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Hunting during the winter was a pain in the ass. It was cold, it was wet, there were almost never any animals outside, and no matter how many layers of clothing you put on your body, it almost never felt like enough in a Canadian winter.
But alas, it was Travis and Natalie's job and they had to do it. However, hunting day after day in the snow definitely tired them out. Travis usually wouldn't make out too bad by the time he was done, usually just coming back a bit cold. Nat on the other hand, would pretty much always come back freezing and barely able to walk due to how sore her legs were after trekking through the snow with heavier clothing on.
One thing that neither of them had ever considered, on the other hand, was the concept of illness. I mean, what were the chances they would actually ever get sick? They were only ever around the rest of the group and far away from civilization, surely that was enough to keep any possible sickness at bay.
Until this morning.
Nat woke up feeling like her throat was getting skinned from the inside, and she could barely breathe through her nose. She tried to sit up, but she felt too weak to even do that. She let out a groan and rolled over to see Travis, who was already awake and looking down at her with concern.
"Are you okay?" Nat asked him, already knowing that was a very stupid question.
"Yeah, but do you feel okay? You're really warm and you look kind of rough." Travis replied, brushing Nat's bangs out of her eyes.
Fuck. She got sick somehow. The blonde frowned and pushed herself away from him a little bit. "If I'm sick, you shouldn't be around me."
Travis shook his head, offering her a soft smile. "Well I mean, someone should be here to take care of you. And I don't think you want to deal with Misty." He said while he wrapped an arm around her to pull her closer, trying to show her that he wanted to help. She groaned again in response.
Nat wanted to push him away again and spare him from catching whatever she had, but his embrace immediately calmed her in a way that she hadn't felt in a long time.
She felt fuzzy, her mind and body light. Like she was floating on a cloud. It had been a while since she regressed and she did the best she could to avoid it happening. She didn't want to be a burden.
But when Travid softly kissed her shoulder, she couldn't fight it any longer. Nat rolled over and snuggled up against him with a loud whine, burying her face in his neck and bunching up some of the blanket in her hand.
Thankfully Travis caught on immediately. He remembered all of the signs of her regression from the last few times it happened, which made it way easier to tell. He placed a hand under her chin and tilted it up so she could look at him, and he smiled. "What's going on, Tiny?"
Nat huffed. "Cold." She said quietly with a little pout.
Travis pulled up the blanket a little over her shoulders and wrapped her in it, then pulled her closer in hopes that she would get a little warmer. He was concerned about how warm she actually felt, despite her saying she was cold, but whatever made her comfortable is what he cared about. "Better?"
The blonde shrugged and sniffled, the movement having cleared her nose for a split second before it got stuffed up again. When she couldn't breathe again, she started crying. She didn't like being sick, she wanted to feel okay, but she just felt so weak.
Travis shushed her quietly and put a hand behind Nat's head to fully hold her against his chest, gently scratching her scalp to comfort her. It usually helped, after all. He didn't really speak for a while, allowing her to let her feelings out before he started asking her questions. Instead he just whispered little reassuring words.
Once Nat started to stop crying, he kissed the top of her head. "How old are you right now, Nat?"
Nat hummed quietly in response. Words were hard, but she didn't feel like using her hands right now. Travis took the hint and nodded. "Younger than three?" He asked further. Nat nodded.
"Two?" Nat shook her head.
"One?"
Nat didn't respond for a second, trying to navigate her own mind before nodding.
Travis smiled. "Alright, little guy. Why don't you go back to bed for a bit, and then we can see how you're doing after?" He suggested.
The little nodded again and put the corner of the blanket in her mouth, since having things in her mouth always made her fall asleep faster. She let out a sigh before closing her eyes, while travis took his hand off her head to start rubbing her back. "I'll be with you the whole time, don't worry."
He assured her, knowing sometimes she would get anxious about people leaving her, especially in vulnerable states. Nat hummed once more as a sign of acknowledgement before falling asleep almost immediately.
Hopefully she'd feel a little better when she woke up.