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There’s a knock at the door. “Mr. Caleb?” And Caduceus tentatively opens the door. Caleb grunts in response, still fully engrossed with his literature. Nugget went back into Jester’s room after the rest of the party came back and Frumpkin has since been grooming Caleb’s hair back down to reestablish his territory. The small tabby was still puffed out to almost double his size, which Caduceus found quite amusing. What a good cat, who loves and protects his owner in any way he can. He thinks about how the Nein as a whole are like a bunch of very protective cats, especially towards people like Caleb. He never met the one Jester calls Kiri, but she and Nott become absolute mothers whenever they talk about her. It’s nice. Caduceus loves family, and this family is one he’s really come to enjoy.
The plate in his hand starts to burn from the hot food and Caduceus lets himself in and closes the door behind him. “Mr. Caleb, I brought you some food since you missed dinner.” The wizard didn’t say anything but his eyes unfocusing and refocusing on his book signified to Caduceus that he’d heard him. Frumpkin wandered over to the nightstand where Caduceus set down the food, grabbing a small piece of roasted snapper off the plate. Caleb had told him that Frumpkin didn’t ever need to eat, since the cat was a fey creature, but obviously Frumpkin still appreciated the delights of corporeal food, and Caduceus didn’t have the heart to refuse the cat some of the food. Caleb looked up from his book and muttered a small “bitte” before grabbing a roll off the plate and putting his finished book aside.
Caduceus picked it up: Tales of the Menagerie Coast Volume 3: Nicodranas. “Can I read this, Caleb?”
“Ya, um, sure.” Caleb said somewhat absentmindedly as he picked up his next book. Caduceus couldn’t see what the title was but he didn’t pry. Caleb was soon completely entranced and not even a cannonball blasting through the window could break his concentration, not that that was a concern anymore. Thank the Wildmother that they were back on solid land, Caduceus missed the smell of the earth.
As the sky grew darker outside, the single lantern in the room made it harder to read from Cad’s spot on the floor. There was space next to Caleb on the bed, but then he might block the light, which would only transfer the issue. There was a bit of space behind Caleb against the wall, as the smaller man was sitting on the edge of the bed reading. Caduceus did enjoy Caleb’s company, so he decided that was the best coarse of action. Someone needed to make sure he ate anyway.
“Mr. Caleb? Do you mind if I sit on the bed with you? The light’s better over here.” Caleb looked up at him, though Cad could tell there wasn’t much of a response registering behind those eyes. Still focused. Then he moved over slightly so Caduceus could more easily get on the bed. After the small shuffle, and the patient waiting for Frumpkin to move back onto Caleb’s shoulder, Cad was seated comfortably on the bed crosslegged behind Caleb.
After another hour or so of reading in silence, Caduceus was worded out and set the book down. He definitely didn’t have the sheer determination to get through such a long and honestly boring text about history that Caleb had. Looking for something else to do, he watched Frumpkin’s tail swish around Caleb’s shoulder. The cat was now lounging around Caleb’s neck, made even easier by the man’s poor posture. Caduceus imagined the appearance being similar to one of the mourners he met years ago, an eldery woman who still held onto the luxurious lifestyle of her deceased husband with a dead ferret draped around her neck. Caduceus much more enjoyed this scene than that one, with a live animal that obviously loved resting in such a place.
“You should sit up a bit, Caleb. I can’t imagine your back feels comfortable hunched over like that.” Caduceus reached out and gave Frumpkin a pat, who was now purring very audibly.
“Doesn’t particularly bother me.” Caleb said as almost an afterthought. “The headboard’s more uncomfortable to lean on.”
After another beat of silence a thought came to Cad’s mind. “You could lean against me.”
That broke Caleb’s concentration and he turned around to look at the taller man. “Pardon?” Frumpkin started to slip off Caleb’s shoulders and jumped off.
“I imagine I might be a bit more comfortable to lean against. Softer than the headboard at least. But only if you want to.”
Caleb looked back down at the bedding, and turned back to his book. For a moment Caduceus took that for a no, before Caleb quietly said “Sure,” and started to scoot backwards on the bed. Caduceus was smiling ear to ear, while Caleb’s ears somehow managed to turn pinker even in the darker warm light. Caduceus uncrossed his legs so Caleb could get closer, though oddly he seemed to get stiffer when his back actually made contact with Cad. He didn’t mind too much, everyone had their own boundaries, he was just happy Caleb had warmed up to him this much at all. Though it seemed that while Caleb had moved back, he still wasn’t actually leaning on Caduceus. That was okay. These things take time.
Now that he wasn’t reading though, Cad needed something to do to pass the time. Frumpkin had curled up by Caleb’s thigh just outside the reach of Caduceus’s hand and he needed something to fidget with. He noticed how Caleb’s hair fell into his eyes again, the wizard pushing it behind his ear for what must’ve been the twentieth time that night.
“Caleb?”
“Mmm?”
“Do you mind if I braid your hair?” there was a moment of silence before Caduceus added “It might help keep those wisps out of your eyes while you read.”
Caleb thought for a second, and now Caduceus thought he saw that little flush from Caleb’s ears move to his cheeks. Probably just the light again. “Usually Nott or Jester braids my hair against my will. But thank you for asking. Sure.” Cad could hear the smile in Caleb’s voice without seeing it and he got to work combing though the messy auburn hair with gentle hands.
It was dirty, sure, Caleb had something of a knack for attracting dust, but not terribly tangled. Caduceus didn’t mind the dirt either, he always appreciated the earthiness that accompanied Caleb’s appearance even if the rest of the group made fun of him for it. It reminded Cad of home, back in the Blooming Grove, of simple things like life and death and the earth that encompasses both.
He carefully braided one lock of hair back behind Caleb’s right ear and a small marasmioid mushroom wove its way out of Caduceus’s palm to tie off the plat. Cad leaned back to admire his work before replicating it on the other side. All the while Frumpkin purred beside them, seemingly content with Caduceus playing with Caleb’s hair opposed to Nugget.
By the time Caduceus had finished his work, he was starting to feel the call of slumber, and Caleb had slowly started to lean back into Caduceus’s chest. While Cad was braiding, Caleb had started to shrug off his jacket and Caduceus had took a break to help him with the endeavor. Somewhere in the exchange of moving clothing to the foot of the bed, Caduceus’s arms ended up around Caleb’s waist, but when he made to move them away Caleb put a hand on his.
“It’s… fine. You can leave them there.” And Caduceus obliged. They sat in silence, Cad breathing in the smell of peat moss and earth and Caleb gently tracing shapes into the back of his hand. “You really are quite soft. And warm. Like a big blanket.” He could feel Caduceus hum in response against his back, like Frumpkin purring but on a larger scale.
“Everyone needs a good hug from time to time.” Caduceus spoke into Caleb’s hair. “And I’m just happy to help out when and where I can.” Caleb gave his hand a squeeze and in turn Caduceus squeezed lightly around Caleb’s waist. He wasn’t sure what this was, if this was anything between them, but for the moment he was content to let things be. The buzzing anxiety constantly whirring around inside him wasn’t as distracting or all-encompassing as usual, and if nothing else that was something to be happy about.
Another two hours passed and Caleb finally finished his book. He started to lean forward to put it on the floor but he found himself somewhat pinned by the now apparently sleeping firbolg draped over him. He smiled to himself as he reached to drop it off the side of the bed as quietly as he could, and then reached over to the nightstand to drink some of the water Caduceus had brought hours ago. He was more thirsty than he had realized and the water was a warm welcome to his throat. He leaned over again to take off his boots and socks, amused somewhat by the strength of Caduceus’s grip even while he was sleeping. He figured his pants weren’t coming off in this predicament, but also Caduceus did appear to be in any rush to leave so perhaps it was for the best.
After a moment of thinking, Caleb sighed and leaned to the side until both of them tipped over onto the rest of the bedding. The pillow was only just large enough for the two of them, and when they landed Caduceus somehow took this as a cue to curl even tighter around Caleb. It wasn’t uncomfortable in any way, quite the opposite, and Caleb didn’t even feel the need for a blanket despite his terrible circulation. Not like he could get one, but hey, a big fuzzy grey and pink blanket that hummed lullabies in his sleep was honestly a very nice upgrade even to the high quality blankets here. And as opposed to his sleep cuddling with Nott, he was the little spoon this time, which was a welcome change of pace.
Sometime later Nott had let herself into the room and took up her spot at the foot of the bed, not even noticing that there was an additional presence on the bed. Caleb had only barely registered her weight near his feet before sleep overtook him completely. He didn’t dream at all, and it was probably the best sleep he’d had in months.