Noah was entirely captivated by his work, so much so that he didn’t feel Elann coming to him until she was there, pressing her lips upon his cheek and saying she was proud of him. He turned his head to say something to her in reply, to thank her and share his quiet happiness, but she was already pulling away to retake her corner in the wagon. Noah closed his mouth and turned back to face the newly broiling storm. He wondered how long it would last; this was another test of the stormgems, only one of the probably numerous secrets worked out at this point. He had willed the gem to fire but wasn’t sure if the rain was the causation for the effect or if it was him, and him alone, which caused the firing.

Noah’s wet hand came to his cheek to rub at where Elann had kissed. His hand was slightly chilled, the cool rain slowly robbing him of the heat he was so accustomed to producing. He tucked the stormgem behind his back so it didn’t roll out of the wagon, then his hands came to clasp one another, resting in the hole of his lap, as he looked outside. It was growing darker still and soon only the rolling and intermittent lightning was lighting the skies briefly, flashing to illuminate Noah’s face and dripping frame. It did the same for Aimee who remained by his side, watching the storm with the front of her muzzle beginning to drip with the rain water.

After several more chimes Aimee turned away to retake her position on the bench, hopping onto it with her stilted stride breaking into a quick jump. Noah remained where he was for two bells more, hardly flinching or moving as the storm rolled over the area in its slow pace. To his observant surprise the lightning and thunder continued on in its small degree, the storm fueled enough to last until the rain finally lightened and stopped coming down altogether.

When the show was over it was overly dark just outside the wagon and the smell of rain wafted about the entrance, furling into the wagon past Noah every now and again. Noah sat for a few chimes more, watching the lingering bouts of thunder as they came to flash in the clouds. The winds were sweeping the system away though, and the tail end of the clouds could be clearly seen in the sky.

Noah pushed up to sit, raising entirely from his cross-legged position with only his legs, untwisting them slowly as he worked to keep himself from jostling much in the movement. He turned just as slowly then crept towards the front of the wagon, the stormgem used to fuel the storm clutched dully in his hand. He moved towards the chests and worked painfully slow to get the gem back into the sack with the rest of them. He managed to do so and bear through the pain of the motions for the sake of being independent in the action. When that was done he reached further into the chest, moving to his tiptoes so he wouldn’t have to stretch his arms entirely, and plucked one of his shirts out. He had worn shorts that day, but now they were wet and sticking to his lower body in the front and there was a clear stain of wetness outlining his behind as well.

Noah fell back to the heels of his feet and brought the shirt up to his face, wiping the wetness from it, then slowly rubbing the fabric over his chest to bid the flesh of water as well. The shirt was placed over the edge of the open chest as his attention shifted to his wet shorts. He brought his hands down to pull at the tie holding the shorts around his waist. Thankfully it was a simple pull, otherwise he didn’t think he could’ve taken the wet things off by himself. That would’ve been embarrassing to him. Even though the waistband folded down, newly loosened, the shorts still stuck to his thighs and behind. Seeing as his legs were unafflicted, he carefully worked them down by shifting his weight and gently shaking his legs until they fell all the way down to his ankles.

Finally done, and newly nude, he took a breath as he recovered from the meticulous ordeal. His wounds had a fresh ache to them but he felt good on the inside having done as much by himself. He basked in the small victory, turning slowly to view the rest of the wagon again. He spotted his set-aside dish near the wagon’s entrance and figured he would go to it and finish eating, even though the rain had stopped. Noah walked carefully still, expertly sliding back into a cross-legged position to retake his dish.