Author's Note

WARNING! CRINGE-MATERIAL BELOW!

The following chapter contains depictions of sea sickness and medical treatment involving the removal of foreign substances from the body (in this case it being twigs from the arm and side). If you are squeamish, please feel free to skip this scene, and wait patiently for the next one over!

7: "Suffodio, Post-Hunt."

"The ride to Horseshoe Bay would take about seven days on the sea. I'm already used to the ocean, and by the looks of it, Gabby is a natural at handling things.

"Greta seems to be getting by pretty well, using this time to prepare more runes for me to use in my next hunt.

"Gilda, on the other hand, is currently hunched over the side of the ship, releasing her lunch from yesterday, as well as her 'Perfect Breakfast' that she made us.

"I have to admit I'd much rather be over there comforting her, but there's one small task that has to be dealt with, first..."

"Okay, hold still! This one's gonna be a bit more lengthy!" Gabby says as her claws firmly grip onto yet another twig that's lodged into your arm.

You've discarded your shirt, and now you're having to sit on a chair and let Gabby go to work on her medicating job... which in this case, means pulling out the dozens upon dozens of splinters from your arm and left side, where the Suffodio tossed you into the tree earlier.

All in all, you're taking it rather well, despite the pain the twigs and splinters bring.

"Alright. I'm holding still... just pull it out quickly, please." you tell her, balling up your fist and bracing for the pain.

She nods her head and, with one swift motion, pulls a six-inch-long twig out of your arm. You grunt and hiss as the object gets removed, but sigh in relief now that it's out.

"Yikes! That one was deep! Hold on, I'll put some healing cream on top of it!" she comments, before doing as she said she would.

After administering the remedy to the bleeding wound, she moves on to the next one. This one's rather small, but still in a tender spot, so you're going to expect a little pain.

"So what was that creature, anyways?" she asks you, in an attempt to get your mind off of things.

You can't help but smile at her curiosity. "It was a Suffodio... 'Wooden Beast' from my world."

She hums as she removes yet another splinter. "Huh... and what does this Suffodio usually do? Y'know, aside from absorb nutrients and stuff from its victims?"

"Hmm... well, they're very territorial by nature, so they tend to attack anything that gets too close to their nests." This makes her pause her care for a brief moment.

"You don't suppose that one left a nest there, do you?" she asks worriedly.

You wave a dismissive hand to calm her. "Nah... that one was a male, anyways. They usually remain close to the nest, and I would've been able to sense any more of them."

"... And you didn't?" she asks, taking a hold of another twig. This one seems to be a whole foot... that won't feel very good.

You shake your head. "Nope. Empty as can be." you say, hissing in pain as she removes the foot-long twig from your elbow.

Giving your arm a brief curl, you sigh in relief, once again able to bend your arm properly, at least. With the two holes beside your elbow, you'd wager that one was impaled all the way through. The adrenaline must've kept you from noticing it.

Regardless, though, it's out and that's all that matters. She quickly applies more healing cream to it.

"Good, good... I'd hate to imagine how dangerous several more of them would be!"

You shrug your shoulders. "I've had to handle a family of them before... only thing is that the one over here was able to use Magic. That's unheard of where I come from... so something in this world made it stronger."

As she pulls yet another twig from your arm, Gabby looks over towards Gilda. "Hey, Gilda! How're you making it?"

"*Brrp*... F-fuck off!" she stammers, releasing yet another wave of lunch into the sea.

You smirk, shaking your head in slight pity. You can remember your first time at sea. Sure, you weren't the one to get sick, but several of your fellow Hexblades did.

"Alright, shutting up now." Gabby replies, rolling her eyes and returning her focus back onto you.

The rest of your medical treatment goes silently, save for the occasional hiss and silent curse you make. By the end of it, though, she's done a damn good job with removing the wood, and even took the time wrapping bandages over your wounds.

As you make an attempt to put your shirt back on, she blocks your hands' path with her talons.

"No way, Mister! You've gotta let your wounds heal before putting your armor back on!" she says sternly.

You would argue that your armor is designed for easy movement and less drag against your body, but her face just seems too... well, cute to ignore.

And so, with a sigh, you shake your head. "Fine... I'll be in the Captain's Lounge if anyone needs me."

Gilda gives a disgruntled thumbs-up gesture while Gabby salutes you and approaches Gilda, pulling a Spearmint Leaf out of her pouch.

"Here, Gilda! This should ease your stomach up a good bit!" you hear her call out. You then relax on the bed, and close your eyes.

Before long, sleep takes you.

"With my arm taken care of, I thought our trip would be rather uneventful from here on out...

"... but then again, I've been wrong before. And as I should mention, I absolutely hate it when I'm wrong."