01-05-2023, 03:21 AM
[table][tr][td][/td][/tr][/table]
BURN THE BOAT BURN THE SAIL
The brine in the air was somehow a soothing scent, strong as it was and despite the way it assaulted his lungs still recovering from illness, he found comfort in it. Had it been that his husband and he had lived by the coast? For some reason, those long ago memories were just out of his grasp. He couldn't understand why they were like that, but he suspected it had something to do with forgetting to protect his heart from the pain. It was somewhere there, buried alongside many other too-painful memories, treasured things that he had buried in the graveyard within himself. That graveyard was littered with so many pieces of himself that he often wondered how he could carry on.
Lifting his head as he inhaled the scent of the sea, enjoying the feel of the gale in the fur of his cheeks and neck. Some part of him deep inside truly hoped that The Typhoon wouldn't be on the island, that his intuition had been wrong, that Alexandre's words of The Typhoon taking camp would be wrong, that they couldn't be trusted. His mind was far from the potential battle he was sailing his group into just to explore the island that belonged within Tanglewood's borders. It was in a more pleasant time, when he could have enjoyed the sea breeze at any time he wished, a time lifetimes ago, when he'd been a young Grim, before he'd encountered life-changing loss. Back before the Reset as he called it. How did he know he called it that? Shaking his head, absorbed in thoughts and memories that the old and the immortal were oft to do, mind too cluttered by too many insignificant things.
The gentle slapping of waves against the hull was enough of a lull to the tom that he barely noticed the change as tension began to crackle through the air, as voices raised in argument upon his own ship. He was mindless to it, tracing some line of thought that was quickly fraying before being snapped from his grasp all together as he heard the raised voice of his first leading ship's captain, Red. Lifting his head as he pushed his ears forward, straining to hear her words before the wind could whip them away. All of a sudden, it felt like cold ice water was poured over his head and his skin prickled under his fur as he got to his paws.
Striding to the bow of his boat, his body began to change as he weaved between the bodies of his own crew, a low snarl of frustration building before he choked it back, "Clear out of the way!", he would speak as his body finally finished taking shapes. Each step felt like lightning was shooting through his paws for a few moments, memories flashing through his mind in a violent tidal wave. Memories of people who had followed him before. Memories of his family and of his husband before they were replaced with the imagery of graves. Deep was the snarl that wrenched itself from his lungs as the Luminary leapt onto the bow of his boat. In seconds, he was soaring through the air wearing the body of his lion form, heavy paws landing too lightly on the stern of Red's ship, her words ringing in his ears, "We have company!"
Lip curling back to show off a predator's teeth, the Luminary looked down to his first Captain with a heavy snort, "We expected this. Calm yourself, Red. A leader must keep their wits around them. I believe that the scroll has been stored upon your boat, yes?", he spoke in a voice too level and calm for the man who had all but been ready to go to war at the earlier meeting. There was a strange serenity in his head, something he hadn't had for quite some time. Calm waters were a sign of danger, he'd learned years ago, even if it was only inside of his head. Heavy paws led him to the bow of Red's ship, standing to lean against the rail as he squinted at the island that was close enough to make sight of the docked ships. "Bring us as close as we can go. Someone, bring me that scroll. We will try to do this without bloodshed. It looks like they have already begun to build on our island. Using our resources from our island.", he spoke loudly so that the rest of the crew could hear, disdain in his tone. Inhaling as he waited for the ship to draw closer, a sick sense of amusement cording through the Luminary as the form of Sherbet came into his sight, the Captain's fur standing on end made him quite the humorous sight to him.
From where he stood, the strange lightning-like marks along the Luminary's coat and mane would begin to emit smoke as embers began to flicker into life, glowing a dark amber. Once someone had brought him the scroll, the Luminary would wait until the boat had drawn as close as it could to the shore where The Typhoon's own boats were docked before he would prepare and leap again. Grains of sand flew up into the air around his paws as the large lion landed, the sound of water hissing as it boiled away filling the air as he straightened. Casually strolling up the beach like a tourist on vacation, he kept his gaze fixed on the gathering members of The Typhoon with a low laugh leaving him. For some reason, this felt all too familiar to him and he couldn't begin to place why. "Hello, everyone. What a pleasure to see you here, on Tanglewood's rightful island. Captain Sherbet, you look about ready to explode.", he commented as he released the scroll held in his jaws, using one paw to push it across the respectful distance he left between their party and himself. No use ruffling more feathers but he couldn't help himself.
Lifting his head as he inhaled the scent of the sea, enjoying the feel of the gale in the fur of his cheeks and neck. Some part of him deep inside truly hoped that The Typhoon wouldn't be on the island, that his intuition had been wrong, that Alexandre's words of The Typhoon taking camp would be wrong, that they couldn't be trusted. His mind was far from the potential battle he was sailing his group into just to explore the island that belonged within Tanglewood's borders. It was in a more pleasant time, when he could have enjoyed the sea breeze at any time he wished, a time lifetimes ago, when he'd been a young Grim, before he'd encountered life-changing loss. Back before the Reset as he called it. How did he know he called it that? Shaking his head, absorbed in thoughts and memories that the old and the immortal were oft to do, mind too cluttered by too many insignificant things.
The gentle slapping of waves against the hull was enough of a lull to the tom that he barely noticed the change as tension began to crackle through the air, as voices raised in argument upon his own ship. He was mindless to it, tracing some line of thought that was quickly fraying before being snapped from his grasp all together as he heard the raised voice of his first leading ship's captain, Red. Lifting his head as he pushed his ears forward, straining to hear her words before the wind could whip them away. All of a sudden, it felt like cold ice water was poured over his head and his skin prickled under his fur as he got to his paws.
Striding to the bow of his boat, his body began to change as he weaved between the bodies of his own crew, a low snarl of frustration building before he choked it back, "Clear out of the way!", he would speak as his body finally finished taking shapes. Each step felt like lightning was shooting through his paws for a few moments, memories flashing through his mind in a violent tidal wave. Memories of people who had followed him before. Memories of his family and of his husband before they were replaced with the imagery of graves. Deep was the snarl that wrenched itself from his lungs as the Luminary leapt onto the bow of his boat. In seconds, he was soaring through the air wearing the body of his lion form, heavy paws landing too lightly on the stern of Red's ship, her words ringing in his ears, "We have company!"
Lip curling back to show off a predator's teeth, the Luminary looked down to his first Captain with a heavy snort, "We expected this. Calm yourself, Red. A leader must keep their wits around them. I believe that the scroll has been stored upon your boat, yes?", he spoke in a voice too level and calm for the man who had all but been ready to go to war at the earlier meeting. There was a strange serenity in his head, something he hadn't had for quite some time. Calm waters were a sign of danger, he'd learned years ago, even if it was only inside of his head. Heavy paws led him to the bow of Red's ship, standing to lean against the rail as he squinted at the island that was close enough to make sight of the docked ships. "Bring us as close as we can go. Someone, bring me that scroll. We will try to do this without bloodshed. It looks like they have already begun to build on our island. Using our resources from our island.", he spoke loudly so that the rest of the crew could hear, disdain in his tone. Inhaling as he waited for the ship to draw closer, a sick sense of amusement cording through the Luminary as the form of Sherbet came into his sight, the Captain's fur standing on end made him quite the humorous sight to him.
From where he stood, the strange lightning-like marks along the Luminary's coat and mane would begin to emit smoke as embers began to flicker into life, glowing a dark amber. Once someone had brought him the scroll, the Luminary would wait until the boat had drawn as close as it could to the shore where The Typhoon's own boats were docked before he would prepare and leap again. Grains of sand flew up into the air around his paws as the large lion landed, the sound of water hissing as it boiled away filling the air as he straightened. Casually strolling up the beach like a tourist on vacation, he kept his gaze fixed on the gathering members of The Typhoon with a low laugh leaving him. For some reason, this felt all too familiar to him and he couldn't begin to place why. "Hello, everyone. What a pleasure to see you here, on Tanglewood's rightful island. Captain Sherbet, you look about ready to explode.", he commented as he released the scroll held in his jaws, using one paw to push it across the respectful distance he left between their party and himself. No use ruffling more feathers but he couldn't help himself.
@/teef
THE FLOWER BURNS