The journey had been wearisome, tense. Faine's legs had started aching a long time ago, but he couldn't gather the courage to ask the rest of the crewmembers to rest for his sake, knowing that everyone in the group—and he meant everyone—had been anticipating danger. Every spontaneous gust of wind, subtle rustling of leaves, and falling brittle branch had heads snapping, hands preparing to reach for their respective weapons.
Fortunately for them, it wasn't that hard to find the previous tourist path that led to the tree holding the sacred Pétillante flowers, the collosal centerpiece of the island. It took a quick sweep of the beach, spotting abandoned cottages and wooden boxes buried in sand. In a matter of minutes, their captain had found the starting line to their journey with his careful perception alone.
No one actually knew if the tree they were searching for had already died with the rest of the island. But as rumor said, and as Faine himself insisted, the flowers that blossomed from its bark remained untouched, their magical nature allowing them to survive such circumstances.
It was anxiety inducing, to say the least. The courtesan was pretty sure they would've encountered some sort of predator by now, a being from the island that was threatened by their invasion.
But nothing. Nothing came to attack them. No creature had pounced from the shadows, bearing its teeth to the group of sailors and digging its horrifically sharp nails into their throats until a fountain of blood would replace the air in their windpipes.
What made it worse was that looming feeling that something was following them, stalking them as if it was teasing its prey into a state of fear-stricken petrification. There were sounds that proved its existence too, something inhumane moving in their surroundings as they kept walking, forcing them to be cautious in their every step.
For a while, Faine was convinced they'd be stuck in that state of never-ending paranoia forever. There was nothing but the vast expanse of trees surrounding them.
That was until they encountered something far more dreadful than anything Faine's seen in his entire existence. It was wooden, in perhaps the most twisted way possible, a mutation of trees expanding to heights far greater than some of the tallest buildings in Elysia. It seemed to serve as a wall. Whatever it was hiding was certainly well-protected, not a single gap on the wall big enough for anyone to crawl into.
He wondered how they hadn't seen it from when they were still nearing the island on waters, its size almost equivalent to a hill. The thick and dark branches rooting from the ground cut off the previous tourist path they were using to search for the Pétillantes, making it impossible for them to inspect whatever lied on the other side. Worse was that it ran on endlessly, barring the possible approach of going around it.
In its presence, Faine felt as if he wasn't even allowed to breathe. As he looked around to inspect the group's reactions, he realized that he wasn't the only one feeling that way.
"Captain, how do we proceed?" One of the pirates, a rather ordinary-looking one, especially in comparison to Crane and Rinus, turned to their leader, hoping that in the midst of utter shock, the captain would be able to provide them with some much needed guidance.
"We split up, walk around the wall to see if there are rabbit holes we can squirm into. If you run out of resources and still nothing, finding one of the tourist paths won't be much of a task. Just start searching for the ship."
"But what if we run into something, captain?"
"Send our usual signal. The rest will find you."
Sae looked between them, skeptical, "When you say 'run into something', you mean... some kind of entrance, right?"
"Sure, if you're a wishful thinker." Crane scoffed.
The courtesan watched as their group unraveled into two smaller ones, slowly, but surely, they lost sight of each other in their journey around the wall.
It was exhausting but seemingly nothing new to the pirates, even for Sae, who was carrying most of their heavyweight equipment. There was occasional conversation, amongst everyone but the captain who silently brooded behind his mask. Some of the crewmembers in their group were recognizable, like the ones Faine shared a special drink with on that faithful night. They made a crude joke every now and then about a funny looking tree, but it was quite obvious that the tension, the fear that haunted them since the beginning of their unnerving trek, never left.
After searching for what felt like centuries, someone leading in front put their walking in a halt, causing an inevitable chain reaction. A loud gasp was heard all the way to the back of the bunch, and the pirates were quick to rush and inspect what had caused it.
There was definitely something wrong with the forest. Faine knew it before he stepped foot into the dying grass, it was quite blatant from how the trees had turned a wretched black, but upon seeing it for himself, a human body that seemed to have merged with the unnatural wall formed by long, emerging branches, he couldn't stop his own from lurching backwards.
He fell on his feet, bottom landing unceremoniously on the ground, but his eyes were stuck on to the expression of sheer panic, sheer hopelessness that stared blankly ahead. Whatever happened to the man, to the now wooden anomaly, it looked like a fate far worse than death.
Sae was quick to drop everything to help him up. Everyone else too occupied with speculating to notice the two interact. Some were even paralyzed in fear. Had their loyalty to Calixto and the crew been any more unsure, they'd have run away screaming by now.
Captain Calixto let the group bask, let his eyes wander, searching, before he ordered them to move forward. It'd be a hassle to be journeying during the dark.
"...What do you think that was?" Sae asked beside him, the courtesan much to shaken up to notice the unrelenting grip he had on the newbie's hand.
"..I.. I don't know."
They kept walking, although a bit slower after realizing the threats they'd be facing. The braver ones trekked ahead. Sae stayed to accompany Faine who was still shaken from the recent encounter. No one seemed to notice, but the captain too stayed behind. For a certain courtesan or for other practical reasons in relation to the forest? No one bothered to think up an answer as their eyes swayed from left to right, trying to spot any impending danger heading their way.
Nightfall was still a far threat, but the thought that they'd be without the aid of the sun had Faine clenching his friend's hand harder. The boy didn't even flinch. He'd been longing to be a protective figure to the older male, and now that he has his chance to be, he willed himself not to show any signs of complaint, not even to express the tight pain he was feeling around his fingers or the ache in his shoulders as he carried everything with one hand.
It was the peak of the day when it happened.
"Captain! Over here!"
The three rushed over, realizing how far behind they had been.
"Where?" Calixto asked, voice commanding, deep.
"There!"
It happened in an instant. The world flashed away before Faine's mind could comprehend what was happening. In a single blink, he realized that he was ten, twenty feet below where he had been standing. He wasn't in any sense buried, no, because he saw the blinding light of the sun as he looked up the hole they fell into. How..? Had it been camouflaged?
His gaze was frantic, trying to identify any immediate threats where he landed. Snakes, perhaps, predators, or even worse, cannibals. Nothing. There was nothing but him in the middle of one of nature's most unfathomable creations, nothing but branches and dead vines crawling towards the top of the deep hole, their only entrance and only exit. Well, that and a mask, irreversibly broken into two halves.
He heard a hoarse groan behind him. Before he could stop himself, his body turned towards the direction of the sound, meeting eyes of gold. He allowed his curious eyes a glimpse before panicking and turning away.
"Calixto..!"
"Dove.." He sighed. "You're not.. fuck, these damn vines."
Faine looked to the pirate again, covering the top of his eyes to avoid disrespecting the captain's wish to conceal his face. He gasped, much louder than his companion had, as tendrils started crawling up Calixto's leg, effectively covering his feet before climbing up his calves.
The courtesan could taste the terror on his tongue as he realized that what happened to the unmoving statue before, the one they had frightfully run into, could be happening to the pirate.
"Can you stand up?"
"No, fuck, I think I broke something.." He groaned out, a sound of unadulterated pain.
Faine called for help, once, twice. No one replied, no one seemed to notice his desperate yells, his pleads, but there was noise, there was conversation, just unintelligible, and then there were shouts. Conflict had arisen above them, and before he knew it, a very familiar mop of teal fell into the hole with the pirate and the courtesan.
"Sae..!" He yelled out at the top of his lungs, completely panic-striken.
His feet couldn't catch up quick enough, and at that point, neither could his thoughts. Whether to move or to stay, whether to attempt to catch the heavier male or not, whether to scream at the people above them or to rush by his friend's side, he couldn't decide fast enough. And before he knew it, he was next to Sae, sobbing his eyes out as his hand applied pressure to the stab wound on his stomach.
"Fuck, don't die. Don't die. Please don't die. Not now. Please." He weeped endlessly, voice strained and absolutely devastating to the captain and Sae, eyes too glossy with tears to really see his friend's concerned expression.
"I'm— ugh, I'm not gonna die, Faine. Calm down. I'm okay."
Hands tried to soothe the courtesan's shaking ones, but to no avail, he kept panicking, kept sobbing his heart out.
"But you're not okay..! You're bleeding. Fuck, you're bleeding. There's so much, there's so much..."
"You're gonna have to bandage him up. Your hands eventually gonna get tired." Calixto, who had been quiet up 'til that moment, finally spoke up, surprising the two with the realization that they weren't alone.
Upon seeing Saeger's eyes dart to the source of the voice, Faine was quick to clasp his hand over the other's eyes. He was sensible enough to do that, at least.
"Don't look.. Please." He whispered, but it was loud enough that Calixto heard, the other's thoughtfulness causing his heart to beat louder.
"O– okay."
"If I let go of your face, you promise you won't open your eyes, okay?"
"I.. I promise."
"I trust you, Sae."
The newbie could only nod, carefully inhaling a breath as those gloriously soft hands carefully removed themselves from him. He held on to his promise, keeping his eyes absolutely shut.
Faine was quick to move, sliding Sae's shirt off of his frame before ripping it to shreds. The makeshift bandages were nowhere near enough. They were bloodied, too, so Faine did what he had to do. Removing his own top, he did to it what he had done to Sae's. He placed a piece of cloth on the wound, applying just enough pressure before tying it together with the shredded fabric of his own shirt.
"He's turning pale, dove. He won't last long out here."
Faine looked up again, realizing that the brightness of noon was starting to dim. "What happened to the others? Did someone ambush you?"
"No, they left on their own accord. They're.. they found a buyer for the Pétillantes."
Saeger's words incited a scoff from his captain, the sound causing Faine to flinch in sympathy. He always knew those scums were pathetic, but even he thought they wouldn't stoop so low.
The courtesan gulped. "No one's out there to help us."
Sae attempted to stand, but was quickly held down by Faine.
"I can climb out the hole through the vines..."
"No, you're bleeding out for fuck's sake. I'm not risking it."
Faine turned to the pirate, their eyes meeting, a silent declaration of trust exchanged in the air standing between them. The courtesan moved towards him, tying a spare piece of cloth around his head before stepping backward, eyes to the entrance of the hole, the sky still so hauntingly gray.
"It has to be me."