AN: For those of you who want a visual of this opening scene, type in "Sag Harbor" in on Deviantart (or whatever search you like) to see. Its my home town. :)
Also, I don't know the name of the Dethklok member before Toki came along, but according to his signature in Season 3 Ep. 1 the initials look like M.H. Which is what I'm going to refer to him as. When I figure out his real name I'll fix it.
Changing of the Tides
August, 2002
Laura was still awake as the sun cracked the horizon of Sag Harbor. Sitting atop the tuna tower gave her a gorgeous view as the golden light was cast across the wharf, turning the black-blue waters into sparking amber. No matter how many days started like this, she never got tired of it.
To her right a crow landed on the pier and cackled at her. "Sorry Eric, no bait this morning." With a flap of its wings it closed the distance and landed on the railing she, herself, was leaning on. He grabbed a piece of her sun streaked hair in persistence. Sighing she bit a corner off of her buttered roll and held it out as he pecked at it gratefully. "You shit on my boat and your chum. Understand?" The bird cackled again before flying off to pester another captain.
Glancing at her watch (which was held together with duct tape) she figured it was time to get moving. Climbing over the railing she shimmied her way down to the deck before making her way to the cabins.
Opening the door to the crew quarters she smirked and leaned against the door frame. In the small bed were two forms tucked loosely under a sheet, one with long brown hair, the other with even longer blonde. Closing the distance she reached down and lightly shook the brunets shoulder. "Toki...Toki its morning. Time to get up. Better get ready, we've got a three hour drive if we're gonna beat the traffic."
Slowly, Toki peeled away from the young woman sleeping next to him. Laura looked at the bookshelf on the wall to avoid seeing more feminine flesh than she would have liked. "Ja, Captains." He said groggily.
"There's buttered rolls and coffee in the galley. Be sure to hit up rain locker and trim that mustache a bit. Kay? You don't want to be auditioning smelling of salt water and sex, do ya?" Toki smirked and blushed at her comment.
After seeing his 'date' off he grabbed a roll and coffee before heading to the bow of the Lil Yankee. While he watched the other charter boats leave the cove he reflected on the past few years.
Not long after getting off the cruise ship did he start job hunting, but other than knowing how to play a guitar and being capable of manual labor he didn't have any marketable job skills. Not having a US drivers license or address didn't help things either.
Several days later he was watching the fishing boats come into the harbor with their catch for the evening. One boat in particular stood out. It wasn't quite as streamline and shiny as some of the other yachts in port, but it wasn't decrepit and rusted through like some of the others either. It seemed broken in, functional, and judging from the haul, successful.
Standing on the pier, guitar and backpack over one shoulder he watched as the crew of the Lil Yankee load fish into orange laundry baskets to be weighed.
The individual in charge, to Toki's surprise, seemed to be a woman in her late twenties. She didn't wear anything to indicate as such nor did she shout orders or dominate her crew. There was simply an air of her that felt like if she asked something of you, you probably should do it. "Hey Bub!" The woman called, looking directly at him.
"Yes?" He asked, wondering what Bub meant.
"You wanna make a few bucks? I'm a little short handed." She said holding up one hand, two fingers wrapped together with white bandages. She laughed lightly at herself.*
*Slicing squid bait on a boat in the riptides is harder than it looks.
For the next hour he helped her and the other two members of her crew move several loads of scup, blue fish, stripped bass, and -to Toki's surprise- a six foot mako shark. When all the cargo was unloaded Toki watched as the woman spoke to the men at the pier as they exchanged information and money before bidding them farewell.
Returning to the guitarist she pulled two twenty dollar bills from her wad and handed them to him. "You've got some serious hustle in ya. Whoever's employin' ya is lucky."
Toki looked up at her a little ashamed. "I's not employed."
Her expression didn't show pity like he expected, but her head turned to the side for a moment as if in thought. "How open is your schedule?"
"It very opens." He answered.
"Got anywhere to live?" His face sank, not wanting to seem a vagabond, which he was. She took his silence as a 'no'. "Is that backpack all your clothes?" He nodded. "Do you get seasick?"
"Not dats I know of."
"Can you tie a knot and take orders?"
"Ja."
She paused a moment longer, leaving Toki nervous. What was with all the questions?
"Then you're hired." She said turning around and going back to her boat. "You can put your shit on the bottom bunk in the cabin, then head back up here to help me wash off the gear." She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. "And that's Captain to you, now."
Sag Harbor was a nice little drinking town with a fishing problem. The locals seemed quite down to Earth and content with life. The Corner Bar and 7-11 provided him with most of his non-swimming food. The shops were quaint and catered to tourism during the summer and locals in the winter.
Women, both local and "citiots" (a combo of city-idiots the captain called them) were drawn to Toki by his accent, body, and music talents, rarely leaving him alone on an eventful night. He didn't talk about this much with the rest of the crew. Usually his company was gone before morning, before the rest of the crew got on the boat. The Captain was usually the only one to see them come or go.
He had worked for her going on almost five years now. Technically he was a deck hand, but he filled whatever position was needed. It wasn't the most profitable of jobs, but it was work. The free lodging and all the fish he could catch didn't hurt either. Also, he was surprised to find Captain Laura a lover of music and took him to the open mic nights at a coffee house she frequented on Wednesdays.
Last week there was a new face in the crowd. He wore clothes that were just a little too formal for the setting, and paid extra attention to the entertainment instead of the food and drink. When Toki finished playing the man approached him and gave him his business card, saying he was a talent scout for a band needing a new guitarist. There was an address, date and time written on the back of the card.
That time was now only a few hours away, and if the seriousness of the man was any indication, he should be there. If he could make it in New York City, he was told he could make it anywhere.
Today was the day they got their new guitarist and the thought made Skwisgaar sick to his stomach. Now that M.H. was gone he was getting comfortable being the only one who's riffs would be heard in the next album. He could do rhythm and lead, recording each separately and editing them into the CD, but that didn't work in concerts. Granted Pickles, the drummer could play guitar alright, but there would be no drums then. It was inevitable that they would need another band member. Skwisgaar was just hoping it wouldn't be so soon.
Looking at his Rolex he figured he should at least get up and take a shower before the auditioning started. Crawling out from under his polar bear skin blankets he walked naked to his massive bathroom, ignoring the two hookers still asleep in his bead. The klokateers would clear them out before he even washed his hair.
Outside the recording studio Toki and Laura pulled up in a worn '89 Honda Accord. "This looks like it." Laura said, double checking the address. "Alright there's no way in hell I'm going to find a parking spot, so I'm going to go check out China Town for a while. Give me a call when you're all done, alright?"
"Okay." Toki said getting out of the car before pulling his guitar out of the back seat. "Wishes me luck."
"You don't need it."
Skwisgaar rubbed his temples as the auditions went on and on. Where did the talent scouts get these dildos? Tallentless fuck after tallentless fuck streamed in the door and played the song they had chosen to apply. One guy had even come in playing a ballad. A fucking ballad!
Charles, the bands CFO had dismissed one guitarist after another until the line outside the door diminished to none. The four remaining members of Dethklok looked at each other with annoyed disdain. "I told ye we shoulda gone to Hollywood, ya douchebags." Said Pickles as he rummaged through the mini bar.
Their manager shifted the glasses on his face. "Well it seems that we will go there soon enough, after interviewing applicants in Chicago and Tuscon first. There seems to be-" His sentence was cut short when there was a knock at the door. A tall, well built man poked his masked head in.
"Pardon the interruption my Lords, but there is one more applicant. He claims he hit traffic."
Charles cleared his throat. "The application process is over. We've had enough disappointments for one day." The band let out a cumulative sigh of relief.
"Shank you." Murderface spat in relief.
"Yes my Lords." The klokateer said before vanishing back through the door, leaving it partially open. "I'm sorry Mr..."
"Toki."
A pair of ears perked up inside the room.
"...Toki. The auditions are over." He said in the most monotone, spirit crushing voice Toki had heard in over a decade. Standing there in silence for a moment, he tried to think of how to explain that he never even got to see the band. "Sir, please don't make me escort you out."
"I can't sees dem at all?" He asked.
"No." The hooded man did not elaborate.
"Fine." He said, defeated, before turning to leave. Half way down the hall he heard a deep, thick accented voice call to him.
"Toki?!"
He turned. The man was very tall, with long blonde hair and had a face that struck Toki as one he should remember. When the blonde got closer he did. "Skwis...Skwisgaar right?" He smiled remembering the name. "You gave me de tickets to New York!"
"Ja." He nodded as if it weren't a life altering action to the young man. "So you're auditioning for Dethklok?" He asked in Swedish, remembering that Toki understood it. It was refreshing to speak his mother language to someone other than himself.
"Yeah...well I was. Your audition is over."
Slinging an arm over Toki's shoulder he began to lead him back to the room, past the confused klokateer. "We have time for one more." He suddenly became serious. "Now when you go in there don't play what I heard at the pub in Ireland. That was good but this is a death metal band. The last guy to play something happy nearly got a bottle of booze tossed at him." Toki suddenly looked nervous. "I'm not letting you play because I like you." He clarified. "I'm letting you play because I know you've got talent, but not enough to show me up. No offense."
"None taken."
"So when you get in there you play the hardest, fastest, most complicated music you can muster. Alright?" Toki nodded. "And no letting on that I was nice to you. I've kinda got this loner, asshole thing going for me."
"Sure." The younger main said, smiling a little.
"Good." Skwisgaar said in English, shoving Toki through the door. "Now don't be makings me looks bad."
Stumbling through the doorway, he caught his footing and looked up at four pairs of annoyed faces. "Is this an, uh, friend of yours Skwisgaar?" The manager asked.
"No. Dis some kid I saw play in Irelands years backwards. He ams better dan de dildos dat play today."
"Very well." He turned to Toki. "You have five minutes."
Suddenly in the spotlight, Toki began to panic. His heart was pounding in his ears as the bands glare bored holes in him. Plugging his guitar into the provided amp, he the strap over his shoulder and closed his eyes. Skwisgaar had told him to play something metal. The only metal he had ever heard was angry, loud, and got his heart racing like no other type of music could. He thought of that as other thoughts crept into his head.
Suddenly Toki's wrists itched. As if there was cold metal pressed hard against them.
With that fear, hatred, nightmares, sorrow, and pain crept into his heart, down his arms, and into his fingers.
Eleven minutes later he finished, barely hearing any of his own notes. Realizing he was clenching his jaw he relaxed it and opened his eyes. Three of the four faces looked in shock, including Skwisgaars. The man in the suit only seemed mildly impressed.
Oh Odin, he was good, Skwisgaar worried. He had expected the young man to play something above and beyond what he had heard from the other applicants, but nothing like THAT. What he just heard was almost as fast, almost as metal, almost as brutal as his own playing. This was great for the band, but very bad for him.
The band was looking for a rhythm guitarist...not someone that had the potential to upstage Skwisgaar and replace him. Torn between the bands future and his own he looked at his manager for an answer, trying not to show the worry in his own ice blue eyes.
Making a few notes on his clipboard for what seemed like forever, he finally placed the pen in his coat pocket and looked up at the young man.
"Welcome to Dethklok."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Alright it was a short chapter, and I know I said I would make this only three chapters. However, I'm going to make one more chapter for those who enjoy T/S slash. If you don't enjoy that sorta thing, don't read the next chapter when I write it.
Reviews = Brutal Love
