"Hey, dad." Pip said, shaking Zenith awake with his hand. The boy in question had fallen asleep during his relaxing sunbathing, but now he was forced to open his eyes, only to be shaded from the sun by the leaves of Pip's cherry trees hovering over his body.
"What's wrong, bud?" He yawned, sitting up straight and stretching out his arms, careful not to damage the delicate fruit trees that surrounded them. Although, Zenith did come to notice the sudden size of the trees. A few hours ago, when he had first fallen asleep, they were barely two meters tall, but now they were easily reaching three or four metres high. "Wo, how long did I sleep for?" He asked.
"You were asleep for ummm…" Pip held up his fingers and tried to count time. "Thirty minutes… Maybe." He shrugged, sitting down next to Zenith as he yawned and leaned down into his side. "I wanted to ask when mom and the others would get back." He explained, causing Zenith to push away his suspicions on the trees and look out across the deck and down into the harbour.
"I don't know bud, it should be soon though." Zenith replied, gently rubbing Pip's hair with his hand and allowing the young boy to rest while Zenith stood guard. Only a few minutes after Pip had fallen asleep though, Zenith heard the distinct sound of Elez laughing, and he looked up into the sky expectantly.
"I win again," Elez smiled, landing down atop the deck with Madison nowhere in sight. Zenith's mind didn't go to their missing Captain though, instead his eyes turned immediately towards the crimson-haired boy who was laying nervously in Elez's arms.
"Who's that?" Zenith asked, standing up after he had laid Pip down on a blanket under the fruit trees. "Please tell me you didn't kidnap someone." He groaned, walking up to Elez and starting a very angry glaring competition.
"Of course not," the Angel growled back. "Me and Madison saved him from some gang dudes." He explained, looking down at Kaylo while the rosy cheeked boy had features almost as red as his hair.
"Is he burning up?" Zenith asked, leaning over as well and looking down on him, only making Kaylo's blush and embarrassment worsen. "Maybe we should take him to a doctor?" He questioned, looking up at Elez who shrugged and carefully put Kaylo down.
"I-I'm fine." Kaylo told them, taking a few paces back once he was standing on his own two feet. "You guys just got really close and that makes me nervous." He stuttered.
"Oh. I'm sorry, I should have asked before I picked you up." Elez apologised, bowing slightly before looking back up at Kaylo, who in response waved his arms around in disapproval.
"No, no, don't be sorry." He said. "It was really nice of you to do that, I don't think I could have walked all this way." He explained, rubbing the back of his neck as he turned away and sighed. "It's just…" He trailed off.
"Just what?" Zenith asked, curious as to what he meant.
"Well I-" Kaylo was cut off by the voice of another.
"Guys! Look what I bought!" Haylee squealed, stepping up onto the boat with Rayo glaring around from inside the cage that she held.
"An angry owl?" Elez asked, turning all of the attention away from Kaylo as he began walking towards the golden bird.
"His name is Rayo." She smiled, placing down the cage as she gently opened up the door and reached her hand inside. Rayo hesitated and seemed to huff and roll his eyes, but slowly reached out his claws and climbed up onto the wrist of her arm.
"What does he do?" Zenith asked, leaving Kaylo standing silently in the background, looking around at all of the flourishing fruits and berries which the crew was growing atop the ship.
"He's an old messenger bird." Haylee explained, gently pulling Rayo and her arm out of the cage, before petting the soft feathers atop his head with her forefinger. "I want to feed him and give him treats, let him explore the world instead of being cooped up in a cage." She smiled, stepping over towards the bright raspberry bushes and offering a few berries out to Rayo. He took a moment to look sceptical, but ate the berries without much hesitation afterwards.
"He's cute," Elez replied, reaching out in order to pet him, only to receive a threatening and offended glare from Rayo, as if he was challenging him in one way or another. Immediately, Elez pulled his hand away and let Haylee deal with him and his attitude.
In the background, Kaylo has stepped over to some of the many fruit trees, reaching up to pick some of the freshest ingredients he had ever seen. While he was aweing at the trees though, he also spotted Pip laying silently on a blanket nearby, and for a moment he just watched everything in confusion. His eyes turned back towards the others as they chatted and fought like old friends, fighting over the most mundane of things. But, deep down, Kaylo saw them all as a family. It didn't matter that they were different species, different people or even different ages, they all treated each other with a deep underlying respect. The kind of respect that Kaylo had been searching for his entire life.
"I want to join your crew," Kaylo said suddenly, catching the attention of everyone aboard the ship.
"That's great!" Elez smiled. "I'm sure Madison will be happy to welcome you aboard." He said, causing Zenith and Haylee to look around in confusion.
"Speaking of," Haylee cut in. "Where is the Captain?"
"Good point," Zenith said, staring out at the bay and expecting her to appear at any moment. But she never did.
"She should've been back by now." Elez hummed, starting to get concerned about his Captain's safety. "You don't think the Navy got her, do you?" He asked.
"No, she's far too strong for that - unless she was tricked." Zenith replied, grabbing his sword from nearby and attaching it to his belt. "Haylee, you stay here with Pip and the newbie. I'm going after Madison." He said, rushing off down the plank and sprinting towards the city.
"I'm going too, watch the kids." Elez joked, rising off of the ground as he began flying after Zenith.
"No problem," Haylee nodded, walking over to the small sleeping fox boy as she allowed Rayo to hop up into one of the cherry trees and nest where he saw appropriate. All while Kaylo watched Zenith and Elez dart away, his own feet itching him to run after.
"Stay safe," he said to Haylee, before rushing off to help with the search for Madison.