Rind.

Kellan's outburst got pushed away as the season reconvened and Gustin had to consider more important things, like how he could possibly talk his way out of this one. There didn't seem to be any clear path. He spent a lot of time the next day thinking about the moon.

Then there were two and a half more long, almost unbearable days of Kuskellanar being in season and then suddenly, on the fourth morning, after a good, long wakeup fuck, Gustin dozed off to get another few minutes, and when he woke up, the door had been opened and the fires were fresh. Kellan was sitting at his carving-table, working diligently on some fine, little piece with his back to where Gustin lay in the bed. The human pushed himself up on his elbows. A little jolt of pain stabbed at his stomach, on the right side.
"Oh, ow!"
The wolfe snapped around, pushed everything on the table away. Gustin got up, flinched, swallowed the wad of chew he had in his mouth and replaced it with more. This chew was stronger; it was Kellan's own blend, something they'd been lucky to have lying around since Gustin's supply had run out in the first few days of the season. The wolfe came rushing over.
"Are you alright, human?"
His hands were frisking Gustin under the furs, checking his body for obvious injury. His expression looked guilty.
"I'm sorry; I know this time has been rough on you."
Gustin batted away the roaming hands.
"I'm f - look, I'm fine, I just - what were you working on over there? Anyway, listen, can you carry me into the bath? That'd be nice. I feel dirty, but walking is something I'd like to save for a later date, like some time when I don't feel like I just got tag teamed by a pair of Louts."
Kellan made a disgusted face, then nuzzled Gustin's chin.
"I can bring you more chew."
"No, please - this last batch was stronger than the last, and I think I have a nice little glow going."
Kellan glanced at his face, made a weird expression, then nodded.
"You want to bathe. I will heat you a tub."
"No, don't do - " the wolfe was gone before Gustin could finish his sentence. "- that. Damn that tub. I hate that tub. Damn thing's cold and it's always too shallow and I don't want to sit." Gustin forced himself to stand up slowly, stretch, take a catalogue of all the places that hurt, starting with his new and improved girl bits, and then made his way past the rings of heat from the fires and into the bathing room. Kellan was kneeling, drawing water into the stone construction that could loosely be called a tub.
"It's OK. Stop. I'll shower instead."
Kellan looked up at him in alarm.
"Human - "
"Gustin!"
"Gustin, you should not be overexerting yourself."
Gus rolled his eyes. Kellan narrowed his.
"Do not think your newfound status will exempt you from my punishments, Gustin."
Gus pretended to ignore this, although a little chill tickled upwards along his spine. He jutted his chin upwards.
"Kellan, I would very very much like it if I might be left to shower. I'll be out in twenty minutes and I'll be very careful not to kill myself or ruin anything still healing. Please heat me some soup if you are making it, and also get out."
Kellan put his ears back, but got up and without further argument, left the room.

In the meditative quiet of the bathing room, Gustin considered for the millionth time what he had dubbed 'the Ideste problem'. This problem, as he had come to see it, was that Kellan really had never gotten unheartbroken from Ideste, because in a lot of ways, his time with Ideste had never really ended; Kuskellanar had been shipped off and he'd never seen or heard from any of them again. And then Gus had come along, seemed like a reasonable gift to be exchanged for readmission, but then that had gone all screwy so now all that was left was a confused, guilty, mopey wolfe. And Gustin did not intend to live like that forever. When had he started thinking of this thing with a possibility of forever? Whatever. No time for that now. Only time for the Problem. The whole story had sounded strange; just a little bit odd, the characterizations too pure, too clear. Ideste the innocent, Sparo the dangerous thief. If there was one thing his interactions had taught him, it was that whether the participants be human, Wolfish, Psire or Lout, there was always something more to the story, always another layer.

Ideste couldn't possibly have been as innocent as he seemed. Gustin wondered for a moment if that thought was due to some misplaced feelings of jealousy, but decided not and followed it onward. If Ideste was not so innocent, then that implied he may have been complicit. But complicit in what? The murder, yes, but more than that - what could he have earned from it? What could he have stood to gain? If Sparo had been his other lover, in the end, he'd have lost both. Why push the conflict to that end?

Gus turned under the water, rubbed his temples, sloshed water around the sensitive parts between his legs.
What did Ideste possibly stand to gain? What did anyone stand to gain? People rarely did things outside of an expectation of gain and - fuck! Suddenly, memory came clearly to him and the realization occurred that no matter what he and Kellan had been doing here, in their little winter oasis of hot rabbit stews and unparalleled coition, there was still, somewhere, a caravan of very pissed off transporters who had orders from a king to bring home a captive - a human named Gustin. They'd lost him once, but spring was coming. The caravan would be back.

Gustin considered this new, frightening possibility for a moment. Kellan had told him the reason he was sought; had described the rumors around him, speaking reverently about them, giving the stories an almost religious zeal...if that were the case, if he were believed in so strongly, he doubted anyone seeking to find him would give up so fast. But they'd wanted him to breed; he was mated to Kellanar now; surely whoever it was would respect the sanctity of the bond! Wouldn't they? Could they just take him? Were mates switch-aroundable? No. Mating was final and mating was forever. Had to be. It was the foundation of their law system, after all. The foundation of their lives. A sudden chill overtaking him, Gustin shook his hair out and stepped out from under the water.

~:~