"D'you really think it's over?"
Her voice echoed over the open ocean, reflected in the valleys and swells of steel-grey and impenetrable sea. The wind never ceased in these waters, whipping up whiteheads and crashing waves against rocky shores, sweeping all the leftovers and debris out to Davy Jones where it filled his coffers with nicks and nacks; with drowned sailors and broken dreams.
Night had brought peace; a pause in the never-ending rumble that had claimed the New World, throwing the sea into a violent chaos and colouring the waves red with blood. The only thing breaking the velvet darkness was a meagre fire, flickering on a forgotten shore where two old comrades had taken refuge for the night in the shelter of a tall cliff. The light didn't even reach their faces, the small circle of flickering light barely covering their outstretched feet.
"You sad about it?" a man answered, voice low and gravelly. A shifting form in the dark might have been human, seating himself in a more comfortable position. He positioned a long spear better beside the fire so the fish tied to it would get more evenly cooked.
It had been beautiful in life, black and white scales shimmering in the depths, perfectly camouflaged for ambushes in kelp forests. The green crest running down its back now hang limply, dragged down by gravity and dried out by the heat of the fire.
Unfortunately for any further plans it might have had, the sea king had swum too close to the surface when they had been looking for dinner. The fire flickered and quivered as fat from the fish sizzled and for a moment all was still.
Fire-painted shadows are always so much more expressive than those created by mere sunlight or by the calm presence of the moon. The sun brightens all, warming chilled souls and emphasizing the best bits and bobs with the energy of the day, while the moon paints everything with a soft brush made of moonbeams, equalizing all in the cold light of night.
But fire… fire accentuates. It makes the darkness darker and the highlights brighter, throws things into sharp relief and shows what you would rather forget.
"No," came the answer after a moment's pause.
She moved, throwing another trunk on the fire and settled to watch as the flames climbed from branch to branch before starting to devour the few leaves left.
"Prometheus…" she sighed as she moved her own dinner nearer the heat. "Don't eat too fast. I want my fish cooked, not raw."
"Sorry, mama," a voice as dry as the desert answered from among the flames. Two pale red eyes flickered to life in the blaze, before disappearing in a whirl of smoke and embers. "I'll try to slow down."
A rumbling laugh echoed down the beach before returning with the tide. "Still talking back to you, is he?"
"Shut up, ya minnow," she said with a huff. "You're not one to talk before y've got those powers of yours under control."
Blue scales glimmered momentarily, painted violet by the flames, as a muscular arm stretched, sharp talons curling.
Fire shows the true form of things and dragon-fire is no exception, conjured though it may be. It shows the world for what it is, captured in the taloned grasp of a monster of myth and fable, created by the sheer tenacity of a carp that climbs endless waterfalls to reach the pinnacle of power.
"I'll get there."
She had always been jealous of his laid-back character. She was always looking, searching, hunting for answers, for her role in this world, for her family. But he had always just accepted things.
He just laughed and found the best beer when the rest of their crew divvied up the loot for the day and when he got acquainted with the Captain's daughter he just shrugged and washed the wounds with sake.
Some days she'd watched him with scorn, huffing at his aimless wander through life and careless attitude.
Some days she had broken down in drunken sobs at his shoulder, trying to understand him, to learn how she could be as acceptable, as accepting of life.
"That you will," she allowed, testing the juiciness of her dinner with a branch. The skin of the sea king split with a soft crunch, mouth-watering smells wafting through the air.
A lone scream pierced the night as a darker shadow passed over them in the star-spangled sky that was already paling in the east. They said that you shouldn't kill the Giant Albatross or the devil would take your ship, but right now she could have eaten a flock of them. The sea king had merely sated her hunger; she needed more to be content.
The fire settled down into a pile of smouldering embers, still radiating heat as she leaned back against the cliff. There were worse places to be than in the open air and good company, having enjoyed a nice, although meagre, meal.
"No," her companion suddenly said, breaking her voyage of views and thoughts.
"What are you talking about?"
"Your question. It's not over 'til it's over."
"Cryptic as always, aren't ya Kaido?"
A huffing laugh was his only answer, met by her flash of a smile.
"Nah, I don't think so too. Just 'cause the Captain's gone doesn't mean we're goners."
"What do you think Newgate'll do?"
"Who knows. Not the last we've seen of him, I'd wager."
"As much as he went on about a family I guess he'll find one for himself."
"Y'think he'll settle down?"
"With who? That tiny thing that always kept hanging around?"
"Worororo!" Kaido's laugh bounced up the cliffside, disappearing into the rosy morning sky. "Not a chance in Heaven or Hell! No, he's too bleedin' hearted, he'll just find a village somewhere and adopt the whole lot of them. Quicker and no strings attached."
"Right," she said, smile tugging at her mouth. "What about you? Where're y'going when tomorrow comes?"
"Who knows," he shrugged, the movement shifting paling shadows shifting smooth skin. "I'll just look around for a bit, I think. And when the time comes, it comes."
"When it comes, it comes."
"You?"
Now it was her turn to shrug; a movement turned into a wince as a half-healed scab stretched on her shoulder. "I'll have to settle down for a while at least, the kids are getting impatient. And I could make one more."
"You'll end up with the largest family the New World's ever seen," he said with a huff.
"And what's wrong with that?" she said, crossing her arms behind her head, tracing a distant cloud, watching as it turned from a soft silver to a flaming orange with the rising sun. "I've always wanted a large family."
"You shoul've just settled down with Newgate," he said with a smirk, taking a swig from a barrel. "If y'both wanted families."
"Don't be gross," she said with a shudder. "That'd be like shacking up with my big brother."
"But think of the children," he said with a dramatic gasp, empty barrell thrown into the dying campfire. "The horrendously large, bad-tempered children."
"Shut up and settle down with him yerself."
"If the time comes, it comes," he said with a grin.
"Please don't," she groaned, burying her head in her hands. "I never want to see what kind of offspring your loins will sire."
"Saying I won't be the best dad the world's ever seen?"
"You'll be the drunkest dad the world's ever seen. And that includes Captain."
"We'll have to wait and see," he said, laughter dying down with the last of the flickering flames. "It's not over 'til it's over."
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