#threadsofthepast

One year.

Somehow, Colm wasn't entirely sure how it was possible, one year had passed since the day Captain Sylen had plopped his ass in the center of town and vowed to stay. The child would have been lying if he'd said he hadn't expected them to give up after a few days, or a few weeks when they hadn't yet left. It was only natural. They were pirates who decided they wanted a ten year old on a whim.

But they refused to leave.

Colm came to town each week in that year, every single time expecting to no longer see the stubborn pirate. Sometimes it was even in the middle of the night, and he would sneak through the streets hoping to use not finding the man as an excuse to stop checking entirely. Never once did his plan work, not even when he tried to cheat them. 

Every night he showed up Sylen was there, sleeping in the street with that tattooed woman nearby. And even with the dark color of her eyes he could see them shining in the light of the moon, staring at him, silently telling him that she knew and she would always know. 

Today was not one of those days. Now Colm came in the middle of the afternoon, having flown over hoards of puffy sheep to peer over buildings at the group. They were a static part of the town now, something the usual townsfolk were used to the point of interacting normally. As if they weren't pirates, and more as if they were friends and neighbors. He guessed they were now.

Huffing with childish irritation he turned to fly back to the forest. He didn't care what they did and he didn't care how long they stayed, he still wasn't going to off to be a pirate just because some guy had a strong-willed whim. Wings flapped hard, propelling him through the chilly air and only vaguely registering how cold it was rapidly becoming.

Wind picked up the further he got from the top. A strong gust nearly knocked him from the sky, finally wrenching his attention from his thoughts up to the sky. Dark clouds greeted him, ominous with flashes lighting up the inside. 

Crack.

Thunder boomed overhead, shaking him to his core and sending him careening into the waiting forest at full speed. But the leaves on the mighty trees did nothing to stop the downpour from hitting him, the rain not even getting the chance to hit his wings as they disappeared from sight altogether. 

Fear struggled to take control of his mind as he plummeted from the sky, slamming him into the ground and only giving him a brief second to feel the pain of his arm. Red mingled with the heavy rain along his arm, the child pushing himself on shaking limbs that gave out on him temporarily with the help of another loud boom. 

All that he could feel was the terror of the storm. Getting any farther into the safety of the trees didn't cross his mind. Colm tucked his way in between the roots of the nearest tree, arms crossing over his head and eyes squeezing shut. Fingers clutched into short blonde strands so tight it hurt, almost as if such a thing could possibly distract him from the storm raging overhead.