Strange Creatures

Subversion and Submersion

Yes, hello! I have not given up on this!

This boyo was drawn by littlecofiegirl on tumblr. If you look closely (or have the brightness higher than I had mine), you can see an awed Keef staring at him from the left.

xXx

"It's too bad, you know."

Keith lifted his head off the wall to look at Kuron. "What is?"

"I lost sixteen days' worth of meals gambling the other day."

Keith raised an eyebrow. "I think you either have a gambling problem, or you like making up stories too much."

A tiny smile tugged at the corner of the pirate's mouth. "Little bit of both." Keith nodded with an utter lack of surprise as voices started calling in the distance. "That probably means we're almost there," he added.

"Hm?"

"They're calling to shore. They'll probably want you on board soon, once they start unloading," Kuron explained.

Keith pursed his lips in thought. His chances of escaping now, with pirates everywhere, would be even closer to impossible. But he couldn't just stay! Who knew what they had planned for him and Lance?

And there was also the problem of how to free Lance.

"Kuron, get up here with the prisoner! It's time to go ashore!" a voice called from above.

Kuron released a heavy sigh and heaved himself to his feet. "I was just getting comfortable, too," he muttered.

"You haven't moved since you came down here," Keith commented as Kuron pulled a single key out of his pocket. The sailor stood, flexing his hands in the ropes to try and restore some circulation to his fingers.

"Oh, hush." Kuron unlocked the door and opened it. "Now, don't try anything rash, or--"

Keith sprinted at the pirate, lowering his shoulder to shove him aside as he ran through the open door. But as he reached Kuron, the one-armed man seemed to sigh with resignation. Keith wondered why, almost hesitating, but didn't stop. 

There was a moment where he thought he was free. He just had to get up the ladder. Then he felt pressure on his leg. It turned to a sharp pain, and suddenly he was on his back, staring at the wooden ceiling.

"Now, why'd you have to go and do that?" Kuron's voice, still his usual sarcastic expression, had a more threatening undertone as he leaned down over the fallen sailor.

"Wh-- what?" Keith stuttered in surprise.

Kuron huffed and heaved him to his feet. "I thought you might be different. I hoped you'd see... but you're not any different from anyone else," he said quietly into Keith's ear, then shoved him to the ladder. "Get climbing," he said curtly, leaving Keith to wonder how he was going to get to the top deck with his hands tied.