Ahoy there - Polo and Batty :3

Lex grumbled to himself as he followed Desire into what looked like one of the shittiest inns on the street, and he folded his arms as he walked in, looking around the small entrance room.
He sighed under his breath, then approached the desk and turned to Desire. "You want to stay here?" He asked, looking around, "I suppose it's a good choice. We can lie low here." He nodded, and turned to the woman behind the desk, offering a friendly smile.
"Can we get two rooms, please?" He requested politely, slapping down a few crumpled banknotes onto the counter. ((Can't remember what time frame this was set in... Do they have paper money? XD ))
"We only have one room." The woman answered gruffly, seemingly unaffected by Lex's boyish charms.
Taken aback by her grumpy manner, Lex seemed to sulk slightly as he tried again, "Well, does it at least have two beds?"
The woman looked up at him, peering over a pair of reading glasses perched on the bridge of her nose.
She looked from him to the money and back again, then grunted, "I'll arrange another bed for you."
Lex nodded and thanked her, then turned to Desire questioningly.
"Good enough?" He asked, "Or would you rather try somewhere else?"

Desire watched with amusement the banter between the two. The old woman behind the counter was having none of Lex's infectious smile. The boy looked shocked. Must've been the first time it didn't work. Especially because he was probably really good looking without all of the shit covering him.
"We only have one room." The woman croaked. Desire sighed; she supposed that it would do. Lex could always sleep on the floor if he wanted, because she sure as hell wasn't giving up the bed.
"Well, does it at least have two beds?"
A snigger forced its way up her throat, but she trapped it in her mouth. He was even worse than her, and weren't women the ones known for being prude?
"I'll arrange another bed for you."
"Good enough." Desire answered as the woman left to go get the room ready. They were left standing alone in the shabby little lounge together. "And yeah, this place will cover us for a while. I reckon that they think you're a man of class and would never stoop so low as to travel with a black girl and stay at an African's inn. Right?" Her voice was teasing but there was a little bit of hardness to it. Racial segregations weren't something she felt too greatly about. First a slave and then a prostitute that wasn't paid half the time? Yeah, that would make you a little angry at the white folk. But Lex was so similar to her. He was running from the white man too. She didn't have to fear him.
The little brown woman came back, her face still scrunched with irritation. She didn't like the look of Lex at all.
"Go down the hall and it is the second door on your right."
"Thank you." Desire said, smiling at the lady. Her face softened at the young Egyptian's grin and she offered a small smile of reassurance. But then the mask was back. She let out and irritated huff and bustled back to her desk.
Desire padded softly down the hallway, turning right where needed. In fact, it was the only way she could go. And the hallway consisted of only two doors on the right. There were two rooms across the small hall, though. She wondered who were in those rooms. There had to be someone, or else they would have gotten the rooms and...
Desire waited patiently with her thoughts at the door for Lex.

Desire answered that the place was good enough, so Lex nodded, and stood around feeling vaguely uncomfortable when the woman went off to ready their rooms.
"And yeah," Desire went on, causing Lex to look over at her, "This place will cover us for a while. I reckon that they think you're a man of class and would never stoop so low as to travel with a black girl and stay at an African's inn. Right?"
"Oh, come on." Lex retorted, smiling subtley, "I'm no racist, and I'm not that much of a snob."
He offered a teasing grin, then ruffled Desire's hair and flashed her a reassuring wink.
The woman returned then to tell them that their room was ready, and the pair proceeded down the hallway to enter a cramped but cosy little room with two large, soft beds, peeling wallpaper, and a moth-eaten rug just inside the door.
It was hardly luxurious, but it was obvious that effort had gone into making it comfortable, and Lex appreciated that.
He cast the room just a brief glance, and then his eyes darted to the bathroom.
"Dibs on the first shower!" He exclaimed, darting into the room and slamming the door closed behind him like an impatient toddler. He was undressed and in the shower within seconds - and one warm, steamy shower later, he reappeared, dressed just in his shorts and with a towel draped over his wet hair.
"Thank GOD!" He exclaimed dramatically, sitting heavily on the bed and casting the towel aside to reveal his beautifully clean, gleaming white hair, "At last I don't smell like something that's been rotting in a shark's belly."

[[We're just going to have this put in the 1800s. Since that seems to be when most things were invented. And slavery was still around xD]]

Desire frowned as Lex called the first shower - wasn't it usually "ladies first"? But still, the man jumped into the small room and slammed the door shut, leaving her alone in the room with just her thoughts for company. Sighing, she went and plopped down on one of the beds, promptly falling over and letting her eyes flutter shut. Her mind wasn't tired, but her body was exhausted, especially with the ordeal that she had been put through this morning with the pirates. It hadn't really hit her then, but now she was starting to realize that it wasn't a dream. Her thighs were sore and she had a load of bruises and even teeth marks scattered across her dark skin. She was surprised that Lex hadn't noticed them in the ship, although it was dark and she the marks blended in with her skin fairly well.
Ah, Lex. What was going to come from the queer relationship they had? In most cases, she would assume that they would keep her around as a playmate, a sex toy of sorts. But Lex had already said that he wasn't like that - and she was inclined to believe him. He just didn't seem like that kind of man.
So what kind of man was he? What would he want from her? He knew that she had no money, no wealth of any kind. Did he want her company? Possibly - but she was still skeptical about that.
Lexus Knox was a very difficult person.

As she was thinking this, the water turned off and the door opened, emerging from it, a dripping wet Lex with just the ratty pair of shorts he'd been wearing before and a towel over his head. Desire snorted at the last part. Of course he'd be worried about his hair.
"I apologize." She said teasingly as she passed him. "You might make it in the world of prostitution."
She was already closing the door to the bathroom when she heard his comment about not smelling like a shark's food, so she didn't bother answering. Instead, she just pulled off her clothes and stepped into the blissfully warm running water of the shower. She didn't get these very often; they were a once in a while pleasure. Most of the time she took cold baths in rancid streams that didn't do much to her appearance except take away the immediate dirt and grime.
When she got out, she pulled on the old sailor's outfit she was wearing. There were a few holes and tears, but they were relatively clean since they'd been folded up in a barrel for so long, so she decided that it wouldn't be necessary to wash them. She stepped from the bathroom, wringing her hair over her shoulder as she did so. It was so nice to have that limp pile of shit finally clean again. She flashed a small smile at Lex and threw her hair back in a loose braid. That would keep it under control for a while.

"I apologize." Desire said teasingly, "You might make it in the world of prostitution."
"Oh yeah, score." Lex shot back, flashing a devilishly handsome grin at Desire's retreating form, "Hooker approved."
Once Desire had gone off to take her shower, Lex was left sitting on the bed, attacking his wet hair with the towel. He hummed to himself as he scrubbed it dry, then tossed the towel aside. His hair was back to its usual state now, falling softly across his face with a gleam like freshly fallen snow.
He was well aware that his hair was weird, but he had come to terms with it a long time ago, and now it simply didn't bother him any more.
What did bother him was the fact that he currently had a rather worrying number of people after his head, and he was not quite far away enough for comfort.

He was lose in thought when Desire reappeared, but at the sound of the door opening, he lifted his head and offered a smile.
"Well look who else cleans up nice." He complimented, grinning in a friendly fashion, then swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing up.
"D'you want to go back out there and see if we can't find some new clothes?" He glanced from Desire to himself and back again, then shrugged, "I reckon we could both use a change of wardrobe."
That, and I'm not too keen on anybody recognizing me...

[[Just to let you know, 1. I am in love with your icon and 2. I wrote gay Lord of the Flies fanfiction all day Sunday and Monday. Jack and Ralph are such an adorable couple.]]

"I do clean up nice, thank you." Desire snorted sarcastically under her breath. She was pretty and she knew it. Besides, her dark blue eyes gave an image completely unique to herself; after all, there weren't many Africans that had her color iris. Her skin was a little lighter than most, but still tan. She was confident with the way she looked, but not cocky about it. She knew exactly how and when to use her body to get what she wanted, and she was good at it. She cast a sly look in Lex's general direction, a grin twisting up the corner of her mouth. She could probably get what she wanted from him, even if her traditional method wasn't the way to go.
But she didn't exactly know what she wanted from him yet. Maybe she just wanted a friend.
"I could go for some new clothes." Desire agreed, but added, "I'm fine with these for now, though. We don't have to go right away."
She glanced at herself in the mirror. The pants were too big in the waist and clung gently to her fragile hips. The shirt was a little short - it was probably for that Arabian slave boy they had - and cut off at her midriff. All she needed was a parrot on her shoulder and she would look like an actual pirate.
"On second thought, let's go get changed." She said, spinning away and quickly exiting the room, flashing a teasing grin at Lex.

((Aaaaw, thank you. I quite love it, too. XD And you must SO show me that fan fiction! Gayness - I'm so proud of you! Haha! ))

At first Desire didn't go for Lex's offer, and he raised an eyebrow disbelievingly as he watched her glance over her clothes. After a while, as expected, Desire seemed to change her mind. "On second thought, let's go get changed." She said, flashing Lex a grin as she spun on her heel and walked to the door.
He smiled, shaking his head slightly to himself, and shrugged on his dirty shirt before following after her. It wouldn't do to be walking around shirtless in town, after all.
He trotted after her, and slung an arm casually around her shoulders when he reached her, leading her in the direction that he was sure the clothing shops would be.
He had been here before, of course. Not recently and not for long, but he retained some memories of the place nevertheless. Truth was, there were few places he hadn't been...
After walking for a while they came to the clothing shop, and Lex removed his arm from Desire's shoulders to gesture for her to enter.
"Here we are." He said, "I've got some gold, so go nuts." He paused, then added with a laugh, "Within reason, of course."

[[Sometimes I wish I was a boy and then I could be gay.]]

Desire followed Lex out of the hotel and jumped a little when he carelessly slung his arm around her, grinning from ear to ear. He steered her in what she supposed was the direction of the clothing store. Hopefully that was where they were going, because she wasn't prepared to go anywhere else.
True to his word, the strange white haired man stopped in front of a relatively large brick building. The doors were propped open, and the inside looked sweltering, but Desire walked in anyways, taking a look at Lex's bag of stolen gold. "I think there is more than enough in there for me to go crazy." She grinned, and then took off through the shop.
As she went through the aisles, Desire kept a list of all the customers. A woman a couple of years older than her meandered around, a toddler following at her heels closely. The woman was blonde with green eyes, and by the looks of her clothing, she was wealthy. A couple of men by the door watched her and the other woman warily. They leaned against the wall, arms crossed and gazes dark. It was clear that they were there to ensure the safety of the owner at the counter and that none of the items went missing. And by their constant glare at her, it was also clear that they were not happy that a black woman was perusing the items.
She turned away from them, not wanting to be kicked out. It had happened before; she'd made eye contact with the wrong person and got in huge trouble for it. That was when she was younger though, and not as smart.
Her hand trailed the fabrics longingly. This was a nice clothing shop and she had nothing like these garments before. Her fingers wrapped themselves around a silk blouse the color of ivory and her face lit up in a smile. She would like this one.
She grabbed a pair of pants from the men's section that went well with it. After all, women didn't wear skirts - but it was impractical for her not to. She folded the two things over her arm and went to the counter.
The owner was a bald headed man, probably in his forties. He was sweating in the smoldering heat of the building and looked extremely uncomfortable as she approached.
"Is that your master over there?" He asked, not meeting her eyes. He nodded his head at Lex. "Tell him that his slave shouldn't be picking out such expensive clothing."
"It's for the missus." Desire lied smoothly, her eyes burning. "It is for her birthday. Master asked me to help because he has horrible fashion sense."
The man didn't comment, but eyed the pair of gray work pants suspiciously. They didn't really fit the description of "fashionable".
"That will be sixty dollars. Sir?" He called for Lex to come over.

[[And yes, it is dollar. Ethiopians used the dollar until 1976, when they switched over to the birr.]]

((ME TOO! Finally somebody gets it. XD Everybody else thinks I'm weird. ))

Lex left Desire to her own devices as he wandered around the shop, picking out clothes for himself. He didn't intend to change his wardrobe much; he just wanted some new, unspoiled and clean clothes to wear. He was sick of his salt-hardened clothes chafing him, and frankly he was looking forward to finally getting to change.
He found himself a nice pair of dark jeans, and a collared white shirt with black-rimmed buttons.
Content with his choice, he slung the clothes over his arm, then looked up suddenly when he heard the man at the counter calling.
"I'm coming, I'm coming..." He replied, taking out his wallet as he walked over to the desk. He handed the man sixty dollars for Desire's clothes, as well as the payment for his own, then thanked the shopkeeper and turned to leave. As he was on his way out, Lex's shoulder accidentally bumped into the blonde woman, and she uttered a small sound of surprise.
"Oh god, I'm sorry!" Lex laughed, taking her shoulders to steady her, and flashing a charming smile, "You okay?" He asked, brushing an invisible speck of dust from her shoulder.
"Y-Yes..." She murmured breathlessly, blushing at the sight of Lex's boyish smile.
Yeah, he turned on the charm when he had to, and he used it well.
"Right then." He smiled, and brushed gently past her on his way back to Desire, leaving her swooning slightly.
When he reached Desire, he touched her arm lightly, guiding her out of the store.
The minute they were out on the street, he opened his hand to reveal the woman's purse that he had nicked, and flashed Desire a devious wink, "Now what were you saying about me not being able to make it in prostitution...?" He teased, flashing a devilish smile.
God, I love stealing! Where else do you get that rush?!

[[I just- I just wish I was gay sometimes Dx I wish I was a gay boyyyyyy.]]

Lex quickly paid for the items, not commenting on the remarks of the owner. He probably hadn't even heard the man. He began walking out of the store before her though, and on the way out ran into a young lady that was walking in. It looked like an accident, but Desire could see that something about the motion wasn't right. Lex was too casual about the entire encounter, flirtatious and charming as he was only when he was hiding something.
After apologizing and leaving the poor girl dazzled, he seemingly remembered that he had a companion. He walked back over to the counter and touched her arm, nudging her out of the store. She arched an amused eyebrow at him, but walked on without saying anything, chuckling a little to herself as she passed the star struck girl. It was a good thing Lex hadn't used his charms on her yet; she was sure that she would be a goner as well. She had a soft spot for young guys, he ones that weren't worn down by life and all of its troubles yet.
"Now what were you saying about me not being able to make it in prostitution...?"
Desire laughed. "I told you that you'd be able to make it. Although I don't think your customers would be very happy if you continued to pickpocket them like that."
She poked at the stolen purse resting in his hands.
"How much is in there? And where are we going now?"

((*Hugs* I feel your pain. I want it too... Life is so cruel. ))

Lex grinned at the sound of Desire's laugh, clearly proud of himself, and when she added, "I told you that you'd be able to make it. Although I don't think your customers would be very happy if you continued to pickpocket them like that.", He just shrugged and chuckled, "Hey, you've got your methods, I've got mine." He flashed a devious wink, then glanced down at the purse in his hands when Desire poked it, asking, "How much is in there? And where are we going now?"
"I dunno." Lex shrugged, shaking the purse. He could hear the sound of coins clinking together. "But doesn't it suit me?" He asked, flicking his wrist to display 'his' purse, and pouting his lips girlishly.
Snickering, he shoved the purse into his pocket, and glanced curiously around in search of what to do next. Stealing always put him in a fantastic mood, until he took it too far and got caught...
"Where do you want to go?" He asked, glancing back at Desire. Before she could respond, however, Lex heard an unpleasantly familiar voice shout, "Hey, Kevin, that you?"
He shot a glance over his shoulder to see a burly, red-faced man muscling his way toward them, and cursed under his breath, grabbing Desire by the wrist. "Run." He hissed, quickly pushing his way through a group of people and breaking into a sprint.
He needed to find somewhere to hide, and fast... Otherwise he had a feeling that trouble was about to break out...

Desire rolled her eyes at his antics since there was no better reaction. There wasn't really anything to say to the white haired man that was flashing around a purse and making distinctly feminine faces. People were looking at the two of them with strange expressions, and she was sure it wasn't just because of the purse or his hair.
She brushed off their stares, though, and shrugged when he asked where she wanted to go.
"Doesn't really ma-"
A voice behind them interrupted her.
"Hey, Kevin, that you?"
She didn't think that it concerned them - after all, his name was Lex, not Kevin, but Lex seemed to get concerned. He threw a short glance behind him them and muttered a curse, as well as one simple command.
"Run."
"Wait, wha-" Desire managed to get out before Lex was grabbing her wrist and pulling her away. She trusted him enough to let him, and soon she ran alongside of him. She wrenched her arm from his grip with an expression of distaste. "You need to work on your manners." She hissed.
A couple of times, she looked back to see what exactly they were running from. A man with a very red face was barreling towards them, and he looked none too pleased. Desire decided that it would be a good idea to run.

As Lex ran, he was relieved to find Desire quickly catching up, but the moment she was alongside him, she snatched her hand away from his, and hissed, "You need to work on your manners."
"If I live, I'll remember that." Lex shot back, glancing quickly over his shoulder to see that the man from before was chasing them, "Shit!" He cursed, darting forwards and grabbing Desire's wrist again as he quickly swung around a corner, and instantly flattened himself against the wall of an alleyway, heart thumping.
"You can scold me all you like later." Lex said, letting go of Desire's wrist, "But for now let's concentrate on staying alive, okay? I have plenty of skills, but caveman fist fighting is not one of them."
He drew in a deep breath, and looked desperately around the alleyway for something to hide behind. There was nothing.
"Oh shit..." Lex groaned under his breath, "He'd better not look here..."
If he did, they would be cornered. Trapped like rats... Lex wasn't too fond of that idea, to be honest.
Damn, this is the problem with screwing people over. Enemies around every damn corner.

Right after Desire told him to mind his manners, Lex made a snarky comment, let out a curse, and grabbed her wrist. She sighed and let herself be dragged away, this time not trying as hard to keep up The man jiggled a bit as he ran, so maybe he wasn't the most in shape. Maybe he wouldn't catch up with them.
The white haired man pulled her into an alley, and then looked around with despair. She rubbed her wrist, angrily glaring at him. She didn't like being dragged around like a rag doll.
"You can scold me all you like later. But for now let's concentrate on staying alive, okay? I have plenty of skills, but caveman fist fighting is not one of them."
"What the hell is going on?" She asked quietly, more to herself than to him. She didn't really expect an answer, since Lex was frantically looking for a place to hide when there was none. He was obviously in deep trouble. She glanced around and noticed that there was literally nothing in the alley, except for a few rats around the edges. She wrinkled her nose - rats didn't really tickle her fancy. They were mean and gross and tended to bite anything that got near them. And they were probably infested with lice of some sort.
Desire looked back towards the mouth of the alley. She was standing in front of Lex, so anyone that passed would see her first and then the man. And it was obvious what it looked like.
"Dammit, your hair." She muttered.

"Tell me about it..." Lex grumbled, clamping his hands sulkily over his hair, as if that would help. "I'll explain everything in a second," He promised, "Just keep it down..."
He swallowed thickly, pressing himself against the wall of the alleyway, and waiting.
For a while he waited there, until finally, he thought the coast was clear.
"Okay..." He said, sighing and turning to face Desire, "Here's the deal..." He glanced over his shoulder to where the man had disappeared, then looked back and said, "I've got some enemies around, well, everywhere. It's not big deal; just I seem to get into a trouble a lot, and now people are after my head." He laughed, running his fingers awkwardly through his hair.
"So I prefer to avoid people like that, because I'm quite fond of my head, and I'd rather like to keep it. Which is why I can't stay around here very long..." He crept to the edge of the alleyway, and peered back out into the street. After a moment's silence, he turned, and looked directly at Desire.
"When I take off," He said, holding her gaze intensely, "Are you going to come with me?"

[[*cries* Geometry homework. But I've got pretty much all day today for this ]]

Desire watched the front of the alley fearfully, the seconds passing by slowly. Adrenaline pumped through her veins; the fear in the atmosphere heightened her senses. She could hear and smell and see clearly. The colors were vivid, the sounds were distinct and sharp. The scent - well, she wished she couldn't smell. The rats weren't helping.
She wrinkled her nose and listened to the vague explanation he gave after a while.
"I've got some enemies around, well, everywhere. It's not big deal; just I seem to get into a trouble a lot, and now people are after my head. So I prefer to avoid people like that, because I'm quite fond of my head, and I'd rather like to keep it. Which is why I can't stay around here very long..."
He trailed off, glancing around as if he was unsure of their situation, like the man might come barreling around the corner at any moment. And he could. Lex thrived with this lifestyle, she could tell. He lived on adrenaline and danger and that probably made these kinds of things worth it. She wondered absently what he could have done get in this much trouble, especially if all of his "enemies" felt this way about him.
Then the white haired man twisted his head and met Desire's eyes with a burning intensity. She felt her heart begin to thump frantically and could suddenly sympathize with the woman from the clothing shop. His face was so unique, so different. It wasn't unattractive, but it had a different kind of appeal than most. He looked like adventure, something that women craved as they sat cooking in the kitchen and tended to their children. Or living on a street corner trying to earn enough money to get food for the day.
"When I take off are you going to come with me?"
Just one simple sentence and she'd lost her breath. She struggled to come up with something witty to say, maybe something sarcastic. He could deal with sarcasm. But all she could manage to choke out was a dry "yes."
Lex was too intense for anything else at the moment.
She turned away to try and regain her composure, but after a few moments, the man came walking by, looking carefully into the alley. It looked like he'd been doing this with all of the ones on the street. When he saw Lex, his face became just as red as it had been before. He began shouting at him, but he had an accent that made it hard to understand him.
Desire jumped backwards and almost ran into a wall. A rat let out an unhappy squeak underneath her as it tried to squirm away. She'd landed on its scaly little tail.
She almost let out a scream, but an idea struck her. She reached down and picked up the rodent, struggling to keep its yellowed teeth away from her skin, and began walking quickly over to Lex. The man was charging at the poor guy, who was looking for a way to get out of the man's path.
As soon as he passed, she threw the rat at the man, who let out a yelp as the animal landed on his arm and stuck its claws and teeth into his skin in order to hang on. The poor creature was probably terrified, but it was no time to worry about it.
"Come on." Desire said, grabbing Lex's wrist and pulling him out. She didn't notice the blood trickling from her forearm from where the rat had bitten her.

[[Sorry for the power play, I just really wanted her to throw a rat.]]

((Yay! Because I'm getting really into this again. Haha!
Good luck with the geometry. o_0
And Dude... Rat throwing... Genius. XD ))

When Desire answered 'yes', Lex's face split into a bright grin that even he couldn't quite explain. He didn't know what it was that made him want Desire around; he had always worked alone and he had never craved company before, but there was just something about her that made Lex want to keep her around. She was different, and he liked that.
Desire turned away then, and as Lex glanced back toward the street, he froze. Right there, directly in front of him, was the red face of the bald gorilla of a man that he had been fleeing from when he ended up in this alley.
The man began shouting, and Lex froze. He was quick-thinking and slippery as a snake, but cornered like this with a man built like a bear, he was powerless.
He heard Desire run up behind him, and prayed that she had a plan. Luckily, this time, her ingenuity had outstripped his own.
And in the moment that she threw the squirming rat at their opposition, Lex suddenly understood exactly why he liked having her around...
The man howled as the rat bit into his arm, and Lex felt a tug on his wrist jerk him out of his admiring reverie.
Taking the chance for escape, he darted away from the man with Desire by his side, but at the last moment, a ham-sized hand closed around his forearm, and he was jerked roughly to a standstill.
He tried desperately to pull away, but it was no use, the man was just too powerful.
"Go!" He gasped to Desire, giving her a rough shove between the shoulder blades to keep her moving, "I'll find you."
His quiet words didn't reach the ears of the furious man, but as he made a grab for Desire, Lex distracted him with a sharp shove in his meaty chest.
"You!" The man growled furiously, "You betrayed me whole crew to them pirates, yeh did! I should feckin' kill ya!"
He slammed Lex against the wall so hard that he saw stars for a moment, and gasped at the force.
"I... I didn't." Lex lied, crumpling in the man's grasp and cringing dramatically as he pulled back a fist.
"Please, sir, have mercy!" Lex whimpered, and as he cringed away again, the man's fist paused.
"Mercy!" He snapped angrily, "Did you have mercy when me men was bein' slaughtered an' me ship looted? HUH?"
Spittle flew from his quivering jowls to strike Lex's face, and he flinched as he looked up at the man with wide eyes, and lied through trembling lips, "I had nothing to do with it Captain, I swear... I didn't go with them by choice - they took me prisoner. I never betrayed you..." He shook his head, looking pleadingly at the man.
"Save it, Kevin." He snarled, taking a fistful of Lex's shirt, "I believed yer lies the firs' time, but I won' be makin' tha' mistake again."
Lex's eyes widened in disbelief. Shit...
A heavy fist thudded harshly into his stomach, and Lex crumpled over. For a moment he gasped for air like a fish out of water, then consciousness fizzled away from him, and the last thing he remembered was being tossed over the Captain's burly shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

When he woke up, he was sitting in a damp, dark cell in the prison of the little seaside town... And he did not like the looks he was getting from the other inmates.

The two of them ran out, and Desire was still gripping Lex's wrist tightly in her hand. Her palm and fingers didn't quite reach around it, and he was yanked from her grasp at some point. She turned around as she felt his hand sliding away from her own, just in time to see the angry man grabbing Lex towards him, looking even more angry that before. She could see crimson spreading over his left bicep, probably from the rat biting him. The animal was nowhere to be seen, probably cowering back in a corner in the alley.
"Go. I'll find you." Lex muttered quietly, too quietly for the burly man to hear. She didn't hesitate sprinting away as he made a grab for her, dodging quickly away and disappearing into the crowd.
Now she could only hope that he wouldn't follow her. And that he'd never see her again. Like Lex, she was pretty hard to forget because of her eye color. He would no doubt recognize her as Lex's companion and do whatever horrible things he wanted to.

After a while of running, Desire finally slowed down. People cast her strange glances, and a couple even tried to stop her, thinking that she was a runaway slave. But if she was, there would be a reward and a picture of her face out soon enough. They may as well wait until they could get a few dollars for her head.
Where had Lex gone? He said that he would find her, and she trusted that. But did she really just leave him to fend for himself with no idea of his situation? Had he gotten out?
She began to go back, in the general direction of where the struggle had taken place, keeping her head low. Lex had her new clothes with him, so there was no changing. She felt horribly exposed with her ill fitting garments.
The girl knew that Lex wouldn't want this. He wouldn't want her putting herself in danger to save him, because he was a gentleman and gentlemen could do everything they needed to without the help of women. Women were inferior, were they not?
She snorted, but continued walking, not caring about it. She decided to put her thoughts of the boy to the side, because they were confusing and she didn't know what to make of them. How was she going to rescue him if she kept getting distracted and trying to figure out his motives and all of the possible actions that could have gotten him into this mess? Besides, did that really matter? You couldn't change the past, so there was no point in worrying about it. He'd tell her soon enough, anyway.
"Excuse me, miss, have you seen my master?" She stopped a black slave boy rushing with a jar of water. "White hair, impossible to miss? Probably running away?"
The boy shook his head and continued on, afraid to be caught associating with anyone.
She kept at it for a couple of hours, asking other Africans about Lex and pretending that he was her master. It was much easier to explain than friend, and if she revealed that she wasn't a slave, someone might kidnap her and sell her back into it.
Finally someone gave her useful information. A small girl, about seven or eight years old was wandering around with a bag of clothes, probably the laundry of her missus. At the question, her eyes widened and she nodded, stopping her tracks.
"Yeah, I saw a man. He had really white hair, but he didn't look old. He was being carried by another guy and he wasn't moving. I thought he was dead. That way, I think." She pointed behind her.
Desire's heart stopped at this, but she patted the girl on the head. "Thank you, child." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a couple of gold coins that Lex had given her. "Give this to your mama."
The girl's face split into a wide toothless grin, and a wave of nausea washed over Desire. How had the girl lost all of her teeth at such a young age? She watched the girl sprint away happily and continued on, a feeling of unease in her stomach. She continued in the way that the girl had shown her and prayed for the best. She asked a couple more slaves if they had seen anything, and they all replied that they had, that about an hour ago a man had been carrying the strange white haired man who wasn't moving. One man said that they went into little prison.
Desire thanked them and moved that way, muttering curses under her breath. Of course he would end up in jail. That was just like him.

((Sorry for the delay, I've been having Internet trouble... ))

Once he was awake, Lex stood and dusted himself off. All of his posessions had been taken from him, and he had been left at the mercy of several angry-looking inmates who happened to be sharing his cell.
"How's it going, traitor?" One of them greeted him with a grunt, slowly standing up from where he was seated on a bed, and walking toward Lex.
Lex backed away quickly, raising his hands in surrender, and answered with a nervous laugh, "Not so great, actually. How's it going for you?"
"Heh." The man snorted, "Always a joker, aintcha Steve?" Lex couldn't help but muse over how terribly uncreative his fake names had become recently, but he was soon saved the trouble of mulling over it, because at that moment, the inmate spat at his feet, and snarled, "Turned us in, didn't ya? Little lapdog of the navy." His eyes narrowed, "And now you end up in here with us... How ironic." He crunched his knuckles, and Lex raised his hands to ward the man off, laughing nervously.
"Come on, Barry," He said with a hopeful smile, "We were friends, weren't we? I would never sell you out..." He paused, fixing a hurt expression on his handsome face, "You know that, don't you?"
Barry - who had been getting ready to punch Lex by this stage - hesitated at that, and met the man's eyes uncertainly.
"I'm listening." He grunted grudgingly, and Lex beamed in response.
"I'm here to help bust you out." He whispered, "I always planned to come back for you, you know, and I know that we can make it out of this if we work together." Lex flashed a charming wink, and added with a grin, "I'm sure you have some ideas."
By some incredible stroke of luck, Barry seemed to fall for Lex's act, and the two spent the next few hours planning their escape, until at last a guard arrived.
"Lexus!" He exclaimed, staring into the cell in surprise, "What on earth are you doing in there, son?"
Jumping at the opportunity, Lex darted over to the gate, and the moment he reached it, the guard opened it to release him.
"Can't have our best pirate hunter stuck in prison now, can we?" He asked with a wink, dusting Lex off in a fatherly fashion.
Lex thanked him, and then the two hurriedly vanished into the next room to escape Barry's furious shouting as he realized that Lex had tricked him yet again.
The guard handed back Lex's belongings, and released him back into the street, where he stood, blinking at the brightness of the day after being cramped in that cell for so many hours.
"Phew..." He muttered to himself, "That was close..."
More than a little shaken by the whole ordeal, Lex took a deep breath and looked anxiously up and down the street. After a moment he located Desire, and a relieved smile jumped to his lips.
He hurried over to her, and on impulse decided to greet her with a hug. "You have no idea how pleased I am to see you! God, that was a mess..." He muttered with a tense chuckle as he pulled back, raking his fingers through his hair in a stressed gesture. "I seriously have to get the hell out of here..." He glanced around nervously again - looking truly fearful for perhaps the first time since he had met Desire.
"There's too many people who know me here, and I can only talk myself out of trouble so many times..." He swallowed worriedly, then touched her arm as he added, "Let's head back to the inn."

[[It's cool, dude. I'm having sine, cosine, and tangent troubles myself -.-]]

Desire had been sitting in front of the small building for some time, trying to think of a way to bust Lex out, but she was stumped. No ideas were coming to her, and at this rate it was going to take years to get him out and she'd have to take up prostitution in this town too.
She glanced around nervously at all of the grimy sailors wandering about, looking at her as if she was food. She swallowed nervously and looked to her left, just in time to see a bob of white hair jogging over to her. The man threw his arms around her in a great hug, which she returned without a moment's hesitation. She didn't know if it was because she'd been worried about herself and her future without him or if it was an after effect of that little moment earlier in the day. Nevertheless, she squeezed him tightly and ignored the stares.
"You have no idea how pleased I am to see you! God, that was a mess... I seriously have to get the hell out of here..."
He looked stressed, nervous, and scared. Scared. Desire had never seen Lex scared before. Granted she'd met him this morning - this morning?! It seemed like so much longer than that - but she could have sworn he was even capable of fear. But obviously he was, and it was plain on his face. She could tell he was serious about needing to leave, too. And she was inclined to agree with him. After all, he needed to know at least some people to be able to get in and out of prison as quickly as he did today. Somehow she figured that most sentences weren't just a few hours.
"There's too many people who know me here, and I can only talk myself out of trouble so many times... Let's head back to the inn."
Desire nodded her head.
"Sounds like a plan. But we need to talk about this tonight."
That was all she said as she began the walk back to the small brown inn. She was glad that she'd picked it now; most likely the other residents wouldn't recognize him, and the people that would recognize him wouldn't look there. But they were going to have a long conversation tonight.
She needed to know what she was getting herself into with this man.

((Ugh! That revolting STUFF! o_0 I do not miss it. I've officially pushed it out of my brain forever. ))

Lex was relieved when Desire neither objected to his need to get back to inn, nor questioning him right away, but he did pull a face when she said, "Sounds like a plan. But we need to talk about this tonight."
He hated 'talking'. Then again, there was nothing forcing him to speak the truth. And, knowing him, he probably wouldn't. Or maybe this time he would... Just for a change. He supposed that he would decide in the moment.
So, happy with that decision, Lex headed back to the inn with Desire at his side, and the two retreated back indoors.
The moment they were in their room, Lex tossed Desire her new clothes.
"Here." He said, tossing his own clothes over his shoulder, "Now I need to shower again," He pulled a face, "I smell like a prison."
Lex obviously hated feeling dirty.

So, one short shower later, he reappeared in new jeans, and his white shirt unbuttoned in front and with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair was wet again, but his face had regained come of the colour that he had lost during his fright earlier. It wasn't that Lex was a coward, it was simply that he knew his limits and his dangers, and he did not want to die.
"So," He said, walking over to Desire and sitting on the bed, then resting his chin in his cupped hands, "We need to have a talk, don't we?" He raised an eyebrow, "You're in cahoots with the pied piper, aren't you? Yeah, I'm onto you." He waggled a finger accusingly at her, and smirked as he added jokingly, "I saw how you threw that rat. Speaking of which..." He glanced toward her arm, and poked it concernedly, "You should get something on that bite. Don't want it getting infected - rats carry all sorts of diseases..."
He was well aware that he was stalling, and that Desire would probably notice, but he didn't care. He needed to just relax and let go a little after such a stressful day.

((Dude, they've only known each other a day... XD The classic awkward RP time problem. :3 Looks like we'll definitely need a time skip soon, just so their whole 'friendship' vibe makes a little more sense. Haha! ))

[[A time skip in the near future sounds fantastic xD But this is probably my last post for the day. I've got a babysitting job to go to Dx Besides, Polo needs some sleep ]]

Lex immediately ran for the shower as soon as they got back to the room, which was good. It gave Desire some time to think. She took the clothes that had so carelessly been tossed at her and took off her own. She ran her eyes over her body in the mirror, taking it in.
She was skinny, probably too skinny to be healthy. Her ribs were prominent, and her collarbones stuck out awkwardly. Her knees were knobby and her hips were too angular. It was a wonder she made it as a prostitute, but supposed her face was pretty enough to attract customers, and by the time they started taking her clothes off, they didn't really care what lay underneath.
She made a face at herself and pulled on her shirt and the pants. The pants were very comfortable, but the shirt was too expensive. It had looked pretty on the shelf and it looked pretty on her, but it was... too pretty. It was bound to attract some bad attention. She sighed and pulled it up over her head, replacing it with the ratty old sailor's shirt that came up to her belly button.
Well, this is a nice look, she thought sarcastically. The gray colored shirt contrasted with the light brown of her pants, and she wasn't sure if she liked it. It wasn't like she could be too picky, though.
At that point, Lex emerged from the bathroom, his hair dripping just like earlier this morning. He was pretty.
She snorted at his humorous comment, too tired to actually laugh. Of course she was in cahoots with the pied piper.
Wait. Who was the pied piper?
She didn't bother to ask, since it was probably a white people's children's story or something. Probably about rats, although why rats and children's stories would be in the same sentence she had no idea
"You should get something on that bite. Don't want it getting infected - rats carry all sorts of diseases..."
"Yeah, I should." Desire murmured absently, glancing down at her hand. A scab had started to form over the small bite. "I don't have any medicine though."
She glanced up at him, saw how nervous he was, and remembered that they needed to talk. She needed to learn some information from him before she decided that she was actually going to travel with him. There would be enough work in this town for her if she decided to stay. It would be the unpleasant, nasty business, but it would still be money, which meant food in her grumbling tummy. Which reminded her how hungry she was at the moment. She decided that dinner could wait until after this conversation, though.
"What am I being dragged into, Lex?" She asked, meeting his eyes with a burning intensity. "I don't want you to lie to me. I don't care what you did to get into this kind of trouble - although it would probably be a very interesting story that I would like to hear - I just want to know who is after you. How many people? And how mad did you make them?" She took a deep breath. "What kind of trouble would I get into for being with you, is basically what I want to know. I met you this morning, and I'm not going to drop everything and come with you if you're being chased by anybody and everybody. I'm going to put my safety over an adventure, no matter how much I want to go on it."

(( Pfffft. Sleep is for the DEAD! ... Nah, I do need sleep. XD Haha! Thanks for the awesome RP session, hopefully it can carry on tomorrow. ))

When Desire said that she didn't have any medicine, Lex was about to offer to go out and grab something for her, but then she stopped him with the question that he had been waiting for; "What am I being dragged into, Lex?" She met his eyes with such intensity that he was forced to look away as she went on, asking about how much trouble he was in, and what kind... She said that she didn't want him to lie, but really, she might as well have asked a dog not to bark. Lies were simply the language he spoke.
"Okay..." He said, heaving a heavy sigh, "Here's the thing - and this is top secret, so don't go spreading it around... I'm-" He paused for effect, "From the future." There was another pause, and then Lex went on with his intricate fabrication, weaving a shockingly convincing tale about scientists, time machines and secret government missions until, at last, he grew bored of his story.
"Okay," He admitted at last, "That was a lie, and see, that's just the thing..." He smiled slightly, "I'm a liar. I enjoy lying, and why shouldn't I? I'm bloody good at it. But the the problem is..." He trailed off, frowning thoughtfully. He was excellent at lying, but as it turned out, telling the truth was not so easy... But hey, he figured it was worth giving it a shot this once.
"The problem," He continued, "Is that when you're a good enough liar... Everybody believes you. I've crewed pirate ships and worked as a spy for the royal navy, and frankly, I'm not even sure whose side I'm on any more, if any." He shrugged, "I change my mind a lot, depending on what suits me - but crews of the navy that I've turned over to the Pirates sure hate me, and the Pirates that I got locked away hate me even more..." He trailed off, scratching his head awkwardly, "I usually manage to clean up after myself pretty well, but recently I've been starting to get caught from time to time, and sailors are not a forgiving bunch when it comes to traitors and stowaways. They remember." He shuddered dramatically, and added, "I'm not too keen on facing any of the poor suckers I've screwed over in the past, so I'd rather get away someplace where people don't know me quite so well..." At last, he looked Desire directly in the eye again, and asked, smirking, "So, is that a safe enough adventure for you? Or should I come up with a lie to make it seem more inviting?" He flashed a cheeky wink, unintentionally (or so it would seem) charming, and folded his arms behind his head as he sat back on the bed to watch Desire for her response.

Desire sat on the edge of the bed, trying to hold Lex's gaze, but he looked away. Perhaps there was something unsettling about her; she never usually looked at people this way. Most of the time she didn't even meet people's eyes out of respect. But there was something about Lex, that maybe if she looked deep enough that she could find the truth. Maybe she could know what he really was.
Her attempt proved futile, though. He spun off some story of being from the future and being a top secret government agent and what not. He even went so far as to claim that there was a way to communicate with people from across the ocean within seconds. She snorted at that part. Please. They were only just beginning to receive mail from there, and that took weeks, if not months. How could anybody send mail that was received in a minute? ((Oh, the irony xD))
Lex finally grew bored of his little tale, though and confessed to it. She rolled her eyes and muttered a sarcastic "really" under her breath.
"Okay, that was a lie, and see, that's just the thing... I'm a liar." And then he did that little half smile thing that made girls feel all fuzzy inside without really trying. It made him seem childish and adorable and cute and a whole bunch of other things that she didn't really know how to describe.
"I enjoy lying, and why shouldn't I? I'm bloody good at it. But the problem is..." He looked around nervously, as if trying to find a way out. He seemed uncomfortable, as if he'd never told the truth in his entire life.
And maybe he hadn't.
Desire was suddenly suspicious of him, that maybe everything that he'd told her was a fabrication, some twisted version of the truth. Maybe his name wasn't even Lex.
She narrowed her eyes at him, waiting for him to continue about what the problem could be - besides everybody not trusting him.
"The problem is that when you're a good enough liar... Everybody believes you. I've crewed pirate ships and worked as a spy for the royal navy, and frankly, I'm not even sure whose side I'm on any more, if any. I change my mind a lot, depending on what suits me - but crews of the navy that I've turned over to the Pirates sure hate me, and the Pirates that I got locked away hate me even more..."
She folded her arms across her chest. Well, this was a lovely situation. So he was involved with bootleggers and the navy, both of which would present challenges to her. The pirates would probably kidnap her and the navy... She shuddered. She didn't want to get caught by them, especially with Lex at her side.
"I usually manage to clean up after myself pretty well, but recently I've been starting to get caught from time to time, and sailors are not a forgiving bunch when it comes to traitors and stowaways. They remember. I'm not too keen on facing any of the poor suckers I've screwed over in the past, so I'd rather get away someplace where people don't know me quite so well..."
So that was why they needed to leave. Those were the people that they - he - was escaping from. She wasn't escaping from anyone, except for maybe her master back in Egypt, and that was already long gone. She probably didn't have to worry about him ever again, as long as they didn't go back.
Well, what was she going to do about this situation? Would she go with him? As if reading her mind, the man continued.
"So, is that a safe enough adventure for you? Or should I come up with a lie to make it seem more inviting?"
Then he flashed a wink that made her even more confused than before. He needed to stop messing with her head.
Desire closed her eyes and slowly shook her head back and forth. "I need to think about this, Lex. I'm not too keen on getting caught with you, because you know what they would do to me." She opened her eyes and looked at him, struggling not to cringe at the thought of the memory of that morning on the pirate ship. "And while I can say I'm used to that, I can also tell you it isn't very pleasant and I'd like to avoid that situation if I can."
She swung her legs over the side of the mattress so she could lie down. Then she pulled the covers up to her chin and bit her lip. "Just give me some time to think. I'll let you know in the morning."
She sighed and rolled over on her side, her back to the strange white haired man, slowly drifting off into a deep inviting sleep. The events of the day had worn her out, and no one could really blame her.

Desire cracked an eye open irritably. She was still exhausted, and she knew she couldn't have slept for too long. But she forced herself to sit up, knowing that they needed an early start to get out of town without being caught.
That took her by surprise. She'd already set in her mind that she was going with Lex, wherever he went. She knew all along, at least deep down anyway, that she would be going with him. It was better than her life of prostitution and constant abuse. Hell, anything was better than that, but she didn't have a lot of choices. And now one had practically fallen out of the sky and right in front of her. Well, she had fallen from a fishy smelling deck and into the hull of a ship right in front of the choice, but that was beside the point.
She sighed and wearily rubbed the sleep from her eyes, fighting the urge to fall back onto the pillow and go to sleep once more. She needed to get up, stay up, prove to Lex that she wouldn't be a burden, although he would probably gladly take on a challenge.
The girl stood up and moved over to the grimy mirror, undoing the loose braid from yesterday afternoon. She ran her fingers through her hair, untangling the inevitable knots from all of the running around. She winced as each one came loose, the pulling on her scalp stinging.

Desire decided to sleep on her decision, so Lex left her to mull it over, and decided he might as well get some sleep himself. He stripped down to his boxers, tossing his new clothes over the back of a chair beside his bed, then climbed into bed, shivering slightly. Pulling the covers quickly over him, Lex snuggled down into the bed, which was surprisingly comfortable, despite the squeaking of springs. He uttered a weary sigh, glad to feel safe at last, and slowly let himself drift off.

The next morning, Lex woke up to find Desire already out of bed, and battling with her hair in front of the mirror.
"Morning." He grunted with a yawn, sitting up and stretching his arms over his head in a manner that accidentally flaunted his abs. Well, maybe it was not completely accidental... After all, Lex had his methods of getting his way, and he had never had much of a conscience to tell which methods were not entirely 'right'.
Lex kicked off the covers and got out of bed, reaching for his new jeans and pulling them on over his boxers. Once he had dressed in his shirt as well, he stumbled sleepily into the bathroom, and after brushing his teeth and washing his face, returned looking slightly more awake.
He stretched as he walked back into the room, then headed over to Desire and paused behind her, meeting the reflection of her eyes in the mirror as she worked on untangling her hair. "This help?" He asked, ruffling her hair playfully, and flashing a devious wink.
"Come on," He said as he turned away, starting to gather his few belongings, "You're coming, right? We've got to find some ship to lie our way on to before all the good ones are taken."