Daydreams And Nightshade (DaN #1)

Chapter 56: Poisonous precautions

Shyen's eyes were barely open as they walked out of the crypt and towards the town square in the late afternoon of the next day. Derek and Luna glanced at each other, both sighing at the same time.

"Told you you should've slept," Derek said as he adjusted the suitcase he was carrying under his arm. "You're gonna collapse by nightfall."

"Yes, well, I'll just sleep then. I can sleep on the ship." Shyen grinned before stifling a yawn.

"See, you're tired."

"I just need air."

"Maybe you should stay and rest while you can. There're still a few hours until nightfall. We can handle the last preparations," Luna agreed with Derek. "What if you get seasick and can't sleep even on the ship?"

"Ha, do I look like the kind of person to get seasick?"

"I could see it," Derek said.

"Yeah," Luna agreed, and Shyen's lip curled.

"Ganging up on me this early? Really?"

"It's evening, Shy, and we have things to get done so you can't fall asleep on us."

"It's fine! It's just a couple of errands, and you know, carrying these..." Shyen held up the two suitcases he was carrying, and Luna pursed her lips.

"You know, maybe we should drop them off before doing all that." She narrowed her eyes in thought. "Hey, maybe Shyen and I could drop them off while you get those last things on the list, Derek?"

Derek cocked an eyebrow.

"Because you want me to pay for—"

"No," Luna replied a little too quickly. "But are we really going to send Shyen off to buy things like this? He can't even find his way at the best of times."

"Right here, you know." Shyen shook his head half-heartedly.

"You'll have to carry this." Derek gestured to the large suitcase under his arm, and Luna shrugged.

"As if I don't have two arms."

It still proved more difficult than she'd thought, and she had to change her grip on it constantly all the way to the harbor.

Abram's ship was amusingly easy to notice as the sun protection was lowered to cover the deck. Luna looked up at the setting sky. Ethan would logically still be asleep, but a shifter like Abram could very well be awake.

"Do you think we'll need to wait until the sun has set?" Shyen yawned again as they walked up to the ship, and Luna shook her head.

"Even if we've hit the very time of day where both of them are asleep, the human crew should still be up."

"Oh! Lady Hargreaves!" A young woman with short, poofy hair walked up to them, carrying a box of what looked like medical supplies. "We're just about done with preparations so as soon as the captain is back we should be ready to set sail!"

"Ah, look, here's one already." Luna gestured at the woman with a smile. "We'd like to drop off some luggage."

The woman looked down at the suitcases and then over at Shyen.

"And... This is...?"

"Shyen Wise," Shyen dutifully replied. "I was actually—"

"Ah, yes. Ethan said more people were joining." The woman nodded and Luna raised an eyebrow.

"He did?"

"Yes, yes!" The woman waved her hand before starting to dig through the box she was holding. "We're not picky about numbers anyway as long as we all get by and like, help out, you know. Ah, here." She brought out a bottle of some kind of ointment and handed it to Luna.