Welcome to Gaia! ::

He helped her to her feet when she was ready, watching to make sure she didn't topple over in the attempt. His hand was indeed calloused, but where it wasn't rough his skin was smooth and warm. For a second, he considered that she might have given him a false name, but decided it didn't matter if she had. He nodded, retreating to pick up his bag and give her space.

"This is going to sound questionable... yet again... but you'll be safest in my quarters. I can take you there now so you can rest?"

He shook his head, his own smile punctured by a soft chuckle. "I said it was questionable. But I promise my intentions are pure." It didn't matter if he threw her in the hold or took her to his room, her very presence here would catapult him from the ship's surliest prude to the source of saucy rumors for weeks. Even with the threat of that much negative attention, he feared the captain's reaction far more. And above all of that, the whole debacle felt kind of thrilling. He didn't know what to make of it.

"It's this way."

Zhan led her toward the back of the ship, only turning to make sure she was keeping up. If she ran it would technically solve a few of his problems, but he hoped she would allow him to assist her further. He didn't want to assume and he wasn't going to ask, but it certainly seemed like she would benefit from getting as far away from this city as possible. She might need a guide.

They hadn't gone far before he stopped at another door, this one not barred in any way. The room beyond was small, containing only a locked trunk, a wooden chair bolted to the floor, a darkened porthole, a sconce with an unlit torch propped in it, and a bed hanging from the ceiling. It wasn't quite a hammock, as its base was sturdier and gave the whole thing a more triangular shape, but it swayed a little as he dropped his bag onto the mattress. Zhan flicked a switch on the torch's side and ducked back outside as it began to glow.

"I'll be right back."

The first spot he stopped was two doors down in a small nook containing a mirror and a steel barrel full of clean water. It had originally been set up with the intention of allowing crew members who couldn't find a spot in the shower room a place to rinse off dirt and sea water. Zhan used a bit of water from the barrel now, examining the small bruise under his eye and scrubbing the remaining blood off of his nose. It would have to do. He made a second stop in the infirmary for bandages, painkillers, and a greenish ointment that he had always disliked. It worked quite well, but it was gooey and smelled faintly of fish. He visited the laundry last, choosing a pair of pants with muted purple stripes and a thick white shirt with a drawstring at the neck. They were smaller than what he would wear, but not by much. The communal work clothing wasn't made with individuals in mind and you took what you could get.

He knocked softly upon his return, cracking open the door a few seconds later.

"Estellaina?"

Zhan quietly closed the door behind him and crossed to the hanging bed, setting the supplies he had brought beside her.

"Ah, yes, well... I was passing the laundry," he replied, as if that was a good enough excuse to change. "We can get you something new to wear as well when you're up to it. I did bring a few things for any cuts you might have, if you wanted to apply some of that." He hadn't anticipated her being in his bed when he returned, and that plus her mention of his clothing had him self-conscious again. She was welcome to it, after all she had presumably been through, he just wasn't used to being surprised so many times in one day.

"I neglected the food, but I generally don't like eating in here."

He remained standing for a short while after handing over the supplies, only taking a seat on his trunk when he realized she had dragged it nearby.

"Yes, in some sense. The ship is clean enough," his influence, he liked to believe, "but you'd be surprised by how many ways that rats can come aboard. So, I'm not afraid..." Zhan shook his head and smirked. "I just don't want to sleep with vermin. Now, are you going to be all right? Do you want to rest? Should I go over there while you attend to your legs?" He gestured loosely at the chair.

"I won't be called in to see the captain until we're moving, so we have some time before things get rowdy."

"Ah, yes. All right." Zhan liked to think he had been drawing from a well of sympathy he normally tried to keep from tapping into today, and he could understand why it might be difficult to relax in an unfamiliar location given all she had been through. "I'll stay here if you need anything. And when I have to be on deck, you can bar this door from the inside."

After a couple of breaths, he rose slightly to open the trunk beneath him and pull out a small notebook by touch. He began to write, trying to give her some relief from his direct scrutiny even though he was still seated quite close.