Hubert had gnawed on his bottom lip to the point where he could taste blood and they hadn't even left the port of Barona. Seagulls were crying overhead and could hear sailors grunting as they loaded and unloaded their cargo, but it all felt far away to him, almost as if it wasn't real. His hands were protectively held up in front of his chest as he stood at the railing of a boat built not for hauling cargo but for comfortable travel.

He might have been excited about the boat under normal circumstances. As things stood more he wished that he could run away. Granted, the physical act of leaving the boat and mixing in with the city crowd would have been easy enough. What happened after that was the real problem, and Hubert's conclusion was that none of the likely outcomes were desirable ones. At the moment there was nothing he wanted more than to be back in Lhant, maybe even out in Gryle's orchard picking apples along with Asbel even though that would end with a scolding. Asbel would have gotten the blame as it would have been his idea. They weren't supposed take any apples from Gryle's orchard because those were meant to be transported and sold in nearby towns, but Asbel had never cared much about the finer points of things. They were apples, they were ripe, and they were within arm's reach. Reasoning never seemed to reach the stages past that in the mind of his impulsive brother. If it was Asbel on the boat Hubert was certain that he would have ran. But Hubert wasn't Asbel, so he stayed put.

The salty smell of the ocean breeze made it painfully clear that his current surroundings were not Lhant. He stopped chewing when he sensed a droplet of blood trickle down his bottom lip. He hurriedly wiped if off and pressed a finger to the spot, realizing that it probably wouldn't be appropriate to start bleeding right next to your new adoptive father. This one, however, hadn't noticed because he was preoccupied with watching the bustling harbor and making sure that preparations for castoff were proceeding smoothly.

Hubert stole another nervous glance at the man whose attention still was focused elsewhere. Now that biting his lip was no longer an option Hubert redirected the nervous energy to his free right hand which he slipped into his pocket to retrieve a good luck charm that Asbel had given him earlier. It was a small bag filled with some sort of powder. He wasn't sure what it was, nor whether investigating the matter was safe, but it didn't matter at the moment. He closed his hand around the little pouch and tightened his grip on it to eventually relax it again, doing this over and over. It helped keep the emotions inside, though he wasn't sure if he'd be able to speak if his new father asked him a question. It was all too much. Countless questions were rushing through his mind. What had he done wrong? Why was he being sent to live in a foreign country with a man he barely knew? Why did Asbel get to stay in Lhant?

Garrett Oswell. That was about all he knew about the man - merely his name. The recollection of the talk he'd had with his father on the matter - his actual father that was - brought back a rush of feelings that caused him to feel sick. No longer was he to be a Lhant, but an Oswell. He focused on the small pouch in his right hand and gripped it even more tightly before he relaxed his grip again. This approach appeared to have stopped working as the torrent of emotion was rapidly growing inside of him and the world seemed to shrink to only the spot immediately in front of him. He soon couldn't bear to focus his eyes anywhere else than on the wooden boards in front of him because it was all too much. He stared at the planks as if his life depended on it and hoped fervently that his new father wouldn't attempt to speak to him.

He was granted his wish until the ship was outside the port and there wasn't as much to occupy Garrett's attention.

"Hubert, are you feeling unwell?"

Hubert felt his heart beat harder in his chest. He wasn't sure about how he was expected to answer the question. He couldn't tell his foster father that he hated the idea of the entire arrangement. The other option if he said yes was to pass it off as seasickness, but that wouldn't make sense as they had come from Lhant by boat without that presenting any problems. People also seemed to frequently ridicule him when he showed weakness, so it might be a bad idea solely for that reason. The best option then seemed to be denying that anything was amiss.

"N-no, I'm okay," he mumbled as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other, gaze still fixed on the wooden planks in front of him.

"Are you certain?" Garrett asked. "It hardly appears that way."

Hubert felt his neck grow hot when Garrett kept pushing the issue. He had already tried his best to be convincing and there wasn't much more he could do. He elected to stay silent and still stare straight ahead, hoping that Garrett would drop the topic or that something would happen to steal away the man's attention.

Garrett decided to drop the question, but for his own reasons. He had already picked up on the fact that the boy seemed to be a poor liar. Certainly a disadvantage regarding the plans he had for his future, but he reasoned that there had to be ways to train such things out of him once it would become relevant. For the time being, however, that was not a priority.

Hubert's recent behavior seemed more of a cause for concern. The boy was slow to respond and had stared stiffly at one spot ever since they boarded the ship. Now it was as if he had entirely stopped acknowledging him. When they met earlier he had simply appeared shy and rather nervous, which wasn't uncommon for first encounters. Garrett struggled to make sense of the shift in behavior. Could the apparent shyness have been concealing a more serious problem? Still, Lord Aston had assured Garrett that the boy was bright and a fast learner. He huffed and shook his head. No, Aston's word alone wasn't enough to rule out such a scenario. There remained the possibility that Aston had lied because he wished to rid himself of the burden. Garrett mentally kicked himself for not considering the option earlier. The legal documents had already been signed so it was impossible to change his mind about the matter now. He would just have to find out, he supposed. Garrett folded his arms as he pondered how to handle the situation. Doing something to test the boy's intelligence seemed a reasonable approach.

"Why don't we head below deck? I'll show you something interesting."

"O-okay..." Hubert responded in a shaky voice that barely carried far enough to reach Garrett's ears.

Garrett waited for Hubert to start moving of his own accord, but when this didn't happen he took the boy's hand and pulled him along. The prompt had the desired effect and Hubert silently followed. At least until he stopped for no apparent reason. A second tug solved the problem, but left Garrett more worried about the state of the boy's mind. He hoped that it simply was the stress of the whole situation, or that Hubert had seen something in the waves.

Before long they were both sitting by a low table upon which a map of the world was spread out. Garrett noted that Hubert was fidgeting again. Possibly the situation making him unsure. Garrett had a habit of observing people's reactions and paying attention to when the different ones surfaced. It allowed him to quite accurately assess people's emotional states, which often benefited him in negotiations. However, he would need a bit more time to fine-tune his understanding of Hubert's movements. Several things could look alike at first glance, though further observation usually would reveal distinct differences. Often small, but distinct.

Garrett ran his hand over the map once more in order to straighten it and then turned to Hubert. "Hubert, are you able to indicate our current travel route on this map?"

Hubert was silent, but just as Garrett thought that he would receive no answer he saw the boy lean forward and put his finger on the map. He placed it on the dot labeled Barona and then traced the sea route to Yu Liberte.

Garrett nodded. "Yes, that is correct." So it was proven that the boy at least knew how to read a map. Garrett wanted to see whether he was capable of going further than that. He leaned forward and in a calculated gesture placed his hand so that it covered up both the name and location of the port town of Oul Raye.

"However, we won't be taking the direct route to Yu Liberte. We will first be making a stop in Oul Raye, for business reasons. Can you show me where that is?" He smiled, keeping his position.

"Umm," Hubert said before he went silent and wiggled in his seat. Garrett's expression changed to a neutral one. So he didn't know. It didn't necessarily reflect the boy's general knowledge, he reassured himself, though part of him was already beginning to feel cheated.

"Umm," Hubert said again. He looked down and began wringing his hands. "It's... you have your hand on it. Your thumb is covering it."
Garrett quirked an eyebrow. The answer was correct and also specific enough to be more than just a lucky guess. "Oh, you're right. How silly of me." He stood and began folding the map. "What else do you know about Oul Raye?"

"It's a place where a lot of boats go for trading. But people travel there too. Boats from there are easy to spot when they come to West Lhant Port because they usually carry bananas. When they leave West Lhant Port again they're carrying lots of apples and flour. "A lot of the time they'll also carry potatoes and carrots from Gralesyde," Hubert answered, hardly pausing for breath at all.

"I see," Garret replied, having to make a conscious effort to hide his surprise. It was unusual for a ten-year old boy to be that interested in the flow of goods. It strengthened his belief that there was something odd about the boy, but it seemed like whatever it was might be more beneficial than he first had thought. The matter was certainly deserving of further investigation.

They wouldn't be reaching Oul Raye before early next day. The sunset dyed the interior and the sea red for about an hour before it faded and left them with only the yellow glow of cryas-fuelled lamps on the inside. Garrett spent most of that time asking Hubert further questions about the world, some of which Hubert knew the answer to and some that he didn't. The incessant questioning struck Hubert as odd and he wondered about the purpose, but he also enjoyed showcasing the extent of his knowledge. People usually cut him off before he could say all the things he wanted to, yet Garrett listened and was eager to hear more.

Hubert could still have answered questions for at least another hour by the time Garrett covered his mouth and yawned. Being able to talk about all the things he had an interest in at length was a rare event. Only when he turned his head to the window did he notice that it was pitch-black outside, and obviously past his usual bedtime.

Garrett stood and straightened his coat. "I think it's about time we ended this little session of ours. We will be arriving port early tomorrow and the mind should be rested when business transactions are to be discussed."
Hubert nodded, noticing that his throat was actually a little sore from all the talking. He also couldn't resist a sudden urge to yawn so sleep seemed like a good idea.

However, Hubert's mind refused to rest so easily. With no more questions to answer there was nothing to distract him from his emotions. He felt lonely, confused and lost. He had been assigned a room of his own to sleep in, with a bed that felt much too big. Several times he found himself looking to the other side of the room expecting to see a bed with Asbel sleeping in it. Of course there wasn't. Asbel would be in his own bed in Lhant. Envy dug into him at the thought. Their parents had never expressed anything else but love for both of their children, so then why was he being sent away? He didn't understand it at all. Hubert felt his throat grow tight and tears began to roll down his face. He dried his face on his pillow but to no avail as the tears just kept coming.

He turned his head to the bedside table where he had placed the good luck charm given to him by Asbel. The whole room looked blurry through his tears. Good luck? Good luck with being all alone? He felt as if the charm was mocking him. The lucky one was Asbel, not him. A flimsy charm didn't change that fact.

The feeling of sadness was replaced with anger. He picked up the charm and threw it at the wall with as much force as he could muster. It hit the wall with a smack and released a small cloud of powder on impact. The prospect of having destroyed the charm caused his anger to turn to guilt, even though that precisely had been his aim. He didn't understand. Now he felt bad about his previous thoughts and missed his brother and wished that he hadn't treated the charm so carelessly.

He slid out of bed and slowly approached the charm, cautious because of the cloud of powder that had appeared as he threw it. There was no telling what Abel might have filled the charm with, though Asbel still lived so it probably wasn't lethal. Hubert decided to still be careful in case it was something that could make him sick. As he came closer the answer grew obvious, clues given by a certain smell and a tingling sensation in his nose. It was pepper. For whatever reasons Hubert couldn't even begin to guess at, the good luck charm was filled with pepper. He had to sneeze three times before he managed to pick up the charm. Closer inspection revealed that it still was fine for the most part, the ribbon tied around the top of the little bag had just loosened enough to release some of the pepper. He tightened the knot and breathed a sigh of relief. The charm was unharmed. Mostly. It just contained a little less pepper but the amount wasn't even noticeable, save for in his nose where another sneeze was imminent. He got it over with and moved away from the wall so that the pepper that still was spread around wouldn't trigger another sneeze.

"...ma..ing...oise..."

Hubert froze when he heard a voice from the other side of the wall. Had the sound awoken his new father? He quickly climbed back into bed and went completely still, hoping that the sound would be attributed to something else. He heard a couple more noises and some grunts, but then silence fell again and the only thing he could hear was the rapid beating of his own heart and the sound of the waves. He remained on guard for a while longer but the gentle rocking of the boat took the edge off the tension.