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Post by rightasrain19 on Dec 27, 2019 0:32:20 GMT
Saoul appeared over the railing, cursing under his breath. Two stupid brutes had decided to try to capture a mermaid, and they were getting themselves in trouble doing it. As Saoul was distracted, he was unfortunately unable to rush to Attila's aid, who was engaged in combat near the helm of the ship. While Teddy's hands were full with the net, Saoul cast a rope over the side for Dante to scramble up as the sharks bore down. With deft movements, he secured the rope by tying it to the railing. It was up to Dante now to get himself on board. Saoul rushed to Teddy's aid now, grabbing fistfulls of netting and beginning to haul it up. The pirate's muscles, visible due to the fact that he was shirtless, bulged and strained under the effort. The reward would be great for such a token, but the risk was also high. Saoul had no illusions about how dangerous these creatures were.
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Post by eragon on Dec 27, 2019 23:41:27 GMT
Seeing the rope drop down into the water a few feet in front of him, Dante hurried toward it, eager to be out of reach of the sharks that were now far too close for comfort. He grabbed on and began heaving himself out of the water, a feat that was made all the more difficult by his injuries. Each time he was forced to use his left arm, pain seared through his shoulder. Out of the water now, he could clearly see the chunk of flesh that was missing from when Noelani had bit him; he tried not to think about it. The large slashes across his back and thigh were no less painful, but he had no choice aside from continuing to climb.
Once at the top, he scrambled over the railing with some difficulty and then leaned back against it, breathing hard from both the excitement and the exertion. He glanced over at Saoul and Teddy and nodded a vague thanks to them. As he watched them trying to real Noelani in, his vision became slightly fuzzy. He tried to blink it away. He was feeling dizzy, he realized, and he slumped further against the railing. "Hey guys," he mumbled, "I think I need... Some bandages." The retrieval of Noelani was, at this point, totally in their hands.
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Post by starrea on Dec 28, 2019 2:08:02 GMT
Noelani couldn't fucking believe that he was hauling himself out of the water. She couldn't have possibly delivered a more appealing meal to them - he was injured, slow, and bleeding heavily, and they still couldn't manage to down him. She ground her teeth as she watched the scene in front of her unfold, completely blown away by how fucking unbelievable it was.
The pull of the net abruptly switched her focus away from the bleeding sailor and up to the ship. Her angry glare faltered, replaced by a look of real, genuine fear. Up until this point, Noelani had barely felt the rough rope cut into her skin, or the way it weighed her down, but now she was all too aware of it. The sailors tugged again on the netting and she flew a frenzy, frantically pulling at the tangles of net around her. She turned and tried to pull against the pressure, and had her tail been free, she probably would have been able to pull those sailors clean off of the ship. But her tail was wrapped tight, tight enough that she couldn't move it much, and without her tail she was no match for their strength. But that didn't stop her from trying. As soon as she broke the surface, she let out an ear-splitting screech as she violently thrashed. By now, she was in a blind panic. Once she lost her tail, her chances of escaping were slim to none - something that she was sure her captors were counting on.
It was all for nothing. She hit the wooden deck hard, but with all the adrenaline pumping through her veins, she barely felt it. Her violent thrashing gradually ceased and her screaming quieted. Her mouth went dry as she felt the transformation. It was quick, only a few seconds long, and then her long, muscular tail was replaced by two dainty legs that she had never used before. The new sensations sent her mind into overdrive, but she didn't have time to process her new form.
Her anger returned with a need for vengeance. She clung to it, let it wash over her like a wave, and suddenly everything became very clear to her. In that moment, Noelani knew she was going to die. She accepted it. What she did not accept, however, was that these sailors were going to kill her. If she was going to die, it would not be by the hands of these men.
All pirates were the same - they always covered themselves in weapons. So all she had to do was wait until one of them stepped close enough to her netting for her hand to snake out and grab the small knife turned away in one of their boots.
"You will all burn in hell," Noelani snarled, looking at her captors. She looked at Saoul last, and looked him straight in the eyes as she plunged the dagger into her wrist.
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Post by rightasrain19 on Dec 29, 2019 20:32:47 GMT
Saoul stepped back as the mermaid thrashed on board. He suspected the reason the sharks hadn't managed to get Dante had a lot to do with the fact that Attila's pet kraken had most likely carried them down to the depths as a snack, protecting the pirates and their ship. "Fucking hell Dante, if you're hurt you deserve it. What kind of fool tries to capture a mermaid with barely any back up?" He snapped, distracted by the first mate just enough that he didn't notice that Noelani had stolen a dagger until she plunged it into her wrist. "No!" He shouted as she made eye contact, and lunged for the mermaid. He'd be damned if he let a prize like this slip away from Attila's ship. Normally in a scuffle, opponents may be evenly matched. Saoul's role on the ship, however, was to wrestle and punish prisoners. He figured the experience might give him the upper hand, but he also knew that desperation made people stronger than they could imagine. Saoul grappled for the knife, trying to knock if from her hands. The stupid creature would need to have her wrist bandaged soon if she was to survive. In that moment, the usually stoic and unfeeling Saoul felt a pang of guilt for the fact that they were taking her. Most prisoners on their ship were put there as a result of their own mistakes, not the simple misfortune of having been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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Post by eragon on Dec 30, 2019 5:04:21 GMT
"Would have left if she suspected anything," Dante mumbled, his words not entirely distinct. He watched with somewhat detached interest as Saoul began grappling with the young woman who now had legs instead of a tail. Was that normal? He wondered. He certainly wasn't a mermaid expert. His eyes drifted down to watch the blood still leaking from his wounds, and with a groan of pain, he began pulling off what was left of his shirt; he needed to staunch the flow of blood, and clearly Saoul was too busy to be of any aid in that endeavor.
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Post by starrea on Dec 30, 2019 18:14:48 GMT
Pain seared up her arm and blood immediately spurted out of the fresh wound. The sight it was almost hypnotizing - while Noelani had obviously been injured before, she had never partaken in self-injury. That was another flawed trait of those who walked on two legs. But in this moment, she could see the appeal. By cutting open her wrist, she had taken back some of the power that these men has taken away from her.
Her thoughts were cut short as one of the men tackled her, his large hand going for the knife buried deep in her skin. She screamed, she couldn’t help it, flailing beneath him. Her legs operated on their accord, kicking out, but her kicks were weak on account on having never actually used those body parts before. The other factor not working in her favor was the damn net that was still draped over her. Beneath it, she could barely hit or claw back, and he didn’t have a hard time subduing her.
The knife clattered to the ship deck and Noelani grasped for it, but with the weight of the man on her, she couldn’t reach it. Without the knife in her wrist, the blood flowed unobstructed. The blood mixed with the water and soon covered ran down her porcelain skin and staining it red.
She only struggled for a couple more seconds beneath her attacker before she went limp. His weight on her was so heavy and she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs. He was giving her no other option than to give up. Still, even in her moment of defeat, she did not cry. She did not beg for mercy. She just silently stared up at him through the net, rage burning in her blue eyes as more and more blood leaked out of her wrist.
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Post by rightasrain19 on Dec 30, 2019 23:46:24 GMT
Saoul panted as she finally stopped struggling. She'd landed a couple good blows, but nothing Saoul hadn't felt before. He kicked the knife away towards Dante, glancing up at the man. "She needs medical attention. Keep her alive while I get you both some damned bandages," Saoul cursed as he got off of Noelani, having avoided eye contact with her. He didn't want to feel pity for her. Saoul returned moments later with what he would need to save Noelani. He bent to her, quickly wrapping her wrist, applying pressure to her wound. It would no doubt need some stitches, but he'd have to move her to the brig first. He tossed the other bandages at Dante and pulled Noelani to her feet, knowing she would be unsteady so he kept his grip on her. "Don't struggle love, and it will go better for you," he warned her in a deep, gruff voice.
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Post by eragon on Dec 31, 2019 0:17:17 GMT
"She needs medical attention?" Dante said incredulously, putting emphasis on the word she. True, she was valuable cargo, but Dante had lost far more blood and had far more serious injuries than the mermaid. He had just finished tying his shirt around the gashes on his thigh; blood quickly saturated the cloth, but it did help to stop the flow. He grabbed the knife in his good hand and wiggled it weakly at Noelani. "Better be good," he mumbled. The bandages Saoul returned with landed on the planks next to him, and he grabbed them and began wrapping his shoulder, grunting in pain. It would need more than bandages, but none of his ship mates seemed inclined to help him. He couldn't exactly reach the slash marks on his back either, so after wrapping his shoulder he slumped back against the railing again and watched Saoul grab Noelani. His vision was still fuzzy, and he felt oddly light. It was the blood loss, he reflected distantly.
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Post by starrea on Dec 31, 2019 3:44:20 GMT
He couldn’t even look her in the eyes, and that only further enraged Noelani. Him and his men had taken her and he didn’t even have the courage to look at what he’d done - it was cowardly. When he lifted off of her, she didn’t immediately move. After all of her struggling, the immediate adrenaline was wearing off and her limbs felt heavy and slow compared to how they felt in the water. Her head was pounding and her wrist burned, sending tingles down to her finger tips. All the energy that she had fought with minutes ago seemed to have completely disappeared.
She sat up slowly, working on methodically detangling herself from the net. It took a couple of minutes because her fingers were slow to respond, and blood dripped down her arm.
Noelani cast a look over at the sailor she had nearly drown, her face forming a small, spiteful smile. His wounds looked even worse above the surface, and he was clearly affected by the blood loss. Perhaps he would die after all.
“Don’t worry about me sailor, looks like you have your own problems,” She quipped lightly, his obvious pain making her feel a hell of a lot better about her current situation.
Noelani has just thrown the last of the net to the side when the other pirate returned. He roughly grabbed her arm and wrapped a cloth around it, earning a scowl from Noelani. As soon as it was secured, she ripped her arm back from him.
The original sailor, the one she had injured, was obviously a little sore over the fact that this shipmates seemed to be ignoring his distress. It caused her to smile - focusing on his pain distracted her from her pain, even if it was for a second.
“Haven’t you ever heard of ladies first, pirate?”
A second later, her attacker’s rough hands wrapped around her arm, dragging her up to her feet despite her resistance. This was the first time she had ever stood up on two legs, and gravity was a cruel bitch. Without the support of the water, she swayed back and forth, unable to catch her balance and was therefore forced to place of her weight on the pirate. The lack of control over her own body panicked her and she tried to sink back to the ground.
“I can’t walk, I can’t do it,” The words rushed out, only a twinge of panic noticeable.
She eyed the railing of the deck behind them. If she could grab it and pull herself over, then she would be back in the water - where she had a chance.
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Post by rightasrain19 on Dec 31, 2019 16:50:16 GMT
Saoul glanced at Dante, his expression revealing nothing. "You tangle with a mermaid, you get what you deserve," he grunted, "If you manage not to die in the next handful of minutes, I'll bandage you up. Or better yet," he glanced at Teddy, who had been little help in this endeavor. "Let him do it, since you both got yourselves into this mess." Saoul was still supporting Noelani, keeping her as upright as he could. When she proclaimed that she couldn't walk, he didn't think twice before he scooped her up, bridal style. "Sorry love, I'll have to lock you up. You belong to Attila the Lionness now, and your fate is in her hands." He told he plainly, finally looking down at her with dark eyes as he began to carry her away.
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Post by starrea on Dec 31, 2019 20:41:29 GMT
The pirate’s rough hands kept her up, despite her best efforts. This body was absolutely useless - even if she proved herself out of the pirate’s grip, it would take her far too long to figure out how to maneuver herself over the railing. Still, the sea was so close and it caused panic to bubble up inside of when she realized that she was simply too weak and too trapped to get to it.
Noelani hadn’t been listening to what they were saying. All she could focus on was the assault of new senses and trying to find her balance, since the brute wouldn’t let back down to the ground. It was much harder than it looked, and she couldn’t imagine living this way. Her arm started to ache beneath his grip and the burn in her wrist had turned into a dull throb, blood leaking through the bandage. Her head swam and she felt a surge if nausea. Blood pooled at her feet and she stared down at it, feeling any strength she had left drip out of her in tiny red crimson drops.
Noelani’s attention was jolted back to the pirate as he swept her off of her feet, causing a shriek of panic. She immediately struggled, trying to worm her way out of his arms, but her limbs felt heavy and her head was foggy. After a few seconds, she stilled in his arms simply because she was unable to do anything else. He said something about a lioness, but she didn’t know what that was and she didn’t have the energy to care.
It wasn’t until she was pressed against the warm chest of the pirate did she realize two things. One, she was freezing, and two, she was naked. Mermaids didn’t wear anything to cover themselves - in fact, their uncovered breasts often worked in their advantage to lure men away from the safety of their ships. But now she was in a form in which she was at the mercy of these men - pirates, no less - and that thought made her uneasy. She couldn’t defend herself right now and what she had seen in terms of sex, it looked entirely unpleasant. She had seen men take advantage of other women aboard their ships, heard their screams and cries, and she wondered if they were going to do that to her. Besides that, she was still soaking wet and this body was obviously not meant to regulate her temperature effectively when wet. She hadn’t realized it before, but her small frame was shaking.
“I’m cold,” She murmured into his chest, her eyes shutting themselves involuntarily. She was just so tired.
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Post by rightasrain19 on Jan 1, 2020 22:47:52 GMT
Saoul ignored her struggles and as they entered a cell, he set her down on the thin mat on the floor that would serve as a bed. There was a bucket meant for bodily functions, and not much else aside from the iron bars that would keep her here. As he set her down, he grunted his acknowledgement of her words. She was no doubt uncomfortable in this position. Saoul was not the type to take advantage of women, though Noelani would have no way to know that in this moment. He closed the cell door behind him, locking it with his keys, and left her alone. But it wasn't for long, and Saoul returned in a few minutes with clean, warm clothes for her as well as a blanket for her mat. He tossed them through the bars at her, "Put these on. I'll find some more bandages for your wrist, and something to stitch it if the cut was deep enough." He paused before he left, looking back at her. "What... what do you eat?"
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Post by starrea on Jan 1, 2020 23:50:51 GMT
Noelani only opened her eyes when she was set down on a hard surface. The pirate turned around and left her without another word, but she barely noticed until she the sound of the lock. She looked around at the bare cell, a new wave of panic bubbling up. There were no boundaries in the sea and now stuck in this tiny cell, she felt as if she were suffocated. She pushed herself upright slowly, fighting the fog in her head.
With great effort, Noelani concentrated on her new legs and worked on trying to figure out how to move them accordingly. She had only gotten to curl and uncurl to her toes when the sound of her door being unlocked drew her attention back. A blanket was thrown at her, and she hurriedly wrapped it around her body. Some other garments were tossed to her - clothes that the land dwellers wore, she assumed - but she didn’t want to embarrass herself any further by trying to figure out how to put them on. The blanket would be sufficient for now.
The silence between them was heavy. She barely concentrated on his words, silently willing him to leave her be. She needed to wrap her head around her situation, something she wanted to do in private.
Noelani did glance up at him, somewhat surprised he was asking what she ate. It took a moment to answer, because she wasn’t entirely sure if this body could handle her usual diet of raw fish. She assumed not, since by every other account, it was weak and useless.
“Meat,” She answered quietly, lowering her gaze back down the floor.
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Post by rightasrain19 on Jan 2, 2020 0:42:37 GMT
"I'll see what I can find. If there's any meat on board, it's most likely dried and salted. I'll bring you some bread and water too." Saoul spoke, his voice gruff. It was the most he'd said to her since her capture. Uusally, Saoul didn't care about his captives. Noelani was getting to him, perhaps because she was a siren. He left her again, and this time was gone for longer. He opened the door enough to slide the food in- fish that had been caught a couple of days ago, and dried, just as he'd said. A small roll of bread was next to the fillets, and a jug of water was also present. He locked the doors again. "I'll be back to check on you in a few hours. Eat." He nodded to her, and left her alone again.
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Post by starrea on Jan 2, 2020 0:59:56 GMT
The click signaled his departure. Noelani looked down at wrist, peeling the blood soaked bandage off. Even though this wound couldn’t have been more than 20 minutes old, the bleeding had already stopped. Mermaids had a semi-enhanced rate of healing compared to humans. Had it not been for that, she might have bled out. Noelani briefly reflected on her actions, now finding it somewhat foolish that she had tried to kill herself. It was a decision she would make again, but only after she exhausted all other options of escape.
The pirate was back again, shoving food into her cell, and then he was gone again. There was something that she didn’t recognize next to the meat, which look dehydrated and unappetizing, and water. The pirate clearly hadn’t remembered that she couldn’t walk because he left food at least ten feet away from her.
With time on her hands, she forced herself to her feet. The blanket fell from her shoulders and she replaced it with the overly large shirt that hung down past her butt. Wearing so much fabric was strange, but it kept her warm. Grabbing the bars, she forced herself up onto unsteady feet. Using the bars for support, she forced herself to take her first steps.
Over the next couple of hours, Noelani practiced walking. By the time she gave up and sunk down into her mattress, she couldn’t walk confidently on her own, but she wasn’t completely helpless either. Learning to walk on a swaying ship wasn’t an ideal location for learning first steps, either.
She hadn’t touched the food. All of the stress of her situation was making her stomach churn and the sight of food only made her nausea.
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