By: Nightelfcrawler & Amai
Author's note: We're insane
Chapter Seven: Aftermath
The first thing that hit Chrno, was a pounding headache, which promptly made him empty the contents of his stomach, which was mostly booze anyway.
The Elder was by his side immediately, rubbing his back in comfort before offering him water to counteract the hangover, his goggles glinting with worry. "You alright, my boy?"
He gulped the liquid down, coughing a little bit as he swallowed too much and almost gagging, but managed to get it down and sit up, wiping his mouth, and looking around confused for a moment, before his eyes snapped over at the Elder, blazing. "Rosette...?"
He just offered him a roll. "She's sleeping. Got a mighty good knock to the head, might be out for a while." He pushed the roll into his slightly taloned hands, "Eat."
He took it, staring down at it dumbly for a moment then taking a small bite and eyes un-focusing a bit as he went over what had happened in his head, which was all quite foggy at the moment.
The Elder stretched out his kinks before peering out the door, "If you like, you can go see her." He gave a nice grin to him. "Mighty fine choice of a crush you have."
Chrno blinked then blushed faintly at that, looking down quickly, the image of her snuggling Remi the night before still fresh in his mind. "It's... not like that... I'm just... grateful to her for helping me."
The Elder just have him a knowing look. "Ah yes. Quite the competition you have, do you?" He patted him on the shoulder, urging him towards the door. "Better get your foot in the door, my boy, or else you have no hope." He winked, which was a odd sight with goggles, before pushing another roll into his hands. "Here, give it to her if she wakes up."
He took it and nodded a bit, still blushing, and started towards her door slowly, knawing on the roll idly. He wiggled his shoulders a bit as something tickled and itched back there, and ran a hand over his shoulder. Odd... he seemed to remember being shot... but there was no trace, just a bit of stiffness....
The first thing that came into reason to Rosette Christopher, was that EVERY thing ached. Unlike Chrno, being human meant that every cut, every bruise, every bump sent throbbing hurt all through her. She could open an eye, but the other was forced shut by the large mottled marking on her cheek, so she chose to stay still, and quiet. Even her throat hurt from where one of the soldiers had grabbed her. Damn it, what had happened?
Chrno opened the door slowly, and peeked into her room, holding the roll in his hand as he worriedly looked towards the bed, seeing she wasn't moving yet. She looked awful... He walked over slowly and then glanced to the side, grabbed a rag, and dipped it in the water in the basin, laying it lightly on her forehead, taking a seat in the chair next to her with a small sigh.
She shifted a bit as that cloth was set on her forehead, before forcing down a whimper and cracking open one eye to see who it was. "Ah... Chrno..." Her voice was a bit weak, but she smiled at him anyway. "How are you doing? Ok?"
He jumped a little, glancing at her quickly, but then smiled and tried to look casual. "Ah... I think I drank too much... "
She laughed a bit at that. "Oh yes. I think you did." She reached over a hand and squeezed his arm. "I'm glad you're ok. Really..." Her faint voice was full of relief, a heavy burden lifting from her at the sight of his smile.
He nodded and took the rag off of her forehead, and bit his lip. "Are you... ok? I'm sorry... that you got hurt..."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, really." She wriggled her nose as a drip of water ran its way down her cheek and pooled on her lips, where she licked it away. "Just.... sore... nothing I haven't recovered from before. Don't be sorry. It's not your fault."
He looked down, nodding a little, and put the rag back on her forehead, looking a bit glum. "What were they after?"
She looked off to the side. "Me." She said, her voice betraying why. She had caused some really bad trouble for the Fleet when she was younger, when her loathing for the Apostles drove her to destroy 5 of their ships and pillage 20 of them, right in one of their own harbors. They'd been after her ever since. To go out drinking and such without worries, was amateur... and she had paid for it.
He looked up at her, questions in his eyes, but he didn't press it. "Well... at least they didn't get you."
To that she was silent for quite a while, tears threatening to flow if she said anything. Finally, after a stiff silence, she spoke, her voice wavering as she looked away from him. "Yeah. Lucky."
He stared back at her, worried. She was really upset.....he wasn't sure what to do... everything seemed a little... well.... difficult. But he leaned forward on a decision, and embraced her softly from behind. "I'm sorry... if I can help...? "
"...." At that, she just trembled a bit, the long years of keeping a strong face just crumbling under his question, and she turned herself around in his arms and just let it all out. She buried her face in his warm chest as she just shook silently, her arms tight about his shoulders despite the pain, completely grateful for his presence, even though she couldn't voice it. It seemed that once she had let it out, there was nothing she could do but let it run it's course.
He just closed his eyes, feeling sad that she was so upset, but he gently rubbed her back like a big brother might, and held her close, letting her cry for as long as she needed to.
Finally, she was no longer soaking his skin with her tears, rather instead was just laying against his chest, eyes closed and slightly more relaxed. Her breath was warm on his damp skin as she drifted in and out of sleep, hands just lightly brushing against his ears as she lay, half in his lap, snuggled close in his arms, completely at ease in his presence.
He didn't even think of breaking the spell that they sat under... it just felt good to have someone... to have her... close to him. It was like the piece of his life that always felt missing, was completed for a little moment even if it might not last long. His hand brushed her cheek lightly, pushing some of the tears away.
She leaned in softly to his touch, her cheeks tinting pink, and she unconsciously snuggled closer, wanting or rather needing to be held, hugged, treated like a girl, rather then like the roughhousing, high and mighty, Pirate Captain. In times like these, she just needed to be loved, even if she didn't realize it herself.
He smiled, leaning over her a little, feeling very warm and happy inside... as if heat were pouring through him, warming him from within. His hand found her hair, and tangled in it, talons doing a lovely job of combing and massaging her scalp.
They stayed like that for quite a while, Rosette unable to pull herself out of that comforted daze that she was in, resting against him, shivering a tiny bit each time his talons lifted the hair on the back of her neck. Finally, she pulled back a little, placing a hand on his cheek. "Thank you, Chrno. You are really a great person."
He smiled down at her, a kind warm look on his face as he studied her face. So beautiful. His breath tickled her cheek lightly and he leaned down, hesitatingly, as if he wasn't sure what to do.
She blinked cutely at first, unsure of what he was going to do, before she blushed, her heart speeding up as she hesitantly wondered if it would be alright to kiss him, and then berated herself for thinking such a thing when Yuan was... suddenly she was very very confused, mixed with the hang-over, and the dull ache of her wounds, she didn't truly notice that her hand had given him the slight pulling incentive he needed.
He leaned forward, and cutely blushed, brushing lips with hers very lightly, not like the previous kiss they'd shared on the airboard... this was tentative, and almost childish.
She flushed just as brilliantly, startled by the contact that her heart almost jumped out of her chest. But... his lips were so soft against hers, warm and she kissed him back, just as tentatively, like a child trying to steal some cookies without being caught.
After a few minutes he pulled back, cheeks red, a shy look on his face. "Um...."
She went to scratch her cheek nervously, wondering 'what now?' only to get the mottled bruise, and squeaked painfully, "OW!!"
He gasped and pushed a hand to her cheek lightly. "Don't scratch there..."
She squirmed, moving to try and remove his hand. "I can't help it, it itches!" She complained. "You're not distracting me anymore! Itchy! Itchy!"
He sighed, and reached a hand up to grab some clean bandages. She watched him with an annoyed look, itching carefully at her cheek as he cleaned her bandages. She didn't complain as he did so, just waiting patiently until she had the chance to propose something. "Hey. We should be going to rescue the crew."
He looked up at her and nodded slowly at that. "Yeah.... but how? Aren't there just a few of us left?"
She scratched at the bandage, looking a bit annoyed. "Yeah. We might have to get some help... that is... if we can find him again."
He blinked. "Him?"
She smiled, before forcing herself to her feet, wincing in pain with every move. "Yeah. Jo...Ethedril.. He seemed interested in mischief yesterday, maybe... I could convince him to help."
"Oh... the blonde prince? Maybe..." He looked thoughtful, shifting about in his chair, leaning over a little so his elbows lounged on his knees.
"Anyways, it's a few days trip to the Apostle Homeland. Rest, relax, and hope that everyone's safe." She smiled at him, rubbing one wrist. "Ok?"
He nodded looking down at that, a faint frown on his features, but he didn't voice his concerns, instead he just smiled back at her quickly. "Yeah."
She reached down and patted his cheek, bumping noses with him. "Cheer up, it could be worse."
He smiled at that and nodded a bit, closing his eyes a little at the closeness of her. "I guess... we could have died."
She nodded solemnly, resting her forehead against his lightly, before putting her hands on his shoulders. "Hey, promise me, no matter what, you won't get yourself killed." She peered at him intently, "If it gets too rough anytime, leave, hide, don't put yourself in the position that you could get shot again."
He blinked and looked down at that, the memory of the guy pointing the gun at him flashing to his mind. "Uh.... but...." He hesitated. He didn't remember altogether what had happened.... but he had an idea. "I don't think you have to worry."
She looked into his eyes a bit more, before tipping his chin and kissing him softly, as if searching for something, her heart pounding a bit as she tasted his lips, before pulling away swiftly, blushing up a storm. "But, still." She turned, putting a hand to her lips, and waved with the other. "Now get outta here."
He blushed at that, blinking cutely completely surprised, but then jumped up almost eagerly and pulled the door open for her, smiling brightly. "Right!"
She laughed a bit, pushing her eyebrows together a bit as she looked at him adoringly. So cute. "Ok! We're going to get those bastards good!" She stomped up the stairs towards the deck, ignoring her wounds, where Remington was piloting. "Onwards!"
Chrno dove up the stairs after her, grinning, and broke onto deck.
Remi was just finishing getting rid of the bodies, with only a few left to dump overboard, the deck all clean, though a few spots were still there. As they burst up, he glanced up with a somber expression.
Rosette stepped up behind him, pressing one hand to his shoulder. "Hey there. Sorry." She apologized. "I should be helping you."
He glanced over at her, and wiped his brow lightly, smearing some blood on his forehead from his work. "Nah, don't worry about it. You took quite a blow..." His eyes slid over to Chrno. "Yo, kid, you help, since you're not injured anymore, right?"
Chrno blinked, pointing at himself, but then nodded. "Uh... sure."
She frowned a bit, and pulled the wet cloth from her pocket to clean up her First Mate's face a bit getting rid of the blood, before stepping back and allowing them to finish up what they were doing, her eyes distant, and her emotions jumbled.
After a little bit, the deck was clean, and Remi leaned back wiping his brow, as Chrno pushed his damp bangs back, since it was a warm day.
"Well... we should figure out where we're going next, I suppose... we can't rescue the men alone..." Remington pointed out.
Rosette nodded, looking up at the star filled space, and at the sun they were passing so close to. "I'm going to try and enlist an Apostle prince we met. I think it's our best shot."
He glanced over at her, eyebrow raised. "An Apostle prince? I had no idea you had connections like that, especially considering your disposition towards them.... however... I suppose that might work."
She smiled sheepishly, pulling up her knees. "Until then, this ship's going to be unbearable, right?"
"Unbearable?" He queried. "Not too bad... with the Elder running the engines, and if we can teach the kid a thing or two, you can steer, and between us boys we'll handle the rigging. It'll be a chore, but we've done worse"
She laughed, eyes glittering. "I meant boring, but now that you've assigned us jobs, I guess we can keep busy."
He just chuckled and cracked his back a bit. "Indeed.... luckily they didn't bother shooting apart the place... nothing's damaged.... you want to teach him the ropes while I check the stores?"
She nodded, stepping off the box to head towards Chrno, with measured, pained steps. "Alright... this isn't too hard..." She went off in a tangent on how to deal with the rigging.
Chrno listened to her lecture, luckily having a quick mind and easily getting the hang of things, as he glanced up at the sails above them, memorizing what they were all named, and what needed to open and close when....
It took nearly half the day to do so, though, and by the time they had left the sun's field, she finally finished everything, knowing the ship like the back of her hand. "Got all that?"
He nodded slowly, the warm sun making him peel the bandanna off and mob his brow with the dry ends, as she finished her tutorial. "I think so.... I might mess up a few times though, before I get it right."
She patted his shoulder warmly, smiling brightly up at him. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll do fine." She poked him once on the nose though, "But if you mess up TOO bad, I might have to punish you!"
He blinked, eyes going cross-eyed and staring at her finger on his nose. "E...eh? Punish?" He blinked then smiled. "It can't be worse than the tattoos or the earrings."
She laughed, winking. "Those were the rewards."
He looked cutely terrified for a moment, and flicked one of the rings with a claw. "Erk... I guess I'd better not mess up then, huh?"
She grinned widely and just patted him on the shoulder, painfully climbing up on the prow of the boat to keep watch, despite how tired she was. Couldn't have another attack now, could they?
He smiled watching her, and then set about doing some of the stuff she'd shown him... it wasn't hard, and actually, he enjoyed going up the ropes, shimmying up them easily, as if he weighed nothing at all.
Rosette was enjoying it too, her eyes kept getting distracted by his firm chest, form-fitting pants, rippling violet hair... Since when did she develop a crush in one week? It wasn't natural! Must.... ignore... feelings....
Remi however, didn't miss that look of hers... he frowned a little, throwing a glance up at the demon, and then back at her. Oh yes... he didn't like this one bit... He slid up next to her, as the ship sailed onwards through the setting sun. "Hey." He spoke quietly. "Do you think perhaps it might be more advantageous if we could use him to his full abilities...?"
She looked sideways at him, blinking a bit. "Eh? What do you mean?" She cocked her head to the side, truly not understanding his question.
"Well.... if we get into another tight spot..." He trailed off then looked at her meaningfully. "After all... I too was knocked-out like you were.... the one who killed all those men... wasn't the two of us... "
She looked down at the blood spots on the deck, getting silent for a moment, remembering the horrified screams that had came from Chrno's side of the battle before she was knocked out. "I don't know..."
"We could use that kind of ferocity... no one would bother us...."
She looked up at Chrno, watching him happily go through the riggings. "But... I like him like this..."
"I know... and I feel more comfortable with him in this manner, but sooner or later... he'll break out of it.... do you realize that he broke one of the runes himself this time? There are three unsealed now, not just two."
She looked up at him sharply, her hand going to the clock. What if they had missed one of the clues, what if... She glanced at it, peering at the glowing face. What had they missed because of that outburst? "We should ask him first."
"I suppose... though I doubt he remembers much." He leaned on the railing staring up at him.
She looked over at Remi, holding the clock. "I mean..." She offered it to him for examination. "It's all so complicated."
He took it, and peered at it, staring at the face. "Yeah... it is. Never seen anything like it... maybe the Elder can find a way...."
She looked back up at Chrno fondly. "I'm sure he could figure it out, after all, he's been learning so quick already."
He frowned a bit. "Yes.... that's what I'm afraid of...."
She cocked her head to the side. "Why? It's a good thing. Look how good he is already..."
He looked at her, with a rather hard glance, but then looked away quickly. "Yeah. I suppose so."
She blinked at that, looking alarmed, and reached out a hand to press to Remington's shoulder. "Wait, Yuan. you ok?" She peered up at him worriedly, reaching to put the back of her hand on his forehead.
He pulled back from her, shaking his head, and striding out towards the deck. "I'm fine. You should talk to him... then get some rest."
She bit her lip, looking hurt before she put her shield back up and looked down at the ground, listening for him go. "Right." She took a step to the left, searching the riggings for the violet haired demon. Chrno was lounging up in the crow's nest, leaning out, gazing dreamily out at the clouds brushing by the sail tips, and the wind that played with his hair. She looked flatly at the nest, and sighed, before reaching for a rope, after all, she had to get back into the game eventually, and started hauling herself up, cursing along the way. He amazingly, didn't notice her coming, humming a soft tune under his breath as she got close, eyes closed, and a smile on his face.
She promptly leaned over the edge and abruptly lost her balance, toppling down right on him, a mess of braids, skirts and limbs.
"AHH!" He was flattened, in an awkward pile since the nest was small, and barely big enough to hold the two of them. "R... Rosette!"
She struggled to climb off, wincing in pain as she stressed her wounds. "Ow! Crap!" after much struggling, she finally got off him, huffing and puffing.
He stood up, hair ruffled and sticking up every which way as he blinked down at her, trying to help her up and only succeeding in stumbling, nearly falling out, catching himself just in time. "Eek!"
"Wah, Chrno!" She snatched him back, tumbling over so that she was pinned beneath him, and suddenly, things got a whole lot more blush-worthy.
He blushed tenfold, and quickly stumbled back, this time grabbing onto the side so that they both fit, though it still was rather tight. "Ah. Sorry!"
She exhaled a breath, panting a bit. "Ah, right." She rolled her eyes, wincing as she sat back up. "Hey!" She swatted at him, "How would you like to be able to protect us? Hm?"
He blinked and then giggled, making fake arm muscle motions. "I can protect us!"
She laughed, giggling mercilessly. "No you moron! I mean really protect us, as in making sure that I don't get hurt like this again?" She poked at her bandaged cheek lightly.
He blinked down at her, eyes widening a bit, and breath catching. "How?"
She pulled out the watch, dangling it a bit. "We can unseal this, get rid of the runes, and then, you can use your full strength again. How bout it?"
He blinked and peered at it, hand going back to his neck again as he looked suddenly doubtful. "Um..... well.... maybe."
She sighed a bit, looking dejected. "Well, don't worry. You don't have to do it if you don't want to…" She yawned a bit, and stood up with a small noise of pain. "Just... think about it, ok?"
He nodded a little, staring at the clock with a distant look. He was beginning to slowly understand what was going on... especially with the last time.... he'd felt the part of himself that had been missing, but it had scared him too... He ran a hand through his hair nervously, stopping with an odd look on his face and flushing a bit before quickly shoving his hand in his pocket, looking around nervously.
She gave him a fond pat on the head, but stopped for a minute, before blinking and feeling around. "What the...what's..." One... two small points... she moved the violet locks aside... and there were... "HORNS?!"
He turned pink. "E.... eh.... I guess...." He rubbed the small nub sticking out of his head hidden beneath his hair and shivered a little bit as it sent a tingle down his back. "Weird... really weird."
She did the same, running her thumb and forefinger on the very tip, feeling the point softly, interested. "Wow, no kidding"
He squirmed a little, as a small spark of golden energy flicked from the tip to her finger the more she rubbed. "Ah... tickles....!"
She laughed, rubbing it more, before reaching with the other hand and massaging the points softly, "Well, I never thought I'd be able to touch a demon's horns. It's so cool." She spun her finger about one. "Really soft."
He flushed more, shivering as she rubbed them, which was like someone tickling the very middle of your back where you couldn't stop them... it felt good and yet tickled at the same time. "Ah... I'm sure... it's not really like that... they're so small..."
She continued to massage them nonchalantly, enjoying it like one would while scratching behind a cat's ear, it was soothing in a way, and she half-closed her eyes as she moved her fingers in a soft rhythmic motion about them, thinking about this and that. "Not really, they're cute. If they ever grow, I'm sure they'll look even cooler."
He just closed his eyes, in a semi-content state, since it felt very strange... he could feel the small bit of power they provided rushing through him... if they ever got bigger, wow... what would that be like. "I thought that... things like this only happened when you opened that thing..."
She blinked. "You broke the seal apparently, they grew when you did." She pulled her hand back slowly, tapping his nose. "Figure out how to do it again and it'll save us a lot of trouble."
He slowly took the clock, and held it in his hand, running a thumb over the face with a distant thoughtful look. "Broke the seal... so that's why...."
She cocked her head to the side, before trailing her fingers from his horns down to the seal on the back of his neck. "You forced one open yourself. You don't remember?"
He slowly lifted his gaze to meet hers, a flicker of something deeper hiding inside his golden orbs. "Kind of... I remember desperately wanting to stop them from hurting you... I remember..." He gulped a bit looking pale. "Killing some of them..." He looked down. "And then I remember power... lots of power... and something comforting... telling me that everything would be ok... and that's about it."
She looked at him distantly, before kneeling down next to him and wrapping him in a warm, comforting embrace, although careful of her own painful injuries. "Yeah. It WILL be alright, I promise you." She rested her good cheek on his head, right over one of the tiny stubs, nuzzling his soft hair lightly. "We'll get everything back together, find the Heart of the Astral Line, and then with all the treasure, we'll retire and just live off of that like bloated pigs."
He just smiled and leaned into her, wrapping his arms around her and leaning his head on the crook of her shoulder. "Yeah.... that would be very nice..." He sighed a little, and felt that tickle on his back again and squirmed lightly, rubbing his back against the edge of the wooden crow's nest. "Adventure... it's fun though... I'm enjoying myself."
She grinned. "Yeah. Adventure never gets old." She closed her eyes a bit, enjoying hugging him, as if he was the plush teddy bear she never had as a child, and giggled a bit as he rubbed his back on the wood, reaching over to do him a favor and give him a good scratch, pulling up the back of the vest only to blink widely, and pull back, almost falling off of the crow's nest. "What the…! WINGS!"
He blinked and looked at her with the cutest little look. "What?" He craned his neck around to see, but couldn't since they were pretty small... obviously not big enough to actually function at the moment... the largest they were when stretched out fully only reached the edge of his arms on either side.
Rosette's eyes glittered, gleamed and her lips curled up cattishly as she caught herself on the rim, and promptly tackled him. "ARGH YOU'RE TOO CUTE!!!"
"Uwahh!!!!!!!" The nest just wasn't big enough for her to tackle him, and over he went. Luckily, his foot happened to catch on a loose rope, and so he caught, dangling by the foot, in mid-air.
Rosette, was less fortunate, and landed in a heap of ropes on the deck. "Ow."
Remi poked his head up from the hold below, peering around worried. "Everything ok?"
Chrno just struggled in mid-air, little wings flapping furiously on his back, hands flailing, braid coming undone. "WAHHHH."
The captain just lay still in the rope pile, now too horribly in pain to do much more than whimper. It was going to be a rough few days until they reached the Apostle Home land....