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Calypso al-Halim sat at her desk in her room, attempting to read D is for Djinn: Facts about Primordial and Elemental Beings, though she’d probably been reading over the last paragraph for about twenty minutes or so? She wasn’t sure. Time wasn’t real to her anymore. It said something she probably already knew, though she couldn’t know that for certain because it felt as though her brain and eyes were no longer friends. She slumped her head down on the hardcover of the book; the book that was getting her positively nowhere— when she heard a knock on her door.
“Come in,” she mumbled into the (stupid) book on djinn, flopping her face to the side to look at who had entered. To her mild surprise, it was Tybalt, the small werewolf pup the group had essentially adopted. Calypso wasn’t the best with children, but tried to channel her mother around him. Her mother knew how to be around children. A page out of Samira’s book certainly couldn’t hurt. It worked on her, after all. He stood meekly in the threshold, hiding slightly behind the frame of the door before cautiously taking a step forward. Buttons flew from their perch on the desk to a shelf by the door in order to inspect Tybalt, who just kind of looked up at the bird warily, unsure if he should try to pet it or not. Calypso’s head popped up before she beckoned him over to her desk.
“Hey Pup, how can I help you?” She reached a hand forward to brush away his messy hair but stopped herself before she made contact.
Tybalt smiled slightly at the nickname, but his expression faltered slightly at Calypso’s hand.
“Faolan sent me to ask if you had any tea?”
“Faolan sent you?”
“She kind of… groaned it at me in her cot. She seemed to be in pain. A lot of pain.”
Calypso’s brow furrowed before remembering what Faolan had told Tybalt a week prior.
“Heat and ginger tea or turmeric can help with the pain. Sometimes shifting back and forth can take a toll on the joints.”
“Right.” Calypso grazed her hand down the boy’s arm, wanting to give him the reassuring message that she’d take care of it, but never actually made contact. But the comforting sentiment was there. At least Calypso hoped it was there. “I will go make some tea for them. Would you like to help?”
Tybalt nodded, a smile returning to his face. He grabbed Calypso’s hand, to which she flinched, and upon instinct tried to pull it away, but remembered who this was and let it stay. She hoped that whatever plagued her wouldn’t hurt him. Buttons cooed at the two on their way out.
“Bye Buttons.” Calypso responded.
“B-Bye Buttons!” Tybalt echoed.
The air on the main deck was salty, as always, and smelled very little of rot, which was good. It mostly smelled of aforementioned salt and wet wood; and something Calypso could only describe as “Ship Smell”. Though she probably couldn’t accurately explain what the smell was. Calypso’s head was clear and her senses were present, but not overstimulated, though there was a slight breeze that nipped Calypso’s nose and ears. Her watery hair whipped slightly behind her and she jingled lightly from the various trinkets she carried on her. She led Pup down the stairs into the galley, where the scent of wet wood grew slightly, but it was certainly overpowered by spices and herbs and citrus. She made sure to purchase— or rather collect; the people of Norhurst were very insistent that she didn’t pay for anything— foodstuffs to replace that which they lost in the storm that washed them up on the island in the first place. A few of the things she made sure to pick up were ginger, turmeric, and a few other natural pain relievers.
Once they arrived, she let go of Tybalt’s hand and squatted down to be on his level.
“Can you find me ginger, turmeric, and white willow bark? They should be in the pantry over there.” Calypso requested, and pointed at a tall pantry a few feet away. Pup hesitated, glancing between Calypso’s soft look and the pantry. He eventually nodded with a small “yes Captain..” that trailed off into muttering of, “or lady? Goddess? Hmm…” and sharp inhale before he turned to go find the ingredients while Calypso nearly tripped at the titles he gave her.
The genasi sighed as she grabbed a pot hanging overhead. She set it on the stovetop and waved her hands in a fluid motion to conjure some water from thin air, carefully placing it into the pot. She heard a gasp from behind her, and when she turned to look, she saw Pup shove his head back into the pantry.
“Let me know if you need help finding anything, okay?”
She received a timid hum in response.
She lit the stove under the pot with a match, the fire lighting up a red and blue haze.
As the water reached a boil, she set some aside in a separate pot and waved a hand over it using some prestidigitation to keep it warm. She occasionally forgot she could do that, as she looked at the fire underneath her pot. Sometimes she forgot her magic exists beyond just conjuring the water or breathing in it. To be fair, she only gained the other magic three years ago. And books on magic weren’t always easy to come by.
She stared at her blackened fingers; the rot which seemed to grow almost imperceptibly up her digits. She sighed, grimacing at the sight of them. The skin on her fingers were wrinkled slightly more than the rest of her, sort of resembling what human skin looks like when it gets wet, pruned and slack. Her nails were long, and grew faster than they had when she was younger; though she wasn’t sure if that was because of whatever was plaguing her or if that just came with age. Or her already bizarre genetics. But beyond the looks, they were cold. Perpetually. No gloves or heat could warm them. The rest of her was perfectly warm, however! She was practically embers on coal with how warm she was! But not her fingers. Never her fingers. It was actually annoying to a certain extent.
Eventually, Tybalt returned to her side with the ingredients and placed them on the counter next to the stove, laying them out with seemingly trained practice.
“Thank you, Pup. Would you like me to teach you how to make the tea?”
Tybalt nodded timidly. Calypso smiled and grabbed him a stool to stand on so he could see what she was doing. He climbed on and held his small fingers on the countertop in anticipation, taking a deep breath and releasing it shakily.
“Okay. I’ve already boiled the water, which was the first step, so now,” She turned and grabbed a knife, “We chop up the ginger, this way the ginger tea will be more potent. You can just leave it not chopped, but it’s better this way. And the sharper the knife the better, because it’ll cut smoother, and it’s less likely to slip off and cut you.”
She carefully chopped the ginger into small chunks, then dropped them into the pot.
“Now, to help with Faolan’s pain some more, we’ll add turmeric and willow bark. Do you want to try cutting it?”
Tybalt looked at the knife in Calypso’s hand with cautious eyes, hesitating for maybe a bit longer than she had expected, but tentatively nodded his head.
“It’s okay, I’ll show you how to cut so you don’t harm yourself.”
The boy nodded again, “Okay,” he said, barely above a whisper. “I trust you.”
Calypso fought back tears over how cute this kid was.
“So you hold the knife like this,” Calypso explained, demonstrating with her own hand, before handing the knife to Tybalt, who just sort of stared at it at first, before cautiously grabbing it with an unsteady hand. “Then you hold the turmeric like this, with your fingers curled so you don’t cut them.”
As Calypso taught the small boy how to cut the plants, she couldn’t help but remember her own mother doing this. Her mother wasn’t a great cook by any means, she certainly left that job to Saphore, their resident chef on board. She was excellent at cooking and baking, and would bake Calypso’s birthday cake every year. She missed those cakes. Her mother, however, did enjoy teaching her the small things, like cutting vegetables for example. She stood behind Calypso, just like Calypso did with Tybalt, showing her how to hold the knife and how to cut. It made her smile thinking about it.
Though the trip down memory lane was cut short when she heard a clatter on the floor. Tybalt had dropped the knife. The sound caused Calypso to flinch, grabbing Pup to move him out of the way.
“Are you alright?!” She asked worriedly, dropping down to his level and holding his shoulders, looking down at his feet and hands to make sure he didn’t drop the knife on himself. She looked back up at him to see him begin to breathe heavily and tears roll down his cheeks, which began to shift into more wolf-like features as he tried to back out of Calypso’s grasp. “Did you cut yourself? Woah! Hey, hey—” She let go of Tybalt, quieting her tone. She sat down on her knees, holding her hands up. He backed up against the counter, shaking like a kicked puppy.
Oh.
“Hey…” Calypso whispered, “You’re okay.” She picked up the knife and set it on the counter without getting up, keeping her eye on Tybalt the whole time, whose own eyes tracked her movements. “Hey, hey, I’m not mad, okay? I just care that you’re alright. Are you hurt in any way? Did you cut yourself? I just want to make sure.” She asked, with her hands outstretched, “Can I come over to you?”
Tybalt held his arms, breathing erratically, then quietly nodding with his eyes closed shut. His hybrid form had come out, and his head was now a mix between human and wolf.
Calypso shuffled over to him, very carefully taking his hands and checking them over, making sure he was alright. When she found no blood, she sighed a breath of relief. She held his hands gently, waiting for him to open his eyes. When he did, she smiled at him, though her brows were furrowed together.
“Would you like a hug?”
“Yes, please.” He whispered.
Calypso pulled him into a hug, stroking the fur on the back of his head.
“You’re okay. I’m here for you. I’m very proud of you for trying, alright?” She reassured, pulling him away for a second to look him in his watery puppy dog eyes. “I’m not mad.”
“You promise?” He asked, voice barely audible, face shrinking back to humanoid features.
“I promise. Would you like to try again?”
After a while, Tybalt was confident enough to finish chopping up the turmeric, then Calypso took the pouch of willow bark and poured some into the tea, finishing off the recipe, while Tybalt moved to sit on the floor.
While they waited for the tea to steep, she peeled them both some oranges, tossing the peels into the pot, and set an orange aside for Faolan.
“These,” Calypso said, handing Tybalt his orange, “are for preventing scurvy. Scurvy is very bad, you don’t want it. So I always make sure we have oranges on board. Or lemons. But oranges taste better.”
Tybalt bit into a segment of the orange, and was startled by the juice popping into his mouth.
“Do you like it?” Calypso laughed as she popped one into her own mouth and Tybalt joined her laughter as he nodded and Calypso grabbed a towel for him to wipe his face.
“Thank you, Captain.”
“Any time, melyanna.”
Melyanna was a nickname Samira used to call her daughter. It means “my gift” in Elvish. After all, that’s what she was. Regardless of the connotations, the pet name held fond memories for Calypso. If she was being honest, the name sort of slipped out. It just felt like the right thing to say.
“Okay I think it should be ready.”
Calypso strained the tea of its ingredients, leaving just the hot infused water. She poured it into a mug, as well as a smaller cup for Tybalt to try. She waved a hand over his cup and cooled it down, “Try it.”
He took a sip and released a semi-dramatic sigh at the warm feeling going down his throat.
“It’s really good.”
“If you’re ever in any pain just let me know and I’ll make some of this for you, okay? It’s not a potion or anything, so it’s not going to fix it immediately, but it should tone it down.”
He nodded as she grabbed a leather flask and filled it with the water she set aside. She then grabbed the mug, the flask, a towel, and an orange, and set them on a tray.
Tybalt followed her up the stairs to the Officers’ Quarters. Diane and Eloise were standing up on the forecastle deck, or rather, Diane was standing and Eloise was sitting on the railing to be at eye level with Diane. Calypso bit back the urge to scold Eloise for sitting on the railing, as she could fall, but then she remembered that Eloise could fly… so she’d be fine. Calypso was just happy to see them bonding and not at each other’s throats.
Calypso gestured with her head for Tybalt to knock, which he did, and it was met with a groan, “Come in.”
Tybalt opened the door for Calypso, and she carefully brought in the tray.
“Hello melna. Someone informed me that you needed tea.”
Faolan sat up slowly, smiling at the blue figure before her.
Calypso set the tray over their lap, while Tybalt carefully climbed onto the foot of the bed.
“You made this for me?” Faolan confirmed, staring at the mug and leather skin.
“Of course. Ginger tea with turmeric— and white willow bark. As well as a leather flask for heat on your joints, and an orange—”
“For scurvy!” Pup chimed in, still munching on an orange of his own.
Calypso and Faolan laughed at Pup’s excitement.
“Indeed.” Calypso said as she sat barely on the edge of the bed.
Faolan stared at Calypso, who started peeling her orange for her. She blinked before grabbing the mug and taking a sip, before recoiling at the temperature.
“Ah!” She breathed out, which quickly caught Calypso’s attention.
“O Media, I am so sorry, I forgot to cool it down—” She quickly waved a hand over the mug, cooling it down enough to drink. “Sorry.”
Faolan smiled, “Di’nae worry.” Calypso returned to peeling the orange. Her fingernails were long, so it made it easier, though she hated the texture of the peel under her nails. She shuddered as she dropped the peels onto her lap.
When Calypso finished peeling the orange, she carefully set it back on the tray.
“Do you need anything else? There’s more tea downstairs if you finish that.”
Faolan smiled as she sipped her warm tea. Pup crawled over to her side after finishing the last of his orange. She reached up and ruffled his hair, and he giggled quietly, swatting her hand away gently.
Calypso watched the scene with a soft smile as she gathered the peels off her lap.
“I’ll go and drop these into the tea.”
“Thank you, O Holy One. How blessed I have become.”
Calypso rolled her eyes and stood up.
“You are ridiculous. I can’t believe you’re still keeping up with that.”
“Of course I’m keeping up with it.”
Calypso laughed lightly, a sound Faolan could probably listen to forever.
Calypso stepped closer to Faolan.
“Dear disciple of mine, how kind your words are. I shall bless you and may your pain dissipate with the concoction I have brewed.”
Faolan grinned, sharp teeth shining.
Calypso loved it when Faolan showed off her full toothy grin. She loved when she caused it. Hm. That was a thought. Anyway…
She hovered a hand around Faolan’s face. She was about to caress her cheek when she glanced at her fingers and saw their state. Better not. She moved her hand away and curled her fingers into her palm. Too far. Her pain is bad enough. She doesn’t need this… rot.
Faolan was about to lean into her palm, but when the hand was taken away she turned and coughed, then hid her face with a sip of her tea.
“Thank you, Calypso. Really.”
“Of course. But you should thank Pup too, he went and got me and helped me make the tea.”
“I chopped up the tum— tur—”
“Turmeric.”
“Turmeric!”
Faolan popped an orange slice into her mouth, biting into the citrusy liquid.
“Excellent job, Pup!” She exclaimed, mouth still full, “Thank you, mo leanbh.”
Tybalt cocks his head at Faolan, confused by the term.
Calypso didn’t know what it meant either, but assumed it was some sort of pet name for Tybalt. She couldn’t place the language, but she had never really asked where Faolan’s order was from, though that information wasn’t exactly offered either. Calypso seemed to care more for Faolan as the group’s time together went on, but there were certain things she thought it’d be better not to pry on.
However, two could play at that game.
“Come on, Pup, let’s let Faolan get their rest. If you need anything let me know, mirys doanur.”
Faolan’s face flushed at Calypso’s use of Primordial. She definitely wasn’t familiar with it, but was flustered by it nonetheless. Half the time, Calypso wasn’t exactly sure what she was saying. Primordial was a language that came naturally to her after the incident. She studied it in her books she’d read about djinn and primordial beings, but she hadn’t actually needed to learn it. She needed to learn Common and Elvish at a young age, as every child did, but Primordial came naturally to her. Another thing from her father.
“Of course, mo stór.”
Calypso’s face turned an odd shade of reddish purple as blood seeped into her blue cheeks. She turned her head, ushering Tybalt out the door quickly. She’ll surrender this time. As she turned Tybalt out the door, she remembered what happened earlier.
“Hang on, go to my room, I’ll catch up with you in a moment. I need to speak with Faolan.”
The boy did as instructed and made his way across the main deck towards Calypso’s quarters.
Calypso turned back around and carefully closed the door.
“Is everything alright, Captain?”
Calypso walked back over to Faolan with a worried face.
“I taught Pup how to cut the turmeric, right, but when he was gathering the ingredients he seemed very hesitant, and when he attempted to cut them himself, he dropped the knife, and immediately started panicking. He shifted into his hybrid form. He wasn’t hurt but… Saigelle really messed him up.”
Faolan sucked in a breath.”
“That witch is lucky she’s dead, otherwise I’d go finish her off myself. But he shifted?”
“Yeah… my guess is trauma response?”
“That would make sense. Who knows what kind of punishment Saigelle gave him for the slightest mess up. Transforming probably helped him get through it.”
“Aye, Novida… He’s so young. I can’t imagine going through that at such a young age. I hadn’t noticed that making the tea might have triggered something for him.”
“He probably didn’t want to make it into a whole ordeal.”
“No, I guess not, I just wished I realized sooner. But he trusts us, Faolan. At least I think he does.”
Faolan sighed.
“He’ll be alright. Taking him under our wing will hopefully help him put that vile woman in the past.”
“Hopefully.”
“Now, Pup, I’ll just be reading, but I can find you something you might like. My library is pretty extensive. Or we can find you something else to do. Your choice, kiddo.”
Tybalt looked up at the bookshelf in Calypso’s quarters as well as all the books on the floor, then looked down at his feet.
“Everything all right, melyanna?”
“These books look really hard..”
“Oh… I have some children’s books? Where are you at with reading?”
“I don’t… I don’t know. I was learning some bigger words before.. before—”
“Gotcha. Then I’m guessing mean evil witch lady didn’t keep up with your education?”
He shook his head timidly.
“That’s alright. It’s not your fault. I can teach you how to read if you’d like. We’ll have time while we travel. D’ya wanna start with a kid’s book?”
Tybalt thought for a moment, twisting his finger anxiously.
“Sure.” He finally agreed.
Calypso grinned at the boy, clapping her hands together.
“Excellent! Now I just need to, ahem, find them.”
Calypso grabbed the ladder that slid from one end of the bookshelf to the other, and climbed to the top, hoping that they were in one of the random boxes she stored random things in.
Eventually, after a few minutes of searching— and praying that they weren’t in the Captain’s Quarters or downstairs— she found some of her childhood books.
She pulled out the box and set it on her desk and pulled out a few of her favorites.
The Pale Elf, The Rime of the Frostmaiden, Curse of Strahd…
Maybe these were a bit dark for him.
Then she pulled out some that she hadn’t loved as much.
A Long Rest for Little Monsters, Chrysanthemum, Where The Wild Things Are.
Those were probably a little more in his territory. They could work their way up to A Wrinkle In Time and The Tale of Despereaux.
Tybalt looked over all the books, still a bit intimidated by some of the options. He eventually landed on a thin book called The Way Home for Wolf. Calypso didn’t remember much about it (it had been 18 years after all), but the art was cute, and it was about a wolf pup. So she might cry about that later, so what?
Pup took the book over to a large cushioned chair in the corner of the room and began reading.
Calypso sat back at her desk and opened D is for Djinn: Facts about Primordial and Elemental Beings back up, mind clear enough to try that paragraph again.