2024-03-19 01:20![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
redthedragon
redthedragonpretend this is fandomweekly. i missed it very barely because i needed to cut out 100 words and it took too long lolsob
Hope was a funny thing, Adyr thought, holding the knife between her teeth and clinging to the rope with every ounce of force she had. This was a really, really Sevens-spit stupid idea and there was no way in any hell it was ever going to work, but she’d let her starstruck eye blind her until well past the point of no return. The acid sting on the side of her face throbbed in time to her heartbeat, still healing.
The horizon began to glow a ruddy violet. Surely when the sun was up she’d be spotted, if she hadn’t fallen. But until the light of day revealed her, she should have been able to keep herself up here without detection. If it weren’t for the rope…
The Midnight King was a gorgeous capturesail brigantine, with two towering jet-black masts and a narrow body. It put Adyr, on the shore in the light of day hours ago, in mind of a wasp, for some reason. She was here to see if she couldn’t land herself a ticket to one, just to cross the ocean, but suddenly she had found herself seized with a desire to find herself a place on that ship instead. To be part of that.
Besides, the capturesails were glorious. They weren’t in real world with everyone else - they were free from all laws but the high seas, beholden to no one but themselves, and they moved so fast they couldn’t be caught. If everyone Adyr cared about had been capturesailing, then -
Wasn’t worth finishing, was what that thought was. Dead was dead was wasn’t anymore a person and so wasn’t worth thinking about. But she’d set her eye on the Midnight King and set herself on its mast about twelve minutes later. She’d find out what she needed to know later, and if they threw her overboard she could probably sink the whole ship along with her before the great monsters living in the Lanjjikk could get around to drowning her and then maybe she’d lose but at least she’d take them all down with her, which -
- which wasn’t worth thinking about either. It was going to be fine. And it wasn’t going to be a problem, because they were still docked, and this stupid, Adyr thought, Seven-spit rope was going to snap, and then she’d be caught and it would all be for -
“Hey,” someone said.
Startled, Adyr jumped into her Secondform - twice as heavy and five times as long as she was before - and the rope did snap, sending her plummeting to the deck. Not instinct’s greatest moment, but it also made her snap her wings out, so the sixty-ish foot drop wasn’t so bad. She tried not to hiss up at whoever’d climbed up to meet her while she picked herself up from the deck.
“Hey!” they yelled again, fainter now that they weren't right below her. “Who are you?”
Adyr did hiss at that, not sure how to respond. “I’m not leaving!” she yelled up instead of answering.
“Not what I asked,” whoever it was up there replied, starting to climb down the mast rather quickly. That wasn’t ideal, even if it was still a long way. “Who are you? Did Sandar send you over?”
Well, they didn’t sound angry, now that Adyr’s startled spines were starting to settle. “No one sent me,” she called up. “I, um… I want to be part of your ship.”
“It’s not my ship,” the stranger said, climbing closer down the rope ladder like some sort of spider, or something. Adyr eyed the distance between herself and dry land; not far. But she wanted this ship. The others didn’t cut a figure like this one. But if she had to make a break for it, now would probably be the time. Obliviously, the stranger went on, “If you want to sign on, you’re gonna have to talk to our captain.”
“The captain,” Adyr repeated, thrown for a loop. “Just like that?”
“We-elllll…” the stranger said, hopping to the deck. In the low light Adyr could just barely make out a low-cut white shirt, a long sword at her side. Another dragon? No, her eyes weren’t lit. But Adyr hadn’t seen a human with a sword before. Too alien for them, or something. Adyr had an odd feeling about this. Almost positive. Which was weird, because she’d just gotten caught, so this was bad. Right?
“Well?” Adyr echoed.
“I’m Zahra,” the stranger said, instead of explaining. “What’s your name?”
Adyr shifted back to smallform, pulling her snapped-apart tunic back over her chest with one hand. “Uh. Adyr.”
“Ad-der,” Zahra echoed. “Ad- Ad-dir?”
“Adyr,” Adyr repeated, and then, because she was still curious, “don’t worry about it. I want a place on your ship. I have to talk to your captain, and that’s it? That’s all?”
“I wouldn’t know, really,” Zahra said. “Not my ship, remember? But I like the Captain, he’s a good guy. And he was talking about wanting someone who can, you know, do the fire thing.”
“I can do ice too,” Adyr said, because she could and she was proud of that. “Not as flashy, but I can still do it.”
“Huh,” Zahra said. “Well. You’re going to have to fix my spot, if you stay.”
Adyr blinked at her. “What?”
Zahra pointed up at the mast, shrugging. “My rope. You snapped it. I need that.”
No wonder someone had caught her, if she was in someone else’s spot. That was something to know, at least. “Sorry. I’ll fix it if I get to stay.”
“Guess I need you to stay, then,” Zahra said, offering a hand to Adyr. Adyr took it, and Zahra pulled her until she was standing on her own two feet. “Here. Follow me, I’ll show you who to talk to.”
Adyr nodded, trailing along as Zahra turned to leave. Maybe the Sevens weren’t spitting on her this time.
Hope was a funny thing, Adyr thought, holding the knife between her teeth and clinging to the rope with every ounce of force she had. This was a really, really Sevens-spit stupid idea and there was no way in any hell it was ever going to work, but she’d let her starstruck eye blind her until well past the point of no return. The acid sting on the side of her face throbbed in time to her heartbeat, still healing.
The horizon began to glow a ruddy violet. Surely when the sun was up she’d be spotted, if she hadn’t fallen. But until the light of day revealed her, she should have been able to keep herself up here without detection. If it weren’t for the rope…
The Midnight King was a gorgeous capturesail brigantine, with two towering jet-black masts and a narrow body. It put Adyr, on the shore in the light of day hours ago, in mind of a wasp, for some reason. She was here to see if she couldn’t land herself a ticket to one, just to cross the ocean, but suddenly she had found herself seized with a desire to find herself a place on that ship instead. To be part of that.
Besides, the capturesails were glorious. They weren’t in real world with everyone else - they were free from all laws but the high seas, beholden to no one but themselves, and they moved so fast they couldn’t be caught. If everyone Adyr cared about had been capturesailing, then -
Wasn’t worth finishing, was what that thought was. Dead was dead was wasn’t anymore a person and so wasn’t worth thinking about. But she’d set her eye on the Midnight King and set herself on its mast about twelve minutes later. She’d find out what she needed to know later, and if they threw her overboard she could probably sink the whole ship along with her before the great monsters living in the Lanjjikk could get around to drowning her and then maybe she’d lose but at least she’d take them all down with her, which -
- which wasn’t worth thinking about either. It was going to be fine. And it wasn’t going to be a problem, because they were still docked, and this stupid, Adyr thought, Seven-spit rope was going to snap, and then she’d be caught and it would all be for -
“Hey,” someone said.
Startled, Adyr jumped into her Secondform - twice as heavy and five times as long as she was before - and the rope did snap, sending her plummeting to the deck. Not instinct’s greatest moment, but it also made her snap her wings out, so the sixty-ish foot drop wasn’t so bad. She tried not to hiss up at whoever’d climbed up to meet her while she picked herself up from the deck.
“Hey!” they yelled again, fainter now that they weren't right below her. “Who are you?”
Adyr did hiss at that, not sure how to respond. “I’m not leaving!” she yelled up instead of answering.
“Not what I asked,” whoever it was up there replied, starting to climb down the mast rather quickly. That wasn’t ideal, even if it was still a long way. “Who are you? Did Sandar send you over?”
Well, they didn’t sound angry, now that Adyr’s startled spines were starting to settle. “No one sent me,” she called up. “I, um… I want to be part of your ship.”
“It’s not my ship,” the stranger said, climbing closer down the rope ladder like some sort of spider, or something. Adyr eyed the distance between herself and dry land; not far. But she wanted this ship. The others didn’t cut a figure like this one. But if she had to make a break for it, now would probably be the time. Obliviously, the stranger went on, “If you want to sign on, you’re gonna have to talk to our captain.”
“The captain,” Adyr repeated, thrown for a loop. “Just like that?”
“We-elllll…” the stranger said, hopping to the deck. In the low light Adyr could just barely make out a low-cut white shirt, a long sword at her side. Another dragon? No, her eyes weren’t lit. But Adyr hadn’t seen a human with a sword before. Too alien for them, or something. Adyr had an odd feeling about this. Almost positive. Which was weird, because she’d just gotten caught, so this was bad. Right?
“Well?” Adyr echoed.
“I’m Zahra,” the stranger said, instead of explaining. “What’s your name?”
Adyr shifted back to smallform, pulling her snapped-apart tunic back over her chest with one hand. “Uh. Adyr.”
“Ad-der,” Zahra echoed. “Ad- Ad-dir?”
“Adyr,” Adyr repeated, and then, because she was still curious, “don’t worry about it. I want a place on your ship. I have to talk to your captain, and that’s it? That’s all?”
“I wouldn’t know, really,” Zahra said. “Not my ship, remember? But I like the Captain, he’s a good guy. And he was talking about wanting someone who can, you know, do the fire thing.”
“I can do ice too,” Adyr said, because she could and she was proud of that. “Not as flashy, but I can still do it.”
“Huh,” Zahra said. “Well. You’re going to have to fix my spot, if you stay.”
Adyr blinked at her. “What?”
Zahra pointed up at the mast, shrugging. “My rope. You snapped it. I need that.”
No wonder someone had caught her, if she was in someone else’s spot. That was something to know, at least. “Sorry. I’ll fix it if I get to stay.”
“Guess I need you to stay, then,” Zahra said, offering a hand to Adyr. Adyr took it, and Zahra pulled her until she was standing on her own two feet. “Here. Follow me, I’ll show you who to talk to.”
Adyr nodded, trailing along as Zahra turned to leave. Maybe the Sevens weren’t spitting on her this time.
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