Cutlass | Jeno x Reader | Completed

19

As your body slipped into the darkened waves, Jeno could only stare helplessly at the spot you had been standing in only seconds ago. All sense of motion seemed to rid itself from him as he numbly looked at the empty space. The raw emotion he was feeling in the area behind his rib cage was burning through him and it was painful to breathe.

He tore his gaze away from the spot to look at his crew member and the cursed creature that was latched onto him. He drew out his cutlass, tightening his grip until his knuckles hurt.

Killing this Siren seemed like a great therapeutic way of ridding some of his anger. The young Captain willed himself to step forward, stalking towards the duo until he was behind them.

Raising his cutlass, he slashes the creature's back, earning an ear-aching shriek and the satisfying view of it crippling to the floor. Haechan staggered forward, one knee hitting the floor as he steadied himself. He looked back, gazing up at his savior.

"Captain, I..." Haechan's words were lost, similarly to the memories of the previous events. His mind was blank and he couldn't remember what happened after seeing you and Renjun. "Where's Y/N and Renjun? I saw them and then... and then what?"

A bitter taste seeped onto Jeno's tongue at the innocent-like question. His lips pursed together for a brief moment before answering, "Sirens got them."

Despite the calmness in his voice, Haechan could tell how anxiety-driven his friend was. The subtle clasping and unclasping movements his fingers did as they adjusted their grip on his weapon, paired with the sharpness in his eyes was proof enough.

"Are you alright to get up?"

Haechan stands, wordlessly giving his answer. "Are we going after them?"

"Of course we are." Jeno's sharp answer makes him flinch back. "We have to gather the others - find Mark first, since he needs to steer the ship into the island."

Haechan's eyes widen at the statement, "We're close to the island already, do we need to go any closer than this? We can use a dingy, no?"

"Too dangerous." Jeno immediately shoots down the idea. "The waves look to be higher than our heads, and we don't know how many of them are surrounding us."

The brunette scowls, wondering why he didn't think of the obvious. He wipes away his wet bangs, casting them to the side to relieve some of his blindness that was caused by the unrelenting downpour. The distraught look Jeno holds doesn't seem to lessen with the passing time and Haechan merely reaches out to him, grasping his shoulder with a light yet firm grip.

He waits until his Captain looks at him before offering a smile, "You can depend on us, Captain. We'll get them back in no time."

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You awoke with a start as your upper body sprang forward, resulting in a sudden rush rising to your head. You gingerly grasp it, willing for the pain to go away. It's only until you hear Renjun's voice that you finally take in your surroundings.

"Y/N, are you alright?" his voice is thick with worry, but with the way his voice shook, you could tell he was worrying over more things than just you. He crawls over to you, wincing in pain while doing so. "Here, let me check for injuries."

You raise a drenched hand to gently stop him, muttering that you were fine. "Did you get hurt?" From the way his eyes were squinting, you could tell he had subdued to some sort of injury.

"Ah, just a scratch on my leg." He responds in a soft tone. "Nothing to fret over, it isn't too deep."

"I'm relieved." You sigh out. You look around the area, finding it to be a cave. Your inner core shook at the memories of being dragged into the murky waters by one of the Sirens. "We need to find a way out."

"I'm with you on that, but it's too dangerous to just wander in here. We don't know what could be lying ahead." Renjun explains before pulling himself up, grunting in the process once putting weight onto his injured leg. He twists towards you, offering his hand to help you rise to your feet.

"We can't stay here waiting around either, though." You reply back, pointing towards the opening of the cave. "I don't know where that leads but I think it'd be best to go through it. I'm sure Jeno and the others have noticed our absence by now, right?"

There's hesitance in Renjun's voice as he responds, "...You're right. They're probably on the other side, already waiting for our slow asses."

You give him a pursed-lip smile before stalking over to the entrance and ultimately walking through it, now finding yourself in a narrow passageway. You raise your hand towards the damp rock wall, trying to find some guidance during your path.

"Here, let me take lead. If there's something dangerous ahead, I can take the brunt of the attack." He whispers, gently tugging at your ripped blouse to halt your movement.

You allow him to pass by and take your hand in his as guidance. You both walk for what feels like an eternity down the passageway, always halting whenever there was a noise that sounded too close for comfort. During this time, your own body had been shaken with nerves and you were sensitive to the coldness of the atmosphere, a course of shivers running through you once in a while.

You finally arrive into another closed-off area, with the only light source coming from its ceiling. Looking up, you found that this seemed to be the only way you'd be able to exit out of this place. The rays of light that shone through the opening cascaded over a small pond that was in the center of the room.

"Ah, have you finally awoken?" The sudden voice is melodic - soothing, even.

Renjun and you look around, trying to find its owner. He points to the pond, "Look over there."

The area above the water begins to shimmer with light, and its surface begins to ripple as if being stepped upon. You blink, not believing the sight unfolding before you. The glimmers of light began to group together, forming the outline of a person. A bright light followed, and you shut your eyes in response to the sudden brightness. As you slowly opened them again, you were amazed to find a woman standing there. Standing was the wrong term to use, as you were quick to notice that she was actually floating on the water, her toes merely touching the surface.

"That... That's," Renjun was at a loss for words at the woman's sudden appearance, much like yourself.

"It's a pleasure to have you here, Renjun and Y/N." You suck in a breath at her words. Who - or more appropriately, what - is she? She was far too beautiful and ethereal to be real, but your gaze that was focused on her proved otherwise. "I am Moira."

You instinctively huddled close to your crew mate, and reach for his arm. "Renjun, do you know who she is?"

It took some time for his words to pry their way out of his constricting throat. His body wracked with nerves whilst answering you, his eyes momentarily clenching tight with the fear that was beginning to overwhelm him.

"It's the Sea Witch."

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hi everyone! thank you so much for all the love and support cutlass has gotten. I apologize for the lack of updates and content - I started my third year of uni earlier this month and I'm trying to balance between work life, classes and writing for this story :) please don't scorn me too much over this!
Much love,
KyElMa