One Equal Temper of Heroic Hearts

Waterlogged

Immortals healed quickly, or so Mahina kept insisting. This made perfect sense, and seemed to be true, but she was still extremely quiet and pale for a couple of days. Regardless, she insisted they keep moving, switching off between a determined limp and floating, as each strained her wound but in different ways.

Jack quietly kept an eye on her, despite his own exhaustion. Sure, immortals needed less sleep than mortals, and seasonals even less than most immortals, but going a few days versus going a couple weeks on a scattered handful of stolen hours' rest were two different matters. He'd fussed and fretted for about a day, only for Mahina to promise he'd get bitten if he continued. Now he was watching her body language for cues that she had to rest or she'd regret it, keeping the group together, watching over them all at night, and keeping track of their supplies.

He didn't want to let on to the others just how much everything was weighing on him; he was supposed to be the Guardian of Fun, a line of defense against despair and fear. Nevertheless, Jack could tell he wasn't acting like himself, and was certain that if the others had known him before all of this began, they'd have pointed out his muted humor and flagging energy.

Somehow, Hiccup seemed to know, and as the nightly camp preparations fell into a rhythm he began casually taking charge of making sure everything got done. Eugene and Merida would get firewood and hunt, Hiccup and Rapunzel would set up a spot for the fire, and then everyone would gather around the fire to cook and share stories.

And so, when they reached a cliff overlooking a sea locked in a raging storm, Jack had to suppress the urge to sigh in relief and keel over sideways.

Instead, he said, "We'll camp out until the storm settles and then travel along the shore and find a port."

"Good idea," Mahina agreed, leaning on a tree to take the weight off her hip.

"I'll start on the shelters," Jack said, frowning a little. Either she was getting much better or she was improving her ability to hide her pain, and whichever it was, he didn't want to lose track of his ability to read her need to rest.

Everyone dispersed to their usual tasks. When the ice shelters were done, Jack allowed himself a moment to lean on his staff. Before long, he heard the quiet, offbeat footsteps of his fellow Chosen coming up beside him, and he straightened.

"Hey. Are you all right? You should be resting," Jack said, putting a hand on Mahina's shoulder.

"I am fine," she said firmly. She grabbed his hand and began pulling him towards one of the ice tents. "You, on the other hand, haven't been sleeping, c'mere-"

Jack stumbled a bit, trying to get his hand out of her grip and failing. "Mahina!" He protested. "What're you- gah! Slow down, you'll hurt us both. And the storm could let up anytime, I gotta be ready to get everyone moving at a moment's notice."

Mahina looked at him like she knew something he didn't. "Take a nap. Then we can discuss it."

Jack opened his mouth to protest, only for Mahina to flop down in her shelter in the snowbank he'd created for her, dragging him down with her.

Before he could sit up, she pinned him down with an arm and a leg across his torso.

"Sleep," she said firmly.

"Okay, alright," Jack gave in, "but can you take your leg off me?"

Mahina removed it. "Sorry."

"It's fine, it was just crushing my diaphragm," Jack said, shifting to get more comfortable. He was already getting drowsy now that he was lying down. He noticed she hadn't removed her arm, and she was sort of awkwardly stretching it across him and pinning his arm against his side. "Hey, here, sit up for a second."