“I won't push it today,” Ardnt decided, for his own good and the priests. “During the war injury made me restless. A man that stopped was dead.” An instinctual response and he certainly wasn't out of danger, it was just a different sort of threat. Being sedentary, in his eyes, would allow his age to catch up with him but he would admit his side ached. “Maybe you won't mind another walk tomorrow.” Ardnt hoped not, anyway. Staying closed up to his assigned area would do nothing good for his mental state.<br/><br/>“When my mind and body are idle my troubles seem to creep up on me,” he said, looking out to the sea. Luitwin had yet to witness one of Ardnt's episodes. He hoped that he wouldn't, at least before he took responsibility for him and they got where they were going. They rounded back to go he was returned to his room. Ardnt wished someone had taught him to read. He was sure there were books aboard the ship and he craved some sort of distraction even if it was simply looking through religious texts if that was all they had. He might have written letters about his life. Nothing incriminating, but of Alriah. He missed his home country and told Luitwin as much when he saw him that next morning if only to make conversation.<br/><br/>“Do you always eat alone?” Ardnt asked when Luitwin made to leave him to his own breakfast in silence. At first he thought it was because he had no desire to eat with a stranger but now it seemed more habitual. He'd shifted to let Luitwin check his wounds that morning despite Ardnt's certainties that it was fine. The skin pulled tight and stiff when he stretched, dressed down to the trousers he'd slept in. A little puffy with swelling but the flesh was pink and healthy. He was much more agreeable as a whole, mostly because Luitwin was the only one on the ship that would talk to him.<br/><br/>Ardnt had tried to make conversation with the cabin boy again but only saw him less as a result. He guessed it was the young man going out of his way to avoid him so that he didn't have to make conversation with the foreigner. Maybe he'd been ordered not to make conversation. He asked Luitwin about that as well, if he was the only one given permission to speak to him so directly. If not that he was the only one confident enough to do so, shielded by God, Ardnt reminded himself.