The Harbor

Subject: The Harbor Thu Oct 20, 2011 7:54 am

The Harbor

Subject: Re: The Harbor Sat Oct 29, 2011 11:10 am

Lovino’s hand was shaking. Despite all the nerve he had built up, he still couldn’t seem to get himself to follow through. He had to keep reminding himself it was what he wanted. It’s what he had wanted for a long time. No one was stopping him now. He was alone in this room, his hands were unbound, his mind was clear. Nothing to prevent the course of his desires. No hand holding him back or trying to pry what he held out of his grip.

The dragon closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Soon…soon he’d have his freedom. No more of these strange humans and their cruel selfish ways, no more hiding like a fugitive, afraid of the light of day and who might be lurking in it, no more of this damned human body! He was done. Lovino wasn’t going to play this game of trust anymore. He had no faith in humans, no proof that they were anything but foul, heartless creatures who were only interested in themselves and how much money they could stuff in their own pockets. Anyone would be a fool to think that these pirates were any different. Lovino had seen how they stole from other humans to add to their own wealth. He knew that they would betray him eventually for the sake of their own wallets. It was only a matter of time.

Lovino pushed the cold metal to his temple and skewed his eyes shut tighter. He was trembling now. A coward to the end, he thought bitterly. That weakness would disappear with this body. His spirit would rise as a proud dragon once more, and he could leave this nightmare of a life behind. No one would ever own him again. No one would ever be able to use him. They’d just take what was left, and then he’d be gone for good, all of him, except for that part they couldn’t touch.

He inhaled one last time and let the breath out slowly, his grip on the death-stick tightening, his heart pounding loudly in his chest, when suddenly-

“Lovi! I brought some more tomatoes for you to try! I know you say you won’t eat them, but these are especially- W-what are you doing with that?!”

There was a small thump, and the round, red fruits started rolling across the floor. From the nest, the dragon turned his head and glared at the pirate. The idiot had almost scared him into pulling the trigger, dammit! Not that he hadn’t been about to do it anyway…He had just wanted to finish mentally preparing himself, that was all.

“What the hell does it look like I’m doing, bastard?!” Lovino snarled at him, lowering the death-stick slightly, but not pointing it away from his head. “Get the fuck out of here!”

But Antonio didn’t move. Instead, he stared at Lovino with his mouth agape, fear and worry in his eyes as he slowly lifted his hand up towards the dragon hesitantly, as if he could stop him just by reaching out in his direction.

“Lovi…you can’t do this. Please, just think about it. Your life is good here! You have food, water, clothes, a place to sleep…I didn’t bring you here to make you miserable! I saved you! And now you’re just going to throw it all away?”

“S-shut up!” Lovino cried, his voice choked with grief. “You humans are all the same! Greedy, heartless liars…Like hell I’m going to trust you! Don’t pretend to be my friend! You’re just waiting for me to let my guard down, so you can do whatever the fuck you brought me on this ship for!”

“Lovi…” Antonio’s voice was hurt, and his face was desperate, scared. Why the fuck should he be afraid? He wasn’t the one about to die. The captain approached the dragon slowly, taking tiny steps as the smaller man glared at him. Lovino gripped the death-stick more determinedly, but his finger was too weak and shaky to bring it to life.

“I won’t-” Lovino growled as tears leaked down his face, “I won’t let anyone use me again, dammit. I’m done living in this prison. This is the only way out!”

“No, Lovi!” Antonio protested, taking a bigger step towards him. “I never said you couldn’t leave! I won’t keep you here against your will…If you want, I can drop you off at the next port! I was just worried about you and how you’d get along by yourself.”

The dragon just stared at him for a moment, coldly.

“You don’t get it, do you? I wasn’t talking about this fucking ship. This body is the prison I’m trapped in, and I don’t want to live in it any longer! Things are never going to be the same as they were…” There was silence, and then his eyes widened in horror as he realized what he had said. Well…it didn’t matter. He’d be dead soon anyway, and then keeping his secrets wouldn’t be important anymore.

“Lovi…” Antonio asked cautiously, “what do you mean?”

“I’m not really a human,” Lovino spat, “or were you too stupid to figure that out yet?”

“Not a human? Then- what are you?”

Lovino didn’t say anymore. Instead, he ran his fingers over the death stick awkwardly until he heard a strange click. Suddenly, Antonio bolted at him, and the dragon snarled. Everything was a confusing blur as the pirate tried to pin him down at the same time Lovino attempted to shove him away, intent of finishing what he had started without any further interference. There was a deafening bang followed by a loud shriek, and Lovino jumped in surprise, heart thumping as his breath hitched. That sound…it was too similar to the thunder that still terrorized the dragon. He had never expected the death-stick to be that loud when it was so close to him. His hand had been pushed back from the recoil, and he dropped the weapon onto the sheets, trembling as he looked up at Antonio. The pirate was clutching his shoulder, eyes clouded in pain. There was blood on his fingers and it took Lovino a moment to realize that this had been his fault.

“D-damn you, bastard! I told you to go away!”

“I’m-” the pirate grunted, “I’m not leaving you alone, Lovi. I don’t know who you are…or what you are. But it doesn’t matter. You can’t just give up on everything now. We’ll get you back the way you were, I promise. Just don’t- Don’t give up before then, okay?”

“Fuck you,” Lovino sobbed. “You don’t even know what you’re talking about, bastard.”

He hissed and snarled as the other suddenly wrapped his arms around him. Despite the pain in his shoulder, the captain was strong, and Lovino was too emotionally drained to put up a good fight. He finally just went limp under the Spaniard and shuddered as he cried, trying to make sense of this all. It was all so strange and confusing…Why did Antonio care? If he didn’t want to use Lovino, then what did he want to keep him alive for? The dragon couldn’t help but think that Antonio was trying to manipulate or trick him, but there was a part of him that wanted so badly to believe this stupid human. To justify trusting him even though Lovino knew he had no good reason to. You’re just going to get hurt again. There were more reasons to be suspicious than to give in, but Lovino had no choice. It wasn’t over yet…He only had to think of his wings and how the air felt beneath them when he was soaring high above the earth, and then he knew- no matter how small a chance he had of getting them back, he had to try.

___

Lovino groaned groggily and shifted on the nest. He kept his eyes closed tight, feeling like he had slept for a long time while at the same time, knowing it couldn’t have been very long at all. He was still so tired…The taste of that foul tea was still on his tongue, and his mind was cloudy. Dammit, he was never drinking any of the shit Antonio gave him ever again.

The dragon reached out sleepily for the warm spot where his mate always slept beside him- only to find it cold and empty. The dragon’s eyes shot open immediately, piercing the darkness and confirming that the captain was indeed nowhere in sight. Lovino felt his heart start beating faster. It was just a feeling, a really bad feeling, but he knew that something was wrong. He tried to remember the last thing that had happened before he had fallen asleep, but his dream was confusing him. That time…It had been so long ago- not so long after Lovino had first come on this ship, before he had learned to trust Antonio or accept his life as a human. So much had changed since then, not only his knowledge of what it meant to be human, but also his priorities. He had already given up on that dream that had once kept him alive- that dream of becoming a dragon again. He couldn’t let go of it completely; it was still too much a part of him, but now he had something much more important.

Antonio…Lovino needed his mate. He rose far too quickly and felt his head throb. That’s right, the tea. Antonio had given it to him, and then he must have fallen asleep. But where was the captain now?

Lovino scrambled onto his feet and made his way to the deck, searching frantically and roaring at the men, demanding to know where the captain had gone. Most scurried away in fright, which was nothing abnormal though they seemed a bit more nervous than usual, but finally, one brave pirate finally told him the truth. And Lovino couldn’t believe what he heard.

“That bastard…” he gasped, not even noticing how much he was trembling. “I’ll fucking kill him.”

Subject: Re: The Harbor Sun Nov 06, 2011 3:57 am

Bart had looked for his mother's ship for years. He knew who had taken and it was a man he had never quit liked. Antonio Fernandez Carriedo. He had known the man since his childhood and there was always that air around the Spaniard he didn't like. But he had never taken the man's life when he had have the chance in the past. He was confused with the man. He hated him yet he didn't.

The prince sighed softly. He just wished to go home and see Matthew. But he had promised to get the ship back so he would. He carefully looked down on it growling softly at how it looked. It really looked like a pirate ship now more then it ever did. He just hoped that his men would come soon enough. Right now he was alone thought was a good fighter he wouldn't be able to take on all the men plus the weird feisty person that he had spotted on the deck.

He carefully went down to the ship trying to get on an at least take out a few men before getting noticed. But it would be hard with the guy who looked ready to spit fire. He chuckled softly at the thought and climbed on the back of the ship going that way moving up. He had killed three men before he got noticed by others and cursed softly. He wasn't ready for all the men and his own wouldn't come for a long time probably.

He came eye to eye with the mysterious guy who had spotted on the deck and narrowed his eyes more. "Never seen you before...Are you new here?" he asked lowly.

Subject: Re: The Harbor Sat Dec 17, 2011 10:50 am

Lovino was a big mess of emotions. He was furious, confused, hurt, worried…It was almost difficult to think from how upset he was. Why had the bastard done it? Why had he left Lovino alone while he went back to that stupid party by himself? Lovino just didn’t understand it. He knew Antonio could be bold and reckless at times, but the man was usually more tactical about things. A good captain had to know the risks of the decisions he made. Did Antonio realize how much danger he was putting himself in? And then there had been that drink…Lovino’s chest tightened with the pain of betrayal. How could he? How could Antonio take advantage of his trust like that? How could he jeopardize something he had had to work so hard to gain in the first place? The dragon didn’t even know what to think. Stupid bastard…That fucking suicidal idiot!

The dragon let out an audible roar of frustration and spat fire into the air. He would have to go after him. There was no way Antonio stood a chance against his former captor and that dead thing. Maybe the pirate was already dead…but no, Lovino couldn’t let himself think that way. He needed to get moving now.

The dragon dashed across the deck, intent on getting to shore again, when suddenly, he heard a commotion. The men were yelling and as Lovino approached them, he could smell blood that had been spilled already. A mutiny? But then there was a man there that Lovino had never seen before. The dragon bared his teeth at him, furious about the disturbance and the delay it was causing him. He had no real attachment to the men who had been slain, but Lovino was loyal to the place he had come to call home and was willing to defend it at any cost.

“Who the fuck are you?!” he snarled in response. The stranger talked as if he belonged here, as if the dragon was the intruder. Lovino glared at him threateningly. Was the man stupid? Could anyone really be so bold and confident as to attack a ship full of pirates with no support whatsoever? Unless this bastard wasn’t alone…Lovino glanced around himself cautiously before rounding on the man again.

“Listen, bastard. I don’t have time to deal with more than one fucking suicidal case at a time, so get your ass off my ship right now, or I’ll kill you!”

The dragon stepped forward challengingly and narrowed his eyes at the intruder, ready to chase him off the ship if necessary. A mere human stood no chance against him. Lovino had trained himself in fighting with this body and had his flame as an extra advantage. However, he knew some humans carried death-sticks. If this bastard had one, Lovino wouldn’t hesitate to burn him to a crisp quickly before he had the chance to use it. The dragon was close enough now to do so. He could probably count on the men for back-up too, though right now most of them were watching Lovino, wondering how their first mate would handle the situation and probably cursing Antonio for choosing the worst time to have left.