Alan's Kind Heart; Airi's decision
My whole body shivers as I walk on through the rain. I don't even know how long it's been, how many days or even weeks it's been. All I don know is that it's been raining nonstop ever since I washed up onto this forsaken island. My entire body feels sluggish; I'm tired and hungry I can't even find anything to eat on this island. My head feels fuzzy as I aimlessly walk through the barren forest on this island. I can't seem to think straight as things start to turn and spin around me. my legs suddenly give out on me and I shiver from the cold where I lay.
"S-so cold…i-it's so c-cold Soul…"
Can you stand? I feel a force gently lift me up so that I'm sitting up. I know it's hard but we need to find a village if we can…
Somehow his gentle words even though it's a kind of tough love give my body some sort of energy and I slowly pick myself up and start walking again. slowly I start dragging my feet again but no soon do I take a few steps when my foot slips on the edge of a small hill and I go tumbling down. my body gets scraped and scratched as I roll down the hill and when I reach the bottom my leg erupts in pain.
"AAAHHH!" the pain alone is enough to clear my fogged mind and I quickly look to see what happened. Somehow my leg managed to land in a patch full of large thorn covered vines of some sort. One of the thorns managed to pierce my leg through to the other side. Soul breaks the thorn away from the vines as I sit there writhing in pain. I try composing myself still shaking from the pain and reach for the giant thorn stuck in my leg.
Don't.
"But it hurts!" I can't even speak out loud because of the pain.
I know but it's in a dangerous spot. You could run the risk of bleeding out.
"Then what I'm supposed to leave it in?"
for now that's all you can do…
"Mpf…! Ngh…!" I rock back and forth for a good long time trying to get accustomed to the foreign object as best I can. After a while I try standing, "I can't use my leg Soul…it hurts too much."
"Can you move at all?" I have no choice but to drag my leg along as I try to use anything I can to lean on as I continue on. My head starts to hurt as I walk on as it becomes more foggy. The rain is coming down so hard now that it's making a white sheet in front of me and I can't more than a couple feet in front of me. a tree branch hangs in front of me and I try to reach out but it snaps sending me toppling to the ground and on the thorn pierced leg. pain erupts in my leg causing me to bite into my lip causing it to bleed. Again I pick myself up but feel something warm on my leg. blood starts to drip out of the wound making me think it hit something important.
At this rate…I really will die…
There's a growl through the rain and shadows start to come forward. The growls sound canine and suddenly I can seem hungry looking wolves. I'm surprised at the fact that any living creature lives on this barren wasteland but at the moment I'm more concerned with the fact that the thin yet hungry and mouth foaming wolves staring at me. I've been locked on as their target. Soul places a distorted looking force field but even then the wolves seem to be too hungry to back down. the take a step closer and then another, then another until finally Soul attacks the ground before them. the attack only startles them for a moment before they press forward again. Soul attacks again sending one of the wolves flying through the air with a yelp but the others don't turn instead they all pounce at once hitting Soul's shield around me. I curl into a ball as the wolves attack. Suddenly there's a loud, thunderous bang and one of the wolves goes down. the others look at where the shot came from. I turn as well but the rain makes it impossible to see. There's more than one person but I can't see how many exactly. Panic starts to set in as I think of who it could be.
No not them…! is it the Sirius pirates? No…how did they find me?! I was swept away in the ocean there's no way they could have known which island I landed on right? But if it is them…they'll try to take me in again! I don't want that…!
They fire another shot and the wolves finally seem to give up. the figures step forward.
No…no don't come any closer…S-stay away…! don't hurt me! Don't come near me! Soul…Soul….SOUL!
"NOOOOO!"
"Airi?" I look up to see four people but they're not who I expect. It's a Captain looking person a big woman in pink ad two people who look like each other. "…What happened to you?"
"S-Stay away! don't come near me! leave me alone!" my panic overcomes me as I shout at them.
"Airi. It's me Alan. I'm not going to hurt you." He reaches to me but I flinch away,
"No; don't hurt me…leave me alone…!"
"Airi calm down." he grabs hold of my wrist
"NOOOOO!" Soul reacts my panic as the memories start to flash in my mind. A gust of damp sand and wind like force blows them all back. "Don't touch me! leave me alone; I don't want to be hurt again!"
"Master Alan what's wrong with her?" the woman says
"Yeah captain…"
"She's totally lost her mind."
"Why is she like that?" two others sound off separately before talking in unison. No one answers them at first.
"…Leave me alone…go away…!" I say tears flowing from my eyes,
"I see…" a different person says, "so that's what happened back in Moldor…"
"Captain Alan?"
"her mind…it's in a chaotic like state all the events that concerned her at least are causing her to lash out right now or I guess reject would be a better word."
"What do you mean Captain?" the two say in unison.
"She's been traumatized…some woman used an unusual ability to change into a copy of Airi. She's taken the blame for what happened on that island while the real culprit goes free…but that's not all of it. Morgan and the others actually believed she did it and they were trying to be sneaky about it. but no matter how much she pleaded with them to help her they wouldn't; instead they turned on her."
"But how did you know that Master Alan…"
"Sometimes Fuzzy when the emotions and spiritual state of the person are strong enough I can see their thoughts…this whole time Airi has been on her own…her experiences and feelings of pain and fear have been left to fester in her mind and heart…she doesn't even recognize friend from foe anymore…"
Leave me alone! Go away; stop talking like you know me! just leave me alone!
"Soul…" the person called Alan calls out to my guardian and I look up, "I know you're angry and you want to protect Airi; but I need to take her to my ship so she can be properly cared for. She may put up a fight and that's understandable; but I want to help her not hurt her. if she doesn't receive medical attention soon she may not last long…so please let me help her…" Soul doesn't respond and I can feel his anger and hatred but he doesn't show any signs of attacking as the person starts to come towards me.
"N-No…! No! Stay away! Leave me alone!" he stops for a moment before slowly continuing "Ah…Ahhh! No! don't touch me!" He comes closer as I try to back away; my back suddenly hits a tree.
"It's ok Airi… I'm not going to hurt you…" he gets closer and closer
"S-Soul…SOUL help me Soul!" but he doesn't attack and I don't understand why.
No Don't hurt me! leave me alone! No, NOOO! I flinch trying to cover myself as he finally stands over me,
"No…no…no…no…!" I sob and cry uncontrollably.
"Airi…"I feel a hand on my shoulder and I flinch looking up at him, "Just forget for now…" he places a hand on my forehead and it feels warm and comforting, "Just rest and forget about your troubles for now…" the fog in my head starts to clear for some strange reason and the memories and fears seem to melt away.
why was I so scared before…? I feel so sleepy all of a sudden… my head bobs up and down as I try to fight the feelings.
"It's ok Airi…just rest for now…let the fog clear…just let your mind go blank for now…" finally my body gives in and I fall over onto the man letting sleep take hold of me.
…
as my conscience comes back I feel rested and comfortable. Something damp and cold rests on my forehead and I open my eyes to see someone I wasn't expecting.
"Fuzzy…?" I say weakly.
"Ah your awake; that's good." She smiles at me, "Master Alan was able to calm you down and bring ya aboard the Rika. Looks like Soul let us do what we needed to in order to help you. I guess he doesn't see us as a threat."
"threat…?" my body tenses as I remember that I'm one of if not the most wanted person out there; I try to get up but Fuzzy holds me down,
"You still have a fever; you can't get out of bed yet!"
"You're going to turn me in!"
"What?"
"you'll take me to the government and turn me in for what happened at Moldor!" I try to struggle against her but it's no use.
"No we won't Airi! We don't believe that lie!" I look up at her stopping my struggle, "Master Alan isn't going to let that happen…you're safe here on the Rika." Tears run down my cheeks.
"How…how do I know I can trust you…" I sniff,
"Master Alan made a deal with Soul…" my eyes open wide at her statement, "He said that if for any reason he doubts Master Alan's intentions or think it may hurt you he can take action against him as captain of the Rika…"
"He…he said that?"
It's true…at the time I didn't have much of a choice but to let them take you or you would have died from blood loss…but after patching you up he made that promise to me. so far neither him nor any of the others have given me that me a reason to do so.
I start to relax suddenly feeling tired and lay back down.
"it's ok…none of us believe what happened on Moldor was your doing. Even Master Alan was able to see your thoughts and understand what happened…" she places the cold cloth back on my fore head as I listen to her, "Just rest for now ok…you've been through a lot; we'll take care of you…" she gets up, "I'll bring you something light to eat; master Alan made a soup for you for when you woke up." she smiles again before leaving. In the silent room I try to recall how I even got aboard the Rika or how they even found me.
"How long have I been out?"
nearly a week…how do you feel?
"Really tired and heavy."
"Alan was able to determine that you had a mild case of pneumonia; he said you were lucky it didn't progress any further since you were exhausted both mentally and physically.
"They took out that giant thorn?"
there's going to be a scar there when it heals completely…they did pretty good considering they don't have a doctor on their ship.
"How did they find us?"
Apparently the man in black had a feeling about that island as they were passing by. it's called Monsoon Island it's supposed to be about 100 leagues from the bloody triagle.
"So we were carried over 100 leagues by the current?"
It would seem that way.
"…I'm sorry for all of this Soul…"
stop apologizing none of this is your fault…just rest and get better. I'll be watching over you. My mind starts to go as sleep takes over me and for the first time in a while I feel like I can relax. When I wake up again there's a bowl of soup laying by the bed on a dresser. I sit up my body feeling less heavy than it did before. I'm about to reach over to the bowl when it floats over to me,
"Thanks Soul." it's still a bit warm as I eat a spoonful of the soup. Although it seems more like a broth of some sort since there's hardly anything in it aside from a few vegetables in it but it still tastes good. There's a nock on the door before Alan walks in.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better…thank you for your help."
"it's fine. I'm sorry all this happened to you."
"So what now?"
"What?"
"After I've rested up…what do you plan on doing with me?" I can't help but ask. He looks at me knowingly,
"That's for you to decide." I don't know how to respond to that and remain silent, "As I'm sure you already know I'm not going to turn you over to anyone and I don't plan on dropping you off on a deserted island like I found you."
"Then what should I do? If it's my choice; please tell me what choices or options I have…because I don't really even see them."
"What was your plan?"
"I had none! I mean Soul said we should go after her…but I don't even know where to start with that. I have nothing."
"At least you're still alive. that has to count for something. you at least have a second chance to do something about it."
"A second chance for what?" I cry letting loose my tears, "I have nothing…my so called friends betrayed me…I've been framed for something I haven't done…what else is there?" he stands no answering me he goes to open the door then stops,
"in a way all of us seer's are framed for something we didn't do… they caused this unknown disease, he knew this would happen but he said nothing she killed him using her powers we should do the same to her. Why? because we have the potential and power to cause the unthinkable and the unimaginable. It's because we have powers that everyone fears us and thinks us outsiders." I look up teary eyed at him, "many of us seers are wanted because we were framed for something we didn't do…me? I used to be a lowly servant for a noble man and I was framed for his death because of my ability to sway a persons mind like I did you to calm you down…they said I swayed him to fall down stairs but what it really was; it was his heart. But they were so bent on framing me for the death that they wouldn't hear it." he turns back looking at me; a serious look in his eyes, "I guess after hearing that you would never have thought I would turn out to be a captain of a pirate ship would you? That's the thing though Airi; it's not what you have after the hardship it's what you plan on doing with the second chance given to you. Many seers are caught in your position have to choose to either pick themselves up or sit on their ass and do nothing but pity themselves. Now it's your turn to make that choice Airi. What you're feeling right now isn't just helplessness it's self pity…pity for yourself that you got yourself into this situation; now granted you didn't put yourself here because you wanted to nor was it by any of your own actions but you're here whether you like it or not… the thing is are you going to try and get yourself out of it or are you going to sit here and continue to pity yourself…?" his words sting but they hold some sort of truth to them. all I can do is remain silent as I look down. "You can stay on this ship for as long as you want but please think about what you actually want from this…" Alan turns and leaves shutting the door behind him.
Airi…?
"Can you leave me alone for right now Soul…I need some time to think." Soul doesn't reply but he remains silently by my side as I lay back down and try to sort out what I really want. I know though no matter what I choose I won't be getting any sleep tonight.
…
"-ri…Airi!" someone shakes me awake and I open my eyes.
"Alan what's going on? …what time is it?" I ask still half asleep and rubbing an eye. It feels like I was just able to fall asleep.
"Get up quickly; you need to hide."
"Hide why?"
The Sirius is here… Soul growls lowly.
"What Morgan and the others?!"
"I guess Soul told you; hurry get up!"
"Soul make the bed up quickly so it looks like I wasn't here." I say as Alan pulls me out of the room. He leads me to what looks like a captains quarters and takes me over to the desk. There's room enough for me to just go unnoticed under it,
"Hurry hide here." Off in the distance I can here Fuzzy and Tom and Colin shouting at the group of unwelcomed visitors getting closer. "Hurry!" without another thought I hide under the desk and Alan sits in the seat.
"Soul what ever you do, what ever happens DON'T make yourself known."
I got it…
"I mean it Soul or they'll know we're here."
I said I got it.
The door swings open,
"You can't just walk in here you sea dogs!" Fuzzy yells as everyone comes into the room. I close my eyes tightly and connect my mind with Soul.
"Alan we need to talk." Captain Morgan says not looking like his usual humorous self.
"I'm a bit busy can't this wait?" I see Alan pretending to be working on something looking like navigations or something.
"No it can't."
"I told you you can't just-"
"Fuzzy it's fine." Alan says and she goes quiet; he sets aside what he was doing, "This is a bit odd; I'm usually the one chasing after you Morgan. What's this about?" Alan tries to act normal than gives a questionable look, "That's weird, usually you all don't look so serious and you seem to be missing someone. Hey where's Airi anyway; she didn't come with you?"
"that's why we're here Alan."
"Has something happened to her?"
"Alan." Morgan gives him a threatening tone leaving no room for games.
"What?" there seems to be some sort of silent conversation going on between them as tension fills the room.
"You all go back to the Sirius." Morgan says keeping eye contact with Alan.
"But Captain-" Russell tries to protest,
"That's an order. I'll be back once I'm finished talking with Alan."
"Fuzzy you guys too…go back to what you were doing."
"Master Alan…"
"Go on…I think this is a conversation of captains only…" everyone stays for a moment before leaving the room. As he leaves I catch a glimpse of Christopher with an unusual look on his face but I can't seem to place the emotion. He seems to have a look of guilt on his face but I brush it off as my imagination.
He turned on me…there's no way he would feel guilt for what he did. Urgh…there I go again…
The door closes and finally Alan drops his act,
"Alright we're alone Morgan…now what do you want?"
"Airi."
"She's apart of your crew; you should know where she is."
"She jumped into the bloody triangle last I saw here; but with Soul's help I'm sure she survived."
"I don't know why she would do that." Morgan Bangs his hands on Alan's big desk causing me to flinch,
"Moldor Alan! Don't tell me you don't know because everyone does! Whether you were there yourself or found out by seagull mail you know what happened and you know who did it!" I had never seen Morgan lose his temper before and I can honestly say that I don't like it, "now stop playing around."
"I don't know what to tell you Morgan…I haven't seen her." there's a long pause,
"Why do I get the feeling that's not true?"
"Believe what you want…however I don't think she did it." Morgan laughs as if he can't believe Alan said that,
"do you really believe that? Alan there were more than enough witnesses that saw her."
"knowing her personality and knowing what she is or rather isn't capable of do you honestly think Airi would do something like what happened with Moldor? Moreover she ISN'T a seer Morgan I think your forgetting that Soul is bound to her and all that power is his and he uses it to protect her. how would destroying Moldor and framing her for it in anyway protect her?"
again I'm being protected by someone else…this is just like Alan finding me and protecting me this whole time. I can't do anything though…I really am helpless. It's always Soul or someone else protecting me…
Hey why the hell are you thinking about this right now?
"Because I hate feeling like this Soul…I hate feeling like I can't do anything myself…"
Think about it after he's left…Morgan is still here and so is the rest of the group.
"I honestly don't know what they would gain from doing this Alan; quite honestly I don't care. She did it and she needs to take responsibility for it." Alan suddenly stands up,
"So just because she has the potential to do something like that that automatically makes her guilty is that it? …I thought you were better than that Morgan."
"I'm only going to ask once Alan: are you hiding her on your ship?" Alan doesn't respond only stares Morgan in the eye. "If you are, you're helping a criminal…" there's a long silence that fills the air making it seem thick. Finally Alan opens his mouth,
"Even if I was hiding her…I wouldn't turn her over to people like you who claim to be a friend but when it comes to the most important matter turns away from them so not to get their hands dirty…you and the rest of your crew."
"you're one to talk about being afraid."
"get off my ship Morgan…I've told you all I know; I don't know where she is and even if I did…I wouldn't tell you where." Alan sits back down and pulls some documents out flinging them over to Morgan, one is a picture of Alainia, "Why don't you do your homework on her first before you go around accusing people of things. She's not who you think she is." Alan taps his boot on my arm as if to get my attention and I listen carefully, "She had no upbringing to even be close to becoming the royal seer; no qualifications no nothing. There's hardly even a record of her existence in that palace to begin with. don't you think that in itself is a bit strange?"
"Alainia is one of the people who saw Airi during the incident."
"And you believe her?" Alan seems to have had enough, "Take the documents and get off my ship…I can't even believe how stupid you're being right now. The Morgan I know would be smarter than this; he wouldn't take things at face value not without legitimate proof and neither would the rest of your crew. I thought the first rule of the Sirius pirates was to trust your mates…where was that rule when Airi was accused of this unspeakable crime!? Huh?!" Morgan takes the documents but says nothing,
"if you find out anything about Airi-"
"Don't even come to me for information on her because I'm not telling you anything." Sparks seem to fly as friendly rivals seem to turn into enemies and they stare each other down.
"I will be back…" Morgan struts out of the room slamming the door behind him.
I won't be here when that happens…
…
over the next couple of days I think long and hard and even talk with Soul occasionally to talk about what to do next. Alan only watches as I try to figure out what to do. I take everything that he told me into consideration and even the whole thing that happened between him and Morgan. I remember everything during the days and nights, the happiness aboard the Sirius, the pain that followed suit the hardships I've had to endure throughout my life. there were times I cried uncontrollably, times I felt lonely times I felt angry and even scared. My life has been one giant twister of endless emotions and experiences. There was even a time that I believe now to be love; it hurt the most when Christopher betrayed me out of everyone else. I cried the most remembering his kindness, I remember laughing the most with him, trusting him the most, liking him more than any the others…I can't help but think that I was starting to love him. when I realized that it hurt the most and I ended up crying again…but I had to come to terms with everything… even this in order to figure out what to do next. Finally after everything had been sorted out in my head I felt something I hadn't felt before. I felt a calm a peace in my it was like a fog or mist that had been blinding me finally cleared.
So you finally know what you want to do?
"Yes…it's not going to be easy but I do."
I'm with you every step of the way.
I go to find Alan and find him along with everyone else in the mess hall. Even Fuzzy's brother Dozzy is there as well.
"I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you guys but I have something I need to say."
"Are you ok Airi? Your eyes have been puffy for a couple of days now?" Dozzy asks.
"It's fine; after today I'm not going to cry any more." I look over at Alan, "You told me that it wasn't what I have after the hardship but what I plan on doing afterwards with the second chance I was given…I'm sorry it took me so long but I've finally come to a choice."
"So what do you plan on doing with the second chance you've been given?" Alan Asks seeming to know I've changed.
"I'm done being helpless…my entire life I have depended on others to help me and protect me, even Soul. now I know I may still need his help but I'm done letting others fight my battles for me. it's time I fought back myself. or I guess I should say I need to grow a back bone. Even back on the Sirius when they were all turning against me I was still depending on them to just handle the situation for me…that was why I had begged them to believe me when I said I didn't do it. now granted I still find it hard to trust them after that or anyone for that matter but I'm at fault too. I plan on changing that. I'm going to get stronger then I'm going to go after Alainia myself and Soul and I are going to prove our innocence."
"You realize that isn't going to be an easy task." Alan says.
"I know…and I don't care. I don't care how long it takes I'm going after Alainia and I'm going to stop her. she said Moldor was a test run for something I want to stop her before she can put her real plan into action. Not just for myself but so that same thing doesn't happen again." Alan and the others look at me as if I'm a new person and there's a smile on all their faces.
"Alright then Allow me to point you in the right direction to start off." Alan says seeming proud of the choice I made.
Over the next couple of days the others help me to get ready for my quest. Alan has a friend that he has sent word to that is willing to teach me how to fight and defend myself. he gives me a map as to how to get to the place and even informs me that he also knows about my situation and reassures me that he can be trusted since he too is a seer. He shows me another map of a place far off near the south pole known as Crystal Ice island from his sources Alan was able to pinpoint Alainias location for me and would be giving me regular updates on her movements as best he can. Fuzzy packs me a few good clothes while Tom and Colin Show me a few quick foods and herbs I could find to eat along the way. Dozzy gives me a hand made bow and shows me how to use it so I can defend myself at least from small predators that would attack me by chance. Finally after all the preparation we make a stop on a remote island with a lot of mountains.
"My friend is on this island." Alan starts off, "his name is Taiga; as the name suggests his seer ability allows him to communicate with animal but he has a very unique fighting style that may help you on your journey. it will take some time to learn so be patient and learn well."
"Right…thank you Alan…for everything…" I smile at him.
"Ah one more thing." He takes out a dagger and hands it to me. when I take it out of the plain looking black sheath the blade seems to be made of a shining red metal reminding me of the soft glow of a red moon. "This may come in handy for you too; take care out there." he holds out his arms and I return the hug, "I'll keep an eye on Alainia's movements for you so concentrate on getting stronger for now."
"I will." I let go and say good by to the others before disembarking. Soul and I watch the Rika sail away until it becomes small enough to where it looks like a small speck.
I know that there are still people I can trust out there…it's just going to take some time to earn it…
Right…
I take a deep breath and turn to look at the scenery in front of me, the mist covered forest hides the way to the mountains but Alan's map should help with that.
"Well Soul…this is our first step in becoming stronger. are you ready?"
Ready when you are. we both look on at the path in front of us with a new determination,
"Lets go."
