My half of an art-trade with .

"There, that wasn't too bad now was it?" Angela asked rhetorically as she finished bandaging her patient's hand. Volk's latest invention had exploded in the palm of his hand, explaining why he was currently in the sickbay, sitting on one of the beds. His injuries were minor but she still treated them anyway, much to his chagrin. "Ya didn't have to patch me up ya know." Volk declared with a hint of mild annoyance. "I wasn't hurt or anything." Angela washed her hands in a basin as she gave him a chuckled retort. "Volk, you'd say you were fine even if your legs were cut off." She then picked up a small towel and began to dry her hands. "Maybe so," Volk retorted back "but I still didn't need your help."

His arms were crossed and he was now looking away from Angela; he appeared even more agitated than before. Angela thought he resembled a pouting five-year-old. A rather large and muscular five-year-old. In any case though, she determined that she had struck a nerve and decided to make amends. Putting on her most sincere smile, she moved towards Volk and sat in front of him on the other bed. She placed her hand gently on Volk's thigh and said to him, "Volk, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay." Volk continued to stare away from Angela, but his irritation was beginning to waver. "You're my friend Volk" she continued, "and I care about you. All I want is for you to be healthy and safe." Volk slowly turned his head back towards Angela, his anger now gone and replaced with guilt. He placed his uninjured hand on top of Angela's and sheepishly replied, "Um...Thanks. I appreciate that."

Angela's smile widened slightly as she slowly removed her hand from under Volk's. "I better get back to work now." she declared. "I need to finish reorganizing our medical supplies." She was about to leave her seat, until Volk stopped her. "Wait" Volk ejaculated, raising his good hand towards her. "I want to tell you something." Angela gazed at him in a perplexed manner. "Oh? What is it?" she queried, moving back to her original spot. Volk started to get nervous, "There's something I wanted to tell you. Something I've wanted to tell you for a very long time now." "What is it?" she asked again, looking slightly worried. Volk's heart and mind began to race. He had her attention now but he didn't know what to do next. Ever since they first met, he wanted to tell Angela that he liked her. Probably even loved her. But he never had the guts to say so. That's probably why he drank so much; to forget how much of a coward he really was.

"I...uh...I wanted to say...that is...", Volk was stalling, trying to figure out how to properly express his feelings for her. Angela's lustrous eyes gazed deeply into his own, filling him with a warmth that he rarely ever experienced. Volk's cheeks immediately changed into a profuse shade of crimson. "I...uh...I'm..." Angela then spoke to him "Volk, a-are you alright? You're scaring me." He then blurted out his reply. "I'm from the Continent!"

There was a brief pause.

"Where the hell did THAT come from!?" Volk thought to himself. That wasn't the big secret he wanted to tell her. It was a secret, but not the one he wanted to expose to Angela. "I have to change the subject" Volk pondered, "before she..." "YOU'RE FROM THE CONTINENT!?!?" Angela shrieked with incredible, ear-piercing volume. She was only an inch away from his face when she made her shrill query, and that took him by surprise. Volk quickly regained his composure. "Not so loud!" he whispered noisily. "And not really." Angela removed herself back to her original distance. "But you said..." "I'm from an island off the Continent's southern coast" he interrupted. "But it's so close to the Continent, you could practically swim there if you really wanted to." Volk started to get anxious again. He didn't want to tell anyone about where he was from, or why he wasn't there anymore. At least not yet anyway. He swiftly decided it was time to bailout. "Look, this was a bad idea." Volk declared, rising to his feet. "I gotta get outa here." "No, Wait!" exclaimed Angela as she shot upright, placing her hands on Volk's chest. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to act that way. I was just so surprised. I mean, I didn't think ANYTHING lived on the Continent, let alone people. And there was also the..." She noticed that Volk was turning red again. She also noticed that now she was rather close to him again too; her face only an inch or two away from his own. She swiftly pulled away from him, forcing herself to stare at the floor. "I'm sorry" she stated. Angela had been saying that a lot lately. "I guess I got carried away." It was now her turn to have red-tinged cheeks.

There was another pause. Volk then spoke. "Um...You're not going to tell anyone, are you?" Angela gazed into his eyes again, blushing even more. "What? No! Of course not!" "You promise?" Volk pushed. "Yes, you have my word, I swear." proclaimed Angela. He then gave out a sigh of relief. "That's good." he declared "Judging by how you reacted, I don't think I want to tell everyone where I'm from just yet." Volk barked out a nervous laugh. "I better get back to work." Volk stated as he moved towards the door. "I'll see you later." "Alright" replied Angela meekly "I'll see you later." Volk began walking down the hallway, towards his room/workshop. Angela then stepped into the sickbay's doorway. "Don't hurt yourself again, okay?" "Don't worry" Volk replied looking back with a smile. "I won't." Angela returned the smile and then went back into the sickbay. Volk turned away, releasing a heavy sigh. "Nice job, genius." he muttered to himself sarcastically. He could go up against an entire room full of butt-uglies without even so much as flinching. But telling the girl of his dreams how he felt about her scared him witless. Volk expelled another hefty sigh when he reached the entrance of his quarters.

He needed a drink.

Badly.

Volk (aka ) copyright himself
Angela, the Pirate Vixens and artwork copyright SatsumaLord