Our tale begins in a place you would expect it to. An island for pirates for this is a pirate tale. A tale of action and adventure, trauma and angst, romance and wild sex orgies.. okay, no orgies. Maybe not even romance. I digress... The Black Tiger is the ship that would soon become the main setting and as for the main characters.. Well.. Do I have a tale or two about them. It'll set your beards ablaze and your stomachs aflutter. This much.. I promise. So let's begin shall we?
Nassau buzzed with the usual riff raff it always did; Pirates, merchants, beggars and drunkards - All looking for coin and alcohol. All succeeding in their goals. For Nassau was home to most miscreants of the sea and so little could be done about it. The island was known for housing nefarious types but to the locals they were no more than a source of income and sometimes entertainment, depending on the pirate of course, while some were the locals. Most would call it a dump as the houses were poorly built and cold winds could be felt through cracks but to the dwellers of such a town, it was home and paradise. Pirates were the best drinkers and as expected the tavern did well for itself as ships often made port for the occasional booze session and cool down period between plundering or to repair their damaged vessels. Though sometimes it's a wonder how the tavern was so popular as like the houses it was a shack in the sand. Still, it was a pirate village so for them it must have been enough. Our story naturally starts in the tavern, for where else would you find a pirate on his leisure time in Nassau?... Well aside from trying to pick up women but a blind monkey could guess that.
"Hyung.. Why can't I come up too?" Whined out the voice of a rather tall for his age boy.
"Because Zelo, you're under aged." Followed a deep voice. This voice belonged to the Captain of The Black Tiger, Yongguk. For a pirate he was surprisingly handsome and while most pirates would use that to their advantage, Yongguk remained modest which was an odd trait for a Captain. Despite his fearsome reputation he seemed to be an honourable man and he'd made sure all of his fellow men knew he wasn't a cut throat. That he was a man of his word. He smiled down at Zelo and ascended the stairs to partake in his most favorite activity after a long time at sea, drinking.
"Like anyone will care!" Zelo protested huffily. "I can pass for a man, I'm taller than you!"
"Nice try, brat." Piped up the voice of Yongguk's first mate, Himchan. The fair haired gent ruffled Zelo's hair and gave him a light nudge towards the dock. "Go see to the ship, eh?" Like Yongguk, Himchan was a looker, only this man knew he was and unlike his brother he used it to his advantage. If he wasn't by Yongguk's side chances were he'd have a girl under his arm.
Zelo frowned and put his foot down quite literally which in his heavy boots kicked up some sand below his feet. "I'm 18 for gods sake. How's that under-age? And why must I be the one to see to the ship? You don't go bossing Jongup about! He's only a year older than me, I don't see you telling him to see to the ship!"
"Jongup's helpful. He's already there, without being asked I might add." Himchan retorted with his hands on his hips. "Now be a good lad and go help your brother. I'll try to talk Guk into letting you come up for a drink when you're done, alright?"
"Really?" Zelo lit up and grinned, wasting no time to go see to his duties.
"You really going to give the kid alcohol?" Questioned an oddly dressed man who was as pretty as a girl.
Himchan waved a hand and laughed, "Don't be daft, Daehyunnie! He's hyper enough without the influence of rum."
Daehyun tsked and shook his head, "So you lied to the boy. Got his hopes up only to crush them after you've used him. I'm ashamed, hyung."
"Says the assassin who kills people for money." Himchan glowered. "Don't play moral with me boy."
"Hey! I kill them quickly. I'm honest in my assassinations and if they have a contract on their head then they clearly aren't loveable people." The brunette countered before he draped an arm across his comrades shoulders. "But I must say that was clever, come, let us talk about it and get pissed."
"I like the cut of your jib." Himchan grinned, never one to turn down a good drink. Especially after the hard work of out sailing the Navy Hunter ships. The two sauntered up to join the Captain who'd already occupied a seat and got the drinks for their arrival. "Such a caring Captain." Himchan cooed, tipping his head towards his friend.
"I swear you're over compensating when you bed girls.. " Yongguk muttered after a long swig from a rum bottle.
"He's got you pegged." Daehyun smirked, earning a shove from Himchan who just glared at the two much to their amusement.
Yongguk leant forward to his first mate and smiled that gummy smile he was so famous for amongst the ladies. "Y'know I'm just teasing you, mate." He assured Himchan before turning his gaze to Daehyun. "Where's your bum chum?"
"I don't appreciate what you're implying but Youngjae is where he always his. His nest. He says he's good up there and that he's onto something." Daehyun shrugged before going back to playing with his hidden blade. He found so much amusement in extending and retracting the blade just to hear the metal sheathing sound.
"Christ he's always onto something." Yongguk sighed, slumping back in his seat again. "What's it this time? Flame throwers instead of cannons?"
Himchan sat up with interest and grinned, "Oh that'd be cool!"
"No. It wouldn't. Remember that time you were heading for the gallows and we had to come save you? He tried to install the flame throwers and nearly sunk my ship." Guk grumbled and rubbed at his temple. The sheer memory pained him as he had to empty all his pockets to repair the damages.
"Hey, in his defence he ended up creating really effective bombs out of that mishap." Daehyun reminded his Captain. Youngjae was brilliant when it came to building things and coming up with wild ideas for improvements on the ship. He was like an inventor and saw the world through different eyes which for Daehyun was most welcome considering how he saw the world.
"And I'm the gay one." Himchan chuckled. "You totally love that boy."
"He's my brother." Daehyun shot with a glare that managed to still even Yongguk from making a comment. They knew those two had a bond, a bond that could only be acquired by going through hell and back with someone and since Yongguk knew the exact bond as he shared it with Himchan, he didn't dare question it.
"That's what I mean." Himchan smiled, "Jeez loosen up!" He moved his hand to shove Daehyun playfully but the boy stood before he could so he ended up just touching his hip awkwardly. "...Sorry."
Daehyun rolled his eyes and grabbed a bottle of rum, "I'm going to do some contracts."
"Can you just pick when you do them?" Yongguk asked with a frown. He thought there was an order to this assassin brotherhood. At least that's how Daehyun had explained it.
The blonde sighed and crossed his arms, moving away from Himchan who had started to pet at his hip bone to cover the hand slip. "Depends on the assassin. Of course there's an order to it, I just don't care as much as the others do as I'm a fucking pirate. I do it for gold. Right now I need gold."
"Right." Yongguk nodded, though he knew the boy was just pissed off and needed a stress relief. "Here or...?"
"Kingston. They're all shits. If you aren't here when I finish I'll just take contracts until you are.. Or take some shore leave." Daehyun muttered before hopping up onto the wooden railing and leaping off it.
Himchan watched the boy free run over the few buildings in his way before he let his dark gaze drift to Yongguk, "Remind me why you took him in?"
"Shut up, you like him." Yongguk retorted then took another gulp of rum. "Besides, he's not as bad as I thought he was."
"Ohhh! Appa Guk getting sentimental! Careful Cap'n, the lads will think you're going soft." Himchan teased and laughed away at his brother.
"Let them. But they won't be able to say that I don't look after my own." Yongguk grinned, knowing fine well that his crew were secret softies themselves. Of course they were still pirates but Yongguk ran a good ship. He knew when to let the boys have fun and when to be a proper Captain and for that the crew loved having him as their Captain. He wasn't so lax with commands that they went riot or so tight-fisted that they feared even breathing wrong. For his crew; he was a good man, a big brother and a close friend to them. But a strict father when the need arose which thankfully wasn't that often any more.
Eventually a black haired sleepy looking boy with defined muscles walked up the stairs, having Zelo bouncing along in tow. "I doubt they'd let you." Jongup smiled which deflated Zelo instantly.
"Let him do what, Jongup?" Yongguk asked, head craning to see them over the drunken mess that was his first mate.
"Oh.. Zelo said that he'd been promised a drink after he helped unload the ship." Jongup shrugged as he pulled a seat up beside Yongguk. Himchan got handsy with him when he was drunk or sober so it was no wonder he always went to Yongguk.
"Himchan promised." Zelo grinned and bounced down beside the man, "Right Channie- Oh.. Ew.." The red head ended up shuddering and gagging when he was overwhelmed by the alcoholic stench coming from the grinning idiot on his shoulder.
"Should'a warned you, sorry. He's been.. Well you can smell." Guk snickered, having clearly reached the tipsy stage by the light pink tint in his cheeks and by the way he couldn't stop smiling at the two teenagers.
"We've lost him." Jongup muttered in bemusement the second Yongguk fell off his wooden chair in a giggle fit when Himchan started trying to kiss Zelo's cheek much to his displeasure.
"Himchan's beyond help." Zelo grunted, managing to slide out of his brothers grasp only to watch him face plant and kiss at the tavern floor. "Y'know what... I'm good. I don't think I could bare looking that idiotic."
"Thank god." Jongup chuckled, standing up to avoid the flailing coming from Yongguk in his attempts to stop the giggles. "Hey.. There's Zico and his crew." The boy pointed out, having to squint to see them down in the docks. "Why's Daehyun boarding with them?"
"Oh you know hyung and his moods." Zelo sighed, giving a small shrug. "Surprised Youngjae's letting him go alone this time."
"Last I saw him he was busy building something." Jongup informed though he looked unphased by the matter.
Zelo on the other hand had a look of horror. "Oh god.. I hope he doesn't blow up the ship again."
Jongup laughed and patted at his friends back, "You'll get use to him. He isn't actually a bad inventor. It's just trial and error sometimes. When he starts manically laughing... That's when you should be concerned."
"Oh ha ha." The red heads face contorted. Zelo was one of the newly acquired crew and was still getting use to the pirates. He'd known Yongguk before so when he was recruited on board he was thrilled to be working alongside the man he grew to call brother but he hadn't expected him to be a pirate. He remembered the man walking around in a naval uniform but he admitted to preferring the hyung he knew now to the old one. Before it took all his might to get him to smile, now Zelo just had to say hi and he grinned away without a care in the world. It had been an exciting few months aboard The Black Tiger that was for sure and he quite liked being a pirate once he'd had time to adjust, at least the crew treated him like family now after he proved himself in a fight with a rival ship. He'd even earned an amazing friend from the get go. Jongup. He'd been the one to show him around and help him with things he didn't understand and while he knew everything he could about Zelo, Jongup remained a mystery to him. He didn't talk of his past or family, he just spoke of what he dreamt of becoming. For Zelo though that was more than enough.
Back at The Black Tiger, Youngjae sat hunched over an odd looking device he'd attached to a musket. After some tinkering the boy picked up his invention and swan dived off his nest only to land in some padded crate they'd set up for quick exits. The dark haired boy exited swiftly and ran off the ship and down the docks, heading straight down the path Daehyun had went down. Zico's ship had already started to sail away but luckily Daehyun had noticed his friend. "Oi! Do me a favour, yeah?"
Daehyun jumped down from the sails and jogged over to the edge of the ship to see his brother holding up an odd gun while walking along the dock to keep in ear shot. "I'm not being your hamster. You can't test things on me."
"Rotten bastard.. Just do something for your brother!" Youngjae grumbled, growing impatient.
Daehyun looked to be contemplating this but ended up smirking like the little shit Youngjae knew him to be."Mm.. Nah."
"Fine, but it'd cause a riot in Kingston. If you don't want it I totally understand." Youngjae's brows quirked up and he went to return to his nest when Daehyun started throwing out some curses.
"Oh for fuck sake.. Throw it here then!" He hated it when Youngjae played that card. Guaranteed every time it got him, so after a good throw from Youngjae there he was wielding a stupid looking gun. "You couldn't have made it cooler?"
By now Youngjae had ran out of dock but was grinning like a bobcat and waving him off happily. "I'll make up for it, trust me!"
This was how the story began. An assassin wielding a strange gun his brother invented heading towards Kingston on a ship. This was how the crew of The Black Tiger's lives would change forever, unbeknownst to the bringer of their bad luck, Daehyun who just inspected the musket with a raised eyebrow. This gun would start something they had no hopes of stopping and if they knew what I know... Daehyun would have never have set out for Kingston town with that stupid device. Or maybe he would have.. However that's not my story to tell.