Closed We're Going on an Adventure (Madeira, Ssanya)

[Allister]

5th of Spring, 518 AV
21st Bell

Allister had spent most of the day toiling until his lesson in the manly arts with Mota, the Svefran sailor, who had taken a shine to the pale youth. In the mid afternoon time, the kelvic had spent more time learning how to control his body as well as how to build strength and endurance. Now, of course, it was dusk and the setting of the orb known as Syna signified an end to the day. The hyena looked up at the eastern sky as the silvery beams of the night time light source began to brighten with day’s demise. For several moments, Allister looked from one to the other. His face lit up with a wide-eyed wonder so often found upon the countenance of children then he turned to ask his sailor friend a question. “Mota, if Syna is the sun and she’s a goddess...does that mean the other ball of light is a goddess, too?”

The bright blue eyes looked up and reflected the watery light of the moon and the man smiled wide. He turned to face his pupil bearing that same expression, the one where his whole face took part in the act of revealing his inner happiness. “The moon is a god, Allister.” The man started in and the way he lifted his head gave spectators the impression that he was winding up for a speech. “His name is Leth and Syna is his lover.” Allister followed the pointing of the tanned fingers when they started east and traveled all the way to the other side of the horizon. It seemed a vast separation for two lovers. Regardless of his cynicism, he went back to listening to the tale as spun by Mota. “Things changed for them after the Valterrian. Leth allowed himself to be wounded so that Syna would not be harmed and now, on the first of Spring every year, his light gets washed in the color of blood.” Mota stared at Allister for a few ticks then slapped the young man on the arm. “Hey, Sketches! Look over there!” The strong arm pointed towards the near coast, the southern shore.

Trees stretched into the sky straight from the water and ships of many shapes and sizes muddled around the mouth of a river. One couldn’t see much of the architecture but there were a handful of large buildings which stood out amongst the skyline created by the massive forest that surrounded the populated area. Mota was beaming as Allister inclined his head to the right. “That’s Kenash, mate! It’s the swamp of a sailors’ dreams!” Mota continued to talk the praises of the city but the kelvic felt the world take hold of him and twist his insides in the opposite direction of a hot wind blowing across his dry skin.

Allister began to scratch at his joints and some of the more poorly drawn tattoos as his eyes filled up with water and memories that had been dormant for almost a year. Beatings, mockery, cages, collars...the body of a small blonde woman swinging from a noose; these are the things that filled his consciousness. As his body swayed with the ship and this moment of recollection grew stronger, the frail body twisted on the gallows to reveal the face to the former slave. A hand started to reach for the crocodile brand on his left side when the striking blue eyes looked up at him with burst blood vessels and purple lips-

It was Madeira!!

The pale man began to tremble all over, a visible quake to anyone within ten feet. His eyes began to release the tears that had built up atop the bags beneath his black gaze and his lips quivered as words began to form and spill out. “No… N-no… No!” His volume continued to increase as he backed away from the gunwhale. “Nooo!!!!” Allister turned on his heel and sprinted across the deck. He planted his right foot and launched his body over the grated pallet which sealed the hold’s main cargo. His arms flailed somewhat in midflight but he was able to correct and land without having to lose the momentum. Legs pumped and arms churned as he drove his body, crying along the path past the mast and up the stairs to the quarterdeck where the ship’s wheel was being manned by the helmsman.

“You’ll never take her from meeee-aauagh!!!” Allister screamed in a broken voice at the man who was but a simple sailor. He had seen the pale figure running across the ship and as he drew near, the tanned sea veteran reached down and drew his cutlass.

“Back off, ya crazy petch!” He brandished the blade as a warning but the steel was barely seen as the kelvic continued his rush. The helmsman released the wheel, dropped a foot back and drew his arm back and launched the caged hilt towards the crazy fellow’s face. Allister was not a fighter of terrible skill but the blow was directly in front of him. He pushed to the left with his right leg and drew the punch past his body with his own right hand. This caused his body to turn into the sailor’s so he raised his left elbow quickly at the man’s face. Savvy sea dog that he was, the man leaned forward so he only caught the forearm as a glancing blow. It was enough to stagger him and the middle-aged human stumbled well past his post.

Mota came racing up hollering for his newfound friend. “Sketches! What in Laviku’s beard has gotten into you?” Allister didn’t hear him; couldn’t. Panic filled his body and his heart beat so hard and fast that one might be able to see it behind his ribs if they watched closely enough. The pale man knew nothing about sailing but he grabbed the wheel and gave it a mighty turn. The ship was smoothly gliding along the Southern Suvan’s currents and this was going to force the ship to cut across a powerful force. Allister’s shoulders and arms were challenged by the wheel. With a guttural scream that was neither animal nor human but terrifying just the same, the former slave pushed his body until joints popped and tendons creaked in protest of the exertion which resulted in a half turn of the wheel. The schooner keeled to starboard so hard that the deck pitched to the port side and the wood groaned from the strain. Allister continued to hollar as Mota and several other sailors, the helmsman included, prepared to leap at him. In their eyes, this was mutiny.

[Madeira Dusk]

Emma paced between the stacks of crates in the cargo hold, her soulmist ripping in anxious currents in the dim light of the storm lantern. Madeira was sitting cross-legged on the floor, head nodding in exhaustion as she dutifully stroked the Raj between the ears.

"What if they're not taking us to Riverafll?" The ghost suddenly demanded, blinking to Madeira's side.

"They are, baby, I promise. We're safe on this sh-sh-ship" Madeira yawned.

"Don't stop petting him, he's scared!"

"Mmm? Oh, sorry."

The captain, crew and the other passengers had not been thrilled to find a ghost on board. Madeira had failed to mention that she was boarding with a forth passenger. And when Alvadas was far behind and Emma appeared on deck, Madeira tried to explain to the captain that since the child did not sleep in the quarters, eat the food, or technically take up any space, she did not count. But that reasoning had not gone over especially well. In the end she had to convince the captain to not throw her overboard only by guaranteeing that the ghost would stay in the cargo hold and not mess with operations or bother anyone.

But keeping this promise was proving to be a bit of a challenge. Emma's last voyage was quite the traumatic experience, and keeping the sleepless, delusional child calm on this new voyage was taking it’s toll on the Spiritist.

She wondered where Allister and Ssanya were. Something was making Allister nervous, she could feel it through the bond. He had been taking the journey in stride so far, despite landing in Alvadas on a shipwreck. She had been expecting some anxiety from the Kelvic, and was trying to sooth him as best she could. Yet both Emma and Allister were only getting half of her, and it wasn’t enough.

She did not have the same insight with the Dhani, and there was no part of her left to give to her lover. Was she miserable in their cabin? Had the rest of the ship figured out she was a Dhani yet? Did she already regret caving to Madeira's pleas for her to come with them? It was an act of desperation that Madeira had asked her to accompany them. She had said it was because Ssanya had been to Riverfall before, and knew the territory. She couldn't admit that she just couldn't stand not knowing when she would see her again. She wondered what this weakness was costing her best friend.

Madeira was closing her eyes, letting herself be soothed by the rocking of the ship and dimly listening the Emma's paranoid muttering, when something exploded through her Kelvic bond. The nervous flutter she was receiving before was roaring into a full blown tempest of emotion that nearly bowled her over. Emma picked up on the sudden tension in Madeira and her voice tightened into a squeak of panic.

"Maddy what's wrong?!"

"Nothing, sweetheart", Madeira gasped, jumping to her feet. Raj rolled off her lap and settled, his taxidermic muzzle set to a ferocious snarl, on the floor. She abandoned her lantern and stumbled blindly for the ladder to the upper levels. And in her rush she was unable to stop Emma from following her.

By the time she reached the main deck her arms were burning with exertion. Sailors were shouting and pouring onto the deck, some of them holding the short, curved blades of traders and pirates. Suddenly the ship gave a mighty tip. Most of the seafarers kept their footing, but Madeira gave a hiccup of fright and fell over, sliding hard into the railing.

Clawing her way upright, she held onto the crazily tilted railing and followed the sizzling bond until she could see Allister. The Kelvic standing at the wheel, manic, wide-eyed and screaming like a tortured fox. A handful of sailors looked ready to pounce on the madman, but nobody seemed to want to go first.

"Don't you hurt him!" Madeira roared at the crew under the screaming, most of whom were nervously fondling swords. "Don't you dare hurt him. Allister, come here!"

Her voice was ringing with more authority than a skinny twenty-year-old could possibly hold. Through her bond she was trying to drag the Kelvic to her like she would summon a ghost. Her sharp, slicing anger was cleaving through his madness and pushing on their bond. He was going to topple the ship and kill them! And if he didn't, the captain might figure the three of them were more trouble than than their gold was worth and lock them below, or worse.

Behind her, the scared little ghost began to wail.

[Allassanachassanya]

~
"Speech"
"Others"

Moonlight was dappling down past gauzy clouds, its light shedding a pale glow on the tall boughs of the ship's architecture and the rippling, inky blackness of the silky sea. It sank into the fabric of the distant city on the skyline which could only be Kenash, city of slavery and debauchery. It even settled on Ssanya, who was sat unobtrusively crosslegged on the open deck with her back to the rails and a knife in her hand, carving at an old bone, thinking to herself about the strangeness of life.

Madeira was in her cabin with the ghost girl Emma. Allister, a total surprise to see when she'd boarded, was on the deck with the sailors. Ssanya was by herself, digging her knife into the surface of the cow bone, carving scores of little, straight lines that interwove with each other. They were supposed to signify strength, a meaning that felt superficial and not altogether clever considering. It was a ham-fisted approach to malediction and she knew it in her core, where her mother would have tsked disapprovingly at the banal nature of the simple cow's bone and the flippant way her daughter was practising. The Dhani, far removed from her homeland, could almost feel her dead mother's scorn that piled on top of her already confused and distracted state. A simple fix soon presented itself, and that was to put away the dagger and the old cow's bone and simply lie back and gaze at the languid moon with thoughts hurrying to fill the gap in her concentration.

When she had fist spotted Allister on board the ship, she had not known what to think. Ssanya hadn't properly approached Madeira to ask how she knew the strange man, but it was obvious there was something between them, and that fact made her feel surprisingly edgy. Her own thoughts regarding the tattooed man were mixed and strange, but there was something magnetic about him that either promised a bitter, metal taste in the mouth that spoke of disgust and fear, or a pull of eerie fascination that she should stop but wouldn't. At the moment it was neither, simply worry. And then there was Madeira herself, where her thoughts tended to stray to. The woman, with her porcelain pale skin and her sudden bursts of courage and leadership made the Dhani's heart beat faster. Their relationship had developed as fast as a blink, and although it was undeniably incredible she couldn't help but wonder what their little adventure would do to them. Riverfall was a nice enough city, but unease had settled round her like the hug of an old friend, and she wouldn't be able to shift it until she was off the deck and back on land where there was space and ground to roam on and breathe in.

She shifted in her seat and stood up with a stretch and she reluctantly decided to go back down into the hold and go to sleep. Yet before she could, a commotion dragged her attention and she rushed forwards with wide eyes to look at what was happening. All of a sudden, with a cacophony of shouting and the rough barks of sea-worthy sailors, the ship lurched and Ssanya was sent stumbling foolishly across the deck. Her hand flipped out and caught a taut rope, and she righted herself only to see Allister illuminated in the shining brightness of the moon, screeching wordlessly and pulling on the wheel of the ship. Ssanya groaned out loud and pushed herself past the milling sundry deck hands and sailors before coming up against those taller and more focussed on attacking.

They didn't see her attempts to weasel past, but they saw and heard Madeira. The Spiritist, ghost in tow, roared onto the deck like an oncoming storm. Ssanya was sure she only had eyes for the wild-eyed Allister, but she gazed at her quietly with open admiration to see her so determined and wrathful. Several of the sailors looked at her too, although they were less than admiring. One spoke up, a black-hearted man named Javern with equally black eyes and a brutally severed hand who took out his troubles on the world. Ssanya had seen him physically beat a young lad for failing to coil a rope properly before the captain had come over to stop him, so it was no surprise when he rounded on Madeira and leered spitefully.
"'Don't you hurt him!' You stupid bint, a'hm surprised he 'ent sunk us already the stupid runt! I bet you and your band of petch-for-brains will be tossed overboard like you should've been before we'd even started. And if the cap'in doesn't, I fuckin' will instead, especially that shyke-head up there."

Ssanya's hands had curled into fists as she listened and drew closer to the enraged man and her lover, and without truly thinking what her actions would entail she stepped up to the hulking, black-haired man and hissed with her fists drawn up in front of her.
"Do not think about it, male. Do not touch usss, do not hurt usss, do not threaten usss. You wouldn't want to loossse any more of that arm would you?"

Underneath them, the fabric of the ship shifted and heaved as it beat against the surging currents and whether Allister had heeded Madeira's cries or not, the sailors would get control of the ship's wheel again one way or another. If they did not, Ssanya dreaded to think what would become of them in the icy grip of the god of the sea. She could not swim, and they were miles and miles from the shore or the city. She prayed to no-one in particular to give even a modicum of sense to the wildling Allister, and stared upwards into Javern's eyes in the hope that he would see in her a spirited defiance and the eyes of a Dhani in a woman's skin.

"Meaning Through Death"

.

[Allister]

The ship was teeming with life. Chaos amidst port and starboard while the captain’s men scrambled to regain control of their vessel. It might be hard for some to understand- traveler’s especially, but this ship was their home. Imagine the fury of twenty men who have just had their home taken by storm. That’s the maelstrom created by one pale, lanky kelvic who felt like he’d come apart at the seams.

The journey had been good for Allister. The former slave had been able to set his mind on physical goals -real, tangible goals- then achieve his tasks. His body grew stronger and it was in those moments when he felt more in control; more stable like Madeira. Blessed girl, her heart and spirit were too much for the perfect little body but she somehow managed. It was that vision that helped to spawn his current state of panic. The sight of Kenash; the place where Allister was once a slave, sent wave after wave of terrifying memories crashing down upon the jetties of his mind. When memory gave way to ruined fantasy and Allister watched Madeira swing from the gallows, he broke.

Raging deckhands, crashing wakes and unsteady legs were all for naught in the mind of the kelvic. Allister was alone. He stood amidst air and blackness while whispers of his own hoarse voice taunted him in expectations of failure. Drawn tight on the outside, several tears streaked down his flushed cheeks but the grit on his expression was as battle-ready as any of the gods’ champions. Just when the helmsman was about to clobber Allister with a bludgeon, the anger of the spiritist cut through the dark like the first of Syna’s rays signifying the end of night.

The hyena looked up to see her holding on for dear life and he simply let go of the wheel. The current grabbed the bow and the ship tried to right itself without any guidance which threw everyone and everything in the opposite direction. Allister felt the deck drop from beneath him and barreled into a sailor who was standing near Mota. Pointy elbows and a fairly stout ability to ignore pain like that caused by a fist to the chest, Allister hopped up before anyone could recover and snapped a palm strike at the sailor’s nose. The man cursed as blood gushed from his nostrils and Allister skittered away like a spider evading capture. Mota screamed for him to stop and began a series of climbing leaps that closed the gap between them. The kelvic jumped from the stairs down onto the main deck but landed awkwardly and rolled into a crate.

The crash steered a handful of sailors after him as the captain stepped from his quarters. He was beyond angry but also slightly confused. He began to demand answers and that distracted the crew from chasing the culprit. Allister recognized his window and could still feel the seething energy of his bondmate. Madeira’s raw emotion as like the world’s sweetest candy and the kelvic was a starving youth aching to bust his teeth on her sugary goodness. He shot from his crumpled position across the deck. He first used his black eyes to visualize a path over the obstacles then leapt in three great bounds from crate to mast to shroud. He scampered up quickly moving hand over hand to get a little bit higher and then jumped for the railing closest to Madeira.

The black-haired sailor had foregone his harassment of the blonde in favor of the feisty little thing wielding her child-like size as a weapon. His grin was nefarious and his eyes were unkind as flashes of his imagination played through them like some kind of sick window into his soul. Another sailor stood near Madeira with a rope ready to snag her but the wailing spirit of a child behind the woman kept the superstitious man at bay.

Allister opened his mouth in a grin. He was going to make it! He was going to save them all! The air felt grand against his hot skin and he began to brace his body for a landing by extending his arms and bringing up his feet so that catching the rail would have multiple points of contact. It was in this last second when the hair on his arms and neck stood up. His audible question of “what?!” was met by a grunt from Mota as the Sverfra collided with the kelvic in midair.

Mota had gotten clear up into the rigging and took hold of a tension line not currently in use then timed his attack perfectly. He swung down from the shadows and let go right before he tackled Allister. The two men crashed through the railing with the hyena taking the brunt of the damage. Splinters and a few larger shards of wood pierced skin but the blunt railings against his hips and legs hurt the worst. Allister groaned and rolled over trying to fight off his assailant but the sailor was far too skilled to be discarded. Mota, with a heaving chest searching for air and a strangely satisfied look on his face, he planted his knees on Allister’s arms and his weight on the pale man’s core. He used his hands to further subdue the psychopath then looked around as things began to normalize. “What the petch, Sketches?! Ya crazy bastard!” Mota relaxed just enough that Allister could twist his body slightly and roll his head around to stare up at the blazing blue eyes of the Lady craven. “Madeira…” he was breathing hard, bordering on exhausted. “I saved you... “ He seemed extremely pleased with himself and utterly convinced he was a hero. “I won’t let them hurt you… it’s not safe but I’ll keep them away.” He looked up at Mota with a huge grin on his face- a look of relief. “I’ll keep us all safe.”

[Madeira Dusk]

OOCI'm sorry this is so late! I'm a bad partner.

Ssanya stood between her and the foul-mouthed sailor, her lips curled in a snarl and every sibilant sound slipping off her riled tongue. And suddenly it didn't matter than he had a hundred pounds and three feet on her. The man recoiled as if she had bitten him, and held back his good hand as if to strike her. Everyone who heard her was suddenly looking between the mad Kelvic and the Dhani and trying to decide which was worse.

Madeira held the Dhani's wrist in one hand and the railing in the other as everything spun out of control. There were perhaps a dozen sailors, not including the captain and the cook/barber that lived below, plus several more passengers. Most if not all were struggling onto the deck, pulled by the noise and the careening of the ship.

Suddenly the ship righted, and everyone without their sealegs were pitched portside as the ship fought to level itself. Madeira managed to keep hold of the railing but lost her footing and fell to her knees. Curses and the heavy footfalls of those trying or failing to
keep their balance punctured the high, constant sound of Emma's floods of noisy tears.

Then a sound, louder than the rest, caught Madeira in her soul and rattled her bones. Allister and a Sevfra collided against the railing and pain shot through her bond. It was over in moments, and then the pinned Kelvic was looking up at her, mumbling and delusional, as if she were every star in his sky.

"Get off!" Madeira stumbled to her feet and made to shoulder the Svefra away, but she merely glanced off his barrel chest. He got the message though, and leaned back, though he kept the Kelvic pinned with his hips. Madeira knelt by Allister's head, her skirt spread out around her, and held his face in her hands.

Oh Allister, you idiot, do you know what you have done?, she longed to say. This would no go unpunished. She could feel his satisfaction washing over their bond, hear his words of pride for having saved her. His effort to save her from invisible demons were going to bring the real ones upon them.

"What the petching Hai is going on?!" a voice rough with a lifetime of salty air and shouting into the wind rang through the assembled crowed, and they parted before it like a school of fish before a hungry shark. It was the Captain. The man was bare chested, wind-burnt and broad, with a greying beard and flinty eyes that observed the
chaos aboard his ship. He saw the wailing ghost, the fearful ring of hardened men around a woman no bigger than a child, and the twitchy, tattooed man under his best fighter. Then his eyes slid to Madeira, and her stomach dropped. There was no mercy in those eyes.

She had exactly one tick before anyone could explain, before any fingers could be pointed in their direction. So she made a decision. Sick to her stomach with equal amounts of guilt and fear, she drew back her hand.

There was a sound like a crack of a whip as her palm came down hard across Allister’s mouth. The two rings on her right hand split his smiling lip, and blood welled in the cuts.

A red welt bloomed on his alabaster cheek, and she had to bite her lip to keep the tears from springing to her eyes. She drew the same hand back across his jaw with a fleshy sound she could feel in the roots of her teeth.

"How dare you endanger us!” she roared around the startled huff of the sailor pinning him down. “Look what you’ve done!”

She laid her thin fingers, still stinging with rushing blood at the contact, across his throat. She held him there, with just enough pressure to warn him not to get up, as she looked to the Captain. The man had paused with the sudden spectacle, and she took the opportunity to speak across him.

“I’m sorry, Captain. This man is my responsibility”, she spoke with a cold inflection. “I’ll take care of it. This will not happen again.”

If the crew didn’t see her bondmate punished, she knew they would take it upon themselves.

[Allassanachassanya]

"Speech"
"Others"

Ssanya stared with a look of icy concentration, but neither she nor Javern had time to react as the ship keened and tossed, and Ssanya fell with a sharp drop to the boards. Madeira's tight grip of her wrist was more than helpful, and allowed her to reach out and grasp the railings to pull herself back up again, although she had fallen rather awkwardly on her hands. Finally, as the ship righted itself, Ssanya was left to watch as Madeira strode up to the cluster of commotion, and she walked closer to be with Madeira. Emma followed, though she was still crying a little. Ssanya smiled weakly in the direction of the ghostly girl as a way of reassuring her everything would be okay, but she was completely ignored by the distraught ghost.

The sound of the slap resounded across the deck of the ship. Ssanya winced automatically, but Madeira's show of strength was somehow impressive, even if it was also shocking. The Dhani woman stood beside her partner, and glared down at Allister. She meant to show that she too found his lack of sensibility disturbing and unacceptable, but as she turned her gaze down to his tattooed face, she saw that there was blood on his lip, and her mind turned back to the sparkly summer's day in the garden of Alvadas. A long-ago time, yet still so relevant to now. Yet this time, it was Madeira who had hurt the Kelvic man, enough to draw blood. Ssanya stole a glance sideways as Madeira proclaimed to the captain that she would deal with Allister. Ssanya was again impressed with the coldness in her voice, the way she acted with such unwavering authority. However, she had known the Spiritist for a long time, and she could see there was something else in her eyes. Were they tears?

Ssanya bit her lip and discreetly stepped aside to scan the crowd and draw her attention away from the dramatic scene that was Madeira and her Kelvic. Her fist clenched into a tight grip, and she dug her fingernails into her palm. The worry that had been blanketing her was now developing into something new, and she didn't like it. The snake woman was disturbingly close to tears herself, but not over the slap, or the danger that was now retreating. She wasn't sure how to describe it, but she could only think to call it jealousy.

She could almost laugh at how absurd it was, but she was powerless to dampen her own emotions. Ssanya wouldn't ever dare show it, even less speak of it, but she knew there was something between the great Craven and the twisted Kelvic, and she wasn't happy with it. Her fingers twisted together, but she stopped biting her lip and properly looked over the men milling about on the deck.

Javern was nearby, but he was merely conversing with another sailor. The others seemed content with the words of the captain and of Madeira, although some were casting dark glowers their way. Ssanya levelled her gaze at a couple of them, her eyes darkening and her eyebrows lowering as she swept her eyes across the crowd. Whether or not she thought Allister deserved the beating that had come his way, she was completely sure that she didn't want to end up drowning to death after a short walk over the edge of the railing. There were some who would prefer not to let their ragtag bunch meddle further in the smooth running of the ship, but Ssanya would resort to further violence if required, or threats at the very least.

In some ways, she was just the same as Allister, though she would never realise that herself. Two animal-like people, fiercely devoted to one woman, each in some sort of torment. Ssanya's was a disconnect from her inner being, a confusion over whether she was fully Dhani or something less, and Allister's... Well, Ssanya had no idea what went through his muddled head, but she was sure that it couldn't be anything good right now.

She stepped closer again, and leaned in to Madeira without looking down at the stricken Kelvic. "Madeira..? Maybe it would be bessst if we removed ourssselvess from thiss.. messs.. and went below. Or back to the sstern, where there isss lesss people." Her voice was laden with concern, and pitched low to avoid the listening ears of the sailors standing nearby. Things were tense, and Ssanya couldn't read crowds or convince people like her partner could. All she knew was keeping as low a profile as possible, and leaving when the going got tough. She waited to hear, and see, what would happen next, trying to keep the bitter taste of jealousy out of her mouth the whole time.

"Meaning Through Death"

.

[Allister]

The bond was flooded with love and loyalty. He was in pain and tired but these things meant nothing and counted for nothing -trivialities- when stacked against the way it felt when the air from Madeira’s billowed skirt lifted the dust and salt away from his scratched head and neck. To see her anger at how his friend had pinned him to the deck but the kelvic was not angry. He was almost unaware of the Svefra’s sturdy frame on his torso and arms for once the spiritist touched his tortured skull, his mind drifted to a very safe place.

In her hands, he could feel the wind beating from the birds flying high above the sails. Held still beneath her gaze, he could smell the sea and feel its current carrying them to safety. Allister looked up with black eyes of pure gratitude for the affection he was receiving; a reward for doing so well and protecting his family. Even the sultry Ssanya was there looking at him with her deep eyes and exotic features. The group of men around the two women blurred into just colors even as one approached and the ring parted. His voice was seasoned, mean in tone but pragmatic in the mind of the hyena. Did he just offer to throw a banquet for Allister? Is that where the sudden drop of fear entered the bond? Eyes went to the man then back to his bond mate and that’s when the confusion broke upon him like a wave against the rocks.

The sound registered first. Deep in his skull, the crack echoed from his ears and told him that he’d been struck. The metal which cut his mouth left a lingering taste in his blood but the black eyes never shut as they tried to find a point upon which to focus. First it was Mota but the mentor, a kind sailor who stuck his name on the line for a fool like Allister, was still and looked saddened by something. That’s when the small, pale hand came back around. In her peripheral vision, he caught the crimson spots that had flecked out upon a long-sleeved shirt. The owner was his heart. The keeper of his life struggled with her own guilt and fear as it leached into the bond like poison spreading along the root of a healthy tree. The hyena exhaled and closed his eyes as the second blow was landed.

Allister’s head snapped to the side and more blood began to pool inside his mouth. He swallowed it at first, tears stinging the corners of his eyes that he tried to hide from Madeira, Ssanya and Mota. He twisted his neck to try and keep his face from their sight even though there was no keeping of the secret for he was the last one to know. The kelvic had thought himself wise, prudent...a hero! He was a fool and a failure. The sadness he felt now was for his bonded. He had forced her into a place where she had to hurt him to save them all. His ignorance had brought shame down upon her, a woman who deserved praise and gratitude was now being made to bloody her hands. Those hands were blessed; a gift. He felt the tears behind her eyes and the sting of her lip as teeth sunk into it as a means to control her emotions. Madeira was so strong that he had to pause his self-loathing to admire the way she managed the situation. He did not deserve such a woman. He did not belong with one so great as the mighty Craven. He knew her to be a goddess and had pledged his servitude but that devotion seemed to be a failure on its own accord as well.

How could he serve her if he could not discern need from folly? This was no small matter! When her hand clamped around his throat, the pain rippled through his entire body leaving goosebumps and chills. Sadly, the pleasurable aspect of the pain was overwrought by how much Allister realized he had hurt Madeira. He registered the nonverbal gesture. Even in her small stature, the holds upon his neck was weak. All she had to do was lean in and she could crush his windpipe but that is not what she wanted. The spiritist was merciful. Her grace covered him as her skirts covered the ground around where she stood. The hyena felt the waves of emotions as they struck the bond like a storm. Was it possible to love someone so much that the thought of trying to honor her terrified the wretch? This is where Allister’s mind had taken up residence.

How could he ever do anything useful for her? This is why his stomach read ‘useless’. This is why he’d been kept in cages, filthy cellars and chained in his own filth. That’s what he was. Trash. His greatest achievement in life was allowing a handful of artists to hone their skills on his ghastly skin. Hi, I’m only good for practice. Absorbing abuse is my best feature. His face cracked in a grin despite his melancholy. He wanted to die. All this time with Madeira and he had believed that she would lead him to higher heights but the truth was that not even she could escort such a waste of life to a better station. His body went limp as the fight left him. He pressed his thanks into the bond for all Madeira had done for him. More than gratitude, he cast thoughts of forgiveness and understanding to her.

The kelvic wanted her to know that it was ok for her to do what needed to be done. Surely, his life was not worth half of Ssanya’s or even that of the ghosts’ unlife. He could not even begin to hold himself up to Madeira so the choice was simple. A life spent. A life earned. The spiritist would need to appease the captain and his crew. A shift from his captor brought the beady eyes to the blue pools of the Svefra who looked rather uncomfortable with the whole scenario. When their gazes met, Mota turned away and as he should. Allister was not worth his life either- he’d never known a kind male until now and his unspoken expression did its best to convey an apology to the sailor.

Finally, as a last task of acceptance, the hyena devised a final push to give his bonded the courage to do what must be done. Allister relaxed and closed his eyes. He felt the ruffles of the skirt against his cheek and the pulse of his body as it tried to match the faint pulse of Madeira’s which thumped back and forth in her thumb and ring finger. He felt his arms under Mota’s knees and slowly worked through the limbs from his fingers up to his shoulders. He rotated the joints about on his astral body, each motion a push or a pull that drew the arms from the torso. The process was not a fast one and took almost a full chime but the captain was filling the space nicely. The old seadog leaned upon the busted railing and was lecturing Madeira on how to keep men in line.

“What kind of fool is he?” The captain was at full volume. He had to save face as much as Madeira did but he was held to a higher standard by his own code versus the life or death situation in which she found herself. “What if the rudder woulda broke?” The captain’s hand made afist and he brought it down on Mota’s shoulder simply because the sailor was there. The Sverfa grunted under the blow but didn’t move. “I swear by Laviku’s beard, missus, that I don’t know what’s ta be done here!” his voice dropped on that statement. His eyes told of a code where such folly should be punished by the lord of the sea.

“Bloody freak might be perfect for ya, witch, but it ain’t worth it if’n he’s gonna get ya killed.” The only line Allister really heard was one he completely agreed with and it coincided with him detaching both astral limbs. The kelvic guided his floating limbs up to Madeira and swirled around her until he was able to settle the hands upon her shoulders in a firm grip to let her know that he was there. His thumbs stroked down and then he slowly slid them along her thin arms and wrapped her in a gentle hug that ceased its movement when his grip locked down upon her dainty wrists. With tears running from his eyes, he stared at her with nothing but love which was echoed in the bond. Then, slowly, he began to apply more pressure to the hand which held his throat. Initially, it was just one hand but then he moved the other arm over to help. Both of his astral arms layered upon Madeira and drove down tripling her strength.

The kelvic never stopped smiling. It was not a grin of lunacy but of peace. Even as his face began to turn red and then purple, the pleasant expression never left. Explosions of light began to fill his vision and the edges began to blur with dark shapes. His mouth tried to gasp but the hyena forced the convulsions down into his diaphragm where no real pull could be made through his windpipe as it was being crushed. As the light faded, so did his strength of projection but he did not relent. One cannot pass words through the bond but he did his best to say goodbye and I’m sorry with all the love and admiration he could muster.

WC1639

[Madeira Dusk]

The Captain was in full stride, working himself up to a rum-scented roaring lecture about keeping charges in line. A meaty fist descended on the sailor pinning Allister with a blow full of frustration meant for the Craven. Madeira didn't let herself flinch, but wrapped her free arm around Ssanya's thigh to steady herself against her. She was thankful Ssanya was there. The Dhani stood like a breaker between them and everything that meant them harm. Pride swelled within her to know that she belonged to her. That this beautiful creature was on her side, protecting them.

And her lover's words were still in her mind, though the Dhani had gone back to glaring at the crewmembers who were milling around nervously now that the drama was over. They needed to get below. Their presence was doing them no favors. It was only when they were out of sight that the situation would begin to settle and the tension dissipate. When the Captain paused for breath she took the opportunity to pave the way of their escape.

"The rudder could have broken, but it didn't. Your crew were too fast and too well trained to let something like that happen. You know what has to be done, sir. Please, let us go below and handle this business privately. I'd hate to cause more of a scene in front of your crew."

Her voice was low and sincere, her eye contact unwavering. From the depths of her soul she coaxed dijed forward into her eyes. Her hypnotic suggestion was simple, aiming to tip the balance of his judgment rather than dominate it. Let us go, she pushed the thought from her mind to his on the connection of their eye contact. It took effort to breach the gap, and even more to try and work it past the defenses of the hard-headed, no-nonsense man. She could only pray it worked.

But she was not the only one using magic to get their way. A swirl of energy around her lifted the escaped hairs of her chignon before solid, invisible and unshakably real hands descended on her shoulders. She had felt this before, and she knew those hands. What was Allister doing?

As the Captain spoke the hands crossed over her chest and her dress wrinkled mysteriously as they gently hugged her. And even with the pressure over her lungs the action made her breath easier. Poor broken Allister. She was so worried about Emma that she had not given the Kelvic what he needed to stay sane, especially not with the fate of his last ship.

The hands were moving again, traveling down her arm in long strokes. Then to her wrists. And finally, as his grip smothered her hand, she finally understood what he was doing. Pressure built, and she could feel his pulse pumping sluggishly under her hand. She tried to pull away, to loosen her grip, but even ethereally he was too strong. She was forced to watch as the partner of her life turned blue beneath her hands. The hand around Ssanya's leg turned into a claw as she tried to lever herself away with the added weight of the tiny Dhani. She could not speak without alerting the Captain, but all she wanted to do was scream. Allister was washing through the bond with love and respect but she was drowning it out with a roar of panic.

Slowly, so slowly, she felt his pressure lessen as his eyes began to dim. The pulse under her hand was moving sluggishly, the blood moving in thick currents beneath his bloated skin. His resigned, peaceful smile never faded.

At last, with an effort that would definitely leave bruises on her wrists later, she managed to rip her hands away as he floated off into unconsciousness. The sailor pinning him down was giving her a hard, shocked look, but realizing the Kelvic was no longer a threat to himself or other he got to his feet and backed away. Madeira's breathing was coming in frantic little gasps as if she were trying to breath for both of them as she leaned over Allister to check that he was still breathing.

He was. Barely. A swollen ring of red was rising around his throat. In a few days it would bloom into a bruise that would fit perfectly under her hand.

The Captain stood there, blind to the internal struggle between the bondmates. With the the trailing spark of hypnotist magic in his eyes he looking between the two women and the defeated man they were standing over. The three of them were an island in themselves, separate from the nervously milling crowd around them. The Captain was a hard man, he ran a tight ship and demanded obedience from his crew and compliance from his passengers, but he saw the high, damaged walls these wretches had built around themselves and decided he did not want to see what was on the other side.

"Get out of my sight, the lot of you. If I see that Kelvic anywhere near the wheel again I'll whip him within an inch of his life, if you don't kill him first. And if that Dhani so much as bares it's teeth it's going overboard. Get out, and shut that petching ghost up."

"Yes, Captain." Madeira gasped, too rattled to do more than agree. He just threatened both her bondmate, her lover and her gentlest ghost, but she had no option but to placate him. She nodded sharply to show she understood and took him seriously. But words were just words. The moment the crew took any action against them she would have to figure out a way to stop them.

She got shakly to her feet, looking down on her bonded with confused, conflicted feelings. But she could examine them later. More practical needs had to be met. As the Captain turned away with a growl and stomped heavily through the thinning crowd, Madeira turned to the Dhani at her side.

"San, please help me carry him", she whispered. There was no will in her left to be persuasive or clever, she was simply begging for her help.

If Ssanya refused, she would convince Mota to help. Regardless she knelt down and lifted the Kelvic's dead weight by the shoulders. She was weak, and he was heavy, but with help she grit her teeth and maneuvered him down the deck and below, ignoring the stares and mutinous whispers of the agitated crew.

"Emma, go below and check on Raj." she huffed as they passed the ghost, feeling the burn in her arms as she adjusted her grip.

The blubbering ghost sniffed mightily. "Is Ally dead?"

"No, baby, he's just sleeping. But Raj is probably scared, please go check on him."

With the ghost gone they were able to make it to their shared cabin. It was a tiny thing, with just enough room for four narrow bunks stacked on opposing walls and their luggage piled beneath the lower beds. It smelled like sawdust and sweat, with no porthole that could be opened to alleviate the trapped heat. But it was all they had.

Madeira tried to put Allister down on the lowest bed by the door as gently as possible, careful of his bruised neck. There was a stillness in the air, like the calm after a passing of a hurricane. Even the dust motes in the air were nearly still as Madeira turned to Ssanya. She lifted her arms to pull the woman to her, looking for comfort or perhaps forgiveness, but wasn't sure how she would be received. So she stood there, arms outstretched, and her eyes wide and pleading.

"San, I didn't do it. I didn't mean to. He made me choke him, with his projection. Ssanya, please, that's not who I am." She could get rough, asserting herself with threats. She had lied to get her way, threatened with crossbow and the abilities of her more powerful servants. She had even twisted Allister's hair to cause him pain and teach him a lesson. But to choke him? Risk his life?

"He's my bondmate." the words fell heavy between them. She had never told her, never took the opportunity to explain to her new lover of this strong, complicated, twisted relationship they shared. "I'm sorry. I never told you and I'm sorry. But I need him. I need him and I need you and I need this whole, horrible trip to work. I don't know what he was thinking, I really don't, but he was trying to protect us in his own, mad way. I won't let it happen again. I'll keep better control of him. Please, San, I need you on our side. I need you."

[Allassanachassanya]

"Speech"
"Others"

Allister... He was mad. Horribly, awfully insane. Ssanya looked down at his face, his red, mottled face, and wondered what the petch had happened to him, in the years before he had come into each of their lives. It made her uneasy and uncomfortable to be beside him now, even in his unconscious state. There were so many thoughts and emotions that she didn't have time to analyse, so much that she wanted to know the answer to, with no true way of figuring out how to actually ask. The exchange between the Craven and the Kelvic, and the almost palpable feelings that coursed between them, worried her in a deeply selfish way. Madeira was probably right to render him unconscious, but Ssanya wasn't stupid and it was clear there was something else going on underneath the surface. The captain's speech seemed finished, and Madeira's request was one she accepted without hesitation.

Yet it was a detached acceptance as she went through the motions needed to take their petched-up band of misfits away from prying eyes. She lifted Allister's legs and heaved his dead weight into a comfortable position so as to walk down to their narrow cabin below. He was heavy, and she was tired of the pitching and rocking of the ship. They stumbled below deck, past the creaking boards and the piles of oiled rope, past sailors with averted eyes, whilst Ssanya thought of nothing but placing one foot in front of the other.

By the time they reached their dim quarters Ssanya dropped the Kelvic's legs quite unceremoniously onto the bed, glad to be rid of his dead weight, and sighed in a short huff through her nostrils to catch her breath back. Yet she didn't turn to face Madeira straight away. Ssanya lingered, unsure and off-kilter, taking a grim look at the damage done to the strange, strange man who lay like a corpse on the hard bed. Ssanya didn't know what to think, at all. It was overwhelming; all of it. The trip to Riverfall, taken on what felt like a whim; the journey and the odd sense of detachment from the city she'd come to love. Even the ghosts had been one more thing that was different, Emma's presence closer than ever before in the confines of the cramped vessel.

Ssanya slowly turned, trying to unclench her jaw and force a smile out. Then she saw her, illuminated in the dim, wandering light, and cast with a sheen of terrifying vulnerability. Madeira, her lover and her friend, with her arms open. Madeira, an apology spilling out and an answer to the questions Ssanya had been too afraid to confront. Madeira, beautiful and lovely and distant. The snake woman stepped forwards automatically, afraid to show just how confused and disjointed she felt. She curled her arms around the woman's back, and held her. Ssanya's hand gently rubbed her back, slowly and rhythmically, whilst she tried to think of something to say.

Nothing seemed to be right. Her heart fluttered as her mind raced. The abstract jealousy she was trying to ignore wouldn't help. The worry for their safety wouldn't help either. Madeira needed her. Needed her. Ssanya was ignorant and poor at knowing the workings of love, but hearing that the Craven needed her was powerful. Her fingers wandered into the woman's soft, windswept hair, and finally she softly cleared her throat, and spoke into Madeira's bony shoulder, her lips muffled against the fabric of her dress.

"It'ss okay." She lied. Ssanya wasn't okay, but it didn't matter. Although, ultimately she knew it was self-destructive, she would be okay for Madeira if that's what the beautiful, worried woman wanted. "You have me." Ssanya silently smiled into her shoulder. It was weak, but it was a true expression. Shallowly, she breathed in her scent and the warmth of her smile wormed its way down to her heart. Somehow, simply being close to the spiritist went a little way to fixing the lurking anxiety in her core. "Allissster... He will ssurvive. He isss sstrong." Her voice dropped down to a whisper as her lips sought the other woman's neck. "I... I do not care that he iss your bondmate. We are ssstill uss. I am sstill yourss." A brief kiss fled from the Dhani's lips onto the warm skin of her lover. "We will make it through thiss trip and onto the other ssside. Do not worry." And if some of her speech was a lie... What of it?

"Meaning Through Death"

.

[Madeira Dusk]

Ssanya stepped into her arms immediately, almost automatically. As easily summoned as Madeira's ghosts. But the spiritist was too wrapped up in her selfish needs to notice the strain in her lover's expression the moment before it was hidden in her shoulder. Madeira rested her cheek on the top of her head and breathed deep of the scent of sandalwood and spice and sweat that was the Dhani. Wrapping her arms around her, she held her tight against her body, feeling the bones move beneath the skin and the press of air in her chest, feeling the slow beat of the heart aligned her hers.

This belonged to her, Madeira thought. All of it. A flare of possessiveness burned through her, and her fingers bunched into rough fabric of Ssanya's clothes. She needed her. She needed her strength and her conversation and those quiet moments in her bed. But more than that, there was a quiet part of her heart that simply needed her presence. A piece that wanted nothing more than to know this tough, quiet, spiritual creature was near. And how dare anyone threaten to take her away. How dare Allister threaten to take himself away! She did not lie to herself and insist she was independent. Without these people she surrounded herself with she was nothing. Her only skill was in convincing them it wasn't true.

"It's ok", Ssanya said, the warm vibrations of her voice moving over her heart. "You have me."

Something unspooled in her chest to hear the Dhani say it aloud. The fear that started with the dozen swords pointed at Allister, and only built through the insanity that followed, flowed out of her in a gust of breath. She soaked up the gentle reassurances, basked in the warmth of the lips that brushed her neck, as the words steadied the ground under her feet. The chaos of in her heart and the panic in her head quieted as if to better hear her.

Madeira, tilting her head down to meet her, kissed her slow and gentle, putting every ounce of gratitude in her body into the simple show of affection.

"We are still us", she agreed as she pulled away, her breath ghosting across her lips. "And we'll make it through this." They had to. There was no other choice.

Steeling herself, she reluctantly let go of Ssanya and turned to her bonded. The Kelvic was crumpled, his limbs askew across the narrow bed. She leaned over him, brushing his brindle hair off his forehead. His neck and jaw were swollen with draining blood, his eyelids blue and thatched with exploded capillaries. The sight hurt in a way she wasn't sure anyone would understand. It was a piece of her soul, and his soul, twisted together and crying in pain. She meant to protect him, and he used her to hurt himself instead.

But that was just it. She needed him too. She needed him healthy and thriving and happy. He harbored a piece of her soul in his broken shell of a body, just as she owned a piece of his. And not only did he attempt to carve himself out of her life as violently as he could, but he forced her to help. Why did he hurt himself like that? Why did he try to abandon her? How could he not understand that she needed him too?

Using Ssanya's borrowed strength she locked the fear and rage away, stuffed it down to the farthest corner of her mind. It wouldn't help. He needed healing.

"I'm going to see if I can find something for him", she told Ssanya, straightening up and throwing her an apologetic look. "Please, stay here. It's probably best you two aren't seen until things settle down."

And even when they did, the two would find no forgiveness from the passengers and crew waiting for them. Madeira might be a witch, but they were bloodied animals in human skins. She could coax her way to acceptance, but the rest of the journey would be nothing but hardship for Allister and Ssanya.

When Madeira returned ten chimes later it was with nothing but a stolen bowl of lukewarm fresh water. "If there are medical supplies on board, they won't tell me where", she explained. "The cook wouldn't even let me into the ice chest. I'm lucky to have this."

From her luggage under the bed she emerged with a handful of strips of faded blue linen. She soaked each piece and snapped them in the air to cool it as much as possible before laying the damp cloths across Allister's throat and forehead. Then she stripped the unused fourth bunk of it's thin blanket and laid it over his body, straightening out his legs and arms underneath it as gently as she could. It was all she could think to do. Her uselessness sat like a stone in her gut.

She found Ssanya again, wrapping her arms around her lover for a second time. Her ridged posture melted into her, curving her shoulder over her and pressing her cheek to the side of her head. Her arms were wrapped low around her waist, her breath coming in defeated little sighs. When she spoke it was with a quiet determination that rumbled from her chest like a physical thing, like she could make it real by force of will.

"When we go home again, when this exorcism is over... I'm going to build us a life. Allister and I have a plan to advance my career. You'll find a job somewhere. And we'll get a place with a hearth and a garden and if we travel anywhere it'll be because we want to. I'll take care of you. Of him. Of Emma and Jomi even. And we'll just... be happy."