There’s a bowl full of grapes on the table in front of them. Gillion plucks the sweet, purple fruit off the stems, his claws piercing into their taut skin. He doesn’t eat them but instead, places them into a pile on the table where they roll around for a few seconds before settling.
He’s quiet, his hands have an almost imperceptible tremble to them as he stares down at the old wooden table. Jay watches him, her eyebrows furrowed, her heart is fluttering and she almost feels nauseous. It’s been like that all morning since the moment she woke up, and the feeling hadn’t lessened.
Earl yells at Gillion to at least eat the grapes if he’s going to make a mess. Gillion apologizes and his hands still for a few minutes before he resumes the nervous tearing. Chip has yet to wake up to join them at the tavern bar for breakfast, so they wait for him to discuss their current plans.
Gillion plucks another grape, his ears are pinned back against his skull and he frowns. Jay can hear his tail hitting against the leg of his stool. He digs his claws into the skin, juice dripping down his fingers as he stares at it.
“What kind of fruit do you have in the undersea?” Jay asks just to fill the echoing silence of their corner of the tavern. Gillion flinches at the sudden question, looking up like he’s surprised that she would talk to him.
“Some berries grow,” Gillion responds curtly and his hands still “They taste… sour… and are hard to find in the Trench.”
“Have you ever had grapes before?” She gestures to the pile on the table, Gillion looks down as well. His frown deepens as he stares at the destruction that he has caused. His fingers twitch as if to pull at them again but he doesn’t make another grab for the bundle.
“No, is that what they are called?” Gillion wets his lips, there’s something off in his expression but Jay is unable to put her finger on what it is.
“Yeah, I think we saw some sort of vineyard when we walked the island for a bit,” Jay tilted her head to the side, her hair fell in front of her face and the movement very suddenly caused her to jump. Gillion barely quirked an eyebrow as she tucked her hair out of face, smoothing her bangs back and laughing awkwardly.
“You should try them, I think you might like it,” Jay suggests. Gillion nods in agreement but doesn’t make a move to eat one. Earl is still glaring at them from behind the bar, muttering to himself angrily. He tears another grape off the stems, dropping it into the pile. His jaw is clenched and the silence between the two of them feels incredibly heavy.
Jay looks over her shoulder towards the stairwell where their rooms are, she wonders where Chip is or what’s taking him so long to wake up. She taps her fingers on the table, nervously dragging her nail over the wood grain. Gillion is still picking grapes, his gaze focused and his shoulders hunched.
While the tavern is still roaring with forced laughter, the corner that Jay and Gillion are placed at feels impossible hollow and quiet as the two of them stew in their own thoughts.
