Everglow

Chapter 8

It had been four days since we'd left port and I was only just getting my sea legs, not used to the ocean as it thrust us about without a care. It was choppy around the Isles as if it didn't want us to continue on our journey and I would be glad to see dry land once again. I felt impatient and irritated, wanting nothing more than to return to the normalcy of my old life. I missed knowing where I stood in the world. I missed not having to work with other people. But most of all I missed my favourite bar and the crappy vodka they served. I wanted nothing more than to be doing shots with my fellow halflings after a long day. 

The moon rose high in the sky tonight, glistening with an amber tinge as I looked curiously toward it. It would be a full moon tomorrow, and I did not look forward to the idea of being on a confined ship as I tried to wrestle with the wolf within me. Somebody knocked gently on the door of my cabin as I pulled a bottle of whiskey out of my chest, walking lazily over to it. 

I expected to see Xand, yet was surprised as I came face to face with Milo who smiled down at me, a bottle of vodka in his hand. 

"I thought I would offer our dear captain a drink," He hummed with a laugh, making his way into the room past me, though I wasn't too impressed with the disruption to my nightly routine. That had been reserved for Xandro, and he was one of the few whose company I didn't mind being in. 

"Just make yourself at home," I grumbled softly, rolling my eyes as I sauntered over to where he lay across my sofa. He had a distinctive attractiveness about him that I liked. It was caught as a cross between a rugged softness. His face and hands, like mine, were littered with small but familiar scars from many fights, and on his wrist was the brandishing mark of the Order to which we both belonged. 

"You know they'd like you a lot more if you actually smiled for once," He chuckled to himself, a smile lighting his own face under the candlelit glow of the room. It was a handsome smile, one of a raffish charm that knew exactly how handsome he was, and he would not let you forget it for a second. Guys like him irritated me. But at least we had or marks in common. 

"It is not my place to change who I am so others can like me, nor are we required to like one another. We have a job to do, plain and simple," I hummed gently as I walked over to where he sat, taking the glass of vodka out of his hand as I lounged against the opposite sofa, watching him carefully. 

"You and the Prince seem pretty friendly with one another, what's up with that?" He questioned me. I let out a soft laugh as I thought to my best friend and the glowing pink eyes that had drawn me to him that fateful night we met. 

"He and I share a long and complicated history. He is the only person I will ever call a friend." I hummed softly as I took a large swig from the vodka, feeling the sea begin to move underneath us with even more force. It felt as if all the furniture would be torn off the ground as the boat shuddered and rocked on the waves. Milo looked at me with exasperation and let out a low laugh as he stood to look down on me. 

"Friends? Really Flynn is that what you're going to call yourselves? Then I'm sure you nor the Prince would mind if I was to make a move?" He questioned me as he sunk to his knees beside me, that smirk still resting on his face. His hand moved gently down my cheek, skimming the scar that ran along my jaw and rested near my lip. As he began to lean in, I reached up and grabbed hold of his hand. He was handsome, I wouldn't deny him that, but I would never even consider dating such a wretched person, nor would I find solace within another mage. I flipped him so he was face down on the sofa and pressed his arm into his lower back to keep him in place. 

"Do not think that gives you the opportunity to play around with me. We are here for one reason only. To work. Do not think that I am small and meek. I will destroy you if you even so much as think of me that way again," I growled lowly, feeling my eyes flash to gold and my canine senses begin to awaken. I feel pissed off, and this man would not like to meet that side of me I was certain. As I was about to speak more, I heard a loud scream and a splash from outside of the cabin, rushing out with haste as I threw him to the side.