Black Hearted

Part 32

Nate stopped playing with the tiny jellyfish, finally looking at him as he numbly said. "I'm releasing you from your word. Just leave me..." Sean sank to the sand, curling his tail at his side as he stubbornly replied. "I'm not going anywhere. Just talk to me." Nate raised an eyebrow, muttering under his breath. "Why are you still here? Aren't you afraid of what I'll do to him?" Sean picked up a small shell, looking over it as he casually replied. "I am afraid for him... but I'm also worried about you." Nate scoffed loudly, slumping farther down his rock as he grumbled out. "See? I told you pity is what has kept me alive." Sean set the shell down, answering bluntly. "I don't pity you. I... I need your help." Nate waved him away with a dismissive hand, bitterly retorting. "I'm not removing that curse. The bastard deserves it." Sean took a deep calming breath, then tried again more gently. "Nate... You both wronged each other... I can sympathize with both of you. But this doesn't resolve anything. It just keeps the wounds fresh."

Nate rolled his eyes, grimly answering. "I told you. I can't feel anything. So, what if the wound stays fresh for him... Let him suffer." Sean risked reaching out to touch Nate's arm as he told him seriously. "That is just it. You both are torturing each other. You keep this up and you will kill yourselves. How is that anyway to live?" Nate locked eyes with him, sneering out coldly. "Live by the sword and die by it. If we kill each other, than so be it. I don't have much to live for now anyway." Sean's grip on Nate's arm tightened, telling him in a scolding tone that his father always used on him. "Really? You'd rather waste your time slowly killing each other? I think you've been around humans too long. You may very well be the last of your kind and you'd waste it being anything except free?" Nate's body stiffened and Sean swallowed in slight fear. If Nate shocked him... It would probably knock him unconscious... or worse. Nate's tentacles drifted far too close for comfort as Nate sternly shouted out. "I can't be free without my soul! Which HE refuses to give me! What else am I supposed to do?! Live in fear that he'll destroy it?! After this stunt, he'll get my ring just to command me to do something else! Do you have any idea how that feels? NO!"

Sean flinched away from a tentacle that almost touched his shoulder but told him confidently. "Help me and I'll help you." Nate grabbed Sean's jaw in his hand, pulling him closer as he sneered out. "Why? What do you get out of all this?" Sean stared deep into Nate's blazing purple eyes, honestly stating out. "Mark is taking me to Atlantis. He's looking for treasure... but I'm looking for a way to save our future. The humans are hunting us down. You've seen it first-hand. Help me take back our homeland. Give our future generations a chance to live without fear. You say your kind can adapt to any culture. Learn their ways... Did your dad teach you the ways of Atlantis? The words on your sword... Can you read Atlantean?" Nate's hand released Sean, his demeanor softening a little. So, Sean puffed himself up, asking hopefully. "Teach me?" Nate's tentacles drifted away from Sean as he mumbled out softly. "It's a beautiful thought... but Atlantis is lost." Sean shrugged carelessly, stating out bluntly. "Maybe it is, but what if there is a slim chance that we could save it? Can't you feel it calling to you? Why would it do that if it was lost?"

Nate turned slightly to glance out at the open sea for a minute, softly answering under his breath. "I have noticed..." Sean touched Nate's shoulder, telling him casually. "Help me... and I won't just give you your ring... I'll give you back your ship." That drew Nate's attention back, curiously uttering out. "My ship? How do you plan to get my ship back from him? Let alone my ring?" Sean smirked, sheepishly saying. "Mark wants the treasure from Atlantis to become the next pirate king. You have a claim to what he wants. He has what you want. I need you both to get what I want. It's not hard to see a solution to all this. It's just human politics as you put it." Nate let out a chuckle, telling him with a wicked smirk. "You're scarier than I gave you credit for." Sean extended a hand out for Nate to shake, asking him curiously. "Do we have a deal?" Nate stared at his hand for a long time, then took his hand firmly. Sean's heart leapt, listening to Nate tell him seriously. "Deal."