I'M BA~AAACK! DIDJA MISS ME!
James Birdsong: Good of course / This is cool.
Response: I agree (also thx :) )
Tetra sat down at her desk, letting out a long sigh before opening up her sea chart. This long day was about to carry into a long, boring night. Despite how boring it was, though, she got to work, determining their heading.
She stopped when she heard a knock at her door. "Come in!" She granted them entry. The door opened to reveal none other than her first mate, Impa.
"What are you up to?" Her caretaker asked.
Tetra groaned to show her dissatisfaction. "Plotting out our next destination." She responded.
"And where would that be?" She asked.
"Where else but where revenge lies. If that big octo thinks it can attack us without any sort of consequences, it's got another thing coming." She swore.
Impa raised her eyebrow questioningly. "Are you sure it's worth dropping everything just to chase down a big octo of all things?" She questioned, to which Tetra responded without hesitation.
"Yes. I didn't become such a feared pirate captain by letting everyone that wronged me get away with it, and I don't intend on changing that now."
"But those were all actual people that wronged you, not mindless sea creatures." Impa countered, much to Tetra's annoyance.
"You yourself said that everything that occurred before that 'mindless sea creature' attacked was a possible set-up, so what makes you think any differently now." She shot back, using her own words against her.
"A sentient monster was not what I had in mind when I said that." She defended herself.
"Then what did you have in mind?" Tetra inquired.
"Something more realistic, I guess. I mean, I've never heard of a person controlling a monster, and I have my doubts about it's plausibility." She explained herself. She was about to continue her argument until she was cut off by the pirate captain.
"Look, it doesn't matter who or what did it, all that matters is the fact that they did do it, which was a huge mistake on their part. Either way, I refuse to let them get away with that. Not now, not ever." She said assertively, leaving no room for argument. It definitely worked, as Impa sighed in resignation, knowing full well that trying to fight with the captain was futile at best.
"How are we going to find it anyway? It disappeared into the depths of the sea without a trace." She questioned. This time around, she got a much more pleasant response.
"Good question. And fortunately, for us, we've got an answer. Y'see, before the octo attacked, Medli caught sight of it just in time to see which direction it came from, that direction being northwest. Now skip to when the octo was defeated. It didn't just go directly underwater, it started heading in a certain direction." Tetra explained, "Any guesses as to which direction it was?"
"I'm gonna guess northwest." She responded obviously.
"Bingo! And you know what else is northwest from here?"
Impa pinched the bridge of her nose. "Don't tell me you're about to say what I think you're about to say." She groaned.
"The Forsaken Fortress!" She declared, much to Impa's displeasure. "Think about it, though! There have been a lot of recent reports of blonde-haired, pointy-eared girls being kidnapped by monsters! Not to mention, rumors have been spreading around that the fortress is under new management!" Tetra explained.
This didn't seem to change Impa's mind, however. "Still, doesn't it seem a little dicey to risk our lives just because of a rumor? You and I both know how dangerous that place has gotten in recent times. People have been fired at for even getting close to it." Impa tried to reason with her, despite knowing how unlikely it would work. And what do you know, she was right.
"We've been over this. I'm not gonna let whatever punk that's behind this get away with it. We're heading to the Forsaken Fortress and that's final." She stated.
Impa let out a long groan, finally giving into her wishes. "I should know by now that there's no stopping you when you have your mindset. I guess there's no point in further arguments." Impa conceded, much to Tetra's delight. "So, when are we leaving for the fortress?"
"As soon as we restock at the next island. The Forsaken Fortress is a long ways away, so we're gonna need to be full on supplies before we even think about going there." Tetra explained.
"Good thinking, Miss. I'll make sure to inform the crew." Impa offered, to which Tetra nodded in approval. She watched as the door closed shut, cutting her off from the rest of the world, almost as if her room was a bunker from all of the chaos that went up on deck. Although, a little bit of chaos could be fun, especially compared to the work that was awaiting her. Speaking of said work, she looked back to her desk, groaning in boredom at the long night ahead of her.
'I need to hire someone else to do this.' She groaned to herself.
The tour proceeded accordingly, with Shad going over every location with Link, making sure he knew where everything was and certain jobs that pertained to that location. He didn't want the rookie to be a bumbling mess when having to take orders, after all. He was a rookie too, once, and he knew the feeling.
The tour was going well for the rookie, though, who was taking in his surroundings with an amazed look.
"Impressive, is it not?" Shad said, trying to start a conversation. The boy was snapped out of his stupor, quickly responding to Shad's comment.
"You can say that again. I've never seen anything like it!" He complimented the ship with so much enthusiasm that Shad couldn't help but smile due to how infectious it was.
"Jeez, you act like you've never seen a ship before." The historian said jokingly, not knowing how true the statement was.
"Well if I'm being honest, the ship you found me on was one of the few I've ever been on, and even then, those ones were pretty tame compared to this." He stated, gesturing towards the entirety of the ship.
"Really now? Well isn't that most intriguing. I must ask, though, why is it you have been on so little ships?" Shad asked, bringing the ship tour to a halt. The boy seemed surprised by the question, yet answered anyway.
"I haven't really traveled much before. In fact, I've only been to two different islands in my entire life." The green hatted boy explained.
"Really? Which ones?" Shad asked. The room went silent as a frown formed on the boy's face, seemin hesitant towards answering. This didn't go unnoticed by Shad, who immediately regretted asking.
"If it's a sore subject, you don't have to tell me." Shad said reassuringly.
The boy quickly shook it off, though."No, no, It's fine. Just a stupid hang-up of mine. Anyway, the first island was my home island, and second is this place called the-" "Attention, everyone!" The boy was interrupted by a voice coming from the upper deck. The previously scattered group of people formed together at the center of the deck to listen, and while Link recognized most of them from earlier, there were a few fairly new faces amongst the mix. Link turned his attention back to the woman, unsure of who she was as well.
"That's Impa, Captain Tetra's first mate." Shad explained, picking up on Link's quizzical look, to which Link nodded his head in understanding.
The woman continued. "We will be arriving at Dragon Roost Island tomorrow to stock up on supplies!" She announced, to which everyone started cheering out of excitement. They were quickly cut off, though, as she put her fingers up to her mouth and blew, producing a piercing whistle that cut through the air. Everyone went silent as they brought their attention back to Impa. "However, that doesn't mean you get to goof off once we get there! We're going there for supplies and nothing! Understood?"
Everyone groaned, but nodded nevertheless. "Then that is all, make sure to get good rest for tomorrow!" She dismissed them, before heading back below deck. Everyone started clearing out, which finally brought Shad's attention towards something he hadn't even considered. Shad smacked himself on the head, acknowledging his blunder.
"What is it?" Link asked in confusion.
"I've forgotten to introduce you to everyone." He explained himself, before continuing. "You've already met Miss Tetra and Impa, so we can skip them."
"Ok then, who else is there?"
"Well, first there's Medli." He said, pointing towards the bird girl who was climbing up to the crows' nest. "She's our eyes in the sky. No threat goes unseen by her, which is not surprising considering she's a rito. Y'know what that means?"
"Um… she can fly?'
"Yes, but that's not the only thing she can do. Her race, the rito, are known for having incredible vision, and she is no exception. I can't tell you how many times her extended vision saved us from some approaching threat." The young historian explained, to which Link's mouth formed into an 'o' shape.
"That's cool." The rookie complimented.
"Indeed it is. I must say, I quite envy her for it." Shad said as he adjusted his glasses, moving on from the topic as quickly as he brought it up.
"Anyway, next is Maple." He said, pointing towards a girl who was currently sweeping the deck. She had short, teal hair wearing a black cloak and a pointy hat. "She's a witch." He said.
"Woah, isn't that a bit rude." Link chided him, caught off guard by the insult.
"What- no, she's literally a witch." Shad explained, to which Link gave him a doubtful look. "You don't believe me, fine, I'll show you." Shad huffed, before turning back to Maple.
"Hey Maple!" He yelled, grabbing the girl's attention. "Do that one thing for the newbie!" He said, following it up with a wink. Link was confused as to what he meant, but she seemed to understand what he meant, as she returned his wink.
"You got it, hon!" She yelled, before pointing her broom skyward.
Link knitted his brows together in confusion. 'What's so special about holding a broom up?' He thought as he watched.
To say he was fairly shocked when the broom started sparking was an understatement. He backed up in fear, but was stopped by Shad, who placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Link calmed down, deciding to trust his new friend and watch, although hesitantly. The sparks continued to grow and grow until they broke out into a mighty blaze, and before Link knew it, a ball of fire shot from the cleaning device, flying up high into the sky. Link watched in awe as the ball of fire exploded in a blaze of glory, going off like fireworks, its beauty capable of grabbing the attention of anyone within a three mile radius.
"Ta-da!" Maple exclaimed as she took a bow. Shad clapped his hands together in congratulations while Link stood in complete and utter awe.
"Wasn't that impressive, Link?" Shad asked, only to get no response. The historian turned around to see Link was still staring at the sky, despite the fact the fireworks had already faded from existence. He waved his hands in front of the boy's face, trying to grab his attention. "Link? Li~ink? Link?" He tried to grab his attention, receiving little success.
Maple snapped her fingers in front of his face, seeing if she might be able to snap him out of… whatever this was. "Hey, ya still there, kid?" She asked. The boy remained silent as the two exchanged confused glances.
"...Does he usually do this, or…? *THUD*" Maple was quickly cut off by the boy slowly falling backwards, hitting the ground with a thud. Shad came to his aid, getting on his knees to inspect him, and within a matter of seconds, he had reached a conclusion.
"I think we surprised him so hard that he fainted." Shad concluded.
"Ooh, maybe we should've broken the whole witch thing to him a bit more slowly." She said.
"Yeah. I mean, if I'm being honest, I don't know how we didn't see this coming." Shad concurred. The historian groaned, realizing what this meant for him.
"Well, I better go ahead and snap him out of it before the Miss notices that he's sleeping on the job." Shad sighed, picking up Link by the shoulders and dragging him away. Maple gave a smile, waving as she bid them farewell.
"You two have a nice day, now." She said.
"Thanks, you too Maple." Shad returned the gesture as he dragged Link off, which wasn't easy considering Shad's lack of physical strength. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of watching Shad struggle to carry Link away, they disappeared around a corner, leaving from her field of view.
Once she was sure they were out of earshot, Maple sighed to herself. "What a bunch of weirdos."
Link rubbed his head in an attempt to fend off the ensuing headache. Even though he had not been out for long, it had been long enough for the sun to finally set, which meant it was about time to turn in for the night. Shad took Link to the final area of the tour, the men's quarters.
"I can't believe I just passed out like that! I mean, who does that?!" Link scolded himself.
"Don't worry about it. It's my job to watch after you for the time being, after all." Shad reassured him.
"Speaking of which, thanks again for the tour, Shad. It was really nice to have a proper introduction." Link thanked the humble historian.
"No problem. I must admit, I enjoyed myself as well." He said, to which the Link smiled in relief. Shad opened the door, letting Link walk in first. He looked around, getting a good feel of his surroundings. There was a row of bunk beds lined up against the wall, which instantly brought his attention to the ensuing exhaustion that had fallen upon him after the long day he just had. He yawned as he went to find the most preferable bed, not wanting to pick the wrong one and getting stuck with it. He had already experienced that once before, which was one time too many for him. He walked up to one, sitting on it to test it. It was stiff, stained, and smelled funky, and yet he didn't seem bothered.
'Still better than my old bed.' He thought jokingly to himself. He got up to see what Shad was up to, only to see the historian with a confused look on his face. "What's up?" Link asked.
Shad shook his head dismissively. "Nothing. It's just that we're missing someone. Then again he is more of a night owl than I." He answered..
"Who?-" Link started, before he felt an arm wrap around his neck, accompanied by a voice.
"What's up, newbie?" The voice said. He didn't hear it, however, too focused on the previous contact. The person's touch felt rough and cold, almost like a highly coveted Hyrule Bass. It was familiar, but for all the wrong reasons, bringing back a wave of bad memories. Before another single thought could pop into his head, his instincts kicked in as he grabbed the arm with lighting speed. He threw the supposed threat over his back and into the ground, all in one swift motion.
"OOF-" He heard the supposed threat exclaim. This didn't stop him however, as he continued to face down his opponent. What he was met with, however, was NOT something he would've expected.
"Fish person?" He said in confusion, unfamiliar with the specimen before him, unaware of how rude his words sounded. The 'fish person' eyed him weirdly before responding.
"I prefer the term Zora, thank you." He replied sarcastically as he picked himself up and dusted himself off. Link immediately took notice, finally realizing what he had just said, not to mention the action that came before those words. A wave of guilt washed over him as he bowed his head in apology.
"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry! I thought you were someone else- er- something else- like a threat, or something!" He apologized insistently. He braved for the inevitable backlash that he would get for his heinous actions, but was caught off guard when he heard a laugh instead. He looked up to see the Zora, a wide smile donning his face.
"Don't sweat it man. That was one hell of a throw, though! Where'd you learn to do that!" He asked, patting him on the back. Link, unfamiliar with the gesture, tensed up at first, yet gradually warmed up to it, coming to appreciate the friendly contact. So much so, that he felt kind of upset when his crew mate eventually stopped.
"Ah, Mikau. I've been wondering where you ran off to. I wanted to introduce you to our newest member, Link." Shad chimed in.
Mikau gave a hearty grin. "Of course I have! This kid is the toast of the town with that hidden talent of his!" Mikau said incredulously, ruffling the newbie's hair as he did so. The rookie flinched at the mention of his 'hidden talent,' yet the two didn't seem to notice.
"Anyway, Shad, aren't you supposed to be on night duty?" The Zora questioned, moving the conversation along.
"What are you talking about? Tonight's your turn." Shad responded with confusion.
"No way! It was my turn last night!" Mikau denied.
"No, last night was Medli's turn. That means it's your turn tonight." Shad corrected him.
"Where are you getting that from? Medli did it the night before last night. That would mean it's your turn." Mikau rebutted.
"Oh no! You are not dumping your night shift on me again!"
"How can I be dumping my shift on you when it's your turn!?"
"Because that's what you do! That is what you always do, you skip out on your job and I end up getting stuck with it!"
"When have I ever done that?!"
"You do it all the time!"
*Ahem* The two briefly brought their bickering to a halt, their attention brought towards Link's verbal step-in.
"I can do it." He offered, much to Shad and Mikau's surprise, and eventual dismay.
Shad quickly deflected the idea. "No, Link. You shouldn't have to take responsibility for Mikau's shortcomings." Shad said, glaring at Mikau.
"Yeah, Link, you shouldn't have to cover up for Shad's lies." Mikau shot right back.
"Are you calling me a liar?"
"I ain't calling you a truther!"
"At least I don't have a brain the size of an octorok egg!"
"You wanna talk about stupidity? Ho about that time you-
"Don't say it! Not in front of the new guy!" Shad quickly cut him off,catching on to what he was going to say, his face turning slightly red. Mikau ignored him, however, continuing his verbal onslaught.
"It was six months ago-"
"Mikau, stop!"
"And you read that article in the newspaper-"
"Mikau, I'm warning you!"
"Which gave you the bright idea to-"
"Mikau, please don't!"
The Zora finally gave into the flustered historian's demands, putting his hands up defensively. "Okay, okay, I won't. Sorry, man, I didn't know it was such a sore spot for you." He apologized, to which Shad sighed in relief.
"Thanks. Sorry for yelling, it's just that... it happened so long ago, yet I'm still-"
"Shad didn't wear underwear for three months straight 'cuz he thought it would make him smarter- ACK!" Mikau was interrupted by two hands squeezing around his neck, restricting his breathing.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH! I TRUSTED YOU!" Shad exclaimed, his face blaring red, yet Link couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment or rage. Shad continued to violently shake the zora's neck back and forth, his rage uninhibited.
"Totally… worth it." Mikau choked out, not a single ounce of regret inside him. Link watched as they continued to scuffle, slowly inching out of the room as he did so.
"I'm just gonna... let you two work this out." He said awkwardly. Neither of them heard him, though, so he just went ahead and left, shutting the door behind him. Once he was out of the room, he sighed to himself inwardly.
'The neighbors here sure are friendly.'