The Island of Many Fates

Artemis shut up, then, and spread the blanket he had given on the ground. "Yeah, whatever. Good night." He lay down on it and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.

Axelle yawned. "Yeah, good night." She said. She waited a few minutes before hopping off the bed silently and slipped out of the room. Wandering onto the deck, she climbed back onto the box she'd been on before. She gazed out at the water, transfixed by the glitter of the moon's reflection on the waves.

Artemis frowned, uncomfortable and unable to sleep. As soon as Axelle left, he got up, then walked over to one of the cabin's corners, and nestled himself between the two walls. He placed his hand on his katana's hilt, and stayed still, waiting and praying for the morning to come.

Kasam closed the cabin door behind him. He descended the open stairs to the deck slowly. His boot-steps were soft but audible. Atop the crow's-nest he saw Kryoni shift a fraction of an inch. He smiled to himself and walked across the deck to stand next to Axelle.

"Hello, Axelle. Restless night?"

Axelle looked at the man. The aroma of violets filled her nose, which she scrunched up in surprise. "Oh, hello, Kasam." She smiled. "Yes, very restless. I'm not so used to the sea." Her eyes drifted back to the water. "It's very pretty, though."

Kasam nodded.

"It is. I like the sea. Sail far enough and no one can find you. Sail back and no one knows you've returned. It's like my own personal vanishing cloak."

He glanced back over his shoulder at the sleeping rooms. The corner of his mouth twisted in wry amusement.

"It's very funny to watch you and our resident grouch. You have him wrapped around your little finger, don't you?"

Axelle's face turned red. "Gr-grouch? You mean Artemis?" The color of her face deepened. "I n-never meant t-to wr-wrap h-him..." Her breathing was hard, forced. "Why do you mention th-that?" She didn't look at Kasam. She didn't want him, or anyone, to see her face.

Kasam grinned. The expression was hidden by the shadows of midnight, though.

"No reason. You should stay close to him. The island we're headed for is...well, it's a great deal more dangerous than I've let on so far. I'm sure he'd sell his soul for the chance to save your life."

Axelle's face cooled down, her cheeks returning to their normal color. She turned towards Kasam. "Dangerous? Pah, I laugh in the face of danger." Suddenly a bunch of hyenas laughed, and Axelle fell off her box. She smiled. "Just kidding. But I'm sure I can handle it." Sighing, Axelle continued. "I will, however, heed your warning. Although, the other two boys seem a little tougher." She nodded towards Richard. "And Artemis isn't exactly my taste." Sticking out her tongue, she giggled.

Kasam chuckled softly.

"But you, my dear, are exactly his taste. Now, you should return to bed. You'll need all your energy tomorrow."

With that, he walked across the deck to where Richard stood.

"Richard. I trust you are well?"

"Better than not," he said. He sat on the railing looking out at the sky, but turned around as he was addressed. "You?"

Axelle sighed. Kasam was right, she needed sleep. However, she didn't
budge. Her smile faded as she looked back out at the water. She pulled
her knees up to her chin and continued gazing out at the water. Her eyes drooped, and let them shut, falling asleep.

Kasam nodded.

"I am satisfied that we are finally underway. Our destination takes several days to reach."

He touched Richard's shoulder very lightly. "The way is dangerous. You will need your rest to defend David."

Richard laughed. "Defend Dave? Please. He'd be more likely to defend me." He smiled. "I suppose you wouldn't know, though. Not that it's your fault you don't know."

"What don't I know?" Kasam asked, leaning against the rail of the ship.

"Well, simply put, Davy doesn't need any kind of protection. He has his magic, but...That's not his main strength."

He looked at the stairway. Nobody was traveling them. He looked around. He knew thee was somebody in the Crow's Nest, and Axelle was close by.

"Promise to not broadcast this to, say the entire world, alright?"

[[ Aheh, retroactive RPing here. Sorry, I've been busy all day and couldn't respond sooner. ]]

"Whatever they need help with, I'm sure we will do fine," Alistar said courteously, inclining his head. Then the ship set sail, and shortly afterward the captain announced the sleeping arrangements.

"Oh, we get a room to ourselves," Elsa commented. "That's good." When they got to the room, however, the two of them stopped short. "... Oh. Only one bed," she pointed out, blushing slightly. Alistar sighed.

"Go ahead and get some rest. I'll go to the hold to look for Indigo." With that he left the room, looking around for a second to orient himself, and then set off in the direction of the hold. He came across Indigo in obvious comfort, having set up a hammock in a shadowy corner.

"What are you doing!?" Alistar hissed, approaching him. "If you're going to sneak onto the ship, at least try to hide!"

"But I was hiding!" Indigo whined, hopping down from the hammock. "It's in the dark, you can't see it from the door." Removing his mask, Alistar rubbed his eyes.

"Look, just put the tarp back where you found it and come with me."

"Fine." Indigo obliged, pouting. A minute later they were back in the room. Elsa was already asleep.

"There's only one bed, so we're on the floor. Sorry, kiddo, but that's how gentlemen act," Alistar said, patting Indigo on the head.

"I'm sixteen, bro. I'm not a 'kiddo' any more," Indigo said sulkily. Should've just stayed in the hold...

"Just try to get some sleep," Alistar replied, lying down with his head resting on his pack. He had removed his cloak, and was using it as a makeshift blanket. "And try to think of a good reason to explain to the captain why you're here too."

Kasam nodded. "Of course, Richard. I am not one to wag my tongue without reason."

A blindfolded head poked itself up from the hold, and soon the rest of its body pulled itself up after. The blind man, Anris, padded softly across the deck to where Kasam's voice sounded and swept his arm in a wide circle until his hand found Kasam's shoulder. He pulled himself closer and whispered something in Kasam's ear. Kasam nodded.

"Of course. I don't object to having another along with us, even if he was uninvited. If he was clever enough to sneak onto the ship, maybe he's clever enough to survive what's coming."

The blind man nodded and turned around an exact half-circle to face the hold. At the edge of the pit, he stuck his toe over the rim and nudged the sides. He knelt and swiftly let himself down into the darkness and disappeared. Kasam nodded again.

"I'm sorry, Richard. Please continue--no one is listening."

A while passed, and an irrational feeling of melancholy took over Artemis when he realized Axelle was not returning to the cabin that night. Although he had had no prior intention of doing so, he opened the porthole and, in a loud, clear carrying voice, recited a seafaring poem he had learnt eons ago.

"Well," said Richard. "Why do you think he made sure he'd have a covered cabin? Because he's pampered? I don't think so."

He took a conspiratorial glance around the deck, and finally said,"The moon brings with it many changes sir. Many changes. And Davy, he changes too. Every time. Full moon. He's a werewolf." Richard smiled, and waited for Kasam's reaction.

Kasam appeared thoughtful. He leaned both elbows on the railing, resting his chin on his clasped hands. For a while he said nothing, allowing the sea breeze to gently caress his hair. Then he turned his head sideways to look at Richard and let a small grin creep across his face.

"You know, Richard, this will either be a huge success or few, if any of us will come out alive. I suppose much of it depends on luck."

He pushed himself back from the railing and headed back for the cabin.

"Get some rest, Richard. You'll be needing it, come tomorrow."

He ascended the stairs to the cabin and went inside, closing the door behind himself. Night embraced the vessel, carrying its passengers off to a mostly peaceful sleep.

Dawn broke over the horizon. Without any landscape or buildings to interrupt its beams, it shot instantly across the ocean, illuminating the ship in a flash of gold. In the crow's nest, Kryoni stirred and drowsily cast an eye towards the horizon. A faint dark line clouded the edge of her view from the northeast. She sighed to herself, resenting the voyage for forcing her to endure such travesties as sea storms. She shifted herself into a more comfortable position and drifted back to half-wakefulness, determined to catch what few hours of sleep she could before the storm hit them.

Axelle's eyes opened. She squinted, shielding her eyes from the bright sun. Looking around groggily, she realized she'd fallen asleep on the box. That explained why her back hurt so much. She yawned and stretched, and fell off the box.

"Oof!" She grunted. She stood up, rubbing the back of her head. "Ah..." Axelle looked back up at the sky, seeing a very gloomy looking cloud. "Oh, right. Storm. Fun." She said out loud, not realizing that there might have been people around. She yawned again, and went back to her room. Axelle spotted Artemis, and sighed. "Did you sleep at all?"

Artemis had been staring out at the ocean all night. He turned from the porthole slowly. "No," he muttered. "I rarely sleep. I was tired last night, but only for a short while. I take it you did?" He looked at her silently.

Axelle smiled. "Why yes, yes I did." She crossed her arms. "Not very comfortably, but whatever. What did you do last night, then?"

"I...spent the night...thinking. Looking at the ocean. It's beautiful at night, and while in storms." Artemis became silent again, as if remembering something, or wondering about a course of action. "I don't seem to need to sleep as much as ordinary people do..."