Private Tales Coasting Along

[Andromeda]

The growl sent goosebumps down her arms in that irritatingly good way and she cursed herself under her breath but she didn't remove her head from beneath the pillow, even when he peppered kisses along her shoulder. He was right, of course. There was something here and she did want to know what it was and what it meant most importantly. But... she was not convinced it would become any clearer with sex or with any sort of physical interaction. Twisting her hips she once again turned her back to him and more importantly the window and what little light came through it, and kept the pillow over her head. She actually wanted the angry wolf back, that would be easier to deal with than this... kindness.

Kindness was not something she knew how to deal with.

"No, I am going to lie here and feel sorry for myself until this headache called Acteon goes away."

 

[Acteon Cass]

Acteon just smirked at Ana's words and actions. There she went being difficult again. He said after one last kiss of her shoulder, "Very well. Cuddling it is."

The Allirian got into the bed and settled himself in behind her as he had the night before. Arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her in close so that their skin was touching. If he was bothered by the pillow, which he sort of was, he did not show it. Instead he just held her there close and slowly rubbed her sides. If she wanted to keep being difficult then he could as well.

The man took in the siren's scent. Salt and coral. It was an odd mixture of things. If he had to guess before meeting her what a siren, or half siren technically, would smell like then he would have guessed fishy. He would have thought that mix of scales and water that a freshly caught fish had about it. But no. She smelled of salt and coral. It was far better and more relaxing if not as pleasant as flowers or trees.

"Ana. Tell me more about yourself." Acteon said to her as he closed his eyes. He was just sort of enjoying her scent still. "I want to get to know you better. I want to know who Ana is."

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

Andromeda gave her own growl when she heard his words and then squeaked when he wrapped his arms about her waist and pulled her tight. For a moment she thought she might throw up again. Her vision swam a bit and she had to put the pillow back under her head to stabilise herself and get some fresh air into her lungs, rather than whatever she could breathe in through the pillow. Despite herself it was... a nice feeling and her eyes drifted shut. If he hadn't of spoken she probably would have fallen asleep very quickly.

"Mmm?" her voice sounded sleepy if he hadn't got the impression from the slackness in her body. Ana pulled the covers up about them and then stuck one leg outside to reach her apparent correct temperature. "What d'you wanna know?" she nuzzled back into the pillow and pressed back into him for warmth.

 

[Acteon Cass]

The pair was under a blanket now and snuggling more than before. It felt nice. It was warm and soft and comfortable. It was the kind of sensation he had not felt before in his life. Perhaps there was something to this connecting with others thing after all. Or perhaps he was just letting himself be trapped in a self made illusion. Either way, he wanted to stay in the moment for as long as possible.

Ana answered his question with her own question. What did Acteon want to know? Well all of it. There was not a specific thing that he was craving to hear. It was just a general and vague desire to come to know as absolutely much about her as he could. He squeezed her a bit and nipped her ear as he thought it over.

"I do not know Ana. Everything? I just really want to know more about you. I know you are half siren and that your father was a pirate. I know you like to sing and that is how you survive. I know you hate feeling controlled or as if you belong to someone else. I know you are a stubborn, difficult woman that is also beautiful. Your powers bother you as does your lack of knowledge about them and your mother's side. Despite acting like a cruel person you truly are not deep down. Two tried to kill me twice when we first met. Bet you are regretting that you failed now." Acteon began to just speak to her in a whisper to not upset her head. He smirked as he got to the last line and nipped her ear again.

A kiss was placed on her neck. "I just would like to know more."

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

Ana wriggled at the gentle nip with a light growl. This was just playing unfair now. She tilted her head away from his lips so she could focus on his words again but they puzzled her. What more did he want to know than what she had already told him? There were no great secrets to be found in Andromeda Barbarossa. She was what it said on the tin, so to speak. For a long time she was quiet - even the kisses on her neck were only fleeting distractions.

"My father was a Captain," Andromeda corrected lightly. Quite a highly regarded one in fact. "Barbarossa. I like the rain but I can handle the sun as well, I have to swim every five days or I will die, I like the colour purple and I lillies are my favourite flowers," small, personal things. She spoken them quietly like they were precious secrets and they were in a way. She hadn't shared them with anyone else.

 

[Acteon Cass]

"A captain's daughter, purple, and lillies? Are you sure you are not a noble or high born woman Ana? Perhaps you own some land you are hiding out of fear of doubling, tripling, your suitors." Acteon replied with a smirk on his lips. He wanted to tease her a bit. It was an urge he could not resist. It was similar to what he would do with his own father only with Ana it was more obvious in its playfulness.

Acteon began to think over things. She had revealed something very important to keep note of: 5 days without swimming and she dies. That was rather limiting and made it difficult for her to see most of the world. It brought back the discussion though of freshwater and saltwater. He knew it pained her more to change in freshwater, but what if that was her only option? Would it work for her 5 days or would it only prolong her death?

"Ana, does swimming in freshwater work or will you still die in 5 days if it is not saltwater?" Acteon asked her in a rather serious tone compared to before.

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

Gods doesn't this man ever stop talking...

His comment issued a snort from her. She couldn't imagine herself more removed from the noble ladies she had seen from a distance. Ana sighed and patted the pillow a little to fluff it up before wriggling once more down into the soft feathers and further into his embrace. He was at least warm and she was beginning to feel the chills of when alcohol left the system. She pulled the covers up around them again and burritoed herself into them.

"It can starve it off but it isn't the same as saltwater - it just shows down the death maybe by a day or two," she shivered a little bit. "I need saltwater or I just dry out. It gets really hard to breathe and my skin gets all cracked on the sixth day. I can't walk or talk. So five days to avoid all that. It's why I stick beside the coastline as much as possible."

 

[Acteon Cass]

Acteon made a hmm sound after hearing what she said. It was clear his thoughts were running through all the possible places he could think of that the two of them could go to together. Her life certainly was limited, at least on land. It made him wonder just what kind of forces had brought a monster of the land and a monster of the sea together like this in such an unbloody way.

The Allirian finally left his thoughts after a bit and said, "I will have to keep that in mind. Would not want you to die on me. Who will be difficult and wreck the ships I am on then?"

Acteon kissed her neck and went back into his own thoughts. As she had snuggled deeper into his embrace he just wrapped her up more with his arms. It was instinctive now almost as if he could sense how cold she was and was providing her with more of his own warmth. It also could have just been some deep desire for skin on skin contact with another creating a physical connection and source of affection. No matter what it was though it was because the man was in his own thoughts rather than trying to make every inch of their bodies make contact.

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

"Mmm," was the only sleepy noise Ana made to his rhetorical question, her eyes already shifting shut again. Her stomach felt fragile and she was beginning to get a little bit of a headache. At least the light was no longer oppressive in the room. It wasn't long before her breathing grew deeper and her body relaxed one again and she was asleep. Aside from the occasional murmur in her sleep she was a blissfully quiet sleeper compared to when she was awake at least.

When she opened her eyes the light in the room was different. It was a lot darker and it was a deep red. Sunset. Ana winced as she moved. Her head no longer hurt but her mouth was dry and her stomach was complaining loudly that there was nothing in it. Even she was slightly appalled by the fact she desperately wanted a sip of wine. Slowly she turned so that she was facing the room. Her hair had wrestled itself free from the makeshift tie and fell around her face.

"What time is it?" Ana yawned.

 

[Acteon Cass]

The first bit of time went by rather smoothly. Ana had fallen asleep and he was enjoying just the sounds of her sleeping. It was an odd thing to enjoy but he did. However after a couple of hours his body started to get stiff and ached. He wanted to get up but that would require him to actually get up. It was a miscalculation on his part. He was not tired at all and so could not fall asleep with her while also him enjoying the contact and sounds of her sleeping made him want to stay. It was a hard choice to make because either way he would regret his decision.

A knock on the door though after a few minutes made up Acteon's mind. A pirate mentioned the pitcher was refilled and had left a bottle of wine as well. Slowly and carefully Acteon got his arms freed of the warm, smooth waist they were around and he tried his best to not disturb her slumber.

Repeating the same attempt at keeping Ana's privacy and dignity by barely opening up the door, Acteon got the water and wine inside the room. He got them onto the table and looked around. The place was a bit of a wreck and needed to be cleaned up. So that was what the Allirian focused on. The contents of the bucket and glass shards went out the window, so he did not have to smell or step on them. The not so clean bucket went out the door so hopefully a new one was brought. The clothes were gathered and folded up into a neat and tidy pile. Acteon smiled a bit at the now clean room he was in. Then he realized he basically was her servant right now.

Acteon looked over at Ana's sleeping face and whispered, "Not a noble woman my ass Ana." He then got her tucked in better and loosened her tie so she did not accidentally wake herself up by tugging hard on her hair.

=======

When Ana finally woke up, Acteon was still in the same level of clothing he had been in when she went to bed. He was working on cleaning and sharpening up his dagger and sword at the table. Without even looking at her he said, "Evening Ana. Your stomach tells me you need something to eat and drink."

The Allirian set down what he was doing and got her a glass of water ready. He took it along with some of the bread and jerky he had requested over to her. He sat down on the bed next to her and held them out so she could take from him what she wanted. With a bit of a playful smile he said, "Sleep well Princess?"

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

"I'm not a Princess," Ana scowled at him but she managed to get herself into a sitting position and gladly took the water from him. It didn't take long for her to drain it and then she took some of the jerky and started cramming it into her mouth. So she had slept the day away. Probably a good thing, though she knew that the poor men she had been drinking with last night had probably not been able to catch such a break. It did mean that they probably were not that far from their destination however. Perhaps they would be there by midday of the next day.

"But yes, I slept well. It doesn't feel like my head if going to fall off anymore," she eyed him quietly over her food. They had now spent a night and a day in bed with one another doing nothing more than sleep. She felt... rested in a way she didn't know she had needed to feel rested. "Have you had any trouble from the others?"

 

[Acteon Cass]

"Sure you are not Ana. You just act like one." Acteon said to her with a smirk. He patted her leg a bit now that she had the glass. When she had down it and taken the food he got up to get her some more of both. He returned and sat down in the same spot on the bed so she could keep eating and drinking without having to leave her comfortable spot.

"Good to hear you are better. Perhaps now you will be a bit more pleasant." Acteon was giving her an impish grin as he said that in a playful tone of voice. "No one has troubled us yet. They just brought food and water. Perhaps Hawke has just been busy with the ship or he is waiting for you to scream for help. Can not say which."

The Allirian was not sure what else to say to Ana right now. It was just comforting to have her awake and feeling better. He did wonder however how things would have gone if she had not come knocking on his door made more of alcohol than woman the night before though. Likely he would still be in this room all day but he would have still been trapped in thoughts of self pity and doing his best to avoid her. He might still have some delusion of being able to treat her with apathy as he did others. But that had not come to pass. He was turned into something because of whatever thing strange relation they had now was.

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

Ana scooted back on the bed so that her back pressed against the wooden wall to put a bit more distance between them. Now she was more awake and aware of what had passed between them over the last few hours she felt... vulnerable and she didn't like it. She had opened herself up to someone and with that came a whole host of problems. Emotional ones. She took a bit of jerky and chewed on it slower this time.

"You are unnecessarily mean to Hawk, he doesn't want me in that way I can sense it," her brows pulled together and she pulled her knees up to her chest. He was a lot older than she was, had been a man when she was still only 14 years old - the first time she had ever met him. "When he was first starting off as a Captain my Da helped him pick out his crew, showed him the ways," she took another bite of the jerky and twirled the rest in her fingers. "He fell off the rails with the Slaving but he told me he doesn't do that anymore. Cerak has been destroyed."

 

[Acteon Cass]

The distance Ana put between him and her got a sigh of disappointment out of Acteon. Was this how he could expect to be treated now that she was sober? It should be obvious he was just a monster if not one that was a threat to her life. As she spoke he stood up and got himself sat at the table so she could feel comfortable where she was again.

Listening to what Ana had to say, Acteon was not so convinced about things. Certainly she knew the man but it did not mean he did not want her. The city of Cerak might have been attacked but it did not mean the slave trade was gone. If anything it would just rebound as the need for cheap labor to rebuild had increased. She was unconcerned with things but he could not help feeling it. It might have been due to his lack of involvement with this ship's crew or he was just a cynical person by nature. He did not know, but he was not going to press the issue. If anything happened he would do something about it. No trouble with another ship sinking for him even if it did delay him even further.

"If you say so Ana. I will trust you if not him." Acteon responded to her. His gaze had been on her until now, but it had shifted. He picked up his sword and got back to working on maintaining it.

The Allirian felt confused. No, that was more the reaction to how he felt. He felt disappointed and hurt right now but could not figure out exactly why. There was a bit of anxiety welling up inside of him since she had moved away from him. That tiny bit of distance had done more to him than any one of the wounds still healing covering his body right now had done in causing him pain.

His eyes still on the blade he idly pointed towards the bed where her clothes were in their neat and tidy pile. "Your clothes are there if you wish to get dressed Ana." His clothes were there next to her own as well. Her boots were by the bed next to her as well. All of it was within easy reach and would keep that distance between them Acteon had placed when he moved to the table.

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

Andromeda wasn't sure how to feel when he moved away from her. Relief? She had put the extra distance between them for a reason. The conversation from this morning when she was hungover was hazy in her mind but she could still remember what he had said about their future. That there was one. He was getting too close to her. She couldn't be the woman he wanted her to be. He was a merchant and from a noble line, he needed a pretty little wife who would bake him pies and raise his children. That just wasn't her. He had to know that which meant that all he was interested in was a chase and when they were done he would move on.

Ana wouldn't be able to take that.

"Acteon..." she stopped. No, he had asked her to talk to him not bottle things up. The fear of doing so was a clawing thing inside of her. "I'm not the type of woman you settle down with," she brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "I'm a one night and forget about kind of girl. I can't... I can't give you what I think you want from me." Gods how did people talk like this all the time? "And I can't handle a chase for you to then leave. That's not how I work."

 

[Acteon Cass]

The man just dabbed oil over his sword in what was silence at first. He fully expected the woman on the bed to grab her things and leave. It was what she had said herself is what she did. Certainly she had stayed the whole night with him and the day that followed, but that was due to drink not desire. Where else did she have to go on a ship to find some silence and darkness to sleep away the bottles in?

But Acteon froze when he heard Ana begin to speak. She was not leaving. She was talking. Why? She said she was just a one night and forgotten kind of girl. She said she could not give him what he wanted. Why? During these comments his eyes stayed on his blade despite his hands having stopped. But then her words about not handling the chase for him to leave got him to look over at her. His amber eyes came to her peach colored ones.

"Ana." Acteon said in a bit of a silent voice. "You are a fool. I hope you know that."

The man set down his work yet again. "What is it that you think I want from you? If it is to be that little wife who sits at home then I am afraid to disappoint you but that was never in my mind. My own mother, a noblewoman married to a merchant, was not that kind of woman. I am a Cass. We marry competent women who are our equals and have their own ambitions."

Acteon frowned as he paused and stood up. He walked over to Ana and placed one hand against the wall as he leaned close into her face. "Something you said has deeply angered me Ana. You are not some whore to be slept with then forgotten. You are someone of more substance than this. You are worth more than that. I would never risk my life and my secret on a woman who is only good for a single night of lust that I would never think of again. Saying you are this kind of woman cuts me deeply. Never devalue yourself to this degree again."

The Alliria pushed himself off the wall and walked back over to the table. He sat in his seat and glared at his own lap. His emotions were a swirl. He did not know what to think right now. All he knew was this woman was a fool for thinking so little of herself. It made him feel hurt. It made him angry. It was not a personal kind of hurt or anger either. He did not understand it and that confusion just made him feel even stronger.

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

That word again. She curled her hands into fists and her nails made tiny little silver crescents in her palms. She wasn't a fool she was just telling him how things were. Why wouldn't he just listen to her instead of calling her names for how she was feeling? Even though he said he didn't want a noblewoman and that he wanted an equal she felt her gut sink even more; she wasn't that either. The panic and pain of the matter was etching itself across her face. This is why she didn't talk. This is why she drank. Then he was in her space and she struggled to breathe and think at the same time again.

Confusion turned her peach coloured eyes darker. Ana didn't understand her own feelings but she most definitely didn't understand his feelings any more. Why did it anger him what she thought about herself, it was none of his business. He had no right to be angry with her emotions. They were valid ones and she was just trying to protect him from making a mistake by creating a life for them they couldn't live. She might have been tired but she had picked up on his curiosity for how long she could survive out of water.

"This is why I don't like talking," Ana muttered under her breath as she ran hands through her hair and clenched her fists in it with an angry sigh. "I'm not calling myself a whore, Acteon. I don't sleep with the highest bidder or with people for money or anything like that. I sleep with men that I want to sleep with when I want to sleep with them. But I don't hang around. I don't get attached. I don't do... emotions or relationships. And I get the feeling that this... that that is what you are hoping for from this." She motioned between them.

 

[Acteon Cass]

"You think this is easy for me Ana? I am open with you. I am exposed. No mask. No persona. No bullshit. This is who I am and it is something I share with no one. I even hide my curse from my own father, the only other person who I am this open with." Acteon wanted to bark at her and nearly did. But he had managed to keep just enough control of himself to stop that from happening. What he needed was a clear moment to think, but it was not happening. He knew the minute they stopped talking one of them was going to run or hide. It was the natural instinct of monsters such as themselves. Never expose yourself. Never get attached. Never let yourself be able to be threatened. Yet here they were. A pair of fools that knew nothing of being open and talking through their problems trying to do just that.

"Ana I do not even know what it is I want from us. I do not know what we could even be called. Does a word for it even exist? I know multiple languages and yet a single word or term eludes me. You have no idea how frustrating that is. This all is far too new, far too personal, and far too emotional for me." Acteon began with a lot of energy but it quickly died down towards the end. It was as if he was deflating. "But I know it is something I want and I need. This closeness we have shared is not something I do or ever get. Apathy is how I live my life. I use people Ana. They are just tools towards my ambitions and goals. I do not get attached. I do not care what happens to them. I do not care how my actions effect them. I rarely seek out sex for its own sake even before the moon. It just has never had much appeal. When I do I certainly enjoy it, but I enjoy the chase leading up to it more. It is entirely goal driven and after I get what I want I no longer care for my prey. That is the kind of man I am Ana. That is the kind of monster I am."

Acteon needed to stop. He rarely viewed himself as a monster, even as a wolf. The words he used were human, Allirian, a man, but never as a monster. Yet right now after saying all these things he already knew about himself and had taken a bit of pride in himself for before now made him feel like a monster. His face was in his hands and he was just trying to hold something in or keep something out. He did not know which.

Slowly through his hands he said in a nearly defeated sounding voice that lacked this level of confidence he always had before now, "But I am not that monster, that man, when it comes to you Ana. I can not be apathetic. I can not stop caring. I can not get what effects my actions may hold for you out of my head. I desire the hunt and the chase, but I also want whatever it is that follows. I do not understand this. I do not understand myself. It would be so much simpler if I could just view you as I do others. But I can not."

A sigh left him as his hands fell to his lap and his head was flung back. His eyes opened to stare at the wooden ceiling. "It pains me to hear you speak so ill of yourself and not see your own worth Ana. I am not merchant or noble. Perhaps once and hopefully again in the near future but right now I am not. You are a pirate captain's daughter that is now a traveling bard. If these things were all we are then perhaps you are right about us not being fits for one another. But we are more than that. Much more. I am a werewolf that never loses its control of sense of self. You are the daughter of a siren that sinks ships into the sea. We both have these needs inside of us that normal people do not understand. During the moon I become a bit of mad man that has swinging emotions and desires that can nearly drive me out of control. I have to hunt and eat and breed both as a man and as a wolf all because the moon is full. You are drawn back to the sea and have to swim and kill and consume. We can not fight these sides of us. They make others call us monsters, but at least to me they just make us who we are. This curse means I can never have the normal life of a merchant or noble or even a man. Your birth means you can never have the normal life of a pirate or bard or woman. Perhaps we should stop looking at what we are and just look at who we are Ana. Perhaps who we are is what is driving us towards one another despite how much we kick and scream and fight against it. I was ready to avoid you and ignore you yesterday. You fled my room and began to drink. Yet you came banging at my door telling me how we work. And I let you in instead of letting you walk away. I even spent the day caring for you in this room and you let me take care of you."

Acteon chuckled a bit in a melancholy way. "Is that how we would have handled this with anyone else? Staying and talking and being open with the other person rather than running and hiding till they went away?"

Another sigh escaped from Acteon. "There Ana. I did all the talking it seems so you do not have to. See me for who I am, whomever I am. Stay. Leave. Hit me. Do what you must. I will not stop you or try to control you. I just want you to be happy and safe and I do not know exactly why. I have called you a fool twice now, but I am the true one here. I even have the theatrics and pitiful form to prove it."

The man made a weak attempt at a twirl with his hands as if he had just done a jester's tumble before her.

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

Ana was beginning to feel like a trapped animal as the words just kept pouring out of him. The horror and panic growing more and more. Way too many emotions. She wanted out. The ocean was a scream in her ears and she glanced to the window when his head was in his hands and debated jumping out of it. It was at least comforting to hear that he seemed to be going through the same turmoil she was. That it wasn't as straight forward for him either like she had expected. It was true she had forgotten about the wolf for a moment - saw him as a man instead. The wolf only impacted him for the moons rise but hers was with her all the time. The drumbeat of the sea.

There was a silence once he stopped talking and she wondered what exactly to say into that heavy emptiness.

"I think..." she said quietly as she slowly scooted her way back to the end of the bed and began pulling on her breeches and boots. "I should go get us some real food, more than jerky," Ana gave him a small smile. "I think we could both do with a few moments alone," she stood and then began to fasten the corset back on as she finished her sentence. She ran one hand through her hair so it looked less like a birds nest then made for the door. As she passed him she paused, seemed to debate for a moment, then leaned down and gently pressed a kiss to his lips. It was a fleeting thing, no more than a feather soft touch and then she was out the room. Despite closing the door there was an obvious jeer.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, point me in the direction of the food..." her voice faded as she walked away.

 

[Acteon Cass]

The thing just sat there in its seat. Eyes were now closed when before they were open. The silence had finished off what little remained alive within it. Its hand just stayed motionless in its lap. One might think it dead if not for the steady up and down of its hairy chest. It was just hollow after releasing its very essence into the air.

What Ana had to say just seemed to go unheard by Acteon. It was as if he was in a coma. He was silent and unmoving. Even her kiss on his lips seemed to get no response from him. And then she was gone. It was what he knew would happen in the end. Ana was never meant to stay. She had said as much herself to him repeatedly. And he knew she would not come back. Some handsome young man would approach her and offer her a simple moment of lust that she could easily and freely walk away from right after. Neither of them would have to worry about it later. It was what she wanted. It was what made her happy. So it was best she have it. Acteon was a monster and in the end it just meant one of them had to die if she wanted to be free and happy.

So Acteon just sat in his seat quiet and still as death itself....

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

It was a fine balance trying to decide how much was enough time to give him to collect his thought but not so long that he began to think she was never coming back. So she took a slow walk around the deck and breathed in the salt air, enjoyed the spray on her face and the feeling of being absolutely free that nothing but the sea could give her. She leaned against the prow of the ship for a moment and watched the last of the sun dip below the waves. Ana pushed off from the rail when she was done and sauntered her way back down the deck then took the stairs below to the kitchen. She hadn't quite realised how much she missed sailing with pirates. She leaned herself up against the scully kitchen entrance way and joked and spoke with the cook before she finally managed to weed her way into his heart enough that he gave her the good food. Two great hulking plates of meat and veg and bread.

She scrounged up a nice bottle of wine - the Oban stuff, not the Cortosi wine - and two clean glasses and juggled her way back to the cabin avoiding pirates left right and centre. Even an elderly man who spun her around in a drunken jig. She had to use her elbow to open the handle on the door and then nudge it open with her hip. Once she was inside she closed it behind her with her foot.

"Alright I know how picky you are with wine so I managed to nap a bottle of the Oban wine - nothing finer," it was the most famous wine in all of Artehil. It was only when she set it all on the table she realised he was asleep and cursed herself. He had been looking after her all day and night of course he was tired.

 

[Acteon Cass]

Dreams did not come to Acteon normally. What he had was just memories. Memories of his life. Memories of the wolf's life. Memories of them both side by side. But the memories were always twisted and strange. Things were not in the proper places. New words were said. Different clothing was worn or none at all. Some times there was music or sounds that had not existed at the time. Some times there was no sound at all. Even the color would fade and vanish from things leaving it in those tints of white, black, and gray that reminded Acteon of how the night looked.

But this time Acteon dreamed. He dreamed of a woods filled full of streams and ponds. They were all part of the ocean yet the woods and streams and ponds stretched on into infinity. It was filled with sounds and smells of all things, yet nothing was there. It was just Acteon bare with trees and grass and stones. He was the only being and no matter where he ran nothing new appeared. A pond may be shaped a little different or a stream bend in a new way, but he was always alone. He would speak but no words appeared. He would scream but nothing came out. This just continued on and on and on and on and on and on and on....

=======

Ana would find the table held a plate with food and a bottle of cortosi wine on it along with Acteon's sword. If she looked closely she would find the bottle had yet to be opened and the plate was only seeming to miss the number of pieces of jerky she had eaten before.

The man's stomach instinctively growled at the smell of hot, fresh food. But he did not wake. Instead he just seemed to shift a bit with a frown. Then the frown turned into a scowl then it just went back to neutral. But it held a defeated, melancholy twist to it. It was as if Acteon had accepted something horrible that would never be able to leave him.

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

Ana cleared the other plates and wine off the table, squirrelling the other wine into her bag she had dumped in here earlier. Acteon might not like the wine but she did. She tried to be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb him as she put the sword in the corner. For a moment she watched him sleep. Did he sleep like dogs did and kick in their dreams? Her lips twitched at the amusing thought then very carefully she touched a hand to his cheek. When that didn't disturb him she wound an arm around his shoulders and one under his knees and gently lifted him from the chair onto the bed. Ana stepped back to make sure he was still asleep then nodded to herself, drew the blanket over him and went back to the table, kicking her feet up onto the other chair and began tucking into her own food.

It gave her more time to think though perhaps she wouldn't have come back to the cabin so quickly if she had known he was just going to sleep. She liked to eat out on the deck. Still, she didn't want him to think she had dived over board and left him so it was probably best if she were there when he woke up.

Half way through her meal she popped open the cork of Oban wine and poured herself a glass, took a sip, then continued to pick her way through the meal. He still wasn't awake so she took her wine and went and sat in the window seat, pulling down the shirt he had put up to used as a makeshift curtain. With her forehead lent against the window she watched the waves the ship made through the sea.

 

[Acteon Cass]

With the move to the bed Acteon seemed to calm down a bit. His body was not restrained by the chair in the way it had been before. He was free to twist and turn. Both of these actions he did plenty. His dreams seemed to only get more active the longer he slept. It was as Ana had wanted to see. This man did indeed seem to sleep like a dog sometimes. This night in particular was an energetic one.

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Acteon was still in those empty woods full of water. It meant something but he could not figure it out. There was a lucidness to his mind as well. It was not truly a dream was it? No answer came. The woods and streams and ponds remained. Nothing changed. His voice still would not come. His words would not realize themselves. Perhaps they had no power or meaning here..... Perhaps he had no power or meaning here.....

=======

The man shifted around again with that scowl. He was getting more restless.

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

Andromeda ended up finding a book on the shelves around the room. Whilst she was still a little worn out from the hangover and drunkenness of the day and evening before she had slept enough that she couldn't fall asleep right away. She found a candle and lit it, brought it over to her window seat and curled up under her blanket with it. It was a funny little book to find on a pirate shelf; a run of the mill romance that rich women read to whittle away their hours in the parlour. The First mate must have picked it up during a raid and decided to keep it.

She read late into the night, so late that there was a gentle knock on the door at about midnight. Setting the book down she quietly tiptoed over to it and opened the latch then slowly slipped out, recognising who it was.

"I just wanted to check you were ok, I heard about the ... drinking games," Hawk chuckled.

"My head feels alright now but it was a messy morning, we're both fine though. The crew have been great getting us food and stuff - thank you."

"No thank you, seems your drinking habits have caused a few of my men to swear off the stuff for the foreseeable future," he chuckled. "I just wanted to let you know I think we should dock at your destination around Midday tomorrow, perhaps a little earlier if the wind is in our favour."

"Thank you," she shifted, opening the door and put one foot back inside. "I best get some more sleep then. Goodnight," she inclined her head then shut the door and fastened the latch again. Quietly she once again got undressed back down to her shirt and then crawled under the covers with Acteon, blowing out the candle.