Immediately after Cletina said these words, Kruxe became restless, struggling to get out of Cletina's embrace, and when he found that task impossible, he could only croak out of his still-cold body.
"Don't die."
"Huh," Cletina's voice sounded from behind, brushing over Kruxe's ear and revealing the tiredness within her."
"Like I told you, whether or not you sealed my wound I am going to die, I was poisoned during my fights with the pirates, and right now the only thing keeping me kicking this much is my genkai, and when that runs out it will be all over for me."
"Stop wasting your genkai, you'll die" Kruxe was able to let out a bit easier this time as his body got warmer.
Without her needing to say it, Kruxe easily figured out that the reason for Cletina's abnormally warm body temperature on such a cold night must be due to her using her genkai.
"If I stop using my genkai, you'll die. Your mothers dying words were for me to protect you, I can't fail her."
A few seconds of silence passed after Cletina's words, and then Kruxe's firm voice sounded.
"Mom isn't dead, they captured her, I saw that man hold her by the neck. She isn't dead."
Acknowledging that he was in a desperate situation and currently helpless, Kruxe had forced the matter of the past events to the back of his head, only thinking about him and Cletina whose matters he could affect, but this didn't mean he didn't know the fate of his mother.
With Cletina being silent after his words, Kruxe began struggling once more to get out of her grip, but she spoke once more, and her next words poured water on the fire of denial that had been lit up in him.
"If your mother was alive, who do you think I would have moved to save, you or her."
Cletina's words hit Kruxe hard as he knew that without a doubt she would have saved his mother, even if his mother herself wanted otherwise, but then did that mean that what he had seen was wrong?
"Stop thinking about things you can't change and think about those you can, right now you have to listen to me."
"Okay," Kruxe whispered, tears that Cletina couldn't see pouring from his eyes as he tried to convince himself that Cletina was for some reason lying.
He had been using the excuse of worrying about his mother to keep at bay the fact that Rita had died, but if what Cletina said was true then didn't that mean that both important women to his life dead, with Cletina soon to follow after if her words were to be believed.
Kruxe felt a heavy pain in his heart and his tears flowed faster, but he prevented himself from letting out a sound and did his best to listen to Cletina.
"I find it suspicious that your father had us set sail, and given that he's the one who planned our route, I place him as the one behind this incident" Cletina bluntly said, her eyes narrowed.
She felt Kruxe shudder at her words but she offered no words to soften her previous statement.
"You might be wrong, he wouldn't kill Mom, were his family"
Though Kruxe detested the man and spoke ill of him at every turn, to imagine that his own father would have his mother killed was an impossibility for him, and he refused to believe that his father would harm his own wife.
"Welcome to the real world Kruxe, you no longer have Blaun or your mother to protect you, and soon you won't have me. In this world power is everything and people won't hesitate to kill their family for it. It's time for you to kill off your naivety"
With Cletina's recent words, Kruxe's tired mind could no longer hold firm, and he began sobbing.
Cletina showed no surprise at this development and only remained silent till Kruxe's sobs subsided and then she continued speaking.
"With your father's actions, I doubt he'll tolerate a survivor of this incident, so when you finally leave this sea, you have the option to either return to Dahara or wander around.
If you return to Dahara you'll draw your father's attention, if you wander around you'll get the chance to start a new life."
After speaking, Cletina went silent finally letting Kruxe mull over her words.
"How do I leave this sea?" Kruxe silently asked, trying to understand Celetina's confidence in his survival."
"I'm soon going to die why are you asking me" Cletina calmly replied like her death was no big deal.
"You spoke with confidence that I'll leave this sea, how am I supposed to do that."
"Listen Kruxe" Cletina said, her grip on him tightening.
"I could have let you die from the cold while I waited with the hope that I'll see a ship or meet an island before my genkai runs out but I didn't"
"I'm not sacrificing my life and chance for survival just for you to die is that clear." Cletina barked.
"Yes," Kruxe quickly said as Cletina shook him.
"Good, now don't ask any questions and go to sleep, you'll need your body rested if you want to survive, I'll take care of you for tonight," Cletina said her voice softening at the end.
"But…"
"Sleep" Cletina barked.
Kruxe had a lot on his mind and thousands of questions he wanted to ask, but Cletina had made her stance clear.
Silence descended between the two of them with Kruxe going through several emotions, but in the end, the stress of the past hours came and he soon found himself fading away.
Having maintained silence for several minutes, the adrenaline in Kruxe's body had all died off making him now very susceptible to sleep, and it was at this time Cletina spoke once again.
"Kruxe, promise me you'll survive" she whispered, her voice solemn and filled with care and sadness as he held him tight and rested her head on his.
"Kruxe promise me" Cletina said.
"I promise" Kruxe lazily said, his mind too weak to think anything else.
After that silence descended between the both of them till eventually sleep fully claimed Kruxe.