"...Hah... Seems like I can't sleep..." Errat muttered as he was staring at the ceiling after tossing and turning on his bed for over an hour. It had been that long since Roderick rushed out of the room with rage. The captain rubbed his face with his palm before sitting up on the mattress.

 

He then glanced at the door and stared at it for a while, "...Maybe I should go check on 'im... And give him a good ol' apology." Errat talked to himself before he pulled the bedsheet aside and stood up. He lightly grunted as the wound on his back was stinging his body with pain.

 

The man then slowly walked towards the door, his eyes and aura weren't as bright as usual. Perhaps it's the effect of his head being knocked some sense into earlier- literally and figuratively - by the furious man who patched him up earlier.

 

"I never see him so mad before..." Errat muttered as he opened the door of the room. As he stepped outside, he saw a small figure curled up beside the open door. The man glanced down and saw a familiar color of short black hair wearing a scarf around his neck and mouth.

 

Errat let out a sigh and smiled wryly as he tried his best to squat down at the slumbering young boy, "Jackie, wake up. Tis not the place for a youngster like ya to be sleeping." He lightly shook the small boy by the shoulder. It did the trick by stirring him up from his sleep.

 

Jack the groggily opened his eyes and sat up straight before turning towards Errat with a lazy look on his face, "Uhmm... Captain... Errat?" He rubbed his eyes with his hands as he said those words.

 

"Mhmm, it's me, Jackie~" Errat chuckled as he saw the small boy stretched his arms out and began to stand up in front of him.

 

The young boy looked at the older man with a worried look on his face, "Your wounds... Does it hurt?" He asked as he blinked lazily.

 

Errat smiled wryly and he held his abdomen where the bandages are wrapped to conceal the wounds on his back, "Just stings a bit, other than that I'm as good as I can ever be~" He then reached his hand out towards the young boy's head.

 

"Why are ya out here from the room and sleeping here, hmm? It's not a comfy place to shut yer eyes. You're gonna catch a cold or get sore muscles in the morning." The man reminded as he gently stroke Jack's forehead.

 

"Uhmm... I heard that Mister Roderick was shouting, I was worried about what might had happened." Jack replied as he looked at Errat with half-lidded eyes.

 

Errat chuckled once more, "He's just scolding me for what I did earlier, no need to worry. He'll come around soon enough."

 

"Okay..."

 

The older man then noticed a distressed look from Jack and continued to caress the boy's head, "...Ya look like you got something you wanna ask. Wanna share about it with me?" Errat said as the boy's eyes widened a bit before turning to its half-lidded form.

 

Jack hummed as he lightly nodded his head, "Back when we're at the road earlier... Did you see what Mister Roderick did to kill the monster?" He asked.

 

Errat tilted his head, "Hmm? He killed it?"

 

"Yeah, I heard some commotion that I woke up from my sleep. I was inside the wagon when it happened. I was in Lawrence's arms at that time when I saw Mister Roderick looked at us." He yawned for a bit before he continued.

 

"He was standing in front of that monster when he shouted at us to close our eyes," Jack added, which made Errat more curious as he figured out that he was unconscious at that moment.

 

"Close yer eyes? Hmm..." Errat snapped his fingers and smiled at the young boy, "He said that to Lawrence to close yer eyes, right? Figured out that he didn't want a kid like you to see him killing some monsters.

 

"No, you got it all wrong!" Jack heightened the voice of his voice a little as a revolt, "Mister Roderick told all of us to close our eyes. So, I can feel Lawrence's hand closing mine and maybe he used his other hand to close his."

 

Errat knitted his brows in a fit of confusion, "And what happened next?"

 

"I hear some screams from the monster and then it went quiet all of a sudden. That was when I feel like something heavy was being placed on the wagon. And what I hear next was Mister Roderick asking Lawrence to hold on to you. Then the wagon went fast down the road. That was when Philip woke up and saw the situation, I was still being held by Lawrence." Jack then scratched the side of his cheek and lightly blushed.

 

"I have to admit that... I pretended to sleep to see what happens next. I was handed to Philip as Lawrence was helping Mister Roderick attending to you." Jack added as he finished explaining.

 

Errat hummed as he tried to process the bits of information that the young boy had given him, "Hmm, did ya see my wounds?"

 

"...A bit" Jack admitted.

 

The man chuckled as he ruffled the boy's hair, "Were you scared?"

 

Jack shook his head as an answer, "But I did saw how panicked Mister Roderick was earlier. He drove the wagon as fast as he could towards the tavern."

 

"..." Errat then recalled on how mad Roderick was at him inside of the room earlier, "...Well I ought to thank him." The man then stood up and patted the boy's head.

 

"Ya should go to your room and sleep, Jackie."

 

"Uhmm... But I want to sleep with Mister Roderick..."

 

Errat smiled warmly, "Then let me fetch him for ya, come here for a sec." He then reached down and picked the small boy in his arms before going back inside his room. He then went over towards the bed on the left - which was supposed to be Roderick's bed - and tucked the young boy in.

 

"Now ya shut yer eyes here and I'll bring that Rody for ya, capiche?"

 

"Mhmm... Good night, captain Errat."

"Sweet little dreams, kiddo." And with that, Jack pulled on the bedsheet before leaning his head on the pillow. Closing his eyes as he drifted back into the dreamland he was in earlier.

 

Errat smiled from ear to ear to see the small boy being in a more comfortable bedding. He then walked towards the door and made his way down the corridors to go downstairs towards the pub.

 

Once he stepped a foot inside of the dim tavern. He saw a familiar figure with Auburn hair slumped down on the counter. His hand holding a quarter filled glass with Raspberry liquor. Errat shook his head as he approached the man and saw that the owner of the tavern, the elderly woman was there standing behind the counter.

 

The old woman then noticed Errat's presence and smiled kindly towards him, "Ah, captain Errat. Goodness gracious, are you feeling better?"

 

"Haha! Nothing but a small scar, eh? I'm feelin' great!" He then glanced at the unconscious man beside him. The other man's face was covered in red as he seems that he had passed out from tipping over his limits, "...Maybe not that great because he gave me a lecture earlier." Errat said as he rubbed his head, "And quite a beating too."

 

The old woman chuckled, "He came in here with an infuriated look on his face earlier. Without any second thoughts, he instantly ordered some of our liquor for him to down on" She then let out a sigh as she looked at the unresponsive Roderick, "He kept going on and on about how much of a careless idiot you are, captain Errat. He was spouting all of his anger as he kept drinking his worries away."

 

"Hah... This lad likes to drink, I found out about that when we threw a feast on the ship. He downed the booze like a champ." Errat let out a light laughter.

 

"Uhmm... idiot..." A mutter came from Roderick's mouth, though it was more of a slurry mumble than being sober when he said those words.

 

"And we found out that he's a lightweight..." Errat added as he smiled wryly.

 

"But I could tell that he means well, he's the one who asked me for healing ointments and bandages earlier. He looked like as if he had seen a ghost." The elderly woman commented.

 

"Heh, I guess it would take more than a ghost to frighten 'im" Errat then rubbed circles on the lad's back, "He's knocked out cold, isn't 'e?"

 

"More or less"

 

"Then let me carry 'im up to our room. Someone's waitin' for him after all." Errat said before he grabbed one of Roderick's arms and looped it around his shoulder. His hand then went to hold the man by the waist.

 

"Ughh... ddoonn''ttt... followw...meee..." Roderick slurred as his head leaned forwards from Errat's movements.

 

Errat chuckled as he waved his free hand towards the old woman, "I'll pay for the bill in the mornin'. Thanks for looking after him, ma'am."

 

"With pleasure, the young lad's still on an unstable phase it seems."

 

"Well, a very good night to you. I'll be going back to our room." Errat said before he carefully carried Roderick out of the pub and towards the stairs.

 

The elderly woman shook her head and chuckled yet again, "What a time to be young and free."

 

"Gosh, Rody. You passed out from just that, how much did ya just drink? Last time I saw you just drank a few glasses and you're tapped out." Errat said as he reached the top of the flight of stairs.

 

"Mnnhh... Screww... off..."

 

"Nope! No can do! Jackie's waitin for ya." Errat said as he dragged the man towards their room and shut the door with kicking it. He then carried Roderick towards the bed where the small boy was already fast asleep.

 

"Gently now..." Errat muttered as he switched to carry Roderick in a bridal style. He was surprisingly light to him, which was good for him, "Light as a feather, Rody~"

 

"Uhmm... Shutt...upp..." Roderick slurred as his head was leaning against the captain's chest.

 

Errat chuckled as he lowered the man down on the mattress. He placed the drunken man next to the young boy. Roderick's arms instinctively wrapped around Jack's body and snuggled towards him. He leaned his cheek on top of the boy's head, finding comfort around Jack as usual.

 

The captain smiled as he put his hands on his hips and smiled happily at the sight, "Well since that's done, I guess I better get some shut-eye myself." He turned his body around and was going to head towards his own bed. That was until he heard a sob coming from behind him.

 

With concern laced around his face, he rotated his boy around and found the source of that sniffling sound. It was none other than the intoxicated individual.

 

"sniff...I'm so... sorry... sniff... I couldn't... sniff... save you..." Roderick sniffled as he hugged Jack in his arms, tears were forming in his eyes.

 

"...Alicia... sniff...Please forgive... me..." The man added tremblingly as he sniffed a few more.

 

Errat stood there and heard what the other man had just said. He himself couldn't help but felt a squeeze on his heart seeing Roderick act like that. He took a few steps forward and leaned forward and rested his hand on the mattress. The captain then used his thumb to wipe off the orbs of moistures on the drunken man's eyes.

 

"...Sleep well, Rody. I'm here if ya need me..."