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Gannet stared up at the massive creature as it screamed and flailed above him. “Mighty beast!” he cried, “Release our vessel at once! Before I am forced to unleash the powers of the ocean bestowed unto me at birth!”
The creature wailed, its tentacles reaching out and wacking various crew members off of the boat. He grimaced at the sight. “Fine! You leave me no choice!” He reached out his arms with clenched fists, and closed his eyes, mentally pulling at the ocean around him, just like his mother had taught him to do at their first training session when he was four.
Once he began to feel as though water was surging all around him, he punched his arms forward. A giant wave rushed at the sea monster from behind him, slamming into him. When the monster seemed unaffected by his attack, he began to send more at it. Wave after wave crashed against the beast, and as Gannet put all of the energy inside of himself into each attack, he could feel himself growing exhausted.
Eventually, he could send no blasts forward, and he collapsed onto the deck, watching helplessly as the creature in front of him rose up, little affected by the efforts. It slammed its mighty tentacle into the boat, knocking the remaining crew members aside from him off the boat, and screamed one word.
“Gannet!”
He blinked. Had he misheard the creature? Had it actually just said his name? “What?”
“Gannet!”
Come to think of it, the voice of the beast sounded familiar.
“GANNET! GET UP!”
He blinked a few more times, and on his third blink, his vision grew blurry. After a few more blinks, his vision cleared again, this time coming into focus on his bedroom ceiling, instead of a mighty sea creature.
A hand plapped down onto his face.“Gannet! Are you awake yet?”
Well. He guessed the sea creature was still there. He groaned and sat up. “What’s up, Guin?”
Guin glared back at him. From the corner of his eye, he saw a little hand grabbing the side of her pants leg. Gull must be with her , he thought. “You really don’t remember?” At the shake of his head, she scoffed, her brown eyes glinting with frustration. “Today’s the day Daddy comes home! And Gully said he could see a ship that looks like his nearby!”
Gannet gasped. “Dad’s home?” She nodded, and he jumped out of bed. He landed on his face instead of his feet, miscalculating where his feet would land due to the change from the adult body he’d had in his dream, to the 10-year-old body he had in real life. From his position, he saw Gull peak out and giggle at him. He pushed himself up as younger siblings laughed at him. Grumbling, he said, “C’mon, we gotta get there before Dad does!”
The two of them stopped laughing, looked at each other, and then took off at a sprint out of his room, nearly knocking into a guard on the way out. In outrage at being left behind, Gannet took off behind them. The guard, who had been readjusting his armor after the near collision, was barreled over by the blue haired prince as he pursued his siblings, knocked flat on his back. As he ran through the halls towards his siblings and the docks, he distantly heard the sound of the guard groaning about it “just being one of those days, huh?”
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They made it just in time to see a figure carrying a bag around his shoulder (undoubtedly their father) swing down from the newly arrived boat. Not a second after his feet touched the ground, Sea Hawk began running towards his children as they continued running towards him. Once they met halfway, he swept them all into a tight hug.
“Ah! My little adventurers-to-be! How I’ve missed you so!” Sea Hawk pressed kisses upon each of their foreheads. After a few minutes of hugs, he placed them all down upon the dock, clearly winded from having carried the combined weight of his 10 and 3-year-old sons and his 8-year-old daughter. “I have gifts for all of you!”
He reached into the bag, then pulled out a golden medal. He handed it over to Gannet. “For you, my mighty warrior! A medal to boast of your strength!”
Gannet looked down at the medal, reading its inscription. ‘Strongest Man Alive!’ it said. Gannet gaped. “Did you get this made?”
Sea Hawk shook his head. “You see,” he began, turning over the medal so Ganet could see the back of it, where it said the words ‘#1 Champion!’ “I won it! I defeated over 100 of the strongest people alive in order to obtain it, though the whole time I knew that there was only one person stronger than me.”
Gannet was hanging on his every word. “She-Ra?”
The sea captain paused at this. “Well, I suppose no one’s stronger than She-Ra.” His chest puffed up in pride again as he went on, “You, however, are the only other person stronger than I am! Thus, I felt as though it was only appropriate to give it to you, seeing as though, despite the fact that you aren’t the strongest person alive, you are the strongest man alive!”
(It was half true. While the medal had been won, it had not been him who’d won it. It’d been won by a man he’d encountered at a tavern on his trip. The man had been boasting about his strength, and at one point declared that he was so strong, he could probably beat She-Ra herself in an arm wrestling match. Fortunately, or rather unfortunately , for him, She-Ra herself was there at the time. Adora, Bow, and Catra had met up with him at the tavern, Glimmer having had to stay home due to work. When Adora heard the man’s words, she drunkenly challenged him after transforming into She-Ra. In exchange for his win, he’d get to having boasting rights for it. If she won, she got his medal.
Needless to say, she won. After deciding she didn’t really need the medal, she gave it to Sea Hawk instead while a somewhat buzzed, purring Catra lavished her in attention in her lap, and a wasted Bow continued to cheer for Adora and then, after she handed him the medal, Sea Hawk.)
He gently grabbed the medal from his son, pulling it back slightly if only to be able to reach up and pull it down around Gannet’s head and neck.
Gannet continued to stare at it, his eyes glowing. After a few moments, he rushed forward and embraced his father. The King of Salineas made an ‘oof’ noise for effect as his son hugged him. “Thank you, Dad!”
“Your welcome, my boy!”
As they pulled apart and Gannet went back to staring at his medal with wonder in his eyes, Sea Hawk turned to his two younger children. They gazed back in excited anticipation, waiting anxiously for their respective gifts. Sea Hawk turned his gaze specifically towards his middle child. Guin’s shoulders rose, acknowledging the attention.
“My most precious gem! I have obtained for you something rare and sought out by many an adventurer! I found it in the deepest and most dangerous pit of an ancient ruin far out at sea. (He had found it in a shop. It was the most expensive item the store had, and had cost him more than half of his remaining gold, but his crew was well stocked for food, they were returning at this point, and he had yet to find a good gift to get his daughter, so he decided the price was worth it) Keep it safe and close to you at all times! Do you understand?” Guin nodded, her mouth wide open as her eyes shone stars of excitement.
The sea captain reached into his bag again, this time pulling out a necklace. The chain of it was silver, and it shimmered in the rising sunlight. Hanging from the chain was a glistening gemstone. The gem’s color was a pool of lilac and cerulean, the contrasting colors swirling around one another inside the gemstone.
Guin’s eyes had lit up so much at this point, the dock seemed brighter than before. She let him put the chain around her neck, and, mirroring her brother beside her, stared down at the gemstone. “It looks like my hair.”
Sea Hawk laughed, “Yes, it doe-OH!”
Guin rushed forward and hugged him, saying “Thank you thank you thank you!” She punctuated each word with a kiss to the cheek. Afterwards, she pulled back and saluted at him, suddenly serious. “I promise to protect the gemstone with my life.” He saluted in return, and after a second, she broke, giggling as she stared down at her present in adoration.
Sea Hawk laughed happily, before turning to stare at his youngest child. Gull had been waiting so long he was practically shaking at this point. “For you, my little animal expert, I knew I had to search far and wide for a gift for you! And believe it or not, I found the perfect gift! On the way to an island filled with mighty beasts, my crew and I came across a crumbling, abandoned library. My crew tried to move forward, but I insisted that there must be something hidden inside. I could feel it!”
His children all stared at him now, hooked on his every word. He continued his tale, “We searched the ruins for hours, trying to find something of value. Unfortunately, most of the books there were so ancient they turned to dust the moment we grabbed them! We were just about to give up on our search when I saw it, resting upon a lone book; the wisest bird alive-”
“An owl!” His elder two children shouted.
Sea Hawk frowned. “No.” He grinned excitedly again, “A seagull!”
While Gannet and Guin ‘oh’d and ‘ah'd and ‘that makes sense’d, Gull, his eyes still transfixed upon his father, whispered, “It’s a sign.”
Sea Hawk nodded, “That it was, dear boy. As I went towards the seagull, it stared at me, and right as I reached the table the book rested upon, the seagull flew off, allowing me to see the cover.” He pulled the book out of his bag, and handed it over to Gull. “ The Works and Behavior of Beasts at Sea ,” he read the title aloud for the sake of his son, who was still just learning how to read. “I knew it was perfect for you the moment I laid eyes on it. And I swear, as I picked it up, I heard a voice shout to me…” He took a deep breath, before squawking out a few words in seagull. “ For someone who will need it. ”
(He hadn’t found it in the ruins of a library. He had found it in an old book store. There had been a seagull sticker on the book, and the woman at the cash register had told him to give it to someone who needs it when he checked out. It had been nearly as costly as the necklace he’d bought Guin.)
Gull bounced in excitement, his brown hair flopping up and down with him, and threw his arms around his father’s neck, almost losing his grip on the book in process. “T’ank you, Daddy!”
Sea Hawk laughed, before standing up with his son still in his arms. “Your welcome, my boy. Now!” He turned his gaze towards his other two children. “Let’s get a move on so we can go say hi to your mother!”
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They made it to the residential hall, where, at the entrance, stood Mermista. The Queen of Salineas was wearing a robe over her pajamas and appeared to be ready to go back to sleep any second now. At the sight of her husband and children, however, she subtly perked up, saying “Oh. Hi, I guess.”
She was really excited for Sea Hawk to be home, they could tell.
“The most gorgeous woman in the universe! My heart has yearned for you in my absence!” he shouted, putting their son down so he could swipe her into his arms. As he twirled her around, he kissed her passionately. He could feel Mermista roll her eyes, but he could also hear the pleased noise she let out the moment their lips touched. As he put her down on the floor again, they parted, though their faces still remained touching at the forehead. Sea Hawk brushed his nose up against his wife’s, quietly (for him) saying the words, “Did you miss me?”
Mermista, her eyes still closed in contentedness, shrugged, “Eh. The bed was kinda cold, I guess.”
The sea captain smiled, “Perhaps I should warm it up with you, huh?”
Behind him, their children gagged. “That’s gross, Dad!” Gannet shouted.
Pulling back, Sea Hawk grinned at his daughter sheepishly. “That’s not what I meant! I swear! I just meant that we should lay down and take a nap together!”
“I just woke up,” Mermista pointed out.
“And?”
The queen thought about that for moment, then shrugged. “Whatever. Let’s all go cuddle in bed, I guess.”
The kids all cheered. “Slumber party!” Guined shouted.
“But it’s not technically a slumber party. We’re only napping,” Gannet pointed out.
“Hmm...Nap Party?”
“Nap Party!”
“Nap Party!”
The three of them ran off together chanting and singing about their Nap Party. Their parents watched them go, soft smiles on their faces. As Mermista continued to linger her gaze, focusing on the sounds of their shouts growing distant, she felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around her from behind. Recognizing the hold instantly, she leaned back against a warm chest, sighing happily.
As a hand reached out and gripped hers, she felt something in its grasp. Looking down, she saw a blue and gold pendant on her hand. She readjusted her grip to look closer at it. Behind her, her husband hummed. “I had it made and inscribed specially for you.” The words on the pendant said, “The Most Gorgeous Woman Alive”. She turned it over, and saw her name engraved on the back of it.
Subtly grinning, she reached back and handed him the pendant. For the third time that day, Sea Hawk draped the necklace around her neck, though this time, he left a kiss right above the chain of the pendant.
She turned in his arms, reaching up to drag his head down for a kiss. She poured all of her feelings into it, communicating without words how much she had missed him sleeping in their bed, the restless nights without him, the lack of his voice interrupting while she was so deep in work it felt like she would drown in it all. She only reluctantly pulled back when he began to need oxygen. She still remained close, kissing a path up from his cheek to his temple as he regained his breath.
She pulled away eventually, reaching out to him. “C’mon. Let’s go have a Nap Party, or whatever.” He grinned and took her hand, letting her guide the way to their room.
(That story, by the way, was true.)