Spirits of the Earth

It was some time before Kota came to again.

Cracking his eyes open, he found himself squinting into a blue, cloudless sky, the sun beating down on him and crusting the salt on his eyelashes. Blinking blearily, he rubbed his eyes free of the stuff and, with a groan, sat up stiffly and rolled his shoulders. Welp. He was alive, apparently. It was just going to be a while before he felt it, and no wonder; the last thing he remembered was the water hitting him like a ton of bricks after a wave knocked him overboard, then swimming frantically as the waves battered him and tried to roll him under and drag him into the black. It was a good thing he was a strong swimmer, but in those waters, he wouldn't have lasted much longer if that rowboat hadn't been closer. Through sheer determination and budding panic, he'd managed to haul himself up into it, using up the last of his strength before he collapsed from exhaustion.

Now, here he was, and who knew how much time had passed. It could have been a couple hours or even days with the fast, unpredictable way the weather could change out here.

The queasy feeling in his belly and the sour taste of salt and bile in his mouth, remnants of the seawater he'd thrown up, suggested it was more like hours.

The boat rocked as he shifted his weight to try and get comfortable, and that was when he noticed that he wasn't alone. It should have been obvious right from the start, but he was still awfully disoriented.

"Oh."

He froze in place, blinked again to clear his vision. Huh. It was a woman, too. And obviously so. Did he recognize her? Hard to say; at the moment, he couldn't recall much beyond surprise--and relief that he wasn't alone.

Still feeling rather like a drowned, crusty cat, Kota lifted a hand limply and managed a tired wave and a crooked grin. "Have we met?"

They say the night before the dawn is always the darkest and Morgan was inclined to agree. A tempest of a storm had raged across the seas, battering the ship she had called home for the past six months to pieces. She had hoped the events of the night before would fade, yet as the morning sun rose in all its splendor upon the horizon she knew they would not.

It was too soon to forget how she cowardly obeyed the captain's orders and fled. She knew that she was not well received aboard the vessel. As a woman and a young one at that she had been seen as useless by some of the ship. It did not help matters that she was a stowaway and had only been discovered long after they had left port.

Morgan obeyed every order placed to her in hopes of earning their respect but was still better off out of sight than anything else, a fact she quickly learned. As such, she had taken to keeping away from the others. Most of her time had been spent below deck or on night watches, away from the others and their disgusted expressions.

Therefore, when the captain ordered her into a rowboat, she was quick to lower one and climb in, awaiting more to come. The winds however broke the rigging that kept the little boat tethered to the ship though and sent her plummeting towards the water and drifting far out to sea. No matter how hard she rowed she could seem to make no headway in returning to the ship. Eventually she lost sight of it though in the dark as more and more waves sought to drown her.

A solid thunk against the side had her worried about rocks until she saw a head pop up to the surface from beneath a wave. Morgan had watched, stunned as the man dragged himself into her rowboat and collapsed with exhaustion. Then, she had not time to consider things much as she struggled to keep them from capsizing. Now though, with the waters calmer and still she had been able to spend hours observing him in silence.

'Another of the crew. I wonder what happened to the rest. Did the ship sink? How far are we from them? Where are we? Is he ever going to wake up? Is he dead? What a mess! This is not what I signed up for. Then again, I never did sign up anyway,' she chuckled privately at the thought.

The sudden movement of the boat drew her from her thoughts as her companion sat up. Holding her chin in the palm of her hand she stared ahead at him dispassionately. "Perhaps. How much do you remember, sleeping beauty?"

[...fml. I apparently forgot to bookmark this, and when it's not bookmarked, it doesn't exist. ;__; I'm sorry! IT IS BOOKMARKED NOW. *FAILS*]

Kota fixed the girl with a bleary look, smile turning wry. "Do I look like I remember much of anything?" he said, and gave a dry laugh--because his mouth was literally dry and his throat parched. He licked his lips and tried to work moisture back in.

"Ugh. I dunno. I remember the storm, and hitting the water. After that..." He gave a light shrug and rubbed at his temples. "Well, after that, I guess I remember waking up and finding myself in the company of a lovely lady! There are far worse fates than that, no? All things considered, I'm just happy to wake up at all. A pretty face to wake up to is just a happy bonus." He draped an arm along the side of the boat. "What about you?"

And right now, he was deciding to focus on the positive. There were other questions in his mind that kept wanting to break through the surface and pour out of his mouth, but he held it back for now. At least until he stopped feeling like shit, at least until he stopped feeling so nauseous. One thing at a time.

But what he really wanted to ask was were there other survivors, and where were they?

(It's fine. Happens to the best of us. I was just concerned you hated it. I was getting ready to ask what I needed to change. XD)

"Worse fates indeed, if one considers having to stare at your sorry face all night. As for the other matter, I don't see any ladies here. Are you sure you didn't bash your brains on a rock last night?" Morgan smirked darkly, already irritated with this sailor.

'Of course I end up with the supposed charmer. Spend a couple of months aboard a ship and you would think he would remember who I am. How many woman sailors are there anyway? NONE! Men, always thinking they're better. A pretty face? Ha! I'm anything but a lady, just you wait and see.'

"Well nothing for it I suppose. Now that you're awake you can row us to shore." She thrust the oars at him and leaned back on her bench. "As far as I can tell we're the only ones out here. The others could have made it to land by now."

Morgan refrained from adding that she had no idea if land was close by. Better to have false hope than none at all in her book. Besides, any chance to make her companion do all the work was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Kota stared at the woman, then at the oars she'd thrust at him, then back at her. Then he turned and looked out at the sea around them, stretching out endlessly with no land in sight--oh, wait, maybe that was land, but it was still waaaay out there, and when you were at sea, things were always farther away than they looked. It could be miles away!

And here he was, just waking up, still groggy, still a little sick, and she expected him to do the rowing. He blinked slowly, registering her words. The others could have made it to shore by now, by her calculations? Then...

"...Are you saying you've just been sitting here all night?" he said, and could feel a muscle in his face wanting to twitch. "That you were waiting for me to wake up all this time so I could--" He rubbed at his face. "That we could have been on land already?"

He kept his incredulous look fixed on her a moment longer, the charm of waking up to company already wearing thin. With an irritated huff, he snatched the oars from her. "Inima be damned!"

Her eyes narrowed into thin slits as she allowed her tongue to loose its venom upon her companion. "Of course because as a woman I have perfect night vision that allows me to navigate treacherous waters with a tiny rowboat in total darkness!"

Morgan growled viciously as she muttered curses under her breath before suddenly falling silent and allowing her ire to once more come to rest on her unwanted companion. "You should be thanking me mutt. I could have left you to drown or thrown you back overboard in your precious beauty sleep. Instead I let you endanger me by allowing you aboard as the boat threatened capsize under your gargantuan weight. If I had done as you have just suggested I could have steered us further from shore or worse yet into the very rocks that we were trying to avoid to begin with. Congratulations, you're an idiot!"

She rolled her eyes and once more retreated to her end of the rowboat still cursing his family line up and down for bringing such a useless man into existence and then allowing him to cross her path. It was taking a great deal of effort on her part to not knock his scrawny rear back into the water and leave him to find his own way to shore. 'After all,' she reasoned, 'if he really was that desperate to live, then he could swim back to the shore from here.'

Mutt? MUTT?

Ooh, now those were fighting words! Few things actually offended Kota but once a Thanati, always a Thanati, and Inima help him but he had his pride!

He stiffened, shoulders jerking, and straightened his spine. By the standards of these mainland giants he may have been average, even short, but back home he was huge. While he'd had poor posture for a large chunk of his life, used to hunching to make himself smaller so as not to be such a freak, as he'd gotten older, he started to use it to his advantage for maximum intimidation purposes--and it worked, made the bullies back off fast. He found himself doing it now, though the effect was somewhat lost; this woman was nearly as tall as he was.

"Excuse you?" Kota said. "Just for that, I oughta make you row! In fact, since I'm such an idiotic mutt, well, golly, I just don't know what to do with these! How do they work again? Are these like giant spoons?"

He slapped the oars against the water, feigning helplessness. "How do I make it go?"

Morgan looked on unamused as the child continued to throw his little temper tantrum, for what else could she view him as if not a child? Wiping seawater that had splashed her in the face, away she stared at the boy in front of her patronizingly.

"Are you quite done now? I would have thought for a sailor you would have a thicker skin than that. Hell, if my feathers were as easily ruffled as yours I would have been off that dock before I ever stepped foot on a boat. You're worse than a woman, boy. If I had known you were that soft-bellied would have cast you back into the sea last night as soon as you had arrived."

Her hands reached out, gripping both sides of the boat as she rose up some to hover over her unwanted companion and glare down at him. The little rowboat rocked under her shifting weight, splashing a little bit of water into the vessel and onto their legs.

"You listen and you listen good featherweight. You help, or you leave. I don't care how you get back to shore, if you even get there at all. If you're going to pull your own weight, you're not welcome in my boat. I was here first and I have been gracious enough to share. So either you man up and grow a pair, or you leave. Understood?"

Kota's eyebrow lifted and he gave her a genuinely puzzled look; that odd statement, and her lack of any satisfying reaction, had diffused his 'tantrum' pretty quickly. "Wait. What's wrong with women?"

After all, she was a woman. But not only that, Kota was, in general, rather confused when people threw around the word "woman" like it was an insult--as these mainlanders often did. Clearly, they had never been to Thanatos. For to him, to be called womanly was a positive thing: women were strong, brave, and tough, capable of bearing children and bleeding for a week and surviving both. There was nothing soft-bellied about that. And that was just the average woman! That wasn't even getting into the warriors, the leaders, the necromancers...

Mainlanders were odd.

Perhaps that was why, in the end, Kota let out a long sigh, rolled his stiff shoulders, and started to row. Things were different out here. He just had to accept that. Though how or why a woman would disparage other women was beyond him.

"Yeah, yeah. Aye aye, captain," he said, and gave an awkward salute--or the best salute he could manage without taking his hands off the oars. Ugh, he wasn't normally so combative, but that 'mutt' comment, and the disparaging one about women, had made him a little prickly. And he still felt ill and irritable. "So, do you hate other women or something?"

"Women are weak little songbirds left in gilded cages to appease their owners at whim. They have no minds of their own and only demurely follow the tyrannical rule of their male counterparts until death and replacement. That's what's wrong with them. Enough questions, twerp. You've reached your limit of annoying for the day."

Morgan's attitude was as bitter as her tone implied. Having chosen the sea as her calling from a young age, she had always found rebellion in the proper ways of doings things for young girls. She would not sit quietly and do her sewing with bows in her hair like all the other girls who dreamed of marriage and crying babies.

Looking out towards the horizon and the morning sun, she felt a sense of homesickness. Land ahead did not mean home to her. It was the ship she had left behind that dampened her spirits. Morgan loved the sea and had reveled in every moment aboard the vessel, flaws and all. It was more of a home than her real home had been.

"Where do you figure we are?" She finally spoke, her eyes still staring off distantly ahead of them. "Do you recognize the land?"

Kota's eyebrows continued to climb. "Aren't you a woman?" he asked, perplexed.

Her description...did not sound like any woman he knew of, and any Thanati woman would laugh in her face if she said that to them! Must be a foreigner thing or something, because he sure couldn't imagine any Thanati letting some man boss her around! Tyrannical? Replacement? Inima's mercy, the way this woman talked about her own people was dreadful.

And completely in line with some of the things he'd heard and seen.

With a roll of his eyes, he bit his tongue to keep from commenting further. It also helped that he was currently focusing all his effort and strength into rowing their little boat and had to concentrate on breathing, his sore muscles aching with each movement. Land seemed so far away; he might not be able to make it in one go, which he was sure would just delight his pleasant lady friend here!

"Well," he said in response to her question, fixing her with a dry look. "Right now, it looks kinda like a line of trees and dirt! And I've seen a lot of things that look like lines of trees and dirt! So right now that's a no. If you wanna ask again when we're closer, though, I might be able to give a better answer."

He paused and chuckled. "Oh, but that's right. I'm the useless one here, just me and my oars and rowing. Maybe you should do the lookin' and then you tell me, being more competent than me and everything."

A noncommittal grunt was her unhappy response as to what she was. It was a sore point with her that she did not wish to expand upon, especially with the annoying runt that she had the miserable misfortune to share her ship-boat-whatever with.

But, his snarky attitude made her slide her gaze back to him, slowly and deliberately to stare angrily at him. Her breath came in deeply and sharply, making a whistling sound as it did so but it did not make a return journey out as she held it tight, counting as she did so. She did it twice more just to be safe, but even then her teeth gnashed together so tightly it was a wonder none of them cracked.

Morgan clenched and unclenched her fists before letting her hands come to rest on the edges of the boat. She did not know what to do about Kota. She certainly had ideas about what she wanted to do but none of them were healthy for him and as much as it bereaved her to admit it, his presence could prove useful in the future.

Sighing in exasperation, she finally dropped her gaze and shifted her weight just to have something to do, feeling the boat rock beneath her. 'Now there's a thought. Why not make his life a little more irritating...it's something to do after all.'

A devilish smirk curled the corner of her lips as her eyes sparkled knowingly. "Thirsty Kota?" Gripping the edges of the boat tightly, Morgan threw her weight to one side, pulling up sharply on the other, intent on dumping them both.

For a few blessed moments, Kota felt a small sense of victory. With a grunt as her only response, it seemed he'd shut her up, which was fine by him! Meant he could do his goddess-damned rowing in peace while miss Maharani over there just...relaxed. Kind of. She looked too tense to be relaxed, was glaring holes into him actually, but whatever. Someone had to take the lead here, and it looked like that was him.

For a few blessed minutes, Kota felt like they'd made some sort of silent progress.

Then she opened her mouth, and his heart sank.

Before he could react, before he could get his bearings, Morgan threw her weight to the side. With his arms full of oar, Kota had no chance to pitch his body to the other side to counter it. He had only a split second to think, The bloody oars, you fool! before he tipped over the side and got a very cold awakening.

"Why would you DO that?!" Kota yelled when his head popped above the surface, splashing and spluttering more than was dignified. But the spill had been unexpected and he'd taken in a good mouthful of water, and it was very difficult to swim when you were focused on holding onto a pair of oars like your lie depended on it--and in this case, it probably did.

He kicked for the side of the boat which, thank the spirits, had not capsized, and struggled to get one of the oars back in. "Why? Why would you think that's a good idea? What was even going through your head that'd make you be all, 'let's maybe capsize our only boat out here in the middle of shark ocean'? Let's dump out the guy with the oars! Nothing could possibly--bluh!"

A larger wave rocked the boat then, splashing water into Kota's face and tilting the boat out of reach right as he tried to push one of the oars in. It slipped out of his hand and into the water, and another wave carried it just out of reach.

Morgan came up laughing, rising with the waves as they bobbed her up and down. As much of a drag as it was to be soaked once again, she had to admit that it was well worth it after seeing Kota's impression of a drowned rat, and a rather indignant one at that.

She made no effort to assist him, preferring to tread water and watch instead. Innocently, the young woman gave her unwanted companion a look of shock and surprise. "But, Kota dearest you look simply parched. I was only trying to help, honest!"

The act was ruined though as a third wave dunked her underwater before dragging her further from their little boat. Growling, the piratess struggled to swim her way back to the boat. The waves were getting stronger and more frequent causing Morgan to question whether or not the tempest their ship had run into in the night was really over.

Kota fixed Morgan with a piercing glower. He was not buying what she was selling!

"This is the exact opposite of help!" he said, spitting out another mouthful of water as a wave came up over his chin.

With a grunt, he tossed the remaining oar into the boat and then pushed off of it and began to swim for the other oar, which was being carried away by the waves. His gift of magic wasn't a strong one, but it was enough to reach out and start to draw the oar back toward him, fighting against the waves, as a little magic helped propel him toward it quicker than he could have swam on his own. He grabbed the oar, turned, and headed back toward the boat awkwardly, since it was difficult to swim with a large oar gripped in his hands and the waves wanting to drag him in the opposite direction.

But another boost of magic pushed him onward and, breathless, he grabbed onto the side of the boat as it rocked in the surf. Morgan wasn't the only one noticing the stronger waves, waves that made the boat rise over his head, and with another final burst of magic, Kota felt the water grip him and push him up and over the side of the boat.

He landed with a thud, the oar clattering into the boat, and then he raised up onto his knees and peered over the side at Morgan.

He flashed her a lazy smile.

"Having trouble?"

Unlike Kota, Morgan did not have any magic of her own. Instead she was forced into fighting the growing waves with her own physical strength. Yet, despite her best efforts the waves were dragging her further and further away from the little boat that had been her deliverance during the storm.

She might have even asked her fellow sailor for help had it not been his mocking question. Instead the young woman glared furiously at him before pushing herself to not only fight the waves but swim away from the boat in the direction they had been heading before she dumped them both overboard. Right now she would rather drown than ask the twerp for help. If only her body did not feel so tired already from the effort of swimming and staying afloat.

Kota watched her for a moment as she swam stubbornly along, then gave a little shrug. "Suit yourself. I'll just be up here. Out of the water. Away from the sharks and jellies. Resting and not laboring. Sort of."

And with that said, he adjusted the oars and began to row, easily overtaking and then passing her. But he made sure not to go too fast, and was careful not to leave her behind, keeping an eye on her. Just because she was being stubborn at the moment didn't mean he planned on ditching her or letting her injure herself. He just wanted to prove a point--namely, that she shouldn't pull stunts like she'd just done because it would bite them all in the ass!

Her pride forbade her from admitting fault or weakness. She had fought too hard after stowing away aboard the ship and getting caught to prove herself. Morgan just could not stand the idea of having to start all over again. She was a strong woman in body and soul. She had run away from home and boarded the first ship set for the high seas. While it had not been as glamorous and exciting in the beginning as she had believed it would be, the young woman had come to learn that it still was rewarding.

Now everything was gone. Her home, her friends, everything she had worked so hard to earn was swiped away. Of course the fates had decided to be extra cruel and gave her as the only other surviving member of the crew, an immature dimwit that was already driving her insane.

Her mental-rantings against Kota though were brought short abruptly short as another icy wave dragged her underwater. She came up angry and sputtering yet, too weak to continue to push onward. Morgan dared not ask for help. However, the sinking feeling in her belly told her she was going to have to or drown. Her body could not suffer any more of a beating from the elements. It was pointless.

An angry huff sounded from her moments before another wave pushed her under. Tiredly she kicked back up to the surface and tried to find her bearing. She had been turned around and came to find Kota behind her instead of in front as he had been. Righting herself she glared through the darkness at him.

"What are you even going to do if you never find land?" Morgan bit out, letting her sour mood seep out with her words.

"If we never find land, well..." Kota frowned and chewed his bottom lip in thought. Then he laughed and shrugged. "Well, then I guess we'll die! For lack of food or water or maybe even sharks, but I'll guess lack of water is what'll kill us at last. Food won't be an issue, because there's fish and, failing that, cannibalism."

He tossed a look at her from over his shoulder and gave her his most serene smile.

Though it was hard to tell with the waves rocking the boat, he'd slowed down to allow her a chance to catch up. She seemed to be struggling, judging by her heavy breaths, and it was hard enough swimming in turbulent waters at the best of times. When you were already worn out from surviving a shipwreck, that made it that much worse.

"So, as you can see, miss, we have no choice but to find land, before one of us wakes up with our neck in the other's mouth."

Morgan shivered in the face of that smile but chalked it up to the cold of the water tossing her about so violently. "Oh something will happen to your neck but it won't be in my mouth that's for sure," she growled hoarsely.

She was bone-weary. Her every effort to stay afloat made her limbs feel more and more like limp vegetables that had been left out in the pantry too long. Already she was beginning to doubt the point of continuing onward given that it meant having to put up with her fellow sailor's incessant talking and in her mind, taunting.

Part of her whispered for her to stop, to sink, to give up while the stubborn mule in her told her to press forward but without the fool's help. Reality told her though her stubbornness was going to get her killed and she would be damned if she let the little brat sitting smugly in her boat win.

"But if you are so willing to resort to cannibalism as an option why don't you come a little closer so you can be within bite-range," she hissed through chattering teeth.

"Whoa, whoa," Kota said, widening his eyes as though in shock and holding out his hands in a placating gesture. "If you'd paid attention, you'd note that I'd said 'failing that', as in, if fishing doesn't work! Those are important words! Very important! In fact, I'd say judging by the look in your eye, those words are probably pretty crucial to my own survival..."

He rubbed his chin, as though debating letting her back on board. While he didn't really think she had murder on the mind, he also wasn't so certain she wouldn't clobber him one when he brought her back on board. Still, leaving her out there was not an option. He was a pirate, but he was no murderer.

And it looked like she had been out there long enough. Whatever stubborn point she was trying to prove (or for that matter, whatever stubborn point he was trying to prove, too, by not offering her help and letting her keep on as she was!), this had gone on long enough.

"For now, though, I'm gonna trust you're not hungry enough for human yet. So c'mere. Let's get your stubborn ass back up here."

Calling upon his power again in one final burst, about as much as he mentally had left to muster, the waves beneath her abruptly surged. In one quick burst, they brought her up, washed over the little boat, and tumbled her unceremoniously back inside.

She bared her teeth in a dark grin, although whether it was out of amusement due to Kota's discomfort or to grit her teeth against the cold, Morgan could not say for sure. Every last bone in her body felt numb to the marrow.

It was only as she was suddenly propelled up through the water and into the boat that the shock of being both wet and cold as well as no longer in the battering ocean made itself painfully known. Her fists clenched, white-knuckled to the sides of the small boat as the sailor stared down her companion with wide-eyed horror.

Originally of Connlaoth, Morgan was not an overly-fond woman of displays of magic. Having it used on her person was downright terrifying. What if something went wrong? What if she went down instead of up? What if she knocked her head on the boat? What if, what if, what if, ran through her mind over and over as all the scenarios played out in her mind's eye.

"You," she gasped, breathing heavily as each word came out slowly like she was strangling it instead of him. "Idiot. Do you have any idea what you could have done? You could have killed me! I could've..." There were no more words to express how Morgan felt as she slipped into talking in incoherent grumblings.

Kota blinked down at her like she had turned into a frog. A frog that was speaking incoherent, froggy nonsense at him.

"I...what?"

Tilting his head in genuine confusion, he looked around the boat, half expecting to find something sharp and dangerous or something, something that he could have accidentally impaled her on. But the boat held no cargo, and while the wood may not have been smooth everywhere and splintery in places, there was nothing there that could have killed her.

"How could I...? What are ya talking about? I got you outta the water! You were gonna drown your fool self with the way you were carrying on!"

"You could have drowned me yourself! Or smashed my head in! How much control do you even have over the water anyway? Why are we even using oars if you can just move it along yourself? There you are complaining about having to row, row, row the boat when you could just be ARGH!"

Morgan howled her frustration before letting her head fall in her hands. Under her breath she muttered a mantra of "I will not kill him, I will not kill him," several times before she could even think of focusing on him again.

"Why did I have to be paired with the stupid one?"

Kota looked at her in sheer exasperation.

"How could I have drowned you? I was going up with the waves, not down! Ya can't drown going up! And you're alive, so you're fine, so it doesn't matter, and...oi!"

He threw his hands up, completely perplexed. "Most people would be grateful, you know. Like, 'wow, gee, thanks, Kota. Thank you for bringing me back on board instead of letting me sink because I was too danged proud to ask for help but you helped me anyway. Even though I've been naught but mean-spirited.' Something like that. But no."

With a sigh, he let his hands drop, one going over the side to trail through the water. "Hmph. To answer your question, though...not much. I'm pretty much spent, now." And then, with a sly little smile, he added, "You're rather heavy, you see."

Well that did it. Morgan froze at hearing him call her heavy. If there was one thing the sailor-woman was proud of, it was her hourglass figure that she believed always went under-appreciated back home.

Her already dark eyes took on a devil's gleam as she smiled softly. "You're right," came even softer words. "I have been rather ungrateful. You've done nothing but try and help." She looked down remorsefully as she brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Perhaps I can return the favor somehow as an apology?" Morgan offered, leaning forward in their already small boat to look up at him from beneath her long hair. A slight twitch at the corner of her mouth was the only warning Kota would get before her fist made a rapid arc towards face in an attempt to strike him.

No one, made comments about Morgan's body and got away with it.

At first, Kota was taken aback by her change in demeanor and not quite sure what to make of it. Maybe she really was sorry? Because he could understand. They were in a stressful situation! They were both tired, hungry, uncomfortable, and lost. Emotions were running high and energy was running low. That was a combination that could make anyone irritable and cranky, because look at even him! He was normally laid back, but even he felt like his nerves were exposed for the poking.

So maybe that's what was going on with her? Maybe she was just now realizing she was being unreasonable?

But then she leaned forward and, instinctively, Kota leaned back. She was getting awfully close. Awfully...wait...was she...was she being seductive?! Was that what was happening here? What?!

Kota's eyes widened, heart hammering in his chest as he froze like some dumb prey animal, and then--

POW! Right in the sniffer.

Kota's head snapped back and bright lights burst before his eyes. And then, the pain came.

And the torrent of nose-blood, right into his mouth.

With a loud groan of pain and a slew of curses, he clutched his broken nose in both hands and curled in on himself, tears springing to his eyes because fuck! Broken noses HURT!

"Ahhh! You WITCH! What is WRONG with you?!"

Morgan scooped up the abandoned oars before they dropped back into the sea and she had to listen to the rat squeak at her some more about them almost being lost forever. "Are you quite finished now?" she responded calmly, like a mother waiting for a child's tantrum to be over.

"Honestly you big baby it's just a bit of a nosebleed. No need to be such a howler." The woman shook her head and slowly began to turn the boat around so she could row. If he was going to carry on like a woman in labor that at least she could productive.

Her mouth though was not quite finished with him though. "I hope this taught you a lesson. If you want to survive to see land, don't insult me in such a way again. You will not like me when I'm good and angry with you especially not when I have all this lovely time rowing to think up plenty of ways to slowly torture you."

Her pearly teeth formed a tight Cheshire grin as she batted her eyes in his direction. In a sickly voice she added, "that alright with you, pumpkin?"

"A nosebleed? It's broken! You'd be howling too if someone broke your nose!" Kota said, still trying to staunch the fountain that was currently his nose. It was kind of amazing how much it could bleed. He pinched his nose, grimacing, and leaned his head forward, his voice coming out nasally as a result.

"In any case, I've learned plenty! Like that you're all for insulting me but apparently can't take a little ribbing in return. And you call me a howler." He grimaced at his own voice. Nasally, and a little whiny now. Oi. Well, he had reason to be whiny. He wasn't ashamed in admitting she packed a wallop.

He made no response to her question, of if this was alright with him. Instead, he huffed through his mouth, leaned over the side of the boat, and spit some of the blood into the ocean. Disgusting. Snot blood. Just great. At least he didn't have to row anymore. That was the one good thing that came of this, he caught a break finally--though he wasn't fond of the price.

"And to think I could have let you drown," he grumbled, shooting an accusing look her way.

She snorted and rolled her eyes. If Morgan concentrated on only rowing then she would not have to think about how the wind bit through her soaking wet clothes and making her shiver with cold. "Thing is, you didn't so it's all moot anyway. You can argue it all you want, it's not going to change the past and frankly it won't be good for your future if you try. You see, living on a ship with a bunch of men means I don't have a lot of patience for them. You happen to fall into that category so don't piss me off and I won't re-break your nose. Good? Good."

Kota glowered at her from over his fingers, which were still pinching his nose. The bleeding had stopped as a result, but he knew if he let go too soon, it would start right back up again.

"You're terrible," he grumbled, and sat back, one leg crossing over the other. He realized, belatedly, that that was a silly thing to say; they were both pirates. "And anyway, that's a piss poor excuse. I was on that same ship full of men and you don't see me punching you in the face for no good reason or--bah! Never mind. Just get us to shore already."

Checking his nose to see if it was still dribbling, he shrugged. "Shouldn't take that long. Land's in sight and rowing isn't that difficult, now is it?"

It was petty, but there. See how she liked that.

"You're right. I didn't punch you for, and I quote, "no good reason." If you're too oblivious to realize what you did to cause it, then I shan't waste my time explaining. And don't you order me around or I'll dump you overboard again. If land really is that close you can swim with your petty little magic for all I care."

Her lip curled in disgust and just to spite him, Morgan rowed harder, throwing her whole body into the act of moving the oars against the surf. She was already tired from two dips in the ocean but she refused to let Kota see weakness in her. If she was anything, she was a fighter and she would make sure he knew that she would not be beat.

Staring at Morgan as she really put her back into it, Kota pressed his lips together so as not to say anything and looked off to the side, at the sea around them. Well, if she was going to row her heart out, he wasn't about to stop her! And as much as he dearly wanted to, he wasn't about to mention that she'd listened to him anyway. No, he was going to eat this up while he could and revel in the victory on the inside, where it was safe.

And, you know, he was also going to rest up after all that rowing and magic and taking a beating!

It was a small victory, but he would take it!

Still, he couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips, and he adjusted his hand on his nose to try to cover his mouth so she wouldn't notice it.

"Alright, dear."

If she kept this pace up, they would be there in no time!

And in the meantime, he sincerely hoped she wouldn't catch onto the fact that he felt like he had figured something out about her: that he could potentially use her pride to his benefit.

Morgan growled warningly at the mock endearment but otherwise held her tongue. She did not want to deal with the infuriating man more than she had to at the moment. He was simply too much of a waste of her energy which she needed very drop of in order to drag the oars through the slowly calming tides.

On and on she rowed until she was sure her shoulders would pop out of their sockets and her hands would split from the abrasions of the wood that not even her already callused and worn palms could not protect her from.

It was only when the bottom of the small boat made an awful scraping sound lurched some that she finally looked down and realized she had hit shallow land. Morgan sighed heavily, letting herself relax for a brief moment. Her head fell back to view the sun just beginning to peak over the horizon and the clouds beginning to fade away.

"Your turn," she informed Kota quietly, acknowledging him for the first time since she had punched him. She did not care what happened now. The land could swallow her whole for all she cared. Morgan was far too tired to move another muscle and if the sailor started complaining she decided she would kill him later. The toll of night had completely drained her.

Kota had actually begun to doze off, lulled by the waves and Morgan's steady rowing, when the boat jolted and scraped against something. He shot awake with a start, gripping the sides of the boat, and for a second was too bleary eyed and disoriented to register what was going on.

And then, looking up, he saw it.

LAND! Beautiful, precious land!

Kota didn't need Morgan's prompting to get moving. With a small gasp of happiness, he scrambled to his feet--and fell over the side of the boat and into the water instead of stepping over the side of it all graceful like he'd been planning. Pushing himself to his hands and knees and spitting out salt water, he decided not to get up so quickly this time. Whoops. He should have known better, after sitting on his butt so long, unable to stand or stretch his legs; his ass and left foot were numb and tingly.

"We made it," he said, and crawled up onto the sand--and then bent down to kiss it. Which always sounded better in theory, because it just caked his dry lips in wet sand. Spitting and rubbing at his mouth, which got even more sand on his face, he sighed and just gave up. Whatever! He could deal!

When he could finally stand, he took his sweet time stretching his legs and back and then turned to Morgan and beamed at her. He must have looked a mess, with a blood and now sand streaked face. "Well done! We're not gonna have to cannibalize each other after all."

Stepping over to the boat, he grabbed the back of it, took a deep breath, and heaved backwards, dragging it further onto the sand. It was hard work because he was exhausted, but it had to be done; they needed to get the boat inland before the tide came, because they might need it later.

"Your vote of confidence is so reassuring," she groused. Morgan did not care about climbing out with any grace. She simply swung her legs over the side and hopped overboard. Seawater sprayed upward, dancing at a chance to catch her in the eye and spite her but it sadly missed.

In her mind, Kota was an idiot for trying to become one with the earth. She did not even stop the snort that escaped her when she caught sight of his face. "Speak for yourself, until I see food you may still be on the menu, as pitiful a menu as that would be."

Looking around, she found that there was nothing about this land she recognized. 'Not,' she reasoned with herself, 'that I have seen many lands to begin with.' Morgan made a full circle before calling over her shoulder to her companion. "Any ideas where we are?"

Kota was too thrilled to be on land to even be bothered by that subtle threat--and the less subtle insult it carried. He even happily continued to drag the boat until it was on solid land, and only then did he let go and turn around to really look at the place, beaming merrily. Wherever they were, it was lush. Bright green plants grew with vivid, healthy ferns and palms, colorful flowers, and trees that looked like they might bear fruit. Before them lay a thick forest with misty mountains in the distance, and above them, the clouds looked heavy with the promise of rain.

Kota rubbed at the sand on his face and breathed deep, the air fresh and oxygen rich. "Somewhere great, that's for sure. Jungle this green, there's gotta be fresh water close by. And I'll bet there's lots of fruit around, too! C'mon!"

And Inima help him, he was starving, and his mouth felt like...well...it felt like sand. He wanted nothing more than to just dunk his head in a freshwater stream and drink until his stomach burst. And so, with a bounce in his step, feeling more energetic now that they were safe, he started for the jungle.

He was halfway there when his foot kicked something in the sand. At first he thought it was a rock, but then, looking down, he saw it was an apple-sized yellow fruit.

His face went pale.

Picking the fruit up, he looked it over, and sucked in a breath. It was a panguo fruit, a fruit he was quite familiar with. Poisonous to humans, but one which some of the native monkeys had developed an immunity to. Which meant...

"Oh...no." He dropped the fruit. "I think I do know where we are."

The sailor rolled her eyes. 'An optimist. How fantastic! Kill me now!' She counted to ten thrice before she was finally able to smother the urge to strangle him and tail after him. He was like a great big child with his bundle of energy and enthusiasm that had bouncing from one place to the next like an from a bow.

Morgan was just about to make another snarky remark as she pulled up alongside of Kota when she saw his face. Crossing her arms over her chest as he dropped a piece of fruit to the ground. "You look like you've seen a ghost. So what, is some man-eatting primate going to pop out of the woods and gobble us up for a noontime snack? I take it the fruit is poisonous given you probably bruised it with your negligent dropping of it."

Kota shook his head, over and over, and pressed his hands to the sides of his face as he stared at those mountains. Those very, very familiar mountains.

Those mountains that were very familiar because he's grown up with them in his view for the majority of his life.

"Oh no. No, no, no. I mean, yes, the fruit's poisonous, and no, I'm not afraid of a man-eating primate, but...no." He raked his hands through his hair miserably, pulling at the short ends of it. "Worse than any of that. We're in Thanatos!"

And then, pivoting on his heel, he marched straight back for the boat. "In! Get in! We're leaving!"

The woman blinked several times, flabbergasted by the behavior she was witnessing. "Oh no you don't!" Morgan came marching down the beach in hot pursuit of her fleeing shipmate. "I did not endure your griping and nearly killed myself to get here just for you to run off at the first chane you get."

Fearful that he truly was going to row off and leave her on the godforsaken island with poison-fruit and Angswar knew what else, she latched onto his ear and gave a yank. She stood firm, intent on getting her way, no matter what it took.

"We are not leaving!"

"Ow! Ow ow ow, dammit! Let go! You already got my nose, woman, lemme keep my ear at least!" Kota squealed as she grabbed hold and yanked. He grabbed for her wrist and latched on, trying to pry her hand off of him--or at least ease up some of the pressure before she ripped the damned thing off.

"And we so are leaving! Or I am! You can stay! Be my guest!"

Morgan scowled, refusing to let go of him. Instead her other hand darted out and clutched onto his other ear. She gave him a sharp jerk bringing his head down to hers, but did curb her movements enough to make it hurt but cause any permanent damage. Her eyes narrowed to angry slits as she attempted to get her point across to the daft boy.

"Listen here you big baby! We're not going anywhere! You are staying here and I am staying here and that is final! Now if you behave like a proper adult I might be convinced to let you go so you can explain to me what this is all about, Kota. If you refuse," she told him darkly before giving him the same cruel smile that proceeded his broken nose. "I'll put holes in the boat so you won't be going anywhere ever."

When she grabbed both ears (the witch!), Kota stopped his struggling so as not to injure himself and stared, wide eyed, into her eyes as she yanked him down to her level. He knew that look. Oh, he would never forget that look, because that look meant pain. He swallowed audibly.

"You wouldn't."

But no, that look said she would. And he had a feeling she'd put holes in more things than the boat.

"Eh...heh..." Reaching up, he covered her hands with both of his and tested her hold. Ow. He winced and smiled nervously. "Alright...alright. Uh. Okay. Let's just...look, let's talk this over like the reasonable, mature adults we are, yeah? No need for violence or hole punching or other kinds of punching. Sound good? Can you let go now? I really like my ears where they are."

Staring extra hard for a few more seconds, the woman finally released his ears, letting her hands fall to her sides to clench and unclench into tight fists. "Step away from the boat," she said in a tone that brooked no argument.

With a jerk of her chin, Morgan pointed towards a rock further down the beach that they could sit on and talk. She chose not to move first for fear that Kota would flee the moment she turned her back on him.

It was obvious to her that her companion knew something about the area but she was hardly about to high-tail it out of there without a clear explanation first. They had yet to meet any apparent danger so the sailor-woman did not see why they could not stay the extra few minutes it would take for him to be a rational human being.

"Now explain to me what's got you turning into such a skittish kitten at the first sight of a piece of fruit."

Kota moved like one condemned to the gallows, walking toward that rock as though he were climbing the scaffold: head down, feet shuffling, and sighing deeply. When he got to the rock, he didn't sit; after sitting so long in that boat he didn't want to do more sitting, and after figuring out where they were, he had enough pent up, nervous energy in him that idleness was impossible.

So instead he took to pacing in front of the rock, throwing fleeting glances at the boat every now and then.

"Hey now, I'm not skittish...exactly," he said, and made a face. "And it's not really about the fruit, it's just...it's just I know this beach. And I know that if we follow the beach east a ways, maybe a mile, we'll reach a village." He stopped his pacing and looked at Morgan, a pained expression on his face.

"My, uh..." He kicked at the sand. "My hometown, to be exact. And I really, really, really don't want to go back there. Really. In fact, I can't!"

Morgan plopped down on the rock, letting her chin fall into the palm of her hand as she drummed her fingers against her cheek. Quietly, she listened to Kota, biting her tongue to keep from interrupting. On the one hand she too had run away from home and never looked back. At least she assumed he had run away, given how he wanted nothing to do with going back. On the other though, leaving was foolish and she told him as much.

"Where would we go Kota? We cannot stay out in the ocean in that little boat forever. Here there is food, water, a place to rest our head. You know this land. Were you not the one insisting that it would be a good idea to be here? If you're so afraid of your parents then avoid going east. Honestly though popping in for a bite to eat and a bit of rest is better than wandering the wild. Why are you so afraid anyway? They trying to marry you off or something?"

Kota froze in place as Morgan dropped that last bomb and turned to stare at her, eyes wide with horror and anguish.

"How did you know?"

"Because I'm a seer," she dead-panned without missing a beat. Morgan threw up her arms. "Kota why are you being an idiot? Tell them you don't want to get married. Hell tell them you are married, for all I care. You would risk starving to not go back?"

Morgan scoffed and shook her head, muttering under her breath. "Not like you can't just run off again. It's obvious you already managed that once."

With a huff and a shake of his head, Kota started to pace again. "Bah, you make it sound so easy when you put it that way," he said, and finally took a seat on the rock beside her.

"But uh, it's more complicated than that. You know. Blah blah blah, honor, blah blah blah, make my family look like a laughingstock, blah blah blah, break a poor girl's heart and ruin her life, and it's just...easier to stay vanished." He grimaced, rubbed his face. "I'm know I'm gonna have to deal with it eventually, it's just...I dunno. I'd prefer that wasn't today?"

Morgan rubbed her face, letting her fingers move towards the center to pinch the bridge of her nose. 'Could he be ANY more infuriating?' She shook her head at the thought as the answer quickly made itself known. 'Probably!'

Her hand slid down her face to her chin while her eyes stared intently at the pacing figure before her. "How's tomorrow looking for you then?"

"It's lookin' like NOPE!" Kota said, arms crossed over his chest and shoulders hunched. "Noooot ready for that! I was thinkin', y'know, maybe later...like...a lot later..."

But even he knew he was being ridiculous, for their options here were limited. There wasn't another village for miles, and there wasn't much to eat in the jungle. Just a lot of poisonous fruit and venomous creatures. Sure, not everything was poisonous, but Kota had grown up in bloody Jin'ta, a huge trade hub; he hadn't had to worry about venturing into the jungle and surviving for himself, so he hadn't bothered to learn which plants were good and bad, except for a few. He'd never needed to!

Now he wanted to kick Past Him for being so lazy.

He took a deep breath. Right. But...but it was Jin'ta. Wasn't like that was a small village. Maybe he could blend in, stay undercover?

He heaved a dramatic sigh. "Okay...maybe today. But ya can't like draw attention to yourself or anything, alright?"

She was not impressed by his behavior. Morgan did not believe she had seen a man behavior anymore like a child than Kota. She too sighed heavily wishing she had gotten stuck with any other sailor than him. Even if he had gotten them to land, or rather she had now that she thought about it, he was not covering himself in glory with helping out as far as she was concerned. It was therefore a great shock to her when he actually agreed to go.

Morgan shrugged, standing and brushing sand from her pants as she did so. "Yeah, sure whatever. What am I even going to do to draw attention? You ready to go now? I'm starving and so far we have nothing presently in our favor on that front. I don't relish dallying so you can change your mind again either."

Kota gave her a flat look at that question.

"What would ya do to draw attention? Why, I couldn't fathom the answer! Couldn't be your quiet, demure personality," he said with a lopsided smile that faded as quickly as it appeared.

Because all joking aside, he really didn't want to do this.

His rubbed his sweaty palms on his still wet breeches. "Alright. Well, I guess standing around here isn't going to help us much. Let's go," he said, and without waiting for her response he turned and started to head down the beach, walking east, and walking fast.

He didn't want to give himself a chance to lose his nerve.

"Of course not!" Morgan replied snarkily as she fell into step behind Kota. She allowed herself to dally some as they walked so that she could observe everything around them. The woman found the various new plants and animals to be fascinating. There was nothing like it in her homeland and she reveled in the freedom to enjoy this paradise.

"Why ever did you leave?" she breathed incredulously. "It's beautiful."

"Didn't you hear me?" Kota said with a laugh, looking over his shoulder at Morgan. "So I wouldn't have to get hitched! Plus, ah...I'd be careful with those plants. Ya might wanna ask before you touch any, 'cause a lot of the plants here are poisonous."

Looking back ahead at the beach before him, he let out a sigh. She was right, though. It was beautiful here, and being here...ugh. He didn't want to admit that the other reason he didn't want to go home was because he feared that if he did, he'd grow homesick, because leaving once was hard. Having to leave multiple times? Even harder. And Le'raana just...it wasn't the same. Nothing seemed as bright and fragrant as his home, though perhaps that was his own bias speaking.

"It's not that great, trust me." But Inima was the food was amazing! "You'll probably have a hard time here, in fact. Thanati don't eat meat, y'know."

Morgan scowled and huffed in response but her hands quickly moved to remain clasped behind her back. "Such a baby to be afraid of marriage. Where I come from it happens all the time. You could have just refused you know."

She shook her head with a heavy sigh. "I cannot understand why you would abandon paradise for a surely mistress like the sea. Although maybe I do," she added with a soft smile. "She did call me to her side readily enough and who was I to not heed her call? Still though, this place beats Connlaoth any day! If I had been born here I never would have left."

The comment about meat was met with a distracted shrug as Morgan detoured away from Kota, choosing to follow the sight she was viewing above her. A family of monkeys leaped from branch to branch above them and the woman was intent on catching a better view of them, oblivious to the dangers she was potentially putting herself into.

"Refuse, and shame both my family and my betrothed's family..." Kota shook his head. "I suppose running away is just as bad, but...it's less of an outright rejection? I guess?"

He scratched at the back of his head, grimacing. "I was younger then, when I first left, so I wasn't really...thinking. And now it's too late, just gotta own it, y'know? Anyway, I don't expect ya to get it. Live here a few months and you'd see what I--hey, are you even listening?" Kota said abruptly, realizing she had veered off away from him.

And was following a family of monkeys.

Very cute monkeys, too, several babies and couple females.

Kota knew that species, though, and knew what season it was, and his heart sank. "Morgan!" he hissed. "Get over here!"

"Nope," she responded her lips making a popping sound as they smacked together. "Not a chance. Blah blah blah and they say I prattle on. What a nutcase," Morgan continued muttering under her breath as she walked deeper into the jungle.

She was far more interested in the curious youngster that was making its way closer and closer towards her proffered hand. "Aren't you adorable," came her cooed tones. "Much cuter than that pigeon Kota."

Oh dear Inima, why! Why did someone so bright have to also be so very dense?! Kota pressed his palms to his face in distress, not wanting to yell out to her and potentially startle the animals, which would only make things worse, but also not wanting to do nothing!

So he crept after her, quick and silent as he could muster. "Morgan, seriously, come back here!" he whispered, and then his eyes widened when he saw what she was doing. He sucked in a breath as he watched her, her hand extended toward a young monkey that was edging closer to her.

"Oh, no. No, no! Morgan, get away!"

Because at that moment, right before the baby was about to sniff her hand, there came a great crash as a great, colorful male descended from the canopy above. Larger than a mandrill, it let out a roar and bared its fangs--an impressive set of them, four inches long at least--and the females nearby snarled and bared their own large teeth as the baby skittered away to its mother.

And it was clear, in that moment, that the youngster had been but a decoy.

One moment she was a breath away from making nice with a cute little furry animal and the next she was at a standoff with a rather large and uncute furry behemoth. She blinked several times before slowly wiping away spittle from her cheek.

"Certainly hope you take after your mother there you little rat," Morgan muttered under her breath as she slowly began to attempt to back away, one hand already reaching down for a knife sheathed at her hip. "Kota?" the lady pirate hissed, all but begging for assistance.

Now Morgan wanted his help. Now Morgan was taking him seriously. If Kota were a worse person, he might have left her to deal with the easily-avoidable-if-she'd-only-listened-to-him problem all on her own, but fortunately for her, he was no murderer, and he wasn't one to ditch his companions. Even if they were a pain in the ass.

"Don't!" he breathed when he caught sight of Morgan's hand moving toward her knife. "Don't make any sudden movements. Just stay very calm and back away, toward me. Slowly...they might, uh...they might just be mad about the baby..."

But they looked like they were in hunting formation, come to think of it, and they eyed them hungrily, several of the females licking their teeth as the big male snarled and crouched in preparation to leap...

Kota's eyes widened and he reached out and grabbed Morgan's wrist. "Scratch that. RUN!"

Ever so slowly, Morgan lifted her foot to take a step back towards Kota. Her eyes never left the menacing creatures before her though which she found an unfortunate necessity as she wanted nothing more than to roll her eyes in frustration.

"Wait! WHAT?!"

One second it was no sudden moves and the next her arm was practically being yanked from her socket as her less than desirable companion was dragging her through the trees.

"Make up your mind already!" She hollered over the din of the screeching beasts taking chase after them. "What are you doing, trying to get me killed?!"

"You're trying to get yourself killed!" Kota shot back as he dragged her along, crashing through the jungle as behind them, a pack of screeching monkeys gave chase.

"'Stay away from the monkeys, Morgan,' I said! 'Get away from them,' I said! And what do you do? 'Nope!' Wasn't that what you said? I'm pretty sure that's what ya said! As you went toward the things i said to stay clear of! I was trying to save your silly hide!"

He didn't know where he was taking them, except away from the murderous primates.

And also deeper into the jungle.

"Oh do shut-up!" Morgan growled shortly before she bent her leg at the knee behind her and to the side to effectively kick Kota in the behind while still running beside him. "Like anyone's going to want to listen to you with the way you nag and natter on! It's only luck that kept you from marriage and therefore certain death because she most certainly would have put herself out of the misery of having you around every hour of the day!"

"WAH!" Morgan's kick made Kota stumble and pinwheel his arms, but with a few awkward hops, he righted himself before he ate dirt--and before he maybe got eaten himself. He did fall behind several paces, though, and he had to pour on the speed to catch back up with her, some angry choice words heavy on his tongue. But before he could say them, what she was saying registered.

He fell into stride beside her and didn't dare look back at the monkeys--which meant he also didn't notice that they had slowed in their pursuit as the jungle around them grew darker, thicker.

"Waaait a tick. Are you saying she'd kill herself, or are you saying she'd murder me? 'Cause that was kind of vague there."

Morgan smiled toothily in Kota's direction even as they continued running. The thrill of the adrenaline rush was finally getting to her and she was starting to feel a bit like her old self again. "You really want an answer to that? 'Cause I can assure you if she's a woman, she's smart enough to pick the better of those two options."

Kota's expression soured and he rolled his eyes. "Oh, ha ha. I'm not that bad, you know! We really just got off on the wrong foot! I'll have you know, the girl actually wanted to marry me! I was actually pretty hot stuff back in my village, just so you--ow!"

He had been so focused on looking over at Morgan that he hadn't been watching his feet, and he finally did eat dirt when his foot hit a root and sent him face first to the damp earth.

She slowed in her running, turning to come to a complete stop as she viewed her companion's predicament. Morgan laughed at his folly and shook her head. "Yeah in your dreams maybe. Sweetheart I hate to break it to you but I think you're a bit full of yourself," she chuckled even as her gaze shifted from his prone form to the jungle behind him.

"You know I think they stopped following us."

Spitting out dirt, Kota pushed himself up onto his hands and knees and wiped at his tongue--before he realized his hands were covered in mud and that only made things worse. With a grimace, he spat again and groaned at the taste, hoping there had been no animal piss or feces in the mud he just ate.

"Eugh. Yeah, the good thing about those beasts is they at least give up pretty fast. Good thing, too. They'd have ripped us to pieces if they caught us."

He rose to his feet and dusted off his hands, smearing mud onto his already muddy breeches. "On a far more important note, you implying I'm not cute? Really? With this face?" And he made his best attempt at puppy dog eyes as he puckered up his lips in a kissy face.

Morgan blinked slowly and repeatedly as she stared at Kota wordlessly. When he only continued to stare at her back though, she grimaced and looked at him with concern. "Are you ill? Your face seems to be a bit more bloated than usual. Or has it always looked like that? I can't say I've really takin' much notice before. Hmm, interesting. You really do look like a squashed dung heap. Who'd have thought?"

She crossed her arms over her ample chest with a heavy sigh. "So shall we continue? Or do you expect me to starve some time soon?"

With a dramatic sigh, Kota clutched at his heart. "You wound me! Then again, don't little boys say awful things to the girls they really, really like? I think I might be onto you, missy. I mean, you could've just let me drown or sacrificed me to the monkeys, but here I am!"

It was just too easy, and too fun, to get a rise out of her! Even as she tried to get a rise out of him.

With a glance around the jungle, he pursed his lips in thought. Now that Morgan mentioned it, he was starved. He couldn't actually remember his last meal. And though much of the jungle fruits were poisonous, not all were, by any means. The trick was finding the fruit, and distinguishing it from the bad fruit. They could often look deceptively similar.

"Hm. Let's keep going. My home isn't that far. Maybe we'll find something to nibble on along the way, a nice big fruit for that big mouth of yours." And he gave her a sweet smile.

She snorted and stared at him nonplussed. "Yes because surely it couldn't be my keeping you alive in case you don't prove useful in locating food and I am forced to resort to cannibalism. Yes of course it isn't that. How could I ever have been so silly?"

Morgan rolled her eyes and stomped off away from him, uncaring of what danger she may have been headed towards or even if she was heading in the right direction. If she was lucky maybe she would find a nice big stone to bash the grin right off his face. Oh how lovely that might be.

"Just how far is your home anyway?"

"...So you're saying you'd eat me." Kota's grin grew. "Some might call that an innuendo."

With a cheerful bounce in his step, he followed along after her, a little amused since she had no idea where they were going. He let her lead, anyway. See how long it took before she realized that. Besides, Kota was in no real rush. He was hungry, but not hungry enough not to drag his feet at the thought of visiting home, and all the drama that could cause if he was seen.

"It's close," he said noncommittally.

"And others would say dream on," she spat back, rolling her eyes at his cheek. Morgan considered it a wonder her eyes had not simply fallen out of her head with the amount of idiocy he seemed to spout around her. She could already imagine the massive headache he was bringing down upon her head.

She paused however in her walking and musing at his response. There was just something in his tone that spoke volumes to her. With a slow turn on her heel Morgan looked at Kota pointedly. "You have no idea, do you?"

Kota's smile was innocent. He spread his arms wide and shrugged, letting his arms drop back down after.

"Don't you?" he asked. "Considering you've taken the lead and all. I'm just following you."

Morgan laughed. "You actually really don't know how to get home, do you? Oh this is ridiculous. Not only am I stranded on an island with the only other sole survivor of a shipwreck but he's also happens to be the idiot from said island who can't even find his own way home. Could this day get any worse?"

She quickly raised a hand towards Kota in hopes of cutting him off. "Don't answer that. Just figure out how to get back to your home and get us there in one piece before the sunsets and I won't have to resort to cannibalism. Is that clear enough for you? Or do I need to start drawing pictures?"

Kota was wisely quiet during her rant, still smiling, and when he finally had a chance to speak, he said, "A picture couldn't hurt."

...Truth be told, he really hoped she was joking about the cannibalism thing, because in all honesty, he was fairly certain she could take him in a fight.

She froze in disbelief at his cheek before a thought occurred to her. Moments later a wicked smile twisted her features as she moved towards Kota with a rather predatory stalking gait. "Are you sure about, dearest? I would hate for you to regret the consequences later."

Wait, what?

Kota's smile flickered, and then faded, his brow furrowing at first in confusion at her sudden change, before his eyes widened in alarm at the predatory glint in saw in her eyes. He wasn't really worried that she'd eat him! Really! Except...you know...he wasn't fully versed in the customs and cultures of outsiders, and...uhm...well, foreigners already ate flesh so...what was stopping them from stopping at animals?

Didn't some cultures cannibalize each other? Eat the losers in war?

He shuffled his feet and cleared his throat, fighting the urge to step back as she stepped forward. "Uh. Consequences?"

"Consequences," she purred back moments before Morgan lunged forward in hopes of tackling Kota to the ground. She gripped his forearms tightly to keep him place before deciding to react impulsively and give the man in her grasp a scare. Morgan latched onto juncture between his neck and shoulder with her teeth, biting hard enough to let him feel a pinch before shaking her head side to side almost savagely like a dog with a bit of meat. As an added effect for the thrill of it, she growled ferally with glee at finally getting a chance to make Kota suffer for the perceived injustices against her person since becoming stranded with him.

...Kota did noooot see that coming!

And so when she threw herself at him, he let out a rather undignified yelp and went down with a thud, given no warning and thus no chance to brace himself. He gasped, went to grab at her, but she pinned his arms down with surprising strength, and he only had a second to register alarm when--

OH.
MY.
GODDESS.

TEETH. Was that TEETH?! Was she BITING HIM?! He let out a shriek and flailed, thrashing beneath her, kicking at air, and fighting to wriggle his arms free as she savaged him like a dog, straight for the carotid! He screamed again when she snarled and shook her head, bucking to try to dislodge the beast! "MORGAN! MORGAN, NO!"

And then he was squirming and laughing hysterically, too freaked out to realize he wasn't laughing from hysterics, but because that was strangely ticklish.

His thrashing about and squeals only served to excite her further in her tormenting. Unready to give up so easily, Morgan sucked hard on the soft flesh at her mercy before releasing it with a very wet pop, ensuring that he was fully slobbered on before sitting up over him. She licked her lips slowly while continuing to look down at Kota hungrily.

"Yum," the sailor purred with a dangerous smirk. "I wonder if the second bite is as delicious as the first," she continued to muse while slowly leaning forward over the younger man, her teeth bared to nip playfully at him again if she could.

"AHHH!" Kota squealed, both laughing and crying and not really sure if he was crying because he was laughing. She was sucking on him! Sucking out his blood like a vampire! He wheezed, breathless with panic and laughter, and coughed when he wound up choking on his own saliva (he was super graceful like that!). Finally, finally she released him, and he flopped bonelessly and panted for breath, adrenaline running through his veins and blood rushing in his ears as his heart pounded.

It took a few moments of staring up at her, the fight or flight instincts still making it hard to think rationally, before he realized the obvious.

That hadn't really hurt. A little, but not badly, and then it had tickled. TICKLED. Morgan's lips were bloodless as she smirked down at him. And...

...And she'd basically just given him one hell of a hickey.

He stared up at her, face flushed from exertion--and then embarrassment at his own panic! Had he actually thought she'd...?

"H-hey!" He tugged at his arms and twisted, still trying to throw her off, and let out another yelping laugh when she nipped him. Damn her! Even if she wasn't trying to eat him, he was damned ticklish! "Stoppit!"

Morgan smirked against the flesh of his neck, giving him one last nibble at the lobe of his ear before pulling away with a sharp tug. "What was that? Did you say something?" she asked innocently even as she pressed harder against his arms to keep him in place. She was not about to let her little toy free any sooner than she wanted. "Suddenly remembered the way back to your home now? Or shall I jog your memory some more?" Morgan flashed a toothy grin while loudly clicking her teeth.

"Uhh, yeah! Yeah! That's exactly it! I remember now!" Kota said with a too-wide grin, face still flushed with embarrassment. He squirmed, uselessly testing her hold on him.

"Did you seriously give me a hickey? How bad is it?"

Out of twisted glee, Morgan licked the hickey she had left on Kota before rolling off him and onto her feet once more. "It's perfect," she informed him with pure delight, her eyes dancing with unrestrained mirth. "Shall we be on our way then?"

She...she licked him.

With a strangled sound, Kota scrambled to his feet as soon as she was off of him and wiped vigorously at the slobber on his neck as though trying to get rid of the mark she left on him, too. "Goddess, why would you do that?! Seriously! How bad is perfect?! I can't go into my village with a hickey! Bad enough if anyone sees me, worse if they see me with this!"

"Because it annoys you," she chirped back. "Now hurry up! I'm hungry and you promised me food! You keep rubbing it like that and you'll make it worse you idiot. Quit being such a baby and serve your purpose already!" Morgan shoved him playfully in the shoulder, hoping to coax him into leading her onwards towards his village.

Immediately, Kota snapped his hand away from his neck despite the urge to rub the hickey away like a stain. If only it worked that way! But before he could whine at her about it some more, she shoved him along, and he grunted and stumbled before he caught his footing.

"Yeesh! Be a little nicer, won'tcha? Geeentle! If I decided to run off and ditch you here, you'd be in trouble, you know," Kota groused, but he didn't disagree. Truth be told, for all his reluctance, he was hungry and tired and done with the jungle--and his clothes were getting all stiff and itchy from salt as they dried.

And he could only put off the inevitable for so long...

With a slow breath in, he squared his shoulders. "Alright. Let's do this," he said, and turned to lead them in the opposite direction. "And in the meantime, you better help me figure out how I'm gonna explain this!" he added, gesturing at the hickey.

Morgan snorted as she prodded Kota onward with a finger to his back and sides. "Yeah, yeah, less talking, more walking," she barked in clear imitation of their former quartermaster. After a bit of walking she added, "I don't know why you need an excuse for it anyway. Could just always tell them you were attacked by a sea witch if you're that paranoid about it. Not like they're really going to notice it anyway."

"A sea witch," Kota repeated, and looked over his shoulder at Morgan to give her a look, eyes sweeping up and down over her.

"What a fitting description!"

Her own eyes sparkled with pleasure and mirth. "As if I would call myself anything less. Now I know I'm beautiful but you can cease your mental stripping for now Kota. Food is a far higher priority than sex." With a chuckle and a pat to his head she added, "if you're a good boy though maybe I'll reward you afterwards."

...Mental...mental stripping?! Sex?! Reward him later?! WHAT?!

Kota sputtered, his face going several darker shades as the blood rushed to his face, and he opened and closed his mouth several times as he tried to form words, no doubt looking much like a fish out of water. He hadn't meant to give her a look like he was undressing her with his eyes, because that was the complete opposite of what he was doing! He was simply assessing her! And now he felt himself internally panicking because holy shit had he given her the wrong idea?!

He spun back around and fixed his hair after she pat it, swallowing hard. "U-uh...that's...that's quite alright! But thanks! Er. Here we go!"

And he started to march at a brisker pace like his tail was on fire.

Morgan shook with silent laughter as she trailed at a some what more sedate pace behind Kota. She knew exactly what she had done to make him march so and she planned to continue to push as many of his buttons as she could until he finally lost it once and for all.

"And you're positive it's this way this time, correct? I would hate to punish you for causing trouble intentional or otherwise."

"Positive!" Kota croaked out, the word "punish" now taking on a different meaning. In fact, now he was wondering about their little tickle fight on the ground. That hadn't been foreplay to her, had it?! The biting and licking and hickey hadn't been sexual in that instance, had it?! Oh dear. Ohhh dear.

This could get really awkward. Not only was Morgan an intimidating woman, but there was also the other issue! That was kind of a big one! And it wasn't like he could just talk about that.

"It's probably just a mile away! Give or take!"

"How big is it anyway?" she quipped as she took in her surroundings once more. "The island that is. I'm sure I can find out the rest later." Morgan was having a ball winding Kota up. He just seemed to turn the most interesting shades of red and if he walked any stiffer she was sure she would find an iron rod in his innards to keep him that way. Briefly she wondered if it was a cultural embarrassment or if it was all Kota. She certainly hoped it was the latter.

Kota had been about to snap that that was none of her business when she clarified. Kind of.

"It's big," he said without thinking, and then sank his face into his hand with a loud groan as his face burned hotter. Inima damn her! "The island is big! Uh. Not that I'm--"

It was a trap! What man wasn't defensive about his junk? But he also didn't want to disclose any information about that to her!

He threw his hands into the air in exasperation. "The island is very big! This main one is. Others are smaller. I've never measured or anything--" Goddess damn her, now everything sounded like an innuendo! "But...yes."

Just bury me.

She stared at him with all the innocence of a child, blinking her wide eyes in confused surprise at his verbal fumbling. "If you've never measured than how can you be sure? I mean in my experience it's always an exaggeration of size until you truly get down eye to eye with nitty gritty details that usually lead to great disappointments."

Morgan sighed and shook her head in mock sadness as she took her place walking at Kota's elbow. "I mean if you've measured couldn't one of the so-called smaller islands be the same size or even larger than this one? It is after all, all a matter of um," she glanced down towards his waist with a slightly cocked brow before glancing up ahead of them again, "perspective, isn't it?"

"YES WELL ANYWAY!" Kota interjected loudly, pointedly staring ahead of them. "Anyway, it's a big island and that's really all you need to know about it! Wow! Would you look at that scenery!"

Kota swept an arm out in a gesture that encompassed the jungle around them. "So pretty! Smell that fresh air! Do you like flowers? Because there's some pretty flowers over there--" He pointed out a clump of large, fuchsia blossoms that were shaped like stars. "Girls in my village like to wear those in their hair. Just gotta watch out for the spiders that hang around them! They love to trap the bugs that land in them. Highly venomous bastards."

Morgan laughed outright at her companion's behavior, unable to control herself any longer. "You know Kota I do have to wonder how in the world did you manage to get that stick so far up your arse? Really it's quite impressive! I'm surprised you can even walk like that. Here," she declared, sweeping her arm out to pluck a flower up and stick it behind his ear before slinging her arm over his shoulders, "have a flower, relax a little. Who knows maybe your wee friend hasn't gotten his growth spurt yet. No shame in that. Lots of men have that issue."

"WHAT DID I JUST SAY ABOUT THE FLOWERS!" Kota yelped, flailing in her grasp. He managed to tear the flower free  and swat it away, and he patted at his hair as though checking for bugs. "Are you trying to kill me?! Spiders! Remember?! AND they're for girls! AAAAND I don't have any issues with sticks or growth, like, I dunno if you know this but I'm actually one of the tallest guys in my village!"

"On two legs or three?" Morgan easily quipped back, once more eyeing Kota speculatively. "And quit being such a baby! You said there might be spiders and there's nothing there you giant scaredy-cat. How did you ever survive being a sailor? Next you're going to tell me you're terrified of mice. With the way you go on it's no wonder I mistook you for a girl. All your nagging and carrying-on certainly makes you sound like one-ah."

Morgan paused in her complaining as a shark-eating grin spread across her face. "That's it, isn't it? You don't have growth problems you're lacking it all together aren't you? No worries!" She immediately threw her arm of Kota's shoulders once again and squeezed him close to her side. "I'm sure we can still have fun. Just need to be creative," she teased with a telling wink.

 "I--wha--bwah?! No! What are ya even talking about?!" Kota yelped, red-faced as he struggled to dislodge her arm. He ducked down and out of her grip and took several quick steps backward, hands up and waving.

"Look, can we just stop talking about my stuff! Which, yes, I do have and no you can't see 'cause I don't have to prove it to you! But it's there!" And just in case she got it into her head to check, he angled his body sideways away from her and scowled, though the effect was lost with how furiously he was blushing.

"You're just jealous you don't have one. That's why you're talkin' about mine so much."

Morgan ran her tongue across her front teeth with a smacking sound before smiling toothily at Kota. "Who's to say I don't, eh?" She laughed darkly then, enjoying her game of making him squirm and wishing there was just someone else around to also see it. "Come along Chick-a-dee, we've got places to be or so you keep tellin' me. Heavens forbid your virtue is threatened by hanging around a real sailor too long!"

Kota just stared at her, a look of disbelief crossing his face. If she had a dick, she'd be Yozin--which meant she'd be highly regarded and respected, which meant how he'd been treating her would be...pretty abhorrent in retrospect, and earn him a ton of flack back home. But she was also a foreigner; she probably didn't know what Yozin were. And if she didn't know, then she couldn't abuse her status.

So he bit his tongue, just to be safe. After all, he didn't know what was in her pants! And he wasn't too keen on finding out!

Instead he just barked a weak laugh. "A real sailor, pffft. Who saved your butt out here, anyway?"

"I'm sorry what exactly did it need saving from? Oh yes!" she declared loudly with dawning clarity. "I remember now." Morgan laughed darkly before pinning an angry look on Kota. "The only thing I needed saving from was you." Batting her eyelashes prettily, her lighter mood quickly returned as if nothing had been said. "Well move along now! I'm getting hungry and I'd hate to start snacking on you," she giggled, clicking her teeth at him.

"You needed saving from me?! What did I do? Ya practically tried to drown me! And look! You're doin' it again!"  Kota said, pointing at her. "Threatening me a AGAIN! Who needs saving from who here?"

But though he was protesting, it was only half-hearted. He didn't...THINK she meant it. But wetlanders hand some bizarre, barbaric customs so he wouldn't be too surprised if cannibalism actually was among them.

With a shake of his head, he continued to trek along, and sighed in relief as the village swam closer into view. "Almost there. We can eat when we get there, so just...control yourself."

Morgan quickly caught up to him, using his hand to yank him around and forward so that he was flush up against her. "I'm not threatenin' you boy. I'm telling you how it is and how it is, is I'm hungry and you're looking tastier and tastier by the minute," she purred into his face before licking her front teeth obscenely with the tip of her tongue. "Isn't there anything we can just eat now?" she asked with a pout before booping him on the nose with the index finger of her other hand.

"Ack!" Kota yelped, yanked around and against her chest before he could even begin another thought. he flailed for balance and grabbed her waist in reflex, then flushed like mad when their proximity sank in. Intimately close. Close enough he could feel her breath when she purred.

...Gulp.

He stared wide-eyed into her face, nose wrinkling at her boop. Dear sweet Inima, she was terrifying. Yet if he liked women like that, he might have been aroused.

This was very confusing.

"Errrr...in lieu of cannibalism, which I dunno how it works in that Connlaoth place but it's kinda frowned upon here, there's like...fruit and stuff...uh. Fish? If ya wanna fish it. But the village is right there like I can literally see it so patience!"

Glancing down where his hands still gripped her, he cleared his throat and released her hips. "Think ya can manage? I know it's hard. But I believe in ya."

"Such a shame," she murmured in a sultry whisper.

"I was quite looking forward to getting a nibble or two from you," Morgan told him as she leaned her face intimately close to his own. Her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she smiled hungrily at him.

"You wouldn't really mind now, would you. Just a little...taste?"

Morgan pouted prettily. "That village certainly doesn't look very close if you ask me. What if I can't manage, Kota?"

"I most definitely would mind! I don't trust ya to not take chunks," Kota said while taking a step backwards to put a little space between them.

"If you get hungry, try gnawing on your arm. Good solution, that! Oh! Oh! I know! Go chase down one of those monkeys. I'm sure that'll go well for ya! I'll just keep making my way to the village, where there's food and water and wine and oh goddess my fiance and my parents there're so gonna kill me if they find me. Maybe I should just let ya eat me and be done with it. I can't decide what's scarier."

He shuddered, flicking a look between Morgan and the distant village. Well. At least there he had a chance. If he just got a real good disguise and kept his head down, no one had to be any wiser! With another look at Morgan, he added, "Mm. Actually, you are."

And with a quick turn on his heel, he bolted, racing full tilt toward the village. "Good thing I'm fast!"

Morgan laughed darkly and clicked her teeth at him again in response. She probably would have left some serious love bites, that much was certain. That being said, the pirate watched him with hooded eyes, crossed arms, and a knowing smirk as Kota ranted on and on, growing more anxious and horrified with every word he spoke.

When he finally decided that she was the scarier thing of the two, she could not help but bark in laughter. "Oh is that so? We shall see about that!"

Morgan was only a couple steps behind him as she too took off to race after him. Her legs might have been a smidge shorter than his but she made up for it perhaps with a bit of enthusiasm and willpower. Ever so slowly she was gaining on him until she was only a half step or two behind him and keeping pace.

It seemed they might actually make it there in one piece and she was beginning to feel good about teasing Kota even if they were stranded on some Ansgar-forsaken island. It was just as she was opening her mouth to speak that the almighty god himself chose to intervene. The toe of her boot caught in a tree root just as she was trying to leap over it. Instead of clearing it, Morgan went tumbling forward to collide with the back of Kota's knees. The root snapped and her forward momentum kept her rolling forward.

It seemed what people always said about surmounting obstacles was true: it really was all downhill from here. Literally.

Well. That happened.

Kota had time only for a surprised yelp before his legs buckled and he went down like a wounded bird, and stayed down. Or rather, stayed...up and down and up and down, rolling and tumbling down the goddess-forsaken hill. His limbs tangled with Morgan's and his face bashed against something hard and bony--her head, her elbow, he couldn't tell. It felt like an eternity before they hit the bottom and stopped rolling, Kota landing splayed atop Morgan with a bloody gash in his forehead, mud and grass stains on his clothes, and leaves and twigs in his hair.

Morgan looked little better.

"Oof..." he groaned, rubbing at his head and smearing the blood there. "What in the...?" He blinked blearily down at Morgan, a little dazed though recovering, and let out another groan as he rolled off of her and flopped beside her.

"You're gonna be the literal death of me, woman."

On the plus side, they were practically at the village gates.

Yay?

The wind had thoroughly been crushed from her lungs by the time they'd hit literal rock bottom. She lay there gasping and wheezing before cool fresh air once more returned to. With a weak hand she patted Kota's arm reassuringly.

"Still alive?" she rasped while attempting to sit up. Everything hurt entirely too much to be dead. A whimpering squeal escaped her though as Morgan attempted to bring her leg up to bear weight on it. The hand on Kota inadvertently squeezed his arm, here nails digging into him as a nauseating wave of pain flooded her system.

Her voice was strained, none of the earlier tormenting playfulness present anymore. "How much further did you say it was?"

Things just kept going from bad to worse. It was almost like coming back to Thanatos was a bad fucking idea. Of course, they had no choice unless he wanted to go drown himself instead—which, looking back, may have been the better option judging by the way things were going. It seemed Inima was out to sabotage him at every turn, and who could blame Her after he had cut and run on his duties?

The bitch.

Kota winced as Morgan's nails dug into his arm, but it was less at the pain of that and more at the sound she made when she tried to stand. Yep. Super not good. Please let it just be sprained. If it was broken or something...

"After that shortcut? We're basically there, now," he said, and with a sore grunt he rose into a kneel and shook leaves from his hair. The annoyance was gone from his voice as he said it though, his expression softened into one of genuine concern. In his short time around her, he had gotten used to her being strong and snappy and viciously scary, but a wounded leg would make anyone vulnerable. And goddammit, he was weak to that.

He didn't bother to ask if she was okay. The answer was obvious. They could assess the damage later, once they were safe behind village walls—and he prayed it wasn't serious.

Because the best Bone Sculptor in town was his bloody mother.

"C'mon, think ya can lean on me?" he said, and looped one of her arms around his shoulders. "Goddess. How've you survived so long? Ya really would have drowned if not for me. C'mon, easy does it..."

Slowly he rose, giving her time to use her good leg. "Village is right there, see? Just gotta hobble your lamed ass in."

Morgan grunted in response, saving her breath instead to manage the pain pulsing in time with her heartbeat up from leg. Uncharacteristically quiet instead of her biting, chattering self, she gripped his shoulders, leaning heavily on him as she rose to stand on her good leg. Deep, whistling breaths hissed through her teeth as she rebalanced herself and kept her eyes trained ahead.

Not even his digs at her survival or lameness managed to draw commentary from her. One tentative step forward on her good leg, most of her weight balanced on his shoulder was excruciating but manageable. The next step however was not nearly so lucky.

A sickening snap and a white-hot fresh wave of pain scorched through her as she went down like a sack of potatoes. Morgan screamed in pain, fat tears blinding her instantly as she clapped a hand over her mouth to try and quiet herself. A glance at her leg had her dry-heaving on the spot. Jagged, white bone protruded in two places from where her shin and calf should have been. If it wasn't before, her leg was definitely broken now.

Gagging and crying she pressed her cheek down against the cool dirt. It really was a miracle she had ever survived this long, wasn't it? Maybe he should just leave her. What good was a woman at sea anyway. A woman's place was at the hearth and at the forge, not gallivanting off pretending she was some adventurous warrior of the sea. Her father was right, she was just a fool girl.

Thaaaat did not sound good.

There was a crack and a scream and Morgan went down.

It had all been fun and games and teasing, but Kota's mood immediately sobered, his chest tightening in a flare of panic. That scream had been awful, and it had him dropping down beside her fast, heart pounding as she sobbed and heaved. Something was wrong, deeply so, and he somehow couldn't help but feel like he was partially at fault.

"Morgan! Morgan, what--?"

He cut off. The sight of her leg, at the bloody white poking out through her flesh...

Goddess!

He had to swallow hard to keep from vomiting on the spot, his gut flip-flopping, and he had to look away before he lost it. How had he not noticed? Had she noticed and been trying to hide it until now?

"Shit! Oh, jeez, okay, uh, wow. That's--okay. Deep breaths, Morgan, breathe. We're almost there, swear to Inima. We're gonna get you taken care of, alright? Just don't look at it, alright? Look at me." He was talking more for his own benefit than hers. He didn't do well with injuries or blood, and that was gnarly, and worse, he didn't do well with people in pain and suffering. He wanted to make it stop right then, but felt helpless to, and seeing someone so strong and tough devolve into tears and agony hurt, no matter how much of a bitch she could be. He had to keep calm, though. If he lost it, where would they be? Keep calm, try and keep her calm, too, as much as someone could keep calm with their tibia on the outside.

"This is gonna hurt, but hold onto me, alright?" he said, bending down and taking her arms, looping them around his neck. He wasn't strong; he was just slightly taller than she was, a bit on the lean and slightly gangly side. Luckily, she wasn't that big herself. He slipped his other arm under her thighs, just behind the knees, and lifted her with a grunt and some wobbling. He was definitely going to feel this in his back tomorrow...

"Mom's a bone-sculptor," he said, swaying for a moment as he got his balance and trying hard not to show that he was struggling a bit. The woman was heavier than he'd anticipated. "She can put you back together."

She whimpered painfully as she was lifted and her leg was jostled, a high-pitched whine in his ear as Morgan attempted to bury her face into the back of his shoulder. She felt so sick and every step he took made her stomach squeeze in nausea and her breath catch as fire raced through her veins. Every step he took made the limb bounce against him in a perverted version of a jig.

Words tumbled from her mouth, few of them even making sense as she begged for it to stop. As she sobbed. As she apologized. Over and over she pleaded with him, with her father, with god, with the universe to make it stop, to forgive her, that she'd be better. On and on it continued even as her voice faded and she went completely limp against him, her vision faded to black and her mind empty of thoughts.

Dread filled Kota with every step he took toward that village.

But he had always known he'd eventually have to come back, one way or another. He couldn't run—or sail—forever, even if he had given it his best shot. He missed his family. He missed his friends. He missed his home.

He did not miss their expectations.

He also did not expect the choice to be thrust upon him like this, but it seemed Inima had it out for him and it was time he stopped playing coward.

Morgan had gone quiet, which was a blessing—and worrisome. He wasn't used to her and quiet, and quiet meant...goddess, had she gone into shock? Her body was a dead weight, but at least he no longer had to listen to her wrenching sobs. Earlier they had been bickering like children and she had been driving him insane—and now he wished  he could go back to that time.

Through the village he walked, briskly as he could, while people stopped to stare at the man carrying a strange foreign woman with a gnarly leg. Here and there, he heard sounds of recognition, or offers to help, but he waved them off with a snappish, "Can't talk! Going to Fujin's!"

And finally, not far into the village and close to the docks, he approached a small thatched hut that was built raised off the ground, with a small set of wooden stairs leading to the door. Panting, arms aching from carrying Morgan, he climbed the stairs and shifted Morgan's weight enough to bang on the door.

"Ma! Hey, ma, ya there? It's me, Kota!" he called, deciding to just jump feet first in with the sharks.

From within, there was a sound like something dropping, clattering heavily to the ground. Then the sounds of footsteps rushing closer until—

The door swung open, revealing a Thanati woman in her upper middle years, graying blonde hair pulled back in a bun. She stared for a moment, eyes wide, wavering with the beginnings of tears. And then her eyes dropped to the woman he held and she let out a small gasp.

"Inima's tit, you have a lot of explaining to do."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm sorry, I—I'll explain, promise. Later?" And he pushed past the woman, not bothering to remove his boots, carrying Morgan inside so he could lay her down carefully on a colorful woven rug.

The world was dizzying with flashes of light amongst the blurring darkness. In and out of consciousness, Morgan wavered, coming to for brief heartbeats before the darkness swallowed her once more. She was not mentally present when they came to his mother's door although she groaned in pain at being shifted about and her leg being further compromised. Blood filled her boot and began to leak out the top leaving deep red splotches on the worn wooden porch.

A pained gasp escaped her as she was placed down on the rug and for a brief moment her eyes flickered in an attempt at opening. Her body wasn't moving but it felt as if the world still was.

"Kota?" she whimpered out his name, desperately trying to get her arm to reach for him through the heavy suspension it felt like her body was trapped within. "Don't leave me, 'm s'sorry. Please~"

"How did this even happen? Who is she?" Kota's mother, Fujin, was demanding in Thanati as she bustled over to where Kota had laid the girl. The girl's wound was obvious, and not just because it was dripping all over her clean floors. She cursed under her breath, both at the situation and the mess as blood spilled all over her rug, too. "Kota! The rug?! Really?"

"Ya want me to put her in your bed?" Kota answered, also speaking his native tongue. "Ma, please, just help her!"

"You come in here after a year of nothing carrying some foreign girl—!" But even as Fujin ranted, she was kneeling down to examine the wound, sucking air through her teeth. "How did she manage that?"

"She, uh, fell."

Fujin's eyebrows raised and she shook her head. "This is bad. This will take a little time...remove her boot, I'll be right back. Goddess above, just wait until your father gets home!"

As she rushed about gathering up supplies, Kota took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself to take off her boot. Every time he looked at her injury, he wanted to gag—which was so not helpful. He had just worked up the resolve to get it over with and started to reach down to do the job when Morgan came back to life.

Oh no...why couldn't she stay unconscious?

For her own sake!

"Hey, hey, I'm not going anywhere, alright?" he said in Common, and clasped her hand, something he thought he would never do--because she was a bitch! But right then she looked so small, so vulnerable, so hurt and scared, that seeing her like this made his heart ache. Don't leave me, she'd begged; it made an unexpected lump lodge in his throat. "We're in my home, we're getting ya help. I'm not leaving, okay? Just hang on. I...I'm so sorry, this...this isn't gonna feel great..."

He let go of her hand so he could work at taking off her boot, hands going slick with blood and nose filling with the strong, coppery smell. His throat tightened, mouth watering, and he swallowed hard against the urge to retch. Desperately, he focused entirely on her boot and tried not to look at her mangled, gory leg.

By the time he got her boot off, he was pale and sweaty. Which was also about the time his mother returned--with a bottle of strong rice wine, a thick piece of wood, sturdy lengths of cloth, a knife, and some incense she gave to Kota to light. He quickly set about doing that as Fujin knelt beside Morgan and swiftly cut away her pant leg.

"She's losing blood fast," she said. "I have to be quick. Give her the wine, then have her bite down."

Kota, regrettably, was familiar with the procedure. He flashed Morgan a sympathetic look, then slid a hand under her head and tilted the wine to her lips. "C'mon, drink this," he said. "Big gulps."

She wouldn't want to be sober for the next part.

Pain-filled whimpers and delirious mumbled words tumbled from her lips as the boot was removed. A pool of blood flooded out of it soaking into the rug and spilling still further past it. Fujin was not wrong, Morgan was dying. Fast.

The wine was vile but shocked Morgan back into brief awareness enough to spit it back in Kota's face with a glare and a hacking cough. "Stop," she commanded roughly in heavily accented Thanati holding her hand out palm out towards Fujin before the limb became too heavy for her and she dropped it. She knew enough of the language to bark minor orders but in this case the word would do. Morgan panted with such efforts before fumbling for the stick beside Kota. Sweaty fingertips finally managed to grasp it before she wedged it properly between her teeth. THIS she knew how to do.

"Kota, hold me." Morgan's breath wheezed between her teeth as she bit down on the wood in preparation and tried to keep from passing out again. Sweat beaded thick upon her pale face and streaked down to mix with her openly falling tears.

"Go."

...Eugh.

The wine came back up and directly into Kota's face, and he couldn't even be mad about it. Just startled, some of it going into his mouth and the rest stinging his eyes and dripping down his shirt. He shook his head hard to flick some of it away and was about to scold Morgan, because this was for her own good, but she told them to stop--in his own native tongue.

She knew Thanati?

It was a brief flicker of a thought, for then she'd shoved the stick in her mouth.

And told him to hold her.

Very well, if she wanted to endure it completely, they had no time to argue the point.

Oh, Inima. Here we go...

He wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding her half in his lap, and as soon as Morgan gave the command and Kota had her arms firmly pinned, Fujin went. Kneeling beside Morgan, she put her hands on her bloody leg and held it--and there was a sudden wet crack.

"Hold her, Kota!" Fujin demanded as she worked, sweat beading on her brow as she watched and felt the bone and fragments and flesh shift under her hands. Like a sculptor working clay, her hands moved and fingers molded as her magic flowed through flesh and tendon and bone. Unfortunately for Morgan, she would feel everything. Every adjustment as pieces snapped back into place and fused, marrow pushed back where it was supposed to be. Fortunately, Fujin had decades of experience so there was no fumbling, no "oops" as she had to re-break a bone and try again. It still took too long, no doubt, but finally the bone was fixed and she worked on knitting together the flesh.

Her hands were slick by the time she was done, her knees red where some blood had dripped. She took a deep breath and swiped over her brow with her forearm.

Morgan wrapped her arms over top of Kota's clinging tightly as she fought to steady her breath as if that simple act would save her from the world of hurt that she was about to endure. It did not, because it could not. Morgan unleashed an unholy blood-curdling scream at the first wet break, her body fighting hard against Kota to curl up and inward or to yank her leg away, the pain was so great. Her cries muffled some by the wood were no less piercing or painful to listen to. She screamed until her voice was hoarse and she was red in the face.

She felt every single cell of her body directed back into its proper order and a part of her begged deeply for death. Was this Angsar's punishment for abandoning her family, her faith, and her future? Was this her punishment for consorting with mages and letting them use their magic on her? For surely this was magic, there was no other explanation for the healing that was occurring like this and Morgan highly doubted he reached this far as to grant a Thanati heathen with the gift of miracles. She was cursed.

When at last the agony ceased, Morgan realised her ears were ringing, not with sound but with the silence. She wasn't screaming anymore and instead there were just the sounds of the three of them breathing, of Fujin resting after such an ordeal, of Kota likely exhausted from trying to hold her in place. Morgan felt incredibly weak despite the healing and her mouth felt like she'd gone and tried to eat sand. Her head lolled to the side some just so she could spit out the wood, too drained to even lift her hand to remove it herself. Her head felt like she was floating again not really attached to the here and now. Was this what dying felt like? Had she not survived the process and this was her escaping her mortal flesh?

The room blurred as her head lolled again to look down at her leg, now smooth and straight, unbroken though still covered in her own blood. "Tha..nk...'ou," she mumbled, her tongue feeling thick and heavy in her mouth. Kota felt so warm against her back, she leaned more fully into his lap, nuzzling her head slightly against him in a self-soothing motion.

This rated up there as probably the worst day of Kota's life.

Yes, maybe even worse than the day he found out he was engaged.

He felt positively sick as he held onto Morgan tightly even as she involuntarily fought against him, thrashing and screaming out sounds that no human being should ever make. His blood went cold and his mouth watered with bubbling nausea, but he swallowed hard against the bile and focused on being her rock. He wasn't the one having his flesh and bone and marrow forcibly rearranged. He wasn't the one enduring unimaginable agony while stone cold sober. His own distress was just a drop in an endless ocean compared to hers—he could endure. He could endure...

He muttered choked words of encouragement to her, telling her it was almost done, just a little longer, to just hold on, that she was so strong. And all the while he did his best not to vomit as the scent of blood, like dirty coins, filled his senses until he felt he could choke.

And then it was done.

He felt drained, his arms a little sore from holding her despite her struggling, but mostly he was exhausted just from sheer stress. Fujin had gotten up to fetch a small basin, and she knelt back down and began to soak up the blood with some of the cloth before she started the process of cleaning Morgan's leg and wrapping it in different, clean cloth.

"Your leg will be tender still. The skin is fresh and new and delicate right now, and so is your leg. It'll take a few weeks before your full strength returns, so go easy on it," she said.

Kota, not quite sure how much Thanati Morgan knew, decided to play it safe and translate for her.

Fujin scowled at him, then looked at Morgan and said, in heavily accented Common, "You're welcome." Then, looking back at Kota and switching back to Thanati, said, "Help me get her to bed. The girl nearly died, she's not going anywhere yet. And then, while you also help me clean up all this goddess-forsaken blood, you're going to explain who she is and where you've been."

Her eyes narrowed, flicking down. Kota hadn't realized it, too tired and nervous after the ordeal, but he had started to stroke Morgan's hair as she nuzzled into him, partially to soothe her and partially to soothe himself. "What are you doing? Oh, Inima, Kota, you didn't--! What about Kanyara?"

Kota jolted, looking up at his mother in a panic at that name. He had hoped that name would not be mentioned so quickly, but leave to mom to go there right away. His throat tightened, his body went stock still, and for a moment he couldn't breathe; this whole ordeal had already thrown him into an exhausted panic, but to add that on top of it all?

"I, uh, I...I already got married!" he blurted before he could stop himself. "This is my wife--Morgan. Sorry!"

Kota would likely come to regret relaying his mother's words to Morgan for while she had not understand what the other woman had been saying with her limited command of the language, the piratess was nothing if not stubborn and defiant. No sooner had the words 'rest' and 'easy' passed his lips before she was gathering what little strength she had left to try and sit up.

Their buzzing conversation around her was ignored as she focused instead on trying to get the world to stop spinning. She had been healed. And she was not dead. Staring down at her bandaged leg she had no doubt of what had been done to her, it was no illusion, and yet she could not help but feel a pearl of fear for it along with a growing well of disdain and disgust....for herself. Why must she always be so weak?

The mention of her name though had her head lifting to look between the two of them. The look of horror on his mother's face and the panic on his own was doing nothing to assuage her concerns. "What did you say?" she hissed at Kota, fixing him with a dark glare. "What are you saying about me now?"

To say Fujin looked livid was an understatement. Horror and anger smashed together into a deadly combination, her face darkening like a storm cloud before a typhoon. "What did you say?"

"Ha...yeah, uh, I'm married. I was bringing her to meet ya, y'know?"

"Kota..." Fujin said, voice strained with barely repressed anger. "Tell me you're joking. Now."

"Ah, yeah, um, about that. Not a joke. Very in love," he said with a weak smile, and then just about jumped out of his skin when Morgan spoke up.

Aw, shit.

"N-nothin'!" he said in Common, holding up his hands, before it clicked in that she was up and she really shouldn't be yet. "Hey, you shouldn't be sitting up!" he said. "Lay back down, Morgan, we're gonna getcha into bed so you can sleep this off, alright?"

"Kota!" Fujin snapped. "You can't be married to her! She's not even Thanati! Not even mixed! Her accent is awful! How much does she even speak?"

"Love's boundless like the ocean, ma," Kota said weakly in Thanati, before giving Morgan a wincing look and lowering his voice, switching languages again. "Ummm...don't be mad...please don't freak out, but I...I told her we're, uh...married."

Her eyes narrowed into a glare doing exactly none of what he urged of her. Morgan ignored his requests to lay down and instead fixed him with a furious glare. "She certainly does not sound like you said nothing, Kota." Morgan's head snapped back to his mother as she continued to screech and squawk faster than the pirate could ever hope to keep up with even with the few words she understood, of which 'Kota,' 'Thanati,' and 'mixed' were the only three.

Dark brows rose higher as she glared fiercely at Kota. Married?! "You told her what?!" she howled, struggling to twist around fully to face him and squealing as she placed weight on her newly healed knee. It took her a moment to catch her breath as she knelt on all fours, batting away any attempts to help before lifting her head and willing death upon on him from her eyes alone. Morgan attempted to reach for him then, hands extended as if to wring his neck or claw his eyes out. "In what universe would I EVER marry the likes of you?! What sick fucking kind of joke is this, Kota?" she howled, drowning Fujin's voice out as she took her turn at reaming the man out.

And now the lovely bride was yelling at Kota, and Fujin watched them in angry confusion. She knew less Common than Morgan knew Thanati, so she didn't have the slightest clue what they were saying aside from Kota's name. One didn't need to know a language at all to see that whatever Kota had told Morgan, she was pissed.

Whatever Fujin felt toward the woman, though, she was still a healer—of a sort. Her duty was to her patient regardless of her feelings, so when Morgan went and just about undid all her hard work, she snapped at her, "Lay back down!" and grabbed her shoulders before she could throttle Kota.

As much as she was willing to let her murder her son right then, she was not feeling up to repairing the woman's leg again.

Kota, meanwhile, now had two angry women jumping down his throat.

"I-it's not real!" he said, waving his hands and shrinking back away from her. Even weak and wounded she was a terror to behold. 

"We're not really married, of course! It's just pretend!" As if that was the part Morgan was objecting to. "Of course you'd never marry me, and I'd never marry you! I—" He sucked in a breath. "I like men, Morgan! Alright? Please just play along!"

She yelped at being forced back down and out of reach of squeezing Kota's soft, vulnerable neck. It would seem he would live another day thanks to her over-protective 'mother-in-law.' How fortunate for him...or not.

It was his words more than his mother's actions though that stilled Morgan. They stung, cutting deeply in ways not even she herself truly understood in the moment. Once more she fell uncharacteristically quiet and completely stopped fighting them both. He liked men. She had been flirting with him and harassing him and he had had no interest in her. And now he was using her. Coward.

"Of course you do," she spat. Although venomous her words lacked bite. She was weary and hurt. He'd allowed her to embarrass herself repeatedly so he could bring here and to what end? To parade her around for all to see and laugh at? Was she just a warm body to be used? Would he abandon her here? Morgan was not naive enough to not know what happened to women in foreign lands. The Thanati were not known for their love of outsiders after all, especially not pale devils that looked like her.

"....you said I could lay down in a bed?"

Fujin was watching the two of them, a mini drama playing out in their expressions: the foreign girl looking angry then upset, Kota looking panicked and then confused. But at least the woman had stopped her fool struggling; it seemed whatever Kota said took the wind from her sails.

"Of course I...? What's that mean?" Kota said, blinking. Was it obvious or something? But why did she look so suddenly subdued, the fight gone out of her and her suddenly uncharacteristically cooperative? His head spun. First she was shrieking about being married to him, now she was...?

Oh shit. He shouldn't have told her, but in his panic he hadn't wanted her to get the wrong idea, hadn't wanted her to think he was going to prey on her now that they were in a land foreign to her. He had hoped it would make her feel...safer about his intentions. But what if she hated people like him? What if she told others? There was a reason he kept it close to his chest, and while the bigger cities might care less, a small town like his was not one of them.

He sucked in a sharp breath, chest tightening, and nodded at her question. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, let's uh...let's getcha settled..."

Looking to his mother as he rose to his feet and offered Morgan his hands, he sighed. "She's ready."

"What was all that about?" Fujin demanded. "What did you tell her? She didn't look happy with--what's that on your neck?!" she snapped, and jabbed at Kota's hickey, making him yelp. "You shame yourself, child! I can't believe you came out of me!"

With an angry huff, she wandered further into the home and sharply drew a bamboo screen out to section off the home, separating her room from what was to be Morgan's, then went about pulling out a futon and laying it out on the floor.

Morgan failed to answer him. All wind was knocked from her sails and she looked as storm-battered as she felt. Wordlessly she accepted his helping hands up after a moment. Her leg, while fully healed, still ached to bear weight on it as if caught between a balance of broken and still expecting to be.

She allowed Kota to leave her over to the futon once Fujin had finished and reached for the woman without touching to catch her attention. "Thank you," she intoned softly and with deep sincerity while slightly dipping her head and shoulders in a little bow. 

From there she crumpled easily and without a fuss down into her new bed before rolling onto her side away from him. Everything in her body language, her facial expressions, and her silence spelled defeat. For all her laughter before they arrived it seemed he was the one to know the biggest joke of all, her. 

Some homecoming this was. It was everything he was afraid it would be and so much worse. His mother was predictably pissed. Morgan was pissed, though her anger carried a strange, dejected air with it. Kota wanted to talk to her, to explain, to see if she hated him now--not that they were exactly bosom buddies before this, but he liked to think they had been getting somewhere.

He hesitated, debating whether he should try to talk to her now or wait until she had rested or simmered down, but his mother made that decision for him.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, she scowled at him. "Let the girl rest," she said, and nodded toward the door. "Let's go for a walk."

---

It had been the longest walk of his life.

He and his mother had walked along the shoreline while she reamed him out in privacy. Why had he up and left for so long? Where had he even gone? For all she knew, he could be dead! And now he shows up married to some pale foreigner?! What about his betrothed? To which all he could say was...he figured the girl would have moved on by now? And love is love, he couldn't help it! He wanted adventure and he found a wife.

Of course he didn't tell his mother what he had actually been up to, piracy and all that. She would have murdered him, and he was already surprised he was still alive now after having, in Fujin's view, turned his back on his family, his culture, and his entire nation to go traipsing about with savages.

Not much was resolved by the time they finally returned home. Fujin was, if anything, angrier. She did admit at one point, through clenched teeth and restrained tears, that she was at least glad her son was alive if too skinny, and Kota took that as a small win.

"Go," Fujin said when they went back inside. "Get your woman up. Let's get you fed." And she shooed Kota away.

Kota sucked in a breath and slipped behind the bamboo screen.

"Hey, uh...Morgan? Y'awake?"

Morgan had not moved a single inch away from where and how he had left her. Deep self-loathing took a firm grasp within her breast, spreading its oily black residue throughout her bones. Her father's words rang harshly within her mind, belittling and ridiculing her with knives that still cut deep within her soul.

She was a fool.

Today she had not only proved it but once more came to hate herself. She would never be free of it, she was sure. There was no bettering herself. This was it. This was who she was. This was all she would ever be. She was a disgrace and a fool and a coward and unworthy of existing. All the things her father had ever said of her were true.

Only once her name was called, did Morgan show any further sign of life beyond breathing. She turned her head enough to look over her shoulder and stare wordlessly at Kota with an empty, dead fish eye stare.

No response. Kota winced, running a hand through his short hair anxiously as she stared wordlessly at him with all the enthusiasm of a corpse.

He heaved a sigh, looking away in defeat. "This is exactly why I don't tell people," he muttered. "I knew this would happen. It ain't even safe to tell people here, Morgan. But I told you 'cause...I'm not like...gonna do anything weird to you, y'know? But now I'm a freak in your eyes, too, huh?"

Still she continued to stare in painful silence. There would be no freeing himself of the hook, Kota had landed himself upon. He would be the dancing fish all he liked and still she was resolved not to budge an inch of grace for him. He had humiliated her enough with his games. And what was this? Here, now he decided to act as if he was the victim? To try and place the blame on her? Placate her with words such as freak in order to try and humble himself before her?

No.

She would have none of it. Of that, Morgan could be certain. Her head turned back to face the wall with a disapproving sigh before she struggled with the task of sitting up some. She was tired and lightheaded not that these were things she dared utter to him. They would only be more fuel to the fire of what he considered her weakness.

"What do you want, Kota?"

It was an effort not to squirm as Morgan stared at him with that vacant stare for what felt like forever. But then she turned away again, and he fully expected her to go silent again--except, finally, she spoke.

Kota opened his mouth, but the words caught in his throat. He didn't know what to say. Didn't know what he could say. He shut his mouth and looked away, a hand rubbing the back of his neck as he struggled to find his words and failed completely.

She hated him.

He swallowed hard, working moisture back into his mouth, surprised at how much that hurt despite knowing each other for such a short time. "Food's ready," he managed at last.

"So it is to be poison and humiliation today then," she muttered darkly before pushing herself to sit upright. "Haven't you laughed at me enough today?" Morgan huffed and shook her head as she attempted to stand gingerly on her new leg. She gritted her teeth still unused to the aching, overworked muscles and tendons resettled about her mended bones.

"...What? Laugh at you?" The statement was enough to give Kota whiplash. He stared at Morgan, his own woe-is-me thoughts stalling out in sheer confusion

"What're you talking about? Who's laughing at you? About what?" Had something gotten lost in translation somewhere? It was entirely possible! He might be fluent in both Thanati and Common, but sometimes things got a bit funky when he had to switch rapidly back and forth between the two.

"You like men," she spat back at him. "Enjoying your little savage village jokes at my expense? Ey the white foreign ghost she marry a man who like men. Let's all laugh at the poor, stupid woman. Ha ha ha. Do you think I have no pride?"

Her fingers curled to strike over her heart. "Do you think because I am a woman I am without thoughts and feelings of my own? I do not like your games. I wish I had drowned instead of having to be here with you of all people to be mocked and humiliated."

"Savage...village...jokes...?" Kota repeated slowly as she let him have it, thoroughly taken aback. Poor stupid woman? Mocked and humiliated? What??

He stared at her, trying to figure out exactly what she was so hurt and angry about and how (and when!) he had mocked her and where she had gotten that he somehow thought she had an empty head. The best he could gather was that she was angry he liked men and that it was somehow a joke that...he was playing on her? Wait. Did she like him? But she couldn't! She was angry when he brought up marriage and then angrier when, in a panic, he confessed the truth to try to reassure her. WHERE WAS HE GOING WRONG HERE? Well, fake panic marrying her was the start, he shouldn't have done that, but--!

He ran his hands through his hair in distressed confusion, pulling at his scalp. "What...I...no! No, no! Of course not, Morgan, you're smart and terrifying! Smarter than my dumb ass! I--" He took a deep breath to try to collect his frazzled thoughts.

"No one's gonna mock you. No one's gonna know. You're the first person who knows a damned thing!"

Morgan stared long and hard at Kota as if the act would allow her to bare his soul to her and read the truth between his words. If she was truly capable of such witchcraft though she kept such things to herself. Only after a good while did she finally speak, voice quieter and sounding as drained and exhausted as she felt with an edge of wary haughtiness. "What do you expect of me now?"

"Expect of you...?" Kota stared at Morgan, brow creased in confusion as he watched her, trying and failing to guess her thoughts. "I don't expect anything. I didn't exactly plan this. I--"

He drew a deep breath. "If ya keep my secret, I'll owe you. I didn't wanna do this. I didn't even wanna tell ya! I was stupid and I panicked and no one can know about it...please."

"In this moment, Kota," she punctuated full of exasperation. "How I would ever reveal your so-called secret is beyond me. But what is expected of me in regards to," a sour expression came across Morgan's face as she sneered out her next words haltingly," playing. Your. Wife."

DUH.

Kota stared at Morgan for a couple blank seconds, then let out a nervous laugh. "Right. I knew that. Uh."

Poor Morgan was assuming he'd thought ahead that far, haha...ha...

He scratched the back of his neck. "I guess just, um, we should just try and act like we like each other kinda?"

She stared at him completely unimpressed. "Note to self, don't ever put you in charge of anything." Morgan nearly said more when the sound of approaching footsteps stopped her. Instead she reached out and dragged Kota into a close hug, her head coming to rest on his shoulder as she leaned into him. 

"We will discuss this further later," she hissed into his ear though despite the warmth of the long hug. 

Before Kota could even manage a 'what the fuck?', Morgan had him pulled into a warm embrace while he just stood there, eyes wide, arms stiff at his sides, and back rigid. But the confusion was short-lived as Morgan whispered in his ear and his mother appeared in the doorway.

So that was why!

Quickly, Kota wrapped his arms around his 'wife' and pretended not to notice Fujin's presence until she sharply cleared her throat.

"Did you not hear me? Dinner's ready, Kota," she grit out, eyes sweeping over the two of them with barely restrained contempt.

"Oh! Sorry, ma. Lost track of time!" Kota quickly released Morgan and offered her his arm so he could guide her out, speaking to her in Common once more. "Lean on me, I'll help you out there. Er...I'm really sorry. For the awkwardness and everything. Ma is...not too thrilled about this. Hey, look, you guys have somethin' in common!"

Morgan side-eyed him as he offered her his arm, just barely managing to stamp down the urge to roll her eyes at his terrible acting. Instead of accepting it though she took a wobbly step forward and inclined her head at her new mother-in-law. "Apologies and sorries."

Straightening and turning to look back at Kota, she offered up a withering look. "You'd never guess what the common denominator behind both our irritations is. Well don't just stand there Kota," she hissed motioning him forward as if she had not just brushed him off a moment before. "I'm hungry and I'll need you to ensure I don't end up poisoned or worse."

Fujin let out a long-suffering sigh at her new daughter-in-law's awkward Thanati. "You could have at least picked a smart one," she told Kota, before flashing Morgan a sweet smile and waving off her apology.

Kota just winced. Common denominator. Right. Ha. "I have a few hunches..." he said lamely as he started to lead the way, but slowly, while watching Morgan carefully in case she needed help. She was the proud, stubborn sort, but if her body didn't want to work yet, there would be a point where no amount of stubborn pride would be enough to power it. "And, uh, ya don't gotta worry about that. She's not a murderer! She's just mad. If she's gonna poison anyone, it'll be me."

Or both of them, most likely.

The living area was simple, with a low table surrounded by plush pillows for sitting. Fujin had already set their places and placed serving spoons, along with two steaming bowls, at the center: one of rice and the other, a sort of sweet potato curry. There was also a plate of flat bread.

Fujin motioned them to sit. "Serve yourselves," she said as she settled onto a cushion. "There's plenty for seconds, and she could use a little meat on her bones."

Morgan's eyes narrowed in response. She may not have understood her new mother-in-law's words but she certainly caught the sarcastic tone. If she were to wager a hunch, she'd just been insulted.

Her scowl only deepened at Kota's false optimism. "Or both of us," she unknowingly echoed his thoughts with a huff. Her movements were slow but prideful as she waddled over to sit. Descending to the pillows was awkward as she thunked down gracelessly and stretched her newly healed leg out uncomfortably. 

"What did she say, dearest?"

Kota smiled sheepishly at Morgan, pain in his expression. This was going to be the most awkward dinner yet, he thought as Fujin took a seat on one of the cushions across from them.

Morgan echoed his thoughts. At least there was one thing they were in agreement on.

He started to spoon curry into Morgan's bowl when she asked for a translation. Kota winced.

"She, uh...she said there's plenty here so don't be shy, eat up!" he said, forcing a cheerful smile.

"Can your ghost girl even handle heat?" Fujin asked from across the table as she nibbled some curry-soaked bread. "Has she even tasted a pepper? I've heard her people have dull palates. Among other things."

Kota grimaced. "She's worried it might be too spicy for you."

Morgan raised a brow while side-eyeing Kota, not at all believing him for a moment as she took her bowl of food from him. "Spice is not a problem for me," she replied flatly, her eyes trained on Fujin as if the other woman could understand her. "Kota, there's not fork."

Kota lifted an eyebrow. "Why would there be—" His words died on his tongue, mouth hanging open in budding realization. Morgan was not Thanati. Big duh. His eyes moved to Fujin as she placed chopsticks for serving beside the communal bowl of rice, and then back to Morgan.

Folk from the mainland didn't use chopsticks and had given him strange looks when he did, enough that he had awkwardly learned how to use their clumsy utensils. It was obvious now that she might not have the slightest clue about them, but he'd had bigger issues on his mind than dinner etiquette! Oh...well...oops?

"Errr...we don't use 'forks' here," he told her with a sheepish cringe. "We, ah...here, watch." 

Grabbing up her dish, he played the part of the romantic, doting husband and served her some rice, then spooned curry over it. Pointing out the smaller chopsticks beside her, he took up his own and demonstrated how to hold them.

"See, ya put your fingers like this, okay?" he said, and clacked the sticks together to show her how to move them. "Then you pick up your food like this, right, and use the bread at the end to sop up all the stuff ya can't get with your utensils. It's easy once ya get the hang of it!"

To say she was unimpressed was putting it lightly. Morgan took the proffered bite but her eyes still stared daggers at him as he attempted to teacher her how to use her chopsticks. A glance towards her 'mother-in-law' and her mind was made up. She wasn't even going to bother trying. 

"You can feed me, husband," the piratess declared while tearing some of the bread and using it as a napkin to pick up some of the food and offer it to his mouth with a challenging raised brow daring for dispute. 

...WHAT.

Kota stared at her, quite aware of his mother's sharp gaze on them both. Was she out of her bloody mind?

"Morgan..." he said under his breath and through his teeth, a faint flush staining his face. Oh bloody hells, she wasn't actually serious was she? Was she?!

A quick glance at her face gave the answer: absolutely. And his hands were tied. If he didn't play along, they wouldn't exactly be convincing, would they? But this? In front of his mother?!

Sucking in a breath through his nose, he leaned in and took a bite from her hand and smiled at her, letting out a happy "mmm!" sound. Then, using his chopsticks, he scooped  up some rice and sweet potato and held it in front her lips.

And Fujin just stared.

Morgan accepted the bite of food with her own pleased hum, dabbing at the corners of her mouth with her thumb to keep from making a mess. She looped an arm through Kota's and leaned into his body, grinning at him as her face came close to nuzzle shyly cheek to cheek.

"Why don't you ever make good food like this for me at home, dear?" She proclaimed pointedly, leaving it to him to translate and answer. They could both suffer if she was going to have to.

Fujin's eyebrow twitched at the overt display, clearly not particularly enjoying seeing her adult son be so...overt with his foreign wife. She cleared her throat pointedly and took a  dainty bite of her food, while Kota did his novel best not to absolutely squirm.

"Morgan..." he whispered through grit teeth, his face heating vividly as she nuzzled him. Oh, he deserved this and he knew it, it was his fault they were "married" in the first place! But did she have to really get in kissing distance like this?!

"What did she say?" Fujin asked, and took another bite. "And can you do that nonsense privately? Preferably when I'm out of the house?"

"She, uh...she said the food's really good," Kota said weakly, his face burning all the hotter as he carefully started to pry himself from Morgan. "Morgan, honey, you're embarrassing her."