MORT X AZURA
Many years have passed at this point, Mort is around 23 years of age now, and has a reputation for being one of the most vile kias on Tristan's godforsaken ship. At this point in time, he'd taken to going for strolls when they weren't out raiding, asking to be dropped off at random points in the world to wander nature essentially, as it helped ease some of his inner turmoil by just being by himself, around this time he'd started doubting his actions during raids, and these walks helped. During out of these outings, he'd come across a reasonably sized village, but avoided that like the plague, from the ocean when he was picking a spot to be dropped off, he'd noticed a beautifully thick green forest and decided that was the spot. Whilst wandering through it, he came upon a small clearing filled to the brim with flowers, and right in the middle was a radiantly beautiful kia. His breath caught as he stared at her, her smile was so pure it hurt to look at.
In this moment he realised something he'd been missing, and silently thanked her for being there in that moment. It was not love at first sight, oh no, but it was something dark witnessing true light for the first time, and it did something to the darkness. He knew if he approached her his power might go out of control and harm her however, so he kept his distance, and just sat and watched her. She seemed to be having a picnic, and over time girls that looked like her daughters showed up, amazing Mort as the lady became ever more radiant after this. He couldn't keep watching and so left.
Despite this, without fail, ever since then, for every break, he was asked to be dropped off near that forest, because while he knew it was best for her for him to stay away, he couldn't help but want to gaze and such a pure being. With time her daughters noticed him, and tried to scare him off and attack him, sometimes planning traps and everything, but he just laughed at these petty attempts, and kept coming back anyway. This went on for months, and he fell into a routine of going to see her, but never interact, just wanted a glimpse of her purity every time he visited.
Around this time, while on raids, he started thinking about how what he was doing would probably make her smile fade, so he started to change. Small things at first, like letting a pet escape, or killing someone faster, and using less cruel torture, but with the ball rolling now, he not soon after could no longer torture, and spent most of his raiding time hiding as many children and their families as he could, and making sure they had enough belongings and provisions to survive the raid. Tristan had of course, noticed this, but had ended up thinking of Mort like a son, so let him be, if that was what he wished to do, so be it.
Over the next two years, he had gone from vile and villainous, to kind at heart again, and able to show mercy and empathy. He didn't quite realise it consciously yet, but that kia he saw in the forest was changing him, and for the better. At this point he would protect villagers and cityfolk from his own pirate crew, particularly around one raider who was worse than he ever had been, and whenever he caught that aforementioned kia torturing a victim, he'd give them a quick mercy kill, to end their suffering as fast as possible.
This did cause some tension between that kia and Mort, but it was all good to Tristan, as Mort still pulled in plenty of gold, and like was said before, is like a son to him, and had at this point, become Tristan's first mate. Not suprising really considering he'd been on his ship for over a decade now.
It needs to be said, that recently, Tristan himself had become distracted by another kia, and understood what was happening to Mort, he too was becoming a better person thanks to another after all.
The next time Mort when to see Azura, he realised that he loved her. It'd been two years of watching her at this point, so it felt weird, but he wanted to try talking to her, he liked the way he was now, and felt a lot better about himself thanks to her, and wanted to thank her in person. Her daughters, at least the eldest, were fully aware that he was a pirate, and belonged to a particularly nasty crew at that, so were vehement against him meeting her, they had tolerated him watching to an extent, mostly because they could not get rid of him, he never fell for any of their plans, and they couldn't risk wasting more arrows and bows after a certain point.
However, him meeting her was a different matter, he was corrupt, there is no saving someone like that they decided. And vowed to keep him away, as they knew their mum to be too innocent, forgiving, and cherishing others for the good in them before anything else, and didn't want such an evil kia around.
Despite their objections, Azura had noticed him watching a few times over the years, and wanted to meet him herself, and so the girls couldn't keep getting in their way, Mort found a way to get close to Azura anyway.
This was what he'd been wanting, but he was petrified, what if he hurt her? So he sat a fair distance away from her, and just hardly spoke, mostly just happy to listen to this kia chat, she did have a pleasant voice after all. He was pleased to find out her name, and he thanked her deeply for her time, and for helping him to become a better person. He didn't ask for anything more, he didn't want for anything more even, he knew full well what a terrible person he had been, and had quickly developed a fear of becoming that again. There was no way she would ever love him back, and that was okay, seeing her happy, and thanking her just this once was enough. Mort decided that this would be the last time he'd come here, no use continuing to disturb these good people. Meanwhile Azura wanted to know of him more, she found him fascinating, and it was alluring to her that he appeared to be so loyal and gentle. She wasn't bothered by what her daughters were warning her about, she hadn't seen the kia they described, maybe they were right, but she hadn't seen any signs of that yet, she certainly wasn't going to judge another on their past, no matter how bad that past may be, unlike her daughters, she knew people changed over time if they personally strove for those changes.
Little did she know that Mort was not planning on coming back ever, and it would've stayed that way had it not been for Tristan taking a break from pirating to spend time with his new love. Having nowhere to go, Mort opts to just stay in the town below the forest where Azura lives, he would go somewhere else, but the ship came to not pick him up, just to tell him everyone is taking a vacation for a year, Tristan's orders. So he just ended up renting a room in this place and working as a part time blacksmith apprentice for now, until the year was over...He was sure it was fine, noone came down to the town that he'd noticed anyways. But he was wrong on that, the eldest daughter, Mysti, went down to one of the local taverns to sing, and actually lived there, she'd just taken to being more around her mother when Mort was coming around so often, to protect her.
He'd been there for about half a year when his plans were changed once more.
It caught Mort by suprise to have someone knocking on his room door, and it shocked him more to see that it was Mysti, the eldest daughter of Azura, "What do you want?" he asked tentatively, seeing that she looked angry. "Do you find this funny? Do you think we don't know who you are, you piece of trash? How dare you mess with my family, I bet you've found it hilarious teasing us, enjoyed hurting my mum, making her cry, does it get you off or something?! You're a right bastard you know that?!"
Mort stared at her in confusion, struggling to process her angry shouting, "Wait what? I made Azura cry? What on earth are you talking about? All I did was end up thanking her for talking with me, and for rescuing me from hell? What makes you say I made her cry?"
And then she punched him, knocking him to the floor as he was not expecting that response at all, "ASSHOLE don't pretend like you don't know!" and she stormed off, bewildered, Mort sat up and stared hard at the floor, what on earth did he do that would make her cry?
Then it dawned on him, he never told her he'd not see her again did he? Oh man what would she be thinking after months of no contact? God I'm such an asshole. So he decided he had to go see her to clear things up, and apologise for being insensitive and not telling her he wasn't coming back. And so he went to see her, of course her daughters were even more against him seeing her now, considering how he'd hurt her by not showing up for months. So he bent down on his knees on the floor and begged them to let him just apologise and explain what happened, so that at least Azura wouldn't be left wondering about it.
After some hesitation they relented, so long as it was just an apology and then he would be going again, he assured them that yes, he refused to cause her any further upset.
Azura refused to accept his apology, no, she wouldn't let him just walk away, she wanted to talk with him more, and that was his punishment, to apologise he had to spend time with her until she was satisfied. Mort relented, he had considered arguing, but she was so adamant, he melted at her determination to talk to him. "Alright, but it can't be forever, I don't want to disturb any of you any further if I can help it, but I can see you really want some company, so how about I spend time with you until I find someone more suitable?"
She pouted, that wasn't what she wanted but if that's what it took to get him to agree, "Fine, but you have to visit me everyday to talk." Mort smiled softly at her, "I can only do that until the end of the year, but for now, sure I can do that. I'll be aiming to find someone else before the year is up regardless so that suits just fine."
And from there, their story together truly began.
In this moment he realised something he'd been missing, and silently thanked her for being there in that moment. It was not love at first sight, oh no, but it was something dark witnessing true light for the first time, and it did something to the darkness. He knew if he approached her his power might go out of control and harm her however, so he kept his distance, and just sat and watched her. She seemed to be having a picnic, and over time girls that looked like her daughters showed up, amazing Mort as the lady became ever more radiant after this. He couldn't keep watching and so left.
Despite this, without fail, ever since then, for every break, he was asked to be dropped off near that forest, because while he knew it was best for her for him to stay away, he couldn't help but want to gaze and such a pure being. With time her daughters noticed him, and tried to scare him off and attack him, sometimes planning traps and everything, but he just laughed at these petty attempts, and kept coming back anyway. This went on for months, and he fell into a routine of going to see her, but never interact, just wanted a glimpse of her purity every time he visited.
Around this time, while on raids, he started thinking about how what he was doing would probably make her smile fade, so he started to change. Small things at first, like letting a pet escape, or killing someone faster, and using less cruel torture, but with the ball rolling now, he not soon after could no longer torture, and spent most of his raiding time hiding as many children and their families as he could, and making sure they had enough belongings and provisions to survive the raid. Tristan had of course, noticed this, but had ended up thinking of Mort like a son, so let him be, if that was what he wished to do, so be it.
Over the next two years, he had gone from vile and villainous, to kind at heart again, and able to show mercy and empathy. He didn't quite realise it consciously yet, but that kia he saw in the forest was changing him, and for the better. At this point he would protect villagers and cityfolk from his own pirate crew, particularly around one raider who was worse than he ever had been, and whenever he caught that aforementioned kia torturing a victim, he'd give them a quick mercy kill, to end their suffering as fast as possible.
This did cause some tension between that kia and Mort, but it was all good to Tristan, as Mort still pulled in plenty of gold, and like was said before, is like a son to him, and had at this point, become Tristan's first mate. Not suprising really considering he'd been on his ship for over a decade now.
It needs to be said, that recently, Tristan himself had become distracted by another kia, and understood what was happening to Mort, he too was becoming a better person thanks to another after all.
The next time Mort when to see Azura, he realised that he loved her. It'd been two years of watching her at this point, so it felt weird, but he wanted to try talking to her, he liked the way he was now, and felt a lot better about himself thanks to her, and wanted to thank her in person. Her daughters, at least the eldest, were fully aware that he was a pirate, and belonged to a particularly nasty crew at that, so were vehement against him meeting her, they had tolerated him watching to an extent, mostly because they could not get rid of him, he never fell for any of their plans, and they couldn't risk wasting more arrows and bows after a certain point.
However, him meeting her was a different matter, he was corrupt, there is no saving someone like that they decided. And vowed to keep him away, as they knew their mum to be too innocent, forgiving, and cherishing others for the good in them before anything else, and didn't want such an evil kia around.
Despite their objections, Azura had noticed him watching a few times over the years, and wanted to meet him herself, and so the girls couldn't keep getting in their way, Mort found a way to get close to Azura anyway.
This was what he'd been wanting, but he was petrified, what if he hurt her? So he sat a fair distance away from her, and just hardly spoke, mostly just happy to listen to this kia chat, she did have a pleasant voice after all. He was pleased to find out her name, and he thanked her deeply for her time, and for helping him to become a better person. He didn't ask for anything more, he didn't want for anything more even, he knew full well what a terrible person he had been, and had quickly developed a fear of becoming that again. There was no way she would ever love him back, and that was okay, seeing her happy, and thanking her just this once was enough. Mort decided that this would be the last time he'd come here, no use continuing to disturb these good people. Meanwhile Azura wanted to know of him more, she found him fascinating, and it was alluring to her that he appeared to be so loyal and gentle. She wasn't bothered by what her daughters were warning her about, she hadn't seen the kia they described, maybe they were right, but she hadn't seen any signs of that yet, she certainly wasn't going to judge another on their past, no matter how bad that past may be, unlike her daughters, she knew people changed over time if they personally strove for those changes.
Little did she know that Mort was not planning on coming back ever, and it would've stayed that way had it not been for Tristan taking a break from pirating to spend time with his new love. Having nowhere to go, Mort opts to just stay in the town below the forest where Azura lives, he would go somewhere else, but the ship came to not pick him up, just to tell him everyone is taking a vacation for a year, Tristan's orders. So he just ended up renting a room in this place and working as a part time blacksmith apprentice for now, until the year was over...He was sure it was fine, noone came down to the town that he'd noticed anyways. But he was wrong on that, the eldest daughter, Mysti, went down to one of the local taverns to sing, and actually lived there, she'd just taken to being more around her mother when Mort was coming around so often, to protect her.
He'd been there for about half a year when his plans were changed once more.
It caught Mort by suprise to have someone knocking on his room door, and it shocked him more to see that it was Mysti, the eldest daughter of Azura, "What do you want?" he asked tentatively, seeing that she looked angry. "Do you find this funny? Do you think we don't know who you are, you piece of trash? How dare you mess with my family, I bet you've found it hilarious teasing us, enjoyed hurting my mum, making her cry, does it get you off or something?! You're a right bastard you know that?!"
Mort stared at her in confusion, struggling to process her angry shouting, "Wait what? I made Azura cry? What on earth are you talking about? All I did was end up thanking her for talking with me, and for rescuing me from hell? What makes you say I made her cry?"
And then she punched him, knocking him to the floor as he was not expecting that response at all, "ASSHOLE don't pretend like you don't know!" and she stormed off, bewildered, Mort sat up and stared hard at the floor, what on earth did he do that would make her cry?
Then it dawned on him, he never told her he'd not see her again did he? Oh man what would she be thinking after months of no contact? God I'm such an asshole. So he decided he had to go see her to clear things up, and apologise for being insensitive and not telling her he wasn't coming back. And so he went to see her, of course her daughters were even more against him seeing her now, considering how he'd hurt her by not showing up for months. So he bent down on his knees on the floor and begged them to let him just apologise and explain what happened, so that at least Azura wouldn't be left wondering about it.
After some hesitation they relented, so long as it was just an apology and then he would be going again, he assured them that yes, he refused to cause her any further upset.
Azura refused to accept his apology, no, she wouldn't let him just walk away, she wanted to talk with him more, and that was his punishment, to apologise he had to spend time with her until she was satisfied. Mort relented, he had considered arguing, but she was so adamant, he melted at her determination to talk to him. "Alright, but it can't be forever, I don't want to disturb any of you any further if I can help it, but I can see you really want some company, so how about I spend time with you until I find someone more suitable?"
She pouted, that wasn't what she wanted but if that's what it took to get him to agree, "Fine, but you have to visit me everyday to talk." Mort smiled softly at her, "I can only do that until the end of the year, but for now, sure I can do that. I'll be aiming to find someone else before the year is up regardless so that suits just fine."
And from there, their story together truly began.
Shenanigans
Some of these things are before dating, some things during dating, some after that, tried to make it clear.
Ended up all fine, Mysti knew where Mort was, and discovered he'd just been playing with the kid at this point, because the kid hadn't been frightened, so he decided to play with him while he waited for this other guy to show up. Once it became apparent that Cassy is related to Azura, Mort was mortified that he'd kidnapped a relative of hers, and begged Mysti to keep it a secret, and look, he'll even take care of the people that wanted it done so that it didn't happen again, would that make up for it? ...Mysti tells her sisters, but that's it, Cassy and the girls keep it a secret.
- Due to his past, Mort is extremely cautious of even sitting next to Azura, let alone touching her at all, he is just that scared of hurting her, that fear remains with him his whole life honestly, but it does reduce with time. He tries extra hard to be good to her daughters, as he knows it must be so hard on them to be having to deal with seeing them spend time together, tries his best to make it easier on the girls, and frequently reminds himself this is only temporary, as soon as he finds someone better he won't be seeing Azura ever again.
- Tries so hard to be a good father in the future/present to the point of overworking himself honestly, due to his own father being the biggest douche and being a terrible father, he wants to be the best father ever so that they never have to go through anything like what he did. Is really nervous about not being a good dad and doubts himself regularly. Vows to never shout at them nor raise his voice. And to remember that they're little people too, so he spends so much time just talking with them and helping them overcome insecurities and such. Azura's children from her previous mates are welcome to do the same and come for a chat, but he does not push them as he reckons it must be weird to have him as their "dad".
- They spend a lot of time going on regular family outings and having playtime with each parent.
- Azura and Mort are 21 years apart.
- They take a long time to start dating, and once they do, they date for 2 years before getting married, mostly this is due to Mort, even now he thinks she could do so much better, but is grateful for how kind she is, he could have never imagined such a good life otherwise, and will forever and deeply love her for that even if she one day tosses him aside for another, he'd be okay with that, she deserves the best after all.
- Casimir, aka Cassy, Mal and Hartley's youngest son, gets kidnapped by Mort when he's around five years old. Mort did not know it was Azura's brother's kid, otherwise he never would've done it, all he knew was that he'd been tasked to kidnap this kid at a vulnerable moment and give him to someone else to be used as a bargaining tool. He had never met Hartley nor Mal at this point, otherwise he likely would've recognised the resemblance and protected the child instead. This happened whilst he was dating Azura, but in a different kingdom, in Mal's kingdom, on the border, however again, he was not aware of this. All he knew was that the kid would be likely unguarded for a moment while his caretaker went to get them their food, and he took that moment to snatch him.
Ended up all fine, Mysti knew where Mort was, and discovered he'd just been playing with the kid at this point, because the kid hadn't been frightened, so he decided to play with him while he waited for this other guy to show up. Once it became apparent that Cassy is related to Azura, Mort was mortified that he'd kidnapped a relative of hers, and begged Mysti to keep it a secret, and look, he'll even take care of the people that wanted it done so that it didn't happen again, would that make up for it? ...Mysti tells her sisters, but that's it, Cassy and the girls keep it a secret.
- Mort ends up being Casimir's favourite uncle. After they end up being formally introduced at Mal's castle, Cassy takes great delight in subtley teasing Mort about the kidnapping, and ends up admiring him quite a lot and caring for Mort deeply. Would listen to Mort better than his own parents to be honest. They end up with a very strong postive friendship and rely on each other.
- Mort hasn't had Christmas before. Like the pirates kinda get Christmas off, but he's just, not had it, like when he was with his family they couldn't afford anything cause of his mum being sick and all if you remember, so if anything, maybe he got taken to the town church at Christmas time but like, that's it and he kinda zoned out/got bullied extra hard (cause the only kid to not get a present) and like, his mum would've got him a present, but she thought he got something special when he went into town with his father and his father was just like "tell your mother you got something nice" and he'd be like sure and he'd get like a pastry or something so it was something nice, but just wasn't special And the pirates have a day off, but he just kinda wanders So he just has ended up thinking that Christmas is time to go to church?
While trying not to cry
And like, on the day, being given presents and like, having actual fun and partaking in traditions and stuff makes him look really innocent like sparkly eyes and stuff
And he ends up really loving Christmas due to it
Like even makes little toys to give to the kids in the nearby town "To make sure noone's without a present" like he wasand like the girls happily and eagerly help make the holidays great because like, even tho they distrust him at first they believe everybody deserve happiness on Christmas