Llyr and the Pirates - Day 3
For @amonthofwhump‘s Water Whump May, where I write a part of this story every day according to the prompt. Got done earlier today, woo!
Tag list: @spiffythespook and @castielamigos-whump-side-blog
Content Warnings: derogatory language and cursing, nonsexual nudity, unable to move/trapped
“Of course. Now let’s go get you cleaned up.” It offered its hand and, tentatively, Llyr took it.
He allowed the human--Ray, the other had said?--to pull him up but didn’t dare rely on its strength after that. Llyr loosened his grip on Ray’s hand and was relieved when it did the same in return. It was a small comfort in such an frightening situation.
They walked together, him with unsteady, shambling steps, the human with large, confident strides. As they passed the woman he shied away, putting Ray’s body between him and it. The harpoon still lay on the ground next to it, but he figured the human would have killed him on sight if it knew what he really was.
Llyr wasn’t safe by any means, but he was still alive. He’d just use these humans for as long as he needed before he could repair his skin, and then he’d leave.
As they walked, he felt the skin, now his makeshift cloak, shifting and rubbing foreignly against his skin, the edges of the torn hole wrapped around his shoulder. It was soaking wet like the rest of himself, but at least it felt warm. Though the warm sun beat down, the water was cooling against his skin. A light wind blew from across the water and he shivered.
As they approached the boat, there were other humans around talking and doing various tasks. One of them, whom Ray called out to, stood out from the others with pale, heavily freckled skin and a fiery red mop of hair. It turned around, looking first at Ray and then settling on him.
“Oh, hello! Who are you?” It had a puzzled look on its face, and it looked much less intimidating than Ray. It was much thinner and less muscular, even if it was taller than him, and Llyr figured that even he could stand a chance against it in a fight.
He stayed silent instead of answering it, choosing instead to look the new human up and down for weapons. There was a sword strapped to his side, sheathed, but it didn’t seem to be armed otherwise. Llyr shuffled away from it, but he found himself doubting this human would even want to use it if given the chance.
“Floyd,” Ray said, realizing Llyr probably wasn’t going to speak, “could you go ahead and grab us some towels? I’m going to help him get settled in Hugh’s spare bed.”
“Oh, sure! Got it.” It flashed a small smile before hurrying up the ladder on the side of the boat.
Ray gestured for Llyr to go ahead of him and follow after Floyd, but just the sight of the ladder made dread settle in his gut. To any normal person it probably would have looked fine, but with his non-existent coordination and strength, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to haul himself up the rungs. Behind him, Ray seemed to notice his hesitation.
“Here, you seem really tired out, so let me help. I’ll lift you up, and you just have to grab onto the top, okay?” It placed calloused hands on either side of his waist after it spoke, obviously expecting him to accept. What other choice did he really have?
Llyr nodded, muscles tensing as the grip tightened and he was hoisted off the ground. He flailed helplessly for a second before he was high enough to grab the top rung, wrapping both hands around and clinging like his life depended on it. His feet quickly found rungs further down, and he swung them up over the side of the boat with a grunt.
He meant to hop down to the deck from there, but somewhere off the edge of the railing he slipped, falling hard on his side and rolling with the momentum. He shouted as ropes wrapped all around his body, constricting and stopping his frantic struggles and yelps as he rolled and tangled in them. A net of some kind wound around his body and he pulled blindly against it, whining and crying out wordlessly in a panic when it didn’t come loose.
Footsteps approached but he couldn’t see where they were coming from, or whose they were. He strained and raised his head, peering out through a hole with wide, pleading eyes, ready to beg for help from Ray, but saw a new pair of legs instead.
“The hell? What’re you doing on our ship, kid? Tryna steal? Huh?” A deep, gruff voice sounded above him, and a boot covered toe rolled him over further into the net until he was flat on his back, staring up at a leathery, tanned face framed by curling facial hair.
He didn’t even try to correct the human, instead focusing on rolling back over to get the net off of his body. He managed to flip back on his stomach before a boot was on his back, heel pressed to the small of it and digging in hard.
“No you don’t, you lil’ shit. Dirty thieves like you deserve punishment. Can’t even have the decency to join a proper organization...” it growled, and Llyr cried out at the sharp pressure right on his spine. It restricted his breathing all over again, and he tried to take deep, smooth breaths through the panic and constriction.
“Can’t even have the decency to put on some fuckin’ clothes to rob a bunch’a pirates, huh? Or you just that damn poor, huh? You want us to pity you so bad we send you out with a fuckin’ fortune?!” It drew back its foot and slammed it into his side, sending him rolling up further in the net with a yelp. Llyr’s head spun and he couldn’t tell which way was up, where he was, couldn’t move an inch in the thick ropes.
Before he could steel himself, the boot came forward and kicked him hard in the head, sparks flying around his spinning world. Another kick flew into his side, hitting right over the sluggishly bleeding wound and he screamed when the white hot burst of pain rocketed up his torso.
“Hugh! What’s gotten into you?!” Ray’s voice sounded from far away and Llyr felt pounding feet against the deck, shaking it harder with each step. Thankfully, the kicks stopped
“Stupid kid was about to rob us,” it said casually, almost proudly.
“No, this kid was hurt and drowning at the shoreline and I’m bringing him in to help him. Why was this net out in the first place?!”
“Fishing,” Hugh grunted, “and he still looks like a dumbass brute to me.”
“Well, he’s gonna be staying with you for a few days at least, so please learn to like him.”
Hugh groaned in response, and Llyr questioned his decision to come with the pirates at all.
