It was one of those perfect days at sea. The water was calm and carried the ship smoothly. The sun was shining,

but not beating down on the crew. The sky was clear, with just enough fluffy clouds to keep things interesting. A

perfect day at sea.

“What the hell do you think you’re doin’?!” The captain had pulled himself over the rail that separated him from

the rest of the ship, forgoing the stairs entirely, to reach the object of his outrage. The man who had just made the

mistake of kicking Jenkins down.

“He’s too slow, Captain, he was in the way-!” The man’s posture remained relaxed. Of course he was relaxed.

The captain shoved him out of the way, knocking him into two other men. Jenkins kneeled now with one hand on

his ribs. His captain knelt with him.

“How’re you holding up, old man?” The venom slipped from his voice like water from a glass.

“Alright enough, Cap’n, just a lil’ bruise I think.” Jenkins’ cheery, toothless smile never faded, even with every

wince that accompanied the slightest movement.

“…Mm.”

“Willie,” The old man cleared his throat, looking up from his side. “I’m old. I break easy.”
 

“…Alright, alright.” The captain sighed and stood with Jenkins’ arm over his shoulders, turning to face his crew.

Quite the crowd had gathered when he had his little outburst.

  “Turner, Smithy, take Jenkins to his quarters and tend to him. Go!”

The two men didn’t waste time collecting the old timer, carefully so as not to invoke their captain’s wrath, and

getting him away. Good thing, too, because right behind him-

“Captain-!”

Willie turned quickly and drew his sword before the warning could be finished, letting it barely rest against his

almost-assailant’s neck. The man who had struck Jenkins.

“You watch yourself, Felix.”

The crew stilled. The breeze came to a halt. For a moment, it even felt as if the ship had stilled.

“You’re soft, captain. Not even goin’ soft. You’ve been soft. A soft, sentimental child-“

  Before anyone could even step up to defend their captain, he defended himself. When Felix opened his mouth to

continue, his captain barely lifted the sword and slashed his cheek. The gash, thin but drooling blood, slid down to

his jaw before finally stopping. In not even seconds, the captain was nose to nose with the unruly man.

“If you value your position, and your life, you will never call me a child again. You will never so much as lay a finger

on Jenkins again, and you will never call me soft. Do you understand me loud and clear?”

Felix answered with a silent glare.

“I said do you understand me, goddammit?!”

“I understand, Willie.”

Morgan came to tend to the gash, a scowl on her face.

  Willie slept like a log in his quarters every night. Truly that was his greatest weakness, how deeply he fell asleep

and with how much ease he drifted into his dreams. That’s why it came as such a shock to find himself bound to

his bed when he awoke to a harsh slap.

“Wake up, runt!”

Familiar faces peered all around him. Felix he expected, but others sent a pang deep into his chest. Morgan.

Adams. Turner. People he trusted. People he loved. The pang flickered a moment longer before it ignited a flame,

a roaring, wild flame that drove Willie to thrash and scream and curse. The tiny pirate was met only with bellows

of laughter that seemed to fan the flames higher and higher.

“We tied ye up nicely, didn’t we cap’n?” Morgan cackled, a hand on her hip. Her other hand rested on Felix’s shoulder.

“You traitorous wench!” Willie spit at them, nearly hissing with each word. “Traitors, the lot of you!”

“We’re the traitors, are we?” Turner huffed and stepped closer, but Felix stopped him with an outstretched arm.

“You favor an old man over the most able bodied of your crew,” Felix continued on his friend’s behalf. “You’re too

soft for this life.”

Morgan detached herself from Felix and stepped to the edge of Willie’s bed, drumming her nails on his cheek. He

froze at that to avoid being cut. Morgan trimmed her nails long and sharp, always. Perfect for, well…

“Felix is right, cap. Just look at those eyes,” She traced her nail near the edge of one eye and Willie tensed up,

squeezing them both shut tight.

“Sweet little child eyes. But there’s no room for children aboard your crew, is there, Captain?” Morgan addressed

Felix this time, a grin across her cheeks.

“No, there sure isn’t,” Felix hummed. He leaned over from the foot of the bed, staring down at Willie. His own grin

grew and his voice lowered to barely a whisper, a cruel shine in his eyes. “No room for old men, either.”

The flames roared.

Willie’s eyes shot back open.

“You son of a bi-!”

The flame died.

  “You could almost feel sorry for the little shrimp,” Morgan cooed, patting Willie’s cheek. Dried up blood still stuck

to it, as the messy stitches keeping his lids together did nothing to stop the wound from oozing. “You’re sure we

shouldn’t take him to shore?”

Felix shook his head. “He’s too stubborn, love. He’d hunt us down. We need to rip this weed out at the roots.”

“Whatever you say, Captain. Any final words, Willie?”

He glared at them both with his good eye, silent.

“A man of few words, I see. Too bad, if you’d been this way earlier this could have been avoided,” Felix chuckled

and grabbed Willie up by the scruff of his shirt, dangling him over the edge of the ship. “Fair well, Cap.”

The wind whipped and howled around them, blowing Felix’s newly gained hat into the water. He tossed Willie in

right after it.

 
  For a good moment, Willie sank. He watched his hat sink. He watched his entire world sink around him. He

waited. Holding his breath, biding his time until his lungs ached. Slowly, his hand shot out and grabbed his hat.

Willie resisted the urge to chuckle. Despite the pain aching deep within his eye socket. The pain deep within his

stomach at the betrayal by his crew. The ache in his heart at the loss of his friend. Yes, he let himself sink for a

good moment after Morgan and Felix retreated to the captain’s quarters.

Because at much as he had wanted to trust his crew, the knowledge that he could swim died with Jenkins.