Chapter Text
Everything spoiled. It would’ve been impossible to think every single organ and orifice could twist and ache if not for the experience currently being bestowed upon the man splayed anxiously on a thinly veiled cotton cot and an even thinner blanket; not any helped by the never-ending sway of a cargo ship and the overwhelming smell of people, the sea, and even the wood that it was built upon. Among every shift of the seas came the shift within his innards and a wave of nausea crashed over him as the salt did along the rim of the old oak wood. And though sweaty hands held to the rim of his shaking cot, it offered no sense of stability or comfort.
There was a pathetic attempt to shift his body in a way that made his innards throb less though what little motion he was able to achieve only served to make his head pound and a rough cough ripple through his lungs. Swiping at his mouth with his hand, bleary eyes struggled to focus on the small dots of red that exclaimed against chesnut skin.
Throwing his arm off to the side of the cotton, Nando lamented as the dizzy whirlwind that was his body and mind threatened to spoil. He couldn’t recall a time in which he’d been a quarter of this sick, but given his current condition, it was hard to know if he could really process his thoughts at all or if they’d melt into a puddle of nonsense. Maybe it was the ship itself that fell him so distraught, maybe it had been the small village they had passed before being welcomed as extra cargo, or maybe it was just shit luck.
Nando hadn’t even really wanted to accept the ride offer, no, rather he wanted to turn around and find some other place to seek shelter, but the night had fallen too fast and the fatigue was hard to ignore - It didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to chastise Leo for it later though.
Boarding the ship had been a group of seamen from France along with cargo in large wooden containers that looked old and hard to open. They hadn’t been native to the village the two brothers had stopped in, but they were the only people leaving and leaving such a far distance. And when such fantastical tales were shared over bread and wine, Nando hadn’t missed the look of interest in Leo’s gaze. It had only been a short conversation, albeit heated, that they decided to join in the men’s adventure; they had to sell their horse for it and promise to work on particular trouble areas in the bunkers, but they’d be allowed shelter, some food, and two cots of their own.
The remaining hours of the day had been spent with the two men helping with the cargo, much of which was much lighter than it appeared, and settling within the deeper confines of the ship. The traces of sickness only started to become apparent when night had settled and the ship left the land behind, but it felt easy to dismiss it as what the Frenchmen called ‘sea sickness’. But when the hours became longer and Nando could not longer see the ground without disorientating himself, he had bluffed his way into taking a small break and sitting; and not longer after, sitting became lying down for an indefinite amount of time.
For the first couple minutes into the ‘break’, Leo would complain openly as he combed through cobwebs and spiderwebs in hard to reach corners, but when it became apparent that something was indeed wrong, the latter lefts his complaints in his head; although in distant thoughts, Nando preferred the complaining that usually came in intervals of ten to twenty minutes, it was his only means of being sure how much time had passed.
Instead, Nando suffered silently in what felt like an eternity with nothing to be done to fix it except for laying still and counting numbers when his head felt too far gone.
Another fit of coughing overtook him, his body lurching forward and his stomach desperately wanting to release something though time and time again, nothing could ever come up; left only with his throat raw and his insides burning. Using his bandana as a handkerchief, trembling hands messily swiped at his face in attempt to wipe the drool and stomach acid away. A groan rasped from his throat as he tiredly rest his hand on his head, musing in the feeling of his hot head and his cold body, despite the presence of a blanket, though if he were asked, Nando would rather describe it as a thin piece of paper.
When Leo was still aware of Nando’s condition, an effort had been made to hang the lantern closer to Nando’s cot rather than in the corner of the room as it had been before and now it served as the only means of honest heat to his shivering body.
Blinking irritated tears away, he had desperately wished his Abuela were still alive to make a wonderful concoction of soup that eased his stomach when it had felt less than ideal at a younger age. If only some mushrooms and carrots could ease him now.
Smacking unsteady hands hard against the cot with more force than he needed, the man attempted to raise himself to a upright position with the rest of his remaining energy. What there was to achieve by sitting up, he had already forgotten, but it was better than laying on his back. Gasping loudly and blinking wildly, Nando peered around the long corners of the room and watched as the details of the wood spun and danced wildly along with the bright colorful spots glittering behind his eyes. Suffering through turning his head, Nando peeked over at Leo whom now seemed miles from him, sweeping the floor and mumbling to himself. Among all the heat, chills, and constant urge to vomit all of his organs up, there was some comfort in knowing he wasn’t entirely alone.
Moving his hands to steady on his cushion, another series of whines and gasps fell from him as he slowly but surely worked his way onto his stomach. Maybe this position would be less agonizing.
Settling with his cheek pressed to the hot comforter, distant eyes bore into the wall opposite of him and anxiously shut in a pathetic wish to suddenly escape the Hellscape that was his body. It didn’t matter if he slept for only a couple of minutes or hours, he didn’t care what kind of nightmares might await him, if he could just sleep for a couple of minutes..
Memories of Toñita flood through his closed eyes in distant colors, vaguely recalling her method of counting little sheep to fall asleep or the way she’d sing some far away song that even she could barely remember; but as far as he could think, he was just going to have to wait until the worst of this was over. But if what he was feeling wasn’t the worst, he wasn’t completely confident he could survive it.
Watching as the depths of black behind his eyes seemed to grow a shade darker, a distant relief came over him, his muscles finally relaxing into the cotton. Dreams, or not, had finally come for him and having to tolerate the suffering was finally over, and when daylight would come, it’d all just be some nightmare that he could forget. -Though the very second it seemed as though he could finally doze off, the dizziness came to pull him right back into it all, only prolonging what could be avoided if only his body could allow him the pleasure.
Though whether or not he had actually dozed off or not only became more confusing when the strong smell of wet wood mixed with the salt water and musky dust. Unable to stop himself, his eyes mulled open to access what new scent was going to make him sick.
A series of soft opaque dull greens interrupted the constant browns and blacks of the ship and had he been in a better condition, he would’ve sprang up to see what it was. But instead opted to lay there, still, as he took in the long silky robes and features that his sight couldn’t allow him to see better. Maybe he was waiting for it, whatever it was, to disappear into the rest of the room, or maybe he was waiting for some kind of sign that he was dreaming; but most of him wanted to sit up again and check if Leo was still there, to valid whether or not it was reality or not.
“Hey..” Nando impulsively rasped, “When did you.. get here.?”
The figure of soft greens suddenly turned to face him, as though it hadn’t even noticed him, and long features of sharp bone structure met with that of round sickly.
“..You can see me..?” It asked him, voice distant and difficult to hear over the sound of crashing waves.
“Ya, I guess so..? I guess so. I'm so sorry, I wasn't.. staring.”
At least, he hadn’t thought he was, but now he certainly was as he looked closer at the features of the mysterious figure in front of him that required a little more than a squint to see.
“Right,” Continued the voice thoughtfully. A short moment passed before speaking up again. “Are you, okay?”
“Hh, that is, funny that you ask. No, I don't think I am.”
A forced chuckle came after, in a poor attempt to offer some feeling of control over the situation though only made the ache in his solar plexuses shoot painfully.
“...Uh-huh.” The figure nodded slowly, “Apologies, I never asked, but your name please?”
“I don't think I've seen you here, is all.. You don't, look like the other people here.” Nando continued to ramble, though the words hadn’t come as clear to his mouth as they had to his head. Moving closer to the edge of his cot, he lifted his head further in attempt to use the lantern as a means for a clearer view.
The figure frowned sternly, that much Nando could process.
“Yeah, yeah. Your name please?”
“Ohh, er.. Nando? Or, my name is Fernando, but I just prefer.. Nando. I don't mind whichever.. or what about you?”
“Chimo. Just call me Chimo.”
A soft silence stole the room as the sickly man thought of every name he could think of, every foreigner he’d ever accidentally interacted with, and yet the name might as well had been a useless jumble of words.
“Chiiimo.. still don't think I've seen you here. Wanna..enlighten me?”
Had it not been for the light, Nando might’ve missed the way soft gray eyes looked him up and down, and around the place quizzically, then settled on him again.
“I, don't think I really know myself, now that I think. I haven't been here in a long time now, I didn't really...”
A silence small enough for the latter to assume he was done speaking opened his mouth to chatter further but, the other beat him to it first.
“Well, nevermind. What are you doing here, in this kind of shape?”
“I think we were working.. Yeah, something like that. My brother was the one who got us here. I don't know, I don't really remember…”
“Uh-huh. You have a brother?”
Opening his mouth again to talk, he was this time interrupted by a fit of coughing. Covering his mouth with a trembling hand, he nodded through the fit to express his answer to the question. A moment or two passed before he could coherently respond.
“Yeaah, this isn't the first time he's done this either.. oh no, I think I did this last time…”
Chimo frowned softly, worry starting to vaguely peel at his face. He had never seen someone so riddled with illness before, let alone so delirious.
“Yeah? Can you tell me his name?”
“Well I call him ‘chisguete’ but you can call him Leo.” Sighed Nando.
“Leo? Noted. Anyone else, or just him?”
“Just him, just chisguete.. You have any family?”
“Hmm.. I did, I do..It’s..complicated.”
He hadn’t a single clue what any of it meant, a hot flash came to take his attention and run off with it. Still though, he nodded along, some part of him worried he’d look rude for not paying attention. Deciding he no longer needed to stay at attention, he relaxed into his cot and sighed laboriously. Though he still wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not, he decided to gamble on closing his eyes again.
As though the ship itself wanted to challenge him, the seas suddenly became more interested in tossing and turning than laying still. Among the shaking boxes of the bunker, Nando whined and peeked his eyes open, and found some relief that Chimo hadn’t disappeared.
“I wish I never agreed…to this, I mean,” Mumbled Nando anxiously, “I’ve never felt so..”
He felt he didn’t need to finish, or maybe couldn’t contain the strength to do so.
“I’m sorry.” Stated Chimo apologetically in earnest.
Some part of Nando was so bitter that he had let his little brother talk him into boarding this stupid ship, he wished more than anything that the strange ghosts that followed Leo around could’ve warned him, or maybe given him a device to change his decision; and he was so mad that he was the only one suffering, stuck within his own flesh and blood that felt like it was rotting away. Rotting like…-
“Y’know…” Slurred Nando quietly, “This ship has, stuff.”
“Yes, ships usually do.”
Nando shook his head slowly and frowned tensely, closing his eyes tightly in a grimace.
“No, like…Like weird stuff,”
When they had been on land, the foreigners had been vague about the details of where, what, and why; though they had painted it in a mysterious light more than a strange one. As far as Leo and Nando understood about this particular cargo ship was that it was meant to transfer goods back to France for selling, expensive and rare things.
And given that the strangers weren’t going to tell them, his curiosity got the best of him. As he helped load the ship with boxes, he took the chance to sneak a peek in one or two of them; and by the time the regret set in, it was far too late to change course.
“Like..corpses.” Nando finished in a whisper, the afterthought of Leo popping into his mind last second. Despite the fact Leo had been well acquainted with spirits, Nando saw long-dead corpses as a whole different freaky thing, and he knew that if Leo knew, it’d only create a situation of stress and uncertainty.
Maybe that’s why he felt so sick now, sick like death and surrounded by all these dead people, and dead people items.
“They still had some jewelry, I think…I know I saw something shiny and gold, but I don’t understand. If they wanted something to sell, why would they take the whole damn thing? And by the time I realized it, we were already…”
Chimo blinked wildly at the onslaught of coherent information, probably the only thing that Nando’s said that actually made sense, though his mind racked to suddenly process what exactly what this information meant.
Glancing around the room of boxes and large crates, Chimo’s face crumbled in within itself for only a moment as the realization set in. His body was here. And these stupid Caucasians were going to disrespect his body, use it as some sort of golden goose to make what’d probably be a good penny or two. Swallowing the burning sensation in his throat, Chimo looked back at Nando sorrowfully. And when Nando struggled to meet his gaze, Chimo again turned away with the cold sensation of sorrow wanting to overtake him. He hadn’t been sure what would happen to his body when it's inevitably would come of being found, but he would’ve never wanted some stingy cash-hungry idiots to fiddle with it. Sighing shakily, he pushed the feelings down to the center of his soul and agreed to himself that he could unpack it later - Just not right now.
“Awful. People can be so awful.” Chimo settled to say bitterly.
“Stupid…” Mumbled Nando.
Silence again settled, as stuffy as it was. Though whether or not conversation was entirely missed was difficult to say, given that Nando preferred the comfort of silence and not having to think while Chimo preferred not having to sit in idle chatter that went nowhere. Choking on his own saliva momentarily and forcing his lungs to take in more air, the silence broke with a tired whine. He was so tired, every muscle and nerve begged to have to sweet release of sleep that’d yet to come. And when a particular sharp turn took the ship, along with it’s inside belongings, the burning nausea would keep him uncomfortable too long enough to ease into any sort of comfortable position; despite this, his quaking body squirmed to find any comfort.
“Now, now..” Murmured Chimo impulsively, voice softening in sorry attempt to ease the squirming, sweating, sickly man.
“Please, God please…” Begged Nando pathetically, to no one else but the skies themselves. He wasn’t even entirely sure what he was begging for, but if anything from the trifecta of comfort, ease, relief could come to him, he desperately wanted it now in the sea of pain, agonizing pain and nausea.
Despite the fact Chimo hardly knew this man, the sight of such a squirming, whining man was…uncomfortable. Whatever had befell him was obviously taking its toll, given that ninety percent of their conversation had practically been nothing-nonsense.
Still, he wanted to offer some comfort.
Moving closer to the cot and reaching out delicately, though flinched with uncertainty before making physical contact.
“You’ll be okay, just.. Try and breathe.” He cooed softly, now finally deciding to smooth at the sweat on the other’s forehead, of which felt incredibly hot.
“Here, move your hair”
Nando whined at the cool touch suddenly upon his face and flinched away from it instinctively, though gradually allowed himself to turn back into the easing touch. Sighing openly, Nando peered up at Chimo pitifully, eyes shiny with tired tears.
“It hurts-- it hurts so bad..”
“I know.”
Soft transparent fingers worked along the edges of his face, focusing on trying to relax some muscle, even if it was in such a small section like the head. Brushing long curly locks that wanted to straighten from the moisture, Chimo tenderly ran his fingers through Nando’s scalp, extra careful in making sure no fingers pulled on particularly tangled curls.
Fluttering his eyes close, a quiet moan left him as the sensations started to overlap the less pleasant ones. Truthfully, Nando couldn’t remember a time in which someone had brushed his hair so softly - There were vague memories of his parents, when he had been really young, but now in his older years it was starting to become difficult to recall.
“Chimo…?” Nando called out in a throaty whisper.
“Yes?”
“Thanks.” It hadn’t been exactly what he wanted to say, but it was good enough.
“No need. Now try to rest.”