Vengeance From The Sea

Ygnacio

"C'mon, greaser! I ain't payin' you to sit on ya' ass while us good folk work!" His eyes fly open at the voice in his ear, foot instinctively kicking into the side of the raft with an audible thud. Ygnacio tiredly groans as his captain laughs, shakily reaching down to hold onto his throbbing, freezing toes. He earns a sympathetic gaze from one other man on the boat, a look which Ygnacio pointedly tries to ignore as he grabs the oar once again, numb hands barely gripping the soaked wood. The young man feels too much like a liability, a weak link; inexperienced and overwhelmed as they're adrift at sea. Ygnacio, with his dark skin and jet black, curled hair, stood out amongst the other immigrants. Their stories, however, are not so different as they might all appear: they were all recruited as cheap labour for the USS 1898 Milton, a whaling boat stationed out of America for deep Antarctic sailing, through a renowned sailor by the names of Luther Milton, who was well known for his cruelty to both his employees and the wildlife they caught. Unemployed or freshly immigrated men went to him only out of pure desperation. Ygnacio regretfully wishes that he never boarded this ship, he dreads that he'll perish within these dark, cold waters, never to step foot on warm, solid land again.

"Aw, come now Cap'n, the poor laddie's tired, this's his first expedition a'fer all," the older man from before spoke up, his gentle, accented voice drawing Ygnacio from his dreary thoughts. He sneaks a quick peek at who just spoke, watching the redhead man smile sheepishly at Captain Milton, who sneered and disregarded his suggestion. The redhead slowly looks to Ygnacio as Captain Milton storms off to the front of the raft, smile growing more friendly. Ygnacio gives his own little smile as his face heated up, grateful to the Irishman.

"T-thank you, sir," Ygnacio muttered, unsure of his broken english, earning a laugh and a dismissive wave from the redhead. It made his face feel hotter.

"I keep tellin' ya', th' name's William, and this here's my pa, Padraig!" William chortled, pointing to the quite elderly man beside him. While William's hair was still a bright fiery red, Padraig's had gone completely stark white, adding more depth to his age alongside his deep wrinkles. Padraig hadn't said a word to Ygnacio since the voyage started, opting to keep to himself unlike his excitable son, silently rowing his oar in the calm waters in line with the three other fishermen. Ygnacio forgets their names, though he can tell that they're all American, just like the captain. There were more men before, but many died from starvation or the bitter cold. Some of the more hopeless opted to just jump ship into the dark waters, disappearing into the deep before Ygnacio's very eyes. Ygnacio knew how they felt, a whole week without food upon the freezing waters could turn even the bravest of men to absolute despair.

"Quiet, Will, you'll bring her here," Padraig suddenly speaks up, setting everyone on edge with his gruff, heavy warning. Everyone except William, who laughs again, gently patting his father's broad shoulder.

"Ah, ye ol' muppet, there ain't no sea witch here in these here cold arse waders! Yer jus' paranoid!" William looked then to Ygnacio, who had gone pale at the mention of a witch. "Y'see, me ol' pa here believes in those ol' dodgy fairy tales, loike in trolls an' goblins an' elves. Apparently, accordin' ta' him, there's a selkie that lurks about in these waders, a vengeful broad who's mad as a box of frogs. She takes on the skin of giant leopard seal and devours all wankers who dare cross her path an-" Ygnacio hears a loud snort, halting William mid sentence, much to the Irishman's surprise. They both look to Captain Milton, who is glancing back to them with a wide, and evil grin.

"There is indeed a leopard seal prowling the waters, but she ain't no magical being like how you fools say it," Captain Milton eyes Padraig with a wink, who angrily scowls back to his distasteful captain. "I've bested her in combat once, back five years ago. I took her children as trophies and as my dinner. She was weak, pathetic. If she were some selkie as you claim, she'd have killed me then and there." Ygnacio's eyes widened at the captain's words. Speechless at the idea of a man taking on one of those beasts. Ygnacio glances back to William, who's deep frown turns his entire disposition sour, an upsetting visage on he normally upbeat man. Padraig says nothing to Milton, the usually stoic man closing his eyes instead and slowly reaching up to grasp at the little cross necklace strung around his throat, his mouth silently moving with a practiced grace. Is he... praying? Ygnacio turns away immediately, a chill running up along his spine. He does not wish to know why Padraig reacted in such a way, there is not need for prayer after such a story, right?

The raft is quiet after that and Ygnacio is unable to keep track of time, the setting sun the only marker that time is passing at all. With William no longer vocal, Ygnacio slowly loses himself to the tender embrace of sleep, head gently drooping down towards the water's black surface. He is slightly disturbed when he hears the surface break, dark brown eyes fluttering open to meet face to face with a muddled image. Obscured by the murky waters are two piercing gold eyes, fiery and righteous. It's the only warning he has before the eyes disappear, obliterated by a huge mouth that leaps forth out of the water with a speed so astonishing, Ygnacio thought himself dreaming. Instantaneously, he is enveloped by subzero sea, jolted awake and now terrified. Ygnacio's head manages to break the water, the man gasping for air and instead inhaling a mouthful of bitter cold. Ygnacio can hear the guttural screams and cries of his fellow fisherman and panics, thrashing helplessly in the water before his frostbitten fingers reach solid ice. With what strength he has left, Ygnacio hauls himself up onto the frozen rock, wheezing hard as he coughs up chilled water from his lungs. Every gasp and breath sets his chest ablaze as small, downy back dots fill his disorganized vision. All of a sudden, a jarring, curt scream catches Ygnacio's attention and the young man whips his head around in time to see William, caught in the jaws of the beast. His bloodied, broken hand is reaching out for Ygnacio, who is frozen in place. Ygnacio can hear William's pleas for mercy, for help, for Ygnacio, and the young man sobs as the soft-spoken man is violently torn apart; his thick, hot blood running down the sleek body of the horrifying creature that slayed him. Ygnacio weeps until his exhausted, starved body collapses onto the steaming ice.

The last thing Ygnacio hears is a resentful, hate-filled roar before he falls unconscious.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: boy howdy did i ever write this on a whim lmao. hi im Bambi and welcome to the erotica that the tiny gremlin in my brain has been demanding me to write out. updates will be few and far between bcoz i work at walmart and it literally consumes my whole goddamn day, but ive got practically the entire plot written planned out so i think updating this wont be super hard (comments and stuff are appreciated and get me motivated ;3c just sayin' lmao)