Oh no, there would be no asking for his help and then turning him away once he offered. That wasn't how Akuma operated. He shook his head as Joe changed his mind. There would be no brushing off the demon now.
"Much too late for that." And it was, even though he'd had yet to lift a finger to help the bastard. "I said I would, and now I have to. Stay put if you must, but you'll be hard pressed to come into anything remotely resembling a fair sleep with all the noise on deck." He was off again, with the quick, careful pace with which many elves also seemed to move.
It was perhaps five minutes or so before the demon reappeared with a canteen and a small case. He settled on his knees in front of where Joe was seated, opening the wooden box to reveal several labelled bags of dried herbs and similar matter, as well as a mortar and pestle. Wordlessly, Akuma measured out his first ingredient: a root, of some sort, small, fibruous, and a pale red-brown in colour. He laid it gently in what might have been cheesecloth in a decidedly very small amount, before moving on to his second ingredient. This was an item similar in colour, but larger in size and cut in thick c shaped curls. Faintly, the markings of darker spots on the outside of the dried exterior could still be made out. This was, doubtlessly, some type of bark. At least, it was until the demon promptly ground it down into a coarse powder before, too, adding the dust to the cloth. This combination, he tied loosely in the cloth and let it steep in hot water, which began slowly but distinctly rich brown.
"This will help you sleep. Once it steeps a few more minutes, I'd recommend sipping it slowly. Its effect isn't immediate, but it can be quite potent."
