pocketsfullof | (no subject)

The sky was as blue as a silk scarf. Only the faintest flush of peach clung to the horizon above the black line of trees. The moon was a sliver of light, the thin cut of a razor. The stars were already bright, but night was just beginning. Like black ink on wet paper, the darkness had just begun to bleed down from the zenith of the sky, quickly eating into the blue. Soon there would be nothing but black, horizon to horizon, a hand folding over the earth.

In her own hand she held a lantern, one of the new expensive electric kinds. It cast more favorable shadows as she scanned the ground for wood. Oh yes, she had told him she needed to gather wood, but in truth she also needed to clear her head. Get out on her own for a bit.

She continued to scan the ground, picking up dry wood as she did so. She needed warmth, but she could hardly be building a fire inside the cave, could she? The smoke might make him cough, no, it probably would make him cough. So she would have to make the fire outside the cave, burn it hot, and ring it with stones. Then move the stones into the cave, and the coals if she could. Which meant she had to have a way to move those hot things and...her brows creased with worry. It was hard to think. What wood around here made coals that stayed hot? Could she even tell the branches in the dark?

Methodically, she set her lantern and bundle down to break a likely branch down into carrying size. Snap snap snap went the wood, and somewhere in the trees, an owl didn't care at all what she was doing and started to call. Really, the work was all just methodical. It wasn't any different than being in the field, something needed to be done and so she was doing it. It was stupid to be bothered about it. Why couldn't her mind just think of him like any other sick person? She would do all the same things for anyone else. She didn't need to feel more worried about it. He would probably hate it if she did.

Still, nature was a terribly difficult thing to overcome, and it was only natural to feel so worried about...well. If she were to be honest, the person she thought of as her mate. But that was her burden, and now of all times she should carry it silently. He hadn't asked her to feel any particular way, it was her issue if she did.

Another piece went into her bundle and she straightened, eying it critically. That should be enough, and she should be heading back soon, not dallying around in the dark or he would worry.

She gathered her things and turned to make her way back, eyes turning naturally to the faint light that could be seen coming from the cave. No helping that worry, she'd be sleeping closer to the door anyway. She didn't need to be that paranoid, but she was meticulously particular in all her habits, and even if it was a tiny chance the light attracted any fellow travelers, she'd rather be prepared. You had to cover all your bases. She could handle it. She didn't need to be so worried. He hadn't looked that sick, it was only that she knew she had to be prepared for everything, in case it turned. Because it could turn, and if it did it would be a very long night.

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While Zeetha was out gathering wood, Ukitake did his best to prepare the cave itself. It had been fairly clean - not used as a lairing ground for some creature recently, at least - so getting the dead leaves out of the way was easy enough. So was getting the bedrolls laid out, though once that was done, he sat back against the cave wall to catch his breath. Getting that set up had been more tiring as usual - he /was/ coming down with something, it seemed. And an awful time for it, too.

He sighed slightly, brushing his bangs out of his face. He used to be able to push through things like this like - well, not like it was nothing, but with a lot more ease. He was spending too much time at the academy and not enough time in the field, lately, and it was starting to show.

"Hey there," Zeetha said as she came in, not wanting to startle him. She scuffed the dirt off her boots, not that it was really a house, but no sense in messing up his work. "Looks nice."

She set her wood down, slightly inside the 'door', and clicked her lantern off. No sense in wasting the batteries. He looked a little peaky, but at least, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, and she hadn't heard any coughing on the way up. She relaxed a little bit.

"I thought I'd get the fire started and cook something," she said. "But...it might be best to set it outside the cave?"

He gave her a grin, and hauled himself to his feet. "Well, I don't know about you, but while I can sleep on dirt, I'd really rather not." The smile turned a little awkward at the question. He hated to be a bother, but... "Ah...probably best. Or at least right by the entrance." He wasn't sure he could handle the smoke right now.

"Sounds good," Zeetha said. The light would of course be more visible that way, but it seemed by far the lesser of two evils. She hated having to make him feel awkward, but...they couldn't just pretend it wasn't happening. It was happening now, it was going to happen in the future, at a certain point it would have to become something they could both feel normal about.

She knelt to lay her bundle down, spreading it out so that she could pick out the first wood to use for kindling, and the larger pieces to feed in. After making her selections she looked up at him, studying his face for a moment before smiling resolutely.

"I'll go get started," she said.

He nodded, giving her a somewhat more certain smile in return. The fact that she treated the request like it was nothing special - it did help, some. "I'll get the things out for cooking, then." He went to start digging through the packs again, with more a little more energy than he actually felt.

Zeetha turned back to the fire. Just don't fuss, she told herself. She pulled a small tinderbox out of her pocket and got down to business. Soon the kindling was lit and she was starting to feed larger pieces in.

It didn't take Jyuushirou too long to gather the pots and the food they'd packed. He edged around the fire, trying to avoid as much of the smoke as possible as he went. "Here you go," he said, as he placed the gathered items down at the edge of the fire. Unfortunately, the slight breeze chose that moment to change directions, and he coughed, using his arm to muffle the sound, as the smoke irritated his throat.

"Thanks," Zeetha said, and when Jyuushirou began coughing she got up. "Hang on a moment," she said. She went over to her bedroll and got a blanket, which she draped over his shoulders. She tried to do it casually, but that way he couldn't say no.

"You can cover your face with that if it helps," she said.
Besides which, it couldn't hurt him to have a little extra warmth.

"But if it gets too bad...tell me and I'll move it." Of course, moving a fire wasn't like moving a cup, not everything could be salvaged and it would need more dry grass and moss, but it could be managed...or so she hoped, as she thought it through in her mind. Her blades weren't normally used for such activities, but the fire wouldn't actually hurt them.

Ukitake gave her a small, grateful smile, and hiked the blanket up a little so he could grab the edges and keep it from slipping off his shoulders. He cleared his throat carefully before trying to speak again, thankful that the wind had shifted again. "I should be fine." Hopefully. But he didn't want to make her go through the effort of moving the fire again, now that she had it going.

"Good."

No turning back now, Zeetha thought as she watched him, recognizing her feelings of fondness.

Her cooking wasn't really the stuff to win the hearts of men or women, but she got started anyway. It couldn't be worse than what he had eaten before, but, she took extra care with the preparation, feeling like she should make it appetizing.

The warmth of the fire was relaxing, even if the breeze kept occasionally blowing smoke back towards him, forcing him to stifle a few coughs in the fold of the blanket. The food was field-cooking, but he had gotten used to that years ago, and right now, just the smell of food itself was enough to fill him with anticipation.

He could tell he was starting to get a little stuffy, though - whether from the smoke, the onset of a cold, or, most likely, both. "Is there space to boil a bit of water there, too?" He had brought tea with him, and the steam would help.

"Of course," she replied solicitously. There was, actually, though she would have said yes and made room if there hadn't been. That much Zeetha understood, or thought she did, from what little time she had spent around medics and healers. Whatever you did for a comrade (or lover) you did completely.

"Just find me a pan and..." Her mind cast about, trying to remember what their water supplies were like and what the location of the nearest river were for reference in the next few day. "I'll get the water," she finished, having decided that water from one of the water skins would be fine.

Jyuushirou nodded, and coughed a few times, covering his mouth with the edge of the blanket. "Thank you," he replied, voice a little hoarse. "If there's anything I can do to help, let me know." He hated feeling sick and useless - even if it was a frequent occurrence.