"It's pretty sobering," he admitted, gazing into the fire as she finished cleaning the last bit of his wound. "But I'm glad it happened, to be honest. Difficulties make me who I am, no matter how terrible they were at the time." He spoke with a solemness that belied his age, making him seem that much older just from the memory of that single experience. 

He grunted when she was done, and nodded. His face lit up at the prospect of food. "Let me check." he breathed, leaning forward and then making it to his feet before opening the bubbling pot. "You know falling off a horse is still pretty dangerous. I've known someone who fell off and couldn't walk after. It's quite the fall." After sticking a bit of the ham with his cleaned dagger, he realized it was indeed ready. "Yup. I'll grab you some." 

It took less than a minute for them both to have a fair sized bit of ham, though due to being out in the wild they didn't necessarily have silverware or plates, but he handed her half of the meal stuck on one of his throwing daggers. Markus winked at her in good spirits at how odd it was, handing it over, before taking a big bite out of his own slice. It wasn't much, but it had a bit of seasoning and the main thing about it was it filled their bellies. 

Once Markus was finished, he took a large swig of his water jug and was just about to burp when he realized Valerie was right there with him. It was a bit awkward for him to slam his palm on his mouth at the last moment as his mind caught up with him, but he patted his chest with his fist and grunted. "Sorry." 
[@Luminosity]