Page 38 of Potions & Pints
“Vir!” he called and the orc jolted awake. Tan could see the rest of the crew wandering off to find their own places along the shore and the elf was suddenly left alone with him.
“Tan!” the orc called back, though his word was drawn out and thick with sleep. “Tan, you’re here.” His eyes crept open just long enough for Tan to catch a glimpse of the orc’s deep brown eyes.
“Are you okay?” Tan asked and it struck him with the same weight as before that now he had asked Vir that question twice. Within only the last couple of hours no less.
Vir smiled back at him drowsily, his eyes closing again.
“I never wanted to fight,” he drawled. “I just wanted to sing!” He mumbled a couple of incomprehensible lines from one of his own songs while Tan smiled on sadly.
“Caught between two worlds huh?” he muttered, putting an arm around Vir to hold him steady. “I know the feeling.”
Vir turned to look at him again, his eyes just barely slivers now.
“Two worlds,” the orc echoed meaninglessly.
“Yeah,” said Tan softly, partly to Vir and partly to himself. “Selkirk and Lameria. I always seem to be torn between them.”
Tan’s eyes found their way out to sea for a moment, looking towards where those two great continents lay.
“You know, I never admitted that to anyone before,” he said, turning back to Vir.
But by now the orc’s eyes had closed, his head lolling on his shoulders as he drifted back into sleep. Tan was sure he hadn’t heard a word of the elf’s confession and part of him thought it might be better that way.
The sight of Vir’s slackened features sent a wave of sadness and fear through Tan’s heart. He’d never intended on caring for someone like this. His life usually had one rule — to look out for himself, and only himself. It had been the only way he could survive for so long.
But looking at Vir now, he became suddenly aware of how pained he would be if anything happened to him. That was why he’d been willing to sacrifice himself for Vir’s sake in the Heaving Sea, wasn’t it?
The realization made him think of Neda and Urza. He’d stepped in and confessed to stealing the moonstone when he could have gotten away with it and sent Urza to prison in his place. And he did that for no apparent reason. At least no reason that was apparent to him at the time. Still, this was different. Vir was different. Somehow…
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of churning water coming up from the ocean. For a split second Tan thought the Heaving Sea had chased them all the way to shore, but instead he saw a dozen water elves climbing back onto the beach.
“Each of you partner with one of us!” Pili called and the panic in his voice made Tan fearful for Vir all over again. Was it too late? Had they lost him?
He turned to see the orc still breathing but no longer holding onto consciousness and he knew they had to act now. Around him, the crew were grumbling, unenthused at the prospect of sprouting gills, but Tan had no patience.
“Everyone do as Pili says! Now!” The panic in his voice showed he meant it and the grumbles of ‘we’re not fish’ died down swiftly.
Pili and one of his tribesmen came to Tan and Vir and Tan shot Pili a look of silent gratitude. He didn’t even get upset when it was Pili who partnered with Vir, touching his forehead against the orc’s to share his gills with him. He just wanted to make sure Vir was safe.
Tan closed his eyes as the other elf pressed his head against Tan’s, suddenly feeling the same sickening sensation he’d experienced the last time he was in Gamlin Ait. The choking tension in his neck, the strange sucking that slowly grew there as the gills formed and began gasping for air of their own accord. Though he could still breath through his mouth and nose, he had to master the art of switching between breathing on land and underwater. It was a deeply uncomfortable sensation.
But now was not the time to think of that. He opened his eyes, thanked the water elf, and called for Garu, Sori, and Ogen to help lift a now-gilled but still unresponsive Vir into the water. As the group slid into the sea, pulling Vir along with them, Tan was suddenly grateful the gills breathed by themselves. Tan’s discomfort was Vir’s survival. At least as far as breathing was concerned. There was still the sleeping sickness to figure out.
The murky blue of the sea enveloped them quickly and Pili called out to them through the water.
“Follow me!” he cried, motioning ahead.
The school of water elves accompanied Tan, the orcs, and the crew, helping guide Vir’s unconscious form towards the city of Laeve Taesi. Tan only hoped it wasn’t too late.
19
Tan started to take a breath, then stopped. He didn’t need to. The urge to inhale was disappearing. Somehow his body was learning to trust it was getting the air it needed through the gills.
Vir seemed to have woken up some. Saru and Gori swam next to him, grasping his arms, but Vir was kicking on his own.The water must be waking him up,Tan thought.
Encouraged, Tan swam harder. Amazingly, it seemed to invigorate him. It also made sense. Swimming faster meant more water passing through his — he now thought of them as his — gills. The faster he swam, the more air he’d get. It was the opposite of breathing through his mouth or nose.
Tan pushed harder and was rewarded with a burst of energy. It was quite glorious. Suddenly, something grabbed him by the ankle. Alarmed ,he tried to shake it off and looked back to see what had attacked him.
