lol okay so I'm just a bit late with that supposed second chapter for the double upload lolol, but here it is
(I also added two new songs to the Spotify Playlist)
Enjoy, m'loves!
xoxo

Alistair

Caspian had to be one of the most useless beings to currently walk this very earth.

I didn't care how good his combat skills were, nothing could've prepared me for almost getting my head split open by his sheer fucking stupidity. All before the sun had even bared its despicable face yet.

My senses weren't as strong on land, which meant that I had just narrowly ducked in time before Caspian unknowingly put my body six feet under, and sent my soul straight to the very depths of the sea. The sheer panic on his face had told me it was every bit an accident, but my anger still stood.

Who the hell was this little shit, anyway? A merchant at sea who didn't know anything about the damn sea. One who can't even wield an axe. I found myself communicating before I could get my anger under control, letting Caspian know just how utterly fucking impaired his mind must be to swing an axe back like that. He kept quiet, more than likely choosing the path with least resistance.

And it angered me even more.

Forcing myself not to slit this man's throat when he did something so completely as dumbfounded as this, was making my blood boil. And knowing that was all he wanted, was damn near a tipping point for me.

Maybe that was why I somehow found myself helping to correct his form instead. The axe was a heavy one, yes, but it was still wieldable, and Caspian had the muscle for it. He just lacked any and all coordination.

I glanced down at my rough hands, my fingers rubbing against each other, feeling the roughness of the callous. The sea itself had done right on its promise. It had kept my face young... but my hands showed my age. I felt all forty-something of the years I'd been alive for, with many of those years devoted to the harsh labour that came with the sea. I'd become so numb to the work itself, I didn't have much feeling left in these hands, or at least I thought I didn't...

But when I touched Caspian, I felt that in its entirety. I felt each every single strand of hair that passed through my fingers. The fine, soft, almost moon white strands that flowed down to his waist. He was the only other man I had met in all these years with hair that long, a style that most men didn't choose for a life at sea, which made me all the more surprised when I felt just how soft it was.

I hadn't noticed before, but then again, the only other time I had touched it was when I was dragging him across my ship by the clumps. I wasn't paying much attention then.

But I was now. Paying attention, that is.

"The air is clear here." Cael spoke besides me, pulling me out completely from my thoughts. He and I were standing near the farthest wall of the empty dining hall in this Inn. Gaia mentioned this was now owned by Nalia, which I found to be interesting. The small dark hair brown eyed girl I once sawing running around all those years ago, had aged.

She was still very skittish around my men and I, and I didn't blame her for it. Before she found this island, she was a young slave to another brutal pirate. One who didn't last very long on this island. Or on this earth, once he stepped foot on this island. Some men didn't value the notion of being conceived into this world, and Gaia would never miss an opportunity to teach them a very mortal lesson about death.

It was my humble opinion that that monster of a pirate deserved much more than what was dealt. Had our paths been fated to cross, I would've done worse than what Gaia had...  and she had boiled his blood while it was still inside of him, till his flesh melted in on itself. She didn't take kindly to his treatment of the little girl.

Nalia was here when my men first stepped foot on this island, and it was safe to say we hadn't left the best first impression. If it wasn't for Coop, she wouldn't spend any time around any of us at all. Most of the men had already picked up on it, but Nalia had a bit of a longing for Coop. Gaia would never allowed it, but that didn't stop the young woman from trying to find any reason to be with him during our stays here.

I found it sweet. Coop had been with me so long, I felt like his father, and if their fate was in my hands, I'd give my graces.

"The air is clearer on my ship." I grumbled begrudgingly back, to which Cael mustered a dry chuckle. He still eventually nodded.

"Maybe so. Still, nothing can beat eating an apple freshly picked right from a tree. Or the feel of the soft grass blades beneath your bare feet after they've been bathing in the sun. There's a lot of beauty here."

I returned with a dry chuckle of my own. "The food is good, I'll give you that... but it's the rocking of the sea that my heart beats to, not the vibrations of dirt. That's Gaia's territory."

Cael glanced back to the empty dining hall at my words. I didn't question his connection to Gaia, as far as I was concerned, I only cared about staying in her good graces and Cael was that rope that tethered us. He also found himself in good graces with Nalia, which made both Caspian and myself staying here a little simpler.

Gaia was the previous owner of the Inn, and in preparation for tonight's feast, was currently running around the place helping Nalia get things in order.

My men had busied themselves in the small town, allowed by Gaia's men to assist in their daily combat training, whilst simultaneously showing off for the women. They were all waiting on the food and drink this evening promised, ordered by Gaia herself to starve until then. She wouldn't admit it, but she favored the high praises my men had for her cooking. And they took no issue with building the anticipation.

Caspian was someone I admittedly hadn't kept the best mark on after high noon. Against his own wishes, I had told him to explore the town. Something I thought he'd take kind to considering it was the first bit of freedom I had granted him since we slaughtered everyone on that merchant ship and took him aboard.

Surprisingly, he seemed to take such an issue with it, I scaled it down in size and told him to explore the Inn instead, assuring him that Cael and I would remain close for whatever reason. It was, after all, a fucking island. Cael and I just had private matters to discuss.

I believe Caspian must've found the Inn's study by now, an interesting room that held most of the general history of Gatvia. Books would probably do that rapidly deteriorating mind of his some good.

"When we port in Sicoria, I'll be pooling information about Caspian. See if we can't figure out a possible bounty." Cael's voice was a bit lower, making sure it could not be overheard by the women in the kitchen.

I slowly nodded. "My first course of action is to find, and string that enemy vessel's captain up on the main beams of my ship. By his intestines. All else will follow after that." Cael found himself nodding as well. There were larges pieces at play here now. And it wouldn't hurt to have a killer like Caspian amidst our own pieces. If only for a little while longer.

"Once we're back in Azul, we should know for certain what he's worth." Cael continued. "I don't believe we should stay there long, however. You know well we're generally met with our usual less than inviting welcome. Just as you've been busy at sea, The Holy Men have been busy on land. We've kept the peace with minimal amounts of paths crossed, let's not captain's jig on their pompous toes."

That earned an abrupt laugh out of me, cutting through the otherwise relative quiet.

"Aye. We only stay for however long Snips needs to gather up material and cargo. The discourse on land is for the men with large egos and small cocks, Azul would do well to keep it there."

Cael's lips turned up with a smile. "You should also probably inquire about a surgeon-"

"Oh, not you too." I groaned. Only one night had passed and Gaia had already sunken those talon like claws deep into my Navigator's back.

"I've been singing this tune for longer than that, don't you start." He bit back. "Gaia didn't sit well with Coop's injuries."

I scoffed at those words. "That women owns the personality of someone with a broom handle shoved so far up their own asshole, I'm sure she couldn't sit right with anything for the unnatural life of her."

The look Cael gave me was that of disapproval, to which I scoffed again at.

"You truly are the worst with any type of peacekeeping."

"I'm getting too old to bend the knee. These joints don't work like they used to."

Cael tried hard to mask the sudden smile threatening to break through his original disappointment towards me. Eventually, he had to look away.

But it was nothing but honesty.

The years were passing, and I had many more to go whether I still cared for them or not. I didn't have the patience for tolerance any longer, and though some would brand me a monster, these more calculated steps kept my head leveled for my men. They were my priority. And Gaia would never forgive me for having her son as one of them, peace treaties and kind pleasantries be fucked.

"You think Azul is the right place for us to find a surgeon?" I asked Cael honestly. "The people have started to drink the piss, savvy?"

"Aye, the situation has seemingly changed from what we learned with our last port," Cael explained, "tensions are still high but there has been more resistance. So much so, The Holy Men are set to hold a council to appoint an elder. I think our odds of finding someone still accustomed to the old ways is fair."

I slowly nodded, watching as Nalia began to set the tables. The dining hall would be filled to the brim tonight with all our men and Gaia's large family, so Nalia went to table after table laying dishes and glasses down to accommodate.

Coop assured me the rum was well stocked, which was really all I cared to hear about. Our last visit almost dried up the entire island.

Nalia and I made brief eye contact as she worked, to which I gave her a nod and she offered me the slightest smile in return before continuing on. Gaia had made many piss poor decisions in my unhumbled opinion, but saving that little girl hadn't been one of them. I just wondered whether this young woman had any longing for the sea again. After all she'd been through at only twelve, I found it to be no surprise she made Gatvia home at the first opportunity. Gaia could protect her, much like her people hadn't.

And now she owns this Inn, I thought. Another thing to keep her here. Coop and her couldn't have had any further aspirations from one another, and yet they were still sweet on each other.

It made me realize she probably liked me even less regarding Coop getting shot. Great.

"Caspian has been overtly alert since we arrived." Cael noted, rerouting the conversation. "He doesn't seem to take well to Gaia."

"I do not blame him." I replied. "The circumstances presented around his situation isn't fitting. That, and Gaia might have as many screws loose as he does. The deranged can often recognize the deranged."

Cael chuckled "Now you're just spewing nonsense." He spoke dismissively.

I countered that with "It makes every bit of sense to me."

And that was how he and I left things.

There were many reasons Caspian was more tense than usual, but something told me it was Gaia. She had said something that caught Caspian's attention immediately on that shore, something not even the sharp edge of my dagger could do.

I decided after the festivities of the night, with our bellies full and rum in spirits, I would see what more Gaia possibly knew. Her information always came at a price, but with some drinks in her, it would also come with fewer insults.

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