{ o p e n • p o s t }

[estrangedheir]

muselist • here

starters

• CADE (novel OC)
  • he swears he didn’t start the street brawl, man
• ILDA (novel OC)
  • shouting is her best marketing strategy
• SHEIFA (AU!CCS + CRAU)
  • dystopian Earth with no Clow cards and the Lis are badass black market people
  • hi-tech girl stuck in low-tech world, please send help

Comments

[shivvymetimbers]

Cade? [A hint of worry lingers in his tone once the blond goes silent but once heard the laughter, he calms.] You're not losin' your sanity, are ya?

[Bastien asks as he flops down onto the sand a bit more gracefully in scales and fins still. He lays there for awhile just admiring the beauty of the coast before peeking at Cade again. It's good to see his friend in better spirits now. He almost didn't think they would make it out of that prison alive but they did.]

We're in luck you know. This island is one of my hideaways. [Bastien explains as he wiggles his tail slowly. Those bright blue scales shine like silver in the sunlight.]

There's food and shelter and change of clothes. I purposely came here once before to make it into a little home.

[estrangedheir]

[ Maybe it’ll be easier if Cade did lose his sanity. There will at least be fewer questions. Less awkwardness.

That awkwardness is settling in now. The blonde doesn’t respond; he’s busy staring at Bastien’s, er, tail. He tries to look away, because it’s probably rude, but politeness is honestly not on top of his priority list right now. ]

So... about that...

[ Yes, that. ]

[shivvymetimbers]

[Once the awkwardness settles into silence, Bastien feels that dread from earlier take form once more. He glances away from Cade, unwilling to meet his gaze. For the first time in a long time, Bastien actually feels...nervous.]

Yeah, what about it? [He mutters while idly preening. His hair is a tangled mess after all that.] Cade, you better not be plottin' on tellin' folks about all this.

[His voice is oddly stern now.]

[estrangedheir]

Like anyone would believe me?

[ More of, like he has anyone to tell stuff to. Other than Bastien, he’s not particularly close to anyone. It’s not his strong point. That and he’s also chosen not to get close to anyone.

He finally looks away, sitting up and pretending that there’s something out at sea that caught his attention.

Then: ] ... Are you really...?

[shivvymetimbers]

[A faint grin settles upon his lips as he admires the shoreline. No one would ever believe Cade about this. No one. All tales regarding merfolk are usually quickly dismissed by sailors and pirates alike. There's not a single person who would believe except for one.

One who've seen the truth with his own eyes. Bastien's greatest foe.]

Aye, I am. [He answers plainly without much ceremony. There's no need to drag this out any further.] My mum was a mermaid, lad. One with a sparkling red tail dotted with inky blues. She was..exiled by her people. Exiled for taking a man as a husband, a pirate no less.

[estrangedheir]

[ The fact that Bastien’s taking all this in stride seems to help Cade wrap his head around the idea. Magic and merfolk, eh? He’s never been the type to daydream much, or fear monsters under the bed, but can you really deny the impossible when you’re staring right at it with your own eyes? ]

Huh. I’d thought they’d be beyond politics and all that discrimination nonsense, being mystical and such. [ He turns his head and squints at the pirate. ] Your mother was royalty? Or they just don’t like humans?

[shivvymetimbers]

You would think so.

[Bastien replies quietly as he keeps untangling the knots out his hair. He should cut the damn thing and be done with it. Though, it probably would grow back in less than a month. He sighs.]

A little bit of both but my mother never explicitly said so. It wasn't until I...met one that I begun to understand better.

[He turns to Cade looking oddly melancholy now. They're embarking upon murky waters now.]

Her name was Nerissa.

[estrangedheir]

[ The way Bastien speaks about his mother brings an ache to Cade’s chest. For one, the pirate can’t be making this all up; his melancholy’s too palpable, too real.

And there’s his mother. But he’s not about to make this moment about him. ]

She sounds lovely.

[ What else could he say? ]