The smell woke him up before anything else did.
The smell of meat, roasting slowly, the fat dripping and catching on the hot stone beneath. Neve opened his eyes and the cave was warm and orange from the fire in the corner and Cael was crouched over it turning pieces with the careful attention of someone who had been at this for a while.
Neve looked at the pile of uncooked meat still waiting at the side.
A lot of it. Large pieces, stacked neatly. Cael had been up early.
Neve crawled over on hands and knees and stopped beside him.
"Good morning," he said.
Cael looked at him. "You're awake. I thought you were going to sleep through the whole day."
"I was tired." Neve stretched both arms above his head and felt his spine do several things. "Four days of crouching over a sick person apparently have consequences."
"Here." Cael handed him a large piece that hadn't fully dried yet, still soft and hot from the fire.
Neve bit into it immediately.
