{wolf on the water}

"That doesn't look comfortable at all," a voice remarked in a shrill accent.

The boy who had been laying on his back, gazing up at the sky with his arms stuck behind his head, blinked slowly as he registered the voice. He smiled a little. "Says the guy who sleeps in a tree," he laughed, sitting up and stretching his arms over his head. He glanced over at the boy before him, and then looked down on the three barrels he had made into a makeshift bed with a small tarp laid over them.

"Yeah, well," the other boy kicked one of the barrels with a booted foot, and grinned. "I betcha anything the tree is better."

"You know, you're probably right…" The brunet rubbed his back and wrinkled his nose a little, dropping down from the barrels and twisting his body a little until his back cracked. "I'm not allowed to lay down on the deck, though, so this is all I've got!"

The blond boy glanced at the barrels, and then back at his companion. He cracked a smile and shook his head. "You know, if you just remembered how to—"

"Oh no!" groaned the brunet. "Please, not this again. You know I can't!"

"No, no, I know you can, you just gotta really clear your mind, and believe—"

"Ven," the brunet said slowly, grabbing his friend's shoulders and shaking them. "Veeen. Listen to me speak here, okay? I can't— let me repeat that. Can't, cannot, not at all. Not anymore."

Ven stared up at his old friend, his eyebrows furrowing, and his lips tugging downward. "But…" Ven said slowly, glancing down at his feet. "Oh. Okay, I get it. You're too old."

"I'm only a year older than you, you know."

"That makes you too old," Ven sighed. "Never mind, if I didn't explain it to you years ago, I'm not telling you now."

"Uh… right." The brunet sighed and waved his arms. "So, um, as much as I love having you around, Ven, what are you doing here? I thought you hated ships."

Ven shrugged and looked around, the fact that he was, indeed, on a ship not bothering him at all. In fact, if the brunet boy hadn't known any better, he'd be rather scared to ask how his friend had gotten on the ship in the first place. But he knew well how Ven had appeared before him, and so he simply smiled, his mind wandering to his footman. Was he planning their route? The ship wasn't moving, and he had not come out to rebuke the boy for staying outside so late, so something had to give.

"I want you to meet someone, actually!" Ven said with a broad grin, grabbing the boy's arm and dragging him across the deck. He stopped near the rail, and he peered over the side of the boat, his smile slipping. "Oh, damn, you can't see her."

"See who?" The boy stuck his head over the rail, his eyes moving around fast to try to catch a glimpse of a person in the depths of the ocean. There was nothing but blackness, and the sound of water splashing against the wood. "You brought one of your infamous friends?"

"Yep!" Ven laughed and jerked his head over toward the ocean. "I've been trying to get you two to meet for… well, for forever, but she's kind of… restricted."

The boy stared at the water. He thought he could see the faint shape of a head bobbing somewhere down there. "Why didn't you bring her up here?" the boy asked, frowning and glancing at Ven. "Rude, Ven! She's probably freezing."

"Uh," Ven said, biting his lip. "Yeah, sorry. She's um… not decent, I guess you can say?"

"What?" The boy's gaze flickered down toward the water, then returned to Ven. "Gods, that's… um… I can give her a spare pair of clothes, it's not that big of a deal. Just get her out of the cold!"

"It's spring, Sora," Ven said softly. "And she's fine. She actually likes it better this way."

Sora's eyebrows raised, and he glanced down at the water again. He looked at Ven sharply. "She can see me?" he whispered, frightful of what the girl might think of him. Ven smiled and nodded, waving down at the water. There was a soft splash and the faint shape shifted a bit. Was she waving back?

Sora took this up with a new confidence, and he jumped up onto the rail and grinned, waving down at the water. "Hi!" he cried, gripping the side of the ship tightly, his stomach twisting as he slipped forward a little. He caught himself before he fell and pulled back, turning to look at Ven, his blue eyes widening in delight. "Does miss mystery have a name?"

Ven laughed, glancing down at the water, and nodding. "Yep," he said, grinning. "But I can't tell you."

"Aw!" Sora whined, leaning back. "So she's one of your magical friends, then?"

"Kinda." Ven shifted uncomfortably. He breathed in the salty air and turned his back to the water, leaning against the rail. "She's special. But I thought you liked special?"

"I like new people," Sora said, staring into the ocean and frowning. "Is she mute, or something?"

"No," Ven sighed, looking back and frowning down at his nameless friend. "She's just shy, I guess. She doesn't interact with people much."

"Oh." Sora shook his head and leaned over the rail again. "Well, I'm Sora, if you're wondering!"

There was a soft swishing, and Ven spun around. "Hey, hey! Don't leave now!" Ven glanced at Sora, who was staring at the water wildly, his gaze flipping between the water and Ven. "Say something!"

There was silence for a bit, and Sora stepped down from the rail, frowning deeply. "Really shy," he muttered, pouting. Ven sighed and glanced down at the water.

"Kai…" he murmured, tapping his fingers against the wood. "Come on."

But as they leaned over the edge, they heard nothing, for the young girl would not speak. Ven leaned over farther to shout at his friend again, but as he did so, the sharp sound of a bell pierced the silence of the ocean air. Ven froze, his eyes flashing up to Sora's face, and the utter panic contorting his friend's features told him all he needed to know.

"Never mind!" Ven shrieked down at his friend, pushing off the rail and throwing himself into the throng of crewmates that had run on deck the moment the warning bell had sounded. Sora stood still, his shock freezing him in place. That bell signaled the arrival of something sinister… and yet, he couldn't imagine what could come for this ship. A storm, perhaps? Sora looked up, his eyes darting between his crewmates as they pulled at the rigging, shouting orders to one another.

"Ven!" Sora cried suddenly, fear clenching his chest as he pushed past a few shipmates, who threw themselves out of the way, staring at him with looks of confusion and panic.

"You shouldn't—!" Sora ran from the man before he could finish his sentence, he's knees buckling as the ship began to move again.

"Ventus!" Sora screamed, spinning around and around in place, dizziness striking him as the ship rocked back and forth violently, trying hopelessly to gain speed.

"Sora!"

The boy turned and yelped as he was grabbed by the shoulders, and pulled rather roughly against the mast, a man's hard blue eyes gazing with focused irritation down at the scrawny boy. Sora breathed in and bowed his head in embarrassment. He probably looked like a fool spinning like that. He jolted as the man shook him hard.

"Get down below!" the man barked, his stony face masking his terror rather well, though Sora knew him better than the man would admit. A mane of damp brown hair framed the man's young face, and a scar marred his otherwise handsome features. "Go, now! Before they get to us!"

"Who?" Sora gasped, his eyes roving the scene before him. It seemed like the entire crew was on deck, running in a frenzy of panic. "Someone's coming for us?"

"For you, perhaps," the man growled. "Considering you're the most valuable thing here."

"That's a matter of perspective, Leon…"

"Shut up," Leon spat, pushing the boy into the crowd. "You fool. We die when you die, that's how our servitude goes. Being humble is just your own selfishness."

Sora turned to stare up at the man, his mouth dropping open. The reason why Sora liked Leon so much was because he told him as things were, and did not sugarcoat his words just because Sora was high born. Ventus was similar, but Sora was never shocked by Ventus's boldness— he was a free spirit, the kingdom had no power over him. Leon was a knight, and if anyone higher than Sora got a taste of how he talked to the future king, Leon would loose his head faster than he could say my job is done.

"Who's coming?" Sora gasped again, spinning to face Leon. "I'm not going anywhere if all of you are in danger!"

"Someone get a lifeboat ready!" Leon called, and Sora's eyes widened. He pushed the man away, feeling his heart begin to beat faster and faster. It was that bad?

"I'm not leaving all of you!" Sora cried, backing into the crowd. "I won't let anything happen to any of you, you here me?"

"This is not your choice!" Leon snarled, stepping toward him. He froze, his head lifting, and a shadow loomed across the ship. Sora shuddered as the crew fell silent. He turned slowly, and he caught sight of the ship that had pulled up in an eerie silence beside them, the entire wooden mass shrouded in a strange dark red film, like blood coated the entire frame.

And then Sora caught sight of the flag wavering against the wind. He felt Leon grab him, and he was spun around again before he could catch much more of the image. But he knew now, these were people to be feared, and he understood Leon's panicked actions.

"Pirates?" Sora breathed, tearing his arm from Leon's grasp and ducking into the crowd. He needed to find Ven, before the boy did something stupid. The pirates appearing at the same time as Ventus could not be a coincidence.

Leon moved after him, but Sora was already at the Starboard side, and he stared as the ship pulled up nearly directly beside their own, and a soft rumbling hit his ears. Sora backed up a little, his eyes darting the deck of the enemy ship, and he caught a few human-like shapes, but not enough to attack with. The boy gripped the sword at his hip and shook his head. It would be alright.

And then the rumbling grew louder, and Sora, along with the rest of the crew, backed up slowly. There was a creeping human-sized form moving toward the rail of the pirate's ship. Sora held his breath. The distance wasn't close enough for any human to jump, but it was way too close for comfort. Sora looked around, hoping he might spot Ven in the crowd around him, but he wasn't there. Sora would rather throw himself off the side of the ship than admit that his friend had left, however. Simply because there was too much adventure in this for the boy to flee.

When Sora caught sight of it, he nearly screamed. The light from lanterns hit the slinking form as it jumped, its body leaping over the chasm separating the ships, and landed with a loud and precarious thump that shook the entire ship. A few men screamed in terror as the shadows sculpted the beast's face, a nuzzled mouth drawn back into a snarl, long, jagged teeth bared. The beast's eyes glinted in to lantern light, wild and unimaginably cold, as if a fire had frozen over inside them somehow.

"Gods…" Sora whispered, feeling his limbs turn to jelly as the thing inched forward, its lean muscles tensing as its head lifted, sniffing the air. Its pale yellowish gray fur bristled as its back arched, and Sora realized that the beast was huge. On its paws it was half his height, and its body was long and thin, as though it was emaciated. Its fur was shaggy, but not long enough to brush the floorboards of the deck. And as Sora stared at it, he realized what exactly this beast was.

"A dire wolf…?" he breathed, looking around at his crew. Surely they recognized the exotic beast? A wolf of old, one that lived in legend and folk lore, though it was still very real, if not a dying breed. But it was obvious now, with the thing's long, spindly legs, and air of ancient ferocity that this was what the beast was called.

The wolf growled, and its head whipped Sora's way. Sora tensed up, but he did nothing. He glanced at the ship, but it didn't seem like the pirates were going to send anyone else over. Maybe they trusted the wolf could do the job. Sora breathed heavily, and the wolf's muscles rippled beneath its fur as it rumbled, preparing itself to pounce. Sora cried out as he was dragged backwards, and the men he had been standing next to unsheathed their swords as Sora was pushed hard against the deck.

"Leon!" Sora screamed, horrorstricken as he listened to the sound of flesh tearing, and the gurgle of blood in a man's throat as he drowned in his own inner fluid.

Leon dragged the boy forward, ignoring the increase of snarling and screeching, the sound of bones crunching echoing in Sora's mind. "You need to leave," Leon hissed. "We were fools to take you out to sea!"

"I've been out to sea loads of times!" Sora choked, anger bubbling up inside him. Leon expected him to just leave and let the men who were protecting him die! He couldn't allow that. "Leon, no!"

"You are being a brat, you know that?" Leon spat, throwing him against the port side rail. Sora stared down into the sea, reminded that there had been a girl down there before, a girl Ven had wanted him to meet. But Sora knew she had probably swam away by now. Hopefully Ven would return her home safely.

"You're just gonna let that thing chew them all to death?" Sora whispered, his voice hoarse from all the screaming.

"As long as you're safe—"

"Not happening!" Sora ducked under the man's arm and bolted forward, unsheathing his sword and bounding toward the din. As he moved into the crowd, gripping the hilt tightly, he froze as he heard a sweet, melodic tune rise up from somewhere down below, though it hit him from all sides like hurricane wind.

A voice came swiftly upon the wind, startlingly sweet, and it thickened the air around him. It was as if mother nature had called upon rain, but did not want it to fall yet, and the humidity choked him. It was a sultry sound, silk and spice, turning over his head and making his heartbeat sputter. Sora breathed in the melody as if he could taste it, and he thought it tasted like honey and fire. But his mind told him, begrudgingly, that it was a sound, therefore it had no taste. His heart waved that away.

"Badaboum, baboum, baboum boum. Badaboum, baboum baboum."

Sora found himself pushing through the crowd of crewmates to get to where the melodic tune, which floated from the starboard side. Where the wolf was.

"C'est le vent du large qui chante

Annonçant la pluie pour demain

Il nous dit la mer est méchante

Mais poursuis toujours ton chemin."

Sora burst from the crowd, gasping, his head spinning as the voice floated around him, capturing his senses and entangling him in a daze. He was drunk on the sweet sounding melody. But once he moved past his crew, standing in the middle of a puddle of blood, guts strewn across the deck, and his eyes adjusting to reality, the spell was broken, and Sora could see clearly.

He stumbled back, his mouth dropping as he stared at the beast, which was cowering on the ground, whining as it scratched at its ears, covering its face with its paws. It rolled on its back, its grizzly nuzzle open wide as it howled, glistening teeth stained crimson, as was the fur surrounding its snout. Sora jumped forward, flinching as he felt his foot sink into a fresh corpse.

Sora could not kill it. No matter how monstrous the thing was, he couldn't kill it the way it was now, all helpless and in pain. He spotted Ven standing a little ways away staring at the wolf with an expression that was so unlike him, Sora had to do a double take. The boy's mouth was open in terror, his eyes filled with unshed tears, and he stood with one hand on the rigging, as if he were about to jump ship. The boy caught Sora's eye, and he shook his head wildly, mouthing something that Sora couldn't catch.

Suddenly, Leon came bolting past Sora, and Sora cried out in protest as the man pulled a gun on the wolf who had managed to slaughter a good quarter of the crew. Sora did not try to stop him, but something inside his heart screamed that this was wrong, that there was something off about the wolf, that it didn't really deserve this, despite its actions.

And then Ven came bolting in front of the gun, throwing his arms out wide. Leon faltered, the gun he was holding jerking back in shock.

"Don't shoot him!"

"Mother?"

The woman turned around, a faux sweet smile gracing her lips, and Terra scowled. She was a slender woman, beautiful and fierce, with a face that could charm any man anywhere. Terra was not one to be charmed, and thus his mother made him feel rather sick to his stomach.

"Oh, Terra." She rose, gracefully, and walked toward him, her smile wide. "I've been waiting for you all day, silly boy."

"Yeah." He'd heard. Apparently his poor sister had to put up with the woman for a good part of the evening. "I know."

"Well," the woman said, gesturing to one of her lush looking red couches. "Sit."

Terra obeyed, his legs moving before he could stop them. Force of habit, possibly. He sat across from the woman, feeling the scrutiny of her gaze, and he recalled being a small child and doing as he did now. Had he not grown at all? Still taking his mother's orders as if he still needed her to survive. He didn't know if he hated the woman— he was certain that once he had loved her dearly. But after growing to recognize her obvious neglect toward his sister, he learned to take all of her actions as untrustworthy. Everything was a plot to her, and Terra just wanted nothing to do with it.

"So do tell, Mother," Terra murmured, his dark blue eyes narrowed as the woman sat.

"Oh, yes." She smiled, a thin curl of contempt. "I needed to talk to you about tomorrow."

"Oh, gods," Terra groaned, rising to his feet. His mother flashed a look at him as he turned to leave. "Not this again!"

"Bite your tongue, boy," the woman spat. Terra blinked and shuddered at the tone of her voice, ice coating her words. "This is serious business! Now, I know you'll be there as a knight, but try to look presentable. And do find a woman of noble blood to dance with, honestly, we don't want a commoner running amok!"

"The ball is for the entire kingdom," Terra said quietly. "I can't pick and choose. It's a masquerade."

"Such a dreadful thing, too," the woman sighed. "But do your best."

"Whatever." Terra moved forward toward the door, his hand reaching for the knob, and his fingers grazing the gleaming gold. He spun around, gazing at his mother with pleading eyes. "Mother, I must ask you a favor."

"Oh?" she smirked, and sipped from a silver goblet, smacking her lips. "Speak, child."

"Right," Terra muttered. He breathed in, reminding himself that he hadn't anything to loose asking. "I must request that you allow Xion to go to the ball."

The woman looked at him sharply, her dark eyes growing wide, and her lips parted into a grimace. "Oh," she said with a sneer, resting her goblet of wine on the table in front of her. "You care enough for the ingénue to beg such a ephemeral request?"

"Ephe—ephima—?" Terra stuttered, his mouth dropping as he tried to digest his mother's odd words.

"Twit," she spat. "Must I explain everything to you? It means, very simply, short lived."

"Wow, okay." Terra scratched his head, his cheeks flaring with embarrassment. Aqua always scolded him because of his short vocabulary, and his mother loved to rub salt in a wound she didn't realize was even there. Terra didn't even want to ask how his request was short lived. "Yes, mother, I care about Xion enough to ask this. She's my sister."

"Not by blood," the woman sniffed, and Terra smiled.

"No," he said softly. "But I love her just the same. Please, mother, consider this for a moment. She won't be any trouble, I'll look after her, and it's a masquerade, so of course no one will realize who she is!"

"Shush," the woman rose to her feet and strode toward the fireplace. "I need to think, I need to think…"

"Think, then," Terra said, nodding slowly. "Ponder this overnight, and in the morning tell me your answer."

The woman stared down at a bowl of lush and exotic looking fruit that sat on the lintel of the fireplace. She reached over, her long, pale fingers plucking a glossy red apple from the bunch, and bringing it to her face, inspecting the flawless features of it. Her lips cocked upward into a sly smile. She turned to Terra and tossed the apple, which he caught easily, his eyes widening in surprise.

"What…?" Terra whispered, examining the fruit, his calloused fingers moving over its tender skin. He noted that it was warm beneath the tough red, like it was alive and breathing.

"Have you ever tasted the fruit of the fae, son of mine?" the woman asked, her voice chipper and unnerving.

Terra looked up at the woman, his jaw dropping for a moment. "Fae?" he asked confusedly. "As in, the Folk?"

"Yes, the Faery." She continued to smile. "They produce fruit like you could not imagine, pears with golden skin and purple innards, grape vines draped with crimson-violet that produce the most sultry wine, and apples of silver, red, and cobalt with inner meat as tender as a lamb's… now, imagine, the effect such fine victuals to a tongue of a mortal."

"Uh…" Terra shifted uncomfortably, and set the apple carefully down on the table. "Faerie food cause humans to get high, right?"

"High," the woman scoffed. "Such a mediocre term for its affect on the mind of humans. We are dazed into submission and longing, groveling at the feet of the nearest fae, desperate for more and more… faerie food is the most tempting thing on this earth. Do you see where I am leading, Terra?"

"Not really," Terra muttered, backing away from the apple warily. "There are legends that if you eat faerie fruit, you must stay in Faery forever."

"Not all that accurate. The fruit makes you want to stay, but you are not forced to. Humans are only bound by their own cursed wills, unlike the Folk, who are often bound by law, and oath. We are lucky in this way."

"Right." Terra sighed and shook his head, not understand his mother's ramblings. "Why should I care about the fae, though? Faeries don't bother with adults often."

"You underestimate them," his mother murmured. "Anyway, you may tell your stepsister that she has my permission to attend the ball."

"Seriously?" Terra gasped, jumping up straight, and his eyes brightening. "Thank you, mother!"

"Yes, yes…" She moved toward the table, scooping the apple in her palm, and her lips quirked as she stroked its skin. Terra watched it as well, his stomach twisting. It was just an apple… right?

The girl stumbled onto the deck, her breathing erratic, and she rubbed sleep from her eyes, scratching her veil. It was awfully inconvenient to have the cornette on her head to keep all of her hair from spilling around her, tripping her and others. It was itchy, and too tight, and her hair barely fit inside it. The crew often poked fun at her, calling her 'Sister Naminé', 'Sister', or some just simply stuck with 'nun'.

She listened to screams, and her eyes darted around the darkness. Her feet were bare, for her shoes had slipped under her bed, and she had only the time to grab her veil and shove all of her hair up into it before venturing up onto the deck. The air was cool, as if it was late fall instead of mid-spring, and Naminé clutched her headdress as she moved awkwardly forward, ducking past a pirate who was hooting with laughter as he stared portside. The girl spun around.

There was another ship, bigger and much more extravagant, like it was made simply to be a feast to the eye. It was painted the colors of a foreign kingdom, one that Naminé couldn't recall the name of, but she remembered seeing it in a book somewhere. Enemy to her home kingdom… right? She couldn't be sure anymore. She felt like driftwood now, trying to keep herself from being flung over a waterfall. These people she had ended up with were not ideal, but she would rather bob aimlessly in a crowd of pirates than be stuck up in that tower again. They did not touch her, and Vanitas was not half as bad as she gave him credit for.

"What…" Naminé pushed herself forward, squinting into the darkness, but as she got closer the lanterns, the other ship lit up the scene before her. It occurred to her that this had to happen eventually, pillaging was what pirates did, and she had been warned, but she was still frightened. And fascinated. She drew herself closer, and no one stopped her. Maybe no one cared.

She placed her hands on the rail, suddenly as close as she could possibly come to the ship, and she listened as a shrill tune struck the air around her. She shrieked, her mind growing numb, and she clapped her hands over her ears, a buzz trapping her in her own head. She blinked feeling her limbs go limp, and she dropped onto her knees, her arms slipping to her side. She listened to the tune, the wavering notes slipping from grotesque to surreal in a sudden slur.

The tune stopped, and Naminé stared at her hands for a long moment, watching them quiver. What had happened? She could hear the echo of incomprehensible words in her head, and her body was quaking uncontrollably.

"Get up," she whispered, pushing herself onto her knees. Her veil slipped a little, a small piece of golden hair tumbling down against her cheek. "Get up, get up!"

She found her legs obeying, and she huffed, grabbing the rail again. She stared up at the ship, and she gasped. In the half-light she could see a monster thrashing around the other deck, howling and whining. It was making a racket, and she could see a crowd around it. Faceless people. She shuddered, though she was surprised to find it was out of pleasure.

Something shiny caught her eye in the crowd, and she gasped, leaning over the rail to get a good look. It looked pretty, like an artist had sculpted it. But her stomach churned at the sight of it, as if it was something awful. She realized she'd seen it before on a few of the pirates on board. A weapon that spat metal! She exhaled in disgust, her fingernails digging into the wood beneath them. They were going to kill the poor beast, and no one was going to do anything about it!

And then, much to Naminé's surprise, someone proved her wrong. She stared in awe as a boy, oddly scrawny and impish, threw himself between the gun and the beast. The girl's breath caught in her throat.

"Don't shoot him!" the boy screamed, his arms flying out.

"Don't shoot," Naminé murmured, her heart beating hard and fast. "Oh, gods…"

There was a muffled sound of voices, and Naminé squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want to see this. She listened as the beast began to growl, and the voices began to shout.

"The wolf, the wolf!" they cried, and Naminé felt her eyes snap open. She gasped, pushing herself as far as she dared over the edge, her eyes darting from the man with the gun, to the wolf, to the boy, who was now on the ground, rolling away from the snapping jaws of the beast. The man was aiming at the wolf, ready to shoot, and Naminé blanched, feeling her limbs go limp again.

But her mind was revving into overdrive, spouting out information she did not understand or remember learning. She breathed shakily, feeling her heart ram in her chest, and she nodded, her lips trembling as she tried to make sense of this alien feeling that enveloped her body.

"Mac Tíre!" she called, her voice lilting in a foreign accent, and her words rolling naturally from her tongue. "Tar!"

She blinked, raising her shaking hand to her lips, and she looked around to see if someone had said these words instead, possibly, despite the fact that she had felt them. She didn't know what she had said. She didn't recognize the language. She was simply frightened by the fact that she had no idea what had just happened.

She gasped loudly and stumbled back as the wolf suddenly came leaping across the split between the two ships, its paws pounding on the deck, and Naminé did a double take, her eyes flashing from the other ship to the beast. She was not sure what had happened, but she was helpless to it. She took a step back, a scream caught in her throat, her fear smothering it. The beast was bigger than she had ever imagined. It was bigger than her, definitely!

Naminé turned back toward the ship, and she stared blankly at the people without faces. And then her eyes caught the boy's. He was watching her with a gaze that made her uneasy, as if she had just sprouted a second head, and the more he watched her, the more frightened she got. She couldn't completely make out any of his features from the distance, but she could tell his face was angular, and his frame was thin. Naminé cut off the gaze, and looked back at the wolf.

It was staring at her, its eyes glistening in the dim light, and it cocked its head like a puppy. Naminé's mouth dropped open, and she almost smiled at it. It pawed at her bare feet, whining a little, and she giggled in spite of herself, pulling up the hem of her white nightdress so the wolf would not rip it. Vaguely she heard her name being called, but she paid no heed, her mind suddenly enrapt in the wolf. It was very pretty, she noticed, her eyes falling on its angular face, and the soft looking flaxen-grey fur. She wondered if it was as soft as it appeared…

The girl reached out dazedly, and the tips of her fingers brushed the short, bristled fur on its snout, and she ran it down. She blinked after a moment, and she fell out of the daze. It seemed the wolf did too, for it started, jumping from her hand, and its jaw snapped, inches from her fingers. Naminé's scream was finally unleashed, and she stumbled back, tripping over something, a rope, or maybe just her own feet, and she fell hard against the deck, her skull smacking on wood.

She stared dizzily up at the stars, feeling stupid and numb. She wanted to go back to sleep. Why had she come up onto the deck again? Curiosity? Vanitas had warned her about that. Perhaps she should actually start listening to him. She groaned, raising her hand to her hand and feeling her veil slip back far. She blinked as she heard a deep rumbling, and she propped herself onto her shoulders.

She swallowed another scream, her eyes flying wide as she came nose to nose with the wolf, the scent of blood on its breath filling her nose. She gagged, and it sniffed her, its teeth bared, and blood dripping from the sharp fangs. Naminé winced as she felt a droplet run down her neck. She stared up at it, watching its eyes. She was startled by them, by the strange blue color they were. And something inside her head clicked.

But before she could say something to the wolf, she saw a blur of orange, and she cried out as the wolf scurried back, and she saw a scar of the bright light in her vision. She blinked profusely as she was lifted into the air, and she flailed, spouting more nonsense in that foreign tongue.

"Shut up!" the man holding her cried. She blinked and suddenly she recognized him.

"Axel?" she whispered as he spun her around, her veil dropping to the ground, and her long golden hair spilling out onto the deck.

"Idiot!" he screamed, pushing past the rest of the crew as more people filed onto the deck. "You shouldn't have done that…"

I know I shouldn't be updating, because I planned on doing so when I updated White Knight again, but I can't wait that long. I could update another chapter of this and still have one to spare, while for White Knight I'm having a difficult time wrapping everything up. I'm on the last chapter (legitimately this time, guys, that's why it's taking so long).

So I figured I'd tell you guys why White Knight is on hold, and why I'm focusing more on this story? I think there's a part of me that doesn't want White Knight to end, and that's why I'm having so much trouble pulling together the final plot lines. I don't like the way the last chapter is written, and SO MANY THINGS HAPPEN. It might end up being the longest chapter in the story (fittingly, I'd think).

So about this chapter. I was inspired to update by the WONDERFULLY TALENTED ALACQUIENE, WHO DECIDED TO DRAW A REALLY AWESOME PICTURE OF AQUA AS CALDER. I'm sorry, I can't get over it, it's too great. Especially because I didn't expect ANYTHING LIKE THAT TO EVER HAPPEN. If you want to see the picture, look up Aqcuia on Deviant Art, because links on my profile just don't want to work anymore? Idk.

Despite Aqua not being in this chapter (which sucks, because writing Aqua is really fun), I think it's my favorite so far. I really loved writing Terra with his mother, who was unexpectedly super fun to write? Maybe it's because I got to show how dumb Terra is. OH AND THE FAERIE INFORMATION. The dire wolf showed up as well! Mostly inspired by GoT, but I made this decision after I started seeing stuff about dire wolves popping up just about everywhere, so I took that as a sign. Plus, dire wolves were huge, and I needed a big wolf.

Okay, now the languages. I hope you guys don't mind that I'm putting them in here. I felt like the story would be better if different magic was spoken in different languages, Mermaid songs are in French, because they are sirens, and seductresses, and Angie thinks French is more romantic than Italian (which I was originally going to use because of the sirens in the Odyssey being so close to Italy). FUCKING AMORE. I'm kidding, anyway... Um, and what type of magic Nami uses is kind of not stated, but it probably will be later? I used google translate, and it's Irish. Correct me if it's wrong.

Also, the French song! I actually looked up french nursery rhymes, and I thought that one was perfect for the situation. Translations will take up too much room considering how long this note is already, so I'm going to ask that you look up what it means if you want to know?

I'm going to thank Celine again. THANK YOU SO MUCH, I LOVE YOU, WHY ARE YOU SO TALENTED? =[ No, ignore the sad face.

-Dani