"How long's this gonna take?"

Janus jumped as Patton appeared beside him. He looked back out over the ship. "If the wind's keep in our favour, a day, at least."

Patton sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. Janus swallowed. Jesus, he wasn't good at comforting but Patton looked like he needed it right now.

"You good?" At least that was a start.

Patton glanced at him in surprise. He shrugged. "I guess. It's Virge I'm worried about. He hasn't left his cabin in hours."

Now that Patton mentioned it, yeah. Janus hadn't seen Virgil around at all. Usually, he'd be up in the rigging or out on the deck, swinging on the rails. But he hadn't seen him since he'd been kicked out of his cabin.

Speaking of people he hadn't seen, where was Remus?

"Maybe he's just brooding," Janus said, pulling himself out of his thoughts. "You said he does that a lot when he's trying to plan."

"Nah, he's not in his brooding mood. It's to do with Aaron," Patton said, concern written in every word. "It's left him shaken. Badly."

"Why does he care so much about Aaron, anyway?" Janus asked. "Out of interest. He's only been with us two months or so and Virgil's never shown this much care with other new crewmen."

"I don't know," Patton admitted. "Would you like to ask Virge his most secret feelings?"

"Yeah, fair." Janus laughed. "Quick way to get keel-hauled."

"If he was in a generous mood."

Janus laughed again. He paused and took a breath. "Hey, can you take the wheel?" He asked, half stepping to the side. "I wanna find Rem and we're just sailing in a straight line. I'll be back up before it gets fiddly."

"Uhh, sure?" Patton hunched his shoulders slightly. Janus smiled a little.

"It's fine, you'll be fine. Remember, keep the wind behind you," he said. Patton laughed a little.

"I'm First Mate, I should be the one reassuring you." He took the wheel. "Go find your sweetheart," he teased, "I don't think I'll steer us into a rock or anything."

"You'd be hard-pressed to," Janus said with a small smile. They were out in the open sea, after all. He raised his hand slightly and started down the stairs to find Remus.

"Rem?" Janus asked quietly, ducking through the doorway.

Most of the crew were up top on the decks. A couple who had taken night watch last night were fast asleep in their hammocks. Eric was snoring rather loudly.

Remus wouldn't be in there. Perks of being first or second mate, you got your own bedroom.

And perks of dating the first or second mate, you got to sleep in there too.

The door to Remus' room was slightly ajar. Remus always shut it fully. Janus leaned against the wall beside the door and knocked gently.

"Remus? You in there?"

There was silence from inside the room and then a small, "No."

Janus smiled softly. "Can I come in?"

More silence. Janus' smile fell. "Rem?"

"Sure."

Janus opened the door slightly and slipped in.

Remus was sat on the floor with his legs crossed. Out in front of him, he'd spread Janus' books, scraps of paper, notes, any loose pieces of paper he could find. He was hunched over his legs, resting his elbows on the floor, staring intently at the paper.

"I'm not illiterate," he muttered, wiping his eyes. "I'm not! I just... have trouble with words, sometimes, that's all."

"Of course it is." Janus leaned against the wall. If Remus wanted a hug, Remus would say. Janus didn't want to hurt him in any way. "Daniel was just being an arse, like always."

"But he's right," Remus mumbled. "Like always."

"Name me one time Daniel has ever been right," Janus said. "And so what if words confuse you sometimes? You're so clever in so many ways. No one else can track people like you do. No one else knows immediately who's been on the ship from a scrap of ribbon." He left the wall and sat down next to Remus. "You're smart as Hell, Rem, no matter what anyone else says."

Remus didn't reply.

"What is it?"

Remus shrugged. "I dunno. Just... everyone's always said... everyone's always said I'm not smart enough if I can't read."

"First, you can read," Janus said. "It's incredible what you've been able to learn. Just cos you learn slower than others, does not mean you an idiot. And everyone who's ever said you're not smart is so wrong. The wrongest person I've ever heard of in my life."

Remus laughed a little. "Wrongest?"

Janus rolled his eyes. "Shush, it should be a word, okay?"

Have some hurt/comfort Demus because.... I don't know what else to do
Bye,
Blaize