eyes can't shine unless there's something burning bright behind
Aurelia lifted the net from his clothes and his face as he relented, chuckling softly all the way. When Jack lifted his spear to throw it angrily at the cloud manta, she recoiled a bit to give him room. She was definitely not expecting to see the spear pierce flesh, for the manta to get downed. Her expression said it all, with a surprised grin and raised brows. At his smug remark, she shrugged. She had to hand it to him, that was pretty good. "I'll never doubt your manta-hunting skills again."
She parted her net to hold the manta she had and followed him further into the waves to hold it open for his own catch. "Here," she said to draw his attention to it. Between the two of them, they still had another net for the third - and final - manta.
He sure didn't like to beat around the bush but, that's alright. She wasn't looking to do that anyway. Although she felt a twinge of doubt that made her hesitate for a moment. She stood back in the water, frowning.
"You remember when I first arrived. My clothes were covered in blood that wasn't mine... I was overwhelmed with how the world here works. It's so different here, Jack, you have no idea... I didn't want to tell you the truth," she swallowed nervously but pushed on, "I've been lying to you by avoiding it, and that's not my intent here. I know now that there's no chance I'll ever get back home," there was a real drop in her tone, waves splashing against her, pushing and pulling. "I wanted to talk to you about making more permanent arrangements. But before I ask that, I feel like I should tell you more about my past. I used to be a bounty hunter of magic-users. You call them Abandoned here but, where I'm from they were treated worse than that. I killed them for a living, Jack," she lifted her chin, looking out across the vast ocean as images of past missions flashed through her mind.
They'd ambush them, stalk them, treat them as though they were prey. Getting the drop on them was the best way, since they had the advantage with their abilities. It was sometimes as quick as the unsheathing of a blade, screams muffled by a throat filled with blood. Other times, it was a grueling torture for information. Spilling their blood in the hopes that they would spill what they knew. All that blood was on her hands.
She turned to look back at Jack, voice softer, "I was doing what I had to... I didn't know..." that I'd end up here, that things could've been different.
She parted her net to hold the manta she had and followed him further into the waves to hold it open for his own catch. "Here," she said to draw his attention to it. Between the two of them, they still had another net for the third - and final - manta.
He sure didn't like to beat around the bush but, that's alright. She wasn't looking to do that anyway. Although she felt a twinge of doubt that made her hesitate for a moment. She stood back in the water, frowning.
"You remember when I first arrived. My clothes were covered in blood that wasn't mine... I was overwhelmed with how the world here works. It's so different here, Jack, you have no idea... I didn't want to tell you the truth," she swallowed nervously but pushed on, "I've been lying to you by avoiding it, and that's not my intent here. I know now that there's no chance I'll ever get back home," there was a real drop in her tone, waves splashing against her, pushing and pulling. "I wanted to talk to you about making more permanent arrangements. But before I ask that, I feel like I should tell you more about my past. I used to be a bounty hunter of magic-users. You call them Abandoned here but, where I'm from they were treated worse than that. I killed them for a living, Jack," she lifted her chin, looking out across the vast ocean as images of past missions flashed through her mind.
They'd ambush them, stalk them, treat them as though they were prey. Getting the drop on them was the best way, since they had the advantage with their abilities. It was sometimes as quick as the unsheathing of a blade, screams muffled by a throat filled with blood. Other times, it was a grueling torture for information. Spilling their blood in the hopes that they would spill what they knew. All that blood was on her hands.
She turned to look back at Jack, voice softer, "I was doing what I had to... I didn't know..." that I'd end up here, that things could've been different.
Aurelia
