Release

From his position slightly above her, Simon could see her milky skin making its devilish way down under her garments, but he did not allow his eyes to settle anywhere other than the waterskin as he pulled the stopper from the mouth of it. Placing the opening at her lips, he let her take hold of the spout but kept a hand under hers in case she went to drop it. Using his other hand under the bulb of the waterskin, he slowly raised it to let more water go towards her mouth. After she had taken several swallows, he pulled his hands away so that she could take control of the rate of her consumption before standing and walking over to Striker. Pulling a wrapped package from his saddlebag, he brought out two strips of preserved meat and a small chunk of bread before replacing the package.

Coming back over, he knelt down on the opposite side of the fire and busied himself with laying the meat over the highest sticks in the fire so that the pieces could cook slightly and warm up to a temperature that would be edible to someone unaccustomed to eating military rations. Holding the bread over the fire, he let the sides heat up in his hand and darken slightly before holding it across the fire for her to take. If she took it, he would then settle back down on his rear end before looking her over for any obvious wounds. If she needed medical attention, then he would apply what basic first aid he could without exhausting his own supplies.

No matter how much it was ingrained in him to help those around him that needed assistance, he had to make sure that he did not leave himself in a pickle that would later cost him direly if he needed them for himself. Looking over towards the tent to see if Katya had been roused by the sounds, he glanced at a small circle of stone he had set out with a stick on it to work as a makeshift sundial so that he knew what time to rouse Katya.