Caught in Your Wake
Chapter 1: The Thief
Ship: Landoscar
Content warning(s): mentions of death and/or injury, threats
Chapter word count: 724
Rating: recommended 15+ due to injury
Genre: hurt/comfort, pirate au
The water lapped quietly at the underside of the docks, the noise accompanied only by the occasional sound of a sea bird or a fish breaching the surface of the waves.
There was another sound, too; footsteps. They were barely audible, even had the ambiance of the ocean ceased, but they were there nonetheless. The footsteps made their way across the wooden boardwalk, creeping towards the docked ships. The person to whom the footsteps belonged to snuck towards the ships with a purpose - had there been anyone to witness his late-night lurking, it would have become abundantly obvious that this man was a thief...
And he was creeping right towards the most magnificent ship of the lot.
The cold night breeze made him shiver.
"Get it together, Lando," he muttered to himself, rubbing his arms to warm himself up a little. Looking up, Lando began to muster the courage to scale the side of the ship. That was, until he saw the faint glow of a lamp in his peripheral, accompanied by the distinct chatter of British Naval officers.
Blue-coat asskissers, thought Lando bitterly. After a brief assessment of the situation, he decided that his best bet would be to make a break for the slightly smaller ship docked next to the large frigate he had initially set his sights on. He'd just stow away for a few minutes until the Navy men had passed by. That would leave him to get back to plundering the frigate.
Easy peasy.
He took a breath, priming himself to run. He made a dash for it.
"Fuck," he hissed, his bare foot catching on an exposed nail that jutted out of the boardwalk as he stumbled clumsily. This, obviously, attracted the attention of the Naval officers, their casual chatter becoming cautious whispers as they began to near, cuttoes drawn in threat. Lando needed to act fast. He rolled skillfully out of sight before hoisting himself up and hopping over the edge of the ship, making use of a very conveniently located rope that hung down from the balustrade.
The clamour of the guards drew closer in their search, though Lando was certain they hadn't seen his hiding place. Just to make sure they were thrown off his trail, he tossed his least favourite dagger as far as he could. It landed on a neighbouring schooner and made a clatter that alerted the officers. They took off to investigate, and Lando let out a quiet sigh of relief. The relief quickly soured as Lando turned to look at the frigate he had wanted to loot, realising with a disappointed pang that it was, in fact, a Navy ship.
Had he been found aboard the frigate, the best case scenario would have been that he was escorted away from the docks under the assumption that he was a little bit lost and confused. But what were the chances of that? Worst case scenario (and probably the most likely, considering Lando's usual luck), he would have been tried and hanged for robbing a Navy vessel and subsequently committing treason.
Thankfully, none of that actually happened, Lando thought to himself as the final sounds of the officers finally faded away, leaving him alone with the sound of his heavy breathing. He finally let himself relax a little, slumping against the balustrade as he sat to catch his breath. It was a rare moment of defenselessness from Lando; a hugely naΓ―ve mistake, as he would come to discover.
He looked at his immediate surroundings, taking in the the mast and the mainsail as he drew his gaze upwards.
It wasn't a terrible ship, Lando realised. It was admittedly a little shabby, but it was decently sized, and all of the sails seemed to be well-maintained. The balustrades were fairly ornate too, adorned with classy woodwork that seemed too nice for a ship of this stature.
Lando was jarred away from his idle train of thought as a voice sounded from beside him. He was too startled to register the words as he looked up, but he wasn't given much time to think about it anyway before the handle of a heavy musket connected to the side of his head with a crack, sending him reeling. His vision blurred quickly into darkness as his chin hit the deck.
Lando was out cold.
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(Chapter 2 should be out tomorrow, if not then it will be the day after)
