Sean crawled over Mark to open the door for Robin. Except the second he put his feet down, he went down like his legs didn't have the strength to hold him up. Panic flooded Sean as he winced and told Mark terrified. "I can't stand up!" Mark unlocked the shackle holding his wrist to the headboard, mumbling out almost under his breath. "Ya... About that..." Sean glanced up at Mark with curious eyes. Did he know something that he didn't? Mark swung his legs off the bed, starting to gather up their clothes off the floor. Mark tossed his at him, telling him seriously. "Get dressed. Now." Sean shifted from all fours to sitting as he sorted out his clothing. Choosing to put his pants on first like Mark was, before he asked him nervously. "Mark... What happened last night?" Mark's hand hesitated to holster his pistol for a moment, then he answered bluntly. "Nothing." 

Mark grabbed his black leather hat off the wall and opened the door without a second thought. Sean's eyes widened at the look of Robin. His clothes were soaked and his reddish brown hair was standing out in all directions. The most noticeable thing was the snow on Robin's shoulders as he shivered. Mark took a handful of snow off Robin's shoulder and Robin gave him an uneasy nod. Sean bit his lip anxiously. What had he done? His head was pounding like a drum and his mind was a blank. Mark stormed past Robin to head out. Sean slowly rose to sit on the edge of the bed with a soft groan. Why was his lower back in so much pain? Robin moved into the cabin, chattering out. "You al-r-r-right?" Sean raised a hand to touch Robin's chest, causing a burst of fog and steam to fill the room. Robin jumped back in surprise with a loud yelp... but he was dry now.

Robin looked himself over for a moment. The look of amazement on his face at how quickly he had dried him off. It wasn't anything new to Sean. He had done that thousands of times in order to get it right. His Elder Gam teacher would be proud though. He managed to dry off clothes this time. Normally, the clothes caught fire from too much heated influence. His head must have hurt to much for him to overthink it and screw it up. Raising a hand to hold his aching head, he groaned out to Robin. "My head is killing me... Did I get into a fight last night?" Robin moved closer to tilt his head back as he looked closely at his eyes. After a minute, Robin shook his head, casually replying. "No. Everyone got a big kick out of seeing what you could do... Although, they are paying for that now. You've just got a hangover." Sean closed his eyes, then quickly opened them again because the room started to spin. Wincing in agony, he asked him curiously. "What's a hangover? And how do I make it go away..."

Robin chuckled very softly, walking over to grab a waterskin that was hanging on the wall. Handing it over to him, Robin told him sweetly. "It's what happens when you drink your weight in rum. You get bad headaches and you'll be lightheaded enough that the world spins. Here. Drink plenty of water. It's the only cure. If you think you're going to throw up... Do it overboard." Sean tilted the waterskin back, drinking down the water in large gulps. He couldn't believe how dehydrated he felt. Robin suddenly pulled Sean's open shirt away to show off more of his chest. The gesture made Sean stop drinking to take in Robin's troubled expression. Glancing down at his chest, he saw the reason for concern. His chest was covered in small red spots. Jerking his head up, he grabbed Robin's shoulders, asking a little scared. "Robin? Am I sick?" Robin pressed a finger to one of the spots, calmly asking. "Does it hurt?" Sean shook his head. He didn't feel anything... was that worse?

Robin smirked just a little, removing his hand as he answered. "Well, if they don't hurt... There probably..." Robin turned away with a small blush, finishing off in an undertone. "Love bites." Sean ran a hand down his chest to feel them, while he mumbled out. "Love bites? What kind of animal leaves these?" Robin snorted, reaching out to help him up onto his feet. Sean took his hand, stumbling into Robin as his lower back and legs gave out. He apologized to Robin, but Robin only seemed to nod with a strange expression between knowing something and suppressing a smirk. Helping Sean finish dressing, he finally answered his question with a simple. "The only creature on this earth that leaves mark's like that... Is human." Robin flashed him a small grin, before rushing out the door. Sean adjusted the belt on his shoulder, about to follow him out, when he stopped to look at the bed. Did Mark leave the bites? He couldn't imagine why he'd do it though.

Following Robin out into the daylight, Sean winced and covered his eyes. Was the sun always this bright? Heading to the stairs, he came to an abrupt stop. There was a thick mass of fog coming up the steps, like thick white smoke. Mark turned to look at Robin, growling out. "Alright... Who was the jackass that requested snow on my ship?!" Robin shrugged, stating out honestly. "How the hell would I know? I lost Sean in the crowd last night... Next thing I know, the whole place is covered in snow. We were all having fun with it... Until we woke up to find... Well, go see for yourself." Mark reached out to grab Sean's arm tightly, yanking him toward the stairs first. Sean didn't blame him.  He wasn't even sure that he wanted to see what he had done. Walking down the steps slowly, Sean felt the cold of the fog drift up his legs. Stopping briefly, he touched the fog with a weary hand. The fog was thicker than normal and had a strange smell to it.

Mark was the one to identify it as he grumbled out behind him. "What the...? Did you turn the rum into fog?" Robin snorted, still on the top deck as he called down to them. "He turned the rum into snow too." Mark scoffed loudly with disappointment, when Robin started to say. "The rum fog and snow isn't the problem though. See there is this-" Sean was barely listening as he saw a shape move in the fog. He thought he recognized it... but he couldn't make enough of it out. He had only seen a fleeting glance of it. Sean took one more step and the form emerged from the thick fog. With three rows of razor sharp teeth and the aggressive nature of a territorial predator! The large ghostly great white shark lunged for him and Sean cried out in surprise. The shark passed right through his chest and for a split second Sean relaxed. He turned to chuckle, only to quickly learn that he wasn't the target. The ghostly shark clamped its jaws on Mark's leg, thrashing its body violently, until Mark lost his footing on the stairs. Mark let out a horrified scream, falling into Sean as the shark yanked him too far forward.

The air was knocked from Sean's lungs as Mark crashed into his back, sending them both tumbling roughly down the steps to land on the lightly snow covered floor. The crew where all huddled behind turned over tables and holding their weapons at the ready. They all shivered from the cold, but couldn't have been more awake! The ghostly shark turned in the fog, swimming through it like it had lost them for a time. Beneath him, Mark growled out angrily. "You summoned a dead shark on my ship!" Sean raised an eyebrow, then snapped back. "I did no such thing! It's just a trick. An illusion. A means to scare off predators away from the lagoon." Mark flicked snow at Sean's face, sneering back. "That illusion just BIT ME!" Sean rolled his eyes, scrambling off of Mark as he sarcastically told him. "And yet, you're not bleeding and still alive. How's that for an illusion?" Sean straightened up, causing the ghostly shark to quickly turn to face him. Swimming at face level, the ghostly shark opened his mouth in a menacing grin.

Sean raised his hand like he was going to pet it, but let his hand drop. Instantly, the illusion of the shark vanished. Then rubbing his hands together to warm them up a bit, he smacked his hand to the floor and the snow burst into sweet smelling steam. The crew all dropped their weapons and relaxed as the room cleared and returned to normal. Sean winced as some of the crew eyed him with wide eyes. Giving them a small shrug, he told him honestly. "Sorry about that... I don't know why I made him." Across the room, a man pointed to other and the other man shouted back in awe. "ME? Oh, no! I asked him if he cold turn rum into gold. He misheard and made snow! YOU asked him for the shark, Arin!" Arin shook his head, stating back. "Oh, no, I didn't! You asked if he could talk to sharks, Danny!" Danny rolled his eyes, his expression becoming neutral as retorted dryly. "I don't recall it that way. Why would 'I' ask him that."

Mark staggered to his feet and everyone fell silent. Sean could tell by their faces that they were worried that someone would take the fall for this. Mark shook the steam water off his hat, then put it on with a hardened expression. Sean straightened up, feeling responsible. So, he turned around to look at Mark with guilty eyes. Mark walked up to him, yelling out loud and clear. "Do you have any idea what this means?!" Sean didn't move or flinch, despite his head hurting. Shaking his head, he respectfully answered. "This was my fault. I'll take full responsibility for it." Mark grabbed the sword belt across Sean's chest, yanking him closer as he sneered out. "You put my night watch to sleep and you trapped my crew down here for hours! Now answer me this, Sean!" Mark turned his head to look at the crew over Sean's shoulder, yelling out. "WHO THE FUCK IS DRIVING MY SHIP?!"

The crew dashed past Mark in a whirl of panic, but Mark kept ahold of Sean by his belt. When the crew had thinned out enough, Mark turned his head to bring his lips closer to Sean's ear. Sean stood very still and stared straight ahead at the wall. He told himself that whatever Mark did to him was fair. He had endangered the lives of everyone and someone had to be blamed. He felt Mark's breath from the tip of his ear to his toes as Mark whispered very softly to him. "What am I going to do with you?" Sean swallowed, raising his chin proudly as he answered seriously. "Whatever you want." Mark huffed, sending a puff of breath across Sean's bare neck. The sensation gave Sean goosebumps down his arms and a ripple of memory came back to him. He could faintly see Mark over him in bed, leaning in his head in to place a tender kiss to his throat. He could recall the feeling of the kiss on his skin now. It was just a simple light kiss, but the gesture was enough to make his heart swell.

Gasping from shock, his heart raced in his chest. The thoughts now at the forefront of his mind. Waking up naked with Mark... and the love bites on his skin that Robin said only a human could make. Turning his head slightly, he whispered to Mark slightly uneasy. "Mark... About last night..." Mark suddenly released his sword belt, stepping back away from him. They locked eyes for a just a few seconds, before Mark quickly turned away toward the stairs. Starting up them, Mark shot back over his shoulder. "Nothing happened." Sean touched his hand to his neck and closed his eyes. He wanted to believe Mark... but the memory had been so clear. It didn't make sense to him why Mark would lie to him. Everyone knew about Mark and Felix... What would happen if they knew about him and Mark? Was it just the weird connection they shared from the curse that made him see that?

Moving his hand off his neck, Sean rubbed his throbbing temples. He wondered if Mark would let him go back to bed, when a soft sound filled his ears. It was so low in volume that he barely noticed it... but his instincts were turning his blood to ice. They were in danger! Running up to the top deck, Sean turned to look off the bow of the ship. Bob and Wade were shouting to each other to dodge the incoming rocks. While Sean's eyes were drawn to the dark jagged cliffs on either side of the ship. So high they were that they blocked out the rising sun. Sending the ship into the misty shadow between them. Sean ran toward the poop deck, calling out to Mark desperately. "STOP! Turn the ship back! DON'T GO THROUGH THEM!" To Be Continued...