Reborn From the Cosmos

Arc 8-39

“That’s rude.”

What else am I supposed to say? I’m not going to admit to this crazy woman that I’m not human. This pirate, Rey I think, funny coincidence that, strikes me as many things but trustworthy isn’t one of them. She also doesn’t strike me as gullible. Those blue eyes with their strange pupils stare at me with a rare intensity, unwavering. I’m not going to convince her that she’s wrong with a few empty platitudes.

Best to avoid the conversation altogether.

“Not gonna answer, eh? S’fine. Ya know, ah’m not the only one like this in the Gray. Just got famous fer it cause of my family. And that ah didn’t completely lose my shells, heh. But yeah, the fuckery of the sea ain’t nothing new. People don’t like sharing the details of what crawled up their crack, if they can talk at all after. Keep yer story to yerself if ya want.”

“Thanks,” I reply drolly. “You said something about a mirror?”

“Nah, ya’ve got eyes. Let me see ‘em fer a minute.”

“You could at least say please,” I tell the audacious woman as I step further into the room. The pincers on her shoulders twitch as I get within arm’s length. Is that her? Or is it the things inside her sensing me? Surprisingly, as grotesque as the extra limb-things are, they are well integrated with the rest of her. Her sun-kissed skin smoothly turns into a translucent membrane at their base, giving a nauseating look at the network of blood and meat beneath the surface.

“Am I supposed to be looking for something in particular? Because there’s a lot of strange going on here.”

“See any extra limbs or scales or somethin'?”

“Like the bug faces in your back?”

“Not that. Other than those.”

“Hm…no.”

“Really? Finally, some good news.” I step back as Rey grabs her shirt off the ground and shrugs it on. “Don’t know what ah’d do if ah had fins or something stupid like that.”

“...you’re taking this well.”

“What?” she asks as she throws herself onto the bed, putting her booted feet on the blanket covering it without a thought.

“All of it: being a prisoner, having intelligent parasites in you, being from Graywatch. Doesn’t seem like much fazes you.”

She scoffs. “First lesson of the sea, yer not in charge. The sea is. Always the sea. Only way to survive is to learn to ride the waves.”

“Admirable.”

“Pah! Making it sound like a good thing. Listen here. Learning to roll with the punches ain’t nothing to be admired. That’s survival. Ya don’t, ya die.”

Sigh. “I’m trying to compliment you.”

“Why? Ya flirting with me?”

“What? No!”

“Cheh.” She makes a rude gesture with her hand, the red one. “Yer not my type anyway.”

I cross my arms as I stare her down, but I have to fight not to smile. “You know that’s a lie.”

“Yer a lie.”

“And you’re obnoxious.”

“What happened to being nice?”

“You’re making that impossible.”

“Yeah, well, yer not a ray of sunshine either. But yer not the worst captain ah’ve dealt with. It’s annoying that the voices like ya so much but whatever they did tired the bastards out. Haven’t heard a whisper in two nights. Worth it.”

“I actually came to talk to you about your, uh, guests.”

“Seas take it. Don’t say it like that. Sounds like ah invited ‘em in.”

“Fine. I’ve got a question about your worms.”

She snorts out a laugh. “Better. Ask away, lady boss.”

“Do you know what they are? Anything at all?”

“All ah know is what my ma told me.” Rey makes a face like a child looking at a hated vegetable on their plate. “Called them the ancients. The sea was here long before us and these things are the voices of the sea. Course, ah think that’s a bunch of crap. Whatever these are, they ain’t nothing but beasts.”

“I think you’re wrong. They’re special.”

“Bah! How special can they be? They want to eat and fuck like the rest of the beasts in the world.”

“That describes people too.”

“Like I said, the beasts.”

Good point. “Well, I think there’s more to them. Unfortunately for you, they’re magic resistant so the only way to learn more is to cut you open.”

The pirate sighs heavily. “Suppose ah don’t get a choice?”

“I’d prefer your cooperation. I’d even be willing to compensate you if it turns out to be something useful.”

“No.”

“...you didn’t even consider it.”

“Why should ah? Ah don’t trust ya.”

“Here I thought we were getting along.”

“Yer not a bad sort but ah don’t trust anyone.” Rey shrugs. “But it doesn’t matter. Yer cutting me open anyway, yeah?”

“Well...yeah. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get anything out of it. I could take those worms out.”

“Saints hairy asses, no! Are ya mad?”

“I’d have thought you’d be happy?"

“It’s not as simple as cutting a nail, fool! Ya think I haven’t tried? They’re not inside me, they’re part of me! Wrapped around mah bones, woven with mah skin. Ain’t no separating us."

“...that does sound a lot worse than I was imagining, but you’re underestimating what my clan is capable of.”

“And yer underestimating the sea. Saints save me from cocky captains.”

How strange. I’d have thought she’d be jumping at the chance to be free. Is she scared? No, I don't think this woman understands fear. That’s certainty, the unquestioned knowledge of someone that has seen the same thing so many times they can’t imagine anything else. Someone who’s resigned to her fate. She has her place in the world and the only way it can change is to fall lower.

Saints, that is painfully familiar.

“Hey.” I walk toward the bed and hold out a hand. The pirate stares at it suspiciously but I don't let it drop. “Come on. I want to show you something.”

“Ya really are stupid, trying to give me a chance to run.”

“I dare you. Where I’m from, chasing someone into the ground is foreplay.”

“...ya still aren’t my type.”

“And you’re still lying.” I wiggle my fingers until she takes my hand. “Though I know I’m not your favorite.”

“Damn right.”

“Got to admit, I don’t get it. A rough and slightly mad pirate going for the demure merchant daughter.” It’s so cliche it feels impossible. “Why?”

“Cheh. A lady boss wouldn’t get it.”

“Try me.”

Rey shrugs her broad shoulders, ducking her head as she shuffles alongside me through the gloomy halls. I’d call her bashful if the word could fit around the brazen woman’s attitude. “After the sea claimed me, I figured no one would want anything to do with me, ya know, that way. And ah was right. Most people can’t even look at me. Maxie…she looked.”

“...did she like what she saw?”

I almost jump as Rey bursts into laughter, loud cackles waning into wheezes as her arms wrap around her belly. I keep her moving with a hand on her shoulder but its a near thing, the pirate swaying as her humor compromises her coordination.

“Seas, no! The tasty thing was horrified, ha! But ya know what? She didn’t turn away. She faced me, head on. I know shipmates that’ve swam with sea monsters that can’t do the same. She looked me dead on, with all my shit and these damn bastards in my head…and she called me beautiful.”

“Uh…” I thought Rey’s feelings weren’t returned. Maybe that judgment was too hasty?

“Not like that.” The pirate grimaces. “I’m not stupid enough to think she was trying to get me in her bunk. She didn’t call me pretty, yeah? But she looked at me and she saw something other than a monster. I know that was fer real. And if she can see me, just me…”

Rey’s scowl is replaced by a beatific smile, a small thing that isn’t so unsettling on her inhuman maw. “Then there’s a chance. For something more than a bit of fumbling in the dark where no one has to see me. With her, ah can have something real, yeah? And that’s worth everything.”

“...yeah, it is.”

Max, I don’t know what game you’re playing, but if you break this maiden’s heart, I’m going to be pissed.