The Dreams of Men

[Sam]

*Inhale*

*Exhale*

*Inhale*

Yi let in and out his breath as his little boat closed in on Notice Island. His eyes were closed and gentle, taking in the sounds of the sea. It was a beautiful morning with the twilight sky painted in hues of purple and orange. The water lapping his boat, the wind caressing the sails, the gulls singing their vibrate tune only served to accentuate the pleasant environment further. It was calming, serene, and yet... danger lurked. There was a disturbance among the waves, a splash then and now which felt out of sync. The swordsman opened a single eye, as he did he caught a scaled brown body sinking into the waters.

"Heh."

He said with contempt, it would seem something was stalking him. Indeed, it seemed like the waters were being guarded by some small sea king. It was rather typical of islands in the blues to have a lurker such as this. A few moments went by with no sight of the creature, a light fog dancing above the dark blue waves. That's until...

*splash*

Out of the tranquil waters, the very much small sea king that still managed to tower over Yi and his boat came forth. The boat creaked and ached as its position was disturbed, the water splashing it about. Yi, on the other hand, remained calm. He placed his hand on the wooden sword he carried and looked up at the beast with his bronze eyes. The response he got? A roar! To Yi this was nothing but a nuisance, he hated killing creatures but in situations like these, it was necessary. Looking upon the scaled body of the creature who posted a copper color similar to his own. His thin snout filled with razor-sharp teeth and head like that of a sea horse. All things considered, it was a rather elegant creature.

"Ppul-Iissneun Dogsa | Thorned Viper."

Spreading his legs apart and holding his sword at chest height. He held onto the persimmon wood blade with both hands, eyes locked on the beast and then. With a leap at it and a powerful sweeping attack... he slashed at the monster. There was a delay, as the beast took a minute to register its situation. Its crimson eyes widened in shock as it felt a warm pain and with a splash of red ichor, its head came clean off.

*splash*

It collapsed in the waves as Yi landed on his boat once more. He looked at its carcass floating in the waves, the gentle morning sun catching the glint of his glasses. At least he would have some breakfast this morning.

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Yi | Ginger | #BDA0CB | (Post Count: 1)

[Melko]

A sharp pain pulled Regulus out of his slumber, the mink-human had been washed ashore after his ship and his friends had been ambushed by Marines. Regulus survived the wreck when his Captain, Balthazar Greybeard, pushed him out into the sea to save his life. If Balthazar had not done that, Regulus would’ve stayed and presumably died. He had avoided detection from the Marines by hiding under some debris, which later led him to be carried out onto the shore. Sometime between floating aimlessly within the sea Regulus black out and came to only by the sharp pain in his side and the taste of sand in his mouth. The lion mink-human took a moment to locate what was causing the sharp pain in his side and found a wound in which some shrapnel or something had sliced through his side. As he tore off his shirt to use as a bandage to wrap the wound, Regulus cursed under his breath in pain and irritation.

When he was done, Regulus took a moment or two and observed his surroundings. Obviously, he was on some sort of beach, but before him stretched a seemingly endless forest. The skirmish with the Marines admittedly left him a little rattled, and he had lost all sense of direction. He did not immediately recognize the island that he was on but made an educated guess that there wasn’t civilization around him at this moment in time. Regulus guessed that if he wanted to find some sort of place to settle, he’d need to go into the forest, but right now he doubted that he would have the strength to survive in the seemingly ever expansive forest.

He decided to follow the shoreline.

Holding onto the makeshift bandage, Regulus stumble across the shoreline, searching through the debris that littered the beach, searching for his weapon given to him by his Captain- he realized that he lost the custom-made great sword during the crash. The sword was the last thing that tied him to his crew, as it was commissioned by his Captain and given to him on his birthday. Unfortunately, as Regulus explored the debris, he discovered that the blade was not among the trashed washed ashore from the crash. There was, however, a cutlass that Regulus did pick up with his free hand and kept with him. 

He kept going, until the sound of a Sea beast breaking through the surface of the ocean, which was followed by another sound, the sound of someone else. Regulus made his way to the sound, and discovered the corpse of a sea beast stranded on the beach. 

443 words | 1st post.

[Sam]

Standing still for a few moments he grimaced, pulling a knife from his pocket. Holding it in his mouth he jumped into the freezing morning water to cut up the sea king, taking some long slices of meat. It was his wish to make full use of the creatures body, but he knew that was impossible. So after filleting the beast, Yi only took what he could muster and dragged onto the dinghy. The boat rocked side to side, a regular ship would have been better for this endeavor but beggars couldn't be choosers now could they?

With an annoyed sigh, he began to row his boat to shore. The waves with the golden early morning sun shining on them crashed against the white sandy beaches. Behind it all was a canopy of tropical trees dancing about. A thick jungle typical of the southern reaches of the North Blue. His own homeland of Dojo Island boasted a rather warm and tropical climate contrasted with dark volcanic rocks.

But there was something in the midst. Something foreign and bronze to the eyes, perusing the beach he saw the figure of a tall man with copper skin and hair as red as a flame. Was it one of the locals of this island? He put his hand on his blade and stared from a distance. This island was actually fairly close to his home island... and he'd been informed that a lot of the southern isles were inhabited by unfriendly tribes.

"Hello! Are you a friend?"

Yi asked, his face drenched in water running down it. His fiery hair wet as well, dripping water down. There was a slight shiver over him as his body tried to readjust itself to a more pleasant temperature. Eyes were locked on this new figure, who seemed rather... damaged. Yi pursed his lips, perhaps the man wasn't a local. But someone who had washed up, it seemed rather likely given his general appearance.

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Yi | Ginger | #BDA0CB | (Post Count: 2)

[Melko]

A mixture of sweat and water glistened against his bronze skin, as the lion-mink made his way to the small boat, the closer Regulus got to the stranger the easier that it would be to see that Regulus was not in the best of shape. In fact, with his knees buckled inward, one hand clasped firmly on bloodied shirt that had been re-tinkered into a makeshift bandage for his side, and his free hand lazily grasped on a cutlass that’s blade dragged behind him- he resembled a zombie or draugr that had risen from the grave and was on the hunt. Needless to say, Regulus looked a little worse for wear, and he definitely did not feel like he was in the best of shape. In truth, at this moment in time at least, Regulus did not know how long he had been stranded at sea, nor did he know how long he had been out cold- his mind only thought of food, water, and some treatment for his wounds.

The guy with the small boat, and the dead seabeast, was his only hope for those three things and he did not care how he would come about them. Heck, Regulus was even willing to use the last remember of his strength to brutally beat whoever he had to in order to get some food, water, and medicine. The thought that he was not in the condition, or that, this man had taken down seabeast on his own, was clearly not in his mind. So, the young lion-mink continued to shamble down the beach, until at last, he could visibly see the man in question and smell the musk of the seabeast’s filets- Regulus’s parched lips practically drooled in response.

The stranger had fiery hair, which was soaking wet, just like Regulus hair. Regulus weakly rose his cutlass to the strange man with fiery hair, the blade shook a little, as Regulus’s body faintly trembled with fatigue and exhaustion. “Your food and drink, I will be taking it, all of it.” He stated coarsely, “YOUR FOOD” he mustered a shout, and took a step forward. His knees buckled inward, and he fell into the sand below him, as he passed out once again.

373|Post #2

[Sam]

As he made his way to shore the bronze man on the beach seemed to approach without hesitation. He was brandishing a cutlass and his words were aggressive. Yet, his eyes were exhausted. His voice strained. This man was at his lowest point, Yi's eyes perused the wounds on this strange man. He wasn't a threat, not while in this state at least. That did raise a couple of good questions... he didn't seem like a native. No, he seemed like someone who had just washed up judging by his general state.

"Why don't you make yourself useful and help me gather firewood? We can have some meat and soju together."

The swordsman offered, he didn't often make such offerings. But the man was in a less than desirable state and Yi had more than enough to spare. It would be cruel to deny him anything. That's when the strange man simply keeled over and fell flat on his face. Likely from exhaustion... Yi let out an annoyed sigh. Just what he needed. Dragging the meat slices away he placed them on some sharp rocks and then walked over to the drooped-over body. Grabbing hold of it tightly he dragged it near the rocks.

"Oi, oi, oi... if I'm sharing my food with you at least work for it."

Yi slapped the man trying to wake him up, if that was ineffective then he would just have to work things on his own. Not that he couldn't? He was more than capable and Yi was far from lazy. But help was always nice and there was someone who could help. If he had the drive to threaten him even while in his state then surely he would have the drive to help prepare a simple meal. Right?

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Yi | Ginger | #BDA0CB | (Post Count: 3)

[Melko]

As exhaustion consumed Regulus, the lion-mink human hybrid fell flat on his face. Due to his size, some sand had been kicked up into the air and collected into a small dust cloud that momentarily gathered around Regulus before quickly disappearing into the wind. Regulus did not budge nor react while the young fiery lad dragged him over to the sharp rocks, a trail of drool dripped from the lion-mink human’s lips down onto the sand below as he slumbered in his blacked-out state. While he was being dragged, and well before he collapsed into the sand, Regulus’s grip on the cutlass had loosened and he had dropped the blade where he had fallen.

All the energy that Regulus had within him was spent on his aimless journey on the shoreline, and the weak attempt to threaten the young stranger who had captured and butchered a sea beast. Needless to say, Regulus was out cold and not even the firm slaps of the young sea-beast slayer could wake him. While he slumbered, Regulus’s dreams shifted to the ambush of the Marines and the death of his Captain. The vision of his captain standing defiantly among a battered and beaten ship, surrounded by both fire and marines, plagued his dream. In the dream Regulus went to stand strong with his captain, but Greybeard had other plans, and with ease and surprising strengths lifted the lion-mink human into the air and tossed him into the sea- “You are not fated to die this day, go forth and be my sword” the captain words echoed throughout the cannon fire, as Regulus screamed no as a loud explosion consumed Balthazar Greybeard.

"NO" Regulus shouted loudly, and snapped straight up from the place that he was dragged to, his hands desperately grasped the air as if to grabbed someone, but there was no one there. Regulus had been out for the past thirty-minutes or so, and for that reason, he was unable to help the fiery boy with setting up camp. He surveyed the area until his eyes laid upon the young boy, and then he remembered that he had threaten the laid for his food and water. "Where am I?" he questioned. "Why am I still alive?" 

376 words | Post #3

[Sam]

The man was out cold, Yi let out a sigh standing up and giving the strange man some space. Maybe he was dead... he did look very beat up and at his wit's end. What a waste, ah well. He was alive and that's all that mattered him right now and to prolonge said survival then he would need firewood. Without wasting another second Yi pulled out his knife and began to gather dry wood found on the ground and to cleave off low hanging dry branches.

In a few seconds, Yi had been able to create a woodfire and was spit roasting the sea king meat filling the air with its succulent smell. Brined brisket, was the smell to be exact. It was apparent that this kind of meat was some of the best in the world, which wasn't surprising. If anything it made sense for it to be considered a delicacy of sorts solely based on how hard it was to get.

The orange embers glowed welcoming anyone to sit around the flame. His numb toes and fingers started to feel warm once more as he looked down at the flame... the smell of the beast's flesh made his mouth water. It felt good, to work for your food and to feel warm like this. There was something pleasing to this all, it reminded Yi of his homeland and how his mother would often prepare simple meals for him over a fire. He missed his old life with his family, but that was all behind him now.

"NO!"

A shrilled scream broke the silence and peace the swordsman was feeling. Slowly he turned around to see who would scream like that... no surprise it was the strange man. He seemed to be in shock and finally awake.

"Oh, you're finally awake asshat. I had to do all the work."

Yi commented, not bothering to answer his questions. It wasn't like he knew how to answer them. Why was he alive? Beat him! Where was he? Yi didn't know that either if he was honest. Letting out a sigh, he reached into his bag and pulled out a gourd with two cups. Filling up one of the cups with liquor he raised it to the man.

"Come on, drink some soju it'll make you feel better."

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Yi | Ginger | #BDA0CB | (Post Count: 4)

[Melko]

With a winch of pain Regulus officially got up from the spot that the stranger had laid him in and made his way over to the campsite, he sat across from the strange boy and reached around the flames to take the cup of liquor that had been offered to him. Regulus waisted no time drinking the soju, tossed his head back in relief as he practically threw the alcohol down his throat. A familiar warm feeling spread along his chest, as a grin togged at the lion-mink human’s lip. Regulus did not understand why the stranger offered him a drink and allowed him to sit at the campfire with him after the lion-mink human threatened his life. Was the kid stupid or something? If the tables had been turned, and the kid was the one in need, Regulus would have left him passed out on the beach instead of offering him some food and alcohol.

“Well, I couldn’t really help out being passed out and whatnot” Regulus starred at the empty cup in thought. “Tell me, do you help out every stranger who threatens you and whatnot?”

The question was sincere, and a genuine tone of confusion carried heavily on his voice. Usually, Regulus would not have allowed his voice to betray him, but he still was not back to one hundred percent, and his mind was still a bit foggy and rattled from the ordeal he had to endure. He needed to check his wound for any infection or corruption, but something told him doing it in the middle of meal would not have been a pleasing sight to behold. Likewise, hunger gripped him like a ravaging beast and the smell of the sea beast started to evade his nostrils and forced him salivate a bit too much. Regulus licked his lips and started to observe and probe the meat that was being cooked.

“How much longer on the sea beast meat? Anything I can do to help?” He extended the empty cup towards the stranger in a gesture that silently asked for more soju. “Also, don’t call me an asshat, you asshat, I am anything but an asshat”

364 | Post #4

[Sam]

The swordsman chuckled and shook his head, he turned his head back to the flames as he let down the cup gently next to himself. Regulus could pick it up when he wanted if he even wanted it. The gentle flames warmed his cold face and reminded him of home. Specifically of his mother's hair which was as fiery as his own.

"Fair enough, but maybe you shouldn't have exhausted yourself threatening me haha."

He chuckled, that's when a new question was posed. One that caused the man to turn around and look straight at Regulus with his bronze eyes which now seemed cold and snake-like. The smile was wiped from his face.

"In your state you are harmless and besides... I am not a cruel snake."

Yi closed his eyes and let out a sigh, his face softening up. Those words caused Yi immense pain, he wanted to believe them. He bit into his lower lip and let out a pained sigh. It was unfair. He was unfair to himself. But he could redeem himself and once he did. Then he could stop being unfair. Turning back to the cooking flesh which was now taking on a pink-brown hue. Its smell was pouring across the beach... judging by his strange companion's face he was very hungry and apprehensive. Yi reached into a small bag of salt and began to drizzle it over the cooking meat making a sizzling sound.

"Just five more minutes, let it simmer."

He wasn't much of a cook, but he knew enough to survive. Reaching for the bottle of booze he poured some more for Regulus who at this point was asking for more.

"Heh, fine. Then tell me your name and maybe I'll stop calling you silly names."

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Yi | Ginger | #BDA0CB | (Post Count: 5)