A twinge runs through his chest as the boy comments on being warm. A faint scowl furrows Kiel's brow as he tests the temp of the water in the pot. [i]'Being warm should be something everyone should have. It shouldn't be a luxury'[/i] It's nice an warm, almost hot, so he pulls it off the heat and nudges a place clear on the table with his elbow. Setting down the steaming pot he hangs the soft pants behind the boy on the back of the chair. He gives the young man a faint smile. “I turned up the heat so you shouldn't catch cold. But once I've treated these wounds, you should change out of those wet bottoms.” With that he ducks down under the table, rummaging through the piles of books. A faint crash followed by a yelp signifies that he's been attacked by a pile of books.

“Ah hah! Found it!” he calls out triumphantly as he crawls backwards out of the mess of dusty old tomes. With a grin he waves a small white box with a red cross on it back and forth a few times. After a moment a confused look crosses his face. “I just used it last week. . . How'd it end up down there I wonder. . . .” Shaking off his confusion he scoots over to his guest and settles down on his knees. As he sets to work washing and disinfecting the wounds he tries to imagine who's responsible for the boy's state. 

[i]'Most of my kids have stopped roughing people up, and Sander's gang have moved one town over'[/i] He glances over the boy's frame and tries to think of who could beat someone like that. [i]'He's not a stick like me, so he'd hold his own against most of the kids in the area. It must have been a group. But the only group around that attacks strangers is. . . .'[/i] His thoughts trail off as he realizes that he indeed does not recognize the person he's doctoring. Placing a lard patch of gauze over a large bruise on the boy's ribs, a split in the middle weeping blood slightly, he reaches over to the medical tape. “Here, can you hold this for me while I tape it. . . . .?” He lets the sentence trail off, giving the boy an opportunity to give up his name. A lot of street kids avoid telling the church their names because a lot of the more law abiding pastors will seek out their parents. In other words, the very people they are trying to avoid.