Damon cast his fishing line out for probably the hundredth time, watching the bait strike the surface of the water and slowly bob up and down. He had a smile on his face, regardless. He was content with the rhythm of life on The Reunion , and in all honesty, he enjoyed fishing. He would be entirely satisfied even if he went the rest of the journey without getting a single…
“Finally!” he shouted as he felt a sharp tug along the rod’s supple length. He reeled like a madman, wondering if he might have caught one of the beautiful, silver-scaled ocean fish that he’d seen depicted in so many fine paintings of the sea.
His catch was more of a… lumpy, brownish thing. It had spikes protruding from the back and side of its head, and one of its tail fins had what looked like a bite taken out of it. Its coloring was uneven and ugly, like the surface of a rock covered in dead moss and caked muck.
It was big, at least. He unhooked it and held it in both hands to appreciate its size a little better, nearly the length of his arm. The fish suddenly bucked, and one of its spikes tore a trench in his palm. Damon dropped it and sucked at the wound, hurrying to step on its tail to keep it from flopping through the gaps in the railing.
“It’s perfect,” said Malon.
He blinked in surprise, having assumed that no one was watching. “It’s a fish, I suppose. I was considering tossing it back. I can’t imagine it would taste very good.”
“Then you are severely lacking in imagination,” said Malon. “Or perhaps you just haven’t eaten much fresh fish before. I promise you that this will taste excellent on the plate.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it, aesta.” He scooped up the fish and handed it to her. She accepted with a smile as though he’d brought her a bouquet of flowers.
Damon followed after her as she brought it into the kitchen. Ria was on her way upstairs, and though she made a grand effort at acting as though Malon didn’t exist, she pursed her lips at the fish, eyes darting to Damon.
“You caught a fish?” she said, more question than statement.
“I caught dinner,” he said, grinning. “The first genuine fresh meat we’ve had since leaving the tower, no less.”
Ria looked at the rather lumpy and unappetizing looking creature in Malon’s arms and clamped a hand over her mouth. Damon jumped sideways to let her by as she ran out onto the deck and relieved her gorge over the railing.
“Nice,” he said, shaking his head.
“Wait until its cooked before losing faith,” said Malon. “I should get started now if I’m to have it cleaned and prepared in time.”
She kissed him on the cheek and disappeared into the kitchen. Damon went after Ria, feeling a growing concern as he spied her sagging against the railing, clearly still in the depths of the agony of seasickness.
“It… was not the fish,” she said. “I like fish.”
“I figured,” he said. “Can I get you anything?”
He rubbed her shoulders again. Her face looked impossibly pale, tanned as she was, and her silver-green hair only seemed to exacerbate the sickly quality about her.
“It is enough to be in the fresh air.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “I can endure this. I must endure this. It will pass with time.”
“It will. And we’ll reach Telsius soon. You’ll get a small break, at least.”
He left her on deck, aware of how long Vel had been at the ship’s wheel. No sooner than he’d made his way up and opened the door to the glass cabin did she leap to her feet and hurry for the door.
“I have to pee!” she said. “Take over for me, Damon.”
He didn’t get a chance to reply before she’d rushed past him, moving with efficiency only accessible at the urging of nature’s needs. Damon took her place at the wheel. The chair was still warm, and something about setting his hands on the controls made him feel powerful. The ship was massive, and with just a little twist of a wheel, he could steer it left or right with more proficiency than he could have ridden a horse.
It was later than he’d realized, and he spent the first few minutes watching the far distant sunset. They weren’t heading due west anymore, but the glorious smear of color reflected off the shifting waves of the ocean stole his attention, regardless. True navy blue with purple and red and orange, hues mixed together like a painter searching for a mood.
Ria was still out on deck. She was running through some stretches near the front of the boat, directly within view of the cabin, all business as she sank into a deep split that made the contours of her thigh muscles stand out in full relief. Her hair was loose, and it danced in the sea breeze like a tangled flag.
There wasn’t much course correction to do, most of the time. The act of controlling the ship was more a process of watching the stars come out and finding the right celestial chart to confirm their course against the night sky. He expected Vel to come back but contented himself with handling the job when she didn’t. She couldn’t be at the wheel every hour of the day, regardless of how much she enjoyed it.
He heard footsteps and turned around to see Malon coming up the stairs with a tray of dinner in tow. It looked incredible, the fish filet cooked perfectly and paired with roasted wedges of potato.
“I garnished it with lemongrass and butter,” she said. “Vel said it was a hit.”
“You’ve already eaten, then?” he asked.
“Ria and Lilian weren’t hungry, so we didn’t have a sit-down dinner,” said Malon. “I didn’t think you’d mind.”
She smiled and revealed her other hand, which held a bottle of wine.
“Not in the slightest,” he said.
He dug into the food, letting his aesta hear his appreciation as he tasted the fish. She’d been right about how much difference it made from the type of seafood he might have purchased in Avaricia, which was often left sitting in the sun until it sold. It had a clean, meaty taste, with a small kick from the lemongrass and pepper.
“Another day down,” he said, sipping the wine. “With any luck, we’ll reach Telsius early tomorrow.”
“Will it be much further after that?” asked Malon.
He nodded, repeating what Myr had told him about their vague destination. “A week more, at least. This ship is fast, but we’re going the full distance.”
Malon smiled, looking strangely pleased by that. “I don’t mind. I enjoy this, probably more than I should. I’m ashamed to admit that being on this ship with you and Vel and Ria, all of us stuck together, no less, is a dream I hadn’t known I could wish for.”
He took her hand, holding her gaze for several long, building seconds. It was so hard to square away Ria’s earlier suspicions of her being under Lascivious’s spell with the nature of the sentiment she’d just expressed to him.
“Ria will come around,” said Damon. “She can be hotheaded, but her anger stems from her passion. She loves her family, and sooner or later, she’ll remember that you’re a part of it. You’re her aesta.”
“Too much passion,” said Malon wistfully. “It seems to be a trait inherent to our family.”
“I certainly don’t lack for it.”
He grinned, letting his eyes drink her in.
“You’re staring, solas,” she said.
“You look beautiful in the starlight.”
“Always the sweet talker,” she said, grinning.
“Come here.”
It spoke to how much their relationship had grown and shifted that she did, without questioning his motives, without scolding him for being the horny bastard he was. She rose from her chair, and he slowed the ship and stood up to greet her.
“My intention in coming up here wasn’t to distract you from your work,” she said playfully.
He pulled her to him, kissing her once softly, and once fiercely. “You’re more than a distraction.”
She cleared her throat, pressing a hand to his chest. “That’s exactly what I’m worried about.”
He sighed and compromised. “Point taken. Here, let me show you how to work the wheel.”
He shifted her to stand in front of it, setting her hands on the smooth wooden spokes. Visibility was surprisingly high, with the stars and ghost moon providing fair illumination against the dark, and he watched his aesta lean forward toward the window.
“Are we on course right now?” she asked.
“Should be. We could be heading slightly more northward.”
He slipped in behind, gently shifting the wheel to turn a few degrees to the left while simultaneously letting his crotch press into her backside.
“There,” he said. “That’s where we want to be.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it, solas.”
He kissed her neck. “It’s easy once you get used to it.”
She leaned back into him as he started lavishing her neck with kisses and running his hands up the sides of her body. She was right, of course. There were several good reasons why he couldn’t simply hike her dress up and take her right there in the glass cabin. He did need to be watching their course if the ship was still in motion, and the visibility of the navigation perch would render them exposed to anyone who cared to glance up from the main deck.
She turned to kiss him back as he began to fondle her breasts. The moment was primed for something more, and Damon found himself forming a plan in his head of how he’d drop the ship’s anchor and sneak her past Vel and Lilian and into his room… all without her posing a reasonable objection. Probably too much to ask for, but he could still kiss her, and he could still touch her, and still…
“Damon?” called Vel. “Is aesta up there with you?”
There was a small clatter as they pulled away from one another, Malon’s hip bumping the tray. He sank back down into the navigator’s chair to hide his burgeoning arousal as Vel’s head poked up from the stairway.
“We’re here, seta,” said Malon. “Solas was… teaching me how to work the ship.”
“Nice,” said Vel. “It would be useful to have another set of hands to work the wheel. I thought you should know that Lilian figured out how to work the baths. We were going to all head in together to make best use of the hot water.”
“That sounds like an excellent idea,” said Damon.
“All of the women on the ship, Damon,” said Vel. “You’re too much, sometimes.”
“That sounds like an excellent idea, seta,” said Malon. “I’ll head down now.” She turned toward Damon, flashing an apologetic smile. “You can handle yourself up here for now, I presume?”
“Handle myself,” he said, with a sigh. “Sure.”
He waved as they disappeared below deck and tried not to sulk as he imagined Malon, Ria, Vel, and Lilian all slipping into the steaming bath water.