He sighed, realizing he was rambling and Rosia probably didnât actually care much for a biology lesson. âActually,â He held up his hand, open palmed, as if in invitation, âI could show you, if you didnât mind.â He cleared his throat as Rosia gave him the go ahead, âIt shouldnât feel like anything, but it might tingle.â
Quickly, he put information to the front of his mind, and let it flow through him, into his hand. First, a gentle boop on her nose, and the meaning of the word bioluminescence planted itself in her mind, and then he gently rested a hand on her cheek and let the basic information about the algae from Lumina heâd been reading about flow through, as well. Then he gently ran his thumb across her cheek, an affectionate gesture, and pulled back. âWhoa.â The girl said, pausing for a moment.
âThere you go,â He said, almost absently, and turned his attention back to his book.
Nymâs curiosity with Xaviâs cards was only broken by Wes telling her she needed to keep an eye on the kitchen. Nym nodded heartily, giving the cook a quick, âAye, yessir.â Though, truthfully, most anyone on this ship could just pick her up and move her aside on a good day if they wanted past her. After assuring Wes she understood his instruction, she turned back to Xavi, âSo I just⊠Take one?â She wasnât fully familiar with it, but she plucked a card from Xaviâs deck nonetheless.
When she turned the card to look at it, a grim and confused look crossed her face. Death? âIâŠâ She started, voice getting caught in her throat as she remembered the prophecies the Oracles had spoken over her in her infancy, âWhat does⊠What does this mean?â She hoped there was some hidden meaning in the card, even as a chill crept from the hollow of her back and spread up into her chest, across her limbs, right to her hand gingerly clutching the card.
Xavi couldnât help but smirk as Nym revealed her card, Death. And her reaction was one that most people have when they pull such a card. The cabin boy quickly asked what it meant, but these cards never spoke in directs, but in messages that were to be interpreted. âIn due time it will explain what it means. You can hold onto it until then.â
Nym didnât like the vagueness, she was used to being spoken to directly, honestly, but here she was just the cabin boy, and it was always fun to tease the lowest person in the pecking order. She nodded when Xavi said she could keep the card, turning it over in her hand a few times before tucking it into the pocket of her baggy pants. Sheâd never worn trousers before coming aboard the Regulus, she liked them.
Sleep hadnât come easily for Nym; it rarely did aboard the ship. She still wasnât quite used to the way it creaked and swayed under the deck, and the noise of the last stragglers left awake was enough to keep her ears perked until late into the night. Add the foreboding feeling still lingering from Xaviâs card, and it was as if sleep was meant for everyone on board the Regulus but Nym. Still, she had to be up bright and early. Port or no, she had the same chores every mornâ, and she was determined to get to them. It was probably good for her, the manual labor, and more importantly, someone might tell her she was doing a good job, and that was something she desperately wanted. She also really hoped to get all her regular chores done early in hopes that she could check out Zanzibar. Sheâd heard stories, and was really wishing Wes would bring her along, or let her off the hook for the rest of the day if she had things properly shining.
That wasnât in the cards, though, it seemed. They hadnât even docked into port yet when Wes was telling her he had a whole list of things to do. âBut I-â She started, the disappointment showing on her face, but she quickly rethought trying to argue with Wes. âOf courseâŠâ She said, looking down at her feet and the deck below.
Farris always had things to do, and coming to port in Zanzibar was no exception. He had books and papers and files to return to the local Sudakloren library (theyâd insure the materials made it back into the right hands), and a few colleges to meet up with. They had information and ideas to share, and Sudaklorens are nothing if not efficient.
It wasnât long before the ship was docked, and Nym found herself looking over- what she considered- an impossibly long list of tasks. She sighed, but before he left she said a quick, âBest of luck, Mr. Aloysius. Hope you find everything we need.â She smiled, a part of her hoping the sickening sweetness would at least guilt him into finding something interesting to tell her about later.
As he left, she turned back to the kitchen, grumbling the whole way as most everyone else was filing off the ship. âWhatâs the use of scrubbing out the cupboards?â She mumbled to herself, âI could probably just stack everything up differently and no one would know the differenceâŠâ A part of herself wondered if most of this stuff was just to keep her busy and safely on the ship. Of course it was; wouldnât do to have the Feraelian crown prince get lost or fall off the edge of Zanzibar.
Nym hummed to herself, trying to decide where on the list to start. Top down, she supposed. Someone had told her that was the best way to do things. Sheâd start with getting herself a bucket of soapy water, then. Couldnât go wrong there, at least. She passed by Rosia on her way back to the kitchens and smiled at the other young woman, âAre you going off ship?â She asked, seeing no problem with stopping for just a moment to chat, âCan you find me something pretty? Iâm feeling rather drab these days. Iâll pay you back.â She normally wouldnât ask something like that of someone, but she and Rosia had gotten fairly close in the short time theyâd known each other, âWes gave me this whole bullshit list of chores to finish, so I canât go myself.â She held the paper up to Rosia, to emphasize the length of the list.