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Post by rightasrain19 on Jan 2, 2020 2:00:09 GMT
Saoul returned later as promised, as night was falling on the ship. He noticed she hadn't eaten, but didn't say anything about it. He sat down outside the bars, facing her. His dark eyes watched her curiously, but guardedly. "What's your name?"
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Post by starrea on Jan 2, 2020 2:12:06 GMT
By the time the pirate returned, the sun had sunk below the horizon and the already dimly-lit cell was plunged into darkness. Noelani leaned back, her head pressed against the cool bars with her eyes closed. She heard the pirate return, but didn’t open her eyes until he spoke.
“Lani,” She finally answered, giving him the shortened version of her name. Right now, her name was the only thing that was hers and she didn’t want to give that away too.
“What are you going to do with me, pirate?” She didn’t bother to ask for his name. It didn’t matter who he was. All pirates were the same - dirty, rotten, dishonorable men and once she was free, she would make him every bit on powerlessness he was forcing upon her.
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Post by rightasrain19 on Jan 3, 2020 2:28:56 GMT
Saoul lit an oil burning lantern as the brig became dim. He knew that she didn't want to talk to him. No one did, at first. Saoul knew the drill with new prisoners. He'd seen every version imaginable. "I apologize for my crew mates, Lani. I don't know what would give them the idea of capturing you. But now that you're on board, you must understand that I can't release you. I imagine my captain will want to sell you. She can be fair though, and if you can give her a reason not to sell you, she may return you to the sea. To be fair though, you were probably trying to kill the men. Weren't you?" Saoul questioned her, dark eyes boring into her. The pirate with his dark hair, eyes, and large, muscular frame looked even more imposing in the dim lighting, where he was more of a looming shadow than a man. But he was not a danger to her, not unless she provoked him into one.
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Post by starrea on Jan 3, 2020 12:10:26 GMT
Noelani carefully considered his words with an impassive look on her face. She had already decided that she would not be sold - she would kill herself long before that. The only reason she hadn’t succeeded before was because panic blinded her, and now with a clear head, she would make sure she succeeded. The idea of being released sounded tantalizing, but she wasn’t sure what she had to offer. And even if she did have something to offer, she wasn’t sure if she’s be willing to give it to these pirates.
Her eyes lazily studied him. She was sure that once she regained her strength and slept a little, her hatred would return with a vengeance, but for the moment she was calm. She was too tired and too weak to be hateful. He was large and imposing, a prime choice to kill. He would have lasted her a couple days, if not a week. Even though she was supposed to feel intimidated, especially in this form, she didn’t. He hadn’t given her a reason to be afraid of him, only a reason to hate him.
Noelani decided she was hungry enough to try the strange looking meat. She pushed herself up to her feet, and with the help of the bars, she slowly and unsteadily walked the couple of steps it took to the front of her cell and flopped down. She wrinkled her nose at the dried piece of meat but raised it to her lips and took a bite nonetheless. She almost gagged; it was so dry and took forever to chew. But the taste wasn’t awful, it was meat after all, and she slowly choked down the couple of pieces he had given her.
She finally looked back up at him, “These accommodations are... less than pleasant. I would like to stay above deck.” She declared, as if she had a choice in the matter. “I would also like to know if the any of the crew plan to...”. Noelani trailed off. She had briefly thought about it if she even wanted to know the answer, but decided she did. She needed to prepare herself if they were going to assault her.
“What is your name, pirate?” Noelani finally asked. He didn’t seem as horrible as the rest of the pirates, not like his crew mate. She quickly flicked her eyes down to the bread in front of her, poking it. “And what is this?”
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Post by rightasrain19 on Jan 5, 2020 23:04:30 GMT
He watched her process the information, wondering how this would all turn out for her. He hoped she could regain her freedom, but he had already told her how to do that. If she wasn't smart enough to figure it out after that, that was her own fault. "You will not be staying above deck. This is your cell from now until you are sold or freed. I usually take my prisoners for walks, if I feel like they deserve it. We'll see if good behavior gets you anything," Saoul mused, watching her struggle to keep down the smoked fish. "If anyone in the crew lays a hand on you, I'll cut it off and feed it to you. I promise that no one on this ship will take advantage of you. Perhaps that promise doesn't mean anything to you, considering that I'm your captor. But I mean it, and time will prove it." Saoul sighed, watching as she poked the bread. "That's a bread roll. It's tasty, try it. And I'm Saoul," he offered his name.
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Post by starrea on Jan 6, 2020 1:16:31 GMT
It was interesting to see that this pirate appeared to some (slightly questionable) honor. Maybe it was all a facade, but most pirates didn’t even bother to pretend they were worth something.
Noelani didn’t partake in the art of begging, but she already hated the small cell almost as much as the pirate she had nearly drowned. “I would be much more cooperative above deck. Maybe even cooperative enough to show you where some treasure is.” Pirates were predictable - all they wanted was a pretty woman and treasure. “I’ll accept any restraints you deem necessary without a fight.” She added after a moment, feeling vulnerable because he had all the power.
“Saoul,” She tried his name out, letting it roll off of her tongue. She usually didn’t the get the names of the men she met. She usually didn’t care.
Noelani pushed the bread away, her face scrunched up. “No thanks. No wonder you humans become fat and die so young, you eat unnatural food.”
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Post by rightasrain19 on Jan 7, 2020 4:18:05 GMT
“Unfortunately I cannot allow it. You understand I can’t trust you not to try to make a move to escape. You will learn quickly that your cooperation, even in this cell, will earn you many things. It is you that must gain our approval, not the other way around.” He studied her and chuckled as she left the bread alone. “Unfortunately, we cannot all live off the flesh of men.” He crossed his arms over his chest, considering her lifestyle.
“Am I the first man you’ve had a conversation with? A real one?” He imagined that she simply devoured her prey without a word. What need was there for talking when all they had to do was look upon her to be lost?
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Post by starrea on Jan 7, 2020 5:05:11 GMT
Noelani scowled when he denied her request - she didn’t have to have to understand anything. They had literally stolen her from the water and stuck her in an unnatural, inferior form, but of course it was her responsibility to show how cooperative she was. What a joke - no wonder they all tried to kill each other all the time. Humans, especially pirates, were insufferable.
She tugged on the shirt, pulling it down to try and cover her thighs. She still hadn’t tried to put the pants on as right now the shirt was long enough and the sensation of clothes was still new to her. Even with just the shirt, she felt weighed down.
She hummed lightly as she thought back and nodded, “I think so. I do not make it a habit to talk to you pirates. Your conservation skills tend to be.. underdeveloped. Am I the first mermaid you’ve talked to?”
It was strange that she was making an effort at small talk. It felt somewhat fake because she really didn’t care. But then again, this pirate was somewhat interesting and that combined with the fact that she didn’t really believe him when he said that no one would harm her made her not as anxious to have him leave her as she normally would be.
“What is the pirate’s name who I nearly turned into my latest meal? I would like to be given the opportunity to properly thank him for this unexpected stay.” She didn’t try to hide the malice in her voice. Just thinking about Dante caused her dimmed rage to flare up. She didn’t care whatever ‘good behavior’ meant to Saoul - ripping that pirate limb from limb and watching him bleed out on the ship deck would have to exempt from that. That pirate had put one foot in the grave when he tried to mess with her.
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Post by rightasrain19 on Jan 7, 2020 16:37:54 GMT
“Yes, you’re the first I’ve spoken to. Do you only have your alluring magic when you’re in your...” his eyes drifted to her legs, then back to her face, “fishier form?”
Saoul wasn’t trying to make her uncomfortable, he truly was making some small efforts to understand her. But he knew that if she had the chance, she’d kill him. He hoped that by being reasonable and kinder with her than most, she might spare him.
“The pirate is our first mate, Dante. I’ll send him down to see you.” Saoul chuckled, intrigued to see what would come from that. Of course he wouldn’t let either of them be hurt too badly, but he also didn’t want to come between them. Dante needed consequences for his actions.
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Post by starrea on Jan 7, 2020 17:35:59 GMT
Noelani raised an eyebrow as he stumbled for words. She almost scoffed at his words - ‘fishier form’ - but she let it go.
“I don’t know what magic you think I have. The only ability I have is my song, which I should have used on your insufferable shipmate.” She hesitated as she thought about if her siren song would work in this form. She doubted it, and she wasn’t willing to try to right. The disappointment of it not working would be too much to bear. “I doubt it. This form is utterly useless. I don’t know how you humans have survived for as long as you have.” She said dryly, curling her toes idly.
As she sat there, she picked at the scab that was already forming on the injury on her wrist. The cut itself would probably take a few days to heal, much faster than if she were human.
“I hope that my status of good behavior does not hinge on what happens to Dante,” She practically spat his name, as if were dirty. To her, it was. She had already decided that one of them was going to die. Either she would kill him or he would kill her and that was just the way it was going to be.
She hadn’t realized it, but she had picked the scab off and blood seeped out of the cut.
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Post by rightasrain19 on Jan 8, 2020 0:56:08 GMT
"Unfortunately I can't let you kill him. But let's just say he probably has something bad coming to him. I think we all do." Saoul rubbed his jaw, watching as she picked off the scab. He tossed her another rag to help stem the bleeding.
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Post by fritter on Jan 8, 2020 1:11:12 GMT
Teddy emerged from below deck holding a stack of bandages in one hand and a bottle of amber liquid in another. He meandered over to Dante and sunk down onto the floor next to him, broad back leaning against the railing.
"Well," he said, opening the bottle and bringing it to his mouth. He took a long drink, some of the alcohol dripping into his beard, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before continuing. "I always knew you had terrible taste in women. But this is a new low even for you. Maybe go for someone with less scales next time, eh?" Teddy offered the bottle to Dante, a smirk on his face.
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Post by starrea on Jan 8, 2020 1:31:22 GMT
Noelani caught the rag but didn’t use it to staunch the bleeding. She suddenly realized how tired she was, emotionally and physically. It had been a trying day and her body was ready to collapse.
“I’m going to sleep.” She said flatly, effectively ending their little chat. She didn’t care about being rude, especially to a pirate. She scooted backwards on the floor until she got to the thin mat, which she curled up on and brought her knees to her chest.
“Goodnight pirate,” The words were barely audible, quiet enough that she wasn’t even sure if she said them out loud.
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Post by eragon on Jan 8, 2020 2:27:08 GMT
By now, blood had saturated the bandages that Dante had already applied, and he watched with detached interest as Teddy approached with more. Dante rolled his eyes at the larger man's remarks, practically yanking the bottle from his hand when it was offered. He took a long drink before saying, "Scales or no, she's not half bad looking, and she'll fetch a nice price. A fucking mermaid, I can't believe it. Now, please, patch me up before I bleed out." He brought the bottle to his lips and drank again.
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Post by fritter on Jan 8, 2020 2:57:41 GMT
Teddy chuckled and set to work, removing the soaked bandages and tossing them aside. He looked over Dante's wounds and shook his head. "She got you pretty good, mate. You'll have a good number of scars at least, so when you tell this story at the next pub people will actually believe your dumb ass." Teddy snatched the bottle out of Dante's hand and took another drink himself before taking it and dumping some of the alcohol over the open wounds without any warning. "Don't want any... fish diseases or whatever. Might get crabs." He began applying the fresh bandages, making sure they were good and secure.
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