[ In actuality, focusing on the tasks at hand, kept Steve from feeling the trauma or too much of the aches. The pains would crash over him later in the silence but for the time being he could fall into more of a soldier mode, a state he almost never enjoyed. It took so much to convince the council long ago to let him attempt the ranks but protecting people mattered to him. He might doubt his ability to be a king but the other aspects of leading almost came naturally.

With a nod of his head, he moved over to grab some meat for the fire and look over the fruit for a salad of sorts. A simple meal but a needed one after what they both went through. Placing the meat to cook, he gazed up when Wanda returned. It seemed incredible she managed to last so long on her own and collected so much. Did no one ever survive to try and help her from the island?

There were a few things not adding up but he decided to keep them silent for the moment to gather more information. With a soft 'thank you', he stood up to slip on the robe, groaning a little from the pull on his muscles. Maybe the impact hurt more than he thought.

He reached down to flip the meat. ]

It's remarkable what you've done here. Must have witnessed a lot of loss to get some of this.

Do you like your meat medium or well done?