Less than Nobody
Carapai’s dome rippled, sending waves cascading down its azure wall and rippling the “suns’” shine. Breaking them up painted the carapace and marble walls with color while blotting out the seafloor and the corals and life beyond the dome. It bulged in at the top before there was the tiniest of gulps and the dome instead expanded around the object that threatened to tear through. It was a ship, the Kappa that time, an Aqua Alliance frigate. Its dark, ferrisom hull shone from all the colors then the small “suns” as the waves settled while it steadied itself upon the Current, taking it down to the port. There, the Cetus was preparing to cast off. Its anchors clanked, rising into it. Its masts were still withdrawn, their sails shut tight.
The last anchor pulled out of the swirling sands under the port, and the Current took the Cetus, rising into the air and towards that dome. It passed the Kappa in its ascension, taking its place at the docks, while the Cetus stretched out the dome, rippling it and sending color back onto the city once more before popping out on the other side. As soon as it did, all four of its masts sprung out of its body. Their sails unfurled, creating air pockets, pulling the ship to the surface, lost to the dark abyss otherwise until it did.
The Kappa lowered its anchors, sinking into the swirling sands, cast in shadow by the behemoths that were the Capricorn and the Kraken. The Capcricorn was resting, but the Kraken was teeming with life, both coming and going. Itchyoman stevedores sneered and jeered at and after the Cephamorian and Aceon crew that darted their way from it, but they had fresh, hard-earned coin in-hand, ready and eager to spend. However, there was one, a Cephamorian lass. She wrung her “hands” while yellow and black dripped into her diamond-shaped eyes, thickening as the line, as she inched up ever closer to the Kraken’s captain, Tarjen, another Cephamorian. His starry eyes were steeped in gray, yet he was still able to give each of them such a warm smile. He kept an even pace, always allowing his arm to lull over to the collection plate housing the rugged leather wallets, allowed the tips of his “hand” to graze the two strings, looped thrice through both, raised it the same height, brought it before him, and drooped it more than dropped into the waiting party’s hands, yet with every wallet handed it seemed to hasten.
The lass held herself so tight, nearly turning her orange-and-red arms white. The suckers on her four legs stuck something fierce to the deck- She yipped as she was “prodded” from behind- She also knocked the chain by her foot, making such a clangor. Yellow overtook the black entirely, crumpling into herself. She took a deep breath, eased her front foot from the timbers, letting the board it was attached to thump back into place on the deck and fitting back into place. A few nails clattered in its fall, forgotten for the moment as she looked behind. A spark of red flashed from the middle of those diamonds, fading, finding that the troublesome orb was from her favorite southpaw Aceon. His soft, sandy shell shuddered from the blue spikes boring their way out, clashing with the crimson lines that weaved their way through the bright orange chitin, but there was no ire in his stalks nor venom on their tips.
The Aceon actually nudged her that time, prodding with its tiny left claw while it pointed with its monster of a right. Its left was a slightly different shade, a burnt sienna, matching its two front legs before its frills. It was cleaning them with such fervency, the light in its stalky eyes swaying between her and- the captain before her. His tricorn hat rose with each breath, bringing life to the blue swirls in his gray skin, pulsing with each, steady breath. His jacket always seemed stirred by an unseen wind, its heavy patched leather flaps slapping at his long black boots. They were recently shined and glistened with the colors then the “suns”, almost brighter than them. He had but four wallets left, and one was held out to her.
She mumbled an apology, scuttling forward and bowing her head to the captain. She reached for the wallet- He let it go. He had let it droop, but the left string was looser than the wallets prior, relaxing far too fast. The captain started to exclaim, but the lass scrambled after and managed to catch it just before it hit the deck. She gulped, took a deep breath, hoping that splash of red was gone as she straightened, and fumbled out a thank you. Black returned to her gaze, tinging the fading yellow as the good captain chortled.
He then spoke, his voice soft given his daunting physique, telling her, “Nonsense. I should be thanking you, and not just for your quick action now which I sincerely apologize for. This must be your... twentieth term? Nineteenth?”
“Twenty-eighth.”
“Has it truly been that long? Surely you have enough saved by now. You should have no need to come back for another-”
“No! I mean, no, sir.” She gulped again. It was much harder than the first. A stone sneaked in, and was rolling all the way down into her pit of a stomach. She slowly raised her head, fighting to keep it steady, looking into those starry facets. No color touched them. The pools of gray around those stars seemed ever still. They had an uncanny ability to draw people in; however, they didn’t come close to another set to her, a pair that went missing since That Night- The stone found its way back into her throat. She tried to swallow it, but had to make due with talking around it. “I wish to keep going. I love this ship.”
“Even with its inconvenient stops?”
“But of course, sir. It’s... It’s what makes this truly an adventure.”
Her words rang with doubt. And fear. However, the captain didn’t press. He didn’t ask nor utter anything in response. Instead, he simply continued to stare into her eyes. Time slowed while he gazed into her diamonds, seconds turned to moments as she peered at those stars, finding it hard not to shake.
He finally looked away, releasing her, and held out a wallet to her Aceon friend. He trilled as he pushed by, freeing her from her bonds. She didn’t waste another second on that ship, sprinting down the boarding plank and into town. Everything was still tinged yellow, her stomach queasy. The stones had multiplied, rocking and rolling in her gut.
She really loved that ship. More than “home”. She clenched her wallet tight, both lavishing and languishing at the shops. How she desired to try some of the bright sweets or to properly peruse some of the clothes displayed, gathered from all corners of Mortuim. A brute of a Faun was in that day, offering the latest in Terrahn, Faun, and even Zephyrian fashion. He had a phoenix down mantle in stock. The feathers on it were from an ice phoenix from the north, distinguished by the slight tinge of green along the shafts of each feather and the gray at the start of each vane, turning cerulean as they neared their ends. The rest of it was silk from the Isild Athrogon tribe, dyed a pale blue. It wasn’t that expensive, considering.
Alas, she knew it was for naught. Every coin, every last grain, every single speck of dust in and on that wallet was to be accounted for when she went “home”. That didn’t mean she needed to rush nor that she wasn’t allowed to peruse. Much to the vendors’ displeasure. She was expected that day; yesterday in fact, but the day went long.
Besides, she thought, lazing her way to the next vendor. It was a Terrahn, a child of clay. His wares were spread out on several bright carpets placed before a clamshell shop. They were selling urns and vases, creating beauty out of the very essence their people were made of. There’s always a chance I’ll see Him again if I wait long enough.
She gripped the wallet tight enough to crinkle the coins. Garnering the vendor’s attention. He had a peerless set of sapphires, framed by golden locks tucked neatly under a green cap, matching his tunic. He had white leggings on, tucked into a pair of brown boots. The vendor made a sound, gesturing to his pottery, but she needed to avert her gaze, aimed to where her feet already started. A touch of pink swirled in her eyes, as if clinging to the memory she tried to stumble from, away from that half-blood. She could still see his face, his soft, yellow skin giving way to the blue swirls. A blend of Terrahn and Cephamorian. It was but a glance, a passing moment in the dark, but how she wanted more than anything to wrap her tendrils around his shoulders, to paw at his blue tentacles underneath his spiral shell atop his Terrahn head, to tell him everything would be okay and for him to do the same for her. She wanted him to whisk in from the crowd and take her to wherever he went. To wherever that Terrahn took him in the dead of night.
The coins jingled loud, red nearly engulfing her entire vision from thinking about Her, saved by a growing spot of black in their center. She finally made her way from the markets and down a side street. Although it was less frequented it was still packed. Sailors, merchants, tourists were all waiting to enter the bars. There was one that had alleys lined for miles: the Upturned Nautilus. A purple-and-white Cephamorian looked her way, just a touch taller than she. Their tentacles were thick, each as wide as a tree’s trunk, but incredibly stubby at their tips. Even then, they were more than enough to take her. If they had the notion. Their spiral eyes sparked with yellow as they saw hers, the pink paled by that red.
The color fled as she took a left at the next intersection, refilling with yellow following it to its end. She stopped before the house there, an abalone shell carved out for Terrahn redwood and in it was fitted a carved pearl door. She knocked on it, thrice, and with each rap her heart faltered with each rap. The door clicked, creaked open, crawling into the house and revealing what laid beyond. There was a small, rotting table in its center and some stairs off to the left, collapsing, almost freed of their burden. They were hidden behind a thin yellow-and-green Cephamorian. His diamond eyes were warped, the left side of his body lower than the right. His head sagged back, slapping against his arms with every small movement. Two arms refused to raise anymore, dragging by his feet, but he still had two that worked.
And one of them lashed out.
His suckers sunk into her “arms”, their prods bringing out her blue blood, dribbling onto that musty, stained floor. It left a trail as he dragged her to the table. There, he slammed her “hands” down on it, again and again until she loosed the wallet, spilling its contents with a sickeningly gleeful ring. Only then did he finally let her go, shoving her aside, muttering to himself while counting the coins, and the red in his eyes dulled to a soft green.
He blurted, a sickening croak compared to the gurgling, demanding her,“It’s all here?”
“It’s always all there.” A touch of annoyance seeped into her voice, snuffed out. She yelped, reeling back from him, more blood oozing from her. That time down her cheek.
“Watch your tongue!” He eased the bag off the side of the table and pushed each coin back into it, one at a time. He scoffed, eyes filled with red as he snapped to her, telling her,. “You’re going to ask for double next time.”
“What? Father. I ca-”
He left another cut on her face, panting hard, head drooping further back with each chuff. “You can and you will! You love your daddy, don’t you? You want to see him happy, hmm?” She nodded, but froze as he reached out to her, squeezing the cuts. “Then you will ask for more, my precious pearl.”
“Are you talking about me, or the Blue Pearl?”
Red flooded his gaze fully, the prods lanced into her “cheek”. He raked his “hand” across her face before raising it high, drawing an arc of blue blood through the air before he brought it down upon her again, slicing the other side of her face. She fell to the ground, sobbing. Her blood would have to serve as her tears, a boon out of reach for Cephamorian.
“I’ve had enough of your lip.” Pink touched his eyes as he patted the top of her head. His head raised a touch, his limbs gaining a bit of life. One tentacle, especially. Its sickly green-hued tip peeled away to a soft pink, trailing across her face and leaving a sticky line. “Go upstairs and get ready.”
He slapped her with that tentacle, knocking her over with a wet smack, and scoffed walking over her, twisting his barbed “heels” as he did. He slammed the door in his wake.
The lass simply laid there, thoughts turned once again to that Cephamorian-Terrahn.
He said he was nobody, she thought, still sobbing, hugging herself on the cold, coral floor. I would give anything... anything to be nobody! She sniffed, wiped her eyes, and muttered, “I wonder if he will, instead. Please come, my Nobody. Come and save me.”
She managed to lift herself up. But, in thinking upon him, that Terrahn woman once again stole into her thoughts. Just as she stole him away! However, she wouldn’t steal anything that time. Instead, the lass would use her for what she would do next. What did she have to lose? She was already less than Nobody.
