Azul was holding onto Kemal's hand while walking, his nervous expression impossible to overlook.
"Are you okay…" Kemal asked, clearly concerned.
"You finally get to meet the captain! But he's a cold man, I'm worried, but I'm sure you can stay!" Azul was smiling in a way that could only fool an idiot.
He did all my work himself. I didn't even have to convince the captain to let me stay, Azul just did it himself..
They stopped in front of a sliding door that looked old-fashioned. There are a lot of sliding doors… could it be that for more common areas, they use it, but for private areas, it's normal wooden doors.
Kemal stood still, observing, while Azul knocked on the door.
"May we enter?" There was some silence. "Of Course." A voice came from inside.
Azul slowly slid open the door and the boy's mind went blank.
The person seated with crossed legs was staring straight at him, but that wasn't what scared him. He had red pupilless eyes and black scaley wings! His black tail had a trail of spikes that looked like they could kill!
A shiver ran down his spine. Maybe it's best to not stay here!
The captain was incredibly large, his muscles were no joke. He wore some jacket that exposed his chest but covered his lower abdomen. His plain white pants were barely hanging on.
His hair was an after thought, but it definitely didn't help. It was fully black, ruffled and covering his back almost entirely, loosely hanging off of his shoulders, only highlighting his empty eyes more.
He almost took a step back but Azul moved to stand directly behind him.
"Sir, can I, please!! PLEASE!! Keep him! Just for a bit! I'll do extra work like I explained earlier!!" Azul bowed his head, begging, while Kemal was frozen solid.
He was being eyed up and down for ulterior motives. Those eyes couldn't meet Kemal's for a second, because he was avoiding them like a plague.
I'm not looking at him!!!
The man finally ended his observation and leaned his head back.
"So, a visitor." His voice hung heavy in the air.
It was damn low, I'm pretty sure he could vibrate the room with it! Azul nodded in response, his eyes glowing.
He definitely acts more of a puppy to these people, he's clearly reluctant about letting me in, but Azul has him in a chokehold. Kemal observed quietly. Those subtle changes did not escape him.
"He may stay, for now." The Captain finally agreed and Azul practically pounced onto Kemal.
He was about to observe the room, but Azul dragged him out immediately, shutting the door behind them.
"Go go go!" Azul whispered as he dragged Kemal off deeper into the ship.
When they finally came to a stop it was in front of a door. Azul pushed down the handle, revealing his room. It was well organised, no corner was left messy, no paper lying.
There was only one bookshelf at the right corner of the room and just three books in it. A small desk and a wooden chair were laid next to it. On the opposite side of the bedroom, there was a large bed, pushed against the left wall, as well as a sofa covered with fur.
"I like it." Kemal's reaction was blunt and honest. "Nice and spacious but still comfy." He nodded in approval.
"You think so..!!!" A tail made of fire swished behind Azul, who was obviously barely able to contain himself. He was attempting to keep his voice down, but it only made his throat hurt.
Kemal, on the other hand, got comfortable fast and decided to lay down on the sofa.
"But there's only one bed. I don't mind sleeping on the so-" "NO!! you can take the bed!!" Azul cut off Kemal's suggestion.
"You get the bed, I get the sofa!" "but-" "no but!!" Azul cut off Kemal until the other finally gave in.
Kemal extended his hand, causing Azul to immediately move closer to rest his head on it.
Really puppy-like…
"Well done… I really like you." Kemal praised the grown man acting cute. The red in his eyes glowed for a second, before returning to his usual.
"I'm glad! I have a lot prepared for you!"
Kemal's eyebrow raises. "Yeah?"
—
A few minutes later, there was a large bath bucket in the middle of the room. Azul carried it all himself, along with a dozen water buckets he emptied in to fill it, before finally bringing a few lotions and spare robes that he set aside.
"For your hair! After this I'm sure it'll heal!"
Everyone's so focused on my hair. Is it that bad? Kemal looked at the small lotions and Azul turned around, his back facing Kemal.
"I'll stay here to keep the water warm with my flames… I won't peek!!" Azul covered his face with his hands despite already being turned away, trying to prove he was respecting the boy's privacy.
But that doesn't matter… I've bathed with others before so this isn't really a problem.
When finally fully stripped, he stepped into the tub and sat down inside it. Kemal gazed at his reflection. It was still the same, he couldn't even tell what he actually looked like, since his reflection was showing him another man.
He finally decided to touch his real hair only to feel a harsh stinging pain.
Holy!
Each touch was painful; his scalp was stinging and burning, causing him to hiss.
"Are you okay…" Azul asked curiously, but his eyes remained focused on the door.
"It's nothing." Kemal dismissed him as he dunked his head a few times into the water. More importantly, Azul's flames were surrounding the bucket, raising a hint of concern.
"Won't it set me ablaze?" "Are you assuming I can't control my flames?" "But fire on wood."
Azul began to pout. "It's not fire, it's my ability. It won't just spread out of control!"
Kemal sighs in defeat. "Alright Alright."
—
After washing himself down entirely, cleaning and cleansing his hair, he stepped out of the tub, putting on the spare robes. He finally turned to face Azul after fixing his clothes.
"I'm done." He placed his hand on the crown of Azul's head.
"Hey?" Azul finally turned his head, his eyes glowing differently than usual.
Kemal frowned immediately upon seeing Azul's odd expression.
"What is it?" Kemal's voice was firm but it didn't seem to reach Azul's ears.
After a few seconds of blank staring, Azul finally snapped out of it and held onto Kemal's wrist.
"I'm here! I.." He looked lost and confused for a second until he felt his head raise. Kemal was holding his chin and tried a faint smile to put him at ease.
"It's alright. Remove your fire."
Azul obeyed, his fire vanishing along with his tail; his expression seemed hurt… but he didn't say anything more, so Kemal decided to just drop it.
His hair felt lighter and much more soft compared to earlier. He removed his hand and bent down to rummage through his old clothes. "Ah, there." He extracted the pouch filled with candy and approached Azul again.
His eyes light up upon seeing him approach his seated position, glued to Kemal without fault.
Kemal grabbed out a piece of candy and pushed it through his lips, right into Azul's mouth.
"You're acting like you're the worst thing that ever happened to me. You should pout less and actually focus on the bigger picture."
The man listened attentively while chewing the piece of sweetness.
"Now that I'm here you should be grateful, you can talk and talk for as long as you want. Plus you got a roommate now."
Azul suddenly got up and tackled Kemal down onto the floor, embracing him tightly. It's a relief Kemal's head was held by Azul's hand, or that might have hurt…
"HEY!"
"I'M SO HAPPY!"