Different

By nightfall, the deck had been scrubbed clean and Cain freshly tied back to a support beam on the captain's insistence.

Alexis slept alone, away from the others and was more than happy to do so.

Noah, on the other hand, slept with a pillow over his head. Not that Markus was particularly loud, just that he could hear every one of Cain's thoughts.

He eventually crawled into Alexis's room to sleep. No one batted an eye.

Meanwhile, Markus sat next to Cain in total silence, occasionally glancing at him then away, until Cain caught his eye.

He raised his eyebrows. 'What?'

"Nothing!" Markus deflected, scratching his head as he turned away.

But, sadly, it was in his nature to give credit where it was due.

"Thanksforhelpingusout." He muttered, not looking at him.

Cain smirked, cocking his head to the side like he didn't quite catch that.

"I said thanks." He rolled his eyes. "For helping us out. You could've been a real jerk about it but you didn't. So.."

Cain nodded, agreeing.

"Anyway," Markus drew his sword, leaning over to cut the rope around his wrists. "Don't make me regret this."

He glanced down to where the mark remained on his palm, the promise he made to Alexis. It strengthened his resolve as he cut him free.

Cain nodded again, in appreciation this time.

"Cool. Never speak of this." Markus rolled up in his blanket, conscience satisfied.

The other boy shook his head as he settled down to sleep.

*********************************

"Yo, why is Cain walking around without you breathing down his neck?"

"He's on parole." Markus countered, placing another sweet roll on her plate to shut her up.

"Aww. You two are bonding." She chuckled, stuffing the entire thing in her mouth.

"Disgusting." He stated as he moved away.

"How're you feeling?" He asked as he settled beside Noah.

"I'm..fine." The younger boy smiled, even though he was holding his stomach. He had already thrown up twice.

"It's gonna get better."

"You're lying but I choose to believe you."

"You know what?" He stood, pulling Noah up gently. "I used to walk around when I got seasick. It might help."

"Yeah, when I get seasick, I lie down and try not to cry, so.." He inhaled deeply. "Might as well try your way then."

***

Alexis dumped an armful of maps onto a makeshift table, unfurling it so it stretched out over the barrels.

"So, here's where we started," she pointed out the port of Zillah. "And this is where we're going?" She pointed to another port on the map, looking up at Cain for approval.

He quietly placed her finger on another port.

"Right. Here." She leaned in closer. "It's a small town. Is that where you lived?"

He shook his head.

"So where are we going?"

He thought for a while, then gestured vaguely to the forested area.

"The forest? No- under it?" She guessed, not being very good at charades.

"Look man, I know you can't speak so you can just write it down-"

She winced, turning to him, "Shit, was that insensitive?"

He shook his head, surprised. His fingers automatically went to the high collar of his tunic.

"Yeah, I understand if you don't want to talk about- Shit, I did it again."

Cain shook his head, lips twitching a little. It was odd. He was still coming to terms with his condition; not being able to speak. But weirdly enough, he could get his point across. A few rude gestures here and there and they understood him perfectly.

He watched her lean over the map, face scrunched in a stupid expression.

'What has my life come to?'