Ace shrugged with a lopsided smile. “Eh, it’s not so bad once yo get use to it.” He supposed he had to agree with the man about the conversation. As nerve-wracking as it was to dance around most questions Talon asked, the human contact was enjoyable. Ah, speaking of dancing around those questions… “I mean- It kind of, ah. Y’know, it’s a long story,” he spoke with an anxious laugh. He really didn’t want Talon’s first impression of him to be skewed by telling him that the creature was Ace. He supposed if the visitor stuck around, and if they grew to be friends or something, then he would probably tell him. Wow, that’s be awkward. He shook the thoughts away for the moment, returning his focus to the salves in front of him.
With Talon’s consent, he unscrewed the first lid. Both jars contained the same mixture, set out in case he needed more than one. He took up a gentle cloth, saved from an old blanket somewhere most likely. He didn’t remember, really. Shifting closer, he emptied some of the first jar onto the cloth. Gently tugging Talon’s hands away from the rashes, he took a quick look before applying anything. “It’ll be a bit cold,” he murmured. “Cool air and all that.” Keeping his touch light over the alread aggravated rashes, he applied the salve. Keeping a close on Talon’s reaction to it, of course. It’d be a shame to make some stupid mistake with the first person he’d had a real conversation with in years. “Well, a strange man in the middle of the woods and his strange green jars.” He glanced up at the man with an amused smile. “Figured I’d give you the final call.”
Talon tilted his head curiously at the other man, but said, “Yeah, I bet it is.”
He watched Ace work with interest. The man’s movements faintly reminded him of his mother when he was young and got a scraped knee or a cut. Soft and gentle, but also firm and methodical. A little surprised when Ace touched him, he quickly pulled his hands into his lap. The rashes’ color had gotten more intense due to Talon’s scratching, so that the grayish-pink color was now more reddish. The salve was cold indeed, but the temperature alone was enough to reduce the itchiness, causing Talon to breath a small sigh of relief. Although the texture of the combined salve and cloth was a little strange to him, it was better than the alternative.
He pursed his lips. “… that’s true,” he admitted. Stranger danger, and all that. “But I mean, I think it’s already working, so hey, maybe it was a good idea to trust you.”
(I’m just gonna bump this)
(apologies! i know my response times are all over the place haha. they’ll smooth out in a week or so once the semester where i am starts up again.)
As he worked, a pang of pity struck him. The rashes were bad, covering a decent portion of the man’s skin and turned a reddish-purpley color. He wasn’t effected much by the sight of them, however, having seen his fair share of wounds worse than these. He made quick work of them, the salve covering the rashes in a thin, cool coating when he finally finished. Closing the jars and setting them aside, he looked up at the man with a slight sparkle in his eye and a quirk to his upper lip. It’d been all too long since someone had trusted him, and while there was a little voice in the back of Ace’s head that told him he wouldn’t be trusted once the man knew the truth, he managed to smile anyway. It would be nice while it lasted.
Realizing he’d forgotten bandages in the cabinet, he scrambled back to his feet to retrieve them “Forgot the bandages,” he got out with a small laugh. “They should help with the salve and keep you from itching any more if the urge returns.”
(It’s cool, my dude! The semester’s gonna start up in a week where I am too haha)
Talon started to feel bad too, though it was because he let the other man help him. He shouldn’t let Ace do all this when it was his own stupid fault that he ran into poison ivy and then let himself into his home. Talon could take care of himself, as he should. Then again, he reasoned, they were Ace’s salves. Better to let him handle them, or else Talon would likely make a huge mess.
Still, he was about to suggest he could do it himself when he realized that Ace was already done. This resulted in him staring into the other man’s eyes, his mouth slightly open. He quickly looked away when Ace got up. Well, that was stupid. He managed to laugh too, though a little nervously.
“If? You mean when, bro. Can’t forget those bandages.” He put his hands underneath his legs so he wouldn’t be tempted to itch with the salve still on.
(aaah thanks!)
Ace blinked a few times as he selected the bandages he needed. He didn’t think he’d ever been called ‘bro’ before. If he had to guess, though, he’d say it was likely more of something about how Talon spoke than anything about himself. “Ah- right. When.” Pulling the bundles from the shelves, he made his way back over to the couch. “I could always reapply the salve as well if it gets bad again.” He gently began wrapping the bandages around Talon’s rashes, careful not to apply them too tight. “Let me know if anything is, ah, you know. Uncomfortable.” He stumbled over his words a bit as he tried to find the ideal ones. It wasn’t anything new for him, though he still cringed at himself slightly. It’d been far too long since he’d had any chance to hold an actual conversation. With someone who could respond, at least- he’d mindlessly chatted with the forest critters before, though that was more talking to himself than anything else.
(No Ace, he’s serious. You’re a bro now snkdnkdjk /j)
Talon’s head snapped up when he came with the bandages. “Um, yeah sure. O-oh, hey, it’s fine, you don’t have to-“ but Ace already starting wrapping them. He lifted his hands from underneath his legs, falling into an awkward silence. Surely he didn’t have to this, too. Talon could wrap the bandages without making a fool of himself, he was pretty sure. Why did Ace have to do it when he’s already caused him so much grief?
“God, you’re surprisingly motherly,” he remarked, putting a hand around Ace’s wrist so he would stop. “It’s not uncomfortable, but I can do it myself, y’know. You’ve done enough by letting me sleep here and making a meal for me, you don’t have to do this too.”
He wasn’t sure how Ace would react, so he kept his hand on the man’s wrist, looking at him in the eye and waiting.
(adkakdskd-)
Ace faltered, shifting his gaze up and meeting Talon’s own. Motherly? He hadn’t thought of himself like that, though Talon might not be completely wrong with that. “Ah- sorry. Sorry. Instinct, I suppose.” He laughed softly at himself, glancing down at his hand as Talon set his own on his wrist. He paused, glancing from their hands to Talon for a moment before laughing it off, gently shifting his hand back and handing off the bandages. He began to explain how to wrap them properly before realizing that he probably knew how to do it on his own. “I’ll, ah. I’ll go and clean up.” Tactfully removing himself from the situation before he could make anything more awkward, he gave a soft smile at Talon before standing and heading across the room to the kitchen.
He took the bandages with a small laugh. “It’s cool dude, I get it.”
As soon as he looked down at the bandages in his hands, his mind blanched, so he was actually glad when Ace began explaining what to do. Even if he didn’t explain it all, there was enough to where Talon could remember the rest. As he wrapped up his rashes he glanced back at Ace, then looked back and found he would do a poor job of wrapping if he didn’t focus his entire attention on it. He quickly fixed his mistakes and moved on to the other leg. This was the one with the twisted ankle, so he made sure to be extra gentle this time.
“Alright, how’s that? Nothing’s wrong with it?” He asked once he finished, looking back at Ace.
Ace looked over the bandages, humming as he did so to fill the silence. “Yes, that’s good.” He sent a small smile over at Talon before turning back to the kitchen to begin straightening up. He’d turned his back to the stranger, but he seemed nice enough. Ace supposed he trusted him not to do something the moment his back was turned. He’d had all night if he really wanted to rob him and skid off into the forest. Ace took up the plates and ran them under the water, scrubbing them clean and setting them out to air dry. “I’m sorry again for getting you dragged back here. You’re welcome to stay as long as you need, but you can leave at any time.” Ace settled easily into his daily chores, sweeping up the dirt and things that he’d tracked in last night.
Talon smiled back, though he was very tempted to scratch at the bandages now. He settled for rubbing them instead. Watching Ace for now, he was unsure of what else to do.
His gaze had slid downward, but he perked up again when the other man spoke. With a huff, he replied, “I think the only way I’m gonna be able to leave anyway is if you gotta spare crutch or something lying around, yeah? Wait,” his brow knotted up. “What do you mean? You didn’t do anything. I came here unannounced, I should be the one apologizing. It was your creature that dragged me here, not you.”
He only needed a moment’s consideration. Ignoring his first few words, he swung his legs over the couch and stood, keeping a hand on the small coffee table for balance. Making sure to keep his weight off of his swollen ankle, he took a few steps toward the kitchen.
“In fact, as thanks for taking me in, I wanna make myself useful. You need any help?” He gave Ace a crooked grin, putting a hand on the wall and pushing himself back and forth against it as he spoke.
“Ah-“ Ace froze for a moment. He had never been a good liar really, always finding some way to contradict himself and his original story. He pulled himself together fairly quickly, though he wouldn’t be surprised if Talon suspected something. God, he would probably assume the worst if he did. It wasn’t even that bad, just… unusual. Unusual and vaguely confusing. “…Well, y’know. I should’ve been able to keep him in line.” That made sense. Yeah, that worked.
“Unfortunately, I do not. I could probably cobble something together from scraps lying around but I doubt it’d hold much weight and it probably wouldn’t be too durable either.” He finished up with the sweeping, neatly dusting all the dirt out the front door before turning his attention back to Talon as he hobbled towards the kitchen. “That’s really not necessary. Besides, there aren’t many things that need to be done. It’s just me here, and I tend to clean up after myself quite well. Ah- and the creature. Of course.”
Talon blinked with renewed focus. He had zoned out for a second and only caught half of what Ace said. “Uh, sure,” he muttered, figuring out the rest but also still processing it. “Um well, you weren’t there to do anything, so… there’s no need to blame yourself, right? You’re cool, bro. Besides, I think my legs would be much worse than they are now if it hadn’t brought me here, so yeah. It’s cool.”
Smiling with understanding, he nodded, rubbing his neck. “Guess I can’t leave, then.” Then he frowned. “Aww c’mon man, there’s gotta be some way I can repay your kindness and hospitality, right?”
(im so sorry that i disappeared again oh my god. some shit kinda Went Down on my end of things. i should be back in action now, though. hopefully. :’))
Ace blinked a few times, cracking a small, genuine smile after a moment. That was… unexpectedly sweet for a total stranger. “Uh.” He glanced around the room hurriedly after a moment as if his living room would suddenly provide something for Talon to do. Most of the chores were either involved with being up and walking around or a bit too personal to let him do. “I… I don’t know, I suppose you could just shadow me and do very small things, but I don’t think that would be very entertaining for you. I don’t mind doing it on my own, really.” It was true- Ace’s daily chores consisted of maybe four or five easy tasks, and he’d always done them on his own. He was rather quick to tidy up after himself, anyways; he had to be living out here under these conditions.
(Aw man! It’s okay, and if you feel comfortable I’m here if you want to talk about it. Glad to hear from you ^^)
(aaaaah, thanks so much, that’s so sweet 😭😭 glad to be back, definitely missed this one)
(Ahh ofc! And yeah, me too :)
(Talon be like: well guess all we have to do is,,, develop our relationship ;p)
(Lollll hahahaha it just popped into my brain-)
(im so sorry that i disappeared again oh my god. some shit kinda Went Down on my end of things. i should be back in action now, though. hopefully. :’))
Ace blinked a few times, cracking a small, genuine smile after a moment. That was… unexpectedly sweet for a total stranger. “Uh.” He glanced around the room hurriedly after a moment as if his living room would suddenly provide something for Talon to do. Most of the chores were either involved with being up and walking around or a bit too personal to let him do. “I… I don’t know, I suppose you could just shadow me and do very small things, but I don’t think that would be very entertaining for you. I don’t mind doing it on my own, really.” It was true- Ace’s daily chores consisted of maybe four or five easy tasks, and he’d always done them on his own. He was rather quick to tidy up after himself, anyways; he had to be living out here under these conditions.
Talon’s eyes widened at the other’s smile. What did he do? He didn’t think his words would make Ace that happy. He couldn’t help but smile back.
Even so, his shoulders slumped a little. “Aw man, alright then. If you really— ooh, wait,” he straightened and snapped his fingers. “Maybe I could help you take care of your creature pet. He doesn’t look like a small chore to take care of, and he already seems to like me enough already. Is that cool?”
Ace nervously scratched at the back of his neck, clearing his throat. “I don’t know if that’s necessary, he’s uh. He’s pretty self-managing, and he’s not usually out during the day, anyway.” It wasn’t technically a lie, but he still felt somewhat bad that he wasn’t telling the complete truth, Talon seemed to trust him already. He wasn’t the kind of person that lied whenever it was convenient for him, back when he still lived in town he hardly ever lied, didn’t feel the need to.
Talon’s shoulders slumped. “Aw, dammit. I’ll feel really useless just lying around…” he tapped his fingers against the wall, his mind then wandering for a moment before he looked back up at Ace. “Let me take care of myself, then. I’ll make my own meals, take care of my own space. I don’t want to live off of you or anything.”
The moment those words left his mouth, he remembered that he had a history of being really bad at taking care of himself and his space. And he’d forgotten his ADHD meds back home. He winced internally.
"No no no, don't worry about it," Ace reassured immediately. While he didn't often make dinner for himself- preferring to feast on whatever he found out in the woods each night- he could cook. He wasn't sure how good it would be- ah, there was something for Talon. "You should focus on healing up, getting your rest. If you'd like something to do, though, I'd always appreciate some help with meals. I'm not the best cook," he said with a chuckle. "I could find a stool somewhere so you don't have to stand on your ankle- that'd be… good." He was sure that there was a better word for how he was feeling, but he couldn't find one at the moment. He supposed 'happy' was the closest thing, perhaps even the completely correct word- but it embarrassed him to express that.
He perked up a bit. “Oh, I wouldn’t mind helping out with that. I wouldn’t say I’m the best either, but I can try my best.”
Perhaps it wouldn’t be so different from the times Talon helped out his mama with meals. It was familiar work, which at least lowered the possibility of him making a fool out of himself.
“I’m not standing on it,” he said, tilting his head and lifting his leg up a little. “I’m leaning on the wall and not putting any weight on it, don’t worry.”
