Waves
They're calming
They always have been
But right now
They really aren't helping
Too much is running through my head
"Hey. You coming?"
The boy with dark blue hair nearly jumped out of his skin. "Y-yeah... I was just about to head down to the bar.." Mohan said standing up. Raj smiled and walked with him. "I know the twins aren't there yet. They had some personal stuff to take care of as well as tell their boss that they quit. Oh, did you do that?"
Mohan's eyes widened slightly, remembering he didn't talk to his 'boss'. "No! I'll be there in a few!" He said sprinting off to the opposite direction of the docks. Raj watched and laughed as he made his way down to the bar to wait.
-Mohan's P.O.V.-
He ran as fast as he could to the old, rundown house that he lived in. "Mohan! Where have you been! Better have picked up some food." Mohan froze in the doorway to see his drunken father getting it on with some woman. He instantly looked away and spoke,
"No, I didn't."
His father was furious. He shoved the woman off of him and threw his bottle at Mohan. It hit his right arm as he stormed over to the boy. He grabbed his shirt and pulled him close.
"You good for nothing brat!"
Mohan was tossed to the side and he laid there. "I'm leaving." He spoke softly. The woman only watched what happened between the family. "What was that?" Mohan was about to be kicked in the stomach but he caught his father's foot and knocked him on his back.
"I said, I'm leaving!"
He said, scrambling to his feet. "I found someone who offered me a job and I'm leaving with him! Today!" He did what his dad was about to do and stomped on his stomach.
"Rot in a hole by yourself."
He hit a pressure point with his heel and knocked his father out. He walked over to the exposed woman, gathered her clothes, and helped her up. "I'm sorry.." She took her clothes and gently pat his head. He turned around so she could get dressed. "Don't be... I'm sure you know why I'm doing such disgraceful things. Also, your arms are bleeding." Mohan stayed quiet and walked off to 'his room'. He gathered some of his items that consisted of a large shoulder drape scarf that he wore more as a sash and a dagger from a hidden drawer. He slid it into a small strap on the underside of the scarf, making it hidden from the world.
Mohan then went to the kitchen and grabbed some bandages and wrapped the upper part of his left arm as well as the lower part of his right. His left was cut surprisingly bad by some rocks on the floor and his right was hit by the bottle. The woman still in the house shocked him by pulling him into a hug as he stepped into the living room.
"Please take care Mohan."
She spoke softly then gently kissed his head before leaving the house. Mohan stood and watched as she left. He shook his head and strode out of the house, happy that he finally stood up to his abuser.
-----
The bar was busy and filled with various chatter. A familiar trio sat at a table and one redhead stared out a window. "Jee where is this guy.." "Raj, are you sure he's trustworthy? You hired him after he tried to steal from you." Raj sighed and looked at the twins. "Saleem. I want to help him. I mean, why would you hide on a ship? It's clearly not to steal anything cause you'd be gone by the time the owner shows up right?"
Right as he finished talking the doors opened to reveal Mohan with a slightly disheveled look. His hair was messy and the bandage on his left arm was already being bled through. Raj and Mohan instantly locked eyes. The bluenette walked over to Raj's table and whispered to him. "Can we please go right now?" Raj tilts his head and nods. "I just need to pay the tab and we'll be on our way."
Mohan nods and Raj offers him the seat he was previously sitting in. He sits down and the twins stare at him. "What happened to your arm?" Saamil asks. "Yeah, it looks pretty bad," Saleem said pointing to the male's left arm. "I just fell is all. Got unlucky and hit some rocks." He half told the truth as he looked out the same window.
Right as Raj turned around from the main counter to go back to his crew, the doors burst open to reveal a very pissed and still drunken man. This caught the attention of a few and Mohan looked over, his eyes widening and fear kicking in. "H-how did he find me.." He spoke under his breath but the twins caught it.
"Where the hell is he." The man said, eyes scanning the room before stopping on Mohan. His mouth curled into a sadistic smile. "There you are." He stormed over to Mohan who was once again, frozen in shock. Right before he reached his son, the quiet sound of a sword being unsheathed was heard and silence washed over the bar.
Raj didnt say a word as his message was loud and clear. His sword was pressed gently against the man's throat, causing Mohan to stand up. The drunkard was shocked as he stared into Raj's sunset orange eyes. Mohan gently grabbed Raj's shoulders and said, "Please stop."
"Why would I? He's threatening you. I have a good guess as to who he is, just for your information." He said looking to Mohan. He was surprised by Raj's eyes and removed his hands. "I would suggest you leave now."
The man backed away from Raj and his sword before running out of the bar. "This is some serious deja vu," Saamil mumbled. Raj closed his eyes as he put his sword away and the bar, seemingly hesitantly, got loud once more. His eyes were back to normal as he turned around to the three of them. He smiled, "So, ready to get going?"
Mohan was confused and the other two stood up, not too shocked since they didn't see the look that Raj had. "Let's go!" The twins said in unison as they walked out the door. Raj started walking but stopped when Mohan didn't walk with him. "Well, come on." Mohan nodded and walked alongside him.
The twins were still in eye distance as the four of them walked to the small, well-worn ship. Raj jumped up onto the side and set the ramp down for the other three.
"One last time. Does everyone have what they need and do what they needed to do?"
"Yep!" "Yeah, I think so." "....."
"Mohan?"
"Yeah, I do." His tone was slightly sad and held some anger to it. The twins didn't notice since they were arguing over something or other. "Right then." Raj pulled the ramp back up and had some dock hands help him undock his ship. And like that, they were off to wherever Raj was taking them.
Which, hopefully, isn't too far.
-----
Some time has passed and they were out in the middle of the sea. Raj was staring out into the calm ocean and Mohan was doing the same, just on the opposite side of the ship. Saleem and Saamil were playing some board game they found in the crew's quarters.
Raj was still and focused before seemingly for no reason, he started to prep for anchoring his ship. The twins watched with confusion for a minute before going back to playing. He threw the anchor into the water and the ship slowed to a halt. He stripped off his shirt and waist scarf, as well as his sword's scabbard. He stood on the railing and watched the water, which again, caught the twins' attention.
"Hey Raj, what are you doing?" Saamil asked. He got no response, causing Mohan to look to them as well. Right as Saleem was about to ask, Raj dove into the water. The three ran over to the same side Raj was on and looked into the water.
"What is he doing?" Mohan asked, looking to the brothers for an answer. They just shrug and the three of them watch the water. Raj was visible through the water, it looked almost like he was some type of sea creature himself. Suddenly, a giant bird swam past. Once it passed, Raj had disappeared from their sight.
The three looked at each other. "Ooooh right," Saleem remembered something. "I totally forgot he was the Sea Emperor." "Oh yeah! So did I." Saamil said. Mohan tilted his head and asked, "He's the what?" The twins look confused. "He didn't tell you?" "Did he even tell you he was the Prince of Uncura? Son of King Zameel Touma?"
Touma...
Did he tell me he was the Prince last night?
I... Can't remember.
Suddenly the water burst up into the air and Raj was seen on the top of a creature called a Chosta. Raj had a big smile on his face as the three watched in awe; the twins way more excited than Mohan.
"Could you guys help me out! I think this'll make a great addition to something I'm working on!"
Raj shouted to the three onlookers as he stabbed the bird's neck from behind, efficiently killing it. The creature fell to the water with a mighty splash as the twins were releasing a boat.
---
The large bird was laying on the deck of the now moving ship. Mohan watched as Raj plucked the feather from the top of the bird's head, signifying it was a male. The feather was various colors of purple, red, and gold. The twins were elsewhere. Raj made his way over to Mohan to show him the feather.
"This is mostly what I wanted but if the Queen is up to it, we can use the meat for a feast."
Mohan tilt his head. "What do you mean 'the queen'?" Saleem and Saamil suddenly appeared next to Mohan. "A queen?" Sail asked. "We're going to see a queen?" Raj nodded.
"We're going to the island the boys' father came from."
The three stared at him, still confused. Raj sighed, "Do you know of the island that's feared by everyone?" There was a pause. "Oh yeah, I think I do," Saleem said putting his thumb to his chin. "Yeah, we're going there."
Raj turned around and got to work as the trio processed what their Capitan said. Mohan was still very confused and had no idea what they were talking about. Saleem and Saamil didn't really seem to notice since they were freaked out about the fact they were going to one of the most dangerous nations to ever exist.
Raj looked back at Mohan who only stared with confusion. The redhead nodded for the blunette to go over to him. Mohan obeyed and stood by Raj as he neatly cut the bird. "The twins' father comes from a very dangerous tribal nation. I want them to see where their father came from and I plan on trying to see if I can create a trade contract between the country."
"Oh so. You want to go to one of the most dangerous places cause you want to trade?" Raj nods and glances at Mohan. "That's what I just said," He paused before going back to slicing the bird. Mohan sat and watched as the still shirtless Raj moved fluently around the large carcass.
He was done in no time and the rocky waters we're coming into view. "I've been by here before with Taamir and he specifically told me not to come here buuut... We're getting close."
Raj had one of the twins navigate the rocks since they claimed to have an amazing skill when it comes to that. While they slowly did that, Raj went down into his storage room and finished off a lovely feather crown that contained various types of rare and common yet pretty feathers. Each held its own unique meaning and having them all together tells a story.
He gently set the crown on his head. The largest feather being the one he just recently retrieved. It sat right in front. Raj smiled as he resurfaced to see the twins had made it carefully past the rocks but not quite to the docks seeing as there were several natives ready to defend their land. The weapons gave that away. Raj raised his hand with his thumb folded in to them before collecting his sword.
Mohan stood by and watched his moves with a sharp eye. Raj stood on the edge of the ship as the twins anchored. A smaller boat containing one very scarily buff man came just close enough to be heard.
"Leave now! Or all trespassers will be removed by force!" The man yelled up to them.
"Sorry sir, no can do! I need to talk with your leader!" The boat boy glared at Raj. "She's not interested!"
Raj sighed and set the feather crown on Mohan's head. "Hold that for me." Mohan was about to say something when Raj jumped onto the burly guy's ship. The other was taken back by the smallers arrogant action. "I need to talk to your leader." He said in a kind tone. "About what."
Raj was standing still as the other was prepared to behead him. "Well, I would like to conduct trade. But I have two descendants from my own country to whom I feel like I owe the honor of seeing where they come from." The man raises his brow and looks up to the three boys leaning over the ship to watch the exchange.
Something seemed to change slightly in the mans demeanor as he signaled something to the island before saying. "Dock your ship. Meet me in the town center." Raj smiles and nods. "Thank you good sir!" He said before scaling the side of the ship.
---
Some time had passed while they docked and walked into the town center. Raj held his sword in plain sight and wore the feather crown with pride, showing he wasn't scared by their stares. The other three on the other hand, stuck close behind him as they only had weak fighting skills in comparison to the onlookers.
On the way to town center, one of, what one could asume to be, the village elders stopped the four in their tracks. Raj waved at the man who just stood and glared at him in return. Mohan looked from over Raj's shoulder as the twins stayed somewhat hidden.
"Who the hell let these pests in?"
His voice was gruff, clearly overused. Raj simply pointed his thumb back at the big burly boat boy that was following them. "He said he'd meet us in the town center but just ended up watching us the whole time." The elder looked at him then to their stalker. "Hmph. Well I wont let you go any further." Raj looked to the side before sighing.
"I really am not in the mood to fight right now. I've done enough today. Looks like you three will have to do it for me."
The trio looked to the visible side of his face, shocked he would even suggest such a thing. He winked to them before looking back at the elder. Mohan was the only one who noticed the small gesture. The elder laughed. "Like you could beat me anyway. All four of you look like a bunch of sissies." The twins spoke up this time, him calling them sissies triggered something that made them defensive for whatever reason. Who knows, cause even I don't know.
"If we were really sissies we wouldn't have even joined this crew in the first place!" Saleem said pointing an accusing finger at the old man. Saamil nodded rather aggressively in agreement of his brothers statement. "Exactly what he said!"
The man looked at the twins before furrowing his brows and looking to their personal watchdog who shrugged. There was a pause. "Those two can go but neither of you can." He said pointing at Raj and Mohan. Raj smiled and shook his head as the now confused twins tried to figure out what just happened. "Not gonna happen," He said, wrapping his arms around the twins. "We all move as a group."
Raj motioned Mohan over who stood almost coyly next to them. The air was silent for another moment before Raj carefully took off the feather crown and handed it to Mohan who held it carefully. He reached up and pulled the cloth that held his hair in a ponytail away. His red locks draped over his shoulders, stopping just at his ribs. Bangs now covered his face as he held his sword in his left hand.
The aura he gave off was incredibly menacing, even intimidating their escort slightly. The old man didn't seem phased on the outside but in his head was worried about the sudden and drastic change.
His head tilted up slightly to show only his left eye that was a bright sunset orange. Just the look alone held it's own air of menace.
"We move as a group."
He repeated those words in a flat and very serious tone. A third moment of silence passed before he seemingly disappeared and reappeared in front of the elder.
"Boo."
The aura he once had was completely gone and there was a happy smile on his face. The elder was now incredibly fearful by this action and quickly jumped backwards, becoming overly defensive, confusing the rather large group of spectators. "So can we go by now," Raj asked pushing the hair in his face back. "I've got somewhere to be tomorrow."
His eyes were their usual yellow color, as he pulled his hair back up. Mohan walked over to Raj and set the crown on his head as the twins walked past the old man, not seeming to notice anything that just happened. Mohan and Raj followed the twins but Raj paused next to the old man and said, "Don't let it get to you. Only you saw that."
-----
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