Syko had recovered enough strength to move to the table and start reading. He'd alternated his attention between an reading and monitoring Kay'la's condition. He was acutely aware of how long the effects should last and when she should wake.

Sedrick had joined him for a time, excusing himself for dinner and ensuring something was sent up, but Syko left most of his untouched.

Kay'la finally stirred when Sedrick returned, and Syko excused himself for fresh air. When Sedrick finally left, Syko  thought it prudent to keep an eye on her.

"I'm absolutely starved," Kay'la threw back the blankets and swung her legs over the side.

"Stay in bed!" Syko called. He rushed towards the cupboard and brought out the basket of rolls. He knees were still weak and he wobbled like fawn.

"Apart from your appetite, how are you feeling?"

"Stiff, and there's a ache in my lower back."

"That's normal." He offered her the basket of sweet rolls. 

"I can't eat in bed, it's not clean."

"You'll be fine."

She reached for a bun but snapped her hand back as she touched the aura around the basket.

"It's alright, it's harmless." Syko reassured. 

"What is it?" She reached forward again tentatively.

"It's magic, you can feel it when it has a physical manifestation."

"It feels like pins and needles." 

He nodded and set the basket on the side table.

"How's your pain?"

She let out a soft tired sigh. "The ache is more like a burn, I can feel it in all the places the venom touched." She rubbed a hand gingerly against her hip.

"You really do need to rest, too much movement can open the wound." He turned back to the workbench. "I prepared a number of pain remedies, some are better taken before bed to help you sleep-"

"I slept all day. And I'd rather not drink any more rancid concoctions."

"I have something that might work."

He picked through his herbs until he found the jar of candleweed. He popped the lid and offered her an earthy bud. 

"What am I supposed to with this." She twirled it between her fingers.

"Eat it."

"You don't eat this type, you smoke it. Do you smoke?"

"No."

"So you don't have a pipe than."

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that."

"It's alright, I think Mr. Cotter has one. I'll go ask."

"No." Syko blocked her as she stood. "You need to rest."

"If I'm smoking candleweed than you should too."

"I can't, I have work to do."

"So do I."

"I've never tried it before." Syko admitted.

"Well then you must partake with me." Kay'la swung her feet daintily back on the bed and reclined against the headboard.

"Run down to the galley and ask Mr. Cotter for his pipe. Tell him we're working late, have him send dinner up."

It was already past dinner service, seventh bell had rung long ago. Syko scurried across the deck and down to the galley.

The place was quiet and darker than usual, with only the fire of the cast iron stove lighting the place.

"Hello?" Syko called softly.

"What do you need lad?" Mr. Cotter hobbled to the counter from the cellar.

"I'm sorry to bother you so late, but the Captain would like to borrow your pipe, and asked if you could prepare something while we work late."

"Of course lad," Mr. Cotter tottered around looking in cupboards and crates until he returned with a pipe. "I'll send up some grub later."

"Thank you." Syko studied the pipe as he traipsed across the deck. It was carved with the figure of a large porpoise. 

When he came back into the cabin Kay'la was leaning against his workbench grinding the bud into a fine herb.

Syko didn't say anything, it was pointless, but he wore his disapproval plainly.

Kay'la took the pipe and packed it with candleweed, then found a box of matches and tried to strike it. After several failed attempts Syko offered, "If you get back in bed I'll light it for you."

Syko helped her limp back to bed, balancing the pipe and herb grinder in his other hand.

When she was comfortable Syko snapped his fingers, producing a flame at the tip of his index finger. Kay'la took a long inhale and let the smoke billow out her nose. She offered Syko the pipe.

"I've never smoked before." 

She gestured to the bed and Syko climbed up beside her.

"You exhale," She breathed out, "Then a small inhale," She puffed on the pipe, then took a small breath of air, breathing it all out in a long exhale.

She passed it again to Syko. He imitated but the smoke stung the back of his throat and instead of an exhale he let out a violent cough.

Kay'la giggled and took another long inhale.

She packed the pipe again and laid it on the side table. 

Syko flopped backwards lying perpendicular to Kay'la.

"I'm sorry I'm such a stubborn cow." She sighed.

"Well I wasn't going to say anything..."

"I'm sorry. It's better now, this pain. It feels like insects crawling across me. It makes me want to move."

Syko spun to lay parallel. 

"Tell me about yourself, Syko."

"Tell you what? You know everything."

"Then tell me something I don't know."

"I don't know." Syko's head was too full of things to say. His favorite food, his favorite color, his work, his life.

"Will you tell me about your work?"

"Yes," Syko sat up on his elbow, "What do you want to know?"

"Why don't you use words?"

"I don't need them."

"I thought every spell needed a word of power."

"I mean you can use words for every spell but it's a far less refined technique."

"Say's who?"

"I mean it just is, everyone knows it."

"Yes but who taught you that? Who told you it's unrefined."

"My master. He was... unsatisfied with his academy teachings, said they were fundamental but if you could learn to cast without words you could be more powerful. It just involves forging more powerful runes, refining them."

"You mean you can reforge runes?"

"Of course not," Syko picked at a thread, "Reforging runes outside an academy is heresy."

"Heresy." she said gravely

Kay'la leaned her head back and scratched at the blankets. Syko peered over her to the side table. Kay'la had the same thought and reached for the pipe.

Syko snapped his fingers, nothing. Again, nothing. Again, ignition.

Kay'la took a long inhale and passed the pipe to Syko who imitated again with greater success. He felt his head swim and all the ache in his body fade away.

The dumbwaiter bell chimed and Syko hopped up to retrieve the food, nearly tripping.

Mr. Cotter had sent up two plates of cured meats, cheese and wheat crackers with sweet preserves. Syko set one on the table and the other next to the bed.

He laid back along the bed looking up to the ceiling. All his muscles relaxed as he sank into the soft mattress. 

"Thank you for saving my life." Kay'la reached a hand towards him. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Once I rest I'll be fine."

"Sedrick say's you collapsed. Is that common?"

"I just worked a little too hard. I used my affinity to do stupid tricks and paid the price."

Kay'la looked at the basket, it's golden aura thinning. "It all worked out in the end. I'm glad you're feeling better."

"I'm surprised I could do it." Syko's eyes were fixed to the ceiling. He moved his head to brush her hand. "I thought I'd fail and the crew would throw me overboard." 

"I knew you wouldn't fail. I trust you."

"Why," Syko craned his head to look at her, "You hardly know me."

"Trust is like a garden. You plant the seeds and it grows."

Syko didn't say anything. Kay'la let them sit in silence.

"I don't think I trust anyone." Syko's voice was a hoarse whisper.

"Not even your master?"

He shook his head.  

"Maybe you could learn to trust me, eventually. I'd like us to be friends."

"Why did you become a sailor." His chest was fluttering like a bird. 

Kay'la twirled his curls in her fingers, "I wanted to leave Ceruleus Bay. Ever since I was a child I was told I was restless. I like to be free to go wherever I please."

"But don't you have to work for your patron?"

"Portio is a means to an end. He leaves me alone for the most part as long as I bring him exotic items for his craft."

"Where is he sending us now?" 

"Very far away. I'll show you tomorrow if you'd like to see."

"Is it dangerous?"

"I don't know." She looked to her cupboard. There was work to do. "How long does it take for your affinity to recover?"

A nagging thought wormed to the front of Syko's mind. Don't tell her, it's a trap. She wants something from you.

"I'm mostly recovered now." His tone was less than convincing.

"Hmm." She could tell he was lying.

Syko sat up abruptly, the fluttering had turned to a squeeze. "Somethings wrong." He heaved.

"It's alright, take a deep breath," Kay'la sat forward. "It's a side effect of the drug. It can make you anxious."

"How do I stop it." Syko calmed his breath but his heart was still racing.

"Lie back. Keep breathing. Sometimes talking can help."

"More talk." Syko laid down again, dragging himself up to rest on the pillows.

Kay'la let him calm down. Syko kept his hand on his chest until he no longer felt his heart pounding against his ribcage.

He broke the silence, "I lied." 

Kay'la didn't say anything.

"I don't know why.... I do know. With no affinity I'm useless." He closed his eyes and felt the mattress encompass him. He wished to sink into it and disappear. 

Kay'la packed the pipe again, "You're not useless, you still know plenty. You can still heal people."

Syko took another deep breath. Her unwavering confidence in him was bordering on sycophantic.

 He heard her whisper, then snap her fingers. She'd figured out his little trick, using a simple word to cast it.

Syko watched as she lit the pipe again. The flame flickered, burning lower and lower until it disappeared. She offered him the pipe but he refused.

"Will you tell me something?" he asked

"Maybe." Kay'la took another puff.

"Will you tell me about your lover?"

She let out a hearty laugh, the smoke surrounding her. "My Lover," she cooed.

"The man who stabbed you, Sedrick said you were together."

"Oh," she waved she smoke, and her smile, away. "Yes we were very close."

"How did you two meet?" Syko slouched up. "How did it end?"

She took a deep breath, "There's a lot between those questions."

Syko didn't say anything, he looked straight ahead to the wall as Kay'la set the pipe down and leaned her head back.

"We met when I was young. He was a farmer, and he'd come down from the basin with his parents to sell produce at the market. He would pick me the best fruit, save it until I came around or he found me in town. Never could learn what I liked but we grew close, eventually he moved to town. We'd both do what work we could and talk about where we'd go when we could afford to leave.

When I started working for Portio I was running errands around the Isles, he was my right hand then. I was such a good sailor Portio offered me my own ship when I came of age. I excepted the ship, regardless of the loan, and when I needed a crew I took him as my quartermaster. We ran larger errands and at some point he got the idea that he should skim off the top to line his own pockets. I dropped him in a dinghy off the coast of Crescent Main.

I took on a whole new crew after that. The others had only respected me because of him. That's when everyone you see now came aboard. We sailed through all kinds together and I know they'd never turn on me. We did plenty of jobs, some for Portio, some I arranged myself. We sailed for many seasons before I ran into him again.

I was rather hoping he drowned at sea but I saw him at the port on the Shattered Mountain. He was doing reconstruction work, fixing a dock. We caught up like old friends. I let him see the ship, I let him stay the night, I took him on as a deck hand.

He was fine at first, his charming self but he wanted more. He didn't want to be a deckhand, he wanted Quartermaster, then Captain. He started telling me where I should go, what jobs I should take. I couldn't stand for it so I had him flogged. 

I knew he hated me from then on but he lingered like a vulture, just waiting for me to turn my back. He groveled at my feet for a while, but I thought he might have forgiven me. He started being more helpful, proving himself, being nicer. He helped me unload a shipment on one of the outer isles, just the two of us and he would row the boat like old times. When we got to the beach he stabbed me in the back and left me to die. Took my cargo and disappeared. I hope to never run across his shadow again." 

"Sedrick say's he's dead."

"Huh, good riddance." Kay'la shoulders slumped like a heavy weight was resting on them.

She reached and packed the last of the ground herb into the pipe. Syko lit it and took a long inhale. Kay'la finished it off and laid the pipe to rest.

Syko fixed his eyes to the wall again.

"My master took me in when I was very young. Too young to learn runework but he used to tell me my affinity was so strong he could feel it, that it drew us together. He taught me to read and write, let me see all of his academy studies. I really liked certain aspects of runework, like medicinal studies. 

When I got a bit older he started to properly train me. I would help him with his academy work, he'd travel for days to present it, he'd always bring back a specimen or a book for me. He taught me how to properly use runes and do runework, even let me see his advanced studies, the ones without words.

When I came of age he started to trust me more, he let me run the shop alone while he was gone, do my own errands. He would leave for longer and longer periods bringing back more exotic species. He would test me routinely, asking me to identify something or properly draw a rune or craft some remedy. If I got it wrong he'd punish me. 

I think he grew to resent me. If I was too keen he was displeased, if I didn't help he was displeased. It became so difficult to be around him that I started to enjoy being alone. 

He would never tell me where he was going or how long he'd be gone. Sometimes he'd say goodbye, other times he'd just leave a note. One day he said goodbye and just never came back. At some point I just moved on with life."

They turned to look at each other, neither saying anything. Kay'la laid her hand next to Syko's, their knuckles brushing together. 

"Can I tell you a secret?" Syko looked to their hands side by side.

Kay'la leaned closer to him.

"I've never had a friend."

"Why not?"

"I wasn't allowed. I was too busy studying."

"I'll be your friend. Your first friend. Can I tell you a secret?"

Syko nodded.

"I really need to stretch my legs."

Syko giggled and sat up helping her to move carefully around the room. She rested like a bird against him, not wanting to feel like a burden.

"You know the more you move, the more likely it is to leave a scar."

"I'll be fine. I don't mind a little scar." She sat down on the bed again. "I thought healing magic didn't leave scars."

"Most of the time it doesn't but this isn't fully healed with magic. Eskal closed the wound and I don't think he'd appreciate you ruining his handiwork."

Kay'la flopped on her stomach across the bed and Syko laid beside her. She rested her head on her arms and looked at him.

"So who looked after you while your master was away?"

"No one." Syko watched the ceiling as the grain of wood seemed to dance and flow before his eyes.

"Even while you were young."

Syko shook his head.

Kay'la was burning with questions but Syko's vacant expression told her he wasn't interested in his past.

"What's your favorite color?" she asked.

"I like green," he said quaintly, "The shade of green you see when the trees grow new leaves."

"I can't decide on one. I like the colors of the sunrise, when it just peeks over the horizon."

"I used to watch the sunrise from my room in the apothecary."    

Kay'la propped herself up her elbows. "So what do you like to do besides apothecary work?"

"I like to read," Syko tucked his hands behind his head, "I like to garden." He sighed, thinking of the plants left in in his shop.

"Have you found anything onboard that interests you?"

"You have some wonderful books, truly. Thank you for letting me borrow them."

Kay'la was beaming, "I have a new one for you, from my patron. Its on the table with my papers."

Syko brought the whole stack, a series of illustrations, essays, a bound manual and a diary. Beneath it all was a thin mahogany coloured book with a simple gold circle pressed into the cover. 

He laid back and opened the cover. Scrawled in the upper corner someone had written 'Incomplete' in heavy black ink.

"What is it?"

"My patron tells me it's about Wylde magic. I have no use for it, but I thought you might enjoy it."

"Why would he give you a book you have no interest in?"

"To shut me up." Kay'la shrugged.

Syko leafed through the pages, then turned to the other items. "What are these?"

"Those are about our cargo, where and what we have to retrieve."

"So what is it we have to get."

"A star." 

"Impossible." Syko sat up and looked closer at the papers. "Stars are incredibly rare. They're this inexplicable cosmic event that happens periodically on whim. It takes Diviners decades to predict their next fall." He was enthralled with the manual and illustrations. "Are these real?"

"My patron says they are, but I must be honest. This place we're going is awash in rumor and superstition. Take everything you read with a grain of salt."

"Where are we going?"

"Have you ever heard of the Furthest Reach?"

"Only in 'rumors and superstitions'." Syko chuckled. "I know it's pretty dangerous. Some kind of ship graveyard."

"A lot of ships have wrecked there. It's due to the rock formations. Many run aground or wreck against the sharp rocks."

"So we have to catch a star and watch out for rocks."

"Yes, but not all at once. The star is beyond the Furthest Reach."

"Has anyone ever gone beyond?"

"One person has." Kay'la took the journal from the stack, flipping the pages back and forth. "This man was said to travel beyond and document it, but I have to be drunk to understand any of his writings." She tossed the journal to the floor. "Do you drink Syko?"

"Not really."

"Well I do, and I really want a glass." Kay'la rolled onto her feet and went to the liquor cabinet.

"You don't drink, you've never smoked, You seem as straight and narrow as a Runesmith." She poured herself a glass of geniver spirit. "You're not celibate too, are you?"

Syko shook his head, "I just don't care for many vices."

"Why not?"

"I don't really need them. I can craft most anything I need without suffering any hangover or side effect."

"You can craft good sex?" Kay'la sat on the table and kicked her feet.

"No, of course not," Syko scratched the back of his neck. "I just mean for pain, or sleep, or liquid courage, I don't need alcohol I can just blend something together."

"What about for fun?" Kay'la took a swig and topped her glass.

Syko pursed his lips and shook his head. 

"Would you like some?" Kay'la offered the last drops in her glass.

"I really shouldn't."

She shrugged and emptied the glass, "Will you watch the sunrise with me?"

"Is it sunup already?"

"Just about. The best time to watch."

The two made their way to the foredeck. The sky was orange and indigo with a long streak of sunlight reaching over the water. Thin clouds drifted in whisps across the far horizon. High above, the moon was painted rose against pale gold of the sky. 

Kay'la leaned heavily over the rail, looking down to the shimmering water. She sighed then gazed over the deck and back to the water.

Syko watched her, she seemed sad or lost in thought. He wanted to talk more, ask more questions, spend more time with her, but he was weary and a new day had just begun.