Or-lan-do626: Yes indeed! Button up your raincoats because more progression is on the way!
iscord323: Yes, that's perfectly okay. I hope some translator can help you with our language distances! (Espanol: Sí, está perfectamente bien. ¡Espero que algún traductor pueda ayudarlo con nuestras distancias lingüísticas!)
Normally I would've posted a chapter tomorrow, approximately every 24 hours like I have been doing, but these next couples chapters are short, so why the hell not just post one today! Maybe I'll post two tomorrow as well, but we'll just have to wait and see.
Anyways, wasn't that last chapter kinda interesting? I know, kind of dialogue heavy, but I had an absolute blast writing the Ferryman's speech. And yeah, canonically the Ferryman probably doesn't look like a man made out of plants, but I get to have fun okay? :(
Anyways, enjoy!
Favorites and Follows are thanked. Reviews are encouraged!
Mono regretted flinging fear back at the Ferryman after the warning was heeded, but maybe it was because he wasn't phased by things of those sorts anymore. The Ferryman said that Pale City resided to the west, so between Mono and this mysterious Lady, she was the most dangerous thing for miles. And Mono didn't really want to be dangerous. But fate had spoken its words, and it was good to be thankful for whatever happiness it gave.
In all of his life, Mono never had been onto a boast that swam upon the actual ocean. The door that took him and Six to the city didn't count as it brushed alongside the currents. Those currents last salt, but not the blood of its victims.
The Ferryman threw a mask of his own over his face and wore a suit that was somewhat reminiscent of a raincoat. Once a person made of plants and now a person who worked one with the waters past the bays. Maybe that was the Transmission's inspiration for that transformation.
There was a time Mono once imagined the world to be covered head to toe with vile monsters. He was wrong and probably very naive until now. Alongside the ports that were built over the sandy shore, there was a shacky sort of village. It reminded him of all of the outhouses that existed up on the Hunter's forest. These houses were much more taken care of.
They were told the boat would take a while to get ready. Apparently sailing across the seven seas involved more than just hopping onto a boat and hoping they came across the Maw. Time needed to be taken into account of how long it would take to find the Maw, which routes to take, predicting the weather... It made Mono's head ache with too much information trying to shove into his brain all at once.
Six had shown the Ferryman the folded poster of the Maw she kept in one of her pockets. He read the strange letters on the top in the native language of these people.
"'M 'member s'me tales 'out eh Maw." The children watched him as he cleared out the bottom of his little row boat. It could fit about two people of its owner's size. "Aye... 'M 'ay Maw goes 'erywe'r, but d'ffer'nt places. All d'ffer'nt places, all same 'ime."
It was a strange thing to think about a huge boat that somehow managed to move around the world through the course of an entire year, arriving at each stop at a perfectly scheduled time. Always on schedule. Mono picked up some clues from some of the village residents. Some spoke fragments of English, mostly only words and never as best as the Ferryman did.
Mono learned the Lady was a very perfect sort of person. He also learned some untainted humans lived in the village, mostly children.
The children did not like Six very much.
He thought it was because he was there. Many of the villagers watched him, curious. It seemed he was the only one who wore a coverage over the entirety of his face. Only the occasional light of a lamppost gave away a small gleam of his dark eyes. Other than that, he was a strange kid who walked along the one with hunger. A total mystery. The children who wore raincoats similar to Six's didn't seem to mind him as much, but they hissed at Six like animals. Six hissed back at them, which caused most to hide in the shadows or run away into the shabby buildings.
Once upon a time, Mono was told stories about how creatures in the outside world feasted upon the meat of children's bones. It was yet another story that was an attempt to keep him inside the now long gone hidden sanctuary. It was yet another story that succeeded, giving him nightmares of cannibalism. And it was yet another story that sang true about what horrors were amongst the world.
He'd never seen cannibalism to its full extent, but he knew he didn't have to look very hard to find traces of it through the windows of the food shops and little market booths. The Ferryman told them he needed a while to get everything ready, so he encouraged them to explore the "n'tive s'n'ry". The native scenery sounded magnificent, but it definitely was not. Like the Pale City, there could've been a time where this pathetic village was once a glittering metropolis. When everything had changed, it was almost like any hint of those wondrous places suddenly vanished. Mono knew it had been a long time since civilization shifted into monsters and a strange sort of apocalypse. Surviving meant giving into primal instincts. Giving into primal instincts eventually leads to people eating people. There didn't seem to be much of anything, especially to those who lived far beyond the two known largest sources of power.
Mono was unsure of what life was like when the Transmission first broadcasted or when the Lady first appeared. Were people afraid of them, or did they give into them hoping for the return of humanity? Silently, Mono pondered about how those two powerful entities might have started with promises but soon ruled with fear.
It also made Mono wonder about people that were born naturally with odd abilities like his. Able to rival the highers... He shivered at what he did with his own hands.
Flickers of space would warp around his fingers, glitching. It almost felt like his powers begged him to use them to the extent like the Transmission.
Mono would deny their pleads. As best he could, that is. He could never ignore his simmering instincts.
The sky started to shed colors of orange and reds as dusk finally allowed the night to come out from hiding. Shops started closing, lamps clicking off from inside. People deserted the streets and fled into their homes. Mono and Six were walking back to the docks, where the Ferryman told them to return at sundown. The idealistic time for ocean expeditions always seemed better during the day where there was light and you could see. That was Six's argument. But the Ferryman told them it was easier to get aboard the Maw when its guests weren't pooling in and out. Six obviously didn't like that answer. Mono had stayed silent, not wanting to get tangled within the conversation.
During the time of preparation, the rowboat was cleaned and treated for the arrival of visitors. The salty smell of the ocean only barely cut through the stench of whatever cleaning products were used. Other than that, the only new things that were tucked into the boat's bottom frames was a suitcase, a line of rope and a pair of paddles in which to manually move the boat against the protesting currents. Amongst the starboard was a lantern that dangled, casting a wave of light into the water below.
Their ride was small and nothing but fancy, but it would serve its purpose.
WAves of the ocean circled around the boat as the Ferryman stepped inside it. A large chunk submerged down into the water, floating back up when the weight settled in its cavity. Mono and Six looked at each other, sharing a wave of hesitation.
The uncertainty was strong within Mono, but tuning into her, he could sense small waves of fear. Fear of the water, fear of the ocean.
Fear of being dragged down underneath of darkness. Never seeing daylight. Air being snatched away forcefully until lungs were filled with water and you were a drifting body tangled in pale dead coral.
Mono shivered. He probably should stop tuning into people's emotions and thoughts so much. Especially Six's. She had a powerful yet horribly grotesque imagination.
He offered her his hand. "You're not taking this journey alone, you know."
She took it, hers sweaty. Mono did not mind.
"I know."
He took a few steps back, Six trusting him. She followed, correlating perfectly with the practice of a deeply formed companionship. Her hand trailed up to his wrist and tightened. Mono could feel those fingernails dig unintentionally near a major artery. But he kept calm, holding onto hers, and bolted towards the frame of the boat.
Six let out a sound of alarm as they both jumped off the port's edge and landed in the boat. It was a rough landing, but they would manage. They always did when it came to obstacles such as these.
The boat tilted back with the sudden addition of two new bodies. Six's mouth widened, her arms grabbing and weaving around Mono's, nails sharp through his sleeve. A small noise that almost sounded like the beginnings of a screech came out from deep within her throat. Nothing ended up coming out as the boat steadied itself.
Mono's bag brushed against a wad of hair that stuck out of that yellow hood as he faced Six. She faced him at the same time, then quickly unlatching her arms from his and scooted a few centimeters away from him. Her legs dangled from where she sat, slumping over so her arms did too.
Awkwardly, Mono lowered his arm onto his lap.
The Ferryman cleared his throat. "Aye-er... We 'est be set sailin' 'ow." He picked up the oars and used them to push the boat away from the port and into the world of blue.