Drowning out the Demons

After leaving Reinhart’s Tavern, we quickly went and stocked up on supplies. The Ravager was good with many supplies, but it was not in that area.

As we visited the shops, we managed to stock up on food, medicine, and I even bought a bottle of wine. It wasn’t for me, but I figured the others may want some. Especially my whining, newest member, who wanted to go back to drink at Reinhart’s.

I was surprised by the number of items we were able to stock up on; everything was significantly cheaper than the listed price. Apparently, helming the most cursed ship in the lands causes people to treat you a lot kinder.

I wanted to set sail for the treasure as soon as possible, especially if it would take over a week. So as soon as we had gathered everything we needed, we made our way back to the Ravager.

The dock was notably a lot quieter. Several ships that had been berthed had already departed. Surely that wasn’t all our doing. I mean, I knew the legendary status of the ship, but I didn’t think it would be this legendary.

And with that, we set sail. The trip was still several days away, so we used the time to relax, something I had long wanted to do.

A day passed by uneventfully, and the night, Elora and I trained. I was getting fitter each day. I was currently running laps of the ship to build my stamina. The night, much like the day, was uneventful.

The following day, I focused more on the crew, particularly my newest member. Mel seemed to enjoy sitting on the deck. Occasionally, she’d climb the mast and sit in the crow's nest. But most of the time, she just meandered around the deck. I think perhaps she enjoyed looking out at sea.

I slowly approached her as she gazed out into the distance.

“Mel, can we talk?”

“Am I in trouble?”

“Have you done something that would get you in trouble?”

“I don’t know, I’m not always myself when I’m sober.”

I didn’t know how to respond, so I chose to ignore her comment.

“You aren’t in trouble. I just wanted a private chat.” I signalled over my shoulder into the captain's quarters.

She followed me in, and I shut the door behind me.

“So what is this all about?”

“I wanted to check how you were fitting in. Are you going alright?”

“It’s hard without booze.”

“I meant, are you comfortable? I mean, I sort of just dragged you into my ship without much consideration of your feelings.”

“That’s evident by the lack of booze.”

“Is that what you really care about?”

“It helps me get through the day.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be sorry, it has nothing to do with ya.”

“What do you mean? You are part of my crew. Of course, it has something to do with me.”

“It won’t get in the way of my duties, so ya don’t have to worry.”

“Melifina!” I snapped using her full name. Her eyes twitched at the suddenness of my outburst. “Sorry, I was just a little frustrated that you thought I was only checking on your wellbeing because I was worried about the ship. Mel, I’m worried about you.”

“Why? Ya known me for only a few days.”

“Sometimes it doesn’t matter how long people know each other for them to hit it off.”

“So ya hitting’ on me Cap’n?”

“Well, you are beautiful, I will not deny that. But I was just wanting to see how you were.”

“Ya quite the ladies' man.” She nudged me with her elbow. “Do ya treat every woman this way?”

“Only the ones that deserve to be treated as such.” I reached forward and coiled her red hair in my fingers, making sure to look her in the eyes as I added. “And Mel, you are one of them.”

Her ears turned pink, and she looked away for a brief moment, her crimson hair slipping out of my grasp. She remained silent for several seconds before turning back, having collected herself.

“Ya asked about demons, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, I wasn’t kidding when I said I don’t care about ‘em.” She walked over to the desk and sat down on it.

Although most of my interactions with her had been whilst she was intoxicated, it was moments such as this in which I saw the elegance she possessed. She seemed so natural in her body language. A confidence that was mesmerising. Almost as if she were a queen and I her lowly subject.

“I lost my mother at a young age,” she began.

“I'm sorry to hear that.”

I went to pull her into an embrace, but she pushed me gently away with her foot.

“No need to feel sorry, she passed before I got to know her. But it meant it was just my father and me.”

“From the way Reinhart spoke of your father, it seems like he is a good man.”

“He is, which is why we were outcasts from demon society.”

“That’s awful, I’m so sorry.”

She nodded.

“It is pretty hard to fit in anywhere when demons don’t accept you and pretty much everyone else wants you dead.”

“Mel, I’m so sorry.”

Again, I went to embrace her, but she hopped off the desk and began to pace over to the side of the room to look out the porthole.

“Ya don’t have to be sorry. It’s nothing ya have to worry about.”

Although I could not see her face, I could hear the sadness in her voice.

“Mel, I know how hard it is to be an outcast.”

She turned around, her eyebrow raised.

“Ya were an outcast too?” She looked sceptical. “I just assumed you were a ladies' man from birth.”

Normally, that would have gotten a slight smirk out of me, but given how pained she was, I simply shook my head.

“It may seem hard to believe, but I’m not from this world.”

“Ya an alien?”

“Aliens exist?” Before I let myself get distracted by the talks of aliens, I returned to my point. “I’m an Otherworlder, and back in my old world I was pretty much an outcast like you.”

“Ya not joking?”

“Nope, I’m dead serious. I had no friends, no one paid much attention to me, even…” I thought of my parents, and I couldn’t quite muster the words. “Well, let’s just say I had no one.”

“It must’ve been hard for ya as well.”

“It was, and coming to this world, I struggled with not having any access to the system.”

“So how’d ya cope if not booze?”

“I met Pippa, then Túta, Elora, Viola and Melody.” I looked her in the eyes as I added, “and I met you too.”

She turned away, and for the first time since I met her, she was flushed red despite being sober. I took this opportunity to wander around to the back of the captain's desk. I had stored the bottle of wine from earlier back here, and I felt now was a good time to give it to her.

“You may have the best eyes in the land. But I’ve got the best eye for people. Which is why I want you to know, you will always have a place here on my ship.”

“But I may not live up to ya expectations, Cap’n,” she protested.

I reached behind the captain's desk and retrieved the bottle of wine, handing it to her,

“You’ve already exceeded them. So just be yourself, because you are one of my most precious crew members.”

▪──── X ────▪

End of chapter 33