Hello beautifuls! I'm so sorry this took so long to post! School...always school. But I was like... It's almost thanksgiving, so what am I thankful for? You guys!

Thanks for not giving up on me! Enjoy!

"I want a hamburger."

Silver looked over at Jim, "A hamburger?"

Jim nodded, "A hamburger."

"You sure? I can get you anything you want, money isn't a problem." Silver assured the young man.

Jim shrugged, "Yeah."

Silver just shook his head, "Fine! Fine. Pack your things and we'll go get a Hamburger." Silver walks up to the deck muttering, "A Hamburger. Teenagers, they ain't got no taste. Wren with her lollipops and now Jimbo with his hamburgers, what is the world coming to?"

Wren thought she was unshakeable, she didn't break under pressure; actually she thrived on it. Wren ate surprises for breakfast, feasted on challenges, and snacked on arguments in between desserts of inner turmoil and disasters.

But as the Legacy slid into port, her beautiful pale wood chipped and scratched, broken and crushed beyond recognition. Wren nearly fainted.

The ship shuddered to a stop and Wren leaned against the cracked mast. All the color had drained from her face, her legs felt like they would just give out, her heart nearly leapt out of her ribcage, every other organ dropped into the pit of her stomach. It felt like everything inside had evaporated turning Wren into a weak, flimsy piece of paper.

The one reason she was still standing was because fainting for the second time in her life a day away from her first would be inexcusable.

She thought she could ignore the world, and she had been. Sailing in that blissful place between beginnings and endings. She didn't have to care about food, money or places to sleep; she had everything she needed. It had been like she was floating in some fake perfect place where after a long crazy day, things would always be back to normal in the morning. But then reality came knocking and kicked down the jorking door.

Wren looked at her home planet, gray rooftops and filthy streets. She gazed at her personal hell and ironically, felt cold for the first time since she left its sewers.

"Jork."

She repeated it.

"Jork."

Silver walked to the gangplank eager to stretch his leg after being cooped up for so long. He looked out at the unlucky planet they were resting at and frowned, a mysterious sense of dejavu was accompanied by a feeling of unease. Something was disturbingly familiar about the place. Silver narrowed his eyes trying to remember.

There was a lot of brown and grey. Poop browns and muddy browns; smoky grey and silver grey. It looked like the painter of this town was either too lazy or didn't care enough to waste his brighter colors on this backwater planet.

Some of the homes were merely shacks built of wooden planks leaning up against the stone sides of buildings. The spaceside houses had plaster walls worn smooth by the blowing wind, their shaky foundations perched precariously over cliffs, thatched roofs stained by space gull poop. A lopsided bell tower rose over the top of the buildings threatening to topple over at the next gust of wind. The main street cut through the dilapidated town with pretty store fronts gilded over hovels waiting in the back. The one well maintained road led to a richer part of town in the distance where the stench and decay was barely held back by a high stone wall.

Silver had been so many places that looked exactly like this that it was all starting to blur together. He looked over to see Wren, her young mind was like a steel trap when it came to remembering things, ironic, since half of his was actually made by steel.

"Hey Lass this place look familiar to you?" He asked.

"A little too familiar." She said looking at the dilapidated buildings.

Silver was still confused, but a few things we're starting to come back to him, "Refresh an old man's mind please."

Wren let out a harsh laugh, "It's where you picked up that annoying brat with the smart mouth."

Now Silver was lost, "Who?"

"Me, you idiot. This is my jorking home planet remember?"

Silver raised his eyebrows, "Oh…" he looked at her trying to guess what she was thinking, "Don't flatter yourself, yer mouth ain't that smart."

Wren smiled appreciating that Silver was trying to cheer her up, in his own very unique way.

"Hey guys!" Jim emerged from below decks and raised a hand in greeting.

"Puppy eyes. I see you're all packed." Wren glanced at his duffle bag stuffed to capacity, "You do know the ship is still gonna be here. Right?"

Jim glanced at his bag, "what do you mean?"

"You pack like a woman."

"What?"

"You got a pair of panties in there?"

"NO!"

"Going commando than." She grimaced, "Hey, I won't judge."

"Wren!"

"I'm just saying, you might want to lighten your load before you break a finger nail."

"There's nothing wrong with being prepared."

"Planned outfits then? Just when I thought it couldn't get worse."

Jim rolled his eyes, "Atleast I have a change of clothes, you wear the same thing everyday."

"You gonna fashion police me? What's wrong with staying with what works?"

Jim sighed, "It's the same thing." He pointed to her shirt, "Every day."

"It's comfy."

"It's gross."

"Don't pull the hygiene card on me! I gave you that card! Besides, it only looks like the same shirt! I actually have five identical shirts!"

"With the same stain?" Jim asked incredulously.

"Mother of a duck! This one has a stain too?" Wren asked aghast. She looked down checking her shirt.

Amelia yelled outraged, "Three weeks?" of all the swindling, cheating, dishonest, lazy, frivolous…!

The fish picked at his fins "Well, you see Ma'm, it's the very end of the season and parts are hard to find …" every word wheezed on in a bored monotone.

Amelia's ears flattened, "Captain."

The pudgy Ictheous rolled his eyes, "Aye, captain. Look, we're a small town, shipping 'n the pa'arts will take at least a week."

"Don't play me for a fool Mr. Waits, I know you have all the parts right here." She spat.

"I'm sorry ma'm" Amelia glared at him, "but ye can't rush these th'angs, it ain't going to get done any faster than three weeks."

Amelia groaned, she suddenly missed her first mate, Harry was always good at negotiating these things. Amelia simply didn't have the patience to deal with; people. They could never keep up. She had things to do, places to be, yarn to play with.

The Ictheous was used to dealing with all manners of life that washed up on these shores, wandering vagrants, unsavory characters, and self-righteous captains with their noses stuck so far up their arses they didn't even notice that he had doubled his prices.

"Look here Mr. Waits, we are on a very tight schedule" Amelia said sharply, "we cannot afford any delays."

"That's what everyone says Ma'm, but I can't jump people to the fr'ont o' the line with ere'y sob story I h'ear."

Amelia was fed up with this, "Than what will jump me to the front of the line?"

Voyern Waits eyed the captain's curvaceous body up and down, "I'm sure I can think of something." The captain was of course as oblivious as a newborn lamb to what the lewd fish-man meant.

The captain was fighting a losing battle, a battle Wren wanted her to win. Now, Wren still disliked the captain, she did. Crossed her heart and hoped to die.

But.

Wren hated disgusting, sexist bastards even more. And if it meant she could stay on ship for a little bit longer, and get off this god forsaken planet sooner; who was she to complain?

"I don't think you understand. We are on a very tight schedule." Amelia struggled to keep her voice even.

"I'm sorry, Ma'm, but it's simply not possible."

"Fine!" she shouted to angry to argue, "fine. How much?"

The fish's milky eyes lit up and he pulled back his wide lips into a grin, "I knew you'd come to your senses, Now IGeeeeekkkk..." Waits words where chocked off as Wren grabbed his collar.

"Excuse me Captain." Wren smiled politely. "I'll just be a minute." She didn't wait for the Captain's reply.

Before anybody could do anything she had dragged Waits to the closet tossed him in and slammed the door behind her.

Dr. Doppler blinked, Amelia ears flipped up in surprise, Silver sighed and Jim waited. There wasn't a single sound coming from the closet. Not a peep. Jim had expected at the least some yelling, maybe some screaming, he was ready for Wren's fist to punch through the door. But there wasn't a single sound and the closet seemed unnaturally still.

Eventually the door creaked open. Wren stepped out and Waits shuffled pale and wide eyed after her.

"Mr. Waits has agreed to renegotiate the time table. Isn't that right Mr. Waits?"

He nodded his thick head, shell-shocked from the ordeal.

"I'll be happy to hammer out the details with him." Jim noticed Waits blanching at the word 'hammer'.

The captain shook her head, "That's quite all right, I'll deal with Waits."

"Captain, I'm sure you're tired. I can handle it."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"I hate spending money," Wren stated, "And trust me when I say, I don't want to be here any longer than you do."

Amelia frowned, "I am in no position to leave you here by yourself."

Wren turned and shouted, "Doctor!"

The doctor jerked up "YES! Coming! Right away!" he hurried down the stairs, tripping on the last step as was his custom and scrambled over glasses askew. "You called?"

Wren smiled, "I remember you talking about the indigenous burbams earlier, why don't you go look for some with the Captain?"

Captain Amelia started, "I have no time for…"

"Really? Oh yes! What a delightful idea!" The doctor exclaimed, "Two eyes are better than one you know! Unless you have three eyes… then I don't know which is better."

Amelia opened her mouth to say something, several sounds leaking out.

"This will really be so much fun! You'll just love it captain! What a lovely opportunity."

Amelia looked at the ecstatic doctor and was unable to rain on his parade, she sighed and just let the little viper's act of subordination go.

"Very well." She turned to Wren, "Please report to me once the transaction is done Ms. Wren. We'll be staying at the Triple Crown Inn."

"Sure thing Cap." Wren agreed readily.

Amelia's tail twitched in annoyance before allowing the doctor to lead her off the ship.

"Where to first doctor?"

Jim watched them go and itched to go explore too, barely hiding the excitement that shone in his blue eyes.

"Cool your jets Jimbo, you're gonna go rocketing off into space if ye don't stop bouncin."

Apparently he wasn't hiding it well enough.

"Hey Wren! You better hurry up! Our boy here has got ants in his breaches!"

Wren looked over, "Go ahead without me. I'll be a while."

Jim stopped looking like a toddler that needed to pee, and frowned, "Really?"

Wren smiled, "It's fine. Go ahead."

"But."

"Silver, take puppy eyes before he explodes. Get him some sweet bread or something." She looked at her mentor sending not so subtle messages.

Silver understood the silent plea and turned to Jim, "come on Jimbo, let's get off this floating piece of driftwood and get some food."

"Okay." Jim was shooed down the gang plank. But he suddenly wasn't as excited anymore.

"Fresh corn! Get Fresh corn over here!"

"Fried Gaga! We've got delicious Fried Gaga newly slaughtered! Get it while it's hot!"

"Come to Madam Gezurtia and learn about you're future! Madam Gezurtia can tell you the answers you seek.

Jim tucked his hands into his pockets trying to make himself as small as possible. Jim watched the legs or leg of all the people passing him by. He saw boots, sandals, bare dirty feet, hooves, and flippers. He grunted as a large Hurmik elbowed him right in his sore spot. He turned and glared at its retreating back walking right into a straw man with a peg leg smoking a cigar.

"Hey! Watch where you're going boy!" The brown husk rustled pushing Jim away.

Jim avoided the shove and glared, "My bad." He said quietly and walked away.

The dried out bundle of wheat blinked and shouted, "I wasn't done talking to you boy!"

Jim felt a prickly hand roughly grab his shoulder and turn him around.

"Didn't your mum teach you any manners?" The Straw Man asked, mumbling around his cigar.

Jim rolled his eyes, "I don't need etiquette lessons from a scarecrow."

"What did you call me?"

Jim was about to answer, a real stinger too, but unfortunately the Straw Man's cigar fell out of his mouth and lit his foot on fire.

"Shipitula! Holy BUGARDS! JORK! JORK! JORK!" The flames leapt up his one good leg and advanced to his flannel shorts. "Help me! Somebody JORKING help me!" He ran around screaming in increasingly hysterical circles.

Jim sighed, what stupid son of a Gilshipe thought smoking was good idea when you were literally made up of dry tinder? The level of idioticy some people possessed always managed to surprise him.

"HELP ME!"

With a growl of frustration Jim turned and grabbed a vase of flowers from a vendor. The vendor squeaked as Jim tossed out all the water and flowers onto the idiot. The water hit the screaming scare crow square in his knobby knees, the flames going out with a hiss and some foul smelling smoke. With the flames finally out Straw Man melted to the floor, well more like crumbled, and broke out into sobs.

"Oh thank Daisethai! Thank you!"

Jim flicked the water off his hands and glared at the pile of smoking straw.

"Idiot."

The flowers fluttered and settled upon the ground, pink petals making the whole scene look like some pretty meadow from a storybook.

"I thought I was a goner for sure." Straw Man whimpered.

Jim handed the vase back to the surprised owner and pointed, "He'll pay for the flowers. Sorry for the mess."

Silver looked at Jim running to catch up to him, "And where have you been?"

Jim stopped looking up at Silver, "Scarecrows are jerks."

Silver rolled his eyes, "You don't have to tell me that." He continued walking, "Come on, we have to beat the dinner rush."

Jim grinned and jogged to keep up with Silver, "So are tomatoes jerks too? Or is that just a fiber thing?"

The ship was empty. Completely and absolutely, empty. A solitary breeze breathed through Wren's hair and just added to the silence that accompanied the deserted ship. Wren looked around her run down home, she was half waiting for Jim or Silver to burst out onto the deck yelling about something stupid, the crew to complain about their empty bellies, or even morph to emerge scream and hide again. But there was nothing.

A lone space gull cried into the void it's call echoing in the air. The annoying businessfish had left what seemed like ages ago and Wren still lingered on the Legacy. Everything felt surreal, like she was in some bad dream and she was going to wake up any moment in a nice warm hammock ready to throw Jim out of his in half an hour.

Wren turned around, but even her sick, twisted, and self-detrimental mind couldn't come up with a nightmare so perfect and complete. She watched smoke rise out of crumbling chimneys into a bleak sky. Gaunt figures wandering in the distance, the cries of hungry children, and the stink of hundreds of bodies packed too tightly together.

"My own personal nightmare, how fitting." She muttered to herself. "Lord knows the Universe hates it when I'm happy." She chuckles darkly.

One week. I can survive this place for one week.

Wren took a deep breath remembering cold nights, hungry holidays, and dark hours stretching into years. Things were going to be different, she was different.

Wren found herself at the edge of the gangplank toes hovering over old cobblestone. She remembered the cold cobblestone under her bare feet and she had the sudden urge to take off her boots and feel if they were the same, still cold and hard.

Wren shook her head and grinned, "I've got shoes now bitches."

With that Wren lifted her head and taking a deep breath stepped onto Planet Nesoi.

Her home planet, and home to all her fears and regrets. She spat on the stone and glared at its streets.

"Home sweet Home."

"Sweet bread?" Jim asked trying to hide his disgust.

Silver sighed, "Try it and see if you like it."

Jim looked at the steaming pile of what looked like large droppings and made a face unsure if he was willing to risk it.

"Is it supposed to look like this?" He prodded one with a toothpick and turned green when he heard it squelch.

"squeamish Vorholan." Silver reached over and popped one of the suckers into his cavernous mouth and started chewing. Jim watched in horrified fascination waiting to see if the poop bread would come back up again in little pellets.

Silver swallowed, Jim just stared at Silver waiting to see if he threw up.

"Yeah, it's horrible…you better let me have all of it." Silver grabbed the plate and started to make the sweet bread disappear.

"Hey! Wait!" Jim reached for some.

"No, no, it's too horrible. Stay away lad! I can't let ye have any." Silver held the plate away.

"Oh! Come on Silver! Just give me one!"

"No. Your finicky stomach won't be able to handle it Jimbo. It's much too rich!"

Jim had nearly clambered over Silver as Silver held the small boy back. "Stop hogging them all!"

"I ain't hogging! Ye didn't want any! Git off my head!"

"Well give me some and I'll get off!"

"Don't start with me young man! Where are your manners?"

"Please, you're the one who doesn't know how to use a spoon properly."

Jim squirmed and eventually managed to snatch the plate. He grabbed one and stuffed it in his mouth. The ball of squishy bread filled his cheeks, and the instant Jim bit down on the soggy piece of dough he nearly whimpered. Syrupy deliciousness oozed out of the sweet bread, it tasted like chocolate, it tasted like rainbows dowsed in sparkles, it tasted like warm teddy bears immersed in the laughter of children and sprinkled with butterflies; if that made any sense.

The world stopped and Jim just sat there tasting the bread, drowning in a maelstrom of happiness. Jim's cheeks were stuffed to the max, he looked like a stupid chipmunk in the middle of fall, but he didn't care. He never thought food could taste so good.

Silver looked at the young man's content face and couldn't bring himself to interrupt Jim's moment of enlightenment.

"Mithhhmm oooooo goofhh."

"I can see that."

"Mffumooo nnnummf?"

"Yeah I'll leave you the rest."

"mmmmmph mmmk phiiiis?

"I find that slightly offensive."

"Mmm." Jim just closed his eyes and chewed enjoying every last morsel. He never thought he would miss chewing so much.

Silver sighed, "Jimbo, don't forget to breathe,"

"Mmm."

Silver made a note to check what they put in the sweet bread.

Wren stood in front of an enormous house. Well, relatively big, it was the size of a planet compared to the hovels she had passed by getting here, but it was dust mite compared to the sprawling mansion sitting next to it. It was vaguely familiar, it had looked a lot bigger years ago, she remembered the stained glass window. A huge round piece of colored glass that glared above the doorway depicting the cleansing fires of the Daisethai. She couldn't imagine what it was like to have the red and orange splash across your floor every afternoon, it must be horrid.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" A tall reed thin man sniffed.

Wren frowned at him. His suit was immaculate, not a wrinkle in its black material, his mustache was as perfect as his suit, long curling handlebars extended far beyond the reaches of his long face, and to complete the look, a pair of disapproving watery eyes hung above a hooked, knife thin nose.

"The new servants are to use the back entrance."

Wren raised an eyebrow. "I'm here with a message for Captain Amelia."

Mustache took one look at her rough appearance and scoffed.

"Perhaps you should come back another time."

"Let me in, and I won't have to come back and bother you."

Mustach frowned, "I think not."

Wren growled and grabbed the man by lapels of his suit and pulled him down to her height. She could feel him cringe as she dug her dirty hands into his clean, unwrinkled, expensive suit.

"Look, bub. I didn't tramp around the city looking for some crazy cat lady to be turned away here. Now all I want is to go and take a nap before the dog starts yapping again. I am going in, and I can do it politely, or I can knock the jorking door over and you can mess up your pretty little mustache worrying what to tell your sarden masters! Got it?"

Mustache man nodded trembling, it was hard to guess what he was afraid of more, the master, his suit, or his mustache. He ran over and unlocked the door bowing out of the way, moving surprisingly quickly for a man with his amount of limb.

Wren scoffed and walked up the marble steps to the towering double oak doors. "Oh sure Wren, we'll be at the inn. I'm not socializing with a bunch of greedy scuts. No, not at all." Wren walked in and wanted to kick something.

"Yes, pirates. It seems they were scavenging ships caught in the super nova."

A bloated pink anemone fanned herself, "Oh dear, that sounds horrid." She said as roll of pink oozed itself out of her dress.

"All in a day's work." Amelia said barely managing a smile.

A tall bear looking man spoke in a low gravelly voice, "Well, despite the unfortunate events, I'm glad that you stopped by Nesoi, it's been years since an imperial ship stopped out here. I was beginning to think I was forgotten."

Amelia laughed shaking her head, "Of course we haven't forgotten, but as you know the Pearson's armada was causing some problems."

"More than some problems the way I heard it."

"But it is all settled now and taken care of." Amelia smiled. She lifted a cup to her lips and her eyes flicked around the room taking stock of the party over the rim of her cup. Noting all the bodies she tipped the cup back about to take a sip. Suddenly a hand covered the top of the cup.

"Excuse me Captain."

Captain Amelia looked over to see Wren's eyes blazing at her.

"Perhaps it is wise not to drink on the job."

Amelia's eyes widened and she put the cup back down again, "I suppose I should wait until I'm off duty." She said calmly, calming the urge to beat her head against the nearest marble column for her carelessness.

"Captain, all the proper arrangements have been made, would you like to continue this conversation at the ship?"

Wren's meaning was very clear and Amelia wanted nothing more but to take the suggestion and get out of this den of vipers. But it was true that the Imperial Navy had been ignoring the planet, and Nesoi was a valuable strategic port that the Imperial Navy couldn't lose.

"Is this your first mate Captain Amelia?" pink and blobby asked.

"Oh... yes!" Captain Amelia guided Wren to face the crowd. "Mrs. Buchanon and Captain Buchanon meet Wren, my second in command."

Amelia could actually feel Wren growl, the only thing keeping the child from demolishing the building was Amelia's hand on her back.

"How wonderful, you're starting a line of female Captains is that it? You are a girl right?"

"Seems like such a small ugly little mymph. You sure she can handle being first mate?"

Fire ignited Wren's chest and she was ready to break something, it had been a long, terrifying horrible day that just needed to end. Wren glared at the other Captain. "I can handle it just fine thank you."

"What a rude little thing."

"No wonder she went into the navy, no man is going to want a woman who can't hold her tongue." Captain Buchanon looked at Amelia. "No offense Ma'm."

Amelia's smile tightened, "None taken."

Wren was ready to kill someone, first the weird couple, and then the good Captain.

"Well, if you don't need anything I'll be going. Excuse me." Wren said tersely.

"Oh wait! You must tell us what living on a ship is like, it must be so exiting having adventures everyday!" Ms. Buchanon squealed.

The squeal seemed to be some sort of pack call or something, for moments later Captain Amelia and Wren were surrounded by a group of eager women asking them all sorts of questions.

Wren wanted to run. She was actually poised ready to dash away. The women were just so ignorant. They had glamorized the life of a sailor and twisted it into a noble dashing job, filled with thrills, high adventure and romance, when really, almost none of that existed. They couldn't know there was so much more than that. They couldn't understand how hard it actually was, how dangerous. All these sheltered women knew about sailors came from books written by equally sheltered women craving an imaginary adventure they could never have, that nobody could ever have. She growled digging her hands into the armrests keeping herself from punching one of these women in their soft faces. There was little that annoyed Wren more than ignorant, helpless, fragile, women.

"How is it living in the same quarters as a bunch of men? It must be terrifying!"

Wren knew what they were really asking.

"Oh yes! Tell us, how do you survive with all those sailors surrounding you?"

Wren looked at the women surrounding her all with eager expecting faces.

"Are there any young men aboard? Please tell us something about them!"

Wren was ready to smack some sense into the stupid, ignorant whores. Their pink lace and white frills were getting suspiciously close to her boots, ready to envelope her in a horrible wall of blush and eyeliner. She dug her heels in and opened her mouth ready to spit fire.

"Oh, I'll tell you something…"

"Wren, do you mind getting me some water?"

Wren looked over at Amelia and saw her eyes flash in a warning.

"Sure thing Cap."

She let go of the armrests she had been squeezing and noticed that the wood had been crushed leaving deep impressions of her fingers in the armrests.

"Excuse me."

Wren shoved her way through the crowd to go get the captain a glass of water, blobs of pink flew to the right and to the left each crying their disappointment until they were distracted by Amelia telling them about her adventures in the Navy. The men, no longer burdened by the masses of pink on their arms, were free to huddle near the table of food. The long table was absolutely stuffed with trays and dishes of mouthwatering food. Every inch of the white table cloth had been covered by roasted meats, sautéed vegetables and delectable pastries. Wren had to force herself not to leap on the table and tear apart the roasted goose sitting on a platter so enticingly in front of her.

"Be patient, wait until they aren't looking." Wren reminded herself, trying to forget the fact she hadn't eaten anything solid for a month. She walked around the table to the pitcher of water standing next to a giant chocolate cake. Looking interestedly at some stuffed gaga Wren slid a roll off the table and nonchalantly tucked it into her pocket. Keeping an eye on the gentlemen chatting away she quickly took a napkin, not one of those cheap paper ones either, she took one of those nice white linen ones that cost more than some of the clothes she was wearing. With the ease of years of experience she unfolded it and held it down at her hip. Then, with inhuman speed, her right hand darted out, snatching up food in random succession from the shining plates. An entire platter of bonbons vanished in a blink of an eye. The salted pork suddenly disappeared. And a bowl of pudding just simply evaporated. Before anyone even noticed she was there, Wren had twisted the napkin up and stuffed it down her pants without anyone the wiser.

Wren leaned over to get the pitcher of water glancing from the corner of her eyes to see if anyone had noticed most, most likely the ridiculous looking portrait hanging above the fireplace.

"Yes, I remember! Back in the day when Huck still had hair!"

"Hey!"

Wren tried to inch her way to the door, ready to make her escape.

"I thought he was coming."

"Yes. I was hoping to talk to him today, I've prepared some wonderful small talk to engage him with."

The fire flickered. A gust of air taking it by surprise. Wren was making her way to the exit, one soft footstep at a time, her pockets brimming over.

"Oh! Pardon me."

Wren cringed as she bumped someone with her butt. She turned around ready to apologize and looked up at a tall, broad shouldered wolf.

"Oh! Sorry!" Wow, he's handsome. "Excuse me."

He smiled at her. "No please, excuse me, I wasn't watching were I was going."

And a gentleman. Wren grinned, "It's completely my fault, I was trying to sneak out of here. Not very well apparently."

The Wolf chuckled, one of those deep ones that hummed in the chest and made a girl's knees weak. "You and me both. Oh! Where are my manners?" He held out a hand, "Jonathan Caorithe. Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?"

Wren took the offered hand noting the callused palms. "You flatter me Jonathan, I'm Wr…" Wren stopped herself, something told her using her known name was a bad idea, and Wren wasn't one to doubt her intuition. In the span of half a second she drugged up names from deep in her memory compiling them together and spitting one out.

"Red. Red Somersault." She firmly shook his paw. "Nice to meet you."

Jonathan raised his brows. "Strong grip you got there Red."

Wren smirked, "Strong enough." She let go of his hand. The Wolf was older than her, perhaps nineteen or twenty. He was tall even by Lupus standards, his shiny fur was a dark shade of gray, his snout a startling white. He had bright beautiful blue eyes that were the same color as the summer sky. Wren smirked, she preferred her blue eyes darker, like Jim's.

"You're not from around here are you?" Jonathan asked.

Wren laughed, If only, "Is it that obvious? We docked this morning."

"You're a bit different from the girls around here. How long do you plan on staying?" He asked.

Wren shrugged, "A week, hopefully less." She leaned against a column and looked at him. "You're not from around here either are you? By your accent I'd say…Solara?"

Jonathan was impressed, few people heard his faded Solarian accent. "My family was Solarian. But I've lived here my whole life. I didn't think anybody could tell anymore."

"They probably can't," Wren said, "I've just been around is all."

A worn raspy voice cut in, "Caorithe, what do you think you're doing?"

Wren's stomach dropped, her limbs went cold. Her heart jumped to a hammering pace and she broke out in a cold sweat. She knew that voice.

"Sorry Sir. I got distracted."

"I don't pay you to get distracted!"

He was supposed to be dead. He was supposed to be dead! Her only consolation for leaving her life in tatters, he was dead! She had watched him burn. She had been ready to burn with him to make sure he was dead!"

"My apologies sir."

"Apologies, apologies, fat lot that'll do when someone tries to asssssasssinate me! Don't forget I saved your life! I can take it away just as easily!"

Wren couldn't look. She didn't want to know. She wanted to wake up. She wanted everything to go away! She felt like a spike had been driven through her chest.

Oh god.

"Yes sir." Jonathan bowed submissively.

"Move aside boy."

Wren's eyes flew open, she stood frozen to the spot as Jonathan stepped away. She could see her nightmare coming into view in slow motion, one piece of him exposed at a time. A long black claw, a scaly green hand. Long grotesque arms leading to a huge barreled chest. Burn scars extending across most of the dry skin. A bright yellow eye darted out beady and cold. Slit nostrils and a red forked tongue possessed his face. The other eye popped into view and starred at Wren. Piercing and clear starring at her.

Wren couldn't breathe, couldn't move.

Blake Jones, was alive.

I'm sorry this was such a short chapter I know how long some of you guys waited for this. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up the pace! I'm re energized and ready to go! Please favorite, follow, and review! No pressure though. I don't deserve it. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, because we'll be spending some time here. It's gonna be fun!

Oh! and check out some fanart that the amazing Amrys drew for Love Boats Don't Exist.

post/104243625365/wren-sauntered-casually-over-to-the-crate-and

Thanks again!