Seriously? You haven't left me yet? Props peoples…major props…
The next time Marco was on deck with Ace was during the morning shift of watch. Hours after midnight and hours until daybreak.
The Gorgόna was sleeping when Marco sauntered over to his cage, but was up and spitting by the time the first mate sat down. This time thought he didn't let the curses and the rage get to him.
For almost all of the watch he listened to Ace yell in both common and what he thinks is called Mythikós, the forgotten language of all Mythicals. But that he learned from Pops later on. This morning was completely about Ace calling him a liar.
Name calling never bothered Marco, the marines had called him much worse than a liar after all. He didn't have a chance to mention anything to Ace or have any sort of conversation with him before the breakfast bell rang and signaled end of shift.
Without a look to the Gorgόna but a light toned "Later", Marco made his way to the galley, wondering if he could still con Thatch out of his sweets.
The following days were spent in the same fashion, Ace cursing Marco and his family in two languages, while the blond simply sat next to him and kept a look out for wandering marine ships.
It changed one early shift, when Marco's watch partner wandered up to the crow's nest, tired of several shifts of listening to the Gorgόna screech his head off. It wasn't like the yell from the first day, but it was still headache inducing.
But this time, Ace wasn't yelling at Marco, just looking at him thoughtfully, his tail slapping the deck in an almost rhythmic pattern. Seeing that the young Mythical wasn't going to bite his head off, the blond took a chance to ask a question.
"Why don't you just melt the bars and take off, yoi?"
The Mythical looked shocked to hear Marco speak, but he really wasn't surprised. Four days of not speaking surely lured Ace into the idea that the first mate wouldn't talk to him.
Marco looked at Ace expectantly, wondering again if they were feeding him right, because he looked slightly gaunter now than he did the first day on the ship.
But the Gorgόna didn't answer. He didn't even open his mouth to suggest he was going to answer. Black eyes just stared blankly at Marco, and continued to do so until the end of the watch shift, with the breakfast bell.
His watch partner mentioned the silence on their way to the galley but Marco just smiled mysteriously. Ace was his project; he wasn't going to share anything with anyone until he got the Gorgόna's trust.
The next watch continued in quite the same manner, again, though this time Marco didn't ask any questions. He just watched the horizon while Ace watched him. The only difference this time was that his fire tail wasn't slapping the deck, but almost twitching, as the younger played his hands through the fire near his waist.
At least that confirmed that although part of him, the fire was also not part of him.
Marco figured he'd get at least a few more days of silence before Ace finally deemed to talk to him, and that was fine with him. He used the time to contemplate the Moby's next course of action. Should they head back to the Sunny Go Island to find Luffy? Or should they wait for the merman to find them?
"We're in the middle of the ocean."
It was Marco's turn to be shocked. Of all things he wasn't expecting Ace to say anything to him on this watch.
His head turned and he looked Ace right in the face as the younger looked at him pensively, his brows furrowed and his dark eyes narrowed. The fire tail flicked a little, something Marco now thought was a nervous tick, and his sharp nails started digging into the decking.
"That's true, yoi." Marco spoke nonchalantly, not knowing why exactly Ace was mentioning their position.
But the other just huffed and looked towards the rising sun. It was almost end of shift, Marco idly noted, maybe he chose this time just for that reason?
"You asked why I haven't escaped yet. It's cause we are in the middle of the ocean."
Marco's eyebrows raised in surprise. He never expected and answer to that inquiry, he was curious, yes, but it was something he knew the Gorgόna wouldn't answer.
"You have a tail of fire. Surely you can fly, yoi." Their location should mean nothing to the Mythical, not with the ability to fly.
"Not for long."
Marco made a grunt of acknowledgement but remained silent. If he said anything stupid now the other might decide to stop being forth coming with new information.
"I would need to heat my tail to a higher temperature than normal, even if I ate some of the deck that would only give me so much energy. My tail would go out over the water and I'd die in seconds."
The first mate's eyes were wide now. Eat the deck? Did he eat flammable things? Was that why he was so much skinnier now?
"Do we need to bring you flammable things to eat? Is that why you lost weight, yoi?" Marco was ignoring the other portion of information; Ace's diet was far more important than the reason why he wouldn't escape.
"What? That doesn't have anything to do with anything!" the Gorgόna looked completely shocked at Marco's question, but he had no idea why. Surely Ace knew how important his well-being was to them.
"This is why I wanted to ask you your diet that first day. We don't want to hurt you, yoi."
Ace was quiet again, staring at Marco pensively, while also crossing his arms and laying down sideways on the deck with his primary supporters otherwise occupied.
But Marco wasn't about to be pushed aside now, Ace's health was important dammit.
"Don't go quite now, Ace. We need to know what you eat, yoi. We want you to be healthy." Marco was standing now and grabbing onto the bars as he looked down at the Mythical, trying to convey just how important this was.
"Fire."
The voice was quiet and muffled so Marco thought he misheard the other.
"What?"
"I eat fire…not…not mine, but…made fire…"
Marco was quite confused, but he knew he heard right, his hearing was some of the best on the ship so he just nodded absently.
"Alright. I'll make sure someone makes you a fire, yoi." The first mate spoke just as the breakfast bell rung to signal end of shift. "I'll see you later, Ace."
The next watch greeted Marco with a healthier looking Gorgόna, who was also grabbing onto the bars of the side of the cage where the first mate always sat. He looked…excited?
"Hello, Ace, yoi."
Ace didn't quite smile at him, but the upturn of the eyes was enough of one for Marco. Maybe he was finally making a dent in the younger's shield.
"What does that mean?"
But it seems like he was still able to take Marco by surprise. That was not a question he was preparing himself for.
"Uh, it's a greeting?"
"No not that." Ace dismissed, waving his hand and his tail starting swinging back and forth, reminding Marco of a cat hunting prey. "What does 'yoi' mean?"
The blond blinked in surprise, eyes widening. Trust Ace to ask about something so simple and complicated.
"It's a speech impediment, yoi."
Ace tilted his head to the side in obvious confusion, and Marco did his best to hold back the wave of attraction that spilled over him at the motion.
"What's an impediment?"
"It means I can't stop myself from saying it. It just happens, yoi." Marco sighed out as he settled himself back in his spot, waving to his new watch partner in the crow's nest. Ace's eyes followed Marco's gaze to the other pirate and suddenly he wasn't so warm.
While looking at Marco's brother in the crow's nest, the Gorgόna bared his teeth again and hissed at the man that was watching him with unrestrained curiosity.
A sigh escaped before Marco could stop it and now that look was centered on him.
"It's alright, Ace. No one is going to come near you without your permission, yoi."
The vicious look fled without another word and the confused head tilt came back full force. Marco glanced away this time, unable to handle the view.
"Then why are you here?"
More blinking of shock. Ace was a lot more perceptive than the blond gave him credit for.
"It would be cruel to leave you all alone, yoi. My love of fire had me nominated immediately." Obviously that wasn't the response that the Gorgόna was planning on.
Without a second passing, Ace's face was flushed bright red, and he turned away from Marco, his tail flicking up and hiding his face.
The two didn't talk anymore that day, but Marco was fine with that. The look of a flushed and shy Ace would keep with him for a long time.
Every single shift for the next week continued in a similar manner. Ace asking many questions, and Marco answering them as best as he could.
"Why do you call him Pops?"
"Because he calls us his children and that makes us happy, yoi."
"Why are you pirates?"
"Cause we do what we want and the marines don't like that."
"What are those things with the hard balls?"
"Guns and cannons. They are weapons that we use to protect ourselves, yoi."
"Luffy really volunteered to come with you?"
"Of course, yoi. I wouldn't lie to you, Ace."
"Is it fun sailing around the world?"
"It's the best. I couldn't imagine myself settling down on a single island ever, yoi."
"Even if you met someone who was?"
"Never, yoi."
"Are they really all of your brothers and sisters?"
"Not by blood, but I chose them and they chose me too, yoi."
"Like Sabo, Luffy, and me?"
"If that's what you are then yes, yoi."
Finally the morning came that Ace had run out of questions and Marco took full advantage of his thinking silence to ask some of his own.
"That language you speak, how did you learn it? Pops said you were probably the last of your kind, yoi."
Ace looked startled at the question, but he had long given up his hate of the human, and had been sitting rather close to the bars while they talked. It took a few moments but eventually the Gorgόna answered the human.
"It's something ingrained in my being…um…I just sort of knew it?"
Marco blinked in surprise, not expecting that answer in the least. But he continued on, not knowing if this was the only time Ace would feel like answering questions or not.
"So you were born just knowing it? Did you teach your brothers too?"
"Well yeah…I was really surprised when your captain spoke Mythikós. As far as I knew, me, Luffy, and Sabo were the only ones who should know it." The tail of fire curled around Ace's body as he slipped down the bars from his position.
Marco looked at the slowly rising sun in contemplation. Ace was probably very close to sleep at this point, but he couldn't risk the chance of not getting the answer to his next question.
"Are you really the last Gorgόna, yoi?"
That startled Ace out of his almost doze, his wide dark eyes looking at Marco in complete and utter surprise. Okay maybe Marco stuck his foot in his mouth again. But the other just looked to the side with a hurt look.
"According to the old hag, the others were exterminated by the humans…my mother was the last and then she died giving birth to me…" well Marco did not mean to step on that can of worms.
"I'm sorry, yoi. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories…"
"No, it's okay. I got over it a while ago, but yeah I am the last one…kind of cool but a little lonely…and puberty was horrible…" Ace cracked a smile at the blond which he returned full forth and a slightly too loud laugh.
"I'll bet…who's the old hag, though?"
Ace blinked again in slight surprise before he made a slight O with his mouth, looking around to make sure no one was lurking.
"Well I guess I could tell you…the rules were made for Luffy anyway…"
"I don't want to get you in trouble, Ace, for my own curiosity, yoi. You don't have to answer if you don't want to, or if you shouldn't."
But the Gorgόna just waved him off and smiled lazily.
"It's fine, worry wart, I won't get in any trouble." He flicked his tail again and rolled over until he was laying on his back and looking up at Marco with wide eyes and a large grin.
"The old hag is a cyclops that 'kidnaps' young Mythicals with nowhere to go. I was the first, cause μαμά (mama) died on the old hag's island. She runs a sort of collective living now, for all those who were orphaned by human attacks or the like. Sabo, Luffy, and I grew up there. We only moved out a few years ago when Lu hit maturity."
Marco blinked at all the information, and tilted his head slightly at Ace's use of Mythikós. He was not so wary now that he was actually teaching Marco a few words, but that one wasn't one Marco knew.
But he couldn't ask for the meaning because Ace was now fully asleep, chest moving rhythmically in an obvious sign of his sleeping. Marco smiled lightly before heading to the galley, the breakfast bell ringing slightly after.
Ace and Marco had a good relationship going, and the Gorgόna was hardly hostile to him at all anymore. The other crew members were a different story, but whenever Ace caught sight of Marco he seemed to perk up and become more animated than when Marco was below deck. That sort of sparked a warm feeling in the first mate's chest, and even though he knew he couldn't do anything about it, it still made him happy.
Days passed in the same manner. Marco asking questions, Ace asking questions, storied being told, and knowledge being passed back and forth. Marco knew quite a bit of Mythikós but not nearly enough to actually hold conversation in it, but he knew just the right amount to know what Ace was saying when he slipped into his native tongue.
Of course their sort of easy comradery had to end at some point, or at least be interrupted by something, and that something came in the form of an angry as hell harpy.
What do you know. Another fucking line.
Sabo was angry. He was beyond angry, farther than pissed off, and nowhere near just fuming. He wanted to rip heads off of bodies and eat the flesh of anyone that stopped him.
It had been weeks. Maybe three, possibly four. He'd stopped counting after the first.
Ace had been captured by those bloody pirates for weeks. And Sabo had been tailing them the entire time.
He got maybe an hour or two of sleep every night, his anxiety about the ship moving while he slept not letting him get more than that. He ate only birds and some unlucky surface fish, but no humans, or anything remotely substantial.
Sabo was getting weaker. The lack of fresh water, the lack of food, the lack of sleep, the constant worry. It was all piling up on him, and he was growing thinner, more tired, and angrier. He had to act soon or he would be taken down easily.
He held onto high hopes that that cage was the only one those bloody pirates had, and that his damage would still be there, making it easier to fly in, grab Ace, and go. But he doubted slaving pirates would only have a single cage. Hopefully they didn't move him to one below deck.
Harpies were many things, but room-dwellers was not one of them.
Sabo also sent prayers to the All-One that Ace was being treated well, and was holding on to that stubbornness that kept him from ever giving up. If Ace had given up on being saved, then there wasn't anything Sabo could do to help him.
But Sabo wasn't so sure that Ace's stubbornness had lasted as long as it should have.
Because at first he had heard the yells of his enraged brother, but after a few days there was only silence. A prickling silence that ruffled all of his feathers and ran down his back like an unwanted touch.
He needed to rescue Ace today.
With his health declining, and the possibility of arriving to a broken brother growing higher and higher, the sooner Sabo got him the better off they'd both be.
It was close to sunrise when the harpy decided to make his move.
He had heard the bell, shift change was at sunrise, if he got there when there were no guards on deck, then he wouldn't have to risk a confrontation and getting Ace out of that forsaken hole would be a lot simpler.
Taking off of his small perch was difficult. The lack of proper food made his muscles weak, and the lack of space made his take-off harder.
All Sabo wanted was to rescue Ace, go back home, and bask in his brother's caring presence for a moon or two. Was that too much to ask?
Even with all the challenges, Sabo was still on time as he closed the distance between the slaving ship and himself. He couldn't fly as high as he wanted with how weak he felt, but he was sure he was too high for pathetic human eyesight to see him.
Sabo hovered above the clouds for a long moment, waiting for the sun to actually peak out over the sea, before he dived down.
He watched as dark blacks and blues became lighter blues and purples then to bright blues, and yellows, and reds, and oranges. The view the sunrise gave almost made him weep. This would be the last sunrise that Ace would spend in that blasted cage and that made Sabo endlessly happy.
A light chime rode the wind, and a vicious smirk stretched across the angry harpy's face.
It was time.
In short order, Sabo had straightened his wings and tucked in his talons, closing his wings behind his back as he started diving towards the large ship. Despite his instinct yelling at him to, Sabo didn't open his mouth to release a caw of punishment. He couldn't give away his position for his own pride.
Maybe after he had Ace safely in his talons and was flying away.
Barely a few meters from the crow's nest of the ship, Sabo snapped out his wings, startling as it took longer for them to catch the wind than they should. Another downside to lack of nutrition, his feathers were frail and could hardly hold wind.
His eyes focused on where Ace was the last time he attacked the ship and let out a low caw of anger seeing his beautiful free brother in another cage. The blond that threatened Ace with water was walking away from the cage, and Ace was lying face down on the deck, and Sabo was overcome with that rage.
Rescuing Ace should have come first. Revenge, second. But red had clouded Sabo's sight and all he saw was the human behind his separation from Ace.
Talons were extended as he swooped down, idly he registered the yell of a human, but his sights were focused on the blond human.
He was centimeters away from grabbing onto his prey when his ears registered a familiar yell.
"SABO!"
That was all it took for the harpy to bank sharply and head to the cage, the blond human forgotten as he raced to his beloved brother.
His talons were extended, to snap the lock off the cage, when something fast whizzed by in front of him, grazing one of his talons and clipping it slightly.
Immediately Sabo halted and turned his head to a different human, one that looked female but smelled male, and bared his fangs in obvious threat.
"Oi! Izou! Don't hurt him, yoi!"
The voice was somewhat familiar, but Sabo wasn't trying to identify humans, he was trying to rescue his brother. So despite wanting to rip the human's innards out and feasting on them, Sabo started for the lock again, talons once again raised.
This time he was stopped by the yell of his name, in that familiar voice from before.
"Wait! Sabo, right, yoi?!"
Said harpy turned his head sharply, looking at the blond human that had stolen both of his brothers. His eyes narrowed and he cawed angrily again, flapping his sore wings harder as he fought to stay in the air, in his territory.
"Look, just calm down a little and land, yoi. We can talk this over. We haven't hurt Ace, yoi." The human's voice was oddly soothing, and he really wanted to sing and just nest right where he was and sleep for days.
But he couldn't. Because the human with the nice voice stole his brother.
"Μην προσπαθήσετε και να καταπραΰνει μου, δουλεμπόρων! Πήρατε τον αδελφό μου! Είμαι εδώ για να τον πάρει πίσω! Σας είπα ότι θα ήθελα να μην είχε επιστρέψει ! (Don't try and sooth me, slaver! You took my brother! I am here to get him back! I told you that you would wish I had not returned!)"
Sabo was surprised to hear how harsh his voice was, even in the rather harsh Mythikós language. It had been a long time since he used it, but it shouldn't sound like rock rubbing against rock.
The human seemed just as surprised if the look on his face said anything, but Sabo shook himself out of whatever spell the human seemed capable of laying and turned back to the cage.
Ace was clinging to the door, watching Sabo with a look of mixed horror and worry. Ace shouldn't be worrying about Sabo of all beings, Ace was the one in a cage.
His talons rose again and he started flying towards the lock, gesturing at Ace with his head to move aside. His Gorgόna brother shifted a bit, not nearly far enough away for the state Sabo was in, but he could work with it.
Sabo was centimeters, centimeters, away from making his mark, when he felt a sharp sting in his side.
He dropped to the deck like a rock, his talons twitching slightly and his wings weaker than they were. A quick glance to the side that was stinging revealed a feather dart and horror washed over him.
Blue eyes locked with black and tears slid down Sabo's face.
He had failed.
Now both he and Ace were held on a ship that was most likely a slave ship of some kind. They were both going to lose their freedom, and it was Sabo's fault for waiting so long to rescue his brother…how could he have been so stupid?
The last sight he saw was of a worried Ace moving his mouth. He was probably saying something but the blackness was rushing in and Sabo knew nothing but dark and silence.
Who else is getting tired of these damn lines?
Ace woke up in the middle of the night with high hopes for his discussion with Marco. The man had been entirely forth coming and answered every single one of his questions, even the rather ridiculous ones.
It didn't hurt that the human was rather easy on the eyes. Kind of like Sabo, only with more muscles and legs with no feathers.
He was hoping he could convince Marco to let him out of the cage today. He'd been calm for the last few weeks and he wanted to stretch out a bit more, maybe build him a fire worthy of a feast. But Ace wasn't sure how the pirate would respond.
Sure they had somehow forged a friendship in the past few weeks, but Ace was still technically their prisoners, and normally prisoners were never let out of their prisons. But if Ace started asking today and kept on asking, maybe they'd actually let him out.
It wasn't like he planned on going anywhere anyway.
Unfortunately, when Marco showed up for his shift, Ace was too worried to ask him. So he spent their time together telling the other all about Sabo.
Marco seemed really fascinated with Mythicals, and Sabo was surely unique enough to garner some attention, and if Ace was reading the human right it was more than just some.
The sun started to rise, Ace was so caught up talking he didn't notice time passing at all, and he couldn't help but wish they had some more time together to chat. Marco leaving was the worst part of every sunrise, despite how beautiful they were on the sea.
A chime interrupted Ace in the middle of talking about Sabo's preference for raw meat. Marco stood and smiled at the Gorgόna in a way that had Ace's heart fluttering and red rising on his cheeks. The human shouldn't be able to pull these reactions from him, but they weren't harmful. And appreciated an attractive human never hurt anyone.
It wasn't until Marco was walking away that Ace realized he had forgotten to ask about getting out of the cage.
Oh well, he could ask tomorrow, he had time.
Ace flopped onto the deck face down, wiggling as he enjoyed the rising temperature that the sun brought with it. Heat was good. Cold was deadly.
A light hum of content escaped his mouth, and Ace fully relaxed to sunbathe and maybe take a nap before his meal showed up.
It was only a few seconds, not even a minute, when Ace felt a shift in pressure, and a familiar presence caressed him from somewhere above.
Ace's head snapped up just in time to see Sabo, Sabo, heading towards Marco's back with his talons in prime position for a kill.
The yell came instinctively.
"SABO!"
That seemed to do the trick, because now his precious harpy brother was heading towards his cage with raised talons and an angry expression.
Ace had a few seconds to take in his brother and sorrow overwhelmed the eldest.
While the Gorgόna was enjoying his time on the pirate ship, learning about humans and making a friend, it seemed like Sabo was suffering.
His brother was so skinny he could see ribs, and once brilliant and bright blue and yellow feathers were faded and dull, limp and lifeless. His beautiful blue eyes were sunken and surrounded by dark purple bruises, and his normally perfect shaggy hair was a mess and everywhere.
Ace couldn't stop the pain in his heart from the sight.
But his musings crashed when he heard the sound of a gun and watched as a bullet blunted one of Sabo's claws. Ace was about to yell out in anger when Marco beat him to it.
"Oi! Izou! Don't hurt him, yoi!"
The Gorgόna let out a breath of relief and watched as Sabo startled slightly before raising his talons again.
Once more, he was stopped by Marco.
"Wait! Sabo, right, yoi?!"
Ace watched in worry as Sabo turned to Marco, his face full of anger and grief. His brother started flapping his wings harder and black eyes narrowed…was Sabo so weak that he could barely hold himself up in the air?
"Look, just calm down a little and land, yoi. We can talk this over. We haven't hurt Ace, yoi."
Marco was using his soft voice. The one that rushed down Ace's back in all the right ways and never ceased to put a red blush on his freckled cheeks. It seemed Sabo felt the same way because his flaps paused briefly.
Good. Maybe Marco could talk Sabo down and Ace could coddle and take care of his brother like he obviously needed.
He wasn't sure when, but at some point the Gorgόna started to feel safe here, and although he'd much prefer his volcano, he knew that Sabo couldn't make that distance without some serious TLC.
And call him selfish, but Ace wasn't ready to part from Marco just yet.
"Μην προσπαθήσετε και να καταπραΰνει μου, δουλεμπόρων! Πήρατε τον αδελφό μου! Είμαι εδώ για να τον πάρει πίσω! Σας είπα ότι θα ήθελα να μην είχε επιστρέψει ! (Don't try and sooth me, slaver! You took my brother! I am here to get him back! I told you that you would wish I had not returned!)"
Sabo's voice hit Ace right in the heart. It was so rough and grimy sounding. He grabbed onto the cage door with both hands and looked at his flying brother in pain.
His brother should never sound so harsh. Sabo had one of the nicest voices ever, nicer than Marco's even. The harshness didn't suit him at all.
Ace hardly payed attention to the words that his blond brother spoke, but when he turned and gestured at Ace, he moved away from the door just enough to be safe. When Sabo got closer, Ace would try to talk him down. Sabo always listened to Ace, even when he didn't want to.
Just centimeters away, and Ace already had his mouth open, ready to speak to his brother for the first time in weeks, when he dropped.
Ace wanted to scream. What happened?!
He watched as Sabo glanced down at his side and Ace saw the feathered dart sticking out from his side, and Ace's eyes widened in horror.
Glistening blue eyes locked with his and tears slid down that once beautiful face, and for once Ace wanted to release his Song upon these pirates again.
Sabo slumped and fell to the side, his breathing shallow but rhythmic, indicating sleep.
Ace screamed.
"SABO! SABO! Αδελφός, παρακαλώ! Δεν είναι νεκρός! Δεν μπορεί να πεθάνει! Θα πρέπει να είναι εκεί για μένα και Luffy! Δεν μπορούμε να το κάνουμε αυτό χωρίς εσάς! Παρακαλώ! Παρακαλώ! (SABO! SABO! Brother, please! Don't be dead! You can't die! You need to be there for me and Luffy! We can't do this without you! Please! Please!)"
Tears slid down Ace's cheeks as he pressed against the bars of his cage, arms reaching through the spaces for his brother. His dear brother that hadn't forgotten, who hadn't tried to trade Luffy, but had tried to save him again.
Other human pirates were on deck now, looking at both Ace and the harpy curiously, but unlike with Ace they were actually approaching Sabo's downed body.
While he may have a friendship with Marco, Ace did not trust a single one of these pirates with his brother. So he did the only thing he could do while still so far away.
Ace dropped his jaw, and he sang.
Not a song of pain, but one of confusion. He liked Marco, he didn't want to hurt the pirate's family, but he needed to keep them away from his own.
Surprisingly, his blond human pushed through his song, walking towards Sabo with a slightly uneven gait, and Ace let up his song.
He wondered just what his sort of friend was doing and watched surprised as the human bent over and effortlessly lifted a limp Sabo into his arms. It shouldn't have surprised him so much. Sabo was a harpy, they had hollow bones and were ridiculously light, but it still shocked him to see a human lift him so easily.
Ace watched in worry, wondering where the human was going with his brother, and hid his shock rather well when Marco started towards Ace and his cage.
The Gorgόna moved to the side of the cage and watched silently as Marco opened the door with one hand while the other cradled the knocked out Sabo.
When Marco entered the cage and started walking over to Ace, he wanted to panic, but he was more worried about the state of his brother than of how close the human was getting without the protection the bars offered.
But the pirate showed his trustworthiness by simply handing Ace his brother then walking right back out, locking the door after he exited.
Ace was immediately taken with checking his brother, letting out soft croons of sadness as he could actually confirm the horrid state the harpy was in. Oh why did this happen to Sabo of all beings?
"I'll get you the first aid kit and some food, yoi."
Marco's voice sounding so close to Ace freaked him out; he clutched on to Sabo and looked up at the pirate with fear for the first time. It obviously caused said human to be taken aback because he took a sudden step backward at the look.
"I'm sorry, Ace. We didn't want to hurt him, yoi." Marco was speaking softly, and Ace eased back, sliding his fingers through Sabo's hair and idly wondering where Sabo's hat disappeared to. He wasn't wearing it when he swooped in.
"It's okay, Marco…I was just surprised to hear you from there, is all…a first aid kit would be appreciated…Sabo prefers-"
"Raw meat. I know, yoi."
Ace looked up at his human kind of friend in surprise. He didn't know that Marco actually remembered everything that he babbled out. A smile lighted the Gorgόna's face as he looked up.
A responding smile spread across Marco's face before he headed towards the lower deck, a serious look on his face as he grabbed a nearby crewmate with a gun by the ear.
Seemed like someone was going to get chewed out.
Ace looked down at his passed out brother and shuffled him around into a more comfortable position, moving the wings particularly carefully as a few dead feathers fluttered out.
"Don't worry, Sabo. We'll get you taken care of. This place isn't as bad as we thought."
The Gorgόna smiled softly at his brother and started to hum as he waited for Marco to return. Maybe Sabo would make friends with the blond human too. That would be nice…
Disclaimer: I DO NOT KNOW GREEK! I SHAMELESSLY USED GOOGLE TRANSLATE! SO IF YOU NOTICE ANYTHING WRONG PLEASE HELP ME FIX IT SO I DON'T MISREPRESENT A LANGUAGE! THANK YOU!