The Wasting

Chapter 14: Ahanu

Whatever joy Ahanu had found when they'd first gotten on the ship and claimed their room disappeared quickly for him. The rolling of the boat on the water did not sit well with Ahanu at all. Within hours of leaving port, Ahanu's stomach had emptied its contents completely and he felt sicker than he had in a long while. In fact, he was beginning to wish for death.

He was alone in the cabin now, afternoon light pouring in through a porthole. Curled up on the bed, Ahanu wrapped his arms around his stomach and tried to hold the sick feeling in tight. One thing he was thankful for was that Bimisi and Denigan had decided to spend their day up on the deck and leave the room to him. He really didn't want to deal with people currently. If he could, he was planning on sleeping through as much of this trip as possible.

Then, from outside the cabin came the sounds of footsteps. He cringed, holding his breath as he willed whoever it was to keep walking. They didn't. The steps stopped outside his room and a knock sounded. If it was Bimisi trying to cheer him up, he wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Hey." The voice that sounded from outside was not feminine, not Bimisi, and it put a warmth in Ahanu's gut that had nothing to do with seasickness. "I brought you something that might help."

Rolling over on the bed, Ahanu cracked a single eyelid as Denigan stepped inside. Perfectly coifed as ever. Infuriating.

"What?" he croaked. Opening his mouth was a mistake and he clamped it quickly as the feeling of bile rose to the back of his throat.

"Apple slices and a beer." Denigan was grinning as he held out the items. He strolled further into the room when Ahanu didn't protest and kicked the wooden hutch shut behind him. "Elmont brought some provisions to help with seasickness apparently. Good thing Bimisi made a friend of him, huh?"

How beer and apples would make a difference, Ahanu wasn't sure. There was such confidence in the way that Denigan presented the items, though, that Ahanu wanted to believe they would help. He struggled to sit upright, hands gripping the edges of the bed to keep purchase. He must look a mess, and the way Denigan's eyes roved over made Ahanu tighten with self-doubt. The longer they were together, the more Ahanu found some need of this man's approval.

"Elmont gave them to you, you didn't steal them?" Ahanu narrowed his eyes, trying at playful to dismiss his own worries. Although, there was some part of him that knew Denigan wouldn't be above theft considering who he was when they met him. Surely a couple months with them hadn't completely changed him.

Denigan crouched in front of Ahanu with a grin. "That wouldn't be very friendly of me, now would it?" He winked and held up one of the apple slices to Ahanu's mouth. "Here, just try a bite first."

The apple was crisp and bursting with juice. At first, chewing only irritated the sick feeling in his gut, but as Ahanu swallowed, the settling of something in his stomach actually helped. The beer was foamy and warm, but it had a rich flavor nonetheless. The bubbling of it mixed with the apple did wonderful things to a seasick gut, and soon Ahanu found he didn't need to grip the edge of the bed so hard.

"Y'know, it also helps if you don't cramp yourself up in a tiny room. The air outside's better than this." Denigan hoisted aloft the remains of apple and beer, annoyingly graceful despite the roll of the ship on the waves. He tried to feed another piece of apple to Ahanu.

Sitting so close and staring into the charismatic man's eyes made Ahanu's cheeks redden. The sudden thought that Denigan was attractive was changed now from the other times he'd thought it; Ahanu had always found Denigan aesthetically pleasing, but this was something else.

"Outside sounds good," he said quickly, needing space to think.

Denigan set the leftovers on the small dresser and then reached out a hand to help Ahanu to his feet. "Your color's already coming back. If we can coax a smile from ya, I just might get to see that handsome man I met back in Cenid."