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“Serafen, can I ask you a question?” Adira pushed her chair away from the table, legs wobbling with the effort of trying to stand. Balance escaped her, and she needed to press both hands against a chair to remain standing.
“Aye, cap, ask away.”
“Are you...fuzzier than normal?” Her hands reached out to pat the sides of his blue-furred face. “I think somethin’s wrong with my eyes. You’re all wobbly ‘n out of focus.”
“I reckon that be on account of all the rum, cap.” The orlan’s knees buckled slightly at the unexpected shift of her much taller body against his own. “You surely ain’t no lightweight, but it got the upper hand tonight.”
Between the swaying of the ship and his own inebriation, keeping the Watcher upright and off the floor was a real struggle. He quite nearly let her drop before, with the most opportune timing, Edér appeared in the captain’s cabin and quickly took her off his hands. With a familiarity borne of years of intimacy, the farmer quite capably had her back upright, even if he had to keep an arm wrapped around her as she leaned heavily against him. “Thought you two were supposed to be going over the ins and outs of battle strategy.”
“Well, it started off that way, rightly enough. Then the captain here asked for some help with our rather poetic language. A little lesson in improving her piratical vocabulary if’n you please.” He gestured widely at the table behind them overflowing with now empty bottles and cups. “Turns out imbibing spirits greatly enhances her learnin’ capabilities.”
“That so?”
An enthusiastic nod answered the question. “We been splicing the main brace!” Adira attempted to push herself away from her support, but almost immediately found her legs giving out underneath her. With a drunken laugh at herself, she clung back to Edér as he dragged her back to her feet. “And I’m loaded to the gunwalls!”
“That you are, honey. Not sure if I should be disappointed that you managed to get yourself drunker than I’ve ever seen you, or if I should be mad you didn’t invite me.”
“M’sorry, love. Next time I promise you can drink with us.”
Before he could reply, they were interrupted by a sudden commotion from above decks. It was nearly impossible to make out what was being said amongst the shouts, but then a voice, louder than the rest, boomed out “sail ho!”
“Oh! I know that one!” Adira’s face brightened, and she paused to hiccup before continuing. “It means there’s a boat nearby.”
“Ship, captain.”
“Ship, Serafen,” she corrected herself before furrowing her brow in worry. “Edér, Is it a good ship or a bad ship?”
Edér shared a concerned look with the other man who seemed instantly less intoxicated than he had minutes earlier. “Why don’t we go up and see for ourselves?”
“‘You’re as smart as you are handsome, y’know.” Once again she tried standing on her own without his support, and once again found herself sliding towards the floor. “You’re gonna have to help me get there. I seem to have lost me sea legs.”
“Don’t think the problem is with your sea legs, honey.” He moved closer to support her weight with his own. “Maybe it ain’t such a good idea for you to go up. It might get a little tense up there and you ain’t exactly up to captaining right now.”
“Pshhhhhh I can captain with the best of ‘em.” She was intent on ignoring the obvious that she was in absolutely no shape to handle even a friendly exchange with the approaching ship. “What kinda captain would I be if I didn’t go up and help?”
“The world ain’t gonna end if you sit this one out,” Edér said as gently as he could. “The crew managed well enough while you were off in la-la land. Let them handle this.”
“You’re no fun.” She let him lead her back to one of the chairs and even sat down when instructed. The second he released her, however, she was pushing herself back up. In a move that shouldn’t have been possible given her inebriated state, she skipped out of reach and sprinted out the door and up the stair. Once the fresh sea air hit her face, she began yelling a string of commands. “Hoist the mizzenmast! Run a shot across the bow! Bring a spring upon her cable!”
Serafen reached her side first and tried, without success, to guide her back down the stairs. “Ignore the captain, lads,” he jovially instructed the others who’d stopped what they were doing at the uproar. “She’s three sheets to the wind and full of phrases she don’t rightly understand. Edér, little help getting the lass back to her cabin?”
With a smooth move, he had her thrown over his shoulder and was headed back below decks before she realized what was going on. Ineffectually, she kicked her legs against him as he carried her into her cabin. “Unhand me scallywag, or I’ll have you walking the plank.”
“Dammit, woman, that’s enough!” he said crossly, setting her down on the bed with more force than he’d intended, but she didn’t seem to notice in her current state. She was still wobbly, so he seated himself next to her, wrapping an arm back around her for support. With his free hand, he turned her face towards his and brushed his fingers against her cheek. “You’re better off down here right now. I know you feel like you gotta help, but trust me just this once, okay?”
Whatever argument she had planned died on her lips, and she sighed in surprising resignation. “Will you stay here with me?”
“‘Course I will. Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
“Even if all the action is above deck?”
“Especially if all the action is above deck,” he said with a chuckle. “If everyone’s busy up there it means they ain’t bothering you down here. And if they ain’t bothering you down here, that means I get you all to myself. Not a bad bargain in my books.”
“Well...I can think of a few things we can do now that we’re all alone.”
Edér couldn’t help but laugh at the suggestively raised eyebrow that followed her statement. “I’ll take you up on that offer just as soon as you’ve sobered up. You’re in absolutely no shape to do anything but sleep right now.”
“Sleep.” The mere suggestion had her yawning almost instantly. “That does sound nice,” Adira admitted, not resisting when he moved her so that she was laying down, her head cushioned against the pillow. Before letting herself drift off, she reached out to grab his hand. “You still love me?”
“More than anything. Now go to sleep.”
“Will you be here in the morning?”
“Tomorrow and every day after.”