To call these death traps proper boats you would have to stretch your definition of a boat very far…and keep your eyes closed whilst you were at it, they were closer to rafts with some small details which separated them from drifting logs but not by much. As much as Jasper was pissed at his companion and fellow sleepers for dragging him onto the raft he felt like there was something else in their looks that old him he was in trouble, like a little kid staring up at their parents after doing something wrong.
As he sat himself up he couldn't help but notice the haggard state they all seemed to be in, with more blood grime and dents seemingly appearing on their bodies overnight even Jackie wasn't spared from this fate with his feathers almost glued together by the dried blood mixed inbetween the. Their faces were a mix of disappointment and shock and maybe even a little bit of fear twinkling in their eyes as the sun set over the horrizon…wait set?
Jasper stood up and grasped the railing of the boat as he looked out over the horizon to see the sun setting in the distance, fading away under the vermillion border dividing the sky, the sight would have been beautiful if the implications didn't make Jasper's heart skip a beat or two, slowing turning his head bac towards his companions who just kept staring at him with doubtful expressions.
"How…How long was I asleep fo….."
"A DAY, AN ENTIRE FUCKING DAY!"
The gaunt man was the first to answer him, his voice booming as he continued,
"HOW THE HELL COULD YOU SLEEP FOR AN ENTIRE DAY! AND NOT JUST ANY DAY, THE DAY WHERE WE ARE FORCED TO FIGHT FOR OUR LIVES WHILST FLOATING ON A DEADLY RIVER TOWARDS A CASTLE WHERE A GODDAMN FUCKING DRAGON HAS MADE ITSELF AT HOME! I WOULD USUALLY LAUGH AT THE ABSURDITY BUT EVEN I AM AT A LOSS FOR JOKES RIGHT NOW!"
The Mechanic simply put a hand on the man's shoulder before he spoke,
"What Jest here means to say is that, we could have really used your help when we got attacked earlier, and i hate to say this but he's right of all the days…"
Jasper's mouth was agape as he stared at the pair as he slowly turned to Damian hoping to hear some reasoning from his older companion who simply turned away as if he had never met the man before in his life. Jasper simply looked between them before speaking again, his voice a little shaky,
"I-I-I'm….sorry I guess? I don't really know what to say to this, it's not like I choose to sleep through what seems like a highly dangerous and life threatening situation ... .if anything its on you lot for not waking me up sooner."
Suddenly snapping to face the young man Damian simply walked over and placed a hand of his shoulder, his grip growing tighter with every second,
"Jasper….we tried, we tried for HOURS to wake you up to help in the battle but no matter what we tried you barely even stirred. Do you want to know just one method we tried? Here's a hint, we had some spare fibres laying around so our generous leader took the time to fashion us a small piece of cloth. We then tied that to your face and dragged you through the river…you still didn't wake up."
Jasper's face contorted into a grimace as he stared at the three men and one bird in front of him, his echo trying its best to peck away at his shin with little success.In all his years on either world h had never once heard of something attempting to use genuine torture methods to wake someone up from a simple nap, no matter how bad the situation was.
"D-did you just admit to trying to waterboard me awake? The fuck is wrong with you guys have you lost your minds?"
The mechanic spoke next,
"Your friend here is exaggerating…we never dragged you through the river with a cloth over your face…but that was our next idea."
Jasper was simply speechless at what he was hearing from these people, had they all lost their minds in the battle as well? It was simply too surreal was he still dreaming…well technically they all were but he wasn't about to include technicalities in this world's logic.
"Okay Okay I can tell that you all are a little annoyed at me for the moment so tell you what, when we get to land the next creature we encounter I will deal with all by myself, no need for any of you to lift a finger."
Jest and Warden (Im just going to refer to him as Warden when not mentioned in conversation from now on) looked at the young man with raised eyebrows, from their perspective he hadn't really shown them anything that pointed towards him being capable of such a feat in fact it was quite the opposite.
Warden had been keeping an eye on him since he ran into the camp like a bolt of lightning with the horrific abomination chasing after him but since then the man hadn't shown of any impressive acts of strength in fact he seemed to struggle wielding even a basic axe without some effort, the only use he truly had was helping put the boats together and even then he fell asleep halfway through, as if he didn't possess the same vigor the rest of them were provided.
Warden had presumed the lack of energy to be the man's flaw which was why he was only a little annoyed at him missing the fight, whilst Jest saw it differently, for some reason he seemed envious of the man, inside it was due to the jealousy of the man having a much more powerful aspect and a whole arsenal of memories compared to most people yet not using them nearly at all? It just left a bad taste in his mouth.
The only one who humoured the man's offer was Damian who simply responded,
"You're not getting away with it that easily, young man! You've got to kill at least ten on your own before the rest of us even raise a finger."
Holding the back of his neck with one hand the young man sheepishly agreed to the new terms as he looked past the small group, as the castle loomed just beyond reach, ready for their arrival.