A few hours after they had set sail once more, Elez was done cooking up a grand meal for the crew. Of course, he wasn't a professional chef in any way, and the meal consisted of very simple ingredients, but at least they weren't eating raw or burnt garbage.
A few minutes before they sat down to eat though, Zenith spotted a carrier bird flying gracefully over the ship. Slowly, he lifted up his arm and the bird swooped down and came to a rest on his shoulder, showing off the newly printed papers that were stuffed neatly in their backpack.
"What's that?" Madison asked, stepping up to Zenith's side as he held out a silver coin towards the bird. Immediately, the large raven plucked the metal from his fingers, placing it slowly into a rattling coin pouch before passing him a rolled up paper in exchange.
"It's a carrier bird," Zenith smiled, watching as they took flight once more and headed back towards the mainland. "You can buy the newest newspapers from them." He explained, rolling out the carefully bound stack and looking through the newly listed bounties.
"Oooo, he's cute." Madison smiled, reaching down and picking up one of the freshest bounties. "His scar looks awesome as well." She smiled, staring down at the blond haired boy that was depicted atop the wanted poster. Scarred atop his chest was an old but delicate star shaped scar, one which rightfully gave him the name 'Red Star Kaizo'.
"His bounty is fifty million gold," Zenith gasped. "He must have done something good." He mumbled, shuffling through the papers in search of his own bounty.
"Hey look," Madison smiled, picking up another two posters. "His crew are in here too." She hummed, looking down at the lower value bounties. "Fifteen Million for the Swordsman Zero. And Ten million for a woman named Lezlie." She grinned, hiding the bounties away in her large shirt pocket for later.
"Oooo, someone has competition." Elez chuckled, walking over towards the duo and smiling smugly at Zenith. "This swordsman Zero sounds like he could kick your ass." He hummed.
"Yeah right," Zenith grinned, holding up a paper with his own bounty printed atop it. "I've got eighteen million on my head, beat that." He said, smiling confidently in Elez's direction, thinking for a moment that he was the only one with a valid bounty.
"Oh hey!" Madison said, holding up another sheet. "Elez has eighteen million too!" She smiled, passing the Angel boy's poster towards him. Her announcement caused Zenith's smile to immediately drop, while Elez grinned smugly back at him.
"You have a big number too," Pip mumbled, poking his head over the top of the table and sliding a slightly crumpled poster towards Madison. Sat before her was a large bounty of twenty five million gold, causing a smile to rise happily atop her face while she bounced around and squealed loudly with joy.
"Damn, that's impressive Captain." Zenith smiled, reaching down to pet Pip's hair before noticing another familiar face scattered on a sheet across the table. "Oh my," he mumbled, picking it up and turning it to face the others. "Pip has a bounty too." He chuckled, proudly presenting the small boy's reward of a measly fifty bronze coins.
"Yes!" Madison giggled, picking up the small fox boy and bouncing around with him curled up happily in her arms. "My little baby got a bounty!" She yelled, shouting out her joy into the vast skies above.
"It's nothing much," Elez chuckled, snatching Pip's bounty away from Zenith while the other boy growled and cleared away the rest. "Fifty bronze can barely buy you a good meal." He said, before turning away and pinning the small boy's bounty up on the wall. "But a bounty is a bounty." He grinned, turning back to the others with a happy smile.
"Indeed, now let's eat." Zenith said, placing the rest of the newspaper down and planning to read it later, before pulling up a chair and staring at the masses of food which covered the table. "Why did you cook so much?" He laughed, piling his plate high with simple meats and breads.
"Some of the stuff I bought was already cooked, like the pastries and breads. So I just threw some meat in the oven and poured some frozen vegetables into some hot water, and bon appetit, it's party time." He smiled, cracking open a large bottle of wine.
"I can't argue with that logic." Madison hummed, helping Pip cut up his food before she began stacking up the meats onto her own plate. "This is great," she said, digging into the meal.
"It could be better, everything is so plain." Zenith mumbled, trying to start another competition with Elez.
"Like you could do any better. All of the food you cook is burnt." Elez replied calmly, eating his meal like a respectable and fancy man, while Zenith could barely use a fork correctly. Madison on the other hand had already abandoned cutlery and ate with little care about the grease that covered the tips of her fingers.
"You're wrong," Pip mumbled softly, looking up at Elez before turning towards Zenith. "I think my dad's cooking would be better than yours," he said, causing the entire room to fall into silence as Zenith choked on his drink.
"Your dad?" Madison asked, oblivious to what the small boy meant, only to watch as Pip raised his hand and pointed towards Zenith.
"And you're my mom." He muttered innocently, turning towards Madison and smiling softly up at her. The Dragon girl let out a squeal of love and happiness as she leaned out of her seat and hugged the adorable little boy. In the background, Zenith had burst into laughter and began wheezing and slapping the table, while Elez was left sitting in a jaw dropped silence.
"Did you teach him to say that?" Elez growled, tossing a loaf of bread at Zenith's head, only to watch as the humorous boy continued to laugh despite his attack.
"Nope." He wheezed, looking up at Pip and Madison. "But i like it." He smiled, grinning towards Elez while the Angel boy raised up a knife and prepared to throw it.
"Hey," Madison said, causing Elez to instantly drop the knife, assuming that she would be mad at him. "I totally forgot," she laughed, unaware that Elez had planned to attack at all. "I need to make one of you vice captain." She smiled, looking towards Elez and Zenith with a grin.
"Well that's an easy choice." Zenith replied. "You've known me longer, and I'm more skilled." He explained.
"We have the same bounty!" Elez argued. "Besides, I can cook and clean far better than you can." He growled.
"Oh yeah? Well I bought Madison a sword." Zenith said, slamming the cursed blade down onto the wooden table. His actions shook the plates of food, but captivated the entire crew as they all looked down upon the shimmering gold encrusted blade.
"It's so pretty." Madison gasped, reaching out to touch it. Slowly, she began running her hand over the thick leather casing and delicately silk wrapped handle, before dragging the sword towards herself and pulling the blade out from within the sheath.
"Wo," Elez gasped, stumbling out of his seat and taking a step back as they all witnessed the power that erupted from the shining steel blade of the sword. Zenith had known that it was cursed, and he had yet to pull it out of its casing, but now that Madison had unsheathed the sword, she was quite literally bound to its consequences.
The blade itself was carefully designed and lined with patterns and small golden gems, causing the weight of the sword to seem minuscule and unnecessary. Thick sheets of silver silk were sown and embedded around the handle, while the guard that separated it from the blade was crafted out of the finest dark wood on the planet. Finally, the case was made of thick embroidered leather, and held together by intricate sewing and a strap that allowed you to easily connect it onto a belt.
"This is amazing, thank you Zenith." Madison smiled, sheathing the sword and sitting down once more, watching as Elez still stood in fear close by. "What's wrong?" She asked.
"T-that sword is cursed." He muttered. "I've read about a power just like that, it's unnatural." He said, hiding the fact that he had the unique ability to sense and determine curses.
"Cursed huh?" Madison said, standing up from her seat and drawing the sword once again. "What's the curse?" She asked, swinging it around with relative ease.
"The blade is possessed, it carries the ability to move on its own in battle, change its weight and length with ease, and sometimes conduct elemental magic. It could get you killed." He panicked, reaching out in an attempt to take the blade away, but Madison stepped back and smiled down at the sword.
"Sounds like they just need a good owner." She grinned, sheathing the sword and laying it carefully against her chair. "I'm going to take good care of you," she smiled, patting the hilt of the sword before sitting down and eating once again.
"No way," Zenith chuckled. "Are you seriously just brushing that off?"
"Yeah, it's not the craziest thing that's ever happened to me." Madison shrugged, stuffing a bread roll into her mouth.
"Well, I guess that's true." Elez sighed, sitting down at the table with the others. "You are a human who can turn into a Dragon... or I guess the other way around." He chuckled.
"Which begs the question," Zenith said, holding up a fork full of food. "Why did a Dragon like you want to become a pirate?"
"Well... I'll share my past if you share yours." She smiled.
"Sounds like a deal."