NOTICE: This is canon. Why? Because that makes it funnier.

…

Tale #26: So That's Where That Tooth Went

Shipping items across the kingdom always felt like the fastest part of the job. This might have been because the business itself always fell into familiar territory once an airship left port, wares stored and a destination already plotted. Of course, that implied that there was a slow portion of every job as well, and indeed there was. Businesses looked for the cheapest method of transport while also keeping an eye out for professionalism and surety. This was on top of busy schedules and bureaucracy, and airships never seemed to be in port at a convenient time. As captain and second-in-command, responsibility for negotiating for work with these businesses fell to Link and Leynne. Leynne, being the more business-minded of the two, often volunteered to take care of the job hunt. Although it relieved Link of the responsibility, it also meant that Link had to balance a couple days of boredom and hollering at his crew to stop messing with each other. Not that it was different from any day sailing, but Link often missed chances to go ashore as he had done when he was still an airman on the Grand Sails.

One visit to Sagacity Island saw a serious lull for about three days as Leynne negotiated pricing with a book seller trying to push materials as far as Castle Island. By the third day, Link was tired of chewing out his crew. He had to constantly tell Layna to stop knocking out Line and, usually right after waking up, shout at Line for stealing from the Gelto. And, while Leynne was gone, Dubbl had been getting into screaming matches with Flower, who was quickly becoming familiar with punching and then kissing to make up afterwards (even though he would comment to Link he was sure Leynne's response was not going to include kissing once Dubbl explained what was going on). Lwamm and Twali returned after trashing a bar trying to unwind, although Link suspected that they had smashed up the bar and its patrons specifically to unwind. He could only be thankful that things were not as hectic in the engine room; they might have fallen to the surface by now.

And then Gold had an idea.

Since negotiations were dragging, Gold thought that Link could use a bit of time off the ship himself. Not that he had actually been volunteering to go along; Link was not sure of the details, but he had the impression that Gold had suckered Flower into inviting him to the port for a drink. Link was hesitant at first, but he was slowly becoming sick of grog and wanted to drink something other than plain water (or whatever kind of water they had brought aboard yesterday).

Flower took him to the Southerners' Landing, a tavern a few minutes' walk down from where the Island Symphony had moored. It seemed like a decent enough place. Definitely a lot of sailing memorabilia on the walls; Link never thought he would ever encounter a full-sized anchor in the sky kingdom, although he had to wonder how it had arrived in the first place. The owner had put in the money to set up electric lights throughout the room and even in the ceiling, an arrangement rarely ever seen in a land-based establishment. Even the chatting felt friendly, just a casual din in a room which almost did not reek of alcohol. It may have simply been his preference as a fifteen-year-old, but he liked the atmosphere when compared to the other bars he had found himself in over the years. He would not go as far as to say that he liked it more than the Sail Tavern, at least not out loud.

Flower had insisted that they leave their uniforms behind, and Link could see why as he looked around. No one wore a uniform. Dock workers, company airmen, and independents all seemed to just blur together. Maybe that was what had allowed such a casual attitude; without the uniforms, there was no singling out companies among the patrons. One could not tell a Zephyr Sails or Airliner airman apart unless they said something. It probably also made Link himself a little safer, seeing as how there were still some resentment toward Skyriders concerning last year, never mind anyone who happened to be wearing a green tunic. Instead, he found an old, loose-fitting, white shirt to put on over his work trousers.

The first few sips of milk took Link back to the Sail Tavern. Those days during shore duty which allowed him and Line the opportunity to go visit Leeta when they were done at the office had probably been the only time he could relax when he was assigned to the Grand Sails. It was almost a lifetime ago.

"There you go, Captain," Flower told him, sloshing around a half-drunk mug of beer. "I can see you relaxing already."

"I gotta admit, I really don't like bars," Link replied. "Haven't had many good experiences in them."

"Yeah, I can see that. Drunk airmen must come off as a bunch of bullies to you and Line."

Link deigned to grin at him as he said, "Including my own crewmates."

"Well, of course," Flower said. "Who else knows you the best and treats you the worst?"

Link took another sip. "Mister Flower…" he started. He had to pause to think about his words. "Is… life on my ship really so boring that you guys have to start picking on each other?"

Flower ended a quick chug with a satisfied breath. "Yep." Link groaned in response. This caused Flower to chuckle. "Captain, you gotta realize that that doesn't make you all that unique. Any other ship in the company would be just as boring on days like this. About the only problem is that the company won't give us shore rotation. Which is too bad; can you imagine unleashing Chief Ding-Dong on the office?"

"No," Link immediately told him. "And neither should you."

Flower chuckled again. "Of course, we usually get tied up anyway because of some trouble or other. The crew may be insane, but they're fun."

"Hey, Barkeep!" someone just over Link's shoulder barked, causing Link to jump in surprise. "I need me another beer!" Link glanced to his left just as a large, burly man with a thick, black beard stepped up to the bar. Link moved his glass just a little, ensuring that the man did not bust his knuckles on Link's hand as he slammed his empty mug on the counter. The movement actually caught the man's attention, and he turned to meet Link's eyes. Link was only a little surprised to see an eyepatch over the man's left eye. "When'd you start serving kids?" the man then asked the barkeeper as the barkeeper laid a fresh mug of beer in front of him.

"You boys leave your uniforms at the door, not your age," the barkeeper replied.

"Take it easy, Airman," Flower spoke up as he stood to his full height on Link's opposite side. "He puts in a fair day's work, too."

"And I don't suppose his mother is here to feed 'im herself," the man said as he picked up his beer. He made to jab it at Link and nearly sloshed beer onto Link's shirt. He cackled aloud. "Too bad, boy. This is how real men work." Link gave his head a slight shake and turned back to the bar for another drink.

"You got your drink," Flower told him. He jabbed his thumb in a direction away from the bar. "Blow."

"Hey," the man replied, holding his arms out wide as if to show some level of innocence. "M'just trying to make friendly conversation."

"I've heard what you have to say," Flower replied. "It doesn't sound that friendly."

"You're the one who brought a twelve-year-old in here. What do you think he—"

Klak! Link set his glass of milk down a little harder than he had intended, annoyed by yet another person guessing his age wrong. Link rolled his eyes and cast his irritation in the airman's direction.

The airman gave him a wide grin. "You got something to say to me, boy?" he asked.

"I'm fifteen," Link replied.

"Oooh hoo hoooo," the airman said, hands raised in mock fright. "Happy birthday."

"That's enough," snapped the bartender.

Almost at the same time, Flower took a step back from the bar. "Get lost, sailor."

"So what do you do that makes you so big?" the airman continued. "Scrub out the heads?"

Kh! The airman only had half a second to see Flower's fist swing past Link's head. In his inebriated state, it was not long enough for him to dodge. The fist landed on the left side of his jaw, causing him to collapse to the floor with his beer spilling on top of him. "Agh!" the airman hollered, the only bit of voice he could get out as the pain began to register.

Link immediately jumped to his feet and spun on Flower. "Airman Flower!" he snapped. "Stand down!"

Flower and the airman glanced around to see that many of the patrons had halfway rose from their seats, a sure sign that a brawl was imminent. However, Flower quickly straightened his stance and replied, "Aye, Captain."

The airman spat out blood (and completely missed one of his teeth bouncing off the floor) and croaked out, "C-Captain!?"

"Aye, young lad," came a voice as someone crossed the room toward the bar. All three glanced toward the speaker. He was a lanky man, about the same height as Flower but appearing quite well-kept by comparison. "He did indeed say 'Captain'."

Even without the Zephyr Sails uniform, Link easily recognized the man. "Hello, Captain Grey," he said as he relaxed his stance.

Captain Grey gave a nod of acknowledgement. "I don't expect the average airman to easily recognize Captain Link of the Island Symphony," he said, although it was not clear whether he was talking to Link (whom he was staring at) or the airman on the floor. The airman seemed to be receiving his own message, his eyes widening in sudden sobriety. "Still, I would think the average airman should know better than to pick on a young man simply because he's in a bar."

Link shrugged his shoulders. "I couldn't really get this kind of protection as an airman," he said.

"Perhaps we should change that," Captain Grey said, a smile crossing his face. "In the meantime, mind if I join you and your bodyguard airman for a drink?"

"Sounds good," Link replied. Then he glanced at Flower. "Mister Flower?"

"Aye, Captain Grey," Flower said with a grin.

Captain Grey glanced down at the airman still lying on the floor. "Are you still here?"

The airman bolted to his feet (an astonishing feat, as he nearly whacked his head on the bar in a mid-scramble stagger) and laid a salute on his forehead. "Arr, sir," he growled. "Captains, permission to buy your next round."

"That would be appreciated, airman," Captain Grey said.

"I'll get the next round!" someone further back in the bar hollered just as Link and Flower were turning to the bar.

"The next one's on me!" another voice called.

Link and Flower then turned back to the rest of the floor as, one by one, men at tables around the room raised a hand to offer more drinks. Flower crossed his arms. "Hey, I can get used to this…" he said to himself.

…

Link was miserable the next morning. His first issue was his stomach. While no one at the Southerners' Landing had the thought to give Link alcohol, no one was really sober enough to realize that Link would have liked to stop drinking by the third glass of milk he had had shoved in his face. Even after switching to fruit juice, Link was so full that he easily had sloshed left and right with Flower as they had wandered back to the Island Symphony early in the evening. Link had gone to sleep feeling like a bucket of water swinging on a rope. He had eventually thrown up later, and he could only eat a little bit of dinner before retiring to his private misery. His stomach still hurt in the morning, and he spent a few minutes by the head wondering if he was going to throw up again.

The day's business began with Leynne reporting that little headway had been made in negotiating the shipping job. It was barely a few exchanges, during which Leynne had had to talk on the other side of the partition between Link's cabin and the head out of concern that, should Link throw up, he would also vomit in sympathy.

Now, Link was nursing both a stomachache and a headache. He sat at his desk with his elbows on top and his fingers massaging his temples.

Because the airman from yesterday was standing in front of his desk. With a fresh bruise on the left side of his jaw. And wearing a blue Skyrider company uniform.

And Link was staring at the man's transfer request on the desk in front of him.

Flower, having escorted the airman into Link's cabin, tried his best to hide the grin from his face, certain Link was not in the mood to share his appreciation of the situation.

"So… my deck chief belts you across the face…" Link said slowly, "… and you wanna transfer onto my ship."

"Arr, sir," the airman replied. "I was a dick yesterday. Wasn't 'til I got back to my ship before I realized who you were."

Link paused. "Who am I, exactly?" he then asked, confused.

"You're the captain who led the evacuation of Center Island," the airman said. "Then you rounded up another bunch and took out the Undying Storm before it could hit Might Island. And you're the only captain that's been to the surface in years."

"He's at least got the general idea," Flower commented. He held up a hand and wiggled it as he added, "A… broad idea, anyway."

"Extremely," Link said to Flower. Then he asked, "Why would you wanna join us? I've put in paperwork to get a larger crew ever since the service on Castle Island, but nobody else has been interested."

"Well, there's a lot of rumors going around," the airman said. "Like that the women on your ship like to sacrifice men to their gods in exchange for food or magic power. Or that your engineers strap engines to large rocks and crash them through towns. Or that your crew is so lecherous that you've been kicked out of multiple ports. Or that you leveled Timbre Island. Or tha—"

Link finally interrupted him with, "I. Get. It."

"Not sure whether to be proud or disappointed, Captain," Flower commented. He finally let a grin show. "I'm leaning toward 'proud'."

"And… despite these crazy rumors, you wanna join anyway?" Link asked.

"Arr, sir," the airman replied. "Any captain that has an airman throw a punch for him has gotta be worth protecting." Unseen to him was Flower giving a casual shrug.

Link glanced down at the form again. "Engine crew…" he muttered to himself. Then he set his hands down on the desk. "Well, Mister… Randy, I don't know if you have a death wish, but welcome aboard."

Randy saluted him. "Thank you, sir."

Link heaved a sigh and sat back in his chair. "I know you've had nine years in the company, but you're gonna find out that things aboard the Symphony are a little… different."

Randy shrugged and said, "Any ship that's got women aboard is bound to have a few rules, Captain."

Link held up a hand and said, "It's… not nearly that easy."

"What should I know?"

"Well, the—"

Wham! K-whump! Without warning, Link's cabin door slammed open, causing Flower to jump one pace away from it. It was probably a good idea, as he only had had a second to get away from a large, orange mass landing hard on the deck nearby. "Tune da brush, wiggle sticks!" the mass declared, one hand raised into the air.

Link had been on the verge of jumping to his feet. Instead, he fell against the back of his chair and indicated Sello with a hand. "Well, that, for one," he told Randy.

Flower approached Sello and picked him up from the floor. "C'mon, Chief Ding-Dong," he grunted.

"D'I fall?" Sello asked as Flower braced him.

"Yeah."

"Didn' hurt!"

"I'm sure you're lying at this point."

Randy chuckled and asked Link while pointing, "Who's the drunk?"

Link, hand already covering his eyes, replied, "Your boss."

"He-whuh?" Randy uttered, quickly losing his smile.

"This is Chief Sello, our engineer," Flower explained.

"Hammy in ma slammy," Sello said as Flower waved one of Sello's arms in greeting.

"It's the middle of the morning," Randy said. "How's he still drunk?"

"I met him over a year ago," Link told him, hand still over his eyes. "I haven't seen him sober yet."

"Pretty sure the doctors would call this one 'permanent shitfacedness'," Flower said.

"And I gotta report to that?" Randy asked with an air of disbelief.

"Nah," Flower told him. "The chief doesn't care enough."

"As soon as Lieutenant Leynne gets back," Link explained, "he'll give you your assignment. You can probably just grab a berth for now."

"Arr, sir," Randy replied.

However, as he turned to leave, Sello stepped in front of him. He had a particularly sober look as he then shouted in Randy's face, "Tuckles an' teef in ma vinegar build to da yoink of a viper! But da meals of one milkman doesn' quack a leever's third bellybutton! I AM SELLOOOOOOO!"

Then, without warning, Sello swung his arms while turning around. His fist landed hard on Randy's bruise, and he stumbled into the bulkhead at the front of Link's cabin. The right side of Randy's face struck the corner of a stud in the exposed back of the bulkhead. He then dropped to the deck.

Sello, confused more by the sound than the fact that his fist had just hit something, turned to look at Randy. "Togashi?" he asked. Randy only groaned in response, one hand holding a tooth that had fallen out of his mouth.

"Is he hurt?" Link asked, hand now firmly clamped over his eyes.

"Yep," Flower replied, grinning like a madman.

Link sighed. "Well, that didn't take too long…"

…

Tale #26 of the Island Symphony – END

NOTICE: This is canon. Randy will never forget it, though he never figured out where he lost the first tooth.