Fantasy 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙣. - [1𝙭1]

[sox]

ah, just in time for some indigestion...

knox.

“i… i understand... where you are coming from.”

knox's gaze snapped up to where sybil stood with her frustrations written all over her pinchhed expression, his eyebrows shooting upwards in surprise at her accommodating response to his clumsy rationale. while he certainly hadn't expected her to be unreasonable in the face of compelling logic, one could only give so much benefit of the doubt to their assailant before making a fool of oneself.

"i hate being useless, and i fear my presence on this trip was just that.”

he replied after a long moment of contemplation, a myriad of sentiments he couldn't quite put into words dancing on the tip of his tongue yet unable to escape his lips.

"your presence on this trip wasn't to gauge your usefulness. i brought you along to experience the festival."

'you're not equipped to handle humans like her yet... there are better ways to use your strengths... no mission is more important than your health...'

all things better left unsaid, he reckoned.

"sleep on the floor if you want, but this bed is perfectly big enough to accommodate us both.”

with her begrudging permission to stay at the inn, the tension finally seeped out of the captain's shoulders like smoke from a freshly doused wick, exhaustion weighing heavy on his eyelids as he removed his business casual garments save for the undershirt and pants and crawled under the covers at long last. without so much as a 'goodnight'— par for the course, really— sybil began her slumber peacefully, leaving him behind in the waking world as a million curiosities and considerations circled his skull regarding the events that had transpired that day. it wasn't until he had mentally pieced together some semblance of a plan going forward that he finally gave in to the fatigue, content to drift off into the abyss once more.

.

despite only managing to sneak in a few solid hours of shut-eye, the prince's internal clock guaranteed that he was wide awake and dressed by the time most festival-goers recovered from their hangovers enough to step a foot outside of their rooms. sybil's unconscious, vice-like grip on his bicep throughout the night certainly hadn't helped his case either, given how lightly he already tended to sleep in the first place before this new variable was factored into the equation.

curse his circadian rhythm, truly— at least he didn't look nearly as weary as he felt.

"ah, what a lovely day for a betrothal!"

rafael's gratingly chipper voice sounded over knox's shoulder, catching his attention from where he sat slouched in the inn's foyer nursing a mug of dark roast in a last-ditch attempt to alleviate the dark circles forming under his eyes.

"i offer my sincerest congratulations to the groom."

"like hell you do,"

knox spat back in annoyance, swiping at rafael's smug face but just barely missing as his target stepped back in time with a hearty chuckle.

"if you don't have what i asked for, you can fuck right off."

rafael's exuberant laughter prattled on for a second longer before he bothered to collect himself enough to drop a raven-hued, velvet ring case into the captain's lap.

"here, jackass— a walking death wish, as commissioned of yours truly."

knox snapped open the box to examine the newly crafted engagement ring, a glimmering, oval black sapphire set delicately atop a pristine gold band. on the surface, the odd choice of gem seemed to be nothing more than the unconventional whims of a wealthy prince; when the gem caught the light at just the right angle to reveal the chilling insignia underneath, however...

"turns out you're good for something after all."

"oh, hell no, don't start having expectations of me now—"

barely avoiding the second flying fist, rafael scurried off in a renewed fit of cackles to return to the festival before his grumpy boss could sneak in any more favor requests. knox merely scoffed at his first mate's eagerness to drink himself stupid so early in the morning and pocketed the box for safekeeping. the odds of anyone aside from salona's most elite nobles recognizing the insignia were slim to none, and even if natasha somehow subverted his expectations and pieced together his true intentions, it would already be too late to back out of his previously innocuous addition to the contract.

only once he'd inhaled his first serving of coffee and moved onto the second did sybil grace the lobby with her presence, startling him out of his state of rumination as he briefly glanced at his watch to check the time. assuming she'd already stopped by the kitchen to grab a bite to fill her stomach before meeting him by the door, they had just enough wiggle room to make the journey to the rendezvous location at a comfortable pace.

"morning,"

he greeted coarsely, the trepidation from last night nowhere to be found as he met her eyes and flashed his usual, confident smile. it seemed the color had thankfully long since returned to her cheeks after the incident yesterday, a welcome relief to the captain who suddenly found the subtle softness of her sharp features to be rather endearing now that they'd grown just the tiniest bit closer.

"you must've slept well. have you eaten?"

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[calypso]

Bitch.

sybil.

When Sybil slept as a siren, it was hardly an enjoyable activity. She was never unconscious for more than an hour at a time, and the sleep was never truly relaxing. She often woke up more tense than before her short moments of rest, stricken with concern that another siren would slip up behind her and make quick work of her unconscious body. Unfortunately, her sleeping habits weren’t so easily lost as Sybil continued life as a human. Although the plush beds made it easy for the woman to pass out each night, she often found herself squeezing herself in lieu of a pillow. Holding herself as tightly as possible throughout the duration of her sleep, leaving her somewhat sore in the morning.

This unfortunately also meant Knox was victim to her vice grip when they happened to share a bed. If Sybil had known she’d cling so desperately to Knox’s arm in her sleep, she would have let him walk right out the door and find accommodations elsewhere for the evening. However, she was blissfully unaware of her clingy nature in her sleeping state. Yet when she awoke in the morning to just herself in the bed, she couldn’t help but notice the lack of ache she normally experienced. Perhaps this inn was far more luxurious than Knox’s own. Cheap prince.

A loud yawn overtook her for a moment before she rolled out of the bed, blinking against the harsh light that was seeping through the windows. With one solid yank, the drapes casted the room back into a muted darkness that was far more comfortable for the newly awoken Sybil. Everything on the surface was so…bright, all the time. Although her human eyes adjusted far easier than her previous gaze, it was still jarring how often the sunlight permeated every part of her day-to-day routine. The darkness was still far more comforting to work in.

Slipping herself in the looser garments that Knox had bothered to pack for her, she opted to at least slip a few buttons closed as a courtesy. Perhaps on the ship she wouldn’t bother, but the majority of the humans on this forsaken Isle drove her insane. A comb was resting at the bottom of the bag, but Sybil opted to skip the futile exercise in trying to tame her hair while it was dry. That seemed like a waste of time. With that, she shut the door to their room and slipped down the stairs.

---

As expected, Knox sat down in the lobby of the inn, nursing that horrible drink he often consumed in the morning. Scrunching up her nose at the sight of it, Sybil opted to sit across from Knox as he greeted her. When he questioned if she had eaten, Sybil simply offered a shrug in return. Her late night meal with the old man had admittedly filled her up quite a bit, and she was left with no desire to scarf down any food this morning.

“I am not hungry at the moment, just tired. Though I suppose there is no time to rest now that you have secured a meeting with your informant once more,” she began, attempting to run her fingers through a section of her own hair. When they caught on a knot, she let out a groan of frustration and quickly abandoned the practice. Thankfully, it seemed like Knox wasn’t planning on dallying around the inn much longer now that Sybil had graced him with her presence. The two made a quick haste of slipping out and onto the street as Knox guided her back towards the infamous meeting spot. As they walked, Sybil squinted and groaned against the sunlight, much like the hungover folks unlucky enough to be up this early after the festivities.

“The moment we are back on the ship, I am drawing the curtains shut and going back to sleep,” Sybil grumbled out, clearly unhappy with her interrupted slumber. How easily she became used to a steady sleep schedule during the quiet nights upon the ship. Perhaps her princess nature was still present in some capacity.

When the two finally arrived at the closed tavern, the door was opened for them before either had a chance to knock. The silent attendant from the meeting made haste to shut it behind them, a few spare lanterns casting a warm hue over the empty establishment.

Nearly empty, that is.

Natasha stood behind the bar, making haste of drying pints as she flashed her signature smile over to the duo. Sybil immediately frowned, taking an unconscious step closer to Knox as they both approached the two outward turned chairs.

Without batting an eye, Natasha placed down two empty pints in front of the two, the attendant hurrying over to pour water into each. Seems like she was wise enough to not offer them beer this early in the morning, but still the ever gracious host.

“I see Miss Sybil has decided to join us this morning,” Natasha cooed, pointedly ignoring the glare that Sybil cast her way. Despite the overwhelming urge to already jump the counter and throttle the pale woman, Sybil also knew that’s exactly what Knox expected of her. And she’d rather not prove him right this early in the morning. So instead, she simply rolled her neck to the side and back and clenched at the loose fabrics of her shirt.

“I won’t hold you too long, darlings,” Natasha hummed, immediately sliding over a rolled parchment to Knox. “You’re in a bit of luck, too. The item you seek from the Solovyova royal family hasn’t been in their possession in over twenty-years. If they still had it…” Natasha paused to laugh, tapping her finger against the parchment to calm herself.

“Ah, nevermind that. That’s as far as your luck extends, Captain. The item itself is a lovely necklace that fits perfectly into the lock on top of Penkina’s peak, as you correctly surmised,” Natasha continued, giving a pointed glance towards Sybil at the mention of the hidden ‘treasure’ that only the Royal family was theoretically aware of. “Unfortunately, that necklace has fallen into the hands of Eikka Ahti. I’m sure you are aware of his…reputation,” she purred out, crossing her arms and peering over at Knox.

Although the name meant nothing to Sybil, it was everything to those who sailed the seas. If something valuable was stolen, there was a ninety-nine percent chance it had ended up in the grimey fingers of Eikka. He was notoriously expensive to hire, and oftentimes ended up taking a far bigger cut than originally promised. However, he always got a job done, and wasn’t afraid to swipe from royals. It wouldn’t be surprising if Eikka had pocketed a few Salonian treasures along the way.

Of course he had the necklace.

Although Sybil casted a confused glance between Natasha and Knox, it seemed like she wasn’t getting an explanation at the moment. Instead, Natasha motioned for the two to rise as she made sure Knox took the parchment.

“I’ve given you his last seen coordinates there. Last I heard, he had set up shop in Caury, turned the whole harbor into a shithole. I’ve even heard that Arlind is considering handing over the entire island to him, just to get him out of their hair!” Natasha added in a chipper tone with a pitched laugh, ushering the two towards the door in the same breath.

Once the two had been neatly pushed outside, Natasha peeked out the doorframe and offered one last smile to the two. “I hope you find what you need. I’ll be seeing you again very soon, Knox,” she said, glancing one more time at Sybil before the door shut with an audible click.

Turning towards Knox in a slightly stunned silence, Sybil just worked her jaw for a moment before finally spitting out a statement and question rolled into one.

“She seems awful. What did you promise her?”

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[sox]

let's get out of here, fast...

knox.

“unfortunately, that necklace has fallen into the hands of Eikka Ahti. i’m sure you are aware of his… reputation.”

knox' jaw tensed at the mention of the infamous pirate lord's grating moniker, a sniveling thorn in the side of every wayfaring traveler without a shred of a conscience to answer to for his schemes. somewhere along the way, eikka ahti had naturally become the prince's enemy as well, a little-known fact privy only to those within the indira's tight-lipped crew due to the secretive nature of their long-time feud.

that, however, was a tale to be divulged another day— and certainly not to an audience consisting of the uncanny glaesian princess and her nondescript cronies.

pupils flickering back and forth as he scanned the details outlined on the parchment report, knox nodded in aggravated understanding with each further revelation natasha bestowed upon them, already quite familiar with the tense situation in arlind due to amelia's incessant whining about tariffs and whatnot during his last visit to crana. the captain cared not to meddle in business wherever the tumultuous economics of salona was concerned, but as usual, it seemed fate had guaranteed that he could run from the inevitable no longer.

"very well,"

he agreed when it was evident she had no further insights to add, a careful neutrality adorning his tone despite his momentarily pinched expression. with a soft sigh, he extracted the ring box from his pocket and slid it across the counter, holding back a satisfied smirk when her bony hand shot forward like a viper to stop it in its tracks.

"as promised— while i'm rather skilled at eyeballing measurements, my humblest apologies if it's not a perfect fit."

after opening the case between her delicate fingers to observe its contents herself, natasha snapped the box shut once more and pocketed it wordlessly, a clear acceptance of his betrothal gift. despite the lack of an overt reaction to the unusual choice of engagement ring, her demeanor indicated that she was subtly pleased with the outcome of their grandiose negotiations.

“i hope you find what you need. i'll be seeing you again very soon, knox.”

"... likewise, my lady."

with the door to the smoking censer slamming shut behind them, sybil finally turned to inquire of him the dreaded question she'd neglected to ask earlier:

“she seems awful. what did you promise her?”

now that the princess' dangerous presence no longer soured their festive environment like the rotten aftertaste to a stale wine, knox let out a long sigh as the tension coating his nerves eased up at long last. they could hardly tarry before the next step in their journey if they wished to catch eikka ahti off guard, but keeping sybil in the dark was no longer an option after the scolding he'd received from her last night for his misdirection.

"i promised her a way out of this shit-hole,"

he grumbled as he began to lead them away from the bar and back towards the docks, brows furrowing more and more the longer he imagined being wedded to that shameless shyster— oh, how lady luck had smiled upon him by sending such a useful assailant his way just before making her dreadful acquaintance.

"—albeit a treacherous one, should she choose to go through with it. you don't need to worry about that side of things, though; the terms of this deal shouldn't pose any issues as far as your own goals are concerned... just think of it as someone 'awful' following the path they deserve."

with no further explanation to add to that vague response as well as a subtle increase in his brisk pace, knox deftly switched topics by pointing to a familiar figure in the distance loitering outside of the tailor's shop with several suitcases in tow and a displeased scowl decorating her pursed, ruby lips.

"leena!"

the captain's jovial call instantly caught her attention as she whipped around to face the approaching duo, excitement coloring her formerly steely gaze.

"sybil!"

she called back, ignoring the man beside her entirely as she moved to rush forward before remembering that she couldn't leave the cargo unattended and instead urgently motioning for them to hurry up instead.

"just the person i was looking for,"

leena greeted, her wide grin diminishing as she scanned sybil's barely-clothed form before unceremoniously shoving one of the heavier luggage cases into her arms with a disapproving shake of her head.

"tsk— here, take this."

"what's in—"

"clothes, genius,"

she cut knox off with an exaggerated eye-roll, irritation disappearing entirely however once she fixed her sights back on sybil.

"fancy blouses, riding gear, leather armor— whatever you could possibly need aside from one of those frilly, salonian evening gowns, it's all in there."

knox's prior exasperation dissolved into a relieved smile, grateful to his capable people for always managing to fulfill their responsibilities without a hitch.

"thank you, leena, seriously—"

"uh huh, reimbursement first, please!"

with leena's hand outstretched expectantly without even offering him a glance, too excited by the prospect of sybil dressed up in all sorts of attire to pay him any mind, knox had no choice but to bite his tongue at her satisfied smirk as he begrudgingly dug around in his pockets and dropped several gold coins into her palm.

"now, let's get back to the ship and put miss sybil in some real clothes, shall we?"

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[calypso]

did I say something funny?

sybil.

As Knox opted to answer her question with a vague response, she could only screw her face into a slight scowl as she hurried to keep up with him. It was already a struggle to walk on two legs most days, but Knox’s taller stature made his gait naturally faster than her own. She’d rather not appear breathless and out of shape if she wanted to prove herself worthwhile to have around.

“I do-” Before Sybil could protest his answer, Knox aptly cut her off with a call out to Leena. Swinging her gaze between the two as the sailor motioned them both over rapidly, Sybil could only hope to convey a message of ‘this isn’t over’ to Knox through her expression. Unfortunately, Knox seemed all too welcome for the distraction as the two approached, Sybil barely able to open her lips before a trunk was shoved into her arms. A heaved gasp left her lips as she nearly dropped the unexpectedly heavy luggage, her body lurching forward at the weight before she caught herself. By Calypso, was she really that weak? She had perhaps considered the human female form to be restricting, but Leena seemed to have no trouble lugging around such weight. It truly was just Sybil’s pathetic body. Couldn’t her mother have done anything to help her out?

Of course not.

As Leena praddled off about the contained clothing items, Sybil could only stare in bewilderment. Not a single word made sense, but Knox was grinning ear to ear like he was just presented with the keys to the kingdom. Letting out a gasp as she finally managed to find her footing while gripping the luggage, Sybil could only peek around to stare up at Knox in confusion.

“What in the world would I possibly be riding? You?”

Immediately, Knox sounded off with a choking noise before he began coughing, though it was instantly overshadowed by the cackle of Leena as she threw her head back. Sybil could only readjust her grip on the suitcase, whipping her head between the two as Leena continued to cackle on.

Once she finally began to die down in her laughter, she opted to pocket the gold and wipe under her eyes to rid herself of the tears that had started to form. She moved to say something, but instead simply began to giggle once more. Her hand waved in the air, dismissing the two as she continued to load the luggage and giggle on.

Sybil could only grunt in disapproval as she began to waddle onto the ship, unsure exactly how she was supposed to make it over to Knox’s quarter with the equivalent of a rock in her hands. Still, she continued to make her way across the ship, crewmates practically jumping out of the way as she stomped across the deck. Knox happily walked ahead of her, seemingly content not having to carry such a thing.

Belatedly noticing that his companion was no longer keeping up, the captain's eyes widened with realization and he raced to return to her side once more, easily relieving her of the hefty luggage without so much as a grunt before continuing on towards his quarters.

A grumble sounded from Sybil as he easily scooped the heavy luggage from her hands, though her arms were far too relieved to protest anymore. Instead, she simply silently followed behind the Captain as he walked without much of a care. She did slip ahead of him at some point, using her butt to knock the door open to his quarters. She just barely held it open long enough for him to slip in, quickly opting to throw herself into the bed with a satisfied sigh.

After a few moments of silence in the bed, she turned her head over to Knox and swung her feet back and forth in the air above her. “When are we eating dinner? And when do we begin traveling to see this..Eikka,” she said, raising an eyebrow at Knox as she rolled over again and onto her back. Her fingers were making quick work of loosening the buttons on her top, clearly attending to begin her nap the moment he stopped speaking.

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[sox]

finally, some good fuckin' booze...

knox.

setting down her luggage near the bed with a soft grunt, knox took a brief moment to pop his creaking joints before plopping down at his desk chair, a suitable distance away from where sybil had begun to strip once more after posing her interrogative questions.

“when are we eating dinner? and when do we begin traveling to see this.. eikka?”

'so much for a few days of festive vacationing in the isles,' knox mourned to himself as he flicked through a couple of documents inside his desk drawer in search of the case file on their newfound infamous target. not only had they left the isles with more questions than answers, their one real lead had cost him his hand in marriage— on the surface, at least.

"we eat dinner whenever chef liam says it's ready, like always,"

he answered mindlessly, not once looking up from his paperwork as she settled into his covers yet again. he really needed to do something about her strange habit of crawling into his bed whenever she desired, one that would not fare well whenever they returned to salona.

that being said... would she come along with him, back home?

what would the high-and-mighty amelia think of sybil's crass nature? would his father even let her step foot within their borders if he learned of her shady origins and suspicious abilities? would sybil even want to explore salona after learning of the price he had to pay just now? while they did share a goal in acquiring the second eye, surely she had plenty of other aspirations in life than trailing behind the very self-absorbed prince she had once seemed bent on eliminating with her own violent hands.

ridding himself of this train of thought with a subtle shake of the head, knox flipped the page and sighed wearily, the pitiful few hours of sleep he'd gotten hardly enough to properly fuel whatever brain activity was required of him at the moment. instead, he set down the report and used his sword in its sheath to point at a specific dot on the world map that hung on the well next to one of the bookcases.

"eikka ahti is rumored to have taken over caury,"

he explained briefly, the covered tip of his blade lazily resting against the taut material.

"this island here off the coast of the arlind peninsula. it'll take us roughly four days to get there, give or take depending on the weather."

positive that sybil likely wasn't even looking but unwilling to glance at her happily naked form to confirm, knox propped his sword against the desk again and made his way back towards the door to go discuss their plans with leena and rafael before departure.

"i'll send someone to wake you up when dinner's ready."

.

despite only having raised the anchor a couple of hours ago before the sun began dipping below the horizon, the captain found that his schedule for the day was already jam-packed with double-checking precautionary measures across the ship and squeezing in any last-minute strategy meetings that required his oversight. from confirming their newly optimized navigation route to processing countless correspondence letters regarding his various trade deals across the lands, moments to breathe amidst the chaos were few and far in between.

honestly, his reputation as a spoiled lout be damned— maintaining his lazy lifestyle sure took a hell of a lot more work than it seemed to be worth.

now, however, as he sat among the rest of the crew above deck while they relished the last of the hazy dusk glow over jugs of home-brewed stout and aged black spice rum to warm themselves against the chill of the nighttime breeze, knox couldn't deny that he would never dare to swap his circumstances with amelia's, his brief stint as the crown heir providing plenty of traumatic stories to share with the crew for the left of his aimlessly drifting life.

"she was pretty distracted with her meal, so it only took me half an hour this time,"

leena bragged over her third beer of the night, a loud belch escaping her lips mid-giggle as she recalled her latest attempt to detangle sybil's unruly curls.

"god, i'm so jealous— where else have you ever seen such a vibrant shade of auburn? if i was any worse of a person, i'd buzz it all and take it for myself to sell to some weirdo noble the moment she let her guard down."

knox scoffed and aimed a gentle kick in the direction of her exposed shins, which she deftly avoided with a drunken twirl and a hearty cackle.

"she'd poke your eyes out before you even got the chance to consider it,"

he countered, taking a swig of his own whiskey concoction before continuing.

"the holes on my arm still haven't healed all the way from the last time she let her claws do the talking."

speak of the devil— just as the jest rolled off of his tongue, the captain's eyes locked onto the sight of their freshly-groomed companion approaching from the distance, her newly tailored clothes adorning her womanly figure far better than his own did despite his private opinions on the matter.

"she lives,"

knox crooned sarcastically, leaning back where he sat stretched out against the short deck wall to get comfortable as the familiar warmth of quality liquor mildly clouded his unorganized train of thought. though most of the crew had congregated above deck to join in on the party atmosphere, there were still plenty of open seating options a safe distance from any of their overly-familiar, friendly touches that he expected sybil to opt for.

so then why did she seem to be headed straight for his very own half-occupied bench in particular? perhaps she had some complaints about liam's signature beef lasagna locked and loaded for knox' personal listening pleasure.

"here to steal my drink again?"

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[calypso]

why is it always him in my dreams?

sybil.

As Sybil’s eyes lazily followed Knox’s sheathed sword against the map, she could barely contain herself from rolling her eyes when he pointed out the island they intended to dock in next. While she didn’t bother to learn about Eikka as a siren, she could only imagine what type of man he was if he opted to make that shithole his home. Most sirens knew to stay clear of those waters; Nothing good came from those types of humans. If a siren was idiotic enough to get caught by them…They’d strip every single scale of their tail to turn and sell.

Unceremoniously dropping the shirt she had just been wearing to the side of the bed, Sybil opted to let out a slight hum as she rolled over onto her stomach under the thick blankets. Knox was making a point to not even glance at her, and the thought alone brought a small chuckle to her lips. Even without her siren song, it still seemed that men were unable to resist her.

"I'll send someone to wake you up when dinner's ready."

Sybil only responded with a slight ‘mmm,’ content to drift away into a hopefully dreamless slumber. The last thing she needed on her mind were Knox’s hands on her body…

Ugh.

---

As the rocking ship lulled Sybil to sleep, the bed faded away to the hard wood of the deck above her. The sea was eerily quiet, as if the waves had been quelled by something far more powerful than their own primordial force. As Sybil felt along the deck the darkness in an attempt to gain her bearings, a soft hum began to fill the air.

Instantly, every hair on her arm stood straight up. There was no splash from the sea, but she could hear the song buzzing in her ears, growing louder and louder. It was her song. It was her own voice.

As her vision began to blur and tilt, a weak cough sounded from Sybil. The singing was growing increasingly louder, but she still didn’t know where it was coming from. Her own voice was chiding in her ear, evolving from a sweet melody to a painful buzz that wouldn’t go away. It was just getting louder and louder, and all Sybil could do was claw at her own ears in an attempt to muffle the noise. A scream was ripping from her mouth, but she couldn’t hear it over the meaningless lyrics that drowned out her thoughts.

But as quickly as her song started, it ended. The sea was deadly silent once more, and all she could hear was her own panicked breathing. Yet when she finally raised her head up, her entire body stiffened and threatened to shatter then and there. Her mother was clinging to the railing with her writhing tentacles, though she wasn’t alone as she grinned over at Sybil.

Knox’s lifeless body swung from the grip of one of her tentacles, a growing red welt where his heart should be. His face was a ghastly pale shade, and his lips were ever so parted. As if he was about to call out to her.

Yet he didn’t, and the two were soon diving under the sea soundlessly as Sybil’s own screams began to fill her ears once more.

---

Shooting awake with a panicked huff, Sybil could only grasp at the blankets in front of her blindly as she attempted to ground herself. Noise immediately flooded her ears, including the surprised gasp of Leena, who had been just entering the room with a comb in hand. Glancing over at the woman with a loud sigh, Sybil could only flop backwards into the pillow and accept her grooming fate for the next hour or so.

--

Although the grooming session didn’t take as long as she had predicted, Sybil was still sore in the scalp by the time Leena had finally gotten rid of the last tangle. Food had been provided to her at the very least, and she now found herself rather full for the first time in a bit. Leena had opted to braid her hair down her back, and Sybil admittedly found the style to be quite productive for being on land. No more locks of hair blowing all across her face whenever she stepped outside. Now, the heavy braid swung with each step as she finally found herself on the deck.

As her eyes scanned through the various crew members spread about, she soon found herself once again locking eyes with Knox across the way. He was lazily spread about, the spitting image of a spoiled prince drunk on his own whims. Still, he was the best option out of all these mouth breathers he employed.

Shuddering a bit at the thought of sitting next to a random crewmate, Sybil began to beeline over to Knox, pointedly ignoring his sarcastic quip as she sat herself down and next to him. Although she opted to sit just far enough to not brush against Knox, she still took a moment to eyeball his chest. No blood spouting from a giant empty hole in his chest. Nor any signs of tentacles choking him out.

She glanced up to peer at his face for a moment, before letting out an annoyed huff and shifting her attention to the gathered crew.

“What is this all about? Do these people not have a job to do?”

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[sox]

she looks nice... er than before.

knox.

"what is this all about? do these people not have a job to do?”

"do you?"

knox quipped back easily, raising an eyebrow to challenge her half-hearted complaint.

"unlike someone with a penchant for mid-day naps, the rest of us spend our afternoons hard at work finishing our tasks precisely so that we can indulge in such vices once the sun sets. efficient, wouldn't you say?"

though her choice of seating initially caught him off guard, a brief glance around the other options quickly revealed why she'd settled beside him in the end. with how the other crewmates drunkenly threw their arms around each other's necks and nearly stumbled over the railing with every step, no place would be safer from unwanted touches than within the captain's immediate vicinity.

still... must she sit so close?

knox shifted over to allow sybil more room beside him as his gaze raked over her new attire, able to catch far more details now that she was near enough for the lamplight to illuminate her figure against the nighttime shadows. the tailor did an astonishing job of choosing a silhouette and color palette to complement her natural features, no doubt due to leena's persistent nagging— he would have to reward his trusty navigations expert with some new throwing knives whenever they next visited the smithy.

"if you're so inclined to join us in wasting our time, there's a keg in the back,"

knox drawled on with another swig of his whiskey, stretching out even further when he noticed sybil staring at his chest with an odd expression as his half-buttoned blouse ruffled wherever it pleased in the process.

"or you can choose from one of the bottles in the chest over by raf if you're feeling adventurous. we don't have anywhere to be for the next several days, so i don't plan on holding anyone back from indulging a little extra tonight."

his brow furrowed slightly as a thought belatedly struck him, the corners of his lips curling upwards into a teasing, sarcastic grin.

"except liam. if that oaf sleeps through breakfast prep again, his next paycheck will be in coffee grounds."

a hearty round of laughter rippled through the crew members lingering nearby, agreeing in unison with the captain's heartless sentencing at the nightmarish prospect of waking up to nothing but cold loaves of rye and unseasoned beef broth. despite the passing of three summers and winters, liam had yet to live down the (well-warranted) harassment from that blunder.

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• outfit
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  upper deck
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  calypso
  

coded by reveriee.

 

[calypso]

was I always this dizzy?

sybil.

Scoffing at Knox’s rebuke, she could only roll her eyes to the side to survey the crowd of crew members. Did he truly expect her to roll up her sleeves and start lugging around barrels like some of the ugly bastards he employed? Perhaps he wasn’t above such demeaning work, but she was. Even if he was unaware, she was still a Princess.

“Why would I need to do any of this work? I am not part of the crew in that capacity,” she shot back, taking the moment to snatch up Knox’s drink. Although she didn’t move to immediately chug the amber liquid, she did opt to hold it above her head to examine the content in the dying light of the day. Knox was consistent in his insistence to drink anything and everything that tasted like absolute piss, and she had no doubt this was a drink of that variety. Still, he shouldn’t get away with flippant insults towards her, and pushing him overboard wasn’t an option at the moment. Something told her that the crew that surrounded her at the moment wouldn’t find it nearly as funny as she would.

So instead, she simply winced preemptively and swung the drink back in one gulp, immediately dropping the glass to the floor and letting out a series of sputtering hacks. The drink burned as it went down, and coated her mouth in a horrid flavor that threatened gagging motions. Still, she managed to only cough, and refused to look at Knox as she shoved herself up to her feet. As the crew parted for her hacking form, Sybil simply stumbled over to the nearest keg and dropped to her knees unceremoniously. A moment later, and the cool lager was directly flowing into Sybil mouth as she sat underneath the spigot to the hoots and hollers of crewmates who had assumed she was simply ready to party. While the lager didn’t taste much better, it was a cool relief to the whiskey she had just downed.

After probably a bit too long of a time chugging, she shifted the spigot off and wiped at her mouth as a final cough or two worked its way out her system. The crew once again parted as she shuffled her way back, loudly plopping herself considerably closer to Knox. Her cheeks were flushed from the experience, though there was a good chance the rosy hue would remain given how much booze she had managed to down in the last minute. She turned to say something to Knox, but instead a loud burp ripped out from her lips. A gasp followed immediately after as the men around them broke into laughter, with Sybil clasping both her hands over her mouth to turn away Knox. The flush on her cheeks had turned into a full-blown blush, and a sneaking case of the hiccups were starting to form.

What had she just done to herself?

As Sybil continued to hide away in her hands, a few of the crewmates across the boat began to break out into terrible renditions of songs and tunes. Although Sybil was currently refusing to look at Knox in the eyes after her display, she was taking the opportunity to peer over at the men singing horribly off-pitch. They were lucky to not be in siren territory just yet; One siren could easily wipe the entire crew out for no reason but offense at their inability to carry a single note straight.

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  upper decks
• tags

  sox

coded by reveriee.

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