"Why don't you sit and take a break," Theo offered gently. "I know it's a lot of dust and you're probably not used to all the pollen and plants and things with you not being from around here. I'll start going through this mess first."

He sighed and plopped down on the ground, opening the first box in front of him. A flurry of moths shot into his face making him cough and shake his head. Theo shoved the box aside and went for another one instead, albeit a bit more hesitantly. When nothing happened, he began to more fully unpack.

Broken baubles, garlands made of dried orange slices and cranberries, candle holders, and a box of gnawed on candles all came out reverently one by one. Theo chuckled softly as a metal tin came out next and he gave it a shake. A whooshing sound came from within and his face fell some. He placed it back down with the other things and moved onto a worn collection of nutcrackers.

"I haven't seen these things in a very, very long time. I didn't realize we even still had them. Starting to wonder if Mother is a pack rat rather than a noblewoman. Rat in a dress." He snorted and looked to Fletcher, as if to judge how they were doing in terms of dinging each other with accidental emotional bumps and scrapes.

Fletcher did a double take. "Wait. Bed? I think we need to skip town after dark, don't y— "

But the woman left the room before he could finish. He made a grating noise in his throat and stared at the open door. "Unbelievable," he grumbled before remembering Aya. "Don't listen to her, dog. You're a right pain in the arse. Only reason she doesn't see it is you're both the bloody same."

Sighing, he slipped through the door and found a quiet place to wait. When it was his turn, he took his time scrubbing the shit smell off of every part of him, then emptied the tub and refilled it and got his clothes. His trousers he pulled back on damp. There was nothing that could be done there without giving the girl a proper fright. His shirt, coat, socks, and boots, however, he hung up near the fire to dry. He knew they wouldn't get all the way there. If they did leave town that night, he'd be miserable in them...but it beat the hell out of stinking like a sewer.

When all was done, he sat down, shivered, and waited for Olwyn to wake up, resolving to knock if it grew too late.

Ven cracked a wry smile in return. "And all healers are hypocrites when faced with downing our own medicine and heeding our own words, as you well know, I'm sure," he countered while he poured himself a cup of leafy tea. The sediment swirled and danced before settling slowly to the bottom. He found himself drawn in by watching it, as always, like part of his own little ritual. While he waited for it to cool, he returned his attention to his companion. "I think I am used to it. I think. Instructing the living to conserve their food while we travel...it is familiar. Another mystery to add to the long list, I imagine. Though if you take out your notebook again, I shall be displeased," he added with a hint of that same smile.

He watched Mr. Jewel unfurl the map, following the man's finger with hawk-like focus. From where he sat, he could barely see the thing, but he recalled the one he'd pored over in the study and he followed along well enough. Ven's lips pursed at the mention of Connlaoth. "Yes," he muttered with an air of clear distaste. "I have been to Kon-le-ot, I think, if it is north of your town. They are the most singularly terrible people I believe I have ever encountered, memory or no." He muttered a few additional choice words beneath his breath before squinting and focusing on where Mr. Jewel's finger slid next. He stood to get a better look, his black eyes darting from the place they were, to the city on the coast, back and forth, frown deepening all the while.

"If I am to understand just how vast this place is," he said, "Such a journey would take you a month away from your own homeland — at the least." Ven cocked his head, birdlike and strange, and stared at the man down as though he were trying to determine something. "You aren't taking me to a place to sell me for parts to some witch...are you?" he joked dryly. "Because I still cannot understand why anyone should leave his people for a complete stranger. Forgive me my hesitancy to believe. I'm sure it will all become clear in time."

Navigating the narrow confines of the storage room felt less like an impossible dance of avoidance now that he had a little whiskey in him. It didn't stop his heart from starting up again, or his fingers from tingling, but maybe that was just his body fighting the booze. Yeah. That was it. Don't kid yourself, he thought, and got to work moving the boxes.

The chore was a salve for the many dark and forbidden places his mind seemed to wander to as of late. Movement always did help, whether it took the form of fighting, or labor, or something else. Much as he suspected that this busy work was Theo's own way of coping with his fiancée, he'd take the distraction, and gladly. By the end of it, though, the same dust that had affected the nobleman earlier had now settled into his lungs, manifesting as a particularly persistent and wheezing cough. "Fuck me. Seriously?" he muttered as he stopped to press a hand against the wall and lean over until he could catch his breath. Maybe he needed to slow it down on the smoking, after all.

"You are a warrior, are you not?"

Kiri frowned. As they wandered out into the open sun from the 'protection' of the old, crumbled walls, the sun assaulted her in full force; The squinting glare that she was forced to make-- both from her radiating headache as well as her overall disdain for how bright the sun's light was after... gods, had it been years? Decades, since she'd last seen it? She was so used to heightening her senses through magic to visualize the world outside of her animated shell of a prison-- she had yet to fully adapt to actually 'seeing' once more.

The poisoning didn't help.

With a slight shift of her shoulder, she adjusted Snarg's weight a bit-- making it a bit easier on her hand as she continued carrying him along. "A warrior dies on their feet, on the battlefield; A dog dies destitute, in the street." Her tone was almost lecturing-- almost. More than anything, she sounded grumpy... which made sense, given the circumstances. "I know not what rhyme or reason you had for indulging that... thing, but I'm neither a judge, nor jury-- I'm a warrior."


The trek wasn't particularly long, but it was grating all the same. The sand-crested wind hit her bare skin-- the course pebbles scratching at her arms and midriff, irritating her further. Yet onward she walked, Snarg in hand-- and before long, the two of them had reached said river-- which reached a solid half-mile across, and stretched from one distant gaze to the next. Having reached their destination, Kiri gazed about, verifying that there were no threats in the immediate vicinity.

And then she unintentionally tried to kill him.

"Drink," Was the only warning she gave. With the same show of nonchalant force that she'd carried the man thus far, Kiri lifted him somewhat slightly off of her shoulder... and then tossed him into the lake.

Not far into the lake, to be fair. Just far enough that he wouldn't die from slamming into the riverbed unceremoniously. After which, Kiri herself stepped a few steps into the river herself, before kneeling gracefully and taking a drink from her cupped hands.

In an instant the deck turned from a situation that was heading towards peaceful resolution to one of chaos and death. They were all pirates so they all knew how to fight and were good at it, but they were also caught by surprise just as much as Elara and that elf had been earlier. Thank the Gods that most of the people on deck decided to side with Nik, if only because they liked him and not Elara, but that was a situation he would deal with later. He didn't have time to think about what her death would mean or what her living would mean either. Too much to worry about. Too much to deal with.

For now he just needed to stay alive.

And he had given his sword to Fletcher.

Gods Dammit. Fuck all!

It took some time for the swarm to reach him, but when they did they were thankfully far outnumbered as only a handful it seemed remained purely loyal to Aikios. And hell, maybe they had come on board at his discretion with the sole purpose of mutiny. He wouldn't put anything past the horse anymore. Nik had been duped. He had truly thought that the guy was upstanding and whatnot.

Serves him right. He had never been a good judge of character.

Then they were through. Just one, it seemed, but she was making a straight line for Nik.

Fuck.

This was it.

He never did like fighting, which actually served him quite well now. Instead of relying on blades and blood, he dodged an dodged well. The woman took a swipe towards his face and he was gone before the blade even came close. Then she saw him to her left and lunged, but again, he was gone like smoke. People never knew what to do with this kind of altercation. They expected to be met head on, but Nik liked to keep them confused – disoriented.

So he kept moving. Left, then right, then a quick duck onto the ground. Then he was behind her and had managed to pilfer two daggers from her belt where they sat forgotten while she held her sword. Then her belt was sliced in two before she realized what was happening and, like a bad short story, she became distracted by her now-too-loose pants. Nik was able to pressure her then, continuing to dodge, until they were at the edge of the ship and he threw her into the ocean.

Good.

That was over.

Now for the others.

He turned and his eyes were instantly met by Aikios who was making his way straight towards him.

Kolara ignored his question. Of course she ignored his question; She was annoyed, after all. Yes, in as short a timespan as two sentences, she'd gone from fairly docile, perhaps even gentle, to her typically harsh, chest-puffed persona. Why?

"'...Fine'?"

For a petty reason, obviously; Even if he hadn't meant to, Arlen had slighted her. She was phoenix-born-- The flames of rebirth given shape. She'd mended wounds capable of ending careers, cured ailments deemed too aggressive for mortal hands to touch-- she could even bring back the dead, if she wanted to. But he was just 'fine'? "You... Who do you think you're talking to?" She bit back, putting his question aside with one of her own.

She must've passed out in the midst of healing him before; That wouldn't happen again. A familiar glow began to burn in Kolara's eyes as her gaze fixated on his weakened wing. And as she did, the familiar golden flames began to burn across the wing. "S-sit... sit still... and... I'll..." Yet once more, almost as quickly as the flames began to spread across the wing did they snuff out. More concerning, perhaps was that her eyes, which were alight with magic, quickly dulled, before rolling back and closing. Moment's later, she fell limp in his arms again-- the warmth of her body, oddly, fading... though her breathing, albeit weakly, maintained.

He snorted and entered first before waving his hand in dismissal. "We all have our moments. I doubt either of them are too partial to my fiance either way. But, aye might be wise.

"Can you help move the ones on that shelf into the hall while I get these? This place has been such a wreck since—" Theo caught himself and shook his head, dragging out more things into the hall to sort through. "Mother and her nerves: the reason nothing gets thrown away. Hopefully she doesn't catch me doing this."

Fletcher made a face like he was about to be sick. "That is the last thing I want to think about," he grumbled as he held the door open and followed in after the man. "Sorry, by the way," he added quietly. "That was stupid of me. I'll be more careful."

The nobleman also cast a concerned look at the slight to his future bride, his eyes anxiously looking to the other two before his shoulders relaxed some. He worried still that people would begin to talk. As much as he wanted to break ties with Edwina, he needed it to be on his terms and not hers. She had to be the one found at fault so as to protect him and all he was responsible for.

He nodded his head and trudged back up the flights of stairs and down the hall to the storage room. "It'll be good to get rid of everything though I guess," he spoke abruptly. "Not like they're going to suddenly have a second child."