Feet stepping on creaking boards. The grunting of tired men. The snap of wind against cloth. The sound of the ocean encompassing.
Link groaned as he woke. The noonday sun pierced through his lids, turning his world red. He brought his hand to his brow and slowly opened his eyes. From under the shade of his palm, the world outside seemed to glow white in the dry heat.
"Well, well. Look who's up…."
Link moved his hand and squinted at the large blob that sounded like Gonzo. He groaned a hello.
"How do you feel, lad?"
Link slowly sat up, blinking like he had something in his eyes. "Bad."
"A bit too much to drink, yeah?"
"Yeah, I—"
Link stared at Gonzo through dry eyes, not sure of what just occurred. Gonzo stared back with a cracked smile.
Finally, Link asked, "You… saw us?"
Gonzo lowered his head and shook amusedly. "Aye."
Before Link could stutter an apology, the pirate continued.
"Your eyes feel puffy and ache, don't they?"
Confused, Link hesitated to answer. "Yeah…."
"And your head feels like it's falling into itself?"
"Uh-huh."
"You mouth tastes like vomit."
Link nodded as he ran his tongue across his teeth.
Gonzo laughed as he turned to leave. The burly sailor walked down towards the deck with his hands in his pockets. "Welcome to our world, son…."
Link looked on as Gonzo made his way to the other end of the ship where Tetra stood watching over the pirates as they lugged barrels and crates onto the deck. He stopped to say something to the young captain and pointed in Link's direction before jogging off to help Nudge lower a huge box of pickles with the crane. The young boy couldn't help blushing in embarrassment as Tetra turned to him and laughed.
* * *
"Here, chew this."
Link took the leaf from Tetra's hand and studied it academically. It didn't look edible….
"It's mint," said Tetra turning towards Windfall, "chew it, it'll make you feel better."
"Is it medicine?"
"No, but it'll fix your breath…."
Link looked at Tetra, offended. He slid the mint into his mouth and chewed. "And you would know this from experience?"
Tetra sniffed as if he had said something funny and spat something green over the side of the boat. She reached into her pocket and took out another leaf.
"Nudge gave these to me," she said, popping the mint into her mouth like candy, "tell me if you want some more, okay?"
Link stuck his hand out to receive another. Tetra gave him two.
"That ale's nasty stuff, eh, Tetra?"
"Tell me about it. If I didn't have to watch over these lug heads, I'd still be asleep."
Link watched silently as Tetra chastised Zuko for slacking off. When she was finished, there was a long pause in which only the sound of their chewing could be heard.
Trying to revive the conversation, Link asked, "Uh, why didn't you wake me up sooner?"
"Would you have appreciated it if I did?" responded Tetra quickly.
Link chewed for a second. "No, I guess not." He smiled.
"Besides, you kind of looked peaceful lying there on the deck. Like a baby or something."
"Who are you calling a baby?!" exclaimed Link before punching her on the shoulder playfully.
The girl didn't seem to notice. "Had a dream last night."
Link was taken aback by the sudden change of subject. Thoughts of the night before returned to him. "Yeah, me too."
"Mm-hmm," said Tetra stepping towards the bow of the ship, "we'll trade stories later. Someone's coming."
Link turned to the direction where Tetra was looking. Nudge was talking with a group of men near the Pictobox Shop. The smallest of them, a tanned looking man with a sharp goatee, seemed to be the leader, as he was the one who spoke with Nudge as the other three stood silently behind him, looking from one to the other. They towered over the other two, looking like they could rip a pig in half with their fingers.
"They look like trouble." whispered Link.
Tetra peered at the man with the goatee. "Maybe…."
* * *
Nudge made his way to Tetra as the captain gazed over the heads of the four men. The three big ones formed a wall behind the goateed leader who stood casually leaning on one leg, a confident smile stretched across his face.
Before speaking to Tetra, Nudge took the time to greet Link.
"Hey there— how'd you sleep?"
The young boy lobbed a wad of chewed mint into the ocean.
Nudge didn't seem surprised and said, "Heh, about what I expected…." before taking his place beside Tetra. Having counseled her for most of her life, he was eager to share his opinion of the four strangers with his captain.
"What do they want?" asked Tetra.
"To work," said Nudge, matter-of-factly, "they want to come on board with us."
"Huh," said Tetra quietly, "well, do they know what I'm offering."
"Aye."
"And they're still interested?"
Nudge paused for a moment. "Well, the short one over there did ask if the fee was negotiable."
Tetra spat her mint in the direction of the men; it landed a few feet from the goatee-man's boot. His smile didn't waver.
"And what did you tell him, Nudge?"
"No. Never."
"And what did he tell you?"
Nudge smiled mockingly. "'We'll see about that.'"
Tetra also seemed amused. "So the potential help plans on making some demands, eh?"
"Not demands, per say, madam," came a gruff voice from below, "just some negotiations—there's nothing wrong with a little negotiating, is there, Cap'n?"
Tetra lowered her gaze to address the goateed man. "Maybe, maybe not. But there is a problem with speaking out of turn—especially in the presence of your potential captain."
Goatee-man bowed theatrically, motioning his brothers to do the same. "My apologies, my lady. Meant no offense by it—ain't that right, fellas?"
"Of course not!" shouted the right-most giant.
The one to the left snorted bemusedly. "Even if he did, I doubt you'd be quick enough to catch it…."
The middle man simply looked at Tetra emotionlessly. Then to Nudge. "No. Never."
Nudge met the giant's gaze. Link watched as the pirates fists tightened behind his back.
"Miss Tetra," said Nudge calmly, "I humbly advise that we cease 'negotiations' immediately—we can do well enough without the likes of them—"
"That so," said goatee-man, "is that why you had half the sailors in town drunk at the bar last night?"
Nudge brought his hands crashing onto the bow as he leaned over the edge of the ship; behind him, Link looked on in surprise as he saw the pirate lose his temper for the first time. "Bite your tongue, wretch! You will speak when spoken to, lest we decide to leave you on this stinkin' island, or worse…."
The man's smile straightened slightly. "My apologies again." he said with a small nod.
From the corner of her eye, Tetra watched as Nudge stepped back stiffly. He was about to apologize for the outburst, but the captain stopped him with a motion of her hand.
Tetra brought her hands to her hips and studied the goateed man. She wondered if his cheeks hurt from smiling so much. "You got names?"
Goatee-man played at embarrassment. "Oh, dear me, where are my manners?" he said, patting his shirt like he was looking for something. "This big lug to the left of me, his name's Flammy. And to my right, well, his name's Cruton—"
"I meant your real names."
"Well," said Goatee-man smiling through his annoyance, "look who's interrupting who, now? Our mother gave us these names, may she rest in peace."
"You're brothers?"
Goatee-man ignored the question. "As for the fine gentleman behind me, his name's Joe. Just Joe. He doesn't like nicknames—just a warning to you fellas…."
Nudge sniffed.
Goatee-man ignored that too. "Which leaves little ol' me. My name's Junior, Cap'n. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Tetra couldn't help smiling at the man's bravado—in addition to their funny names. "I wish I could say the same but you gentlemen seem eager to waste my time. We're already running late as it is. Screw 'negotiations'—the offer stands as is. Take it or leave it."
There was a long silence in which Tetra stood staring down upon Junior's grinning face. Link looked on from behind, hidden from the view of the four men. He didn't like this. All the "negotiations"—the guarded thoughts, phony smiles and unsaid insults—were beginning to make his hair itch. Why didn't Tetra just turn them away, or Nudge start a fight? Either would have been preferable to this….
Finally, Junior responded. "You know, I wonder what it would take to drive a captain—of a pirate ship, no less—to humiliate herself in front of a mob of unschooled, unwashed and uncivilized sailors… and willingly, no less?"
Tetra's eyes slit.
Junior continued. "Why, I can't really think of a reason for why any self-respecting leader would do such a thing. Unless… Hmm, let me think… Well, unless, of course, she was desperate, perhaps? Maybe that's it. But, of course, you never can tell! She might be crazy, you never know!"
Tetra slapped her hand across Nudge's chest to keep him from leaping overboard. Below them, Gonzo and the other pirates seemed poised to pounce.
Junior ignored it all and, seeing victory within his grasp, smiled wider than ever. It was a crazy smile. "So, you see captain, anyone crazy enough—or desperate enough—to do something like that, I gather, must need the help more than the help needs her!"
Link looked to Tetra. What was she doing looking for help? There were plenty of hands on board, including his own. Wasn't that enough?
Junior's smile disappeared, and when he spoke, there was blood in his voice. "So we'll be takin' a fifteen hundred rupees up front, each, and a fair share of any treasure we come across in that new world of yours. Take that or leave it."
"You know you got a familiar voice there, pal?"
Junior's eyes opened wide, and his mouth stretched into a wide smirk. He shrugged and shook his head.
Tetra brought her hand to her chin in a pensive gesture. "I got a scenario for you. What would make a man—a short little man who could walk into a crowd and disappear because he's so darned short—"
Junior's lips split, revealing large teeth.
"—try to argue a group of sailors out of a job? I mean, what kind of person would do that, hmm? A crazy person?"
Tetra let the idea float in the air for a while. Junior seemed ready to retort, but was cut-off by the Captain.
"No. No, not a crazy person. What, then?" said Tetra, turning to Nudge.
Nudge was eager to get in on whatever she was cooking. "I don't know, Miss Tetra, what?"
"I'll tell you what. A person who wants the job all for himself. A desperate person. Someone like—well, you, Junior. You and your mates…."
Cruton laughed in a high pitched voice and slapped his knee. "Dang, Junior, she's quicker than I thought."
"That's right, Cruton, my boy."
"That's right." said Tetra, then, shouting to her men, "Get that last barrel on deck, we're setting sail!"
"What?" exclaimed the four brothers simultaneously.
"Aye-aye!" answered Tetra's men.
They lugged the barrel in record time and were bringing up the anchor as Junior and his brothers tripped over each other to get onboard.
"Fine! Fine!" yelled Junior as he dangled over the edge of the already moving ship. "Five thousand it is! Five thousand's just dandy!"
Tetra laughed as Cruton and Flammy pulled their brother onto the ship. "Welcome aboard, fellas. But remember: you give us any trouble and you're gonna be swimming back to Windfall…."
"You don't have to worry about that," said Joe militarily, "when you hire the Zarep brothers, you hire the best."
Tetra gave him a thumbs-up as she made her way to her quarters.
Nudge followed behind, visibly annoyed. Link tapped him on his shoulder.
"What is it, Link?"
The boy looked to Junior, who was lying on the floor trying to catch his breath. "It's obvious you don't like those guys, so why'd you bring'em to Tetra in the first place?"
Nudge sighed and rubbed his hand across his face. "It doesn't matter whether I like them or not. In the end, the final say is Miss Tetra's, and Miss Tetra's alone. I just advise her every now and again. A lot of good that did me today…."
That last part Link could of sworn he heard Nudge mutter beneath his breath as he left.