But Maybe Lucius Will Actually Get LESS Trauma Here ? - Tumblr Posts
THE REVENGE ISN’T FAR AWAY, & izzy begins to return to her as soon as lucius is aboard the tender. the more his shoulders burn, the harder he pulls. the growing ache actually distracts from the sharper pain in his foot, & he endures it without complaint. yet he can’t help but wince at lucius’ question. he has no answer to give. while izzy would truthfully be glad to be rid of the lot of them — they were by far the most pathetic & infuriating crew he’d ever sailed with — that didn’t mean he would delight their slow painful death. besides, he's certain that even if he tried, edward wouldn’t be talked into keeping them aboard in his current state. izzy doesn't want to admit it, but something seems different about his captain’s rage this time, the ire he himself had unleashed. & he fears that lucius is right — that there will be no coming back from this ledge he's pushed them to.
❝ i know he is, ❞ izzy snaps, voice ragged with exertion. the fresh injury on his foot throbs as if to remind him of the risk he's taking in disobeying his captain's orders, & he flinches in spite of himself. ❝ but we don't have much choice, do we ? if you'd rather take your chances with the sharks, you're welcome to jump back in. ❞ there is no lantern lit in the windows of the captain's cabin as they draw near, & the ship is peaceful & quiet. it seems that edward is still lost to his drunken sleep. izzy pulls them alongside until he finds the ladder he'd left waiting. & when he turns back toward lucius his voice is softer, almost gentle, as if he's trying to soothe his nerves. ❝ go, head straight belowdeck. i'll be right behind you. you'll be safe, just stay hidden. ❞
usually lucius would have some things to say about the reassurance he is being offered ( okay, quite a lot of things ). but in this nut case of a situation, while he is still shivering and his throat feels scraped raw, izzy's words don't sound entirely jarring. or unwelcome, even. it's just nice to hear it and even nicer to believe him, as baffling as it might seem: izzy hands is a lot of things, most of them not exactly positive, but lucius supposes he can trust him when it comes to getting out of sticky situations, when it's about improving his chances of survival. and really, they were painfully low before the man showed up like a mirage in the night, before either sharks or fatigue could do the boy in for good. even the usual snark isn't met with too much fuss. lucius simply secures the blanket tighter around himself and when the eye roll comes it's more out of a matter of habit, almost entirely half-hearted, than actual grievance.
it takes being told not to worry, instead, to startle him out of the numbness taking hold of his limbs. it shakes him out of the comforting darkness where what just happened to him is a distant dot on the horizon, a nightmare he simply has to wake up from. ' yeah? and what will happen to them while i hide away in one of stede's ridiculous secret rooms or something? ' voice crushed into a mixture of vitriol and disbelief, lucius edges closer to the side of the little boat, rendered suddenly aware of which side izzy would inevitably take in all of this, when not covered by night and whatever blissful state of ignorance blackbeard has stumbled over. he really should stop there, shut his mouth and wait, do as he is told, yet the memory of fear turns his tongue sharp. ' he is out of his mind, hope you know that. '