Attila x Noelani

Noelani expected to be be refreshed and rejuvenated after some rest. She was not. The constant rocking of the ship left her feeling nauseated and she had to crawl over to the bucket more than once to empty her stomach. The fresh sea breeze couldn’t make it’s way beneath the deck and the dead air reeked of vomit.

Mermaids usually only required a couple hours of rest, but even with the on-and-off sleep she did get, Noelani’s entire body ached. Her head felt as though it were splitting open, methodically throbbing in time to every heartbeat. Her knees and elbows glistened red with shallow cuts Surrounded by darkening bruises from where she had collided with the floor when she fell - which ended being far too many times to count over the course of the night.

The previous calmness and almost impassivity over her entire situation that she had displayed before was gone. Miserableness and rage radiated off of her and had her head not been trying to split open, she was itching to make someone feel equally as miserable as she did.

A voice caused her to crack open her eyes, winching as the light resulted in an extra sharp pang of pain across her head. The tee shirt she was wearing was large enough to cover most of her frame but over the course of the night, it had become filthy and the hem was splattered in vomit.

She cracked an ingenuous smile, “Ah, a female pirate? Good to see that you pirates are working on gender equality.”

While she didn’t hate women as much as her instinctual hatred of men, there was nothing but pure, raw hatred in her right now. Had she the ability right now, she would set this whole ship and every person aboard ablaze and watch it sink - even if it meant her burning alongside them.

Noelani raised an eyebrow when Attila mentioned she was captain. She had never heard of a woman captaining a ship but there was a first time for everything. Humans rarely surprised Noelani anymore and didn’t care enough to try and figure out what motivated them. They were stupid, fickle creatures, even the women. The word ‘lioness’ was tossed out again, and Noelani briefly thought about asking what it meant before she decided she didn’t care. Most of what pirates said was bullshit anyway.

She leaned her head back against the cold bars, the coolness temporarily dulling the throb. She wasn’t in the mood for conversation, but she did turn her head and look at the captain when she asked what to do with her. “What are you going to do with me, captain?” She drawled, her voice dripping with malice.

Noelani had spent most of the night thinking and had come up with quite a few treasures that the captain would probably like to know about. It gave her a tiny amount of satisfaction that even if the captain didn’t know it, she was withholding something that the captain probably dearly wanted. But still, handing over that information would mean cooperation, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. But she didn’t want to die, either. At least not by their hands.

The thought of killing Dante filtered through her head. The thought of ripping his flesh apart and his blood dripping down her face had gotten her through her worst moments the past night. And then she realized she had to buy herself time - she couldn’t kill Dante if they killed her or sold her (not that she would let that happen).

“I’ve seen many things captain, and I’ve heard whispers that you’re seeking a treasure on an island that can’t be found. I am mildly curious as to how you think you’re going to get there.” She mused patronizingly.

Noelani rolled her eyes as the captain attempted to put her down. Humans were a flawed species, but greed was perhaps their greatest downfall. They always wanted more - whether that be recognition, treasure, magic, power, or something else. They were never content with what they had. Mermaids - and almost every other living creature - did not share the greed of mankind. She couldn’t care less about what other rarities were out there and the magic they possessed.

She hummed lightly, amused by how easily it was to get under the captain’s skin. She hadn’t missed the flash of irritation at Noelani’s impassivity to her status as captain.

“Say you can get to the treasure,” and that was a big if, “the treasure is protected by old magic. It is hidden away deep in the caves of the island and only those who are not hindered by greed can pass through. I’m going to assume the excludes you and your entire crew.” And nearly all of mankind. She would be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t want for something they did not need.

Noelani still hadn’t decided if she would cooperate. But acting like she would was for the best right now. She was sure the captain trusted her just about as much as Noelani trusted her, which was not at all.

“Please, pirate. Humans are the only species who are marred by such levels of greed. That is why the treasure has been protected for hundreds of years.”

Noelani knew that by dangling the treasure in front of the captain, she couldn’t refuse. Greed was such an ugly yet predictable characteristic. She didn’t have to pretend to consider, though, and carefully mulled over the deal that was presented to her. The thought of helping these pirates get their hands on sacred treasure was one of the last things she wanted to do.

But once she was in, there was no way for them to force her back out with the treasure. And then she could just swim out through the underwater caverns.

“I might help, but I need a change of scenery. I wish to move above deck. And the only pirate I really have issue with is Dante. I make no promises concerning him.” That last part was a partial truth, because Noelani planned on sinking the whole damn ship once she got free, but she didn’t want to even pretend that she wasn’t planning on hunting Dante down and tearing him limb from limb.

Noelani reaches forward, grabbing the tray next to her mat an hurling it at the bars with a scream of rage. None of this was going how she wanted it to.

“There is no other way. The island is a gathering spot for my kind. Without me, they will sink your ship and enchant your men to their deaths. You won’t even get close enough to lay your eyes on the treasure, much less retrieve it. And you won’t find someone else, not someone who can both enter the cavern and protect your men.” Noelani snarled, her eyes burning with rage as she stared at the captain.

“I can bring someone in with me. Just one person. They can cross through the entrance at the same time as me.” She hadn’t planned on telling anyone about that part, but the words just slipped out. The idea of it made her nervous though - she didn’t want to fuck around with old magic. The consequences were never good.

A wave of emotion crashes over her and it took her a second to identify it. Disgust, but instead of being aimed toward the pirates, it was directed at herself. She was bargaining with them and she hated herself for it.

Noelani has to briefly shut her eyes and will the banging in her head to settle, which it didn’t. Her irritation was not helping the incredible pain in her head, which in turn was not helping her irritation. She ground her teeth, her fingers curling and uncurling into fists.

While she had noticed the kraken when she had been surveying the ship, she hadn’t paid much mind to it. The kraken obeyed one master and didn’t really fuck with anything else unless directly provoked. It took her a couple seconds to put the pieces together, but she wasn’t even surprised that this captain commanded the kraken. At this point, the universe seemed to be making a game out of how bad her situation could get.

“They will not attack unless threatened. Your kraken might be bigger and stronger, but there are far more of us than you would believe.” It was hard to say who would win. But mermaids, when provoked, attacked. And in groups of hundreds of individuals they probably stood a chance against the beast.

“You don’t know you can trust me, just as I don’t know if I can trust you. But I have no choice, and neither do you. If you want the treasure without harming or killing your beast and men, I’m the only way.” Her voice was bitter and angry and she hung her head, holding her throbbing head. She wasn’t feeling very cooperative anymore and she pictured shoving the treasure down the captain’s throat until she literally choked on it.

“But I’m done arguing. I don’t care what you do, I will find my way back to the sea one way or another.”