Ocean Eyes, Storm Cloud Minds

Chapter Seventeen

Nobody was concerned enough with the cabin boy to help, so Lancelot pushed himself against the wall and continued applying pressure to the wound, taking in sharp breaths through his grit teeth as he desperately focused on his wound and trying to stop the bleeding. He removed some string from around his belt and tied it around his shin, just under his knee, and tried to cut off the circulation with that, hoping that it'd work well enough for now until Ivy came over with a small box containing clean-ish bandages and alcohol removed from the rest to be used for cleaning out wounds like his.

Lancelot moaned in pain through clenched teeth as the bottle was opened and the painful, stinging liquid was poured into his open wound- having been warned that it'd hurt but not expecting it to have hurt that much- flushing out any dirt that the sword could have put into his body, but taking what looked like generous amounts of blood with it. Lancelot almost felt sick at the sight, murmuring a noticeably strained 'thanks' to Ivy.

"You'll need to bandage it yourself because I've still got things to do and it should only need around a week to heal. Try not to put to much pressure on it. Do the bandages tightly." He said, seeming to have covered everything and so he didn't mind when his name was called and he had to run off, someone clearly having f****d something up.

Reluctantly, Lancelot picked up the bandages, cursing under his breath at the pain that came with moving and doing as he was told- quickly and tightly fixing the bandages to his leg and only then noticing how much the bleeding had gone down, feeling somewhat relieved at that. He wrapped the bandages thrice around his freely bleeding would and scruffily tied it up at that back, trying to make it as quick and as convenient as he could, not knowing when people would start calling for him again (But really hoping it wouldn't be for a long while).

One hand clinging onto a crate, Lancelot tried to elevate himself to a standing level, using the crate as some way to distribute weight off of his injured leg. It was only a few moments before Elric came back into sight and walked closer- at first only to walk into his cabin- but upon seeing Lancelot attempt to make one quick and short step with his bad leg, only to have his leg buckle and for him to immediately collapse with a loud cry of pain that he had clearly tried to hold back, Elric changed his mind about the situation. He had his sword in one hand and had seen all the blood on it from where he'd stabbed Lancelot too deep, the brunet's wound being a lot deeper than he'd anticipated. Hell, seeing him fight was one thing (a very different and unusual thing), but seeing him fall so dramatically after that? Elric had almost thought it was melodrama, but then reminded himself of the person he had on board and shook off that thought, changing his mind.

He briefly entered his cabin after a few moments of walking a little slower, just to see whether Lancelot had been falsely in pain to avoid any further conflict, and discarded his sword beside the desk, then returning to the injured brunet. Lancelot looked up at him, their eyes meeting for a few moment and the captain could almost tell how much pain he was in from that alone- just before the brunet cast his gaze downwards once more. The cold sea air caused a shiver to run down Lancelot's spine, the sun disappearing behind a cloud as if to further prolong his discomfort and coldness.

"I-I'll be fine, Cap'n." He murmured, although he had no confidence behind his words and even he didn't believe himself.

His eyes flickering from the brunet's evidently pained expression to his hurriedly done, blood-stained bandages and back, Elric sighed while Lancelot sat himself down on a crate beside him, having been poorly attempting to use it to help himself stand or walk- but clearly having given up on that. Elric, to put it simply, didn't believe the bullshit that Lancelot was trying to feed him, as it was evident that he was lying when he said that and he was only doing it so that Elric wouldn't judge or mock him.

The black-haired captain moved to be beside Lancelot, seeing a look of confusion cross the brunet's features when the captain seemed to be about to sit behind him. Yet, before he could sit down, Elric wrapped one arm around Lancelot, his hand just below his chest and resting on his waist while he stood, pulling the injured male with him. He heard him make a shocked noise, that quickly followed by one of pain and another that was similar to the last but a lot more muffled and that Lancelot had tried to cover up with a cough.

Elric hauled his weight with about as much ease as expected, bringing him through and into his cabin, as he didn't particularly find carrying the brunet difficult- it's not like Lancelot was heavy, anyway- and if anything was difficult, it was having to guide him there without letting him hit his injury on the perfectly placed, shin-height items that Elric hadn't realised were as inconvenient as they were. Lancelot sighed a little, hobbling along with it incredibly obvious limp until he was finally released and could sit on the bed, his leg throbbing with pain to the point where he wouldn't mind having it cut off. Wishful thinking, though- of course, he'd be irritated by it. After a few days, he'd miss having matching legs, too.

He focused back on the important things- the important thing, he corrected- and looked over at Elric, who took a flask from a drawer and held it out to Lancelot, smiling a little as he pushed it into his grip. "Here, have some. It'll help you deal with the pain." He said, and Lancelot frowned for a moment before getting the hint that it was alcohol, and he could tell from the smirk on the other's lips that it was strong. Very, very strong. Yet, reluctant to both take it and to seem like he was weak or afraid, he took the flask and removed the lid, hesitantly bringing it to his lips before tilting his head back.

It was only a moment before he pulled the flask away and gripped the bedsheet, hunching over and coughing, having struggled through swallowing whatever strength the s**t alcohol he'd been advised to ingest by the alcoholic captain. He held it out to Elric, shaking his head.

"No, Cap'n, I can't- It's burning my throat too badly," he admitted, but when the captain didn't take it, he looked up in confusion and lowered his hand. Hell, the glare he was getting for doing something as simple as that was cruel enough to send shivers down his spine. He quickly pulled his hand back and brought it to his chest for a form of comfort, laughing nervously. "N-Never mind." He said hurriedly, seeing the look in the captain's eyes soften a little before he turned.

A soft sigh of relief escaped the smaller male and he- albeit reluctantly- brought the flask to his lips once more. Well, he knew he had to get used to this stuff, so where better to start than with whatever kind of alcohol was in this flask?