The water tasted better than the result.
Ren handed me the flask after Maelis checked that I wasn't about to make standing up another injury. I drank too quickly, coughed and managed to lose the last of whatever dignity the walk to the bench had preserved.
"Slowly," he said.
I obeyed.
Ren kept one hand near the flask until I had a steady grip on it. I took another mouthful and waited before trying to speak. There wasn't anything I needed to say quickly enough to justify coughing through it.
The bench felt lower than it had before the bout. Or sitting down had made me notice how much work my legs had been doing. I planted both feet and let the supported arm rest where Maelis had placed it.
"Better?" Ren asked.
"The water is."
He let that answer stand. I was grateful not to be asked how I felt about the other part while I was still trying to stop my hand shaking.
