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5024 V.S 1673 Ch. 10

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Chapter 10: Wings



Arthur didn’t know why he was doing this; he didn’t know why he was even contemplating it. The sand dollar Alfred had given him lay in the palm of his hand, a sewing needle in the other. He knew that the sand dollar was basically a skeleton, a very thin one at that, but he couldn’t help but wonder if he could somehow engrave or carve into it without it shattering. It was very unlikely but Arthur was in love with the idea all the same.

The sound of footsteps jolted Arthur out of his thoughts. He slipped the sand dollar into his pocket and then pulled the canvas sail onto his lap.

Francis sat down next to him, his own needle in hand. “Do you know the Satin Stitch?” He asked as he pulled his own section of the torn sail into his lap.

“We used to call it the Satan Stitch because of how much thread it required.” Arthur said. He picked a tear in the canvas and then started mending it with quick, sure movements, born from years of repairing his own ship’s sails and countless hours of embroidery. Francis chuckled beside him before starting on his own hole. They sat in the sand, soaking up the warmth of the sun, and working silently on the ripped sail as the others concentrated on the ship.

Ivan was singing again, this time about the fish he had seen in the shallows.

“This place is beautiful, non?” Francis suddenly said wistfully. Arthur looked up from the seventh tear he was sewing shut to look at the blonde sitting beside him. Francis was looking behind them, at the foliage of the island; the trees and grass that swayed in the wind. It was easy for the pirate to forget that the man had never seen this much green in one place before. However, Arthur couldn’t see the beauty in it. Maybe at one point in his life but after being left here to die, that beauty had been tainted and no matter what Arthur did, that beauty was forever lost to him.

Francis noticed the sudden dark look in his eye. “You don’t agree?” he asked.

“Out of all the islands in the ocean we could have crashed on. Why did it have to be this Hell?” Arthur said bitterly.

“You know this island?” Francis stopped mending his patch of sail and turned his attention to Arthur.

“I was marooned here after a mutiny; they had the kindness to leave me with a pistol with one shot.”

“Hold up,” A third voice suddenly said from behind them. Francis and Arthur glanced back to see Alfred standing there with some planks of wood, that they had painstakingly cut last night, thrown over his shoulder and on his way back to the ship. “Are you serious?” His eyebrows were high on his forehead and his eyes wide with shock. Arthur opened his mouth to reply but Yao beat him to it. The small dark haired man walked up to Alfred to help him with the wood.

“That is not so surprising. I have never heard of a pirate being a good man.” Yao glared at Arthur, making the pirate smirk.

“Vladimir Lupei,” Arthur turned back around and went back to mending the sail. “Insufferable git is…” Arthur paused and cocked his head to the side. Should he be using past tense? Last time he had seen him, the Romanian Captain had been laughing with a drunken blush on his face, the single fang that his own beastly possessor gifted him with on show for the world to see. But that didn’t mean that he was still alive. Elizabeta had resorted to the curse of eternal youth so it was safe to say that, yes, Vladimir was dead now. “…had been the best sort of man a pirate could ever hope to be.”
Alfred shoved the wood of his shoulder and then sat down heavily on Arthur’s other side. He crossed his legs and put his hands in his lap, looking at Arthur with intrigue. “What was he like?” He asked, blue eyes shining.

“Oui, I would like to know as well.” Francis chirped in.

“What the bloody Hell is this? Story time?” Arthur growled. Alfred nodded and Francis made a show of putting his needle down.

```

Alfred waited as Arthur seemed to have an internal war with himself. Tell or don’t tell? Open up or shut down? Shove Yao’s words down his throat and make him choke, or let him get away with implying that Arthur wasn’t and could never be a good man? Alfred may not be able to read the atmosphere that well but he did know how to read people. And it was obvious, even to him, that Yao was purposely antagonizing Arthur.

“Vladimir was a strategist. The kind that would make plans that had a greater success rate if it relied on someone’s spontaneous reaction and so he never told his entire plan to anyone, just gave the necessary people the necessary amount of information they needed,” Arthur shook himself from some far off memory and resolutely kept his attention on sewing. Which Alfred now noticed was actually better than Francis’. “Most of the time it felt like manipulation…But he was the most loyal Captain I have ever met. When I was sailing under him, I remember this one time, the first mate, some man from Bulgaria-” Arthur abruptly stopped and looked out at the ocean. “…I can’t remember his name though…Not the point. This fool gets himself captured and on the day of his hanging, Vladimir put together a rescue party and we go and get him.” Arthur chuckled. “That day I had to help Vladimir dig a bullet out of his arse.”

Francis snorted, trying to keep his laughter contained, while Alfred laughed outright. His shoulders shook and he was left gasping for breath by the time he was done. Yao didn’t look amused. He picked up the planks that he could carry without straining something and walked away; muttering angrily under his breath as he did so.

“Why do I feel as if I’ve made an enemy for life?” Arthur asked with a shake of his head. He didn’t sound sorry at all, just vaguely amused.

“Don’t worry about ‘im. Yao ‘as a strict code about death and killing the innocent,” Francis said and patted Arthur’s shoulder. “That and ‘e ‘ates pirates.” Arthur twirled his index finger in the air to show his level of enthusiasm. Alfred chuckled and pushed himself to his feet.

“Eh, you may have made an enemy for life but I’m pretty sure you’ve also made two friends. Two to one seems like good odds to me.” Alfred winked before picking up the rest of the planks that Yao couldn’t and followed him back to the ship. Alfred didn’t know why he had to wink but he guessed that it was a little too late to be embarrassed about it. Maybe it was because of the look on Arthur’s face when he said he had been left on this very island to die by his crew, who was supposed to have his back.

Alfred couldn’t even imagine his own crew doing that to him, they were like a messed up little family. It was then that Alfred realized that he didn’t know a lot about Arthur at all. He knew about Kiku, he knew Arthur lied just for the sake of lying, he knew he hated coffee and preferred tea, he knew he liked to be by himself instead of surrounded by people and Alfred knew that he had been betrayed by his crew. But all in all, Alfred didn’t know anything that truly meant anything. Not what Arthur’s mother’s and father’s names where, not if he had siblings, not how he learned magic or why he had turned pirate in the first place.

These thoughts swirled around in Alfred’s head all day.

And when Francis rang everyone for dinner, they still hadn’t gone away.

Now, as Alfred made an uncharacteristic quick escape from dinner, the Merican sat in his workshop that was just next door to the engine room. A spider mecha lay on its back in the palm of his hand, its legs twitching with each twist of the screw driver. The spider’s legs were spindly little things with small circular pads at the ends. When Alfred was done with it, the spider would be sent into the tubes that ran within the walls of the ship to clean them, or at least that was the idea. In theory there would be close to two dozen of the little machines but Alfred would have to get this one working properly first.

There was something wrong with the chains on the inside of it. They kept rubbing together and creating so much friction that it created heat and the little spider would start thrashing as it overheated. It didn’t take much for that to happen with something this small and delicate. Alfred set it down and carefully maneuvered a thin piece of wire thread through the crack that the screw driver was in. Attempting to hook the thread around one of the chains so that he could pull them apart but it kept slipping.

Alfred’s cursing grew louder with each slip.

“Goddamn son of a bitch!” Alfred shouted and tossed the mecha onto his work table none to gently. He was so busy seething and trying to glare the mecha into submission to notice that someone had come in to stand behind him. Arthur’s elbow landed on Alfred’s shoulder. The Captain jumped slightly and turned his head to look at the pirate.

“I’m pretty sure it doesn’t wish to play with you anymore.” Arthur stated calmly.

“Like I care,” Alfred huffed and reached for it again. “I gotta get this thing finished, its willingness to ‘play’ with me or not be damned.” Arthur let his forearm drop so that it extended out before Alfred while keeping his elbow on his shoulder. Arthur opened his fist and let something white drop from his palm, only staying suspended in the air by a cord. Alfred slowly pulled his hand away from the mecha and instead reached for the pendant. Arthur let him take it from him. Alfred turned it over between his fingers as he examined it. It was a piece of the sand dollar that Arthur had broken off and, somehow, smoothed the jagged edges out.

Engraved on it was a single bird wing and on the other side was a wing of a bat. Alfred couldn’t help but wonder if it was a metaphor for ‘Good vs Evil’ or something along those lines.

“What’s this for?” Alfred asked. Arthur moved his forearm so that it pressed against Alfred’s chest as he grabbed his other shoulder and pulled him back into his body. Arthur lowered his mouth until it almost brushed the shell of Alfred’s ear.

“I want to show you my side of the sky.” Arthur whispered. Alfred tensed as he felt his face grow hot with a blush. He could feel every breath the man behind him took as his chest rose and fell rhythmically, could feel it when he let out each breath as the air ghosted over his ear and he had to repress a shiver. This was bad, Alfred needed to get out of the pirate’s one armed embrace and fast, before he did something that would push Arthur away; exactly where Alfred didn’t want him to be.

“I really have to get this done, Artie.” Alfred purposely used the nickname, hoping that Arthur would at least release him. However, the pirate didn’t even comment on it.

“Haven’t you ever wanted to do something because you want it? To act on selfish impulse?”  Arthur asked.

Yes, yes in fact, Alfred wanted to spin around and pin Arthur to the nearest wall and kiss the breath right out of him. But, he had a feeling that was not what Arthur was referring to and Alfred would not risk the strained friendship they had for a simple lip lock that would no doubt end with a fist to the face. Were they even friends? Alfred liked to think so and Arthur hadn’t denied it on the beach earlier but then again he wasn’t exactly been given the chance.

No, Alfred decided, Arthur had to feel something. Otherwise he wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of making him this necklace. Nor would he have shown him the beauty and soothing sound of whales singing.

Alfred sighed, shoulders slumping, and gave in.

```

Even after spending several weeks, the exact number Alfred didn’t know, on this small island, he was surprised at how much he had never actually allowed himself to go out and explore. It wasn’t that Alfred was afraid that there was something on the island that was dangerous, it was just that he hadn’t given much thought about wandering away from the Icarus.  But now, with Arthur holding his hand and tugging him along excitedly, Alfred had to wonder if that had been a slight mistake.

“Where are we going?” Alfred asked as he ducked after Arthur underneath a low hanging branch. The ground had slowly started to slant upwards as they walked.

“Over there.” Arthur said, tugging a little harder on Alfred’s arm.

“Yes, that’s very specific. Thank you.” Alfred replied sarcastically. Arthur laughed and Alfred swore it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. It was light and airy, almost hesitant to be heard after so long, yet at the same time it was somehow rich and smooth. Alfred’s eyes softened as he watched the back of Arthur’s head and couldn’t stop himself from gripping his hand a little tighter. They walked until Alfred’s feet started to ache; he ignored the humid air and the sweat clinging to his body and wondered, not for the first time, why Arthur was wearing his long red coat.

His thoughts were cut short, however, when Arthur pushed aside one last branch and they stepped out onto the edge of a sharp drop off. It wasn’t so much a cliff as it was a sad excuse for a miniature plateau. It overlooked the back of the island, even though it didn’t look much different from the front, it still made Alfred’s breath hitch as he was reminded of how beautiful this place really was. The wind blew past them, ruffling their hair and causing Arthur’s coat to sway around his legs.

“Remember when I told you that I had to have a coat that was past my knees. That the ones in that shop were too short?” Arthur suddenly asked.

Alfred tore his gaze away from the sight before him and looked at Arthur. “Yeah, why?” Arthur let go of his hand and closed his eyes. His coat suddenly glowed green and then it lifted, folding onto itself, until it sat against his shoulders. It looked really strange until it stopped glowing and Arthur was left with a pair of blood red bat wings folded neatly against his back, although the sleeves of the coat where left intact.

Alfred’s jaw fell to the floor and his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.

Arthur opened his eyes and scowled at Alfred’s expression, reaching over and forcing his mouth closed with two fingers. “Put that necklace on. Whichever side is face up will decide what type of wing your clothes will shift into. Though be warned, I always found feathers to be harder to fly with then webbed leather.”

Alfred scrambled to tie the necklace around his neck, fingers trembling and fumbling, in his hast and sudden excitement he didn’t bother checking to see which side of the pendant was facing up.

When it was secured around his neck, Alfred gave it an experimental tug to check the knot before turning to Arthur. “Now what?”

“Now, I teach you about borrowed magic. That pendant has some of my magic in it, in case you were wondering I used joy for the base, now for this to work you need to feel some level of joy or excitement.” Arthur said.

“Over time, will I be able to do this on my own, with my own emotion, I mean?” Alfred couldn’t help fingering the pendant.

“Yes. Borrowing magic is just a stepping stone to finding your own magic within your own body. Now, show me a smile.” And Alfred did. He smiled from ear to ear. The pendant around his neck glowed green and then slowly changed to blue, the exact same shade as his eyes. Alfred’s heart beat faster with anticipation and excitement. He could feel his vest moving across his back on its own as a warm feeling overtook his body, and then his shirt moved as well.

Then the warmth seeped away and Alfred was left with a pair of bird wings on his back, the tops of them where the same pale blue as his vest and the longer feathers at the bottom where white. And, like Arthur, he still had his shirt covering his arms and across his chest while the wings connected to his body by his shoulder blades. If he was being honest with himself, it looked like they were wearing strange half shirts with extra fabric on the shoulders. However, that extra fabric obviously had bone structure and muscle mass.

“Your side of the sky, you’d said?” Alfred questioned, running his fingertips along the blue feathers. His head whipped around to gap at Arthur. “You’re taking me flying!?” Alfred’s eyes sparkled with unbridled joy and excitement as he bounced on the balls of his feet; the pendant around his neck bumping into his chest with each jump.

“Just waiting on you.” Arthur said with a small smirk. Alfred wasn’t given a chance to reply before Arthur grabbed his arm and shot up into the sky. Alfred’s breath caught in his throat at the same time his stomach dropped. Arthur beat his wings in strong, sure, strokes. Alfred was momentarily stunned until Arthur stopped flapping and, in that split second before gravity yanked them back down, he pulled Alfred up and whispered in his ear. “Don’t think, just feel.” And then Arthur let go.

Alfred fell, leaving Arthur to hover where he was. Panic had never tasted more acidic as the blonde plummeted towards the island, in the back of his mind he was impressed that Arthur had been able to fly so high in such a short amount of time, but that didn’t change the fact that he was still falling. The wind blew through his hair harshly and caught in his wings, jerking him unpleasantly, as he twisted and tumbled. His heart to far up in his throat for him to scream, Alfred silently shouted and yelled at his wings to unfurl all the way.

And they did.

Alfred was jerked to a sudden stop and his wings beat rhythmically behind him, the island now looked about the size of a sand dollar underneath of him instead of a penny. When Alfred looked up, Arthur was still hovering where he had been, and with a grin Alfred flapped his wings harder and made his way up to the pirate. He had never felt this light, this…completely free and independent before.

“This is amazing!” Alfred shouted. Arthur snickered and reached over to lightly punch Alfred’s shoulder.

“Tag.” He said before diving. Alfred laughed boisterously and then tucked his wings in and let himself fall after him. Together, they twisted and turned, shouted insults and traded light blows as they tagged each other. Letting the wind play with their hair and catch in the sails on their backs, Alfred couldn’t stop laughing. He let his wing shoot out and spin him around abruptly and without warning.

Arthur didn’t have time to back pedal before he collided with Alfred’s chest and having equally strong arms wrap around him as they rolled through the air once.

They hovered in silence, Arthur’s from shock while Alfred was busy nuzzling his nose into Arthur’s hair; the only sound between them was the thumping of their hearts and the wind being beaten by Alfred’s wings.

“Alfred?” Arthur almost whispered.

Alfred breathed in deeply and hugged Arthur tighter, part of him wished that Arthur could be this carefree all the time and the other part selfishly basked in the glory that Arthur only showed this side of himself to Alfred.

“Thank you.” He whispered.
That took me way too long. Oh well, better late then never. That was pretty fluffy wasn't it?

OWN JUST THE PLOT!

Ch. 1: We're Not That Friendly → Here
Ch. 2: Just Found The Rum → Here
Ch. 3: What's Up With Ivan? → Here
Ch. 4: Look At His Face → Here
Ch. 5: He Stopped → Here
Ch. 6: Letter Opener → Here
Ch. 7: Break the Clouds → Here
Ch. 8: Solid Ground →  Here
Ch. 9: Where the Whales Sing → Here
Ch. 10: Wings → :star:
Next Chapter → Here
Ch. 12: Eye of a Sea Monster → Here
Ch. 13: Small Understandings → Here
Ch. 14: Keep Ticking → Here
Ch. 15: Marching On → Here
Ch. 16: Freedom Found → Here
© 2014 - 2024 DredPirateBones
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radkraken's avatar
I am crying. This is beautiful, I can't wait to read more!!