Though he remained silent and expressionless as Jin set about his pointless task, Ahn-Bo’s gaze never left his friend’s face. The care and concern were evident, even in the dim light. His touch was gentle, and it was all the wolf could do not to close his eyes and fall asleep. It had been so long—what felt like a lifetime and a half ago—since he’d last received pampering from Jin.

As his friend moved to sorting out Ahn-Bo’s layers, a small, sorrowful pang in his belly reminded him of what could have been between them. It was fleeting, there one moment and gone the next. He couldn’t see the blush on Jin’s cheeks as he stared up at him, but he could imagine that it was there. The slight awkwardness in his behavior was telling. Jin was uncomfortable doing the rest, and Ahn-Bo was almost relieved for it.

”Ani.” He stood from the boulder and began to remove the remaining layers of his clothes, tossing them into a careless pile where he'd been sitting. They were well and truly ruined, but he did have to put them back on. Vaguely, he wondered if Jin was watching him. He hoped not. This was the first time he’d thought about how his new scars might look to someone else. They were deep; the bite mark just above his knee was the worst of them.

The cold mountain air gave him goosebumps before he even stepped foot into the river. He sucked in a breath involuntarily as the frigid water stung his bare feet. Then, he made quick work of washing, using the bar of soap twice so that Jin would be satisfied.

And maybe Jin had been right in this—a fragment of his soul’s heaviness had been scrubbed away along with the layers of grime. Maybe it was just the stinging against his skin from the cold water. Whatever it was, it was enough to rouse him from his daze for a moment as he quickly returned to shore.