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Bean scanned the assortment of shelved items. Taking note of the various bags, boxes and small cans depicting pictures of food labeled with names that made little sense.
“What the hell are Sky Chips?,” she mutters to herself as she pulls out a purple bag that crinkled under her fingers. She recognizes the picture of a potato on the front with half of it sliced up into multiple, thin round pieces that became more wrinkled and crispier as they went.
She turned the bag around in her hands trying to find more clues on its contents. It felt super light as if she were holding a bag of air, but she could feel things poking back at her as she continued her examination. Whatever they were, they were brittle. She felt some of them break easily under pressure when she gave it an experimental squeeze. Not wanting to damage its contents further, Bean pulls out the dagger she kept strapped to her side and sliced the top open. She gave the opening a curious sniff then pulled out one of the golden discs. Eyeing it suspiciously before giving it a quick lick with the tip of her tongue. It was salty. She popped the rest into her mouth and gave it a slow, mulling chew.
Her eyes widened. “Holy shit,” she breathed in wonder. She scooped up a handful of chips, being mindful not to crush them in her eagerness, and stuffed them into her mouth. She groaned in delight at the delicious mix of salty, greasy, and crunchy potato bits.
“Hey Elfo!," popping out of the closet, Bean waved the bag at the elf slung face down over the Captain’s seat. Green limbs dangled listlessly over the edge with one hand clutching a tarot card depicting a sleeping moon and the word Dream underneath it.
“You gotta try some of this stuff! They’re like tiny potatoes but they’re baked super crispy and salty!”
Her enthusiasm was met with a heavy sigh. Without looking up Elfo despondently replied, “No thanks. I’m not really hungry.”
Already going in for another scoop, Elfo’s low spirits went unnoticed by Bean, having largely chalked up his demeanor as exhaustion. What with being chased by Alva’s metal henchman not too long ago and his time in captivity with the Freak Show. “Suit yourself. There’s plenty of other food stuff in here that should last us a couple days. I still can’t find any blankets though.”
Eflo let out a noncommittal noise as Bean rolled up the bag of chips and placed it on a control panel to continue her search. The closet wasn’t very big, just a tall room that could hold two grown people standing about shoulder to shoulder inside. Each wall was lined from top to bottom with shelves containing food and a few miscellaneous items that Bean assumed were boat related.
She got on her knees to pull out a small wooden crate. Opening it up revealed a large folded up navy jacket with shiny gold buttons lining its front. A familiar bee insignia was engraved in the metal. Underneath that were two loose fitting, thick cream colored shirts that could serve as a pillow if bundled up right. There was a nice pair of boots at the very bottom, but even if they weren't men sized Bean didn’t have the heart to replace the pair she’d kept most of her life.
Well, single now , she thought sadly looking down at her one naked foot . She bundled the clothes under one arm and went to push the box back when something caught her eye. Pushing the box aside she pulled out what she first thought was a large quilt until she unfurled it to find that each end had several ropes that wove through a wooden pole then converged into a triangle with a metal ring tied at the focal point.
It was a hammock. Bean looked for another one but came up empty. Oh well, they’d just have to make due with what they had. She gathered up what she found and kicked the door shut with her single boot on the way out.
“Here Elfo, I found a jacket you can use as a blanket and this shirt for a pillow if you want.”
Elfo had slipped off the seat at some point and was lying sprawled on the ground, face squashed against the hard floor. Wordlessly, Bean unfolded the jacket and draped it over the Elf which engulfed him easily. He merely grunted at the action, followed by a muffled “Thank you.”
“Of course. Get some rest little buddy. We’ll talk about getting to Dreamland in the morning.” Bean gave her friend a pat on his back and a reassuring squeeze of his shoulder. Elfo gave another intangible groan that sounded a little appreciative of the gesture.
Poor guy, Bean thought giving the small protruding lump a sympathetic look. His time in the Freak Show must have been really rough. Being locked up in a dirty cage, gawked at by randos and having peanuts thrown at him. Plus whatever else might have happened. Bean regrets not taking that hammer and bashing P.T’s face in for kidnapping her friend and treating him like, well, a freak . At least he was safe now and they were both on their way home. Hopefully Elfo could start putting the awful experience behind him. Maybe she’d treat him to a couple of beers and some chocolate bunnies to help push the unpleasant memories of the Freak Show far far away.
Speaking of the Freak Show.
Bean got up to leave with the hammock and extra shirt tucked under one arm. Grabbing the lantern hanging by the door she tossed Elfo one last goodnight before exiting the pilot house.
Once the heavy door closed with a low metallic groan and the dissonant thuds of the single booted Bean disappeared from earshot, Elfo shuffled under the jacket until his head popped out. He rolled onto his back to peer through the cabin’s window and out into the endless sky. What little light existed from the smattering of stars and the shine of the half-moon was quickly going out as a wave of large clouds rolled in. The darkness engulfing his vision further cemented the lonely ache that pulsed within his chest.
It was a familiar feeling, the pain of a broken heart, but made all the more worse knowing it wasn’t born from wholly one sided feelings. Elfo was sure of it. They had known each other for only a few days, but in that time Elfo had developed strong feelings for the fortune teller. They’d connected quickly, and sure, maybe part of it was loneliness from being trapped in a small cage, but Edith had been kind, caring and beautiful. She even said she really dug him! She hadn’t cared that he was small or even a bit emotional at times.
He had love just within his grasp, sweeter than any gumdrop forest or candy cane lane. Then before he even got a chance to really taste it, it slipped away from him faster than cotton candy melting in water.
Holding the tarot card tightly against his chest, he sniffed. He felt tears forming in his eyes as his mind replayed their goodbye. His hand tingles at the memory of Edith’s warm hand gently holding his. Sadness and desire clear in her dark eyes a perfect reflection of his own as she leaned in for a kiss that never got to be. Just like the rest of their romance.
He sucked in a deep breath that exhaled into a tiny whimper. He turned, curling onto his side wrapping the jacket around him as his insides twisted painfully. He buried his face in the jacket collar, the soft wool absorbing his tears as he cried into the night. Thankfully, his already exhausted body and the draining melancholy of a lost love sent him to a quick, deep sleep. The dream tarot card clutched firmly to his heart.
Outside, Bean had carefully descended the ladder from the bridge and onto the main deck. Holding the lantern aloft she looked up and down the side of the boat for Elfo’s fellow escapee. Thick clouds blanketing the night sky had left the world around her in a near complete darkness. With the only sounds coming from the loud mechanical whirl of the steamboat's wheels shoveling water as it cut through the sea, and the billowing smoke chugging from the large metal pillars behind the pilot house.
“Mora?” Bean called out as she walked cautiously to the front of the boat. Eyes squinting as she tried to follow the dull ember light emitting from the large, convex glass attached to the metal box in her hand.
“Over here,” a voice floated in the darkness. Bean turned at the curved front of the ship’s bridge trying to locate its source. She does a slow sweep across the deck until the short beam of light falls on a large green fin fanned out on the floor. She follows the appendage up a serpentine tail with scales of iridescent green that glimmered under the low light. Bean continued her climb past the tanned waist it connected to and it was at this moment that Mora turned around. Two fiery green orbs floated eerily in the dark sunken shadows around her eyes that the light, barely reaching her chin, failed to chase away.
A bolt of terror shot through Bean causing her to shout "Woah!” and immediately jump back. She felt her foot catch something and she slipped. The lantern flew from her grasp and her arms pinwheel wildly to balance herself, but failed. Her ass slammed onto the hard floor sending a sharp smack of pain sprinting up her back as the rest of her body followed. Bean groaned, muttering a curse as she twisted her body to rub at her backside.
“Oh my gosh, are you ok?”
Bean turned her head. There was a break in the clouds rolling overhead, allowing a curtain of gray blue light to fall like a hushed whisper onto the world around them. The figure of a woman with large, voluminous blue hair falling in waves over her topless chest and a long, fish-like tail where legs would have been hovered over Bean; an uncertain hand outstretched between them. For a second time that night Bean found herself looking up at the comely face of Mora the Mermaid.
Not a bad sight to look up to , she thought dumbly. The Mermaid regarded her with quiet concern for a few beats before Bean realized she’s been staring way too long. Shaking herself out of her stupor she blurts out, “Your eyes! Why do you look like a dog?”
Mora scrunched up her nose and pulled back her hand as if Bean had spat on it. “Excuse me?”
Real smooth Bean, real smooth . Bean hurriedly tried to explain, but thankfully realization dawned on Mora and she laughed. “Oh, do you mean this?” She went to retrieve the lantern which luckily hadn't broken in the fall. She angled the light at her face chasing away the shadows obscuring her pleasant features, but turned her olive eyes into bright, pupiless disks.
“Wow, that’s eerie," Bean said with genuine fascination even as a chill ran up her spine. It was way worse when Mora’s face was dark and featureless, save for the glowing eyes.
The Mermaid chuckled as she held out her hand. Bean took it this time. “It’s called tapetum lucidum. Or eyeshine,” she explained, handing Bean the lantern. “It's a reflective layer in my eye that helps me see in the dark. Every mermaid has it. Or dogs, like you said, and other animals.”
“Cool. Wish humans had that. Maybe I wouldn't hurt myself as much stumbling in the dark on my way home from the bar,” Bean muses, before continuing on, almost proudly, “Though given how many times I’ve done it, I've got all the routes memorized well enough that it's not too big a problem. Unless I pass out and rats try eating my freckles again.” She grimaced remembering the sensation of tiny needles piercing through her toasty haze of drunken slumber, tearing in a wave of nausea and pain from the hangover.
Mora raised an inquisitive brow which made Bean self consciously aware that she was rambling. “Um, I found this.” She quickly swooped up the hammock and presented it to Mora.
“Nice, a hammock,” Mora said, then cocked her head. “There’s only one?”
“Yea, you can have it. I’ve got this shirt I can use as a pillow.” Bean frowned when the article in question wasn’t in immediate sight.
“You mean that?,” Mora asked, pointing over Bean’s shoulder. Bean whipped her head around and sure enough, hanging over the ship's railing was the shirt flapping like a flag in the wind. Just as Bean reached out to grab it a strong gust blew past and ripped the shirt away. It spun like a seagull with a broken wing before gently settling onto the water like a feather.
“Damn it,” Bean grumbled letting her arm drop as she watched a wave drag the shirt under.
“That sucks,” said Mora. “Guess we’ll have to share.”
Bean blinked. “Oh, you’d be down with that?”
“Sure. I wasn’t gonna let you sleep on the ground anyways. You guys saved my tail back in Steamland; this is the very least I can do.” Bean’s brow knitted in a mulling sort of expression. She hadn’t thought to ask because she figured that, what with being used as an exotic display for a bunch of humans to gawk at for so long, Mora might want to keep her distance.
That, and Bean was beginning to realize, she wasn't sure how she felt sharing a bed with someone who was basically a stranger. And an attractive one at that- but Bean wasn't gonna let that thought go any further. Discounting Elfo and Luci who were her friends, she hadn’t shared a bed with anyone in years. Even her little romps ended with her partners sneaking away as soon as the deed was done so as to avoid a beheading.
The closest she could remember was when she was ten and her Dad had orchestrated a mandatory sleep over with some other royal children. Another attempt at using Bean to further allyship with neighboring kingdoms. The kids didn’t even last the evening before they were all crying and begging to go home after Bean told them a scary story about a bloody ghost haunting the halls. Then she dressed up as said ghost using a bedsheet and left over pig's blood she found in the kitchen to chase the kids around the castle.
Mora frowned when Bean didn’t reply immediately, unsure of what to make of her silent musings. Was she hesitating because she was a mermaid? Indignation bubbled up but was then pushed back by a spark of mischief. She grinned, and, leaning in peering under Bean’s gaze, she teased, “What's wrong? Are you worried I’ll eat you?”
There was a glint of something sharp behind those full, pink lips and Bean was momentarily caught off guard when she felt a pinch in her lower abdomen. Warmth rose from her neck and her ears tingled as a memory surfaced to her mind from another night with another mermaid; bare chest pressed against her back as she laid on her stomach, pointed teeth gently nibbling her earlobes…
“I-I- No!” It came out a stuttered rush as she tried to mentally wave the memory away and suppress the effect it had on her body. “I’m totally down to sleep with a mermaid!” Bean’s eyes widened as soon as she said it and she felt her cheeks erupt with heat. She sprinted to correct herself, “Guy, gal, non-human, whatever- I-I’m cool with everyone!”
Dear God , she shouted at herself, Why are you still talking?!
She all but screamed inside her head as she watched Mora’s smile widen. Her lips quivering as they were pressed firmly together to hold back a laugh. But the sheer delight glinting in the mermaid’s eyes as she crossed her arms and raised another fine brow told how much she enjoyed the human’s floundering. Bean had to resist the urge to hop in the sea right then and there.
“I-you know what I mean,” Bean huffed and crossed her arms instead as she tried to cover up her own embarrassment. But whatever edge was in her words was impeded by her inability to look at Mora in the face. Her freckles covered in a pink haze as she scowled.
Finally, after an agonizing moment of Mora letting Bean simmer in her own awkwardness, she laughed. It was a pleasant, twinkling sound. Girlish and light. It was enough to make Bean look at her, unsure at first, but then a snicker blew past her own lips and she couldn’t help but laugh as well. They stood there, Mora hunched over laughing into one hand and Bean clutching her own midriff. Any leftover tension or uncertainty between the two women melted in that moment.
“Phew, that was a good one,” Mora wiped a tear from her eye and she smiled gratefully at Bean. “Thanks Bean, I haven't laughed like that in weeks. It's nice.” Bean happily smiled back, warmth blossoming in her chest as she saw genuine relief lift a weight off Mora. As if it finally dawned on her that she was really free from that crappy Freak Show and was actually going home. There was still tiredness there sure, but it was unencumbered as hope rejuvenated her.
“Now let's get this thing up, I’m beat!”
Bean agreed and the two had it up in just a few minutes. During which Mora would give the princess quick, curious, and assessing glances that went largely unnoticed by Bean. They hooked one end of the hammock to the ship’s stem and the other to the bridge so that it hung not overly taught but with a slight curve in the middle.
Bean pulls one side and lets it go; watching it swing back and forth with satisfaction.
“Looking good,” Mora observes. She sweeps an arm across the hammock, offering. “Well, after you princess.”
Bean eyed the hammock dubiously. She’d seen them on ships before, but she’s never actually used one. She shrugged. How hard could it be?
She bent her legs and swung her arms back.
Mora’s eyes widened. “Wait-!”
But Bean was already in the air and flopping onto the hammock. The swing immediately spun to dump the alarmed princess back onto the hardwood floor like a sack of graceless potatoes.
Mora sputtered then quickly turned away to cover up the huge laugh that threatened to erupt from her throat. She couldn’t help it- the way Bean’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when she spun was too comical. Like a bit right out of her Squalid Squirrel cartoons. Composing herself, she managed to choke back a deviant chuckle enough to ask with some genuine concern, “Bean! Are you ok?”
Bean groaned back in response. Her head cleared in the wake of the stinging that flashed across her face and brought mist to her eyes. She rubbed her face but didn’t hurry to move back to her feet. She wasn't eager to look at Mora right after making herself look like a clumsy idiot twice now. Bean wished the fall had knocked her unconscious.
Of course, it hadn’t, and she did push herself up before Mora could come offer her assistance again, if only to avoid tacking helpless along with being a dumbass and save what little pride she had left.
“Ok. Sooooooo, I’ve never used a hammock before,” Bean fessed up, giving Mora a sheepish smile.
“I gathered that. You drowners and your soft beds,” Mora sighs, shaking her head. Bean furrowed her brow. 'Drowner?'
"Here, let me show you how it's done.”
Bean had assumed that given her tail Mora would need help getting onto the swing. But she watched as Mora sat on one edge of the hammock, letting it dip before she pivoted her body and swung her tail toward the middle in one fluid motion. Effortless. It swung gently as she laid back resting her head on her hands. She smiled at Bean, “See? Easy.”
“Ok, yea. It makes sense now.”
“Well? Get in.”
Bean scratched the back of her neck as she wandered over slowly. Carefully, she lowered herself on the opposite edge of the hammock noting when Mora scooted away to give her room before she committed to sitting all the way in. Then Bean swung her legs in and braced herself, straight as a log, fists balled to her sides as she screwed her eyes shut.
“See, it's not so bad.”
The gentle coaxing of Mora’s words and lack of spinning prompted Bean to open her eyes. Her body swayed with the cool breeze rolling off the sea and the sky, now only partly cloudy, revealed an array of twinkling stars.
“Huh, yea,” Bean unclenched her fists as she relaxed, but kept her body still. She turned her head slowly following a trail of stars. “It's not that…” her eyes landed on Mora’s smiling face that was only a few inches from her own and she froze.
“...Bad.” Bean felt her pulse quicken. They were so close their shoulders were almost touching and she was becoming very aware of the heat emitting from the mermaid's body seemingly intermingling with her own. Or was that in her head? She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry.
“Told you.” Mora yawned and turned back towards the sky, her eyes fluttering close. “Let's get to sleep. I promise I won’t eat you in the middle of the night,” she joked, peering at Bean from the corner of her eye. “Night, princess.”
“Right. Night Mora.” Bean turned to look back at the vast midnight canvas that hung above with ribbons of silver clouds trailing by. Praying that the thudding in her chest didn't wake the mermaid next to her.
With one eye still open, Mora watched as Bean laid straight as a board and even stiffer than when she first got on, but didn’t say anything. Only grinned as she drifted off into peaceful sleep. Glad to have been rescued by such a funny and interesting human.