spicy bread ,,

[spicyskeleton]

kai suppressed his laughter at the way the other's face had quickly dropped into a look of slight panic and confusion at his joke. he didnt know how the pirate managed to fall for that- not five minutes earlier was he jealous that sebastian was flirting with a woman; perhaps thats why he got jealous in the first place, because he didnt know for sure if the pirate was gay or not- but why would that matter if he had no romantic feelings for him? kai sighed and stopped trying to decipher these weird feelings that he couldnt explain and turn his attention back to the other at his words. he chuckled, recalling how he had been so surprised at everything but the fact that sebastian was a man. him being a human, a pirate, the fact that he could have a soulmate in the first place, there were so many elements except that one. kai opened his mouth to retort some sort of joke but was cut off before he could begin his string of words with his earlier question he had asked himself being answered. "huh," he put an elbow on the table and rested his head on his hand in thought for a moment before continuing his thought, "thats odd. its the exact opposite in xebel.. there, we all kind of like everyone i guess; or we are open to ideas at least. its not rare to see someone who is 'strait' continuously experiment." he smirked lightly and remembered times that he himself had experimented with mermaids- but found that he had no connection with them like he did men. "why are humans like that? life is so much more fun when you dont judge others for who they are with and just jump in." kai wondered exactly how many humans didnt like the ideals that he himself lived by, and then that led to another question: how many humans are there? he stopped the questions in his mind from flowing that were getting him way off topic.

he watched as the pirate studied every human that piddled around the streets of this town and wondered why he was watching them so contently. was he looking for those four men from earlier? or does his crew not know about him? kai said nothing of it and joined the pirate in watching the humans in comfortable silence. it was only a few quiet moments before the pirate turned towards the merman and he waited a pause before doing the same. kai was glad to hear that the other also ate fish and plants like he did, but he apparently didnt have as strict as a diet as he did.

kai lifted his head out of his hand when sebastian offered for him to try the coffee and let out a little 'hm'. it looked absolutely disgusting but he was curious as to how it could wake the body up. "wakes your body up? one time my friend dared me to touch a jellyfish that was bigger than me- with my tail- and i didnt sleep for two days after being shocked by that thing." kai laughed a little as he recalled this certain memory. it was a couple years ago, but the amount of stupid and dangerous things he had done with his friends would always stick with him. he gently took the mug in his hands and welcomed the warmth it offered them but was also put off by the bitter smell. kai slowly took a sip from it and then set it back down and slid it towards the pirate with a shake of his head. "ew gross! its awful." he leaned back in his seat and shoved a piece of bread into his mouth in order to hopefully get the flavor out.

[breadstick]

Sebastian could tell that the merman was suppressing some bouts of laughter after his initial reaction to the other's bluff, and he did, indeed, feel a slight rise in the temperature of his face, potentially accompanied by somewhat of a red tint to his cheeks in either embarrassment or relief that he was reluctant to admit. He huffed, folding his arms in an attempt to look somewhat stoic and angry after being deceived in such a way, but found no genuine weight behind his expression and posture; instead, he, too, was suppressing a laugh. After a moment, he gave up the terse act, returning to his casual position of leaning an elbow on the table and holding up his face with his palm, casually observing both Kai and the civilians who passed by the cafe window, going about their everyday business; keeping a watchful eye for any of his crew members. He turned his gaze attentively to Kai, however, once the other had begun to talk once more; raising an eyebrow in poorly hidden curiousity. He would not have admitted his genuine intrigue before today; and yet, here he was, eager to learn all he could about the merman with no intent of using it for any sort of malicious scheme against the merfolk. He raised both his eyebrows in a gesture of genuine surprise at what his attentiveness earned him; so, it seemed, their culture was more openly accepting to different sexualities than his was. For a moment, he felt a prick of vague jealousy, considering his own situation with his crew, and he twisted his mouth in an attempt to mask the jealousy that he was sure had crept into his gaze. "Sounds like an ideal society." He murmured. "Wish I could say the same for ours." With a somewhat miffed sniff of his nose, before throwing his hands up a little in frustration. "I've got nothin'. I don't know why it's this way. Apparently we're still decidin' whether being gay is punishable by death in some places - and they're concludin', yeah, it is, for some damn reason." His voice rapidly becoming more agitated, he placed his hands on the table in an attempt to contain himself. He breathed in and exhaled deeply, clenching his jaw. "Places like this ain't so bad. We got the bare minimum, at least. Not equal footing, but it's better than nothin'." He murmured, before huffing a bitter laugh, realising how carried away he had become in his anger. He mumbled a quiet, hurried apology under his breath, lowering his head a little in slight embarrassment.

He listened to the story Kai told with intrigue; the pirate found himself enjoying the small details into his upbringing more than he would have liked to admit. He winced subconsciously at the thought of a jellyfish stinging him; he couldn't have imagined what it would have been like for the merman, with the perpetrator being a supposedly larger jellyfish. He raised an eyebrow in amusement, sharing the enthusiasm the other had for telling such ultimately inconsequential stories; ones that, despite their fleeting presence, Sebastian appreciated. "Maybe not quite as extreme as that." He muttered with a smirk, staring at the mug once more. "It's supposed to give you an energy boost for a few hours, that's all." He added, feeling the sudden need to clarify what it actually did for the body as opposed to being literally shocked by a jellyfish like Kai had compared it to. It most certainly would not be as effective as that; and that, Sebastian was sure of.

And yet, when Kai tried the coffee he had been so happily sipping away at by himself, he couldn't help but splutter a laugh, throwing his head back to do so; unmasked, unabashed - simply pure amusement at the reaction the other had had to the bitter drink. His expression heralded a wide grin, a bright gaze that conveyed laughter so genuine; he wasn't sure of the last time he had felt such a thing. As he lowered his head once more, his smile had dimmed to something akin to a playful smirk, before he reached his hand out to take hold of the coffee for himself. "Ah, well. More for me, I s'pose." He teased, bringing it to his lips and sipping for a long moment before swallowing and arching an eyebrow, staring the other in the eye as he brought the mug back down on the wooden table. "I ain't surprised, if I'm honest. I know my fair share of people who'd rather drink somethin' straight from a dog's mouth than this." He reassured the merman with a teasing grin. "I personally like it, though." He leaned back in his chair once more, casually, feeling himself flushed with the pure genuine laughter he had just a few second before expressed.

[spicyskeleton]

kai was surprised to hear sebastians tone shift into a more intense and angry vibe. it wasnt the blinding fury he had often seen the other exhibit but more muted frustration. he didnt think it would have been such a big deal as to be punished by death, he had been expecting more of a few dirty looks from humans at the most. he let out a small 'hm' after the pirate had finished his small rant about the society he lived in and tapped his finger against the table. kai was shocked to hear that sexuality was a large problem with humans but as long as it didnt affect him directly he didnt care; it was something that he would leave the humans to squabble about. he agreed with the pirates statement about this small town, the lady at the counter was very quick to assume that the two were romantically involved and hadnt made a large deal out of it. kai looked away from sebastian and back out the window with the decision to leave this conversation behind them; seb obviously was upset with the way humans handled this and kai didnt want to provoke this anger anymore. instead he sat in silence until the coffee was brought back up.

he turned his head back to the pirate and allowed a playful frown to pull across his lips. "well thats boring. i was expecting something more hardcore, whats the point if you only get a few hours of energy?" it was a rhetorical question but he left it open ended assuming that sebastian might answer it; the man had a habit of talking whenever he had the chance. kai ate the last piece of bread that was left leaving only the wrapper and meat left. he was glad it was finally gone, the only reason he had eaten it was to appease sebastian and to retain some sustenance until he could find some time to find himself a decent meal. he couldnt wait to return to the ocean, but he also wanted to stay with sebastian and get to know him more; he figured the pirate wouldnt exactly be happy if he saw kai in his true form while they talked. he would just have to suck it up and sacrifice his comfort zone in order to appease the other.

kai snapped out of his thoughts with the others laughter and welcomed a smile to creep onto his face. it warmed kai to know that sebastian was genuinely happy at the moment with his presence; that was progress if he had ever seen any. this whole time the two had been together he hadnt seen the other completely open up to the mermans life and traditions and actually be happy during the whole thing. he smirked and shook his head lightly, "if you like it then go right ahead. i will gladly stick with water next time.. i dont think im fit for human foods and drinks." kai smiled and looked out the window once more to see if anything new caught his sight- and something did. a human walking down the sidewalk with a small animal with a rope attached to it. he tilted his head in question at the sight of the small fluffy animal that seemed to enjoy its time walking down the street with the human. kai figured it must be some sort of pet, merfolk didnt have pets but they did have their seahorses that could be considered a pet in some ways. they never kept any sort of creature in captivity or trapped in any way, merpeople respected the ocean and all of its creatures which led to pets being frowned upon. he turned back to examine the inside of the place they were in and was surprised to see many more humans had slowly piled in. he shifted in seat, suddenly becoming uncomfortable with the amount of humans that surrounded him. kai turned his eyes to meet sebastians in hopes that he could ignore everyone else in the room and focus on the one before him.

[breadstick]

Sebastian noticed the change in the other’s demeanour to becoming a little more tense as he had spoken on the society he lived in, but was almost glad to welcome the lack of response he received. He was not willing to discuss it for any longer than he really needed to if he had the opportunity to; but was more than happy to let the conversation lull into a simple, small silence as the two observed the outside world from behind a glass barrier; he supposed that was the best way to let Kai discover the world as it was. He simply smiled a little, contentedly, letting the world pass him and Kai by as though they had no lasting impact on the world. Leaning back on his chair casually, he had failed to recognise that the volume of people in the cafe was slowly increasing - and, in a positive correlation, so was Kai’s unease about the whole scenario. Crowded atmospheres were something he was entirely used to; and it seemed like a change so inconsequential to the discussions the two had held. Eventually, he finished up his coffee with a gulp that was probably too large for what he could handle, but found himself not caring in the slightest nonetheless, instead simply swallowing in two lots and setting the coffee down.

The pirate eventually turned to address what was probably a rhetorical question - but if he was known for anything, it most certainly was not shutting up when the time demanded it. He shrugged gently, placing an arm in the table before him as he watched Kai momentarily, then speaking. “When you’re like me, and you just don’t sleep well, this” - with a gesture with his fingers to tap the mug with a ting, repeated a couple of times for effect - “is a life saver, let me tell you.” He murmured, eventually leaning back to where he had been originally positioned, glancing around the cafe and finally noticing that there were more people milling around than Kai was probably comfortable with. At the other’s next comment, he turned his head back to face Kai, smirking a little in the aftermath of the laugh he had so unabashedly expressed. “Sure. Someday I’ll find you somethin’ you like, I’ll bet you.” He teased, almost tempted for a moment to reach out and ruffle the other’s hair, but catching himself in the process of thought before he could enact such a thing. Aside from a couple of mild touches here and there - with their first meeting with the bullet wound not counting in Sebastian’s mind - he hadn’t really expressed any desire to do so with the other, and he would assume that Kai would not be all too comfortable with the gesture, either - despite how mundane it seemed to him. So, he kept him hands on the table for a moment, before glancing out of the window once more at the ever growing population of people.

After another few moments of staring peacefully out into the crowd of people going about their daily lives, so mundane and oblivious to so many of the things he - and the merman before him - had experienced, he found himself turning back to Kai, who was looking increasingly tense and uncomfortable with the more people arriving in the cafe. He blinked for a moment, making the connection in his mind before nodding to himself and gesturing to the back of him, towards the door. “D’you think it’s about time I took you back to your ... place of residence?” He murmured, keeping it specifically vague to avoid any turned heads if he said something that indicated anything out of the usual, masking it as a mock formality. It was not a gesture for anything of his own self-interest - which momentarily went unnoticed by the pirate - but rather an uncommon act of consideration for the other’s increasing anxiety with the number of people sitting around them. He met Kai’s watchful eyes for a moment, finding that they had moved to stare at him for the time being, most likely to preoccupy himself with something while all the humans milled around like there was nothing unusual about their day - and found that the action tugged at some part in his gut he had not known existed. He tried a small smile of reassurance, before turning his gaze away, finding the intensity in his gaze - perhaps unbeknownst to Kai himself - was having more of an effect on Sebastian than he had known was possible, feeling somewhat dizzy as he gazed into his eyes. He cleared his throat, leaning a hand on the back of the chair as though he was prepared to leave at any moment’s notice.

[spicyskeleton]

kai smirked lightly at the others confidence that he could find a human food that would suit the merman. he put his elbows on the table and leaned forward to study sebastian before speaking, "you seem pretty damn confident in that one, ill take you up on that bet." he leaned back in his chair after addressing the others bet and offered a smile. he didnt want to like human foods, they seemed to out of the ordinary for him but he wanted to see what pirate thought he would like. so far kai had no interest in human food after his experience with them and the way that sebastian described them didnt excite him either. he couldnt help but wonder what his acquaintances back home would say if they knew what kai was out here doing; he would like to think that some wouldnt think of him any different.

kai found himself becoming more and more tense with the amount of humans taking seats around them. he rolled his shoulders back in an attempt to relieve some stress but found that it did nothing. he turned his head towards the glass and sighed quietly with the realization that he might never get used to being around humans; then again this is his first time being around a bunch of them at once. he watched the humans walk up and down the street but could feel the presence of the others around him, making him feel trapped in this small shop. kai shook his head and turned to sebastian in hopes that he could take his mind off the other humans if he focused on this one. he carefully traced the others features with his eyes and realized that he was more handsome than he had recognized- especially when he was in a happier mood. kai felt as though his gaze was locked with the pirates for a few quick seconds and he saw the slightest change in the others facial expression, though something he didnt recognize.

kai didnt realize he had been staring at sebastian until the words spilled from his mouth. he blinked in response until fully registering what the pirate had said and he pulled his gaze away. "i think that would be best." he said quietly and stood up quickly in hopes that he could escape the company of humans. it was nice to know that seb had noticed his comfort slowly fading away and said anything before kai had to- he wanted to blend in and be as flexible as possible but baby steps would work better with him. kai grabbed his trash and dumped it in the trashcan behind his chair and then quickly made his way out the door. he waited outside beside the street for sebastian to catch up; the merman had practically ran out of the cafe.

[breadstick]

Sebastian couldn’t say he was surprised at the sudden movement the other made as soon as he had spoken, but he had not realised that the effect the humans unknowingly surrounding a merman had on Kai was that agggressive. He had all but launched himself out of his chair and disposed of the waste as quickly as he could, and bolted out of the door. For a moment, Sebastian felt a wave of worry crash down upon him, realising just how much the other might panic even when he was outside of the establishment, with the growing number of people outside, too; and the fact that he had potentially walked further from the door so Sebastian could not find him. He sighed softly before placing his mug on the side where a few other plates had accumulated, and left the door with a quick wave to the waitress he had been supposedly flirting with earlier. He didn’t want to see if she had responded to his gesture; he simply limped out of the door, having grabbed his support on his way out of his chair to aid him in getting up. A wheelchair might have been more appropriate for his injury, but he had been so stubborn when he had realised he wouldn’t be able to walk properly for a very long time, and he did not want to be out of action for so long - so he had eventually decided he’d rather work with what he had.

Cursing himself now, he made his way out of the cafe door and glanced around for a moment, deciding not to get too panicked before he couldn’t see Kai anywhere, and his patience was rewarded; Kai wasn’t too far away from where they had been in the cafe, and in response to this revelation he breathed a sigh of absolute relief. Making his way slowly towards the clearly startled merman, he raised an eyebrow as he approached him, stopping just before him. “You could’ve waited at least for a moment,” He muttered, although his tone was light-hearted. “I ain’t as capable at walking as you are, as I’m sure you’ve noticed.” The comment turned slightly bitter in his voice, leaving a bitter taste in the back of his throat when he referred to the inevitably noticeable injury he bore.

He glanced at the other and then simply shrugged his shoulders lightly. “Alright. I’ll getch’a back to your cove.” He muttered, swiftly moving the subject along from what it had lingered on for a moment, before moving along past Kai, gently brushing against his shoulder - it wasn’t a conscious act, but it was one that had its effect upon Sebastian nonetheless, with a moment where he was about to apologise - but realising, eventually, doing so would do no good. It would be better to let him think it was an accident unbeknownst to Sebastian himself. He limped down the street slowly, but about as fast as he could manage. He hugged a gruff sigh as he walked along, before turning his head to check for himself that Kai was, indeed, following him; hoping that he would trust the pirate enough to get him back to where he felt most comfortable, with minimal human contact. He couldn’t help but wonder, for the moment, why he seemed so uncomfortable with humans - but seemed so relatively comfortable when in his presence, considering that, if any human was to have the capability of hurting him, it would be Sebastian himself. “Are you alright?” He murmured after a simple moment, referring to how tense and uncomfortable he had been.

[spicyskeleton]

kai stood relatively close to the road but made sure to watch out for any vehicles that were speeding by. being out in the open released some of the tension that had built up in his muscles and made him feel a bit better, though he had never been this nerve racked around humans like he was now. he had felt so trapped in the small building and feared that if the humans were to turn on him then he would not be able to find a way out, but now kai welcomed the open space around him. the humans that walked by him barely gave him a second glance which encouraged his nerves to be calmed.

at the sound of sebastian’s voice behind him kai jumped and turned around quickly. he chuckled at his own ability to be scared so easily and at the pirates statement. he had completely forgotten that the other had a much harder time moving as quickly as he did- he had just wanted to get out of the cafe as quickly as possible. “oh yeah, sorry.” he muttered and paused to look down at sebastian’s missing leg. he had been meaning to ask what happened but feared that the subject might be touchy; but now was a perfect time to ask. kai opened his mouth to speak but quickly shut it when the pirate starting crutching away in the direction he assumed was the cove he had taken residence at. the sudden contact of the pirates shoulder hitting his made him look up from where he had been occupying his eyes to see if it was an accident or some type of way to get his attention. sebastian didn’t seem to notice which made kai assume it was a simple accident, and he followed in step behind the pirate. he had only taken a few steps from his original spot before finally asking the question that had been bothering him since day one- “so what happened to your leg anyway? just curious.” he looked over at sebastian to catch any sort of negative reaction.

kai walked beside sebastian in silence after the question had left his mouth and watched the others around him walk the opposite way. they were like two fish swimming up stream, but the amount of humans wasn’t nearly as many in a school of fish. he hummed quietly and focused on memorizing the things around him such as buildings and street signs. if he were to stay here a while he would have to know his way back to his small area without needing help. kai looked over at sebastian and thought for a second about the others question and a proper response. to be honest he didn’t know what happened back there and there wasn’t any explanation he could come up with besides feeling trapped with humans. “yeah, i’m fine. i don’t really know what happened honestly, just all of a sudden i felt trapped and out of place.” kai thought about all the reasons as to why he was hit with that sudden feeling of panic and could only come up with questions to ask himself: had he been away from the ocean for to long and was panicking because of that? had he been so focused on sebastian he didn’t realize the amount of humans that had slowly piled in? kai scoffed at these and shook his head, whatever it was had passed and he was going back somewhere he was comfortable; that was all that mattered.

[breadstick]

Sebastian narrowed his eyes quietly as the other made no reaction to the slight nudge he had given Kai, realising that it had probably gone unnoticed. He turned back at the sound of the other responding to his light hearted comment, glancing back at him with a small smirk, about to respond with another jibe - but before he could do so, Kai asked the inevitable. He paused for a moment, tensing up involuntarily, still walking, before turning back to face the front, watching where he was going. "Was wonderin' when you'd end up askin' that." He murmured, slight humour to his voice: although, it had become comparibly curt and terse when compared with the tone he had used to address the other had he had walked out of the cafe. "Truth is, Kai, I don't actually know. Got amnesia from whatever incident it was, and I can't remember even months before that, and about a month after." He explained, his tone somewhat guarded as he did so. "Funny how the mind deals with physical trauma, huh?" He shrugged a little, nonchalantly, a small huff escaping through his mouth as he thought on the subject. It was a weird feeling, having almost six months missing from his memory - and so many things people had alluded to, Sebastian had simply not remembered. It was a bittersweet feeling; he knew that the entire ordeal was probably for the best, that he would probably not want those memories plaguing the back of his mind - but he was still angry at the fact that he knew nothing about what had happened. “Nobody tells me a consistent story about it,” He added with a simple frown. “Most of my crewmates tell me different things. Don’t know what they’re hidin’, and if I’m honest, I don’t think I want to know - not now, anyway.” He paused once more, before cracking a smile in a contrast to his terse behaviour when speaking on the subject. “My favourite story they told me was from this one kid, the youngest in the crew - Daniel - he told me one time I’d fallen off the deck and had it bitten off by a shark. Clearly, that’s not what happened.” He said with a roll of his eyes. He had been sailing with them for a whole decade and he had never fallen off the ship before - and it simply seemed like slapstick, to him, that he would have a single leg bitten off by a conveniently placed shark. The thought prompted a small chuckle from the pirate as he walked, glancing back to the corner of his peripheral vision to ensure that the merman was still following him closely.

Looking up to the sky for a moment, he hummed in the back of his throat as he thought on how to formulate his next words. The sky was no longer streaked with different colours, but now more a consistent blue, with puffy clouds dotting the sky as though it was a plague. The sight was somewhat calming to him, but also brought him a slight sense of awareness and alertness; his crew would be moulding into the crowd of people around the town and going about their thieving business - so he would have to be careful of where he stood from now on, until he returned. Their suspicions were already alerted; seeing him travelling with some man they had never seen would be sure to awaken a multitude of questions he was not prepared to answer. For a moment, he paused his humming, before returning his gaze to the ground once more, watching where he was stepping carefully. “Funny thing about those memories I lost,” He began. “The last thing I remember from what I lost, the crew was almost double the size it is now. We’re still a decent size, but nobody even mentions where the rest of them went. Every time I ask, they avoid it like the plague. It’s frustratin’,” He added with a bitter huff. “I wish people would just tell me. It ain’t like I’m gonna be particularly hurt by anythin’ they say.” He muttered, his voice trailing off into a grumbling rant under his breath.

Sebastian glanced up again when he heard the other answer his previous question, and he smiled quietly at the answer. At least he was okay - the pirate was not entirely sure why he concerned himself with the merman’s wellbeing, but he nonetheless found himself not entirely concerned with the issue. “Only natural, I s’pose,” He murmured in response, his voice picking up in volume slightly. “I’d imagine you’ve never been around that many humans before. You handled it pretty well, despite everythin’.” He added, briefly smiling as he turned to face the other directly. He glanced up to the horizon, seeing the sea appearing into view; it was a comforting sight to him, even as a human - he could barely imagine the relief that Kai might feel seeing it, with the knowledge that this was where he was always supposed to be. It was his comfort zone, after all; and as much as Sebastian was glad that he had pushed himself out of it, for once, he realised that there was very little stopping him from never doing it again, if he had all he needed in the ocean. They’d cross that bridge when they came to it; for now, Sebastian simply gestured to the ocean in the distance and murmured, “Almost there.”

[spicyskeleton]

kai found himself listening intently to sebastians story with a blank face. he noticed sebastian immediately become more stiff as the two moved after the question had left his mouth, cluing him in that he was right; this was a touchy subject. nonetheless it had already been said and the pirate had already began his story so nothing to do about it now. it intrigued him even more to find out what happened since the other had no clue either- but that was virtually impossible if sebastian couldnt even find out himself. he wondered as to why the pirate crew wouldnt tell one of their own what the story behind his missing leg was, to kai it seemed like that was sebastians information if anyone was to have it. thats pirates for you, he thought to himself knowing that if he said it out loud the other would definitely take offense. "thats.. weird. maybe it was an accident- like you tripped and fell on a saw or something and it cut off your leg, and they didnt tell you to save you from the embarrassment. or you got an infection and they had to cut it off but wanted to make a big mystery out of it and lead you on to create drama in your life." kai said with a smirk in order to possibly relieve some of the tension sebastian had suddenly experienced. he smiled at the shark story but knew that was most likely false like the pirate had said- sharks rarely ate humans even if one dropped right in front of it. he would have had to of been bleeding or the shark would have to be starved and more likely than not the chance of that happening was slim.

he made sure to stay relatively close to sebastian as the two walked down the street so he could hear what the pirate had to say; but something he said twisted kai's stomach in a way that he hoped was just his imagination taking him places. as sebastian spoke of his crew drastically decreasing the only thought came to his mind and that was his people. pirates more often than not died due to other fights with pirates or merfolk attacks and something about the story seemed to add up to kai in a way that hurt his head. anytime a pirate ship got relatively close to xebel merfolk would attack without mercy, and a lot of times ended in many casualties, sometimes for both sides. he hoped in his mind that it was not one of his own that had taken sebastians leg but another pirate or an accident, but with that thought in mind he was glad the whole ordeal was kept a secret from the other; if this were to be a merfolk attack the pirate might go back to resenting kai for what he was and they had only just began to accept each other. he coughed and let out a small "hm." in response to show that he was listening but not exactly ready to respond. he let a few moments pass before finally speaking, "sounds agitating. perhaps one day they will tell you.." kai trailed off as he spoke and turned his eyes forward.

kai was glad that the subject had moved onto another topic that worried him less. "i suppose your right. i dont know if ill ever get used to it, honestly." he said with a glance at the pirate. he was so easily comforted by this human yet around all others he seemed completely lost and unnerved by any other. this feeling alone was disturbing and he wondered what exactly was happening to him; being on land had to be messing with his head. kai perked when he looked up and saw the ocean glinting on the horizon; he felt his heart leap and he exhaled in relief- it felt like it had been forever since water touched his skin. he wished that he could walk faster and scurry along but he continued to pace himself beside sebastian. the closer they neared the end of the street he could see the dock at which the ship sat floating on the waves and he could slightly see the outline of the pirates. kai quickly looked away in order to retain himself from making any sort of snarky comment about them and instead looked over at sebastian. he was grateful that he had recognized his longing to be back by the water and had acted quickly to get him there but didnt exactly know how to say it, so he just left it there.

[breadstick]

As much as the pirate had been reluctant to discuss the subject that had he had become so used to mulling over, in the moment’s after he had told Kai what had been on his mind for so long, now, he felt a sense of relief work its way through him. It occurred to him that he had never told anyone about his frustrations, the way he struggled to come to terms with the loss of his leg and half of his crew - with those included in said half being the friends who had become so closely associated with this town in particular. And yet, here Kai was; a seemingly sturdy support in the form of a merman. It was hardly orthodox, and Sebastian would have been the first to admit that he would rather die than share such things that plagued his mind with someone of such a caliber - but something within him simply compelled him to trust him more than he had trusted anyone in several years - beyond even his own crewmates. He glanced upwards as he heard the other beginning to speak on the matter, realising that his attention had been entirely focused upon the ground in the time after he had spoken. He was greeted with a quip that served to completely soothe any and all anxieties about telling Kai such a personal thing; and, in return, he simply chuckled, feeling the tension ebbing from his muscles a little at the action. He appreciated the merman not looking at him with any pity - he had seen enough of those looks on the deck, all too often, even almost a year on from the incident - but rather looking at him with a mild amusement as he spoke. It certainly made a nice change for the pirate; piteous looks never did anything to aid anyone, and they lost any and all sentiment almost immediately as they were used.

From his soft chuckle came a small grunt of agreement in the back of his mind, the smile that remained from the humorous action softening into a small but still noticeable smirk. “Huh. Still more plausible than whatever the hell Daniel was gettin’ at.” He commented, shaking his head as he thought of the boy in question. The two were close - it felt more like Sebastian was his older brother more than a crewmate - and it would be more likely that he would spend time joking around and telling the other stories that may be the truth, or may simply be balderdash that came to his mind, and he likely would not have been able to tell the difference. He gave a fond chuckle at the thought of his story; perhaps it had been a way to give him a sense of repayment after he had told him so many of his own fake tales. He had become a sort of source for comfort after he had lost those who he would usually occupy his time with - and yet it was hard to deny that his youthful immaturity was not still prevalent. Glancing back up to Kai as he heard the other talk once more, the smile widened as the other seemed to empathise with his plight - rather than simply pity him - and he nodded an agreement in response. “Yeah. I hope so too. It ain’t the most pleasant thing in the world.” He said with a nonchalant shrug. “But it ain’t the worst.” He cast a quick look in the other’s direction, and noticed that he had become particularly tense; though, for what reason, Sebastian could not think why. Glancing once more into the horizon, he noticed a few figures moving about upon his ship, and he recognised a few people on it - Al, Daniel, Maria - and realised that perhaps the reason why the other was becoming so tense was because there were more pirates nearby - more than he was comfortable with. The thought would be nothing new, he supposed, so he decided against commenting upon it, lest it drag up a feud between the two once more.

As the two moved onto a more comfortable subject for the both of them, Sebastian felt himself relaxing marginally further, although the contents of what the merman had said did prick some worry within the pirate’s gut. If he could never get used to being around a lot of humans, it spared very little room as to what future they did have together; Sebastian could not live underwater, for obvious reasons, so their only real hope was the town that they had walked through together. If they could not manage to cope with that - what did the future hold? Despite the topic having some uncomfortable connotations to it, he simply shrugged them off with a nod of his head. “Eh, you never know.” He murmured. “I’d assume that’s only the first time you’ve ever been in a place populated by so many humans. There’s still time.” He looked at Kai directly now, searching his expression for anything that would imply otherwise; but all that was present there now was an overwhelming sense of relief and the slight twinge of agitation - probably caused by the sight of the pirates milling around on the ship’s deck.