<span style="font-family: 'Georgia'">The pain of removing the arrowheads far outweighed the unpleasantness of having been struck by them in the first place. So much so that it was only a matter of minutes for the naga to fall still and quiet. Coils loosened and went slack, allowing the human to complete his work without any pushback.<br/>
<br/>
By the time the wounds were cleaned and dressed, and the household staff began picking up segments of his long body, K'qalikh had begun to stir. Not enough to regain full consciousness, but enough to make the occasional muffled groan of exhaustion, the first of which was just loud enough to startle the man supporting his shoulders into nearly dropping him, simply for fear of a sudden venomous strike. But K'qalikh remained gone to the world for some minutes yet, right up until the warmth of the fire began sinking into his skin.<br/>
<br/>
At this point he shifted, a raspy groan escaping him, his lower body twisting, unfurling from loose coils until his tail laid mostly flat, sprawled out before the open flames. When at last his eyes opened, he registered pain but not of the same intensity as before. This tme, it was dull, faint, more akin to a deep ache rather than a sharp agony, owing to the exhaustion and raw nerves. But for all that, his first notion was one of gratitude. When he woke, he remembered everything, from the hunter to the savior he saw a short distance away, sipping from a glass. Relaxed in his presence. Not threatened, not on alert. Simply present. <br/>
<br/>
K'qalikh took a few moments to compose himself, breathing more evenly than before, his vision slowly coming into focus until the man appeared more clearly. At first he only watched, uncertain, before at last moving onto his back, heaving a deep sigh as his eyes fell closed once more. "Thank you," he breathed, one long arm draped over his lithe middle. Where he should have felt the golden hip chain he had carried for some years, he felt only skin and scales. Lost somewhere, he supposed, during his escape. Not important in the great scheme of things, though it served to show him just how little he had cared to take note of anything but survival in the days past.<br/>
<br/>
"I apologize that it was necessary... but thank you."</span>