Rue left the man to sleep where he was as she turned back to the kettle, the smell of the soup boiling within enticing to her senses as she struck up another note, humming a song from her childhood unconsciously. A part of her was worried for him, knowing that his wounds had been severe and that the Vision Dust was known to be harmful to Hume. The fact that his deliriousness had lingered even now, a full two days after she'd carried him from the forest, was more then enough of a reason for her to be a little concern. The fact that he had woken up at all, though, had eased her tension the moment she'd seen him sitting up in bed.

The worries of his health, however, were nothing compared to the worries she had of the other Viera, and even as she stirred the food, she found herself glancing out the window, searching the pathways for the curious, suspicious faces she knew would be lurking nearby. She'd had more visitors then she would have liked in the past two days, Viera coming from all over Eruyt to see if the word they'd heard was true. Had one of their own honestly brought a Hume male into the village??? It was unheard of, to say the least. Even she didn't understand it, found herself questioning her reasons behind such a brash act. She knew what her heart told her, of course. There had simply seemed something so unjust in allowing the man to be killed when she'd stumbled across the scene, no matter what the laws of The Wood were. It was true, Hume knew not to be there, and that it was supposed to be common knowledge amongst them that entering The Wood was an easy way to meet your death, but that didn't change the fact that she'd been unable to allow it to happen without doing at least something.

So, after having struggled to lift the man who - being almost as tall as she was and much stockier - was a bit heavier then she was normally used to carrying, trying to juggle his surprisingly weighty sword, and ensure that her bow was secured amongst the arrows in her quiver, she'd managed to carry him through the Vision Dust, to the awaiting gates of the village, where she'd been stopped by the Wood-Warders.

They were familiar with her, of course: she was one of their own. But they had never expected to find her doing something so unusual. Needless to say, it had caused a bit of a ruckus amongst the other Viera. She was just thankful they'd allowed her to go through with it, though she'd been forced to take him to one of the lower huts, instead of bringing him to her quarters in the Wood-Warder huts. It wasn't hard to understand the meaning behind the order: The other Viera wanted him as far away from them as possible.

So she'd done her best to care for him on her own in the two days since she'd found him, washing his wounds and bandaging them so that they could heal properly. For the first night, she'd been worried that perhaps he wouldn't make it: the wounds were deep, and she wasn't thoroughly sure what sorts of wounds Hume were supposed to be able to withstand. When she'd woken up the next morning, though, and found him still breathing, she'd allowed herself a bit more hope. She prayed his consciousness was a sign that he was on his way to a full recovery. Whatever it meant, she'd just have to deal with it as the situation changed.

A small bird flew into her line of vision as she stared out the window, bringing her out of her momentary concerns, and she shook her head, glancing back down at the soup in the kettle before reaching for her cloth-mitt, using it to swing the kettle-stand away from the fire. She wasn't sure what Hume ate - this was, after all, the first one she'd ever met - so she hoped that the recipe would be alright. None of the other Viera, even the ones who'd come snooping around, knocking on her door from time to time, had known what would be the proper food for a Hume. Either that, or they hadn't wanted to help.

She ladled a bit of the food into a bowl before walking back over to the bed, setting it beside the bowl of water she'd had earlier. The man had already dozed off, laying in what looked like it might have been an uncomfortable slouch, half-sitting and half-laying where he'd tried to get up earlier, and she approached softly, not wanting to startle him. She found she was unsure of herself, though, when she went to wake him, strangely nervous and fascinated at the same time. Did all Hume have hair such a strange mixture of colors? Did they all have it growing not only on their heads, but also on the lower parts of their faces, too? Why did their ears sit so low on their heads? Why were they so small? Everything seemed so unusual, and at the same time so similar to Viera as well. Even so, Hume or Viera, this particular creature had obviously seen far more struggles then even the fight she'd witnessed in The Wood, the scars on his face and body - not to mention the very large sword he had wielded even in a weakened state - were all she needed to see to know that. She wondered to herself what kind of thing could have caused such a large scar as the one that marred his eye, and despite herself, she reached a hand out gently, her fingers ghosting close to it as if she wanted to run them down it, to feel the upraised skin caused where the large wound had healed back seemingly a long time ago.

Unfortunately, the moment her fingers touched his cheek, he seemed to startle, jerking in his sleep and pulling away as the one good eye snapped open to look at her. She recoiled, stepping back and holding her hands out as if to show him she meant no harm, and after a moment he seemed to settle, a hand reaching up to rub at the spot she'd touched as if it tingled from the contact. When she opened her mouth to speak an apology, she found them both stumbling over each other instead, both seemingly wanting to apologize for the uncomfortable moment.

"You've no need to apologize, I overstepped my bounds. Here, the soup is ready..." She whispered softly, holding the bowl out in front of her in one hand, a spoon in the other, as if in peace offering. He glanced at it a moment, curiosity in that one-eyed gaze, and as realization came into the expression, she saw what was undeniable hunger pass through him, something that reminded her almost intimidatingly of a feral animal being offered it's first meal in a very, very long time. He pulled himself up to sit, wincing only slightly despite the still-healing wounds on his back, and took the bowl from her with a motion that tried to appear grateful and polite but was obviously eager. He'd barely had a chance to mutter a gentle "Thank you" before he was eating the dish, and she took it as a sign that the Vieran recipe was to his liking, a tiny smile crossing her features.

"I guess that means it's good. I'm glad." She whispered softly before turning back to the cooking fire, lifting the pot off of the stand and putting it on the table before placing a filled tea-kettle in it's place, placing that over the fire to boil as well. "I have tea to drink, but if you prefer water, or milk, it's your choice." She turned to glance at him over her shoulder curiously, waiting for a response, and he glanced back up at her, hurrying to finish a mouthful of food before answering.

"Tea is fine, thank you..." She smiled at his soft reply, nodding and setting out a couple of cups before walking back over, though she found herself fidgeting, unsure of exactly what to say or do now that he was awake. Viera weren't overly social in nature, so she found herself a little unsure of herself when it came to interacting with the strange man.

He glanced at her for only an instant, that one eye turning her way, but it was obvious that it was - if not verbal or extremely expressive - his way of acknowledging she was there. Even so, she got the impression that even that simple glance was an attempt by the male to keep himself on track with her movements around the room, an attempt at keeping himself fully aware of everything she did. Even dazed by the Vision Dust and delirious, he seemed eager to stay one step ahead of everything around him mentally, as if he were unable to allow himself a moment to relax even in the house of the person who'd brought him in from The Wood. Little surprise, she thought, if his life had been as hard as the scars he had hinted it had been.

"How are you feeling...? Is the soup helping to clear your head...?" He allowed himself a chance to pause between eating, a thoughtful expression on his face, and then nodded, glancing up at her slightly in reply.

"I suppose. I feel...somewhat better, yes." the hoarse reply drifted up at her softly, and she nodded back before another almost uncomfortable silence filled the room. She waited, trying to find another thing to say, and finally sprung back gently on her feet, turning and walking across the room as if remembering something she needed to attend to. All the while, she found herself a flurry of somewhat nervous chatter. Where did he come from? Was he headed somewhere when he was lost in The Wood? Had he traveled far, or was he lost? The entire time, she busied her hands with cleaning up the kitchen, throwing unused vegetables and fruits into the holding bin they belonged in, folding portions of tea leaves into small pieces of cotton and pinning them closed before hanging them over the edges of the two awaiting teacups. The entire time, a strange silence floated at her from the other side of the room as the man listened, watching her flutter around the room with a strange look on his face as he finished the soup in his bowl.

After a while, she seemed to realize how fast she'd been talking, and she stopped, giggling softly at herself as she waved her hands in the air, dismissing all of her nervous chatter away as unimportant. It was silent for a moment longer, and then just as she began to fear she might have angered the Hume with her talking, she heard the sound of his voice rippling to her through the room, a strange sound that at first sounded like a cough, but she then realized was laughter. She paused, turning to look at him, her ears cocked forward in curiosity, and despite herself, she smiled as she caught sight of a strangely warm expression on his face, his lips pulled up into the faintest of smiles that reached even that scarred, unusable eye.

"I take it you don't have company much." He quipped gently, the slight grin on his face enough to tell her that it was meant as a joke, and she giggled again, shaking her head and brushing her hair back from her face. The tension seemed to have melted with those words, and as she turned to the whistling tea kettle, she shrugged gently, more at ease now then she had been a moment before.

"We Viera are solitary creatures. We don't generally see others until midday meditation." She poured the tea and turned back to him, handing him his cup as he handed her the empty bowl, taking note of his curious gaze.

"Viera?"

She nodded to him in reply, pulling a chair from the table to sit beside the bed. "That's correct. You're in Eruyt village. I brought you here after I found you." There was still a touch of confusion on his face, though he nodded lightly, his eye glancing around the room curiously for a moment as he took in his surroundings. "Have you never seen a Viera before?"

He shook his head, turning to look at her again, and she could see his eyes taking in the sight of her ears perched high on top of her head, arched forward attentively as she listened to him speak.

"Where I come from, we've...never heard of them, actually." She blinked at him for a moment, surprise in her features, and then gave another shy giggle, tilting her head to the side.

"Where are you from?"

"Bevelle." The word held no meaning for her as she rolled it around in her head, and after a moment, she shrugged back at him, her mouth pulled into a crooked smile, as if apologizing wordlessly.

"I can't say that I've ever heard of it, myself. I'm sorry. Maybe when you're well enough to travel, one of the Moogle Merchants will be able to help you find your way home. They'll know more about the world outside of The Wood then I do." His expression changed in that moment, and he glanced away for a moment, his attention turning to something out the window for a moment, and she felt the air change, his mood instantly dropping from the almost-companionable nature he'd been showing to something she couldn't quite read. She wondered if she'd said something to upset him. She was about to apologize when he spoke again, and it wasn't hard to notice that his voice had taken on an almost uneasy tone.

"I'm not headed for Bevelle. I need to find a Summoner." She looked at him curiously for a moment, remembering the words he'd said when he'd first woken before, and when he turned to glance at her again, trying to judge a reaction, she shook her head.

"I don't understand. What's a Summoner?"

"A Summoner is someone who can...Summoners are Priests and Priestesses for The Order of Yevon. Are there no Temples to Yevon in Eruyt? They're the only ones who can help me return to where I belong now." It was hard to miss the almost sad mood that had overtaken him, though it hardly showed on his face, and she felt a moment of worry for him as he looked away again, seemingly unwilling to meet her eyes, but why she couldn't tell.

"No, there are no temples here. There are no Hume temples in all of The Wood, I'm sorry. The Moogles might be able to help you, though. They come and go quite frequently. Maybe one would allow you to accompany him to the closest Temple. Is something wrong?"

He simply shook his head, staring thoughtfully away through the window, and it seemed to her as if the lines on his face had deepened, making him seem older then he had before.

"It's nothing to concern yourself with. It would only worry you unnecessarily." The finality in his tone told her that he didn't wish to broach the subject further, and she found herself feeling shy again, uncomfortable enough that she stood gently, taking his empty teacup and bowl back to the sink.

The uncomfortable quiet seemed to fill the room once more, and seemed to linger for a good few minutes as she washed up, setting the dishes to dry beside the fire. When she looked up again, however, she found her ears perking up at the sound of footsteps, and she turned to the window, finding the unmistakable form of the Jote approaching purposefully. She sighed to herself, turning to look back at the man before she walked towards the door.

"I'll only be a moment. Stay in bed and rest. You need to regain your strength." And then she was walking opening the door, stepping out into the sunlight and closing it behind her to greet her leader, more then well aware that her pressence could only mean one thing. The Wood must have realized the Hume was awake, and would likely want him expelled from the village.