1 Chapter 1

Ian blinked his eyes wearily, where was he?

An orange glow lit up what seemed to be stone. Was he in a cave?

Ian got up hurriedly, was he still alive? The last thing Ian remembered was bleeding out after getting shot in an alleyway.... so how did he get here?

Ian got up slowly and looked at his surroundings, he was in a cave, orange light streamed through the opening about 10 meters away. Ian saw many trees and bushes outside, was he in the wilderness? Maybe in a forest. The flora was a bit too lush.

Ian looked down and his eyes widened. What was he wearing? Is this animal skin??

Ian stood up hurriedly and examined his clothes again. It was some sort of long sleeved wrap-around robe that was held together with a piece of cloth. The ends came up to his knees. They looked like they were made from some furry animal.

Ian was aghast, his body was covered in dirt and he wasn't wearing any underwear?!

Ian had been on a secret mission in the south trying to find some info about a smuggling ring. He had been cornered by a gang and a fierce battle had ensued. In the end, he had been shot and severely battered. Ian remembered losing consciousness. But how did he end up here?

Ian frowned in confusion turning around before noticing a small puddle of water near the entrance and peered at himself through the reflection. A pair of large dark eyes peered back at him.

Ian scrunched his eyebrows, he didn't seem to look much different, though he was a lot thinner and his muscles were much leaner as if he had been starved.

What happened to him?????

Ian was so confused, he just stared at himself in the puddle in contemplation.

*Cough

Ian startled, how stupid of him! He didn't even notice the presence of another person around him.

Ian immediately became alert looking towards the source of the sound.

A young man was lying in the corner of the cave, blood oozed out of several cuts on his body. His handsome face was drawn taught. He was also wearing an animal hide.

Ian slowly moved closer to him and relaxed when he made sure he was unconscious. The young man was extremely beautiful, with a well-structured face, tall nose, and a strong jaw. But his dark hair was matted with dust.

Ian frowned at the blood oozing from the young man's wounds, it should be relatively fresh, looking closer, he realized the young man must have a fever. His dark eyebrows were scrunched together and sweat dripped across his pale forehead and his breathing was rapid.

Ian looked around trying to find something to clean the wounds,. Ian applied pressure to the wound before going back to the small puddle and scooping some water to clean up the wound. Ian walked around the cave to see if there was anything he could use to bandage the man. Finding some dry leaves, Ian quickly went back to the young man and bandaged the severe wounds.

But Ian was still worried, there was a large wound across the young man's chest as if some large animal had mauled him. The wound was bleeding profusely.

Ian wandered towards the opening of the cave and to his surprise, he spotted some yarrow right at the entrance, he quickly got a bundle and crushed it before sprinkling it across the wound and then bandaging it with the leaves and a large dry leaf.

When Ian finished, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The young man should survive.

Coming back to reality, Ian realized that his hands were on the young man's bare chest. Holy!

He had an 8-pack! And he was well proportioned. Ian nearly had a nose bleed, his little gay heart could hardly handle it.

Ian tried to calm himself, yes he should focus on the situation at hand, he was in an unknown place, his body seemed slightly different, he was wearing animal hide and he was sleeping in a cave with a strange man.

The strange man was also wearing animal hide, but only across his waist. Ian's thoughts went towards his lack of underwear and his eyes drifted towards the young man's animal hide around his waist.

Ah! Ian! No more! Innocent thoughts! Innocent thoughts!

Slapping his face softly with his hands, Ian looked away from the young man and quickly got out of the cave.

Breathing in the fresh air, Ian started thinking. He didn't seem to remember how he got here, and the only way to get any answers would probably be to wait for the young man to wake up.

Suddenly, Ian's stomach growled.

Ian decided to find something to eat first, he didn't have anything on himself so he made a makeshift spear with a sharp stone and a branch before venturing out into the forest.

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*Thump*

The rabbit Ian speared fell lifeless on the ground. Ian marked the tree next to it as he grabbed it by the ears. Suddenly, his eyes caught something, coltsfoot!

Coltsfoot could be used as a salt substitute, all he needed to do was burn it and use the ashes. He remembered one of his colleagues telling him so, he had been surprised when he showed him how and the taste was okay.

Ian wondered whether he could be able to find any other spices.

Foraging around, Ian found some garlic growing near a rock and pepper vines. Ian scrunched his eyebrows as he tried to carry all of them, he should make a bag to carry things next time.

Hurrying back, he passed the vines he had hung in front of the entrance and dumped everything on some grass he had placed. He heaved, stretching in relief as he leaned the spear on the walls.

Ian looked over at the young man to see how he was doing, then he froze.

The young man was staring at him.