meds4sale | Open Post

The kiss got a sleepy snuffle from him and a sleepy attempt to chase his lips before settling back into the pillows with a sigh.

The Medicine Seller slept deeply for another half hour before his subconscious started to miss the extra warmth.

Stirring slowly, he took a moment to dwell on how pleasant a dream that had been, and clung to the scent of Arthur that still seemed to permeate the air around him.

His eyes fluttered open and he blinked.

No, not seemed.

He peered blearily around the cabin, a faint and content smile on his face.

Not a dream at all.

He could hear the sounds outside of Arthur tending to Buell and so he slipped out of bed, tightening the hanten around him and tugged on his pants and shoes. He made some effort to tame his hair, tying the majority of it back with his bandana, but it seemed intent to do whatever it pleased until he could be bothered to take a brush to it.

He peered outside, watching Arthur in his longjohns with a fond smile. He really did cut a charming figure.

"Would you like some help?" he asked, stepping out into the brisk air. The sky was clear, but he could see grey clouds on the horizon promising snowfall later that evening.

Arthur was just finishing up mucking out the little paddock for the stallion when the medicine seller came out and offered his help. His normally groomed appearance now made a bit more messy drew a smile outta him.

"Uhh I think I got this but could use a bath if you wanna get some water boiling for us." he said.

Normally he'd just take a dip in the lake but as it was partially iced over, he had no intention of freezing his balls off.

Oh, a bath sounded excellent, he thought. He'd seen a pair of pails inside that he suspected were for getting water up from the lake inside.

It was three trips - he'd collect the water, get it boiling over the fire, head back down to the lake to get more and then return to tip the hot water into the tub before starting to boil the next two pails of it.

By the time he'd added the last batch, the water was nearly the perfect temperature and the air in the cabin had grown warmer with the rising steam.

He gathered his supplies - a towel, soap, herbal oils, a washcloth, a nail brush and his brush and comb. Arthur's hair was looking like it could use a bit of love as well, and he set them aside. As he mentally went through his checklist, he spotted something in the compartment that made him chuckle.

By the time Arthur wrapped up, the Medicine Seller would be waiting for him, reclining on the bed with a familiar pillow.

Arthur returned a little later, smelling strongly of horse and sweat from the work, and he took a moment to warm his hands by the fire before backing up and looking at the bed where the medicine seller lay.

He laughed at the sight of the pillow, "You kept that thing?" he said, removing his boots and going back to the fire to warm his feet. He was grateful for his healing abilities as he was quite sure he would have lost some fingers and toes from working in the cold. Really needed to buy himself a gun and start hunting for the trapper to get himself some gloves and a coat at least.

"Mm," he affirmed, getting up from the bed to join Arthur by the fire, tossing another log on. The air outside had that metallic scent that promised a bitter and snowy night.

"I did. It is a rather comfortable pillow. Bath is ready whenever you are."

He ran a finger along the collar of his union suit.

"...This could use a wash as well. Weather permitting, I can launder our things tomorrow if you like?"

Arthur looked down as the other man traced the cloth with his long fingers and he leaned in to press a fuzzy kiss against his temple. "Making breakfast, doing laundry, careful now, may have to marry yea." he teased

He pressed another kiss to the man's cheek before undressing and heading for the steamy tub, "Joinin' me?" he asked, dipping his hand into the water.

The man had gained some new scars on him since they last saw one another. A faint ring around his right shoulder were the bear had bitten him, and then another more ugly one in his left shoulder that looked like a mangled bullet wound.

Now there was a thought. Not that they could; they were some decades off from that even being a gleam in the eyes of the law.

Not that they had to pay that any mind.

"Of course. And just because you can turn into a bear does not mean you have to live like one," he mused, untying his hanten and undressing.

A few drops of oil in the water gave it a pleasant earthy herbal scent. He'd save the floral oils for his next trip into town - wealthy women always paid a pretty penny for his aromatics, and the money would be good to help restock when their supplies ran low.

The scars were new. Over their long week together, the Medicine Seller had become intimately familiar with the scars that crisscrossed Arthur's body. There was, what he could only surmise, was the bite from the bear; the other...

"That looked as though it was was painful," he said, running a finger over the knot of scar tissue.

"Was asked a couple times by a few of the gang why I smelled so different after we first parted ways." he chuckled "God forbid any of them bathed even half as often."

Arthur tossed his union suit aside to be washed later, having a look at the other man himself as he undressed. The caress over his more recent scar had him frown and sigh. "Got caught by Colm O'Driscoll. Wanted to use me to get to the rest of the gang and turn them in for a fine price to the law. Got shot and was sick for quite awhile after I got away. During my escape I cut out the bullet and cauterized the wound with a candle. Don't recommend it."

The temperature of the water was perfect and he sank into it with a pleased sigh, scooting far back as he could so that the medicine seller could sit with him too.

No wonder it looked as though it had healed poorly; a sour wound that deep never quite healed right, werebear or not.

Not for the first time the Medicine Seller wished he'd been with the other man; good medicine was a luxury few could afford, but he would have happily provided.

"You mentioned O'Driscoll when we were camping. One of the many gangs that roam the region, yes?"

He got in, a bit gingerly at first, but as his body adapted to the hot water, he let out a pleased sigh. Oh, it had been months since he'd had anything but a luke-warm wash, and the heat felt exquisite.

With one hand on Arthur's knee, the other stroked idly along his leg as he soaked in the warmth.

"Yea, Colm and Dutch was allies, a long, long time ago, then Dutch killed Colm's brother and in revenge, Colm killed Annabel, a woman Dutch loved. After that, the Van Der Linde gang and the O'Driscolls was always at odds with one another. Colm never really cared about his men though, if they could shoot he usually hired them. Don't know if they're still about, probably but under new leadership and name as Colm was hung actually not long before you and I met up that mornin'"

Arthur recounted the old rivalry, soaking in the hot water and enjoying the caress along his leg.

"Honestly I ain't caught up much in the world since I became a bear, don't even wanna contact John. Best he think I'm dead to avoid bringing the law down on either of us again."

He kept his touch slow and even, more to soothe than to tease while Arthur recounted his last days and the Medicine Seller got a better idea of the interpersonal relations of his former gang.

"It is difficult to keep up with the news out here."

And everything in the states was so far apart; once the Medicine Seller might go a week or so without hitting a town in his travels, but here, a month could easily pass with him barely seeing signs of human settlement.

"You called John your brother before. If that fraternity was mutual, I am sure he would wish to at least hear you were well."

Regardless of all the questions that would probably bring up.

"...Or do you think it better to cut ties with your old gang entirely and start fresh?"

...As fresh as one could, at least.

"I don't want to risk him or his family." he said simply. "Better he think I'm dead. Besides, ain't sure what this curse has in store for me, if its simply healed me and I end up dyin' of old age or its like your ability and I got many more years ahead, still figurin' it all out and don't wanna bring him into it."

Arthur cupped the water and poured it over one shoulder and then the other. "Doing what I can to move on."

Well, that was that it. Arthur seemed to have given the matter fair thought, and the Medicine Seller was inclined to trust his judgment. Getting the soap and washcloth from the tray, he began to build up a nice lather.

"Lycanthropy and its cousins are... odd," he explained. "A deteriorating curse for some; those often exhibit similar symptoms to consumption. They are usually quite violent and out of control during their change. For others, it can be a blessing. They only grow in vitality, and aside from the initial pain, they take easily to their transformations."

Gently, he began to dab over Arthur's shoulders, letting that sink in.

"So am I in the clear or does it take time?" he asked, shifting to spin around so he could do his back, enjoying the feel of the cloth along his skin. He hadn't had a proper bath in awhile, and certainly nothing as luxurious since his time with the medicine seller initially.

"I have control of myself when I'm a bear, do you know if that will change?"

Another reason to avoid contacting John. Not only could he potentially hurt him or Abigail, or God forbid, Jack, but he wasn't sure if they'd take kindly to what he'd become.

"Possibly," he said with a nod.

"I suspect it is tied to one's mentality around the change; how easily one is willing to allow themself to shift from one mental state to another, whether they find the change itself fearful and shameful or liberating."

He began to gently scrub his back, and it was much more intimate than the first time. The Medicine Seller was slow and thorough, planting the occasional kiss to the back of Arthur's neck as he worked.

"It is probably why there are so many conflicting tales of shape-changers. Some simply have an easier time reconciling one mind and form with the other."

"Guess that makes sense" he said, closing his eyes as the man scrubbed ever so gently and placed soft kisses against his neck. He was so good to him...

"Was a little scary at first I admit, was hungry so often, I feared eatin' folk. When I shift I feel such power in that form its exhilarating." he thought a moment. Maybe he ought to treat it like a gun? Death in his hands if he wasn't careful with the safety and ammo.

Still...

"Can I ask somethin' of yea? It's somethin' I want you to do for me."

He suspected he knew what Arthur would ask of him; he would be the kind of person to ask it after all. Which was one of many reasons why the Medicine Seller was fairly confident it wouldn't come to that.

"I will not let you hurt anyone," he said gently, arms circling his middle. "We will take precautions around the full moon and keep you well fed so your drive to hunt will not be strong, and we will keep to the wild places so you have plenty of room to roam."

He couldn't help but hold him just a little tighter.

"I have seen those who tear themselves apart over such things; they starve their bodies out of shame and shackle themselves to walls out of fear, and then wonder why the creature they become is hungry and frightened and violently aggressive."

The answer before he even asked the question was unexpected and he laid a hand over the arms wrapped around him.

He would have asked him to kill him if he became uncontrollable. He didn't want to live life as a monster in the woods, be it for a human lifespan, or beyond.

He smiled, leaning back a little into the other man. "Sounds more like you've had firsthand experience with this sort of thing. Another lover perhaps? I'm jealous..." he growled playfully to lighten the mood.

He knew Arthur had enough weighing on his conscience that if ever it came down to it, the Medicine Seller would know what to do.

"Save your jealousy," he teased, pressing a kiss to his throat, running the washcloth over his chest and belly.

"A terrified teenage girl and her equally terrified family begging for an exorcism really are not the sorts to turn my head."

Another kiss to Arthur's shoulder over the bite scar.

"Astonishing how much just making sure she was well fed before moonrise and not chained up in a dark cellar managed to improve her temperament."

Arthur laid back as the man began to work the cloth over his stomach and belly, laying comfortably as possible in the little tub against him. The scrub of the cloth washed away grime and sweat, leaving him feeling better already. He was still pale and in need of several more filling meals before he was back to peak health, but with the medicine seller beside him, he was sure he was in the best care.

"Was she a bear too?" he asked, "For that matter, are there were-animals for every animal out there? Or just predatory ones?" He'd already stopped hunting bears for meat and pelts on the possibility he'd be doing it to another werebear. He knew the bastard that bit him was still likely out there somewhere as he'd come back to search the place after he'd patched himself up only to find, thanks to tracks, that the bear had gotten up and walked away.

"No, she was a wolf. That seems the most common. I have seen wild cats as well," he explained, "but you are the first bear I have met."

Though it was a good question; one would assume there were were-creatures for any sort of beast. Perhaps even were-chickens and were-deer? It did leave him to wonder in silence over the possibilities of something like a were-llama as he dabbed over the old bullet wound before dragging the cloth along Arthur's collarbone.

"I imagine most would be predatory; such are more likely to bite than a deer or horse."

Arthur nodded, then added, "Probably because the likelihood of surviving bear attacks is rare. I got lucky I think. A wild cat is just as hard to get away from once its got its teeth in yea so, good for them. Wolves, fairly easy I think." he chuckled then. "John got attacked by wolves up when we was hunkered down in Colter. Imagine if he got the curse and I was just gobbled by that bear." he said amused.

Then he thought on it a bit more. "Does the curse always take over when someone is about to die? Or does it vary from animal to animal?"

"I do not know," he said. "I would not rule it out. But there is often a few months between a bite and a change. It may very well have been a fortuitous eleventh-hour save, it may not have been."

He let his hands rove Arthur's torso under the pretense of washing him. Still thin, but he could feel muscle and sinew returning where there had been barely skin and bone last time they met. Best of all, the smell of death and disease had vanished.

"I doubt we will ever know for certain, but I am not too worried about your condition; you have strong control not only of yourself but of the changes themselves, and you are in a place where you are unlikely to come into much contact with humans. Vitality is returning to you, not leaving, and you seemed very comfortable in your own skin as a bear."

He rested his chin on Arthur's shoulder, and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"I do not say this often, but I am optimistic of the outcome."

He listened to the elaboration, apparently there was much the medicine seller didn't know himself but that they might find together.

He'd been prepared to die on that mountain, expected to without question, either by Micah's hand, or Dutch's, or the sickness having taken its final toll on him. He might have been more upset at the time if he hadn't been so confused and half starved by what he'd become. He hadn't revealed his curse-or maybe gift?-to Hamish what he was, but having him in his life during those early weeks was something to latch onto and keep him from falling into a dark hole.

Arthur entertained the idea of running into the medicine seller again but never thought it'd happen, figuring the man would continue east or head west again to peddle his wares and services.

He was glad to have been wrong. Now he got to spend, at least some weeks with the man he'd come to care about.

Arthur smiled, reaching up to caress the other's cheek and neck. "Hearin' it from you is reassuring." he said honestly.

"Mm. I have no doubt you could be dangerous if threatened, but that is the case when you are human as well," he said, wanting to make sure Arthur knew he had no illusions about him, even as he pressed a kiss into the other man's hand.

"But so far the evidence points to an even temper and capacity to distinguish friend and foe from food, lest you would have eaten the Murfrees and Buell already."

He let his hand travel lower, washing along the inside of Arthur's thighs and gently between his legs.

"I hope that gives you some peace of mind and an ideas on what to focus on...?"

He smiled, a glint of mischief in his eyes as he gave Arthur a playful squeeze.

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just pretend there's definitely a nook in the house with a tub <_<

i am fully prepared to chuck canon out the window for the sake of bathtime

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will never forgive rockstar for denying us arthur with a scar after the colm incident lol

for all the detail they put in the game and they didn't think to do that

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