The sun was setting when I heard some rustling at the door of the hut Ahi and I were staying in. William had brought me back an hour or so ago from Freya's place as planned.
He was guarding the place outside and when he let out a roar I knew it was Ahi at the door. I immediately ditched the guidebook by my bag to go to the door.
I was a little anxious because the two were late and I was hoping no one was injured. I flung the door open to find Ahi standing there with water dripping off his hair like he had just been swimming. My eyes quickly scanned for injuries, but found none.
"Glad to see you're back. There's some stew cooking-" I started saying with a smile on my face, but stopped when my eyes fell on a person behind Ahi. "Fudge balls Xavier?! How the hell are you standing there like that?!"
Xavier was covered head to toe with blood and bits of solid matter that I decided not to guess what they were for my own sanity.
How he was still standing straight like it was nothing was beyond me. Guess it was either shock or adrenaline.
Whatever the case was, I couldn't just leave him standing like that without some kind of treatment.
"Ahi, quickly get him cleaned up with the warm water in the corner." I exclaimed before Xavier could say anything. "I need to get my first aid kit."
I wasn't exactly sure how serious the wounds were so I could only stop blood loss while Ahi went looking for a doctor.
That was if the doctor was able to help in any way. Hopefully this world had some magic plants that could instantly heal people.
Rushing to my bag, I quickly grabbed my first aid kit and my small sewing kit just in case a wound needed sewing and they didn't have anything to sew the wound close.
"Watch it you damn snake!" I heard Xavier shout as I was rushing back to the main room. "I'm fine-"
"How are you fine?!" I asked as I reentered the room. "You're literally bleeding from head to toe."
Xavier stopped trying to get out of the stone basin and stared at me with a puzzled expression for a moment.
"It's not my blood." Xavier sighed, stretching out his arms to show off his body. "Some ferals attacked us on the way back and your mate left them to me because he had just washed up and didn't want to be dirty again."
I frowned, turning my attention to Ahi who shrugged nonchalantly as he went over to my side.
"We were running late already and I know how you like everything clean." Ahi added.
Guess what Xavier was saying was true. Although, he could still have some minor wounds under all that blood and gunk.
"Fine then… Finish washing up so I can check for any injuries." I sighed, feeling a little embarrassed for overreacting. "And Ahi, could you get some towe- I mean animal furs please."
Ahi nodded in understanding and headed out the room to get the towels. The air between Xavier and I quickly got awkward as we stared at each other.
"Ahem… Could you turn around." Xavier coughed, his words causing me to flush bright red. "Unless you enjoy watching me bathe…."
"R-right sorry…" I muttered, swiftly turning my body away from Xavier.
I set the first aid and sewing kits down and silently wished for Ahi to return quickly. The sounds of water rustling filled the air along with some weird tension.
After what seemed like an eternity, Ahi arrived with the towels, a white fur one from some animal he had hunted and my pink one.
I swiftly went for the pink one and decided to distract myself from the awkwardness by drying Ahi's still wet hair.
"Sit down please." I commanded Ahi and he did so without a word.
Now that his head reached my chest, I stepped closer to him and placed the towel on his head. Then I carefully began drying his hair.
Ahi gazed at me while I dried his hair, making it hard to concentrate on the task at hand. His eyes were so easy to get lost in and I felt my cheeks heat up again.
"You know walking around with wet hair can make you sick." I mumbled, trying to distract myself further. "You should always try to get it dried as soon as possible. That's what my father used to tell me all the time."
I knew I was rambling on, but couldn't stop myself from doing so. Whenever I got nervous, my mouth had a brain of its own and word vomited before my brain could catch up.
"Okay." Ahi nodded in understanding, a serious look on his face.
Before my mouth word vomited anymore, Xavier spoke up, "I'm done cleaning up."
I turned to him as he stepped out the stone basin, water dripping off his body. My mouth went dry at the sight of him running a hand through his hair.
Why the hell did all the beastmen have to be good looking?!
"Dry yourself so you don't get sick." Ahi suddenly said, flinging the white animal at Xavier's face.
Xavier caught the fur before it hit him in the face and sent a glare at the snake beastman before doing what he was told.
I took this moment to snap back to reality and make a grab for my first aid kit. I opened it and pulled out a bottle of disinfectant, some gauze and a box of plasters.
They were pink and covered with hearts making me wonder if I should use them, but I didn't have anything else because I liked buying cute looking plasters.
Whatever, they were better than nothing.
I turned back to Xavier seeing he was busy drying his hair with the fur. I scanned his body for any injuries, but only noticed some bruising on his knuckles.
"Let me check for any injuries." I said as I stepped closer to Xavier.
Xavier gazed down at me. "You don't need to do this, you know. Males aren't that weak."
"I know…. This is more for my peace of mind." I murmured. "You did get hurt protecting Ahi afterall."
"I was just doing my job." Xavier retorted.
"Just sit down and let me check you." I said firmly, giving him a sharp look that this wasn't up for debate.
"Fine…." Xavier muttered, sitting down. "But you're wasting your time."
I said nothing as I took a closer look at him. Other than his bruised knuckles, there was also a small cut above his eyebrow and on his right forearm.
Putting some disinfectant on the gauze, I said, "You have some cuts I need to clean. This may sting."
Xavier nodded in understanding and I moved some of his hair back to clean the wound. Once I was done, I put a plaster over the cut.
Afterwards, I moved to his arm, Xavier watching me closely as I worked. It made me a little nervous as I cleaned the wound, so I tried to ignore his sharp gaze.
As soon as I was done, I quickly got up and clapped my hands. "There done. Try to keep those wounds dry and clean so you don't get an infection and make it worse."
"Alright…." Xavier paused like he wanted to say more, but didn't as my stomach suddenly growled. "I should get going then… You need to eat."
He got up to leave, but I took a step in front of him, blocking his path.
Shaking away the sudden embarrassment, I asked, "Do you wanna stay for dinner?"