Self-Control Story, Branch 2 - Chapter 6: Stranded
The sound of waves slowly came into his audition. It was a calming, soothing sound. He felt like sleeping five more minutes… But he couldn’t. He felt like he had to do something… Something important… What was it…? Whatever it was it could wait a little…
-Hello? Are you still on this side of the world?-a slightly high-pitched voice asked-Are you okay?
He didn’t feel like moving, but he had. He tried to pull himself together and regain control of his body. With a bit of trouble, he managed to make his fingers twitch.
-Ah, so you are alive!-the voice said cheerfully.
He groaned as he struggled to get up. With some time and a little trouble he managed to get on his knees and see the owner of the voice’s feet. They wore sandals and a long… dress? He looked up to see the owner of the voice completely. Even though they looked slightly tired they smiled brightly, showing pointed fangs and perfectly white teeth. They had very long eyelashes, which prompted the builder apprentice to think it was a girl, but something was off were they one… Their amber-colored eyes looked down at him with a look of relief. A pair of pointed ears stuck out of a great amount of hair poking out in several ways. The piece of clothing still looked like a long-sleeved long white dress with the ends of it circled out in a triangle pattern. They were pale and a golden pendant hung from their neck, shining lively in comparison to the ill-like appearance of the bearer. Their hands were small and their fingers slender. The stranger started blushing.
-U-um… Can you stop staring at me like that-they said averting their gaze-It’s uncomfortable.
He averted his gaze… Whoever it was they were both on the same boat. Hating being stared at.
-Who are you, anyway? You were drowning not too long ago.
-Um…-good question, who was he…?-I… I’m Gelius.
-My name is Hargon-the other answered-I met someone on my way here, come, we’ll check on him just in case he hasn’t done… anything reckless.
The apprentice nodded and took their hand. Somehow, it felt safe.
-By the way, have you ever had that thing poking out of there-Hargon said pointing at a tail poking out of his attire.
-Ah, no, sorry. Um… there-he said hiding it.
They both got through a small cave hidden behind some sand. They met the one Hargon referred to when they crossed it. The man was standing on a notable rock and muttering things to himself. Gelius’ first impressions of that man was “Who is this weirdo with no shirt and a ponytail?” Then, his red eyes directed their gaze to them. Ice could feel himself starting to fangirl about the same weirdo he judged badly before. He felt his face heat up when he realize what he’d done… Before the boy came all the way there.
-Yo, Hargon, it seems you had some luck with the boy, didn’t you?
-Yes, I did have some luck. By the way, how’s the rest of the shore?
-There’s quite a thing over there-the boy said pointing at the other side of the shore.
Gelius was curious, what was this thing about? He was curious as to what it was the thing the stranger referred to. But he felt something pushing him back. He wanted but didn’t want to know. What was this strange feeling…? It was like dread. Did he know what was at the other side? Who knew? There was just one way of knowing it. Going to see it by his own eyes. By the time he gained back his senses the boy was waving a gloved hand at him.
-Hello? You there?
-Oh, um… Yeah, I was just… thinking.
-Oh, okay. I’m Malroth, and you?
-Gelius, my name’s Gelius.
-So… Want to see something gruesome?
Gelius didn’t answer. Usually he felt sick when it came to that. Injured, dead people… He felt the anxiety crawling up.
-Malroth, I don’t think he wants to see such a thing, he’s pale.
-Wasn’t he already pale? What’s the point on being paler than before?
-Well, it usually means you are not feeling well.
Malroth looked over at the builder apprentice. He indeed was paler than before, but color was coming back to his face. Not that it made a clear difference, he had always been very pale-skinned. Truth to be told, if he had any color it wasn’t thanks to genetics. Mother had described Father as very pale too. And his family in general was quite pale. In fact, his grandfather couldn’t stand outside during the Sun’s high hours for long because he got sun-burnt. Quite an issue for a builder like him, who was conditioned by weather to work. If it rained he usually didn’t build, and if it was very sunny he didn’t work either. Luckily, clouds were always passing by to cover the sunlight. Malroth looked quite tanned in comparison. He’d always envied those who could enjoy sunlight like that and not become walking burning tomatoes. He’d always wanted such a skin, not as delicate as his. He didn’t want to be like a damsel in distress, he wanted to be the hero that saved the world and made everyone happy… But over it all, he wanted a happy family proud of him.
-So, say, do you want to see it?-Malroth pushed the matter.
-Malroth, please-Hargon began but was cut off.
-Okay, fine I’ll go see it.
Malroth guided them to the other side of the shore, where there was a piece of that skeleton’s ship. There were also quite a lot of dead people.
-Talk about dead in the water, am I right?-Malroth said nudging Hargon with the elbow.
-Uh… Malroth, this is not to be taken lightly, we have about four corpses in our beach.
-Our? You own this place? Are you rich or something?-the builder questioned walking around the bodies to see if they were dead.
Hargon helped him see if there were any dead people. They lifted all of them and brought them over the dry area of the beach. They checked if any of them had pulse or breathed. Surprisingly, the last one they took, a pink-haired girl with a ponytail at one side of her head seemed to be still alive. Hargon’s hopes rose when they knew there was another one alive. They didn’t want to spend so much time with Malroth alone. They felt like they knew him from forever and have been together ever since they found each other in the Isle. There was something that made Hargon not want to spend so much time with somebody they’d grown fond of like that, since they were like best friends or siblings even: Malroth’s behavior. He was violent, destructive and… Well, had a strange conception of funny and other things. Contrastingly, they’d shown themselves calm and peaceful, always disposed to aid somebody.
-She’s still got seawater in her lungs-Hargon said after listening closely to her breathing-We should get it out in some way.
Hargon moved her so she was laying on the sand with her face facing the sky and positioned themselves over her. They brought their hands to the chest, and pushed so she’d spit the water. She started coughing it out shortly after. When she opened her eyes and saw the stranger over her and their hands on her chest she came to very rushed conclusions. She slapped them out of the way so hard they fell to the sand face-first and she ran to a room of sorts screaming. Hargon spat sand they’d taken in their mouth when they fell. The trio followed the girl until they got to the room she was hiding in.
-Hey, are you okay?-Gelius asked with a concerned tone.
-B-b-back off, you perverted pirates!-the pink-haired female shouted.
-I beg your pardon? What kind of term is the one you make use of?
-Oh, so now you go around being polite, you piece of degenerate rapist!
Hargon felt not only at a loss, but seriously insulted. All they’d done was try to help her out of a drowning process, was it that bad?
-I beg your pardon once again? What kind of evidence do you have on that accusation?
The girl puffed up her cheeks.
-You were shamelessly groping my chest and now you’re playing innocent? I’m very sure that had I been unconscious for a little more time you’d go ahead and do something worse!
-What?! After I tried to save you that’s how you thank me?! I am no degenerate that takes profit of other people!-Hargon said, snapping.
-Peace, please, peace-Gelius said-We can’t start arguing if we’re stuck here together. They did not try to rape you. They were just innocently pressing their hands against your chest to prompt the lungs to spit the water they had inside. There is no guilt by their side of the Balance.
Hargon directed him a look that said “What the hell is the Balance you talk about?”, but didn’t talk about the matter. The girl glared at the builder before she realized who he was.
-Wait, weren’t you that builder from Cantlin the monsters on the ship kept asking requests to?
Gelius nodded, smiling like a dork as if those had been good times.
-I couldn’t stand seeing how they ordered you around and seeing you work like a slave, it was quite nasty, wasn’t it?
-Actually, it was one of the best times I had in my life. You know, Cantlin’s demands for building have gone down lately, so… I guess I was begging for some work.
-You were actually begging them to kill you with such singing-the girl muttered under her breath.
-Either way, who are you?-Malroth said straight to the point.
-I’m Lulu, Mr. Shirtless-she said nonchalantly.
-I’m Malroth.
-Gelius.
-My name is Hargon.
Lulu looked at him with an “Are you serious?” expression. Hargon looked back at her confused.
-Seriously, how can I take seriously what you said about your innocence if you tell me you have the same name as the High Priest of the Children of Hargon on your name?
Perplexed, Hargon blinked a few times before processing what she said.
-I don’t have any children, I don’t know what you mean-he said.
Lulu glared at him.
-By the way, you haven’t answered my question about owning the island.
Everyone turned around to look at the builder perplexed. What did this have to do with the current situation?
-We do not-Malroth said-We just woke up here.
-I have a question, though. Why did you refer as they and them to me?
-Uh… Because I can’t discern your gender-Gelius answered.
-Well, to your information as far as I know my gender is masculine-Hargon remarked-So I should be directed as he or him.
Gelius nodded understanding and moved onto the next topic.
-Well, weird statements and names apart, we should focus on the fact we’re stuck here. We’re not going to survive like this, are we?
All of them nodded.
-No matter how much kelp we eat, we’ll run out of it-Hargon stated-Which means we should figure out another way of eating.
-Aside from that, I’m not willing to sleep on the floor-the pink-haired girl remarked-I come from an important family from Rippleport, I deserve a good bed.
-I need a way of storing stuff, four beds, something to cook with, a decent room and a way to get water we can drink-Gelius said-This is going to take a while.
-Does the oil I drained out of a slime serve for something?-Malroth said.
-It depends. Do you still have it?
Hargon and Malroth looked at each other.
-It fell to the floor-Malroth said.
-Had you heard me and emptied it on some kind of bottle you would not have had that problem.
-I can still drain another one-Malroth said, making Hargon face-palm.
-Malroth, you’ve been doing that for the last two days-he said.
-I can do it once more-he said smiling.
Hargon sighed and sat down.
-Well, you three have fun, I have had enough wandering for a couple of days.
-I’m staying too, actually-Lulu said-Could you fix the room first, Gelius?
Gelius muttered something under his breath that sounded quite rude, but agreed and started moving the planks of the ship from where they were to the little gaps. Once the place was fixed Gelius and Malroth went to take some slimes down to get oil. Hargon looked at the clouds from the inside of the little shelter. What wonders would be outside of this deserted island? It was something he wanted to know very badly, but he couldn’t just swim out of the island to another, he hadn’t that much stamina. Hargon had been curious. Ever since he woke up that day, he felt like he was forgetting something important, like he had to do something. It didn’t matter how much he tried to think about it, he didn’t know what was missing.
As the oil dropped to a little bottle Ice had, Malroth squeezed the slime with even more strength than he should. With the oil in the bottle they proceeded to try searching for other items. They eventually stumbled with some shells. Malroth examined it before kicking it, revealing it was a scallywinkle. Then something crossed the builder’s mind. He went to take it and examine it.
-It’s raw, but with some fire I think I can make it edible-he mumbled while pocketing his discovery-Three more will do.
They only found two more, since most of them had already been either washed away, kicked by Malroth while examining the beach or hidden beneath the sand. When they came back they found Lulu and Hargon having an argument.
-Well, you see, I’ve never ever had interaction with a girl in my life, so excuse me if I’m not the gentleman you search for, okay?-Hargon shouted angrily over at the pink-haired girl.
-Oh, pardon me, after you spoke so politely I confused you with someone with actual manners, but it turns out those were only words.
-Well, I have not learned how to treat wealthy women because I never met one in my life! Stop rambling about my education and think, how would I ever be able to interact with a girl of your status in a deserted island, you bird-brain!?
Lulu gasped at the insult. What did he say? Hargon had really lost his cool there, it was true, nobody ever taught him how to treat noblewomen nicely, but there was an actually good reason behind. A knock on the door got both of them distracted from their fight. The builder and Malroth entered with a pile of wood and a bottle of oil. Both of the arguing parts looked at them with curiosity. Ice put the wood on the floor and emptied the bottle on the wood. He took out a pair of stones out of his pocket and lit up the fire by frothing them together. He then tossed the three scallywinkles onto the fire.
-Hey, hey! Gelius, the scalywinkles you picked up have…
-No, I put them in the fire on purpose.
Malroth instantly relaxed. He’d never seen how to cook something like that so he didn’t know you had to put something in a fire to get them cooked. Malroth smelled the air. It was the same salty smell, but with the disgusting smell of that thing. Malroth’s expression changed to one of disgust. What the hell was cooking? Hargon smelled it and made a face.
-What smells like the fart of a fish?-Hargon asked intrigued by the curious smell.
-I think it’s the scallywinkles I put on the bonfire. They never smelled quite well.
Hargon glared at the scallywinkles as if they were an offense to the world. He’d rather stick with kelp and dried seaweed. Or perhaps those monsters he’d seen in the wild… No. He wouldn’t hurt them unless they hurt him. He sat by the fire and extended his hands towards it. He felt warm for once in what felt like forever. He welcomed the feeling, since it felt quite nice. Lulu took a place next to him, near the corner to take the warmth and look at the cooking food. Malroth and Gelius were the only ones standing now.
-We have food and a room. Next up: Beds and water. How can I take salt from the sea water…?-Gelius thought aloud.
-That’s a nice question-he answered himself-We could make a complex purification system.
-Purification? Hm… You mean like filling something with sea water and channeling it through a crystallization process to take the salt off and using water as drink and salt as condiment?
-Correct, that is a brilliant way of depicting it.
Malroth, Hargon and Lulu looked with shocked expressions to Gelius, who seemed very happy with his statements and self-conversation.
-Alright, so… What do I base the channeling stuff on, I have no way of forging crystal here.
-Hum… You could always make a pipe system with the wood… Or take the stones and wood and create a forge yourself…
-Wait, every ship has glass on it, hasn’t it?
-I’m mostly certain they do have crystal, why?
-There could still be some here I can warm up and modify.
-Yeah, sounds logical, but on the other hand all of this is illogical.
-We can still try. We have a bonfire and the necessary tools except… A metal bar.
The young boy started looking at the sand with curiosity. He got down on all fours and started looking for something. A couple of hours later, he came back with a great amount of shards of crystal. Ice left them on the floor and went to look for a treasure chest he’d seen. He took it and brought it all the way to the room. He put it on one of the corners of said room and opened it. He started looking inside until he found something he wanted. There was a bar poking out of the inner structure. He took out the bar from there and pocketed his find.
Hargon had taken out the scallywinkles when he saw them turning a bit black and Gelius wasn’t coming. They were cooling on the floor because they were too hot for eating. The builder looked at them.
-You know, you have a good eye for this, perhaps I’ll make you toast more scallywinkles-Gelius said-I think you can eat them now. Now if you excuse me, I have some glass to mold.
Ice started dumping the crystal on the fire. With the metal piece he got from the treasure chest he started molding it into pipes and bottles.
-Why can’t you use the one you already have?-Malroth asked seeing that he was making another one.
-I can’t use the same bottle for two things at the same time-Gelius answered while molding some more glass.
Once he was finished he took some more wood from the bag and started creating a home-made distillation system. He took a pile of wood and put it beneath the bottle he’d made and took a stick from the lit up bonfire to light up the other one. He took the bottle from the system and filled it with seawater. He put it back on its place and waited to see if it worked. About twenty minutes later the water started boiling, leaving salt behind. Ice then put the other bottle, filled with more seawater on the upper part of the system, making the poured water act as refrigerator and the water started flowing onto the empty bottle he’d previously attached. How did he get so much glass from the ship’s remains was a mystery. Slowly, the bottle started filling itself.
He then ran off to get some dry grass and Malroth followed almost instantly. Lulu and Hargon were left behind nibbling at their scallywinkles, which were much better than kelp in Hargon’s opinion.
-They may be slimy, but at least these have some taste that doesn’t resemble that of seaweeds. That is a good change.
Lulu didn’t answer. She mostly agreed they were plainly nice and a bit slimy, but it was the only food they could get. Malroth and Gelius were taking some grass out of the shore. It was dry, but it was that or sleep on sand… They found quite a bunch but after Ice did the calculations…
-We only have for three beds. Should I just go and use sand?
-Nah, we can work a solution out-Malroth said confidently-Hargon and I are just like brothers, so we might sleep together on one of them.
With Malroth’s reassurance he and Ice made their way back to the place they’d made their house. He got working on the bench right away, creating the plans to make a consistent regular pile of straw. He then got in and dropped the straw slowly so it gained the shape of a half-comfortable mattress. He did this process thrice. There were three straw beds but no more straw in his hands, just like he’d thought.
-Well, that’s all we can have. I can sleep on the floor-Gelius started to be cut off by an angered Malroth.
-I already told you Hargon and I are fine by just sleeping together, we’re just like brothers!
-You look like the type who takes two beds for himself-Gelius answered.
-Then sleep with me too, won’t you? You said you were okay with the floor so I think sleeping with a bed-occupier is fine too, isn’t it?
Hargon sighed. Gelius wasn’t meaning that at all. Did Malroth understand the word privacy? The answer is he didn’t know about it. But… Then why did he know about it? He felt as if many things he wanted to understand were way beyond his grasp. What brought him here if there’s nothing here in the first place? How does he know things Malroth doesn’t? He couldn’t help himself but feel strange. A lot of things escaped his grasp.
-So, tell me, who’s sleeping with who then?-Lulu said.
-Tell me how you’re better off, sleeping with someone or alone-Gelius said.
-I want to sleep alone, I can’t sleep with a boy in the same bed as me, especially that degenerated.
-I’m no degenerated!-Hargon protested-It’s not my fault I don’t know ladies’ etiquette when I live with this weirdo over here!-he said pointing at Malroth.
-I’m a weirdo now? Then what are you, wearing a dress around? You look like a girl, you idiot!
-Oh, so I’m supposed to look like other people want me to now? Go out of this place if you’re not comfortable!
Gelius sighed. This was beginning to look like a family full of siblings with no parents to look after the kids.
-Peace here, please. We’re stuck together in this island and last thing we need is an argument. So, Lulu is not sleeping with none of us… Let’s see, we have to discuss what we’re going to do now.
-I’m fine sleeping with Malroth, but only if he apologizes.
-I have to apologize? You’re the one who should apologize in the first place!
The builder took a deep breath and tried to pull up some more patience.
-Okay, at the count of three, you’ll apologize at the same time, then you’ll be even and will sleep together, I’ll take the other bed. One, two, three.
-I’m sorry-both of them said, but not sounding really genuine.
-Hey, Gelius I’ve seen you build for a while now… Can I… try? I mean, I already mentioned I didn’t know a builder in my whole life so… I spent the last five hour making sure you didn’t get killed by slimes and I wanted to try what you do.
-Sure, try it on that bench outside, I’ll overlook the process.
They both got out. Hargon thought about it for a while. He got out and saw Malroth hitting with a hammer whatever he was trying to build. He felt it was exactly the thing he wasn’t supposed to do. Gelius’ face was also a poem. Hargon neared to watch the process. Once Malroth was finished he gave up and gave Gelius what was left of the materials. The builder looked at it and seemed to visualize something instantly. He wrote it down on the book he was carrying around, which seemed to be in mint condition despite the fact he’d been underwater a couple of hours ago carrying that thing around. Hargon neared even more out of interest to the point he was next to Malroth watching how he created whatever he was making.
Some minutes later he handed over an oaken club to Malroth. Malroth looked at it and asked surprised if it was for him. The builder nodded with the same dopey smile he’d been wearing this whole time. Were all builders this dorky, was the first though that crossed Hargon’s mind before asking a question not even he was expecting.
-Can I… Can I try?-the young human asked pointing at the working bench.
Gelius nodded and handed him over some materials. Then a thought crossed Hargon’s mind. He had some kelp, surely that could be used for something? Hargon took the wood, sand, kelp and other stuff he’d brought with him before the builder got here. He started looking at them before inspiration came and took the kelp and some dried seaweed. He asked for a bowl that was granted by the builder and started mashing it inside that bowl with the hammer Malroth had tossed aside. Once he got a consistent mass of seaweed and kelp he asked for a place to let it dry. Ice brought it next to the bonfire. It turned into some kind of dust after a couple of minutes. Hargon asked for some water and the builder handed over the bottle of water. Again, he asked for a bottle, this time empty. The young apprentice took out some of the left out glass and molded another bottle. Hargon poured some water and the powder. He put a finger over the bottle’s mouth and started shaking it to mix it. The water turned into some kind of green thing.
-Malroth, are you going to eat that scallywinkle?-Hargon asked.
-No. It’s slimy and weird. I don’t want it.
Hargon took it and squeezed it to pour whatever got out of it into the bottle. He once again mixed the liquid and looked at it.
-The only thing that is left is a magical touch, but I do not know which spell is the one that needs to be cast. Does anybody have something to seal this?
The builder lent him a piece of wood that had been sculpted purposefully to seal a bottle. Hargon put it on the bottle before pocketing it Rubiss knows where. His ears then perked up. He could feel a presence not too far and very different to the ones slimes gave away. Malroth seemed to feel it too, since they both looked in the same direction. They nodded and ran off towards the direction, the builder running behind them. When they got there there were some monsters Hargon found familiar yet he hadn’t seen any in his life. The monster that seemed the leader squeaked something and started the attack. Hargon furrowed his brows.
-Don’t use that language!
Hargon jumped and kicked one of the slimes. He proceeded to punch the rat and effectively trigger a multifeet ability. Gelius started slicing down while saying sorry to each slime he took on when he got there and Malroth… Mashed the enemies in his own style. After all monsters were defeated, Gelius stuck his hand out and Malroth and Hargon felt both the urge to “slap” it. But when they tried, they collided with each other.
-Woah, Hargon, what the hell?
-I could say the same to you, what are you doing?
They glared at each other. Gelius gestured them to look at him.
-Look, let’s… fix this. You both wanted to do it, didn’t you? Then… How about this, I stick both of my hands out and you take one each.
The young builder did like he said and the others simply followed nature’s impulses and hit them with their own.
-What was that anyway? Why did I feel the irresistible urge to slap it?-Malroth asked curious.
-It’s called high five. It’s a thing friends do to celebrate a job they did well-Gelius explained-And since I consider you both my friends now, you can call me Ice.
Both of them nodded, taking in the explanation.
-I never considered myself the touchy-feely type, but I guess I can make an exception for this-Malroth said.
Hargon looked at the place the rat had died. He muttered something along the lines of “You deserved that”. Ice raised a brow, but shook it off. It had gotten dark while they’d been fighting and when they came back to their shelter found a very angry Lulu.
-Why did you run away when I was telling you what you had to do when you wake up tomorrow morning? And why are you all covered in oil and dirt?-Lulu scolded them.
-There were some monsters outside. So we mashed them-Malroth answered simply-Anyway, I don’t know about you, but I’m about to conk out any second now, so I’m going to go sleep. Tomorrow I’d like to explore the island with you Ice, Hargon and I’ve had enough of exploring together for a while, haven’t we?
-Possibly, but introducing the place to him might make it fun. Anyway-he yawned-I am as sleepy as you are Malroth. Good night to everyone.
Hargon neared one of the straw beds and sat down on it. Malroth did the same but between that straw bed and the other one next to it. Lulu took the free one and that left Ice to take the one Malroth had half taken. During that night Malroth ended up hugging both Hargon and Ice, action that Ice answered by hugging the hand and Hargon simply laid his head on Malroth’s chest like it was a pillow.
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