Private Tales What the Sea Holds

[Bastian]

Ah fuck.

He knew that she hadn't been entirely truthful about being able to get away. Lips thinned for a brief moment and he felt himself torn.

Bastian had slaughtered a dozen people, more. Innocents. Men, women, even some children. Sometimes he had been paid. Sometimes he had just been defending himself. It never really mattered to him. Not really.

So why did he care if Inina lived or died?

Perhaps it was because he saw a flicker of himself within her. Desperation. Being torn from the place you knew and understood.

Lips thinned as he chopped away another piece of wood, his eyes falling shut for a moment as he finally spoke. "I'm...not a sailor."

The words were cryptic, quiet, but the only thing he could think to say.

"What happens when you go onland?" He asked, a loud crack echoing as he peeled away a plank of wood. "I can't protect you in a pool of water, or hope to find a cave."

Too much of a gamble.

 

[Inina]

"Then what are you?.." she asked just as quietly in confusion.

His question made her feel queasy at the very thought. Being this close to land was making her anxious enough, but actually touching it? "I.. I don't know I've never even seen dry land before." she frowned.

"You'll never make it if you carry me, Bastian." she told him gently.

 

[Bastian]

He frowned for a moment, not entirely sure what to answer the question with. "I'm..."

What was he? Who was he? Bastian didn't have an answer. He couldn't have one. Lips thinned for a moment as he felt his heart thunder in his chest. He swallowed, and then shook his head.

"It's not important." He was a criminal. A monster. A murderer.

But he was also the best bet she had to get off of this ship. To make it to the next day. His fingers dug into another plank of wood, peeling away the scraps with a loud crack as he looked back towards Inina. "I can make it."

He told her firmly.

"Whatever city is out there." He was sure of it. "I...we can disappear in it."

Another crack as he pulled away the final piece of wood, the planks that had sat around the wood more than half peeled away.

 

[Inina]

Nina frowned at him, the fear wrapping itself around her throat and tightening it's grip. Footsteps approaching the door caused her head to whip around, her violet eyes wide as whoever was at the other side of it rattled at the handle only to find the door barred. Her body flushed with adrenaline and she looked back to Bastian with a quick nod.

She had to try to survive..As long as it wouldn't hinder his chances.. "If you're sure...Hurry." she told him quickly, grimacing as she pulled herself out of the tub and dragged herself through the bloody pools on the floor toward him, her muscles stinging with the effort.

 

[Bastian]

The sight of her crawling across the floor was just about the most pathetic thing that Bastian had ever seen.

It reminded him of when he'd been left in the gutter. When his friends had abandoned him and sold him out for a few coins. Lips thinned for a brief moment, and he quickly stepped over towards Inina. His arms wrapped around her and he scooped her off the ground.

Without waiting for her permission, without saying anything at all, Bastian rushed towards the now gaping hole in the side of the ship.

"Out you go." The Runaway said as he simply tossed her through the gap, only glancing out long enough to make sure that water actually lay beneath them. A second later there was a pounding on the door, a series of yells.

Bastian scowled, glanced out the hole, and then quickly followed after Inina.

He felt some of the wood scraped against his flesh as he pulled himself through. Blood pooled on his skin, but it didn't mater. Bastian fell from the side of the ship, diving down into the clear waters below with a quiet splash.

 

[Inina]

She was aware of how pathetic she looked, thought it wasn't like she had legs to walk with and her tail wasn't exactly made to move on ground. She avoided his gaze until he came to lift her and her body seized, her tail hanging limply over the crook of his arm.

Violet eyes widened on the gaping hole in the wall as he moved toward it, her mouth parting as though to protest, though she never got her chance. Sea-salted air whipped at her face as the ocean rushed toward her and Nina stretched out her arms in front of her, hitting the water in a perfect dive.

Her senses flared the second she was underneath the surface, her eyesight sharpening, hearing finely tuned to movement, her nose searching for scents. Blood. The blood she'd crawled through was all around her in a fine red mist. Not good..

She turned in the water as Bastian's body plunged into the water. More blood, Bastian's this time. She wouldn't be able to move quickly enough if predators came for them, nor would she be able to use her magic to keep them at bay. They had to get out of the water..

Nina grimaced as she moved her tail to push herself toward him. She hadn't swam in so long that the muscles burned and ached with every movement she made, her arms barely able to pull her to compensate. She reached to grab hold of Bastian and surfaced, glancing up at the ship and toward the land.

"We need to move quickly.."

 

[Bastian]

Bastian took in a deep breath as Inina brought him to the surface. His head shook, hair flinging water as he heard the mermaid speak. "Why'd I join the fucking Navy."

There had been half a dozen other choices he could have taken.

Four other armies, but the navy had seemed the easiest option out of all of them. A hand came up to rub at his face, the ship behind them slowly feeling forward as it continued it's limping towards the nearby patch of land.

Bastian looked around, finally catching sight of where the vessel had been headed in the first place.

A city lay not too far from them, one made of white marble columns and structures that reminded him on Vel Anir's inner city. It sat nestled into a cliff side, gloriously warm sun spilling over it's facades and illuminating it's beauty. A breath filled him, and his head shook slightly in disbelief.

Thank fuck it was a city and not a jungle.

"We have to get to the docks. I'll carry you." Bastian told the mermaid as he wrapped an arm around her and began to swim. He had no idea what would happen when she was on land, but he knew he could disappear in a city. That was all that mattered. There was always somewhere to go. Always somewhere not to be found.

He knew that better than most.

 

[Inina]

Nina could hardly stay afloat, her body heavy with the urge to simply sink to the sea bed and rest. The cold salt water tingled against her skin, a welcoming, soothing caress that sought to heal every sting and ache she'd acquired over the past few months. She cried silently with the overwhelming relief of it.

The mer frowned uncertainly as she looked toward the docks, the thought of not only being carried making her feel nauseous, but being on dry land. Her eyes widened on the sight of the dry city...There must have been so many people...

Nina drew in as deep a breath as she could muster and swallowed down the rising fear before nodding to him in agreement, her teeth gritting together as she forced herself to push herself through the choppy water toward the docks. "Are you hurt bad?.." she questioned, looking down into the water to see the pink mist he was creating.

 

[Bastian]

Swimming wasn't easy.

Not with the ache in his ribs and the pain that lanced through his legs. More than once he wanted to give up, give in, just float until the tide carried him to where he wanted to go. Yet each time that impulse struck he thought of home.

He thought to a knife at his throat. He thought about that sword hanging over his neck. He thought about what fate the mutineers might dole out to him if he let them catch up.

"I'm alright." Bastian managed to breath to Inina as he swept his arm forward and continued to carry them to the docks. "What's going to happen when we reach land?"

The Runaway asked her as they drew closer and closer to the docks.

Dozens...hundreds of ships lay within the harbor. They laid arrayed in careful precision, moored in place and crewed by both men and women. He could hear shouts in the distance, though what they were for he could not have said.

His head dipped underwater as he drew them further, hand reaching out to grasp onto a ladder as they finally reached the pier.

 

[Inina]

She hoped he really was alright, she had nowhere near enough strength to heal him, and attempting it would leave her even more vulnerable than she was now.

"I don't know.." she answered anxiously, her nausea building with every stroke they took closer to the pier. By the time they reached it she had nothing left in her arms, nor in her tail. She felt like a dead weight, ready to sink to the sea floor, and she likely would have if she hadn't grabbed hold of the ladder beside him.

"I'm..so tired." she breathed, struggling to maintain consciousness. Her grip on the ladder eased, the thought of sleeping under the waves a welcoming reprieve, despite how dangerous it was.

 

[Bastian]

"Just hang on." Bastian said as he wrapped his arm around her stomach and pulled her tightly against himself.

His rib pulsed with pain almost as soon as he did it, but his teeth bit down as he fought through the pain.

With quick, almost jumping steps he pulled himself and Inina up and onto the docks. There was a quiet thud as both of them struck the wooden planks, and a few shouts of surprise as one of the nearby workers suddenly spotted the man and his mermaid companion.

"What the fuck?"

Bastian shot his hand up. "Fetch the authorities! Quickly! There's a ship of mutineers coming in! Quickly!"

The man looked startled for a moment, then quickly scrambled down the dock.

"Come on." Bastian said as he leaned over Inina and wrapped his arms beneath her. "We need to get out of here."

He had no intention of staying and talking to whatever City Watch came running. Not when he'd murdered three people on that 'mutineers' ship.

 

[Inina]

Nina held onto him as tightly as she could as he pulled her from the water, her tail slapping against the pier as she lay for a moment. It wasn't moving. The ship had been a shock to her but it at least had rode over the waves, bobbing and swaying on the water. This however, made her feel nauseous..

"It's not moving..." she frowned as she pushed herself up, looking around her, her timid gaze wandering over the people who gaped at her and her tail. She looked to Bastian uncertainly as he came to lift her up again, her arms wrapping around his neck..

"They're staring..." she murmured and frowned down at her useless tail. "Perhaps, I could cover it with something.." she suggested. They weren't exactly inconspicuous, and anyone looking for them would no doubt be pointed straight in their direction..

 

[Bastian]

"We'll get to that." Bastian told her as he drew Inina up against his chest and pulled her off the pier.

There wasn't really much time to find a blanket, or clothes for that matter. He stepped quickly down onto the heavy wood and began to sprint as fast as he could towards the Marble buildings that made up the city.

More than a few people turned to look at them, some even shouted, but Bastian ignored their cries. All he knew was that ship would eventually reach the docks, and when they did trouble would not be far behind. His steps thundered onto the pier, his voice raising as he cleared the crowd ahead. "Out of the way!"

He shouted with all the authority of a general.

"Get out of the way!" Bastian's voice practically forced the crowd to part, the people closing in his wake as he finally stepped onto solid earth.

Dust kicked up as his boots landed upon the isle, his heel turning as he moved towards a narrow alleyway he spotted nearby.

 

[Inina]

It felt strange being out in the open air like this, the salty breeze clinging to her wet skin, and she breathed it in deeply. After weeks in the bowels of the slavers' ship with all manner of smells, the fresh air was something to savour. It also meant she was free, that Bastian had indeed kept to his word and got her out of there before whatever horrible fate befell her.

She glanced back over his shoulder as he ran, seeing the ship coming in to dock and the people who'd cleared a path all staring after them in bewilderment. The second they were off of the docks, her scales tingled, the sensation growing more and more uncomfortable with every step Bastian took. Nina grimaced and writhed slightly, her skin paling as she looked down at her tail to witness it shifting.

"Bastian..." she whined with worry as the scales seemed to sink under pale, white skin, the fins receding into toes that tingled even more uncomfortably as she wriggled them.. "N-no, no no no nonono.." she squirmed. "Take me back, put me back!"

 

[Bastian]

"What?" Bastian glanced down at Inina as she began to wriggle and writhe within his grasp.

He frowned, scowled, then looked utterly shocked as her tail quite literally began to morph into a pair of legs. Bewilderment took hold of him and the Runaway nearly stumbled over a beggar that had placed himself in the corner of the street.

Bastian swore an apology, but did not stop as he glanced over his shoulder. "No, we ca-fuck."

From the panic in her voice it was clear that she had not expected this in the least. The way she was squirming he almost wondered if she thought this was something irreversible. As though she would be stuck this way forever.

"We can't." He hissed at her. "They'll slit both our throats."

That was only if she was lucky.

 

[Inina]

Her fingers dug into his shoulders in the midst of her panic, all that was left of her tail were a few scattered patches of scales on her thighs, but there was no fins, just two legs and a pair of dainty feet. Tears rolled freely down her cheeks as she looked at them, a few shuddered sobs tumbling from her lips. It was too late, the change had happened so quickly that she'd never have had time to make it back to the water even without the risk of being caught.

She hated this place, she hated the people that gawked at her, hated the still, dusty land, hated these ridiculous legs. The tingling soon subsided and Nina curled in on herself, her face buried in the crook of Bastian's neck as she closed her eyes and wished the whole thing had been a terrible dream.

 

[Bastian]

Bastian turned a corner, then another, then another.

His steps were so quick, so hurried, that even he wasn't really paying attention to where he was going. All he knew was to follow his instincts, and those were screaming at him to get as deep into the city as he possibly could.

By the time he came to a stop his legs were aching almost as much as his side, and he grimaced as he finally take to a stop and leaned against a wall. "Kress."

He swore quietly.

"I...think, we can rest." Bastian said softly, his eyes closing and head tilting back as he fought the waves of pain. Slowly he slid down against the wall, still holding Inina.

 

[Inina]

The further Bastian carried her into this labyrinth, the more terrified she felt. The people were strange, the buildings were strange, the smells, the sounds...everything.

She watched the ground rising up to meet them as Bastian slid down the wall, and she curled into him a little tighter, apparently afraid to let herself touch the ground..Not to mention that she was half naked and pretty certain that humans didn't tend to show this much flesh.

Nina frowned as she caught his grimace, realising how hard she had clung to him, that she had been so caught up in her own terror that she forgot that he was injured. "Thank you.." she said so quietly her voice was barely audible.

"Are you alright?" she asked, lifting her head to look at him with a tired frown, her cheeks wet with tears.

 

[Bastian]

"I'm fine." Bastian said with a lull of his head.

It wasn't exactly the truth. His ribs were cracked, cuts laced down his legs, and he felt as though he were about to pass out. Strangely enough though, he felt oddly safe. Nestled between tall stone buildings and hugging a wall that should have made him feel claustrophobic made him feel almost at home.

He took a breath as he sat there. "We'll need to find someplace warm to sleep."

Bastian had no idea where they were, how cold it got here at night, but he wasn't willing to gamble.

"I have a few silvers." The Runaway said as he opened his eyes, peering down at the mermaid. "We'll get a room."

Some Inn somewhere in this city would take them. It just had to be far from the docks.

 

[Inina]

He wasn't fine at all, and carrying her wasn't helping him.. "A room?.." she asked obliviously as she shifted in his arms, looking down at the strange, ugly toes that had replaced her beautiful tail fin as they wriggled uncomfortably..

"Could I, perhaps.. borrow this?.." she asked, tugging at the wet shirt he wore..

 

[Bastian]

He frowned for a moment, realizing for the first time that she was practically naked now. His head dipped in a quick nod. "Yes."

Bastian said.

"Though I'll need your help." He could recognize the pain in his ribs well enough to know that the ache which would lance through him the moment that he raised his arm to actually strip the shirt off of himself.

He motioned for her to scoot forward a bit onto the ground, then began to pull off the garb and guide her hand to help him as he explained. "There are things called Inns on land."

Kress, how much would he have to explain.

"We can pay a little money to stay there." They would just have to find one that would work for them. "Once we get a bed, well...we'll see whats next."

Like figuring out where the fuck they were.

 

[Inina]

She tensed as she looked at the ground and oh-so-slowly reached a hand toward it, hesitating before she laid it atop it, her throat trapping her breath for a moment before she did as he bid and shifted herself to sit next to him. Her body shuddered at the lack of motion, an uncomfortable sensation that had her swallowing down the urge to vomit, not that there was much in her stomach.

"Oh.." she answered, her fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt to gently help him lift it off. She nodded in agreement with his plan, a safe place to rest until she was strong enough to swim, she hoped. Then, how would she ever find Njova?

Nina frowned at the bruising on his ribs and pulled his shirt over her head. "We should find someone to help you with your injuries" she said quietly, her violet eyes wandering over the bloodied slashes around his legs..

Voices at the other end of the alleyway made her flinch and she looked over her shoulder. They should go, but he had carried her far enough.. "Can..You show me how you.. ?" she cut herself off, unable to force the word 'walk' passed her lips for fear of throwing up. She grimaced instead as she used the wall to pull herself up, his shirt drowning her like a short dress. Her newfound legs were as pathetic as her tail would've been on land, they buckled and wobbled and she stayed against the wall, her toes curling into the dusty street.

 

[Bastian]

Bastian let out a grunt as he pulled himself up to his feet, the bloody gashes on his legs aching with pain. HIs eyes squeezed shut as he took a breath, trying to ignore the agony quietly.

She was right.

The wounds would need to be looked at, treated, but right now the most important thing was finding a place to hide. The crew would eventually shuffle out into the city, and when they did Bastian knew that they would look for him.

Vel Anir did not look kindly upon mutineers, and if he escaped there was a chance he would send back word to the city. At least that was what they would be thinking.

He looked up as Inina quaked against the wall, her legs shaking enough that she might have been a foal. Lips thinned for a moment, and then he nodded as he stepped in towards her. An armed wrapped gently around her waist.

"Look at us." The Runaway mused.

"Sorry fucking state." A wry chuckle escaped him. "Reminds me of when I was a kid."

Just a little rat, running around the streets of Vel Anir.

 

[Inina]

Nina was reluctant to let go of the wall as his arm wrapped around her, but his humour eased her slightly and she leaned into him, trying not to let him take too much of her weight as she took a single, unsteady step. She laughed under her breath..

"What were you like?.." she asked, trying to take her mind off of the queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach that came with the sensation of her bare foot on the dirt street, the street that was entirely solid and still. She swallowed and looked down at her other leg as though willing it to move and it did, slowly lowering her other foot to the ground in front of her, and then again with her other foot, each step uneasy and giving her the look of someone who'd had far too much rum.

 

[Bastian]

"Scurrying around sewers." Bastian said with a smile, flicking it towards her for a brief moment before he looked up ahead.

There was no need to get into details of his childhood. It would only serve to sour the mood. Instead he quickly began to speak again, not talking over her, but not giving Inina to ask any more questions about that time in his life. "There was a Tavern a block over."

He told her.

"I could practically smell the ale." It was a familiar scent. His arm tightened slightly around her, letting more of her weight fall on his side.

Bastian could feel the ache in his ribs, but he wanted to get them off the street. Though it took them three times as long as he would have liked, the two of them did eventually manage to reach the back door of the tavern.

Beyond the quiet din of song and instrument he could hear people talking, most holding simple conversations. "Let me do most of the talking, yeah?"

He said quietly.