As Hild, Raj, and Robin stepped out to leave, Caspar was just returning with chopped wood in both arms. Sleep wasn't very solid the night prior. And he was fairly awake already by the time James burst into the living room in the early morning, so he figured he may as well better stock them for this first week.
Hild was stiff but sincere as she offered a hug goodbye. Appreciative, Caspar tried to keep it a loose and quick one. He wished them safe travels as the three headed out, back the same direction they just came.
Caspar then carried some of the wood inside in time for breakfast preparations.
Mel and Bo were up, having already seen the trio off. Sleepy-eyed and hair even messier than usual, Lyall was already on his way back to the bedroom.
Lilya zoomed out when he opened the door. He could only wave vaguely and mumble, "She's all yours," as he left the living room.
With about half of their remaining group still asleep (supposedly), Caspar brought Lilya outside with him to check on the horses, since she seemed ready to cause a bit of a ruckus.
Most of that time outside consisted of Lilya simply darting around the trees, talking miles a minute, while Caspar kept and eye on her as he quietly tended to the horses. Eir's head followed Lilya, watching closely too, but she seemed surprisingly unbothered.
Back inside, Lilya (significantly calmer than before) made a beeline for Bo and asked if she could help with breakfast. Bo, holding her steady and aloft, happily let her stir the pot of oatmeal as it cooked on the stove top.
Caspar hung his coat and scarf by the door, then took a seat at the table. Mel joined him, turning her chair towards the heat of the wood stove heating the room. They exchanged "good mornings", but were otherwise content with the quiet of the little house.
Turned to a blank page, Caspar set his sketchbook on the table, but leaned back in his chair and idly tapped his pencil on his leg.
The gentle sounds of the crackling fire, the warmth of the little house, the peaceful company, it was all a familiar comfort. Something he gladly sank into for a moment.
Gradually, though, as the rest of their number awoke for the day, his mind turned to those who couldn't join them for breakfast this time.
After eating, Caspar went to check on James, visit for a little while if he needed. Since there wasn't a chair to spare, he sat on the lower bunk across the way.
He made an idle comment on the weather. Wasn't quite sure how to transition, so just jumped into a horse-related update.
Lying back with an arm and leg hanging off the side of the bed, Caspar stared at the underside of the top bunk for a moment.
"How're you doing today?" he eventually asked, turning sideways to look at James. "So far, anyhow."
James was quiet for a moment as he looked up at the bottom of the bunk above him.
"I'm... trying not to think too much about it," he said.
"That's alright," Caspar said gently.
Another pause.
"What about you?" James asked.
"I'm doing okay," he answered simply.
Mostly trying to not let worries pile up on him too quickly already. It'd only been a few hours since Hild-Raj-Robin had left.
"It's been a fairly low-key morning," Caspar added. "Just, ah, slowly getting a feel for this neck of the woods here. Aside from this house, there's just trees. Sunrise was nice."
There seemed to be quite a bit of startled wildlife around. Caspar wondered when the last time anyone took up residence here.
"I don't think anyone's been here in awhile," he said out loud. "House is in pretty good shape, though."
James hummed quietly in affirmation, but his eyes were still stuck on the bottom of the lower bunk.
"Been a while since I've slept in a real bed," James commented quietly. "At least, before we ran into Lyall."
"And months before that, we got one night at Hild's," Caspar said with a nod. "Seems to be the prevailing pattern."
"We'll be here a while," James said. "At least a few days, right?"
"At least," Caspar confirmed.
Two weeks at most.
"Hopefully I can be back on my feet more," James said quietly. "Since we won't be traveling constantly."
Caspar had actually asked Lyall at some point about the recovery plan for James. The gist of it was that reintroduction to things such as physical activity and food was to be gradual.
"You will be, I'm sure," Caspar said. "Within limits, probably, but walking around more should be a...reasonable first step."
James let out a huff of air through his nose, but his expression looked pained shortly after. Caspar mustered a small, fleeting grin, and tried to keep from looking too worried.
"I think... I'm still feeling the consequences of last night," James said faintly.
Ah, yeah. From what sounded like falling into the door, and then tripping over Bo.
"It's just--" James started. "Nightmares."
He turned his face away from Caspar, though the rest of him stayed still, laid out on the bed.
"They've just been getting worse," he said.
Caspar hated to think of the horrors James was reliving in his subconscious. Nightly, and leaving him afraid and disoriented when he finally woke.
"I'm really sorry about that," Caspar said quietly.
"I just wish it didn't end up affecting everyone else," James said softly.
"We understand-- I mean, well. You know," Caspar tried reassuring him. "It's okay."
"Did you get any sleep?" James asked instead. "At all?"
"I did."
A beat of silence.
"How much?" James clarified.
Caspar hesitated. "A...couple hours, at least," he mumbled.
James let out a sigh, but otherwise, didn't say anything.
"I'm alright, though," Caspar added. "And. Lyall or someone will probably make me take a nap sometime soon."
"He'll probably make me nap too," James said with a sigh in his voice. "I just... for as much as I've slept, I really don't feel like I've slept at all. I keep waking up, and when I do finally manage to sleep deeply, it ends with... you know."
Caspar nodded and said softly, "I know. If there was some way to help..."
A way to just give him a reprieve. If he could maybe even take James's place somehow, just so he could have some peace, Caspar would take it without a second thought.
"I know there's not much you can do," James said quietly. "I appreciate you listening."
Tilting his head to face him, Caspar gave a small smile and said, "Anytime."
Another beat of quiet, and Caspar looked skyward again as they now simply lied with each other's company.
It was a vaguely familiar arrangement.
Afternoon rolled by without much fuss.
Though, per their predictions, it was insisted upon that Caspar at least rest a little bit until dinner. A situation he tried talking his way out of, but he really didn't have any compelling points as to why he shouldn't. And it was hard to argue for long when Bo was being so amicable and reasonable about it all.
And Cy offered to keep him company, perhaps read a book for him, which Caspar didn't have the heart to decline. He did, regrettably, fall asleep before the raven finally found its wolf friend, and slept right through dinner.
It was a too-deep sleep that left him feeling more bleary-eyed than rested, and he had to consciously remind himself it's probably better in the long run. The necessity of sleep and whatnot.
Lyall had already tucked the girls in for the night, came back into the living room to offer a cryptic compliment on Caspar's hair, then turned in early himself.
Blindly feeling around his own head, Caspar's fingers caught on what at first felt like a big tangle. From the table with a book in hand, Mel kindly clarified with an amused smile that Lilya took the liberty of braiding some of his hair while he slept.
Out of a sense of obligation, Caspar opted to just leave it as he took a seat beside Mel.
"I think it looks nice," Mel offerd warmly. "It suits you, actually."
Face and ears burning, he mumbled a "thank you" at the table, and then awkwardly added, "You look nice, too. Um--" He gestured to her, head to toe. "--In general. All of you, per the norm."
Mel blinked at him for a second, and then her smile grew brighter - a mix between genuine delight and bashfulness as she looked to the side with a small laugh.
"Thanks, Cas," she said. "I do try."
He wanted to insist that she looked lovely, that she was lovely, if only so that'd she'd smile like that again, because her smile was wonderful and sometimes made his chest feel weird, but a good kind of weird. He couldn't muster anything cohesive, though, and decided it was best he didn't inevitably devolve into rambling nonsense anyway.
"You must've been sleeping pretty soundly to not feel Lilya braiding your hair," Mel commented. "That's a good sign!"
"Uh, yeah," he managed. "Yes, it was good."
"I can tell Lilya to leave your hair alone, though," Mel said. "So she doesn't risk waking you. None of us saw her do that. She has a way of being sneaky when she wants to be."
Caspar smiled a little. "S'fine, she's okay." He shrugged. "I'll just let her know she can do it while I'm awake instead."
"Careful," Mel said. "You may end up having a lot of people in line wanting to do your hair if you open that door."
"Oh." He nodded, slightly unsure of how to feel about that. "I'll extend the offer to her in secret, then."
There was a covered bowl of still-warm vegetable soup waiting on the table between them.
"This is yours, by the way," Mel said, nudging it across the table to him. "We let you sleep in."
With a faint grin and nod, Caspar pulled the bowl closer to himself. "Thanks."
Another recurring pattern, it seemed.
"Anything of note happen while I was asleep?" he asked, then began eating.
Mel looked off to the side in thought. It seemed like she was weighing options in her mind of what to start with.
"Bo discovered a tree slug and had fun showing it to the girls," Mel said. "Lilya was thrilled. Cy, not so much. I didn't mind it so long as he kept it away from me."
Caspar felt himself smile as he tried imaging the scene. "Were you able to identify what kind it was? Or that it was just a slug."
"To be completely honest with you, Caspar," Mel said, leaning an elbow on the table as she put her chin in her palm. "I didn't give it that close of a look. Lilya said it was big and slimy, and I think it was green, maybe. Why, are you a slug expert?"
He shrugged and glanced down at the soup. "Not really. I was just curious."
"Fair," Mel hummed, still holding her chin as she looked at him. "You also missed Lyall and the girls putting on a little show. Directed by none other than Cy. They were reenacting the story of the Archer and the Hound. A new take on an old classic. Lyall was the archer, of course, and Lilya was the hound."
"Wow," he murmured, grin broadening. "Shame I missed it."
"We kept busy," Mel said. "But I'm sure there will be more fun little activities to come. Bo and Lyall always get creative with entertaining the girls, and I'm just happy to tag along and be a part of it."
Caspar looked up from his now-empty bowl. "Did you take part in their production?"
"I did get dragged in to being the werewolf," she said with a laugh. "Cy's rendition of the story had it ending with my character and the archer becoming best friends and running off together with the hound as well. Lilya kept trying to give me tips on how to act out a convincing wolf-like performance."
Caspar laughed. "With her guidance, it was probably very convincing. One of those animal hats would've helped with the costume design, too."
"Robin probably wouldn't be impressed," Mel said with a small laugh. "But he's not here to critique me, so I think I'll be fine. I gave it a good effort, but I'm not an actress. Lyall, though, I'm surprised he didn't go into entertainment instead of doctoring."
With a solemn nod, Caspar agreed, "He missed his true calling."
"Seems so," Mel said with a small smile. "Though there's nothing wrong with having a diverse skillset. Funny doctors are needed, I think. He has good people skills when he wants to."
"When he wants to," Caspar echoed, huffing a laugh. "He and his siblings are like that. More often than not, though, they're great in social situations."
"From what I know of Lyall and his upbringing, that's just as much personality as it was the environment he grew up in that encouraged it," she said. "I know all of my siblings and I were similar, having an entertainer as a father. Raj, though... well, I suppose you haven't seen him in that sort of environment. He's pretty consistent, though. But on the rarest occasions, he has these... bursts of social energy. I'm not sure what precedes it."
Caspar nodded. "I can see that, yeah."
"I feel like I always end up in the middle," Mel said with a small pout. "There's a reason Raj used to call me Mel-low. He only stopped because I got sick of the nickname."
Biting back a smile this time, Caspar offered, "Middle's a good place to be. I think you're great, anyway."
Heat rushed to his face and he awkwardly glanced off as he was struck by his own forwardness.
"Likewise, Cas," Mel said softly with a small, fond smile.
He managed a uneven grin in turn and a quiet, "Thanks."
"Did you enjoy the soup?" Mel asked, looking down at his already long-since empty bowl.
"Yes," he answered, glancing down likewise, "it was fantastic."
Taking his bowl in both hands, he made to stand, but paused. Meeting Mel's eyes once more, Caspar said, "Thanks for waiting up. Again. I appreciate your company."
"Of course," Mel said. "I don't mind at all. I'm not really tired just yet anyhow. I assume you're somewhat awake at least after your nap."
Caspar nodded. "I'll probably be up for a bit, yeah." He drummed his fingers on the edges of the bowl. "Would you care for a quick card game, then?"
"Oh, so you want a rematch after all this time?" Mel asked with a smirk. "Let's do it."
She reached down into one of the nearby boxes, pulling out a stack of cards that had evidently been used semi-recently to have been close by. She started shuffling over the table.
While she set up, Caspar stood, then paused again when he noticed Bo, with a book in hand, was also still with them. He was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall as quietly flipped the pages.
"Oh," Caspar said quietly. "Hi."
Bo looked up.
"Hi," Bo said with a small smile.
Nodding sideways toward Mel, Caspar asked, "Want to join?"
"Sure," Bo said, closing the book as he got to his feet. "Are you guys going to play rummy again?"
"That's the plan," Mel said as she started to set out the cards in three sets.
"Well, I'll give it my best," Bo said with a small sigh as he took the chair across from Mel and sat down heavily. Caspar noticed it was the chair with the funky leg, because it wobbled under his weight, but Bo seemed unperturbed by it.
After washing out his bowl and checking the woodstove, Caspar took the remaining seat and began planning potential solutions for Bo's wobbly chair.
The cards were dealt, and the game initiated. It stayed a rather friendly match between the three of them. Predictably, Mel won all three rounds. She looked like she was trying very hard not to smile too smugly, but was definitely revelling in her victory as she shuffled the cards again.
"Are you boys up for round four?" she asked.
Bo let out a quiet laugh as he leaned back in his chair.
"I think I'm fading a bit," he said. "My brain isn't able to think anymore."
"Good time as any to turn in, then." Caspar gave Bo's shoulder a pat and added, "Rest well."
"I'll just be over there," Bo said with a tired laugh, pointing to a spot on the floor where his sleep sack was rolled up. "But as long as you're not yelling, you two can keep it going if you want. I sleep pretty soundly."
"I don't think we'll be getting too loud," Mel said. "And if we do, let us know."
Bo nodded and got to his feet. He only walked a few long steps before he crossed the room and flung out his blanket on the floor. Lying down, he pulled the blanket over himself and pulled another one to bunch up under his head as a pillow. He turned away from them on his side.
"Night," he said quietly.
"Sleep tight," Caspar murmured.
Mel had her attention back on him, and slid another stack of cards to him.
"Ready?" she asked.
Caspar huffed a laugh, endeared by her eagerness, and took up his hand. "Since you are, yeah."
Mel grinned.
"Let's see about that," she said, and then played the first card.
And, by what he could only assume was an incredible stroke of luck, Caspar finally managed a win. Mel graciously conceded his victory, and added that she legitimately had a bad hand this round.
Whatever the reason, he gladly took it.
Eventually, he gently suggested that she turn in too. Though she seemed like she could've kept playing, she didn't fight it.
"We'll have plenty of time to play another time," she said simply, pushing out the chair carefully to not make noise. "Who knows, maybe you'll just keep getting better at this as we play more."
Caspar shrugged with a small smile. "That's the hope."
She stood up and returned the smile briefly, and as she moved to walk past him, she paused, setting her hand on his shoulder.
"Now you get some rest as well," she said. "Alright?"
With a small sigh, Caspar nodded and mumbled, "I guess that's fair."
"No arguments this time?" Mel teased.
He raised both hands in surrender. "No arguments," he echoed.
Mel smiled warmly.
"Sleep well, Cas," she said as she pulled away, and disappeared into the bedroom, gently shutting the door behind her.
"G'night," he murmured, more to the room now than anything.
For a few silent moments, Caspar found himself already mentally playing back some of their conversations from the night. He tried parsing through his thoughts and emotions, but didn't find anything in a completely coherent state.
Shaking himself out of his own head, he quietly checked the woodstove once more. Then quickly looked over the windows and front door, because no one said anything specifically about not checking on things before sleep. He ran out of things to check, and sufficient firelight by which to perhaps draw, and so reclaimed his spot on the living room floor.
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