Chapter 62: Ask for help

Irin was fascinated by life on the ship. The sailors climbed the masts as if they were walking on the ground. Everything was tidy and nothing was in the way. Discipline was strict, and no one seemed to mind. While she was trying to take everything in and get used to the ship's movements, Koth was grumpier than usual. She didn't know if it was because the sailors seemed to watch her wherever she went, or if he disliked being back on the road, or rather, back to travelling again. She was grateful to have him around. It worked wonders at keeping the sailors to just looking. One glare from Koth, especially when he was grumpy, and they backed off and pretended to be doing something important. He also saved her a couple of times from falling when the ship moved beneath them. He was steady and didn't seem to have an issue.

"Should we go to the cabin?" Irin asked when they had been on deck for over an hour. Koth grunted his approval. As they reached their cabin, Koth more or less sagged down on the bed and put his head in his hands. Irin frowned. "Are you okay?" she asked, shutting the door behind her, which meant she had to stand close to him.

"Fine," he said, his answer short and grumpy.

"You're not," she insisted, placing her hand on his forehead to see if he had a fever. He was cool, but his skin was sticky. "Look at me," she demanded.

"Not now, little one," he said, not sounding grumpy, just tired, which made her worry even more. She sank to her knees in front of him, a little tricky as the floor space was limited. The little she could see of his face looked paler than it had moments earlier.

"Why didn't you tell me you were unwell, honey? What's wrong? Does it hurt anywhere?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he insisted.

"You are not fine!" She was about to lecture him on the importance of being honest in situations like this when she remembered something. "Are you seasick?" she asked.

"No." The answer sounded almost painful.

"Koth!" she demanded.

"Okay. Yes, I'm seasick, happy? I think it got worse when we went below deck," he confessed.

"Stubbornness and pride have to go when you're sick, especially when you have a healer as a companion," she told him, using a gentler voice and kissing his head as she stood up. She placed her hands on his shoulders and let her healing magic flow through him. She knew that seasickness wasn't really an illness, but her magic would fix it as long as that was what she asked for. Irin could feel Koth relaxing and he leaned his head against her stomach. "Better?" she asked, raking her fingers through his black hair.

"Much, thank you," he admitted.

"Next time, let me know, and I will help you." He slowly nodded. "Okay, I think you need a nap before lunch," she said.

"Don't talk about food. I'm still a little queasy," he told her.

"Bed or hammock?" she asked.

"If you let me rest in your lap, I will choose the bed." Irin melted a little at the vulnerable tone in his voice. She made herself as comfortable as she could on the bed and patted her lap. Koth lay down with his head in her lap.

"I should keep watch. I don't trust those sailors," he grumbled, half asleep.

"Don't worry. If they force themselves inside the cabin, I will set this little wooden boat on fire," she told him. She saw him smile.

"Luckily for you, I can swim," he said before he fell asleep. Irin smiled down at him and continued to run her fingers through his hair and softly hum a melody she used to sing to her siblings when they couldn't sleep.

When Irin heard the food bell ring a couple of hours later, she gently woke Koth up.

"Do you want some food?" she asked. He looked a lot better.

"Maybe," he said.

"Let's go and have a look what we are having," she encouraged him, and they walked towards the kitchen. Irin stopped a few metres from the giant pot that the chef was serving food from. Captain Hanook walked up to them.

"Fish stew," he told them. Irin felt she would have issues getting the stew down, and she had no hope of Koth keeping it down.

"Looks... interesting. I think we will stick with the bread today," she told the captain, grabbed some bread and water, and then walked out on the deck with Koth in tow. They found a quiet place where the wind didn't bother them. "Eat, it will feel better with something in your stomach," she told Koth. He had pulled her close to him and used his cloak to cover her as well. He took a piece of bread and slowly gnawed on it. Irin had never seen him eat anything as slowly as he ate the bread, not even the lutefisk. She ate her own bread and made sure Koth drank some water.

"Thank you. It did make me feel a little better," Koth admitted.

"I'm happy to hear that. Next time, let me know. I don't like to see you suffer," she said, giving him a kiss on his cheek.

"I don't like showing that part of myself. I don't like being weak." It was Irin's turn to snort.

"Who does? Sometimes in life, you will be weak. You need to ask for help when it happens. It will make you stronger, and then you have someone who will help you, and things will turn around quicker than if you try to do it all alone," she told him.

"I never thought about it like that," he admitted.

"I know you were alone in that tower of yours for a while before we met, but now you have me, so you will always have someone to lean on. And I will lean on you when I need to," she said.

"I can live with that," he agreed.

"Yes, you can, or I will drop you off on a deserted island and let you stay there until your soberness is under control," she told him. He chuckled.

"Yeah, I can see you charm the captain and actually do it," Koth said. They stayed out on deck until the second food bell rang. They discovered the fish stew hadn't been finished at lunch, and dinner was a repeat. They took some bread and water and headed back to their hideout.

"We can eat some cheese and dried meat when we get back to the cabin," Irin said as they ate the dry bread.

"It's for the road," Koth objected.

"I think we can find more in the capital. Even if we don't want to risk going to the temple, we should be able to earn some money," she insisted.

"One day, things will go as planned," Koth grunted. Irin smiled. Where was the fun in that? she mused.