Work Text:
Castti dropped into the chair and sighed. They were on a voyage to the eastern continent, and a violent storm swept over them, causing the ship to rock violently. Several vials of valuable medicine fell victim to this, leaving Castti in a bad mood.
She wasn’t the only one suffering from the storm. Partitio has lost valuable goods, Osvald’s book was so soaked in the sudden rain that it would have been an insult to any book to call it a book, Ochette and Machina were soaked to the bones from the rain and sat wrapped in the sheet nearby of the fireplace, which Castti didn’t quite trust. After all, who built a fireplace on a wooden ship? Temenos opened the door and looked around.
"Has anyone seen Throné? I can’t find her anywhere here.“
Castti got up, worried. A person could easily fall overboard in such a violent storm, and while Throné was more than capable of standing on her own two feet, she could do little against the forces of nature.
"I’ll help you search,“ she offered Temenos.
"I’ve checked all the cabins, so she has to be somewhere up on the deck. I’ll do the front, you the back?“
"Sounds good,“ she murmured.
For some reason, she absolutely couldn’t stand rain. She didn’t understand why. It was just water, and she wasn’t made of sugar. Still, the mere thought of rain made her heart race. She pushed her nervousness aside. Whatever it was, it wasn’t as important as going out there and finding Throné. She ran up the stairs, and before they could open the door, their ship swayed so much that she and Temenos had to cling to the stair railing.
"My my, what a weather,“ Temenos sighed. He opened the door, and as soon as they were outside, they were drenched from head to toe. At that moment, Castti was glad that she had the presence of mind to leave her bag of herbs downstairs with Osvald and the others. She fought her way to the other end of the ship and covered her face with her arm. Damn rain, I can’t see anything, she thought.
"Throné? Where are you?!“ she kept calling.
But no answer. The more time passed, the more concerned she became. What if she went overboard? The waves were so huge that she doubted anyone could stay afloat in them for long. If Throné could swim at all.
The rain grew heavier. She tried desperately to push away her burgeoning panic. This damn rain, why was she afraid of it? Calm down, Castti, calm down, she thought. She had to keep a cool head. But after a while the apothecary was about to give up the search when she suddenly heard a noise from a corner that she hadn’t searched yet.
Carefully, clinging to the railing, she ventured further and to her great relief saw the thief who… oh.
"C-castti,“ Throne murmured, avoiding her gaze. She was pale, her wet hair was plastered in her face, and yet she managed to look beautiful as always. Was there a situation where Throné didn’t look absolutely gorgeous? Castti pushed that thought aside.
"What the hell are you doing out here in this kind of weather?“ the thief asked tiredly.
"I should be the one asking you that, Throné,“ Castti answered back sternly, half clinging to the railing, half to Throné as the ship rocked again.
"Honestly, are you out of your mind? Risking your life like that.“
"Please, Castti, leave me alone,“ the thief began, but Castti shook her head.
"Sea sickness is nothing to be ashamed of,“ she said firmly.
Throné let out an annoyed tch, but before she could say anything else, she hung back over the railing and threw up what presumably was their lunch today. It was a miracle that she didn’t go overboard.
"Easy for you to say when you’re not affected, Doctor,“ she replied. You could see that she didn’t want Castti to see her like that.
"It is human to be ill, Throné. Do you think you’re the first person ever I see throwing up? Why should I react differently to you than to others?”
"Because you…“ Throné began and fell silent. Castti sighed.
"So you think risking your life and puking your soul out in a dangerous storm is something I’d rather have than knowing you’re safe and taking care of you?“
The thief said nothing. Castti tried not to show her displeasure. It baffled her how some people put pride before their health without batting an eyelid.
"Come on,“ she said, „Let’s get back to the cabins before we catch our deaths here. I’ll mix you some medicine for your seasickness there.“
Throné didn’t look enthusiastic, but she was smart enough not to resist Castti’s grasp.
"If I have to,“ she said curtly, as always. She leaned against Castti, and the older one was thankful to her past self at that moment that she had built up enough muscles to be able to carry a person. Thronés seasickness must have been worse than she thought. She seemed very dizzy. For some reason this situation seemed oddly familiar. Again Castti felt an uneasiness spreading through her body.
Pull yourself together, dammit, she admonished herself. Thronés safety was more important than... whatever that was. As much as these symptoms reminded her of PTSD, panicking because of the rain was laughable even for her.
"Oh, you found her. Good", Temenos said, trying to hide his relief behind a neutral facade. Again Castti wondered, how much pride seemed to influence her comrades.
Once they arrived in the dry area of their ship, Castti quickly grabbed her bag and carefully led Throné to her cabin. The thief let out a sigh of relief as she sat down.
"Gods, when is it going to stop?“ she moaned, holding her head with one hand.
"It will take a moment, dear,“ Castti explained patiently. As she ventured into the medicine, she gave Throné a scrutinizing look.
"Undress yourself!“
"E-Excuse me?!“
Throné, who usually reacted calmly to everything, turned crimson.
"Your clothes,“ Castti explained now impatiently, „are completely soaked. This weakens your immune system and makes you more susceptible to illness. Don’t worry, we have thick blankets here, and I’m about to undress, too.“
For some reason, it only seemed to inflame Thronés cheeks even more. She just uttered a contrite „if I have to“ and began to unlace her corset. The apothecary handed her a jar of medicine, which Throné gulped down, grimacing in disgust.
"I’m sorry, I usually put honey in, but unfortunately, I ran out of it here,“ Castti explained apologetically, and Throné just shook her head.
"I’ve seen worse than having to drink bitter medicine,“ she murmured. Castti knew what she meant, but she decided to let the matter rest. She knew that Throné had to do things she didn’t want to do in order to survive and that she wanted to break out of the cycle. Now that Throné had drunk the medicine, Castti couldn’t suppress a small giggle.
"Why are you laughing?“
"Throné Anguis, a thief prodigy and dangerous assassin, gets defeated by a ship.“
"S-shut up,“ Throné stammered, embarrassed.
"Sorry, I just wanted to tease you,“ Castti immediately apologized.
Throné made a pouty face, and again, Castti suppressed a giggle with effort. This woman could be so sweet even if she didn’t realize it.
After a while, Castti also took off her clothes and put them on the table next to Thronés. She sat down on the bed and wrapped a sheet around her body, which unfortunately only reached her knees. But it served it´s purpose. She was about to grab a thick blanket when she saw the thief standing in front of a mirror with a thoughtful look. She was grinning.
"What’s so funny?“ she asked curiously, stepping close to her.
"The sheets… if sewn properly, they could make interesting clothes. I’m just arranging it, so it might be some kind of tunic. I mean, it doesn’t look very fancy right now, but if you put some work into it, it could be something. Maybe it would be a new business idea for Partitio.“
"I see,“ Castti replied softly, although she actually had little knowledge of fashion. She looked over Thronés shoulder in the mirror and agreed. The idea still needed a lot of work, but it looked really good given the circumstances. Although, all clothes on Throné looked good.
Suddenly, Throné’s grin disappeared. She must have noticed how close Castti was to her, and again, she looked unusually nervous, which didn’t quite match her character. What was wrong with her?
"Are you alright, Throné?“ Castti asked worriedly and was about to grab her shoulder when she remembered that Throné didn’t like touches, especially unannounced ones.
Throné looked at her for a long time. Then she sighed.
"I give up. How come you don’t notice?“
"What exactly do I not notice?“ Castti asked, confused.
"Is it really not obvious? You’re the doctor here. Shouldn’t you be able to see the symptoms?“
"Symptoms?“ Castti repeated, frowning.
Well, Throné was unusually nervous. She blushed every time Castti spoke to her or whenever they were alone, she was unusually out of character.
"I don’t know of any disease that has these symptoms,“ she began and faltered. She didn’t know an illness, but what came to her mind… that was absurd.
There’s no way that this attractive woman across from her has fallen for her, right? Now Castti’s cheeks caught fire, too.
"Oh,“ she said simply. „So you’re… into me…?“
She looked at the thief helplessly, and Throné looked at her unusually shy and vulnerable.
"Yes? I… Gods, I really don’t know how to confess something like that. I never had such feelings before, and to be honest, I’m a bit overwhelmed. I thought I could ignore it, but you sure as hell make sure I can’t,“ she admitted.
Silence filled the room. Could this be true? Of course it was. There was no way Throné would lie to her about it.
"I see,“ she said after a while.
"Well, then it’s about time we get to know each other a little better, huh? Or more precisely: that I get to know you better because I myself… actually have no idea who I am”, she laughed softly.
"You… are you serious? You don’t need to force yourself to do anything just to spare my feelings,“ Throné objected, but Castti laughed at that.
"Really, of all people, do you really think I’d hesitate to speak my mind? In fact, you’ve been stuck in my head for a while. Unfortunately, I just haven’t had the time to deal with my feelings in more detail,“ Castti explained truthfully.
Throné opened her mouth in astonishment to object, but found no counter-arguments. She smiled slightly.
"So… can I ask you out on a date?“
"Yes, of course. Uh… what exactly do you do on a date?“
"I don’t know. Talk? Eat?“
Castti’s stomach growled loudly.
"I think I found the perfect time for our date, then. But it would probably be better to have food brought to our room, our clothes are soaking wet and I don’t think we want to leave our room half naked.“
Throné nodded in agreement and while Castti started to call for Ochette, she stopped.
"Throné?“
"Hm?“
Castti tugged at the bottom of her sheet.
"Do you think we should cut it here open just like your dress?“ she asked innocently. The apothecary grinned teasingly as Throné blushed again.
She’ll have fun looking at these… symptoms tonight, she thought with satisfaction.