Malcolm doesn't so much welcome a distraction as not necessarily mind it. That the task before them is so connected to him in ways he hasn't divulged is in itself a distraction from the boats and the sea certainly say something, but still--the comment rattles the Seeker out of his...not pacing. He will not call it pacing. He is not Cassandra. But he does restlessly move about. Generally not near places he can actually see the water, but he wants to pretend he's Perfectly Fine.

Anyway, that's interrupted, and Malcolm blanches at the sentiment. "Whatever for?"