Eivind let the painting consume Blue, thinking it was probably healthier than him sitting around eating painkillers like candy. Eivind didn't want to deny him, especially if he was hurting, and he often just handed them over without complaint when Blue asked for them. With him painting, he was taking them less, even though he was putting a strain on his body. Though he worried a little, Eivind wasn't going to discourage him from the task. It seemed to make him happy, and Eivind stayed out of his way. It was clear he was going to be no help to Blue, not unless the young man wanted to paint it one solid color like Eivind had originally thought.<br/><br/>Blue became more mobile, moving around his home a he pleased, and a little food had gone a long way for the young man, not that he'd gained more than a few pounds. It was still something, and overall Blue smelled healthier to him. The sickly stench of infection no longer clung to him, and he had a little bit of color to his skin. Well, as much color as Blue likely possessed. It hadn't really fixed anything between them, and Eivind was still using avoidance tactics as best he could.<br/><br/>Eivind was in the kitchen, cooking dinner for them and listening to the sound of Blue painting that had become familiar to him. He heard it when he stopped and his footsteps as he came down the staircase, but didn't say anything until Blue addressed him. He was cooking a venison sausage he had stored away in his freezer, potatoes, and had fresh greens sitting for a salad. Nothing store bought, but things picked from the forest and their gardens. Eivind turned to him when he starting speaking, even going so far as to thank him.<br/><br/>“Oh, no need to thank me. You saved me the trouble,” Eivind told him, eyes roving the smears of color across Blue's chest. The thought of pulling him over the the sick, to pin him there while he used a cloth to clean him off flashed across his mind, but he stopped himself. There was no need to make an ass of himself a second time, but he was having a hard time controlling himself. It made him realize how base they could be in nature, and he resented his wolf for it, at least in that moment.<br/><br/>“I'd like to see it,” Eivind told him before going to look over Blue's creation. He followed it up, surprised. He'd seen Blue working on sections, but hadn't stopped long enough to really take it all in.<br/><br/>“I guess you didn't really need a canvas. You made due with that you had,” he spoke, impressed at his attention to detail. “I like it. It wasn't what I would have done.. but it fits.” Eivind was easy going in some regards. “I like that you're more a part of the home now.” There was a touch of Blue to break up Eivind's usual drab décor, and he saw this as Blue's space too now. He was entitled to act like he lived in it, and to take certain liberties if he wanted.<br/><br/>“I can find you some better supplies. You seemed to enjoy yourself, and you don't have to stop just because the stairs are finished. You just.. have to tell me what you need. I don't know the first thing about art, I'll be honest,” Eivind explained, though the big cans of paint Eivind has supplied worked well enough for the wood surface. This time, Eivind did reach out to Blue, running a hand down his good side where he used his thumb drag through some of the dried paint.<br/><br/>“You made a mess of yourself,” he commented, feeling his blood pumping a little bit faster with the contact. He didn't want to take his hand away, even though he knew it had lingered past what was appropriate. Eivind took another step on the staircase, closer to Blue, still touching. The effort it took not to encroach and push Blue back was palpable, but he was watching Blue's reactions to every move he made more closely. He didn't want to disregard the signals Blue was sending him, but at the same time some were mixed, and it made it that much more confusing, both physically and mentally.