Another day began at dawn after a fitful night of sleep. The birds were even more restless atop his cage, and Abel couldn't blame them. He felt sluggish and tired, even though he had to have slept for at least a few hours before the sun woke him. He licked his lips to try to hydrate them, but there was no saliva left in his mouth. One vulture above him squawked, making Abel glance up and roll his eyes.

"Sorry, buddy, you still have at least a few more days, though this sun is getting to me."

The bird turned its head and loosed a large amount of droppings down onto his hair.

"Thank you for sharing," Abel grumbled, shaking his head to try to dislodge some of the disgusting feces from his hair before it dried.

Hearing something behind him, back by the jail, he turned and noticed the magistrate sauntering about with a bucket. Each time he passed an outdoor cage he tossed a handful of whatever was in the bucket on the ground inside of it. When Abel narrowed his eyes and noticed that the men were scrambling for the stuff and shoving it into their mouths, he assumed that it must be food.

More like slop.

Hunger deserted him as he looked at the mush. When the magistrate finished with the two rows of cages, he turned and looked up at him. Abel held his gaze as his cage swayed in the breeze slowly. When the magistrate set his bucket by the door to the jail and headed down the pier toward him, Abel shifted uneasily in his cage.

What does he want with me now?

When he walked right past him over to another lever system and began lowering a different cage, Abel understood. The remains of clothing and pecked bones were inside. Once the cage set down on the pier, the magistrate unlocked it and began tossing the bones into the water below. He took the shirt and braise, tossing them over his back before straightening with a grunt and looking up.

"Yer a quiet one, ain't ya?"

Blinking, Abel shrugged. There was nothing to say.

"Do ye feel guilty 'bout what ye did?"

How was he supposed to answer that? Was he feeling guilty for not killing his female self? Instead of answering, he just continued to stare. When the man got no answer, he shook his head and turned to go back, retrieving his bucket before walking inside of the jail.

The day passed without another sight of the man. The birds were flighty and a bit more frustrating than the day before, but Abel managed to keep them at bay with a few well-placed punches. By sunset, however, the top of his head was whiter from droppings than anything else. The jail had quieted about an hour prior, and Abel was wishing that he could rest as well. His energy was gone from fighting the heat and birds for two days straight. It made him tired, but also on edge.

A few more days. I am already not feeling thirsty anymore and my stomach barely growled today.

He knew the signs of dehydration and starvation. Had heard of them plenty of times from people on the streets, having asked out of curiosity when he was younger. Each time he could, he would offer food to the hungry, but most times, his father stalked him too closely to let him 'feed the rabble.' Shaking his head, he grinned as he thought about himself at that moment. He was a rabble. Starving to death just like the people in the streets.

When darkness fell, he moved onto his side and tried to rest his head on a folded arm to keep his cheek from the feces on the bottom of the cage. He had somehow managed to keep the bird droppings from most of his face, only having gotten a small amount on his right brow when he hadn't ducked his head fast enough. He slid in and out of a doze, usually awoken by a bird tugging at his hair or a peck to a finger when it slipped too close to the edge of the cage. A sudden jarring movement shocked him out of his slumber at one point. Abel rasped out a near-mute scream and looked around, confused. At first he suspected that a large bird had just landed awkwardly, making his cage sway and the chain grind. But there was no bird. Not a single one remained above him, though he could see several gulls fleeing from his cage, startled.

What made my cage jerk then?

The whole structure suddenly dropped a good foot, making Abel fumble onto his side with a grunt. He started to get up but dropped again when the cage lowered another foot, then another. When it hit the planks of the pier, Abel couldn't believe it. Then someone knelt next to the door and began unlocking it.

I must be dreaming.

The door opened, but instead of crawling out, he backed away, wary.

"Abel, come."

Kirin?

At first, Abel thought that Kirin was trying to break him out for some reason, but when he realized that he hadn't been trying to be quiet in the least, he knew he had to have another reason.

"What are you doing here, sir?" he asked, his dry throat making the words scratchy and hard to hear.

"I got a stay of execution. Come, we have two days to figure out a way to prove you are innocent."

Two days.

What could they possibly do in two days? Get back to his old town? Then what, come back because they had no time to even begin looking for evidence?

"No thank you, sir."

If it wasn't so dark, Abel bet that the look he'd have seen on Kirin's face would probably be one of utter confusion.

"I must only manage this situation for another two days, most likely. It would take two days just to return to my hometown. Thank you for trying, but please go, sir."

Kirin shook his head, the outline of the hood he wore the only thing Abel could really see.

"No, you are coming with me."

When Kirin reached into the cage, Abel latched onto the back bars to keep himself there.

"I will not," Abel returned, voice scratchy.

Kirin growled, wrapping his arms around Abel's waist and tugging. He had no idea how he managed to hold on, considering how little energy he had left, but Abel did.

"Stop it, Kirin!" Abel screamed, his voice cracking from dehydration. "I am not leav—"

Abel flinched when Kirin leaned forward, his lips silencing his shout. Frustrated, he pulled away and growled out. "I am n—"

Yanking away from another kiss, Abel shook his head, raising a hand to slap Kirin's face. The lawman caught his wrist before he could swing, pulling him into his lap and out of the cage where he fell back against the large wooden pole used to hold the cage.

"Kirin, I am sick of pla—"

Biting Kirin's lower lip, Abel broke the kiss again.

"Will you s—"

This darn lawman!

When Kirin finally leaned away from the kiss, Abel pursed his lips tightly to keep from speaking again. Instead, he tried to scramble out of the man's arms and get back to the cage, but Kirin obviously had other plans. Now that he was out, the lawman quickly tossed Abel over his shoulder as he stood and hurried toward the horse Abel hadn't noticed waiting at the edge of the pier. When they were both settled on the animal and it started off toward the forest trail they'd taken to get to the jail, Abel finally figured he could speak without being silenced by kisses.

"Why are you doing this?"

His words were extremely quiet, but since he was so close, he figured that Kirin could easily hear him. Before Abel even got a response, he was leaning back against the man, unable to stay upright without help.

"Because, when I went back to my house, I found a certain baroness locked inside of my home, refusing to let me in until I figured out a way to bring her successor back."

Abel looked up, glaring at Kirin.

"That, and she cut down one of my experiment trees and said there would be another each day she did not see you free."

The thought of Lady Lelynn chopping down trees was hilarious, but he wouldn't put it past her. She was a ruthless old woman who did what she needed to get what she wanted.

Manipulative. That is the word.

"I can see that occurring," Abel mumbled.

Kirin grinned and nodded, both of them slipping into a companionable silence as the man refocused his attention on guiding his horse.

"Abel?"

Can a man not die in peace?

"Abel, I am going to drop you in the water if you do not wake up so that we can wash some of the bird droppings off of you."

That got his eyes open, confused as to why he needed to be clean to die in a cage. When Abel realized that he was no longer in the cage, he glanced around. A large, clear pond stretched through a small acre surrounded by trees before him.

"What?" he croaked, then coughed.

Kirin chuckled, the sound vibrating against Abel where he was leaning partially against Kirin's chest. "Here."

Instead of dropping him into the pond, Kirin carefully walked in a few feet until the water was up to his knees, then knelt down. His pants were getting wet, but he didn't seem to mind. Abel felt the cool water begin to soak his legs and feet as Kirin set his lower half down and cupped some water in his free hand while holding him upright with the other. Abel needed little encouragement to drink. He sucked down the small amount offered, then spent the next minute sipping water from Kirin's hand as the man continuously ducked it back under water, then brought it to his moistening lips.

"Mm, that is so good," Abel whispered, gripping Kirin's hand by his wrist.

"I am sure Lady Lelynn is cooking everything I own in preparation for your return, so let us get you cleaned up now and head off."

Nodding, Abel began rubbing water over his arms and chest as he sat in the shallow water. The birds had practically painted him white besides most of his face, forcing him to scratch at some of the dried-on feces. He froze after a minute of washing, having felt Kirin's firm hands press against his back.

"I will get here since you are unable to reach."

For some reason, the man's hands roaming over his skin were quite distracting. By the time Kirin finished with his back, Abel was only half done with his front. "Tsk, lean back against me."

Abel did as told, fidgeting when Kirin wrapped his arms around his sides and got busy rubbing away the white feces with water. He couldn't keep from squirming a few times when Kirin's hands moved over certain areas, eventually making the man lean over to grin at him.

"Is something wrong, Abel?"

He intended to skirt the question, honestly not sure why he was getting flustered with the man just helping him clean up, but when he spoke, it wasn't exactly helpful to his situation.

"Why did you kiss me again in the cage? I am no longer dressed as a female."

Kirin blinked, apparently taken aback by his question.

"I... my hands were covered in bird feces from the chain."

Abel tilted his head, remembering back to what had happened.

"You only touched the lever and I remember that it was surprisingly clean."

Kirin's brow furrowed and he looked around the area, trying not to meet Abel's eyes.

"Sir? I am just curi—"

Now Kirin's hand did press over his mouth, making Abel stare at him in frustration.

"Enough talk, we must get back to my home before I am out of apple trees and risk starving for the winter with all of my food cooked in one day."

Since the man had yet to remove his hand, Abel just rolled his eyes and grunted as they walked out of the water. Kirin only removed his hand once Abel needed to scramble back up onto his horse, his soaked pants making it harder to swing his legs in the stiff fabric. Once Kirin was sure that Abel was situated, he carefully swung up behind him.

"I will hold you up again, so get some more rest."

Kirin left no room for argument, so Abel did as told, leaning back against the man as he felt his strong arm slide around his waist.