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Jackson sighed and made his way to the crew’s nest. He really didn’t understand why Phillips told her to stay in the Crow’s nest instead of taking her with him. He shivered, bit his lip and shook his head. As he reached the Crow’s nest, he looked up, and sure enough he saw a figure sitting on the ground.
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Phillips had come up with Jackson, and kneeled next to a shivering Amelia.
"Hey, I'm sorry I left you up here all alone," he said. "I figured we would have come back a while ago." He paused, then took his cloak off, wrapping it around Amelia to keep her warm. His arms and shoulders were sistered with scars of deep, deep wounds.
"I-it's, okay, Master," Amelia said, working up a small smile.
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“We really have to get you into a warmer area. I will not let you suffer of Hypothermia because of me.”
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Phillips nodded in agreement, bending down and picking Amelia up in one arm. She clung onto him, huddling into his warmth. He looked at Jackson once, then grabbed onto a rope, sliding down while still holding Amelia. He landed on the deck, waiting for Jackson.
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Jackson grabbed the rope and slid down, landing on the ground with a thud. He yawned and sighed. “Right. Hunter.” He said quietly.
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Phillips watched Jackson swing down, turning without saying a word. Amelia, tired, rested her head on Phillips's shoulder, letting him carry her. He took her below deck to the sleeping area, not waiting for Jackson. He set her down long enough to put up another hammock next to his, then helped Amelia up into it. If Jackson did end up coming down for the night, he could decide if he wanted to sleep with Phillips or Amelia.
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Jackson instead of coming to the sleeping area, he sat down and waited for something to come to him. A couple of seconds later, a black cat with red came to him. Jackson cringed when he saw his beloved cat with blood. He materialized some water and bandages. He cleaned his cat and put the bandages in the bleeding spots. Jackson fell asleep holding Hunter.
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Morning came, the light filtering across the water. Sometime during the night, someone had laid a blanket over Jackson and Hunter. Phillips yawned and stretched, stretching before deftly climbing out of his hammock. He left Amelia to sleep, silently heading up to check on Jackson again.
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Jackson and Hunter were sound asleep. Not even the noise could make them wake up. Finally, Hunter opened an eye, managed to get out of Jackson’s grip and started stretching.
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Phillips knelt down next to Jackson, pulling the blanket up over him a little more when he saw the other was still asleep. He looked up at Hunter, putting a finger up to his mouth as he stood, walking away. He didn't want Hunter spiling about this to Jackson.
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Hunter sat next to Jackson and smiled as Phillips walked away. He knew that Phillips truly cared about Jackson and that was something he liked. He meowed something softly making Jackson stir in his sleep.
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Phillips went up to the helm, sitting down. He hadn't eaten in a few days now. He had held off as long as he could, but he needed to eat. He pulled out a container from his pocket, opening it. Inside, cowering, were several souls. He picked one up, closing the container and setting it to the side. He examined his meal, wishing he didn't have to eat.
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(~)
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(I’m soooo sorry that i haven’t respond. I’ve been busy, and I haven’t felt well.)
A paw was put on Jackson’s face, making him stir. The paw slapped him and that made Jackson wake up. He sat up, put the blanket around his shoulders making it look like a cap, yawned and shook the cat’s paw. “Hello to you too, and good morning good sir.”
The cat meowed something sarcastic and Jackson rolled his eyes. The cat meowed again, but this time it was an angry meow and Jackson sighed, closed his eyes and stroked the Cat’s head. Hunter purred happily.
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Phillips pulled out an empty vial from his pocket, holding it up to the soul. The soul let out a shrill sound, like a shriek. Easily heard from the place Jackson was.
"I'm sorry," Phillips said quietly. A needle came out of the vial, going into the soul. A silvery liquid dripped into the vial, taking on a humanoid shape. The needle retreated, and Phillips put a topper on the vial. The soul was still screaming, but it was much more muffled now. All that was left in Phillips' hand now was the shell, which he put into his mouth. It was crunchy, and bitter. He pursed his lips.
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Jackson perked up. Something had screamed, and it sounded human. Well, mostly human anyways.He waited a couple of seconds, and the screaming stopped. Jackson stood up, holding Jackson and made his way to the sleeping area. He knew Phillips was probably already awake, but who he cared more about at the moment was Amelia. The fact that she hadn’t ate much for so long and being with an abusive master scared him. So, of course it was natural of him to care for Amelia.
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Amelia was peacefully asleep in her hammock, the edges wrapped all around her so it looked like she was in a cocoon. She shifted a little when Jackson appeared, eyes opening slightly to look at him.
"Nnn… Morning?" She asked.
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Jackson smiled at the sight of Amelia sleeping. When Amelia opened her eyes slightly to look at him he smiled. And when Amelia asked him if it’s was morning he just nodded. “Yes, it’s morning. Did you get a good night’s sleep?”
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Amelia nodded, yawning a little.
"Did you sleep with Master?" She asked, untangling herself from the hammock to get out of bed.
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“No, I ended up sleeping in the lower deck.” He said as he watched Amelia untangle herself from the hammock to get out of bed. “Someone did bring me a blanket to keep me warm while I was sleeping, I don’t when it happened nor who did it.”
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Amelia climbed down from the hammock, standing next to Jackson. She really was dreadfully thin…
"Probably Master. He's the only one who would care enough." She looked back up, seeing that Phillips' hammock was empty.
"Do you know where he is?"
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Jackson nodded, but honestly, he doubted that Phillips would’ve gone outside to cover him and Hunter with a blanket. “No, I don’t know, but. . .” He stopped, sighed and then continued. “Probably eating his food”
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"Oh, okay!" Amelia tidied herself up a little, beginning to walk away to look for Phillips.
"What does he eat? I know you said he doesn't eat normal food, but there are a lot of other things people eat."
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“Well, I’ll tell you what he eats, but just make sure he doesn’t find out. So, instead of eating actual food. . Like the things we eat, he eats souls.” Jackson said as he followed Amelia.
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Amelia's face blanched a little, more so than it should have.
"O-Oh," she said quietly. She quite honestly looked terrified. She wrapped her arms around herself. They were on the deck now, but Phillips was still up by the wheel eating.
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“Yeah, I was as terrified as you are when I found out that he eats souls, which isn’t too long ago. He said that he really doesn’t want to eat souls, but he has no other thing to eat, so souls it is. But don’t worry, it’s not like he’s going to eat our souls, or at least I hope he doesn’t.”
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"M-me too." Amelia was quiet for a moment.
"It's… it's not uncommon for an owner like that to eat their pet's soul when they die," she said softly. "I just hope ou- my Master is different." Phillips stood, finished. He held three vials in his hand, each filled with the parts of the soul he refused to eat. The vials were to replace the piece he had eaten. Each was screaming, the three combined sounds making it to where Jackson would be able to hear.
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“I hope so too, Amelia.”
Jackson stopped and freezed in place when he heard the screaming. It was the screaming he had heard earlier, but this time it was a bit more closer. Jackson looked around and immediately started running to the sound of the screaming. “Souls, those sound like souls of the unfortunates.” Jackson said, as he realized who was screaming.
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Phillips looked up when he heard someone running towards him, but he didn't put the vials away once he realized it was Jackson.
"Morning," he said, trying to be casual. He was used to hearing the screams by this point in his life, but they saddened him.
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“Stop trying to act innocent, Phillips. I heard those screams, where are they and how much have you eaten?” Jackson said with concern. Usually, he wouldn’t care what type of souls Phillips ate, but today, he was very much concerned.
