Wanderlust - Chapter 16: Chapter 16

When Soren woke up, Tanden was already on his feet, carefully trying to pull his tunic over his head. Soren groaned sleepily and sat up. His arms felt itchy and his skin felt stiff, but he knew better than to scratch at them.
"D'you want help with that?" he asked, stifling a yawn.
Tanden let out a sigh of defeat and frustration. "Yes."
Soren got up, but before helping Tanden with the tunic, he inspected his back. "It looks good. Yonah will probably finish it today." He held up the tunic so Tanden could slip his arms into the sleeves with as little effort as possible. "How do you feel?"
"Not bad, I guess," Tanden said. "It's itchy."
"Aye, that's normal. Leave it alone," Soren said. He got dressed quickly, then poured himself a glass of water from the pitcher. "Are we going to get some food, first?"
"Suppose we should." Tanden went to scratch his back then caught himself and frowned. "This is infuriating. Soren... last night..."
Soren felt a flash of panic. In the moment, with the darkening sky outside and the candlelight, the night before had been incredible. But he'd been tipsy and far more confident than usual and he didn't want to have to think about it during the day. "Captain, could we just—"
"—was incredible. But if you don't want to talk about it, we won't. What do Crelans eat for breakfast, traditionally?"
"Porridge. Reckon you can have fish added in if you're trying to be fancy, but it isn't what most people do."
"Porridge is so boring," Tanden complained. "I'll pay for anything that'll make it better."
"It isn't the same kind of porridge that the cook makes on the ship."
"Would the Kipper serve it?"
"They can probably make you anything you want."
"Oh, perfect. Let's go." Tanden led the way from the room, which Soren locked behind them. They walked back through the thin hallway, down the creaky stairs, and through the narrow alleyway to the front of the tavern. Tanden strolled through the doors, which were much emptier than they had been the previous evening. Soren followed him sheepishly, half expecting that anyone who looked at him would know what had happened.
Tanden leaned against the bar. There was only one employee there, a middle-aged woman. He smiled at her. "Good morning. I understand you may have some porridge."
"Aye." The woman nodded. "Want a bowl, do you?" She glanced over at Soren. "Two bowls?"
"Two, please," Tanden said. "I also hear that sometimes seafood can be added to the porridge."
Soren sighed. The woman frowned, clearly annoyed by the request. "Listen here, Teltan, I ain't makin' you some fancy— "
"It would be very expensive, I understand," Tanden interrupted her smoothly. "I'm willing to pay the higher price, of course. How much do you think it would be?" He pulled out his money. With a casual air that, to Soren at least, was very fake, he poured the coins onto the bar and started to count them.
The woman eyed the pile. "It'll be fifty siyas for each bowl."
Tanden grinned. "Ah, perfect! Thank you." He slid the siyas across to her. "Something to drink, as well? Water will do."
"Ten siyas for two cups."
Tanden added a brass siya to the pile, then scooped up the rest of the money and put it away. He sat down on the stool and motioned for Soren to join him.
Soren took a seat. "You paid way too much."
Tanden shrugged. "I'm aware."
"And you don't mind?"
"I am making her go out of her way for me," Tanden pointed out. "I might as well make it worth her while, don't you think?"
"Reckon so..."
The woman returned with two wooden cups of water. Tanden picked his up, took a drink, and swirled the remaining water. He looked deep in thought. Unsure whether or not he should interrupt, Soren reached for his cup. They sat in silence until the woman came back with two bowls of porridge. It smelled great and Soren realized how ravenous he was. He pulled his bowl over and dug into it.
Tanden smiled at the cook. "Thank you kindly, ma'am."
She rolled her eyes. "Think you can flirt your way through everything, do you?"
"Of course not. I paid, didn't I?"
"Well, it won't work on me." She smiled at Soren. "D'you like it, lad?"
Soren nodded. "Aye, delicious. You're a great cook, miss."
"Glad you like it." She shot Tanden a glare before disappearing into the back room again. Soren kept eating, trying to ignore the way Tanden was staring at him for a while. Then he sighed. "I told you last night, didn't I? You're Teltish and you talk like a rich noble and you show off your money. None of that's appreciated on Crele."
"But I've been polite," Tanden complained. "And I was just thanking her."
"Aye, thanking her with that smile. You flirt with everyone. Reckon it isn't your fault, and it's kinda charming. But she didn't appreciate it."
"I don't flirt with everyone."
"Fine. Not everyone. Depends on what you want from them."
Tanden sighed. He pulled his bowl closer and tried his first mouthful. He looked surprised, then scooped up more. "This is really good. Do you think our cook could make this?"
"Dunno."
"I should really have him collect recipes whenever we visit a new city. Do you know how to cook this?"
"No. When she comes back tell her you like it. Sincerely."
They fell into silence again while they ate. When the cook came back to collect their dishes, Tanden told her that he enjoyed it, and she briefly smiled at him. Then they made their way across the city to see Yonah.
Once again, Soren felt protective over Tanden as they walked into Yonah's shop. The bruise on his arm had faded to a yellow that was hard to see in the light, and Soren was happy to offer up his arm again. But he was worried that Tanden wouldn't be able to handle getting the tattoo finished that day. If he couldn't manage it, it meant coming back again the following day. Which wasn't a big deal, except that in turn it meant it would take that much longer for Tanden to recover, which meant that much longer without sex.
Despite his behaviour the night before, there wasn't much Soren wanted other than to properly sleep with his captain again. It had been a long time since Stanin. But Soren would put Tanden's health over his own desire for as long as it took. He just wasn't going to be entirely happy about it.
"Mornin', Yonah," Soren said.
"Mornin' lads," Yonah replied. He was sitting by a young woman, carefully touching up a swirl on her shoulder. Mainland Crelan women rarely had tattoos, but women on Crele always did. "Come on over."
Tanden took the chair that was already next to the woman, and Soren pulled over another one. He sat down and glanced at Tanden, easily following his gaze to the woman's arm. She had the swirls up her entire left arm, and a bracelet-like ring of blue around her right wrist.
"Lovely tattoos," Tanden said, with a flirty grin. An intentional one, this time.
She smiled at him. "Thank you."
"Captain Tanden." Tanden offered his hand for a shake, but when she took it, he raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it.
She replied with a laugh. "Eonas. You're very charming."
"I know." Tanden let go of her hand to gesture at Soren. "My first mate, Soren."
"Pleased to meet you, miss."
Yonah cleared his throat and put his tools down. "All right, Eonas. You're done, lass."
"Thanks grandpa." She leaned forward to kiss his cheek before springing to her feet. "This the Teltan you were telling me about?"
Yonah nodded. "How's your back doin', lad?"
Tanden shrugged and glanced at Soren for confirmation.
"It looks good," Soren said.
"Good. Lie down." Yonah went to clean his tools in a wash bucket on the back table.
Tanden walked over to the table. If he was nervous Soren couldn't tell, but he was probably hiding it to impress Eonas. Soren stood and followed him. Without waiting to be asked, he helped Tanden take off his tunic.
As Tanden sprawled on the table, Eonas walked over curiously. "Big tattoo for a Teltan. Impressive."
"I've wanted one for years," Tanden said. "Decided it was better to get something big."
"I agree."
Yonah approached the table and waved away his granddaughter. "Eonas, lass, your father needs your help with the fish. Go on. You're distracting the lad."
"Isn't that a good thing?" she asked. "I'll help him lie still."
"He's fine," Soren interrupted, more sharply than he'd intended. In an attempt to recover, he added, "He was fine yesterday. He doesn't need help."
She gave him an odd look, but shrugged. "Fine. See you at dinner, grandpa." She left the shop in a rush.
After a moment, Soren dragged a chair over to the table and sat down. "Don't say anything."
Tanden chuckled. "All right. But now you have to distract me."
Soren glared at him until Yonah got to work, then he started to talk. Not about anything in particular. He told Tanden some of the stories about the Old God of the Sea and the Sailor King, and then some stories about his childhood in West Draulin. Through it all, Tanden remained relatively cheerful, though once again his fingers dug into Soren's arm.
A few times, Soren stood to look at the tattoo and report on how it looked. It really did look good. Although it didn't look right, half finished, irritated and puffy, Soren knew it was going to be amazing. He was excited to see it completed and healed.
Hours later, when it was finally finished, Yonah motioned for Soren to stand up. Tanden was still awake, but weak and drowsy, and he hardly noticed when Soren pulled his arm away. He stood beside Yonah, looking down on the beautiful tattoo.
Yonah cleared his throat. "Won't be able to put the ointment on himself."
Soren nodded. "I know. I had to help him last night. He didn't want to bother."
"Make him," Yonah said sternly. "It has to heal right."
Soren nodded again. "Of course."
Yonah stared at him a moment longer, than expertly started to bandage Tanden's back. "Reckon he can rest here for a bit. Anythin' you need to get done? You can leave him here."
There wasn't anything to do. Soren was technically on leave, although he'd spent every moment of it with Tanden. He didn't have any errands to run, or people to visit. But a walk on his own might be nice. "Aye, couple tasks for the ship. He'll be fine here?"
"Isn't the first man to pass out on my table. Won't be the last."
"Right. Thanks, mate. I'll come back for him soon." Soren crouched near Tanden's head. "Captain? I'll be back soon, aye?"
Tanden mumbled something that sounded affirmative, so Soren felt it was acceptable for him to leave.
He didn't wander too far. Yonah's shop was in a busy area, and there was plenty for Soren to spend time looking at. There were many different places to buy food, a handful of clothing shops. The place that seemed the most interesting was a little building, with windows full of tiny wooden ships. Soren curiously pushed open the door. A little old man was hunched over a block of wood and carefully cutting away at it. Two children were watching him with huge eyes. They didn't pay Soren any attention, so he slowly walked around the room, admiring the models. They were incredibly intricate. Some were all wood, but some had little ropes and sails attached.
One of the larger models caught Soren's eye, and very gingerly he picked it up. The rigging wasn't identical, but it had three masts and looked similar to the Wanderlust.
"Like it?"
Soren flinched as the elderly man suddenly appeared beside him. "Aye."
"It's a bar—"
"A barque," Soren said. "She's beautiful."
"Modelled after a real ship," the man said proudly. "The CN Venture. Lord Co's personal ship."
On closer inspection, Soren could see the name painted in miniscule letters. He put the model down and glanced around the shop. "Have any barquentines?"
The man scoffed. "Barquentine? You sail on that West Draulin Navy ship, then? She's one of a kind, she is. Can make custom models, for the right price."
Soren hadn't been planning on buying anything, but he suddenly couldn't resist. "How much? And how long would it take?"
The man tapped his chin thoughtfully. "With full rigging and cloth sails?"
Soren nodded.
"Hmm... 'bout two hundred siyas. Ain't cheap, lad. But I could get her done in a couple days."
He could afford two hundred siyas to buy Tanden a nice gift. Another idea popped into Soren's head, and he gestured at the wall of the smaller, entirely wood models. "How much are those?"
"Thirty siyas each."
Soren quickly counted in his head. "I'll like to buy four of them, as well as commission the barquentine."
The man smiled. "Reckon I'll have to send my son down to the pier to make some sketches. Pick out your ships." He walked through a doorway into the back of the building and started yelling for someone.
Soren walked over to the shelf of small models. He wasn't sure what Tanden's nephews and nieces would like but tried to associate ships with things he knew about the children. Young Lord Tandrin was destined to rule West Draulin and would probably like a frigate, a very powerful ship. Soren picked a model made of light wood. For Lord Tandrix, he picked a dark brigantine, a swift, study type of ship that would be perfect for exploring. Tanden's older niece, Lady Tilana, would certainly like the elegant little schooner. And for Lady Tairia, a hardy galleon that looked like it could handle being played with.
By the time he had carefully selected each ship, the old man had returned. He took them and wrapped them carefully before putting them into a cloth bag. Soren counted out three hundred and twenty siyas, and placed them on the counter.
As the man double-checked to make sure it was the right amount of money, he spoke. "Ever heard of Lord Co's clockwork ship? Got to see it once, when I was a boy. My uncle was the clock-keeper at the time."
"A clockwork ship?"
The man smiled and he looked, for a moment, like an enthralled little boy. "Aye, she's a marvel. Incredibly old, and still works. She moves, all on her own! My grandfather told me that they used to bring her out and display her durin' the Ocean Festival, but they haven't done it since his time. Shame, really. Such a fascinating model."
"I've never heard of it," Soren admitted, deciding to ask Tanden. If anyone knew about such a thing, Tanden would. "But it sounds truly incredible. When should I come back for the barquentine?"
"Day after tomorrow."
"Thank you." Soren gently picked up the bag. It had been long enough since leaving the tattoo shop, so he made his way back, stopping briefly in a bakery to buy some pasties filled with sugary fruit preserve.
When he entered the tattoo shop, Yonah was working on another man, and Tanden was sitting in a chair, watching. He glanced up when the door opened and got to his feet.
"Where've you been, mate?" His eyes widened when Soren held out the pastries and he grabbed them like a starving man. He took an enormous bite, eyed the cloth bag, and spoke with his mouth full. "What's that?"
Soren pushed aside a burst of nervousness. "I... bought gifts. For your brothers' children." He put the bag down and pulled out the models one by one, carefully unwrapping them and sitting them on the table. "I know you like to buy them gifts..."
"They're beautiful!" Tanden exclaimed. He went to pick up the brigantine, but noticed just in time that his fingers where sticky with fruit and pulled his hand back. "Excellent gifts, mate. They'll love them."
Soren smiled to himself as he started to wrap them back up. "I have a question."
"Hmm?" Tanden mumbled, his mouth full again.
"Do you know about Lord Co's clockwork ship?"
Tanden swallowed and grinned. "Of course I do. Want to see it? I probably should visit Nata while we're here. He's a close ally. Island Lords have to stick together. If I arrange a meeting I'm sure he'll show it to us."
"Really?"
"Soren, mate, I'm Captain Lord Tanden of West Draulin, aren't I? He'll show us."