Well, This Is Soothing

When Heron woke up, he was covered by a blanket and his head was on something soft yet firm. It only took him a few seconds to realize his head was on Elswyth's lap. From the position of the sun he did not think he was out for very long.

"How you feeling?" Elswyth had a distressed note to her voice as she brushed his hair out of his face. It felt kinda nice being fussed over…just a little.

His head felt a bit foggy but it was slowly starting to get better, and he tried to sit up. Only for Elswyth to shove him back on her legs. "No moving yet. Not until you can assure us you feel utterly fine."

"I do!" He protested. "I feel pretty good. I don't feel like it will happen again."

She let him sit up but still wouldn't let him stand up. Instead had him lean against her shoulder. Heron decided not to protest his worrywart friend. She really did worry about him too much.

He was well aware the spells effects had already loosened again. Anyway, he was okay with sitting still for a while, as it allowed him to think. Why had it suddenly acted up again after all this time? There must be a reason.

As he considered it, he turned over both instances of what had happened. Was there a condition that triggered it? Plausible, magic sometimes worked like that.

He glanced up from where he was leaning on Elswyth's shoulder. Kur sat nearby, watching him with a hint of worry on his face. Tira sat beside of Kur, leaning against his leg. Her brother was witling wood quietly.

"Alright you seem to be alright." Elswyth said, "But stay near me. No wandering off, or anything."

"Have I wandered off yet?"

"I don't trust you not to." She sighed.

"Eh. I won't but can we eat? I'm rather hungry." It was true. He was. They had not eaten their lunch yet.

"Ah. Yes." She smiled.

Soon the picnic food was passed around. Heron tried to ignore how worriedly Elswyth hovered over him but it was a bit hard. She must have been shaken up by coming back to find him fainted again.

Sometimes he couldn't help but wonder why Elswyth was so attached to him. She was, that was undeniable. But he wasn't entirely sure why. Even though she pushed him to better his physical strength she still coddled him a bit. It wasn't overbearing so he didn't mind too much but he could not figure it out.

In some ways he liked it actually. He rather liked knowing this woman had his back. That she would be there for him during his stay here. At the same time he worried he might grow too dependent on her. He needed to nurture a certain amount of autonomy for himself. He couldn't let himself not grow. She really helped him grow so it probably evened out anyway. What was the point dwelling on it?

Anyway he did have a sinking suspicion on how this spell functioned. He would test it later, but not right now. He was pretty sure trying to experiment right after fainting would not sit well with Elswyth. Kur he could probably have managed to let him. But Elswyth was the one he needed to cooperate with him.

After they finished their late lunch, Elswyth again had him lay down. He supposed he should be thankful she didn't cancel their plans and take him back to the castle. Honestly, he did not mind her having him lay down. He got to lay his head on her lap, and it felt peaceful. He doubted he would have got the opportunity to be spoiled like this if he hadn't just fainted. He hadn't laid his head in anyone's lap since his mother died when he was young.

He liked it. Liked the feeling of her slender fingers brushing against his forehead as she pulled his bangs away from his face. It was soothing. And because he had fainted earlier it wasn't too embarrassing. It would, he knew, have an entirely different connotation if this happened in different circumstances. He was glad it was like this though. He didn't want those different connotations.

Even if there had been blurred moments between him and Elswyth he didn't really want it. Or at the very least he wasn't ready. Not that those awkward moments had indicated anything like that, but they had forced him to realize just how much Elswyth was an attractive woman.

Why had his thoughts even gone there?