A Fairy's Tale (Eustass Kid & OC)

Chapter 40: It's Not Over Until The Red Head Sings...

A nauseating miasma of emotions swirled in Kid's gut as he toted Loklynn to the infirmary.

He was happy to be alive, but he resented that she'd been forced to save him. He was over the moon that she'd survived, but guilty as hell that he was the jackass who almost offed her in the first place. He appreciated the treat of getting to have her in his arms again, but the feeling was soured by her obvious discomfort and fear at their proximity. He was pissed about the ship, pissed about being stabbed, and pissed that she'd drugged Mohican, but he found the anger coming and going in waves, never staying for very long.

For cryin' out loud... fuck feelings, just fuck 'em; where was the God damn off switch?

"Hey," he spoke up halfway down the hall, keeping his voice at a careful monotone. "Talk to me, Sweetheart. How do you feel?"

And that was another thing: Sweetheart, fucking really? Kid never called anyone anything like that before, he wasn't that disgustingly sappy; he didn't have a damn clue as to why he'd started doing it with her, and bothered him just how natural the pet name felt on his tongue. He should not be that affectionate when he hadn't even known her for a full month. It just wasn't normal.

Shit, there was a scary thought; the captain thought back to the peace her energy brought him, how he was beginning to crave it more and more each time it sunk into his very soul, and he couldn't help but wonder if her power had begun to affect his mentality. What if he became addicted, hooked on the high like a drug?

"I'm... relieved, I suppose. That no one died," Loklynn murmured softly just before he could ask again, "and confused as to how. More than anything, though, I'm just so... tired."

She definitely wasn't lying there. Her body was limp, her voice slurred, and a glance down at her revealed a bone-deep exhaustion in her sunken eyes. Nothing else, though? Was she not going to condemn him, tell him how pissed she was and how much she hated him? He waited, but she never said anything like that, remaining silent for the rest of their journey.

Maybe she just naturally found it difficult to summon anger on her own behalf... Kid didn't know if that made him feel better or worse.

Nope, scratch that, it was worse. Definitely worse.

Since the Kid Pirates were used to the fantastic storms endemic to the Grandline, they'd taken measures to prepare for situations exactly like this. Every piece of furniture and weaponry on the ship was nailed down, every drawer and cabinet was latched shut, and all supplies were securely fastened to the wall by netting. Since all of that was taken care of, clean-up would be minimal and they'd only have to worry about damages to the ship. Because of this, the infirmary was still in order despite the turbulence, the only things out of place being a sleeping Mohican.

...Wait.

"Bright-eyes. Did you bring 'Hican here after you drugged him?" Kid asked slowly, though he could guess the answer. As he suspected, Loklynn shook her head, looking just as confused as him.
Kid gently but quickly propped Loklynn against the wall by the door and rushed over to the bed holding his crewmate. He checked his pulse just to be sure before attempting to wake him with a few light shakes.

"He'll wake up in a few hours," Loklynn assured him tiredly. "I promise you, I did him no lasting harm."

He already knew that. Even if her powers wouldn't force her to heal them in the end, he couldn't imagine her poisoning or killing someone for her own purposes. Loklynn was too kind for that; Even when she and Killer were fighting, he got the sense that she was just trying to hold him off rather than kill him. When Kid himself was stabbed, the surprise on her face before he hit the floor told him she hadn't been expecting it either.