Chapter 4

A week passed since his initial capture and enslavement aboard the pirate ship. He has gotten used to the crew, being mistreated by all of them, forced to do all the work they wished not to. He has learned to clean the deck, fish and even cook, showing great skills in each of the fields, making them all wonder just what he was. Upon the crow's nest is one of the crew, on look out for any land they might get close to. One week wasn't enough time to get them any where near a good piece of land, perhaps a small island, but that has yet to be seen.

Tensions were getting high, all of them getting unnerved as they had yet to even come across another ship in a long time. Crewmen were on the top deck, some of them cleaning the ship, others just lounging around as they were board. One of them bumps into another, making one that was lounging startled and jumping to his feet, drawing his weapon right away. The other drew his sword in response, the two of them glaring at each other.

“Aye, watch where yooer goin' ya lunk head.” One of the pirates said.

“Ya watch yerself thar matey, I cut ya good if ya don't!” The other exclaimed.

What were they fighting about? Nothing, they were bored and not having someone, or something, to fight was bad for them. They needed to fight someone and that included each other at the moment. They kept glaring at each other, swords pointing at each other, until they heard the door to the captain's cabin kicked open. He walked out, glaring at all of them, more towards the two that were about to fight.

“What do you two think you are doing? You are pirates on the same ship, turning on each other now will be a waste of energy!!!” He yelled at them.

The two stopped their fighting right away, looking up at their captain with fear in their eyes. The swords returned to them sheathes right away as they simply glared at each other. There was no form of entertain them the captain trying to solve that problem. They were months from the nearest mass of land, and their destination, kept hidden from all of them, was a good month more. He had to think for a moment, what was a good way to keep his crew entertained. Then it struck him.

“Boy, get over here!” He yelled.

Gaslyrok almost jumped out of his skin as he ran up to the captain's quarters, feeling the hand on his back and shoved inside. He felt the stare coming from Mao, slowly turning around and seeing the man standing directly behind him. A hand was placed on his head, Gaslyrok's eyes closing right away as he thought he was going to be smacked. Instead, he felt his head being rubbed, his hair being ruffled a little and Mao walking away.

“Remove your clothes.” Mao demanded.

“W-What?!” Gaslyrok screamed.

He was startled by this, the man ordering his clothes to be removed. No one has ever made such an odd order for him before, not once. He trembled in fear of what might happen should he decline the order, but he wanted to know why. The sound of coat hangers being moved along a coat rack, He tries to see what the sound is, to see what Mao was looking for.

“What did I just tell you to do, are you going to disobey me?!” Mao yelled.

Jumping once more, Gaslyrok does as he was ordered, removing his clothes except for his undergarments. He placed them on the ground, still trying to see what it was Mao was looking for, but shrugged and stood still, continuing to wait. As soon as the man turned around, some clothes were tossed to the bed beside him, the man glaring down at the smaller boy.

“Put those on, now!” Mao shouted.

Jumping once more, Gaslyrok nods his head, picking up the clothes. What he holds is a classic sailor suit, for males. He just blinks as he turns it around, thinking there is going to be holes in it somewhere, but finds nothing. His gaze turns to Mao once more, slowly pulling his shirt on, getting into his new clothes. His head popped out of the hole at the top, followed by both of his arms, one at a time. As soon as it was on, he grabbed the shorts, pulling them on one leg at a time, hopping around a little bit as he almost lost his balance. There was a pair of white socks with it, the boy getting down on the floor for a seat and pulling them on. Now that he wears his new clothes, he wonders one thing.

'Now what? I did as he asked me.' He thought to himself.

He looks down, trying to see what he looks like in the uniform, smiling a little bit. It had been a while since he got some new clothes after all. He's happy to be wearing it now. His happiness was cut short, as Mao slammed a foot into the deck. He stands at attention once more, looking at the man, seeming scared once more.

“Do you like your new clothes?” Mao asked.

“Y-Yes sir.” Gaslyrok responded.

“Good, to keep the moral of the men up, you are to sing and dance everyday from now on, no more cleaning or cooking for you. Besides, I'm sure the men will feel safer with you singing, rather than handling their food.” Mao stated.

Gaslyrok gives a slow simple nod, not really knowing any songs to sing. He was about to voice this, but kept his mouth shut, knowing it's better this way. The chef sang the same song everyday, so he could try to sing it, if he remembers the words.

“R-Right away... sir...” All Gaslyrok could say on the matter.

He walks out of the captain’s cabin, blinded by a ray of light emitted by the sun. His right hand covered his eyes a little bit, looking back into the captain's cabin, wondering why the room is so dark. He shrugs it off, turning his attention to the deck, seeing all the pirates seeming agitated with one another. This is how it's to be, though, since they all want a fight, but none of them can even get into one, not with each other. A wad of saliva is gulped down as he takes his slow steps down to the deck, looking to all the angry sailors. Each one of them has the same facial expression, waiting for another to make a mistake and attack the other. Time for the child to get to work on morale.

“Y-Yo ho ho and a b-b-bottle of... rum...” His voice was shaky. He never sang in public, or at all, before. This is going to be a new experience for him.

As soon as the words where muttered, the pirates glared at him. This was the one time he could tell he screwed up, somehow, but he doesn't know how. Did he sing it all wrong? Probably, he did tend to screw up a lot around these guys.

“Ya said it all wrong, squirt, ya don't start off wit da', ya start off like this.” One of them finally said.

After his words were spoken, he began to sing, the rest of the crew following suit with him. They didn't seem to care about the child's change in clothes, they just wanted to get to singing, release some stress.

“Fifteen men on a dead man's chest. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. Drink and the devil had done for the rest. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. The mate was fixed by the bosun's pike. The bosun brained with a marlinspike. And cookey's throat was marked belike. It had been gripped by fingers ten; And there they lay, all good dead men. Like break o'day in a boozing ken. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. Fifteen men of the whole ship's list. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! Dead and be damned and the rest gone whist! Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! The skipper lay with his nob in gore. Where the scullion's axe his cheek had shore. And the scullion he was stabbed times four. And there they lay, and the soggy skies. Dripped down in up-staring eyes. In murk sunset and foul sunrise. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. Fifteen men of 'em stiff and stark. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! Ten of the crew had the murder mark! Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! Twas a cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead. Or a yawing hole in a battered head. And the scuppers' glut with a rotting red. And there they lay, aye, damn my eyes. Looking up at paradise. All souls bound just contrariwise. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. Fifteen men of 'em good and true. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! Ev'ry man jack could ha' sailed with Old Pew, Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! There was chest on chest of Zarsique gold. With a ton of plate in the middle hold. And the cabins riot of stuff untold, and they lay there that took the plum. With sightless glare and their lips struck dumb. While we shared all by the rule of thumb, Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! More was seen through a sternlight screen... Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. Chartings undoubt where a woman had been. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. 'Twas a flimsy shift on a bunker cot. With a dirk slit sheer through the bosom spot. And the lace stiff dry in a purplish blot. Oh, was she wench or some shudderin' maid. That dared the knife and took the blade. By God! she had stuff for a plucky jade. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. Fifteen men on a dead man's chest. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. Drink and the devil had done for the rest. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. We wrapped 'em all in a mains'l tight. With twice ten turns of a hawser's bight. And we heaved 'em over and out of sight, With a Yo-Heave-Ho! and a fare-you-well. And a sudden plunge in the sullen swell. Ten fathoms deep on the road to hell, Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!”

The crew sang the same song for hours, making sure they enjoyed it while working. Gaslyrok was even smiling a little bit, it'd been a week since he did that. He never enjoyed his time on here until now, finally feeling like one of the crew. It was an odd sensation for him, to feel like a member of a pirate crew, but they weren't all bad, were they? Sure, they killed people, but it had been a week since a death occurred, since anything really happened on the ship. There was nothing that happened that was interesting, the last thing was that bird that controlled the weather. Mao cleaved that thing in two.

They kept laughing and singing, until the ship rocked a little bit, the crew stumbling about. Gaslyrok looked around, wondering what it was, seeing no waves in the sea. He ran over to the port side, looking down to see what he could find. The ship rocked once more, making him grab on to one of the railings, seeing what it was that was making them rock around, now. Tendrils shot up, larger than anything that was normal, just where were they? First a giant bird that controlled the weather, now some sort of giant tentacle thing. He swiftly turned, to run away from it, but he was too slow.

The tendril wrapped around him, pulling him down as he screamed. The pirates were too slow to do anything, not expecting an attack from a sea monster. Gaslyrok was dragged down, into the water, making him hold on to his breath. As soon as he was able to, he opens his eyes, to see what it was. The large bulbous head of the creature, sure enough, it was a giant octopus. He wanted to scream and try to get away, but its grip was too tight on him, almost breaking an arm as it squeezed down. He struggles against it, trying to break free, but finding it impossible to do so.

He can't breathe, not like this, he has to do it, this time. He has to at least let his tail out, so he can breathe underwater. A light from his lower back shines brightly, his sea-serpent like tail sprouting out, protruding from him. He lets out a breath as he looks at the octopus, still struggling to break free. It seemed the large creature had something else in mind, normally, it'd begin to eat whoever it held. But after seeing the child's tail, it changed its mind. It let the ship go, dragging him deeper under water, making him wonder what it had in mind. He looks up, to the ship, as they go further away from it, deeper under the water.

♂___________________________________________________________________________♀

The sounds of people singing echoes through the lower decks of the ship, the song being sung cheerfully. It made its way to a certain room where the female twin hid, with a woman that can grow dragon like wings. She wanted to ask more about her, but she needed to wait a while, for the woman to finish braiding her hair. They sit in silence while the pirates above them sing. The braiding of her hair finishes, allowing her to speak, now that she won't ruin the woman's concentration.

“How does it look on me?” She asked.

“It looks wonderful.” The woman replies with a smile on her face. “I must admit, this past week, with you in here as well, it's been nice. I wish I could help you, though, but as you've noticed, while in this room, our powers are drained from us.”

She pointed to all the runestones around the room. They were a dark green colour, special runes engraved into each of them. Normally, the stones would be there for decoration purposes, but these ones were made to take away the powers of anyone inside the room. It makes them as strong as a normal human. Jasfu had noticed this on the first day the two were able to talk to each other, the one thing she wished she could remove. There were defences in place to prevent even that.

Under the dark green stones were yellow stones, they were engraved with runes as well. These ones would shock anyone that got too close to them, something Jasfu learned firsthand when she attempted to remove one. She was knocked unconscious, but luckily no one found her inside the room. The woman was kind enough to hide her away where no one would find her. The woman finishes braiding her hair, allowing Jasfu to get to her feet. She turns to face the woman with a wide smile on her face.

“How do I look in it?” She asks.

“Cute.” The woman responds.

The singing of the pirates continues, the two of them just listening to them. Jasfu walks around the room for a little while, trying to pick weak points in the walls. She does this daily, so she can escape from the brig when she can. She noticed some cracks in the wall, but they were behind the armoire inside the room, moving that alone is a chore for her. She looks back towards the woman, about to open her mouth to speak. The ship starts to rock from side to side, violently, throwing the two off their feet.

The woman catches Jasfu, preventing her from getting injured as the boat rocks. They try to keep their balance, finding it hard, when the ship keeps rocking. It wasn't long before the ship finally stops rocking, the two of them able to keep their balance. A glance is sent left and right, the woman running towards the door and stopping just in front of it.

“Stay here and stay quiet.” She whispers to Jasfu.

She gives a nod back towards the woman, moving to the bed and hiding under it. She doesn't want to get caught, fear of the same thing happening to her brother that happened to him. She knows he's alive, but she's also heard from the pirates about what he's been doing. They're keeping him as a servant, for now, until they decide to throw him overboard, if they decide to throw him overboard. She knows they won't do that, he's too valuable to them alive. Once she was hidden, the woman bangs on the door, to try and attract the attention of a pirate or two.

“Hey, what's going on out there?” She shouts.

She swiftly gets a response from one of the pirates, approaching the door. Jasfu couldn't see him, hiding behind the door, and the woman that was safeguarding her.

“Wut's it to ya?” The pirate asked.

“I just want to know what's going on out there.” She replied.

“We're being attacked, now keep you mouth shut before I come in there and make you keep it shut.”

“Attacked, by who?”

“Wut'd I jus tell ye, want me to come in there and rough ye up a 'ittle bit?”

“I'd like to see you try.”

“That's it!”

The door is swiftly unlocked, the man opening the door and stepping inside. Now that she can see him clearly, the man seemed about the same height as the woman. He wears a bandana over his head, long brown hair flowing down his head. His attire is that of the rest of the crew, a simple striped shirt with torn pants. No shoes are on his feet, but his eyes are what draws her attention. As he steps inside, she can see them sharpen, like that of a dragon's, or her own eyes.

He pushes the woman into the wall, growling at her, slowly drawing out his blade.

“I oughta jus end you ri-” He stops, taking in a deep breath.

He keeps sniffing, seeming to act more like a dog than anything else. After a few sniffs, a smirk is drawn across his face. Out of everyone that entered the room, so far, he's the first to act like this. He draws his blade, keeping it pointed to the woman's neck, looking around the room. His eyes fall to the bed, or rather, under the bed. His smirk remains on his face, gently pushing the blade closer to the woman's neck.

“Com' on out, or I kill the 'ady.”

Both Jasfu's, and the woman's, eyes widen, they'd been found out. How did he know, though? He seems as human as the rest of the crew. At least, Jasfu thinks they're all humans. She could actually be wrong about them, but she would understand how they were able to find, and capture, her brother if they aren't humans. She makes a slow motion to move out from under the bed.

“That's it, nice and slow, so I can get a good look at ye.” The pirate said.

“Jasfu, don't do i-” Before she could finish, the pirate strikes the woman across the face, making her hit the ground.

Jasfu sees the blade rise, about to strike the woman with it. Swiftly, she springs to her feet, standing between the pirate and the woman. The smirk on the man's lips grows wider, his teeth being shown as it does. Now that she's out in the open, he can see her clearly, his smirk disappearing soon enough. The face is familiar to him, as he's had to look at it for the past week on her brother. It's just as resilient as his own, just as strong looking. Even the glare she gives him is exactly the same.

A hand strikes her face, making Jasfu hit the ground, this time. She wasn't expecting it, the sudden pain across er face as she finally reaches the ground. Her glare goes back towards the man as she's swift to get back to her feet. She tries to hit him back but is met with a swift punch to her stomach. She falls to her knees, holding on to what pain was delivered to her. That was two hits for her, something she's never had done to her in her life.

He takes her arms, chaining her wrists together, throwing her out of the room. The blade is nudged towards the woman's neck once more, the pirate glaring at her.

“If I wus ordered to, I would waste no time.” He said.

He walks out of the room, closing the door behind him and locking it. He turns back towards Jasfu, the girl slowly rising to her feet. He grabs the collar of her shirt, lifting her up and turning her to face him. He just stares into those hateful eyes, his own seeming to be that of a human's now. Was this a trick she'd never heard of before? Seems like it.

“You better change the way yew 'ook at us.” He said.

He drops her on to the ground, pushing her towards the stairs to the upper deck. Reluctantly, she goes in the direction she's forced to move in. She took a chance to glare back towards him, but also keeps her eyes forward, watching where she steps, so she doesn't trip. It wasn't a long trip to get above deck, the sunlight beaming into her eyes, almost blinding her right away. She was a little startled to see the current state of the ship she was on. Below deck, everything seemed fine, but above, some of the masts were broken down.

She keeps glancing around, wondering what attacked them. Was it other pirates? Perhaps it was the military power that might be after them. Before she could give it much though, she felt a nudge towards the back of her neck, forcing her to take another step forward. She keeps looking around, seeing pirates starting to repair the place, but also receiving stares from them as well. Those stares swiftly changed to glares as they realized who she was related to.

“Oi, cap'ain, got another one 'ere for ye.” He shouted.

The man turned around, looking down towards Jasfu, simply staring at her for a while. He was a little bit above them, standing just outside his personal cabin. He wastes no time getting down to where they are, leaping over the railing that protected people from falling off. He lands with a loud thud, not even feeling any pain from his actions. He steps towards her, making Jasfu take a step back, bumping right into the pirate that caught her.

“Where was she hiding?” Mao asks.

“In the one room we never thought to search proper'y.” The pirate replied.

“Ah inside HER room.” He put emphasis on the word her, as though it was forbidden to say the name of the woman. “Well, seems we don't need the kid anymore, now that we have a fine replacement for him. But I hate to lose a kid as bright as him, let's find the nearest land and make repairs there. We'll have to send out search parties as well.”

“Wait a minute, what happened to him?” She asked, before Mao could walk away and go about other business.

“He was taken overboard, into the ocean. Don't you worry your pretty little head, though, we'll find him easily enough.” He replied.

“And how do you plan to do that? You just said he was dragged underwater, unless you think you ca-”

“We have ways of breathing underwater, don't worry, we have it handled.” He interrupted, before she could even finish. “Take her to the brig, she gets the same treatment as the other stowaway.”

He points to some of the pirates, but out of her ear shot. She couldn't hear what he was saying as she's dragged away. At least, when they find him, she will be reunited with her brother, once more. She does as she's asked, making her way below deck, to the brig, letting them lead her towards the place she'll be staying in, for the remainder of the trip.