To have him ripped away and then returned... Jael doesn't know what to make of it. There are too many things to be bewildered about, even if she has infinite time to dwell. For as much as she'd like to sit by his bedside and worry, it's no life for the little dog. She'd only make herself sick, she'd only stress herself out. Stress. Fuck, what a constant companion stress was. Modesty, Gilgamesh, the state of her... their pups. How the fuck had that happened? Jael couldn't explain it, and why did that lack of explanation make her feel so much shame? Loyal like a dog, and scarcely out of Modesty's sight. Hell, like she'd let anyone lay a hand on her. For all she knows about science, about nature, it shouldn't have been possible.
Wrapping herself up in work, letting the distractions take her over. Light work, things she could do or direct the others to do. Oddie tending to the sheep with Ken's dogs, under her careful eye. Preparing goods for the spring markets, even if that was ages away. Making sure everything was stored properly, kept together and just... fuck it, she's keeping herself distracted, okay? Don't call her out like this.
The space she's been working in this afternoon isn't that far from home. Close enough that she can hear an almighty thud inside the treehouse, leading her to set down her tools and quickly make her way back. Jogging back home, pausing at the base of the stairs-- momentarily winded, in her current condition. Sniffing at the fresh scent trail, knowing it can't be anyone else. "Gil?" Jael's voice is gentle as she calls up the stairs. Brow furrowing, she knows he's not supposed to be climbing like this yet.
Climbing the stairs with some effort of her own, Jael is as quick as she can be. Rounding the corner, seeing him sprawled on the floor. If nothing else, there's fight in him. She knows better than to condescend, but there's worry in her face. "Can I make you lunch? A drink?" Moving to carefully sit beside him, though Jael is too unsure of herself to reach out and touch him. Instead, she settles beside him-- paws tucked tidily under herself, gaze gentle.
Professor
