Adrift-mxm

Chapter 16

He wasn't very happy. 

Ilio had woken up to a cold bed, alone. 

Even though that had upset him, he'd still stayed put so that he didn't bother Inkani. He could sense that the man wasn't very happy, and also that he was above deck, likely dealing with Karalius and Bin. And yet, still, he waited. 

So, when Inkani finally returned nearly forty minutes later, Ilio was ready for some attention, praise, or, at least, some sort of physical contact. He'd even accept a simple head pat as his reward. 

And yet, his handsome mate simply walked right past him and began removing his clothing. 

Ilio definitely didn't mind the show, but his cautious hopes of a little more snuggling were promptly dashed when Inkani began pulling on a new set of clothes!

"Inka...?" he questioned, doing his best to keep his upset out of his voice. 

When the man had pulled on a pair of clean undergarments, then added trousers and fastened two belts around his waist, he finally looked over at him. 

Ilio perked up a tiny bit, but he knew that there wouldn't be anymore physical attention for the time being. 

"We're heading back to land," the man finally said as he tossed Ilio a set of clothes. 

Land? Already? 

He was surprised, but definitely not upset about the sudden news. His feet definitely handled land better than water, so he gladly hopped out of bed and pulled on the clothing he'd been given. 

Hurrying to follow after Inkani, who was now heading out the door, Ilio considered their situation, and the reasoning the man might have for docking again so soon. 

He understood that they left in a rush previously, and that they might need supplies sooner over later, but the main reason he could think of was the other captain. They'd left port previously to try and outrun him, but that had clearly failed, leaving his wolf to scare away their pursuers into retreating... but it likely wouldn't work a second time. 

He wanted to ask which port they were going to, but decided against it. What did it matter where they were going? He didn't know anywhere but his home forest, so a name wouldn't make any difference. 

They were just stepping out onto the deck when Inkani reached back and gently rustled his hair, much like one would a cat that had silently requested attention. 

And just like said cat, Ilio wanted to nudge against that hand with a content hum, but before the thought could even fully form in his mind, that hand he so desperately wanted attention from withdrew as its owner got busy commanding his crew. 

Having been left to his own devices, Ilio considered his options. He wanted Inkani's attention, but that was rightfully being given to his crewmen at the moment. They needed their orders and Inkani was the one who had to give them. 

Twitching his wolf ears, he paced around the deck for a few minutes, doing his best to stay out of people's way as he pondered what to do next. The answer, however, ended up, quite literally, smacking him in the face. A length of rope had broken free from one of the sails and swung across the deck as several vampires ran after it. 

Unfortunately, none were able to stop it before it managed to catch him across the face. The welt stung, but Ilio was thankfully fast enough to react before the rope swung away again and was able to snag it. 

It nearly pulled him overboard just from its size and momentum alone, but he managed to stop it right as he slid into the railing! Wincing, he held on with all of his strength until several of Inkani crewmen got to him and grabbed hold of the rope, too.