RP Pirates of the Hard Nox 2

It wasn't just the word itself, but also the way Nessa said it that made Alys raise a brow. It was no secret that the young vampire was far different than someone like Lucien; the fae had seen how she'd reacted to Vena, to the blood that coated their clothing. Even before the Ice Lands, Nessa's restraint wasn't exactly a secret. They weren't particularly close though, so Alys hardly knew how she managed to get by.

Certainly not by eating apples.

Consumption of normal food, the way Nessa actually looked... deathly ill - her pale skin, the dark circles beneath her eyes, the lack of sparkle behind them. Presumably because of the not-so-pretty ring.

Yet the desperation behind Nessa's voice made something inside her chest ache. Searching for the vampire's gaze, her features hardened, growing grave rather than merely concerned. Extending her hand out, waiting, the fae spoke. "Can I take a closer look?"
 
“See it?” Nessa wavered for a moment as she looked up at Alys. She pursed her lips as her eyes fell to the ring on her finger, and for some reason the thought of taking it off made her stomach churn uncomfortably. Still, after a pregnant moment Nessa slid her thin fingers up her hand and pulled the red ring off. She held it out in the space between them for Alys to take.

“Here, be careful with it.” Nessa said.
 
There was no push to take the ring, only an outstretched palm that would eventually feel the touch of metal. She was gentle with it; partially due to the request, the curiosity, but also the sliver of apprehension. Plucking it between her thumb and pointer, Alys brought it closer to the flickering lantern. The red remained, deep and glimmering, like spilled blood within the moonlight. Seemingly ordinary.

"I think you should get rid of it," Alys finally said, her words firm, eyes daring to look down at the young vampire. The ring still firmly between her fingers, raised up, nearly level with her gaze. "It's hurting you."

It was a bold statement; one Alys hardly knew to be true. But based entirely on Nessa's account, her current state, and the ache within her own chest, it was damn good enough for the fae. And she needed it to be good enough for Nessa.
 
A soft scoff as Leo backed away from the bars again served as reply to Mal’s judgement, a flimsy veil for the impact the words had caused. Perhaps he was more comfortable in a cage, though he had languished under the stars on the Nox’s deck often there was a familiarity to being prisoner that he couldn’t deny. The way he had been treated since Naveen’s escape, as a rabid animal likely to bite whoever happened to be nearest; it was an old, worn blanket that he had little issue wrapping around himself again. The same responses danced at the tip of his tongue, tensed the muscles in his body for more displays to further enforce the image of a beast he wore.



Though their voices were hushed Leo picked out the Bone Witch and Caleb’s approach as he pondered the truth to Mal’s words. His thoughts were never quick to sort, and the concentration required was distraction enough to prevent the mumbled tones from becoming clear. Mal twisted his words to Caleb, though they might also have been as true as the words they spoke to Leo. Behind the bars he kept his gaze lowered through their predictions, only raising it to meet Caleb’s eyes at the fairy’s request for the room. As Hester left the brig with her suggestion Leo let his attention flicker only slightly with a brief, appreciative glance. He had been the one to suggest as much from the beginning. If the crew were to take such a stance with their future dealings with vampires because of his actions he supposed some good would still come of the decision.



There was a palpable weight to the silence between them, a silence Leo held as he held the fairy’s gaze with his hands clasped behind his back. Things were starting to become more clear, though vampirism hadn’t facilitated his ability to sort through the mess of his thoughts Leo had started piecing together the clues he had been given. Though his lungs might not have needed the air he sucked in a deep breath and shoved his left arm between the bars to the the elbow, slowly as he could manage to avoid another threatening display. He would let Caleb decide how the conversation would begin, but he didn’t need to break the silence to make an opening statement.
 
"Good morning, Miss Emer." The response was automatic, really, before Pris had even processed the wisewoman's presence fully. She took a minute to look up from Juniper - Miss Emer looked like her usual self, at least. It was good that someone did. A lot of other people seemed like they didn't, which Pris thought was probably just an indication that never go to parties was probably a good idea. That was fine, because she did not, under any circumstances, want to go to parties.

Going to parties meant going outside, and outside was still... a lot. There was too much sky, and it was even worse when there was too much other stuff. Too many buildings, too many people. She'd gone up above decks a little, in the ice lands. There had been too much ice there, but at least that was something that everyone seemed to agree on, and there hadn't been very many people - at least, not on the ship. Apparently there had been some inside, and some of them had come back and then gone away or died. That was pretty much what Pris was used to, so she wasn't letting it bother her, or at least she was trying very hard not to. It was best that she not get attached to people.

She was worried about Juniper, though. And Mr. Leo. And she'd been worried about Miss Emer, because someone had been saying things about kidnapping, but obviously Miss Emer was right here and so everyone else must have been wrong about that, or it had been the world's shortest kidnapping ever. Or maybe Pris just shouldn't worry about all of that. Potatoes were easier.

"I ate already but I can get you something? And Juniper might want seconds? I can fix something if you like." Or, at least, she could fix something if they liked as long as it was eggs or potatoes, or dishing out something that someone else had already made. Cooking was hard, but that was okay. Mr. Emryk seemed like he knew what he was doing. Pris had been rather scared of him at first, because he was very big, but he was kind to Miss Emer and he'd never asked anything more of her than cutting up carrots or onions, and only when she'd offered. So he was okay after all, even if there was a lot of him.

"Um... have you seen Mr. Leo today? I don't know if he was feeling well."
 
"I am quite alright, dear. It was more of a misunderstanding than anything else." She emerged from the kitchen with a bowl in hand, piece of bread balanced on the edge. Settling in a seat beside the pair, she blew gently on the soup. "Pris is an excellent helper."

She gave the girl a warm smile. For all the clouds, it was good to see a glimmer of sun on the child's face.

"I think soup is enough for me. Anything more this late, and its likely to unsettle my stomach."

The comment on Leo, however, gave her pause. She hadn't seen the boy since her return, and hadn't heard anyone speak of him either. Ill-feeling could be any number of things, but the last thing she needed was a sickness spreading on board the ship.

"Not feeling well? In what way? If he needs me, I would rather see to him sooner than later," she replied, taking a sip of the soup.
 
Just a thought, one that kept coming to him even if he kept trying to find an alternative. Maybe Leo knew what he was thinking, and a hint of shame forced Caleb to lower his gaze. But why? It was the obvious thought to have.

Suddenly it was just Caleb and Leo in the room. The holes in the door would allow anyone with an interest to observe to have the means to, but all they would see was a fairy taking small steps to the cage and his outstretched arm, clasp the bracelet on the man’s wrist and raise his eye at him again.

“What did he say about the curse?” He asked, emotionless. Leo had nothing to win or to lose at that point, and no chips to bargain.
 
It made sense that Pris would ask. She had clearly taken a liking to Leo, as odd a pairing as that was, so of course she would be worried for his wellbeing. Juniper, knowing, and wanting to keep her unaware, frowned, and slid their bowl towards the girl. "Actually- Pris, could you- uh, get me more? I don't feel well enough to walk," they said, shooting a glance towards Emer. She needed to know, if Pris didn't. It was strange that no one had filled her in already.

Once she was far enough away, the changeling hunched over, leaning closer to the wisewoman and speaking in hushed tones. "Leo, uh... he let Naveen go. And got himself turned into a vampire. He killed Ronan, and... he may have threatened some of the rest of us when we got back. I'm- trying to keep her unaware, for now. She doesn't deserve to be upset about this."
 
Emer raised her eyebrows, taking another sip of the soup.

Well. That was - an unexpected situation. Naveen was free. Had she not known Emryk safe, her heart would have brimmed with worry. Even still, there was an inkling of fear lingering in her voice when she next spoke, muffled to near-suffocation by her calm, collected tone.

"Naveen is gone again, then, with a vendetta alongside." Another sip. "Leo is - safe?"

She could not say well. She knew what suffering that illness brought, she had seen the pain in Nessa's eyes.

"He is in control of himself?"
 
"Oh, yeah, right away," Pris responded to Juniper's request. "And I bet Miss Emer could make you a tea to make you feel better!" Miss Emer had a tea for everything.

Really, though, it was kind of nice when people asked her for things. Little things, though, not... well, Mr. King had asked her for things, too, but those had been different. And there'd been a lot more dead bodies involved. She hopped up quickly, the skeletal hand lying inert on the table. About halfway to the kitchen, the girl reached up to her shoulder, seeming to remember it, then called "Come on, Lady Fingers!" across the room.

The hand stayed where it was, on the table. Pris turned around, obviously warring with herself, then sighed. "Hetty's construct listens to her!" Well, Lady Fingers would be safe enough with Miss Emer, anyway, and maybe she could protect Miss Emer as well. Maybe she'd listen to Miss Emer - everyone else seemed to.

The girl vanished into the kitchen, presumably in search of potatoes. The skeletal hand on the table righted itself, seeming somehow alert, but who knew with necromancy.
 
Lucien’s brows furrowed as his fledgeling talked with Alys, the new quartermaster quietly coercing her as one would a wounded animal. Had he really not noticed her getting worse until now? Had she truly been deteriorating for who knows how long, and he had remained simply oblivious? Whatever it may have been, the past was beyond them both now. Lucien knew that Nessa was turned against her will, that much she had told him during their dance. She did not wish for this affliction, and if a fairy could help her ignore it for a small while, Lucien would not interfere.

He truly was getting soft.

Lucien slipped belowdecks, leaving the fledgeling to her conversation. His step was light as he slipped into the women’s quarters, depositing the flask into her hammock, in hopes that she would drink some of it to restore her strength. On the subject of drinking, Lucien intended to enjoy the rest of his evening drinking until he could no longer read his maps. As he approached his cabin, Lucien stopped. The first thing he noticed amiss was that his door was ajar. He cocked his head, listening for the sounds of shuffling, breathing, a heartbeat. Not a sound.

Lucien warily approached his door, prepared to strike at any who may be lurking within, friend or foe. Instead, he simply saw carnage. A sickly sweet mixture of fruit, honey, spices, and metal filled his quarters, several fragments of ceramic scattered amongst the deep red ichor that was slowly seeping its way into his floorboards, boot prints and splash marks showing clear sign of entry, of more than a simple search.

”O’CAIN!” Lucien roared, his newly collected blood forgotten as he stormed through the ship, ears perked for a hint of the quartermaster’s annoying voice. His search led him downward, and Lucien barged into the brig, a hand lashing out and wrapping around the fairy’s throat. Lucien kept pushing until his prey was pressed against a wall, his eyes ablaze with rage.

”You have exactly 3 seconds to tell me who the fuck was in my quarters before I deprive this ship of its quartermaster and his whore.” Lucien snarled, fangs ready to rip into O’Cain’s throat at a moment’s notice.
 
“That’s…” Nessa’s tongue felt heavy in her mouth, and she felt a knot of panic twist in her gut. She was asking — Alys was asking her to go back to… Nessa shifted her weight between her feet, her gaze wavering between Alys and the ring she held out. The ring itself offered no rebuttal, it just waited. If she got rid of it, then the hunger would just be back wouldn’t it? Without thinking she reached back for the ring.

“It’s… I’ll think about it.” She half mumbled.
 
There was a glint to the newly minted Captain’s eye, a dark glimmer of the thoughts that curled around the fairy’s mind. Their silent communication was pivoted around that hint of what was to come, and as Caleb clasped the glimmering bracelet around Leo’s wrist a somber expression responded to the only words spoken.



It didn’t matter what Leo knew, or what he might have suspected. He studied the band under the sparse light, a finger running over the affixed pieces of bone thoughtfully. The metal was cool against his skin, cooler he thought than it should have felt with his chilled body. He knew nothing of magic but Leo could nearly sense the curse that was laid upon his new bauble, a slimy chillness that didn’t match with the warm color of gold.



”Little.” As he offered his answer, after considerable pause, a roaring call came from above. It was a call for blood, made all the more literal for the silky voice that made it. Though his footsteps were nearly silent even in his rage Leo glanced toward the door to the brig just before the Navigator burst through, clawed hands instantly wrapping around Caleb’s neck and driving him to the wall. Leo blinked slowly, a bit startled by the sudden violence though he followed their direction as best he could within the confines of his cage.



”You have exactly 3 seconds to tell me who the fuck was in my quarters before I deprive this ship of its quartermaster and his whore.”



Leo was ignored, and in the moment he was a bit thankful for it. He knew the vampire’s rage more intimately than most living could say, and though he was something more now he didn’t fancy being on the receiving end of that ire so soon.



A second passed and Lucien’s knuckles cracked. Leo was prepared for the wave of heat to rise from his chest, amplified by memories of the savage beating Lucien had laid upon him mere hours ago. He clenched his fists in expectation of that rage, but as he watched the elder vampire throttle the ambitious captain Leo was surprised to feel…



Nothing. Perhaps a slight sense of entertainment, though he couldn’t say whether it was as vindication for the thoughts Caleb entertained or simply to see Lucien demonstrate just how much of a threat their kind could be. Caleb wasn’t likely to have much of a chance here, after all the weapon he had commissioned to deal with a specific vampire was already bound to Leo’s wrist. Lucien was beyond the new Captain’s control, far more than Leo had ever been.



”We were all in there,” the next second had hardly passed before Leo’s voice surprisingly came to Caleb’s defense. At this point there was little reason for Leo to protect him; whatever friendship they might have started kindling between them had died, perhaps even before Leo himself had become undead. All the same, Leo spoke from the side of the confrontation, drawing the angry Navigator’s attention away from the fairy who would see him dead.



”But if you’re talking about the mess, that would be mine.” Leo grinned, a fanged interpretation of his madman’s smile that seemed more insane for his new appearance. He was tossing his self preservation to the side, after all. Perhaps madness was what his missing rage had left behind. ”I wasn’t given a chance to straighten up, but if you would let me out of this cage I would be more than happy to clean up after myself.” A short pause, one where Leo obviously considered his next words for their impact.



”Let the fairy go, brother.”
 
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The cold hand around his neck was Caleb’s reminder of how dangerous that creature could be, and how weak he was in comparison. Either way, he wouldn’t take it passively.

Caleb struggled, kicking the vampire while his fingers grasped his skin, trying to loosen the grip so it would allow room for air. When he finally let go the fae captain fell to his knees, hand reaching for his sore throat.

“We had a deal, you fucking cunt.” Caleb cursed, reminding Lucien of his promise not to hurt anyone from the crew. A deal that, he had been reminded, meant absolutely nothing.
 
Lucien shoved away from the fairy, his scrabbling fingers finding purchase, but no reactions from the vampire. He looked down at him in disgust, fangs bared in a sneer.

"If you think this qualifies as 'hurting', then you have forgotten how dangerous I truly am, Caleb O'Cain." Lucien said derisively, his ire reignited as he realized there was another in their space. He wheeled around, turning his full attention on the pup that had somehow gotten himself back in a cage.

"Brother?" Lucien rolled the word around, as if deciding if he liked the taste. He did not. Lucien stepped up to the bars, taking in the wretched sight before him. The stains of crimson, the still chest and even stiller heart, the pathetic facsimile of his own smirk.

"We are not brothers, in any sense of the word." Lucien growled darkly, his gaze burning into Leo's own. "What the fuck have you done?"
 
Longer-limbed, practically towering over Nessa, Alys could've easily evaded her reach. And then likely lost a battle to a desperate vampire, stronger even in her weakened state. So she gave it up easily, letting Nessa take back her precious ring.

"Mm, think about it," she repeated, gaze flickering between the object and the vampire's face.

"There's always a balance, isn't there? For someone like you, each side is quite extreme." Strength, speed, power, lack of aging. Immortality, bloodlust, loss of control. "I wonder what the other extreme is for this ring." Alys mused. "And if it's worth it."
 
A mock expression of shock, wholly sarcastic in its application, replaced Leo’s grin, and a fluttering hand covered his chest as though wounded.



”Why does everyone ask what I have done? I really didn’t do much. You of all people should know that all I had to do was die.” His tone was dripping with sarcasm, and through his words the false indignation was overtaken by nonchalance. ”Maybe if you had done your job Half-Face wouldn’t have had the chance.”



The bars between then were inconsequential, ignored as Leo practically shoved his face into Lucien’s, the tips of their noses a bare whisper from touching. ”Being only trash I don’t see what concern it is of yours. You had your chance to prevent this and made it clear that I am too far beneath you to be considered.” Leo’s hand traced an invisible line over his throat, though unmarred the memory of Lucien’s savage beating was still fresh.



”If you’re not careful they’re going to saddle you with a pretty little trinket as well. Or maybe they will just send the lost little puppy to meet his master.”
 
Nessa didn’t clutch the ring close as she took it back, instead she rolled it between her thumb and index finger, thin and pale or maybe thinner and paler. She was a bit at a loss at that, Alys’s words, and she felt a bit like she did back when old man Sean had once caught her slipping a piece of bread from the market. He hadn’t been angry really, just disappointed. That’s the part that made it sting a bit like the hunger she was trying to keep away, that look in his wrinkled old face.

“I still have the scar you know, from the first time I tried to bite someone.” Nessa mumbled, the story lingered a little oddly on the tip of her tongue along with the fantom taste of her own blood, before it died. Nessa squeezed the ring into her fist, but didn’t put it back on.

“I’ll think about it.” Nessa said instead, her gaze dropped and locked onto a swirling twist of fog down below.
 
He didn’t forget, Lucien made it impossible to. Even though Caleb couldn’t deny the truth in Hester’s words earlier, it was the wrong vampire who had been cursed - But death wasn’t enough, Lucien deserved something worse.

Caleb stood up, the discomfort around his vocal chords decreasing as the seconds passed. He stood aside, deciding not to get involved in the discussion between beasts.
 
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