Chapter 17, Exhaustion

The two ninjas that Lise and the possessor had knocked still laid in the cabin, unconscious. After helping Kevin over to the bed the sailor hurried to get someone to take care of the garbage.

    The half blood tried to sit up for a moment, but crashed on the mattress with a groan that he obviously had been fighting for a long time. Blood from his thin wounds stained the sheets, but neither him nor Lise were in the mood to care about such details.

    With a tired sigh she sat down on his bedside, reaching out for his arm and carefully holding it up to check his soars. Kevin snorted with tired, slight bitterness.

 "Me wounded, again?" he noted with a grimace, "familiar."

 "Yeah…"

    Lise smiled a little, exhausted.

 'Funny that…' the last distant, fairly fit part of her brain noted, 'remember how you went nuts about closing Hawk's door? Now you're alone with Kevin, apart from the sleepyheads in the corner, and you're even sitting on his bed. And do you mind? No. Not even when you slept in the same room last night; you didn't even think about it.'

    But in her state the conclusion had no power.

 "It's not physically that bad, though…" she mumbled, blinking to get a little energy back, "he obviously hurt without leaving wounds. You'll be fine with some rest."

    His hand suddenly touched hers and removed it from his arms by encircling it with his fingers. Even though she was tired half to unconsciousness Lise looked up in surprise.

    He watched her. Worn out, but with concern.

 "You need to rest too," he gravely said.

 "Yes but I'll have to see to your wounds…"

    The free hand of his rose up in a silencing manner, and she fell quiet.

 "Please, Lise. No more 'must' and 'have to' now."

    She blinked, confused.

 "But you…"

 "Survive," he cut off, "you worry too much, isn't good for you."

    Lise watched him with tired disbelief for a moment. Then her other hand traveled up to the resting place of her held fingers before she had noticed what was happening herself.

 "You get tortured by a demon and then you simply worry about me worrying too much?" she said with the shadow of a slightly bitter smile, "Kevin, I'm not the hurt one here."

    He frowned, turning so uncomfortably grim again.

 "Lise…"

    Letting go of her hand he sat up, holding back a grimace of pain to keep her from protesting. As soon as he had straightened out his back properly and could quit leaning on his arms the frown melted again.

 "You worry too much, all the time," he said and his voice was still grave, surprisingly with less exhaust than before, "me be fine, you better just rest."

 "Look, I…"

    Lise fell silent, not knowing what to say or think. She'd always cared for everything; she was the leader of the army and had taken the role as Eliott's stepmother. It was… was… it had become a gigantic chunk of her nature.

 "I'm just…"

    There was a knock on the door, and the sailor came back with a crewmate.

 "'Scuse us, we'll just take your rats over there…" the first seadog said, a bit embarrassed.

    They hurriedly threw a ninja each over a shoulder and left with a nod.

 "What saying?" Kevin patiently said, now leaning against the wall.

    It seemed like he refused to lay back before he felt done with talking.

    Lise looked at her hands and shook her head.

 "It's nothing, Kevin. I take care of things, I always do."

    She suddenly let out a dry laugh.

 "And what do you smell of me now?" she asked, more sour than she had intended.

    Really she hadn't even meant to say that, but it had flown out of her head before she could stop it. Kevin didn't seem to become irritated, though.

 "Only tired," he calmly said.

 'Why can't he just let me be concerned about him, am I suddenly doing something wrong?!' Lise thought, frustrated all of a sudden.

    His frown came back, but before he could even open his mouth all her tension exploded. It was simply too much, the fear for Rakadra, the helplessness and drain of strength, her exhaust… all being pressed together into her mind and becoming too much when her friend had the nerve to worry about such rubbish!

 "Kevin, I'm not as strong as you but I'm not a helpless child!" she growled and bolted to her feet, her voice rising for every word until she was shouting, "that I'm tired has nothing to do with anything, there's much more important things! About anything is more important! I have to save Eliott, and right now your wounds need care and if that whoever it was hadn't chosen to help you'd still be screaming up there or dead and Kevin I have to worry about everything because it's my duty as…"

    She cut off her furious shouting, almost being forced to bite off her tongue to do so. Clenching her teeth hard she turned away, rubbing her forehead.

    Now what had that been all about again?

 'Just great, now he thinks that I'm a nervous wreck…'

    She almost jumped out of her skin when two big hands landed on her shoulder panzer.

 "You should be resting…" she awkwardly mumbled, not looking around.

 "You too."

    The fingers on her shoulders were trembling with exhaust and strained pain, how could he be so stubborn?

 "Kevin, come on…"

    Lise turned around without meeting his eyes and hung his arm around her neck to support him back down on the bed. He leaned against the wall again, but the princess didn't know if it was of irritated or plain stubborn strength. 

 "Sorry about that outburst," she honestly muttered, still not looking up.

 "Why then?"

    She met his gaze in surprise. He was frowning a bit, but he didn't look angry. Just a bit sad, more than usual.

 "It was stupid of me," Lise said, "I just… there was no reason for me to…"

    Her voice trailed off and her shoulders dropped. With a groan she raised her hand to massage her forehead again.

    The sudden, unprovoked fury had eaten the last of her energy storage.

    Kevin reached out and put his hand on her arm, almost causing Lise to fall over of exhaust.

 "Go sleep," she heard him say as if through a wall, "we talk later."

    With more will than strength she managed to nod and stood up, crashing on her bed and in the weariness not caring about taking off her armor.

    Kevin gravely watched the wall separating their beds, shaking his head before he lay back himself.

    None of them even awoke when a couple of the sailors in lack of better solutions hammered a few planks onto the deck to cover the hole that Lise had left when jumping to Kevin's rescue. And the half blood was hardly to be called even momentarily awakened when the ship's doctor sneaked into the cabin and carefully wrapped bandages around the wounded arms and Kevin's chest.

He didn't awaken before about two hours later, when the doctor came back and shook the half blood until he opened his eyes.

 "I think you need to eat something, young man," the man in white robes said.

    Kevin tried to rise up on one arm at first, but found that a bad idea. His whole body ached, as if thorns went trough his flesh for every movement. Grimacing he managed to work his way up into a half lying, half sitting position, heavily leaning against the wall. The doctor very carefully offered the half blood a smoking cup of something, ready to support him holding it. But Kevin managed to assemble enough strength to get a grip of the mug.

 "That'll help off that seasickness of yours," the doctor smiled, "I'll leave some food here for you and Her Highness."

    He pointed at a tray with two bowls and a few pieces of bread, which was waiting on the small table of the cabin.

 "Thanks…" Kevin said, stuttering a bit as he still was feeling rather wobbly.

 "No problem at all. Oh, by the way…"

    The doctor shrugged his shoulders.

 "The captain just announced that we might have to take a longer route or stay put for a couple of days," he reported, "the volcano on Bucca seem to have had an eruption recently and is still smoking, so we don't want to get too close to that. Well, I'll be going."

    He left with a wave of his hand.

    Kevin sat like a statue for a while before he picked himself up and blew a little on the potion to make it cool down. The taste wasn't too pleasant, rather bitter. But after just one sip of something edible his empty stomach started to groan and he emptied the mug without second thoughts.

    Well… at least the exhaust had made him forget the nausea for a while, now hopefully the potion would help further. Right then he didn't have the nerve to care.

    Most of all he'd just go back to sleep, but his stomach begged for a difference. After a few moments of weighing the different pains and his fatigue he finally gave up and very slowly got out of the bed. It wasn't easy to walk, the odds were definitely against him. But he clamped his teeth and made it to the table, with a relieved grunt falling to one of the floor secure chairs.

    Seemed to be fish soup…

    He took a bread to start with, eating slowly because he was tired and because he didn't want his stomach to get a shock after all the hunger and turn inside out again. 

    After the first piece of bread the mist in his head began to dissolve. At least one relief… the pain still remained like a headache throughout the whole body. He grimaced to himself and moved one of the bowls closer so that he could eat a little of the soup. But when he had eaten a few mouthfuls he pushed the bowl away again and turned his eyes towards Lise, despite his remaining hunger.

    That just wouldn't do…

    He forced his protesting body from the chair and stumbled across the short floor area again. It took a big deal of self-control to simply sit down on her bedside instead of falling. 

 "Lise, wake up," he grunted and carefully shook her shoulder.

 "Mmh…? Ow…" 

    Lise grimaced before opening her eyes, looking up at Kevin through a veil of drowsiness.

 "Hm?" she mumbled.

 "Shouldn't sleep in armor," he said and forced himself to smile a bit, "won't get better."

 "Good point…"

    She worked her way into sitting, resting on her hands and yawning. Kevin stood up and went back to the table, walking a bit more secure now.

    Drawbacks of being half beastman: Speaking problems, seasick easily and unable to walk without slight crouch.

    Opportunities: Natural strength, sturdy, the whole power up thing at night and a body that could heal faster than a plain human's.

    His stomach had already begun to assemble the bounty of the little food it had been offered, spreading it into his tired being. He sat down again with the plan to keep helping the process, avoiding to look at Lise in order allow her the privacy of getting out of her armor.

    A short while later she sunk down on the other chair and reached for the free soup bowl, simply dressed in her long tunic.

 "How are you feeling?" she mumbled, hardly audible.

 "A bit better," he replied, "and you?"

 "Still tired…"

    She sighed.

 "I'm really sorry for freaking out like that," she muttered, "I don't know what I was thinking…"

 "Me don't mind," Kevin said, smiling a bit.

 "I was just so tired and shocked and… now I'm babbling."

    Lise tried to smile but failed. She turned to the soup without another word and they ate in silence.

    When the soup was gone both of them leaned back, staring at nothing for a while.

 "Know who possessed you?" Kevin suddenly asked.

    The princess looked up and shook her head.

 "No, he never told me," she said, "but…"

    She fell silent, hesitating.

 'Should I tell him…? The voice I heard in my head sounded like a beastman…'

 "Said strange things," the half blood remarked, scratching his head so almost the whole mane swayed.

 "Yes. Seemed like he knew you."

 "And Rakadra too."

 "Did you know that demon?" Lise carefully asked.

    Kevin shook his head.

 "No. Don't know why he hated me so much. But…"

    He frowned.

 "Gah, he said he wouldn't just kill the son of Beast King and Arceia," he said, puzzled.

 "Arceia, is that your mother?" the princess asked.

    Kevin grimly nodded.

 "Ran away, Beast King told me," he said with a small growl, "I understand why."

 'What kind of human woman would have a child with the king of beastmen?' Lise thought but didn't ask.

    That seemed rather tasteless to bring up. Come to think of it, what said she was willi…

    Lise cut off the thought before she started to feel even sicker.

    Should Kevin be the product of… no, it just couldn't be.

 "So, maybe Rakadra had something against your parents," she tried, fighting to avoid the unpleasant possibility, "perhaps they fought…"

 "He half blood too," Kevin pointed out, frowning even more.

    Lise nodded.

 "What did that possessing person say his parents names were?" she said with a frown, "Haldor and Shree something?"

 "Scheree," Kevin corrected.

    He rubbed his forehead.

 "Have heard somewhere before… ah, long ago," he said, his warmly yellow eyes narrowing as he tried to remember.

    Lise waited for the result, but after a while her friend shrugged in defeat.

 "Can't think of where," he said.

 "You'll remember eventually, I'm sure."

    The princess yawned again, massaging her neck with one hand.

 "I'll go back to sleep for a while…" she said and stood up.

 "Yeah."

    They crashed on their own beds again, falling asleep shortly thereafter.