Greatest Gift (part two)
Part One
*************
Painfully bending beneath the branch that Jason held for him, Pythagoras took some measure of pride that he was true to his word. He had followed Jason’s lead without needing the other man’s help and for that he was truly thankful, but he wasn’t sure how much longer he could he could continue. The rain had begun about an hour after they had started. At first it was a drizzle barely anything at all really, soon enough though it became a downpour the likes of which Pythagoras had not seen in many a year. Lightening streaked across the sky in terrifyingly regular intervals on top of a torrent of water that made it very hard to see the path in front of them. Vainly wiping the water out of his eyes, Pythagoras stumbled after his friend. His wound throbbed with each beat of his heart, and he was pretty sure he was running a fever. He knew sheer stubbornness was the only thing keeping him upright, as the rain beat down on him and the mud got deeper with each step. But Pythagoras had a system down; he had locked his gaze onto the back of Jason’s tunic and continued to place one unsteady foot after the other as he ignored everything, other then staying vertical and following his friend.
Glancing over his shoulder to make sure Pythagoras was still following; Jason shook his head in wonder at his friend’s willpower. The rain and nightfall made it difficult to see much but he could still make out his friend’s unsteady gait as he walked through the deluge of water. They had stopped for a rest an hour ago under a willow tree, Jason had checked Pythagoras’ bandages best he could considering their situation. Afterwards he had tried to help Pythagoras along only to be told firmly no, before his friend had shuffled off. He admires his friend’s kind heart and his stubborn determination but now he is afraid that this journey to Atlantis is becoming a death march for Pythagoras. They needed to find a place to rest till the storm lets up, preferably a dry one.
Catching his companion when he stumbled to the side, Jason could take it no longer and said, “Whether you want me to or not, I am going to help you.”
Pythagoras knew he had no choice he was just about all done in so he gave Jason a shaky nod and allowed the other man to draw his arm over his shoulder. Gratefully Pythagoras leaned against Jason as they limped along.
Now that the red-headed man had capitulated and had allowed him to help him, Jason couldn’t help but notice that Pythagoras was very warm. Jason could feel the heat radiating from the other man in spite of the very cold rain that had been falling on them for the past couple of hours. With each step Pythagoras seemed to get heavier and heavier not only that but Jason could feel that the other man was shivering.
“We need to get out of this rain,” Jason said as he drew to a stop, he knew there were caves to the east of here about a kilometer or so away but in the all consuming darkness he was afraid they could miss them. “I think there are some caves near here.”
Pythagoras huffed out a breath, before he said with laughter in his voice, “We don’t have the best luck with caves.”
“That is very true,” Jason said his own voice showing its amusement as he thought of Circe and the Furies, before growing serious again, “but we won’t last out here much longer.” They continued stumbling forwards desperate to find solace from the rain.
After a time, a fortuitous streak of lightening lit up the area around them just in time for Jason to see what could be their salvation. He pointed it out to Pythagoras started to maneuver the man towards the dark impression against the rock face. By time they reached what indeed was a cave Jason was basically carrying Pythagoras.
As dark as it had been outside, inside the cavern it was pitch black, Jason could see nothing as he felt along the wall of the cave. Inching forward Jason found a relatively flat spot for Pythagoras, setting his friend down gently, he then placed his bag on the ground before collapsing next to him. He could feel the tremors racking Pythagoras’ body as he lay next to him.
Jason gathered the red-headed man in his arms trying to use his body heat to warm him. He felt Pythagoras curl into him as he whispered, “I’m just so cold.” Jason pulled the lanky man even closer trying to help but knew what he really needed to do was to start a fire to warm them up and to dry their clothes, he had a bad feeling his friend’s life depended on it.
*******
BOOM!
Hercules sat straight up, his heart racing as it tried to beat its way out of his chest. The subsequent lightening flash nearly blinded him as he stumbled out of his room. Lighting a candle, he grabbed the pitcher off the table and gulped down what little water remained. Indulging in to much alcohol always made him extremely thirsty.
BOOM!
Startled once again, Hercules felt clay pitcher fall from his hands, hit the floor and shatter into pieces. Holding his head as the burgeoning hangover made itself known in the form of a splitting headache, Hercules painfully bent over and picked up all the pieces of clay pitcher. Once he had disposed of it, Hercules started back to his room wondering how Jason and Pythagoras managed to sleep through this storm. He had stumbled home a couple of hours ago he had been barely conscious and had gone straight to his bed only interested in lying down.
Taking a moment to look around the room Hercules saw that their beds were empty. That sobered up the strong man in a hurry as he remembered the boys saying they would by back by nightfall. Walking over to the window he saw how violent the storm was he knew no one by choice would be out in this weather. Hercules felt his worry grow the more he thought about the many very bad reasons why Jason and Pythagoras wouldn’t have returned by now. Striding across the room headache forgotten, he was soon through the door and heading towards the gates of the city, Hercules needed to talk to the guards and see if they had seen the duo return.
********
Breathing softly on the embers that Jason had managed to produce after he had found some dry wood scattered about the cave, he was gratified to see the embers catch. Looking over at the man in question, Jason could see Pythagoras was still shivering. Moving over to him he gently pulled the supine body closer to the fire. Now that Jason could see properly he could tell how bad off his friend really was.
Pythagoras on the best of days was usually pale but now he had a gray pallor to his face that was slack in what Jason hoped was sleep rather then unconsciousness. Pythagoras’ shirt was stained a reddish pink color, lifting the shirt up Jason gently raised the loose bandages and peered underneath. The wound was sluggishly bleeding again and apparently had been for some time. Dropping the shirt Jason grabbed the Pythagoras’ bag and emptied out the contents hoping that he could find some dry scrap of clothing to replace the sodden mess that his friend currently had. Tucked in a corner was the left over shirt scraps from this afternoon, and was miraculously dry. Smiling for the first time since this afternoon, Jason reached over and placed his hand on Pythagoras’ shoulder.
“Pythagoras,” Jason said softly yet insistently. When all he received was a low whine in reply, he slowly turned the man over and shook him gently. When his friend’s eyes cracked open he smiled down at him and said, “I need to change your bandages.”
Pythagoras felt like he had been trampled by a bull, his whole body ached; he felt both burning hot and freezing cold as chills racked his body. He wearily looked up at his friend confused as to what the man wanted, when all he wanted to do is sleep, his eyes felt heavy and as they started to close again he heard Jason insisting that he stay awake. Forcing his eyes back open Pythagoras stared up at his companion until his brain finally caught with what Jason was saying. Pushing himself slowly up on his elbow he was grateful when his friend helped him up the rest of the way to lean against the cave wall.
Jason swiftly but gently divested Pythagoras of his shirt, he placed the shirt on a rock by the fire so it would dry as quickly as possible. Removing the bandages, Jason pressed the undershirt he found against the wound tightly trying to stop the bleeding, it was down to a trickle which was a good sign but he didn’t think his friend could lose anymore blood. Placing his other hand on the red-head’s forehead Jason could feel that Pythagoras fever was even worse then it was before. Jason closed his eyes pinching the bridge of his nose as weariness swept over him. He was feeling powerless; he had no food, no more bandages, and no healing herbs, nothing that could actually help his friend. Jason looked up when he felt a hand covering his, feeling Pythagoras weakly squeeze his hand in support; he gave a watery smile in return.
Pythagoras could see how tired and worried Jason was, he knew this whole situation was wearing on him. “It will be alright you will see,” Pythagoras said trying to comfort his friend, but even to himself the words felt hollow and empty.
Jason felt bad that his severely injured friend was trying to cheer him up when it should have been the other way around. Shaking his head at his good fortune to fall into this man’s life that fateful first day in Atlantis, Jason took in a deep breath and squared his shoulders. Peeking at the wound, he saw it had stopped bleeding, and that made the smile he gave Pythagoras a bit more real this time.
The red-head watched as Jason wound the bandages around his midriff before tying it off so the wrappings would be tight but not tight enough to cut off circulation. Seeing his friend wince as he sat up, Pythagoras could no longer hold his tongue.
“Did you get injured earlier?” he asked, watching as Jason looked to at first deny it, but then the younger man nodded.
Concern rushed through him at the thought of an untreated wound and what it could do to his friend after all this time. He tried to lean forward but gasped when the pain increased, so he was forced to rest against the cave wall and say in a pain-laced voice, “Where are you hurt?”
Knowing Pythagoras’ need to help and heal those who are hurt Jason was sure he wouldn’t be able to divert his friend from inspecting his injuries. “Really it is nothing just some bruised ribs,” he said brusquely, trying to pacify Pythagoras’ concern but also not wanting to tax the ill man to much.
“Please Jason; I just want to make sure. If the ribs are broken they need be stabilized,” Pythagoras said with a pained grunt as he tried to move towards the injured man.
Leaning forward in worry that Pythagoras’ wound could start to bleed again now that they finally got it to stop Jason scooted forward until he was next to his friend. Placing a hand on the red-head’s torso to arrest his movement Jason said, “I promise they are only bruised.” To prove it Jason removed his wet shirt gritting his teeth against the pain.
Pythagoras looked over his friend’s chest; along the left side he saw an almost black area of skin. Reaching up Pythagoras gently palpitated the bruised section of skin feeling for any jagged or out of place bones. Looking up when he heard the Jason gasp, Pythagoras breathed out a soft apology. Letting out a sigh of relief that Jason had been correct they appeared to only be bruised, the mathematician let his arm sink back down by his side, leaning back in exhaustion.
“You’re right they are not broken but you should still rest as much as possible and let them heal. If we were home I could put some comfrey root on it or some arnica but…” Pythagoras trailed off not putting into words the very tough situation they found themselves in.
Not liking how out of breath his friend sounded after so little exertion Jason said soothingly, “It’s alright. I barely feel it.” Pythagoras shot him a disbelieving look but didn’t call him on it for which Jason was relieved. Changing the subject he offered some water they had left over. Once Pythagoras had his fill Jason saw his eyes start to droop and said, “Why don’t you get some sleep?”
Jason helped his friend lay down, and within seconds Pythagoras was asleep. Passing a hand over his eyes as exhaustion come over him in a wave Jason was tempted to lie down next to Pythagoras and sleep but he needed to keep watch. Staring out into the darkness as the storm raged on, the dark haired man was fairly certain that the men tracking them would have sought shelter like they had. So as long as the storm kept up they would be relatively safe, but Jason wasn’t taking any chances so he was determined to stay awake.
Checking on their clothes that he had laid near the fire, Jason found them still damp but no longer dripping with water which was a vast improvement. Sitting down next to his friend Jason leaned his head back and started thinking about all he would need to do tomorrow once the storm broke. Pythagoras needed to get back to Atlantis; there was really nothing Jason could do for him here.
Part Three
*************
Painfully bending beneath the branch that Jason held for him, Pythagoras took some measure of pride that he was true to his word. He had followed Jason’s lead without needing the other man’s help and for that he was truly thankful, but he wasn’t sure how much longer he could he could continue. The rain had begun about an hour after they had started. At first it was a drizzle barely anything at all really, soon enough though it became a downpour the likes of which Pythagoras had not seen in many a year. Lightening streaked across the sky in terrifyingly regular intervals on top of a torrent of water that made it very hard to see the path in front of them. Vainly wiping the water out of his eyes, Pythagoras stumbled after his friend. His wound throbbed with each beat of his heart, and he was pretty sure he was running a fever. He knew sheer stubbornness was the only thing keeping him upright, as the rain beat down on him and the mud got deeper with each step. But Pythagoras had a system down; he had locked his gaze onto the back of Jason’s tunic and continued to place one unsteady foot after the other as he ignored everything, other then staying vertical and following his friend.
Glancing over his shoulder to make sure Pythagoras was still following; Jason shook his head in wonder at his friend’s willpower. The rain and nightfall made it difficult to see much but he could still make out his friend’s unsteady gait as he walked through the deluge of water. They had stopped for a rest an hour ago under a willow tree, Jason had checked Pythagoras’ bandages best he could considering their situation. Afterwards he had tried to help Pythagoras along only to be told firmly no, before his friend had shuffled off. He admires his friend’s kind heart and his stubborn determination but now he is afraid that this journey to Atlantis is becoming a death march for Pythagoras. They needed to find a place to rest till the storm lets up, preferably a dry one.
Catching his companion when he stumbled to the side, Jason could take it no longer and said, “Whether you want me to or not, I am going to help you.”
Pythagoras knew he had no choice he was just about all done in so he gave Jason a shaky nod and allowed the other man to draw his arm over his shoulder. Gratefully Pythagoras leaned against Jason as they limped along.
Now that the red-headed man had capitulated and had allowed him to help him, Jason couldn’t help but notice that Pythagoras was very warm. Jason could feel the heat radiating from the other man in spite of the very cold rain that had been falling on them for the past couple of hours. With each step Pythagoras seemed to get heavier and heavier not only that but Jason could feel that the other man was shivering.
“We need to get out of this rain,” Jason said as he drew to a stop, he knew there were caves to the east of here about a kilometer or so away but in the all consuming darkness he was afraid they could miss them. “I think there are some caves near here.”
Pythagoras huffed out a breath, before he said with laughter in his voice, “We don’t have the best luck with caves.”
“That is very true,” Jason said his own voice showing its amusement as he thought of Circe and the Furies, before growing serious again, “but we won’t last out here much longer.” They continued stumbling forwards desperate to find solace from the rain.
After a time, a fortuitous streak of lightening lit up the area around them just in time for Jason to see what could be their salvation. He pointed it out to Pythagoras started to maneuver the man towards the dark impression against the rock face. By time they reached what indeed was a cave Jason was basically carrying Pythagoras.
As dark as it had been outside, inside the cavern it was pitch black, Jason could see nothing as he felt along the wall of the cave. Inching forward Jason found a relatively flat spot for Pythagoras, setting his friend down gently, he then placed his bag on the ground before collapsing next to him. He could feel the tremors racking Pythagoras’ body as he lay next to him.
Jason gathered the red-headed man in his arms trying to use his body heat to warm him. He felt Pythagoras curl into him as he whispered, “I’m just so cold.” Jason pulled the lanky man even closer trying to help but knew what he really needed to do was to start a fire to warm them up and to dry their clothes, he had a bad feeling his friend’s life depended on it.
*******
BOOM!
Hercules sat straight up, his heart racing as it tried to beat its way out of his chest. The subsequent lightening flash nearly blinded him as he stumbled out of his room. Lighting a candle, he grabbed the pitcher off the table and gulped down what little water remained. Indulging in to much alcohol always made him extremely thirsty.
BOOM!
Startled once again, Hercules felt clay pitcher fall from his hands, hit the floor and shatter into pieces. Holding his head as the burgeoning hangover made itself known in the form of a splitting headache, Hercules painfully bent over and picked up all the pieces of clay pitcher. Once he had disposed of it, Hercules started back to his room wondering how Jason and Pythagoras managed to sleep through this storm. He had stumbled home a couple of hours ago he had been barely conscious and had gone straight to his bed only interested in lying down.
Taking a moment to look around the room Hercules saw that their beds were empty. That sobered up the strong man in a hurry as he remembered the boys saying they would by back by nightfall. Walking over to the window he saw how violent the storm was he knew no one by choice would be out in this weather. Hercules felt his worry grow the more he thought about the many very bad reasons why Jason and Pythagoras wouldn’t have returned by now. Striding across the room headache forgotten, he was soon through the door and heading towards the gates of the city, Hercules needed to talk to the guards and see if they had seen the duo return.
********
Breathing softly on the embers that Jason had managed to produce after he had found some dry wood scattered about the cave, he was gratified to see the embers catch. Looking over at the man in question, Jason could see Pythagoras was still shivering. Moving over to him he gently pulled the supine body closer to the fire. Now that Jason could see properly he could tell how bad off his friend really was.
Pythagoras on the best of days was usually pale but now he had a gray pallor to his face that was slack in what Jason hoped was sleep rather then unconsciousness. Pythagoras’ shirt was stained a reddish pink color, lifting the shirt up Jason gently raised the loose bandages and peered underneath. The wound was sluggishly bleeding again and apparently had been for some time. Dropping the shirt Jason grabbed the Pythagoras’ bag and emptied out the contents hoping that he could find some dry scrap of clothing to replace the sodden mess that his friend currently had. Tucked in a corner was the left over shirt scraps from this afternoon, and was miraculously dry. Smiling for the first time since this afternoon, Jason reached over and placed his hand on Pythagoras’ shoulder.
“Pythagoras,” Jason said softly yet insistently. When all he received was a low whine in reply, he slowly turned the man over and shook him gently. When his friend’s eyes cracked open he smiled down at him and said, “I need to change your bandages.”
Pythagoras felt like he had been trampled by a bull, his whole body ached; he felt both burning hot and freezing cold as chills racked his body. He wearily looked up at his friend confused as to what the man wanted, when all he wanted to do is sleep, his eyes felt heavy and as they started to close again he heard Jason insisting that he stay awake. Forcing his eyes back open Pythagoras stared up at his companion until his brain finally caught with what Jason was saying. Pushing himself slowly up on his elbow he was grateful when his friend helped him up the rest of the way to lean against the cave wall.
Jason swiftly but gently divested Pythagoras of his shirt, he placed the shirt on a rock by the fire so it would dry as quickly as possible. Removing the bandages, Jason pressed the undershirt he found against the wound tightly trying to stop the bleeding, it was down to a trickle which was a good sign but he didn’t think his friend could lose anymore blood. Placing his other hand on the red-head’s forehead Jason could feel that Pythagoras fever was even worse then it was before. Jason closed his eyes pinching the bridge of his nose as weariness swept over him. He was feeling powerless; he had no food, no more bandages, and no healing herbs, nothing that could actually help his friend. Jason looked up when he felt a hand covering his, feeling Pythagoras weakly squeeze his hand in support; he gave a watery smile in return.
Pythagoras could see how tired and worried Jason was, he knew this whole situation was wearing on him. “It will be alright you will see,” Pythagoras said trying to comfort his friend, but even to himself the words felt hollow and empty.
Jason felt bad that his severely injured friend was trying to cheer him up when it should have been the other way around. Shaking his head at his good fortune to fall into this man’s life that fateful first day in Atlantis, Jason took in a deep breath and squared his shoulders. Peeking at the wound, he saw it had stopped bleeding, and that made the smile he gave Pythagoras a bit more real this time.
The red-head watched as Jason wound the bandages around his midriff before tying it off so the wrappings would be tight but not tight enough to cut off circulation. Seeing his friend wince as he sat up, Pythagoras could no longer hold his tongue.
“Did you get injured earlier?” he asked, watching as Jason looked to at first deny it, but then the younger man nodded.
Concern rushed through him at the thought of an untreated wound and what it could do to his friend after all this time. He tried to lean forward but gasped when the pain increased, so he was forced to rest against the cave wall and say in a pain-laced voice, “Where are you hurt?”
Knowing Pythagoras’ need to help and heal those who are hurt Jason was sure he wouldn’t be able to divert his friend from inspecting his injuries. “Really it is nothing just some bruised ribs,” he said brusquely, trying to pacify Pythagoras’ concern but also not wanting to tax the ill man to much.
“Please Jason; I just want to make sure. If the ribs are broken they need be stabilized,” Pythagoras said with a pained grunt as he tried to move towards the injured man.
Leaning forward in worry that Pythagoras’ wound could start to bleed again now that they finally got it to stop Jason scooted forward until he was next to his friend. Placing a hand on the red-head’s torso to arrest his movement Jason said, “I promise they are only bruised.” To prove it Jason removed his wet shirt gritting his teeth against the pain.
Pythagoras looked over his friend’s chest; along the left side he saw an almost black area of skin. Reaching up Pythagoras gently palpitated the bruised section of skin feeling for any jagged or out of place bones. Looking up when he heard the Jason gasp, Pythagoras breathed out a soft apology. Letting out a sigh of relief that Jason had been correct they appeared to only be bruised, the mathematician let his arm sink back down by his side, leaning back in exhaustion.
“You’re right they are not broken but you should still rest as much as possible and let them heal. If we were home I could put some comfrey root on it or some arnica but…” Pythagoras trailed off not putting into words the very tough situation they found themselves in.
Not liking how out of breath his friend sounded after so little exertion Jason said soothingly, “It’s alright. I barely feel it.” Pythagoras shot him a disbelieving look but didn’t call him on it for which Jason was relieved. Changing the subject he offered some water they had left over. Once Pythagoras had his fill Jason saw his eyes start to droop and said, “Why don’t you get some sleep?”
Jason helped his friend lay down, and within seconds Pythagoras was asleep. Passing a hand over his eyes as exhaustion come over him in a wave Jason was tempted to lie down next to Pythagoras and sleep but he needed to keep watch. Staring out into the darkness as the storm raged on, the dark haired man was fairly certain that the men tracking them would have sought shelter like they had. So as long as the storm kept up they would be relatively safe, but Jason wasn’t taking any chances so he was determined to stay awake.
Checking on their clothes that he had laid near the fire, Jason found them still damp but no longer dripping with water which was a vast improvement. Sitting down next to his friend Jason leaned his head back and started thinking about all he would need to do tomorrow once the storm broke. Pythagoras needed to get back to Atlantis; there was really nothing Jason could do for him here.
Part Three