Chapter Text
Essek had been awake for a few hours already, he'd taken over the watch that Yasha had been insistent on, the dark circles under her eyes seemed to show that maybe a fear for her teammates' safety wasn't the only thing keeping her from sleeping, but she seemed to be asleep now.
Essek wasn't exactly the best at watch, but he knew it was better for him to be awake after he'd had the necessary amount of rest than any of the Nein, who needed twice as much sleep as him.
So he was flicking through his spellbook, occasionally taking note of a spell that he thought he could improve on, or one that he would like to share with Caleb when given the chance.
The Mighty Nein had been sleeping peacefully, aside from the occasional stir. Veth had almost rolled across the dome, having fallen asleep next to Caleb but now cuddled tightly into Fjord's side, and Essek smiled to himself as he imagined the way either would react if they woke up first. He may not be the best at reading people, but the sibling like rivalry between them was amusing.
Essek was taking notes on changes he might make to one of his lower level spells when he heard muttering at his side.
Caleb was covered in sweat, his face twisted in pained anger, and his eyes were still closed tight. He was muttering something in Zemnian, and the thought crossed Essek's mind to cast Comprehend Language, but something about the way Caleb looked made that feel invasive, as if he'd be breaking Caleb's trust by knowing what he was saying.
"Caleb?" he whispered, and Caleb didn't respond, still deep asleep.
Caleb's hands were on his arms, digging into the scars that covered his forearms, not moving, but tightening, nails digging into skin.
Essek wanted to stop it. Stop Caleb from hurting. Everything in him wanted to help Caleb. But he couldn't wake him, he didn't want to frighten him, to cause him to wake up panicked, or even attack.
But he couldn't just leave him like this. There were tears streaming down his face, and his muttering was getting louder, more desperate.
Essek extended a hand cautiously, as if he were trying to tame a wild animal, barely letting his fingers brush Caleb's hand, and slowly settling what he hoped was a comforting touch over the fingers that were dug into the maze of scars.
His other hand found its way to Caleb's hair, brushing it very carefully out of the human's face, and continuing to smooth it back, even after it was pushed back.
He felt Caleb's hands loosen slowly, the tension leaving, and his breathing slowed. He kept his hands where they were, though, continuing to run his fingers through Caleb's hair for maybe half an hour before he began to wake, long red eyelashes revealing those disarmingly blue eyes.
"Essek?" His voice was croaky, accent perhaps a little thicker than normal.
Essek felt himself blush as he realised the position he was in, one hand's fingers halfway through Caleb's hair, and the other wrapped around his hand.
He moved to pull away, bringing the hand that had been in the bright red hair straight to his chest, but Caleb tightened his grip on the other, refusing to let it go.
"Thank you." Caleb whispered, lacing his fingers with Essek's as he closed his eyes, his breathing slowing again as he fell back asleep.