When I finish up using the handkerchief, I give the others an uneasy smile. Natsu lets go of my arms and grabs one of my wrists while Lucy grabs the other. They gently try to pull me towards the demons again. I dig in my heels and refuse to budge. They give me encouraging smiles and tug again.
Still unsure, I try not to get pulled forward. Happy, Gray, and Erza join us and I get bombarded with smiles and nods of reassurance. (They all seem so comfortable and confident. Maybe they know what they are doing. They seem so nice, maybe I could try trusting them.) Another tug, and I let myself move forward a step.
The smiles increase and I move forward another step. Before I know it, I'm walking down the beach again, heading towards the mass of demons. Natsu on my left, Lucy on my right, both of them holding onto my wrists. Lucy switches from wrist to my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze in encouragement.
Natsu gives me these happy boyish smiles to help me stay calm. Happy stays silent, but flies around everyone in circles with a smile on his face. As we close the distance between the demons and us, I become nervous again. I start to tremble more with each step.
My steps slow, but I don't stop. Soon I am close enough to be able to tell each demon apart. Happy decides to bother Lucy with something which causes her to let go of my hand as she deals with the cat. Still scared, I move to walk behind Natsu to use his height as a shield to help hide the demons from my view.
(Why does it have to be demons? They scare me so badly.) At the awkward angle, he lets go of my wrist and out of impulse I grab the back of his black vest and his scarf. It gives me a bit more courage as we approach. Nearing 10 yards away, the group stop near the demons. By now, I'm almost whimpering in fear as I huddle up closer to Natsu's back, trying to hide myself from the demon's view.
I hear strange voices call out towards us and I see Lucy, Gray, and Erza move forward to greet and interact with the demons. Natsu stays back with me huddling close behind him and peeking over his shoulder and scarf. After a few moments of watching everyone interact, I realize something. (These demons don't act evil. They seem nice and friendly. Just like regular people.)
I let out a small gasp and hearing it, Natsu turns to look down over his shoulder at me and grins. He motions his head towards the group and his grin widens in encouragement.
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Erza, Gray, and Lucy were saying their goodbyes to their newly made friends. All were laughing, smiling, and hugging. Most of the way through the goodbyes, a sudden hush befalls the villagers. Turning around they see their latest friend Krystina, who is no longer hiding behind Natsu.
Looking nervous, she takes a few steps forward before stopping about halfway between Natsu and the villagers. Taking a deep breath she bows down very low and shouts out some words they don't understand. After the initial shout, her voice calms as she speaks.
They may not know what she is saying, but what they do understand is her meaning behind them. Her apology. Her shame and embarrassment of her fear toward them. Her sorrow at judging them by their looks. As soon as her speech finishes and she stands up again, the tears were seen in her eyes.
Almost at once most of the villagers rush towards her to envelop her in a giant group hug to show that they forgave her. She let out a squeak of surprise seeing the whole village heading towards her, but she quickly overcomes her surprise and starts to smile nervously.
Erza, Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Happy all look at each other and share nods and smiles of approval. The villagers shout and cheer for her and for the mages. Lucy walks over to stand by Natsu amid the chaos and shares a pleased smile with him.
"Whatever you did or said sure did the trick eh, Natsu?" she says to him. He shrugs it off.
"Didn't really do anything, just kept her calm so she can see that they weren't bad." he replies nonchalantly.
"Still, you did a good job." she chirps back happily.
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On the deck of the pirate boat, I stand with Lucy waving goodbye to the villagers until they are too small to make out. We look at each other and giggle. I hear some sounds from behind me and I turn to see Erza and Gray talking.
Lucy soon join them and I notice that Natsu and Happy are missing. I hear an all too familiar noise coming from the right side of the ship. Turning to look, I see that Natsu is hanging over the side, tossing his cookies. Happy, who is flying above Natsu, says something before flying to the others which leaves him alone.
(Oh poor thing, he gets seasick. Maybe the others haven't noticed yet, I'll see if they can help.) The three other people stop talking as I approach. I give them a look of worry as I point over to Natsu to signal my concern. Looking to where I am pointing, they laugh and wave it off. Like it wasn't a big deal.
"Look at him, can't you help at all?" I plead. They say something and turn back to each other and keep talking. I frown at this. (Well that's just cold-hearted. Fine, if you won't go, I'll see if I can help then.) Huffing in disappointment, I turn away from the group as make my way towards Natsu. I walk up beside him and touch his shoulder lightly to let him know I'm there.
After he finishes his current round of hurling, he looks slowly over to me with the most pitiful look. My heart aches for him. I just hate seeing people in misery. (Oh poor, Natsu. I know how it sucks when you get sick and have to hurl, a lot. I'll do what I can to help.) I give him a sympathetic smile and start to tug off his backpack and sleeping roll.
He stands up straight just long enough to let me get it off of him before he has to hang off the edge again. I make shushing noises and rub his back in circles, giving what comfort I can. It seems to help a little bit. From the look and sound of it, his stomach is close to being empty and the dry heaves will start soon. I cringe at the thought, remembering all the times I've been sick at my old job.
(I know exactly how he feels. Nausea is not something to be taken lightly, especially when you get it often. I don't know how it is for him, but for me the dry heaves are the worst.) I start to alternate between massaging and rubbing his back. Each episode he has seems shorter than the last, and it takes longer before he has another one. Somewhere during this, Happy made his way over to watch us.
I look over at him to see him staring at me intently. I get slightly flustered at this. (Ok, why is he giving me that strange look? Is it wrong to help this poor guy when he is so distressed?) Seemingly coming to some sort of decision, he nods and helps me rub Natsu's back. I give him a grin in thanks and turn my attention back to the poor pink-haired guy.
I think for a bit, trying to come up with something else that I can do right now. (Maybe a soothing song perhaps?) I start to lightly hum a song that reminds me of home and always calms me down when I hear it.
By the time I repeat the song for a third time, his convulsions seems to have ceased. He still lets out some low groans, but seems to be finished hurling.
He feebly lifts himself off of the side and almost flops to the floor. I barely catch him by the waist in the nick of time and I help Natsu stand on his shaky legs. I put his arm over my shoulders and hold onto it to support him before wrapping my other arm around his waist so I can carry him. He gives me such a grateful smile that it melts my heart and causes me to blush.
I look away to gather my thoughts and refocus on easing his discomfort. (Since it is the ship's movements that are causing this, he should feel better in the middle of the ship. The rolling should be lessened there.) I start leading him towards the middle of the ship, letting him set the pace. We pass by the others and I look over at them. They are giving me these really surprised looks. Its like they never expected someone to help him.
I glare and snort in disapproval at them before looking away. (Some friends they are. They don't even lift a finger to help him when he is in obvious distress.) We maneuver around some barrels and rope and other things a ship seems to need to have on the deck. I lean him up against a wall in the middle of the ship, near the door that leads into the interior.
Making sure we were far enough from it that if the door opened we wouldn't get hit, I let him slide down until he was sitting. I join him right after he settles down. He is still breathing heavy, but doesn't look like he is going to throw up anymore. His eyes are tightly shut in concentration. I remember back to my American Red Cross and basic first aid courses that I took a couple of years ago.
(Ok, now that he seems to of calmed down, he needs something to drink so he won't be getting dehydrated. I don't know how long we will be here on this ship. So the sooner we take care of this, the better off he will be in the long run.) Using the wall as support, I stand up planning on finding someone to help me get some water. As if on cue, one of the crew members happened by and I wave my arms to get his attention.
Using my pantomime skills, I do my best to convey to the pirate that I would like to get a drink for Natsu. The pirate nods with a grin and motions for me to wait there. (I hope that its water or juice and not something alcoholic.) Natsu lets out a groan and I turn to look down at him. I see that his face is starting to have that green look to it again. I move to sit beside him, this time facing the wall.
Leaning him forward so his head can rest on my shoulder, I start humming and rubbing his back again. Like what I would do for a sick child. I resist the urge to rock him as well since that will most likely make his seasickness worse. A moment later, I feel a quick tap on my free shoulder. Twisting my head back to look, I see that it is the pirate, back with a cup of something with Happy floating behind him.
I thank the pirate the best I can and after he leaves I sniff at the cup. (Hmm, no smell. Good sign that it isn't alcohol. Still, better do a taste check first.)
Quick sip.
(Tastes like water to me, slightly woody and stale, but better than nothing.) Setting the cup beside me, I gently nudge Natsu off of my shoulder and lean him against the wall again. Gently, I tap his face to get his attention since his eyes are still closed. I bring the cup over to his face and motion for him to drink when he finally opens them. Natsu groans and shakes his head, but I continue to motion that he should drink.
Happy says something to Natsu that seems to convince him. He takes the cup from me in shaky hands. I steady the cup for him and he drinks the water in one go. He lets out a relieved sigh and mumbles something to me.
I laugh gently and say, "You're welcome." He closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep. I watch his face for any signs of possible signs of distress. I hear Happy say something and looking back towards him, I see he has a smirk on his face. I grin back which seems to catch the cat off-guard. (Hmm? I wonder what it was he said.) I reach over and pat his head a few times.
"You're a close friend to Natsu, aren't you Happy?" I ask him, knowing that he wouldn't understand. He looks at me confused and I just warmly smile down at him. Turning back to Natsu, I check his breathing and pulse before coming to the conclusion that he will be fine for now. (Since he is sleeping, I should make him more comfortable. He could get a crick in his neck sleeping like that.)
I slowly unwrap Natsu's scarf so I won't wake the poor guy and lay it to the side so he can have an easier time breathing. I look in surprise to see an old scar on the right side of his neck. (Now how did he get that? I hope it wasn't serious. I can ask him about it later.)
"Happy." I say softly to the blue cat. He looks up at me with those wide eyes. I motion for him to stay and he nods before sitting next to Natsu. Getting up, I head back to the side of the ship to retrieve Natsu's pack from where we left it. Doing so means I pass by the others in our group.
I hear them talking to each other and I ignore them still feeling miffed about their lack of regard for their friend. Picking up the backpack, I grunt a bit in surprise on how heavy it is. (Feels like my high school backpack when I have it crammed full of all my textbooks. Or about a bag of chicken feed back home.)
With a bit of a grunt, I swing the bag over one shoulder and make my way back to my sleeping patient. Letting the bag drop down with a thump, I pull out the blanket on top of the pack. After a moment I have it folded up and lay it on the floor next to the wall. Then crouching down, I guide Natsu's sleeping body down to the folded blanket to lay on his back, and have the blanket act as his bed.
Standing up again, I look down at him and smile at his sleeping face. (He does seem a lot more peaceful now. I hope that I was able to help.) Happy who has been watching me, decides to fly back to the other group. I spare them only a passing glance, still in my 'Doctor mode'. I'm more concerned of the welfare of the guy who I decided to take charge of. Not knowing how bad he stays seasick or how long we will be at sea, I plan on doing my best to make sure he will be ok.
(After all, he helped me probably more than he realizes with my fear of those nice demons.)
I sigh a bit at the memory of my last escape attempt. (What is it about him that is so damn calming? I guess I just have to take care of him now so maybe I can find out more about him later. If I remember my lessons correctly, without proper treatment seasickness can become deadly if the person isn't taken care of after a few days. I hope this trip doesn't last long for his sake. Man, it's too bad that I don't have my bag that's back home that I carry medicine in. Then again, it's not like I was planning on coming to this world.)
With things now peaceful, or at least as peaceful as it could be on a pirate ship, I sit back to relax and sort through everything I learned since I got to this world.
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"Guys! Guys! Natsu doesn't seem sick anymore!" exclaimed a joyful Happy as he flew over to his friends.
"EH!?" replies the group all at once, surprised by this news.
"Happy, is this true?" asks Erza.
He does a back flip in the air before cheerfully replying, "Aye, sir!"
"Well this is an interesting turn of events." says Gray, quickly recovering from shock. He then asks, "What is he doing now?"
"Sleeping from the look of it. I've never seen him look like that while on transportation." Happy replies in a cheerful manner.
"And Krystina?" questions Erza.
"She is staring at Natsu a lot. I think she is broke." the cat answers. A sly smirk appears on Lucy's face and a devious aura surrounds her.
"Maybe we can convince her to join us on future missions so we don't have to deal with Natsu's motion sickness anymore." she says mostly to herself, but this statement catches the ear of the red-head.
Erza glares hard at Lucy and asks angrily, "What future missions?"
"Oh, that's right, the punishment for breaking the rules." whimpers out a frightened Lucy. Scared out of their wits, Lucy, Gray, and Happy huddle up in fear hoping Erza won't hurt them as the red-head oozes out an angry, evil aura.