Horizons (cont.)

    A particularly large swig of his bottle was spewed across the deck rather violently when Aurelius asked if Finn's comment towards his looks had anything to do with his desire to be friends, unprepared to be met with the same forwardness he often bestowed upon others.
It took a moment for him to stifle his rough laugh, the strong booze having burned his throat quite unpleasantly on the sudden trip upwards. A mix of choking and laughter escaping the Pirate for a brief moment as he righted himself, running the arm of his coat across his stubbled face.

"Sorry- sorry-"
He continued to chuckle,
"Ah, no, not really."
In truth he didn't recall too much having called the man 'gorgeous', though he certainly believed him saying he had. It sounded exactly like the kind of stuff that tended to spring loose from his lips. Sometimes he believed he'd come to flirt so often, he didn't quite know any other way to communicate, anymore.
"I suppose I just know beauty when I see it and I'm not ashamed to say it," the Pirate shrugged with a far off and thoughtful look. Would explain his affliction to need to pluck jewels and artwork more often than straight cash, if the 'not so legally obtained' paintings and sculpture in his private quarters were anything to attest to.
"Nah, I just seem t'think you're an interesting fellow. Feel a hardy man like your self could regale a room with some tales of battle," curling a fist for an added emphasis of the aggression and 'glory' sort of adventures he felt sure this man could tell of. He had sailed the seas, sure, but rarely strayed too far beyond the confines of Atelus, itself, unless need be. However, this was a bustling city with freights and noble ships always on the move, no shortage of adventures to be had around here and he had the benefit of being at least minutely known around the ports. Helped with familiarity to grease the right palms, flatter the right guards and one could keep his nose just above sea-level when it came to trouble.

    He kept his hazel-blue eyes on the horizon to listen to the man speak of his companion, only allowing his gaze to wander briefly to Angantyr when the fellow was mentioned. He could understand that kind of camaraderie. He'd found it in Emerson, after all, looking over at the first mate who had taken perch atop a barrel to look over the edge of the ship, watching the wake created behind The Wolfsbane's trail. The man was the closest Finneas had ever come to a sort of father, the one man the Captain would allow to scold and talk down to him aboard his own ship. Besides, Emry knew to keep such matters to a more private setting. He was his brother, his father, a guiding uncle all in one and Finn would not have lasted this long, nor held his head nearly as high without Emry's guiding hand.
As harsh as the man could be towards him, sometimes.
They were family.

    But that wasn't the only interesting part laced between the Foreign King's words.
Unless Finn was mistaken, Aurelius had near admitted to housing a were-curse of his own. Something that made the blood caked in the golden strands of hair make much more sense given the phase the moon had taken the night before.
The Pirate curled his hand around the totem that hung from his neck, thinking back on his own curse and how he'd been marred by the beast since birth.
He'd never stood a chance.

"Tis no better friend than one like that," he agreed with the King. It didn't exactly make him like Angantyr any more, but it did help him to understand the fellow a bit better. He was, in a sense, Aurelius's Emry. He could respect that.

    The serious tone faded through the salty air, replaced with something softer and more calm.
His own eyes tilting to meet the foreigner's with a quirked brow at the change in tone the conversation had taken.
Ah-
Of course.
This man was no fool. Finneas was sure he knew better to think any old Pirate ever just pulled alongside another vessel to outstretch a helping hand.
A chuckle that was rather void of any mirth blew past the Captain's lips, shaking his head.
"Yea... well, I don't see much sense in lying,"
At this juncture.
Finn nodded to himself, offering a half shrug, "We had hoped to find some amount of treasure worth for the taking. Instead we found a bunch of strapping men-- not sure which one is preferable truth be told. I'm sure the men would argue a payday would've been a better haul, but-" trailing off with a flourish of his hand.
Finn was, and always would be, 'take the hand dealt you and make the best of it' kind of a man.
So long as Aurelius didn't run him through for having intended to rob the man, initially.
Especially because Finn hoped to steer back to this whole 'fellow were' business he'd just been made aware of. He'd not met another were in his travels, at least not that he'd known.

    Sharp eyes tilted sideways to stare at the sword now displayed in full view, beads of sweat forming across the Pirate's brow as he tried to maintain his composure. Unsure of the man's intent as of yet, but even still his opposite hand slunk beneath the hem of his coat to grasp the hilt of his own rapier. Knuckles turned white with the intensity of his grasp on the ornate metal work. He was prepared to draw if the man swung, but was doing everything in his power to continue to appear as if he was simply steering the ship, though his eyes would not wander from the King's large blade.
Had the truth been the wrong move here?
He had hoped honesty, of any sort, might garner some favor, especially considering he rarely opted for the 'truthful route'.
Damn Emry, and his pushing for Finn to be more ethical lest Karma take his head.
Well, he'd done the right thing and here it looked as if Karma came to claim its debt regardless.
Karma, you unrelenting whore.

    Emry shifted behind him, muscles tense and poised to leap to his Captain's defense, nerves that only frayed further when the tip was directed in the direction of his dearest, dumbest, friend. The first mate stood to his feet, every muscle in his body poised to lunge at the King just as the sword was flipped and the hilt was put before himself, amber eyes widening in sheer confusion while a slow hand moved to curl around the blade's grasp. Tentatively he drew it away from the other man, while meeting his stare, as if he wasn't quite sure Aurelius was truly about to allow him to take it from him, but once he'd fully drawn it away he took a steady step backwards to lean the blade against the barrels he'd moments before been perched atop.

    A heavy breathe of relief escaped Finn's lips, not even realizing how he'd been holding his breath through that whole display, releasing the grip on his own blade and allowing the anxiety to quell by washing it down with a long swig from his bottle.
"Well then,"
He finally said after a moment's reprieve,
"I thank you for your trust. I can swear to you no harm will befall you on my ship. Not from me nor my crew," placing a fist to his chest like a sworn oath, "I may be a Pirate and a Thief, but my word is my bond. Tis all a man truly has."
Nodding in affirmation, agreeing with the sentiment the King of Yhavastus had put forth.
"New friends."
Finneas agreed, stern and serious features melting away back into his friendly and lackadaisical grin.

"Look,"
He gestured to just beyond the bow to the buildings that rose up before them,
"Atelus approaches."

"Hah!"
Finn let out a bark of a laugh when his drinking companion downed his bottle with the ease of one chugging a cup of water.
Man after his own heart, there.
Nothing beat a fine vintage, to be sure.
Aurelius had made the tensions take a long walk of a short plank into the sea below as Finn chuckled to himself, taking another large gulp only to be met with a request that had him grunting an affirmative through his mouth full of booze.
"Of course!"
He agreed, swallowing the spiced liquid.
"Let me give you the Captain's tour," he obliged, "T'would be my pleasure!"
He turned to look at his First Mate, telling him to take the wheel for the time being as he moved to lead the hulking foreigner around his vessel.
Emerson gave his Captain a wary look, but made no more comment than that.
He wasn't fond of the idea of the two men waltzing about without him around, but after the display of Aurelius handing over his weapon, Emry would allow himself to grant the man a semblance of trust, even if he was fairly sure the behemoth could take out Finn bare handed. He knew full well his Captain could put up a fight to be sure, but it wasn't his nature nor his greatest skill-set.

"Come- we can start in my private quarters, seeing as they're right beneath us," Finn called out, splaying his hand against the bear of a man's shoulder blade to guide him down the stairs to what had to be the more ornate of any of the quarters on his ship.
He held the door open for Aurelius, the room within nicer than what most Pirate's lived in, though it was no nobleman's quarters, to be sure. It was nothing major, the room itself, but it had been suited with what finery that Captain could acquire. Ranging from velvety drapes and bedding, all the same deep red hue of the ship's sails, while paintings leaned against the wall beneath the tall windows. Fine oil paintings and sculpture work, some leather bound tomes no commoner would normally be able to afford wedged between more average books on the shelves, tucked between bottles of liquor and varying shiny trinkets.

"Home sweet home, indeed,"
He beamed at the other man. Rather proud of what he'd been able to do with the quarters themselves to give them an air of finery amongst the exposed wood and creaking boards.
"I had mentioned I liked pretty things..." speaking in reference to the artwork he'd collected, and yet looking the foreign king over once more with a narrowed gaze and flirtatious looking grin curling his lips.
Loved beautiful things, indeed.
He could sharpen his blade on the man's jawline, he was sure.

    There was much more of the ship to be seen, but for the most part, this room was probably the crowning jewel.
Not much special about the crew quarters or brig- well....save for his personal were-proof cage.
Emry would probably advise against even letting Aurelius look in the bottom deck, lest he pick up on it, but Finn could only assume it would make him appear as if he had something to hide.
His wolf was no 'dirty secret' in eyes, just not the sort of thing said upon introductions.
"Hello, my name's Finn- once I month I turn into a blood thirsty monster. How's the missus?"
Not exactly the best conversation.

    Arms folded over his chest as he observed Aurleius' movements about his cabin. The man's exploration not unlike a child in a store filled with treats. It was amazing how a change in movements made the man go from seeming like some massively daunting presence to a young and curious soul. It made the Pirate chuckle to himself a bit, not in a way like he truly found the sight to be comical, but more like- he found it endearing, in a way.
He enjoyed his collections, and there was a strange pride he felt watching the foreign man admire them as much as he did.

    He was quiet for a long stretch of time.
A rare state of being for the flamboyant Seafarer.
But there was a serenity in allowing Aurelius the time to explore. Simply watching him, Finn's head tilted slightly and a peaceful look graced his eyes that hid a world of exhaustion, something he often buried deeply beneath walls of humor and a sort of flirtation that was only really ever used as a tool to keep everyone safely at arms length.

"It's an old work of fiction,"
He finally broke the still silence, moving to stand beside the other and placing a hand upon his shoulder to lean over the pages with him, tracing the words with a single finger.
"It tells of a boy's journey to find his father. Encountering all manner of beasts along his quest from something known as a 'Sphinx'? A sort of woman with the body of a lion who tries the lad by making him answer riddles. He encounters other various creatures of similar marvel as well. Tis a sorrowful ending, however."
His eyes narrowing as his touch lingered on the page.
Perhaps he'd taken the book because the story reminded him a bit of himself.
If he'd known his father, what he would one day become because of the man- perhaps he would never have killed innocent people during his first few transitions.
Not been chased from his home and forced to leave his mother behind.
He often wondered how she was...

"So-"
The Captain cleared his throat, turning from the book rather abruptly, the movement forcing the grim expression down to be overtaken by his usual mask of a carefree and joyous grin, spreading his arm across the room,
"Not bad for a 'dirty Pirate', no?"

    The Wolfsbane's Captain was taken aback by the way the King of Yhavastus addressed his own self-deprecating remark. He'd not really thought much on it before. Whether the insults he would refer to himself with were hurled at him or creations all on his volition due to dark thoughts that were coated in a thick, unhealthy, layer of bravado.
Huh-
He knew for a fact he'd heard the odd remark shot towards his profession while docked port-side. Pirates were not exactly the most welcome caste of citizens in civilized society, of course. He'd been spat on a few times, belittled and insulted...could even recall an elderly woman that looked to all the world like a 'dear sweet granny', hurling a tomato at the back of his head and calling him a series of names to rival even the tongue of the most vulgar of Pirate-folk.
Emry had had quite the laugh over that display...
But honestly the words of others had never bothered him.
Perhaps it was because his own mind was a much more cruel refuge.
Words like 'murderer' and 'monster' swirling behind ocean eyes.
Certainly made 'dirty', 'thief', and 'swindler' a lot less offensive to be thought of as.

"Oh, I'm sure some passerby has hurled such words my way,"
He shrugged, attempting to wave the notion off,
"I tend to keep clean and groomed true, but it's not exactly an entirely unfounded stereotype for those of my particular...profession."
A more genuine light now reaching his eyes, however, noting that Aurelius actually seemed offended on his behalf for the insult, or concerned that Finn might think such things of himself.
Dirty?
He didn't exactly think that of himself, no.
Other, more brutal terms...possibly.
He tried not to. He knew it was the wolf that lurked under his skin and not entirely, himself, but it was hard to fully separate the two when flashes of the bloodshed haunted your nightmares.

"It's fine," he assured Aur, "I didn't exactly fall into the Pirate life thinking it would award me a welcoming party complete with minstrels singing songs of my ventures."
The Captain chuckled.
"Come- there's more boat to see," holding an arm to the door, "The Crew quarters, not exactly as glamoured as my own quarters. Alas, the boys don't share my affinity for finery. And then the brig- really just a bunch of bars, but the store room is down there. Nothing lights up a man's eyes like the glitter of a jewel."
Maybe he was mostly speaking for himself on that one.

'The Tale of the Wolf-Boat'.
Finn kind of liked the sound of that, jostled about as the much larger fellow gave him a friendly shake, neatly placed strands of hair flying into a total mess at the joyous gesture.
Not that he minded, giving a lilted laugh in response. He felt a kin-ship forming with Aurelius. Emry was a good friend, but he scolded him and parented him more than actually joked around with him. Not quite the brotherly friendship he felt with his present companion. And his crew- well, he was their Captain. He cared for them, joked with them, but there would always be the distance of leadership between them, keeping them at arm's length.
An accompanied chuckle starting to fall in tune with the other's before a firm hand to his back, that was probably meant to be a tad more gentle than it resulted in being, had him stepping forward to catch his balance on his leg.
"I don't know," Finn prodded, smirking at the other, "Despite my Wolfsbane's size, having come to know you- I still fear you might've given the old girl a run for her money."
Shaking his head, adjusting the displaced strands of hair back into their proper places.

"Well- skipping the over-ripe musk of my men's lines of hammocks, perhaps we should move on to the real sight to behold,"
Once again picking up the lead to descend the steps of his ship, the floorboards creaking beneath each footfall. She was an old girl, to be sure, but she had held up this long. With the regular maintenance he made sure she always had, he knew she would most likely out live him- especially with the way his mouth found him in hot water.
On the bottom deck you could feel the toss of the ship as waves brushed into her side, his hand on the bars rusted from the damp to keep himself steady.
The smell was not exactly pleasant this far down, his own sharp nose picking up the wet fur matted in the bars of the cell located to the far back, the one cell where the bars seemed well kept and free from any damage from rust. The metal wasn't pure iron like the others, mixed with steel to prevent rust from setting in quite as quickly, but still he made sure to have them replaced regularly. Better safe than to risk himself breaking free and coming after his men. He could have never forgiven himself should something like that happen.

But that was not what he wished to draw attention to.
The moment they'd reached the depths he'd stopped before a grate, locked up tight with a thick chain, but just behind the bars was a trove of treasures. A pile of gold and a small chest with jewels and pearls spilling over the edge. It wasn't quite as full as he liked to keep it, hence why he'd been searching for a ship to plunder, but it was still a glittering sight that reflected in his eyes making them glisten in turn with a near palpable greed.
The Sin which afflicted him most of all- followed closely behind by Lust, of course.