Sonder stepped onto the deck once the captain had allowed her to.
There was a gentle shift beneath her feet. The whole ship was moving in a slow rhythm, one she had never quite felt before.
This was the thing people got sick from sometimes, but it didn't seem so bad.
For a moment she simply stood there, unsure where passengers were meant to go.
No one gave her instructions.
The sailors had already returned to their work.
The woman who had sold her the passage was already being loudly made fun of by the other sailors and a buck and mop was put into her hands.
Sonder quietly stepped out of the way, leaning on a railing not too far from the gangplank.
More passengers were still boarding behind her.
A few families, a few people alone, and a few couples.
They all seemed to know where they were going.
Sonder did not.
Sireacht stirred faintly on her shoulder, detaching herself and floating around a bit. The dustball, the dragon, gave a soft coo.
"Careful," Sonder said to her. "I don't want to lose you when the ship starts to sail, alright?"
And so, time passed.
More cargo arrived. More passengers climbed aboard, and sailors were constantly on the move, tightening ropes, checking the masts, and rolling barrels across the ship.
Sonder wondered how long it had taken them to learn to be a sailor.
Eventually the man who had first stopped her at the gangplank approached again.
He looked her over briefly.
"Right," he said. "You're the extra one."
Sonder nodded.
"Captain says you're staying," he continued. "But there's a problem."
"What kind of problem?" she asked.
"No cot left."
That seemed logical enough. She had not been expected.
"We filled all the bunks yesterday," he said with a shrug. "Passengers get what's left after the crew."
Sonder considered this.
"I don't need much space," she said, the same thing she told the woman yesterday.
"That's good," the sailor replied dryly.
He glanced around the deck, then jerked his thumb toward the rear of the ship.
"Captain said he'll arrange something. Won't be fancy."
"That's good."
He looked slightly surprised by the quick answer.
"Good enough to keep you dry if it rains," he added. "That's about the promise."
"That's also good."
The sailor studied her for a moment longer, finding it a bit strange that she was so accepting of her situation, then gave a small nod.
"Ship casts off soon," he said. "Stay out of the way when the lines go."
Sonder nodded again.
He left, already shouting another order at someone hauling a crate.
So she returned to the rail and waited.