Chapter Text
"Wonderful. Just. Fucking. Wonderful." Coby threw his arms in the air. "What the hell are we supposed to do now? We don’t have tools, we don’t have supplies, or even food! We're gonna die out here!"
"Coby, calm down. Food isn’t an issue."
"Maybe not for you! Remember I can’t do raw meat, and it’s the middle of fall. There’s hardly going to be things growing right now."
"Then don’t eat it raw."
"And how do you expect us to build a fire with no tools? Or even more importantly, a shelter? We'll freeze to death when the rain or snow comes!"
"I’ll keep you warm."
"What about you? What keeps you warm? You’re cold blooded. You draw your temperature from the atmosphere around you."
"I’ll figure something out. We'll start gathering logs and ferns for a shelter too. Ferns for extra shelter from the rain-"
"Won’t work. The rain will come right through."
"Maybe, but it’s still something. We can pack the logs together tight too."
"I’m hungry…"
"Me too."
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"This'll have to do for tonight." Drake shook his head in vague disappointment as he shoved one more log into place. Okay. So it was half a shelter.
"We don’t even have bedding. Just rocks and packed dirt."
"Coby, listen. You’re going to have to get used to a lack of luxuries. We have no way to contact someone, and no way to build a boat to get us off this island. We're stuck until either that changes, or someone comes by this place."
Coby crossed his arms. "Doesn’t mean I have to like it."
"I never said you did."
"No bedding, no blanket or sheet, nothing."
Drake sighed, scooping Coby against his chest. "I’ll keep you warm. Just stop complaining."
Coby cuddled close, savouring the warmth. "Sorry, sorry. Just…having been stranded and soaked by the sea, then not even having proper shelter or dinner…kinda leaves me grouchy."
"I get it. Now go to sleep. We'll finish the shelter and look at finding food and making a fire tomorrow."
"Sounds good."
Drake watched silently as Coby closed his eyes, pressed against him, and slowly drifted off. Coby had always been special. As a general rule, Drake knew what was his, and what was not his. What was not his, he didn’t care about. What was his though, Drake would protect with his life. For better or for worse, somewhere along the line, Coby had become his. Now, he would make it his job to ensure that Coby was safe.
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"Drake, seriously, what do we do? I’m hungry!"
"I know. Don’t worry." Drake crossed his arms. "I’m sure a forested island has animals. If there’s a benefit to being an allosaurus, it’s that I’m at the top of the food chain. Animals will see me and run, which’ll make them easier to spot. We'll have fresh meat tonight."
Coby hugged his stomach. "That’d be nice."
"I’ll get on with the hunt. You good to finish up the shelter?"
Coby nodded. "Got it." He looked up at his friend. "Be safe."
"Coby, there’s nothing on this island that could do me in."
"I know."
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When Drake returned, now in human form again, he was limping, bleeding from the leg. Half dragging himself back home. Whatever he has fought out there had gotten to him. Coby cursed. As well as no food, they had no medical supplies. He tore off a strip of fabric from his pants and pressed it to the wound, trying desperately just to stop the bleeding. Drake set his hand over Coby's once Coby had tied the fabric in place.
"Coby, I'll be fine. I caught dinner, so it wasn’t for nothing."
"Oh my god, you actually caught something?"
"Don’t sound so surprised. I’m an apex predator. This late into the season, there wasn’t much, but on an island, there’s nowhere to go, really. So…" he pointed to where he’d dropped the limp body of a doe. "It’ll feed us for maybe…two or three days."
"More if we can get a fire going and dry out some meat to store for when hunting is harder."
"Now, I know I can go on a diet of 95% meat, being an allosaurus due to my fruit, but I know you’re a normal human, you need a more balanced diet, so we'll figure out a way to get fruits and vegetables into you."
"In this season?"
"I’m sure we can find some leftover fruits or wild onions or carrots or something."
"Don’t feed them to me if we find them. Plant the seeds, we can have a longer-term garden that way."
"Smart thinking."
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Soon they’d sat down with roast deer, and had hung some strips out to dry after removing the pelt, to be cleaned and used as a blanket. Let nothing go to waste. Getting a fire with no tools had been a headache, but they’d succeeded in the end, so it was a start.
"Feeling better now that there’s food in your belly?"
Coby nodded. "Much better," he agreed. "Full and tired though."
"Time for bed?"
"Yeah. Is the pelt cleaned? Do I get a blanket tonight?"
"Tomorrow. It’s cleaned, but it’s still drying."
"Damn. You’re gonna have to cuddle me again."
"Gladly."
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Three more days. Almost a week on the island wasn’t kind to Coby and Drake. Food wasn't an issue. They’d found carrots and onions, and planted a small garden that Coby nursed in his free time, and they still had the last of the doe left. Enough for one more small meal each. They’d reinforced their shelter and even built a thin door with some branches, woven together with vines and ferns. However, finding water was a headache, and it took forever to boil. Some nights it rained and chilled them to the bone, and they couldn’t start a fire to boil water or cook food. Drake winced with every step, and though he was insistent that he was fine, Coby worried about his injured leg being infected now.
"Drake?" Coby stared up at the sky.
"What’s up?"
"We're not alone, or there’s trouble. I’m not sure which is worse."
"What makes you say-"
"The smoke from the other side of the island."
Drake turned to stare up at the sky. "Holy crap…" he gripped Coby's arm tightly. "Stay close."
The two wandered towards the source of the smoke, curious, and in Coby's case, he dared to hope maybe if someone else was there, they had a boat and hadn’t also been shipwrecked, and that maybe they would take them home when they left. His luck wasn’t that good. In fact, his luck was horrible. When they reached the other island inhabitants and saw the ship, Coby's blood went cold. Black flag. A Jolly Roger. He gripped Drake's arm tightly.
"Drake! Pirates."
"And publicly, I’m a pirate. If I play my cards right, I can be bigger and scarier, and they’ll listen."
"That’s not how it works!"
"How would you know how the world of a pirate works?"
"I-I was a pirate!"
"And I currently am." Drake frowned down at him. "Wait, you were a pirate? You?"
"Not out of choice."
"Let’s just give things a try."
"Can we try a friendly approach first?"
"Coby, you’re a Marine. How kindly do you think a group of pirates is going to take to a Marine?"
"I’m one Marine, I’m unarmed. I’m harmless!"
"You’re not harmless. Since when have you ever needed a weapon? Your whole body is a weapon."
Coby pouted, crossing his arms. "At least try to be nice?"
"Fine, fine."
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"Hey, who're you?" Snapped one of the pirates.
Coby took a deep breath. Okay, that's a great start. "My name is Coby, this is-"
"We know who he is. Who doesn’t? Coby. You’re a Marine. What, here to arrest us?"
"No. Actually…I need your help."
"That’s rich. Since when does a Marine ask a pirate for help?"
"Since he gets stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere."
"If you’re hoping we'll take you with when we leave, like hell if we help the enemy."
Coby went to his knees, bowing, hating himself for it. "Please! We need help!"
"Look at that. A Marine, bowing to a pirate. Well isn’t that cute?" Sneered the leader. "And after all those years chasing us, trying to put us in chains and drag us away to die. Why shouldn’t we let you die out here too?"
"Coby, get up," Drake urged. "They are not going to help us, they’ve made that perfectly clear."
"I'm not giving up."
"Y'know, I almost feel bad. He’s pathetic," laughed the leader.
Drake put himself between the pirates and Coby, glaring. "Say it again, I dare you."
"He’s pathetic. Ought to put him out of his misery."
"Drake no!" Coby gasped when Drake threw himself at the man.
"Hey, get the hell off me!"
Drake flung the man against a tree roughly. "Nobody talks to Coby that way."
The man hit the tree with a sickening crack. "Monster!"
"Call me whatever you want. I’ve heard it all before." Drake walked over and scooped Coby up. "They can’t help."
"I can walk on my own."
"Fine, fine." Drake set him down and turned his back. "Let’s go."
"Go where? Back to our tiny shelter to do nothing but sulk and wish for a way off this island?"
"Pretty much. Let’s gather some firewood, I’ll see if I can catch dinner on the way home."
"Fine…"
When Drake turned his back and marched on ahead, Coby not far behind, Coby was stopped in his tracks by a sudden, sharp pain. He gasped at the feeling of warm, sticky blood running down his back. His back arched, but that only made it worse. He twisted to look, and as a result, it felt like he had torn himself apart. Two more steps was too much, and he sank to his knees in burning agony, tears in his dark blue eyes.
"D-Drake!"
Drake whirled around. "Coby?"
Coby's lip quivered. "What is it? Tell me what happened. I can’t move to look…"
Drake raced over to him, spotting the problem immediately once helping Coby to his feet. "Shit shit shit…we need to get you to camp."
"Drake, what happened?"
"Coby…"
Drake shook his head, unable to find the words, he could only stare in horror and despair at the knife that had sank deep into Coby's spine.