The long lazy afternoon on the island of Yang Terlupa rolled on into night, the sunset casting pinks and reds, oranges and purples across the sky, igniting its own reflection on the gently lapping sea. Overhead, the sea birds swept inland to roost for the night, unseen by the pair tucked safely out of sight within the confines of a tiny cave on the shore. Their little excursion into enemy territory had been set for tonight, the strength and energy expended by their jaunt into the sea that morning slowly regained in slumber as the sun fell beneath the horizon and the moon rose, turning the gold of day into the silver of night.
In the shadows of the little cave, illuminated by the glow of the waxing moon, Leilani stirred in her sleep, curling tighter to the man against whose back she had settled in the depths of slumber. Her arm lay wrapped about his waist, her face pressed between his shoulderblades, her knees tucked snug behind his. Innocent, but strangely intimate, all at once.
Exhausted by the morning's excursion, the afternoon meal had restored some of the strength that had been lost from his misadventure at sea, but once his belly was full, it was rest that was most needed. Cian had fallen asleep almost as soon as his head had hit the makeshift pillow made of blankets beneath his head, unaware that she'd curled up beside him sometime after he'd fallen asleep. His mind drifted through dreams, some of which made little sense, others that were full of memories both pleasant and unpleasant.
As the moon slowly rose over the beach and lagoon, his dreams became more troubled, giving way to a mix of memory and nightmare. The lash and agony of a whip, a promise given in grief, betrayal, treachery, blood and tears, a heart broken that wouldn't mend. He groaned in his sleep as he started to wake, dreaming of a kiss that had not yet happened, and a life taken from him far too soon.
The groan was what woke the little mermaid pressed against Cian's back, unused to hearing anything but the sounds of the island and the cadence of her own breath as she slept. Emerald eyes fluttered open, blinking their odd double-eyelid rapidly as her vision adjusted to the moonlight spilling in through the open mouth of the cave. Her fingers stirred against him, her hand shifting higher, startling herself with the sudden change from cloth beneath her touch to the smooth heat of his skin. Pushing herself to sit up, her arm slithered from its place around him to curl over his bicep, squeezing and shaking gently to try and rouse her sleeping friend.
He gasped as he bolted upright, blinking into the darkness, the silver light of the moon illuminating his surroundings and reminding him of the present, the dreams and the past fading away, but clouding his mind and his heart like storm clouds on a bright, summer day. He looked around, in a sudden panic to find her, though she was right there beside him, touching him, shaking him, drawing him out of the darkness of the past and back to the present. He blinked at her a moment, taking a deep breath to slow the pounding of his heart. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"
The panic that rolled off him made her jump as he bolted upright, her eyes wide and shining in the moonlight as she watched him blink himself to full wakefulness. At his question, she nodded, though her smile belied any blame attached to her waking at his instigation. "Are your dreams very bad?" she asked, curiosity and concern mingling in her innocent smile as her hand came to rest over his thundering heart.
"No..." he lied, all too aware of the hand that lay against his chest, the close proximity of her body to his, wondering how long she'd been awake, how long she'd been watching him in his sleep, how long she'd been close, almost wishing he'd awoken sooner, before the dreams had come, leaving him feeling agitated and nervous. "I'm fine," he insisted, pulling away from her touch, feeling a restless agitation and needing to walk it off.
He moved over to the mouth of the cave, looking out on the moonlit night, the beauty of the silvery light as it danced off the waves. "It's beautiful here. Peaceful," he found himself saying, for no reason at all, except that it was the truth. But he knew that peace was tempered with danger, and it seemed it was up to him to set things right again. Was there no place that evil did not touch in some way' No place untainted by the greed and lust of men"
Leilani scooted out of his way as he rose to his feet, slower herself to find purchase with her bare toes. The longer she remained on land, the better she became at standing and walking, but if asked to retreat at speed, it was only too clear that she would be as much a liability on land as he would be in the water. Still, she was almost silent on those bare feet, coming up beside him at the cave mouth to look out across the water. "You should wait to see the sunrise," she suggested quietly, her voice perhaps a little too close by his shoulder. "That is true beauty."
Surprised but unstartled by her silent approach, his gaze remained fixed on the ocean's waves as they lapped to and fro across the rocks and onto the beach. This place was so different from any place he'd ever been before, tranquil, quiet, and utterly secluded. He could be himself here, if he wanted. There was no one to impress, no one to tell him what to do, no one but her. Left alone, he thought he could be at peace here, but that meant turning his back on the rest of the world, and he wasn't sure he was ready for that.
"Maybe I will," he told her quietly, wondering how long he'd be welcome here before the pirates found him out, before her sisters insisted he leave, unless he could free their mother before that and somehow chase the pirates away. "We should go before it gets too late. We haven't much time," he said suddenly, glancing to the sky to judge the hour of night. True beauty, Cian knew, wasn't something you saw with your eyes but felt with your heart, and yet, he was slowly falling in love with this place and with the girl who'd brought him here, though he didn't know it yet.
Leilani sighed softly, regretting the need to move, to curtail the soft, gentle moment of silence. But she understood the urgency, felt it like a spike deep in her heart. The longer they tarried, the worse would her mother's situation become. "Do you feel strong enough?" she asked him quietly, slipping past and onto the pale sand, tugging ineffectually at the laces of her bodice. "You will have to swim through tunnels."
It didn't matter how he felt. He was needed, and he'd have to find the strength from somewhere inside himself to accomplish this, whether he felt ready or not. "So long as you don't let me drown, I'll be fine," he promised, deciding to shuck his boots near the cave, rather than risk them being found near the shore or being washed away by the waves. Should he take the cutlass with him or not was the real question. It could prove bulky at his side as they swam through the tunnels beneath the water, and yet, if they were discovered and attacked, he was defenseless without it.
"I won't." It was spoken in a firm promise, the little Syreni certain that he would not drown while in her care. As the laces on her chemise came free, she turned to him with a slightly hopeless look in her eyes, remembering the disaster she had made of getting into the garment earlier that day. "Help?"
He gestured to her with his hands and arms, indicating that all she had to do was lift the garment from her shoulders and up and over her head. "Over your head, Leilani, like this." And just to ensure she knew what he meant, he tugged his own shirt upwards, sliding it over his head and down his shoulders, demonstrating how it was done. It was a warm night, and the clingy fabric would only slow him down beneath the water.
She watched him studiously, winding her own arms up and over her head, bent back to grasp the back of her chemise and pull it upward. Slowly, her head disappeared into the folds of cloth, the movement inside seemingly awkward and a little wild until finally she popped free, her hair tumbling over her face. Shaking out her hands, she let the rumpled garment fall to the sand, huffing to get her hair out of her eyes with a triumphant smile. "I did it!"
In the shadows of the little cave, illuminated by the glow of the waxing moon, Leilani stirred in her sleep, curling tighter to the man against whose back she had settled in the depths of slumber. Her arm lay wrapped about his waist, her face pressed between his shoulderblades, her knees tucked snug behind his. Innocent, but strangely intimate, all at once.
Exhausted by the morning's excursion, the afternoon meal had restored some of the strength that had been lost from his misadventure at sea, but once his belly was full, it was rest that was most needed. Cian had fallen asleep almost as soon as his head had hit the makeshift pillow made of blankets beneath his head, unaware that she'd curled up beside him sometime after he'd fallen asleep. His mind drifted through dreams, some of which made little sense, others that were full of memories both pleasant and unpleasant.
As the moon slowly rose over the beach and lagoon, his dreams became more troubled, giving way to a mix of memory and nightmare. The lash and agony of a whip, a promise given in grief, betrayal, treachery, blood and tears, a heart broken that wouldn't mend. He groaned in his sleep as he started to wake, dreaming of a kiss that had not yet happened, and a life taken from him far too soon.
The groan was what woke the little mermaid pressed against Cian's back, unused to hearing anything but the sounds of the island and the cadence of her own breath as she slept. Emerald eyes fluttered open, blinking their odd double-eyelid rapidly as her vision adjusted to the moonlight spilling in through the open mouth of the cave. Her fingers stirred against him, her hand shifting higher, startling herself with the sudden change from cloth beneath her touch to the smooth heat of his skin. Pushing herself to sit up, her arm slithered from its place around him to curl over his bicep, squeezing and shaking gently to try and rouse her sleeping friend.
He gasped as he bolted upright, blinking into the darkness, the silver light of the moon illuminating his surroundings and reminding him of the present, the dreams and the past fading away, but clouding his mind and his heart like storm clouds on a bright, summer day. He looked around, in a sudden panic to find her, though she was right there beside him, touching him, shaking him, drawing him out of the darkness of the past and back to the present. He blinked at her a moment, taking a deep breath to slow the pounding of his heart. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"
The panic that rolled off him made her jump as he bolted upright, her eyes wide and shining in the moonlight as she watched him blink himself to full wakefulness. At his question, she nodded, though her smile belied any blame attached to her waking at his instigation. "Are your dreams very bad?" she asked, curiosity and concern mingling in her innocent smile as her hand came to rest over his thundering heart.
"No..." he lied, all too aware of the hand that lay against his chest, the close proximity of her body to his, wondering how long she'd been awake, how long she'd been watching him in his sleep, how long she'd been close, almost wishing he'd awoken sooner, before the dreams had come, leaving him feeling agitated and nervous. "I'm fine," he insisted, pulling away from her touch, feeling a restless agitation and needing to walk it off.
He moved over to the mouth of the cave, looking out on the moonlit night, the beauty of the silvery light as it danced off the waves. "It's beautiful here. Peaceful," he found himself saying, for no reason at all, except that it was the truth. But he knew that peace was tempered with danger, and it seemed it was up to him to set things right again. Was there no place that evil did not touch in some way' No place untainted by the greed and lust of men"
Leilani scooted out of his way as he rose to his feet, slower herself to find purchase with her bare toes. The longer she remained on land, the better she became at standing and walking, but if asked to retreat at speed, it was only too clear that she would be as much a liability on land as he would be in the water. Still, she was almost silent on those bare feet, coming up beside him at the cave mouth to look out across the water. "You should wait to see the sunrise," she suggested quietly, her voice perhaps a little too close by his shoulder. "That is true beauty."
Surprised but unstartled by her silent approach, his gaze remained fixed on the ocean's waves as they lapped to and fro across the rocks and onto the beach. This place was so different from any place he'd ever been before, tranquil, quiet, and utterly secluded. He could be himself here, if he wanted. There was no one to impress, no one to tell him what to do, no one but her. Left alone, he thought he could be at peace here, but that meant turning his back on the rest of the world, and he wasn't sure he was ready for that.
"Maybe I will," he told her quietly, wondering how long he'd be welcome here before the pirates found him out, before her sisters insisted he leave, unless he could free their mother before that and somehow chase the pirates away. "We should go before it gets too late. We haven't much time," he said suddenly, glancing to the sky to judge the hour of night. True beauty, Cian knew, wasn't something you saw with your eyes but felt with your heart, and yet, he was slowly falling in love with this place and with the girl who'd brought him here, though he didn't know it yet.
Leilani sighed softly, regretting the need to move, to curtail the soft, gentle moment of silence. But she understood the urgency, felt it like a spike deep in her heart. The longer they tarried, the worse would her mother's situation become. "Do you feel strong enough?" she asked him quietly, slipping past and onto the pale sand, tugging ineffectually at the laces of her bodice. "You will have to swim through tunnels."
It didn't matter how he felt. He was needed, and he'd have to find the strength from somewhere inside himself to accomplish this, whether he felt ready or not. "So long as you don't let me drown, I'll be fine," he promised, deciding to shuck his boots near the cave, rather than risk them being found near the shore or being washed away by the waves. Should he take the cutlass with him or not was the real question. It could prove bulky at his side as they swam through the tunnels beneath the water, and yet, if they were discovered and attacked, he was defenseless without it.
"I won't." It was spoken in a firm promise, the little Syreni certain that he would not drown while in her care. As the laces on her chemise came free, she turned to him with a slightly hopeless look in her eyes, remembering the disaster she had made of getting into the garment earlier that day. "Help?"
He gestured to her with his hands and arms, indicating that all she had to do was lift the garment from her shoulders and up and over her head. "Over your head, Leilani, like this." And just to ensure she knew what he meant, he tugged his own shirt upwards, sliding it over his head and down his shoulders, demonstrating how it was done. It was a warm night, and the clingy fabric would only slow him down beneath the water.
She watched him studiously, winding her own arms up and over her head, bent back to grasp the back of her chemise and pull it upward. Slowly, her head disappeared into the folds of cloth, the movement inside seemingly awkward and a little wild until finally she popped free, her hair tumbling over her face. Shaking out her hands, she let the rumpled garment fall to the sand, huffing to get her hair out of her eyes with a triumphant smile. "I did it!"