It had been four days since we'd left port and I was only just getting my sea legs, not used to the ocean as it thrust us about without a care. It was choppy around the Isles as if it didn't want us to continue on our journey and I would be glad to see dry land once again. I felt impatient and irritated, wanting nothing more than to return to the normalcy of my old life. I missed knowing where I stood in the world. I missed not having to work with other people. But most of all I missed my favourite bar and the crappy vodka they served. I wanted nothing more than to be doing shots with my fellow halflings after a long day.
The moon rose high in the sky tonight, glistening with an amber tinge as I looked curiously toward it. It would be a full moon tomorrow, and I did not look forward to the idea of being on a confined ship as I tried to wrestle with the wolf within me. Somebody knocked gently on the door of my cabin as I pulled a bottle of whiskey out of my chest, walking lazily over to it.
I expected to see Xand, yet was surprised as I came face to face with Milo who smiled down at me, a bottle of vodka in his hand.
"I thought I would offer our dear captain a drink," He hummed with a laugh, making his way into the room past me, though I wasn't too impressed with the disruption to my nightly routine. That had been reserved for Xandro, and he was one of the few whose company I didn't mind being in.
"Just make yourself at home," I grumbled softly, rolling my eyes as I sauntered over to where he lay across my sofa. He had a distinctive attractiveness about him that I liked. It was caught as a cross between a rugged softness. His face and hands, like mine, were littered with small but familiar scars from many fights, and on his wrist was the brandishing mark of the Order to which we both belonged.
"You know they'd like you a lot more if you actually smiled for once," He chuckled to himself, a smile lighting his own face under the candlelit glow of the room. It was a handsome smile, one of a raffish charm that knew exactly how handsome he was, and he would not let you forget it for a second. Guys like him irritated me. But at least we had or marks in common.
"It is not my place to change who I am so others can like me, nor are we required to like one another. We have a job to do, plain and simple," I hummed gently as I walked over to where he sat, taking the glass of vodka out of his hand as I lounged against the opposite sofa, watching him carefully.
"You and the Prince seem pretty friendly with one another, what's up with that?" He questioned me. I let out a soft laugh as I thought to my best friend and the glowing pink eyes that had drawn me to him that fateful night we met.
"He and I share a long and complicated history. He is the only person I will ever call a friend." I hummed softly as I took a large swig from the vodka, feeling the sea begin to move underneath us with even more force. It felt as if all the furniture would be torn off the ground as the boat shuddered and rocked on the waves. Milo looked at me with exasperation and let out a low laugh as he stood to look down on me.
"Friends? Really Flynn is that what you're going to call yourselves? Then I'm sure you nor the Prince would mind if I was to make a move?" He questioned me as he sunk to his knees beside me, that smirk still resting on his face. His hand moved gently down my cheek, skimming the scar that ran along my jaw and rested near my lip. As he began to lean in, I reached up and grabbed hold of his hand. He was handsome, I wouldn't deny him that, but I would never even consider dating such a wretched person, nor would I find solace within another mage. I flipped him so he was face down on the sofa and pressed his arm into his lower back to keep him in place.
"Do not think that gives you the opportunity to play around with me. We are here for one reason only. To work. Do not think that I am small and meek. I will destroy you if you even so much as think of me that way again," I growled lowly, feeling my eyes flash to gold and my canine senses begin to awaken. I feel pissed off, and this man would not like to meet that side of me I was certain. As I was about to speak more, I heard a loud scream and a splash from outside of the cabin, rushing out with haste as I threw him to the side.
"Don't get in my way," I growled at him as I slammed the door to the cabin shut, looking around frantically for what the noise could possibly be. I caught sight of pink in the choppy water ahead, rushing forward with haste as I thought that Xandro had been swept into the water by the billowing waves that treated to consume the boat. I felt instant panic at the thought and let out a startled yelp as I thought only of saving him. I looked around the boat and without a thought grabbed a rope attached to the side without hesitation, tying it around my waist.
I felt a strong urge within me as I called upon my powers in the night air, feeling the pull of the moon strengthen my enchantments as I dove into the water. I felt it instantly, salty and cold and so incredibly dark that it threatened to consume me whole. I could see the body ahead in the water though, pink hair glowing under the waves as their body began to sink lower.
"Luna Moaahwai," I muttered to enchantment as I gulped in breaths of air, feeling the water around me still and began to breathe the water as if it was my own air. It had been a long time since I had connected with my powers, yet I felt them surge to the surface again in an all-consuming wave as I began to swim frantically down to the falling body. I could feel the waves above that crashed and bruised my body yet I did not care. I would not lose him.
I reached out blindly as I felt the rope around my stomach begin to pull and rub at the tender skin of my stomach, ripping at the skin. I caught the hand of the falling person, soft and smaller than Xandro's pulling the pink-haired fae close to me. Her eyes were closed as if she was in a peaceful slumber as I breach the surface of the water, feeling the waves smack into us as I tried to remain afloat. It was all I could do. The water slamming our bodies over and over again as if to rip us apart. I could feel something ancient bubbling within me as I looked at the lips of Marigold which slowly turned purple in the cold.
Letting out an almighty scream, I felt a rush of power deep within the pits of my stomach. I was aware of something spilling from my mouth, some ancient chant in a language that I had never heard nor thought I had any knowledge of. Yet it felt vaguely familiar as the ocean around us began to settle, and within moments became more peaceful than I had ever seen it as if all had stopped. I let out a soft laugh, feeling the rope being pulled toward the boat.
The sky looked beautiful here. In this dimension, it was unlike anything I had ever witnessed. Though it was dark, there was a constant movement in the sky. Whirling sliver clouds than danced tenderly around violet and amber apparitions. Even the stars seemed to be in constant movement as if speaking the truth of the land. It was told that those stars were really the gods, and that this was as close as all Earthernkind would ever get to viewing them in their truest state.
I felt my body brush into the wood of the boat and grabbed tightly onto the ladder as I put Marigold over my shoulder, feeling her let out a splutter of sick and water down my back as she began to come to. I began to climb the ladder, feeling every movement and ache within my muscles. The skin around my stomach was shredded and stinging from the saltwater, hurting with every single movement as I finally placed Marigold onto the deck of the ship. I collapsed almost instantly by her side in pain, unravelling the rope from my stomach, slick with my own blood and torn skin. It was agonising, but not the worst pain I had even been in.
"Flynn you're a fucking idiot! Do you not think?" I heard an angered shout as I rolled onto my front, slowing crawling over to Merigold who was still coughing, though beginning to gain some semblance of consciousness now, which I was incredibly thankful for. I looked up to Xand and laughed gently, though it hurt my stomach, smiling at the pure worry on my face.
"That's because she thought it was you in the water Princey, don't think for one second she'd do that for us," Milo smirked from behind him, watching us closely with that sneer on his face that I was coming to detest.
"No Milo, I would save anybody on this boat, par from you," I growled lowly, feeling the rushing of pain wash over me now as I motioned for a blanket for Marigold. I would sure as hell be in pain tomorrow. Milo smirked at me and rolled his eyes before he sauntered away, not a care in the world for his so-called captain and shipmates.
I felt an arm wrap around my back and legs, lifting me up gently as I winced, though it wasn't Xand who was busy attending to Marigold with his fae magic. I looked to my side, feeling a wooziness washing over me from my injuries.
"I'll give it to you, you're a stuck up bitch in the most literal sense, but that magic was impressive. They say you have great mage blood in you, do you really understand how powerful you have to be to stop the ocean like that?" A voice hummed close to my ear as I looked up to Ero. His eyes flashed briefly red as he caught sight of my blood before he laid me gently on my bed. I let out a soft laugh as I glanced at him.
"My parents abandoned me at birth. I have no clue who they truly are, nor do I care to. And the oceans will do what they will, it had nothing to do with me," I hummed as I reached across the table for the bottle of alcohol, taking a swig before I grabbed a cloth from the side and began to dab at the wounds that stung me. Ero looked away at the sight of the blood, fangs protruding slightly from his lips as he nodded.
"That may be so, but there's no doubting what I saw. You may want to look into it Weremagi, you are a considerable force. Regardless of your intentions, you saved Marigold today at the expense of your own safety, so though I do not understand your methods, I will not doubt your leadership anymore," He whispered softly, running a hand through the waves of blonde hair atop his head with a gentle smile. I laughed gently, feeling the waves of sleep wash over me as I nodded my head. I washed his figure retreat back through the door before I allowed the pain and tiredness to consume my body and take me to sleep.