Tavros had been different since the day he was born. He came into the world wrong and upside down, like he wasn't ready to face the world head-on yet. His mother screamed and swore into the dead night with no one to help her but the other girls from the corner, and they knew nothing of childbirth. In a way he was lucky he came out the way he did, else his head would be messed up and not his legs, but still he had to make do with using a cane from the day he learned to walk.
There weren't many children living in the port, and those that did were nearly feral. Even if Tavros could keep up with their chasing games and mad dashes from with the market with stolen apples in hand, they didn't exactly take kindly to the crippled son of a prostitute. He spent his early days alone, watching the sea and dreaming. Ships came and went regularly, and Tavros was always at the tavern like clockwork, willing his ears bigger to absorb every detail of their adventures through mythic lands, horrific storms, and legendary pirates. The tavern's owner was pretty nice to him, comparatively. Some of the men that passed through gave Tavros looks that were just downright nasty, worse than the looks he usually got just for being a nuisance. When he was old enough, it was the tavern's owner that ended up giving him odd jobs and teaching him everything a young boy should know. He taught him how to patch himself up when he got hurt and how to remedy illnesses when he got sick; how to tie knots and cook stew, how to tell when it would rain and how to shine shoes, how to read and how to throw a punch. He even fed Tavros when his mother forgot to.
It was through the tavern owner that Tavros ended up with Tinkerbull, a tiny red, yellow, and blue bird with a broken wing and a mangled leg. Over months of painstaking care the wing got better, but the leg was beyond salvaging. Even so, the day the one-legged bird took flight again was the happiest day of Tavros's life. The second happiest was the day after that, when Tinkerbull returned through Tavros's open window and pecked his hand to wake him, asking to be fed. The two were inseparable since.
And then, when Tavros was thirteen, the pirates came. They came for the ship that was docked in the harbor, rumored to be carrying Spanish gold. When they didn't find any on board, they came for the town, taking what they pleased and killing anyone that stood in their way.
Tavros was finishing the dishes for the tavern owner when screams alerted him of the attack. Out the little window he could see several houses on fire and a strange ship in the harbor flying a black flag, but little else since. As he leaned off to the edge to try and get a peek at the street, he was startled when a man he had never seen before marched right by, holding a bloody sword aloft and taking no notice of the boy in the window. Tavros ducked immediately, grabbing Tinkerbull in his hands, holding him to his chest as he crouched and listened as more people ran past on the other side of the wall. There was a banging on the front door and he froze. He could hear the footsteps of the owner and the creak as the door opened, then two bangs and thud and more footsteps stomping in. Tavros pressed himself into the corner between the wall and the sink. They were pirates, he was almost sure of that, and if they came in he'd practically the first thing they'd see, but there was no way he could make it to the storage closet fast enough, especially with his cane out of reach.
Footsteps on the other side of the door grew closer, and Tavros clenched his fingers tighter around Tinkerbull. The bird protest and struggled out of his grasp, flying up and circling the room. Panicking, Tavros flailed his arms in an attempt to get the bird back without making a sound.
Come here, come here, he willed, and then the door burst open. Tavros froze. Tinkerbull landed on his head. The pirate gaped at the little boy in the shadows with the red parrot on his head for a minute, then slammed the door shut. Tavros couldn't bring himself to move more than to snatch Tinkerbull back up in his arms.
"I think I jutht thaw a ghotht," he heard someone say from the other side of the door.
"Don't be ridiculous." This one was a woman's voice, calm and breathy.
There was a bit of shuffling and the door opened again, but all Tavros could really focus on was the gun aimed in his general direction.
"Who are you?" the woman asked sternly. Her bushy black hair took up most of the doorway.
Tavros swallowed and tried to force his mouth to form words. "Uhh-"
"Come out where I can see you," she snapped.
The boy eyed the gun and hesitantly crawled forward. Tinkerbull flapped noisily as he tried to hop on the floor beside him.
"Thee," the first pirate told the woman, but she held up her hand to silence him.
"Torch."
The man rolled his eyes and handed it over. Fire in one hand, gun in the other, she strode closer to Tavros, who flinched away as she got near. Tinkerbull, startled by the flames, sailed into the rafters.
"What's your name?" she asked again.
"Um, uhh, T-Tavros."
Pursing her lips, the woman crouched down in front of him. Tavros tried to skitter back, but she slid her gun into her belt and grabbed him by the front of his shirt before he could get out of reach. He tried to turn his face away when she brought the torch so close he could feel its heat, but she only grabbed his roughly by the chin and turned his head this way and that, searching his face for he couldn't imagine what. He stared back with enormous brown eyes, unable to even form the words to plead for his life.
Several terrifying seconds passed, and it was the pirate impatiently standing in the doorway that broke the silence.
"Well?"
"We should take him the captain to be sure," the woman announced, much to the surprise of everyone in the room.
Tavros didn't even have the courage to protest. He did yelp though, when the woman stood and yanked him up by the elbow.
"Up," she ordered.
Tavros winced reached for the counter to lift himself.
"Oh good, he'th a cripple," the man in the doorway noted unhelpfully.
"Do you think you could carry him?"
The man made a face. "I'm thure Darkleer could do it better, don't you think?" he asked bitterly.
"Germinate," the woman sighed.
The man glared at her and she returned it. He looked like he was ready to argue the point, but changed his mind at the last second and complied. The woman grabbed Tavros under his armpits and hoisted him onto her companion's back with ease.
"Hold on tight and don't fall off," she told the boy. "Or else."
Tavros swallowed and nodded. The pirate muttered something else under his breath and hitched the kid higher. As they left, Tinkerbull settled himself on Tavros's shoulder, effectively blocking his view of the tavern owner's body lying crumpled near the doorway.
Tavros didn't remember much of the trip to the harbor. For one thing, it was short, since the tavern was just about the first thing on the main street coming in from port. For another, it was completely terrifying and Tavros didn't really want to look. The moon was hidden behind thick clouds, fire crackled much to close, there were screams in the distance and someone was sobbing nearby. It was a surreal nightmare. It couldn't be real.
By the time curiosity won out, it was too late to catch any of the town. Tavros peeked over his arm at the looming vessel in the water, the name FREEDOM just barely discernible in the flickering light. The boy's heart thudded faster as soon as the pirate carrying him stepped onto the gangplank. It was terrifying, yes, more than anything, but only in his dreams had Tavros ever been on a real ship. When he was actually on it, he stopped breathing all together. If the pirate noticed, he said nothing. Summoning all his courage, Tavros lifted his head up at the tangle of cords and sails stretching into the night sky. It was somehow bigger than he pictured, larger than life. At last he took in a breath of salt and wood and resin and held it. For a moment, the thrill of something he didn't dare dream about for himself overpowered heart-stopping terror.
And then the pirate was standing by the door at the back of the deck and knocking it with his boot and all the good feelings were gone.
"Who is it?" a voice boomed from inside. Tavros ducked behind the pirate's head.
"It'th me," the man answered. "Open up."
"It's open," the voice answered, quieter but still clearly agitated.
The pirate carrying Tavros huffed a note of irritation before hitching Tavros higher on his hip. When he let go of one of his knees the boy nearly choked him in panic of falling off, but the pirate twisted the door open and had him under both knees again quickly. Readjusting the kid on his back once more, the pirate marched into the dark and kicked the door shut behind him.
The only light in the room came from the wide window on the other side, illuminating the room with the faintest orange. A large table covered in papers took up the of the space, and all around hung various shadowy trinkets, along with a few portraits. In the corner stood a large dresser with an ornate hat hanging off it, and beside the dresser a limp hammock. Between the table and the window Tavros could clearly see the outline of a man. He was turned away from his visitors, his hands clasped behind his back.
"Tell me, Twineye," he said through anger that grew less controlled with each word. "Why is the town on fire?"
Tavros flinched, even if the words weren't directed at him. The pirate, Geminate or Twineye or whatever his name was, bounced the boy higher. "Thomebody let Makara hold the torch again."
"Somebody?"
"Why doeth everyone take me for thome kind of babythitter?" Twineye growled, crouching down, though not nearly low enough, and dropping Tavros on the floor with a thud. Tinkerbull squawked at his perch being dropped off beneath him and sailed around before hiding behind his owner, who was still grimacing in pain.
In the meantime, the man by the window had time to whirl around. "Who is this?"
"Ghothtcult and I were hoping you could tell uth," Twineye shrugged.
The man by the window stepped forward and flicked on the oil lamp on the desk. His face was scruffy and not very clean, and his nose looked like it had been broken more than once. His eyes, however, were crystal clear and seething.
"What the fuck am I looking at here?"
Twineye leaned over and studied the boy as well. Tavros looked between the two of them, unsure what to think, still squinting at the sudden light.
"Oh wait, maybe thith'll help." Twineye circled around Tavros. The boy tried to keep him in sight but once the pirate was behind him he slapped his hands over kid's eyes and pulled until he was covering his ears. It kind of hurt Tavros's face, but more than that it pulled his hair something awful. Meanwhile, Tinkerbull cowered on top of the dresser.
The pirate by the table cocked his head and drew closer. Dropping to one knee, he grabbed Tavros by the chin like the woman in the tavern had, although this time Tavros had his nose pushed around and his cheeks stretched and even his lip pulled up briefly to look at his teeth. By the time the pirate pulled away Tavros was shaking.
"Well?" Twineye asked.
"The resemblance is uncanny," the other pirate admitted, straightening up. "Let's see the rest of him."
Tavros looked up at the pirate who only just let go of his head. The man looked back, trying to look annoyed but with an undeniable edge of curiosity. "What? Can't thtand by yourthelf?"
Unable to find words, Tavros just nodded.
"What?" the other pirate asked as Twineye rolled his eyes yet again and hoisted Tavros up by snagging him under the arms.
The other man just watched, frowning. For a second the boy was lifted entirely off the floor, but when he legs touched down again they settled into their usual awkward arrangement. When Twineye tried to let go Tavros nearly toppled over. The other man's frown deepened and he drew a curved sword from the sheaf at his hip. The boy instinctively flinched away, but was held fast. Instead of the slash of pain he had prepared himself for however, Tavros felt his pant leg being lifted, and look down to see the man was doing so with the edge of the blade. It wasn't that much more reassuring.
"Can you walk?" he asked, eyeing the disfigured bone.
"Not, uhh, without a cane," Tavros swallowed. "Sir."
"Where is it then?"
Tavros shrunk into himself. "I, uhh, I must have left it behind...sir."
"Can you do anything useful?" the pirate asked gruffly.
"Oh, well, uhh-"
"Louder."
"I can, um," Useful or dead. Useful or dead. "I can cook, a-and wash floors, and, uhh, mend clothes, and bad cuts, also. M-mend them, that is. The cuts. And, uhh-"
"That's enough," the man interrupted, pulling back the sword back and circling around. "Got a name?" he asked as he used the weapon again to lift up the hem of boy's shirt and examine his side and stomach.
"Uhh, Tavros, sir."
"Got a last name?"
Tavros shivered at the feel of metal on his skin as the man looked at his bare back. "No, sir."
As the pirate came back around, he fixed his eerie eyes right on the boy. Perhaps it was just the lighting, but they were so dark they looked almost entirely black.
"Got a father?"
"N-not that I, uhh, know of. Sir."
"Got a mother?"
"Yes, sir."
"I see."
The pirate turned away and Tavros didn't blame him. A kid in a poor stopping port like this with no dad? It wasn't even worth asking what his mother did for a living. It was all too obvious, and pretty much guaranteed anyone looking at Tavros as trash, not that they weren't right for doing so. What he really wanted to know was why the pirates kept looking at him, and if it meant they were going to kill him or just chuck him overboard when they were done with whatever horrible things pirates do.
Again, it was Twineye that broke the silence.
"Tho, what do'ya want me to do with him?"
Silence again. Tavros squeezed his eyes shut and silently pleaded for his life. He jerked when the other man swept his hand across the table, sending papers rustling across the table. "Put him here," he instructed as he slid his sword away.
Tavros was quickly losing track of how many times he had been lifted off his feet, but he could add one more to the count as he was swept up and plopped down on a table so high his legs dangled uselessly off the ground. The pirate waved Twineye out of the way planted himself firmly in front of Tavros, now eye to eye with the boy.
"How old are you?"
"Uhh, thirteen, sir."
"Got any sailing experience?"
Tavros shook his head and tried not to meet the other's gaze. "N-no, sir."
"What about navigation?"
"I, uhh, know a little about the stars. Sir."
"Last question. Look at me."
Hesitantly, Tavros did, out of the corner of his eye at first and then straightening up. Every now and then he flickered his eyes away, but when the pirate continued to lean forward and say nothing, the boy eventually managed to look him almost directly in the face.
"Would you like to join my crew?"
Tavros's eyebrows flew up to his forehead. "Huh?"
"Of you've gotta be kidding me," Twineye muttered. The other pirate paid him no mind.
"You'll have to earn your keep, of course," the man continued, straightening up. "And you'd better hope for your sake you're a fast learner. Not only that, nothing will get you killed out here faster than disloyalty, do you understand? "
The boy's jaw quivered and nothing came out, so he just nodded vigorously.
"So are you up for it?"
Piracy! If he agreed he'd be agreeing to becoming a criminal! But if he didn't... he didn't really want to think about that. Life-or-death choices aside, this was his one chance of actually going out to sea, and sailing the oceans like he'd always dreamed. It was almost too good to be true! That, and of course if he said no he could be dead.
Unable to do anything else, Tavros nodded again.
"Out with it, boy," the man barked.
"Y-yes, sir!"
"Yes, captain."
"Uhh, yes, captain." It was kind of thrilling to actually say aloud.
"Good." He spun around. "Twineye."
"Yeth?"
Tavros couldn't see it, but it was pretty obvious the captain just gave the other pirate a look. Twineye didn't seem to care, and in fact sounded downright bored when he finally appended, "Captain Crabclaw, thir," with an edge of sarcasm.
"Go get Slick. The kid needs a haircut."
"How do exthpect me to find the guy?" Twineye complained.
The captain just turned back to Tavros and waved a hand over his shoulder. "Follow the stab victims."
Tavros went pale.
Twineye on the other hand curled his lip and left like he was told. When the door clicked shut the captain peeked at it over his shoulder to make sure the other man was really gone before marching over to his dresser situated behind Tavros.
"Your last name is Nitram now, understood?"
"Umm, yes, captain." He didn't dare question why.
"Also, you said you needed cane?"
"Y-yes, captain."
The boy followed Crabclaw with his eyes as he flung the doors open and pushed aside the various hanging clothes. Tavros couldn't really see what he pulled out because the captain's back was to him, but from the little mirror hanging on the inside of one of the dresser's doors, Tavros could see his face. The captain's expression was for once not angry, just sort of sad. It might have just been the light, but for a second it looked his lip twitched into a bittersweet grin of sorts, just a little, and then he turned around and Tavros whirled back in his seat so he wouldn't be caught peaking.
He listened as the captain clicked the doors shut and his heavy boots came up beside him. In his hands was a long white cane, topped with a grip carved into the image of an ornate dragon's head.
"Can you use a sword?" Crabclaw asked.
"Huh? Oh, uhh, I mean, no, sir. Captain!"
"Either is fine," the pirate sighed. "As for swordsman ship," here he paused to pull the dragon's head off the cane, revealing beneath the wood a thin metal blade. "There'll be time to teach you that yet." With that he snapped the sword shut and held it out to Tavros.
The boy reached for the cane with shaking fingers. A sword! A real sword! He'd seen swordfights before, and admittedly he didn't know how he'd be able to move like they did, but man oh man he was going to put every once of effort into trying. When his fingers wrapped around it, however, the captain did not let go.
"You will not lose this, you understand?" he hissed, and somehow his voice was even scarier when it was low than when it was booming. "You will not break it, you will not scratch it, you will not let it leave your sight. If I ever see you come back to me without this, I will kill you. Your head will hang from my mast and your heart will swing from the fucking figurehead. Am I making myself perfectly clear?"
White as a sheet and barely breathing, Tavros gave him the smallest of nods. The captain let go of the cane and clapped him on the back.
"Good lad. Now, get up and let's go find someone to show you around."
Still shaking horribly, though out of fear or excitement he didn't know, Tavros managed to slide himself off the table without falling over. The cane was longer than what he was used to, but the one he had before was getting small for him, and since he had shown no signs of stopping his recent growth spurt, he could at least hope to grow into this one. Tinkerbull settled himself back on Tavros's shoulder as he hobbled along out onto the deck with the captain.