#candells

Sailors on a Sea of Fate

"Aw crap," muttered the hero for hire as his eyes widened at the sight of the tear.

"Dad?" Rey asked tentatively as she looked in the same direction.

Zexx felt his heart both swell and drop at hearing the word from his child.  For so long he had sought to find them all and now they were all here with him.  One big family again, with his father to boot.  He hadn't really thought about what would happen after.  Or having to keep them all alive.

The tear grew wider as the swirling darkness tinged with blasts of violet twisted in the vast emptiness to open a gate in the Astral Sea.  That same drop in his chest grew stronger as he already began to see the tentacles wrenching the ship from the Abyss into their reality.

"What the hell is that?" Rey whispered as her hand was already flying to the hilt of her sword, Zexx felt like he should give her a sarcastic 'what are you gonna do with that?'.  It was only when he realized his own hand was wrapped about his sword hilt that he kept his tongue in check.

Gulping, Zexx turned to his daughter and shook her a moment to break the spellbinding horror of the living ship coming obviously after them.  "Wake up, Rey."

Blinking her brown eyes quickly she felt a shiver as she steeled herself to look into the mismatched eyes of her father's. "Sorry I'm here."

"Good," the older man nodded with a worried smile before he levied out his orders. "Go down let your brother know to ready himself and that armor of his.  Then find Xaya and tell her to get down into the engine room, she's going to need to coax those elementals hard for us to push out."

"What if she gives me a hard time?"  Rey asked with a slightly absent tone as her eyes drifted to the tear again.  Tentacles had pulled the rest of the shell aft of the ship free of the warp into the space.  It was gaining speed.

A slight shake of her shoulders brought the swordswoman back with a start.  "Sorry, it's just.  Dad, what did we do?"

"I have no idea, but we need to get out of here.  Fast.  Tell Gen to arm up, Xaya to fire up the engine, and Gwynn to plot us a gate out of here."

"But that could take awhile, I mean," Rey looked back toward the main deck of the ship where the other Candells were beginning to gather.  "She's getting better but it's hard."

"I know, but it's either be hard or be dead," Zexx gave her a soft shove toward the steps leading down to the main deck.  "From what I've heard about that thing though, we'd be lucky for the latter if we get caught."

The young woman might have stumbled before but her footwork was getting better every day since she'd started getting lessons from her old man.  The soft worn boots of her skipped easily over the deck as Rey reached the stairs and turned back to Zexx.  "What about grandpa?"

Zexx was already at the helm again as he looked at the lack instruments or a console, fumbling to understand them completely but practice was kind of making it perfect.  Reaching up he'd rub at the prosthesis where an old patch had always been for his right eye.  It was itchy and odd, but at least he could see out of it, even if it did give him one green eye to his blue.  Hearing Rey speak of Eld he felt the odd tightness again in his chest at the mention of his own 'father'.  

Letting out a shaky sigh he shrugged.  "I dunno, does Eld listen to any of us?"

"He kind of does to Gwynn," Rey shot back with a wicked grin.  She was way to much like him.

"Move it, kid!"  Zexx yelled as he shook his head, doing his best to ignore the resounding groan of the nautiloid ship behind them before plopping down in the ornate wooden chair.  Muttering about his eldest and her lack of leaving good directions for him as he tried to get comfortable, allowing the psychic force of the Wayfarer to grip him.  Familiar pins and needles down his spine rushed into his head as he felt the mechanical eye pulse in his skull before sighing.  "There we go.  Alright then."

Xaya had said to just le this mind do the work, but it wasn’t the easiest concept to grasp.  With a roll of her eyes she installed a pair of levers for him to give some semblance of control to an operation that only needed him to think clearly.  Grasping the two control modules he would find himself absently grinning as the thrum of the engines growled to life under his feet.  "Three, two, one.  Let's jam."

Gendry Candell

There was a knock at the door.

There was no answer.

Another knock would follow, before the door was creaked open.  A young, scarred face of Rey Candell appearing between the crack of the door with worried brown eyes as she looked across the room.  "Gendry?"

"I'm awake," Gendry replied, his voice weak but peaceful as he sat in a large overstuffed chair.  He did not turn to face his sister though, his eyes withered and haggard face staring out the nearby open window.

Rey would nod mostly to reassure herself as she dragged her feet to enter the cold room of her brother.  "It's freezing in here."

"I like it, the wind feels good on my face," Gendry still did not look to her but his weak voice made clear a matching smile.

Rey would nod again as she would do her best not to stutter in her pace as she neared the chair, her face catching up with her eyes as she looked to her brother.  It was hard to do so.

Gendry Candell was half a man now, though by the peaceful smile on his gaunt face he seemed happier than she had ever known him to be.

"How are you feeling?"  Rey would speak softly, though barely above a whisper as she crouched beside her brother's chair.  His eyes would slowly open as he heard her voice and tilt his head softly to the right to look to her, though the youngest Candell of the trio would do all she could not to stare at the now empty spaces of his body.  The left side had taken the worst of it as his leg was now gone from mid-thigh to foot as was his left arm from shoulder to hand, the sleeve of his robe tied close to his withered frame.  From one missing leg would be the other right side missing from knee to foot and a hand as well from the right, the smooth slate of stump from forearm to the tips of his fingers.  A shaky breath was all Rey could bring in as she desperately wanted to hold that artist's hand again as she had for so long as a child.  "How are you feeling?"

"You just asked that," Gendry would speak softly again as he watched Rey try with all her might not to fall to pieces at the sight of him.  He could scarcely believe it himself, to survive such a massacre to his body and soul was a miracle.  The price had been steep, but worth it.

"Sorry," Rey murmured as she gently reached forward to smooth a lock of his blonde hair from his face.  "I just got a bit lost."

"I can relate," her brother would sigh out again as he tried to adjust himself in the chair.

"Do you need help?"

Gendry would shake his head, "No, I'll be alright just need to shift a bit.  The doctor said I should try to move here and there.  Try to remember."

Her brother would gently lift up his stump, the end of it covered in a warm wool wrapping before he lowered it again.  

"Does it hurt?"

Gendry would again shake his head with a brave, weak smile trying to assail his sister's fears for him.  "No, not at all to be honest.  Just feel lighter, though I am tired of being so tired."

Again Rey would stroke his hair back again, her heart thumping loudly as she continued to fight back more of the tears she had spilled in the wake of her brother's wounds.  "I'm sorry."

"I'm not," Gendry leaned his head to the side into her hand as he closed his eyes again a moment.  "I'm alive."

A shaky breath taken as Rey would nod, her voice croaking out just the same.  "You are.  And will be for some time."

"I should hope so," the young an would smile again weakly before opening his eyes again slowly.  "Where's Xaya?"

Rey patted him softly before coming around to face him fully as she crouched low to look him in the eye.  The idea of having to come to his level unlike how he once was always coming to hers made her heart ache worse as she smiled sadly.  "That's why I'm here.  They need you to test it out."

A rasping sigh would slip from the young man as tilted back into his chair, the serene look on his face fading into a tight frown.

"Gendry come on now, this a good thing."

"Is it?"

"Of course it is, get you back on your," Rey stopped the old saying to look down with a sigh.  "You know what I mean."

"What if I don't want to?"

Rey snapped her head up this time, a kindling of fire in her eyes as she frowned back at him hard.  "You don't get to do that."

"Why not?"  Gendry feel a bitterness creep into his voice as he said the words.  "It was my fault."

"Stop it."

"It was, if I hadn't taken the idol," Gendry would continue his mind racing to the strange troll statue that had ruined nearly everything for them.  His freedom.  His family.  His home.  Uncle Lan.  The bitterness continued to harden his heart as he let it seep into him, wrecking the peace he'd been feeling the last few hours alone in his room.  

A strong hand cupped his face and pulled it up to look into the familiar face of his younger sister.  "Stop it.  You can't just switch moods like that.  You need to focus.  You're alive.  We're alive.  And we're going to make it work.  Now shut up and come look at it."

Gendry felt a pressure in his chest at his sister's short words, wanting to retort with something bitter or hurtful but knowing the truth.  "You're right."

"Of course I am," Rey responded as she patted him on the cheek before moving away to fetch the rolling chair that their current proprietor had provided upon their arrival in Stormsong.  "Now come on, Gripcable has got a good start for you to try."

Gendry nodded softly as the creak of the wheels and chair signaled her return before he was lifted into it with a grunt from Rey.  An old wool blanket would pulled over him for warmth as well as modesty to his appearance as Rey got behind the chair.  "What does Xaya think?"

Rey snorted as she began to push him toward the door.  "She hasn't left his side since he started.  I mean, someone's gotta know how to fix it."

Another nod was given as Gendry leaned back into the chair, his eyes closing again as he listened for the wind of the valley.  It was sweet and cold to his skin, but warm in his heart as he smelled hints of honey on the air.  How sweet the air smelled here.

"Someone's gotta fix me."

@safrona-shadowsun