Waiting for a problem felt a lot like being one of those crows that hovers over battlefields, hoping for an unclean meal.

None of those images were good ones for Fuichi. Instead, he elected to render the Sickbay clean. He would do so with a scrubbing brush and some water. Best things for it.

O-washi, who had yet to leave the Sick Bay since the arrival of the wounded...guest? Prisoner?..sat again on an empty berth with his legs pulled up under him so as to avoid interference with the Daidoji's work. He hadn't slept more than an hour or so, too busy ensuring that the gaijin neither died nor caused trouble, and was looking markedly owlish. He was also grimacing, drinking the black brew the Captain favored for wakefulness and not enjoying it at all.

The vigil of O-Washi finally seemed to possibly pay off, as the man groaned with a little more force and his eyes slowly opened and stayed open. Breathing with a little effort still, he tried to look around him, though he was still weak and wasn't up for moving his head much. Still, he spotted two unfamiliar faces and his body immediately tensed. The man began muttering in a language that sounded like a garbled flowing river. Pretty, but not at all understandable by either of the men in the cabin.

Well, he was gaijin...too much to hope that he'd speak a civilized language. O-washi, doing his best to look kind and unthreatening despite his size, carefully uncurled, his hands spread and open, clearly empty. "Easy...." His low voice was as gentle as he could make it, which admittedly wasn't very. Humor was his usual tool but it wouldn't work well when he might not be understood. Hoping for recognition on something at least, he asked, "Coral Islands?"

To Fuichi, as an aside, he murmured, "Could you get a cup of water, please?"

The man turns slowly to look at O-Washi and stares at him with cautious eyes. The man's hands move slowly, going to where the rather deadly looking knife they had found on his person had been when they fished him out of the sea. When his hand doesn't find it he mutters what can only be a curse. His eyes dart around the room, taking in where he is, and examining the two men who are in the room with him. He cocks his head a bit as O-Washi speaks to him. Then shakes his head and spouts off more in the language O-Washi can't understand.

Fuichi does what he's told, quickly returning with a cup of cool fresh water. Standing in the presence of the gaijin, he carefully and visibly takes a sip to demonstrate its safety and then passes it to him.

O-washi, who'd never dealt with a foreign speaker before, frowned a little. "Ivory Kingdoms?"

If the man reacted to that, he'd leave Fuichi to tend him and go and fetch the Captain, who knew the tongue.

The man looks at the cup of water, then slowly lifts his arm to take the cup, but even someone without medical training could tell he was in no state to actually hold onto the cup reliably.

He looked back at O-Washi when he spoke, examining him for a moment before he slowly nodded.

Fuichi smiled beatifically, hoping his natural beauty would take care of any issues of trust. He lightly pressed the gaijin's hand back and raised the cup to his lips.

The man clearly wasn't entirely certain what to make of the man smiling at him. When the cup was raised however, he still took a sniff or two before he took a few sips of the precious liquid.

That recognition much relieved O-washi. Putting a hand to his chest, he said, "Rokugan."

Again, a pause for acknowledgement or confusion.

The man looked confused for a moment, before his eyes went a bit wide and he nodded rapidly. He spoke a few more of the strange language in an experimental way, looking between the two men as though he was hopeful one of them could understand him at least a little, or find someone who could.

O-washi gave another of his reassuring looks, then turned to Fuichi. "He doesn't seem inclined to violence, so I'm going to go after the Captain. If he makes a move, just run...he's in no shape to chase you."

Then he turned and trotted off at the height of respectable speed which was, compared to most men, nearly as fast as a run.

/temporary exit

It wasn't long before Uminushi clomped down the stairs. Any concern he felt regarding the situation was hidden behind an easy smile and a friendly nod to the Crane. Despite his bare feet and the work-worn look of his clothes, he exuded an air of confidence. "Daidoji-san."

Uminushi's gaze sweeps to the man sitting up. After a thoughtful moment, he performs an odd bow which was like and unlike the Rokugani bow. It seemed almost archaic, though it was executed with a certain degree of familiarity. His gaze, however, never lowered.

"I am glad you're awake. I am Uminushi of House Yoritomo, the Captain of this ship."

The man looked relieved that there was finally someone that he could talk to. Though he didn't look surprised that the man was a mantis.

"I am Jayant Utpal. Ward of House Pandavah. Thank you, captain."

"Blessings upon you and yours," he answers politely before continuing a bit more brusquely, "If you will excuse my abruptness, would it be possible for you to tell me what happened to your ship?"

The man spoke the odd language with barely an accent, the words falling fluidly from his tongue.

Jayant gets a distant look on his face and he looks down at his legs. "Don't say that. I don't have any of 'mine' left." The man from the Ivory Kingdoms continues to look down at his legs as he continues. "Sank to the bottom, with more than enough of mine on board. Rest got carted away by those Rafiq scum." Jayant snarled the last two words.

"House Rafiq...?" he arches a brow, looking non-plussed by the man's vehemence, "I thought them eliminated and their faction destroyed?"

Jayant snorted again. "They are a Great House. They cannot be destroyed just by one act of betrayal. That would upset the balance of the world. They were purged, their children given to other houses. What had infected them had taken root too deep though, and through dark arts and darker alliances they have risen again."

"Mmm." His eyes were distant and thoughtful as he casually crosses his arms and scratches his chin. "Thank you for the information. We'll set you down in Lanka when we dock to pick up supplies."