SEASICK

84- In the Bushes

"What did you do to her?" Leven darkly asked the frightened young boy.
"N-no!" Alana protested. "He didn't do anything, I scared myself thinking his clothing was a real wolf. I scared him more than he scared me!"
"Is that true?" Kazumi glared down to the boy.
The boy quickly nodded his head. "I didn't mean to scare ya', ma'am. Honest." The young boy spoke with a southern Taycia accent.
"It's okay!" Alana spoke for herself before the pirates could intervene.
"What are you doing out here hiding in bushes?" Leopoldo interrogated.
"I- I was huntin'. Tryin' to stay out of y'all's way when I heard ya' comin' round. But ma'am was about to stick her hand right in some poison splinta'... I was only tryna warn her." The young boy pointed to the bush behind him.
Alana shrunk back at the glances she received from the group.
"My hind protects me from the bush, but it would have been one nasty cut if ma'am touched it."

The pirates seemed to ease off the boy, turning their attention to Alana.
"You are okay?" Leven asked, lifting her hands to inspect them.
"Yes." She meekly replied.

"Go." Kazumi shooed the boy.

The boy nodded, climbing the rest of the way out of the bush, the bow and arrow on his back revealing as he did so.
Such a young boy with weapons, I hope he does not hurt himself. Alana thought as Ivo began to lead her back toward the campsite.

"Ya know," The boy called out, rather bravely after the intense stares he had received moments before. "Y'all could stay at my house, my ma' and pa' wouldn't mind a bit."
"No." Kazumi rejected the offer immediately. "Go."
"Okay," The boy hummed but did not go as he was told. "But I gotta say, the hogs are running this time of year. I would hate for you folks to get run right over by 'em out here."
Kazumi and the other pirates were not the least bit concerned about wild boars; they were more than confident they could manage a few pigs. However, the girl just in front of them made them hesitate at the thought. They could move and get out of the way when hogs came, but would they be quick enough to grab Alana? Rationally the answer was yes, but that small irrational concern over recent failures stacking against them made the pirates think twice.

"I promise my ma' and pa' wouldn't mind, we take in wanderers all the time, got a room for 'em and everything. And if it ain't wild hogs, we got some pretty nasty mountain lions out here too." The boy insisted more, genuinely hating to leave travelers out in the woods.

There was a pause for the uncertainty whirling within Kazumi, but a glance at Alana solidified his decision.
"Fine."

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

"Ma! Pa! I found some people in the woods!" The young boy hollered through the house which was a stark contrast between the boy himself.
The home was grand, and beautiful even with a sparkling inside. It was a large cabin tucked deep in the forest; a pond right out front, adjacent to a gorgeous flower garden.
The boy had left the group standing in the main foyer to run further into the house.

"Are you sure about this captain?" Ivo grinned over to Kazumi.
"No." Kazumi bluntly responded.
Alana could hear murmuring from the other room, the sound of a hushed woman's voice.
"They could be psychopaths that murder wayward travelers," Leven grumbled, almost unimpressed.
Alana shot a glance over to the youngest pirate hoping to catch a joking grin.
"What a joy your mind is, brother." Leopoldo reached over to pinch Leven's cheek, but with such an intense amount of force, it caused Leven to reel back.
"What the—" Leven slapped Leopoldo's hand away, but when he looked at his brother, Leopoldo motioned to Alana with his eyes. Leven saw the scared expression trying to hide behind one of neutrality.
"I was only joking," Leven muttered in a small attempt to comfort.

Just then a woman with sepia-colored skin came around the corner, wiping her hands with a small towel and wearing a big smile.
"Come in!" She waved the group forward. "Theodore said he found you all in the woods, is that right?"
Alana immediately noted that the older woman did not have an accent like her son.
"Yes." Kazumi looked the woman over once.
"Good thing he found you guys; the boars around here are mean, and the lions are even meaner." The woman smiled brighter as she led the group into the living room. "And do not worry about intruding, get that out of your mind, we are known as an inn of sorts. We don't mind company at all."
"Thank you for having us," Leopoldo stepped up to be polite amongst his comrades. "It truly was a blessing."
Alana peeked up at the man, noticing his tone was different, honeyed in the sweetest nectar.
"He talks like that to all women," Leven leaned in to whisper to Alana. "The pervert can't help it."
A flush ran down Alana's neck, remembering that it was how he spoke to her when she first arrived on the Scorched Bones.
So, Leopoldo is just this sweet to every girl? The envy was a simple seed in the bottom of Alana's heart.