*'




~ W A R N U N G S
This roleplay will contain strong - mild violence,
depending on what state of mind me or fwee are in.
definitely swearing and possibly adult themes.
alot of drunk bar fights on my behalf. Agro pirates
running around. you don't like it? don't read it..
( although you'll be missing out on the amazing
skills of miss fwee. )
Closed rp between moi and rp goddess; Fwee[;





*'

Erik dodgedly walked down the soft sand that sorrounded the tossing waves before him. A muscular hand clasped to his tanned forehead. That night before, the pirate had experienced a rough night. Frowning at the bruises that covered his arm, Erik shaked his head slowly. How could he lose to such a fat guy? Just memories of the night before - broken glasses, angered people trying to have a drink, punches to the arm, face and cuts all over his hands - made him resentful and angry. He hadn't lost a fight in years, going back a few, the only fight he had lost was to his dad's sweaty palm and broken glass. Even then, Erik showed him a good fight if he had ever seen one. Shooting a look sidewards, he watched for any nearby lookers before wading into the cool water. Moaning slightly as the salty waves impacted on his skin, Erik cleaned out the dirty wounds. He cringed, fuck that hurts. Closing his now darkened with anger eyes, he fell slightly asleep to the soft splashing of waves.

Breaking the small moment of happiness, the young pirate heard a faint ringing of the town bell in the distance. ''Mm'' he sighed, closing his eyes once more. Suddenly remembering what the bells indicated, he jumped to his now soaking feet, splashing his face with water in the hopes of waking him up properly. ''Oh!'' Yelling this time, Erik sprinted off over to the boat in which he was meant to be crewing. In amidst of people rushing over to most likely the same ship, the young sailor began to sprint even faster, careful not to run into anyone. Taking a quick glance to the side of him, he took in the beautiful view of many sea-worthy ships. Breaking his daydreaming abruptly, Erik felt himself run into a small yet strong girl. Feeling completely stupid for colliding into someone when he was so 'on the lookout' for anyone he could run into, Erik apoligised briefly. Analysing her features, Erik noticed she was actually quite attractive. Her hair was brown, like the colour of new growth of a tree. Eyes the colour of polar ice caps, like they could melt the strongest men in an instance. However, she looked majorly pissed at him, and not just pissed. It looked like she had a problem with him. Or, most likely, considering what a horrible world they inhabited - a problem with the world and everyone in it.

Exchanging a confused and slightly annoyed look with her anger, Erik kneeled down to pick up the emerald studded necklace he had knocked over by accident. It was pretty, he could admit that in the least. Covered in the same patterns as his trust-worthy knife. Coming to the conclusion is might've been by the same owner as his knife, he gave a confused look to the girl Bringing out his pocket knife from the dark depths of his pocket, he put the two together, comparing them. Examining both, one metal, the other wooden, his eyes widened with wonder. ''did you steal this?'' He asked, not chosing his words very carefully. He noticed the same initials, C.B, probably them of some famous captain. Mentally figuring out what the letters could stand for, Erik came up with few that were sensible enough for a name.. Captian Bonkers, Captain Borellies, Captain Beef, Captain Bollocks, Captain Buggertwit, Captain Banchabonkey. The list of ridiculous names went on, and in all honesty, Erik couldn't be bothered to work out who they belonged to. Finders Keepers, right? Going back to the beautiful girl that stood infront of him, he began examining her features once more. This time, carefully, from her brown leather boots to her worn white pants. Although lower class clothes, the cheap fabric made her look stunning. However, she didn't look like the kind of girl who stole things.. Nor did she look like a girl who should be working on boats as harsh as such, his eyes darting around just as he finished the thought, asessing the boats nearby. In fact, she looked more like a high-class girl, whom should be wearing fancy clothes and expensive jewelry. Slightly intrigued of how a girl so beautiful needed to steal, Erik decided he was going to converse with her. Although he never was good at 'conversing'.

He watched as she began to walk away angered by his comment before. ''Hey wait!'' Erik yelled to her, flailing wildly. He began to walk with her, silently clucking his tongue. More like following than walking with, the two finally reached the ship they'd be calling home for a couple of days or more. ''Auraliese'' He sighed in admiration. She was a beauty. White masts, Wood exterior, oh, Erik had had his eye on this vessel for a while now. And the captain knew it, infact the pompous man was afraid of him stealing it. Not like the young pirate wouldn't.. If he could find a way to steal it, he would have by now. Running his hand down the smooth texture of the boat, Erik took a short and unsure step into Auraliese. There was the captain, as usual, standing near the mast looking broad and fancy. Oh, I own a boat, I'm the king of everything! He mimicked the captain in his mind spitefully. It's not like Erik had something rational that kept him hating the captain, it was just Auraliese. For some odd reason, the pirate had found a love for this boat, a sort of connection. Like it was made for him to steer. Of course, that was ridiculous, but Erik couldn't help the thought.

The captain turned around slowly, his grey-blue eyes twinkling slightly in the sunlight, making him look a little like a young man, aside from the long beard that he never cut. ''Ye' there!'' He yelled proudly, gesturing to Erik and the girl he had been walking with - in the hopes of learning a thing or two about her, but failing. Erik nodded his head in acknowledgment of the man yelling at him. ''Aye, ye will be guardin' them horrid hostiges we been caughtin' these week.'' The man said, emphasising every word that boomed out of his heavy chest. Sighing heavily, the sudden realisation hit Erik. He would be with this pig of a man for days! And the thing that aggrivated him most was the fact that he, an illiterate scum of a man owned such an amazing vessel as the one he was on. That was all his. Rolling his eyes angrily, Erik turned to the girl beside him. ''Ye better get going then, 'aye'?'' He asked jokingly to the brunette girl, taking one last glance back at the captain. Noting, with a keen eye his boots, that were, too labelled with the initials he had seen before. Oh shit.. it dawned on him. Did that old man own his pocket knife? Taking a sharp breath, Erik cussed under his breath, wondering if anyone else noticed the stress building up on his tanned face. he had the captain's pocket knife on him! Finding himself hoping that the captain had just stolen the boots from the same poor man as Erik and the girl beside him, he began to move faster towards her, hoping she'd lead him to them.




*'

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Feeling his confidence sink down to it's lowest, Erik stood still for a split second, watching the irritated girl walk away from him. He was slightly angered by the threat, the kind of anger that made him want to just walk up to her and show her just what he thought of that statement. Like he would tell the idiot himself about this girl stealing his locket. How much of a fucking bastard did she think he was?! Backing down a little from his thoughts, he reasoned with himself. Other people had issues too, and this girl's must've been big. He probably had a little bit of a reputation of being a complete dick head anyway, starting bar fights all the time, didn’t look too good on his behalf. Heaving a low sigh out of his chest, Erik slowly followed her. He felt as though he was going to erupt at the girl, and he was being his nicest as well. Any other girl would've gotten a punch to the face. Feeling his anger overload him, the pirate sat down on the edge of Auraliese, in an attempt to cool down. He had always gotten angry easily, hence the bruises and scars down his body. It was a flaw, a big one at that too. But he wasn't just about to go and punch a girl. No matter how much of a bitch she seemed to be, leaving him with no directions at all. Jesus Christ. After a couple of minutes sitting down, legs in hanging down over the deck, Erik remembered the duty he had been assigned and hopped up. He honestly hadn't the slightest idea where she was, but using his keen sense of direction, Erik headed to the rusting stairs.

Proud of himself for finding his own way, Erik began to see the girl in view. Lying up against the rusty gate, her brown eyes closed. Letting out a moan, the pirate felt weak against the pirate, whom still was unwilling to give a name. She had threatened to kill him, and still he felt an attraction when she was in view. Hating himself for being so weak, Erik sighed in annoyance. He had finally met a girl that he might even fall in love with.. and she hated his guts. Cursing himself under his hot breath, the young and now angry pirate skulked over to where the girl was sitting, Erik slid down slowly from where he stood, now right next to her. Staying where he was to show how scared of her he wasn't. He gave a hesitant poke to her, ''Wake up!'' Erik said quietly, if they were to guard the prisoners they'd have to be awake. Hearing a grunt of annoyance as the brown eyes opened cautiously, the girl whacked him sub-consciously. ''Shit!!'' she yelled as if only just realising she had been sleeping on the job.

Erik watched her quietly, obviously finding enjoyment in her embarressment. Recieving a playful scowl from the girl, he chuckled quietly to himself. ''Falling asleep on the job are we? I'm sure the captain wouldn't approve...'' Erik told the girl, feeling rather flirtacious. She seemed to be in a less foul mood than before, as her lips curved into a smirk. He felt himself smiling back, absolutely lost in the moment. the two sustained eye contact for few minutes until she turned and looked the other way. ''Name?'' The girl asked, revealing her perfect features. Feeling as though he was getting a little closer, the male pirate was careful not to lose her attention. Locking her in again, Erik smiled slightly. ''Erik, yours?'' Watching her mentally examine his name, his eyes became more intense, feeling himself fall deeper into the mysterious girl. However, the moment didn't last for nearly as long as he had wished, before she averted her eyes and looked down to the slightly dirty ground of the floor.

She let out a small but deep sigh. ''Look, I don't know what you're trying to get at, but I have a boyfriend.. And - and I..'' She struggled to lie, she didn't love her boy friend, she was merely faithful and it pissed her off that she was still that faithful to him, after all he had done. ''- I love him very much,'' Erik felt his heart sink, of course she was taken. How could such a beautiful lady not be taken? He was stupid for even trying. Although, Erik couldn't help himself but think that she wasn't happy with the incredibly lucky man she was with.. ''Oh.. sorry'' He mumbled, feeling exceedingly stupid and rejected. ''I'm going to check on the hostages, you coming?'' He gave her a short and awkward nod, followed by a low sighing as she opened the heavy door to reveal a dark and damp room, empty.

The awkward silence of the two was disrupted by an angered cry, let out by the small woman before him. Confused and alarmed, Erik sprung up from where he was lazily standing, immediately asking her what had happened. shit.. He thought to himself gingerly, still not having the situation assessed properly. Suddenly, the male pirate realised what had just occurred. ''fuck!!'' He yelled, echoing the empty room before him. Curses filled his mind, all of which about him failing his task, what a rookie mistake! How stupid was he to be flirting instead of doing the job which assigned to him?! Erik heard yet another swear erupt from the luscious lips of the pirate girl. Deciding that standing and watching her wouldn't be the better idea - Erik sprinted off into the distance. The hostage had to be somewhere. Confusion creased his brow as thoughts rushed into his mind. How did the man escape? There wasn't a hatch.. Nor a door that was easily knocked over. FUCK his mind raced, it was most likely - hell, it was his fault that one excaped. Probably just slipped over while the two of them were.. he didn't even know what they were doing. How could they have missed a grown a grown man slip past?! His eyes darted across the room, where should he go now? The odds were definitely against him. The captain had obviously chosen two pirates whom he thought to be compitant. Sighing to himself, he slammed his palm to his for head. He had just proved how incompitant he was. His chances were one out of a hundred that he would find the hostage. But if he could have his way, the hostage wouldn't even get a glimpse of the tossing sea before Erik had him captured. He'd make sure of that at least..




.

.







Erik let out a passive sigh before taking a swift look around the huge cabin. Where was the fucker? Confusion raced through him, as though hundreds - even thousands - volts of electricity had ran through his now heavily beating heart. The hostage was nowhere to be found.. Letting a swear escape his pale lips, the young pirate closed his fierce orbs, beginning to immediatly gain more focus. Snapping himself out of the sleep he was now being forced to fall in, Erik began to sprint towards the weaponry room. Would the hostage not escape to that room? Gather a few weapons? He knew he would. Erik began to hope greatly that the hostage's thoughts were on the same track as him, that way it would be much simpler to tackle the man to the hard floor. His sprint altered into a heavy-set run as noises became coherent in the distance. Dodging clumsily through the sea of people, the young man finally reached the slightly faded and cracking door way, his fiery gaze fixed on a once cream track-suit. The figure inside the suit appeared to be the same build as Erik, if not smaller and looked to be stocking up on weapons - food? He hadn't much hair, and the remains of it were rather curly and scarse. He wasn't very attractive; much the opposite, and he had few scarrs masking his facial features. Thoughts began to ring through Erik's ears, simple thoughts, lazy thoughts. He smiled to himself, and began to rub his hands together as though preparing for a feast. The realisation made him flash a toothy smile; the hostage was a little smaller than him. Whether it was a slight difference in weight, or major, it was indeed an advantage. Before making a final decision, Erik threw off his bulky jacket, revealing small, but decent muscles outlined on his tanned arms. Feeling the time was right, he waltzed in through the door-way, looking much a man of buisness. Taking a split moment to gather his wits, the pirate felt himself girlishly punching his fists against an open palm, readying for a fight. No.. Surprise is by far the best attack, and with that short, but very correct thought - Erik found himself pouncing towards and putting the grown man in a headlock.

A surprised grunt was let out by the man before him, amusement played on Erik's facial features, he was going to fucking beat this man up, if it was the last he’d do. He felt sudden excitement run through his veins, pumping through his heart and making him explode in a frenzy of adrenalin-rushed punches. A sneaky smile curved on his lips, there was no other feeling on earth that made him feel like this. And there could be no other. He would not lose this time, no, he’d clobber the man before there could be any complaint. Incoherent swears and grunts could be heard from the next room but not a single head was raised, not a single care by the busy sailors in the front room was given. Nothing. In a way, Erik was glad of this. He could be as loud as he wished! His thoughts began to drift away as a hit was given by the hostage in front of him, a low groan escaped his lips.

Anger now rising in him as strong as the adrenalin he was experiencing before, Erik punched the man in return, hitting his stomach. Now even closer to the innards of the weaponry room, Erik eyed the silver sword behind him, sitting patiently and waiting to be used. Edging backwards, the young pirate unsheathed the hilt of the sword from its jewelled case. Taking a split second to analyse it, he stroked a tanned thumb over its blade, the smoothness, the cleanness of it. Temptation rose in him, this sword will be his. The hilt of the sword was a binding silver, masked in a couple of gems and shiny stones. Carvings swirled invitingly across the silver and sapphire. The sword now sitting happily in his strong hands, Erik swung the beauty around with great experience. Feeling at ease with the feeling, he allowed the sword to slice cleanly through rough skin of the hostage’s prickly arm. The hostage winced a little, but found his strength once more, picking up an equally beautiful sword as Erik’s. Metallic clattered and fell down on each other harshly, hearts pounding and brains not thinking, the two men carried out their battle. This moment made Erik feel much like a real pirate, throwing hits and cuts at the man’s venerable wrist. A shrill cry escaped the victim’s mouth, but the hostage ignored the best he could and struggled to his feet again. The hostage began tossing hits and misses at Erik, not very experienced it seemed, but his experience was enough. However, not all of the hits were missed, and Erik let out an an. The young pirate - now bleeding on his forearm – tried to ignore the hit, offering another to the hostage. The newly claimed sword cut cleanly, leaving a fine trail of blood on the hostage’s own forearm. The man toppled down to the ground with about the ease of a dying one winged pigeon. A brisk yell echoed through the compact room harshly, and the young pirate seized his chance while the man was cowering on the floor, slightly concussed. Looking up at the girl, he noticed a man conversing with her, holding her wrists tightly. Wonder raised his eyebrows and Erik began to ask himself the relationship between the two. Was this the man he had heard about from her? This beloved 'boyfriend'? Tossing his head about, he predicted it most-likely was. But there was something wrong, the girl looked far from happy, infact, she looked rather uncomfortable as the man replied to her question. Erik looked down at the man sprawled across the carpet defeated, and began to chuckle lowly to himself. Oh, the taste of victory

Scooping the grown man up in his hands carelessly, Erik dragged the man back through the old and rather worn carpet of the cabin floor. A heart-winning smile pinned on his face - directed at the familiar female pirate, worry creased on her flawless face. But let a small smile escape as he hit the man he was dragging behind him playfully on the head. He gave her a short nod and sighed quietly to himself, with the slightest dissatisfaction for the fight just played out before. “ Yeah .. I caught him, you may thank me later.” He stated cheekily, beginning to haul the man over his shoulder. Not even bothering to react at the weight suddenly crashing down on his shoulders. He felt invincible, and he loved it. Warm blood trickled down his forearm slowly and eager to hit the ground. The warmth of the blood irritated his skin and the pirate tried to wipe away the substance clean with his shirt. He looked back at her eagerly as she wavered behind, debating whether to bring up the man he had seen with her before. Curiosity nagged at him, making him feel the need to ask, subtly of course. If he didn’t do it subtly, she’d tear off his head with another threat, and he didn't want that. Not after what happened before.. “So, who was that man you were with before? He looks like kind of intimidating when he held you like that to me..” He stated, trailing off slightly as they reached the start of the stairs. The man began to arouse from his unconscious state, and he began to drum harshly on Erik’s back.

Anger creased his face, Oh come on, idiot he thought bitterly. Before descending down the rusty stairs, Erik hit the hostage’s head up against the roof, hitting it hard up against the rough exterior of the metal. Another groan was given by the man atop his shoulder, but Erik felt no pity, nor did he feel any guilt of what he had just done. Probably gifted a few nasty cuts and bruises to him just in the past hour. He smiled slightly and began to walk slowly down the stairs. Making sure that he could cause as much pain to the man he had slung around his shoulder. Teach him for trying to escape.. Although, Erik probably would've tried that on if he were in the man's situations. After finally reaching the bottom of the stairs, he looked at the girl sweetly, gesturing to the old padlocks she had put on before. He waited patiently for her to open the ramp, drumming his fingers far from gently on the man’s bruised skull. Easily finding amusement as the man groaned slightly once again. In the moment of before, the young pirate found it difficult not to smile, but another thought changed his emotion greatly, and he began to curiously wonder who the man really was. He couldn't help but notice how uncomfortable she looked with him. He might've been wrong, maybe he just looked at the two while they were sorting 'an issue' out.. Erik's thoughts still didn't changed, and curiousity still nagged at his conscience. Attemptting to flick it away, but failing.





_

A smile played on Erik’s face as he replayed the past events. Everlida, it was such a beautiful name, and suited her immensely well. Closing his eyes wearily, the young man’s thoughts drained back towards the mysterious girl. Why had she gotten so protective when he had mentioned the man with her? Something was hidden between the forged smiles and fake love for her 'boyfriend'. It may not be his place, at all and hell, he had only known the girl for a little more than 4 hours, but Erik wanted to know about her, every single thing that made her, her. Every small and unimportant detail that made her the pirate she was. It didn’t worry him whether he spent hours just backwards and forwards conversing with her about her life. His schedule was not busy; in fact it had been free for decades. It didn’t bother him either that she detested him. She was a rather hard person to befriend, the young pirate realised that the first time he laid his brown orbs on her. Sighing heavily, Erik whipped out an old and tattered notepad he used to draw on. Flipping through the timeworn pages of his tea-coloured pad, the young man stumbled across a badly-drawn ship, probably drawn around the age of ten. He smirked inwardly at the ship, Lady Elika.. But the forced smile quickly turned into a dejected frown as he remembered what this ship had been, what it had caused.. Every aspect and every small detail of the ship radiated hatred and unwelcome memories of the past. Merely the name made all happiness in Erik's life fade away, although, there was only enough happiness to last for a mere five seconds. Abruptly, saddened and forgotten memories flooded his mind, sinking their malicious teeth in whatever weakness could be detected. Heart pounding almost to the point of being ripped out of his chest. Tears formed a clear path down his cheeks, and slowly emerged into a rushing river of salty water as an unwanted memory crawled into his mind. Finding shelter in his thoughts, and staying for the night, bringing much unhappiness and displeasure for Erik in his path.

A heavy breath wafted down towards a young boy, who shrivelled in fear at his piercing eyes., Tears running down the boy’s big brown eyes, light catching them and making them dazzle beautifully. The man above clenched a fist, angry enough to let it collide between a glass wall, and rusty nails. His hand enclosed around a seemingly empty bottle, held in front of the boy, as if to strike. The boy looking up at him, wincing as his breath panted heavily against his skin. Struggling in his grasps, false hope twinkling in innocent eyes. "Daddy! Please, I haven’t done anything wrong!!" Jerking in his father's grip on him, the young boy faltered on his footing, and crashed to the ground harshly, the slurred voice of his father booming before him. "Oh, fuck off Erik.. Does your stupidit- .. no bounds?! .. How I got a .. I'll never fucking know, only wish .. I didn't!!" Erik struggled to respond, still trying to block out the man, swallowing salty tears as they ran a smooth line down his pale skin. He braced himself for seering pain as the man he wished he could refer to as ‘dad’ threw his arm with the bottle overhead of Erik, threatening to strike. Closing his eyes with pain as the familiar feeling of glass falling against his clothed back, familiar, but still as painful as anything. Tears now cascading down his cheeks, Erik stumbled off to his bedroom, after writhing himself from his dad's grips. Absconding from the furious words that echoed after him. "You piece of worthless .. I fucking loathed you the day you were b-" Slamming the door behind him, the small boy cussed the man under his breath with the few evil words he had learnt from his father. Trying to find something to relieve his pain instead of breaking anything - that would cost him dearly - the small boy snatched the same book he had used for drawing at many occasions. His breathing came in short, gasps for air, as he wrestled himself both physically and mentally against the tears. His anger was so great that he began to shake, but more than anything, his father had a hold on one emotion. Fear. Trying to distract the emotions strangling him, he began to quickly and shakily draw the faint outline of the family ship ; Lady Elika.

Panting and almost drowning in the warmth of his now forming tears, Erik began to cradle his chest, holding his shoulders tightly, almost clawing at them to distract the emotional pain with physical pain. He put a hand up to his face, tears still running freely down his cheeks. Unlike the first few weeks of harbouring the knowledge of his parent’s death, Erik felt a steady happiness, bringing a struggled smile to his tear-soaked face. The way they died, too, reassured him that the pain they had caused to him, would be at least given back for a short period of time. Suddenly finding himself wishing they were torn apart by sharks, Erik tried to shake himself of the nastiness crawling into his mind. Torment as such that he had lived through would not be healed by thinking such horrid things of others. Still shaking violently, Erik began to sketch the sitting on the wooden desk. The candle was dying slowly, and provided dim light to draw in, but the young and anguished pirate didn’t care, he did not need a masterpiece, just a worthy distraction, and drawing had worked for as long as he could bear to remember. However, it did not entirely take his mind off the situation, as his mind began yearning freedom. Suicide began an applicable alternative to living. He’d not felt this way since – since.. At least four years ago! He did have a few ropes lying around the ship, and even in his quarters. No one would miss it. No one would miss him. If the rope was at the least a metre, it would suffice. How many metre-long ropes could there be in such a ship? The opportunities were endless, and so very tempting.. Should he? Revolted by his previous thoughts, Erik hung his head in shame. Hanging himself was the easy way out. The wuss’ way out. Shaking his head, he continued to sketch tensely. He had started illustrating the wax wading down from the wick of the cream candle, towards the metal dish it had been placed on. A heavy sigh emitted from his mouth and Erik ran a grubby finger through his unwashed hair, debating whether or not to have a walk. He shrugged, realising he was too lazy to get up and do anything, and decided he’d stay there, drawing. Maybe have a shower? He allowed himself to be proud of his own work, and smiled quickly, before continuing sketching the lick of the flickering flame of orange.

A short rapping sound of someone knocking suddenly hit the door, the person behind it obviously not very strong, or just weakened by fatigue. Wiping his slightly shakey hands slowly on a paper towel, Erik rose himself from the wooden chair he sat in. Another knock pounded against the thick door, making the young man scowl slightly. ~ can you not wait? ~ Sneaking up towards the hard-timber door of his cabin, he opened the rusting handle, revealing the silhouette of a young girl. Confusion crept up at him, what was she doing here? Erik tossed his head, waiting for her to say something, or explain why she was here – and so late, too.



The words echoed, bouncing around in his skull, familiarising themselves. Curiosity irked him, what had happened to her? He offered her inside, a reassuring smile playing on his lips, his eyes saying what his mouth would’ve if only he wasn’t so confused. He offered to take her coat with a slight gesture of his hand, then, he hastily took off the jacket and placed it on a wooden rack beside the door. Surprise and horror engulfed him as the dim light flickered across the scars and bruises. “Are you okay?” He asked, voice thick with concern. She shifted in her place, not wanting to answer the question. Erik shrugged it off for the moment, and decided it would be best to ask inside. Escorting her to the maroon couch, he sat her down, then went placed himself gently by her. Cupping a hand around her face gently, Erik took a closer look at the bruises, as for what he could see on her face and through the unreliable light, this was a man’s doing. Not a creature, but a human. Edging in closer to get a better look at the injuries, he looked into her azure orbs, feeling oddly protective of her, but even more so, angry at whoever did this to her. Erik cooed incoherent words directed at her, meanless phrases that seemed to slip out automatically, such as ; “it’ll be okay”, you’ll live” or “don’t worry, you’re safe”. He tried to smile, but couldn’t seem to, all emotions were no match to the boiling anger rising inside him for whom had done this to a woman. They sat in silence for a good few minutes, Erik wondering what happened to her and why she came to him of all people. Would she not go to that boyfriend of hers? Rephrasing his last question, the young pirate tried again to get information from her. “What happened Everlida? How did you come to get this way in so little time?”

She raised her head slowly, before quietly replying, swallowing before she began. “T-r-avi-s.. He..” She gulped again, unable to finish through the tears swelling in her resisting orbs, as if she shouldn’t say such a thing, or reveal who he was. Travis.. Suddenly, everything started to make a minor amount of sense, the man she was talking to, the way he held her, why she was so insulted when he said that. Because he was her boyfriend .. Because he beat her up to a bloody pulp? Did Travis not understand how lucky he was to have someone like Everlida? Annoyed with the man he didn’t even know, Erik started to clench his fists of fear he would hurt himself. He was still a little shaky from the memories of the past he endured earlier, and found himself fighting back tears. He thought to hug her, but instead, took her right hand in his, and began stroking the smooth skin gently. “Everlida..” He whispered softly to her, before conjuring up a speech -of sorts - to say to her.
“You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, okay? But, if you are willing to give up anything to me ; I swear it to you, that it will be secret, just between you and me. A secret meaning that I will not breathe a word to any filthy soul on this ship – on this planet – what you say. We’ve just met, I know, and I apologise if I am being too close for comfort, but I can keep a secret, and I am a mighty fine listener, too. Its strange, this feeling, I feel as though I must help you, as if a duty of mine. I’m not rushing you, but merely want you to know ; I will be there for you .. Nice name, you have, by the way.. Everlida.” He declared, trying to add some brightness to the subject in his last words. Truth lathered his words, and he hoped that she identified it as, not corny, but helpful. It was so incredibly ridiculous that Erik felt this way for Everlida, especially after only four hours knowing her, but, he could not deny the swelling in his heart she caused. It was something Erik would never admit, in fear of being seen as foolish and ‘wussy’ but he felt as though they needed each other .. He had no idea her thoughts of him, and he had no desire to .. All he knew was that he wanted to be with her, and needed to help her. Help her get past ‘Travis’ and maybe in return, experience the drug many call ‘happiness’.



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