Chapter Text
Dream stifled a yawn as he unrolled another map, pinning the corners down with some of the heavy books that were strewn around on the table. Eret moved around on the other side, scribbling down notes on a piece of parchment. The inkpot stood dangerously close to sweeping tail of the ship’s cat that had made herself comfortable on the mess of information. The low lantern light bathed the room in a soft orange glow, the only other light coming from the moon shining through the window.
‘It’s going to be good to see them again,’ Eret said. ‘It’s been a while since we’ve been home.’
Dream sighed. ‘Yeah.’
‘How long do you want to stay?’ Eret asked, quill scratching on the paper. Dream leaned over the map, running his hand over the inked drawings.
‘At least a few days,’ he said. ‘We have to get enough supplies to at least make it to Crawtooth, I don’t want to have to make a stop at any other place.’
Eret nodded, took the inkpot, closed it and moved it somewhere safer. ‘How do think we should sail? Follow the trade routes?’
Dream rubbed his tired eyes. They should really just call it a night and go to bed. ‘I don’t know, we should let the crew vote on it. Can you figure out some options?’
The navigator nodded. ‘I’ll do that.’ She was silent for a moment, wiggling the quill back and forth between her fingers. ‘Dream? There’s actually something- hi Patches-’ The cat batted at the feather. Eret held it out of reach and scratched her behind her ears. ‘I wanted to talk to you about something.’
What is it? Dream would have asked, if he hadn’t been interrupted by a voice coming through the door, quickly followed by a series of knocks.
‘Come in,’ Dream called out.
The door opened with a creak, revealing brown hair and glasses. ‘Sorry for coming here so late at night,’ Bad said as he leaned in, ‘but Sapnap and Velvet found something you should see, Dream. Put your mask on.’
A little confused, Dream dug out the white mask from where it’d been buried under some papers and slipped it over his face, just in time for the door to be shoved open further and two other figures to step in.
No, not two, three.
Stumbling in front of Sapnap was a person Dream had never seen before. Their arms were pulled behind their back, no doubt restrained. They had dark brown hair, pale skin and wore a tattered brown vest that seemed a few sizes too big. Some bloodstained bandages poked through a tear in one of their cotton sleeves.
‘What’s the meaning of this?’ Dream asked.
Sapnap grinned like a kid who’d won a prize at a fair. ‘Dream, we’ve caught the biggest rat you’ve ever seen.’
‘This-’ a quick glance at Bad, ‘muffin has been living in our hold eating our food,’ Velvet translated, jabbing a thumb in the stranger’s direction.
‘How long have you been on my ship?’ Dream asked. The stranger looked up, finally making eye contact. They shifted uncomfortably under Dream’s gaze.
‘Since Clifftide Port,’ they answered. Sapnap whistled through his teeth.
‘That’s a whole week,’ he said. He turned to Bad. ‘How do you miss a whole person for a week?’
Dream tuned out whatever Bad said in return, letting his eyes linger on the new factor he’d have to take into account, and who looked like they didn’t particularly want to be there either.
So much for sleep.
He glanced around the room for the navigator, but Eret was nowhere to be found. They must’ve slipped out between all the commotion. Dream couldn’t blame them; he too wished for nothing more than to just throw them all out the door and deal with it all tomorrow.
Actually…
‘Velvet, take them outside for a moment,’ he said. The cook nodded, grabbing the stowaway and leading them out of the room. As soon as the door closed Dream let out the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.
‘We’ll put them in the brig for now,’ he said as he pushed the mask away, running a hand over his face. ‘Sapnap, you’re going to be in charge of them. Give them a job and make sure they don’t cause any more trouble.’
Sapnap pointed at himself. ‘Me? What about Bad? He’s supposed to be in charge of inventory, which that guy is technically a part of.’
‘And Bad will have to take extra care from now on to make sure this doesn’t happen again,’ Dream replied. Bad nodded in agreement, albeit looking a bit sheepish. ‘You also said you found him, so he’s your responsibility for now.’
‘Fine,’ Sapnap agreed with a healthy amount of annoyance. ‘Demote me to babysitter, why don’t you?’
‘I’m sure it won’t be so bad,’ Bad said as he patted him on the shoulder. Sapnap squinted at the quartermaster.
‘This is all your fault.’
-=-
George’s heart was still hammering in his throat. The person who’d led him out, Velvet, covered his mouth as he yawned. George had made sure to wait until the dead of night, surely everyone would be asleep by then, and even if they weren’t they probably had no reason to be in the lowest and darkest part of the ship.
And then all the opened barrels had been moved, and he should have seen it coming, he really should have, but he’d been tired and hungry and by the time his brain had caught up to the present his face had already been shoved to the wooden floor with two people holding him down. He’s pretty sure the woodgrains are still pressed into his skin.
Yeah, hindsight may be twenty-twenty, but hindsight can also kindly fuck off.
He could hear the people's voices through the door, but they were too muffled to make out any words. The ropes rubbed uncomfortably against his wrists. They’d searched him, of course, but they hadn’t found anything except the small blade he had stuffed in his boot. He’d tried not to look at the dried blood wedged in the grooves of the hilt that he never quite managed to get cleaned off. His only possession currently bumped against his chest, hanging from a leather cord around his neck.
The door opened again, and the other half of his captor duo stepped out.
‘I’ll take it from here,’ they said, placing a hand on George’s arm. He was pulled away, down the steps leading to the navigation room and back down into hull through a part of the ship he hadn’t been before. Granted, he’d been hiding in the farthest corner of the cargo hold, nestled between crates and barrels with only his thoughts to keep himself busy. There’d been the occasional moments where footsteps had come a little too close for comfort, only for them to move away, allowing him to breathe more freely again. And then there’d been his nightly trips out of his hiding place, hoping to find enough food to stave off the crawling feeling of hunger.
His stomach dropped as his eyes landed on a sight he’d hoped to avoid. The iron bars of the brig felt like they were mocking him, laughing at him for finally getting caught, as if the outcome hadn’t been inevitable.
The cell door swung open with a metallic whine. A gentle push on his back made George step in, and the door closed behind him. The keys rattled as his only way out was locked.
‘Come here,’ his captor mumbled as a hand grabbed him. George stumbled backwards into the bars, the cold iron uncomfortably pressing against his skin. A few seconds passed before the itchy rope fell away, leaving George free to rub at the sore spots on his wrist as he glanced back at the pirate.
‘Gotta be uncomfortable sleeping like that,’ they said. ‘Anyway, I’ll be back in the morning, uh… have a good night.’ They wandered off, leaving George alone once again.
He just managed to stumble back into the corner of the brig before his legs gave out under him, sliding down until he was curled up in on himself. He’d fucked up, he’d fucked up so bad. What were they going to do with him? Make him walk the plank? Leave him here until he’d starve? His thoughts and mind raced, echoing in the silence. He hid his head between his knees, closed his eyes, and tried to keep his emotions from spilling over.
Morning came all too soon. He was roughly woken up a metallic knocking on the bars of his cell. His neck was stiff from sleeping curled up in the corner of his cell. When he’d slept in the hold he’d at least managed to find a spare sail that he’d bundled up to act as a pillow, but the brig was completely empty except for him. Quickly rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he watched as the same pirate from the night before fiddled with the keys before they slid into the lock. George pressed himself back into the bars as the door creaked open.
‘Morning, rat boy,’ the pirate greeted as they stepped into the cell. The smell of food made George’s stomach turn, suddenly realizing how hungry he was. The pirate must have noticed as well, because they held the plate in their hands out in his direction.
‘Here,’ they said as George stared at it, ‘I figured you’d be hungry, since we kinda interrupted your dinner last night.’
When George hesitantly took it, they sat down on the floor in front of him, crossing their legs. ‘And don’t mind me, I’m just hiding from Bad so I don’t have to work.’ George blinked at them, at the casualness that they seemed to radiate as they leaned back on their hands. ‘It’s not poisoned, y’know,’ they said, nodding to the plate still in George’s hands. George quickly sat up, mirroring the pirate in front of him and balanced the plate on his legs. It wasn’t anything special, just some bread and dried meat, but at this point he’d eat pretty much anything.
‘Oh, the name’s Sapnap, by the way. I’m the first mate,’ the pirate said as George took a bite. ‘What’s yours?’
George chewed and swallowed. ‘It’s-’ he cleared his throat as his voice came out weakly, hoarse from disuse. ‘It’s George.’
Sapnap hummed, then yawned. ‘You know,’ he said, then yawned some more, ‘I really gotta give it to you. At first I didn’t believe Velvet either, when he said food was disappearing. I figured it would be rats, if anything, not that that’s not a whole problem on its own but…’ he smiled, ‘pretty sure if you’d waited just a few more minutes, I would have fallen asleep down there.’
George shot him a hesitant look. A lazy grin spread over Sapnap’s face.
‘Um,’ George mumbled, not really sure what to say. ‘Sorry?’
Sapnap chuckled. ‘You done?’ he asked as he stood up and stretched. George nodded as he stuffed the last of the bread of his mouth, wiping the crumbs from his pants. ‘Alrighty. Come on, then. You can leave that here, I’ll get it later.’
George put the plate on the ground, standing up as Sapnap stepped out of the cell and mentioned for him to follow. For a brief moment George wondered about the lack of restraints, but then his eyes fell on the sword strapped to Sapnap’s belt. Yeah, he’s not an idiot. Besides, it's not like he had anywhere to run to if he tried.
Sapnap hung the keys back in their place and started moving, and George couldn’t do anything but follow. They headed out of the hull, Sapnap moving past the crewmates with ease while George tried his best to stick close by so he wouldn’t get stuck in the crowd.
‘We’re gonna fix that arm of yours first,’ Sapnap explained. ‘Then we’ll see about getting you something else to do other than scurrying around.’
They stopped in front of a door, and Sapnap briefly knocked before opening it. Inside stood a few beds, all unoccupied except one, where someone was in the process of getting their hand wrapped by… George had to blink to make sure he was seeing it right.
The person getting their hand wrapped had shoulder length pink hair and a soft smile as they watched George and Sapnap enter. The person doing the wrapping had a set of antlers, curling to the back and up, and their legs were replaced by a pair of cloven hooves like a deer.
‘Hey Niki,’ Sapnap greeted, ‘what happened?’
‘Oh, it’s not bad,’ George figured Niki answered. ‘I just burned my hand on a pot.’ The hybrid tied the bandage off, and gave Niki a few pats on her knee. ‘Thank you, Callahan,’ she said as he stood up, and made her way to the door. She stopped in front of George. ‘Hello, I don’t think I’ve seen you before.’
‘I… um… I haven’t really been around,’ George answered, a little taken aback. He heard Sapnap snicker next to him.
‘Oh. Well, I’m Niki, it’s very nice to meet you.’ She held out her unbandaged hand. George hesitantly shook it.
‘George.’
Callahan made a questioning gesture, Sapnap motioned to George in return.
‘Callahan’s the doc,’ Sapnap explained as said doctor mimicked taking a coat off. George copied the motion, shrugging off his vest and started rolling up his sleeve. Callahan waved them over to the bed Niki had been sitting, and pushed George onto it. He couldn’t help the shiver that made his way down his spine when Callahan’s cold fingers touched his arm, carefully unwinding the hasty bandage he’d thrown around the wound that he’d gotten the last time he tried getting of a ship that wasn’t his own.
The cloth stuck to the wound, caked together with the dried blood that’d been seeping out over the course of the last week. Callahan frowned as he inspected the injury, and George dug his free hand into the sheets to keep himself quiet. The doctor whistled two short notes, and a head poked out around the curtain that hung in the back of the room.
‘Yeah?’ the person called.
Half of their face had splotchy patches of white skin that continued down their neck. Even their hair was partially white, split unevenly down the middle. Callahan gave them a few quick gestures, and the head nodded and disappeared again. A few moments later the person stepped out, and George couldn’t help but notice how tall they were. Not that he was particularly short, but they even towered over Sapnap, and he was pretty sure they would top the captain. They placed down a bowl of water and handed the doctor a cloth, who dipped it in and held it over the bandage that was stuck to his skin.
‘So,’ Sapnap started, fiddling with his arms behind his back, ‘where’d you even get that?’ George frowned as the linen slowly peeled away, revealing a mess of red.
‘You’re not the first to find me,’ George mumbled, face scrunching up as the cloth pressed against sensitive skin.
‘Really? How many times have you been caught?’
‘…One.’
When Callahan finished, he dropped the cloth in the bowl, the water slowly staining red. Then he placed his hand sideways to his forehead, thumb pressing to the bridge of his nose, eyes closed. George watched as the doctor’s lips moved, though no sound came out, and the palm of his hand slowly started to light up with a soft golden glow. Callahan placed his glowing palm over the wound, the light slowly fading away until he pulled back. What greeted them was a patch of soft pink skin, shiny and scarred.
‘Yeah, it’s amazing.’ George tore his eyes away, glancing at the tall person. They looked a little flustered, like they hadn’t expected the words to slip out of their mouth. ‘I- uh… I’m Ranboo.’
‘Yeah,’ George breathed as he pulled his sleeve down again. ‘It’s… that’s amazing, thank you.’ Callahan smiled, and signed something.
‘You’re good to go,’ Ranboo translated for him.
George nodded, muttering another small ‘thank you’ as Callahan patted his uninjured arm before making a shooing motion.
‘Okay, we’re going.’ Sapnap placed a hand on George’s shoulder and led him to the door. ‘See ya!’ He gave the two a wave as they stepped out. Just before the door closed George caught a glimpse of Ranboo quickly waving back.
‘A job…’ Sapnap mumbled as they moved back out to the deck. ‘The kitchen can always use more hands,’ he thought out loud, ‘but I don’t think Velvet wants you getting close to the food anytime soon. Do you have experience working on a ship?’
‘I know the basics,’ George answered.
‘Better than nothing, I suppose.’
Sapnap shoved his hands in his pockets, glancing around as his eyes traveled up, and smiled. ‘I got something.’ He moved to the back of the ship, climbing the stairs until they were stood under the mizzenmast. Sapnap cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled up into the rigging. ‘Fundy!’
A few moments passed before someone appeared in the shrouds. ‘What?’
‘Come down!’ Sapnap continued, ‘I have something for you.’ There was a soft noise of annoyance before the person started climbing down, jumping the last part and landing on the deck with a thump.
Sapnap slung an arm around George’s shoulders as they person righted themselves. He stiffened up under the pirates touch. ‘What is it?’
‘Alright,’ Sapnap started, and pointed between them, ‘George, Fundy. Fundy, George. Now George here,’ he nudged the stowaway, ‘needs to make up for all the food he’s been snatching, so I figured,’ he chuckled, ‘you could show him the ropes.’
‘Haha, very funny,’ Fundy deadpanned. ‘Haven’t heard that one before, very original.’ The pair of fox ears peeking out from under the rigger’s hat flicked in annoyance at Sapnap’s joke.
‘Well, you’ve been complaining about having to do everything yourself,’ Sapnap argued, ‘I could find something else-’
‘Now now, let’s not get hasty,’ Fundy interrupted, raising his hands. He looked George up and down. Then he reached out and poked at his bicep. ‘Can you even climb with those twig arms?’
George pushed his hand away. ‘I’ll manage.’
Fundy shrugged. ‘Alright, not my fault if you splat on the deck.’
He motioned for George to follow him up into the shrouds, and the day began.