deep water, shivering a little. He looked around, calling, "Worso!? Are you here?!"

[Kago]

Worso wasn't sure how long he had spent in the water. All he knew was that he had been quite lost in thought and had yet considered to resurface. After awhile he sort of just randomly started to swim about. He was just enjoying himself and found no reason to resurface. Swimming amongst the natural inhabitants of the lake was far nicer then he originally thought. If he hadn't thought he noticed some disturbance on the surface of the water and the movement of the fish he wouldn't have recalled he wasn't alone and then he found himself frowning and mentally berating himself on his actions. He didn't waste another moment underneath the water as he moved to swim right up to the surface where he was quick to look around and spot the human he had been with.

The first thing Worso noticed was that the human looked a bit red. He frowned at that thinking or figuring what had to be the obvious. He once again almost spoke with his mind but barely managed to stop and speak verbally and move to swim towards the shore. "Are you alright?" He was just a bit concerned if not just curious on the redness on him. Then he considered asking something else. "Are you ready to leave now?" He wasn't sure how long they spent here so he wasn't sure what to think on the time. He however was sure that he had spent quite some time beneath the water so leaving now wouldn't bother him at all. He briefly looked about to spot his clothes and considered that he would have to wait a bit before he put them on or risk getting them wet.

[Seneschal]

He let out a relieved breath when Worso broke the surface of the water. He smiled and walked out a little, till he was in waist deep. "What? Yes, I'm fine. Why?" He looked around; Hadyn was finished swimming honestly, but didn't want to limit how long Worso got to swim. After all, Worso was a guest...still, judging by the angle of the sun it was time to go home and bring in the animals and feed them and make dinner, so he nodded. "Yes. I have to take care of my evening chores. I'll go tack up the horses,"

He slogged his way out of the water and went to the horses to tack them up. That was finished within minutes and he pulled his pants and shirt on. He wasn't yet feeling the burn, but that would come very soon; he untied Velvet and led her over to a rock which Worso could mount her from, and waited for him to mount up.

[Kago]

Worso simply gave a slight nod at what he heard Hadyn say. He still thought the coloring of the human to be a bit odd but if he was alright then he wouldn't question it. Now he got to focus on them leaving. At least that was what he thought they would be doing and he wasn't disappointed. Hearing the human he not only heard him go on to say he needed to go he saw him get the horses ready. With that he completely got out of the water and headed towards where he put his clothes. He considered just standing out in the sun and trying to dry off but then saw that Hadyn already put his clothes on in a hurry. Though he couldn't say if he was still wet or completely dry. Either way Worso went ahead and put his own clothes on then his shoes. He figured he could dry off just as well in everything then just waiting to come dry off here.

Seeing the horse he had rode on looked to be ready for him to ride he wasted no time in using the rock, one he saw could help him get on, and seated himself on the saddle. He quickly recalled how to ride the horse but he figured he would just follow right along with Hadyn. With that thought in mind just watched the human and waited for him to go on. For a moment though he thought to mention why he had asked what he had earlier. "It's just you look...different." The merman considered that the humans skin color was different and he didn't think that was a good thing. At least he wasn't sure. "Are you sure you feel alright?" He asked this just to be sure.

[Seneschal]

After Worso mounted, this time with a great deal more confidence, Hadyn noted with a satisfied smile and a pat to the mare's sleek black shoulder, Hadyn went and got onto Warlock with a quick, practiced motion, and guided the stallion to be facing the right direction. He tilted his head at Worso, frowning a little bit. "Different? Different, how? I feel alright. It's a bit hot out, but other than that..." He shrugged, ignoring the tight, burning feeling across them. "Anyways, we need to go home. I have lots of chores I need to do." He smiled and clicked his tongue at Warlock, making the animal begin to carry him home. This time he allowed the stud to canter; Hadyn really did have to get home quickly. Unlike last time, he pulled to a stop at the gate and opened it for Velvet, but didn't go through himself. "Here. You go on home; I'm going to bring in the rest of the horses for the night."

After they finished at the gate, he turned Warlock and set off at a quick pace towards where the rest of the animals were pastured today and began rounding them up. All told, it took about half an hour to bring in all the animals, and then another hour to get them all put up for the night and fed and watered. By the time he was finished, Hadyn was sweaty, tired and flushed; his burn really was hurting now. He moved stiffly into the house, drooping with weariness. "Ow..." Hadyn considered going up the stairs to shower, but instead went into the small bathroom on the ground floor to do so there. He came out in a towel and made his way upstairs to get dressed. He told himself that he'd pick up his dirty clothes later.

[Kago]

Worso didn't mind they were heading back still. He was glad that they were heading back actually. He didn't imagine he would spend much time here unless he had to and he didn't have to so he would head back with the human. Considering that for a moment he brushed it aside as he heard what Hadyn said to what he had to say. He frowned a bit at what was said but if nothing was wrong then who was he to suddenly get worked up over the appearance of the human here. It was with that thought he let it drop somewhat and simply went on home with Hadyn. Something that didn't seem to last as long as it had earlier. Something he noted when they finally arrived back at his place and he got off the horse and was told to head home. He didn't need to be told twice. Though it was more just the humans home and only his temporary place of residence.

As soon as Worso got inside he simply decided to rest in the room he was given to stay at. He actually undressed first though and laid in nothing but his boxers which was completely dry by now. He really did feel restricted sometimes by the clothes he wore. They weren't a must when he was fine with being shirtless and the tail he had made sure to cover up anything that the humans would have to consider covering. It was jut a brief thought he had as he found himself drifting off as he laid across the bed sideways. There was nothing else he could do and no one else to speak to. He supposed it would be a lie to say that he didn't look forward to seeing the human again.

[Seneschal]

Hadyn made more noise than usual as he came up the stairs, drooping with exhaustion and, yes, pain. His burn was making itself known to the world now, and he sighed tiredly as he passed Worso's door. Oh, yes. His guest. He had to make dinner, too, after he got dressed; the redhead stifled a sigh. He would rather just collapse in bed and hope to soak up some of the delicious cool from the linen sheets, but knew if he laid down now he wouldn't want to get up, so he just dressed. He made sure his shirt was as loose as possible and light so that it wouldn't irritate his skin and then stopped by Worso's door, knocking. "Worso, I'll be downstairs in the kitchen fixing dinner if you need me. Is there anything you'd like in particular?"

[Kago]

Worso was resting quite comfortable at the moment when he found he was woken up by someone knocking. He was a bit confused when he opened his dark mauve orbs to look about the room. He found he was quickly sitting up somewhat reluctantly as he found his gaze suddenly set upon the door. He knew tight away it was the human he stayed with. It took a moment for his words to register in his mind. So, Haydn would be making dinner and was asking what he wanted. "If you can. I would like some fish." He spoke loud enough to be heard as he stood up and stretched a bit before moving towards the door. If he was going to talk to the human, and not use his telepathic abilities as he was tempted to, he needed to do so.

It was a short walk towards the door that he did not hesitate to open as he found Hadyn there. He saw he was fully dressed where he suddenly recalled he was only in his boxers once more. It was something he gave little thought to not minding that he had clothes on at all really. He was not the modest type and didn't feel the need to have such start now. "Do you need any help?" Worso asked this, quite curious to know if he would be able to help.

[Seneschal]

It took a minute for Worso to respond; so long in fact that Hadyn thought him asleep and had his hand raised, poised to knock again when the other's voice registered. He lowered his hand just before the door opened, and offered a smile--which might have looked more like a grimace. "Okay, I have some fish in the freezer. Salmon okay?" He was a little surprised by the offer for help and found his gaze straying lower to the oddly colored but by no means unpleasant looking chest displayed to him, and forced his gaze up. Worso was certainly more muscular than Hadyn was. He was a little surprised by the offer of help, and it showed; of course, by no means was he reluctant to accept help. He was tired and would be more than grateful for it.

So Hadyn nodded and smiled, the skin on his face feeling tight. "Yes, that would be nice. Thank you." He turned and went to the stairs, again moving slowly and less gracefully than he had before. He made his way to the kitchen and opened the freezer. Frigid air rolled out and over him and the human had to close his eyes and appreciate the veritable blast of fantastically cold air, his burn soothed by the cold briefly. It felt fabulous, but he didn't dally for long and located the salmon, took it out and closed the appliance door. Once he ran some water in the sink and put the salmon in to thaw out--which wouldn't take long, he knew--he paused. "What would you like with it? Rice?"

[Kago]

Worso found the image he opened the door to to be quite amusing. He wondered if he had bee about to knock again. He also wondered if what he asked for would be a problem. He hoped not. He was thinking to say he would go for anything but then hearing what was asked he found himself giving a slight nod. "Any kind of fish is alright with me." He spoke this, smiling a bit as he considered it, quite happy to have something he was relatively familiar with. Although he had never tried the mentioned fish he had yet to try one he did not like so he looked forward to trying this. He hoped his offer to help wasn't turned down. Seeing as how this concerned him as well he couldn't help but think he should be involved.

The merman considered dressing himself before he went off anywhere but then seeing him go off as he did he supposed it wouldn't be a big problem. He didn't think it a problem himself. Seeing as how he was use to wearing nothing. So with that thought he figured if there was any problem then Hadyn would tell him. So he walked along a little ways behind the human, still simply in his boxers which might be embarrassing for anyone else but not him. It wasn't as if he were naked and even then he didn't mind. But that wasn't important now. Certainly not enough to dwell on. Especially as he saw they reached the kitchen. It was there he stopped and looked around once before focusing on Hadyn who he saw had come to ask him a question. What was this about rice. He didn't need to eat anything with fish. "I'm quite alright with fish alone, however if you wish to make anything else then I'll partake in that as well." If he wanted to make rice then that was fine. "Please, let me know what you want to before. He couldn't help but frown a bit now though. Not at his offer to help but at the fact that he wouldn't think that he was imagining something was wrong with the human. The way he moved gave him away. He wanted to ask about it, if he could do anything for him, but he supposed if Hadyn wanted to he would tell him on his own. Not like he saw that happening even if he could do something.

[Seneschal]

Hadyn nodded. "Okay. Salmon it is...I can bake it with some lemmon and pepper." That would be nice and easy, he thought. Rice and maybe...asparagus would be nice. He had some fresh asparagus to cook. He wandered downstairs, thinking about how he would cook and all other such things connected to thoughts of dinner. Worso's state of dress---or state of undress, as the case happened to be--was of little concern to him. He didn't mind it, after all. Worso certainly wasn't hard on the eyes, not by any means!

His attention was drawn back to the present by his comapnion's voice, and he nodded slowly. "Alright. I'll make rice and asparagus to go with it. Nothing exciting. Humm..." He got out the supplies and set them up, and gave Worso directions on how to prepare the asparagus by cutting off an inch or two of the stems, washing them and then putting them into boiling water for half a minute before removing the stalks with some tongs. Hadyn prepared the fish and rice.

[Kago]

Worso didn't think it necessary to cook the fish but he supposed humans had to cook food. It was with that thought he simply gave a slight nod to all he heard was said so far. He simply looked forward to trying out the humans food. He was still considering his state of dress a bit but then at some point he didn't care to dwell on it. He just went with what he previously thought and left it at that. He just wanted to focus on the food anyways. He wondered what it would taste like.

The merman wasted no time with what he was instructed to do. Hearing what Hadyn had to say on the matter of what he could do. He just hoped he did it right and from what he had seen so far it looked just fine to him. He wondered if he needed to do anything else. From what he heard was mentioned it didn't seem there was. So he wondered if he should say anything. He couldn't think of anything at the moment so he focused on what he was doing until he was done. Which didn't seem to take long for him to finish and wait. "How long will this take to cook?" He asked, merely out of curiosity now as he looked towards Hadyn.

[Seneschal]

Hadyn stepped back and washed his hands, which were dirty from dealing with the food. He didn't like handling raw fish, it made his hands feel slimy and smell bad afterwards. "About twenty minutes, I think." He smiled slightly. "We can play cards until the food is ready, if you want." He got out a deck of cards and sat down at the table, shuffling them and smiling pleasantly. The human didn't lean back though, because it would hurt if he did. He knew better than that!

[Kago]

Worso gave a slight nod to what he heard Hadyn said. So, he would have to wait that long. He wondered what he would do in the meanwhile. He figured he would just sit and wait if he didn't just stand. he was considering his options when he heard what Hadyn said and found himself thoughtful on what was mentioned. "Cards." He repeated the word unsure of what he referred to. He knew what a card was but he didn't think he was referring to the right thing in mind. Whatever this was he referred to he had a feeling it didn't sit well with water. "How do you play?" He asked this question as he moved where Hadyn sat where he stood and watched him. He wondered briefly if there was anything else he could do. Or rather what they could do. He thought over it but came up with nothing. Nothing that didn't involve anything less then intimacy. Not that he was thinking to do anything with the human. It was just that he could not think of many or any activities that two people could do together.

[Seneschal]

Hadyn nodded with a smile. "Yeah. We can play something simple, since it's not a long wait. And since I'm bad at cards..." His smile turned a little sheepish. Hadyn would never develop a gambling problem, at least not with poker, because nine times out of ten he lost in poker. Awfully. "We can play war. We each get half the deck to start with, and then we lay the top card on the table between us, and whoever has the highest card wins them both. If we get the same card, we have
'war'; I'll explain that to you whenever we get to it." He shuffled and dealt the deck and smiled, laying down his first card. "A five, let's see what yours is." He eyed him, "So how come you've never played cards before?" Idly Hadyn swung his bare feet under the table, curling his toes. It really was strange for someone not to know how to play any card games, he thought. Chickens and horses could be explained by...well...okay, those were hard to explain, yeah, but not as hard as the cards.