"I know," Blue replied simply, "You wouldn't hurt me like that. I apologize for ever thinking that you would." Although he appreciated Eivind's reassurances, he didn't have the desire to continue with the conversation, so he was pleased when they moved along to talking about the meat without there being too much of an awkward lull between them. He smiled and shook his head, taking another chunk of meat and biting into it messily. "Don't go out of your way to spoil me with fatty meat," he instructed, enjoying the nice little char that had developed on the edges of the meat. "If you pass up on something gamy in the hopes that something else comes along, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to find anything else. Not to say you're not a good hunter. You took down this elk, so you must not be a failure at everything." Blue began to chuckle, but he stopped himself quickly and hung his head, plugging his mouth with the rest of his share of meat so as to stop any more sounds from coming out. Although he only knew bits and pieces of Eivind's history, he was cognizant enough to realize that perhaps Eivind wouldn't appreciate being referred to as a failure, even in a joking manner. The rest of his pack didn't seem to see Eivind's failures as anything to laugh about, except maybe Freyr, and he only did so mockingly. Blue didn't mean to be mocking, he had just been trying to be playful, but he hushed himself anyway and was glad when Eivind continued on.<br/><br/>"I'll try to ration them out as best I can. Alaric gave me at least a whole other bottle, maybe two, but those aren't going to last forever." Although Blue's healing had progressed surprisingly well since Alaric and Eivind had taken responsibility for his health, there were still days where the pain in his side made it almost impossible to get out of bed. He was fairly sure that his ribs were healing as best they could, but as no one could definitively tell just how badly Garlan had cracked them, there was only so much the wolves could do. Everyone just had to wait and hope that Blue healed correctly on his own. His ribs still jut out a little unevenly on the side of the injury, and Blue figured they were going to look that way for the rest of his life unless he got them professionally broken and reset by a surgeon, but that didn't sound like something that was ever going to be an option for him.<br/><br/>When the meat was gone, Blue picked up the skillet and walked out toward the pouring rain, rinsing the grease out as best he could. He reached down and grabbed a handful of coarse dirt, using it to scrub the pan of any leftover char from the meat, and continued to use the rainwater to clean it all out, pouring the mess onto the ground when he was finished. His arms and torso had gotten wet in the process, but he shook himself out as best he could and set the pan over next to the fire to dry. He sat there for a moment, letting the heat from the fire warm up his damp arms. After a long moment where the only sound between the two males was the melodic patter of the rain around them, Eivind spoke. Blue turned his head and peered at the wolf from over his shoulder. Eivind had moved back toward the stripped trunk of the large tree.<br/><br/>Blue felt himself blush at Eivind's comment, so he turned back toward the fire so that the wolf couldn't see his rosy pink cheeks. "It is nice," he responded, thinking the wolf would leave it at that, but surprisingly enough, he continued. Blue stared into the dancing fire and felt a heat blossom across his chest as Eivind spoke. Why was he saying these things? Why now? Back at the house, it seemed like Blue would have had to force Eivind to say anything remotely related to his attraction to him, beside the usual explanation that they were mates and that was that. But out here, Eivind seemed more free, not only from the rules and responsibilities that the pack imposed upon him, but with his feelings and words as well. Perhaps, without the pressure Sieger and everyone else placed on him, Eivind didn't feel like he needed to do anything other than just<i>be </i>there with Blue, and that was enough to make the wolf's tongue loose. Well, looser.<br/><br/>"If we met on the street and you tried to carry me home with you I'd have more than a few words," Blue laughed, removing himself from the fire and turning toward Eivind, slowly crawling across the ground toward him and settling himself next to the wolf, pressing his body against Eivind's arm. "I might have some fists, or teeth, too." The cackle that came out of Blue's mouth at his own words was rich and hearty. It was the loudest he had laughed in months, but he had to cut it off quickly as the heavy pressure on his abdomen soon began to make his side ache. "I don't think I ever told you. The wolf who did this?" He pointed to his rib cage. "I bit his cock once when he tried to force me into sucking him off. It was fantastic. Of course, it's probably one of the reasons why he tried to kill me later, but at least in that moment I felt like I wasn't just some little victim."<br/><br/>He was doing it again, bringing the conversation back to him and his time with Lofgren's pack.<i>I have to stop doing that</i>, he thought to himself, offering his partner a soft smile.<i>I'm sure he doesn't want to hear about that. It's too depressing. </i><br/><br/>"Persistent?" The word sparked intrigue in Blue, and as the human turned his head to look at Eivind's face, swollen and bruised due to the beating Sieger had given him hours before, he couldn't help but think that despite the damaged flesh, Eivind was still remarkably handsome, and the desire to brush his fingers against the discolored skin was becoming too strong to ignore.<br/><br/>Blue lifted up a gentle, delicate hand and placed it on Eivind's cheek, directing the wolf to him and pressing their lips together gingerly. He closed his eyes and felt himself leaning into Eivind, soft breaths being pushed out of his nostrils as his kiss deepened and his tongue requested entrance into the wolf's mouth.<br/><br/>For a brief moment, Blue pulled away to catch his breath when he started to become too excited, his chest rising up and down quickly in response to his budding arousal. He opened his eyes just enough to look at Eivind's lips. "Persistent how?" he asked, his voice breathy. Shifting his body to face Eivind completely, Blue moved smoothly now, sliding on top of Eivind's lap and straddling his outstretched legs. Blue settled himself there, comfortable and warm despite the stormy chill that tried to slither into his bones. "Would you try to seduce me?"