Skedaddle

[Soran Nightblade]

Telanis followed her inside. His gaze drifted to his brother, who was leaning against the wall next to the door. The black unicorn regarded him with cold, indifferent eyes and then flattened his expression to stare off at the wall.

"It will be okay, Adonis," the white unicorn said.

Adonis's glare flashed back at him. "She will ruin you. They aren't what they seem, brother. Every one of them is black, inside, and they'll blacken you too," he said grimly. He waved his hand dismissively at the bed where Laya was resting.

"Then stay here, and see that she doesn't," Telanis said.

Adonis grimaced and made his way to the corner, where their luggage was stacked. He sat on the floor and leaned back against the bags. "Take the bunk."

"Where will you sleep?" his brother frowned.

"Here!" Adonis snapped, waving him away. He didn't say anything about not wanting Telanis to bunk with Laya. He didn't need to.

"You can take the bed," Telanis said, concerned.

"Shut up!" The black unicorn snapped, gesturing at the bed fiercely. "You're the one with no sea legs. If you lie here, you'll probably just roll out into the hallway."

"I can share with you."

"No," he bristled, knowing his brother couldn't understand why.

"I am compact," Telanis persisted.

The black unicorn gave no answer, and Telanis didn't push any harder. He pulled off his shirt and climbed into the bunk below Laya. Rather than sleep, he listened to the sound of the waves outside and kept his senses keen in case anything else went wrong.

[Emora Deen]

Laya felt hurt at his words, but she could understand why he spoke them. She was black inside.

"Don't be mad at him," she said softly.

Laya frowned, rolling in her bed until she faced the small port hole. she looked out into the dimming sky and watched the waves as they passed. She pulled the covers up over her shoulders and around her neck and listened to the sound of splashing waves.

[Soran Nightblade]

Telanis finally closed his eyes. Drawing slow breaths to ease the remaining symptoms of his seasickness, he let his body relax as much as it could and eventually fell asleep.

Adonis couldn't sleep and couldn't stop thinking about what his brother had gotten himself into. He didn't know how to protect him anymore, and he didn't know how to show him how dangerous they were. After all he'd done to teach Telanis about human nature, he still seemed so completely trusting and naive. Was the hard way the only way to learn these things? After everything, did he have to sit back and watch them destroy him? The last pure thing he knew of in this world, broken and betrayed and corrupted. He drew deep breaths to calm his pounding heart as he sat restlessly in the silent room.

[Emora Deen]

Laya couldn't sleep. She was tired, but she couldn't seem to sleep. She watched the ocean. The room was quiet, and she thought that Telanis and Adonis were sleeping.

She heard thunder. It rumbled and even the walls of the boat shuddered. She watched as lightening flashing out in the distance above choppy waves. She had a feeling that Telanis's sea sickness was about to get worst.

[Soran Nightblade]

Adonis sat awake, listening to the wind pick up outside. The ship began to wrestle with the waves as the storm picked up. Unable to sit still, he looked over at his brother lying still on the bottom bunk. Telanis's breath had evened out; apparently he was resting through all this, for now. He couldn't see Laya from his place on the ground, but he guessed she was out as well. He stood up and walked quietly across the room to the porthole window. Outside, grey and purple clashed in the dark waves splashing up against the side of the ship. He drew a deep breath and touched the wall for support as the ship heaved sideways. It was extremely awkward to be there. It felt like he didn't belong in the room. Like she somehow belonged with Telanis more than him.

It occurred to him that it wasn't just that she was corrupting his brother. He was actually jealous. He was going to be left behind. And not for the first time.

He didn't know how to fix it.

Someone was shouting up on deck above them. Boots thudded on the roof above his head as the crew worked to guide the ship through the building storm. A flash of lightning illuminated the room, followed by a monstrous clap of thunder.

[Emora Deen]

Laya watched Adonis, though she didn't think that he noticed she was awake. She wanted to say something, but what to saw completely slipped her mind.

He hated her, so what could she say to him.

Lightening flashed and Laya jumped off the bed with a gasp. She sat up, skooting back towards the head of the bed, and resting agaisnt the wall.

[Soran Nightblade]

Adonis looked over his shoulder as Laya's startlement announced that she was awake as loudly as her gasp. A wave tossed the ship enough to tip over a suitcase. He stared at the girl with a cold frown for a few moments before a shout of "all hands on deck!" sounded from outside.

"I'm going to lend a hand," Adonis said tiredly, like this was nothing unusual. He glanced to his still sleeping brother. "Laya, people get hurt in storms," he said seriously. "Keep him away from the deck," he told her seriously. He expected she probably knew what he meant.

[Emora Deen]

Laya watched Telanis for a moment. “I’ll make sure he stays safe,” she told him. She pulled the covers further up her lap until they rested on her stomach, and she folded her arms there.

[Soran Nightblade]

Adonis didn't thank her or acknowledge her. He just left the room and closed the door behind him. In the hall, people were running both ways, some pulling on boots as they hopped, preparing to man the decks. Rain was driving hard from outside, and the end of the alley that led up to the deck already had rain puddles forming around the stairs. It was going to be a wet night. The black unicorn was half way up the stairs when a strange, dark feeling washed through him. He recognized it well. It was the sensation he usually got when he used the black stone on his forehead - cold and harsh. Only he hadn't cast any black magic. He shook his head, wondering if the stone was finally starting to overtake his own will. No, he thought, he could still control it. He shuddered off the feeling and braced himself to help with the storm.

A harsh wave rocked the ship sideways, almost dumping Telanis out of his narrow bunk. He woke with a start and grasped at the sheets for stability - a very human reflex. He was getting accustomed to having fingers. Another sway of the ship sent his stomach up into his throat. He swallowed hard and took in the sounds of the men shouting upstairs and the storm pummeling the ship outside. He swallowed hard. "Laya?" he called to the upper bunk uncertainly.

[Emora Deen]

Laya slid off the top bunk and dropped down beside Telanis. “I’m here. Adonis went to help the men with the preparations for the storm. He said to stay here.” She sat on the edge of his bed, looking at him. “Do I need to get you another bucket? I think this storm might be hell on your sea-sickness.”

[Soran Nightblade]

Telanis shook his head, but then regretted it. "I don't think that's necessary," he said unconvincingly, sitting up next to her. He glanced up at the noise coming from the ceiling. The boat groaned under the weight of another wave as thunder rattled the floorboards.

Several men's footsteps moved heavily down the hall, encumbered by something.

"He's losing blood," someone said."

"It's just a split forehead, he'll be fine once he's wrapped up," the second man said gruffly as they hauled their mate down the hall toward the infirmary.

Telanis stood up and immediately reached to the bedpost for balance as the boat swayed. "We should help them," he said earnestly, his eyes practically glowing with protective instinct.

[Emora Deen]

Laya looked at Telanis for a moment. “Okay, we’ll go to where they keep the injured, but we can’t go up on deck. We’ll get washed away,” she told him.

Laya reached down for his hand to help him stand. “But, if it gets too dangerous we have to come back here.”

Laya was worried about running in to the man from below, but she knew she wouldn’t recognize him if she saw him. She had been unable to see his face down below. Maybe that made her feel even more uneasy.

[Soran Nightblade]

He smiled at her, glad that she understod. Telanis didn't bother pulling on his boots. He pulled open the door and took Laya's hand, leading her out into the hall. He held onto the wall for support as they made their way toward the infirmary. He nearly fell on his face as he stepped through the door, but managed to catch onto the door and swing back to stability. The scent of blood filled and dulled his senses, sending his head reeling in addition to his stomach. But it wasn't a lot of blood. Not enough to prevent him from entering the room.

"What are you doing here?" the physician asked as they came in. He was busy applying gauze to the hurt man's head wound.

"I'm a.... a..doctor," Telanis fumbled, glancing to Laya.

[Emora Deen]

Laya frowned. “He’s a healer,” she corrected. If Telanis used magic without saying it was limited to healing they would want him to do more things. If she said he was a healer, they would believe that was all he could do.

She helped Telanis towards the bleeding man.

[Soran Nightblade]

The man raised an eyebrow at them both. "If that's the truth, we'll have good use for you tonight," he said gruffly.

Telanis humbly accepted Laya's help to cross the room, knowing full well he'd fall flat on his face if he didn't. He reached the wounded man's side and knelt next to him. Instinct completely overrode the stunning scent of blood as he touched the side of the man's head and slowly lowered his own forehead to his. A soft light glowed around them for several moments. Then the wound was gone, and the man was asleep.

A new set of footsteps sprinted to the doorway. "Sir...we have another one."

"What happened to this one?" the doctor grumbled."

"I'm...not sure, sir." The younger sailor stepped aside as two more men brought in a new patient. It was hard to tell what they were looking at for a second. The man looked gray-skinned and ill, but the strangest thing was his eyes. They were pure black, no whites, no irises. Just a viscous black. The man's nose was bleeding down his chin and into his shirt. He looked like he'd seen a ghost, if those eyes could see at all.