Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There's red.

Dripping off his...face.

There's blood in the water he realizes belatedly . He wasn't sure what he was meant to be doing at the moment, it feels like he's been stuck staring at the basin of water that's tucked in this corner of the room for ages. Another droplet of blood falls into the water and upsets the calm of it, the blood begins to turn the liquid a light shade of pink. He doesn't have a reflection and that's definitely strange but he can't find it in him to care. He decides it's not exactly important right now. What he needs to focus on now is healing whatever wound his earlier carelessness earned him. His healing is sloppy and he'll probably end up with a gross looking scar. But then again he probably deserves it.

His mind is sluggish as he brings his hand to his face, trying to find the source of the bleeding. His hair is still pulled back in a tight braid, some strands slick with sweat stick to his face uncomfortably from his training session earlier. Oh. His hand finds a deep gash on the side of his face, he traces the thick line of blood with a shaky clawed finger. It'll definitely scar if his magic is inadequate. The wound runs from the left side of his nose and forms a jagged line that even tears at the fin like ear on the side of his head. His face is covered in blood, at least that's what it feels like. He places his right hand over the wound mimicking his sister's own movements from the last time she healed him. She's always been so much better with healing, she definitely would've made sure this wound wouldn't scar.

But she's not here right now, no one is coming to help him. He knows that that's a poisonous thought so he chooses to focus on the magic flowing through his arm and up into his hand. He feels the torn and bruised flesh begin to repair itself rapidly with the help of his own healing magic. At the very least the bleeding has stopped.

Off in the distance someone's calling his name, at least that's what he thinks they're saying. Gillion straightens up and tries not to vomit when the nausea hits him, he must've gotten hit harder than he thought during his training earlier. He clasps a hand over his mouth and shuts his eyes tight attempting to focus on the noises outside the door. The Elders almost never check on him after a training session unless they're escorting his sister to the room. But that only happens after a particularly disappointing performance from him. There aren't any footsteps outside at all now, just the far off sounds of the open ocean past the castle walls. Normally he would be able to tell who was coming just by their footsteps, but there's nothing he recognizes outside the door.

"Gil?"

His ear twitches, that voice is unmistakable, but there's no way he could be down here. He wouldn't be able to breathe. Gillion's eyes open and he's off the floor running to the door before he can even process the questions speeding through his mind. He presses his hand to the door and the voice that comes out of his mouth feels impossibly small and entirely wrong, "Chip? Is-is that you?" The door is strangely warm on contact and it makes Gillion aware of just how frigid this room is.

No response comes for a bit of time so he puts his ear to the door, it warms the entirety of the side of his face, it's almost comforting. Almost. He tries to open the door but it doesn't budge at all. The silence must be getting to him because he's trembling now and it's getting harder to focus again. Suddenly there's movement outside, somebody shuffling like they can't stay still it sounds like. "Gill. Is that you?" The voice behind the door sounds slightly warped and echoed and whatever's there is getting closer. Gillion's mind is reeling, his body refuses to answer his pleas to move away, the door is red hot now searing the side of his face that's pressed against it.

"GILL!" it wails, and there's nothing he can do now, tears are streaming down his face and evaporating as soon as they touch the door. His breath is coming in fast and he's getting lightheaded, it feels like he's burning from the inside out. Black threatens the edge of his vision, everything's spinning out of control.

And nobody is coming to help him. No one is coming to free him. He had one job and that was to protect others and all it took to knock him off guard was one simple illusion. Gillion sobs baring his canines, he can't even get a word out. All he can do is beg the Gods, whoever's listening, to forgive him for being so weak for failing so early on. He begins reciting prayers and oaths, anything he can think of, teachings that have been worn into his very bones in an attempt to appeal to those Gods he's never actually known.

Something snaps suddenly, the hold on him faltering slightly, and as Gillion pushes with every bit of strength he can muster the force disappears entirely.

As he's finally able to wrench his body from the door he's thrown violently to the ground from the momentum of it all. His vision goes completely black as soon as his head hits the floor, he tries to roll onto his side in an awkward attempt to get up and away. He slips while trying to crawl backwards, and he can't help but look back at the door now, but everything's gone dead quiet. The only sound filling his room now being his ragged breathing.

There's a split second where Gillion's frozen, not wanting to face whatever's been tormenting him. He finally inhales slowly after what feels like years, the air burning his lungs as he does so. He backs himself further into this room, eyes wide desperately scanning the door, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Black threatens the edge of his vision once again as his body begins to ache with overexertion. The whole room goes blurry and there's a distinct feeling Gillion can't even begin to comprehend.

Gillion gives into the pain, closes his eyes and it feels like an eternity before he's able to open them again. He can't quite comprehend what position his body is in for a moment, but there's a hand on his back. Warmth is all around him again except it's actually comforting this time, he tries to move closer even as his senses are entirely out of commission.

"Gillion? Gill, hey wake up bud."

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"Gillion? Gill, hey wake up bud." The hand on his back slides off, taking it's warmth with it. Gillion obliges, opening his eyes slowly, scared of what he might find. He's pleasantly surprised when his eyes adjust to the dark to find Chip laying across from him. He notices, even through his exhaustion, that Chip is gorgeous. He's got a troubled look on his face that makes Gillion want to ask what's wrong and how he could fix it. Chip searches his face, obviously worried about his friend and Gillion has a half a mind to back away, afraid he may say too much. This is all too much, "Chip, I…I apologize for waking you, it was not my intention." Chip looks bewildered for a second before drawing closer.

Chip’s shirtless, he's always shirtless nowadays, which leaves the scars on his chest on display. They have matching ones now Gillion realizes. At some point Chip's hands find their way to the sides of Gillions face and now they're all tangled together, "Gill, the hell are you doing apologizin' to me like that?" It's the exact opposite of what Gillion's expecting, it makes him a little self conscious especially because Chip's holding him like he really is something special. Gillion breaks the hold Chip has on him and shuffles closer until he's got his head tucked under Chip's chin, careful not to stab him with his coral. He can hear Chip's heartbeat pick up slightly in response, "I just didn't want to disturb you, either of you, with my...night terrors." Chip snakes his arms around Gillion and everywhere he touches sets his nerves on fire. Ever since Chip's tattoos changed he's given off a warmth akin to a campfire and sometimes when he's really worked up his tattoos glow.

Now he's giving off body heat Gillion couldn't be more thankful for, the warmth is keeping him grounded and far away from that awful room. There's a moment of quiet that Gillion knows is stretching on because Chip is trying to find the words to respond, they've never been too good at this part.

Luckily, movement from across their shared room catches Gillion's eye, messy orange curls obscuring the figure's face entirely despite her lazy efforts to sweep them back.

Jay yawns loud and comfortable before speaking, still half asleep, "Gill, you were thrashin' a lot Chip was yellin', yer okay?" Gillion pops his head up sheepishly and tries to give her a genuine smile. "I'm ok Jay." There's a second where she doesn't move, scrutinizing him for a moment before turning back over on her cot. "Okay, I'm choosin' to believe ya but we're all talkin' about it in the mornin'." She mumbles as she pulls her blanket tight around her intent on going back to sleep as quick as possible. She doesn't move for a bit and her breathing evens out quickly afterwards.

Gillion returns to his previous position with Chip after some light coaxing. Gillion knows he shouldn't be indulging himself like this, it's only going to make it harder for him to let go later on. He tells himself this is for Chip's sake and almost believes it. Chip takes a deep breath after they both settle, Gillion can feel how his heartbeat evens out as he does. "You said my name while you were dreamin'." Gillion can tell that there's something more to that thought but chooses not to point it out, he is courteous after all. There isn't any way he could really avoid this conversation and there's no way it'll end well either so, he chooses the easy way out as always. "I had no idea that I spoke in my sleep." Gillion smiles a little surprised that Chip hasn't decided to poke fun at him for it.

Gillion can feel the slight chuckle Chip lets out at his comment. It rattles deep in his chest. “Seriously though, it looked like you were in pain… sorta like the nightmares that big ol’ cat gave us? Was it like those?” Chip’s speaking softer now, Gillion notices how his voice catches slightly at the mention of the vice admiral. Memories of sleepless nights followed by painful reminders that they both had plenty to lose now, most likely coming back to Chip at that moment.

Gillion risks a glance up at Chip's face and finds that he’s staring off into the darkness that surrounds them. He looks contemplative, like he’s playing a game of chess, well more like he’s losing a game of chess.

For some reason Gillion feels a little more at ease knowing that he isn't the only one thinking so damn hard right now. “I honestly couldn’t compare the two. I've always had nightmares but now they’re..” Gillion cuts himself off, unsure of how to explain what he’s feeling right now. Chip hums, running his hand through Gillion’s curls, softly letting the silence stretch on for as long as Gillion needs.

Gillion tenses up, suddenly horrified by the gentleness he’s being given now, “It’s just hard because these nightmares I have now they’re all so real. At least they feel real, though they’re nothing like the ones that fiend cause.” One of Chip’s hands begins rubbing circles into the small of Gillion’s back, encouraging is the only way Gillion could describe it.

“What’re they about?” Chip asks his voice barely there at all, Gillion wouldn’t have heard him at all if he wasn’t pressed so close to him. Chip looks concerned when Gillion glances up at him.

“ Just things that happened when I was small. Things that were less than good I suppose–” A wave hits the ship particularly hard jossling the two, cutting Gillion’s response short. Chip curses softly after recovering, rubbing a spot on his chin where Gillion’s coral had hit.

Gillion reaches to cradle Chip’s face wordlessly, healing the bruise before it even has a chance to form. He whispers a few apologies he knows Chip will disregard while brushing his thumb over Chip’s chin intent on checking his handiwork. The warmth Chip is giving off is distracting to say the least, the tattoos that crawl up the sides of his jaw are flickering now, magically animated. It’s gorgeous, Gillion’s original inspection and the conversation they were having just moments before have been completely forgotten in favor of him running the tips of his claws over the flames, reverent.

It must startle Chip but Gillion is too busy staring to notice, following the line of flames that lick the sides of Chip’s neck. They’re glowing now, a soft warm light that reminds Gillion of the sunrise. When his hands reach the column of Chip’s throat he watches entranced by the way the muscles there move when he swallows. Their foreheads almost touch, noses brushing every time one of them shifts slightly. The breath on Gillion’s cheek reminds him of the position they’re in and he freezes, eyes wide. Gillion looks up, hesitant, only to find that Chip’s eyes are just as wide, just as interested. It’s times like these that Gillion truly appreciates being able to see clearly despite the dark because now he can take in every detail of Chip’s face. He looks like something straight out of a mural Gillion thinks, someone perfectly made to be a muse. Chip slides his hand on top of Gillion's, trapping it against the side of his face slowly, deliberate like he’s scared Gillion might run away.

Deep brown meets ocean blue and Gillion, ever the fool, leans forward crashing into Chip like it’s the easiest thing he’s ever done. There’s an agonizing moment where Chip doesn’t move and it almost breaks Gillion into pieces right then and there. And then Chip’s hands,the only thing holding him together, were pulling them even closer together somehow. The movement makes Gillion’s head spin and he grabs the collar of Chip’s shirt in a sad attempt to get some stability. Chip slides his hands into Gillion’s curls in response, now leaning into the kiss, into Gillion like his life depended on it. Gillion feeling emboldened decides he can be a little selfish, tilts his head pushing further into Chip deepening the kiss. Their chests now flush against each other, grounds Gillion in a way he can’t explain. The moment stretches on, slow and sweet and Gillion loses track of time, loses himself in Chip.

When they finally part Chip’s pupils are blown wide, his face bright red and the image vaguely reminds Gillion of that afternoon they decided to smoke together. Gillion figures he looks just about as flushed as Chip does, he wonders if Chip is remembering that same afternoon “ Is this just your way of avoiding my questions?” Chip says stifling a laugh, bright as ever. Gillion bites back a smile, dropping his forehead to Chip’s, trying in vain to avoid saying anything stupid. “ I had no such intentions, it was the waves…what was the question again?” He eyes Chip smiling brighter than he has in a long time, all sharp teeth and an eager wagging tail.

Chip has the audacity to look away, face getting at least three shades darker, “ Well I– you– I was just askin’ what your nightmares were about is all.” Gillion has nestled his way back under Chip’s chin by the time he’s finished his blubbering. Ah. Right, they were talking about his nightmares. “ Right, well they’re about my training, glimpses of The Elder’s and their… teachings from when I was a child, still a part of the Undersea. ” Gillion tries to keep his tone light, attempting to keep the conversation approachable if not for his sake then for Chip’s. He senses he’s failed, feels it in the way that Chip’s hands grip at his pajama shirt tighter, trying in earnest to bring them closer together.

There’s a strange finality to the gesture, perhaps Chip has already heard enough. They lay there motionless, content in just being able to touch each other like this. Gillion, settled against Chip’s chest once again, continues listening to his heartbeat, when Chip still doesn’t speak he begins to count each beat. He matches each of Chip’s breaths with one of his own, unable to sit still he lightly traces a claw over the dancing flames that adorn his chest. A warm hand traps Gillion’s hand, Gillion lets out a small huff slightly annoyed, but soaks up the warmth anyways. Just when Gillion is sure Chip must be asleep he hears the man speak, “ I’ll just have to stay and keep the nightmares away then.” He sighs and his breathing evens out not long after.

Gillion smiles to himself feeling almost like he was floating. He closes his eyes unafraid of what might greet him for the first time in years. It’s easy then to let his mind drift off into a haze of unconsciousness, he relaxes into the feeling reveling in it.

And Gillion, finally content, passes a dreamless night able to truly rest wrapped in his companions arms.

Chapter Text

Gillion wakes up with a start at the sound of someone banging on the trap door that leads to their quarters. There's a split second where he thinks maybe they're being attacked as he scrambles frantically out of bed, before hearing a familiar voice outside.

"Captains, c'mon we need you up here." Gryffon says in his gruff monotone voice. Gillion stills as he hears his crewmate walk away. At this point Chip has begun to rise as well, startled, grasping for what Gillion can only assume is his swords, both of which are nowhere near his cot. Gillion watches his friends rise for the day, hoping the sense of familiarity will calm his nerves.

Chip spends his first few minutes awake muttering about some supposed monster they need to take down, eyes still firmly closed. Gillion takes a minute to laugh at his slurred speech as he goes through the motions of wrapping his sash and belts around his waist along with securing his sheath to his hip. He walks up to the bed they shared last night putting a kind hand on Chip's shoulder. "Chip it was only Gryffon, there is no dragon like you speak of." Chip stops muttering, taking a moment to finally open his eyes and sit up. "Wait, what?" Chip whips his head back and forth taking in his surroundings, the quick motion makes Gillion’s neck hurt just watching. Gillion's hand slips off of Chip's shoulder as he falls off the bed and runs to the middle of the room stumbling the whole way there. "You're telling me that was just Gryffon's meaty fuckin' paw bangin' on the door? It sounded like a whole fuckin’ navy platoon was at the door." Chip half yells. Gillion bursts out laughing before he can stop himself even though he knows they're being egregiously loud. Chip in turn begins to cackle with him. They both dissolve into laughing fits blissfully unaware of the fact Jay is rising behind the two of them.

Gillion watches in horror as a bottle whizzes past Chip's face and shatters to pieces against the wall behind him. The entire room goes silent immediately as both pirates follow the trajectory of the bottle only to find their co-captain standing on top of her cot huffing furiously. The silence stretches on as the two watch her take a deep breath pushing her curls out of her face, clearly frustrated. She readjusts her sleep shirt as she sits down on her cot with a quiet thump. Jay finally breaks the silence as she throws her hair up in a sloppy ponytail in an attempt to tame it, "The two of you wake me up like that again and next time I won't miss." She says calmly before ducking into the makeshift washroom they use for their morning routines.

The silence hangs heavy in the air as Gillion’s eyes meet Chip’s both bewildered. Chip's eyes are wide, his pupils dilated as he makes a frankly ridiculous noise that has Gillion struggling to hold back his laughter immediately. Gillion watches Chip grab his clothes off the floor and get dressed through tear filled eyes, the both of them snickering through every step of their regular morning routine.

Eventually Jay pops her head out of the washroom while brushing her hair, one eyebrow raised at the two of them, "The hell are you laugin' at like that Gill?" She seems more amused than aggravated which just serves to make Gillion's laughing fit ten times worse as he falls onto the ground clutching his stomach giggling like a hyena. Chip smiles mischievously as he ties his hair back with his bandana. "Oh nothin' Jay Jay just an inside joke you totally wouldn't get." He waves his hand at her dismissively like that would ever do anything to dissuade her from getting what she wants. Jay smirks at the two of them from across the room as she pulls her boots on, "That's fine if it's nothing then we can just talk about what happened last night, just like I said we would." Gillion shoots up into a sitting position, "Uh Jay you know we can wait on that can't we? It's not so much of a big deal is it?" Jay clasps her hands together and tilts her head with a small frown, “If it's really bothering you so badly then we should talk about it.” The way she’s looking at Gillion immediately has him feeling defensive.

Just as Chip moves to interject there's a loud knock on their door followed by a high pitched, "SHIT..uh I meant ow!" Ollie continues to mutter behind the door as the three captains look to each other to resolve their issue before continuing.

Jay gives her two co captains a deathly serious look as she holsters her gun, "We're finishing this conversation later." She softens slightly as she climbs the stairs turning to face Gillion, "I just hate to see you wake up like that Gill, I know how much it bothers you, so we're going to figure it out before we go to bed tonight...or at least talk about it." She fixes Chip with a look that Gillion can't even begin to decipher before finally opening the trap door and leaving their shared quarters.

Gillion lags behind his friends, maybe if he hid from Jay she'd give up. As he's considering his best hiding options Chip claps him on the back lightly, "Hey, space face c'mon Gryffon wasn't kidding about needing us up here I can already hear Drey yellin'. Let's just worry about all that stuff later." Normally Gillion would reject the idea entirely, but something about the way Chip flashes a smile at him haphazardly has him agreeing without a second thought. He follows his companions out of the bottom deck and up into the morning sun.

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By the time Gillion and Chip make it above deck Jay has already disappeared into the kitchen ever the responsible captain or maybe she's just the hungriest, Gillion muses. He imagines that she has already started brewing coffee for the three of them as he follows Chip who's lazily making his way over to the kitchen. 

Ollie runs over to Chip waving his hands frantically, greeting his captains for the morning, Chip’s smile in response to the greeting makes Gillion feel like he could fight the gods themselves. Chip hoists Ollie onto his shoulders and begins making his way towards the kitchen chanting, "BREAKFAST TIME!” the whole way there. Gillion laughs falling in line with them and joining in on the chanting, tail wagging, the three of them having already forgotten about the very reason they were going to the kitchen to begin with.

The kitchen is thankfully calm when the trio makes it in, Jay it seems has already broken up whatever scuffle was happening. Based on the fact that Alphonse is currently consoling a disgruntled Earl and Jay is making accusatory gestures at a much more calm Drey, it's safe to say that the two had another one of their weekly fights.

Chip puts Ollie down and leans over to Gillion shielding his mouth with his hand, "We should move very carefully Gil, one wrong word and Earl's gonna try to whoop our asses instead. Old man's vicious." Without giving Gillion time to respond Chip takes Ollie's hand and leads him over to the kitchen table, looking ridiculous as he sneaks over exaggerating each movement more as Ollie giggles.

Gillion lingers at the entrance of the kitchen content in just watching his crew enjoy a mostly harmonious and stress free morning, the image makes him feel distinctly out of place somehow. Earl and Alphonse have taken to finishing up breakfast, Earl complaining all the while. Queen and Gryffon are engrossed in a conversation about their next destination both sipping on coffee periodically. Drey, having escaped Jay's chastising, has made his way back to the table as well. He's sitting so close to Finn that their shoulders are touching , Finn smiles at the contact and to Drey's surprise he begins speaking softly. The entire scene is the epitome of serene and in an odd way it vaguely reminds Gillion of his parents' home in the Undersea.

"Gil, get your tail in here." Gillion looks towards the voice just to find Jay fixing him with a look he's sure is meant to be stern but can only be interpreted as incredibly fond.

Gillion shuffles further into the kitchen sitting down next to Chip who softly knocks his shoulder into Gillion's , continuing to listen to Ollie's nonsense story about catching a whale, a dream of his it sounds like.

"Watch out!" Jay cuts in, balancing three mugs of coffee in her hands perfectly, the ease of the motion never ceases to amaze Gillion. She sets the mugs down on the table gently, gesturing for Gillion to scooch over so she can join them. Gillion obliges, scooching even closer to Chip so she can sit beside him, normally he'd hate being sandwiched between them but everything seems to be off today. Jay hands the mugs out to each of them, running a soothing hand over Gillion's shoulder, sinking down into her seat with a wide smile. The sweet gesture makes Gillion's tail wag as he tries to hide his embarrassed expression with his coffee mug.

Jay takes a long sip of coffee and then perks up, "You know you two are real lucky that I fixed all of that, otherwise y'all would actually have had to do your jobs."

Chip chuckles throwing an arm around Gillion and ruffling his hair hard enough it almost falls out of its half up bun. " C'mon Jay the only reason you were able to deal with that so quick is cuz Drey's scared of ya." Drey laughs poorly concealing the sound with an awkward cough and Jay scoffs so loud in response it makes Gillion wince.

Drey raises a sharp eyebrow cutting in casually, " Listen, regardless of whether or not that's true Chip, you're forgetting that she got Earl of all people to back off and he was pissed off real bad."

Jay points at her uncle a smug smile plastered on her face, "See! I got an old legend acknowledging my hard work," She turns to face her co-captains so fast her ponytail almost wacks Gillion in the face, "and you two goobers can't even say thank you?" She cocks an eyebrow at the two, the resemblance between her and her uncle on full display. The two of them have a ruggedness to them that Gillion recognizes translates directly to authority in most situations, which makes it ten times funnier when Jay does something that's so prim and proper.

"Chip is a bastard, I appreciate everything you do Jay, Thank you." Gillion squeezes Jay's shoulder as she cackles over Chip's reaction to the sudden jabs towards him, a genuine smile replacing his sarcastic tone. The kitchen fills with even more laughter as the rest of the crew listen to the exchange, and Earl actually joins in pointing mockingly at Chip, laughing so hard he doubles over.

As the crew's laughter begins to die down, each of them returning to their individual conversations, Finn catches Gillion's eye from across the table. He smiles slowly seemingly understanding where he is and who he's with.

It was a pleasant surprise to find his peepaw sitting at the table with Drey this morning, chatting albeit slowly with his fellow crew mates. He's rarely ever lucid enough to have full on conversations anymore.

Gryffon grabs Gillion's shoulder leaning down and grinning at him, a rare showing the triton appreciates, saying, "He's been up since early this mornin' I figured you'd want to hang out with him considering he's actually pretty lucid right now." He sniffs, ears twitching before continuing, voice growing even more stern somehow, "Those two started fighting after I left to get you guys."

Gillion beams thanking Gryffon profusely for being so considerate, Gryffon's mouth twitches upwards as he retreats from Gillion's compliments, walking back to stand at Queen's side. Clearly he's still not used to positive feedback, Gillion makes a mental note to follow up on that later.

Gillion gets jostled harshly out of his head, as Jay and Chip both scramble to their feet simultaneously, Ollie eagerly in tow. He doesn't even have to turn around to know that their argument is one poorly worded insult away from becoming a wrestling match on the kitchen floor. Gillion stifles a laugh before downing the rest of his coffee he learned his lesson the first time this happened. There is absolutely no way he's getting hog tied again, it's not worth it in the slightest, just the memory of it makes his eye twitch involuntarily.

A damp hand closes over Gillion's shaking him from his memories, he looks up to find Finn smiling at him once again, Drey no longer by his side. A quick glance tells him that the old man has moved behind him to goad Chip and Jay into a full blown brawl.

"Drey tells me you've been having nightmares, Gillion." Finn's speech pattern is always a little jarring to Gillion, he used to be such an eloquent person, a guy that could switch between five different topics in about two minutes flat in such a natural way. Now its slow and measured pace has almost distracted Gillion entirely from what his grandpa has actually said.

"Uh, well wouldn't you like to talk about something else peepaw? It's not so much of a big deal, really not your problem elder." Gillion can't help the slight waver in his voice or twitch to his tail and from the scrutinizing look Finn is giving him it's quite obvious he can tell he's lying through his teeth.

Finn leans forward leveling Gillion with a sincere look, "Nothing captures more of my attention than your well-being son." The back of Gillion's throat twinges with the strain of keeping the emotions welling inside him from escaping.

"I—Yes you're right, well Drey is right I have been experiencing some restlessness I suppose." Gillion hesitates, fiddling with the fins at the end of his tail at the skeptical look Finn is giving him. There's an awkward beat of silence between the two where Gillion nervously glances around to avoid his grandpa's gaze. He notes absently that Jay and Chip have moved on from their fight and onto actually eating breakfast, scrambled eggs and cheese grits it smells like. The duo is sat on one of the cots, screwed into the wall to maximize the amount of usable space, it was Earl's if Gillion's memory was serving him.

Finn sputters slightly, the sound grabbing Gillion's attention. He sighs, Finn is still giving him that same look, some kind of mix of intrigued and sympathetic. Gillion supposed even in this state he's still intrinsically inquisitive, "Night terrors, about the—about the Undersea," He lowers his voice, subconsciously leaning forward, "The Elders and their training."

Finn keeps his face carefully neutral throughout Gillion's explanation before nodding slowly, "The things you've seen," He shakes his head wincing, "Gillion what do you remember of your home. Not the castle, the capital, but your home?" The look on Finn's face brings back that gnawing feeling at the back of his throat, he looks horribly guilty.

The worst part is, Gillion can't remember. It's a strange feeling, he knows he should remember, he wasn't that young, he should be able to access those memories of his happy little family home. But when he attempts to actually recall something, anything, from that time he comes up blank. He has vague ideas, references, and he logically knows some of things that happened before he was taken to start training, some birthdays, a few holidays. But the feelings and images that he can usually see and feel pretty vividly, the stimuli that accompanied his other memories are strangely absent here. As if these memories of his childhood are in his head but locked away somehow.

Gillion looks up from where he'd been staring a hole into the kitchen table, feeling and probably looking as completely distraught as he felt. Finn smiles sadly at him, reaching over to grab his hand once again, "There was a time I visited you four," He squeezes Gillion's hand, comfortingly, " and your sister, the lass, was parading you around the house. She had dressed you up in one of her old skirts and braided your hair, best she could, oh gods it was the cutest thing." He laughs almost lost in the past it seems, reliving that moment. "Your parents thought it was cute too up until she tried to take your hair down, only to realize that she tangled it, instead of leaving it be she just started pulling at it. I suppose she was frustrated, she was quite young at the time, I believe." Finn shakes his head once again, pausing as his expression grows more troubled, he continues quieter now, "I wish I had paid more attention back then, I was stubborn, barely visited on account of my studies. How foolish of me not to prioritize both." Gillion puts his hand over Finn's, returning the old man's sad smile. "Gillion I am so so sorry son, I understand how hard everything has been for you. I just want you to know, you're doing incredible things and you're needed."

Gillion's eyes begin watering and he's struggling to keep the tears from falling, he scrubs a hand over his face roughly instead of answering with words. He nods at his grandfather, feeling the way his expression breaks without his say so. Without much thought to where he is he throws himself halfway over the table wrapping Finn in a tight hug. Finn returns it quickly, chuckling quietly as he rubs a hand over Gillion's back, careful to avoid the fin protruding from the center.

Finn doesn't let go until Gillion does, as they both lean back Gillion feels a hand pinching at his nose, "Such a special and silly person you've become." He thankfully releases Gillion's nose, the two giggling at the gesture, "I am very proud of who you've become, son." Finn seems to understand Gillion isn't quite able to form sentences at the moment, which Gillion appreciates.

Gillion nods again, thankful that everyone else seems to be otherwise occupied with themselves. He stands once Drey makes his way back to Finn's side, sauntering over to grab his plate and sit with his co captains.

When Gillion sits down his first thought is that these cots are really well made if they can hold all three of them without so much as a creak, Julian and his crew really must be master carpenters. Jay snaps her fingers right in front of Gillion's face, "Hello? Mana to Gillion? You gonna eat?," Gillion looks down at his plate of now cold scrambled eggs and cheese grits, "well you better cause if ya don't then Chip's gonna try to steal your eggs and then I'll have to whoop his ass again." She winks at him nudging his shoulder lightly, "C'mon Gil, save me the trouble huh?" Chip simply flips her off taking a bite out of an orange like a barbarian as Gillion begins eating his breakfast happy to just bask in their presence.

Chapter Text

Their next destination is a smaller island the name of which Gillion has already forgotten, the stop will be quick, a simple supply run before they're able to make their way to Allport for a full restock.

Gillion is only a little worried, they're supposed to arrive tomorrow morning, which means that he has a whole day to kill. Normally this would make him giddy with all the possibilities, but now he's being forced to whittle the day away, counting down the moment until he has to explain his night terrors to Jay and Chip. He was banking on the idea of having some kind of structured task to do, to take up most of his time and prevent him from thinking about what he would say, how they would react to it. The talk he had with his grand pee paw helped him, at least he thinks it helped.

He usually uses the physical sensations he feels to unravel whatever emotion he's feeling. It's the only system he's found that works and is mostly accurate, but at the moment he just feels like something has been knocked loose in his head. He feels off kilter like he'll stumble and trip if he doesn't focus solely on walking, so confusion might be what he's feeling he supposes.

Gillion faces the front of the ship quietly, squinting up at the sun suspiciously, completely lost in thought. As he's about to start another staring contest with the blasted star he's smacked in the back of the head by something. Instinct takes hold as he draws his sword swiftly in response as he searches for where the attack came for. He scans the main deck of the ship quickly only to find that he's alone, save for Alphonse who's manning the helm. As he slowly begins to untense he hears a familiar giggle above him, Gillion looks up and finds his attackers both sitting in the crows nest feet hanging off the edge casually.

Chip and Ollie cackle as Gillion sheathes his sword carefully still staring suspiciously up at the two. Fine, if they want to play games, he can play too. Gillion rolls his shoulders as he raises his hands, magic already flowing freely throughout his body, grinning like a mad man. And in what must be a new record time for Gillion, he casts vortex warp on both of the tricksters. The laughter cuts out as both of Gillion's crew mates reappear on the deck in front of him in a puff of purplish mist, they both end up flat on their asses in pure shock, looking horrified. Which shouldn't be the case because Gillion is sure they have been witness to plenty of his supposedly "terrifying" and "feral" performances during fights. And that's not even mentioning the fact that they should really have expected this and braced themselves. Seriously, no matter how many times Gillion has hounded Chip about staying ready for battle at any given moment outside of battle during their training sessions, he still leaves himself vulnerable. Gillion crosses his arms shaking his head dissapointed, maybe Jay was right and Chip really is just a brat. Gillion is almost convinced that Chip ignores his instructions just to make him angry, what a freak. Although he's never exactly leaned away from this part of their dynamic, wait, does that mean he enjoys it too?

Chip meets Gillion's eye and for a moment he's convinced Chip's read his mind somehow, shit did they still have those bracelets on, who was the last one to put them—

He's quickly snapped out of his thoughts as he catches movement out of the corner of his eye, Chip's trying to be discreet about it, the little rogue. Gillion grins almost delirious as he dodges the stray fireball shot his way, "Ah, so it is a battle you two seek. Then a battle we shall have!" Gillion stands proud with his closed fists on his hips across from Ollie and Chip, as his new opponents make their way to their feet.

And within a second the fight has begun, Gillion beams already feeling manic with his sword drawn, ready to strike. Immediate overwhelming force has always been the easiest way to defeat Chip, something Gillion happens to specialize in he thinks smugly. Chip's finesse is the only thing that saves him as Gillion crashes his sword harshly into both of Chip's.

Gillion feels pride fill him watching his co captain hold steady against him, confident as ever, as a younger version of Chip surely would have collapsed instantly under the pressure. Just as Chip's hold starts to falter, Gillion's tail collides with something behind him, sending it crashing to the ground with a loud squeak. He laughs, stepping back to avoid Chip's blazing swords as they arc towards him, Ollie tended to stay on the edge of combat when he was allowed to participate. Gillion watches the half elf scramble to his feet transfixed by the swift movement. The boy's speed almost reminded him of a sailfish he thinks as he lands a punch directly to Chip's sternum.

It was nice to see him gaining confidence like this, most likely to do with the newfound strength his belt gave him. What was not nice was the sudden organized movements his opponents were pulling off with seemingly no verbal communication.

Gillion suddenly on the defensive is forced to counter Chip's wild slashes and Ollie's quick and unrelenting jabs at his lower half at the same time. Although Gillion has a near endless stamina, his rigid stance has started to waver as he lets loose, fully stepping into this unrestrained back and forth. Both parties take turns just barely landing hits that leave shallow stinging cuts in their wake, each slowly oozing blood.

In the face of constant attacks from the pirates, both desperate to knock him off balance, Gillion realizes Jay has been watching them from above the main deck. Her smile widens as they make eye contact and within a second she's taken the wheel from Alphonse and spun it as hard as she can.

"Oh scallop." Is all Gillion manages before he's thrown entirely off balance as the Albatross makes a sharp left turn at breakneck speed. Chip leans into the momentum using it to throw himself into the air above Gillion his swords blazing as he raises them to deliver the final blow.

"No No I got it Chip I got it!" Ollie yells desperately. Before Gillion is able to turn around he feels Ollie's arms grab his middle and heave him upwards with as much force as he can muster if the high pitched sounds he's making are any indication.

Gillion watches from above in disbelief as Chip hits the ground now that his target is suddenly flying through the air above him. It's not long before he's above the clouds and barely able to make out a single figure on the ship. He wonders if this is what Jay feels like when she's flying, he should really ask her to fly him around one of these days.

Speaking of his winged companion. Jay looks surprised as she follows him as he begins to fall through the air, he can't fully hear what she's saying over the rushing air but he smiles nonetheless. He can take it he's taken far worse while fighting that gnarly feline.

Jay looks like she's face palming oddly enough before she shoves him away from her, wings flapping rapidly with the effort. He would be a little annoyed if he wasn't so impressed with how far she managed to push him. She disappears below the clouds before he has the chance to question her.

It's when the ocean and the Albatross comes back into view that he realizes she's pushed him further towards the water and away from the ship. Oh that's a much better landing spot, she's so nice.

Gillion dives into the ocean at a speed that does actually remind him of the fight he had with the vice admiral. The force isn't enjoyable by any means but nothing he hasn't dealt with before, if anything it makes him feel pleasantly sore.

The swim up does take a while even with his regular swimming speed, Gillion wonders how much air time he got absently. He spends at least three minutes straight swimming as fast as he can to the surface, racing various sea creatures who follow him out of curiosity.

Once he breaks the surface he sees his friends looking significantly relieved, Ollie deflates apologizing profusely as Chip does his best to console him.

"It is perfectly alright Ollie, when you're in battle you have to use everything at your disposal, even if it means accidentally making someone go splat on the pavement every once and a while." Chip covers Ollie's ears halfway through Gillion's speech shooting Gillion a particularly unimpressed look. Gillion dips half his head under the water, taking in a mouth full of water in what he hopes is a stealthy move, Chip was going to get the dolphin treatment just for that look. Chip doesn't seem to notice too caught up bickering with Jay about Ollie's training as he climbs down the rope ladder. Gillion listens idly watching Chip reach a hand out to him as he scoffs at something Jay said.

The image briefly brings him back to the beginning of his journey when he was hoisted from the sea for the first time, Gillion reaches out mesmerized by the double image his brain supplies of the two sights layered over each other. He takes a reflexive breath of air as his hand meets Chip's, coughing up the water he was going to prank Chip with lightly splashing the both of them.

Chip pulls Gillion up onto the ladder chuckling lightly, "You good there buddy, I definitely remember you being able to breathe water." Gillion clambers up the rope ladder after him, his face and neck starting to burn. Up on the deck his co-captains have already started to bicker once again, now about Chip somehow getting water and blood all over Jay.

Jay pauses turning towards Gillion, looking him over, "And that is another win for Jay." Ollie now by her side gently pulling at her wings, raises his hand waiting for a high five, "I helped too Ms. Jay, another win for the legendary pirate Oliver!" Gillion can't help but smile as Jay high fives the kid, forgetting about her mindless bickering with Chip in favor of hyping Ollie up. She lets Ollie lead her away towards the wheel where it looks like most of the crew is gathered. Right maybe turning so quickly without warning anyone wasn't exactly the best move.

"Good fight." Chip saunters up to Gillion hair still dripping water, he holds up a fist to the triton. Gillion taps their knuckles together lightly, distracted by the smell of blood in the air, "It's been what? A year or so sailing with her and I still have no clue how the fuck she does that." Chip slings an arm over Gillion's shoulders, "We gotta get the drop on her somehow but we've tried like everything, I dunno. Got any crazy war tactics that'd catch her off guard?" Gillion stares straight ahead not really seeing, the entirety of his brain power was currently focused on his nose. He's sure he's smelled Chip's blood before and he can't quite fathom why it's so noticeable now, but his face burns with some emotion he doesn't want to deal with just yet.

A calloused hand warm to the touch taps his chest hesitantly at first then harder when he doesn't respond immediately. "Dude did I give you a concussion or something, do I need to go get Queen? Make 'em play a magical little tune?" Gillion blinks hard trying to clear his head, grabbing at the hand now on his chest, "I'm perfectly fine, the only person you should be worried about now is Jay. I'll bet in five minutes from now Earl will be at her throat about ruining the kitchen with that crazy maneuver she pulled." Chip laughs earnestly and unrestrained, the sight makes Gillion's tail wag, "Now that's a fight I'd pay to see right there, Y'know I thought that most of the crew would've been up on deck watching our fight. Guess it's good they didn't otherwise everyone would've been soaking in sea water by now." Chip looks around squinting at the crew huddled by the wheel before leaning in closer to Gillion conspiratorially, "Hey you wanna go prank call Lizzie and Caspian again?"

Gillion beams, eager to move on and distract his chaotic brain from its ruminating, "Chip this is precisely why you are the brains of this two man operation." Bruises from the fight have started to lightly color Chip's face and chest, he waves a hand at Gillion turning to walk towards the crows nest. Even he gets flighty and bashful when complimented just right, "Alright alright c'mon we gotta come up with new prank ideas that'll work over the conch."

Gillion follows behind Chip as he mutters about things that piss Captain Lizzie off the most. They make their way up the crows nest trading ideas on effective pranks, the sun climbs higher in the sky, a faint reminder of Jay's promise.

The view from the crows nest is always nice regardless of what time it is. Gillion leans on the railing admiring the ocean as he mulls over Chip's suggestions most of which are wild and make no sense. He looks over to the man in question, the sun paints him in bright light that catches on the blood that trickles down from the various cuts on his face. The urge Gillion has to reach out and gather the blood on his finger and taste it is a concerning thought that's strong enough to set his cheeks on fire within seconds. He reaches out putting a hand flat on Chip's chest savoring the feeling of it speeding up in response as he begins his healing process. Chip stirs slightly as the nicks on his face close rapidly, the bruises are gone as quickly as they came in a satisfying blur of natural color being restored.

Gillion lingers for a moment examining his work before retracting his hands placing them on his hips, "Sorry that was really distracting me what were you saying?" He looks up at Chip, watching expectantly. Chip sits down in a frenzy, slotting his legs in between the gaps in the railing. Gillion smirks at the sight of red now tinting the backs of Chip's ears and neck, sitting close enough he can feel the intense heat Chip's giving off as he curls his tail around him.

They both let their feet hang off the edge of the crows nest as they finalize their ideas for the prank. Chip knocks their shoulders together as he calls Lizzie spinning a tale that has her promising to pants the both of them the next time their crews cross paths. Laughter fills the space around them as she fumbles her words while threatening to drown Chip, Gillion is sure she's drunk because she joins in laughing. He hears Caspian muffled in the background concern lacing his tone as he questions her about her well-being causing another round of laughter.