addison
Citizen of the Archipelago
I'm gonna bumble around for a while.
Posts: 24
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Post by addison on Apr 11, 2016 8:20:22 GMT -5
Location/s: Around the Kalinaw Islands and the island/village of Herpur
Main Cast: Hector, Pleiades, Ari
Description: This is a short rp to establish some of Ari's backstory and relationship with Hector for 'Smooth Sailing'. There may be some places to jump in if you're interested or available. ESPECIALLY if you like pirates. PM me if you want more info.
*** Everything was hot, glaring, white, and swimming. The small dinghy continued it's ceaseless bobbing beneath the noonday sun. It the only thing that broke the endless horizon of water. The out of place craft held two passengers, one human, the other reptile. *** Ari was going to die. They lay stretched out in the bottom of the boat with their feet hanging over the end. They'd gotten the bleeding mostly stopped yesterday, or was that the day before? Ari couldn't be sure anymore. The wound on the drifter's leg was just a dull distant throb now anyway. It was just as hot and dry as everything else. The two halves of their split tongue rasped against each other as they futilely tried to wet cracked lips. "Pilli..." they croaked. The large black snake that sat tightly coiled in the little shade offered by Ari moved his great head imperceptibly. "Pilli," Ari placed a hand on his dulling scales, "Please, try and leave. For me." Since running, Xochipilli had refused to leave Ari's side. Pilli was an excellent swimmer, and a powerful fighter. He could have fled and lived a good life in the marshes and forests of Herpur, or any of the other small uninhabited islands back home. He wasn't wanted for murder. He wasn't injured. Xochipilli had a chance. Pilli uncoiled himself to shift on top of Ari's chest. The weight was comforting to Ari, but they could feel Pilli's scales just as hot and dry as their own skin, "Please, Pilli." Ari was doing their best to hold back tears as Pilli's tongue flicked out to brush the tattoo on Ari's cheek. Their empathic bond flared. It was just as strong as always. Ari knew that they would have been crying if their body had moisture to spare. Ari tried one last feeble time to push Pilli out of the dinghy. They couldn't even manage to move their best friend off of them. It made Ari's head swim just to try, but Pilli moved. The serpent slid off Ari's chest and gave one last flickering tongue kiss to his companion before slipping over the edge of the boat. The castaway's vision continued to swim and waver after the effort, and as Pilli's weight left their chest. They could feel their mind slipping away from all the bright shimmering heat into a darker place. Ari didn't know if it would be any cooler there, but at least it wasn't as blinding; it didn't drill into their eyes and make their head hurt. As they sank down into unconsciousness, Ari felt the ghost of a thought, ' I'll return.' Could Ari return from this? Pilli's gone for help. Loogs, if you want to have Pilli be spotted, or make it onto the Sharhazad somehow, he'd be happy to lead you to Ari. Feel free to do a bit of autoing.
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Post by Loogs on Apr 12, 2016 20:12:13 GMT -5
In South Australia I was born, Heave away, haul away!Hector weaved the bow swiftly across his fiddle, gliding across the strings to provide a jaunty melody for a sea shanty. He sat with Pleiades on chairs he brought out to the forecastle. The Shahrazad sliced through the glittering surface of the Pacific Ocean with the salty zephyr billowing out its sails. In South Australia, ‘round Cape Horn, We’re bound for South Australia!It was a beautiful afternoon out at sea, and what better way to celebrate landing a new treasure diving job than with a song? As he fiddled, he provided the verses while Pleiades clapped in rhythm and responded with the chorus. “Haul away your rolling king…” Hector spotted something out of the corner of his eye, but brushed it off as an orca or another large aquatic mammal and kept playing the violin. “Heave away, haul away!” “Haul away, you’ll hear m—“ As it got closer, he stopped playing abruptly to stand up and get a better look at the large, dark form approaching the boat. “We’re bound for Sou—Daddy, what is it?” Pleiades curiously peered through the gaps of the wooden rail. She hardly caught sight of the undulating shadow when Hector put an arm in front of her and pushed her away from the rail. “Pleiades, get inside.” Hector spoke in a very serious, grave tone. Pleiades, knowing full well what that tone meant, obeyed without a single word of objection and raced into the quarterdeck. Hector extended his spyglass and peered through it to examine the object closer. It appeared to be a very large serpent, swimming underwater toward the ship. The snake surfaced its head, its beady eyes locking briefly with Hector’s before it turned tail and started swimming in the opposite direction. Sharks tailing the back of the boat are known to bring bad luck, dolphins alongside the boat bring good fortune. What does a snake at sea mean? Hector steered the boat to follow the snake, and after several minutes of pursuing the creature, he spotted a tiny rowboat on the distant horizon. The Shahrazad sailed along, and when it approached closer to the boat, Hector could see a lifeless body sprawled out on top of it. He secured a long rope to one of the masts and jumped down into the water. Rope in hand, he swam over to the dinghy and checked the body for vital signs. This person was alive, but barely so. As he was about to hoist the body over his shoulder, the snake reappeared and coiled itself around both of them. Hector, though initially alarmed, noticed that the snake was wrapped snugly around him and not constricting his breath, and realized what it was trying to do. With the body now “tied” to him and leaving his hands free, he used the rope to clamber back onto the deck of the Shahrazad. Hector brought the snake and the person into his room in the quarterdeck, where Pleiades had run off to hide. She screamed when they entered the room, but her father calmed her down and laid the two down gently on the bed before searching frantically for a carafe of water and medical supplies. He began the hopeless cause of reviving Ari back into consciousness. “Hello? Can you hear me? Hello?” idk bruh, don't know a whole lot about sailing and helping castaways n such
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addison
Citizen of the Archipelago
I'm gonna bumble around for a while.
Posts: 24
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Post by addison on Apr 13, 2016 10:36:57 GMT -5
Ari was dimly aware of their feet hanging in open air, but it was no longer the rough hot wood of the dinghy. It was a bed, along with the sound something other then the ocean in their ear. “Hello? Can you hear me? Hello.” Ari’s eyes were not blinding by the sun and the water’s reflection this time. It was cool and dim here, with a man, the scruffy sailor type, dabbing their face with a damp rag. Hector perked up when his castaway started to come to, “You’re going to be all right. Pleiades, get some water.” The words clambered up through Ari’s ear and sat in their brain, doing nothing and making no sense. There was a distant urge to run, to fight back. If this was one of Tut’s ships then they were still as good as dead. But there was nothing left to fight back with. Ari prayed Pilli had escaped to safety. “Thanks dear. Here,” Ari’s head was propped up by the scruffy sailor, “Drink. Not too fast.” These words made more sense, but it was the water they understood the most. It tasted of life and hope, like something Ari thought they had lost forever. They struggled to keep from gulping it down glutinously. “Easy there, that’s it. What’s your name?” The question waded through Ari’s coagulated brain fluid, ‘ if he knows Hēnare he’s going to kill me. Or bring me to him, which would be worse. Where is Pilli? Is that a little girl? What is a fake name? Can’t let them know where I’m from.’ “Afu.” God what a terrible alias.
“Bless you.” Piped up the small girl. “Where are you from, Afu? Do you have a home?” The man was speaking slowly and softly. Ari had no more energy for lies. They could already feel their energy for consciousness running out, “Herpur.” “Is that a part of the Archipelago? Stay with me, a bit longer.” He gave Ari more sips of water. They don’t know about Herpur, but they know the Archipelago. They aren’t pirates; at least not the ones trying to kill me. Ari nearly passed out from relief, “Ari, I’m Ari.” “Not Afu?” Ari nodded. “And you’re from Herpur?” Another weak nod, “In the Kalinaws.” More sips of water, “Where is Pilli?” Ari attempted to sit up with instant regret. Upright, nothing remained on the same axis for long. The small amount of hydration in their stomach threatened to expel itself. There was that on top of the warm wet feeling in their thigh. Had they pissed? How could they while this dehydrated? No, the knife wound had opened back up and completely ignored the already blood soaked and salt encrusted rag wrapped around it. “Oh.” Ari said when a small bloom of red appeared on the blanket beneath them and blacked out again. Sorry about the autoing. D: I tried to keep it short and simple just to get Hector and Pleiades some info. The ball is in the captain's court as to where we go from here.
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Post by Loogs on Apr 18, 2016 20:44:23 GMT -5
“Oh, boy.” Hector sighed and started removing the filthy rag from the wound. “Sailor, fetch me the extra bandages, will you?” He pointed in the direction of his elegant mahogany dresser. Pleiades nodded and rummaged through the bottom drawer, and passed him a roll of fresh gauze bandage. Hector first cleaned the wound, and then wrapped a few lengths’ worth of gauze around it. “Ari, stay with me here, you’re gonna be alright, I’ll see to it.”
When he finished tending to all the wounds he could find, he let Ari rest for a while on his bed and studied the large world map that took up most of the wall behind his desk. Hector traced his fingers around the main island of the Archipelago, down to Salcester, and islet by islet he moved east into the Kalinaw Islands until he found Herpur. It was one of the few points on the Archipelago region not marked with a red map tack. So you’re from Herpur, huh? Exploring around the Kalinaws by boat was a foolhardy endeavor. Sure, Hector could imbue the Shahrazad with Tiamat’s power, and blast the pirate fleets coming at him out of the water, but it was too much trouble to go through on a regular basis. I’ll make sure you get home safely.
120 nautical miles to Atonga and a quick stop to refresh and prepare for any disasters, perhaps find a medic capable of properly nursing Ari back to health, before attempting the treacherous voyage to Herpur. No pressure. We got this. Hector set a course for the Kalinaw Islands.
He returned to check on Ari’s condition. Still out cold, and probably would be for a little while. Hector wasn’t terribly worried; he’d seen people bounce back from much worse, and at least Ari had regained consciousness since being picked up. Although…
“Hey sailor, where’d that snake go?”
“I dunno!” Pleiades shrugged. “I didn’t see it!”
Hector pursed his lips and furrowed his brow. Hmm. That’s not good.
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addison
Citizen of the Archipelago
I'm gonna bumble around for a while.
Posts: 24
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Post by addison on May 16, 2016 11:28:46 GMT -5
The reptile was coiled into a shape much smaller then one would expect for its size. His black scales concealed him nicely beneath the similarly wound ropes. Every hour or so he would edge the tip of his snout from his hiding place and taste the air; every time was the same, some humans, a dog, and the scent of his scalemate.
Ari's fevered dreams ghosted around in his weak vision, blinded by bright sun. He stayed wrapped tight in anxiety, ready to strike anything that disturbed him.
Xochipilli rested fitfully there as the sun slowly descended. When he could feel nothing else sending vibrations through the ship except for the waves, he began to slide like an oily shadow around the deck towards the scent of his scalemate.
Ari had been tossing fitfully after passing out once more and receiving first aid. Fevered nightmares held them prisoner. The rescued patient calmed as they felt a comforting and familiar pressure begin to rest on their chest.
Like the mighty Midgard serpent, Xochipilli circled and protected Ari’s mind as well, guarding it from any visions that might encroach and disturb as much as to keep their scalemate’s mind from wandering too far either.
Night was Xochipilli’s time, and he remained alert and vigilant through the remaining hours of darkness looped across Ari’s rising and falling chest.
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Post by Loogs on Jun 6, 2016 3:34:26 GMT -5
Hector scooped up the colorful plastic animals strewn on the Gabbeh rug in Pleiades’s room and began to stow them away in the toybox, a solid mahogany chest he built for her with his own two hands. “Alright, sailor, let’s clean up. It’s time for bed.” He helped Pleiades put away the rest of the toys and dispatched her to the bathroom to brush her teeth and get ready to sleep.
When she returned with a minty mouth in bright lavender pajamas, Hector was sitting at the edge of her bed holding a book. “Are you ready to read about the seven voyages of Sinbad?”
“Yeah!” Pleiades nodded excitedly, ready to climb into bed when she was struck with an idea. “Daddy, can we read in Ari and the snake’s room so they can hear the story too?”
“Pleiades, sweetie, I don’t know if that’s the best idea, I think Ari needs a lot of re—“
“Pleeeeease please please?” She folded her hands in front of her and put on the pleading doe eyes. Oh no, the eyes. Before he knew it, Hector found himself reconsidering. It wouldn’t actually cause any harm, he supposed.
“Hmm… Alright, but make sure you don’t get too loud. If you want, I can bring out the futon and we can even sleep in there. I’d like to keep a close eye on Ari’s condition, actually.” Hector and Pleiades then hiked back up to the quarterdeck, bringing with them a few items: Pleiades carrying the book, a stuffed dragon, and a thick blanket and Hector with the large futon, a duvet and two fluffy pillows in tow. He first prepared a bed, and then he pulled over a chair to sit in while he read so he could watch over Ari in case there was any stirring or god forbid, more bleeding. Pleiades wriggled under the blankets and glanced eagerly at her father to begin the story.
“Once upon a time in Baghdad, a poor porter named Sinbad, exhausted from carrying heavy loads all day, lay down to rest before a beautiful palace. He asked a passing servant about the owner of the palace, and the servant replied that it belonged to a wealthy sailor, also named Sinbad, famous for his wondrous adventures around the world…”
Pleiades gasped and her eyes lit up. “Wow, Dad, he’s just like you! You’re a sailor too and you go on adventures a lot!”
Hector simply chuckled. “Oh sailor, I wish I could be even half as awesome or as handsome as Sinbad. I’ve got nothing on the kind of clever stunts this guy pulls.” He took a quick glance at Ari, sleeping soundly underneath Xochipilli, before continuing the story. “The porter, envious of the sailor’s great riches, cried out, ‘What a great injustice it is that the rich live in comfort and luxury while a poor worker like me must toil away for mere scraps!’ But Sinbad the sailor caught wind of the porter’s wailing and arranged to speak with him…”
Ever inquisitive, Pleiades piped up again to comment on the story. “Dad, is a porter like when we lived on the other ship and you had to work and carry stuff with the other sailors?”
“The Bulan Biru? Yeah, a little bit. I had to work really hard so I could make enough to take care of you.” Hector paused, his eyes resting on the rope tattoo winding around his right wrist, his very first one. He started to fondly remember that night; the other sailors bringing him to their most beloved artist in all of O’ahu, the gun etching into the wrist of his one hand while knocking back hearty slugs of bourbon from the bottle with the other. “I’m glad we got this boat though. Sharing that tiny bed in the quarters was pretty rough, huh, sailor?”
“Yeah…” Pleiades sighed. Being a little girl on a boat full of rowdy, drunken sailors was a little less fun. But the sailors of the Bulan Biru were still very nice and doting, and the whole crew was fiercely protective of her.
“Now you get to have toys and books and, you know, some actual goddamn privacy.” They both laughed, thankful for their humble little home bobbing back and forth across the oceans. “Yeah, Sinbad’s got fame and riches and sweet digs, but so what? I’ve got a priceless treasure he doesn’t have.”
“What’s that?”
“You.” Hector knelt down and brushed her hair aside to plant a kiss on her forehead. “Pretty sure that means Dad 1, Sinbad 0, right?” Pleiades giggled and nodded. “I wouldn’t trade you for all the treasures in the world, sailor.”
“I love you, Dad,” she murmured before yawning and drifting off into slumber. “Good night.”
“I love you too, Pleiades. Sleep well.” He kissed her again, tucked her in, and looked over one last time at Ari, still breathing softly, the steadfast snake staring back at him without moving, before climbing in to bed himself on the other half of the futon. “You too, Ari. Pilli.”
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addison
Citizen of the Archipelago
I'm gonna bumble around for a while.
Posts: 24
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Post by addison on Jul 7, 2016 16:07:50 GMT -5
Xochipilli felt the vibrations of footsteps and voices approaching through the structure. His body tightened into a loaded spring on top of Ari, who stirred restlessly. The python’s head slid back to cock itself, a loaded gun ready to strike. When he could taste the humans outside the room, the reptile was a statue.
The two humans who had rescued Ari settled themselves into the room. It appeared as if they planned to stay the night.
Xochipilli watched and listened.
The words they exchanged were soft and gentle, and their heartbeats were steady. The powerful muscles in Xochipilli’s sides began to loosen. In short time, the lights were turned off and the two humans went to sleep. The smaller ones heartbeat and temperature lowered first. The larger human followed soon after and the room was still again. Beneath his scaled belly, Ari slept.
* * *
Ari was limping across a foreign landscape. There was neither vegetation, nor water, not even dirt. Just sand, and it went on forever. Ari had not always been here. They had a home, but couldn’t remember what it looked like, or where it was. Ari had been banished from it, and the loss of their memories was a part of that punishment. Not even Pilli was there. They knew these things like one knows things in dreams.
The great open pit of loneliness and space was terrifying. Ari wanted to run, but their body would never carry them past a lurching hobble. So they continued on, because the only other option was to give up, and this was not a place they could forgive themselves for giving up in.
They traveled for a short time or a long time, they could not know, and a kingdom began to shimmer out of the endless sand.
Ari limped into the silent streets, and even here it was empty, but they continued to walk on until they arrived at a magnificent palace. At its base was a simple beggar sitting cross-legged and shrouded beneath a ragged cloak.
They greeted Ari, “Hello, traveller. What brings you to this city?”
“I’m looking for my home, and my friend. He is long and black and cold. Is he in the castle?” Ari responded.
“I have not seen your friend enter or exit the castle.” The beggar replied, “But a powerful king and a mighty princess live inside. Perhaps it is within their power to help you on your journey. Take these child.” The beggar reached into his robes and pulled out a bright silver hook, a spool of silk no thicker then a spider’s thread, and a large black scale, which he handed over to Ari. The beggar continued to speak, “These will help you find the king and princess. There is a mighty dragoness that guards the castle and lets none enter. When the dragoness asks you what your business is, show her the scale. She will take it and ask where you got it from. You must answer that you find it outside the throne room next to many others like it. The dragon will turn to leave to check the place, and when she does you must cast your line and hook so that you may follow her through the palace without getting lost in its many halls and rooms. This will take you to the doors of the throne room where you may meet with their highnesses.”
“Thank you kind citizen.” Ari said as they turned to leave.
“I do not live here.”
But when Ari turned back, the beggar was gone.
Ari stepped towards the castle doors.
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Post by Loogs on Jul 18, 2016 2:45:04 GMT -5
Pleiades awoke to the distant squawking of seagulls and the familiar scent of warm strawberry oatmeal. She peered over the blanket and spotted her father preparing a pair of bed trays in front of his desk with breakfast. Hector was humming quietly to himself and pouring orange juice into a straw cup when he noticed the blankets beginning to stir.
“Morning, sailors. Did you sleep alright?” He set the tray down in front of her and ruffled her hair. Pleiades nodded. Breakfast in bed on the Shahrazad was usually for special occasions, like birthdays, so today must be a special kind of day. “Ari, if you feel like you can handle it, I made you a bowl of oatmeal too.” Hector set another tray in front of Ari and then sat down in a chair next to the bed with a steaming mug of Irish coffee in hand. “Something that’ll go down easy, ‘cause I don’t know how well you can handle solids right now.” He sipped his coffee and leaned back in his chair.
“Dad, are we there yet?” Pleiades asked in between gulps of juice.
“We’ll be landing in Atonga in about an hour or two. Eat up and then go shower and get dressed—“ Hector was startled by the sudden sharp sound of a spoon clanking against a hard surface. He turned to see Ari fumbling with their feeble hands trying to get a proper grip on the utensils. “Hey, hey, take it easy, here, let me…” Taking the spoon in one hand, he gently lifted Ari’s head into an upright position with the other and scooped up some oatmeal. “Okay, here’s the choo-choo train, open up…” Ari slowly parted their quivering lips to allow the offering into their mouth. “Good, good, you’re doing great, let’s keep going.”
The next mouthful dribbled out of Ari’s mouth, much to their embarrassment. “I’m… I’m sorry… making a mess...” But Hector, without hesitation, pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the oatmeal and spit off of Ari’s face.
“Nah, don’t be sorry, I’m a seasoned pro at this.” He chortled and guided a straw cup of juice to their lips. Ari managed to suck out a few drops. “If I can tame a thrashing toddler, I can handle this just fine. Trust me, I earned my dad wings.” Just as he was about to resume feeding, Hector felt a slithering grip around his arm. Xochipilli stared intensely at him and let out a warning hiss.
He dropped the spoon back into the bowl. “Easy there, buddy.” Xochipilli relaxed his grip but his piercing glare remained fixed. Hector calmly raised his hands and took a few steps back. The serpent responded with a quick, flitting motion of the tongue. “I’ll be right back.”
Pleiades and Ari watched curiously as he slipped out of the quarterdeck. A minute of silence passed, and then they heard a dull thud and a faint splash. Everyone waited together in anticipation for the captain to return.
The door swung wide open and all the eyes in the room lit up when Hector strode back into the room brandishing a harpoon. Skewered on its dangerously honed end was a dead seagull, its white feathers stained with spreading blossoms of blood. He waved it in front of Xochipilli and winked.
“You must be absolutely famished.”
The snake flicked his tongue at him.
*****
The austere white walls of the waiting room provided very little to hold one’s attention. Across from the plain yellow chairs hung an abstract painting made of thick, chunky brush strokes blending together in blue gradients, and beside them was a small end table stacked with old magazines and a pair of windows providing a narrow view of the shoreline. Ari and Xochipilli were carefully laid sideways over a row of chairs. Hector was seated in the chair right next to them, quietly jotting down some thoughts in a leather pocket journal, and splayed on the floor in front of them was Pleiades, doodling in a sketchbook with an assortment of crayons.
“How much longer, Daddy?” Pleiades started dragging out her words impatiently.
Hector looked up at her over the top of his journal, eyes drooping slightly with exhaustion. Oh no. Please don’t start getting fidgety… He could only hope that the amenities he’d brought for her would be enough to keep her entertained until they could be attended. “It can’t be much longer, sailor, please stay put until we’re called in.”
“Dad, look.” She lifted her crayon off the page so she could hand him the sketchbook. “I drew us with Ari and the snake, see?” Pleiades pointed at the smiling tall man holding a pointy stick and a tray, and then at a sad, sickly person in a bed with a coiled, concerned snake. “There’s you bringing him breakfast and a bird for Zoche—um, Shoch—uh, the snake… to eat.”
“This is a very lovely drawing, Pleiades,” Hector said as he held the book open and admired her artwork. “You wouldn’t mind if we showed your sketchbook to Ari when they get better, would you?” Pleiades nodded vigorously and grabbed the book to resume her illustrating.
“My, you’ve become quite the artist, haven’t you, sailor?”
Hector and Pleiades simultaneously looked up from their journal-keeping and saw a familiar grinning face kneeling down to inspect the drawing closer. Their faces perked up in delight when they recognized their dear friend from the Bulan Biru.
“Uncle Triton!”
“Whoa, Trai, what are you doing here?” Hector met Trai’s emphatic embrace. Pham Trai Thanh—christened Triton by the young lass Pleiades’s clumsy pronunciation as much as for the fact that he was pretty damn good with a spear—was a short, stocky man with a sun-kissed bronze complexion and an endearing, honest smile. Trai slept in the bunk above Hector and Pleiades during their tenure on the Bulan Biru and was considered to be a close friend of the family.
“I came in for a follow-up appointment. Busted my hand trying to take down a monster crab a couple months ago.” Trai wiggled the calloused fingers on his left hand and laughed. “What a way to say goodbye to the Biru, huh?”
“Wait, you left the Biru?”
“Mmhm, I've been saving up for years, and it’s finally time to settle down with my lady. You two got me thinking and I realized, well, I wanted to try and raise children of my own.” The former seaman gave Pleiades a playful poke on the nose. “What’s been going on with you, though? It’s been what, three or four years since—“
“Mr. Charbonneau?” A door squeaked open down the short hallway.
“Looks like we gotta part ways for now.” Hector lifted Ari off of the chairs gingerly, letting the scaly companion drape himself over his shoulders as he walked toward the door. Pleiades gathered her belongings and followed him, waving goodbye to Trai. The two of them cast their friend a forlorn glance, dejected that they could not spend more time with him after their long time apart.
“Hey, why don’t you stop by my place afterwards for some lunch so I can catch up with you guys?” Trai smiled, but upon noticing Ari’s injuries, his face softened a bit in sympathy. “If… If your charge there feels up to it, of course.”
Hector hesitated for a brief moment. He yawned and blinked to try and clear the mental fog setting in from the previous sleepless night multitasking between tending to Ari’s wounds and making sure they remained on the right course. Holy shit, do I even have the energy to accept his invite? But if he turned him down, when would he get another opportunity to shoot the shit and hang out? Damn, I missed this fucking dude. Three or four years, really?! “Sure, Trai, that sounds nice.”
“Dr. Tauati is an expert healer.” Trai fluttered his mended fingers and flicked his wrist. “She’ll have him patched up proper in no time. Hope to see you this afternoon, Sam. You too, little lady.”
“Same to you, Trai. We’ll try and swing by after we’re done here.” Having said their goodbyes, Hector carried Ari and Xochipilli into the doctor’s office, followed closely by Pleiades.
*****
Dr. Tauati’s first reaction upon receiving Ari on her examination bed was one of astonishment; before even attending to the deep gashes on their body, the winding snake tattoo made her gasp. “My dear! You’ve drifted quite a ways from home, haven’t you?”
“We found both of them adrift on a shitty little dinghy in the middle of the ocean.” The captain motioned in the direction of Xochipilli, slithering slow circles around the good doctor and the examination bed in a tense, nervous manner.
“I’d recognize that ink anywhere.” Dr. Tauati’s round, cherubic face turned grim. She was a small, plump woman who always wore flower crowns and bright-colored, billowy dresses to cultivate an aura of peacefulness and tranquility in what would otherwise be a rather wretched environment. Some days it wasn’t enough. “Herpur is a scary place to live. Only the foolhardy would try and pass through those lawless hell waters of the north.” She started unwinding the soiled bandages gingerly from around the wounds. “What I’m trying to say here, my boy, is that your friend can thank her lucky stars she’s still breathing, if she managed to make it all the way from Herpur.”
“Is he—she, uh, going to make a full recovery, doctor?”
“Son, the good news is you’ve done enough of a good job tending to her already that I think she will pull through.” She unscrewed the lid off of a jar of glowing turquoise balm and rubbed a small amount onto her intricately tattooed palms, causing the ink to shine a pastel pink color. “I can take care of the rest, piece of cake.” The doctor rubbed her hands over the lacerations until the blue glow was spread all over them. After allowing it to set, the magical unguent began to meld with the surrounding skin until the newly grown skin sealed all the wounds completely.
The boy whistled in amazement. “You do some mighty fine work, doc. No wonder you’ve got a rep as the greatest medic in the Kalinaws.”
“Ohoho! That’s quite flattering, young man!” Dr. Tauati’s belly laugh seemed to make the walls of the room quake. She touched him on the chest as a coy, mischievous gesture. “But I’m afraid I have to turn you down, because I’m happily married!” The handsome lad chuckled and rolled his eyes as Dr. Tauati handed him a jar of ripe, speckled lavender berries. “Give your friend one of these in the morning and one after sunset, for about a week or two. It should help to re-nourish her body and reverse the effects of the malnutrition.”
“Thanks, Dr. Tauati, you’re a real angel.”
“Please! Call me Alofa, son, we’re past formalities at this point.” She opened her arms and he hunched over slightly so that the doctor could embrace his towering, muscular frame. “You know, I’ve got a daughter about your age that I should introduce you to… Maybe you could take her out to see the world at your side, oh, how romantic that would be!” Alofa swooned for dramatic effect.
“I’m sure I’d love to meet her, but right now I got more pressing issues.” He scooped up Ari into his arms again. “A real pleasure to meet you, Alofa. See you later.”
“Until we meet again, sweetie! Next time you’re in Atonga, come to my house and I’ll feed you all faiai pilikaki ‘till you burst!”
*****
“She tried to foist her daughter on you, didn’t she?”
“Yeah—how did you know?”
“She pulled that trick on me a couple times.” Hector received a glass of blended coconut rum drink from Trai and sipped it through the straw while his buddy distributed bowls of piping hot seafood pho around the table. “Alofa keeps trying to scout out hot young studs like ourselves so her kids can get shacked up and start families. I don’t think Mau’s having any of it, though.”
“You’ve actually met her?”
“Oh, yeah dude, everyone in Atonga knows each other. It’s a tiny little island. The whole community takes care of one another.” Trai seated himself directly across from Hector, giving his bowl a couple of puffs to help cool it down. “Mautinoa’s been practicing the healing arts from her mom since she was really young, and being the oldest, Dr. Tauati’s hoping she’ll carry on the family tradition. She’s got a lot of love for her friends and family here, but she really wants to go out and see the world outside of the Kalinaws. Sound familiar?”
“Haha, yeah.” Hector knew the feeling all too well. If she was anything like him, he figured she’ll find a way off of the island one way or another.
“Can’t say I won’t miss the constant adventure of sailing, but for now, I’m happy planting roots here.” Trai shoved a tangle of noodles and shrimp into his mouth. “Lành and I got this little house here and we’re getting ready to start our own family, but we want to wait until the moment is just right before we start having kids.”
“Good plan dude, take your time and don’t rush it.” Hector pinched some noodles and brought them to his mouth to slurp, splashing a bit of broth in the process. The savory tastes conjured memories of the Bulan Biru’s frequent stops in Vietnam, trading stories with the other sailors on lunch breaks in between hauling cargo to and fro. “I wish I’d had the chance to do that. Might have saved me a ton of grief.” He looked over at Pleiades, quietly eating beside him and not taking much interest in the arcane art of adult bantering. Thank god she’s finally eating vegetables without me having to coax her. “At least you don’t have to deal with becoming a dad at fifteen anymore, right?”
“Haha, I guess not. Don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but I got mad respect for you raising a child by yourself like this being so young and all.”
“Thanks, but I can’t take all the credit for that. We had a lot of help from our community, from people who actually had a fucking clue how to properly take care of a baby. And...” Hector felt his chest constrict a little. “From her mother… when… when we were still together.” He didn’t dare glance over at his daughter, for fear that he might have to meet her gaze, that she might expose him for the coward and the reprehensible son of a bitch he truly was, deep down inside.
“And from us, too! For a crew of rowdy, troublemaking sailors, I think we did an okay job of making sure she was as comfortable as a little girl on a boat full of manly men could be! Ain’t that right, sailor?” Trai cast a smirk and a wink in Pleiades’s direction. She laughed and nodded. Hector joined in, albeit a bit more sheepishly and awkwardly. Vathalé wouldn’t find that funny. Not in the slightest. She could hardly put up with Haze and Joseph’s drunken antics; I don’t even want to know what she would think of the way I’ve been raising her child…
He swigged a more generous amount from his glass of coconut rum. “Yeah. That old saying’s not just a load of bullshit. It really does take a village.”
“If it does, then Atonga’s gonna be a damn good village for child-rearing.” Trai finished his meal and placed his chopsticks in the empty bowl. “I don’t know how many I would want. Probably two at the very least. Do you ever think about having more kids, Sam? I mean, you’re still young and virile, right?”
“Hah! Aha, ah, ha.” The air in the room became abruptly suffocating as he found himself in an anxious standoff with that question. What were the first thoughts percolating through his mind? What are you gonna tell Trai? That we damn well tried? That he would have been five by now? That I could father a whole damn country of kids but it wouldn’t change a goddamn thing? That I would make a desperate pact with demons to hold him in my arms even once?
No. You keep that shit to yourself, Hector. Yes, I know it hurts. I know you want to tell someone, you can’t keep all these skeletons in your closet forever. But leave that in the past, at least for now. Pour whiskey over it later if you have to, but this isn’t the time or the place.
“All the time, dude. If it were up to me, I’d have an armful of tots climbing all over me, but who’d be the baby mama?” ”Vathalé, I’m… I’m sorry. No, of course it’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself, please… I love you.” “Any sensible woman would turn the other way and book it before they’d even consider bearing my children.” ”We’ll try again when we come back home from the Antarctica trip.” “I mean, look at me, I definitely wouldn’t wish me on anyone.”
While Trai tidied up the table and stacked dishes to take to the sink, Hector heard shuffling and stirring sounds coming from the nearby living room. From the dimly lit room stumbled in Ari, in significantly better shape than this morning but still looking like they’d perhaps seen better days. Nonetheless, Hector appeared ecstatic to have concrete proof that their condition was indeed improving.
“Ari! You’re up! How do you feel?”
“Oh, um… Still a little woozy, but I can stand up now, I think…” Having said that, Ari lost their footing and tripped over the rug, but Hector reacted quickly and lunged to catch them.
“Easy there, mate. Take a minute to regain your sea legs… um… your land legs?” He let Ari brace themself on his shoulders, and for the first time since they met, Hector saw them standing up fully straight, and realized that Ari loomed more than a few inches over his head. He craned his neck to take in just how tall his ward was; he was eyeballing maybe like, yeah probably like a full seven feet tall jesus fucking christ and felt his jaw hang slack. “Hoooooooly fuck, you’re actually taller than me?”
“Oh… I suppose I am?” Ari cocked their head quizzically, as if surprised that seven feet wasn’t the average height for ordinary people.
“I mean, when I was carrying you I got the impression that you were a pretty big kid, but now that you’re standing up… Wow, well, god damn.” He shook his head in disbelief, turned to Trai and hooked a thumb in Ari’s direction. “Can you believe this? Not often I get to meet people taller than me!”
“Daaaaaaamn! Dude, Sam, you’re already like, more mountain than man!” Trai was in the middle of rinsing the dishes when he dropped what he was holding and walked over to investigate. Hector already dwarfed him by a whole foot; Ari could have easily been two whole feet taller. He planted his hands on his hips and admired both of them. “Not fair! I wish I could be tall like you guys.”
“But you wouldn’t be Trai Thanh Pham if you were anything but perfect armrest height,” Hector joked and plunked his arm down on top of Trai’s head, and Trai responded in kind with a jocular punch in the ribs. “Now that Ari’s feeling better, though, I think it’s time for us to start moseying along. Good seeing ya, man.”
“Same, dude. Where ya headed off to?”
“Oh, we gotta get Ari home. I stopped in Atonga to restock some stuff and to get Ari some medical help, but now it’s full steam ahead to drop this kid off at Herpur so that I can start my new gig in Perth—“
“Wait, what? Herpur, like that Herpur?!” Trai’s voice quivered with the same dread as Dr. Tauati’s when she laid eyes on Ari. “Sam, you got a death wish or something? That’s straight up pirate country!”
Hector frowned. “Pal, I said I’d get this kid back home, and I’m a man of my word so I’m gonna follow the fuck through because that’s my duty as the Shahrazad’s captain.” He could see Trai’s face contorting into a look of deep, fraternal concern. “Shit, dude, that’s my duty as a dad. That’s what fatherhood does to you. You put your fucking neck on the line to protect the vulnerable because that’s someone’s fucking child, man. And if I’m not gonna be the guy to look after a kid that got ditched and left for dead in the middle of the Pacific, then who will?”
Trai sighed, his doubts still firmly in place. “Ugh, navigating the upper Kalinaws is the worst idea ever, but I know you and when you get this fired up about something I know there ain’t shit anyone can do to change your mind.” Now he appeared to be mulling something over, scowling intermittently as he weighed all his muttered options under his breath. “Okay fine, but let me come with you.”
“WHAT? Dude, what the fuck is Lành gonna say when she finds out her husband just booked a one-way ticket to a watery grave?”
“She’ll understand, it’s not like she has no idea what kind of rough shit I’ve seen at sea.” Trai hiked up his shirt to expose a jagged scar above his hip camouflaged with a winding snake tattoo. “Besides, you could probably use another guy who knows his way around a ship. You’re gonna want me on harpoon when shit gets hot. I’ll fuckin’ skewer a bitch if they so much as splash us with water.”
“You’re not letting me go alone no matter what I say, are ya, Triton?”
“Got that right.”
Hector let out a long, exaggerated sigh. “Sure. Pack your bags. Tell Lành you’re in good hands, but no promises that I’ll have her man back home before dinner.” He caught Trai smirking as he scribbled out a note on a memo pad to leave on the fridge. “We’ll make sure to send you back with some kind of war trophy, just so she doesn’t accuse you of going back on your wedding vows.”
“Are you kidding? If my girl thought I was cheating, she wouldn’t have wasted her time waiting for me in Ninh Hòa in the first place.” Trai tossed some clothes, an assortment of toiletries, and personal effects all into a suitcase covered in cracked old leather and latched it shut. “I’m ready when you are.”
“Alright, all ashore that’s goin’ ashore!” Hector scooped his napping daughter off the couch emphatically enough to toss her up in the air for a half second before catching her in his arms. Pleiades screamed, her tranquil slumber disturbed in so brusque a manner, and pouted at her father, who could not help but snicker and kiss her on the cheek apologetically. Together with Trai, who made sure to hit all the lights and check to see if the stove was shut off, and Ari, who was hobbling forward slowly and using Hector’s shoulders to stabilize themself, they departed the house to board the Shahrazad and start the second leg of their journey.
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addison
Citizen of the Archipelago
I'm gonna bumble around for a while.
Posts: 24
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Post by addison on Jul 22, 2016 11:02:15 GMT -5
All the introductions had been made, the bags packed, and the necessary arrangements made.
Ari did not feel prepared for any of this in the slightest, and now they stood frozen before the roaring maw of a dragon. The past couple days had been spent in a delirious haze of pain and shock further away from home then they had ever been before, but now they stared with stunned clarity at the figurehead of the Sharhazad.
Pilli bunched ever so slightly around Ari’s shoulders. both of their stress and fear, for themsevles and Herpur, momentarily forgotten. It was replaced with the dream Ari had received while being born to safety by the Shahrazad.
The words of the dream dragoness echoed through Ari’s finally clear mind, ‘I am no fool little one, and neither are my Master and Mistress. Though you possess wit, do not think your trinkets’ At this word the dragoness had destroyed the hook and thread given to Ari by the hooded beggar, but returned the black scale, ‘will grant you audience. The King and Princess’s good will have brought you to this castle and your innocence has brought you to this door. Otherwise I would have devoured you before you had set foot inside.’
Everything before those words had felt hazy and inexorable, as a dream should have felt. But at those words, it was as though Ari’s consciousness had awoken, and their body remained in sleep.
Ari realized now, the dragoness had a name, Sharhazad. Her body was sturdy and shimmering. Her wings billowed and gleamed like the sails, and her eyes were windows into the depths of the ocean, just like the ship before them now.
Ari had knelt in respect the moment the dragoness’s words had broke the spell of sleep. It was a figure Ari’s people worshipped and revered above all others. Even so far away from Herpur she deserved respect, if not more for that very reason. Ari very nearly knelt again right there on the dock.
They felt especially honored now. It gave them strength for the task they knew lay ahead in this strange new place with these strange new people. They would help Ari though. The dragoness had said so. Her final words carried strongest through Ari’s mind, ‘You owe the Master and Mistress your life, and will owe them much more by the end of your journey, but they will owe you much as well, and you will be family.’
After that, the dragoness had let Ari pass through the throne room doors beneath her watchful eyes, and they had woken up to the smell of oatmeal.
Ari looked to Xochipilli and their scalemate stared unblinkingly and comfortingly back. Ari thought they understood what it meant now.
They waited for the small party to climb aboard before turning to Hector, "Mr. Charbonneau, I would like to join your crew.”
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Post by Loogs on Sept 12, 2016 22:56:30 GMT -5
Hector was baffled at Ari’s request, even perhaps a bit taken aback by the prospect of hiring the kid they just rescued from the clutches of death. “Join my crew?! Kid, there isn’t really a crew… It’s just me sailing the Shahrazad by myself with my daughter and my dog. This ship is a home, not a workplace.” He saw Ari’s face fall in disappointment, and tried to reason with them. “Look, Ari… We gotta get you back to your own home. There has to be someone, some person in Herpur who’s missing you right now—maybe there’s someone you miss as well.” As he said that, he felt an unpleasant churning sensation in his stomach knowing full well there was a possibility that there really wasn’t anything waiting for Ari in Herpur; in fact, there were probably more people who wanted them out of the island than people who wanted to have them back home. “Actually, speaking of Herpur…” Hector mused on the situation a bit further. “Ari, how did you end up on that boat in the first place? You had a lot of nasty wounds on you, wounds that looked a lot like someone or something wanted to cut you to pieces.” Ari thought it best to be honest and to the point. The wound on their leg no longer ached, but memories were still painful, “I was attacked by Matua, first mate and sister to Henare, third lieutenant of I Ketut’s pirates. I ran away to try and save myself and my home…” Ari hung their head in shame. Fleeing had been too forced to say it had been to protect their home. They recalled the darkness and terror of hiding beneath the dock, bleeding onto the floor of a dinghy; enraged pirates, with the berserk Henare at their head, roving overhead, looking to finish Ari off in gruesome revenge. Xochipilli had pushed them silently out into the humid swampy night of Herpur’s bayou as their pursuers drew inevitably closer. Hector was taken aback. He knew that area of the Kalinaws was nothing to underestimate, but how dangerous was it if a kid could get mixed up with I Ketut’s gang? Ari had regained their determination, “But the Shahrazad, she chose to save me, and now I owe her and you my life.” They made a broad motion to the figurehead. Hector sighed. If this kid really didn’t have anywhere to go, he couldn’t find it in him to just ditch them like… whoever the hell their former family was did. “Alright, I’ll cut you a deal. We’ll play it by ear for now, maybe you can help me out sailing the ship to Herpur if and when you’re feeling well enough to do so, and if it turns out you can’t go back home, I’ll hire you.” He glanced over at the proud, majestic dragon gracing the figurehead of the ship. “This boat gets kind of lonely sometimes with just me and Sailor in it, anyway. I could use a hand sometimes when I’m on a treasure diving job, and if you don’t mind playing babysitter, it’d be nice to have an evening or two out on the town by myself for a change.” Ari nodded in forceful acquiescence. It was a fair deal, and would give enough time for Mr. Charbonneau to accept that Ari already belonged on this ship, “Thank you, Captain.” Psssst…TAP TAPHector was quietly plotting out some routes on a map in the quarterdeck, pencil in one hand and an old fashioned in the other, when his ears barely caught on to a faint knocking coming from outside. He paused and glanced up from his work to observe the door carefully. PSSSTTAP TAPUpon opening the door a crack, Hector could faintly perceive the silhouette of a short woman standing outside of the quarterdeck, who yelped when the door suddenly moved. “Captain Charbonneau. It’s Dr. Tauati’s daughter. I’m Mautinoa. Can I come in?” The girl whispered. She caught his eyes rolling and heard a terse groan. “Is she putting you up to this so she can wed you off to me or something?” “No, actually, my mom doesn’t know I’ve sneaked out, but I heard about you from her, so I know where you’re headed. And I know it’s a dangerous route, so I thought you could use a medic on hand in case someone gets seriously hurt.” Hector wasn’t sure how to respond, but he opened the door a hair wider this time. “Don’t try and tell me you want to come with us. I don’t want to be responsible for something bad happening to you. Go back home, your mother’s gonna be worried sick if she finds out you’ve become a stowaway.” “Dude, I’m like 22 and I’m so bored on this dinky little island, she won’t mind if I slip away for a weekend. She’ll probably just think I went off to stay at a friend’s house or something. Come on, I want some adventure in my life, don’t you know what it feels like to be trapped somewhere with nothing to do?” “I mean, yeah, but…” The concerned father in him found itself at odds with his youthful lust for reckless exploration. When he really thought about it, a 22-year-old with formal medical training would probably be more prepared for danger than a reckless 13-year-old swinging a sword around for the first time, not to mention the fact that said 22-year-old would also be traveling with two experienced sailors as opposed to all by her lonesome. Hector sighed in resignation. “Fine, welcome aboard the Shahrazad, and you can just call me Captain Sam if you’d prefer.” He could hear Mautinoa squealing as he opened the door wider to grant her entry into his office. Her long, black hair was fashioned into a braid that wrapped around her head like a crown, with a bouquet’s worth of island flowers intertwined within its links. “Your name was Mautinoa, you said?” “Yep! I’m Mautinoa Tauati, firstborn child of Dr. Tauati and following in my mother’s footsteps!” She pinched the ends of her flowing, orange floral-print dress and curtsied. “Pleased to be a part of your crew.” “This isn’t a crew, it’s—ugh, forget it. Here, come down with me and I’ll introduce you to the others.” Hector led Mautinoa below the deck and knocked on everyone’s cabin door, one by one, as he walked down the hall. Looking around, he finally took notice of the covered wicker basket hanging from her arm. “Hey Cap, how’s Trai doing?” “Oh, he’s doing just fi—wait, how did you know Trai’s coming with us?” “I went to go visit Lành before dinner so I could buy some chè from her to have for dessert, and she told me about Trai running off to go help you get to Herpur in one piece,” Mautinoa explained, at the exact moment Trai himself emerged from his quarters. “Oh, hey, Mau. What’s this about Lành?” he inquired, turning his attention to the basket she carried. “Lành sent me with these and told me they were for you and Sam and anyone else on the ship.” Mautinoa lifted the cover off of the basket, revealing a warm batch of bread rolls, banh choux drizzled with chocolate sauce and sprinkled with powdered sugar, and several cups of chè prepared with love in delightful, colorful layers. “She says she loves you too and to please be careful out there.” “Oh, right! Trai, how is Lành’s baking gig going?” “She’s becoming really popular on Atonga, as you might have guessed.” He grabbed one of the bread rolls and ripped off a huge chunk in his mouth. “Mmmrmmph… yeah, she’s… mmmrrh… she’s getting a little too popular, actually.” “What do you mean by that?” “She’s having trouble meeting all the new demand just working from home with our one oven.” Trai wolfed down the last half of the roll. “She wants to open an actual bakery, but after getting settled on the island, we don’t have money left to do it.” “Hey, tell you what. If we somehow end up scoring some sweet pirate booty, I’ll offer you my share to help fund her dream business.” Hector plucked a banh choux from the basket and started munching on it. “Think of it as an investment, and in exchange you just gotta give me free sweets for life.” “Hmm, I think we can do that,” Trai said with a wink and a smile. Now everyone else on the ship had emerged, Ari on steadier footing and Pleiades in her periwinkle pajamas. They both blinked and looked at the captain for an explanation as to why they had been summoned. Hector threw an arm around Mautinoa and pulled her towards him. “Kids, this is Mautinoa, Dr. Tauati’s daughter. She’s gonna be coming with us to take care of anyone who might get sick or injured, and because she’s going a little stir-crazy back in Atonga.” He winked at his new guest before continuing. “Mau—do you mind if I call you that?—this is Miriam, my daughter, and Ari, a new friend of ours who we’re taking back home to Herpur.” “Hi, Mau!” Pleiades waved enthusiastically, and Mautinoa returned her wave, smiling sweetly at the girl. “Your flowers are so pretty!” “Oh, thank you!” Mautinoa bent down and tilted the top of her head toward Pleiades. “Do you want a flower to put in your hair? Go ahead and take one!” Pleiades extracted a magenta hibiscus from her braid. “Thank you!” She sniffed it and fumbled around as she tried to weave it into her own hair. “That’s a really nice flower you picked. Here, let me help you out there.” Mautinoa received the flower from her and attached it to the left side of her head. Pleiades threw her arms around Mautinoa in a hug of gratitude. “Wow! You look beautiful, Miriam!” “Mau, you’re a natural, I like you already.” Hector leaned against the wall and watched the two hit it off immediately. Anyone who made Pleiades smile would get right on his good side any day of the week. He strolled down to the end of the hall and opened the last door on the right. Mautinoa stepped inside; it was a small bedroom, decorated sparsely, with plain green sheets on the bed and a wooden chest at the end of it. “You get this room right here. The bathroom’s in the middle, there’s a door in your room that leads into it, and another one leading into Trai’s, so you two are sharing it. Knock before you go in so you don’t walk in on one another.” Mautinoa nodded vigorously. Hector received the basket from her and offered sweets to Ari and Pleiades before taking it to the kitchen for tomorrow’s breakfast. “Alright, sailor, time for bed. Trai, I need you on lookout duty with me on the deck. Ari, Mau, the kitchen’s down the hall if you need a nightcap or a midnight snack or something. I’ll probably have us near Dap-Eo by morning, and we’ll hopefully be landing in Herpur by late afternoon.” He took Pleiades by the hand and walked with her back to her room. “Good night, everyone.” Hector leaned over the railing of the stern side of the boat, munching on one of Lành’s banh choux in one hand and an empty cup of coffee in the other. It was the dead of night and his shift was almost over; in about ten minutes he would go into his room in the quarterdeck and rouse Trai so they could switch off and he could catch a few winks. There had been no threats so far, thank goodness, but the Shahrazad was sailing on troubled waters from here on out, and one can’t be too cautious when people’s lives are on the line. Dap-Eo itself wasn’t a hotbed of pirate activity, but its maritime borders were occasionally intruded by bands of buccaneers from its neighbors to the north. A shame, really; Dap-Eo was a lovely island and Hector would visit it frequently in his younger years before the conflict had spread downward. He hoped solemnly that it would not worsen and reach Atonga. Hector sighed with exhaustion. Sailing was a stressful profession indeed. First part of the post brought to you by a collaboration between Addison and myself
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