Viktor contained himself as the entire bar went through yet another chorus of the shanty, led by the emaciated yokel on stage.
"Come on home, come on home, come on brothers in blood,
Come wharf rats and ragged misfit crews.
Come on home, come on home, come on sisters in blood,
Come all ye with nothing to lose!"
Mercifully, the song ended there, but unmercifully, it was replaced with cheering and shouting from the assembled hundred and fifty Nightmare crewmen. Who could really yell, most of them being eight-foot-tall walls of muscle and stupidity.
Viktor ground his teeth.
This was obviously Vinci's revenge. The brute had practically dragged him out here, after all, then dragged T-Bone off somewhere, leaving him alone in this ill-maintained corner of an equally ill-maintained tavern. It was petty, it was obvious, and it was just shy of something he could enact retribution for - perfect for him.
"Well, you look like someone made you eat a lemon," a voice said, and Viktor glanced up to see the singer from earlier, accompanied by the hulking form of the Nightmare blacksmith. Both of them took seats without so much as asking.
The emaciated-looking man grinned. "What's on your mind, friend?"
"I am not," Viktor said flatly, "your friend."
"Just an expression," the blacksmith said. "Still. You seem pretty pissed off." He plunked down a tankard of beer, shoved it towards Viktor. "Talk."
Viktor glared at him. "I don't take orders from pirates."
"Got something against us, then?" the singer asked, leaning back in his chair.
"Got something - what do you think? That I want to be here, surrounded by a bunch of idiotic buccaneers, all of them screaming the same hackneyed songs? I am a scientist, I don't belong here."
The singer laughed. "Oh, so you think you're better than us. Well, the Captain did say you were a smug little prick." He bared his teeth in a smile. "He also said he pitied you."
"I am not an object of your pity," Viktor growled.
"Sure you are. I mean, hell, who even knows who you are?"
Viktor glared at the man. "I have colleagues. I'm well-respected. I have status, I have papers to my name and discoveries that -"
"Mean nothing," the blacksmith said. "Come off it. How many, outside the World Government, will ever hear about anything you do?"
"I don't do it for fame. Unlike you."
The blacksmith smiled. "Yeah, Captain was right about you. Otherwise, you'd know better than to try to lie to a Zoan."
Viktor's hands curled into fists. "You know nothing."
"Really?" the singer questioned. "I think I know plenty. Been in your place, before," he added, almost conversationally.
"Oh, really," Viktor snarled.
"Really," the emaciated man. "Specifically, being alone."
"I'm not alone."
"You have no friends," the man said, and the words cut like only truth could. "Colleagues, maybe, people you'll tolerate...but not friends. Family's a distant memory if you had it at all, too. It's just been you, clawing your way to your current position...but you'll always serve someone else, won't you? There'll always be someone to tell you what to do, even if you hate it." The emaciated man smiled. "Same boat, for a while. Until I ran into your cousin and his merry band of chucklefucks."
"I feel like I should be offended by that," the blacksmith remarked.
"Then go console yourself with that girlfriend of yours. You're up after Jack and Vinci, anyway."
"She's not my girlfriend, Vodka."
"My name's Gin, you fuckwit."
"So we're on the same page, then." The blacksmith stood, and walked away. The emaciated man sighed.
"Pain in the ass," he muttered. "Still, he's decent company." He turned back to Viktor. "Anyway...am I in the right ballpark?"
Viktor forced his fingers to unclench. "No."
The emaciated man smiled. "Liar. Don't need a nose to tell that." He paused. "Well, I'm not going to make much progress piercing your shell of arrogance. But let me tell you one thing. Most famous people in the world are pirates. Not because they're good people - hell, most of them are assholes. But because, instead of bending the knee...they went and made something for themselves. Hell, even their subordinates are known around the world. It's not the piracy that made them that way...it's because every single one of them had something they wanted to achieve, and the friends and the comrades to help them do it. Think on that, while you're drinking alone."
The thin man stood, and walked away, leaving Viktor alone.
On the stage, a massively built man with an equally massive beard took hold of the microphone. After a moment, he began to speak, words coming out rapid-fire.
"It's the last time that I ask why
I'm overlooked and I'm passed by
You can't grasp my shit, that's fine
Can't see the truth through glass eyes
You're half-blind; in fact, I'm
On my way to the back nine
I'm coming out swinging, a man on a mission
And breaking new ground like a land mine
Can't stop my ambitions, can't stop my commitment
My very existence is winning the game
Every minute I'm given I'm thinking
Of living it different, you live it the same
A vivid display, what are you thinking?
I'm building a vision, you're digging a grave
I'm in a position to have an opinion
Don't need your permission to give it away
Give it a rest, this is the end
You cannot prevent what you're fighting against
We live in this shit, we didn't pretend
We're the percentage you'll never forget
Look at the math, look at what's left
You can't represent what you couldn't accept
Since the beginning, I knew you were ignorant
That is the difference you can't understand
What would you do with nothing to lose
Nothing to live for but something to prove?
You don't have a clue, you got it confused
You couldn't walk 20 steps in our shoes
Every minute you're ducking from view
Can't run from the truth that's coming for you
We are the many and you are the few…"
"We are the future!" came the shout from the assembled crew, as they joined in the chorus.
"We are the future
We're the future and we have just begun
We are the truth, the chosen ones
We are the new, the past is gone
We are the future and we have just begun
We are the future…"
Viktor threw back the tankard of ale.
"The future, huh?" he muttered to himself, before standing.
He had work to do. And it wasn't something he could do with a government minder.
Smoker had to (reluctantly, very reluctantly) admit one thing.
Grigori Vinci, for all that he was an unstable genius with enough issues to fill a psych ward, was a very good singer.
"Maybe I'm foolish
Maybe I'm blind
Thinking I can see through this
And see what's behind
Got no way to prove it
So maybe I'm lyin'...
But I'm only human after all
I'm only human after all
Don't put your blame on me
Don't put your blame on me…"
Good as that singing was, it wasn't enough to distract him from the other occupants of his table.
On one side, the Butcher Bird, and that odd blue-haired man that Smoker was nearly certain was one of Grigori's experiments. The latter of the two was leaning on the smaller man's shoulder, reading from one of the little booklets filled with song lyrics to choose from. The Butcher Bird himself seemed almost oblivious to the casual contact, instead reading one of his own booklets. The ghoul's face was wreathed in smoke from his pipe, and he spoke near-inaudibly with Six from time to time.
"Take a look in the mirror, and what do you see?
Do you see it clearer, or are you deceived?
In what you believe...
Cos I'm only human after all, you're only human after all
Don't put the blame on me
Don't put your blame on me
Some people got the real problems
Some people out of luck
Some people think I can solve them
Lord heavens above
I'm only human after all, I'm only human after all
Don't put the blame on me
Don't put the blame on me…"
On the other side, Bosque Herman and Tashigi sat, the two of them arguing just quietly enough to not justify Smoker intervening. He let them. The Berserker Hound clearly didn't deserve his moniker, and...despite everything, he could almost respect the man. The man had made his amends with Tashigi, it'd be just plain stupid to hold a grudge after that...not to say Smoker wouldn't keep an eye on both of them for a while still - Bosque for treachery, Tashigi to make sure she didn't get starry-eyed over a blade and forget everything else the man had done.
"Don't ask my opinion, don't ask me to lie
Then beg for forgiveness for making you cry, making you cry
Cos I'm only human after all, I'm only human after all
Don't put your blame on me, don't put the blame on me
Some people got the real problems
Some people out of luck
Some people think I can solve them
Lord heavens above
I'm only human after all, I'm only human after all
Don't put the blame on me
Don't put the blame on me
I'm only human, I make mistakes
I'm only human, that's all it takes, to put the blame on me
Don't put your blame on me
Cuz I'm no prophet or messiah
Should go looking somewhere higher...
I'm only human after all, I'm only human after all...
Don't put the blame on me, don't put the blame on me
I'm only human, I do what I can
I'm just a man, I do what I can
Don't put the blame on me
Don't put your blame on me..."
Last, and most tolerable, was T-Bone. The skeletal captain looked nearly as confused as Smoker felt, and Smoker honestly couldn't blame him. Dealing with Grigori Vinci was an...experience, and the two seemed to have some kind of history that made T-Bone uncomfortable and Vinci...almost manic. Smoker gave the man a look. "You think he's gonna insist we sing?"
"Singing is not precisely one of my talents," the captain said. "I would hope not."
"Crap, is he done?" Herman muttered. "Right, this one," he said, pointing to one page of the booklet.
"This works better," Tashigi protested, holding up another page.
"Fine, fine, sure," Herman growled, standing. "Let's go get this over with."
"Don't fuck up!" the Butcher Bird called as the two left. Herman flipped him off.
Vinci walked up to their table as the duo left, grinning per usual. "Well, color me surprised. Everyone's getting along, and nobody's gotten maimed. It's almost pedestrian. Would have expected Kaneki to start a morality debate by now."
"In front of everybody? I have some class, Captain," the Butcher Bird said. "Besides…" His eyes flicked to Smoker for a moment. "Hell, I've said enough," the man said calmly. "Wasn't in a great place when I did, but it's still said and done, and I meant all of it." He paused as Vinci took a seat. "Hope I don't have to sing, to be honest," he said. "Not exactly a performer."
Smoker nearly laughed. The Butcher Bird was a shameless drama queen, through and through. What other kind of person made a point of killing an entire Sea King in front of the entirety of the horrified shipwrights of Port Roybal? Last he'd heard, a dozen Marines who'd seen the drawn-out act were in therapy.
Vinci sat down next to him, and Smoker resisted the urge to lean away. Instead, he leaned in.
"What's his story?" he asked bluntly, nodding at Six.
He'd figured out by now that the direct approach was best with Vinci. The man had the subtlety of a bulldozer and expected everyone to have the same.
"Six?"
"Yeah. He one of your…"
"Augments? No, no. For one, Devil Fruit abilities...well, eating one overwrites portions of genetic code, and I quite frankly don't want to find out how that interacts with Augments."
Smoker decided to nod and pretend he knew what the hell Vinci was babbling about. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw T-Bone trying to take notes stealthily, while failing miserably at it.
"Second, his scars...well, have you heard of the Necromonger Pirates?"
"Rumors," Smoker said. "Supposed to roam the seas, crewed by the dead. Leave no survivors. Always figured it was some fuck with a Devil Fruit who went mad."
"Well, close enough." Vinci's fingers drummed on the table. "Take me, remove any pretensions at sanity or morality, as well as all the people on my crew who keep me on an even keel, and then give that person the ability to trap souls in dead bodies. You'd get the captain of the Necromongers. Six was...half prisoner, half experiment, half slave. When the Necromongers attacked us, and we obliterated them, he was alive. The vivisection scars, and those on his back...that's their work." The man steepled his fingers, voice soft. "I've been trying to help him, since. Fixed him up as best I could physically, dealing with some things that...creature...did to him that would've killed him sooner or later. Hell, improved on them. Mentally, though...he's been through a lot. Kaneki helps. I think the man's natural possessiveness has given Six something to hold on to. Psychology isn't my best field, for all the reading I've done." Vinci sighed, suddenly looking far, far older than his age of twenty-four. "Still. He's...not broken, not damaged, but...scarred, I think, is the right word. But his actions are his own, and he's getting better by the day." A tired smile twitched at the corners of the man's mouth. "That enough to answer?"
"Suppose it is," Smoker allowed. "And Kaneki's?"
"Well, you got the revenge spiel, I suppose. After his master died, I think his plan was to lay low, do some bounty hunting as practice, and work his way up in the world. But then Gramps decided to send me a letter, and I was in deep shit when he got to me. He already didn't like the Marines, so he snatched me right out of the noose. Things...well, escalated. I wanted my tools back, he went along with it, and along the way…"
"So the great South Blue prison break...started because your grandfather tried to mail you a letter?" Smoker said incredulously.
"And because apparently asking random pirates and privateers how to join their crew was enough to warrant the death penalty, but yeah, you're along the right track, dahahaha…"
"What a weird damn world…" Smoker muttered, glancing at the stage as Herman and Tashigi climbed up.
Tashigi turned to the pirate, grinning sharply.
"Anything you can do, I can do better," she stated.
The Berserker Hound laughed, accompanied by a sudden burst of music. Oh, for God's sake…
"I can do anything better than you,"Tashigi continued.
"No you can't,"the Hound retorted.
"Yes I can."
"No you can't."
"Yes I can."
"No you can't."
"Yes I can, yes I can, yes I cannnn…."
"Anything you can be, I can be greater," the Hound sang defiantly. "Sooner or later I'm greater than you."
Smoker buried his face in his hands as the song continued, the two trading boasts and insults - and altering the lyrics along the way. "Of course they did," he groaned. "I'm going to have to make sure they don't try to kill each other on a daily basis, aren't I?"
"Coordinate with Jack, that's usually his headache," Vinci said gently, before wincing as a high-pitched note filled the air.
"How do you sing that high?"
"I'm a girl!"
"On the other hand," the Warlord noted, "it would probably involve less singing if they were engaged in duels for most of the day. Who the hell's up next?"
"Me," Six said softly. "But…" He paused. "I am...uncertain. I have not practiced singing extensively."
"That's kinda the point, Six," the Butcher Bird said, uncharacteristically gently. "Getting up on stage and making a fool of yourself."
"I see." The young man paused. "Would you...help?" he asked.
"Got anything in mind?" the Butcher Bird asked.
"I think...this one."
The Butcher Bird cocked his head. "Seems kinda...schmaltzy."
"There are not many options for duets. The Gunner has already claimed one and informed me not to try to take it, the Blacksmith and the Struggler are performing another, and the rest contain numerous references." Another pause. "To fucking."
Smoker turned his head to smoke just in time to avoid the spray of hot coffee from where the Butcher Bird was seated. The ghoul coughed heavily, and Six thumped him on the back. "Well," the man gasped. "If that's the only option...give me a couple minutes to get ready?"
Six nodded, and the two stood to leave...which left Smoker and T-Bone alone with Vinci.
The vicious way the Warlord smiled did not inspire confidence. "So, are the two men of law and order going to give us a stirring duet as well?"
"Given what your cook said about the song selection, I'm afraid we'll have to decline," T-Bone said stiffly.
"Ah, well, was worth a shot." Vinci leaned back in his chair. "Still, poor form to leave us all in the lurch."
"It's a damn song, Warlord, and we don't take orders from you," Smoker growled.
Vinci chuckled. "Fine, do what you want," he said, leaning forward again. "It's no skin off my nose. Just thought you might enjoy it."
"Really, now," Smoker said dubiously.
"Well, to be entirely fair, I think Kaneki invited you because he likes a good debate partner and you're the first person who's opposed him that he can't beat up to make a point," Vinci said. "Now, as for you, Captain T-Bone...oh, we do need to talk. Commodore, would you make yourself scarce? This is something rather private."
Smoker narrowed his eyes, but T-Bone gave him a look, and nodded. "It's all right, Commodore," the skeletal man said. "This sort of conversation is long overdue, and...quite frankly, I worry about what would happen if Headquarters knew you were part of it."
Well, that was enough for him. Smoker nodded, and made himself scarce, finding a corner of the bar to settle in and watch the stage from, just as the two came out.
The Butcher Bird...had cut his hair. Oddly, too. Short on the sides, the remaining shock lancing forward, just a little. He'd found round little sunglasses of some sort, too.
An odd, music-box-like tune began to play, and the Butcher Bird...smiled.
"Look at how they crawl around," he began, in a voice that oozed contempt to a degree that could only come from the most heartfelt confession. "Upon the ground, like lit-tle ants…"
"Yes but how they fascinate," Six replied, "confusing fate, for what is merely chance…"
"Isn't it a laugh?"
"Isn't it a shame?" Six retorted, looking as serene as a monk.
"Thinking there is someone in heaven to blame?" the ghoul spat.
"Yes, but even while blaming fate for the lives that they lead,
They hope for the lives that they need…"
"Living every day! Till the day they die! Never getting answers," the Butcher Bird snarled.
"But still asking why," Six sang, cutting him off. "Going through the motions as if there will be a reward…"
"While we stay eternally bored…" the ghoul smugly sang, before the two faced each other.
"They're only human,
They don't see
Who they are is who they'll always be
Only human
After all…"
"So they push and they shove," the ghoul called.
"With this thing they call love," Six replied.
"Till they falllllllllll…."
"Isn't it a farce?" Kaneki growled, turning away and gesturing offstage.
"Isn't it a waste?" Six lamented.
"Struggling to face what can never be faced…"
"Yes, but maybe death can release something more than we've shared…" Six began.
Kaneki rolled his eyes. "I really don't know and don't care."
"They're only human," the two chorused.
"
Standing still
Doomed to live pushing boulders uphill
Only human, after all…"
"So they give and they take," Kaneki sang contemptuously.
"Hoping someone will help break their fall," Six cautioned.
Kaneki turned to face him, wings springing from his back and red light spilling from past the lenses of his glasses.
"They will pray, curse, live, die,
Never knowing their truth is another man's lie!"
Six's hand touched the snarling ghoul's chin, and the Butcher Bird quieted instantly.
"Eat, sleep, love, hate," the taller man crooned. "Like a leaf blowing in the wind…"
"Watch them all vacillate!" the Butcher Bird cried.
"They're only human," the two sang.
"They can't see
All the years they could give you and me
Only human, after all
So they give and we take
Till their silly hearts break!"
"Looking down from above, I'm intrigued by their love," Six sang, the serenity and compassion cracking for just the slightest moment, confusion shining through, before the Butcher Bird offered him a hand.
"So let's call…" the shorter man crooned, nothing harsh on display for the briefest of moments. Then he smiled, razor-sharp.
"Hm...let's call."
The two stepped away to a storm of applause, but Smoker didn't join in. Instead, he watched as the two slipped away, replaced by Lauren and an enlisted Marine. He watched as T-Bone got up to leave, a fuming Grigori Vinci left at the table alone.
He watched, and wondered exactly how much of what he'd seen was an act. If none at all...then he was missing a lot of pieces, and if he wanted to figure out what Grigori was planning here…
Smoker sighed, suddenly feeling a lot older than he really was. This wasn't his field. But he'd be damned if he wasted the opportunity.
He met Grigori Vinci's eyes, and after a moment, the younger man nodded. Smoker reclaimed his seat. "Guess that didn't go well," he muttered as Lauren and her Marine friend - judging from the unit patch, one of T-Bone's soldiers - began their song.
"I've got the reach and the teeth of a killin' machine,
With a need to bleed you when the light goes green
Best believe, I'm in a zone to be
From my Yin to my Yang to my Yang Tze.
Put a grin on my chin when you come to me
'Cuz I'll win, I'm one-of-a-kind and I'll bring death
To the place you're about to be:
Another river of blood runnin' under my feet."
"You could say that," the Warlord growled. "The arrogant little…" He stopped. "It's family matters," he said tiredly. "Old business with him that, whatever he claims, remains unsettled. And now, I suppose I have a free slot tomorrow."
"Forged in a fire lit long ago, stand next to me,
You'll never stand alone.
I'm last to leave, but the first to go,
Lord, make me dead before you make me old.
I feed on the fear of the devil inside of the
Enemy faces in my sights:
Aim with the hand, shoot with the mind,
Kill with a heart like arctic ice."
"And now you want me to come with you to...whatever it is," Smoker grumbled.
Grigori grinned. "Precisely."
"I am a Soldier and I'm marching on,
I am a warrior and this is my song
I bask in the glow of the rising war,
Lay waste to the ground of an enemy shore,
Wade through the blood spilled on the floor, and if
Another one stands I'll kill some more.
Bullet in the breech and a fire in me,
Like a cigarette thrown to gasoline, if
Death don't bring you fear I swear
You'll fear these marching feet."
"Is it not karaoke?"
"Come to the nightmare, come to me,
Deep down in the dark where the devil be,
In the maw with the jaws and the razor teeth,
Where the brimstone burns and the angel weeps.
Call to the gods if I cross your path and
My silhouette hangs like a body bag;
Hope is a moment now long past,
The shadow of death is the one I cast."
"No, mercifully."
"I am a Soldier I'm marching on,
I am a warrior and this is my song
My eyes are steel and my gaze is long,
I am a warrior and this is my song...
Now I live lean and I mean to inflict the grief,
And the least of me's still out of your reach.
The killing machine's gonna do the deed,
Until the river runs dry and my last breath leaves.
Chin in the air with a head held high,
I'll stand in the path of the enemy line.
Feel no fear, know my pride:
For God and Country I'll end your life."
"Fine. Suppose someone has to keep an eye on you."
"I am a Soldier and I'm marching on,
I am a warrior and this is my song
My eyes are steel and my gaze is long,
I am a warrior and this is my song…"
Vinci cocked his head as the two left, replaced by C, and violins began to play. "Ah, I know this one. Fits him."
"When the Devil is too busy,
And death's a bit too much,
They call on me, by name you see,
For my special touch.
To the gentlemen I'm Miss Fortune,
To the ladies I'm Sir Prize,
But call me by any name,
Any way it's all the same.
I'm the fly in your soup,
I'm the pebble in your shoe,
I'm the pea beneath your bed,
I'm the bump on every head,
I'm the peel on which you slip,
I'm a pin in every hip,
I'm the thorn in your side,
Makes you wriggle and writhe...
And it's so easy when you're evil,
This is the life, you see,
The Devil tips is hat to me,
I do it all because I'm evil,
And I do it all for free,
Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need
While there's children to make sad,
While there's candy to be had,
While there's pockets left to pick,
While there's grannies left to trip down the stairs,
I'll be there, I'll be waiting 'round the corner,
It's a game, I'm glad I'm in it,
'Cos there's one born every minute,
And it's so easy when you're evil,
This is the life, you see,
The Devil tips is hat to me,
I do it all because I'm evil,
And I do it all for free,
Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need.
I pledge my allegiance,
To all things dark and I,
Promise on my damned soul,
To, do as I am told
Lord Beelzebub has never seen,
A soldier quite like me,
Not only does his job, but does it happily...
I'm the fear that keeps you awake,
I'm the shadows on the wall,
I'm the monsters they become,
I'm the nightmare in your skull,
I'm the dagger in your back,
An extra turn upon the rack,
I'm the quivering of your heart
A stabbing pain, a sudden start...
And it's so easy when you're evil,
This is the life, you see,
The Devil tips is hat to me,
I do it all because I'm evil,
And I do it all for free,
Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need.
And I do it all for free,
Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need..
And I do it all for free,
Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need...
It gets so lonely being evil
What I'd do to see a smile
Even for a little while
And no one loves you when you're evil…"
The ghoul grinned.
"I'm lying through my teeth
Your tears are all the company I need."
"Malevolent, annoying, and repetitive. Fits you perfectly," Smoker said.
The Warlord looked highly offended.
"Repetitive?" he choked out. "Just for that, you're going to sing."
It's quiet.
I really hadn't known how to appreciate that, for some time. But the Dragon is silent, still there but just...quiet.
The streets are empty, the park we're in unoccupied, leaving me and Six alone on the bench we've claimed. And I…
Hell, I don't know.
He's still conked out on my shoulder. It's...cute. And, quite honestly, it's nice having him around in general. But….
But. This is...dangerous, in a lot of ways. I don't...fuck, I don't know how to deal with any of this. What he wants, what I want, it doesn't really matter. He's...vulnerable. I don't mean emotionally, I mean...literally. Fragile. Human. And at the end of the day, I can't pursue something with someone who registers in the back of my mind as a potential snack.
He deserves better than that. After everything else, he deserves better.
Six mumbles something sleepily, and blinks himself awake, running his hands through his hair.
"You know, if you're going to keep passing out like this, I'm going to get worried if you're getting enough sleep," I say, trying for levity.
Six shrugs, leaning into me a little more. "I do," he says, scent tinged with contentment. "Just…" He yawns. "It was...tiring, going up there."
"Worth it?"
"Yes," he mumbles. "Did you find it so?"
"Eh, you know how I am. I get to tweak Smoker's nose, I'm good. Helps that you're a better singer than me."
"Mrh." He buries his face in the folds of my coat.
"Why do you keep wanting to come out here, if it's too cold for you?" I ask with a chuckle, letting a tail out to shield him from the worst of it. It covers him gently, and one of his hands pulls it close like a blanket.
"Quiet," he answers. "Peaceful." He stops for a moment. "Thank you," he says softly. "Though I dispute that you are a worse singer than me."
"Dispute all you like," I say gently. "I'm better on guitar, anyway."
"Hrm." His legs swing up onto the bench, and he leans over still further, until his head's propped against my leg. I resist the sudden urge to card my hands through his hair. I'm probably giving him enough mixed messages as it is.
"Comfy?" I ask, a little sarcastically.
"Yes," he answers bluntly.
"Never really asked, but you're not all that comfortable with contact with anyone else," I say softly. "Why me, of all people?"
"You're...the Dragon," Six says quietly. "You're safe."
I let out a breath.
"Not always," I reply, thinking of Pravilno. Ostavila. The Old Man, who I couldn't save at all. Thinking of men and women who died screaming and in fear, because it was that or starvation. "Not for most people, anyway. Most humans."
"By some definitions, I am not human," Six says quietly. His scent radiates wariness, just a tinge of it under everything else. "It does not matter. Things are...simpler, near you."
"Could've fooled me," I say quietly. "Half the time, it seems my life insists on getting more complicated."
"And you deal with them," Six murmurs. "That's...good. It's what you do."
"Believe me, if you've got suggestions, I'll take them," I say. "What do you want, Six? With...this. Because…" I stop for a moment. "I don't think," I say carefully. "That I'm your best bet. Because of what I am...and because you…" I stop. "I don't really have the words," I admit. "But I don't want to see you getting hurt, because of me."
"Then…" Six pauses, and something in the scent surrounding him pulls back from cautiousness and into determination. "I understand," he says quietly. "Do you want me to go?"
"If you want to go back to the ship, I'll take you there. Don't want you getting frostbite," I say gently. "But... it's your choice. Not mine."
"Then I will stay." Six says quietly, settling slightly closer.
There was silence, scents tinged with contemplation before he spoke again.
"With, with my former crew, I used to think that avoiding pain was all there was. It was all I could... all I could achieve, all I could expect. Less hurting." he pauses for another moment, and I can almost see the thoughts aligning. "But now, there is more than that. I have come to realize that there is more than simply avoiding pain. That pain might be a risk worth taking. Even if it hurts, there exists the possibility for something... better. If all we do is avoid the hurt we'll never know what that more could have been."
My mouth was dry, my own voice hoarse. "I don't want to hurt you."
Six sits up and turns to look at me, pulling the tail closer about himself. "I know. I will not tell you that it is impossible you could, for nothing is truly impossible. I can only tell you that I don't think you will. Violence is in your nature, but the Dragon is not a mindless thing. I know that you will protect me, because you want to, and that you won't hurt me, because you don't want to." A ghost of a smile flickers around the edge of his expression. "And I believe you overestimate my fragility."
Six lays back down, his head pillowed on my leg. I sigh quietly. "Just that simple?"
He nods sleepily. "Just that simple." We watch the stars dimly twinkling for a few moments, until I almost think he's asleep, but he murmurs one last thing.
"The future will come. Fret not, Dragon. You are the tyrant who sits over all. If you will it, so will it be."
I let my head fall backwards and absently wrapped another tail around the big blue lunkhead. Almost silently, I whisper his last words.
"If I will it, so will it be." I smile, strike a match, and light my pipe. "Why the hell not?" I mutter.
In the distance, I can hear a familiar voice. We're not so far away from the bar that I can't tell who's singing.
"You can run on for a long time,
Run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Sooner or later God'll cut you down
Sooner or later God'll cut you down
Go tell that long tongue liar
Go and tell that midnight rider
Tell the rambler,
The gambler,
The back biter
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down
Well my goodness gracious let me tell you the news
My head's been wet with the midnight dew
I've been down on bended knee talkin' to the man from Galilee
He spoke to me in the voice so sweet
I thought I heard the shuffle of the angel's feet
He called my name and my heart stood still
When he said, "Son, go do My will!"
Go tell that long tongue liar
Go and tell that midnight rider
Tell the rambler,
The gambler,
The back biter
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down
You can run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Sooner or later God'll cut you down
Sooner or later God'll cut you down
Well you may throw your rock and hide your hand
Workin' in the dark against your fellow man
But as sure as God made black and white
What's down in the dark will be brought to the light
You can run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Sooner or later God'll cut you down
Sooner or later God'll cut you down
Go tell that long tongue liar
Go and tell that midnight rider
Tell the rambler,
The gambler,
The back biter
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut you down…"