nice to sea you again

guilt stabs them as their eyes flicker to the wound on Strai's head. has he been in pain this whole time "oh, of course! sorry!" they stray from the shoreline, poking around the forested areas up the beach until they find a fallen palm tree leaf and a clump of moss. returning to Strai, they dip the moss in the water and hand it to him. "press this to your wound," they instruct, laying the leaf on the ground. they lift their head to inspect the sky, noting its darkening colour and the way the sun begins to dip below the horizon. it might not be winter anymore, but they know they'll both catch cold if they don't dry off anytime soon. returning to the forest, they collect a bundle of sticks and a pawful of tree sap when they find some smeared across a nearby trunk.

"i thought we could use it to stick the ends of the leaf together," they offer, placing everything down at Strai's feet. "you know, like as a bandage." turning their back, they leave Strai to wrap his wound and begin rubbing the sticks together, brow furrowed with concentration. it takes a bit of time and several hissed curses under their breath, but when a small fire finally flickers to life, they turn and beam at Strai. "all in a day's work for the Armada's newest warrior." in the chaos of the day they'd almost forgotten to brag about their new rank - almost.
"Speech"