Drowning

Lucius came to consciousness with a pounding headache and stabbing pains running all along his spine, swinging slightly in a hammock along to the rolling of the Wavecutter. Groaning in pain, he tried to sit up but was foiled by a strong hand that appeared over his chest,

“Easy there, lad. You took a real beatin’ back there. Just take it easy, no need to rush yourself.” A friendly face with only one good eye peered over him, checking on some bandaging that wrapped around his head and right arm. Lucius knew him as Kelda, the ship’s acting surgeon, though Kelda had never specified exactly where or how he had gotten the knowledge to earn the position. Though physically quite intimidating, his biceps were easily the thickness of Lucius’ head, the dark-skinned man had the personality of an exceptionally friendly bear. Kelda’s voice was always gentle and soothing, perfect for dealing with his often unruly clientele.

Unable to struggle, Lucius let his body go limp and earned an approving nod from his caretaker. When he tried to speak, all that would come out from his parched throat was a very unflattering wheeze. Kelda took up a large bucket filled with water and offered a ladle full to him, which he drank down greedily. Gasping down a breath, he asked the surgeon,

“Hana? Where, where is she?”

The large man smiled wide, “No need to worry, my boy. She’s as right as rain; was even up and about an hour or so ago. First thing she wanted to know was how you were doing, too.” A bit of warmth collected in his face upon hearing that, and though he tried to shake it off the resident physician certainly noticed. Kelda rose from beside him and moved off to another hammock in the next row, where Lucius heard an unseen person moan in quiet agony as Kelda performed his duty.

He tired to push himself up to see who it was, but hammocks offer very poor support for doing so and he was unable to see much beyond a swath of linen bandages. Kelda noticed his sorry attempts,

“That’s Calla. And no, before you say anything she isn’t dead, though it was a near thing. She wouldn’t have lasted the night if not for your friend, and even then, it’s been touch and go from there. Once we make port we’ll take her somewhere with better equipment, and I think she’s got a good chance of making it. Still…I fear she may never walk right again.”

It was a sobering qualifier to an otherwise uplifting piece of news, and Lucius wondered about the damage to the ship and its crew. Growing restless, he swung his legs out of the hammock and pushed himself off onto the gently rocking deck. A swell hit the hull and jostled him around, nearly prompting a meeting between his face and the wooden floor. Luckily, Kelda was swift and caught him in his arms, righting him. Lucius muttered his thanks and tried not to think about how strangely comfortable Kelda’s arms were,

“Hey, Kelda, how long have I been out?” The physician thought briefly, “Hmm..I would wager about five or six hours? We’re well past midnight by now, but there’s still a bit to go before dawn. My guess is we’ll dock in Ikara before noon, but you’ll have to check with the captain for that.”

He nodded to show that he heard the large man, but his mind had already been consumed by another thought, one that he knew would not leave him until it was asked, “How many?” Kelda paused for a long while, unwilling to meet his eyes through the dim lantern light of the crew quarters. When it became clear that Lucius wouldn’t let the question drop, he finally relented, sorrow foremost in his words,

“Four. Emara, Gaius, Cal-din-Shu and Mikela. Six others, including Calla there were seriously wounded. That’s more than a quarter of the crew, Lucius. I know you didn’t have much of a chance to know all of them, but to us they were family. It will be some time before this loss fades from our memories.”

“I…I’m sorry, Kelda.” It was a poor offering, but there was little else that he might offer in the way of solace. The only person that Lucius had ever lost in his life was his mother, and he had almost no memories of her. He simply could not fathom the depths of Kelda’s sadness, or the emotions of the crew that were left behind. But poor as it might have been, Kelda hardly seemed to mind,

“You needn’t be so down for us, Lucius. Death comes for us all in the end, and usually much faster for us sailors. And if you think we’re sitting about and moping for our losses, then you should open those ears of yours and take a good listen. I think you’ll find that we’re quite the opposite.” Curious as to what he was getting at, Lucius concentrated and listened hard to try and figure out what Kelda was getting at. At first, all he could hear was the sound of the waves against the ship and the creaking of the hull beneath his feet. But it wasn’t long before he heard additional sounds that began to cut through the ocean ambiance, it was the sound of lively music emanating from above.

Kelda noticed the confused look on Lucius’ face and laughed heartily, “Aha, it is always good to see how people react when they first learn! We are celebrating, my boy! Not just in memory of those who are no longer with us, but for our own survival, which by the way, is largely thanks to you and your companion. So go on up! Celebrate! Drink! Regale everyone of your heroics! And yes, those are the doctor’s orders!”

The surgeon double-checked his bandages and did a quick test to ensure that he could see and move his limbs effectively without keeling over. Once he had approval, Kelda guided Lucius up the steep steps and out into the night air. Lucius was immediately greeted with an explosion of cheers from the entirety of the crew. Within moments he was surrounded by people who shouted congratulations, praises and the odd good-natured insult. A tankard full of some strong-smelling liquid was thrust into his hand by someone, which was then immediately followed up by rhythmic chants of, “Drink, drink, drink!”

Stunned by the sheer volume of stimuli, Lucius was swept up in the mayhem and put the tankard to his lips. The liquid had the consistency of warm molasses and tasted twice as bad as it smelled, so much so that he gagged into the tankard and nearly spit out the liquid. But with another round of encouragement from the crew, he forced the drink down in its entirety and tipped the tankard upside down to prove his accomplishment.

The crew roared their approval as a dozen hands rained down on his back and shoulders, sometimes hitting his injuries and sending bolts of pain through him when they did. A second tankard was being prepared for him when a familiar shout cut through the din,

“Alright ya cursed sea-devils, let the man through! There’ll be plenty o’time ta get him plastered once I’m through with him!” Framed by the lantern light stood the imposing and yet somehow reassuring figure of Captain Astora, arms crossed and bearing her usual charming smile. The crowd parted to allow him to move towards the quarterdeck, where he surmounted the stairs to a smattering of claps and cheers. On the quarterdeck were two more familiar figures; Blacktern and Hana, who were having a quiet conversation a bit farther away from the ship’s wheel. Blacktern seemed largely no worse for wear, not like Lucius was expecting anything different from the enigmatic swordswoman. Hana also, much to Lucius’ great relief, appeared to be physically fine with no immediate sign of injury. When the women noticed his presence, Blacktern jerked her head in his direction and Hana launched herself forward straight towards him.

Thankfully for him, she pulled up short of bowling him over upon seeing his bandaged shoulder. He was relieved to see that her eyes had returned to their normal emerald hue, though he did notice deep bags under them, and her skin was more pallid than normal. Still, she was back to her usual self, which gladdened his heart.

“You’re…you’re not wearing your cloak anymore.”

Hana blinked in surprise at the statement, her tail wavering low to the deck and free of restraint, “Oh, well, yes. I supposed that after what…what happened that it wasn’t going to serve much purpose.” Lucius felt a wave of stupidity roll through his brain, shaming himself for the ridiculous remark. He floundered trying to figure out how to come back from it, only to be saved by Astora’s timely intervention,

“What? No heartfelt embrace? No deep, passionate kiss that leads to so much more that I need to get involved? I set this up perfectly, I swear!”

Blacktern gave a deep, exasperated sigh at her captain’s antics, “Oi, Captain. Stop pushing your own ridiculous desires on others, especially the ones that you should keep to yourself. Which are all of them, by the way.”

Astora waved her off, “Fine, fine. But I know ya were expectin’ it too.” When Blacktern refused to comment and took great interest in her own drink, Astora took that as a win and mercifully changed topics.

“There’s almost nothin’ that I can say that’ll convey just how much I appreciate ya both. Ya risked life and limb to save both ship and soul, an’ there’s so much I want ta say. Now I’ve been around this world a few times, an’ I’ve seen my fair share o’ wild an’ crazy things. But that…that’ll be somethin’ I never forget. Especially you, my most beauteous Beastkin! I’ve never seen that kind o’ magic bein’ used, ever! Now that I got yer man here, woulda mind tellin’ us what ya did, exactly?”

All eyes went to Hana, who paled slightly under their scrutiny and scuffed her boot across the deck, “Ummm…well…I kinda just…told it off?” All three of them stared at her blankly, unsatisfied at the lack of information. Hana struggled to find the right words,

“So, I honestly don’t really remember a whole lot, but it was complaining of some kind of trouble with its parents and it had run away from home, and it was taking its frustration out on the ship. So, I just reminded it that doing so was unfair and rude, and that it ought to go home and apologize. Heh…teenagers, am I right?”

“T-TEENAGER!?” Lucius couldn’t help but suppress his shock, “That thing, that giant fuck-all serpent was just a teenager?” Hana offered little more than a sheepish grin and a shrug, “That’s just what I could figure out, but yes. I suspect that once fully grown, it would truly be a force to be reckoned with.”

“I knew it…” Hana spun about to face Astora, who had a pensive look in her eyes as she stared straight into Hana, “Ya can speak to animals, right? Ya can hear ‘em, understand their thoughts and even control ‘em, right?”

She physically seemed to recoil from Astora’s words, amazed that she was able to figure out that hidden part of her, “Y-yes. I can.” Astora put her tankard down on the railing and leaned back against it, staring up into the sky, “There’re stories, old ones, mind ya, o’ folk who were able ta do things like that. Have ya heard the stories, Blacktern?”

The slight fighter gave a slow nod, “I have indeed. Long ago, stories speak of individuals with the power to warp nature itself. To command, control and even conjure mighty beasts. They were referred to as druids, those who could bend the very essence of the world.”

Hana’s ears shot straight up, her body going rigid with excitement. Lucius also felt a jolt of energy, this was the first real concrete hint that they had gotten that could help Hana learn about who she really was. Sensing her excitement, Blacktern proffered more information,

“Easy there, the druids are largely a legend. Some say they were the progenitors of all the schools of magic, as magic derives from the natural world. Others simply say they never existed at all, while some claim that a few might still exist in the deepest of wild regions. But, I must admit…seeing what you did certainly felt like the legends had come to life.”

Astora wrapped her arms around Blacktern, causing the usually tacit woman to blush fiercely, “Ah, worry not, my love! Let’s not worry ‘bout deep stuff like that tonight! Tonight’s all ‘bout bein in tha moment! So come on then! Get in there and get drunk!”

Pushing Hana and Lucius down the stairs, Astora threw them into the arms of the waiting crew, who were ecstatic to receive their saviors. In the ensuing whirlwind of drink and dance and song, the pair were separated. As damaged as the Wavecutter was, it continued to support the partying sailors well into the evening. Lucius managed to extricate himself a short while later, looking back on the exuberant group and found Hana to be at their center.

He watched as she laughed and joked along with the sailors, how she blushed under their praises and exaggeratingly recounted her actions in true naval fashion. Once more he was struck by how brilliantly she shone amidst the sea of faces. Even if he tore his eyes to some other place, he could not escape her magnetic pull. At first, he was happy to see that she was fitting in so well and that her appearance seemed to make little to no difference in how the sailors saw her. But the longer he watched, he could feel a great distance yawning wide between them. It was then that a thought entered his mind, worming through the mirth like a parasite and chewed deep into his heart. Soon, it was all he could fathom, and he withdrew further from the light.

He walked all the way to the bow and looked far out over the blackened waves, the cool wind gently whispering in his ears as the ship slowly cut its way through the sea. That churning, acrid thought grew worse as the minutes ticked by, and only strengthened when he felt a presence step up next to him,

“Lucius? How’re you feeling? Everything alright?”

Of course Hana had come to check on him, he doubted that he had left her sight all evening. Even now, she seemed to shine so brightly that he could not hope to look at her,

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just been thinking, is all.”

“Oh? That makes sense, a lot’s happened, after all. Are you thinking on something important?” Lucius’ fist tightened on the rail, “Yeah…yeah you could say that.” She tilted her head to try and get a read on his face, but he refused to meet her eyes. Her ears twitched with concern,

“Lucius? What’s wrong?”

His jaw clenched as he warred with that terrible thought, unwilling to put that vile idea into words. To merely consider it drew knives across his chest, but try as he might, he could not shake it. As much as it hurt, and as cruel as it was, he knew that it was the right thing. He knew, deep within that consuming vitriol, that this was for the best.

He swallowed glass and finally said the words aloud, “I…I was just thinking about what to do once we reached land. And I, I think I know what we need to do.”

“What is it?”

“I think, once we reach Ikara, we should take our leave of each other.”