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Posted: Mon May 05, 2014 1:51 pm
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Cassius swam back and pulled himself up onto the beach, laying under the sun as he rested for a moment. It had been wrenching to leave Kota, but he knew he couldn't leave the shop unattended for too long.
He started his shift to human form, finally, though it took him longer than normal and left him gasping in pain and sweating heavily. He simply laid there, curled up on the sand while his body shivered in reaction to the pain. By the time he managed to get up, he noticed that it was already getting dark and knew he wouldn't be opening the shop today anyway.
So he simply staggered inside and rinsed himself off then dried off quickly before dropping into his bed, not bothering with clothing of any kind since his skin felt like it had been gone over with sandpaper. His body was still protesting the shift, at times making him groan with the pain. Needless to say, he didn't get much sleep.
When daylight finally found him again, he managed to get himself up and dressed in a simple silk robe, since it was the only thing he could handle against his still-sensitive skin right now, and got downstairs to make himself some coffee.
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Posted: Mon May 05, 2014 2:59 pm
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Cassius gave a soft sigh as Kota rubbed some of the oil into his cheek then his arm as he leaned back against the counter, raising his other hand to caress his cheek gently, "I honestly didn't notice that I'd left it until you mentioned it. And I am tired but I'll be fine," he said softly, not wanting him to worry so much.
Truthfully, though, he was leaning against the counter because his legs were still giving him fits from his last shift. He gently pulled Kota in and held him for a quiet moment, "I'm glad your walk down here was nice... Thankfully the climate on the island is usually that way, despite the occasional storm that moves through..." he added, pressing a light kiss to Kota's temple before releasing him to take the bottle of oil with a small smile.
"I'll take this upstairs and rub it in. I'll be back down shortly. You can open up the shop if you want to," he suggested, hoping that it would distract Kota enough that he wouldn't see him stumbling through the house. But in the next moment, his possible distraction was a moot point as his legs gave out from under him, forcing him to grab the counter to stay upright. He hissed softly at the pain as the muscles in his legs and back protested again and breathed through the pain slowly, the bottle of oil clattering to the ground, without breaking strangely enough.
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Posted: Mon May 05, 2014 4:08 pm
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Cassius dropped into his chair instead of sitting in it, then had to smile at Kota's words to him, "Alright, alright. I give in. You're in charge, Kota. To be honest, it's nothing that major. Sometimes my body just protests shifting to human form a bit more firmly than usual. It's not as bad if I spend more time in my mere form than in this one, but I've dealt with it before easily," he explained carefully, not wanting Kota to worry so much.
He gave a heavy sigh, though, as he started to massage the oil into his lower legs, knowing that Kota would be able to feel the muscles clenching and jumping from time to time. He was just lucky that no one had wanted to kill him when he'd shifted yesterday. He'd been as vulnerable on the beach as a newborn babe for hours.
As much as he appreciated Kota rubbing the oil into his skin, he knew he'd have to take it over for the rest of his body or the poor man would start blushing again but he didn't say anything just yet.
"Before you open the shop, Kota, would you mind asking one of the boys outside to get us something to eat? They'll know what to get, they've done it before. They usually get something extra for doing it for me so the deal works out nicely. I'm on a barter system with a few of the villagers so they only have to go get the food," he knew he had to eat. It would help with the muscle cramps.
He hadn't eaten anything since Kota had made him breakfast but didn't want to worry him by saying so. Plus, it would be a useful distraction for Kota at the moment...
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Posted: Mon May 05, 2014 4:56 pm
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After Kota left, Cassius stripped out of his robe and finished rubbing the oil into his skin. He had to do it slowly though, having to work around his muscle spasms. But he finally finished it and set the bottle aside as he put his robe back on and settled himself in his chair again. Since he simply couldn't sit and do nothing, he put together a couple of bracelets; one with hematite stones set with garnets, the other with various colors of fluorite stones.
By then, he heard the shop door open and a small boy's voice announcing that he'd brought over lunch and carried it into the kitchen area to put it on the table. He recognized the boy's voice and smiled, knowing he'd give Kota the same cheery wave he always did, one hand holding what had to be a sticky bun.
He could smell that lunch was most likely slices of rare roast beef, a thick brown gravy, freshly mashed sweet potatoes liberally spiced with cinnamon and butter, fresh yeast rolls, and some ale to wash it all down with. It likely came from Rex's Tavern, that one being the only one in town who passed out sticky buns to the children running errands.
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Posted: Mon May 05, 2014 9:01 pm
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Cassius looked up in time to see Kota's smile and noted the burns on his face with a pained sound of his own. He got up and pulled some special burn cream from his first aid cabinet that Desha had made for him and returned to the chair at the table to put some of the soothing cream on the burns on Kota's face.
"Don't mind Rex. He's a big teddy bear. He runs the tavern down closer to the harbor. If he's accepted you like he has, you won't have to worry about anyone in the village being mean to you in any way. No one wants to get him upset," he said softly, trying to put a little humor into the situation but failing horribly with how worried he was over him getting hurt at all.
Truthfully, Cassius hadn't had any problems in the shop before now. Well, except that one time... But he didn't think that one counted...
He gently caressed Kota's uninjured cheek, "I'm sorry you were hurt, Kota... It was probably someone new to the island... We rarely have much crime here... The villagers tend to look out for each other..." he said softly, hating that such a thing had happened...
To him, Kota was everything. The man was sweet and kind, beautiful beyond words, tender and shy... He didn't understand how anyone could wish him harm at all...
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