Welcome to Gaia! ::

He couldn't exactly see her magic as more than a strange warping of the world, but he liked when she used it. Serr started to nod in reluctant agreement that he knew how to precisely use a knife and everything would be fine, but he froze for a moment when he realized what she had said, green eyes going wide. Where he had blushed with embarrassment a short time ago, now his fingers tingled as he reached for her.

Serr cleared his throat. "Your hand." He gently took Eziya's in his and before he could think about it too much, he drew the tip of the dagger across her palm in a carefully controlled stroke. The cut he left behind was quite small, but it bled.

He let out a laugh that sounded more like a held breath. "Did you like it?" He knew she was kidding, the wink had told him that, but he still had to ask.

He nodded, still equally tickled and perplexed by the last few minutes.

"Do you put the salve on with your fingers?" Serr tucked his hands to either side of his body, under his thighs. "Maybe we can do it next time." He pictured bandages sticking to his hands and flying everywhere when he inevitably did something wrong. "I think the bandage part is going to be hard enough on its own."

Serr did as he was instructed, taking the bandage and stretching it between his hands. He examined the position of her cut, and after looking back and forth between her hand and the bandage at least three times, he moved decisively to wrap it as Eziya had said. Tight, but not tight enough to cut off circulation. At least, that's what he was aiming for. He didn't know a lot about blood flow, at least not when it came to stopping it appropriately. He stuck the tip of his pinkie under the edge of the bandage, holding the slack with his free hand.

"Does that look okay?"

His small smile grew as she assessed his handiwork. Serr was feeling quite proud of himself after her reaction, but he wasn't about to declare himself king of bandages or anything.

"Thank you. I think I'll still leave that to you unless there's some kind of emergency." He wanted to ask if she was okay again, but he had to trust that she would tell him if she was not. "We're practically a whole school with all the things we've been learning." But what now?

"Do you want to go get something to eat?"

"We could gather things ourselves, but I'm not sure they'd be edible." Serr snorted. "Next you'll be teaching me how to save myself from being poisoned."

He couldn't know for certain, but he was mostly sure that someone in the settlement would want to show them their food. People liked to talk about themselves, and together he and Eziya looked pretty helpable.

"I wonder if they use roots for cooking." She was right that there weren't many trees, but he had seen some scraggly bushes and things along the way. "They probably do meat too. I could ask somebody about it?" He would make every effort to stay on topic, but if he started talking about caves and sand at least it would be entertaining.

"Really?" Serr had heard that once as well, and it was interesting to have it confirmed so long after. He didn't think he'd ever met anyone who had tried it, but he wasn't sure he'd know if he had, considering he'd never attempted to poison anyone. It sounded very unpleasant. Useful, but unpleasant.

"I'm not sure I'd go that far—" He paused when he heard Eziya's stomach, grinning at her embarrassment. "I think you are. We should find somebody with food." Serr looked off toward civilization and nodded. "Follow me?"

His attention sharpened at the sight of the cart, and by the time they could see what was on offer, Serr was looking it over with open curiosity. There was cut fruit, various creamy-looking pastes that appeared to be made of nuts, and several thin pieces of something that looked like large crackers. Similar to home, but different.

"I'd try this stuff," he said quietly, squeezing her hand. "It'll be fun to sit out here and eat."

Serr nodded at the wind woman behind the cart, pulling together a little of the charm he'd had when he was younger. "We'd like to try some?" The way his statement rose questioningly at the end must have been endearing enough, because the woman nodded and gestured to the food.

"Give it a taste," she said. "I'm trying something new."

He took it without hesitation at Eziya's recommendation, scraping off a little of the nut paste first and tasting it by itself. It was good, with a flavor that was almost smoky. When he added the cracker, the taste changed: just as good but almost completely different. Serr nodded.

"It is. Thank you."

The woman watched them, one corner of her mouth rising with amusement. Glancing down the path that led farther into town, she bent behind the cart and produced a few wrapped items, handing them to Eziya before anyone else could see.

"Enjoy, kids. And if anyone important asks, tell 'em where you got the food."