A Fairy's Tale (Eustass Kid & OC)

Chapter 38: The Price of Protection

There were several times in the past few days when Killer had felt the occasional twinge of pity for Loklynn; In fact, it was just hours before he'd been laying in bed, staring at the ceiling as he was plagued by petty lamentations for the lot of a girl he barely even knew, even as he looked forward to antagonizing that same girl.

All that changed with the looming threat of losing Kid. All notions of sympathy had fled his mind, and he was more than happy to show them the door. What happened to his little brother that night was unforgivable, and as Killer observed Kid's skin beginning to miraculously knit itself back together, he couldn't bring himself to give a damn about Loklynn in that moment. He couldn't find it in him to care that she was scared, or hurt, or acting against her will.

Killer felt nothing in that moment but relief; Kid would live, and nothing beyond that mattered.

He was fine with that.

The Soldier didn't want to spare her any more thought. He didn't want to feel anything for her. He wouldn't waste a single iota of emotion on her if this was what he could expect as a result. Killer had been distracted enough while trying to figure her out these past weeks, losing focus of what was really important in favor of puzzling the little thing out. It was due to his carelessness alone that he was now being reminded, in the worst possible way, that there was only one person in this world who truly deserved his sympathy: his captain.

It wasn't long into the healing process that his little brother regained enough energy to open his eyes, and enough wherewithal to focus on his surroundings. The grin that Kid gave Loklynn was a rare breed considering who's face it was plastered on; The startling lack of guille in his hazy eyes lent a certain boyishness to his expression, a simple sort of joy that Killer hadn't seen from him since their years in the slums. The Soldier's relief swelled into a blaze of hope at the sight. His eyes followed the path of Kid's hand as he lifted it toward his healer's face...

That's when Killer caught sight of Loklynn's expression. A chill blew through him when he registered that sad, sweet little smile of hers. When he considered the context, the expression seemed almost freakish; if he were in her shoes, he'd be seething at the indignity of being forced to heal an enemy, but her? Aside from a light touch of bitter irony in her tilted lips, he couldn't find a trace of anger or even a hint of resentment in her expression, despite the circumstances.

There was an undeniable note of resignation there as well, almost like she was... preparing herself. For what exactly, he could only wonder, but the prickle of foreboding in the back of his head told him it would be best not to find out. He had an inkling of what she might be resigning herself to, and if he was right...

"He's stable," Killer suddenly spoke up, loud enough for Wire and Heat to hear over the pervasive hum of her energy. Jerking his head for them to follow, he strode forward toward their captain and his unwilling savior. "This has gone on long enou-"

The first mate's orders were cut off when he was thrown back several feet by an unseen force; if it weren't for Wire catching his shoulders to steady him, he would have shared Heat's less fortunate fate of getting knocked flat on his ass.
His jaw fell slack when he saw the source, a shield of energy that had slammed up around Loklynn and Kid. That must have been what pushed him back... but why?

"You good? Why didn't it let you though this time, I thought the thing could only keep you out if you wanted to break the shield or hurt her?" Wire questioned as Killer righted himself. His queries were waved off as the Soldier's mind raced to puzzle out that very thing for himself; why had the forcefield actively blocked him? His assumption was that, since he'd had no intention of physically harming either of them, he would be able to bypass the shield and separate Loklynn from Kid as they'd done days before with Mohican... but he'd obviously assumed wrong. It was clear now that things wouldn't be resolved quite so simply this time around.