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Fantasy 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙣. - [1𝙭1]

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?"



coded by reveriee.
 
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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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coded by reveriee.
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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?"



coded by reveriee.
 
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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coded by reveriee.
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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?"



coded by reveriee.
 
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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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coded by reveriee.
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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.


coded by reveriee.
 
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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coded by reveriee.
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oh... oh... hm.
knox.
“why would i need to do any of this work? i am not part of the crew in that capacity.”


just as knox fixed his mouth to explain the give-and-take dynamics of room and board whilst squatting aboard someone else's ship, the words died on his tongue in an instant as his drink was deftly swiped from his grasp, unable to get a single protest in before sybil had downed the liquor in one fell swoop. malt whiskey certainly wasn't the type of beverage one was meant to chug, and her immediate gagging motions reflected just that; regardless of the subtle swell of worry blooming in his chest at her evident struggle, however, he couldn't help the widening grin on his lips at the sight of his stubborn companion finishing the entire drink nonetheless, impressed enough to let out a low, approving whistle.

his expression transformed, however, when she stumbled over to the beer keg and dropped to her knees, parting her plush lips beneath the spigot to swallow gulp after gulp of the hoppy lager within. the crude image sent a rush of heat to his cheeks and something else somewhere else, vision glazing over while somehow still remaining laser-focused on her ever-determined figure across the deck.

'heavens, you must stop testing me like this,' he thought to himself as he broke his gaze to pick up his discarded mug off the floor and attempt to recollect his bearings. 'i damn near fail every time...'

the tension in his joints found an unexpected reprieve, however, when sybil plopped down beside him and released the loudest belch she'd mustered to date, a proper testament to her dedication to joining in on their drunken exploits on this raucous evening. the captain blinked in shock a few times before breaking out into a fit of laughter, tossing his head back joyously and nearly tumbling over in the process.

"you sure seem like part of the crew to me,"
knox quipped after taking a moment to catch his breath, feeling relaxed once more now that his previous forbidden train of thought had been thoroughly derailed.
"here, hold on..."


twisting away from sybil, he rummaged through one of the storage crates beside him and retrieved a sealed, glass bottle of water, which he promptly placed in sybil's lap before leaning back against the deck wall once more. his arm rested along the railing behind sybil out of habit more than any sort of conscious gesture, concern still floating around the back of his head that she might topple over at any moment now that she'd gone ahead and raced to out-drink him.

with the rest of the crew quickly catching up to sybil in no time, bottle after empty bottle filling the bins around them as the moon beamed down on them through hazy swaths of clouds, gerald brought out his usual dingy, old guitar and the blubbering men broke into song as naturally as the sea breeze, endearingly out of tune and following their own individual melodies. knox hardly cared to stop them, already plenty used to the grating cacophany and loving it all the same, but sybil's bewildered, peering gaze made it clear that she was not of the same mindset.

"got any songs you wanna sing?"
he asked her quietly, voice low as he moved his lips closer to her ear so as not to catch anyone else's attention and unwittingly put her on the spot.
"you're probably better than these donkeys— as low of a bar as that is..."



coded by reveriee.
 
at least i'm far more talented.
sybil.
As Sybil kept her face primarily buried away in the safe cocoon of her own hands, she couldn’t help but take notice of the warm sensation that was tingling across her toes and up to her fingers. She was well aware of the antics humans pulled late at night when only the moon was watching, sloshing their drink overboard into the sea below. She had always assumed it was of their own (idiotic) volition, but the buzz that was settling over her brain begged to differ.

Knox’s boisterous laughter, however, was enough to stir her brain from her train of thought. Although she had heard him chuckle on occasion, this was the most joyous she had seen him. Was a burp really that funny to him? As she felt the cool glass plop into her lap, she opted to peek at him through her fingers. How was he handling everything so…lightly? To her, he looked like he had not a single care in the world. All that mattered to him was the happiness contained on this ship, it seemed.

As Knox opted to lean behind Sybil with her arm threateningly close to her shoulders, she finally lowered her hands down slowly to grasp the glass he had given her. It was cold and already sweating, a momentary relief to how hot she felt all of a sudden. Instead of twisting it open to guzzle down the contents, she instead opted to just hold the cool glass against her cheek. It made the world spin just a bit slower.

As the men around her continued to sing, she chose to simply stare for the time being. They were all horrible, horrible singers, but that didn’t seem to bother them much at all. They were swinging each other around, red in the cheeks, and refusing to back down from belting out even the most off-key of notes. It was odd…to delight in being so untalented at something. Humans were odd. Odd.

As her thoughts proceeded to repeat in her drunken mind, it took her a moment to realize that Knox was whispering right next to her ear. Her head immediately turned to face him, not noticing just how close he actually was. In an instant, Sybil’s own face was inches away from Knox’s, her lips slightly parted in surprise at his general willingness to be so close. Close enough to feel his own breath on her lips.

What was he saying? Sing? She could sing. She could definitely sing.

Casting a far too long glance down at Knox’s lips, Sybil didn’t answer him but instead simply let out a grunt in reply. She pushed back and away from the Captain, barely managing to get onto her own two feet after wobbling heavily for a moment. Still, she managed to steady herself enough to immediately climb onto the bench they had previously sat upon. Her arms swung in circles for a few seconds as she gathered herself, before a loud stomp gathered the attention of the men on the deck.

Placing a hand over her mouth as another burp (or vomit) threatened to work its way up, Sybil attempted to come up with a singular good idea. She didn’t know a single human song, and to sing any siren song would be asking to get thrown overboard.

So instead, she parted her lips to begin a wordless tune. She was harmonizing with no one, but the note carried itself throughout the ship as the rest of the men grew silent. It was a simple melisma, but the deathly silence of the crowd only worked to amplify it as she continued on. She couldn’t think of the last time she had sung like this without luring a prince to his death, though a prince was still in her audience tonight.

Shifting her gaze over to Knox as she continued through the single syllable of ‘ah,’ there was an odd look transfixed upon her features. Her eyes were half-lidded, though locked onto Knox. As if she was singing to him and only him.

Unfortunately for Sybil, as she moved to take a step forwards Knox, her drunkenness offered no support. Immediately wavering, her song was cut short as she wobbled off the bench and directly forward into Knox, a shout of surprise sounding as she toppled off.

Very graceful.
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coded by reveriee.
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. . .
knox.
blinking in surprise at the initial shove, the ever-present concern in knox's eyes transformed into blatant amusement as a pleased grin overtook his expression, plenty content with sitting back and enjoying the show sybil seemed determined to and confident enough to ace before the very crew she once seemed to hold little regard for. how far she'd come in little over a week, no longer bearing much resemblance to the fearsome, defensive wildcat that had greeted them.

when she parted her lips and began crooning a wordless tune, however, each pristine, saccharine melody dancing spontaneously along the sea breeze like the effortless notes of a woodwind instrument, all trains of thought running inside the captain's head derailed in an instant. with a serene voice so warm and evocative it didn't need lyrics, she was nothing short of enchanting to the captain, stunned into silence along with the rest of the audience at the instinctual performance of someone who sang as naturally as she breathed.

the nail in the coffin came when sybil unexpectedly turned to fix her stare upon his bewildered form, hooded eyes and unflinching focus sending piping hot lava through his veins as he froze save for the subtle tensing of his jaw. this was dangerous territory to explore, thrilling territory that would usually be reserved for women who saw him as a man and vice versa, and while his better judgement understood the risk in failing to nip this in the bud, he simply could not look away. hazel irises glazed over and nerve endings on high alert, the prince's gaze darkened with something unbridled, his own intoxicated expression giving away his unrealized attraction as he found himself a captive to her song.

before he could lose himself completely and do something he would truly regret, however, knox was suddenly shaken from his stupor when sybil lost her footing with a surprised yelp and stumbled directly into his lap, his previously slack hands dropping his empty mug to catch her by the waist and fold her into his embrace as one would something precious, tucking her face into the crook of his neck while his hazy mind raced to catch up with his body.

perhaps natasha had been more accurate in her assessment of their relationship than he'd given her credit for back then. damn it all. that shrewd bat always had to have the last laugh.

"whoa, easy there, songbird,"
he teased with a chuckle before loosening his grip enough for her to pull away, his wide palm unconsciously running down the grooves of her spine to rest on the small of her back as he continued in a more serious tone once the crew's laughter came to a close and they no longer cared to pay attention to them.
"that was beautiful, sybil. seriously— thank you for the treat."


a rather physically affectionate person by nature, the captain thought little of collecting sybil onto his lap and keeping her there, making no move to push her off despite his prior inhibitions towards being in close proximity to the unpredictably violent woman. they were but two young people enjoying the present beneath the iridescent glow of the full moon— this much was fine, self-indulgent and willfully impulsive but not enough to cross that threshold into uncharted waters just yet...

'surely.'


coded by reveriee.
 
the floor is a lot closer than i remember
sybil.
When Sybil had turned human, she knew her siren song was gone. She had felt it ripped from her throat the moment her tail began to split, and watched it float away to nothing as she screamed to no one in pain. For a good while, she had assumed that her human singing voice would be nothing short of horrendous, but as she crooned out to the captivated crew around her, it seems she hadn’t lost all of her song just yet.

Still, it was like she was intoxicated by even just a glimmer of her own power. Perhaps it was more the booze talking rather than instinct, but seeing Knox just lazing about there…She couldn’t help herself. All she could think about was his heart beating just under his skin, right there for the taking. It was always right there, tempting her. Just out of reach.

Perhaps it was a weak defense as to why she bothered to step towards him as she sang. She wasn’t going to rip his heart then and there, especially not with his crew armed to the teeth. But the instinct…She couldn’t deny the tug at her core. How badly she ached to truly sing.

Unfortunately, none of that really mattered in the end, because all it took was one wrong step for Sybil to get abruptly cut off from her song. Tumbling forward with a surprised yelp, she couldn’t even squeeze her eyes closed fast enough in preparation for slamming into the deck. However, instead of a hard wooden floor, she was instead met with a grunt and the firm body of Knox as she slammed into him for the second time in her life. A groan of her own sounded as her face was knocked into his shoulder, though Knox seemed mostly unphased as he hands roamed across her body in an attempt to secure them both into place.

"whoa, easy there, songbird,"

As Knox’s low voice hummed in her ear and his hand ran down her back, Sybil let out both a groan and a shudder. Her sudden tumble had sent the world spinning far more than before, and she was hardly aware of where she exactly was. Leaning back with a confused scowl on her face, Sybil could only stare at Knox for a few moments before she let out a drunken ‘pssh.’ One hand came up to haphazardly push and smush his face to the side as she rotated out of his grip, nearly stumbling right back down to the floor after.

Still, she managed to right herself and start her clumsy walk right back over to the keg. It seemed like she wasn’t quite done drinking just yet, despite her sudden inability to even form a coherent sentence. An already filled mug was quickly passed to Sybil, and the contents were soon drained as she teetered from side to side.

Letting out a hiccup and nearly doubling over, Sybil once again moved to fill up the mug. However, her hand simply hovered over the spigot for a moment before she began to slowly tilt sideways. It seems like she had finally lost her ability to balance for the evening.

Thankfully she avoided slamming into the floor once more, instead stumbling into a keg that was full enough to support her weight. Another hiccup sounded as some crew mate hooted around her, Sybil barely hearing their encouragement over the buzz in her ears. What exactly was she doing again? Drink...She needed another drink...
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coded by reveriee.
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and on that note, it's bedtime!
knox.
as delightful as the sight of a blissfully drunken sybil stumbling across the deck in search of more alcohol after messily shoving him away was proving to be to the tipsy captain— perhaps he really was the closeted sadist his grumbling crew members painted him as after a long day of equipment check-ups— her haphazard footsteps and consistent bumping into the barrels across the deck gave rise to mild concern cutting through the amusement. though he remained a devout believer in suffering the consequences of one's own poor decision-making, whether that be a crippling, hangover-induced migraine or a myriad of bruises she wouldn't remember acquiring, the situation became quite a bit different when she sported a lovely streak of taking out her morning grouchiness on the unsuspecting people in her vicinity.

with a heavy sigh at the prospect of budging from his all-too-comfortable lounging spot amidst the dwindling liquor bottles, knox begrudgingly climbed to his booted feet and sauntered over to the innocent keg that sybil had latched onto for dear life, half-heartedly trying to suppress his bubbling laughter for fear of incurring her wrath and tarnishing their almost touching moment of familiarity just a few moments prior.

"that's enough of that, i reckon,"
he declared unilaterally, clamping his palm down onto the top of sybil's head with the unmistakable, stabilizing weight of finality.
"you'll drink yourself right over the deck wall if you don't quit now— unless you want me to fish you out a second time?"


without leaving room for a single syllable of protest, the captain crouched down and motioned for her to climb onto his back, an unspoken offer to transport her back to the safety of a warm, comfortable bed before she unwittingly banged her joints on any other hard, unyielding surfaces. taking notice of what he was trying to achieve from a few feet away but understanding that his drunk target may not have reached the same conclusion, a thoroughly flushed leena— bless her heart and her wits— stepped forth from where she rested leaning against a doorway and gave sybil a helpful shove from behind, toppling her forward against the captain's broad back whether she wanted to or not.

"now, captain!"
she whooped, maniacal grin lighting up her expression.
"go, go, go!"


and just like that, they were off.

with an ironclad grip on her thighs to keep his unstable cargo from slipping, knox raced back to his quarters in the blink of an eye, speeding down the rickety stairs and hastily depositing her atop the plush mattress before she could release the contents of her stomach onto his freshly laundered blouse.

"you need to get some sleep,"
he lazily ordered— much more a noncommittal suggestion than any sort of real command— as he dragged a precautionary trash bin towards the edge of the bed frame and lingered there until she properly reoriented herself beneath the quilts, a dry chuckle escaping his lips at the familiar expression on her pretty, pink face.
"but drink some more water first... there's a bottle on the ledge behind you."

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coded by reveriee.
 
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ssssilllly captain...
sybil.
Sybil didn’t exactly remember when she went from standing upright to nearly collapsing against a keg, nor did she feel it. Perhaps it was for the best, given just how hard she hit said keg on her way down. All she could truly think about was…what was it? An annoyed grumble left her lips as she lost her own train of thought, only able to focus on keeping herself somewhat upright. Though it would be a lot nicer if she was able to just lay…flat. The world was spinning far too rapidly, after all.

As she half-heartedly debated going splay on the harsh wooden planks of the deck, Sybil hardly noticed Knox’s rather noisy approach. She only bothered to recognize his existence when a large hand plopped down upon her head. He said something to her, but everything was rather fuzzy at the moment. He wanted to go fishing? Seems stupid, there were plenty of fish already on the ship…

A grumble sounded from Sybil as she half-heartedly attempted to swipe his hand off her head, though the motion itself nearly sent it spiraling in the other direction. The braid that Leena had lovingly woven her hair into was nearly undone at this point, though it was the only thing currently keeping Sybil’s hair even a bit tamed.

As Sybil attempted to balance herself after her failed smack against Knox, she barely had time to register him crouching down in front of her before a squawk of surprise sounded. Something had slammed into her, and it now appeared she was on Knox’s back. Maybe? Something was holding onto her legs…The hoots and hollers around them did nothing to answer her unvoiced questions, and she instead opted to simply grip whatever her hands landed on.

Unfortunately for Knox, that entirely consisted of his face and hair. One hand gripped at his cheek, threatening to pull his mouth open as he galloped the duo off the deck at a pace Sybil couldn’t even register. She only realized the change of scenery when her back hit the plush mattress of the bed, a drunken giggle rolling of her lips as Knox slowly pried her fingers away from any orifice left unviolated on his visage.

Still, the Captain wasn’t escaping the drunken vixen just yet. As he moved to place a bin aptly near her head, Sybil let out another fit of drunken giggles and made a quick grab for him. Without giving him a moment to think, her fingers curled around the back of his head and forced his face directly into her chest. The rumbles of her laughter could be heard, though they were mellowing out to a low hum.

Her intention wasn’t simply to shove Knox between her tits, at the very least. All she could think about was the roaring beat of her own heart that had become ever present in her ears over the course of the night. How loudly it drummed over any noise that threatened to drown it out. How human it was to actually have something beating in her chest compared to the hollowed silence of her typical form.

Yet her drunken mind couldn’t articulate that in any capacity to Knox, and sober Sybil certainly wouldn’t explain that either, least she wanted to face the gallows for being a siren. So instead, the intoxicated Sybil simply kept Knox locked against her chest with another giggle, her words slurring together to barely make a coherent sentence.

“Lisssen….Soooloud….Iss so loud….” She mumbled out to him, a rumble sounding in her chest once more as an actual laugh began to pull itself from her lips. Seems like she wasn’t letting go of him so easily this evening.
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coded by reveriee.
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i made her cry. oh my god. fuck.
knox.
between the obscuring shadows cast across the barely illuminated chambers by the flickering candlelights and the swirling haze clouding his vision from the liquor he'd just tossed back moments prior, the usually vigilant captain's eyes widened in surprise when sybil curled her fingers into the hair just above the nape of his neck dragged him down along with her, pressing his face against her freshly-bathed chest with some drunken mumbling about loudness that he couldn't quite discern the meaning of.

"sy—"
he tried to voice in protest, but his words were smothered into oblivion as she doubled down on their newfound position with added pressure against his head. sure, being locked in the embrace of a beautiful woman and her ample rack wasn't the worst place a man could find himself on a tranquil night beneath the stars, but suffocating to death at a young age in such unsuspecting circumstances wasn't quite how he'd pictured meeting his grisly end.

despite her sudden surge of strength, knox eventually pried himself free from her grasp and decisively pinned her back against the mattress with a firm grip on her shoulders and one knee on the bed for leverage; panting heavily from the exertion and mildly distracted by the enticing view of her tousled blouse, however, he nearly missed the telltale glistening of tears welling up in sybil's eyes at the sudden loss of his presence in her arms.

frozen at the unfamiliar, vulnerable expression on her typically stoic features, panic coursed through his veins as he tried to wrack his brain for what could possibly be upsetting her so much about this situation— was he being too rough? he did sometimes struggle with controlling his strength... or maybe her arms were sore from carrying the luggage earlier that day, his tardy assistance coming a moment too late... did she perhaps begin to miss her family, stuck helplessly on a stranger's ship?

a million and one possibilities filtered through the captain's head at once, each making less sense than the last thanks to his thoroughly inebriated thought process.

"no, no, no..."
knox murmured, glancing around for something soft to wipe her cheeks with before opting to let go of one shoulder and use his own sleeve instead. this was hardly the time to find her shimmering irises captivating, but he couldn't tear his gaze away from the abyssal whirlpools beneath him.
"don't cry— i'm sorry, please..."

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coded by reveriee.
 
[incoherent drunken sobs]
sybil.
Sybil was barely able to register Knox’s quick cry of protest before she muffled him in her own bosom, her laughter drowning out any noise he made thereafter. Infact, his attempts at protesting the current situation only made her giggle more. What exactly was so funny about the situation? She didn’t quite know, or remember exactly why Knox was shoved against her. Was it his choice? Probably..

Sybil’s giggles were cut short though, as Knox began to squirm his way out of her grip. Although she should have made the connection that it was possible he couldn’t breathe, she instead just let out a whine and continued to grip at his hair in an attempt to pull him back. He was warm, and she needed to be warm. Or cold. Maybe she was already warm…What was she doing again?

Still, the alcohol was working against Sybil rather than for her, it seemed. Even if she was sober, she wouldn’t have been able to fight Knox off for long, but perhaps a bit better than she was now. A whine sounded as he pried himself free from her grip, though one of her hands remained locked into his hair. Her feet kicked helplessly, though she ceased the action rather quickly when she realized that only made her head spin more. Without even realizing it, however, Sybil was soon pinned down by her shoulders to the bed as Knox panted above her. Although her vision was still swimming, he seemed a bit flushed in the face. Why was he so worn out? She was the one who should be…Should be…

As she lost her own train of thought once more, Sybil let out a sniffling whimper. Tears were already forming, though she was hardly conscious of the fact. All she knew was once the tears began, they didn’t seem to stop. Why was he being so mean to her now? Didn’t he want her to be happy?

As she began to ugly bawl on the bed beneath Knox, Sybil feebly attempted to swat his hand away as he moved in to wipe her tears. Although his concern was sweet, it was completely lost on the drunken fool in front of him.

Letting out a choking sob as she kicked her feet in protest again, Sybil only worked to yank on his head once more as she refused to let go. She was blubbering something out as she did, but it truly only sounded equivalent to word soup. Although she wasn’t gentle by any means as she tried to pull him back down, it didn’t seem malicious. Her intent wasn’t to hurt him, but instead…snuggle with him? Use him as a weight blanket?

Another squawking sob sounded as she attempted to finally bring him down once and for all, her other hand awkwardly trying to grab the blanket at the same time. Her fine motor skills were completely lost, and she was coming dangerously close to also slamming her free fist into his skull in an attempt to seemingly wrap them both up. Perhaps it would be best if Knox simply did what she wanted, at the very least to quiet her down as she continued her drunken sobs and incoherent slurring of words.

“Blllanket…COLD! Iaaaaam…Knooooooooox,” was moaned out by Sybil, her little tantrum slowly losing speed. Maybe the booze was finally putting her out.
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well.
knox.
despite the prompt attempt to contain sybil's distress at the first sight of her glazed over irises and pouting bottom lip, knox's efforts proved to be completely in vain when she burst out in wailing sobs, insisting on something unintelligible through strained breaths and batting his hands away from her face in frustration. his eyes widened even further, guilt wracking his gut at having caused this reaction someway, somehow without even realizing it.

to the bewildered captain, this current episode clearly wasn't a repeat of their festival mishaps on the isles— she had been plenty fine with the cacophony caused by the raucous crowd upstairs until just now— so what could he possibly be missing? memories belatedly flickered by of their previous night together, of sybil mercilessly clinging onto his bicep as though he, too, were made of plush cushion and silky fabrics. could she be...?

“blllanket… cold! iaaaaam… knooooooooox.”


"okay, calm down, i hear you—"
knox urged in hushed tones as the crying mess beneath him resumed kicking her feet and tugging on his locks with a newfound desperation, fixated on toppling his balance for some pressing reason he couldn't properly digest through the drunk haze fogging his mind. regardless of the confusion, he moved as instructed if only to alleviate the bruising grip on his hair, resting his weight down on the space directly beside her and tugging the blanket over from where it lay discarded along the wall to cover their torsos.

already rather overheated due to the whiskey circulating in his blood stream, knox carefully pried sybil's icy fingers loose from the back of his head with a low, tense breath and welcomed the frigidness of her palms instead, pressing them against the partially exposed skin of his chest. was his racing heart palpable to the touch, pounding as loudly through his ribcage as it was in his ears at their sudden proximity?

"here..."
the captain cracked a small, crooked smile through the darkness at long last, relieved that he hadn't misread her vague cues thus far and sacrificed an eyeball or two along the way, as he tried to find the right words to convince her to cease her sobs for good.
"warm, right? i'll stay, so stop crying."

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coded by reveriee.
 
...
sybil.
Sybil let out a loud and deep sniffle in protest of her circumstances, trying to avoid any snot dripping from her nose at the very least. She was quickly losing strength to keep up her battle against him, and all the movement was truly testing her ability to keep the contents of her stomach inside. His grumbles of protest for her to calm down weren’t lost this time, however. A whine sounded, but she allowed him to move down next to her without anymore kicking or fussing. (Thankfully, it seemed like Knox wasn’t getting nailed in the crotch again tonight.)

Letting Knox pry her fingers away from his scalp, a slight coo of approval sounded from the drunken woman as he moved to press them against his warm skin. She had barely noticed just how parted his shirt had become, the ink that marked his skin now visible up close. His skin was so warm…Boiling, even. This type of warmth wasn’t found with other sirens. Even if she was ever forced to hold one close, their skin was always ice and lifeless. It was also still…Siren hears didn’t beat, if they even had one. But Knox’s heart was beating wildly, as if it wanted to burst out of his chest at the very moment and leap into her hands. If she had his heart…She’d hold it close, covet it. She wouldn’t bother to bury it with the others in the shingles of the ocean. She’d keep it hidden and always on her. Her prize.

As she blinked away the tears in an attempt to make her vision a bit more clear, she caught sight of the small smile slipping across Knox’s face only a few inches away from her. His breath smelled similar to the drinks they were downing only a bit ago, though she also couldn’t deny the overwhelming scent of him surrounding her. His cologne was ever-present, though Sybil still couldn’t place the scent on anything she knew. It was just too human.

With the tears finally mellowed out, Sybil let out a content sigh. The blanket had already been pulled over the duo, and she could quickly feel herself losing her grip on staying conscious. Still, it didn’t stop her from one final act of drunkenness.

As she laid with her palms pressed against his chest, Sybil let out a low hum and slid her hands further along his pectoral. In seconds, she had managed to practically slip her arms inside his shirt to wrap her arms around his shoulders. In doing so, she was drawn closer against him. Her cheek planted itself firmly against his chest as her nails lightly dragged along his back, another content sigh sounding off. Even her legs were threatening to tangle with his own due to their close proximity, and given their circumstances, it didn’t seem too unlikely to happen. Sybil was fully latched onto the Captain without a care in the world.

Now, if she were sober…If Sybil were sober, this sort of thing would never happen. Ever. She wouldn’t even entertain the thought of Knox brushing her hair to the side. But right now, that didn’t matter much. Her breath was tickling against the skin of his chest as it began to even out, while her fingers idly traced shapes against his back. She had managed to only pop open an extra button or two to sneak her arms into his chest, but she’d likely stretch out the poor garment if left like this for hours.

Still, that wasn’t for her to worry about. As Sybil faded away into a silent slumber, Knox was left to deal with the fact that this was his circumstances for the foreseeable future.
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it's fine. we're fine! i'm fine.
knox.
relieved enough that his plan for calming her down had finally borne fruit to relax his tense shoulders at long last, knox found himself staring down the barrel of a brand new challenge in the form of sybil's flimsy arms snaking around his torso, her frigid skin searing to the touch beneath the folds of his blouse. he froze in place, overheated brain stuck on a frozen loading screen as he became essentially anchored in place once her cheek smushed against his chest.

'she's drunk, that's all,' he reasoned with his very rational, very level-headed, definitely not panicked self. 'this means nothing, she's just... just... ah, fuck.'

grateful that the encompassing darkness fully obscured his fiery red cheeks from view if she dared to rouse from her stupor and glance up at that moment, the captain begrudgingly conceded that his only option was to make peace with his current predicament and set to work unbuttoning his shirt to ease the tension. a shudder ran down his spine as her fingernails roamed freely across the expanse of his back and her legs burrowed between his own, but he resolved to focus his efforts on the task before him lest her wandering touch distract him beyond the point of no return.

"night, then,"
he mumbled under his breath once she was tucked firmly against his bare chest, one of his own arms coming to rest securely around her waist while the other supported the back of his head as he got comfortable enough in their new position to begin to doze off.
"you better remember in the morning that it was you who did this..."





despite the initial troubles posed by a messy, drunken sybil and her nighttime squabbles, knox slept rather peacefully compared to the first time they'd shared a bed. her intense clinging to his broad frame was far more bearable in this manner, her light presence atop his chest providing a pleasant weight for a deeper slumber, and when he awoke just before the sun began to soar through the skies he found himself just as unwilling as he was unable to budge from the cozy nest they'd created among the pillowy duvets.

poking sybil's cheeks a few times to test if she'd wake up anytime soon, the captain took the opportunity to trace the lines and slopes of her face with his eyes up close, a rare chance that only seemed to arise when she was knocked out cold. she had been so rowdy and ambitious the night before, riding a high of self-confidence and spite, yet resembled a limp, docile housecat now that the adrenaline had worn off. he found himself smiling warmly before he knew it, pleased that she had opened up just enough to enjoy herself a little among his favorite people.

with no end in sight to sybil's unconscious cuddle session, knox stacked a few pillows behind his head to prop it up enough so he could continue the novel he'd been reading before their stop at the isles. the faded tome seemed to be nothing more than a fanciful tale of adventure and betrayal to the untrained eye, yet to those with a watchful gaze and background knowledge on its elusive author, a plethora of useful information on their next destination secretly hid between its yellowing pages.

the book recounted the grandiose tale of an enchanting young traveler from the holy kingdom of ascye who'd journeyed out west per her father's orders to spread the word of their lord almighty, only to stumble across a hidden trove full of ancient wonders and treasures seemingly forgotten amidst the endless plains. little did she know, however, that a local gang of thieves had already claimed that trove as their hideout, and though she fought tirelessly to make her escape, the crew seized the missionary and enslaved her to several years of mercenary work before betrothing her to their violent, volatile leader.

as a weary woman of broken faith and little trust left to offer, the vengeful traveler stabbed the leader on their wedding bed and fled in the dead of night back to her hometown in the holy kingdom. to her horror and astonishment, however, the people of ascye neither welcomed her nor tried to understand her predicament, instead shunning the traveler as a failed missionary who'd opened her legs for filth on the street.

filled the brim with years of pent up rage, she concocted a plan for revenge on the community that had betrayed her, carefully leaking the whereabouts of the treasure trove to the clerics and watching on with glee as they were helplessly slaughtered one by one at the hands of the former leader's son, who'd matured quickly after witnessing the death of his father by sheer coincidence through the bedroom window from the courtyard. he later became renowned through the lands for his unadulterated brutality, taking on a name referring to the sharpness of his blade and terrorizing the seas of the west in his father's place.

knox pored over the fine lines of text with great attention, analyzing each detail for clues that could help him understand their opponent before rushing straight into the wolves' den. the author had penned this gruesome tale under a pseudonym forgotten in the past, but it wasn't difficult to understand why she couldn't use her real name when publishing her story. this was an age of patriarchy and dominion, and thus one must be crafty if they wished to fight the endless odds stacked against them.

as he neared the finale of the harrowing tale with a grim expression, his focus shifted to sybil who had begun to squirm against his chest, drawing his vigilant attention with bated breath when he realized she might very well lash out once she awoke to find herself properly wrapped around his figure from head to toe.
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coded by reveriee.
 
please throw me overboard again.
sybil.
As Sybil faded away from consciousness, all the troubles in her mind seemed to melt away. She was pressed up against a nice warm thing, and it was holding onto her tight enough to satisfy her need to be bundled up. There was no need to worry about her mother, or killing Knox, or gaining the Second Eye. All she needed to do…was sleep.

Unfortunately, the bliss couldn’t last forever. Although Sybil was for once without dreams, the steep price of the previously comfortable night was finally weighing in. As her mind slowly returned to being awake, an annoyed groan sounded from the woman. Her eyes remained shut, as the bright morning light shining into the room was enough to nearly knock her back out. A pounding had begun in her head, and it was immediately apparent it was meant to stay for the day. Another groan sounded in annoyance as she opted to bury her face into whatever she had been asleep on, the assumption being a pillow.

Unfortunately for Sybil, there was no pillow under her head. Instead, there was simply the firm chest of Knox. It was also rather unfortunate for Knox as she moved to practically wipe a bit of drool from her mouth against his skin, unaware of her grievances as they unfolded before the two.

Letting out a sharp yawn but still keeping her eyes squeezed shut, Sybil began to move one hand that was resting against his stomach. Perhaps originally just a bid to stretch out her limbs, her movements stiffen after a second or so. Her fingers then began to roam once again over the abs on his stomach, freezing and stopping a bit too close to his waist.

Immediately, Sybil’s eyes flew open with a shout of surprise as she nearly flung herself backwards. She didn’t get too far, thanks to the blanket that was swaddled around the two of them. Flopping backwards and away from Knox as the comforter wrapped around her, Sybil took the opportunity to quickly wrap the entire quilted blanket over her face.

Under the safety of the blanket, Sybil quickly moved to wipe the remaining drool from herself and cursed internally. Had she really lost that much control over herself? That she was snuggled up against Knox, none the wiser?

And KNOX! He had seemed rather comfy with himself, all snuggled up against her without a care in the world. Under her blanket fortress, a cough sounded as she attempted to hide a gagging noise at her own poor and drunken decisions. She had basically felt up Knox’s entire stomach. And while she couldn’t deny how nice his chest felt, and how interesting the abs on his stomach…

Another violent cough sounded as she practically slammed her face into the bed, a muffled scream sounding as her face flushed red. Worse of all, she was having her entire meltdown in front of the prime suspect. Given, she was ‘protected’ by the blanket, but she didn’t want to see how Knox looked at the moment without the rest of the cover.

Sybil was never drinking again.

As silence slowly began to take over her lump on the bed, Sybil could only gauge if she was still blushing based on the heat in her face. She didn’t want to come out red in the face, but she couldn’t deny her overwhelming desire to down an entire jug of water too. The pounding headache was still present, simply put on the backburner in lieu of every other awful thing she had managed to do in a single night.

Finally, her voice arose from the blanket. It was rough from the eventful night, and the current lack of water in her system.

“I’m not coming out.”

Impressively, Sybil had finally managed to form a conjugation in the common tongue. Unfortunate that it was in these circumstances.
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hahahahahaha... cute...
knox.
given her track record during the short time that the captain had known her, the sybil that he was familiar with would never back down from the opportunity to lash out in a moment of humiliation, maybe land a close-ranged blow if he didn't bother to shove her away in time as she languidly traced her fingers over the grooves of his stomach. and while she did, indeed, sport the exact expression of mortification on her face that he'd pictured in his ruminations upon realizing her unconscious whims, he certainly hadn't expected her reaction to be so... cute.

a bare-chested knox could only watch on in amusement as she tumbled backwards towards the opposite end of the mattress, taking the entire duvet with her as she shielded her flushed face from view to not-so-privately muffle her screams. not that he could blame her— she did just fondle his entire abdomen, after all, and she didn't even have the alcohol in her bloodstream to blame this time.

"i’m not coming out.”


"like hell you're not,"
he responded through low, residual chuckles as he sat up and fastened the buttons of his blouse.
"you spend all night manhandling my poor, delicate body however you please, and only now you feel shame? tsk."


despite the light sarcasm coating his jests, knox couldn't help the toothy grin tugging at his lips as he observed the quivering heap that contained sybil. considering how much she'd had to drink the previous evening with little care against mixing liquors in her plight to get wasted, she was likely feeling just shy of death's door at the moment. in the end, he couldn't help but feel bad for the ambitious girl who'd only wanted to experience firsthand the carefree joys of a sailor's vices.

the captain swung his legs over the edge of the mattress and climbed out of bed, leaving his warm spot behind as he approached the enshrouded sybil. without a word of warning, he scooped the entire heap up and plopped her down where he was previously sitting, letting her take the middle of the mattress to get some more rest without his presence making her uncomfortable any longer.

"don't bother acting tough,"
he advised with a soft scoff, placing his icy water canteen next to her on the bed along with a small bin in case she suddenly felt nauseous.
"i know you feel like shit. that's what happens when you drink yourself stupid— lesson learned, yeah? serves you right for molesting your savior."


he snickered to himself before remembering that he was still within striking range of his volatile companion and begrudgingly stifled his amusement.
"just hydrate, sleep some more, and you might feel better in a few hours..."
a pause, smile widening into a shit-eating grin once again.
"maybe."

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this is still somehow his fault.
sybil.
As Sybil huddled away under the very flimsy safety of the duvet, the heat that graced her cheeks refused to vacate . Of course Knox was taking this all in stride; It was prime material to mess with her in the future. The Prince was nothing but predictable. Still, that didn’t alleviate any of the racing thoughts thundering through her head. On how terrible her body ached now that she was actually awake. How little she could remember of the previous night, with only glimpses of blurred memories fluttering by. How warm Knox was, and how nice it felt to…

The heat on her face quickly spread to her ears, and she resisted biting down on her own hand to try and snap herself out of the situation she was in. How could she possibly let herself be having these thoughts? Especially about Knox.

As his name crossed over her mind, she felt the weight of the bed become significantly lighter alongside as he stood up. Not daring to peek out from behind her blanket, Sybil opted to strain her ears in an attempt to listen to his footsteps. Not much came from her attempts, however, thanks to the plush rugs that lined nearly every inch of his room. Still, it sounded like for just a moment, he was getting closer…

A surprised yelp sounded from Sybil as he suddenly enveloped her in the equivalent of a bear hug, blanket and all. Scooped up from her position on the bed, Sybil couldn’t even struggle or flail thanks to her previously thought to be safe cover. She really needed to convey to this…this man that picking her up unprompted was not something he was permitted to do, ever. Yet, as soon as it started, it was over. She was returned to the spot, though noticeably in a warmer spot than before. Knox’s deep voice rang out soon after, though she almost wished he didn’t speak at all. All the movement had stirred up the pounding ache in her head once more, and any sound was like grating metal together at the moment.

"i know you feel like shit. that's what happens when you drink yourself stupid— lesson learned, yeah? serves you right for molesting your savior."

A low groan sounded from under the sheets, and Sybil graced Knox with the very tip of her head as she peeked out from under the blanket to squint at him. Her eyes darted to the canteen, but she didn’t move to drink it just yet least she was still blushing furiously. Instead, she simply rolled her eyes at his shit-eating grin and tugged the blanket back over his head. How did he look so joyful and ready for the day after that shitshow of a night? Insufferable prick…

---

As Sybil opted to sleep throughout most of the day, she found herself in and out of consciousness. At some point she moved to chug majority of the water in the canteen, but the only thing that seemed to relieve her pounding headache was the sweet bliss of passing the fuck out. When she finally did opt to emerge from her cocoon of blankets, the sun was well past its prime and threatening to once again dip below the sea. Not that she was upset about it.

Still, Knox had insisted she rouse herself at some point to attend a meeting with him. A meeting on a ship, with his own crew, of course. Although she was certain it pertained to Eikka and their plans going forward, she was also certain Knox was simply going to tell her to remain on the ship and to let the real crew handle the exchange. Then of course, she’d get into a heated argument in front of his little buddies insisting on going. She needed to be there, and it wasn’t an option this time. If she didn’t see what the key looked like before Knox tucked it away, she was never getting the eye herself by the time they reached the mountain. Of course, one step at a time.

And the current step was to deal with the Captain.

Pushing into the room Knox had suggested, Sybil hazily blinked against the candle light and said nothing as she moved to take a seat. She was still wearing the same outfit from the previous night, though this time without a pair of boots and a far more wild look to her hair. Bits and bobs were untucked, though she hardly seemed to notice as she let out a groan and drew her knees up to her chest as she waited for the meeting to begin. Seems like someone was still hung over.
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coded by reveriee.
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this might work... maybe?
knox.
with sybil's half-lucid form finally rousing from her slumber and trudging into the meeting room to take her place among select members of the crew—namely leena and rafael for navigations and preparations, respectively; hans, the resident weaponsmith and head of firearm maintenance; jonas, originally a native of arlind with expertise on the local customs and surrounding areas; a couple of deckhands to assist with as well as the captain himself, whose stern, focused expression softened ever-so-slightly when sybil begrudgingly plopped down at the other end of the worn-down mahogany table.

"morning, sunshine,"
leena greeted sarcastically, a fond smile overtaking her lips as she poked a lopsided segment of sybil's unkempt braid.
"you're just in time."


raf's head whipped around at the blatantly false reassurance, incredulity flaring in his eyes.
"oh, we're liars now, are we?"


"'we?' i don't think anyone asked you, ball-scratcher."


despite the relaxed atmosphere on the other side of the room, knox wasted no time in rolling out a wide, hand-sketched map of burke and setting the itinerary into motion.
"the biggest issue we're facing right now is that we have practically no intel regarding the inner workings of caury, the island that eikka ahti's taken over and converted into his treasure trove— we have no clue how many hostiles we'll face once we're on his turf, nor do we know if he'll be there in person himself."


he paced around the room as he spoke, his confident voice resounding over each of their heads as he leisurely strolled past behind their chairs.
"so after weighing our options and taking into consideration our limited manpower after allocating a unit to hold down the ship, the longer we can avoid a head-on confrontation with eikka's men, the better our odds of success will be."


"in that vein,"
he continued without pause after a full loop back to his original position at the far end of the table,
"our best bet is infiltration— get in and get out without the bastard ever even knowing we were there. jonas, if you would..."


with the captain's prompting, jonas stood and cleared his throat, gesturing towards various parts of the heavy map sprawled across the table as he offered his own intel regarding arlind's relationship with caury. his family held deep connections with the administrative arm of burke's coast guard in the past, and with his novel insights the stragetic team quickly formulated a plan to snoop around underneath eikka's nose.

almost an hour had passed by the time the auxilliary details had been sorted and all that remained was deciding who would join the undercover team. leena would stand out too much, and rafael was hardly known for his acting pedigree, so those two were immediately relegated to executing their backup plan once day-of preparations were out of the way. with his focus until then primarily being research, jonas wasn't quite ready to face off with someone of eikka's caliber just yet, leaving only hans and sybil as options to aid the captain in the infiltration plot.

"we need someone to keep watch from the outside as a deterrent in case someone shows up unexpectedly and cuts off our escape route. hans can handle that role— he's played a pretty convincing coachman before, if not an unnecessarily cheeky one."


the deadpan jest earned the captain an airborne fountain pen sailing in his direction from hans' seat that was barely avoided just in time for it to smack against the bulletin board and clatter onto the ground behind him. leena immediately lunged at the perpetrator beside her to wrestle him into a headlock, one that quickly fell apart the moment she lost her footing and hans unceremoniously flipped her back onto her seat.

such antics were par for the course aboard the indira, and as such knox heeded the tousling pair no real mind until they naturally simmered down and all eyes swiveled to lock onto the last remaining member at the meeting to be assigned a role, a contemplative silence settling over the crew as they pondered whether she'd be up for the task.

"sybil,"
knox called to get her attention in case she'd gotten distracted amidst the kerfuffle beside her.
"your role here is vital to the operation, but it's equally important to know your limits or else they'll see right through our act. what kind of character are you confident that you can sell under pressure?"

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coded by reveriee.
 
is this really my life now?
sybil.
Sitting with her knees tucked up to her chest, Sybil opted to say nothing even as Leena poked at her barely-braid. Although this meeting was more or less required for Sybil, the pounding headache that drummed against the back of her skull was a heavy deterrent towards her desire to stick around. There was no future where she ever drank that much again, especially in the presence of Knox.

Knox himself seemed rather unfazed about the whole previous night. The snarky attitude had slipped away from his sneering lips, leaving a rather stern looking man in its place. She was well-aware of what the Captain was capable of, but it had become such a distant idea in the time she had spent on the ship. He had seemed so desperate to appear non-threatening to Sybil that he had almost lost his edge. It shouldn’t surprise her that he was actually competent, but part of her still wanted to believe he truly was a dumbass.

A girl can only dream.

As Knox began to roll through the plan, Sybil could only keep her gaze focused on the candle burning in the middle of the table. She was listening to him, but if she followed his pacing figure for too long, the familiar throb of her hungover state would begin to rear its ugly head once more. The gentle sway of the flame did good to keep her focused and conscious for the time being.

Yet her candle-watching couldn’t go on forever. Knox was soon calling her name to gather her attention, a huff sounding to indicate she was at least paying attention. However, his question was met by silence as Sybil furrowed her brows together. What kind of character could she sell under pressure? She was hardly selling this character well under pressure. Half the time Knox thought she was some feral animal, and now she was supposed to come up with something far more advanced? What roles did humans even have?

As she kept her brow knitted together in contemplation to find some sort of sufficient answer that wouldn’t get her ass kicked off the mission and locked in his room, another voice rang out as Raf groaned and rolled his neck to the side.

“She clearly isn’t going to come up with something. Have her play a whore hanging off Knox’s arm; Eikka is a sleeze and she has tits. He’s never seen her in his life, so give him something to oogle at,” he said, ignoring the slap from Leena when the word ‘whore’ slipped out. He simply shrugged, leaning back in his chair once more when his suggestion was done.

Sybil didn’t say anything, her eyes darting between Raf and Knox in silence. The look on her face was unreadable, but it was probably for the best. Hang off Knox’s arm? Her role was being delegated to being someone Knox presumably hired to fuck, and brought along to get something pretty from Eikka. While it would be the easiest role to play and perhaps the best strategy, it also wasn’t exactly something Sybil ever wanted to do in her lifetime. Especially after she basically groped him the previous night in her drunken wiles. A groan of annoyance sounded from Sybil however, and she rolled her own neck back and forth for a moment as she forced her next words out.

“Fine. I will play Knox’s…whore. I suppose.”

A grimace coated Sybil’s lips, though Raf was starting to get a shit-eating grin at his suggestion actually being headed.

As the decision was finalized, Sybil began to slowly unwind her legs from the position she had put herself in for the last hour or so. An ache was already forming from the stiffness of it all, but she didn’t want to think about anything else for the rest of the night. She was already burdened with the thought of her upcoming…role.
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coded by reveriee.
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she must train. i will make her train.
knox.
“she clearly isn’t going to come up with something. have her play a whore hanging off knox’s arm; eikka is a sleeze and she has tits. he’s never seen her in his life, so give him something to oogle at.”


at the very second that knox opened his mouth to offer some inane suggestions to get sybil's wheels turning on their own, rafael's proposition cut through the tense air like a coarse, sharpened knife, the ensuing chaos commencing and resolving itself in the blink of an eye before the captain himself could sneak even a single word in.

“fine. i will play knox’s… whore. i suppose.”


shocked, his head whipped around to blink dumbly at sybil a few times, her quick acceptance of the demeaning role coming from a place of professionalism that he had yet to expect from his temperamental consultant. though he wasn't fond of rafael's choice of verbiage, he couldn't deny that it got the point across loud and clear without room for confusion if sybil's disgruntled expression was any indication.

"that... should be fine, i guess,"
knox acquiesced at long last despite the wrinkle in his brow indicating his displeasure.
"you won't need to say much if they think you're just arm candy, but you'll still have plenty sets of eyes watching you, probably more than me. your confidence will have to be your selling point."


with the addition of a few last-minute opinions volleying back and forth among the team to flesh out the final plan, the strategy meeting finally came to a close and the crew members meandered out the door to return to their posts, leaving sybil behind with the captain once more. before she could make her own escape, however, a familiarly heavy pair of hands clamped down on her shoulders, rooting her in place and sealing her fate for the day.

"not so fast,"
knox stated, an innocuous smile resting on his lips despite the prison-like sentence he was gearing up to deliver.
"we only have a few days to prepare you for field work; training your mannerisms is important, but learning to speak with a drawl or walk in heels won't help much when someone pulls a knife on you. come with me— i'll teach you some tricks to defend yourself."


with the guarantee that she wouldn't be able to sneak away under his watchful eye, he released his hold on her with a small squeeze and retreated towards the door, gesturing over his shoulder for sybil to follow him.

back up top with the blazing sun in full view and the sea breeze ruffling their hair once more, knox set out one of the blunt training knives on deck to begin their sparring session, decidedly mowing right over any objections that may have been idle at the tip of her tongue towards the schedule being thrust upon her hungover self.

"given strength and size, you won't be able to out-punch or out-kick your opponents,"
he began, giving her a quick once-over as he mulled over his smaller stature and feeble build,
"so the elements of surprise and agility will be your strongest assets. i'll start by showing you some quick hand-to-hand maneuvers that might give you a momentary leg up to get your hands on a weapon. here, try grabbing my wrist like you're about to pull me away."


despite the casual manner in which he relayed the introductory spiel, the moment that sybil's fingers curled around his left wrist knox mercilessly clamped down on the back of her hand with his right one, twisted her arm around to loosen her grip, and forced her down onto her knees with a single light shove. the maneuver was nothing complicated in and of itself, one of the basics he'd been taught through his martial arts courses as a young prince, but it would hardly come natural to her in a moment of crisis if she neglected to commit it to muscle memory.

"and just like that,"
knox continued without pause as he reached down to hoist her back up onto her feet,
"free as a bird. easy, right? you can do something similar if they grab your hair instead of your wrist."


though light-hearted in demeanor and pointedly nonchalant in his phrasing, the captain knew full well that training these muscles from scratch would be no breezy feat for a beginner, much less so with only four days to practice. sybil needed to feel like this was a real, feasible goal she could meet if they were to make the most of their little remaining time— the last thing he wanted to do was overwhelm her with an unforgiving schedule and strict reprimand, a departure from his typical method of instruction.

"before i show you any offensive tactics, there's one more helpful move that doesn't require any strength at all. let's say someone comes up to you from behind and grabs you like this..."
as he spoke, knox shifted to stand directly behind sybil and carefully locked an arm around her shoulders and torso, his bicep pressing against her collarbones to pin her solidly against his chest as though he was about to drag her backwards and abduct her, or strangle her if she tried to fight back.
"in this situation, the first thing you'll want to do is make sure i can't choke you; immediately angle your head to the side and bend your knees to lower your center of gravity."


knox patiently used his free hand to guide sybil's movements as he talked her through the maneuver, pressing gently on her lower stomach with his palm to indicate that she should bend over at this point.
"now, in this position, you can swing your leg around mine so you're kind of standing behind me—"
his hand slid down from her waist to tap the limb in question, warning her about what he was about to do before moving it into position himself with a firm grip on her thigh—
"and from here, i won't be able to stop you from reaching back here with both hands and sweeping me right off my feet."


to finish off the demo, he scooped up her fingers and pulled them around his own thighs to press against the backs of his knees, applying light pressure to demonstrate how easily that joint would buckle without much effort on her part. to prove his point, he carefully tumbled down onto his back with the loss of his footing, taking sybil down with him as he hit the deck with a soft grunt.

"as you can see, it's definitely enough to disorient someone— and if you're on pavement, that's a nasty fall to boot. why don't you give it a try?"



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2 3 4 5 6 closed mxm tlou2
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