That night, after I'd done all I could for Nathan in terms of first aid...I slept. It wasn't peaceful, but it wasn't uncomfortable either. More like a blink. When I finally came to, it was light out again. The rain had stopped and the only other sound I could hear was the chirping of the birds.

"Morning." Nathan greeted from a couple of feet away. He sat in lotus position, another tiny whittled creation in his good hand. "Agh!" I hissed when I sat up. Pain shot through my shoulders and neck; a side effect of being pistol-whipped no doubt. "Take it easy! Don't move too fast." Nathan chastised, worry prominent in his tone.

"Shush, I'm fine." I assured as I stretched, glancing down at my hands once I'd relaxed. Nasty bruises blotted my skin; an assortment of scratches had broken the surface. I wondered if they would scar. "What time is it?" I asked as I tried wiping the exhaustion off my features. "Around ten?" He murmured, his assessment based on the sky. "Close, ten fifteen. Still very impressive." I complimented.

"Meh, nothing out of this world. Once you're in a certain environment for too long, you sorta start to pick up on things like time." He clarified as he held up the finished piece for me to take. This time he'd made a little man.

"Um...thanks?" I asked as I studied it. "Who is it supposed to be?" I asked, studying the caped figure. "It's supposed to be you." Nathan admitted to my surprise. "And I'm...wearing a dress?" I teased, prompting him to punch me with his functional arm. "Ow! Not a dress, got it." I couldn't hold back my laugh as he pouted.

"It's a cape you dingus..." He spoke softly, his gaze trained on his boots as he picked the dried vegetation from the ridges in his sole. "Why a cape?" I asked, my eyes coming to rest on the assortment of caffeinated beverages that he'd accumulated beside himself. "Wait. How did you find the time to do this, have you slept?" I asked, cutting him off before he could answer my previous question.

"No. Not tired." He retorted, still focused on his boot. "How many of those have you had?" I asked, trying to count the cans of redbull I could see. "Three and a half." He recounted before finally glancing back up. "Three...why a half?" I asked, queasy as I thought about the amount of caffeine he'd ingested. "I spilled some of my fourth." He admitted sheepishly.

"No wonder you're not sleepy." I mumbled as I turned my attention back to the tiny man in my hands. "I wasn't exactly sure what kind of superheroes you liked, so I opted for a more general style." He reasoned.

"I get the wolf, and the dragon...but why the hero?" I asked asked, finishing my thought.

"Because that's what you are, at least to me..." He trailed off, his gaze focused on where the tent had ripped below us. "I'm not a hero..." I told him as I lowered the miniscule man. I reached over for a bottle of water and chugged it. My mouth was very dry and my stomach was burning. Most likely because of the blows I took the day prior.

"You are, you just don't see it." He countered once I'd capped the bottle. "How can you say that? I couldn't even keep you safe!" I protested, a wierd knot forming in the back of my throat. Nathan took in a deep breath before speaking again.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing, right?" He asked, playing with his pocket knife. A hint of anxiety prickled at my heart as I watched; fearful that he might get hurt again. "That's how the saying goes..." I muttered.

"Well you didn't just sit by and do nothing." He reminded. "You beat the shit out of that asshole, you even took a beating of your own!" I flinched as I breathed. "Don't remind me." I groaned as I curled an arm around my chest. I definitely had a broken rib.

"A bad person wouldn't have done that; A bad person wouldn't have done anything at all!" He assured. "I barely did anything, though. That fucker had been messing with you the whole time we traveled together and barely yesterday I—!"

The feel of his hand on my knee made my words catch in my throat. I glanced down at his bruised knuckles before lifting my gaze back to his face. "You didn't know. You couldn't have known." He reminded. "During the week that we didn't speak much, did he...?" I couldn't bring myself to ask the question, I felt like I was gonna barf.

"No. He didn't do anything to me those days, thankfully." He promised as he shifted his broken arm in the makeshift sling. Magazines and duct tape, who knew they had alternative functions.

"Christ. I'm so sorry Nathan, really I —" My sentence cut off as he took my hand in his. I blinked, my blood pressure rising as Nathan brought my messed up knuckles to his face and placed a timid kiss on the scratches. It didn't hurt, somehow it made me feel...better?

"What was that for?" I asked, my stomach a fluttering mess. Perhaps eating something would help.
Nathan shrugged his shoulders at my question. "So you can heal faster. Don't you know? Love heals all wounds heh..." He quoted before turning away. "At least that's what my mom used to say." He reminisced, his eyes focused on the floor again.

"Is that so?" I asked after a few seconds, the cut on my lip stinging as I smiled. "Mmmhmm" He hummed as he slipped his knife back in his pocket. "Well in that case..." I trailed off before leaning forward. I hovered my hand above the nape of his neck, the tips of my fingers tingling as his hair brushed them. With the greatest amount of delicacy I could muster, I placed a slow...lingering kiss below his swollen eye.

Nathan's face turned crimson. Had he been a cartoon, I'm certain steam would've shot out his ears. Never in my life had I felt so conflicted. I didn't want to pull away; I wanted to kiss him again. I wanted to kiss every single one of those cuts on his face if it meant they would heal faster.

"Heals all wounds, right?" I teased.

After eating a small breakfast (and watching Nathan pack in a caffeinated frenzy), we set out for the air strip.

I never thought I'd say this, but Roland was right. It took us only a few hours to reach our destination. The amount of overwhelming joy that I felt when the plane came into view was... indescribable. Finally I could take Nathan to my home town. I could show him where I lived, show him a million and one things he'd never seen and perhaps even...invite him to stay?

I walked ahead, eager to get a good look at the specimen I would be flying in the next couple of days. I whistled, taking in the bird's beauty. "What do you think!? Really sumthin' isn't she?"

Nathan didn't answer my question. "Nate?" I asked after a few seconds of silent admiration. "Come on, I know you hate heights but I promise, it's not gonna feel so..." I didn't get to finish my sentence.
I turned, my eyes focusing beyond the mobil home that sat beside the airstrip. Dread filled my heart as I watched his legs give out. Like a puppet without it's strings he fell, landing on his knees before crumpling forward lifelessly.

"Nathan!"