<span style="font-size: 15px"><span style="font-family:Open Sans">The realization that Blue's side was still aching even after the extended about of time was the first hint to Eivind that something might have been wrong. Something that he wasn't capable of fixing. Alaric had said himself that he wasn't a doctor, and untrained in human medicine. Blue still tried to reiterate that is wasn't his fault, speaking fondly of the soreness in his ass despite everything else. It didn't put a smile on Eivind's face.<br/>
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“I wish I hadn't been so rough,” he commented as Blue leaned back to catch Eivind's gaze. He told him where he'd already looked, and Eivind hoped that he could do better. It wasn't in their cards though, and Eivind found no trace of the pill bottle at all. Blue snapped when he came back to the cave without them, and Eivind had a hard time accepting the look on Blue's face. Eivind set everything down, even if Blue didn't care about their sleeping arrangements then. He would most certainly care later.<br/>
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Blue did give him something else he could focus on though, pointing out the book that might be useful in Sig's leavings. Eivind picked up the little notebook that had plants listed and drawn. The first thing he flipped through was one that he described as being used to produce a warming sensation when mixed with aloe for his lover. Eivind snorted, thinking that it might not be helpful at all, but he kept flipping through the small pages until he found salves, and then remedies for pain and their growing seasons.<br/>
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“There's actually some useful things in here,” Eivind told Blue reassuringly. “I'll go see what I can find.” He took the empty bag.<br/>
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Eivind went back out, but this time now he had to use his other senses to find anything useful in the book. He found plenty of the plants that Sig described in detail, but it took him a long time to find what he was really looking for, and even more time for him to compare and be sure. It was the same thing Alaric had brewed for Blue, but he knew it wouldn't compare to pharmacy grade painkillers. Alaric has said as much. It was something though, and at least Eivind didn't come back empty-handed this time. Along the way, he'd gathered things that Blue might use to produce various colors. Green was easy, as there was an endless supply. The soft, bitter innards of acorns could be crushed to make a brown, and he found dark purple blackberries that he was fairly certain were not safe to eat. It wasn't much, but it was something, and he wanted Blue to have something to do to take his mind off his discomfort.<br/>
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“I found what Alaric used. At least, I'm almost positive they're the same thing,” Eivind told Blue when he'd come back, rebuilding up the fire since it had weakened to mostly embers. He boiled water with the skillet and set the wide leaves to steep.<br/>
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“I brought you some other things,” Eivind told him, setting the medicinal supply of leaves to the side and dropped the pack beside Blue. “I thought you could mix up some colors to paint with, maybe grind them down and add some water. Maybe a bit of the aloe. There's more aloe out there too, by the way, not that I think we're going to have need of it anytime soon.” Eivind didn't regret what they did together, and he knew Blue had enjoyed it, but they also believed Blue would have access to something to take the edge off. Eivind hadn't really known how dependent he was on them until he was off cold turkey. They'd masked Blue's pain in the way that painkillers were meant to do, but as a result, Eivind didn't take things as seriously as he should have. The next best thing now was to take it easy and to allow Blue some recovery time.<br/>
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Eivind poured the tea back into their canteen after fishing out the leaves, setting it beside his mate. He took a seat beside him, though started to busy himself with the cot regardless if Blue thought it necessity. Eivind used the stiff limbs for support, cutting away branches and knobs until it was one smooth piece, using the vines to tie it together in one piece. Once the foundation was firmly together, he went about the delicate task of weaving the vine through, tight together so there weren't any gaps. It had a slight give to it when he pushed on it slightly, and he imagined it had to be better than sleeping on the floor. Of course, it was slow going and he had to go back out to recover more vines, and more firewood. It didn't give him much time to hunt, but they still had enough to split between the two of them that night. Eivind could hunt the next time. His main priority was to make his mate more comfortable in whatever way that he could.</span></span>