After only a few days of partying and sailing across the ocean, Madison, Zenith and Elez had grown closer as friends and crewmates, in fact, one would assume they were inseparable. But the truth was far more complicated.
Deep in the hull of the ship, Elez and Zenith were arguing, sitting across from each other in the dining room while everyone else was either asleep or partying up on deck.
"I have dibs," Zenith growled.
"You can't put dibs on a person." Elez hissed, fluffing his wings up in annoyance. It had been hours since the two men had begun fighting, but an end to their duel didn't seem like it would ever come. Especially since the cause of their fighting was because of Madison.
"I've known her longer," Zenith stated. "Therefore I have the first shot at asking her out." He explained, smiling smugly at the Angel who sat across from him.
"Why would she ever want you? I've seen your cooking, it's all burnt garbage." Elez sneered back, crossing his arms over his chest while he glared at Zenith.
"Fine, let's make a deal then." Zenith hummed, reaching his hand out over the coffee table that separated them. "We can both ask her out at any point we want to, and the other person cannot get in the way."
"Makes sense..." Elez hummed, staring at Zenith's hand while he contemplated his decision. "Very well then. It will allow me time to plan without you getting in the way, as well as making sure that Madison gets the final decision." He explained, grasping onto Zenith's palm and shaking his hand with a bone-crushing grip.
"No matter who she chooses though, I'm staying here to protect her." Zenith stated, pulling his hand away and leaning back into the couch.
"I plan to do the same," Elez grinned, standing up from his chair and stretching out his wings. "May the best man win her hand." He said, stepping slowly towards the door before it slammed open on its own, almost whacking Elez directly in the face.
"Guys! Guys! Guys!" Madison squealed, bouncing into the room with her winged wolf cub resting quietly in a handmade baby carrier she had strapped to her chest. "Land ho!" She giggled, having always wanted to say those words aloud.
"Time to dock then." Zenith smiled, standing up and walking over to her side. Both Zenith and Elez towered over Madison by at least eight inches each, and yet they never seemed to look down upon her in any way. "You look adorable," Zenith smiled at Madison, reaching down to pet the small wolf that was nuzzled up in her carrier.
"He is adorable, isn't he?" She smiled, completely missing the fact that the compliment was for her. "I'm going to name him Atlas."
"We really shouldn't name him," Elez cut in quickly, causing Madison to pout and hold her adopted baby close, refusing to let him go. "He needs to go back into the wild with his own kind, it's too dangerous for him to stay on the ship." He continued, hoping that Madison would listen to his request.
"Yeah, you're right." She sighed, looking down at the small winged wolf and sighing loudly once again, before walking off with eyes full of sorrow. "We'll be docking in ten minutes." She said, stepping out of the room and walking back to the other animals, placing the wolf cub down and letting him run off with his friends.
"You made her upset, that means I'm in the lead." Zenith grinned, turning to face Elez as soon as the two of them were once again left alone.
"It's better this way," the other boy sighed. "She would be far more upset if the cub died of illness."
"You've got a point. But I'm still winning." Zenith grinned, running off to prepare his sword and change his clothes before they docked. Thankfully, Valen's ship had many different clothes and jewels which Madison's crew had now claimed, leaving them with a wide variety of choices, as well as excess gold and belongings which they passed on to Valen's prisoners.
Soon enough, they docked in the harbour of a large coastal city, tying the boat tightly onto a docking lock before jumping down onto the floating wooden walkways that connected them to the city beach. Slowly, one by one, Valen's prisoners scurried off to start their new lives, leaving Zenith, Madison and Elez alone upon the deck of the Thundershock.
"Alright. I'll go and get some food." Elez announced, picking up one of their many bags of stolen coins. "Madison, you can stay and guard the ship while Zenith gathers some more weapons for us." He explained, looking towards Zenith with a happy smile, signalling that this was yet another challenge they could compete at.
"Sounds good to me," Zenith grinned, slipping a large bag of coins into a satchel he had stolen from Valen's quarters. "Last one back to the ship has to clean the deck!" He yelled, running off as soon as he began to speak. Annoyed growls erupted from Elez as he quickly followed behind, before lifting off into the air and zipping past Zenith with a happy and sneaky grin.
"You'll never beat me," Elez laughed, lifting higher into the air and swerving around the corner of a building, quite literally leaving Zenith in his dust.
"Damn cheater." Zenith growled, slowly pacing himself back into a calm walking speed, before looking around at the many shops and buildings that were available to him. It didn't take long at all for Zenith to stumble upon a weaponsmith, seeing as there were many different shops just like it, but moments after stepping inside, Zenith realised his job may be more difficult than he first assumed.
"Ah!" A meek voice squeaked out, as a tiny woman ran over with an excited gleam in her eyes. "How may I help you today, sir?"
"Oh, hello there," Zenith smiled softly. "I'm looking for... ummm." He trailed off, not quite sure what weapons they would actually need, since their new ship was already packed full of them. Suddenly, Zenith realised what Elez had done. The Angel boy had purposefully sent him on one heck of a wild goose chase. Naturally, this realisation would have angered anyone, but Zenith managed to stay calm and look around the room, before his eyes caught onto a glimmering gold encrusted blade. "I'm interested in a sword," he spoke out of instinct.
"A sword? Wonderful." The lady smiled. "I have many swords in stock that you could buy."
"What's this one made of?" He asked, stepping around the many buckets of cheap swords and pulling the sparkling golden blade off of the wall.
"Oh, I'm sorry but I can't sell you that sword." She said, stepping over in an attempt to take it away from him.
"Why not?" Zenith asked, hesitating to pass it back to her.
"It's cursed," she mumbled. "I don't want to be responsible for anything it does to you."
"How much?" He asked, pulling the bag of coins out of his satchel and watching as the woman stared at him in horror.
"D-did you not hear what I said about the blade? It's cursed with powerful magic." She stuttered, fearful as to what the blade was capable of.
"Then I'll take it off your hands." Zenith smiled. "How much for the sword?" He asked once again, only to receive a confused and thankful stare from the shop owner.
"...I-I never wanted to sell it to anyone in case they got hurt... I guess ten gold coins would do." She muttered, only to receive much more than she asked for.
"Fifty gold coins it is then," Zenith grinned, tipping the appropriate amount into a smaller bag before placing it into the woman's hands. "Lovely doing business with you." He said, sheathing the sword at his side before casually walking out with nothing more than a smile and a wave.
"Y-yes thank you," she muttered, looking down at the coin filled bag with tears of joy welling in her eyes. She was finally free of the dreaded cursed sword, and Zenith's kindness would allow her to pay off debts and feed her family for many weeks to come.
"Welp, I guess I better get back to the ship." Zenith smiled, looking out at the many buildings ahead of himself until he realised which direction he should turn towards. As soon as his eyes landed on his destination, Zenith walked off in that general direction, only to pass by a sketchy alleyway he hadn't seen beforehand.
"Useless runt!" A gravelly voice called out, before being followed by the distinct sound of shattering glass. "Get out of here before I kill you! You're a waste of my damn time and money!" They yelled, causing Zenith to turn instantly towards the sound. Glancing down into the dark alleyway nearby, he watched as a tall drunken man raised up a shattered glass bottle in his hand, preparing to swing down and hit a young boy who cowered on the floor below.
"Hey!" Zenith called out, reaching for his sword as he approached the man. "Leave the kid alone and pick on someone your own size!" He growled, drawing his blade in less than a moment and pointing it directly at the drunken man's throat.
"No way..." They mumbled dizzly, pointing the shattered bottle back up at him. "I've seen you before... You're that Dragon Tamer kid." He hiccuped, shakily pulling a poster out of his pocket and showing off Zenith's fifteen million gold coin bounty.
"Maybe I am," Zenith grinned, excited by this new development. "What are you going to do about it?" He asked, raising his sword to attack, only to watch as the man turned and ran away, leaving Zenith to stand alone in confusion. "...Huh, I guess you'll do that." He mumbled, sheathing his sword and crouching down towards the ground, before laying a soft hand onto the small boy's shoulder. "It's ok now, you're safe." He spoke quietly, trying not to scare the timid boy in any way.
"I-I don't want to go back. P-please don't make me go back." They cried, messily wiping their eyes while Zenith reached out to pick them up in his arms. Of course, he did this out of the kindness of his heart, but also because he saw himself in the young boy - scared, alone and living without a functioning father.
"Don't worry," he said, holding them close and stepping out onto the street nearby. "You're staying with me now."