Mako:
We were docked north of Outset Island when the bird flew in from the west. We'd landed to do business with the travelling merchant, Beedle. Gods, what a peculiar man. He has no specific type of wares. He'll buy anything, yet all he ever sales in his floating shop is fish and bird bait. Every time he talks it's like a Kargaroc screaming. Yet Miss Tetra never will turn away a useful business partner, a habit of her mother's, and Beedle asks no questions.
When Miss Tetra's mother died and Tetra took over the ship, it was difficult to find buyers who would take us seriously at first. Not only is she younger than all of us, there's also the fact that she's a woman, something her own mother had to work hard to overcome. Many of our old partners took it as a joke. They'd assumed Senza or I would be captain after Tetra's mother passed. But for us, there was no question on the matter. Miss Tetra had been leading the ship since I first joined in, some odd years before her mother passed. The old woman was a fiery spirit, ferocious in a battle. She drove us hard but we would have followed her to the end. The way she smiled and laughed and moved among us. She made herself one of us. Less woman and more pirate. Her daughter, however, is harder to place.
I once served under a deranged man on a fishing vessel. My old captain refused to catch his cargo in the Great Sea, laboring under a manic fixation for the beasts of the wild regions. Each trip was a dance with disaster. We sailed through bitter storms that always dragged us off course. The very flow of the ocean changed at times, as if the deep currents were bending. Sickness was not unknown on our vessel, and I have seen my fair share of young men racked with scurvy, with fever, with delusions from the heat. Our captain would drive us to the point of death, even at the risk of encountering monsters of the sea. Eventually, after I left his crew, the man sailed to his death trying to kill a Big Octo, or so I have heard.
Despite his insanity, my old captain was less unnerving than Miss Tetra. While the old man could sail with reckless abandon, he was easy to understand. His love of the sea, his obsession with danger was his whole character. He was no evil man, simply wild and impulsive. Miss Tetra is calm, constantly smiling without revealing what's underneath.
Her mother acted the same. In the evenings, she'd out drink her crew. She'd start fights in pubs. She'd shout and dance. She'd reveal nothing inside of her. One night, when all the crew was ashore for rest, leaving only Miss Tetra's mother, myself and Gonzo, then just a cabin boy, on the ship, we were attacked by a small party of rival crew members, intent on raiding the ship. Miss Tetra's mother had been swaying, inebriated, for hours, looking ready to collapse even as the party of five men climbed aboard, swords drawn. I had only my dagger and Gonzo was too young to fight. We should have been easy prey.
The captain had all five men face down in the shallows without them ever leaving a scratch on the ship deck. I'd never seen her eyes so clear. She wiped her blade clean with a rag dropped by one of the bandits and her hands were steady, her stance firm. She looked at me, straight, and smiled. I did not know whether to tremble or laugh.
Lately, we've no want for new hauls. The gang that operated out of Forsaken Fortress finally dried up, destroyed by in-fighting. They were thugs, no rules even amongst themselves. With them gone, we've had the rule of the sea. Miss Tetra's worked us hard, sniffing out caches those louts left behind. A few days ago, we found a haul of furs and weapons from the northern sea that was buried on Bomb Island. Good furs, high price.
When we'd docked near Outset, I suggested an alternative to the captain than the eccentric Beedle. "There's a merchant opening up on Windfall who's from the northern seas. Perhaps we should sell these to him. He'd know the cost of these furs better than Beedle. May give us a better bargain."
Miss Tetra said, "Mako, I appreciate you contributing this bit of wisdom after we have docked at our destination. It's so useful to consider that option now that the anchor's dug in and we're awaiting our contact, isn't it?"
I apologized, explaining that it was only a thought. The captain smiled. It is a strange smile she has, with only one side of her mouth. Her mother had one just like it. Taunting; it used to drive the captain of the Forsaken Fortress gang mad, seeing her grin at him across the waters like that.
"Oh, don't apologize now, please. You know I welcome every suggestion. But, we must consider everything when going into a deal like this, yes? Not just the stores on the ship or the buyer's personality." She leaned against the railing. Niko's been scratching his name into the wood again. She fingered the carvings. "True, the northerner may be more accurate in his prices, but other factors come into play. Such as, potential of doing business with the buyer again in the future, agreed?"
I agreed. Zuko called from the crow's nest, "Ship spotted from the east. Very colorful." Gonzo, Nudge, and Niko were bringing up the cargo from below. It was glaring and hot, no clouds. We should have been able to see for miles in all direction, especially with Zuko in the nest. The captain continued.
"There's more to a sale than numbers of gain and loss. There is influence. Not only between the buyer and the seller, but potential influence with related parties. And a man as strange and wide sailing as Beedle is certain to have encountered some strange parties. Parties that may be of use to us someday. I don't have the stores of friends my mother once did. It'd be good for me to build my own."
The captain showed no sign on her face of deep thought or concern. Of late, something has been driving the captain on, spurring her commands. At first, I did not notice. We were pursuing the caches left by the Forsaken Fortress gang, nothing more. But our charts are beginning to reveal a pattern, a triangular route carved over the waves, centered in the mid east of the Great Sea. Though I have never been in the captain's quarters, I have seen from a distance the chart she has upon her wall, with a similar triangular route inked over it. Is she searching for something else in these desolate places? What is it?
She will not tell us. Our captain stands apart. But we, or at least I, do not question this. A captain must always keep part of themselves separate from their crew I suppose. That smile the old captain gave me the night she killed that boarding party, that hidden part shining through. I only wish Miss Tetra would tell me what we are chasing so I might better plan the navigational charts. It does frustrate one to continually redraw the damned things.
A stack of crates toppled over. Niko had staggered into them, spilling their contents on the deck. Gonza helped right them.
"These furs are delicate you imbecile!" he said. "If you tear one, what good is it then? No Windfall lady's gonna want it."
"Sorry. Sorry." Niko kept apologizing, trying to pack the furs back into their crate, more likely to damage them than the fall. The captain laughed, said, "Perhaps, Niko, you'd rather wear them. If we clean you up a little, you'll look dashing in those furs." Gonzo and I laughed as Nudge tried to keep Niko from ripping the furs as he pushed them back in.
We saw the bird when it let out its cry. High, tearing; a grating sound. It was already swooping down on the ship, close enough to make out the feathers in its wings and the stone mask that covered its face. It had its talons outstretched. I thought it was going to tear the mast from the ship. This creature was massive, far larger than any of the other beasts we've seen. It could have likely lifted the boat bodily from the water if it had a mind to. We stared, all unbelieving. Even beyond the Great Sea, I'd never seen such a creature. Then it came down upon our captain. Amazing, even when it landed on the deck, it never once stirred the boat.
The captain didn't let out a cry. When she saw the beast was coming for her, she moved. She had her dagger out and dug into the monster's tender flesh above its talon before it could lift her from the ship. By now, Gonzo was already running to the catapult, in his haste loading it with one of the barrels of goods. I helped him to turn the catapult around. The bird was reeling from the slash the captain had given it and we shot a round, hitting it broadside. There was another crash of wood, Niko again, falling into the barrels in his panic. The bird was letting out cry after cry. It was as if the air were catching fire with that sound. It hurt to even hear.
In pain, the beast had released Miss Tetra and was flapping its wings, sending strong gusts over the deck. The spilled furs whipped into the sea. The sail bulged full. Zuko's telescope came crashing down, shattering on the deck. Gonzo and I were thrown across the deck as the beast landed again, on top of the captain, knocking her into the ship's railing. Gonzo shouted, "Captain! Don't you touch the captain!" He abandoned the catapult, and instead tried to tackle the beast bodily. The bird flapped its wings, knocking Gonzo back, taking to the skies, the captain in its claws.
It took off, heading south towards Outset. Thank the gods, Senza kept his sense during all this. He was already at the helm, turning us south, while Nudge finished pulling in the anchor. We pursued the beast. The wind was in our favor, speeding us on as fast as the bird could fly. Outset was coming out of the horizon and we agreed to open fire when it was closer to shore, to prevent losing the captain in the deeps.
As the bird neared the shoreline, we attacked. Gonzo moved fast. I have always suspected he has some feelings towards the captain more than loyalty, but it would be obvious to anyone in the way he hefted those shots onto the catapult's arm, never flinching or hesitating, fast as an archer loading an arrow. We fired several shots, each falling short of the beast, landing harmlessly in the water. It flew over the island and I was afraid of striking it, that doing so would cause it to drop Miss Tetra on the shore, the fall too far to survive. But, instead, it began to turn, providing us a clear broadside as it passed over the island's high cliff top. We hurled a final stone at it.
The bird took the stone head on. Likely its hard mask was the only thing saving it from death, but it released the captain, vanishing behind the island. The captain's body tumbled into the trees on top of the island, out of sight. We just managed to fold the sails and bring ourselves to a halt some distance from the island. It was damnedly quiet. The only thing moving was a Rito postman, flapping around the island, stirred by the commotion.
With the bird gone, we docked and discussed what to do. Gonzo was passionate to go ashore, despite the fact the captain as out of harm's way for the time being.
"We clobbered the beast, that's that. Why waste time? Let's just get in there and grab Miss Tetra and leave before it comes back."
"Think idiot," I said, "What did that thing want? It was after Miss Tetra, not us. It can't grab her in that dense forest so what good will it be for us to go up there and bring her down here only for the bird to come back? We need to find that monster first, make sure it's dead, then go ashore and get the captain."
"Our first priority is the captain! You know that Mako. What good's a crew without a captain? If it comes back, we'll be ready for it this time. Miss Tetra won't be caught off guard again."
Senza sided with Gonzo. "This island is one without guards or warriors. They can provide no real assistance to us and remaining here is only prolonging a battle on their shores. I say we go and assist the captain back to the ship, then draw the bird away into open water where we can more easily handle it."
I was still in disagreement, feeling that exposing the captain would allow the bird a second chance to attack her. Yet we resolved to send Gonzo ashore. The rest of us would remain behind and prepare the ship for combat. Nudge and Niko stored the cargo back below, some of it having been damaged in the chaos. Senza prepared another shot for the catapult. Outset was empty save for a man out in his field and a young girl holding a large jar in her arms. Both were looking between us and the sky. Outset is an island I've seen several times, a place without change. Time sits heavy upon it, and it's a land that knows only peace. It felt uncivil to wage a battle over these thatched huts and simply piers, but for the captain, we would have stormed each of these houses with sword or torch. None of us could have faced the memory of her mother had we done anything less.
There was still not a cloud in the sky. Just like when the bird first appeared. I have no idea how we could have missed it again. When I spoke to Zuko about it later, he said to me, "Not right. Came down, right out of the sun. Couldn't have done it, but it did. Just came right down. Like it knew right where no one would be looking." I've been in still waters, no cloud cover, stark light shining on you for hours. It makes the eye miss things. Blank spots fill your vision. But we were not in the intense sun of doldrums. We were on edge, watchful. We should have seen it.
The bird came straight over us, high. We didn't know that the captain and Gonzo were out of the forest. There was no time to fire a shot, the beast charged past us. It was out of the line of fire and taking flight over the waters too fast to turn and pursue it. Senza called to Zuko if he'd seen the captain in its claws.
"Not the captain," he shouted back. "Something. Not the captain. Look, on the cliff."
The captain was there, pulling some boy up off the cliff edge. I didn't give the boy a second thought, nor the thing Zuko had seen in the creature's claws. To me, this battle was over. The beast had found a different prey, had opted not to fight against us for its meal. I was satisfied and why shouldn't I have been? We were there for our captain, nothing else. The affairs of this tiny island are nothing to us.
There are times when I can almost see through to what the captain is thinking. Times when her smile almost reveals her plans. Like with her mother, when she put down those five intruders on our deck, how looking at her clear eyes, I could almost see the true Captain behind her, the leader that we would have followed to the end. Past the fumes of the alcohol, there was the real Captain. At times, Miss Tetra's routes almost make sense. The object she is hunting for seems almost within my understanding. However, more often are the times when she will contradict every expectation I have.
How could I have expected her to bring on board the boy I saw on the cliff side? He was a fisher boy. There had not been someone so inexperienced on this deck since Niko first joined.
Captain, what is it that you're thinking? What are you planning? What is that chart in your quarters leading you to? Or, should I say, leading us to? Because you know, wherever you go, we will follow. I followed your mother and I won't let it be said my loyalty was only sufficient for a generation. I'll follow you to the furthest, deepest end. But you must remember your duty to your crew. I pray you have not forgotten.
