Wayfarer (Wanderlust 2)

Chapter Two

Soren woke up when Tanden pushed his arm aside and got out of bed. After a moment he stretched and sat up. Tanden was standing with his back to the bed as he pulled on his pants, giving Soren an excellent view of the tattoo on his back. Not many Teltans had tattoos, and Tanden was almost certainly the only Teltish lord to have one. It wasn't small and subtle, either. It covered his whole back, the word Wanderlust in flowing script surrounded by traditional Crelan swirls representing water. Between the lines, tiny letters spelled out the names of all the cities and countries Tanden had visited. Tanden loved tattoos, that was something Soren had learned very early on in their relationship. But he had only gotten his own recently.

Soren cleared his throat. "Are you going to get Till added to your back?"

"Of course." Tanden didn't seem startled, and continued to get dressed. His back was soon covered by a dark blue tunic, and then Tanden was putting on his Crelan nautical jacket, which was also dark blue. The Tandran family wore a lot of blue, and Tanden was no exception. He turned to face the bed as he did up the buttons on the jacket. "I'll introduce you to the merchants I spoke to yesterday, and then I'm going to see what I can find out about a trip inland. And... tonight, you should take your friends out to a tavern, treat them to some drinks."

That last part was odd. Soren didn't need permission to spend time with his friends, and usually Tanden accompanied them anyway. "Where will you be?"

"I have something else I need to do. I won't be back until later in the evening, if at all."

"If at all?"

"Don't press, mate. It's nothing bad," Tanden promised. "Get up, get dressed. I'll have Ivern start setting aside the cargo we talked about last night. I'll meet you on deck." He grabbed a piece of parchment from his desk on the way out.

Soren stayed in bed a little longer. The bed was Tanden's. The room was Tanden's—the Captain's Quarters. There was no question of that, and yet, Soren had stayed in the room every night since leaving West Draulin. For formality's sake he had his own quarters below, near the mess hall. He kept some of his belongings there, but most of what he owned had made its way up to Tanden's much larger bedroom and office. It was simpler that way, and the crew already knew about their relationship. Shortly after leaving West Draulin, Tanden had made sure the crew knew, and invited anyone who didn't like it to leave. Everyone who had stayed did so with the full understanding that their captain and first mate shared a bed. At first, Soren had dreaded walking out of Tanden's quarters in the morning, but as days passed and no one gave him a second glance, he'd gotten over that fear.

Finally, he threw back the blankets and climbed out of bed. He dressed in his usual clothing, but since he was heading into the city, he also strapped a cutlass to his belt. Tanden didn't walk around with a sword, which was unusual both for a captain and a lord, let alone someone who was both. It was unusual because Tanden was really good with a sword, and could almost certainly take on anyone who might try to threaten him. But he wasn't a violent person, and preferred relying on his ability to talk his way out of problems. So he didn't carry one, but he liked it when Soren did.

Tanden was on deck, talking to Ivern. Soren took the opportunity to go belowdecks, and a few minutes later joined them with two buns in his hand. He ate one, and waited for Tanden and Ivern to finish talking before putting the second bun in Tanden's hand.

Tanden glanced at his hand. "I'm sure we can find something more interesting to eat in the city."

"Just eat it," Soren said.

Tanden shrugged, ripped the bun in two, and shoved half of it into his mouth. All while beginning to walk away. With a nod at Ivern, Soren followed him.