Eight Intertwined

116 - Eldrite

The wind and rain lashed against Leon's face as he turned away from the nearby cliffside. Waves crashed against the rocks below, but he paid them no mind, instead just beginning his journey back down to the base of the peak. For the moment, he and Baltazar lived in a strange state of peace, not lashing out at one another but instead simply standing together in the center of the storm. Their competitive streak mattered little in favor of just standing there together for a few breaths. At the moment, they were no longer rivals bitterly trying to defeat one another for the sake of their reputations as the strongest on the seas. They were old friends once more, not that either one of them would dare to say it aloud lest it shatter the delicate balance they had made.

Baltazar took a few steps ahead of his friend before he fell still, staring ahead as water continued to soak his dark hair. "Leon, what's more precious to ye than anything in the world?" he questioned, the words coming out heavy in a way Leon would not understand until years later.

"Most precious?" Leon echoed in confusion. "All my treasures are precious." Was that not the point of being a pirate? He wanted to find all he could to stand on top of the world with all the riches a person could ever hope for. He wanted to find fortune and power, and that was what he fought for above all else. Leon would never sacrifice a thing he had gathered over the course of his travels, not if it would yield him any standing in the world. 

Baltazar let out a small laugh, almost humored by Leon's response. "I didn't mean gold or gems, Leon," he corrected his friend. He looked off at the horizon again, his eyes gaining that faraway sheen once again. He always lost himself in thought when he spoke of what was precious in life, though Leon had always blamed it on sentimentality. In many ways, Leon couldn't understand how Baltazar had come to defeat him so many times. After all, Leon was stronger than Baltazar in a fight. He did not stop when trampling over the weak, never hesitating the way Baltazar did when his emotions got the better of him in a rare moment of vulnerability. And yet, through it all, he always came in second, and he never understood anything that traveled through the mind of his rival. 

"Then what did you mean?" Leon challenged as he took another step forward. His voice lacked its regular bite though, the competition fading in favor of a few moments of quiet understanding that really didn't explain anything at all.

"Do ye have somethin' so dear to yer heart that ye'd risk life 'n' limb for it?" Baltazar reiterated. Leon had no answer, and his expression twisted into muted discontent as his friend continued. "When we were lads in that poor town, we thought havin' riches was all there was to life. But I've been wonderin' lately... If that's the life worth livin'. And then I wonder... What life is worth livin'." 

Leon continued to stare at Baltazar in shock, unable to bring his confusion to words, as Baltazar raised his hands and looked down at his palms. His gloves were soaked with rainwater, and small droplets slipped off the fabric onto the weakened grasses beneath his feet. "I used me strength to steal from the weak... Just like ye, Leon." Baltazar took another step forward, forcing his shaking hands to close and fall to his sides. "And it took years of lootin' to realize that none of it meant anythin' to me. No... Not everythin' that glitters is gold." He offered Leon one final glance over his shoulder before he started away, off to begin their final race. 

Leon watched him go for a few long moments before he followed and took off in the opposite direction toward his own ship. Their peace shattered the instant they stepped off that mountain, and they would never find it once again thanks to the curse of death that stained Baltazar's heart and body. At the time, he had tried his best to shove Baltazar's words out of his mind. As far as he was concerned, nothing mattered except glory and gold, and he would pursue it to the bitter end. He could consider the truth at a later time.