“An emperor,” Lai said with a playful mock bow that no one would mistake for seriousness.
Shi’chen rolled his eyes, glancing around, but no one was paying attention to them. “What will you do when we get to Csereth?” he asked.
Lai shrugged. “Find another ship to work on, most likely. What will you do?”
“I’m supposed to meet my brother when I get there. AtVayalla Oren.” He had made sure to memorize the name, staring at the paper every evening, as if he could see his brother inside of it.
“Have you ever been to Csereth?” Lai asked. Shi’chen shook his head slowly. “Do you want some help when you get there?”
Shi’chen blinked. “Do... do you mean you?”
“I mean, I can ask Jaa’jen, but I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t be interested,” Lai replied with a perfectly innocent smile.
Shi’chen rolled his eyes. “Your sarcasm reminds me of my brother sometimes.”
“And I want to meet your brother,” Lai added with another bright grin. “I have never met twins before.”
Shi’chen smiled at that. “You’d like him. And he’d like you. But be prepared, he will ask you a thousand questions about the human lands.”
Lai shrugged. “As long as he doesn’t chase me off, I’ll answer any questions he has.”
“He would never,” Shi’chen said. “He’s a much nicer person than I am.”
Lai laughed brightly at that, pulling his knife from his belt to cut the end of the thread he was sewing. “You have to be tough, Captain, otherwise your troops will eat you alive.”
“Definitely true,” Shi’chen said. He stilled his hands to look into Lai’s shaded eyes. “I would like it if you came with me to find my brother when we get to Csereth.”
“Then I will,” Lai replied.
Shi’chen felt his heart give a little hop in his chest. He knew A’bbni would find Lai fascinating for a number of reasons, and it would be nice to not be completely alone as he tried to reunite with his brother in a strange city. “Thank you.”
Lai nodded and got to his feet, brushing off his pants and his hands. “Want to try the rigging with me?”
Shi’chen blinked. “You mean, climb up there?” he asked, turning his eyes toward the mass of canvas and rope that stretched across the sky.
Lai nodded, leaning a shoulder against a crate. “Scared of heights?”
“No,” Shi’chen said quickly. “I just have never climbed rigging before.”
“Your soldier training is so incomplete,” Lai lamented, gazing at Shi’chen over the rim of his darkened glasses. “Come on, I won’t let you fall.”
“I am a guard, not a soldier,” Shi’chen said with a slight huff that made Lai laugh. He stood and moved over next to Lai, who handed him a pair of leather gloves before he grabbed the netted rope ladder that led up one of the masts. Quick as flash, Lai was up the rope and balanced on the first platform, gazing down at him. Shi’chen pulled on Lai’s gloves and grabbed the rope ladder to follow him, surprised at how tough it was to pull himself up. By the time he reached the top, his hands and shoulders were protesting. “How do you do this all day?” he asked as Lai took his hand and pulled him up next to him.
“A lot of practice,” Lai replied.
Shi’chen wrapped his hand around the railing of the platform. He was feeling the sway of the ship even more up here, with nothing but air and rope around him. “Have you ever fallen?” he asked, gazing at the deck below them that suddenly seemed much further away than it had when he had been looking up at the rigging from below.
“Yeah, lots of times,” Lai replied with a shrug.
“You’re awfully nonchalant about that.”
“I’m what?”
“You act like falling is not important,” Shi’chen clarified, his hand wrapping around the rope that ran up the main mast.
“It is, but it’s what happens when you’re a sailor. You learn to catch yourself,” Lai replied, grabbing one of the rigging ropes, and before Shi’chen could do anything, Lai had stepped off the platform and swung himself around the rope, letting go to suddenly drop several feet, and caught himself on the rope ladder with both hands.
“Stop that!” Shi’chen said, eyes wide. “You’re going to give me a heart attack!”
