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When Calder awoke the next morning, there was a blanket draped across his body and the winter sky was bright and grey.

He sat up smoothly, the pain in his side was there, but was only a sharp ache now.

All of the band was still there, laying in various places around the fire that had long gone out.

Padma was laying against a man, the mans hair and beard only but a shade darker than Hemming's; they seemed to be touching as much as they could without absorbing each other.

Nadir was back to back with a woman, her own blonde hair obscuring her face from Calder's view. Both of their hair was a lighter shade than Calder's own shoulder length mess; his was a dirtier color even when clean.

There was another woman sleeping alone, but after a bout of looking, he could see that her and the blonde woman were touching their legs together in their sleep. She had the same dark hair as Hemming and the other man, but longer and thicker with braids throughout.

Hemming was closer to Calder than he was when they all fell asleep. He was only about two feet away from Calder and an arm was splayed across the ground to lay his hand onto the fur that Calder had slept on.

Calder stayed the only one awake till Hemming stirred next to him.

"Goodmorning, Calder. Did you sleep alright?" Hemming said in a deeper morning voice, Calder inwardly winced at the reaction it gave him.

"I slept fine, though I tried to turn on my side a few times and it did not feel too good."

Hemming chuckled at that, sitting up and dusting some nonexistent snow from his tunic. Calder did not know how he was not freezing with just a tunic against the snow. Though, Calder supposed he was not too cold also.

"Yes, I suppose that is a rather unpleasant way to wake. Does your wound at least feel better from last night?"

"Oh, yes. It feels as if it is just the cut now. It aches, but I can breathe well." Calder smiled softly and kept his voice low, not wanting to wake the others around him.

"That is good. Have you given thought to coming with us?" Hemming questioned softly and moved so that he was almost touching one of Calder's stretched out legs.

Calder pulled his hands to meet in his lap, twisting his fingers anxiously.

"I do not think I can go back to the farm. If my mother were to see me healed and happy... I fear she would do all in her power to take it away." Calder whispered and felt his voice crack at the last few words.

It was the truth. His mother has always hated seeing him do something he loved, or find a toy that he adored. She always took it from him with a sneer and a slap.

"I do not wish to impose on your family, though; and if I were to come with you, I would just be another mouth to feed. I would slow you all down with my wound."

Calder kept his gaze down as he spoke, he could feel the other mans gaze on him.

"I would not offer for you to join us if I did not know the consequences, Calder. We know we might have to walk slower than normal, and that we have to feed you. But, we do not care; I could not leave you here without forever regretting my decision." Hemming reached forward to place a warm hand on Calder leg, the younger man would not admit how nice it felt.

"You have spoken to your family about it? They know what would happen and are fine with it?"

"Of course, they knew long before you had even arrived at camp."

Calder gave the man a confused look, but nodded anyway.

"Alright, then I will come with you and your band."

Hemming smiled widely and patted Calder's leg a few times with a chuckle.

"I am glad. We will tell everyone when they awake. They will just as thrilled as I."

Calder smiled at the man softly; he truly was a character.

___________

The rest of band was accepting, but Calder would hardly call it thrilled.

One of the women that Calder had not yet met was particularly happy at the announcement compared to the others.

She introduced herself as Halina, Hemming and Hale's sister.

Hale, was of course the man who was sleeping closely with Padma. It seemed that the three of them were all siblings, with Hemming being the eldest and Halina the youngest.

She took the liberty of also informing Calder of the other woman's name.

Lagina was the blonde haired woman who slept back to back with Nadir, her hair wild and free, just as her personality suggested she was. She left the camp as soon as she woke, saying she was going for a run.

Halina seemed to dismiss this easily, saying it was natural for the other woman. She also seemed to think that Calder would be a close friend for her, seeing as she deemed it necessary to tell the man of where they had come from and where they were going.

The siblings birthplace was further north, and they had traveled south until they decided they wanted to live on the east coast instead. Calder was intrigued by learning they would be going to the coast; his adoration for water would certainly thrive near the ocean.

Hemming had even added on that they might attempt to go further south once they reached the coast, so the summer warmth and sun would linger for a little while longer.

Luckily for Calder, Hemming had also told Halina to leave the younger man alone so that he could eat whatever stew that Hale had made.

"Eat what you can, I will have Padma check your wound when you are finished." Hemming said with a residual smirk from reprimanding his sister.

Calder nodded with his own smirk, taking the steaming stew with delight; he was rather hungry, even if he had just eaten the night before.

The wooden bowl was warming gently against Calder's cold palms, and the food warmed his insides pleasantly.

He ate the whole bowl without a problem, and let Hemming take it from him in order for Padma to change his dressings.

They removed the bandage and cleaned what was left of the paste off; Calder could not feel the touch of the rag against his skin and wondered if that was supposed to happen.

Padma did not waste time in prodding gently with their fingers and softly murmuring apologies when Calder winced.

"You will heal nicely. Your breathing is still okay?" They asked as they ceased the pressing into Calder's wound.

"Yes, it feels fine; just some occasional pain from the cut." Calder said with a movement of his torso, and only barely felt the pain.

"Good. You should be able to stand soon, tomorrow even. Walking might be more difficult, but you seem strong." Padma replied easily with a gently smile and turned to prepare another poultice to wrap Calder's abdomen.

"Thank you, Padma. For your kind words and actions, I do not know what sorry state I would be in without you."

Padma only nodded and smiled, motioning for Calder to lift his tunic with a finger.

Calder did just that and waited patiently as Padma dressed his injury once more. They finished quickly and Calder was fast in covering his body from the cold.

He also could not help the feeling of anxiety when his body was exposed; Calder's body was never something he was keen on showing, his abdomen nothing but a layer of fat with no muscle to show for it.

Of course, he usually did not have someone he would care about seeing it. But, now that he was surrounded by a band of fit, strong men, women, and others, there was a clear difference in the body he had and what the others had.

He would also try not to think of what Hemming saw when he viewed Calder's pale abdomen. Gods only knew that the bigger man most likely pitied him for being so attenuated.

Calder also attempted not to be disappointed when Hemming said he was also going for a run like Lagina, who had not returned for a few hours now.

He was alone, in a sense, for a long time.

He could not tell the suns position by the winter clouds covering it. Calder only assumed it was nearing midday.

It was when he was alone when the need to relieve himself finally presented itself.

The least embarrassing thing to do was to finally stand. But, when Calder made a move to stand, he was intercepted by a nervous Halina.

"Maybe you should wait to stand? Until Hemming is back to help you." She said and stood nearby as if she herself could not touch him.

"I am fine. I just have to piss and I will be right back to lying down." Calder grunted as he held a hand to his side.

Padma and the one called Hale had stood up too, close by as though they wanted to help but could not.

Calder thought this was strange, but he stood nonetheless. It did not hurt as bad as they had made it seem it would be.

He kept a hand at his side and gave a look to the three others before going to a further spot in the woods to urinate.

They did not follow him, thankfully, and he was able to piss in solitude. He should have gone back right away, he knew that; but he was alone for the first time since he had met the band.

It gave Calder a moment to breathe without fearing that someone would finally snap and tell him to leave.

He leaned against a tree for support, and honestly felt better standing then he did lying on the ground. Calder sighed quietly at the sight of the two ravens sitting silently nearby.

He could feel their eyes piercing into him, either interested or just stupid, they were there.

Calder only took a few more seconds before heading back the way he had come, walking slowly but without much pain.

This meant they could leave, he realized. He could walk fine, standing felt good, and Calder was tired of staying in the same cold clearing... even if he had only just begun staying in it not twenty four hours ago.

When Calder came back to the fire, Hemming was back.

He was standing near where Calder had walked through the forest, his arms crossed and a concerned look on his face.

Though, the moment Hemming saw him, the face was morphed into a relieved one.

"I came back and you were not here. Halina told me all was well, but I still did not know whether or not you would need help standing; I see know that was a false concern." Hemming gestured towards Calder's standing body with a grin.

"Yes, I realized I would need to stand if I were to relieve myself." Calder chuckled but stopped at a sharp pain; no laughing then.

"You are okay then? You seem to be holding yourself well." Hemming said with a questioning look.

"Well, this is certainly not the most painful thing I have experienced. I should be able to travel whenever you decide." Calder smiled sweetly and moved past Hemming to return to his spot on the fur.

Calder looked at the fur and thought before he stayed standing, not wanting to sit again so soon.

"We will wait till the morning, give you more time to heal." Hemming said with an unreadable expression.

Calder nodded and kept his mouth closed, no need for words anymore.

He found a tree to lean against and sighed at the feeling of his legs stretched out, his bladder finally empty, and his toes regaining some blood flow and warming.

The ravens were also there, having moved from their spot in order to watch him.

Calder could not deny the thoughts that these were Odin's ravens. But, he shut that thought out, Odin would not think him more interesting to watch then someone else.

The ravens did not seem to care for his turmoil, watching him constantly; Calder had not seen them come down to eat, or fly at all. The one time they slept was the only time convincing him they weren't figments of a hopeful imagination.

If Odin was watching him, what was he looking for?

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