This chapter and next are going to be UsUk focused. If you are not into that, please refrain from reading. PruCan will return shortly.
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APH UsUk Beyond the Sea
Alfred found the entrance to the naga's cave after wasting an entire morning of trial by error. All of Gilbert's instructions were from his sea bound perspective which in Alfred's current opinion sucked ass.
"Stupid shark.", Alfred grumbled as he wandered further into the dark. He had found the series of caves hidden deep within the White Cliffs of Dover all right. What Gilbert had forgotten to mention to Alfred was that all the corridors made up an seemingly endless maze that circled in upon itself like an enigma wrapped up in freshly baked monkey bread. After finally finding an entrance that wasn't underwater or was only accessible by clinging to sheer rock face, Alfred had just strolled right. Within an half hour of doing that though, he realized he was beyond lost.
"Well….", Alfred admitted to himself, "….shit.". He looked around at his current location which looked like every other place he had been at. Halls made of fine white chalk lay before and behind him, the only source of light coming from Alfred's pocketsize ultra LED flashlight that was waterproof and near indestructible. A hero was always prepared and Alfred's WWII brown leather aviator jacket had more than just a sense of vintage style to it. Alfred's favorite article of clothing had pockets in its pockets and all of them were filled with something useful(at least to him). The sharp beam of concentrated light made the halls glow almost ethereally strange, glinting and shimmering in places from hidden streaks of black flint and sparkling quartz.
For the most part, Alfred wasn't too concerned about his predicament. He hadn't been a survival specialist in the Marines for nothing, which was a good thing considering that his sense of personal direction was compete and utter shit. Half the time he had gotten lost in the field, stranded in Devil's ball sack end of the world, was because of his own internal compass that always seemed to be pointing permanently in the direction of wrong. Top that off with his inability to ever pack a decent map or follow GPS directions properly and you had yourself one hopelessly lost hot mess. Alfred would have been court marshaled years ago if not for his other talents and near unbelievable dumb luck. As bad as Alfred's sense of directions was though, his strokes of good fortune and serendipity ran just as deep and wide. It was probably one of the few reasons that he was still alive.
His last mission, his last job ever for the part of military that had no name and whose movements were secrets within secrets, were proof enough of this. It had been bad enough that Alfred had pulled every favor he was owed and then some, blackmailed the few he couldn't bribe, and threatened the rest just to get out while he was still whole physically and mentally.
Having no real home to return to and an abundance of free time to kill, Alfred had gone to his twin's barren island off the coast of Nova Scotia to clear some head space and convince himself that he was still human. Matthew's home was basically a rock that someone had decided to stick a lighthouse on. Alfred thought it was ugly as sin but for some reason his quiet twin loved it there. Alfred figured it was a Canadian thing.
Not wanting to admit it even to himself, Alfred just wanted quiet but with some sort of human company within ear reach. No one he knew fitting that sort of description better than Matthew, plus he had been meaning to visit his twin for a while now. Alfred had planned on spending a long period of time there, shamelessly sleeping in every morning, mooching pancakes and maple syrup off of Matthew, and seeing if he could get his isolated brother laid in his spare time.
To his utter shock and amazement upon arriving at Sambro island, Alfred found the most unlikeliest of creatures in his brother's bathroom sitting in a bubble bath of all things, acting as if it were the most normal thing in the world to do so. The two had stared at each other for a long tense moment, two predators sizing each other up and waiting on razor edged patience for the other to make the first move. When the red eyed man with a shark's tail where legs should have been hissed softly through its teeth that looked ungodly sharp and jagged at him, Alfred had moved. By the time his gun was drawn though, the thing in the bathtub had moved slick and fast as a greased eel out of the tub to swipe at Alfred with its tail in an attempt to knock him over onto the floor.
The former soldier yelled out in surprise at the swift attack but jumped over the swung appendage to tuck, dive and roll to the other side of the bathroom. Alfred was up on his feet in an instant with his gun trained at the thing's head. The only thing keeping the former covert ops specialist from blowing the monster's head off right there and then was the fact he had found it in Matthew's bathroom. His twin could flake out from time to time, staring off into space for longer periods of time than Alfred considered healthy, but he was positive that Matthew would have noticed something as strange as this shark man thing using his facilities.
"Where's Mattie?", Alfred growled out instead, wondering if the thing on the floor could even understand English. Whether or not the creature knew what a gun was and its deadly potential, it definitely sensed it was a weapon of some sort so it stayed where it was on the floor though its jaw clicked out of place and extended much like a snake's own to reveal rows upon rows of dagger like teeth, sloping and serrated. The main and most prominent set overshadowed and hid three more rows of teeth that folded back out of sight until the shark man's jaw was dropped out of its socket in the event of a threat or extreme rapid feeding. The view of all those sharp edges fitting inside a space so neatly made Alfred feel a bit queasy.
The monster clicked and squealed something gratingly high pitched and harsh enough that it made Alfred wince from the onslaught. It was enough to definitely make him reconsider not shooting it, questions and Matthew's poor choice in house guests be damned. Speaking of the devil or at least thinking about him had made Matthew appear, quickly putting himself between the two, much to Alfred's disbelief and ire.
In the short course of an afternoon, guns were bitten in half, man junk was put on full display, pancakes were eaten, and all was put right in the world again. When Matthew went to finish up whatever a lighthouse keeper did….Alfred still had no idea what that was after all these years. Matthew had tried to explain it more than once to him but Alfred had stop paying attention after weather was mentioned more than once in the span of a sentence…Alfred had many of his questions answered by the shark man whose name turned out to be Gilbert of all things and who was actually quite talkative. He answered all of Alfred's questions and then some as the pair worked their way through a series of various items that Alfred wanted Gilbert to bite in half, just to see it he could.
It was probably one of the most interesting conversations that Alfred had ever had in his life. Gilbert told him about all sorts of creatures that existed in the world, hidden and hiding from human perceptions, existing only the fridges of reality and in half forgotten stories. Sirens still sang sailors to their doom, though it was to K$sha now instead of ancient ballads. Merpeople tortured deep sea divers and treasure hunters alike by moving recently discovered ship wrecks and their lost fortunes about. Turtlemen road the currents from one sea to another, saving the occasional surfer who dared to ride the waves with them. A trio sea witches still lived in the Black Sea off the coast of Russia and Ukraine, claiming that area as their territory and cursing all who entered it unless a deal was willing to be made.
Most fascinating of all though, at least to Alfred, was the matter of a naga who lived inside the White Cliffs of Dover and had done so for centuries. Gilbert had known the naga in real life when he was still human and a pirate. The ruthless sea captain had had the misfortune of tangling with a certain French siren. Words and quite a bit of weaponry had passed between the two before a curse or two had gone awry and the once formidable pirate found himself with a long emerald green tail and a forked tongue. After the spiteful siren refused to lift the curse, the once great and powerful pirate king hid himself away from the world in his homeland, deep in the caves of chalk away from prying eyes and gaping jaws. His only visitor and real contact with the outside world for centuries had been Gilbert who didn't care either way if the human turned naga had a tail or not, having one of his own. Gilbert's visits were always welcome but over time, the naga seemed to prefer isolation more and more, to the point it was beginning to worry the shark man.
When Gilbert had voiced his concern about his reclusive friend, Alfred offered to take a message to him without even really thinking about it. He did not know why he had done so, so willingly without thinking it though, other than out of his own personal selfishness. Alfred needed somewhere to go and something to do, and England was as good a place as any for him to forget the last few years of his life, the choices he made, and a few of the ones that had been made for him. He could lose himself in some travel and maybe even forget a little about the evil that men can do and the lengths he had gone to stop it.
Or at least, that was what he told himself …
Alfred sighed at the dark, flicking out his knife from its hiding place to carve his current direction and time into the soft chalk walls. If he was going to be lost, he wanted to see new things he didn't recognize instead of the same crap over and over again going around in circles. With any luck, the creature he had come here to see would find him and save him from the boredom that was threatening to over well Alfred. Bad things tended to happen to other people when he got bored and he didn't think England would appreciate him defacing their coastline. Alfred was sure he had enough plastic explosive somewhere in his jacket to make a noticeable hole.
The caves had seemed exciting at first. It had thrilled a part of Alfred to think he was one of the few that had ever walked through them, but he hadn't come to England to sightsee. He'd traveled many a mile to deliver a message and maybe experience a little magic of his own. It was almost universally unfair that Matthew had discovered a race of fish people and on top of everything, not told Alfred about it. When mention of the naga had come up, Alfred had jumped at the chance, especially considering all the other options sounded like they ate humans for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Walking into dead ends and backtracking had lost its appeal hours ago though, Alfred making sure to update all his wall carving whenever he passed them. He had a week's worth of dry rations and a pocket sized water filtration system hidden in the many recesses of his bomber jacket, so Alfred wasn't too concern at the moment about those mundane issues. He just wished he had thought to bring one of his gaming devices. All the white on white was beginning to get to him and the silence was driving him to hum all the songs he knew.
Just as Alfred was about make Dover just a little bit more interesting i.e. more full of holes, he came upon a cavern of sorts. Within the high hollow, the chalk formed a sort of low circular table with a reasonable flat surface. It even had some raised spaces around it that could be comfortable used for seating. Even more important though, it had a pool of still water in it off to the side, the depression glittering as Alfred's flashlight set all the flint at its basin aflame. It turned out to be fresh though tasting heavily but not surprisingly of chalk.
Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, Alfred took a moment to rest, pulling out a thermos and a bag of peanut butter M&Ms. The thermos was quickly abandoned though when Alfred discovered it was full of strong black tea.
"Damn English.", Alfred grumbled, setting the offending drink off to the side. He was positive that he told the innkeeper to fill it with coffee. With a sigh, Alfred fished out a warm can of Red Bull for his caffeine fix to have with his sugar. He totally forgot about the thermos until it was time for him to get moving again.
Collecting his trash to put one of his many pocket, Alfred looked around for the thermos with thoughts of dumping out the tea to refill it with water. It was nowhere to be found though and Alfred could have sworn he had set it down beside him. While swishing his flashlight around, the little hairs on the back of his neck started to prick up on end as Alfred's survival instinct dropkicked his lobe. Something had been nagging him for a while now, but he had ignored it, chalking it up to being in the dark for too long. Alfred would have cursed at himself for getting careless but part of him still didn't believe that he was actually looking for a monster.
"Hello? I know you're here. As nasty as tea is, it doesn't just get up and walk off on its own.", Alfred called out, keeping his voice calm and even as he addressed the pressing dark. He wasn't afraid having been in far worse situations with less at his disposal. Alfred just didn't want to get over excited and screw everything up with his knack for over exuberance. His ears strained to hear anything besides his own light breathing and heartbeat. Alfred stilled both the best he could to catch the briefest hints of whispering movement, like the hush of silk gliding against cool marble.
"I know you're here because Gilbert said you would be, so you might as well come on out and talk to me…", Alfred decided to lay out all of his cards, throwing down his killing ace to win the pot. He didn't want to be perceived as a threat by his quarry or lose this chance. "…Arthur Kirkland.".
There was an instant reaction to the name, a near soundless gasp caught between a hiss followed by the sounds of something moving swiftly in the pitch black.
Close.
Closer than Alfred had previously thought. He kept his gaze locked steadily ahead of him and resisted the urge to turn his flashlight's beam toward the noise before it stilled down to nothing again. The ensuing silence that took its place was almost overwhelming in the sheer quality of its purity.
"Who are you? How do you know my name?", said a voice made for this dark, this kind of quiet. It was like tinted glass, a smoky baritone with a lingering hiss wrapped seductively around every English accented word. It made Alfred shiver though not in fear. That voice produced a wave of lust that penetrated Alfred so deep it was making him weak in the knees under the verbal onslaught. He would promise just about anything to that voice if only it kept talking to him.
It was so close to him, he could feel light breath caressing the back of his neck and the sensation of movement from a forked tongue tasting his scent. Alfred was certain if he reached behind him, he would be able to touch his sudden company though he could feel no heat coming off of the figure at his back. Alfred reasoned that only had to be natural considering that reptiles were cold blooded.
"I told you. Gilbert sent me. Have message, will travel.", Alfred chuckled. His humor seemed to throw his company off, the creature jerking back and away at the bright noise of his laughter. Always one to press his luck, Alfred continued, "Don't you want to hear it, Arthur?".
Another gasp and more silken movement that rasped softly against the chalk followed, making Alfred grin all the wider. Either it bothered the being to hear its name spoken aloud or it simply wasn't used to hearing it address at him. Alfred wondered which it was.
"How very rude!", the voice grated out, all prickly and roughened with anger. Alfred could now recognize the almost sensual sound of scales moving over chalk, all so very new to him but was quickly making itself unforgettable. His fingers itched to turn the light toward the source but some sort of intuition told him that this would all be over if he tried that. "You do not have my permission to address me so casually!"
"I'm sorry. I'm not used to talking to air. Aren't you supposed to be polite to company?", Alfred pointed out.
"Company is invited. As far as I am concerned, you are an intruder and shall be dealt with like one. You still have not answered my original question. Who are you?", the voice said sulkily. Alfred gave himself a mental point of victory.
"I am Alfred F. Jones. Please to meet cha, Kirkland.", Alfred grinned at the dark. It grunted back at him, obviously unimpressed.
"So that fool of a shark sent you here with a message? Why did he not come himself?", the naga growled. Alfred could hear its tail flicking about in what he could only assume was annoyance.
"Cause he's busy in Canada screwing my brother or at least I think so. I never did get to find out the specifics. Mattie was being a total prude about it.", Alfred told the dark unhelpfully.
Will you decease being so obtuse and just relay the message you were given to me?", Arthur said, the naga's tone definitely sounding irked and tight all around the edges. Alfred couldn't help thinking that he still sounded eloquent, the American hanging on every word uttered.
"Nope. Not until you come talk to me face to face. None of this in the dark shit.", Alfred said, willing to make deals with devils if it meant the naga would continue making him orgasm with his words.
"You are so very vulgar. Why should I demean myself to such measures?", the creature huffed.
"Cause it's polite and I went hella out of my way to deliver this message.", Alfred mused. It wasn't like he had been doing anything to begin with and had even volunteered to do this, but the naga didn't know that.
"So deliver it already and be gone from the place.", Alfred could hear the snake man sigh. He felt he was wearing Arthur down so Alfred gave himself a mental point.
"Can't. I'm lost down here.", Alfred admitted freely with a shrug.
"Bloody hell! You have to be the one of the most idiotic men I have ever had the misfortune to encounter in over a century! You have basically been wandering around in the dark lost with a monster and no means of escape, rescue, or exit. And for what? To deliver a message.", the naga spat out in his anger, the sound of his coils tightening and twisting like the rustle of reeds.
"Yup."
"A message you are now refusing to convey.", Arthur said tightly.
"Yup."
"I should just leave you down here to rot. These corridors go on for miles. You would die of starvation before you ever saw the light of day again.", the naga threatened with a hiss.
"I might not though. I'm full of surprises.", Alfred laughed, the boom of it echoing off the sides of the cavern.
"I doubt it, you sodding moron.", snake man sighed, "Turn off that infernal light.".
"Why?", Alfred asked curiously. He wasn't exactly opposed to the idea. His glasses were a farce as well as a product made for him by military tech. They functioned as binoculars for long distance sharp shooting and could also pick up infrared and some other light spectrums, night vision being one of them. It was cheating but then Alfred had never played fair when it got down to brass tacks.
"So that I may lead you out. The torch is hurting my eyes.", the naga snapped, clearly growing impatient so Alfred turned off the light without hesitation.
"You actually turned it out.", the snake man's voice sounded like it was caught between stunned awe and disbelief.
"Why wouldn't I? You said it bothered you.", Alfred shrugged as he let his eyes adjust to the dark and the florescent glow of green lines as the night vision kicked in.
"You do realize that you are alone in the dark with a monster now.", the naga said softly. He didn't sound threatening, merely thoughtful to Alfred. For some reason, it amused him to think that.
"I've been in worst places.", Alfred said, letting the dark truth behind the statement slip out despite the use of a carefully light tone. For whatever reason, it seemed to satisfy the creature behind him though, at least enough not to question him further.
"Very well then. I am going to take your hand. Please do not scream. I would prefer not to have a headache.", the naga warned, moving up beside him. Alfred resisted the urge to turn toward the snake man to get a clear view since he had to keep up the farce that he was totally blind and an idiot to boot. Night vision only gave one so much though. It was all just outlines in shades of bright acid shaded green.
"I'll try not to.", Alfred laughed, the noise rebounding off the walls. The ex soldier barely even twitched as a cool hand found his own, slipping into his much larger hand. Alfred allowed himself to look down at it. It was as slim and fine boned as it felt, the naga's skin smooth and surprising soft for being so dry. The long thin fingers of it ended with claws, the ends of which curved inwardly sharp like a cat's.
The pair stood in the dark holding hands for an amount of time that Alfred completely lost track of, studying the hand that held his own, so light but yet so steady.
"Y-you are completely unafraid of me.", the naga said hesitantly, like he couldn't believe his own words. "Your heartbeat and breathing have barely varied at all and even now, it is as steady as clockwork."
"Yup."
"Are you a fool or just an idiot?", the snake man asked, tugging at Alfred's hand as a signal to follow him. Alfred avoided looking at the naga straight on, keeping the strange being in the peripheral of his vision. By doing so, he only caught glimpses of bare slim shoulders that swayed from the snake's movement and a long serpent's tail that moved smoothly over the chalk, barely making a whisper in its wake.
"I've been called both by worse company.", Alfred replied good naturedly, "Personally, I like to call myself lucky and a complete stud.".
"I could eat you.", the naga suggested, the line of his shoulders tensing up.
"Tease.", Alfred leered, making the serpent choke on his own surprise and air. "Are you going to?"
"No.", the naga admitted in a sulky tone, its shoulders hunching in bit in discomfiture. "I was merely pointing out that I could."
"Duly noted then.", Alfred said easily, "But I could do the same to you. Humans aren't picky. We just pretend to be.".
"Yes. I remember.", the naga said quietly after a moment, taking back its hand. Alfred tried not to feel too disappointed about it. "Well, here we are then. Just take this passage all the way up and you will see daylight.".
"Cool beans! Thanks!", Alfred said over his shoulder as he started to walk away. It didn't sound like the naga was following him.
"Wait!", the snake man called after him, making Alfred pause.
"Miss me already?", Alfred teased, turning around to start walking backwards. He had just gotten a fantastic idea but he needed to leave this place first to execute it. Alfred was positive that Arthur would be able to catch him if given half of a fair chance to do so. Obtaining distance between himself and the naga was imperative for the first part of his plan. Also it gave Alfred an opportunity to look at the naga straight on even if it was only an outline of the creature.
"No. My message, you dippy twit.", Arthur scowled back at him. Alfred kept himself walking though he wanted to stop in his tracks. He had somewhat known what to expect, the creature of legend a mixture of man and snake. Alfred just hadn't expected it to be so beautiful. The naga was a smooth combination of a man's upper torso merging into the base of a serpent's tail, the transition from skin to scales happening around the flare of arched hipbones. The naga sat back on its tail and coils with its arms crossed over its lithe chest, its head tilted to the side in consideration. Alfred cursed the night vision for not being able to deliver more detail to him, making out the outline of messy looking hair, large eyes, larger eyebrows, and a sharp chin.
"Oh that? I'll give it to you tomorrow if you are polite!", Alfred laughed, quickly turning on his heel so that he could put hell to leather.
"Y-you! You scoundrel!", he could hear the naga scream after him.
Knowing he would be back soon enough, Alfred laughed long and loud as he made his escape and ran off, feeling excited about life and all of it surprises for the first time in a very long time.
TBC