36. Jumping on the bandwagon

Storm lasted for a long time. In the dim cabin, Blaze sat crossleged on the bed Mani and Floreo made for him. It was big enough for him and for Echo, who joined him there due Floreo and Cid occupying his bed.

Echo was having him taste test new snack recipe, dried fern roots or something. Blaze liked this new side job, food quality control, being the first one sampling all new things Echo came up with.

Floreo was leaning on Cid, playing with his braided hair, wondering if he should help his silent brother push the boat along. His brothers interest in Blaze was what nudged him to approach Cid in the first place. Why are they stuck in different beds still?

Yax was nervously tapping his fingers on Mani's leg. They were sitting in the corner, cuddled on their sleeping bag, wrapped in blankets. Mani felt cold, so Yax did his boyfriend duty, keeping him warm.

"They should be fine, right?" He said into Mani's ear, tickling him.

"Well, I don't know," Mani said back, feeling his Yak squeezing him tight "two silly and incompetent people like them should not be let to roam around unsupervised." That got him a bite on his ear.

"True," Floreo added "By now, Ivory is most likely scraping moss from the wall to make them a fire by rubbing two wooden sticks together." He tried that once, for academic purposes.

"And Jone is performing complete analysis of nutritional values and benefits of that moss." Echo added.

Those three joined efforts to comfort their worried soldiers. Not only Yax, Cid and Blaze too had developed strong protective instincts during this journey, and it gnawed at them that none of them was there to protect their weaker teammates. As if they really were weak.

Well, Blaze had complete faith in Jone, so he did not fret as much as Yax did. And Cid kept his pokerface, so they were basically comforting Yax.

Blaze observed Yax and Mani being wrapped up in their corner, and then Cid hugging Floreo on the bed by the opposite wall. Were those guys cold? Because of the cold air swishing in through vents and shutters? Should he warm up Echo as well?

He looked at Echo who readily offered up another piece of that sweet root thing. Blaze just opened his mouth and got fed. While chewing, he changed his position, unfolding his crossed legs and spreading them. He pulled Echo over, and nestled him between his knees, making him lean on his chest, turning himself into human chair basically.

"You should just say if you're feeling cold. Look, your hands are freezing." He noticed Echo stiffened as a block of wood and snickered "You are twice as old as I am, why so shy. It's just some body heat."

He wrapped his big arms around Echo, leaning his head on his shoulder "Is there more of that dry fern stuff?"

Echo looked at small basket in his hands. When Blaze picked him up and hauled over seemingly without any effort, not a piece of his fern candy fell out. He took a piece and stuffed it in Blaze's mouth. Did he finally domesticated him?

He heard Floreo's muffled laughter from other side of the room. Ignoring it, he relaxed and leaned fully on Blaze's chest. First step in acquiring a pet, done.

When wind and rain finally slowed down, it was still daytime, just barely. They looked at their messed up camp, pergola was not the only thing wind tumbled over, and decided to go check on Jone and Ivory. There were broken trees all over, and who knows how are things up on the slope where that hidden shelter was.

They packed some boiled meat, acorn bread and soup in bottles, just in case, and went up following familiar route. They passed by vegetable patch and saw all their hard grown veggies smashed into mud.

River was back to it's previous water levels, as if there was no drought for past two months. "Perhaps we will have no veggies, but mushrooms should start growing again." Mani said while walking by gurgling stream.

As they started to climb, water was flowing freely making new gullies out of path they usually used to reach field of ferns, where chestnuts grew. There were broken trees, and even rocks that rolled down. When they reached a fresh mudslide, they hastened their speed. Did not look good.

They hoped to meet Ivory and Jone half way, on their way back. But they already reached the place where entrance of the shelter could be seen, half covered in ivy and blackberries growing on stone wall, yet no sight of them.

Yax basically ran into shelter, then skidded to suddenly stop, causing Blaze almost barreling him over. While his eyes adjusted to low light in this small closed space, everyone pushed inside and stood stupefied a bit. Should have they waited until morning to check on them?

"Shhhh.." Ivory hushed them and whispered "he finally fell asleep." He was sitting in his meditation pose, holding Jone's head in his lap, gently massaging his temples.

Like hell am I sleeping. Jone thought, but what else he could do? Ivory sincerely wanted to help him, and his head was hurting, so he could not come up with anything smarter than this. Then he was embarrassed, so just closed his eyes, relaxed his face, and pretended to doze off.

Well, to tell the truth, it was comfortable. If he was not on the cold floor, he might really snooze for a minute.

"Is his leg broken?" Blaze asked quietly walking closer and crouching down.

"Got hit by a stone, he said it will be fine." Ivory said still gently massaging.

"Let's go make a stretcher." Cid slapped Yax's shoulder and pulled him outside, while Echo took out a thermos with warm soup in it and gave it to Ivory "Warm yourself up."

Mani inspected sticks and ivy tied to the leg "Will this be enough?"

Ivory stopped massaging and accepted the thermos. "Perhaps it should be examined again and rewrapped after we are back at the camp."

Jone fluttered his eyes open and jawned for a good measure. "Oh, when did you arrive?" He pushed himself up and Echo handed him a thermos as well.

"Just now." Mani looked around, there were piles of leaves that wind blew in, branches, empty acorn shells that something ate. Obviously this place was occasionally used by animals as a den.

"Camp got totally messed up," Floreo added, "Vegetable garden will have to be replanted."

"Where did it came from?" Jone asked, accepting acorn and meat sandwich from Ivory.

"Cid saw it coming from the east while hunting up at the top of the hill. Then he ran down, picked me up, and we hurried to warn everyone at the camp." He was ashamed that they totally missed that those two weren't there.

Ivory ate his sandwich and pondered his meteorological database. "After that heatwave, not surprising actually."

Outside, Cid and Yax searched for two straight saplings, and cut them into poles for stretcher "Did you see that just now?" Yax whispered to Cid "Yeah." Cid confirmed.

He knew what Yax talked about. If he did not see it with his own eyes, he would not believe it. He vividly remembered each time Yax got pummeled for touching Ivory. Ivory's reactions were automatic, without any premeditation. So fast that despite all his training Yax could not avoid being bashed, straight to his head every time. Pure reflex.

Cid looked at Yax, and said with a bit of glee "Face it, it was just because it was you."

He schooled his expresion back to usual calm "Because of your pestering, now everyone got impression he is triggered by touching. You should later clarify that to everyone." Such rumours effectively cut of Ivory's chances to be approached for a relationship, or his eventual approach to be accepted.

"Perhaps not." Yax folded the blanket around poles to improvise their emergency stretchers, "Jone might dislike getting competition." He looked at Cid, and Cid looked back. Yeah, better not to meddle. Not that right now rumours even matter.

"Talking about rumours," Yax continued with vengeful glint "are you aware that rumours about you include the note that you keep your relationships short?" He picked up the stretchers and started walking back to the cave. "They call you No-commitment-fling-Cid."

Cid choked on air, no one called him that! Did they really? But it was just that none of his previous partners were compatible with him. No one before was like Floreo. No one after will be like Floreo.

Cid frowned. Did Floreo approach him because of those rumours? Or despite them? Should he talk with him about it now, or after the mission is done? Was he honestly serious this time? Was Floreo? But he is still young, so he might change his mind? Was he too old for him? What is he even thinking about?

He walked after Yax absentmindedly, his eyes searching for Floreo as soon as he returned into the small shelter. As he saw him helping Jone move to stretchers, Cid felt his brain fog clearing.

Does not matter what it was in the past. Whether Floreo had serious intentions or not. His own intentions were towards sort of a vacation fling at the begging. It's more important how it will develop in future.

And to keep it from ending due something as stupid at that fictional nickname Yax gave him.