Porcelain Waters

Buried

Edeth's POV

The heavy scent of blood filled the small space your little crew lingered in, metallic coppery tinge searing the inside of your nostrils and giving cause for concern. At first, you thought one of the boys had been gravely wounded. Why else would there be so much blood smeared all over the two? It was the first sight to greet you when the three popped back onto the Tang after all, spattered across white boiler suits and leaving crimson footsteps under leather boots. But that was not the truth of the matter. The ichor that dripped from the redhead's sharp jawline was not his own. Your question went unanswered just from evidence alone.

"What...happened?" You mumbled. Your eyes were still trained on Shachi; you couldn't seem to tear away from the gore coating half his face.

Shachi stayed silent. His hand was raised to his face, keeping his eyes hidden from your gaze despite the mess he was covered in. The air felt strange, his cheerful disposition was missing and it almost felt like he was doing his best to avoid you.

"Tha e ceart gu leòr a-nis, Shachi." Penguin's voice was soft, feathered within the space as he stepped between you and the redhead. A gentle grip offered black sunglasses back along with the green and red hat. "Tha e sàbhailte. Tha an dìomhair sàbhailte."

"Chunnaic e."

"Mharbh thu e." Penguin leaned down. He didn't recoil from the blood, if anything he hardly seemed phased about it and that in itself added more questions to your already racing mind. "It's over."

No response came from Shachi this time, but his lips were still pressed into a firm frown as he reached for the sunglasses and took them between thin, bloodied fingers. A twinge of frustration hit you as Law cut off your line of sight when Shachi lifted the glasses to his face and with them lowered shielding fingers from his eyes. You wanted to see the things he kept hidden no matter the circumstances, but all you'd been able to catch was the tiniest glimpse of what you thought was shimmering gold- there and gone you couldn't be sure.

"Edeth." Law snapped your attention back to him with a firm voice. His eyes glowed dully under the brim of the white hat and spoke volumes past the single word he'd uttered. "Come with me. We need to have Bepo head back to the docks."

He didn't wait for your answer. You knew why. This was hardly a suggestion; Law was telling you to leave the two alone and leave the area. Why, you had no idea, but something told you now wasn't the time to argue with your captain.

You quickly fell into step behind Law, trotting just a little to keep up with his stride until you could reach a comfortable pace. Even leaving the vicinity of all that blood, the air still felt tense. Law felt tense.

"Captain?" You spoke up and took his deafening silence as a sign to continue. "Something happened at the bandit camp, right? What was-"

"You'd put your hand directly in a bear trap if there was a shiny rock in the middle of it, wouldn't you?"

You nearly smashed into the back of him, eyebrows raised in shock and confusion when he stopped short and turned on his heel to stare at you abruptly. "Huh?"

Law frowned and his brows furrowed, crease between them defined with insistence. "You're too nosey. Some things are better left unsaid and even more things are better left completely alone."

"But-"

"Nothing happened at the bandit camp. Understood?"

"But Captain-"

"Es reicht!" Law snapped and you flinched back from him. He was definitely stressed, more than you had anticipated, and now both of you could only stand and stare at each other awkwardly.