Hello! It is Wednesday and I am back with the first chapter of Pikachu Tales of 2021. This feels like a bit of a throwback in a way, mixed with some newness as well. In this chapter, the playtime of Jordan and James is revisited in the form of their pirate/sailor dressing up game! And like it sometimes happens, it leads to another story being revealed. Jordan and Eli have a lot of history seeing as they are cousins. But they are united in many ways. That is revealed in the second half of the story. I hope you enjoy :P
Ages:
Jordan: 32
James: 49
Eli: 34
Jordan and Eli (Past): 22 and 18
Disclaimer: I own the story and the OCs mentioned! Also, while this chapter doesn't focus heavily on war, it's mentioned quite a lot and touched upon in both halves of the story.
"So Captain Williams…" the lavender haired male dressed in a roguish costume began greeting the man in front of him, taking a moment to adjust his brown triangular hat on his head before extending his toy sword out further. "We cross paths on these fair decks once more."
Continuing their antics, the yellow haired male saw James flash him a grin which in his mind caused the light of the sun to bounce off the sea before shining in his mouth, his gold teeth gleaming for all to see. And as soon as Jordan imagined this, he didn't hesitate to respond in return, his own silver play sword extending.
"Captain Morgan." He replied back and copying the man in the far more rugged costume, he adjusted his own hat upon his head. Jordan's white sailor gap shone brighter than James' imaginary gold teeth ever could. The two men continued their mock showdown, somehow knowing exactly what to say to one and other. "I expected it to be The Duchess that would connect us once again but I stand corrected."
And before either James or Jordan, one in their pirate costume and the other in their sailor's get up could slide their metallic sword up against the other one in a mischievous greeting, showing that they knew the story that they had rehearsed acting out together like the back of their own hands, in unison they pretended to react to a distant explosion.
I laughed from the carpet of the living room and adjacent to the scene that was amusing I, watching them both clutch their respective caps rather than one and other before turning to each other. Even I could very clearly imagine all the scenery and the explosions that were coming ever closer as well as the sweat beginning to dab on their brows and their upper lips.
It was Captain Williams to speak all over again even though it was not uncommon for Captain Morgan to get his own words in there whenever he was given the chance.
"There isn't time for any of this." Jordan spoke in mock hurriedness, forgoing touching his crisp sailor's hat for a third time and his sea green orbs scanning the living room which in his mind was the vast expanse of the ocean. He had just a small moment to clutch James' arm before he added, breathless. "We must form a tighter truce than ever before. They're gaining on us."
No sooner had these words escaped from Jordan's lips, the lavender haired male's leather cap bobbed on his head and his flamboyant, flailing body carried him a few meters away. Still sitting on my bottom and observing it all, I really could very much see the sea bobbing up and down and rocking their vessel – as well as the invisible dagger that went in between James' teeth as he prepared to climb the rigging.
Captain Williams watched Captain Morgan's every move and I did too. In spite of their past, the yellow haired one of the two clearly trusted that the lavender haired male knew what he was doing. James' head didn't need to nod in response to Jordan's words. He already had a plan. And he was already acting on it.
The person I was sat with on the carpet while a baby perched in their lap with a noisy book didn't see James in mid-air and climbing up the ship's rigging like I did.
"This is dodgy." Captain Morgan's words came from behind the dagger between his lips that only a handful of us could see. Practically as soon as he uttered these words, Captain Williams' eyes threatened to grow wider and his top lip to feel the spray of the sea as well as more of its own nervous moisture. The lavender haired pirate hardly ever uttered words of uncertainty. The two sea men were in a compromising position on their vessel. "I've never seen a military ship gaining on us so fast. We better not run into more of those pesky morons."
And at the same time as the man next to me on the carpet looked up with a slightly widened look on his usually round orbs anyway, the two playful men moved on to the next segment of their game.
Following their own script and their own plan perfectly, James seemed to drop at least ten feet down from the wavering rigging and crash down onto the wet decking of The Valentine when another explosion happened.
As well as knocking the male with the slimmer frame off his feet, the explosion also sent Jordan tumbling as well. Somehow (and rather impressively) he managed to make Captain Williams' crisp white hat shoot off his head like he had been caught in the gustiest of winds.
Both of the two sea men tried to scramble to their feet, clutching onto the rope rail of the vessel. But it was to no avail. That thunderous sound had been an unmistakable one and it sent splinters of Captain Williams' beloved boat flying everywhere.
James and Jordan managed to resist clutching onto each other and the ropey rails felt their hold. However, they did not manage to resist looking at one and other. I saw the anxiety in their eyes that was bordering on panic.
Not everybody was quite so amused by or drawn into the game that the two men were acting out. Finally speaking out even though he had been watching for quite some time with a fish hook in his brow, the deep violet haired male removed the black hoodie veil from his face and shook his head at both Jordan and James.
"That is not how mines exploding sound like, I gotta tell ya." Eli interrupted play time, his naturally wide eyes finding themselves squinting as he looked dismayed over at the two of them. After all the years of playing that sort of nonsense, he believed that they would have at least learned! "The two of you couldn't be more wrong."
Proving just how invested in their characters, their storylines and their fun time the two men were, they both showed off the same head shakes as they came back to reality and the living room of the Morgan household.
No, they were not on the decks of their ship in the middle of the sea and coming face to face with the struggles of battle from so many enemies of theirs around the world. The ocean spray was not dampening their faces and they couldn't hear their vessel groaning and creaking with determination. They were, in actuality, being called out by the man with the baby perched and occupied on his lap and no other than Jordan's cousin.
Eli continued staring, his expression widening to its usual inquisitive and hollow shape as he didn't understand why it was taking the two of them so long to respond to what he was saying. But eventually, they finally reacted and after looking over at one and other, both Jordan and James acknowledged Eli.
I came back to a bit of reality myself and this was helped by the blonde baby on the deep violet haired male's lap pressing the noisy buttons of the book rather than just looking at the pictures. Surprising me, it was James to respond to Eli and despite being the less blunt out of he and the yellow haired male, he countered.
"It's not mines exploding. It's cannon fire." he told him and as he did so, he took the chance to run his hands through his mature, shorter locks but no doubt feel them to be the full and matted ones of his pirate alter ego. I suspect that the roguish character of his took over him a bit and caused him to add. "And you would know, would you?"
That fish hook pulled further on the Unovan male's dark and well-shaped brow. Turning his body to face the older male a little more while his hands cupped around the stomach of Layla on his lap, he retorted back again without hesitation.
"And I would know." Eli's voice sounded low and unfaltering. Even so, there was not a hint of competition. There was not a hint of defensiveness. Why would there be? He was just pointing things out in order to make the storyline as accurate as he could be for the two men. Still, he did feel as though they should know certain things at that point!
Before James could squint his eyeliner decorated eye just a tad even though I knew Eli's words were not inviting a debate in the slightest, it seemed as though Jordan nodded his head so his cousin didn't have to.
His fingers finding themselves in his yellow, curtain-like locks, Jordan seemed more like himself in that moment rather than his sailor persona. He added to the conversation himself.
"Mines don't sound like that." he agreed and I watched as his best friend didn't need to turn to him. A competition wasn't brewing between the two of them either. Jordan's fingers still roaming thoughtfully through his locks as they took an unexpected interval in their game, he then shuddered and finished for his cousin when he had the intention to compare. "Fireworks. They remind me of fireworks."
James looked at Jordan at that point. Eli's sunken yet large orbs darted between the two of them, considering this comparison for himself before shuddering. Despite his similar reaction to Jordan, he did not nod his head.
In fact, while James continued looking over at Jordan and pressing his lips together in unspoken empathy and understanding, Eli's head tilted from side to side as his contemplation took him to the state of disagreement rather than anything else.
But he didn't confirm this possibility with words. Instead, he agreed with the way that his cousin felt a shiver running up his spine as though someone had walked over his grave.
"Horrendous." concurred Eli and understanding everything that Jordan was not saying as much as anybody else in the room, after he locked his readable gaze onto the yellow haired male rather than the lavender haired one at that point, he decided to let the two of them get back to their playing.
It might have been slightly inaccurate in times other than the one he had just mistakenly pointed out, but they clearly enjoyed it. And it was probably better for his cousin to enjoy that sort of thing for all of its inaccuracy rather than cower away from a bit of fun for having too much accuracy.
Shuffling along the carpet and nearer to the two playful men, I watched as they quickly got back to their previous antics and their previous storyline, moving past the prior interruption. That time, instead of having their own minds and their own mouths making up the sounds of the setting of their game, as well as having Layla pressing all of the buttons on her book lending its soundtrack, they had Eli talking to the child as well.
But this seemed to fuel them! And soon enough, they were back in their world that they loved so much. And I had to say that I had a big smile on my face as I watched them all over again. I was also left wondering whether the script was planned that way or the two dressed up men were starting to ad-lib following their unexpected pause.
"Bugger." James resumed the game as Captain Morgan and out of his pirate jacket pocket; he lifted out a real telescope and looked out onto the horizon that was actually the living room television. Before Captain Williams' head could even turn, he explained, his lips pressing together and trying to hide anticipation. "Those pesky morons are creeping even closer. We really need to do something."
Jordan as Captain Williams let out a small grunt from between his lips that could have been labeled as frustration but it disappeared almost as soon as it came. And in its place, composure arrived.
Nodding his head and straightening his spine, appearing even taller and broader than other, Jordan's brow closed distance and he prepared to give commands. Although he had a baby on his lap that he very much liked to devote his time towards, Eli found himself turning his head and watching his cousin acting as a sailor.
"There's no other choice." The yellow haired male began and forcing any hint of doubt to leave his mind as Captain Morgan's telescope disappeared from his hand and dropped in his long coat pocket all over again, he nodded his head as he gave orders. "Go below deck and see what we have to put in our own cannons. Use your rum if you must. We need to fight fire with fire."
Even Layla stopped bashing her chubby hands momentarily against all the buttons on her book and briefly watched the acting as well. James had just a second to show hesitant emotions over giving his rum up into cannons and then snapped into action. I saw it clearly in my own mind and watched him disappear to the deck below and start his search for explosives to make their own booming noise.
Captain Williams didn't have the time to order Captain Morgan to hurry. All of a sudden and all over again, the two men acted out their characters being caught in an explosion that had approached even closer than the last one. And that time that it happened, it wasn't just their mouths that made this noise sound all around the room.
Someone else joined in and caused it to rumble around the room! That someone was Layla and she had pressed a particular button on her noisy book and it made a sound similar to thunder clapping.
Both men turned around from their game, momentarily forgetting they were meant to be acting and showed off a very real expression of confusion. While I sucked in my cheeks and tried to stop myself from giggling out loud, Eli looked down at the little girl and held her tighter around her stomach before looking back at the two men, nodding.
At last, the Unovan male had heard the sound that he knew that he needed to hear.
"Yup. Now that could be either a cannon fire or a mine." Eli interrupted all over again. He jiggled the blonde little baby on his lap to congratulate her and then turned to the men who had been forced away from their game for a second time. Like Jordan, his own brows were starting to draw together. "Hang about though. Why are you, Jordan, ordering him, James, around? Aren't you both equals?"
Layla followed Eli's finger as it pointed between the lavender haired male and the yellow haired one like her teething self very much wanted to latch onto the end of it! But after she wasn't given the opportunity to, she seemed to shrug and go back to clumsily turning the pages of her baby book.
Jordan and James looked at one and other after hearing Eli picking at their performance all over again and I could practically see the scenery fading away all over again and the marine ships no longer crawling ever closer to the beloved vessel.
Catching me off guard, it was James who piped up all over again and in defense of his character rather than Jordan protecting his best friend as well as his best friend's alter ego. I noticed the eye roll that threatened to take over his face though he mostly managed to conceal it,
"We're the only two people manning our dear ship. We are very much equals." James told Eli and I found it curious how neither he nor the yellow haired male referred to their characters as separate people to themselves. They really were the embodiment of everything they wanted to be. It was such fun for them. And it had been that way for years.
James didn't need to explain that the two Captains were happy to follow each other's orders. It spoke for itself. Eli then spoke for himself. Promptly.
"Highly inaccurate." The Unovan male pointed out and that time James could not stop his pupils from revolving in front of his eye sockets that were very white in contrast to the black kohl around his lids. Nevertheless, it was still done with a touch of amusement.
And that amusement only continued as James approached Eli sitting on the carpet a few metres behind me, standing over him and gesturing, his pirate jewellery jangling and his long coat swaying around his ankles. Captain Morgan had momentarily disappeared for good. Though it was hard to tell where each man ended and began.
"It's called imagination." he informed Eli and although his retort was done with a great deal of light-heartedness, the way one of his eyes squinted together also showed that he shouldn't be messing with him!
He wasn't exactly going to do anything. But the playful warning was there.
Eli didn't heed the warning. Eli was unfazed. Bundling Layla close to his hip so he could hold her while she clutched her book, he looked up at the lavender haired male and he told him. He told him with all the pointedness in the world that he believed he would not need to say anymore.
"You're approaching fifty now, James." Eli let James know and while his eyes were locking onto him as he looked up at him, I couldn't stop my laughter from sounding outwards when Jordan had a moment to point to himself! The blonde haired baby looked at the blonde man. When Eli was looked at Eli as if to say 'so?', with slight bewilderment, he was forced to add more words. "You should think about retiring that old pirate pal of yours as well as your childishness."
Eli's second words were most unrehearsed seeing as he believed that his prior sentence would have been enough but they did cut rather deeply. Or at the very least, they cut accurately.
James squinted his eye all over again, his arms twitching by his sides as he considered folding his arms over his chest. However, before he could see the twinkle taking over the younger male's orbs as he was actually being a little playful in himself in return, Jordan came to the rescue.
Jordan not only came to the defense of James and their joyous times, but he came to the defense of the right to continue being exactly themselves. And he did this by playfully teasing his cousin back!
"Damn, computers not only rot your brain and your eyes but they rot your sense of fun as well." He retaliated in the gentlest of ways. That was Jordan! That was Jordan being utterly Jordan.
And when James ran another hand through his hair and looked down at the ground, his teeth showing as he tried to privately grin at the rather witty comeback that his best friend had, Eli looked back at his cousin and properly narrowed his eyes at him.
That time, there was brewing competition! And the way that the Unovan male's initial word tumbled out at first only proved this.
"Fine." He stated and since Layla was already on his hip, he proceeded to stand up with her and her book with the intention of heading elsewhere with her. He could no longer stand their nonsense and their flawed storytelling. But of course, I knew that he would have ended up joining in if he didn't leave the room! "Keep enjoying your highly inaccurate games."
Jordan and James were unfazed. In fact, the way they uttered the words 'we will' in unison proved to Eli that they took his own words as an invitation to go back to their own fun. The deep violet haired male's eyes swiveled in his head. And although he had stood up to leave the room and read the baby a book so she knew knowledge just as much as she knew imagination, he didn't tear his eyes away from the story being told by acting.
That was the problem, wasn't it? No matter who you were or how old you were or how much you believed in facts and figures and numbers rather than make believe, you somehow got drawn into Jordan and James' world!
To tell you the truth, it was a rare occasion for me that I was merely watching rather than joining in myself. Nevertheless, observing put a smile on my face just as much as I enjoyed being in on the action. And there was always action to be in on, wasn't there?
"We really must prepare cannons as quickly as possible, Captain Morgan!" the yellow haired male tugged the lavender haired male back into the game as much as actually tugged him before sending him back down below deck all over again. He reminded him, knowing him well enough to withhold possessions for his own benefit. "If there's no gun powder then use that rum. We really might not have any choice."
That time, Captain Morgan couldn't stop a restrained sob from escaping from his throat. The thing that he enjoyed the least was using his money from other successfully won battles and treasure hunts to buy precious alcohol that would eventually end up as an explosive. But there was beginning to be little to no choice.
According to Captain Williams, the marines were already approaching fast. And then, according to him, no sooner had his sand coloured boot hit the decking of the deck below, apparently the cry from his co-captain made it clear that their enemies had crept a lot closer than they believed.
"Blast!" the yellow haired sailor exclaimed and finally lost his cool at the same time that another cannon went off. Of course, it was not the one from their own ship. Captain Morgan hadn't had the time to pack it at that point. In fact, he didn't even have the time to say goodbye to his beloved rum. Captain Williams shuddered. His upper lip had never felt so sodden. "They're already among us."
Clear as day, I saw the way that a pirate head poked from below deck before it scrambled back to the top one, knowing that the other sea men needed him there before it was even asked of him. James' sword was already drawn. He was already prepared for action. There was to be no more cannons. There was to be no more explosions. It was going to be good old fashioned fancy foot moves and sword action from then on out.
I don't know how I didn't see it before but as Captain Morgan reached the deck alongside Captain Williams, I at last saw the teddy bears dotted all around them both in khaki and badge adorned outfits. I didn't need to turn to Eli to see the way that his eyes were rolling so prominently in his head that anymore and his eyeballs would have rolled out of his sockets!
And truthfully, I was too busy imagining those teddy bears transforming into actual marine officers for all to see. I started to picture their faces and their mannerisms for myself. My imagination was aided by Jordan and James jumping and tiptoeing around, pretending to avoid contact with the military men.
"You've got some fancy moves for it being your first time with this kind of weapon, I confess, boy." Captain Morgan complimented the marine male who I imagined to have the most pristine of uniforms and the highest degree of beginner's luck when it came to crossing paths with that pirate. I watched their footwork mirror each other in unison. Then, the pirate smirked and swashed his sword against his in a noise like nails on a chalkboard. "If you display this kind of skill to your sergeant then no doubt will you go from private first class to a corporal!"
Captain Williams hooted at his fellow sea men's tactic of flattery in order to disarm the opponent before striking when his guard was down in between crossing blades with another marine that in my mind was shorter but somehow stocker than even he.
But of course, it didn't surprise me and I don't think it would surprise anyone to know that it was only Jordan who laughed and had an expression of glee in the middle of acting out a duel with a khaki wearing marine.
While Captain Morgan continued grinning at his own tactic, Eli had vowed not to interrupt the men anymore but he just couldn't help it. A groaning almost growling noise from his own throat burst their bubble for good and for me to see everything for how it was – two adult men in dressed up costumes and swashing teddy bears clad in military uniform.
The Unovan male tried not to clutch Layla too tight as he just had to point out the inaccuracies for one more time before really heading on his way.
"You've got the rank order entirely wrong, James!" he spoke to the older one a little louder and more vigorously than he intended but he kept that insistent look when he actually was looked over at by both of the men. Eli puffed out of his lips. And then with his spare hand that wasn't holding a baby, he educated both Jordan and James. "Private first class. Lance corporal. Corporal."
Eli listed all of the ranks, his fingers pointing out from a previously closed fist as he counted. He shook his head. There was no twinkle in his gaze anymore. He really felt they should know this kind of thing. Jordan especially.
Despite the fact that it had been James being spoken to both times and it had been he previously to retort first, the yellow haired male took it upon himself to do so that time. And as he did exactly this, he had the same level of teasing as James. But unlike him, he had an added hint of understanding. Jordan had an added jolt of knowing.
"And you would know, would you?" Jordan and the man in charge of Captain Williams humored his cousin. And because the two of them went way back with one and other, the Unovan male stopped appearing so icy and educational and folded a loose single arm over his chest.
Jordan looked over at him. James looked over at him. I looked over at him. Even Layla did. For perhaps one of the first times that I had seen, Eli stuck his nose in the air and retorted just one more time, having the oncoming of a glint in his eye once more in spite of it all.
"I read. I don't just play." he made himself reply haughtily and although he a couple of times before had made a point of leaving the room, he still didn't there and then. And though he was replying to the two men with a bit of light-heartedness albeit stuffiness, I saw right through him.
I supposed that Jordan did as well. And as I looked over at Eli as he wordlessly sat down on the carpet all over again and couldn't help but be present for all of the acted out inaccuracies, there was a bit of realization that hit me that caught me off guard.
As my eyes locked onto the face of Eli, I saw everything and it gave me the same far off and buzzing sensation as when I squeeze my eyes tightly shut while dealing with a water attack. In that tiny, single moment of looking over at him after he joked, I saw and I understood too. A story formed in my mind. And it was one that took my attention far more than the one that James and Jordan made Captain Morgan and Captain Williams display.
o - o - o - o - o
A train going from region to region was alive with the biggest kind of hubbub that you had ever seen and it made the young deep violet haired male in his marine uniform restless. Noise and the stuffy sensation of close by groups of people made him uneasy at the best of times but being stuck in a carriage going from place to place really took the biscuit.
Almost as soon as he had sat down on the locomotive, he knew that his seating choice had been a bad idea. And when it was going at full speed and passing row of countryside after countryside and everyone was allowed to move around, he knew that it was time to rectify that.
His little khaki brown hat perched on his head and his satchel draped over his arm, he lifted himself from his seat and looked around, deciding where to take himself off too next. The eighteen year old marine swallowed, that feeling of nausea and impatience filling his belly even more in spite of the fact that he had told himself it would ease the more time that he spent on the train.
Apparently not. Apparently he would only feel better when he was off of the speeding thing. But that was hardly going to be true, was it? Compared to the life that he had lived prior to that moment and actually a bit of a luxury by having somewhat of a roof over his head, you would've thought that he would be feeling a lot more peaceful.
No, he didn't feel any bit of calm at all. He needed to find a sense of that, if he could at all. However, for the time being, he pushed that out of his mind. Instead, he focused on finding another, better place to sit. And maybe with some people who would take his mind off of the whole affair.
His inquisitive yet sunken youthful eyes scanning the train, he locked onto a gaggle of boys and men in the corner with a pack of cards splayed out in front of them on the table. They were playing a game. He could surely join them for their game.
Almost as soon as he considered this, one of them in the group clearly succeeded because he erupted into a loud, bellowing cheer and it caused the rest of them to engulf him in a bear hug. The deep violet haired young man fiercely shook his head to himself. No fear! He didn't want to feel all the more suffocated.
The eighteen year old marine filled his vision with another, different group. They seemed okay, he thought. They seemed okay at first and they had some of the best seats with an open window. He removed himself from his little corner seat and started to take a couple of steps. As he got closer to them all, he honed his ears in as well as his eyes and so he was able to hear what they were talking about. After not much time, it became very obvious!
The young man winced, recoiling before forcing himself to reconsider. He appreciated girls and women enough to have something in common with them all, didn't he? He considered and listened again. And that time as he did this, he made up his mind for good. No, he might have joined in with some banter on the battle front but there was a time and a place for everything.
Trying to shake the vulgar language that he had heard out of his mind, the deep violet haired young man looked over at one more gaggle of men. They were easily the oldest ones on the train and the strongest too. The three of them had found a bar on the ceiling of the train and were taking it in turns to do pull ups to impress their pals, their large arms straining in their various uniforms.
His eyes widened wider than ever before! He might not have had much in common with them but at least they were impressive to look at. He drew his hand up towards his neck in order to caress it slightly, feeling the material of his tie against his collarbones before he advised himself against it.
Regardless, he couldn't stop himself from thinking. And he couldn't stop himself from feeling impressed. He had never seen men that tall and broad before – not even with the company that he used to keep in his earlier teenage years. He'd have liked to linger near them. But there was no saying that they would be as kind to him as the person who dashed across his mind after removing his hand from his tie and looking at the gang some more.
Letting out of a sigh and holding his khaki satchel over his shoulder once more, the young man shook his head to himself before deciding to find some solace and peace and quiet in another section of the train. He was doubtful he would find it. In fact, he was convinced that he was destined to always feel turmoil in his belly.
And with that thought on his mind, he decided to head off for good. As he made his way, intending to go to another compartment of his train, on the way he walked past two young men who were no older than him. They too found themselves distracted by the muscular men and their crow bar pulling and shook their heads, smirking in awe for a different reason.
Because of the closeness and the fact that he had honed his hearing in on the bustling train, he heard every word that one of the boys conversed to each other. He simply couldn't help himself.
"They're strong." The fellow young man on the train started, both their own satchels on their shoulders as they wore a different uniform to the deep violet haired one. They wore different expressions too, utterly carefree as they grinned in awe at each other. "But I bet C. Williams in compartment B would give them an absolute run for their money."
At first, the other young lad that the talkative one was conversing with showed off an expression of indifference, tilting his head to the side and scrunching up his brows. But then no sooner had that expression faded away, another took its place.
The second young lad laughed and nodded his head in agreement. The both of them were about to bustle on their way when it dawned on the deep violet haired male what had been spoken within earshot of him.
His eyes widened more than usual and his breath hitched. That couldn't be right, could it? He was hearing things for certain. Yes, that was it. The fatigue of war and the fear of it all had done wonders to his mind and not the good kind. He was hearing things - making things up.
There was no way that the person who had just crossed his mind was being talked about on that bustling train filled with people from various enforcements helping their regions out. But still, the deep violet haired young man stopped his breath hitching in his throat long enough to only just catch one of the other young men by the elbow.
"Excuse me, did you say C. Williams. As in, Captain Williams?" he questioned before either of them could give him funny looks at the way that he grabbed one by the elbow. Nevertheless, they both stepped out of his way. The young man didn't let them out of his sight, momentarily dropping his satchel down off his shoulder and questioning them again before they could leave. "C. Williams is here?"
Such friendly and cheery and carefree faces when they were conversing with one and other faded away when being spoken to by a stranger. Much less, a stranger in a different uniform to them. But it wasn't just that, though. It was the realities of war. People chopped and changed as much of all of the oceans that many of them crossed on a daily basis.
The first other lad sighed, his brows drawing closer together like the hairs on his face were each other's only true friend. The second other lad followed suit. But he did answer when he sensed that they weren't going to get away scot free. Lingering eye contact told them this.
"Compartment B, he said. There's a C. Williams in compartment B." he informed the inquiring young man and the way that he looked at him told him that he should have at least been listening hard if he had been listening at all. His friend's expression followed suit. Then the young man added, making both of them laugh. "Rubbernecker."
And with that, the two of them disappeared! They left a trail of laughter as they went. The deep violet haired young man lifted his satchel all over and laughed with them, though of course, he was not invited to do so. And the sad fact was that they were laughing at him rather than with him.
Still, there was only one thing and one thing only on his mind at that point. He tried not to get his hopes up. No, he couldn't say it was exactly hope that was in his throat and belly at that point. It was more curiosity. Yes, that's what it was. Unbridled curiosity. It was intrigue. It had felt like ages since he had felt that feeling twitching in his pineal gland. So he couldn't help but chase it. And he chased it to another compartment of the train entirely.
That segment was far quieter and he understood why the more that he spent time there. It caused him to swallow and not only drape his satchel over his shoulder but hold it like one of his own only friends too. His round yet sunken wide youthful eyes darted around.
Almost immediately, he recognized the uniforms of people in far higher ranks than his own and many different organizations of his own. And not only that, but their clothing was immaculate. He knew that their higher roles and broader responsibilities made it so they had to look well turned out at all times.
Nevertheless, they were really taking the biscuit! Somehow in spite of everything that they had been through and faced and seen and were working towards, their faces appeared pristine as well. They were wide eyes and jovial creatures. They were tall. They towered over the deep violet haired young man even further than people hovered over him. And as well as this, they were actually friendly.
As he slid through doors and welcomed himself in and noticed the far more gentlemanly and ordered chaos of that part of the train, people offered smiles to him as well as their various caps. He couldn't reciprocate for one reason or another. But mostly he didn't offer a curve of the lip or a cap lift because he felt so very taken aback.
Moving further on into the train, sometimes he forgot about the position that he had been offered not long into his life as a marine and the fact that it was only a rank below most of the men that he was passing. He supposed that was why they greeted him so welcomingly. In the next year or maybe the next few months if he was unbelievably lucky, he would be their equal.
But not really thinking about this much at all, he pushed on. And eventually he reached where he needed to be. Compartment B. Compartment B looked down at him with its silver lettering as he pressed one hand against the door.
He had been lucky to see that lettering and the fact that that particular carriage having an actual existence, let alone bumping into whom he was hoping for. He didn't expect his thoughts to come to fruition. That's all they were. Thoughts.
It was true that the yellow haired male who had streaked across his mind was in a similar position as he during that time in their lives. Well, at least that he knew of. It had been… Two? Four? It had either been two or four weeks since he had even heard from him. Anything could happen to him in that time. During a war, anything could happen in that time.
The deep violet haired young man tried to tell himself that they were just thoughts. He had had many thoughts in his life time and hardly any of them had come to fruition. Not even the ones that he really hoped would. So why would passing thoughts appear before him in reality instead? They simply wouldn't. They just wouldn't.
He very nearly actually chuckled to himself as he pushed past one more door. And then that smile was wiped from his face. All over again, a hitch filled his throat and then eventually that gasp became a lump. It was a lump he tried to swallow but with no avail.
Gone was the nauseous feeling in his belly and the suffocation within his mind. There and then and in that moment it felt like there was barbed wire in his throat and someone sitting on his chest. It couldn't be… Could it? Could it be?
Pushing open the two doors to that compartment without hardly making a sound at all, the deep violet haired young man stared. He stared ahead at the yellow haired male sitting in the carriage with not a single other soul around and minding his own business.
The young man stared at his cousin and tried to swallow and spit moisture back into his own mouth as he watched him hunch over the table in the train, one of his strong hands clutching a wooden shape of something or other and the other holding a knife to whittle it into a more obvious shape.
The wood in his hand. The care in his fingers. His floppy yellow locks that had been even more bleached by the sun. His large and extraordinarily toned biceps in the white of his sailor's uniform. His hat sat on the seat next to him like it was a dear friend. Sea green orbs darting at his own work to search for imperfections before fixing them.
There was no other man like that. There was no other man it could possibly be.
Prior sensations were forgotten about and didn't even care if his voice came out hoarse as he had a mouth like the sandpaper that was on the table next to his cousin. He forgot all of that and properly swung the door open. He greeted the man that he had not seen face to face in months.
"Captain Jordan Williams, sir. An unmatched privilege to be on board this humble locomotive with you." he spoke to his cousin and his satchel dropped to the floor by its own accord so he could raise his hand to his temple.
In my mind's eye, Jordan escaped from his thoughts in the same way that he did when he was brought back to reality after engaging in play with his best friend. Jiggling his head, he looked up. His initial reaction was to frown at who was speaking to him in an excessive way – or to tell you the truth – who was speaking to him at all.
But then when he made eye contact with his cousin's face, his immediate reaction was to bustle away from his seat and table. He didn't care when his little wooden creation dropped down to the floor.
He copied the younger man's actions and didn't hesitate to raise his own hand to his temple. Then, he reached for his hat and placed it upon his head before feeling his fingers against his forehead all over again and saluting properly.
At first, his words were rehearsed – they were habit.
"Private First Class, Eli Alderaan. It is my honor." He spoke, his sea green eyes not showing a hint of irony or joy initially. And then this practiced façade fell away. He may have been a captain in the navy but when he saw the face of his cousin and his childhood best friend, he couldn't stop his dimples from forming on his cheeks as he smiled and his hand falling away from his face sheepishly. "What in god's name are you doing here?"
Eli managed to keep his own initial reaction concealed in the same way that Jordan had unintentionally done so. His chin lifting up in the air and his finger pointing to the badges on his tie, that gesture at first did all of the talking. Jordan squinted and then understood.
For the first time in both of their lives together as cousins, it was the yellow haired one who had the wider eyes out of the two of them both as he realized that not only had he got Eli's rank incorrect but he had been blessed with a title far more prestigious than his time in the marines.
He made sure to address him correctly after the deep violet haired young man's own sheepish expression came, his white teeth appearing as he grinned. He invited himself to the seat opposite his cousin but not until he had placed his fallen wooden creation in the middle for them both to see and Jordan to continue working on.
"Corporal Eli Alderaan. Impressive." he corrected and just like the younger of the two suspected, he reached for the wooden unfinished shape to fiddle with while he conversed. The more that things changed the more that stayed the same. They might have been two men at different ages aiding in the war, but they would always be themselves. They would always be Jordan and Eli.
And Eli being undoubtedly and unfalteringly himself, he corrected his cousin's correction and told him even though he had just been complimented:
"Corporal Elias Wildern if you please." he informed him and after hardly any time he was met across the table with an eyebrow arched and direct gaze. He was unfazed. "Times like these make it even more important to have an alias, I feel."
In hindsight, I wondered if this was a pun – wordplay. In hindsight also, I knew that Jordan was unlikely to catch on if it was!
Instead, peculiarly, he started to grin over at his cousin across the table, for the time being forgoing adding any more details to the wood and cupping his face with his hand instead. He let that do all the talking at first. But then he couldn't stop himself from adding more words.
Jordan spoke of the way that Eli had briefly touched on them serving in the current Pokémon Regional War.
"But isn't it wonderful?" he encouraged. Initially, he was met with a blank expression in return. It lingered all the while Jordan's hand fell away from his face and ruffled a hand through his own hair. Then he continued, explaining himself as Eli's eyebrow rising expression didn't alter. "It's wonderful, isn't it? Going home?"
Realization struck him and it hit like a breeze washing over the beach and bringing the end to a well anticipated barbecue. However at first, he just stared and he just blinked and he just contemplated. He pondered.
Of course. The merriment on a good percentage of the train was because for those people, they were heading home. Some of them, like Jordan, had signed up when they were barely eighteen and so got drafted for six months and that was it. Regardless of the result of the war. Regardless of how long it raged on. Regardless of anything at all.
For some of them, that was it. But like Eli it was entirely it. It was the be all or end all. It was their work. Jordan started to realize what his cousin's expression meant as he could not stop his face from speaking volumes as he thought all of his thoughts.
He knew that some people would be going home. But he hadn't remembered for a single second that his cousin's time was up. And it hadn't crossed his mind that when he heard that one of his loved ones may or may not be on the train, it was because he was heading somewhere better.
"You're not going home?" Jordan broke both of their thoughts and it broke anybody else's who was around listening as well. But there was no one. Eli let the silence ring out some more, speaking the volumes that needed to be spoken. His own cheek started to feel his balled fist against it. For a rare occasion, the blunt and occasionally bellowing man didn't know what to say. His words lamely rang out. "Eli… You're not going home?"
It was like the more that he spoke these words aloud, the more he was hoping they would come true. But he was no fool. Just like his relative, he knew that just because you said words and you thought of them, it didn't mean that they would come to fruition. Otherwise he never would have had to leave his love and his loved ones behind and complete his navy missions. Otherwise he would have bumped into his cousin a lot sooner.
Eli's cheek stopped feeling his own touch extremely quickly. His hand banged down as he corrected his cousin. Though that time, it wasn't with the same air as when he had told him of his marine rank.
"Elias." corrected Eli and he tried his best not to hiss. He encouraged himself to swallow and try to be convincing in an easy-going way rather than forceful when in spite of it all and in spite of the moment, Jordan's eyebrows pulled together at different points and he looked around to remind him that they were alone. Eli didn't shake his head. And Eli didn't let this go. He insisted once more before bravely continuing. "Elias. It doesn't matter though. You're going home. You are. And that's… great. That's great."
Jordan heard the way that his cousin's voice rang out for a moment struggled to find the right word. However, he knew that he was the last person who said words simply for the point of saying them. Even if he found them difficult to say or difficult to formulate, he knew that they were spoken with the hope of ending up being believed – by them both but himself most of all. He was happy. He was happy for him.
And so, Jordan couldn't stop himself from admitting to this and having a small, beginning smile on his face as he spoke politely and tactfully for him. It started to be Eli playing with the unfinished wooden creation as he did this.
"It is. It is great." agreed Jordan and funnily enough, almost as soon as Eli's fingers touched some of the magic that his cousin had thoughtfully been creating, he found it easier and more genuine for him to tilt his head as he listened to what he had to say. He nearly copied his smile too, but not quite. Jordan held back a chuckle as he added, running a hand through his locks. "Lynne is so close to popping, man. She is so close."
And because it was clear exactly what this meant, Eli could shake his head fondly. His fingers filled with the wood from his cousin's collection, the corner of his mouth started to quirk upwards. He leaned a little forward too, relishing forgetting about the fatigue of war and the thought of something far tenderer.
"You'll have to tell me all about it." Eli said and immediately, Jordan gave him his own tilted head look as if to say 'duh'. But I knew without having to ponder too hard on it that he was probably really bad with the consistency of his letters. That was why his cousin had no idea that his six weeks had almost passed. His hand fell against his cheek and that time, it was in another, different way. He managed to forgo softly sighing. "With the way that your Lynne describes them to me in your letters, I feel like I know them both. You'll have to tell me if she stays that way. You'll have to tell me all about it."
Jordan nodded his head only once. His own fingers clasped around the wood of his possible animal shaped figurine with the intention of adding more details while they chatted. His mind flickered. Eli's mind paused.
It was baffling to Jordan the first time that he became a father and it was somehow all the more so on time number two! He couldn't believe it. He was overjoyed. He had butterflies. He had the sensation of sickness in his stomach sometimes. But he was happy. That was strange to him. That was a strange feeling.
That was something that he had only known when his sister was very young and he had the occasional carefree day running along the beach with Eli. But since knowing his Lynne, they had become far more frequent. That in itself was very strange. And at that point, he wasn't entirely sure whether he liked it or not.
Regardless, he promptly spoke back to his cousin.
"You'll have to tell me all about it." Jordan almost blurted out and it caused him to tilt his head in the opposite way. He had since taken his little hat off his head and while the train continued driving them through countryside, he just sat in his beige and khaki uniform and fiddling with his tie. Jordan explained. "All what you've been through, I mean. All what you've seen. How you became corporal. Letters are nothing like hearing it face to face."
And because his cousin's expression had an undeniable degree of earnestness in his expression, Eli couldn't stop himself from indulging. He told him about the first ever battle that he had participated in and how he had never been so scared in his life. His knees had been knocking so loudly and his finger trembling so much that he was concerned he would aim his weapon and pull it prematurely.
He spoke about wading through bogs and mucky marshland with the mud sticking to him so much so that their own captain didn't believe their uniforms would ever be the same again. But he was wrong. He passed through an occasion where special nurses came to pay them a visit and made them homemade lemonade, making sure to talk to all the marines and learn their names.
He shared the occasion of when a fellow marine went and hid in a cave with the intention of playing a prank on one of the other boys. Unfortunately the enemy had been hiding in there! It was almost too late for their fellow marine. But it ended up too late for the enemy instead.
In spite of it all, they all laughed together. And as they laughed together, they chuckled so hard that their bellies hurt far more than when they got poisoned by the coconuts that had been left for them. That was the first time they felt like a gang. That was the first time that they felt like they were winning.
None of them felt like they were winning on the last occasion that Eli told Jordan about. It was the dead of the night. It was an intense showdown. They were standing in waiting. They were squatting and waiting. The marine right next to Elias got so nervous – somehow more nervous than even he during his first time.
The marine became a leaf next to the surprising steady tree of Eli. And after giving him a cigarette to inhale, he gave him a pep talk which encouraged the rest of the group. And so, he earned his rank of corporal even though he had been serving just over three months.
He showed one of a kind skill and compassion, their captain had said. He then had far more responsibilities. But he took them on his chin. He enjoyed them. He worked with what he had, Eli told Jordan.
"Sometimes I think he picked the wrong guy." he confessed to his cousin who at that point had left his wooden creation three quarters of the way created and was then leaning back against the seat of the train, listening. His eyes didn't leave his. Eli's started to flicker as his fingers squirmed on his tie. "But then again, I don't think I'd care that much if I didn't have all of that lot. Sometimes I didn't even care at all."
Jordan felt the air leaving his nostrils as he listened. He didn't need to nod to show that he understood. Understood was what he did. His cousin had joined the Marine Corps after leaving foster care with little to no choice. He had stumbled into it. He had been cornered into it.
While he had chosen it for himself, he felt like that was the only option. Was a choice really a choice if there wasn't any other possibility? He often wondered. But still, like he said, he made the best of things. And he had made the best of things.
His mind filled with such darkness sometimes. The things he'd seen. The people he had to leave behind. Every man for himself. There's no I in team. Both of those things conflicting with each other all of the time. It was rough. It was rough for any man. It was certainly rough for that eighteen year old.
It was rough for Eli. Elias. But he shone. That's what he did. He shone. At whatever he did. He shone. Because he had a heart of gold. That was how I got to know him. And that's how Jordan had known him all of his life.
The yellow haired male's shoulders finally moved to show that he understood instead of his head nodding. Eli leaned back in his seat as well. But unlike his cousin, he knew not to get comfortable. In a few hours – in a few stops – he would be off again. Onto the next place. Onto the next battle. Onto the next loss. Could he handle it?
Sometimes he thought that he couldn't. That squeezing sensation in his stomach returned. Sometimes he felt like he was being eaten alive. But he remembered. He remembered why he did it. He needed a better future for himself. He needed a better future for the world. In truth, that was always what motivated the man who I got to know.
Whether it was in the career that he later built for himself and his cyber security business. Whether it was him digging up that Desert Resort gold with the intention of providing for his nieces after both of their parents passed. Whether it was in love. Whether it was in love or whether it was in loss. Eli was driven by improvement. And he was one of the rare people I could say that about.
"So…" Jordan's voice sounded from leaning right up into the corner of his own chair on the train. Even though it was his cousin's turn to speak, it was his voice that filled the air. And after Eli looked back at him, there was a bit of a jovial glint in his sea green orbs to break the tension. Or rather, break the thoughts. "Tell me about those ladies and their lemonade stand. It sounds sweet!"
And because this was the last thing that he was expecting to hear and it was hardly the kind of conversation that they engaged in at all, after a couple of seconds, it caused a similar twinkle to take over Eli's own orbs.
Shaking his head and making sure that his satchel and his hat were nearby for when the train eventually came to a halt, he gave his cousin a look and a shake of the head but soon enough couldn't resist in indulging him in one more tale. He at least owed it to him. Maybe it would make him better at writing to Eli when he was at home with his fiancée and both of his daughters!
The eighteen year old marine corporal started telling the twenty two year old navy captain about the women in their matching skirts and lipstick serving lemonade for all the boys in his division. There wasn't much to tell, really. There wasn't all that much that he remembered. But for his benefit, he told as much as he could. He told more than he could. He fabricated some bits. But he enjoyed doing so.
And perhaps it was the knowing glint that they'd had in their eyes beforehand or it was the way that Eli's tone of voice had dulled when he told a partially fictional story to his cousin, but either way, Jordan closed his eyes as he nestled against his seat and he listened. He really did listen.
But as he shut his eyes, his own mind couldn't help but wonder. He wasn't trying to attract things. He wasn't trying to bring thoughts to reality. He was simply thinking. He knew that soon enough he could be home. There would be Lynne. There would be he. There would be his daughter. There would be no more explosions. No more sweatiness. No more heart constricting fear. There would just be family and the gym and Pokémon and writing letters to his cousin.
And speaking of his cousin, he knew that long before Jordan started snoring in his sleep that he had drifted off. Apparently the thought of the lemonade girls had soothed him too much! Or perhaps it was Eli's voice toning down and honeying out to something that was utterly far off for him.
Who knows? Either way, Jordan drifted off to sleep at some point then and remained that way for a good amount of time. He had been soothed by reality. It certainly hadn't always been that way. It wouldn't be that way for Eli for a long while. But at least they had each other. Wherever they went. Whatever battles they fought. For their region or within their own minds.
It didn't matter where they went. It didn't matter what stops they got off at. They were united. They were bound. They were bound by a finger to the temple and a salute as well as the respect they held within their hearts for each other.
And it was this respect that really drove things. For you see, Jordan was still asleep when the train at last came to a halt and it was time for Eli to get up off his stop. Eli waited for his cousin to move. Eli waited for his cousin to wake. Eli waited for his cousin to blink.
But he didn't. Not even when he pushed his wooden creation closer to him. Not even when he rose from his own seat. Not even when he pulled his satchel on all over again and placed his hat upon his head. Not even when he walked away. Not even when he turned back.
Eli – Elias – Elijah – whoever he was and whoever he was to become – sighed as he turned back while walking away. He felt that exhale rumbling softly through his nostrils as he looked back at his cousin. He had been comforted by reality. And he was heading on home to his family.
In a way, Eli was heading on to his family himself. More than anything in his life, that period in his life at least gave him some form of purpose. And he had people to guide unlike the times when people tried to guide him and failed because they wanted him to be a different way.
Jordan had other things to do. Eli too. And so, Eli went on his way.
He looked back for some more time but then eventually he got off the train and away from his stop and headed on to where he was meant to be. He would cross paths with Captain Williams at some other point, he believed. But for the time being, he was safe within his own mind. And that was all he ever wanted him to be.
And what kept his head up high and his satchel firm on his shoulder was the knowledge that Jordan would be greeted by loved ones when he got off his train. It wasn't meant to be that way for him. But it was meant to be for Jordan. And that was okay.
It was this willingness to accept things the way that they were rather than how he thought they were meant to be that led things to come to fruition for him too. Whether he wanted them to or not. Whether he intended things to be that way at all.
Eventually, he came to a place where he never had to step off the train without someone being there. And it was this that made me realize – it wasn't always what you did for yourself in life. It was what you did for others. And eventually it came back around to you. Not because you asked. But you deserved to receive.
Eli was many things. He was many names. He was many people. He lived many lives. He deserved everything in each of them. And I write this now so he remembers that. And I do as well.
The End.
There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :3 Writing this chapter was a lot of fun for me, especially the play time part! It's funny that although Jordan and James' games are something I used to plan out a lot, I haven't really written about them all that much. Like I said before, it felt like a throwback for me. I enjoyed writing Jordan and Eli here too. I tried hard to capture their young dynamic in just the one chapter but of course, I'm sure I'll go more into it! I wasn't surprised when I wrote this not long after watching the HBO series The Pacific. It's always been an idea of mine that Jordan was in the navy, but Shannon and I thought it would be interesting if Eli had a parallel too :) Thanks again for reading and I will be back on Wednesday with another chapter so see you then :3
Amy signing out!