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finnified · 4 months

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it was the first time in what feels like months that finneas has been down to the beach unsupervised.

it wasn’t that his friends meant to restrain him, obviously, and he knew that- it was simply that half of them were creatures from the ocean, and the other half were intimately familiar with the consequences of his wandering habits. so, whenever he needed the sea air to right his thoughts and order his steps, he’d grown used to being accompanied by joanna’s delicate steps or lazuli’s absent chatter.

tonight was different, though- finneas was quietly, blissfully unaccompanied. jo and inigo were off the island for some kind of date, the likes of which he completely ignored the minutiae of, lazuli was nowhere to be found this late at night (sure, he’d told her he wasn’t going to go out that night but if they really got down to it it wasn’t really even night anymore- the hour was something more like morning) and he’d yet to even think about broaching the topic of being near to the ocean with neb, so it was just him, and his thoughts and the stars.

adalwulff had been to sea and back again, but finneas had missed their docking and, knowing them, zie would find him if she needed. while they were still on the mainland together, it had spent a week locking its jaw every time it talked to xem, trying to remember the consequences that would ensue if it told xem dante had been tormenting it again. finneas wasn’t done looking over his shoulder, but he’d allowed himself to settle into some kind of wary comfort, placing the full weight of his trust onto the promise inigo had raised to him. he would be protected when he needed it.

it was such an odd feeling, to be surrounded by so many people who cared for his well being without receiving anything from it. it still didn’t make sense to finneas, as he wandered barefoot through the slow surf, the foam coalescing in the fur that was exposed under the hem of his pants. maybe it was just the kestrel culture he’d never shaken, where people could forever be thrown away if it put you one step further to the next richest achievement. it was inherently against the pirate nature of his companions to come alongside him when he was weak, but they still did- for some incomprehensible reason.

finn kicked up a small arc of salt water as he considered the factors in his mind. pity was always a possibility, but maybe not for lazuli or inigo- so what was the common factor?

he was wandering further and further from what was considered the kite shore, but he was too lost in his own thoughts to notice. mentally he returned over and over to the times they had all gone out on a limb for him- these unlikely compatriots who regularly put themselves in harm’s way for his sake. he cast his gaze from the sea to the stars, falling silent, allowing his thoughts to still.

“my, my, finneas, how you’ve moved up in the world! a beast let off its leash- have they finally succeeded in domesticating you?”

the tide rolled back around finneas’s paws as he froze in terror. months it had gone without hearing that voice, and then he was suddenly yanked around by the shoulder to face it’s owner.

without his embroidered blue jacket, dante was the perfect visage of some holy force come down to smite it. the white sleeves of the kestrel’s shirt billowed around his hands, and- finneas jolted back a step as he realized- the pearl-handled pistol dante clutched at his side. his perfect blonde hair had at some point been cropped from shoulder-length down to a much shorter, sharper style that laid flat across his head. dante achuart looked clean, and perfect, and fake- like a flawless visage ripped straight from finneas’s mind just to torment him.

it couldn’t even dare to take another step back into the surf as dante stared it down. a thousand alarm bells were going off in it’s head all at once, none of them he could respond to. at some point it gasped, realizing it has forgotten to breathe in its terror, and dante laughed, a nightmarish thing.

“your little flock keeps quite a short leash on you, don’t they, finneas?” the blonde kestrel offered conversationally, as if there was absolutely nothing wrong with this situation. finneas stumbled through another breath, his chest hitching.

“my friends- they look after me- care about me,” he tried, although the effect was undercut by the fact that he could barely hear himself over the waves.

“oh yes, they do!” dante’s tone was disconcertingly cheery, not at all aligning with the disposition of a man armed and dangerous. “it will forever escape me how you managed to get inigo amor on your side- although he’s gone and courted a nightingale, so maybe fraternizing just runs in his blood.” for a second, it seemed as though dante was speaking more to himself than to finneas, until his cold blue gaze snapped back to the kite with a sneer. “or maybe it’s you.”

finn’s step backward didn’t even get a chance to hit the water before dante’s hand connected with his shoulder once more and the slender kite was yanked forward. the cool muzzle of the pistol rested heavy against finn’s chest as dante’s hand flew up from its shoulder to its chin, gripping it harshly and staring it down.

“you’ve gotten real full of yourself, finneas, thinking you can get away with showing me up publicly.” if looks could kill, dante’s eyes would have rent finneas asunder a thousand times in the existing moment alone. the whole depths of the ocean he was pinned under were reflected in that hateful gaze. “no matter who your little friends are, no matter who you try to hide behind or what you do or where you go, you will always be below me, as only a creature can.”

finneas’s breath caught on the intake as dante twisted the pistol into its frock-coat. “i don’t want any more of your games, finneas. no more tricks, no more hiding behind lovesick fools- if i come for you, you are not allowed to run. the rules never changed.”

the speed thoughts were moving through his head didn’t match the speed that time seemed to be moving outside his body. through the haze, inigo’s reminder came to him again- he can’t hurt you while i’m on your side. despite the absurdity of it all, finneas found itself believing him.

“i’m not beholden to your rules anymore,” and although finneas’s voice was still horrible, and shaking, it was louder than before. he granted himself half a second too long to look at dante’s face as the kestrel processed what finn had said before the smaller man yanked himself out of the pale grasp he was trapped in.

finneas’s shoulder exploded in pain.

the recoil sent him falling backwards into the shallow water as he cried out in agony, eyes screwed shut as if eliminating his sight would mitigate the damage. in rapid succession, something pinged near the side of his head and then struck him in the side- the kite couldn’t even manage a cry. he peeled his eyes open as a heavy weight landed on his chest- dante’s boot. the ghostly visage of his tormentor floated in and out of his vision as finneas struggled to focus his vision.

“what a shame, you idiot beast. i was thinking for a moment you could be reasoned with.”

and like that, it was over- the weight picked up off his chest, the pale wrath gone. he heard all of two steps on the sand before the waves rushed back up and engulfed his face. it was all he could to haul himself up with a jolt before his side exploded in pain and his head impacted the sand again.

he was going to die there, off the shore of a kestrel beach. the realization hit him like a cannonball.

finneas slowly maneuvered his uninjured arm to try to feel the injury in his side while simultaneously levering himself up to sitting. his fingers brushed over something cold and metallic, and then the wound gained strength once more. finneas couldn’t stop himself from yowling, although he could feel his brain beginning to simply stop processing the sensation of pain. that had been another bullet.

the kite heaved a massive breath, valiantly ignoring how his side screamed out in pain, and tilted his head back to see the sky. his pain receptors being stressed to their limit was making his mind foggy. the endless expanse of stars glittered above him, disappearing into the diffusing light where the sky met the sea. beautiful, but cold and unwelcoming. why was he just lying there? the kestrel town square wasn’t that far. he could go see his parents.

deliriously, finneas twisted his good elbow behind himself and rolled up to his knees, clutching the gaping hole in his side. he blurrily scanned the beach as he rose out of the water- the pearl revolver laid in the sand, but dante was nowhere to be found. if it squinted, it could see the faint impression of his boot prints and the path they led to the main walk off the beach. it knew that wasn’t the only way.

excruciatingly, he pushed one of his feet under himself, and shakily rose to standing. sunrise was not-quite-but-nearly filtering over the horizon. he could make his way by what little light he had. one foot in front of the other, ignoring the bloody trail he left in the silt, step by agonizing step until the sand gave way to cobbled stone. finneas cast his gaze to the buildings rising around him. none of these homes were familiar to him, except for-

a nightingale banner fluttering proudly in the early morning breeze, hanging from one of the windows of the houses near the beach.

the features of the house cut into sharper clarity as he stared. the intricately painted double doors, the dainty and beautiful beaded curtains visible through the stained glass windows. his mind, addled from blood loss, spat out a fragment of a memory; more of a sensation than anything concrete- the feeling of stumbling out of a bar, clutching a purple satin vest in his grasp.

jo and inigo’s house. he’d be safe there.

it was all he could do to drag himself up their front doorstep, his shoulder sliding down their beautiful front doors with a wet thump. he’d have to help them clean off the blood he was dragging all over the place.

not now, though. now, he needed to rest. despite of- or perhaps aided by- the thumping of his heart and the incessant radiating pain in his shoulder and his side, finneas’s eyes slipped closed, and then it was dark.

(face of a man who knows his friends are gonna kill him) uhhh… hey gang :3 !

#feather to quill and pen to page [writing]#oc: finneas [pirates smp]#oc: dante [pirates smp]#oc tag #he speaks [original posts]

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finnified · 10 months

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finn hissed out a breath as it pressed the wet scrap of fabric to the gash in its forehead, doing its best to be gentle as it wiped off the blood. it had already taken care of its black eye and split lip as best as it could, but it still hadn’t grown used to trying to maneuver with one eye squinted shut.

leaning back in the chair it had dragged in from the table, it sighed heavily, scrubbing a hand over its good eye. the day could’ve gone so much worse than it did- it didn’t know why it was so exhausted.

closing its eyes, it considered the merits of the past few hours, trying desperately to grasp at an emotion that wasn’t dread. it landed on its conversation with inigo and looked back with an unfamiliar-feeling quirk of its lips.

inigo had stuck to both the promise of getting cleaned up and getting a drink- as soon as they were out of the alley, the kestrel had produced a scrap of cloth and a canteen of water from seemingly nowhere and had done his best to scrub the dirt and dried blood off of finn’s face. once it was deemed presentable enough to be seen in a kestrel bar, inigo led it by the shoulder, holding his head high.

finn had immediately gone on guard, shoulders up, hating the feeling of being in a place that was conflictingly both familiar and completely hostile to it. they got more than a few strange looks, but that didn’t seem to disturb inigo, who’s step was confident as he pushed his way to a high table near the back of the establishment where nobody would bother them.

it had slid into its seat with what it hoped was a polite mumble to the hostess who came up to serve them, turning up the collar of its frock-coat as if it could disappear.

inigo had thumped the table as their drinks appeared. “oh, chin up, finneas. nobody’s going to bother you as long as they see you with me.” finn had taken his drink with a grateful nod, but his nerves were still rattled and fear and shame were still clumped together in a thick lump at the base of its throat.

“you’re in a ripe good mood,” it had eventually settled on saying, white-knuckling its tankard. inigo had quirked a brow at it, but said nothing, allowing it to sink a bit into the warm influences of its drink.

eventually, it looked back up at him. “tell a story,” it insisted, chin dropped close to its chest.

inigo, who was looking about the same amount of drunk as finn felt, managed a surprisingly strong response: “kestrels aren’t storytellers- herons are.” it had merely scoffed in response, giving a half-wave of its hand.

“oh, just- tell me how you got the slashes on your face, or something,” it had offered after a long moment of hazy consideration. inigo’s face had brightened, and he’d nodded with an intensity finn didn’t really understand, but didn’t bother thinking too deeply about either.

“it’s funny you ask that, because they don’t actually have a great story,” inigo had laughed, gesturing loosely with his mug. “it was definitely my fault, though- it was just after the factioning, and i was super eager to show off to all the newcomers, so i took some of them on a little adventure to one of the jungle islands up north. i was showing off, not paying attention, and then-“ he had punctured his sound effect with another thump of his fist on the table “-bam, right out of nowhere! tiger from the forest. we must have trespassed into her territory.”

finn hadn’t even bothered to stop its horror from showing on its face, but inigo just laughed again. “ah, it was nothing. the new kestrels had a good laugh at it!”

as inigo had finished speaking, finn was struck by the lack of gravity in his statement. the other talked about his scars like they just existed, and it wasn’t anything to feel strongly about, positively or negatively.

it had drawn its brows together pensively, subconsciously passing a hand over its own disfigured lips. inigo must have noticed, and he had leaned forward with far too lucid and pressing a look in his eyes for someone who should have been intoxicated. “what about you, finneas? have yours got an interesting story?”

its mouth had tightened without it meaning to as a various slurry of emotions went through its head, dulled only partway by the alcohol. at least part of its turmoil must have shown on its face, because inigo had immediately leaned back and looked away. “you don’t have to-“

“no, no, it’s fine, it’s-“ finn had forced out, passing a hand over its mouth again. “it was just, you know. a thing. with dante- a long time ago.” it had hastily tacked on the ending statement as it watched inigo’s face grew darker and sharper. it immediately busied itself with observing the other patrons, and inigo had eventually calmed and sunken further back into his chair, but it had left finn unsettled.

of course, that had hardly been a half of the true story- finn pushed himself up from the sink, abandoning his washtowel behind him. the true account was much more complicated- and, of course, he wouldn’t be able to avoid thinking about it now that the remembrance was in his head.

it had been about three months before the factioning, and finn had already moved out of his parents’ home. not officially- officially, he still belonged to house blackwood of the kestrels- but he had begun making his intent clear to his few kestrel friends that he was planning on changing wings when the factioning occurred.

he didn’t exactly remember who’s basement he’d been sleeping in at the time, but he did remember the perfectly ominous appearance of the lanterns cutting through the fog on the street when he opened the door and found dante waiting for him, not a piece of his platinum-blonde hair out of place despite the early hour.

before he had the chance to call out, finn was yanked out the door by the wrist and was led steadily out of the more populated residential part of the kestrel village. dante had dug his fingers into its wrist before releasing it once they were far enough away.

“wearing bandages again, finneas?” dante had scolded him like he was a small child. “you know that’s against the rules.”

so, of course, they had halted in the middle of the pathway while dante rolled the sleeves of its frock coat up and unwound all the bandages on its arms. and then, because he had some kind of uncanny instinct, he rolled up the left cuff of its pants so he could take off the bandage on its ankle too.

“dante, i can’t walk on that without the wrapping,” finn had argued, hating how much he sounded like a petulant child who had been denied dessert. dante had merely laughed at him before shoving the peeled-away bandages into his pockets and starting back off on the road, indicating to it to follow. it did, tail lashing quietly behind it.

dante had seemed to be in uncomfortably good spirits, despite the disturbing atmosphere he had put them in. he whistled some sort of kestrel sailing tune that finn had never bothered to learn as they wound through the streets to the harbor. the sight of the fog rolling off the water onto the shore sent a fresh, cold wave of terror through it.

“so, finneas,” dante had finally started, his hands tucked away behind his back as he backed out onto one of the piers. “that was quite the stunt you pulled yesterday, thinking you could run off like that.”

finn’s ears had pinned back to his skull. so that was this was about. of course he would get in trouble for trying to dodge dante’s torment- he either sat through it in the moment or dealt with it coming back around to bite him later.

“you know what the rules are, don’t you, finn?” dante paced back up the pier to be just a step or two away from their foreheads touching, grabbing finn’s right ear and tugging on it sharply. “or is your mind so much like that of an animal’s that you’ve already forgotten?”

“no, i- i remember-“ it managed to choke out, ear trying desperately to flick the pressure of dante’s fingers off. dante released it with a pleasant smile, folding his hands behind his back again.

“very good! ah, but wait-“ the blonde’s smile melted into something much more sinister as he spoke. “-if you knew the rules and still didn’t follow them, that means you were being rude on purpose, weren’t you? you know what happens when you’re rude on purpose, don’t you, finneas?”

finn hadn’t even conjured the presence of mind to nod. its entire body had gone completely still. the base of its tail still throbbed in pain occasionally from the only other time he’d ever tried to fight back, where dante had punished him by driving a knife into its tail halfway to cutting it off.

“oh, get that look off your face.” dante had flicked a hand at him, and finn had realized at that moment that he’d produced a small knife. “it wont be nearly so bad as last time. come here.”

mechanically, it had stepped forward. dante had taken its chin in his hand, tilted its face up. he stared critically down at it for a moment before setting the point of the knife gently at a spot above the right corner of its mouth. “now, this is just to get you used to it. you’ll do the next one yourself.”

“wh-“ before finn had the chance to get the question properly out of his mouth, dante was yanking the knife down across its face. it screamed without really registering it was doing so, hands immediately flying up to bat dante away from it. the taller boy immediately lashed back out by grabbing its shoulder, holding it firmly in place.

all it could process was the taste of blood in its mouth. it spit what it could out onto the wood planks, and realized with horror that one of its teeth was sitting in the murky red puddle. finn screwed its eyes shut, valiantly repressing the urge to vomit.

“see, that wasn’t so bad!” dante chirped, sounding like he was having far too much fun. he grabbed one of finn’s hands and pulled it up from where it was balled at its side, then pried its fingers open to deposit the knife there. “now you just do what i did, but start… hm, right about here.” he tapped a spot on its face just below its cheekbone.

finn stood inert, gripping the handle of the knife with shaking fingers, feeling blood pour down its chin. after a long moment of silence, dante scoffed and struck it hard on the opposite side of its face, waiting until its eyes flew open to speak again. “i told you to do something, finneas. you’re not going to break the rules again, are you?”

it blinked uncomprehendingly, and he scoffed again. “do as i said. ugh, you’re probably stupid enough to forget where i said to start- here.” he grabbed finn’s wrist and maneuvered it so the point of the knife was again rested on its cheek. “now cut.”

jaggedly, like it was trying to carry out the action without requiring any cognitive function, finn yanked the knife across its own face.

it dropped the weapon immediately and started retching, turning around and hunching its shoulders so it could bring its hands up to cover its face. dante didn’t give it a moment of respite, yanking it back around so he could grab its head with both of his hands to observe the incision.

“good enough,” dante had muttered, and dug around in his pockets for a long moment before thrusting the bandages at the bleeding boy. “clean that up on your own. or don’t, i don’t care.”

he didn’t exactly remember what had happened after, where he’d gone or who he’d seen or what excuse he’d used to explain how it happened. over time, he’d grown used to muttering a clipped description of a fight with an enemy faction that usually warded off any other curiosity.

he considered all of these circumstances as he exited his private quarters and wound his way out of the kite dorms, flicking his ear respectfully at a few people on his way out. he needed to go by the beach, clear his head, get his priorities back in order.

at least, he mused with some confidence as he closed the door behind him, it had an ally on the kestrels now- one that it was surprisingly sure would keep to his word.

if only that was enough to stop what it surely had coming. —

haha…. hhhhhey guys, i promise i can explain,

(im sure none if you need the credits at this point but as per usual, inigo is by the ever-lovely and ever-talented miss dizzy! this is more or less a sequel to her post here, which you should absolutely read!!)

#he speaks [original posts]#feather to quill and pen to page [writing]#oc: finneas [pirates smp]#oc: dante [pirates smp]#mentioned:#inigo the kestrel #pirates smp #pirates smp oc #the groupchat is gonna kill me for this one. thats okay though LMAOOAO

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finnified · 10 months

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“‘s that all you got, golden boy?” finn slurred with a triumphant smile as he twisted his fingers tighter into inigo’s collar. the kestrel looked at him with an unamused expression despite the dark bruise blooming over his nose. the waves crashed unrelentingly against the pier behind them, showering finn’s back in salt spray.

“y’know, back when i was a ke-“ finn’s next drunken speech was cut off as inigo yanked his head forward and knocked the kite backward, catching it off guard. it lost its grip on the kestrel’s shirt-front and went tottering backwards, footing lost. “y’know, finneas, you talk a big game for someone who cant even see a surprise attack coming- finneas?” inigo managed to sound victorious for only a moment before his opponent’s peril became obvious- finn was barely balanced on the edge of the pier, still reeling from inigo’s sudden burst into his chest. “hey, finn- finn-!” the kestrel lurched forward as the kite lost its balance and fell back, but neither was quick enough to mitigate each other’s motion.

finn hit the water with an unceremonious flwoom, immediately choking in a breath of bitter salt water. the feeling was enough to shock its system-

-but suddenly it was 11, not 20-something, and its head was being held under the surf by a pair of pale, gloved hands. finn kicked and coughed as the tide crashed into his face again, the leering and giggling above its head almost drowned out by the sound of the water rushing around its ears.

“come on, freak! we all know you’re not human- breath the water for us!”

the catcall was succeeded by more jeers and sardonic laughter as he was caught with his mouth open by another wave of water. the next time its eyes opened, a cruel, pale face hovered above its own, set with dark blue eyes that stared down at it, stormy with disgust and judgement.

finn tried to conjure some kind of retort, but all that would come out of his mouth was a deluge of choked-up seawater. the boy above him spit in its face before removing his pristinely-gloved hands from its shoulders, allowing it to sit up with a start, but only for a moment before it was immediately pushed back under, the salt water stinging its throat-

finn was yanked out of the memory by the sound of a person-sized splash in the water somewhere next to him, and he twisted around confusedly to catch a glimpse of emerald-dark scales flashing around him.

it wasn’t aware of losing consciousness, but it must’ve, because when it was next aware of its surroundings it was leaning against a barrel on the pier, coughing up its bodyweight in seawater.

two worried faces floated in his vision- joanna in the front, her hair out of it’s typical braided fashion and plastered to her face in a hundred little strands, and inigo behind her, looking conflictingly both annoyed and concerned. the kite’s brain took far too long to process the situation, but it immediately stumbled to its feet when it did.

“finn, what happened, why weren’t you trying to swim to the surface-“ it pushed past joanna as she started speaking nervously, glancing around at the signage in the square to make out the way back to the kite base. “finn-“ he whipped around, mouth half open and ready to say something cruel and dismissive to the concerned nightingale, but the sight of her waterlogged dress and fearful expression made the words wither on his teeth. he settled for giving her a look that he hoped conveyed some fraction of his meaning- really, he was going for “thank you for saving my life, sorry, i’m not mad at you”, but by the look on her face it doubted its sentiment got across. it turned again, setting off for the kite base, and didn’t look back after joanna continued to call his name. —

so, dizzy said one thing about jo having to pull finn out of the harbor and my brain immediately said “ah yes, it’s free angst real estate.” @pacificwaternymph hi dizzy! sorry about this one >:3

both inigo and joanna are lovely characters of dizzy’s creation. finn and his bully are by me :]

#he speaks [original posts]#feather to quill and pen to page [original writing]#wow something possessed me with this one im not typically a guy who can hammer out writing like this on a whim #pirates smp doing mad shit to my brain #oc: finneas [pirates smp]#other’s oc #joanna the nightingale #inigo the kestrel #pirates smp #pirates smp oc #oc: dante [pirates smp]

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