Rough Seas

3 - Late Nights

Tom had slipped off to sleep the second night much like the first. The gentle rocking of the ship was soothing, and within moments he was asleep. It was more of a curse than a blessing. As if he had merely blinked, Tom opened his eyes again, staring up at the dark wooden planks of the ship. There was some light being cast from what seemed like a candle from outside of his cell. Strange. Blearily, he rubbed at his eyes and turned over, knowing how hard it would be for him to go back to sleep since he had already woken up.

He was greeted with the sight of the Captain sitting by his cell, a candle beside her and a book in her lap. She had a blanket draped around her shoulders. Tom wished that they had given him a blanket. Her face looked calm, and Tom smiled a little at the scene. Shifting some more, he felt something dig into his back sharply, making him grunt in pain. The Captain looked up from her book and, noticing that Tom was awake, closed it and set it to the side.

"Did I wake you?" She asked, tilting her head, a look of concern on her face. Tom shook his head, moving so that he was laying on his side, with one arm behind his head.

"Nah. Sometimes it happens." Tom replied, watching her nod and relax a little. They sat in silence for a moment, before Tom spoke up again. "What were you reading?" Katherine blinked a little at the question. She hadn't expected Tom to care much about what she was doing while she kept watch over him. She guessed she was wrong.

"Oh, it's just about Ianitee myths." Katherine said, blushing a little. She felt silly admitting that she was reading what was basically a books of stories mothers and fathers read to their children at night. "It's kind of strange, I know. An adult reading a children's story?" Tom didn't seem to think it was weird, though. He perked up a little, a small grin forming on his face.

"Really? It sounds interesting." Tom said, moving so that he was sitting up. "Will you read some to me?" Katherine laughed a little, pushing a few loose strands of hair behind her ear.

"I don't know..." Her face was definitely red now. Tom pouted slightly, flipping from an adult to a whiny child in a matter of seconds.

"Please? I'm told that I'm a good listener." Tom pleaded, trying to give the Captain his best puppy-dog eyes. Katherine just smiled, reaching over to her book while Tom let out a quiet cheer. She flipped through the well-worn pages, before finding her favourite story. Clearing her throat, she began. Tom watched, enraptured by the story, as Katherine read the familiar tale. Although she couldn't see him, Katherine was sure that he was falling in love with the story just as she had long ago. After Katherine finished, she looked up to see that Tom had rested his hand on his cheek, watching her read with a small smile on his face. She let out and awkward cough that seemed to snap Tom out of his daydream.

"Did you like it?" She asked expectantly. Tom smiled sheepishly before nodding.

"I did, actually." He replied, letting out s small grunt as he tried to find a position that would help his aching back. God that bench was uncomfortable. "You know- "Tom was cut off by the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Both himself and Katherine glanced over to where the person would appear. To Tom's surprise, it was Jordan, who had unfortunately donned a shirt. "Aw, he does wear a shirt." Tom pouted a little to emphasize his point, drawing a laugh from the Captain and a blush from Jordan. "I was hoping that I would be able to ogle you for a bit longer."

"Anyways," Jordan coughed, awkwardly avoiding Tom. "I'm here to take over your watch." He directed the last statement at Katherine, who nodded and stood, making sure to keep the blanket over her shoulders. She smiled at Tom.

"Nice talking to you." She said before flashing Jordan a grateful smile and walking towards the stairs. Tom nodded as she walked away, not knowing what to say as Jordan got comfortable. Jordan winced as he sat in the spot Katherine had just been in, placing a hand over his stomach. Tom frowned. Was he okay?

"Hey, you alright dude?" He asked, tilting his head as he spoke. Jordan just nodded, before considering Tom's question.

"Iwas injured not that long ago, and I'm still feeling it." He explained,watching Tom's face. Nodding, Tom replied.

"We're you badly hurt?" Jordan nodded, shifting a little to be more comfortable.

"My lady saved my life. I wouldn't be talking to you today if she hadn't healed me after I was attacked." Jordan smiled a little, internally thanking Ianite once more that he was still able to serve as her champion. The two of them sat in silence for a few moments, both contemplating what to say next, if anything at all. Eventually, Tom spoke up.

"I guess I have Dianite to thank for helping me out too, especially during my training. Nothing close to dying, at least, nothing I can remember." Tom bit his lip, thinking back to his training. It had been a long, hard couple of years that he had endured, but it had been worth it. Mostly. It was times like this, when he was being held captive by pirates in the middle of the ocean heading to what was basically the sworn enemy's capital, that he regretted ever thinking about become a soldier.

"Yeah, champion training can be pretty brutal." Jordan replied before he could stop himself. Tom straightened when Jordan mentioned champion training. How could Jordan, a pirate, know anything about training to become a god's champion? Jordan's eyes went wide when he realized what he had done. Now the enemy – or, at least Tom – knew that he wasn't dead. Shit.

"What?" Tom replied, giving Jordan a strange look. "But... Ianite's champion is supposed to be dead." He whispered the last part quietly to himself, but Jordan heard anyways. Giving him a weak smile, Jordan replied.

"Ianite saved me. I almost did die." Jordan swallowed as Tom rubbed a hand over his face, his face portraying his confusion.

"Oh my god." Tom groaned. Dianite was going to have a fit about this. He had been so happy about Jordan's 'death' that he had thrown a parade. Tom had been there, right beside the elated god. And now he was apparently conversing with the same man who had been thought to be dead? Dianite, help him. He was living in one of those drama novels that his sister loved to read.

"Sorry? I guess?" Jordan said, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. Tom just shook his head before laying back down, placing his hands over his face.

"I need to sleep." Tom just groaned out, still reeling in shock. Jordan nodded, before he began to settle in, knowing that he was here for the rest of the night.

(Ayy got this out a little later than I wanted it to be, but I'm planning out the whole story and guys it's gonna be so good. Also sorry this one is a little shorter, I had to change it a whole lot to make it fit better with the plot)