"I do, yes."
He moves to follow, but pauses; keeping a bit of distance between them as he considers his next words.
Basil hadn't meant to alarm Jayce as he had. He had strayed well past the bounds of his comfort zone and was treading into unfamiliar territory- his path was decided the moment he brought up Caitlyn, though, and the only option was to push ahead.
"She is the daughter of my patron... and a good friend. She pulled strings with her mother to secure this position for me."
Basil bridges the distance and approaches the cot. Despite his imposing stature he seems smaller somehow as he comes close again- shielding bravado tucked away in favor of uncomfortable candor. His voice is tense, but genuine, as he continues.
"I won't lie to you, Jayce- you have come up in conversation more than once, but I don't have any illusions that I know you.
Ah- and in case you're wondering, no. You are not why I'm here. My reasons for being here are my own and I would like to keep them for now. You've been quite good about respecting my boundaries, so I must ask that you respect this preference as well.
Knowing all of this, will you still allow me to finish treating you? I don't half-ass things and loathe the idea of leaving before your wound is properly tended to, but I can't force you. *Won't* force you."
Jayce can't help but notice a change in your demeanor, but he stays quiet.
Hah. So Cait's been spewing nonsense about me I guess. Sounds like she's been getting along just fine, since I've been…
He shifts back in the bed, eyes averting with a rueful smile. The people in his life were moving on; growing older, living, while he was stuck here unable to see it happen. He changes subjects.
You work for Cassandra? Hn, a councilwoman and an enforcer get together to hire a nurse…I won't press more about it, if that's what you want. I get it; everyone has things they'd rather not talk about.
Jayce drags a hand roughly down his face, before brushing back the the hair from his eyes with a sigh. He meets your gaze as you talk, hazel pools slightly easing.
Ah--yeah, that's fine. You've been good to me since you came here. And if you managed to stick around Cait for this long, you must really be a good friend.
Jayce chuckles with a tired smile.
You're kind of an interesting person, Basil. A little standoffish, but you seem to care about your job.
And if you're planning to treat me on the bed, don't just stand there. Take a seat, it'll be more comfortable that way. I promise I won't bite.
He speaks plainly, shifting over in his cot to make room.
