King Kong: The Faunus and the Beast

Chapter V

Blake felt so unwelcome.

It felt everywhere she went, someone was staring at her. She'd overheard so many people whispering about her. Some thought they should kill her. Some thought they should throw her overboard. Some thought they should . . . on second thought, Blake didn't want to think about that one. Luckily, she'd only heard it once.

It helped to have Sun, though, and though it was odd to share a room with him, it felt like the time the two of them spent together was the most comfortable she'd felt in a while now. She didn't know where Sun was most of the time. Once she caught him crouched on the crow's nest, which made her assume he spent his time wandering the Petrox Explorer, looking for something to do, or at least for a good view.

They agreed to take turns with the bed every night, mostly because neither wanted the other to be stuck on the couch every night. She was happy to sleep on a mattress again, after spending a few days in the lifeboat, and it seemed Sun enjoyed it, too. Heck, she even liked the couch.

But even though she was sleeping comfortably, she wasn't sleeping soundly. It seemed every night she was thinking about their destination. She never mentioned the island out loud, but it was usually in the forefront of her mind, blocking out her ability to think clearly. Even thoughts of how to stop the White Fang would vanish the moment the island came to mind.

Blake's thoughts were interrupted when Sun walked into the room.

"Sup?" he said.

She glanced at him. She was sitting on the bed, and had been staring out the porthole before he walked in. She said nothing to answer his question.

"That's the mood we're going for," he said. "Got it."

Blake nodded, and she looked back out the window.

Sun stayed silent for only a moment. He wasn't good with starting a conversation with Blake. He'd only known her for a little while, but talking to her wasn't as easy as he'd hoped it would be.

He shook his head. It shouldn't be so hard to talk to her. They were basically friends, and even if they weren't, they were at least the only companions they had on the ship.

"So," he said, "what are we going to do when we get to the island?"

Blake tensed in an instant, but she softened up as quickly as she'd stiffened.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," she said.

"We can't think like that," Sun said. "We need a plan."

Blake stood up, and started to make her way to the couch, doing everything she could to avoid this conversation.

"We'll figure one out," she said. "We need to think about now."

"Why?" Sun said. "We're not in any danger. We can come up with a plan right now, and we'll go through with it when we get there."

Blake avoided eye contact. The more she thought about that island, the more it started to scare her. She felt a shiver run down her spine. Why was she so terrified of this place? She'd never been there before. She'd only heard of it a few times. Why did the mere thought that she was going to be on that island scare her so badly?

"I've been trying," she said. "I don't know anything about the island."

"So?" he said. "We can come up with a strategy."

"You don't seem like a strategy guy," Blake replied.

"Well, I don't have a choice now, Blake!" he said. He was getting more frustrated. "They took our Aura from us! If we improvise, we could get killed!"

"Even if we come up with a plan, we could be killed."

"It's much better than praying for a miracle!"

He took a step closer, and Blake made sure he couldn't see her face, her vulnerability.

"We're in a tough situation here, Sun," she said.

"And whose fault is that?!"

Blake's fear at the thought of the island vanished, and she turned around to look at him.

"Excuse me?"

Sun instantly realized what he'd said. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sorry, I got a little angry there," he said. "I've been through a lot, Blake. I haven't been scared in years. But, right now? I'm not just scared. I'm terrified. I'm surrounded by people who want to kill me, and I don't even have an Aura to protect me. I could die so easily. Blake, I'm scared, and I don't know what to do. I came here following your lead, and I want to follow you out of here."

Blake turned her gaze away from him. She was scared, too. Terrified, like he was. He was counting on her, and she didn't know what to do. She acted like she knew exactly what she was doing, but really, she was beginning to regret boarding this boat in the first place. They were stuck here, and they didn't have a way out. Not to mention this ship was heading towards an island that filled her with dread.

She shut her eyes. She couldn't let Sun lose his hope. He had been following her this whole time. He had promised himself to follow her to the end, and she was ruining his life. She shouldn't have let him board the Petrox Explorer with her.

"The truth is," she said, "I don't know what to do either." A half-truth. "I didn't mean to get us in this situation."

Blake paused, and turned herself to the door.

"We'll figure something out," she said.

"Then let's just do it now," he said. "This will be much easier if we can figure this out together."

Blake made her way for the door. "No. Not now."

"Blake?" he said. "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm just going for a walk."

"Now?" Sun said.

"Now. I'll be back later, Sun."

With that, she walked out.

Sun stared at the door she'd shut behind her. What on Remnant just happened? He had never seen her behave like that before. What had changed? What had he said? Was she as afraid as he was?

That last question seemed to be right. He was afraid to think about what would happen on the island, and the way she was behaving gave him the idea that she was just as scared as he was.

Oddly, he found himself sighing in relief. There was something strangely comforting about knowing Blake was scared, too. He felt as though his fear was valid. But that meant that she, too, was terrified of what was going to happen. She was alone, and no one understood what she was going through. Not even Sun.

But she needed to tell him. She didn't have anyone else to confide in. They only had each other to confide in.

They would just have to deal with it . . .