Chapter Text
Chapter 3
Consistency is the last resort of the unimaginative.
All in all, Donghyuk would say that the 6 boys in front of him reacted to his news quite well.
Not so bad a reaction if I do say so myself , he thinks, blatantly ignoring Jaemin and Jeno screaming at him to explain “What do you mean the kingdom has killed magic folk?” and “So is their aim to just kill Renjun?” and other questions he honestly has no idea the answer to.
And obviously his definition of a ‘not so bad reaction’ also includes him acting like he doesn't see the Captain fall into his own head in deep thought.
Or Chenle excessively rubbing his choker.
Or Jisung having turned almost as pale as his hair.
… Okay. Maybe not, he laments, taking a peek at Renjun who is funnily enough the calmest out of all the pirates, not withholding the looming threat of death.
"ENOUGH." Renjun shouts, summoning his own guide in front of him. He quickly turns to the page with the portraits and watches as his portrait turns into lines of description.
"Why is your portrait even in the book anyways?" Jaemin asks, taking a deep breath and calming slightly, sitting back down once he realises that he was probably overreacting somewhat.
Donghyuk doesn't blame them for being worried though, the fear of not knowing if your loved one is safe is a feeling he luckily doesn't often feel anymore. Being powerful enough to protect others is a blessing.
But when was the last time someone was this worried for me?
"Uhh… I'm actually not too sure why." Renjun replies. He lifts his head up slightly to give a questioning look to Donghyuk.
Donghyuk rubs at the space between his eyes, releasing the sudden strain of muscles there. "It's because before leaving to be a pirate of the high seas, princess over here thought that using his magic in front of literally anyone who would watch was a good idea."
“I will not stand for this slander,” Renjun quips dramatically, his hand over his heart in offence. "Besides, it seems like I'm actually quite lucky this time."
"Oh, how come?" Jisung asks, his hands still clasped together in worry. Being from the magic realm himself, he knows that someone strong enough with tracking magic could use the portrait of Renjun to find his location at any given time. That was probably why the recent navy crew decided to trouble the island this time, probably having been guided by a tracker in the Kingdom...
Renjun just chuckles. “Somehow my name had been mistranslated from Atlantean to Injeon. That means that any tracking spell the Kingdom has tried to use to find me wouldn’t have worked.”
Or not… but magic tracker or not, it was probably not difficult to find merchants who have come by Incantare Bay and seen Renjun using his magic.
"One of the few times in your life being atlantean has actually been better for you."
A slap to the back of his head from a disappointed looking Kun just encourages Donghyuk to smile innocently at the others in the room. He sees them deliberating their response, not knowing if his joke was too offensive. Especially Jaemin and Jeno who had learnt a bit about Renjuns past, but a snort from Renjun breaks up the awkward atmosphere as quickly as it had appeared.
"A whole fucking bitch." Is what Renjun replies with, using his five fingers to flick at Donghyuks direction.
Donghyuk mirrors the action, another slap to his head finally making him stop.
"How many times have I told you not to do that?" Kun sighs, deliberately targeting Donghyuk in his scolding.
"It's an offensive gesture. Like really offensive." He hears Jisung explain to the others.
Aw, cute. Donghyuk thinks, patting Jisung as the Kitsune stops Chenle from doing the gesture at Jaemin.
Sitting silently this whole time, Mark finally joins in the conversation. Flicking his hat higher onto his head, he asks the question that has somehow not been asked yet.
"So, what does that mean for Renjun?"
Everyone stopped talking when they heard Mark, finally settling down and contemplating the issue at hand.
Does this mean Renjun is in danger or not?
Well, no, not really. But Donghyuk has to remind himself of the fact that these guys don't actually know that Renjun can't be in active danger with him around; he isn’t almighty, but he can cast a nasty protection charm if the situation calls for one..
The kingdom hunting Renjun isn’t even a huge issue once he thinks it through. The biggest worry would be if the navy manages to catch them off guard while at sea and even then , Donghyuk knows it would all come down to who has the strongest fire power.
Kun just calls it overconfidence in his own abilities.
Possibly. A small part of Donghyuk's brain whispers.
"Technically," he voices briefly, shutting out the whispers to address the room. "I'm going to be with him so the Kingdom doesn't really matter generally speaking."
The pirates relax a hinge after listening to Donghyuk, but Mark just stares at him with strong skepticism.
"And I’m supposed to believe you from your word only?" Mark asks, raising his eyes to look at Donghyuk. He may be sitting, but the look he gives Donghyuk makes him feel like he's being stared down at.
It's a look of intimidation Donghyuk recognises in the recess of his brain that isn't bubbling in anger at the inference of what Mark's words mean.
He recognises the skepticism and while, yes, Mark is just looking out for one of his crew, the look translates in his witchy brain of his as disrespect and contempt. And no witch leaves a challenge without some form of action.
Does this weak child just think that he can just step on my island, use my magic, and then suggest that I could be a danger to Renjun? Donghyuk seethes. And probably, once he thinks back to this moment in the future, he will see that Mark wasn't trying to belittle his power.
But now, and maybe- maybe - it is the overconfidence swelling up in his body, but Donghyuk just flashes the prettiest smile he knows he can produce, and snaps at the Captain.
"Well, captain , you literally have no say because unlike you who can’t seem to keep his own crew safe, I am possibly the most powerful witch you can ever come across in your life. So unless we meet a foe that can literally kill us all before it takes me the time to cast a protection spell, my word is possibly the strongest thing to believe in."
His hand grips his skirt as tight as his fingers can muster, Mark glaring at him, his hand reaching for the whip on his left hip. But before anything physical could start, a cough breaks the air.
"Donghyuk," Renjun speaks up, slightly awkward to be the topic of animosity between the two people he trusts the most with his life. "You know he didn't say that to belittle your power. And Mark, sometimes when it comes to the magic realm, you just have to take what you hear at face value. If Donghyuk says the Kingdom won't be a problem for now, then they won't be a problem."
Donghyuk closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, the slight scent of orange blossom from the pot of boiling flowers Kun uses to scent the store calming him down slightly, but not enough to apologise.
He's right. I'll need to worry about the imminent dangers and not this.
"For future reference, I don't usually say things and not mean them."
Mark nods in reply and settles back down. Silence engulfs the group as Jaemin looks awkwardly between Donghyuk and his captain. Deciding that figuring out the whole ‘Renjun situation’ would probably be the best distraction for now, he Clears his throat to get everyone's attention.
"So, uh… we're all final with the Renjun 'situation'?"
Renjun presses a chaste kiss to Jamins hand. "Yes babe, it's done now."
"Great. Now that that conversation is done, from what we’ve been told, Renjun isn’t the only thing they’ve been looking for.” Kun claps his hands together, reminding Donghyuk about the other item they will need to be on the lookout for.
I had really hoped that thing would have stayed hidden for a few more years. Donghyuk thinks, knowing that the magic folk in the group will know of the significance of the Yellow Diamond to the Isles.
“Yeah, well… huh. I guess the easy way to put it is that they were also on the lookout for the Yellow Diamond.” Donghyuk says simply. Once saying this, he notices the frowns on the magic folks faces.
Eyebrows raised in shock, Kun realises why Donghyuk waited for everyone to gather before telling him about the secrets he had been whispering to the lieutenant in the prisons.
The humans have similar expressions as the magic folk, but their frowns are a reaction to confusion than any other emotion.
Kun and Chenle quickly take out their guides and immediately imbed a bit of their magic into the page with a map. As guides are created from one's own magic, they don't require a chanalling item like a wand or staff to move the magic in the guide.
To tell you the truth, he isn't too happy with this news that there are people looking for the yellow diamond. All magic is birthed from the Isles, from the simple spells like lighting a candle, to the species specific magic like the power from a banshees scream, and even the birth of magical monsters. And the yellow stone, which is flown all over the world in the beak of a brightly coloured parrot, is essentially the heart of the Isles.
Donghyuk sees Renjun and Jisung explaining to the humans about the yellow diamond as he reaches into his bag to take out a small compass. It’s made of silver with red etchings on the side, symbols of an old language only few left in the world can read, and he is eternally grateful that the one who gifted it to him had provided a translation alongside it.
Donghyuk cuts the side of his finger on the sharp tip of his sun earring, the drop of blood blending into the red etchings. In the shop, no one is paying attention to him, everyone too engrossed in their own research, even Chenle and Kun have their eyes glued to their own guides.
Geeze, they could have at least watch me do my cool magic things. Donghyuk sighs, pushing the now glowing compass into the middle of the table.
The etchings glow with a bright red light, wiggling around the compass like some type of worm. Donghyuk drips another drop of his blood onto the top of the compass and snaps, gathering the Chaos in the room and guiding it into a ball around the compass. The etchings interact with the Chaos, merging with it as the light combines into a single quantity. To others, it looks as though a sudden ball of light is floating above an open compass, blinking from a warm yellow to a deep red.
However, to high level witches who have sufficient control over Chaos, the light looks like a jumbled web of magic and with each flash, molding the magic into an even stronger spell.
Obviously, the flashing catches the eyes of everyone in the room. Renjun stops his history lesson to marvel at the sheer complexity of the Chaos in the light, glancing over at Donghyuk periodically in wonderment as he realises, I don’t truly know what Donghyuk is capable of.
“It was a gift from one of the last surviving elder trees in the great oak forests.” Donghyuk explains, all eyes on him as he lazily waves his hand in front of the light. “Wait for the light to stop blinking.”
The store of Red Bean becomes silent after Donghyuk speaks, and no one moves as the bright flashes of red light wash over all of them. After a few seconds, the blinking stops as the red condenses into a small point in the light.
In the eyes of Donghyuk and Renjun, the etchings and chaos in the light mellow out as they concentrate on one spot.
“The hell is that?” Jeno asks.
“An overcomplicated tracking device.” Donghyuk replies, rubbing his eyes and flopping onto the table. His hood falls with him, covering his head as he rolls his body on the table slightly.
“Of all places, It has to be there?” He whines, reaching into his belt bag to take out yet another bottle of witch hazel to down.
“Why? What’s there? And also, why use the compass to track the diamond?” Chenle asks, personally intrigued as to why Donghyuk used the compass to find the location of the yellow diamond when all magic folk know that it can be traced by just using the guide.
“I'll let you in on a little secret,” Donghyuk frowns, unamused at the location they will have to travel to. “The thing the guide is tracing isn't the diamond, it's a fake.”
"Fake?" Chenle clarifies, his head tilting slightly in confusion. Even Kun, with his years of studying, and Renjun who had been personally taught by him on much about the guide look to him in disbelief as well.
“Yeah. Fake.” And now I have to go sail on this fucking ship to some fucking island to maybe catch a glimps of it.
Too caught up with whining, Donghyuk doesn’t realise when Renjun comes up to him and slams his guide on the table near to his ears, shocking him up with a squeak.
“What the fuck!” Donghyuk rubs his ears.
“You whining about whatever isn’t helping us you asshat. Hurry and tell us what you mean by the fake tracker.”
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Donghyuk sits up properly at the table but doesn’t take off his hood. “Well, we all know how the diamond gets carried around the world to spread its magic right?”
Chenle and Jisung nod, with Chenle affirming that they were taught this about the early stages of magic history .
“So essentially, what the guides are tracking is a second parrot with another gem.”
“No way…”
I wish they could see their faces right now. Donghyuk notices, trying his best not to burst out laughing at the faces of his (new) friends (he hopes). Honestly, they probably see magic on the daily so why are they drawing a line at ‘two parrots’?
“You guys are literally magic. How is the thought that two gems exist throwing you off so much?”
Renjun throws his hat at him, Donghyuk just barely dodging out of the way while laughing.
“We were literally taught that the guide tacked the yellow diamond as HISTORY. It's a heart, things only have one heart!” Renjun takes a moment to think again, suddenly slipping off his leather boot and throwing it at Donghyuk as well.
“Bitch YOU literally taught me magic history!”
Feeling his sides cramp up at the ferocity of his laughs, Donghyuk takes a few deep breaths and picks up the thrown hat and boot, sliding them back over to Renjun.
“No but seriously, what I just told you guys is literally a ‘to the grave’ secret.”
“Okay, but like how ‘to the grave’ is it?” Chenle asks.
Everyone in the room turns to look astonishingly at him. Putting both his palms in front of his mouth, the banshee gesture for surrendering, Chenle gives them all a strong ‘What?’ look.
“I don’t even know if I was supposed to tell you guys or not.” Donghyuk confesses. But what’s done is done I guess. “So for all intents and purposes, if you’re ever questioned, just say you were following the diamond from the guide.”
“How did you even find out about this?” Kun asks, bewildered that such a secret could fall into Donghyuk’s lap in his short 20 ish years of life and not once had he even heard of this in his over a hundred.
Smiling sheepishly, and going suspiciously quiet, it takes a moment for Donghyuk to reply.
“I’m so sorry. I really can’t tell you.”
“Alright.” Mark nods, his pose relaxed and calm as he brushes the whip on his left hip with his fingers. “Then do tell us what we can know, princess.”
Donghyuk shoots a dirty look at Mark, because he knows that Mark is using the title princess in a way to show that he has no power or authority. Funny considering how I'm probably the strongest one here, and also, it is very different from when I call Renjun a princess, because I'm outright calling him royalty.
“Well- Captain-, next is a small place called Paradise Island, a wonderful place where your deepest wishes can come true, where the best plants grow to get addictive substances, and where a tribe called the ‘To’pryter’ guard as if the island is their own body.”
“Paradise Island?” Jisung confirms, nibbling his lip as his eyebrows furrow together. He looks more closely at the map made of magic. “That Island isn’t very far from here.”
“Oh? How long will it take to sail there then?” Mark questions.
“Sorry, I’m not very sure. I left my navigation map and notes on the ship.” Jisung answers, hunching his shoulders together.
“That’s fine,” Donghyuk says, quickly patting Jisung on his head in assurance. “What’s really important is how we’re going to deal with the To’pryter tribe. The island only has one tribe, but by the isles are they annoying to deal with.”
“Hmm. Then princess, any no killing laws set on this ‘Paradise Island’?” Mark smiles, taunting as he totally ignores the dirty looks being sent his way as he reaches over to grab Donghyuk’s guide off the table. Donghyuk has half a mind to snatch it back, but deciding not to as the effort really didn’t seem worth it.
“Does that even matter though?” Jeno laughs, a cheeky smile plastered on his face. He points to the bright red spot as a sort of excitement rolls off his body in waves. “We're pirates, if you really wanted to, could a law stop you from killing?”
“Manners in asking and what-not.” Mark says, flipping through the Guide in his hands.
“I’ve never really gotten used to that,” Renjun stands, putting his hat back on his head. He looks out the glass at the storefront and sees that the sky has turned dark. “That one spirit was not friendly in the isles damn slightest.”
Donghyuk follows behind him, opening the door to look outside as well.
The sky's cloudy, a small storm brewing in the horizon. Taking one of the empty lanterns at the side of the door, he snaps his fingers and guides the orbs of light in the sky to fly into it. Placing the lantern back onto the ground, he goes back into the store.
“Hmm. A storm’s brewing, take the lantern with you while you walk back to the ship. Wards off spirits."
"Great, now there's malicious spirits here too?" Jaemin whines.
Renjun smacks the back of his head, rolling his eyes. "It's attitudes like that which turns them malicious in the first place."
Donghyuk looks around the store, at the pirates all sitting around the table. Standing with Kun, he watches as Renjun continues to tell Jaemin off, with Jeno laughing at his side. Chenle and Jisung play around with the open compass on the table, swiping their hands over the chaos sphere trying to disturb the image. Mark casually flips through his guide, stopping every so often to carefully read through the page.
He suddenly feels a hand on his head, petting him through the hood.
"Our gremlin has finally found his family, huh." Kun whispers into his ear, a slight asymmetrical smile gracing his lips.
Donghyuk reaches up, covering Kuns hand with his own. For the few years he's known Renjun, the one thing he understands the most is Renjuns relation to this word called 'family'.
It’s something he wants, but could be taken from him in the name of ‘fate’. He has a family in Atlantis, but fate took that from him when it made him a witch.
Renjun does think it's funny how Donghyuk believes himself to be the lucky one, considering how he can’t remember his family at all.
"Yeah. I'm happy for him." Donghyuk shows Kun a smile. Slightly rueful, but still genuinely happy for Renjun. He tightens his hold on Kuns hand for merely a second, before bringing it down and walking towards the other boys.
"Okay, go on and skedaddle back to your ship. Storms in these parts are kinder to those living on water than on land."
Mark puts Donghyuk's guide down onto the table, straightening his hat as he addresses his crew. "Alright, time to head back."
"Aww, I wanted to stay with Haechan." Chenle whines, digging a hug into Donghyuk’s side.
"Don't worry, you’ll be seeing much more of me.” He hugs Chenle goodbye, and follows the crew out of the shop.
He picks up and hands the lantern over to Renjun.
"I'll see you tomorrow. Be safe."
"I will. Have a good night." Renjun waves, leading the crew down the road back to the ship.
Donghyuk watches the backs of the pirates, their clothes getting smaller and smaller the further they walk. Once the bright hair of Jisung and Chenle are out of sight, he closes the door and snaps.
The free-floating chaos outside the shop rushes to the entrance, building itself into an invisible barrier of sorts. The raindrops that slowly fall bounce off in a curve.
"How bad do you think the storm is going to be?" He asks, making himself comfortable in the previously sat chair.
"Not one clue dear." Kun laughs, taking the seat opposite of Donghyuk. "Want to ask the cards?"
Donghyuk nods, reaching into his pouch to take out a deck of tarot cards.
These tarot cards, the ones magic users own, have been a long lost mystery of the magic realm. No one knows who truly creates them.
Unlike the cards non-magic folk can just buy at any old trinket shop, true tarot cards embedded with magic can only be used after being gifted to another magic user. If you aren't gifted the deck, and if the deck doesn't like you, bad luck will fall into your life for as long as you have the deck.
Funnily enough, it is also considered very rude to just discard a deck of tarot cards as well, making them a very rare and tricky tool for the magic folk. The discardment of a deck has led to generational bad luck in some cases. However, if one was to be so lucky to have come across a true tarot deck in their lifetime (and even more extraordinarily a deck that likes you), happiness and luck are said to follow.
Good luck and happiness, huh. Donghyuk thinks as he shuffles his deck, the cards flying out by themselves.
Once three cards fly out he stops shuffling and allows the cards to reveal themselves, not wanting to rush it. One by one the cards flip and Donghyuk interprets them out for Kun.
"The moon, signifying intuition , The tower reversed, a warning of delayed disaster, and The hermit reversed, losing your way." Donghyuk stares deeply into the moon card, slightly confused. "I'm fairly certain that this means the storm tonight is not dangerous… but…"
"But... your journey with them won't be easy?" Kun supplies.
Donghyuk nods in response. He puts the deck back into his pouch, thanking them as he does. "I guess all I can do is see what tomorrow holds."
Kun stands up to get ready for bed.
"Yes. Tomorrow."
Donghyuk meets up with the crew the next morning at the docks, the sun barely shining above the horizon. All his required belongings have already been packed into his pouch. Renjun had already taken all the important items from their beach house the day before so all that was left were some trinkets from the shop, some oils and secret stashes of ingredients for his potions. (He's fairly certain that the tears of a bat won't be something he will come across easily on his travels.)
Drying his hair with a quick wind spell, Donghyuk sees the two members of the crew who had come to pick him up.
“The isles greet another day.” He greets, fluffing his dried hair into the style he likes.
“And back to you.” Renjun smiles. He notices the slightly damp collar of Donghyuks shirt, his burgundy skirt just a tad darker than the day before. “You’ve had an early morning?”
“Yeah. Just finished helping Kun to hex the seabed.”
“Seabed? Isn't that dangerous for you?” The other pirate, Chenle, asks. He looks back and forth between Donghyuk and the calm waters out at the dock.
“Oh definitely.” Donghyuk grins, bringing Chenle into a shoulder hug, the seawater dampening Chenles grey wrappings. “But I had Yangyang to help me so there was a minimal drowning risk.”
He lifts his head to look straight at Renjun, addressing him next.
“Talking about Yangyang, he was suddenly called back by the royal guard. I think it might have something to do with the monsters the veil has let out but he said he would be back at most in 30 minutes.”
“Oh. How long ago was that?”
“About… 30 minutes ago. I was left to continue the hex and Spencer brought me back up to the surface after.”
The waters next to the trio began to bubble, and an iridescent green tail broke the surface of the water.
“Ello’ loves.” Yangyang interjects, splashing a bit of water at Renjun and Chenle. “Some bad news, the pacific sea goblins have brought information of an unidentified sea creature roaming the waters of the alexandrea pacific so my time here won’t be very long.”
Renjun goes over to Yangyang and passes him 3 potion bottles from his hat. They were the same colour as Yangyangs tail, and the glass was tall and skinny. “Well here, I made some protection potions for you. It has a blood-tie link in it so if you ever use these I would know. Only use these if you are in life threatening danger.”
Yangyang takes the bottles and secures them to his seaweed belt around his waist. Reaching out of the water, he holds onto Renjuns hand.
“Atlantis is one of the safest places in this whole world, especially with the new hex Donghyuk put up. I’m more worried about you.”
Yangyang sighs, a wistful expression gracing his face as he squeezes Renjuns hand. A small distance away, Donghyuk and Chenle turn around to allow the two brothers some privacy.
Donghyuk continues to control the winds to dry his clothes, the slight scent of ocean salt sticking to him. He decides it's not unpleasant, so he doesn't try to remove it. He thumbs at his earring, the engraving of the sun insignia reminding him of the significance of the journey he is about to embark on.
“Hey, Haechan.” Chenle speaks up, curious about the earring Donghyuk was wearing. “What does the engraving on your earring mean?”
"It's my life insignia." Donghyuk offhandedly says. This shocks Chenle, surprised that at his age Donghyuk already was bestowed a personal insignia.
"Already?" He asks, truly unsure if Donghyuk was just playing with him or being serious.
"I've had an eventful past. Don't worry too much about it."
Chenle just nods at this, letting the conversation shift to another topic. Donghyuk is grateful, as even though he likes Chenle, he still isn't comfortable talking about his past with him just yet. Even Renjun still has no idea about his full history.
They turn back to the brothers after another moment, and take their turns to say goodbye to Yangyang. He provides Donghyuk with a final warning about the seas and dives back into the water, disappearing into the depths.
“So,” Renjun pipes up. “Should we head up to the ship?”
“Yeah, now is as good a time as any.” Donghyuk nods, slipping his arm around Chenles as Renjun guides them up the plank.
The Somnium is a beautiful ship, its main hull made from a deep coloured giant sequoia, the redwood matching the black sails and the phoenix figurehead. It’s not huge, but definitely big enough to house all 7 of them with enough room for each pirate.
However, as he looks around the main deck of the ship, he slowly sees a few anomalies the Somnium possess.
"Oh, only one crow's nest?" He asks, looking up to the towering sails. There are two masts, but only one crow's nest which surprises him. Usually, pirates have as many crow's nests as possible, to the point where they will even stick a pointless extra mast just to have the advantage of an aerial attack.
Chenle’s piercing laugh breaks through the somewhat quiet sounds of the ship.
"Renjun somehow managed to redirect a freaking cannon ball from destroying our ship to the nest at the back."
He continues to tell him how very soon after Renjun had joined them, an unidentified ship had tried to kill them. They managed to escape, but just barely as Jeno had been badly hurt during the attack, and Mark had fallen very sick just before.
"I think the pure stress of almost dying made it possible for me to literally telekinesis the cannon ball up and away."
Chenle nods at that, the stress theory having been passed around the crew after the incident. "Plus, we've actually never used the crow's nest for anything other than a hiding place during hide and seek, so we just left the destroyed one alone."
"Huh. Cool." Donghyuk laughs.
On the deck of the ship, Donghyuk looks back to the island. I won’t be back for a while. He thinks, taking a deep breath as he turns to Renjun.
"Jisung is your navigator right?"
"Yeah. Honestly, it's surprising how well he can read the stars for a kitsune."
"But he isn’t the best at travelling during the day," Chenle chimes in. "So that's when Mark usually takes over."
That's perfect. Donghyuk thinks, nodding in acknowledgement to Chenle and Renjun. For the life of him, he has never been good at navigating during the night. Every time he's tried to use his magic to help him guide his way anywhere during the night, it just backfires and sends him in a wrong direction.
He follows the two pirates to a trap door, an inconspicuous plank of wood the same colour as the surrounding deck. The only clue to it being different is a loop of thick copper used to open it.
Walking down the stairs, Donghyuk notices that they're standing right in the middle of what seems to be the dining area. A small stove and basin off to one side, a good sized cabinet next to it, and a large table right in the middle of the room.
Chenle and Renjun go about explaining how everything in the room worked. Unsurprisingly to Donghyuk, they tell him that the majority of the items had already been tinkered with using magic in one way or another. Their most recent addition being when Yangyang had given Renjun a parting gift of a water stone, which generates a continuous stream of fresh water when activated, and had thus given the pirates an upgrade of actually having - wait for it - pure drinking water whenever they turned on the tap.
Did the idiots not invest in a water box? Donghyuk muses to himself, unsure of how the crew had managed to get water before meeting Renjun.
"Now you may be thinking, hey did these idiots not think to get a water box? - you would be absolutely right! I almost jumped ship when I realised how little this place had when I first got accepted into the crew." Chenle laughs.
He stares off into the distance, Donghyuk mirroring his view to see him just looking right at the wall of the ship that had been slightly discoloured. Chenle releases a deep, but adoring sigh as he reminisces about the time he had joined the crew.
"We sustained ourselves on ale and fae moss for a good year and a half before finally meeting Renjun and installing the best thing in our ship!"
Hearing this, Donghyuk widens his eyes in surprise, respect for the crew increasing just a few notches.
"The humans managed to eat fae moss for over a year without losing their mind?"
Fae moss, while not from the fae realm and isn't even a moss, is a small purple berry. Fae berries are non-magical fruit that are native to many small islands in the tropics, and often have magic-like properties when ingested. (For all his subpar naming skills are, even Donghyuk agrees the name for this fruit is abysmal)
Donghyuk thinks back to the book of poisons he once had, the paragraphs and paragraphs written about the fruit. Whoever wrote that book had horrible summary skills. So many words all to just end with saying that it's a drug.
"Yeah! Our dear captain even managed to sit through a cleansing ritual with no damage to his mind! Though, Jaemin did think he was seeing flying cows around the ship for a few months."
Renjun opens the cabinet and a large basket of fae moss almost falls out. Catching the basket, Renjun balances it upon the uneven boxes in the cabinet.
"So these two cabinets hold all our provisions, and we usually restock every month or two. Besides, Chenle and Jisung have taken to snacking on the fae moss when they feel like it."
Donghyuk pauses for a moment, pretty sure that telling them that he's allergic to fae moss would end up being really awkward. He decides that just outright telling them may be the best course of action.
"Um… so like, I just may be near deathly allergic to fae moss and most fae berries?" Which he knows sounds like a joke to the two magic folk before him.
Magic folk aren't allergic to human realm items and food. They physically cannot be allergic, the magic in their bodies usually mitigating any reaction. Chenle and Renjun cock their heads at him, their eyes burning questions into him.
"Magic moves through me differently." Donghyuk confesses. Even now, after knowing Renjun for so long, this is the first time he has revealed something so significant about himself.
A beat passes, Donghyuk anxiously eyeing the two pirates in front of him. A moment later Renjun sighs, nodding once and locking up the cabinet again. "When you say near deathly, how near do you mean?"
This knocks any questioning gaze out of Chenle, an expression of worry replacing his eyebrows.
"Uhm… Well the last time I had a fae berry I ended up seeing my guardian angel and assigned devil fighting over me?"
This shocks Chenle even more, his worry now changing again into near worship. "YOU MANAGED TO MEET THEM!?" he screams, excitement rolling off him in waves.
"Well… yeah?" Donghyyk shrugs. He always forgets most situations he gets into would be impossible for others. Meeting an elder tree that actually liked him enough to give him a gift? Near impossible for anyone else. The power he holds? Literally a mystery to everyone else. Meeting your assigned angel and devil? … well you would have to literally die to do that.
"DONGHYUK!" Renjun screams, slightly appalled at the news. "Y...You, that, WHAT? You have literally died from ingesting fae berries?"
Donghyuk just shrugs again, a part of him regretting having told the two about his allergy. Chenle keeps glancing between Donghyuk and Renjun, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.
"He died?" Chenle cocks his head slightly.
Renjun nods back, explaining what he means.
"So, that joke about 'meeting your assigned angel and devil' has some history behind it. Kun told me that when magic was first born, angels and devils watched over all living things to protect their souls to the afterlife."
"Yes, I was taught this in Banshee history." Chenle nods, watching closely as Donghyuk sneaks away to the stool a meter away.
Renjun continues. "Non-magic humans stopped believing in such tales after a few million years, but us magic folk haven't. There have only been a handful of accounts of magic-folk having met their assigned angels and devils."
Donghyuk hears this and snaps his fingers together. From the cabinet, a few berties float over to him, circling around an outstretched finger. "You're telling it wrong."
"What in the bloody seas do you mean?" Renjun rolls his eyes, gearing up to smack Donghyuk.
"Well in the first place, you didn't even explain exactly why non-magic humans stopped believing in them."
He quickly dodges the smack aimed at his head, and flicks his finger back to shoot a berry right at Renjuns head. A bright purple stain is left behind on his skin right on his cheek.
"Obviously, as magic history isn't my area of study, you shouldn't quote me on this but from what I know, angels and devils stopped protecting a majority of humans after they had managed to destroy another magic island a few million years ago."
Chenle nods, helping Renjun to wipe off the purple stain. "Ahhh, okay. I think I've heard of this before but I hadn't been paying attention."
"Thus continuing from where I left off, non-magic humans stopped believing in all that is magic. So when they eventually heard the magic folk hidden in their numbers talking about such things, they started doing what humans do best."
"Discredit things they don't understand." Donghyuk says. He settles back onto the stool, preparing for the revelation the younger pirate was going to go through.
Renjun doesn't notice Donghyuk's slight change in attitude and just nods in agreement. "Yes. They started trying to discredit them, but the most they could say was 'so have you met them?'. Anyone who spoke of a 'guardian' was classified as people with a mental disability. Eventually this turned into some type of joke between the magic folk to get their minds off the horrors committed to them. However, there really is one way to meet your angel and devil."
Chenles eyes widen, his fingers dyed purple from the berry hovering over Renjuns cheek stopping in its action.
"Your soul has to meet them."
He looks over to Donghyuk, the thought that this boy he has come to like so suddenly having died before stunning him.
"Honestly, saying I died makes it sound way worse than it actually was." Donghyuk tries to nonchalantly shrug, thinking that if he plays it off the two boys won't make a big deal out of it.
In all honesty, it had been one of the worst experiences in his life. It was when he was young and hadn't even gone through puberty yet. He remembers being hungry, thirsty, and dirty, walking through thick vegetation as the uneven jungle floor cut his legs and the bottom of his feet. The only thing he remembers was actually going his way was the fact that the sun wasn't beating down on him, but the humidity of the jungle still caused the air to be sweltering. Breathing was hard, each breath causing his lungs to boil.
He knew he was going to die. He knew that, if it wasn't the hunger or thirst, it would be something else entirely, but he was going to die that day.
He was in the most pain he had ever been in, too weak to take a step but powering through with sheer willpower, knowing he was going to die, but it couldn't be in there . No. He couldn't die in the jungle, but he didn't know where he had to go. He remembers very vividly the fear coursing through his veins, but it wasn't from the knowledge that he was going to die. It was the fear of getting caught.
He was running from something, Someone .
The cuts on his legs bled more and more, a straight trail to his body that an older Donghyuk would now have the knowledge to try and hide away.
He knew whoever was chasing him was catching up, the pounding of his heart so strong that all he felt he could do was to stop and puke. But he didn't, he kept running. (It was more of a hobble, his cut feet preventing such a young boy from actually running, but he wants people to know he tried to get away.)
But of course, expecting such a young body to overexert itself was going to come crashing down on him sooner than later, and just as he crashes through another thick layer of bushes, his knees gave out. He falls hard, scraping his arm and the right side of his face in the process. But when he looks up, brushing the dirt out of his wounds, the sight takes his breath away.
Three golden pillars surround a small stone bed. But like some sick joke, he was too tired to even crawl over, the most he could do was sit up and lean himself on a piece of protruding rock.
It was horrible, something in his head telling him that once he got to the rockbed he would be safe from everything, from the hunger, from the thirst, from the pain, from the fear . But all he could do was watch the sun shine on the golden pillars as he laid against the cool rock. He turns his head, tears building up but his body was too tired to even cry. A bright yellow against the green catches his eye, and he uses what little of his strength to turn his head to see that little bundle of fruit hanging off the bush behind him. Older Donghyuk knows to never randomly eat unknown fruit, but little Donghyuk had already known he was going to die, and dying seemed better than being caught, so no forward thinking was going through his tiny head as he used the remainder of his strength to grab a bundle and swallow the palm of fruit.
Almost instantly a deep heat coursed through the inside of his body, followed by a deathly chill. The two temperatures traded off in quick succession, making the ache he felt in his body double and the pain from all his wounds triple. He tried to breathe through the pain, but it felt like even his lungs were failing him, his throat constricting to such impossible strength that he felt the muscle burst, a mouthful of blood following.
However, even through the newfound pain, Donghyuk didn't let a single tear fall. He tilted his head slightly to the left, having no strength to spit out the blood and letting a small stream flow out of his mouth. He coughed once, surprising himself that he still had the strength to do so. The world around him slowly became cold, and his eyes slowly closed. The last thing he remembers before falling unconscious was the sight of silver.
He doesn't know how long he was out for, but the young boy slowly opened his eyes to see the same jungle he died in, just from a higher vantage point.
Didn't I die? His senses coming back to him as he hears a loud argument not far from him. They were beautiful, one dressed in an earthy toned tunic and the other dressed in tight black pants and a bright frilly shirt. All he caught from the argument were their names and a short "You aren't supposed to come with us yet." before he opened his eyes again, this time in his body.
The pain wrecked through him, but the fear from being chased no longer there as he found himself on the stone bed he had so desperately wanted to get to. Eventually, when he was all healed from his wounds and fatigue, he tried another bite of fae berries and found out that he was very allergic.
A stained finger pokes Donghyuk on his forehead, which brings him out from his memory trip. He tries to smile at Renjun, the look coming out more forced than he would have liked.
“Honestly, to tell you the truth, dying was the okay part.” It was the running away that scared me the most.
Chenle looks as though he’s about to cry, and a wailing banshee, no matter how human, is never a good sign. Quickly taking Chenle into his arms in a tight hug, Renjun ushers them all out back to the top deck for fresh air and sunlight. Plus, banshee magic would prove to be less destructive in an open area.
Maneuvering his and Chenle's body up the stairs proves to be easier said than done, but once up on the deck, the sounds of the islanders bustling around the port and the salty waves against the body of the ship calm Chenle down.
“No berries.” Chenle says, wiping the gathered tears off his face with a strong frown.
“Berries? What's going on?” A new voice comes out from below deck. It’s Jaemin, with Jeno and Jisung in tow behind him. “We heard some talking and then feet running back upstairs so we thought something happened.”
Chenle just shouts a loud “No Fae Berries!” rocking the ship in its power which promptly brings Mark from out of his quarters. Jisung quickly takes over cuddling duties from Donghyuk as the whole crew gets settled on the deck, a salty breeze from the sea curling through their clothes.
Donghyuk looks over to Renjun, nodding once to give permission to tell them of his allergy.
“Well, Chenle and I thought it would be a good idea to give Haechan a tour of the ship. We only managed to get to the eating area before finding out he’s allergic to fae moss.”
This shocks Jisung. Being from the magic realm himself, he knows that magic folk just don't have allergies to fae berries. “Allergic?” he questions, slowly and carefully running his fingers through Chenle’s knotted hair.
Donghyuk nods, the light catching his earring as it shines in the sun. “Yeah so, my body regulates magic differently than other magic folk. Even I don't know why or how, but this means I am allergic to a lot of things normal magic folk just can't be allergic to. Like fae berries.”
“But what does that have to do with Chenle almost crying?” Jeno asks.
Because I think he has realised that me dying probably hurt me more than I knew. “Because I told him that I’ve died after eating a mouthful of the berries.”
This shocks them, surprised at how calmly Donghyuk could have told them of his death encounter.
"O-oh…" Jisung whispers, his fingers going taught. He knows of the large amount of berries they have in storage, a useful food to bring on island excursions as a substitute for water. He would like to get rid of all fae berries on the ship, but at the same time the benefits of such a wonderful item could help them in a time of need. Plus, trying to calm down a crying Chenle in his arms really wasn't helping him to think through the issue.
The white orb hanging from his ear hits him in his face from the momentum of his head turn, deciding that asking what the captain plans to do would be the best course of action. However, before Jisung could voice out his concerns, Mark walks further into their small crowd and looks straight at Donghyuk. “We aren’t dropping our stock if that’s what you’re trying to imply.”
This surprises everyone, even Donghyuk. A low anger grows in his gut, the implication of that sentence telling Donghyuk he wasn't actually seen as a member of the crew by the captain just yet. It only takes a moment for him to compose himself though, before any of the other boys try to argue with Mark about his decision.
There is an underlying hint of malice in his voice when he replies. “Nope, not what I was implying.” Who the fuck replies with that when finding out someone has a deadly allergy? “Just need to make sure no meals have the berries in em’.” Donghyuk paints a fake smile to Mark, choosing to ultimately ignore the situation. Not the right time to try and be petty he decides.
"Good." Mark nods, his chest puffing out slightly. He gives a final once over of the other boys, before turning around and heading back to his captains quarters. The slamming of the thick wooden doors startles everyone back to reality, the slight hostility between the Captain and the Witch causing even Chenle to stop crying.
"Wow. Um- o… okay?" Renjun stutters slightly, confusedly looking over at Donghyuk who just shrugs his shoulders. Sighing, he starts giving directions to the pirates, the outburst from Mark causing them all to short circuit at his weird hostility. "Erhm, Jaemin, why don't you bring Chenle to his room and play the ocarina for him?"
Donghyuk watches as Jaemin nods once before scooping up Chenle and bringing him down the stairs. "I'll go with them." Jisung chirps up, giving a quick hug to Donghyuk before following after the pair.
"What the fuck was that?" Renjun finally says once Chenle and Jisung were out of hearing range.
"Yeah. It's weird for Mark to be so antagonistic to someone he just met. He always pretends to be an angel first." Jeno says, scratching his head.
Donghyuk stays silent, not knowing enough of the Captain and his behaviour to really comment. Jeno and Renjun start talking to each other about Mark's behaviour, their words jumbling in his head as he takes a look to the sky. Soft white clouds pepper the bright blue sky, a perfect day some would say. The heat is cozy and the sea breeze blows away any stress in his body.
Donghyuk brings his attention back to the couple in front of him, Jeno giving Renjun a quick peck before running over to the captain's quarters, no doubt to use his first-mate privileges to have a talk with Mark.
"I- well, ignoring that, I feel like it is as good a time as any to teach you some pirate rules." Renjun says, walking over to the middle of the ship to sit with his back against the main mast. The area under had two barrels, which Donghyuk took the liberty of leaning against one, his burgundy cape fluttering behind him in the wind.
"I already know about ship safety." Donghyuk replies, admiring how the dark wood of the ship made Renjuns greyish-blue hair pop out.
"I said pirate rules." Renjuns rolls his eyes. Donghyuk nods, as it makes sense that pirates would act on a different set of rules than normal sailors. "Anyways, you don't really need to follow ship safety rules here, but you must keep in mind the pirate rules. Some are more important than others, but it won't take long for you to learn which ones should come first."
"Yeah yeah, just hurry up and tell me." Because for someone as powerful as Donghyuk, he really isn't as all knowing as he likes to portray himself.
"Fine. Well first off, the most important would be to never anger the whales. They control too much of the sea to have them angry at you."
Donghyuk nods, thinking back to the time a blue whale calf helped him steer away from a vortex.
"Next, some rules intertwine with shipping rules, like if the water ever turns murky for absolutely no reason, leave the top deck as fast as you can or if you hear someone shout in the fog, never reply."
"Yeah, basic stuff I know. C'mon, tell me something fun! What about pirate specific rules?"
Runjun rubs his eyes, smoothing out the wrinkles he knows have come up. "Hello witch with an asshole the size of his cauldron, are you really serious about this?"
Donghyuk stops knocking the barrel, his knuckles mid-air in the action. "Sorryy, sorry. Yeah I am." He replies with a nod.
Renjun eyes Donghyuk for a second, his snarl showing the severity of his words. "Fine. There are pretty much only 3 really important rules to make sure you remember…. Well, they probably wouldn't matter to you but just be careful when you break them."
Donghyuk nods, wanting his first day at sea with the crew to be without an annoyed Renjun.
"First rule, always treat the ship with respect," he sticks his index finger right into Donghyuks face, a 1 to follow his words. "Yes, I may have literally blown up a crows nest but the fact I haven't died of scurvy means that the ship was okay with me doing it."
"Second rule, don't look deeper than you absolutely have to." His fingers change to a 2. "Self explanatory, what with you already knowing about atlantis you can probably guess that there are other underwater civilisations who want to stay hidden."
Donghyuk nods, remembering the time he accidentally saw a group of horse-fishes mating deep in the crescendo sea.
"Third, nothing is entirely as it seems."
Donghyuk blinks, unamused with the rules Renjun seemed to have put great importance on.
"... I could literally break every single rule and come out fine. Are these for humans or something?"
"N… No? Jisung literally almost got pulled into an abyss when he stared too long down a ravine." Renjun sighs, cursing the divine protection that seems to cover Donghyuk. "Okay, you know what, if not for your safety, at least follow the rules for OUR safety. Deal?"
Donghyuk laughs. He would have followed the rules either way just to make sure he didn't cause the demise of the whole ship. He should know, dying wasn't fun. He reaches his hand out waiting for Renjun to shake.
"Deal."