Outside in the fields, guarded by the swaying pines of the leopards lands, Brandon was getting the work out of his lifetime.

The cart that Ezekiel had agreed to haul out to Erin and Drin's home in lue of the upcoming Clan Celebration was indeed large....and as Ezekiel had guessed it was "as heavy as a horse". Brandon and Ezekiel both stood shoulder to shoulder, pulling on the long wooden handle, and marching the cart forward beneath the pine trees.

Ezekiel and Brandon traveled along a well-trodden path of firm earth. Brandon had been informed by Ezekiel earlier that morning that paths such at the one that they traveled crisscrossed all of the Leopards lands and that many of them had appeared over time as traffic from different areas created divots in the earth. Rainfall and wind had seemed to do the rest.

Halfway to Erin's home Ezekiel stopped and handed him a chilled water canteen.

Brandon was damp, his shirt felt glued to him, so with a few deft flicks of his fingers he unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it from his shoulders entierly, breathing a sigh of relief when an errant breeze caressed his bare tourso.

Then Brandon turned back to the cart and tossed the shirt over the railing, before he took the cap off of the bottle and soaked the back of the shirt with the cool water. Once that was done Brandon took the canteen and knocked it back, gulping down the icy water from the flash. It was then, as Brandon screwed the top back onto the canteen that he realized that Ezekiel was walking up to him, his blue gaze peering at Brandon's hip. The moment Brandon noticed him Ezekiel started to walk toward him, his blue gaze still attached to Brandon's left side.

Instantly Brandon wanted to put distance between them. The idea of another person's touch or proximity still made him apprehensive beyond words. He started to back away....

"No. Wait. Brandon hold still." He called, the Guardian waving him to a stop..

Not knowing why Brandon stopped and let him get closer, but still intimidated by his proximity Brandon flinched and asked him sharply. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Its okay..." Ezekiel smiled at him softly, and made a calming gesture as if he sensed how his touch was feared. "Nothing's wrong. I just think this would be a good time to take a look at your stitches. I mean I've been neglecting them for days. I want to see how you've healed"

"Oh...right." Brandon said. He barely had the time to protest before Ezekiel was standing slightly stooped by his left side and his fingertips, smooth and damp form the water canteen he'd been holding, brushed a crescent around the edges of the healing wound in Brandon's side.

"Hmmm...." Ezekiel openly mused as he looked at the no longer inflamed or infected side wound. "This is really good....your almost ready for the stiches to come out too. Ill have my mother cut them for you in another day or two." He said and Brandon got the sensation of Ezekiel probing around the area.

Wanting to push his hand away Brandon flinched and released a fake hiss of pain.

"Oh, Sorry." Ezekiel apologized and took a step back, perhaps thinking that his touch had incurred pain, but instead his touch was too gentle. The feeling of his eyes on Brandon's skin was as unsettling as his touch. The caress of his fingers on Brandon's body too tender and filled with care, and the awareness of him made Brandon feel things he didnt want to.

Without a word Brandon snatched his shirt up off of the cart and slipped the cold damp garment back over his shoulders. It seemed to take forever for the buttons on his shirt to come together and hide him from Ezekiels azure gaze. But his eyes stayed on Brandon even after he was covered.

"Uh ok? Come on, stop staring Ezekiel." Finally Brandon gave up and leaving his shirt partially un-buttoned he looked up at Ezekiel and said. "It's not that bad really."

"Not that bad? Your littered with scars. Terrible scars..." Ezekiel hissed, it was easy to tell that he was working himself up to something. That Brandon's words had hit a nerve. "I guess that's not bad...just like you choosing not to eat for three whole days?

Instantly disliking the preachy tone that Ezekiel was starting to take with him Brandon sighed. "Jezz, every time you see my scars you get all bossy like this!" Brandon cried. "What is it about my scars that makes you so upset?" Brandon asked him. He honestly wanted to know. Why did Ezekiel have to keep prying....why did he even care. "The scars don't bother me...so why do they bother you so much? Why do any of my actions bother you at all!? "

With a heavy growl Ezekiels hand tightened on the carts handle, as a flash of light went across his angry sapphire gaze. "They bother me because whoever did that to you needs to be put six feet under...and you need to be cared for, even if you wont care about yourself dammit!" he hissed.

Conflicted and warmed by Ezekiels words because Brandon knew they only came from a good place, Brandon was instantly angry at himself for feeling anything at all.

Brandon squelched the warmth in irritation as he cast Ezekiel a patronizing remark. "So says the alpha male Guardian. Your a real hero...hes going to save the world ladies and gentlemen!" He mumbled across Ezekiels next sentence.

Ezekiel seemed to ignore him. "Look..." he continued. "It's not just the scars that bother me so much...." He brushed Brandon's sarcasm away so easily that Brandon may as well have remained silent. "From the moment you get here and nearly bleed to death in front of me and my mother all you seem to think about is leaving and being alone. Its dangerous."

Not liking the direction that the talk was heading in Brandon tried to reply as vaguely as possible. "So? What if it is...?" he asked.

With a sigh Ezekiel put his hands behind his back and with a small grunt he gripped the carts handle and started to lift it. Unwilling to abandon a job that he had started Brandon went back to his spot beside Ezekiel and hefted the porting of the cart's handle.