escapism

Magni’s patience was running dangerously thin, especially after the unexpected visit from the Lunar Coven supreme who came to tell them they were to be put on trial for killing the monsters who had nearly slaughtered them. Even if he knew the only rational thing they could do in this situation was to keep calm and stay quiet, he was growing restless. They couldn’t simply lay back and wait for the werewolves to decide their fate. Eventually, he stood up from where he was seated and walked through the village, with piercing stares following him around he went to the first person he recognized. “ I’m going around the edge of the village to explore, perhaps even find a way out of here once we get the opportunity, care to join me? Who knows, maybe we’ll even unearth their deepest and darkest secrets. “

“Let’s go. Not much else to do here,” Ava said, pushing herself up from the dirt. She slung her satchel over her shoulder, filled with the herbs she’d managed to get.

“Look on the bright side,” Lachlan said, making no attempt to hide his dismay. “Sure, we may have ended up in a bit of trouble and now face an unknown fate at the hands of a hostile enemy, but...” A brief silence, and he shook his head. “But! The crew is all together, we sailed the high seas, travelled to distant lands... Killed or maimed a few of the locals... Isn’t that what being a pirate is all about?”

“I was told it was about treasure,” Ava quipped. “’s what I signed up for, anyway.”

He was right about one thing at least, the killing and the maiming, surely that was what pirates did. She looked around the camp, thinking of everyone’s distress.

She laughed, like it was funny, like it was awful. “Are we? Together.”

In some sense, perhaps. But not in the one that mattered. They never had been. Even if they liked to pretend, no one on the damn ship had been honest with each other for a damn second.

And now they were all going to die. She’d be scared, if her life had meaning left.

“Why didn’t they just kill us?” Lyra wondered aloud, watching the wolves that guarded the perimeter of the village. “I mean… not that I wish they would’ve, but they could have. And instead they’re putting us on trial? I guess it’s too much to hope that we might have a fair shot of winning.”

Tell me once again: I could have been anyone, anyone else Before you made the choice for me

The serpent was dead and the ship was on fire. He still couldn’t believe the fight was over, not after everything they’ve had to go through to defeat it. Even if the beast was dead, people were still running around the deck, taking care of the wounded crew members and attempting to put out the fire. Meanwhile, Magni was sitting on the floor, right in the middle of the chaos. “ Can you help me stand up? “ He hadn’t realised quite how badly the serpent had slashed him, not until he tried to stand up after it was dead. “ I need to help you put out the fire and check if everyone’s alright, I need to do something. “

The smell of fire and salt stung Ava’s lungs as she tried to reorient herself in the chaos. She’d been laughing earlier, but now no one was looking at her, the smile has disappeared all together.

(It reminded her too much, the chaos and the pain and the panic, of a time she didn’t want to think about. About a version of her she didn’t want to think about.)

She couldn’t fix this right now, but she could at least help Magni with his request. As soon as she realized he was looking at her, she pasted on another brave grin, unflappable and debonair.

Once he heard the familiar voice of Ava call for him, a wide grin made its way to his face. While this was far from the idyllic journey he had foolishly hoped for, the chaos and the fighting was something he recognised and thrived in. “ Your alchemy bag? “ It had only taken him a moment to process what she was asking him for before he was leaping up in action, running to get her the alchemy bag she needed. 

When he returned with the bag, he kept it just out of her reach. “ What are you going to do with it? Turn the beast into a kitten? Or are you going to turn us into beasts? If that’s the case, please make sure I won’t look as hideous as that thing. “ 

Ava grimaced, as if Magni had just said something really awkward.

“Ooff, about that... I hate to break it to you, but...” She laughed, waving off his concern. “Nah, no kittens or beasts. That’s a transmutation I haven’t figured out yet. No --”

Her grin widened dangerously.

“Move!” Lucia urged her crewmates. The sea creature loomed above them, rising ever higher out of the water. Its mouth opened to make an unearthly sound, revealing teeth like swords. Standing where she was she drew her flintlock pistol and fired shots at it. The bullets that managed to reach it hardly made a dent in its scaly armour. 

As she stood there looking at it she noticed one of its enormous heads beginning to lower, inching closer to the ship. Grabbing the person next to her she ran to the other side of the ship and ducked behind the main mast. “If it gets close enough we could drive our swords through it. Make the beast bleed.” 

Every time the monster opened it’s mouth, Ava felt a giddy sort of fascination run through her. It was a magnificent beast, in all its terror, a beauty of destruction. (Perhaps she’d never left that side of her, that side of her meant for nothing but death.)

She felt someone grab her, hauled around like a rag doll. She hid behind the mast, turning to see Lucia.

“Swords? They’re not gonna save us now. I need to get to cannons! That’ll bleed it dry -- Oh, I hope I can capture some! -- But I’ll need help manning the station. I don’t know where Anaise and Lachlan are.”

“What in the name of god is going on up here!” Jax charged onto the deck, his face alive with both anger and fear. He’d gone downstairs after they made it past the rocks to have a quick meeting with Ved but had quickly been interrupted by the ship violently shaking. He whipped his head around, then caught sight of something - no somethings - popping out of the water. It took him a moment to process the sight, but once he realized what was happening, he snapped into business mode. “All hands on deck!” he roared, dashing to the side of the ship to get a better look. “Everyone! We need to blow this thing out of the water!” 

Ava had been tinkering around with gems, trying to concoct a new potion. It hadn’t been going great, although she had heeded the warnings that she needed to be careful on the ship. She knew some of the crew weren’t as comfortable with her magic as she’d grown used to. (Perhaps they’d been right, pirates were just pirates, superstitious lot. As if magic was any more dangerous than a blade, if used the same way.)

She heard the captain roar and quickly dropped her things, running up stairs. She joined him at side of the ship, a wild laugh escaping her lips.

“By all the stars! Look at that, captain!” She looked a thim, like a small child asking for candy. “Can I please keep a fang? Just one! I promise I could make something really useful for the ship.”

Seeing Ava struggle with the harpoon, Lyra raced over to help. Normally, she left harpooning to the larger members of the crew, in order to keep her unnatural strength a secret, but this was no time to be shy, not when death was on the line. 

Grabbing hold of the harpoon, she wrenched it free with a strength that belied her tiny frame, and after checking to make sure that it was tied off, she hefted the weapon over her shoulder. It had been a few years since she had used a weapon such as this, but it had been ingrained into her through her youth, and she fixed her gaze on the beast that bore down on them, picking her target at one of the creatures’ necks, she threw the harpoon and watched it soar through the air, piercing the creature and causing it to shriek out in pain, and the head she had struck turned its steely gaze towards her. 

Ava gaped at Lyra as the petite musician tore the harpoon from her grip, as easily as if she’d been holding a bouquet of flowers.

“Go get it!” she cheered, too impressed by the display of strength to do much else. She followed the harpoon with her eyes and gave another jubilant cry as the harpoon hit true. It didn’t even quiet down as the serpent turned it’s gaze on them.

“We should probably run now,” Ava suggested with a lighthearted shrug.

The ship rocked underneath her feet violently, like a wild horse trying to shake off its rider, trying to flee. Above her, the sea serpent bared its teeth, all sharp angles. Ava grinned, and did exactly the same.

Her weapons hadn’t done much so far. Of course not, harpoons were meant for whales, for sharks, not for this. Not for monsters. Something else would need to be done.

Ava caught a glimpse of a familiar face and laughed. Yes, just who she needed.

“Hey,” she screamed over the noise. “Magni! I need your help! Remember my alchemy bag? It’s underneath my book. Be a dear and grab it for me, would you?”

Lyra was sitting on the deck’s railing, finally able to enjoy the sunshine after the storm, when the water started to roil beneath them. She hopped to her feet, clinging to the guard rail as the ship rocked, eyes growing wide as the color drained from her face at the thing rose above the surface of the water. She stared, mouth agape for a long moment, finally realizing that the stories her people had shared were anything but myth. “Monster,” she exhaled, swallowing her fear as the creature drew nearer. She had her throwing knives with her, but she doubted that would even scrape his scaly skin, and she turned and raced towards the ship’s fishing tools. “Where’s the goddamn harpoon?!”

“I’m on it!” Ava screamed back over the noise of the roaring sea serpent, the see, and Lyra’s screeching. Such a beautiful voice, and yet her ears rung with it.

She nearly dropped the part of the harpoon she was holding as the ship rocked violently. Despite all this, she couldn’t keep the giant grin off her voice.

“An actual sea serpent! With several heads! Oh by all the stars, I want its fang! It’s blood! The venom! Oh, the venom! Do you even know what I could do with that?” Even as she rambled, she tugged at the harpoon, trying to get it to the gun deck so she could attack the monster. She really wanted that venom.

“It’s stuck!”

Jax, rather flustered, had just emerged back on to the deck. He straightened his clothing as he moved and raised a hand to block his eyes from the pelting rain. Everywhere the rain hit, it left a sting in its wake. He was trying to reacquaint himself with the situation and get his head on straight when suddenly, he felt a hand wrenching him away from where he stood. He whipped his head around, first looking for the person who’d grabbed him, and then for the reason. His eyes were wide when he looked back at Ava. “Thank you!” he called above the noise, feeling even more embarrassed and flustered than he had a moment ago. “This storm needs to end soon! Even this ship can only take so much…and apparently, it’s taking its toll on my observational skills.”

Ava laughed, crackling with energy much like the lighting around them. “Got your back, cap.” 

Despite everything, it was true. Although she would never allow herself to fall back into her blind loyalty of old, she could appreciate that she owed Jax at least something. For however much it meant, to be owed by a girl like her.

“We lost some cargo. Saw some others on the deck, but I can’t assess the damage for now.” The situation was still too chaotic. “How’s it below deck? We’re not taking water, are we?”

The sails whined in the wind as Ava blinked the storm out of her eyes. All around her, the crew was running up and down to make sure the Serpent would see them through the night.

Ava didn’t particularly care about that. She just enjoyed the storm, the violence of it without menace. How the winds could break this ship, drag them to the depths of the ocean, and it wouldn’t be cruel, it wouldn’t be malign. It would just be. No choice, no fight, just the sweet salvation of divine simplicity or power.

And yet.

She saw the barrels rolling down before she heard the rope snap, the roar of the sea too loud. In a glance, she could see the barrels making a crash course for an unsuspecting crew member, occupied with another task.