Chapter 1 (Godhearted)
The quiet slosh of waves against the side of the ship stirred Orion slightly, having been confined to his bed to recover from his injuries, casting a glance at the map nearby. The course had been charted towards the Kingdom of Aecoca, home to the beautiful race of centaurs which protected the forests surrounding the kingdom. Why Sunny was so determined to go there, he had only a slight suspicion, but it would mean that some… arrangements would have to be made to allow M’eudail and Skygg to join them. His gaze drifted across his quarters to watch the two of them, sleeping, cuddled up in each other’s embrace, and he felt a slight twinge of jealousy, and a pang of grief too. He sighed heavily, standing up and walking across the deck, out of his quarters and into the night air. His leg began to make an uncomfortable creaking sensation, and his eyes closed slightly, still tired from the sleeplessness he was suffering with, before his legs buckled, crashing into the waves below as his eyes snapped shut.
He was hauled onto the deck, water forced out of him by M’eudail, concerned eyes gazing down at him. He sat up, and Sirius stayed silent, scooping him up into his arms and tapping away back to his quarters, grumbling. “I’ve had enough Captain. As soon as we dock, you’re getting a cane.” Orion immediately began to protest, but Sirius gave him a look that silenced him with his sightless gaze, eyes not focused upon him, but he got the message quickly. It was no use now, he had to accept his weakness here, even if it had almost been the death of him, and how the captain despised appearing weak. He sighed heavily, limping into bed and rolling over, bringing his pillow down on his head with a quiet grumble. He could feel Sirius touching around, before finally touching his hair, moving it slightly in a gesture of comfort for the much older man, before letting go of him gently. "We're almost there Captain... the mers want to come with you, said that they have a way to... become human briefly? I was more worried about you being scooped out the water to really listen, but... we're almost there, anyways." Orion murmured a noise of acknowledgement, squeezing his eyes shut and praying for any kind of undisturbed sleep. As his eyes fluttered open a while later, from the gentle tapping on his arm Skygg was giving him, the hurried footsteps and voices outside his quarters told him that they had arrived, and he rolled out of his bed, leaning on M'eudail for support as he made his way out of his quarters, glancing at Sirius talking to Sunny, both ships having docked.
The island was huge, green, and covered in little houses, leading up to the top of the mountain where the palace rose high into the clouds. That was where they were heading, once they managed to make their way into the forest. The two mers glanced at each other. "So, whats this about becoming human?" Orion questioned, wheeling around to face them, and the Skygg rolled his eyes, squeezing M'eudail's arm gently. The two pressed their foreheads together, whispering a quiet chant before there is a gentle surge of light, and the two pulled back from each other, in human form. The two of them were.. devastatingly handsome, and Orion's cheeks heated up a little, much to his dismay and Skygg's mischievous delight, his now pale blue eyes lighting up. He wrapped an arm around Orion's thin waist playfully, M'eudail watching in amusement as his cheeks got pinker and pinker by the second, shaking his head and eventually pulling Skygg away from Orion gently, as the white haired mer-turned-human laughed. The two disguised creatures had subtle differences, such as keeping their gills in the form of scars, and some markings being kept too, but otherwise looked completely human. Sunny helped Orion down from the ship, and the four of them continued on, waving at Sirius who had opted to stay behind to take care of the combined crew of both ships, and the forest was silent.
