The Legend of Magic Island | taejun + sookai

part 12: cat & mouse

He could see a faint, blue and green glow in the distance. The shape of two eyes, watching the crew leave. The captain faltered, but once he blinked the sight of blue and green were gone. He huffed, turning around to follow the others.

Taehyun brushed aside a few tree branches which led to the clearing. The coastline was right in front of them, their ship was still there and anchored in place.

Slowly, they stepped onto the beach and heard the tossing of waves back and forth. Not having enough strength to finish running, the five of them tiredly walked to the ship when they heard something move in the trees behind them.

The sun had slowly started to rise, the dark blue sky bled into orange while the sun rose above the horizon slowly. The sun peeked above the horizon, the crew's shadows extending over the pale, white beach.

Captain Soobin looked behind him once again, hesitant as the other members hurried to board the ship. Hueningkai hoisted the sails, waiting for the captain to board.

"Hold on a second." The captain held up a hand in objection, tilting his head curiously. In the blink of an eye he could see the cat peeking at him from the trees, waiting to strike the minute his back was turned.

The two seemed to stare each other down for a while, Captain Soobin inched closer slowly. Hueningkai raised an eyebrow, running off of the ship and quickly ran to the captain.

"Captain we have to go!" Hueningkai urged, grabbing his arm. However, Captain Soobin wouldn't budge.

"That's what it's waiting for," he scowled, clenching his fists, "It's waiting for our backs to be turned so it can't let us leave."

The other boy dismissed the captain's claim, tugging at his arm.

"We're not leaving without you, you're not staying behind!" Hueningkai spat. The other crewmates gathered at the ship railing, occasionally sparing a glance to the forest.

Captain Soobin yanked himself from Hueningkai's grip, turning to the boy fully. He could hear the rustling of trees behind him, and the sea breeze brushing through his hair.

He sighed deeply, cupping Hueningkai's face and looking into his teary eyes.

"I already told you, it's not going to let us leave that easily," Captain Soobin said firmly. "If all five of us go, it'll attack the ship and all of us are going to die here."

"Go, and I'll follow right behind you, just like I've been doing," he reassured. "I'll be fine, Kai. If you don't see me again after this... take care of the others for me."

Hueningkai clenched his teeth, holding onto Soobin's wrists. "Stop talking as if you're leaving us after this! You promised we would get out of here together, all of us!"

Captain Soobin fell silent, feeling the presence behind him inch closer.

"I'll catch up, don't worry about me," Soobin reassured, his voice almost a whisper. "I just need to hold off the cat long enough for you to get away."

"Captain no, let us help you," Hueningkai murmured, looking to the rest of the crew. "That's what we're here for, right?"

Soobin stayed silent, tears welling up in his eyes. He chuckled, wiping the tears away from his eyes and sighed deeply. He smiled weakly, then quickly pulled Hueningkai into a tight hug.

He stayed silent for awhile, then looked behind him back at the cat.

"Captain!" Taehyun exclaimed, cupping his hands around his mouth. "If we leave by the time the sun rises, the cat won't be able to follow!"

Soobin paused, turning to look back at the other boy. "How do you know that? What if it doesn't and we all drown in the sea?"

Taehyun jumped off of the ship, landing onto the sandy beach. "The cat seems to hate two things, water and sunlight. You saw it for yourself, it didn't attack us while we held the lantern..."

"It only struck when we were alone or without it," Taehyun reasoned, raising an eyebrow. "Fighting it won't do anything, we either run or none of us are making it out of here. And we're not leaving without you."

"But what if we don't make it out?" Soobin asked quietly. "The sun's not going to rise fast enough to buy us enough time to—"

Taehyun smiled reassuringly. "Just trust us, like we trusted you."

Captain Soobin lowered his eyes, rubbing his arm nervously. Hueningkai grabbed the captain's hand tugging on it once more.

"Let's get going, alright?"

Soobin looked back once more, sighing softly. "Okay."