Chapter 21: Chapter 19
Legit crying at how terrible this is at this rate. I dont have the motivation to write it anymore. But I promised my characters id finish it and by god, I will. Stay healthy guys. The virus is in my city and it makes me nervous. Stay healthy out there.
_________________________________________
"Tell me about your home," Axel suddenly stated, rolling over from where the rest of the normal men were. Ne'igalo was surprised that he was even awake at this time, his muscles must've been killing him. Ever since the first day, Axel had been adamant at being near him when everyone else stayed miles away. He talked a lot, though, as he worked. He babbled about sharper, higher mountains and cold, icy snow. Ne'gialo had never known what snow was, much less a mountain.
When he'd first arrived, he was still green to land and had gotten so sick every time he'd thought of home. The land just didn't move right, it dried out his fins and was too cold. As he was hauled closer to the mountains, snow had started falling onto his bare shoulders and it'd scared him. He'd huddled close to his friend as it fell. He'd faced massive hurricanes that wreaked havoc on their home boats, but he'd never been so cold before. Violent tremors erupted through his entire body.
But Mountain folk were different, just as he'd heard the stories. They lived in places where winters were cold and summers were boiling hot. But Ne'igalo could imagine how homesick Axel was as he rambled. Ne'igalo had been homesick until his people started getting sick and dying by the dozens. After his friends passed, Ne'igalo had finally accepted that that was his fate as well. When he overexerted himself, blood would drip down his nose just as it had with the others.
"Sleep," Ne'igalo sighed, facing the much larger man with a quirked eyebrow. "You're going to want all the sleep you can get. We've got to send up four loads tomorrow to stay on track."
"You never tell me much," Axel commented, his beautiful blue eyes focused on Ne'igalo's tired face. "Ugh, four loads is going to kill my back."
"I'll tell you, if you tell me how your hair is so red," Ne'igalo admitted. "Your hair is fascinating. How is it red?"
Axel grinned at him. "It's called ginger. It's a trait passed down from the ancient times. Almost my whole family is red-headed though, merely genetics. The Capital makes my red hair look normal. It isn't too rare."
"You are though. I've gotten used to men with short hair after a while, but the hair is always brown and black. Just like home… but not red."
"Is it normal for your hair to be long then?"
Ne'igalo nodded simply. "Traditional. During the season when Triton defeated the monsters of our sea, we decorate our hair and thank him for his sacrifices. We keep our hair long to honor him. And my people believe that hair is a gift from our parents. Cutting it is disgracing the ones who brought us into the world."
"Triton, huh? Who is he?"
Ne'igalo glared. "Our god. The waters we once sailed used to be littered with great beasts. They brought our home ships down with their long tendril arms. So Triton destroyed them and gifted us with life. He fought for hundreds of years, clearing the way as we started to change to join him on the water."
"Sounds amazing. Have you ever met Triton?" Axel asked innocently, rolling onto his back. Somewhere near the torch, one of the men coughed.
"When I was born, my parents said he'd come aboard our ship to gift me the power to bring life into the world," Ne'igalo answered simply, pressing his hand against his abdomen. "I was one of the last of the Triton males, and a decedent of Triton himself afterwards. Triton males only appear in times of great need, so they're always a bad omen. They named me appropriately."
"Now that sounds interesting. Do Triton males have bigger ankle fins, or stronger gills?"
Ne'igalo shook his head, staring at the side of Axel's face. "No, we can get pregnant even when all the women are infertile. That's our purpose."
"Woah, now that's something," Axel stated with a lopsided smile. "So you're technically female."
"Not exactly. Most Triton males have a hard time existing in any gender. They're very fluid. Most were feminine in personality, and so, they were treated as women more often. Triton males are a gift from our god, but they were also, fearsome and unnerved even our most accepting of men. As soon as I walked, though, I knew that I was a boy even though I had half of the female reproductive system. Most didn't even know I was a Triton Male until I was married off to the son from another clan. I achieved all my accomplishments as a male, and was recognized until my secret was released."
Someone coughed nearby, whispering under his breath. "Freak."
Axel glared in the direction of the voice, but the owner never popped his head up. "Doesn't matter what everyone says Ne', I'm calling you Ne' from now on as well. I watched my best friend get ridiculed for being different, but he was the only one who stood a chance when everyone else failed. I personally think it's really awesome how you broke your image to become stronger. Your god, Triton, chose well."
"You sound like my mother," Ne' commented.
"Is she still around?"
Ne' shook his head. "Our people used women and men equally as warriors. She had boarded the boat with her own followers when the men came, and… she never made it off alive. She was the one who had convinced me to attempt the two-year voyage."
"She sounded fierce."
Ne'igalo smiled sadly. "She was. She carried the Trident. A godly gift from Triton when the seas started to change. The Trident held immense power over the water, but if you weren't worthy, it'd tear you apart. My mother wielded it as her mother had before. It was destroyed alongside her. What about your mother?"
"She's alive, I think. Somewhere on the surface. She wasn't as mighty as your mom though. She had eight children and took in whoever needed to be taken in. She was weak, but she was terribly kindhearted. My father fell in love with her for that, and then my step father too, after dad's death."
"You had two fathers?"
Axel nodded. "Dad died in an accident when I was younger. He left behind my two eldest brothers and younger sister. Mom remarried when I was ten, and had four more kids. Two didn't survive getting captured."
"I'm sorry," Ne'igalo stated honestly. "It must've been hard on you."
"I was so close to grabbing them, to," Axel continued quietly, his voice growing smaller with each word. As Ne' looked into his eyes, the red-headed boy was far away once more. "They were running towards me when they died. I can still hear Alexander crying for me when I go to sleep. Like it's on a permanent loop. He was 2 when he died. Marissa was 4. But I was so close to reaching them, and then the men rode by on their cursed horses with their blades leveled. I watched… Alexander's head roll off his shoulders and bounced to the ground. It rolled right up to my foot, his still eyes peered up at me. Marissa bled to death right there beside him in my arms. I raised my younger siblings most of the time, mom was always busy. I taught those two their first words. Taught them how to swim. And then they were gone before I could even reach them. They were there and they were gone."
Ne' reached a hand out to his arm, he squeezed it gently. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't kill them."
"I thought I was strong," Axel admitted, but his voice was choked by tears. It was too dark for Ne' to see, but he didn't doubt that Axel could see him perfectly. Mountain people were like that. "I took on bears and brought home enough food for weeks, and I thought I'd be strong enough to keep my family and the one I loved safe. I couldn't even save our chief, she was slaughtered right in front of me. It showed me that I was completely useless in the end."
Ne' didn't know what to say after that. He was stuck between another I'm sorry, or another it wasn't his fault, but he couldn't utter a word. Their situation was inhumane and unfair.
"The Warriors don't fight fair, Axel. In any other situation, you would have been enough."
"Tian did more damage than I could ever think of doing. He summoned wolves to fight for him, wolves. Marie's mother had always warned me to not even touch him. Not to love him because he belonged to someone else. Yet, he was my best friend and… he controlled wolves when all I could do was cry." Axel shook his head, a fist forming at his side.
"Who did he belong to? I didn't know mountain people had slaves."
"No, it was some dumb prophecy thing. Not slavery. The elder was a firm believer in her preminicions. The protector of the Kukouk she'd said. Because Tian was half. Every time I wanted to tell Tian that I loved him, the elder was there, giving me a cold look. I felt helpless. I felt helpless watching them beat him to, just because his blood was different than theirs."
"People are like that," Ne' answered softly, looking back at the boy. "You love him though. Fuck prophecies, tell him Axel. When you escape from here, tell him you love him."
Ne' couldn't explain the ache deep in his chest as he said that. It made him sick thinking about this other, faceless boy that had captured Axel's attention so thoroughly. It wasn't the first time that Axel had talked about him, but Ne' had never known that the boy was half Kukouk. And Axel was in love with that boy. Ne' could never compare to someone so powerful and steadfast. Ne' shook his head aggressively, he was being an idiot again. Widows don't think of other men, even years after. They didn't know each other enough for Ne' to be falling for him already. It was just because Axel was nice, no one had acknowledged him, much less touched him for a long time. All Ne' had wanted was for someone to see him and talk to him. That's all their relationship was.
"He's met the guy though, the one who protects the people," Axel laughed bitterly. "And the guy is amazing, he protected him where I couldn't. Patched him up and I'm sure wherever Tian is, he's keeping him safe. That's something I could never do."
The tunnels whispered with voices once more, scuttling around and screeching before disappearing back into the deeper parts.
"What does your name mean? You said earlier that they named you well?"
Ne' laughed bitterly, rubbing the tears that threatened to form in his eyes. "It's an old name from polynesian culture. It meant Unforgettable Pain. Get some sleep," Ne' finally settled on.
"You'll feel better in the morning. The nightmares will pass. You need your sleep Axel."
Axel chuckled quietly, rolling away from Ne'. "They haven't for you, have they?"
"No. If they did, who would ever remember my people existed in the first place?"
☆ ☆ ☆
"Ne'igalo!" His mother screamed as she ran for the hutch. The ship ahead of them was massive, with a huge stern side and massive sails. It didn't look anything like their home ships. It wasn't as flat, but bowed like the land walker's ships.
Their people were turning tail and raising their sails, but the wind was dead at this time of day. They couldn't travel fast. His mother, though, wielded her massive trident. She thrust it into the air, and her followers hollered before diving into the water.
The woman slammed the trident down against the deck of their home boat, and it splintered. Ne'igalo was thrown into the water, the shock overwhelming him briefly. His lungs shut down by instinct as he began breathing through his gills. Under water, he could see his mother and people rushing towards the bow. Men sat around the boat with massive nets attached to tiny propelled boats. They straddled them before surging forward, dragging nets along the water and scooping up those that didn't escape fast enough.
Ne'igalo shot down towards the bottom of the ocean, alongside many of their people. He could hear screams vibrating amongst the currents and stopped to look up at the nets. They'd already snagged quite a few of his people, dragging them up the sides of the boat like mindless schools of fish. Small hooks were being shot down into the water like needles. Bodies dropped into the water from the boat as it approached fast. Ne'igalo watched his own father fall with gaping holes in his chest.
Harpoons struck those all around him, and their blood exploded throughout the water. Someone had grabbed him around his waist and in his panic, he'd lashed out and flared his fins.
"Ne'!" His tribal husband cursed close to his ear. The water was so disrupted that he could barely hear his partner's voice. The man's black silky hair was spread around his head like a curtain, he'd never even had the chance to tie it back. "We have to run. Come on, we have to get our people out of here!"
His tribal husband shot off, his strong muscles carrying him further than ever before. Ne' struggled to catch up until a harpoon strung him right through the ankle. He screamed out from the shock and pain before being drug upwards out of the water. He thrashed on the hook, trying to get the large end free from his bone. Tears threatened to seep through his eyelids, but he was too scared to let them go. He could feel his bones groaning against the weight that hung from them.
His husband turned around then, eyes widening as he watched Ne' get dragged upwards. Even as the fastest swimmer, he didn't reach Ne'igalo in time. His hand was an inch from the smaller boy's wrists. The boy was hefted out of the water and drug up the side of the boat thrashing and wailing. All around them, nets were being pulled up with more and more of his people. As he lay bleeding out on the docks, he turned to meet his mother's eyes. He could tear his gaze away from the massive gaping wound in her chest, the trident long gone. She must've thrown it into the water once she'd realized she was going to die. She didn't move from where she'd collapsed, and Ne' couldn't tell if it was the shock of the wound keeping her alive or his imagination.
"Mom!" Ne'igalo screamed, trying to drag himself over to her side. But the harpoon hook held him in place as the men came around to count. They started to chain those they could reach. He was drug to one of the large masts and chained to a bunch of others.
"Throw the bitch in," one of the men stated before his mother was picked up and thrown over the edge to join his father among the currents.
"Get the phosphor ready. We don't need those slippery bastards reaching out for help."
They unloaded barrels and barrels of an acidic powder into the water. As soon as it got wet, it expanded outwards reaching even into the depths. What Ne'igalo hadn't known then, was that the phosphor powder had drowned all his people in the water, where his people weren't supposed to drown. They thrashed and choked before dying horrendous deaths while he lay on the deck of the ship with a harpoon lodged through his ankle. Bodies started floating to the top like dead fish, overturned and unmoving. Hundreds of bodies. The Phosphor powder had killed over half of his people. Among them, the dolphins that the children played with breached amongst hundreds and hundreds of fish.
"Damn, they certainly breed like fish. Look at that, we have at least two hundred of those bastards on board, and we still managed to weed out more in the water."
The massacre still brought his own sets of nightmares. And memories. His people had once been the biggest and strongest tribes of the seven seas. They were all descendants of Triton, his chosen warriors. Now, Ne' stood alone and his tribe was reduced to nothing but the ghosts that crept along the tunnel walls.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone