bones

“look, it’s sinking. corpses are floating on planks and prisoners are swimming towards the shore after fleeing the ship. its time to abandon our post.” the girls voice was stern, her hand reached out to point people that posed as tiny ants in the distance as the waves were heavy and kept crashing into them.

“which ship, exactly?” he replied back at her, lips lopsided and bring up the spyglass telescope towards his dominant orb, trying to make sense of what she was speaking of.

“one that was banished by the world, see how its drifting further and further away from us and the shore?”

“aye.”

“it’s both a prison and a sanitarium. are any of your friends aboard there? if so…” she cut herself off before turning to look at him, brows furrowed against one another before heaving out a hefty sigh. eyes closed and bringing a hand to her chest. “the report might be a bit offensive.”

“dregs of society…” she started off with. “human scum.” her voice choked out soon after. “terms used to describe its ‘eccentric passengers.’” putting the telescope down to look at her. a frown dawning on his face before quickly shifting back towards a poker face, needing to keep himself in check but the toll of her words felt like he was getting stabbed over and over again.

sure, his pals lacked some sort of discipline and some independence, but who didn’t at this time. with the current state of the world… his shoulders drooped in on itself when he began to bob his head in understanding.

they all had good hearts, their intentions were true, if not understood wrongly. they’ve had heavy pain they had to endure, for christs sake. a click of his tongue came out before balling his hands into fists before punching the railing in front of him.

would they make it to tierra del fuego? it just seems so… improbable.

move waves crash, the winds were too strong. despite being bundled up in multitudes of articles of clothing they wore it was sub-zero.

“do they think of me, suyun?” speaking out softly, voice trying not to break as he was unsure if it was even audible. did the tides drown him out or was she able to make do with what he said? what crew did he have left? everyone got banished. he tried to save them all. they all made sacrifices but it wasn’t enough. wasn’t enough to save them all except for suyun.

no response, of course.

silence.

what was she going to say, exactly? what was she to do to help remedy the situation. he turned around, words faltering and his half-hearted attempt at a smile slipped form his lips at an instant. guess i should have seen this coming, huh? he thought to himself. shaking his head and letting out a breathy, hollow chuckle.

he shot a quick glance towards suyun’s way, immediately backtracking when he made eye contact with her. his stomach lurches as he realizes the source of her difficulties. swallowing back his own grief at the thought- at the idea of losing another crewmate, no… another friend. he’s not ready to let go. despite everything, he doesn’t want to.

and so, slowly, carefully. she extended his hand his way. holding his breath as the girl gave him a wary look. the whole world seemed to hold its breath for a moment, and her alongside it. fingers curling together, comfortably. his eyes now fixed onto hers, widening at the actions she was doing. leering down to fix on their interlocked hands as if he couldn’t quite believe it. he was quick to abolish whatever fears that just built up.

“even everything that happened, cap’n…” her voice spoke softly, leaning in closer to him. “i’m still here for you, oppa. yer’ still my friend. the first one i’ve ever had, really. nothin’s gonna change that. unless, unless - that’s not…?” she trailed off. searching his face for any signs of hesitation. shes never doubted this before, not for a second. but they’d also never had something like this. something so tragic happen to the two of them after all the sea’s they’ve crossed together. never so harsh. never so… personal.

“suyun,” he breathed. “you’re not?” his mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. finger’s tightening around the smaller girl’s. “i always thought you wanted out. out of the crew, out of piracy. back to bein’ a landgrubber and being on ‘em ports with the navy.”

“oppa, listen to me,” he says firmly, squeezing his friend’s hand tightly and forcing him to look into his eyes. “my hesitation back then? me considerin’ their offer? that was a mistake. it seemed so easy- so temptin’ to just go back to how things used to be. but i could never do that. not to you, or the crew. i would never betray you, not for anythin’. i swear it to you on my life.”

“tha- that’s good,” breathing out, “fuck, suyun… i-” breath hitches, his free hand pulling upwards to scrub at his eyes with his sleeve. his words dwindled into sniffles, the air between them growing quiet. only the sounds of the waters cascading in on them was heard. the noise kept dragging on for a while, the pair of them reeling in the whiplash of emotions that came about. clinging onto one another amidst the harsh waters even if the world came crashing down around them.

she moved without thinking, her hands on his shoulders before he has a moment to consider the potential consequences. fingers curling around his cheek and tilting his face to look down at her. forcing his gaze off and away from the floor. there’s a heartbeat after she realized what she did. his eyes widening and shoulders tensing. but she didn’t pull away, nor did he. standing eerily still for the moment, neither daring to even breath before he finally leaned into the careful touch.

there’s a glassy shine in his eyes, pale blue a dull grey in the wake of his guilt. his cheeks are flushed pink with shame, and he can’t seem to meet suyun’s gaze- not fully. there’s a world of weight upon his shoulders, his whole body trembling as though ready to crumble.

“oppa, listen to me.” she spoke quietly. “what happened wasn’t yer’ fault. you couldn’t have known what was gonna happen when you took it.”

“suyun'…” his hands raised shakily to return her touch, hands on her hips and trailing upwards towards her face. cupping it with his own large palms.

“i’ll follow you to the ends of the earth, no matter what.” she swore at him. like a church girl going to give her weekly sunday renewals.

he laughed. strained grimace splinters into a watery smile, his whole body surging to wrap her in his arms. a firm embrace after what they needed after so long. his chest hitching with a sound halfway between a chuckle and a hiccupping sob, lifting her up as his arms curled carefully. lifting her up as a surge of protectiveness flares in his chest.

“yeah,” he finally said, placing the girl back on her feet when the waters got a bit rougher after the calm. a peaceful solace they had momentarily before their little heart-to-heart got ruined by the state of nature.

they both returned to the cabin, safer in there than it was being out. no longer reminded by his fallen comrades that were struggling to make it out. it was just him and her. suyun.

“you could see joy in their faces, even in the footprints they left on the island we crossed a few weeks ago.” she muttered in his ear as their bodies collided in the bed. she gave out more warmth than whatever the ship provided. and whatever clothes they wore. “freedom is favourable compared to what they’re doing right now.”

was she speaking more about what he asked earlier? she’s not wrong though. the freedom to squander our lives. trample on dignity of others, the freedom to embrace absurdity and meaninglessness.

“scavenge through the messy ocean for dog tags, battlefields too. were those people born mad?” his head shifted positions against the soft material. lips forming a circle with a hand running up and down softly on her spine. fingers twirling the ends of her brunette locks.

“after watching people of this earth tear eachother apart in one war after another, i’ve come to this conclusion: knowledge drives people to madness; ignorance does not.” a sigh coming out from him, nodding his head at her words and understanding what she was saying.

"madness appears to be merely a side effect of the sedative that is 'knowledge.' this ship will never be short on recruits as long as those on land continue to consume it."

“both sides have leveled accusations, shed blood, and engaged in relentless conflict in a struggle framed as one between madness and civilization.” he regarded the statement with uneasy clarity, troubled by its stark division between “madness” and “civilization.” the symmetry of it- both sides accusing, both shedding blood, each convinced of its own righteousness- left him questioning whether such labels held any real meaning. the language seemed to justify the violence it described, as though brutality could be redeemed by the cause it served, and he found himself doubting whether the conflict was truly about opposing ideals or simply an endless cycle of retaliation fueled by belief and fear. in the end, the statement felt less like a truth and more like an oversimplification, revealing how easily the line between order and chaos can blur in the minds of those determined to draw it.

“…and soon, everyone will have leapt into the trenches. everyone will have beaten and will beaten someone to a bloody pulp. only a few can escape this fate.” she sat up, legs straightened and both feet planted back on the ground as she was going to predict what he was going to say. walking over to the window and wagging a finger at him to follow as he did so, no questions asked.

“look at the sunken ship. they’re showing no signs of struggle or sorrow. you can tell who it is, right?” her eyes focused outwards in the vast sea. his hands fumbled with his pockets to pick through until he had his spyglass once more. seeing at a distance. one person leaning against a sunken ship. was that…?

were they even alive?

the seawater had flooded their windpipe, reddened their eyes. yet there they were. staring blankly at the shore.

“they’re in their home base. holding no hope for forgiveness from enemies, not in the slightest. they were always a one-man army. fighting only for themselves. always alone.”

there’s no way that was true at all, right?

“now, close your eyes for a bit, oppa. do a 360 and look again.”

slowly turning himself around, making sure he didn’t fall on himself and crash into a wall or anything in the room despite its messy stature already. heading back towards the window and looking out.

more of their body sinking into the water. hands no longer grabbing driftwood as they’ve accepted their face. she’s drowning. he tried to open his mouth to respond, trying to find the words to speak to suyun. trying to do anything if they could steer the ship towards the girl, his former crew mate.

she’s accepted her fate out there. no fight or struggle. just a peace of mind.

the souls of the dead starts to fill his mind.

he was staring down at the darkest abyss. he didn’t want this. his hope is dying, and so did his crew. the souls of the dead and living filled his space in his ears. reminiscing times of laughter and joyous occasions he had with each and every one of them.

he was on land, but at what cost? his heart longed to join them. each and every one of them. thinking about singing songs together once more, all the past memories he had when tears begin to swell down his cheeks.

there was nothing he could do. he dropped the telescope and reached a hand out towards the body, only reaching the pane of the window. swallowing more of his grief and facing life’s test, trying to find the promise of peace and the solace of rest.