Chapter Text
It was a cold night, sailing the Atlantic ocean for weeks with no land in sight took a toll on Captain Éclairer and his crew. They had been on a losing streak of being robbed and almost caught. Éclairer couldn't bare the thought of letting his crew down! He had worked so hard to earn their respect, and he damn right did. He was the reason why they flourished—why their name struck fear into commoners and the wealthy alike. And now... now he would show them why he was captain.
Without thinking he steered the ship right, fingers, clad in jewelry he stole from others, gripping the hardwood as he spun the wheel. He was going to turn the ship around and travel east. Why? He didn't know himself, but something in his mind compelled him to do so. Éclairer had seen something... land maybe? It was hard to tell with only one eye, but it was promising. If it were an island of sorts, he could let his men rest and not suffer the ails of the salty sea. Éclairer knew he had to prove himself still worthy of their devotion, their adoration, their faith. He made stupid mistakes, and this was his biggest mistake yet.
"Avast! O'er yonder, I see somethin'!" Éclairer called out to his crewmates, who rushed forward in curiosity. It was large, blue-ish white, and... it was getting larger?! Perhaps the captain had too much to drink but, as the ship neared the thing, he swerved the vessel in the dead centre of it. The quartermaster, a young man with auburn hair and of olive complexion, nudged Éclairer's arm. The young man's gaze darted nervously between his captain who was three sheets to the wind and the— "ICEBERG!" a pirate shouted, pointing at it as he tried signaling to the captain to steer the goddamn ship, lest Éclairer scuttle the ship. "Cap'n! Wha' be ye doin'? We be goin' t' die!" the poor quartermaster shook Éclairer's shoulders, trying to snap him out of his alcoholic daze. Éclairer only let out a raspy chuckle, his green eye glimmering with false hope for respite. The quatermaster would not stand for such recklessness! He didn't want to die, nor did he want to be the cause of it to his crew.
The quatermaster pushed Éclairer away from the wheel, spinning it counterclockwise as he desperately tried to steer the her out of harms way, but the captain wasn't making it easy for him. Éclairer fought back, shoving and kicking for the wheel. "What're ye doin'?! Ye're not the bloody captain! Let go, 'tis me ship, not yers!" Éclairer grunted as his hand clasped around the quartermaster's neck choking him with an excessive about of force. The other clawed at Éclairer's hand, trying to pry his paw from himself. "Let go o' me! Yer killin' us all!" the quatermaster choked out, gasping for what little air he could breath in as his other arm managed to wrench himself free, but mainly it was the sudden recoil that made the captain's grip loosen from shock. Both men stopped, fists raised as the loud crash of wood against ice snapped them out of their trance. The cries and screams of the rest of the crewmemebers cut through the air like a cutlass, as the tearing of the hull joined the symphony of chaos.
"Fuck!—" Éclairer shoved the quartermaster away, his grip on the steering wheel tightened as he tried to salvage the vessel. But it was too late, she started to sink.
The last thing he could recall was the moonlight outstretching her hand to him as he sank deeper into the icy waters, he reached out in a futile attempt of saving himself. He tried calling out to whoever was above, but the salty seawater silenced his pleas, the faint gurgling and bubbles were the final things he saw and heard before— darkness, cold and harsh.
"What's that...?"
"Huh? A... a pirrate?!"
Foliage drifted over to the still man before them. The gentle breeze of the wind sending dead leaves fluttering across the forest floor. They looked at the slumbering captain with excitement. Never in their... how many years has it been? 300? They had never seen a pirate before. They had heard tales and stories of them sailing the seven seas and whatever, and a real-life pirate here?! Now?! Oh what a miracle it was!
Uh um insert cool nature spirit magic ohhhhh you're gonna imagine the most aurafarming moment in history yes indeed you will
"What...? Argh... where am I?" Éclairer blinked as he awoke, arms propping himself up as he looked around. "This ain't a sea... nor a..." Éclairer saw Foliage standing above him. "Yar!— A sheep?!" the captain jolted upright, hand reaching for a sword that had been washed away.
Meeeeehhhhhh was what Éclairer got in response. That... that thing was pretending to be a sheep. Well, it was a good impression of one... I guess... "Arrr..." Éclairer sat there, dumbfounded. He apparently was alive after drowning last night? Was it last night even? Whatever, because this was something new. He has never seen a spirit before, never believed in their existence before. But, he was proven wrong now.
After watching the sheep frolick around for a few minutes, Éclairer thought of something. "Hm... well I've ne'er had mutton before... wouldn't hurt if I...?"
"Oh my goodness, yourr a pirrate!!!" Foliage was up in Éclairer's face, their sheep act gone as they looked at the captain with pure admiration. It was surprising to Éclairer, never once in his years of sailing had anyone looked up to him like this. Foliage continued, "I'm... I'm a huge fan! Mr. Pirrate sirr!"
"Aye... I can see that." Éclairer scoffed, a smirk of amusement crossing his face as he noted the other person's intriguing attire. Pirate clothes, or whatever, not those sterotypical ones but some old and worn ones. What caught his eye was the paper boat on their head, the colour of the paper was odd—white as a cloud.
But, Éclairer knew that today was going to be a loooong day.