FLOOD [Pokémon]

Chapter 17: Seasick

NERO

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Jude's wounds went deep, deeper than one might expect when studying him from afar. It wasn't just his muscles and vocal chords that were badly damaged — his immune system was now a shadow of its former self, now barely able to fight off decompression sickness or freshwater fever. He didn't get sick often, but when he did he recovered at a Slugma's pace, and skirted the line between life and death.

So when I returned to his room, have reacquired his old clothes and our bag — which had been getting a sand wash from one of the village maidens — and Jude told me that he wasn't feeling well, I seized up with an intense panic.

Easy, I told myself as I felt his forehead — there was no fever yet, and Jude was only complaining about a mild nausea... But I was still rendered blind by memories of him coughing blood and cooking with fever. And in my panic, my mind seized on the salve that had eased Jude's aches. That had been exotic stuff — did they have any medicine to halt the illness building up in Jude's body?

I ordered him back to sleep and left the cabin to find Cora or Kuma – I didn't want to talk to anyone else.

And luckily, I didn't have to — I found Kuma on an upper floor of the Manor, in a room that had once probably been a dining space for humans. Now, it was mostly empty save for seaweed mat carpeting and four old merfolk — Kuma, a Karpon, a Milotica, and a Jeager. None of them looked happy with one another.

I hovered in the doorway until Kuma noticed me; I hated flagging people down. When she did, she raised a brow and pushed towards me. "Excuse me," she said.

"Kuma?" The Jeager, a long-faced mermaid with his hair in a braid, glowered after her. "We're not done discussing this."

"In a moment, Yeda." Kuma pulled the door shut. "What's the matter, boy?"

"I need medicine." I managed to keep my voice from shaking. "Jude said he's not feeling well."

Scorn crossed her face. "Aches again?"

"No, nausea. He might be getting sick."

Now she was serious. "What ails him?"

"It's too early to tell."

"Endeavor to find out. Wait here a moment, we might have something to curb his nausea." She left and returned with a small cloth parcel. Inside the folds were several withered leaves. "Crush these and spread them around him. Ensure he breathes them in."

"How long before it works?"

"Less than a half hour. I'll drop by this evening to see that he's well. If I can't get out of this blasted meeting before then, I'll send Cora once she's back from scavenging."

I scowled as I took the packet. I hadn't planned on being here that long. "Are you a cleric or something?"

"Best there is in Delphirius." Kuma looked through the door's window and sighed. "Now, if you'll excuse me. Yeda's getting impatient."

I returned to the room and followed Kuma's instructions, crushing the leaves in my fist before releasing them in the water around Jude's head. After fifteen minutes, I asked, "Any better?"

"N-no," he groaned. "Worse."

I could do nothing but pace and fret until the waters darkened, and the day came to an end. Both Cora and Kuma arrived later in the evening; the former handed me a small parcel of cut Magikarp meat. The latter floated over to Jude.

"Doesn't appear to be anything too serious," she reported after a moment. "No real fever and only mild nausea..."

"Not...mild," Jude protested with a moan.