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Post by Mattie Williams on Oct 29, 2011 13:04:44 GMT -5
Mattie blinked, still too tense and frightened to reach for his coffee. The military and he didn't get along? It would be bothersome...? He...
"... who are you?" The question, though quiet, was sharp. His eyes centered on Arthur's face. He wanted an answer, and he wanted it truthfully. All things pointed to the fact that he had a pirate sitting in Al's Restaurant... and pirates had taken his brother from him. It wasn't right - and if this man was a pirate, he was going to leave. Immediately.
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Post by Cpt. Arthur Kirkland on Oct 29, 2011 13:08:23 GMT -5
Arthur looks up, and he smiles. Sharply. His eyes glint.
"Call me Kirkland. Arthur."
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Post by Mattie Williams on Oct 29, 2011 13:20:02 GMT -5
"You-! Get out." Mattie stood, holding Kuma tightly. His eyes snapped angry sparks. "Get out, and... and don't come back." For once, his voice was raised to a normal speaking level. Had any of his employees been around, or anyone else been in the restaurant, everything would have stopped. Mattie never raised his voice. "Get out before I call for the military. I'll give you what mercy you didn't give my Daddy and Al."
He was shaking, though this time, not from fear. This man had hurt him enough; how else could he? No, he shook from anger, from resentment, from the sense of overwhelming loss that threatened to drown him again. Of all people - of all pirates, even - to come in... this man... the man who had killed his brother... and then he'd sat and had tea - tea! - and told him one of his adventures... Mattie was shocked. And he'd let him... which was the hardest thing of all to bear.
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Post by Cpt. Arthur Kirkland on Oct 29, 2011 13:29:27 GMT -5
Oh, this was interesting? Arthur sat there for a moment, an eyebrow raising.
Given no mercy? What? He didn't even know who he---
Andd the penny dropped.
Arthur's expression shifts from his almost lightly bemused, to pure hurt and betrayal and even anger. It immediately flickers to something more masked, but the emotion was there.
"Al? Alfred? Given him no mercy? You have to be fucking kidding me. I took him in. He wouldn't leave my ship. I looked after him. He was the one who fucking left."
He shifted off his stool, letting it fall to the floor with a clatter. He looked disgusted, but it wasn't quite sure on what.
"I thought you sounded just like him. Bloody hell. He left you too?"
And there's that pained look again, but it quickly hides itself. Damnit, why couldn't he get ahold of himself?
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Post by Mattie Williams on Oct 29, 2011 13:44:16 GMT -5
Mattie took a step back as the emotions crossed Arthur's face. It wasn't a large step, but it was large enough to knock the stool off kilter, and send it crashing to the ground. The noise, combined with the vehemence of the words from the pirate, caused Mattie to jump and flinch, and then withdraw almost completely into himself.
"... h-he's lying, Kuma... Al... Al wouldn't have left us..." Mattie shook his head, centering his gaze on the bear. "... no... no he wouldn't. No. ... I... was I not... was it me...? ... was I.... n-not good enough...?" He paused again, then spoke more quietly. "... it... I... I wasn't... he..." But no other words could make themselves known. Instead, he sank to a seat, curled up as tightly as he could, and pressed his forehead against the bear. Al was dead, Al was dead and this man was lying, lying, lying. He had to be. Al was dead. The military told them that Al and Daddy were gone, killed by Kirkland, and now Kirkland was telling him that Al was alive and had left.
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Post by Cpt. Arthur Kirkland on Oct 29, 2011 13:51:33 GMT -5
Arthur's own expressions go mute.
"Yes, that day the military ship did crash, and it was by me. But before it went into the ground, your father put Alfred to escape by an emergency ship, and he ended up in my storage compartment. He wouldn't remove himself from the ship, and he clamoured and claimed he had nowhere to go one he got back, if I remember. I guess that was true, he might have not known where he was. But he stayed for four years, until he was 17. Then he left, without a word, without warning. I haven't seen the bloody kid since."
He pauses.
"But I did kill your father, if not intentionally. But what's the point of saying sorry? You won't forgive me, kid. Not for a long time."
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Post by Mattie Williams on Oct 29, 2011 14:06:55 GMT -5
Mattie made no move to show that he'd heard the other. Not outwardly. Inwardly, he was reeling.
Had he really not been the best brother he could be? Had Al done this to see the world...? H-had he seen the world? ... Al was dead, Mattie. Al is dead. Al has been dead for years. Stop deluding yourself. ... but Al... this man knew who Al was, without ever hearing his full name. How else could that happen...? Al is dead. This man, this pirate, is lying. He's a pirate. They lie, cheat, steal, and kill. He said he killed Daddy. What was to stop him from killing Al too? ... but... he'd looked hurt when he'd been accused of it...
The argument in Mattie's head was getting to be too much. His head felt fit to burst. With a soft sound of anguish, Mattie pressed his hands, one still holding Kuma's arm, against his temples. "... m-make it stop... " His voice was soft, even for him. "... D-Daddy... M-Maman... Al... m-make it stop..." He hadn't dealt with this in some time.
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Post by Cpt. Arthur Kirkland on Oct 29, 2011 14:37:33 GMT -5
Arthur watches him tentatively for a moment. He could just turn around and leave, but at the same time...
He was too much like Alfred. He was too young. Arthur had never had any comfort when he was a child. He never had anyone to begin with.
"Hey, hey, ssshh...."
He gently approaches over to the over, and after a moment, kneels down in front of him.
"sssh. Calm down, getting worked out over it won't help. It's ridiculous asking for trust with someone like me, but honestly, you have to take my word for it. Your brother is alive. ... I'm sure you'll see him soon. That big head of his is sure to see the name of this place and he'll figure to walk in one day. Also, Alfred put his truth and actions first, maybe with good reason. I'm sure you'd have seen him much sooner than if the opportunity of being on a pirate ship hadn't arose. When would you get a chance to be a pirate or amongst them at that age, anyway?"
He seems to pause, as though he's mulling that thought over himself, and not exactly happily, either, and made to straighten up again.
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Post by Mattie Williams on Oct 29, 2011 14:57:18 GMT -5
Hearing footsteps, Mattie pressed himself further into the cabinetry at the base of the bar. It was an automatic reflex; the boy no more knew he was doing it until it was done than he could tell himself to stop breathing.
The soothing words cut through the loudest of the voices in his head, quieting them for now, mostly. ... he knew how Al worked. He knew how Al worked. So... so Al had to be alive. Al was probably alive.
Hesitantly, he peeked over the top of Kumajiro's head, his violet eyes wary, hopeful, and red from the tears he'd shed. "... You..." But he stopped, seeing that the other was ready to rise. He wouldn't... couldn't... keep him here. All the same... "... I..." He wasn't sure how to say it. Not really. And Kuma thought he was insane for this. "... you... don't have to leave..." He thought he was insane for this. But if Al was alive, Mattie wanted to know more about this pirate. And he wanted to know anything Arthur could tell him about Al.
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Post by Cpt. Arthur Kirkland on Oct 29, 2011 15:12:04 GMT -5
Arthur pauses for a moment, but he slowly smiles. He reaches into his pocket, and hands the boy a hanky.
After a moment, he sits beside the other, looking across the counter they were hidden in. He sighs, lightly.
"I always liked hiding in small spaces when I wanted to hide from things, too." His expression is oddly soft. "... But I've always hated being alone. No one would believe that, though."
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