First, they had to understand where they had been stranded.

The cutlasses Jale had found were too rusty to cut through the thick underbrush, making their climb up the hillside difficult. Jale took the lead, ducking under or squeezing around branches and tree trunks. As well as being smaller than him, Jale had the added benefit of wearing boots when they had been captured. Tanden followed, stepping carefully with his bare feet, and cautiously holding up an arm to block the branches that flung back towards him after Jale pushed them aside.

It took some time for Tanden to realize that the ease in which Jale moved through the jungle came from practice. She was a ranger, after all. Before joining the crew, she had made her living travelling across Tallen Tiya and living off the land. The jungle was nothing like the colder, temperate forests of her country, but the skills clearly carried over. Tanden was exhausted by the time they reached what he thought was the top of the cliff. But Jale stood there, barely out of breath, looking at the forest with a calculating eye.

"I think we should head this way," she announced suddenly, and off she went.

Tanden followed, trying to ignore the ache that was building in his right ankle. It was healed. He didn't have time to nurse it back to health again.

Jale's ability to read the land led them to a large, rocky outcropping that loomed above the trees. It was the perfect place to get a look at the land. She began to climb it.

Tanden took a deep breath before following her path. "How did you know this was here?"

"I didn't. Not—" Her right foot slipped on a slick patch of dirt and decaying leaves, but she easily caught herself on a nearby sapling. "Not really. I didn't know this rock was here, but I knew the dirt was getting thinner. That led me to guess that the trees would thin out, and..." She waved at the rock, like she was presenting it to him. "You can look at the clouds and the size of the waves and just know things. It's experience, right?"

"Hmm." Tanden grabbed the same sapling she had braced herself on, and pulled himself over the slippery patch of rock. "Yes, that makes some sense. I'm just... impressed."

She shot a glance over her shoulder. "Were you impressed in Tallen Tiya?"

"That was home. Of course you understood your home. This is different."

Jale lifted herself over a fault in the rock. "Trees, rocks, dirt. It's different, but it's the same. We should get a good view from up here." A couple more steps and she was at the top, hands on her hips.

It took Tanden a moment to join her. With a groan he rolled his shoulders. "I'm not meant to be on land. So, what's..."

The words trailed off. The mountain he had seen from the ship loomed in front of them, but it wasn't attached to the piece of land they were standing on. Their piece stretched off in both directions, looping around the mountain in a rough circle. A wide band of water, a bit like a castle moat, lay between the ring of land and the mountain, bordered by narrow strips of beach.

Tanden didn't know what to make of it. "I thought we were on Avi Island. But that's... no. So the mainland must be on the other side of the mountain. That's assuming my map is correct. We should be able to reach the mainland, and follow the coast north until we reach the Southern edge of Cray Shia. Then heading South would eventually get us back to the Danil River, and... Jale?" He glanced at her, half expecting her to interrupt, but she was staring at the mountain silently. "I know it's a lot of walking, but if we could reach a city or village on the coast of Cray Shia, I might be able to get us a—"

"I know what this is," Jale said.

Tanden glanced at the mountain. "Avi Island?"

"It's a..." Jale frowned, frustration etched on her face. "In Tigo—further north than we went, on the border with Tier, there's a mountain like this, surrounded by a ring of smaller mountains, with a valley between them. It was made when the mountain..." She flung her hands into the air. "Burned. Hot rocks and, and..."

It clicked. "A volcano?" Tanden said. "You mean lava? It erupted? Exploded?"

She took a moment, feeling out the new word. Tanden understood the process well. Then she nodded. "Yes, maybe. That sounds right. Exploded. The story is that Tier and Tigo were fighting, and to stop them, Tiya made the mountain explode. He did it to remind them both that he had the power to shape their lands."

Tanden would always love religious stories. It was a nice bit of distraction. "That stopped their argument?"

Jale shrugged. "I don't know. But this is the same." With one finger, she drew a circle in the air. "The islands are the mountains, and the ocean filled the valley."

It certainly sounded the same. For a moment, he felt his old curiosity bubbling up. He let himself look at the volcano and the ring of islands, he let himself appreciate how amazing it was. For a moment, those thoughts replaced the anger and sorrow. He felt like himself—until he thought about how much Soren would have enjoyed the sight, and then it all fell apart again.

Tanden swallowed and tried to push those thoughts away. "We need to keep moving." His voice sounded flat even to him. "If we follow the ring, we should circle the island and be able to see the mainland." Getting to the mainland was an issue he didn't want to think about just yet. One problem at a time.

Jale spent a moment longer looking at the view. Reading the land the way he could read the waves. Then she nodded abruptly. "Let's get down to the beach. It'll be easier. Follow me."

Quietly, Tanden followed.

***

That evening, when Jale pressed a prickly fruit into his hands and told him to open it, it finally occurred to Tanden just how fortunate he was to have her by his side. Any of the other crewmembers would have been just as useless as he was. Jale was the only person who knew anything about the land. Different land, yes, but still land that she could read and understand.

Of course he had known, as he followed her through the jungles and along the beach, that she knew what she was doing. It just wasn't until that moment that he thought about how much he needed her, specifically. He used his rusty cutlass to make a slit along the edge of the fruit, then dug his fingers into it and pulled it apart.

Jale had found them a sheltered area of the beach, tucked behind a rocky outcrop, to settle down for the night. She was neatly piling wood for a fire, and as Tanden watched she pulled her flint striker from her boot.

Tanden felt his jaw drop. "Why do you have that?"

"I always have it," Jale replied, easily lighting a handful of dried weeds. She pushed them into the middle of her fire then sat back as the flames caught the small twigs. Jale tucked the striker away and shuffled back further to sit beside him. "It's a habit."

Tanden handed her half of the fruit. "It's a useful habit." He looked down at the fruit in his hands while Jale started to eat her portion. "Thank you. I mean... I wouldn't know what to do without you here."

"I wouldn't be here if you hadn't jumped in after me." Jale gave him a nudge. From the moment she had revealed that she could speak Teltish, in the cold snowy forest of Tallen Tiya, she had been a friend. After she deftly spurned his advances in Morie Caro, she had felt more like a sister. Tanden felt comfortable in her companionship. He felt safe being himself.

So he wasn't embarrassed when the fruit fell from his hands and tears rolled down his cheeks. Jale sat quietly beside him as he cried, eating her own piece of fruit, being comforting simply by being present.

When he finally wrestled his feelings under control, he wiped his eyes and admitted something. "I don't know the proper words to say for a Crelan ceremony. I know they bury their dead at sea, but I always assumed that if one of my crew died, Vosh or... or Soren would handle the ceremony."

It took Jale a moment to reply, and Tanden appreciated it. Her thoughtfulness, her caution. "I think anything you say would be impactful."

"That's not the point. I know so much, about so many different cultures. But I never bothered to learn..." he paused, breath catching in his throat as more tears threatened to fall. "I idolized Crelans as a boy. Not just the tattoos, or the sailing, although that's what drew me at first. But the way they just... float along with life. Taking everything in stride, moving on to the next thing. It's a mindset Teltans like me can't have, because people expect things of us. So I made a point of..." He took a deep breath. "Of not living up to expectations. So people would leave me alone."

"Your brothers?" Jale asked.

Tanden smiled mournfully. "No, not them. I could never get them to leave me alone."

"But it worked," Jale said softly. "On everyone else?"

"More or less." Tanden dropped his hand and scooped up some sand, still warm from the day's sunlight. He let it trickle between his fingers. "A ship, a crew, a life of adventure and change. Of learning. But Teltans don't learn about Crelans in the same way we learn about Navirians and Deorans. And once I had moved on from Zianna, learning about Crelans felt a little bit like going backwards. So there are things I don't know, and Soren... he would be disappointed. Insulted."

"No." Jale wiped at her watery eyes. "I don't think he would be. All you can do is do your best, and that's all he would expect. Are you going to... you don't pray, do you?"

He shrugged. "Not usually, no."

"But you believe in something."

"I try to believe in everything," Tanden said. "And I just hope I'm not insulting any of the gods along the way." He tried to scoop up more sand, but Jale caught his hand before he could.

She squeezed his fingers. "You'll feel better once you say something, even if it isn't exactly right. You know his gods. Speaking to them, even without the perfect words, will help."

Tanden looked at their hands. "Will you... could you do a Singing?"

"Of course."

He needed to get it done, quickly. Maybe then he could bottle the feelings away and put all of his energy towards survival and revenge.

Tanden stood, and tugged Jale to her feet. Hand in hand they crossed the beach. She followed his lead, kicking off her boots and wading into the water beside him. Tanden didn't let her go. He wasn't even sure if he could. Because without her warm hand in his, what would stop him from letting the water drag him under and away?

They stood quietly at first, waving lapping at their knees. The moon's reflection sparkling in the water between them and the island's volcano.

Tanden spoke without planning out his words. "Roe—The Old God of Sea—whichever one of you has Soren, I ask that you take care of him. He loved you, and the ocean. He was a true Crelan, dedicated to his ship and loyal to his crew. He was..."

Jale gave his hand another squeeze.

"He was the best man I've ever known. Please give him everything he deserves. Please..."

He didn't know what else to say. To his relief, he didn't have to wait in silence for long before Jale started singing. It was a somber song, one Tanden had never heard. She was crying as she sang, but the only reason Tanden knew was because he looked at her. Her voice, always beautiful when she sang, was rich with emotion.

The song begged the Tallenese gods to welcome the dead. When Jale's voice faded, Tanden forced himself to speak again. He asked every god he knew, in their own languages, to care for Soren if they could.

He wasn't sure how long he stood in the water after his prayers were done. He wasn't sure of anything, really, except the hollow feeling in his chest.

Then Jale pulled on his hand and walked him back to the beach. "You need to eat now," she said, gentle but firm. "And then get some sleep."

Mutely, Tanden nodded.

***

Tanden had never been good at doing what he was told, but as he trailed after Jale the following day, he realized just how easy it was. Doing whatever Jale told him to do required almost no thought, no planning. He forced his mind to stay quiet and simply followed her. Because whenever he let himself think of anything, he felt like he was falling apart. Rage and sorrow, despair and anger, tore away at him every chance they could. His thoughts dragged him down, to some dark and cold place, like he was sinking to the bottom of the ocean. And he couldn't function properly when that happened. When he broke down and cried, or lashed out at an annoying tree with his cutlass.

He wasn't properly in control of himself when it happened, and he hated not being properly in control of himself.

It was easier to push every feeling away. Easier to not think. Easier to just do whatever Jale told him to do, and to follow her as mindlessly as if she was holding the end of his reins.

The next day and a half passed with Tanden in a sort of mindless fog. Jale led the way around the ring island, following the beach during the day and occasionally slipping into the jungle to try to find food or fresh water. She built a fire the second night and made Tanden lie down next to it. She spoke, but the longer Tanden went without verbally replying the more her talking became meant for herself. Grumbling, asking questions, sometimes encouraging herself.

It wasn't that Tanden didn't want to engage, it was just easier not to. Talking required thinking.

The morning of their third day on the island, Jale changed course and walked straight into the jungle. They climbed up the slope, looking for a place where the trees would thin out and give them a view of the ocean. Tanden realized what she was doing, but it didn't really register until he climbed up a last bit of rock and the ocean opened up in front of them.

He held up a hand to shade his eyes from the sun, more an instinctual movement than a conscious decision. Then he noticed a dark line on the horizon.

Jale nodded, weary but looking quite satisfied nonetheless. "I got us this far. If that's the mainland, this next part is up to you."

Tanden looked at her. Thoughts pushed against the wall he had built in his head. "What?"

She met his gaze. "I need you to come back. We need Captain Tanden if we're going to reach the mainland."

He turned back to the horizon and that thin strip of land. Is was farther away than he would have liked, but it was visible, which was hopeful. Cautiously, Tanden let himself think. "I can't swim that."

"No, neither can I."

Ideas and options stared to flicker over Tanden's wall, but he managed to hold the darker thoughts at bay. "We can make a raft. It won't be an easy crossing, but something that floats and a few paddles might be good enough."

Jale crossed her arms and stared at the stretch of ocean, her eyes narrowed and thoughtful. "All right. Down to the beach, build a raft, sleep tonight and then cross tomorrow. I need you here." She turned, giving him the same thoughtful look as she had given the water. "You can't disappear into your head again. I know you're protecting yourself, but—"

"I'm here," Tanden interrupted. He felt the pull at the back of his mind, but he buried it with plans for a raft. "I'm here."

"Good." Jale watched him a moment longer, before starting down the slope towards the beach.

Quietly, Tanden followed.