Chapter 2
Sorren awoke with a light peck to his cheek. With a low groan, he sat up and looked at the culprit. “What?” he asked Muzu.
He was sure it had only been a couple of hours since he’d dozed off on the deck. Fiore and Muzu had been chasing each other across the ship and playing almost the entire day. Now, the sun was low in the sky, casting a pinkish hue over the ocean water.
“Aye, look who’s finally up.”
Sorren’s attention shifted to Willy, who was standing in almost the exact same place he’d been in the entire day, behind the helm.
He just wanted another chance to play pirate, Sorren couldn’t help thinking as he stood and stretched.
It was only when he turned to face the ocean that he noticed the small lump of land in the distance. It could only be the Oriental Isles... unless Willy had totally gotten them off course while Sorren had been asleep, which was quite possible.
Muzu gave a hearty caw and perched atop Sorren’s head. Well, Muzu seemed to be positive about this adventure at least.
“How long until we land?” Sorren asked, craning his head to look at Willy.
“Maybe less than an hour if there’s no trouble, but...” he pointed to his right. “It seems like we might be waylaid by a bit of a greetin’ party.”
Studying the horizon closely, Sorren could make out three ships, just slightly larger than the one they were on. “The thieves the sailor mentioned?” he wandered aloud. Well, if they came to him, it would make everything much easier. The quicker he disposed of them, the quicker he could be done with this mission.
“Shall we give them a proper greeting?” Willy asked with a grin that was far too cheerful considering an inevitable fight lay in the near future.
Sorren gave a brief nod. With the masts rolled up. It didn’t take long for the distant ships to pull up near them.
The head – or the individual Sorren assumed was the leader of the group – was perched at the front of the largest ship. He had a black bandana wrapped around his head, a ragged white shirt, a gold-colored earring in his left ear, and a sword in his right hand which he was pointing at Sorren. He certainly looked the part of a thief. When dealing with simple merchants, looks might have been enough, with Sorren and Willy, he’d have to try a bit harder.
“You there! If you don’t want to die you’d better abandon that ship now!” He called, waving his sword around.
Sorren only gave him a bored glance.
“If ‘ya wanna try. Go ahead!” Willy challenged, pulling out his own sword and leveling it at the obnoxious man.
“You’re supposed to be steering Will,” Sorren reminded under his breath.
“It’s fine. It’s fine. We ain’t gonna go far in the amount of time it takes to pummel these punks.”
Sorren rolled his eyes in an exasperated manner, but didn’t respond as he moved to the railing of the boat. He shifted his weight back and then launched himself forward with enough strength to send him sailing to the enemy ship.
There was a collective gasp of surprise as he landed lightly. Certainly, no human would be able to make that jump, but Sorren didn’t leave them much time to dwell on that.
The men on the ship swarmed to the deck to surround him, but with a couple flicks of his wrist, he severed their carotid arteries and they dropped to the ground lifeless.
While Sorren was busy with the main ship, the other two pulled close enough to Willy’s ship to board it. Ten people flooded onto the small deck, and pointed their weapons of choice at him.
“Hey Fiore, you might wanna get back for this one,” he said good-temperedly to the serval. Fiore gave a lazy yawn in response, and took her time hopping down from his shoulders.
Once free of the extra weight, Willy stepped forward. The lot of them charged him at once, but with extreme dexterity, Willy maneuvered his way around them, leaving small cuts on their arms, torso, and face as he went.
He came up behind the mass of people. “Cut a rope here. Pull this one there,” he said in a sing-song voice as he manipulated the sails. Before the group could turn, the mast swung sideways, hitting most of them in the gut and knocking more than half off of the ship.
“Oh whoops. My bad,” he said with a laugh.
The remaining three that had the foresight to duck before they had gotten hit, wavered in their attacks as their eyes flashed between Willy, Sorren, and their commander, who was the only one left alive on the main ship.
Sorren strode forward powerfully while the leader of the group shrank back until he hit the railing of his ship. “Is that all you have after such big talk?” Sorren asked, voice cold and emotionless.
“G-get away from me you half-born trash!” he shouted, though his voice was pitifully weak. “You stupid demon bird!”
Sorren’s eyes flashed, and with a quick flash of his daggers, the body of the man fell to the deck.
The members that still remained on Willy’s ship leapt into the sea as soon as they realized their leader had been defeated.
“Aw man, that was a bit anti-climactic,” Willy muttered as he sheathed the sword. “Yo Sorren. ‘Ya good over there?”
“Fine,” Sorren answered before sheathing his daggers and launching himself back over to their ship.
Willy gave low whistle as he got a good look at his friend. “You’re covered in blood. 'Ya are okay right?” For a moment, his eyes flickered with worry, but Sorren waved off his concern.
“You know it’s not mine.”
“’Ya have somethin’ to change into?”
Sorren cast him a glance as if to say,
“Are you really asking such a silly question?” Willy responded with a helpless shrug. “We’ll be there in just a little while, so you might want to get that done soon.”
Ten minutes later, Sorren reappeared at the front of the deck, looking the same as he had when they’d left this morning.
“Really now, must all of your clothes look the exact same? 'Ya should go shopping more!” Willy teased lightly as he maneuvered the small ship into the dock. “Hey, while we’re here you can get –”
“Will.” Sorren cut him off before he could get carried away with possible ideas and antics. “Would you focus on steering rather than lecturing me about fashion?”
“You’re a real kill-joy. ‘Ya know that?” For now, he let the matter drop, but he was determined to find Sorren something a bit more... flashy before they left the Oriental Isles.
It was nightfall by the time they reached the nearest inn. Sorren let Willy do the talking when it came to booking a room lest the manager of the establishment notice his eyes and fall into a state of fear. Sorren was well aware that no inn would want a ‘demon bird’ staying the night. It was asking for trouble.
That was a sentiment Sorren could somewhat understand, even if he didn’t agree with it.
“What are ‘ya spacin’ out for?” Willy asked, slapping Sorren none-to-gently on the back. “The room is just up the stairs.”
Sorren gave a brief nod and followed after Willy. The room was simple and small, with one bed wedged into the corner, a table with two chairs, and a worn couch. Sorren made his way to the couch and flopped down on one end. Muzu settled himself in the middle of Sorren’s chest.
Willy collapsed on the other side of the couch, and Fiore stretched out in the small space between the two men. Like this, both people and creatures alike, slept through the night.
A/N~ Thank you all. I truly appreciate your kind words and stalking. ^^ I hope I haven't disappointed with this one. Action is (I think) one of my stronger suits when it comes to writing, so I definitely had to throw in a little fight. Mission isn't over yet though. I still have a bit more planned~
I felt more in Willy's character this time, and less in Sorren's. Maybe that's because I wrote it between 2-4am and am more than a little scattered brained at the moment. (I need more focus.) Anyway, hope you all enjoy~ ^^
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