I am staring at a mystical beast of legend. It's as incredible as all the stories say it is. This day may have started off pretty bad, but it just got a lot better. I get to battle against a fabled monster. This is about to be one of my crowning moments.
Hang on, what's that sound? The wind, it's whirring kind of like the sound you get when a bird swoops at you. Then out of nowhere a blue flaming phoenix plunges from above the canopy and strikes the Fenrir. It wails and shrieks in pain as the phoenix attacks it back, the only vulnerable spot on its body. The phoenix soars down to deliver the finishing blow. It goes for the beasts throat, tearing it open and ripping the wolfs head back, snapping its neck. The creature falls to the ground, causing the ground to quake under the beast's weight. The blood from its neck is pooling on the ground slowly turning the green moss black as it soaks in.
All I could do is stare at the dead monsters corpse. My battle against this fabled creature had been ripped from my grasp. Why? Why do bad things always happen to me?! When it appeared I thought awesome, this is gonna be great. But no, apparently it won't. I heard rustling behind my spun around. It was Doffy. He was leaning against a tree looking impressed with himself.
I shouted at him, "You! Did you do this?!" He simply smiled and shook his head.
A few seconds later Marco appeared a couple of metres to the right of Doffy.
"I did, had I not, you'd be dead." I had to have had steam coming out of my ears by this point.
"You, you... you, killed it! I was about to battle against a fabled beast of legend and you killed it. How could you. Do you have any idea how rare an opportunity it is to slay a mythological monster...? Nnmm, today is not my day."
Doffy looked thoroughly amused by my reaction. Marco however looked completely astonished. The expression on his face said that he'd never heard anything so outrageous in his entire life.
"I just saved your life." Was all he managed to retort.
"My life wasn't in any danger, dammit! I'm more than capable of defending myself. The only thing I was in danger of was boredom, and you just sealed my fate." I flung my hands into the air and fell to my knees in an over exaggerated act of entreaty. 'Why god, why would you do this to me' I thought to myself, collapsing my face into the palms of my hands.
"Fufufu, anyway. Since you won't be joining my crew, I think we'd best be going." Doffy slowly sauntered towards me.
"Oi, Mr. Pink Feathers! What makes you think I'll be going anywhere with you."I gawked at him odiously and all he did was break out in laughter. He scooped me up and tossed me over his shoulder. His appearance is quite misleading and I keep forgetting how strong he really is.
˜LATER ON THE SHIP˜
I was lying on my bed in a small room on Doffy's ship. All I had on was a plain baggy shirt and a pair of panties. I was contemplating the events of earlier that day. Mainly I was thinking about Ace. He was really dead. I was never going to see him again. That very notion made my throat tighten and my chest felt like someone was sitting on it. My eyes went glassy and a single tear broke free and slid down my cheek to the tip of my chin where it dripped off onto the bed sheets. I wiped my eyes before any other tears could break free. Crying is the ultimate way to express vulnerability and weakness, something I didn't want to show, even if there wasn't anyone around.
As soon as I wiped my eyes more tears came to replace the ones that were taken and now my cheeks were wet as I couldn't stop myself from crying no matter how hard I tried.
The door creaked open and Doffy was standing at the entrance. Of all the time you could have come, it had to be now?!
"Tears aren't something I'd expect to see coming from you." As I was lying on my stomach, all I could do was muffle my face in the sheets.
"Bugger off. You're the last person I want to see." My words were exactly what I felt. Whenever I was upset, I had a bad habit of being truthful. Of course Doffy did the exact opposite of what I said and made himself comfortable on the edge of the bed to my left.
"What the hell are you crying for woman?" He mussed my hair and lay down beside me on his back with his hands beneath his head and looked over to me. "Well? Spit it out."
"Tch, what business is it of yours? Now go away."I sincerely wanted him to leave, but the more I wanted it, the more he refused.
"I'm not going anywhere; in fact I might even sleep in here tonight. So whatever's bothering you, you'd better tell me quick." He seemed genuinely concerned about me. It didn't suit him, and I decided to let him know it.
"Concern doesn't suit you at all, so you should really stop."
He smiled and said, "You're right it doesn't. So don't make me worry."
I looked up at him with that gentle gaze I've only ever used on people I truly care about. As soon as I realised I was doing it, I stopped. He cracked up laughing and rolled onto his side to see me more clearly.
"You know, you're not as tough as you pretend to be. I'll admit you're pretty convincing. But once I'd spent a little time with you, it didn't take long to figure out you were a total softie. I don't usually like that kind of thing. In fact I hate it. And I'd hate you if that was all you were, but it's not. You don't advertise it, but my guess is you're probably stronger than I am, just soft to your emotions. I find you very amusing, in a laughing at you rather than laughing with you kind of way. You also seem to be pretty smart and have an interesting parentage. The thing I like most is that you don't listen to what I say, and have no qualms with disobeying me. It's a little frustrating at times, but at least it never gets boring."
I also rolled on my side to face him, "If that's your idea of a compliment, it's horrible and you should just stick to picking on people."
"Fufufu, see now that's exactly why I like you."