Servant's Pride

9. Becoming a Hunter

TW: Rape, attempted sexual slavery

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The news that Cabezon had escaped the ship both sobered and made Hongjoong even giddier.

Cabezon? Fleeing from the ship? On this island, of all places? It was nearly too hilarious to be true.

Hongjoong had shrugged his warm coat over his shoulders once he came back to the cabin. Using a nail that Cabezon had wrenched from the wooden planks on the ship walls somehow, the commander had lock picked his shackles and disappeared. One of Hongjoong's guns was missing, as well as a sabre he had kept in a barrel with a few other weapons. If those weapons would save Cabezon's life had yet to be answered. Not that he didn't know how to use them. But they might be too little protection.

Hongjoong joined the few crew members he had around on deck. Wooyoung had equipped himself with his arms as well, and Yunho had gone to rest since his head was threatening to burst. Together, the two pirates left the ship in the dark of night. The town and the docks never slept, but many residents had retreated into their homes and shut the doors to keep the rowdy folk outside. Coat swishing behind him, Hongjoong descended the plank.

"'Ow did 'e escape yer spotlights?"

Wooyoung sighed. He had pulled his overgrown dark hair into a ponytail. Yunho would probably have to chop it off again soon. Even though everybody loved the cute hairstyle on their navigator, he himself found it impractical.

"Snuck out o' the window an' climbed around the ship. We did nay spy 'im swim off."

At ease, Hongjoong hummed. Seonghwa had nowhere to run. If he tried to get help in the city, he would most likely be recognised as a naval commander and executed by the pirates. If he tried to get around the town, he would most likely die of starvation or the cold temperatures at night.

The hunt excited Hongjoong. He wasn't mad at his mates failing their guarding tasks.

Near the stairs leading up from the docks and towards the main street, sat an old man. He had pulled his fisher boat on land and in a corner to fix the rigging and sails there. Hongjoong had spotted him in passing when they had gone to the city, and he was still there. By now, he had lit a lantern by his side.

Hongjoong approached him with steely confidence. The man didn't look up even when the pirate's boots halted right next to him.

"Ahoy, seadog. Receivin' questions?"

"Whatever ye need, lad." The man rose his old and watery eyes at Hongjoong to look him over. With a grunt, he focused back on his work.

"I lost a treasure. 'E walked right off me ship an' into the town, we presume. Spotted a jack tar in a white uniform?" Hongjoong put his hands on his hips as he waited. Vigilant and mindful of their surroundings, Wooyoung stayed back behind him to watch over Hongjoong.

"I did. Ol' days as a lookout pay off jolly, 'eh? 'E went down that there street." The man gestured a hand to one of the smaller alleys behind an inn. Hongjoong thanked him before he dragged Wooyoung along. His steps still swayed slightly, and it was difficult to walk a straight line, but Hongjoong felt his head clear by the second.

They dodged a duo of drunken pirates that stumbled along the docks and threatened to fall down the stairs any moment. Hongjoong caught something about a woman beyond their murmurs. He smirked. The warmth the redhead had gifted him earlier still lingered in his limbs.

"'E be gutsy, though. Did nay expect 'im to try anythin'. Ain't the 'elpless commander he looked like, eh?" Wooyoung followed Hongjoong as they rounded a corner. They delved into the darkness of the back street. Hongjoong didn't mind the black shadows. His eyes adjusted to the light of the sky above fast. Beyond them, something shuffled in the dark. A cat, most likely.