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Fantasy 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙣. - [1𝙭1]

you look stupid with those on.
sybil.
Sybil was hyper aware of every movement Knox dared to make in her presence. When his jaw worked itself in a gaped position, she only narrowed her eyes and worked a frown upon her lips. A moment later, and the flush red hue she had become accustomed to seeing on his ears made its signature appearance once more. Her arms remained crossed as she continued to balance his blade on her lap, though she had grown bored of the weight in the few short minutes of holding. Letting out a slight huff as Knox worked his jaw shut and stuttered out a few curse words, she carelessly let the blade slide to the side and clatter to the floor. As long as it didn't cut her, she didn’t care about the condition of his weapon.

"I mean, of course it's nothing but scribbles to you. I shouldn't have assumed you could read our language just because you speak it so well... My complacency is to blame."

The frown that had been resting on her visage deepened even further, and her narrowed eyes turned to a sharp glare. What did he mean by of course? A loud ‘tsk’ sounded as she uncrossed her arms, half-tempted to grab a fistful of his hair to give it a good yank. The tongue on this man was audacious and impudent. He was clearly being sarcastic with her, giving just how clunky she spoke his language. It would be far easier to slip back into her native tongue, but it seemed unwise to speak it anywhere on this cursed ship.

Though her lips parted to snap back a harsh rebuttal, she quickly worked them shut as the journal was once more opened and slid towards her. A noise akin to a growl began to rumble in her throat, convinced that Knox was simply doing this to mock her. However, the noise soon died out as he dragged his chair closer to her own. He slid...something onto his face, though Sybil was unsure of their purpose. She had seen humans wear them before, but she never exactly cared about them either. Before she could even ask what he was doing, her attention was drawn back to the journal as he began to trace over the scribbles with a pen.

Oh good. He was going to read to her.

Like she was a child.

Letting out a loud huff that was more than obvious, Sybil opted to remain silent and to re-cross her arms in contempt. She knew was being childish about the entire situation, but she didn’t exactly have the bandwidth to react appropriately. They weren’t scribbles on the pages; They were the actual written words of his language that she had failed to learn. She was no better than a common villager on land, forced to rely on those more educated for basic needs. Making a moment of brief eye-contact with him when he glanced up at her, she just widened her gaze a bit and motioned for him to continue reading. The last thing she needed at the moment was for him to pay more attention to her than needed.

Her attitude quickly vanished as he began to speak of attack patterns, however. In an instant, the pissy look on her face had shifted into something far more intrigued, and she leaned forward to peer a bit more closely at the pages. It hadn’t exactly dawned on her that humans would track their attack patterns. They rarely managed to kill sirens, so why would it matter where they showed up?

Tilting her head a bit to the side, Sybil only scoffed and waved one hand dismissively. Without missing a beat, she reached out to snatch his glasses, her lips already moving as she did.
“Vopreli royals are not exactly good at secrets. Scea Mryai is a fishing town that no one cares for. Vopreli thinks that the way to defeat the sirens involves sacrifice for the greater good. They send out bait ships to lure sirens in hopes of catching one for research, but it never works. You would have heard about it by now if it did,” she said casually, holding up the glasses to one eye to peer through the glass. A snort of laughter followed soon after, the woman clearly entertained by his spectacles. The information she had just divulged seemed obvious. Weaker sirens often traveled to Scea Mryai for easy pickings, taking a sick joy in the bait boats.

“If I were the Captain of a ship dedicated to killing sirens,” she continued, holding the glasses up above her head and to the light as she spoke. “I would look to where no sirens attack. To wear sirens can not attack. You best hope your contact in Jiuy Isles knows much about the secrets of Glaesia.”

Finally lowering her hands to place the glasses upon her face, another bout of laughter slipped out as she widened her eyes and squinted them. She looked over to Knox, leaning back a bit as she tried to adjust her gaze to her new accessory. “I have heard of the Jiuy Isles and their stupid festivals. I am not surprised you seem excited for them,” she quipped, before waving her hand near his face to try and gauge how distance worked with the frames.

“These are terrible for vision. Why would you wear such a stupid item?”
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coded by reveriee.
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i'm sure she'll change her tune soon...
knox.
knox slightly flinched when sybil leaned forward into his space to get a closer look at the journal, surprised by the sudden movement given her volatile past, but tried his best not to let the momentary discomfort interrupt his train of thought. she didn't seem to care at all either way, hooked on his words once he began to detail the findings of his research thus far.

she certainly had a valid point about the vopreli royals' unconventional methods of handling the sirens' aggression in their waters, but that tidbit wasn't much of a secret to the captain either given his information network. that particular royal family was notorious for weaponizing the local faith to carry out their own wily designs, so he didn't doubt for a second that some sort of deeper, darker secret was motivating them to act so callously, one he hardly wished to become involved with himself— what did come as a surprise, however, was the cursory mention of glaesia amidst this discussion with no further clarification as to why such a desolate, uninvolved location might hold the answers to his questions.

"hm, is that so..."
glaesia. his father had mentioned that frigid land in passing a number of times throughout his youth, but it wasn't until he attented the academy and studied its ecology that he understood why no one dared colonize that corner of the world— between the unforgiving weather conditions, hostile wildlife, and lack of fertile soil, it simply wasn't worth it no matter how much gold they invested in terraforming the region. if what they were searching for truly resided in such a land, then they'd certainly need to return to salona to prepare for the brutal climate before taking on that leg of the journey.

knox found himself so invested in the shift in conversation that he hardly even noticed sybil snatching the glasses clean off his face until she held them up to her own eyes, her amused snort interrupting the tense topic. meanwhile, his gaze followed the sloping planes of her neck as she leaned back to observe his glasses in the light, intrigued and impressed by the ease with which she seamlessly pieced together her pre-existing knowledge with the intel he'd just provided. maybe taking her in as a consultant would prove fruitful after all...

“these are terrible for vision. why would you wear such a stupid item?”


a small grin returned to his lips as sybil's hands hovered in the air in front of her face, evidently baffled by the odd contraption that had no chance of working on her no matter how she adjusted it.
"probably because they're custom made for my eyes to help me read smaller text, though they give me a headache if i wear them too long."
he paused for a moment as he wondered whether it would be considered overstepping to call a physician to assess sybil's vision before shaking the thought from the forefront of his mind and moving on to her unfounded yet apparent distaste for festivals.

“i have heard of the jiuy isles and their stupid festivals. i am not surprised you seem excited for them."


"what a harsh judgment for something you haven't experienced for yourself,"
knox mused with a raised eyebrow, leaning back in his chair at long last with an uninvested shrug,
"but if you really would rather stay on the ship by yourself than fill your belly with local delicacies and party on the beach, then suit yourself. i won't make you do anything stupid if you don't want to."
his words were obviously bait, no less than a provocation of her ability to remain open-minded in the face of a new challenge, but he wasn't actually all that invested in coercing her to join him for the festivities if she wasn't interested— given their interactions until then, she would probably become an added source of stress more than anything if she did choose to tag along.
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coded by reveriee.
 
you look stupid with those on.
sybil.
Letting out a scoff at the mention of his eye device being custom made, she opted to remove the glasses and haphazardly dangle them back over to Knox. She equally didn’t bother to confirm if he had actually gotten a hold on the spectacles before she let go, her attention already drawn elsewhere as she rolled her gaze away with a rather loud yawn. Though it would have admittedly been funny to see the two glass frames smash on the floor, she wasn’t willing to put in the effort to be purposefully antagonistic at the moment. She’d have to save her energy for a more opportune moment. Still, her eyes rolled back over to Knox, squinting a bit before parting her lips to finally speak.

“I see what you are trying to do. I never said I was not going to the festival with you, just that I find it stupid and mindless. Partying on the beach on an isle…” She scoffed, tilting her head a bit to observe Knox as she continued on. “Why would anyone want to party on a beach when sirens are lurking right beneath the waves? I already question why you sail on this ship in an asinine quest, but at least you have some sort of purpose. Others have no purpose in life. No worries,” she huffed out, uncrossing her arms to push herself into a standing position. Another yawn threatened to overtake her body, and she moved her hand over her mouth to cover it. Once the yawn had been stifled, Sybil twisted her back a bit and stretched her arms above her head. While she stretched often under the waves, it was always a weightless movement. A low groan left her lips as a satisfying pop sounded from her back, before she turned away from the table the two had just been seated at.

Without another word, she began to walk towards Knox’s bed. Her hands were making quick work of unbuttoning the top she wore, hardly batting an eyelash at the situation she was putting herself in. It was still amusing how quickly the red overtook Knox’s face whenever she undressed.

“We will go to the isle and meet with your informant. Hopefully we are not wasting precious time on this trip,” she said as she stripped, her back facing Knox. The top dropped unceremoniously to the floor, leaving her bare skin exposed to the world once more. A visible shiver moved down her spine at the brush of cold air, her body having grown used to the garments in such a short period of wearing them. Still, she couldn’t deny how nice it felt to take it all off again. The plush covers of his bed were calling to her, and she didn’t much care about the opinion of the man sitting behind her as she practically dove under the thick blankets.

Turning to face Knox once again, Sybil simply blinked slowly at the Captain. Heavy lashes brushed against her cheeks, and a small smirk seemed to grace her lips before she flipped over in the bed and left her back to Knox. Seems like she was comfortable for the night.

---

The next week or so of travel were odd to say the least. Although Sybil mostly kept to herself when possible, it was hard to deny how often she seemed to shadow behind the Captain as he went about his duties. Though she often refused conversation with the other members of the crew, there was a rare occasion when she’d grace their ears with a snarky remark off to the side.

When the ship finally docked at the Isles, there was a wave of relief that seemed to wash over the crew. To finally put their feet back on solid ground and enjoy a fresh meal. Perhaps they’d even find themselves entertained for the evening, if they were lucky.

Of course, this feeling was mutual for everyone but Sybil.

Staring down the plank of the ship, Sybil could only screw her lips in a frown. Near the bottom, Knox was attempting to coax her off the ship, though his words were falling on deaf ears. She was deaf to the outside world, only able to hear the thoughts racing through her mind.

The last time she had dragged herself onto land, it was to rip out Knox’s heart. She had been staring down at him, so close to her goal. And yet…she had failed. A failure that followed her years later as she rotted away as a human, staring down at the man who she had intended to kill.

A scoff visibly left her lips, before the woman began her light jog down the plank. Picking up a bit of momentum unintentionally, she barreled past Knox and straight off the deck into the sandy beach a foot or so below. A loud ‘oomf’ sounded, but it seemed she had survived.

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coded by reveriee.
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don't laugh don't laugh don't laugh—
knox.
the first time a young cecil had set his sights on jiuy isles' famed coastlines came a week into a trip with amelia on their way to attend their cousin's wedding celebrations in arlind, an upscale gala out west hosted by the burke prince and his newly unveiled fiancé that kicked off the social season among salona's elite class. still only a devious schoolboy with a meandering problem, he had been staunchly prohibited from straying too far from the flock back then and thus hadn't gotten the chance to immerse himself in the culture; since then, however, the esteemed captain "knox foreman" had returned plenty of times to make up for his disappointing first impression, a welcome face among their taverns after spending a good share of his vacation days sampling the local brews and dancing in the square.

and while this trip was technically of the work variety, a clear mission in mind and objectives to carry out, the captain had no intention of letting a perfectly good reprieve from the tension slip through his weary fingers as a first-time attendee to this particular festival. even if he hadn't been feeling fatigued after the tumultuous turns their journey had taken until then, his crew still deserved a break of some sort for their stellar efforts thus far.

"it's not that far down, sybil,"
knox assured his hesitant, yet somehow still haughty companion. constant bed-hogging and occasional teeth-baring aside, sybil had remained relatively docile throughout the week leading up to the isles, so much so to the point that she'd even begun socializing with the crew little by little. perhaps she could bring herself to enjoy the festivities despite her initial disdain for the culture, he wondered, if she continued to make progress this quickly.

still, knox knew full well that this trip couldn't be easy for her, a vip hostage forced to take countless new experiences in stride, tossed into a constantly changing climate she was forced to adapt to for the sake of her own survival. truly, he understood— he had been in those shoes, beaten down and tired, never able to rest for even a day lest that be his last, and it had changed him fundamentally as a person.

when he extended a helping hand to support sybil's balance on her way down, however, she instead scoffed, gained some momentum, and audibly collided with the sand below on her own two feet. knox instantly ducked his face out of her line of vision as he bit back the laughter that threatened to spill over his lips if he wasn't careful. as worrying as her descent sounded upon impact, she seemed altogether alright by the looks of it, and though he ultimately opted to not fret so to spare her any further embarrassment, his barely-concealed amusement could still be detected in the curve of his lips and the lilt to his voice.

"if your ankles are still intact, there's a couple shops i recommend we check out first before exploring the island,"
knox began, mirth twinkling in his eyes at the opportunity to poke a little fun at sybil as he strode past her towards the lively town that lie beyond the beach.
"a tailor, to start— we need to get you some new clothes before you sweat yourself to death out here."


while he wished he was kidding, salona was much chillier than anywhere this far south and their fabric selections reflected that; if she pranced about in the snug layers that leena had altered from her own outfits, dehydration could very well take her out before an enemy sword ever got the chance to.

"besides..."
knox paused in his tracks, eyes narrowing as he observed the exuberant attire donned by locals and tourists alike as they exited the bustling shops along the coast, unfamiliar to him from his past off-season visits,
"it looks like there may be a dress code we need to brush up on— ready?"



coded by reveriee.
 
you look stupid with those on.
sybil.
Face planting directly into the sand had not been part of Sybil's’ agenda for the day, or any day really. The moment she felt the wind knocked out of her, a wheeze sounded that was immediately overtaken by a cough from inhaling sand. Despite her hacking coughs that were akin more to breathy gasps, she could immediately clock the shit eating grin that had likely spread over Knox’s features. She wasn’t actually looking at him, but it would be a miracle if he wasn’t reveling in her eating shit. She’d certainly be losing her mind if he had fallen like she had.

Rolling over and spitting out some of the sand that had managed to make its way into her mouth, Sybil shot a pointed glare up at Knox, the smile curving upwards on his lips causing a scowl to form on hers. Without saying a word, Sybil instead opted to kick sand towards him in hopes it might get somewhere rather unfortunate. No such luck was to be had, but it was better than the alternative of her launching herself directly at the Captain with a shriek. She was mostly past that phase.

Mostly.

As Knox blabbered on about clothing and sweating, Sybil just out a low grumble in annoyance and pushed herself back onto her feet. Although they still threatened to wobble and collapse the moment she put weight on them, she refused to go back down once again. She had already learned to walk once as a human, what could possibly be so hard about it now that she was on land? Taking a moment to catch up to Knox as he stopped and observed the humans in the distance, Sybil took a free hand to shake out the sand that had gathered in her hair.


“A dress code?” She scoffed as she squinted against the sunlight, raising a hand up to shield her eyes of the rays. Truthfully, she had no idea what most humans dressed like. She had made the safe assumption that the pirates and princes she encountered were unique exceptions to the average attire. Even now, Knox and her stood out like sore thumbs against the flowing fabrics she could pick up in the distance.

“These clothes you make me wear have been rather restricting and hot,” she added on, waving him off as she began to march onwards towards the storefronts. Though she wouldn’t admit it to Knox, the warm sand on her toes was a bit of a delight. She had never felt sand when it was dry, even when she lugged herself onto land. Going that far up the beach would be an idiotic choice, even for her. However, the sand was soon replaced with the wooden planks of the dock, and the two were soon faced with a pair of armored guards.

Although Sybil made quick work to brush past them, one extended his spear with an over-enthusiastic smile to the duo, despite the frown that was quickly overtaking Sybil’s lips.


“Greetings, travelers! We are proud to welcome you to the Jiuy Isles during our most delightful of festivals. As I am sure you may have heard, our lovely inner port is reserved for those appropriately dressed for the celebrations. Please kindly see yourselves to one of our own many local storefronts located along the pier,” the guard chortled out, his cheeks rosy from the sun. The other guard looked less than enthused, but he held out his spear to block their path all the less.

Before Sybil could spit and hiss on the two like an enraged cat, she instead inhaled deeply and pivoted on her feet. This was fine. She was fine. As idiotic as it all was, she’d rather not get into an argument with Knox over something as simple as an outfit. She had far better things to do in this city.

Without a word to her companion, Sybil began to march in the direction of one of the aforementioned shops that lined the dock like sitting ducks. However, each and every one had already flipped their signs to ‘sold out.’ An exasperated noise left her lips once the duo had passed their sixth shop, her hands thrown up into the air.


“This is ridiculous! Of course every shop is sold out of these inane costumes that they require to enter the city,” she hissed out, pivoting on her heels to point accusingly at Knox, as if he was responsible for their dilemma. As her lips parted to sling out a slew of insults, a loud whistle sounded from across the way followed by a squawk of laughter.

“Darlings! No need to have a lover's quarrel over such a small thing! Come, come! My shop isn’t sold out!” A portly older woman called out, waving over the two enthusiastically. A gasp of offense sounded from Sybil at the mere thought of a lover’s quarrel with Knox, and she shot him a venomous glance before stalking over to the shop owner. Before she could even insult the older woman, a yelp of surprise sounded from Sybil. The store owner had opted to grad her wrist and yanked her inside the shop, immediately blabbering on about the ‘perfect’ look. Not even a word of protest made it from Sybil's lips, and the two were gone in an instant behind a curtain, leaving Knox alone to sort through the remaining festival costumes.

Idle minutes ticked on as silence overtook the shop, allowing Knox to browse the rather…little selection they had left. Although there were several outfits of varying sizes all left for potential patrons to peruse through, they all seemed to be missing a large quantity of fabric. Perhaps there’s a reason this store wasn’t sold out…

The silence was soon broken by a shout of protest that sounded distinctly Sybil-like, followed by the chiding of the shop owner as the curtains were thrust aside to the changing room. A moment later, Sybil stumbled out and nearly crashed into the wall. For once in her life, a pair of short heels were strapped to her feet, leading the former siren to buckle her knees and nearly collapse on the floor.

However, the shoes were the least concerning matter at bay. Gone were Leena’s tailored clothes, instead leaving what could only be described as an impression of an outfit on Sybil. White strips of fabric were delicately and deliberately draped across Sybil's’ frame, leaving little to the imagination, least a gust of wind blew by. Ripped fishing net adorned her legs and arms, though it was hardly the main event. Instead, Sybil seemed to be absolutely dripping in pearls. Strings wrapped around her stomach and shoulders to dangle precariously, while tighter collections garnished her neck and wrist. Several had been braided in her hair, and she even seemed to have managed one glued to her cheek.

Gripping the wall tightly to prevent herself from collapsing, Sybil finally looked at Knox with an unreadable expression. Though it was leaning a bit towards murderous rage.


"Do not say a word."
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coded by reveriee.
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