Morning light broke effortlessly through the tinted windows of the Shellshock, highlighting the glimmering ocean as the waves crashed gently against the hull. There was little to no noise that could be heard atop the ship, as most of the crew was resting peacefully in their beds. Even Haylee was curled up under her sheets after hiding their vessel in the cove of a nearby island.
As birds began to sing and signal the early morning sun, a delicious smell wound it's way around the ship, waking everyone who able to sense the delicious aroma. Madison was one of the first to react to the smell, as her eyes fluttered open onto the image of Zenith laying beside her. She remembered falling asleep beside him, but now his body was closer and Pip was sprawled out onto of them. They both seemed content while they slept, until finally they picked up on the smell as well.
Madison didn't expect Zenith to wake up with such little stimulus, so when the boy's body reacted to the smell of food, Madison's eyes went wide with surprise and joy. As Zenith sat up and slowly looked around, Madison tackled him and hugged him tight, refusing to let him go.
"You're ok!" She smiled, leaning back briefly in order to watch his response.
"Y-yeah, I am." He muttered, wrapping his arms weakly around her back while he too hugged her and held her close. "So you found a doctor?" He asked, noticing that his pain had almost completely vanished.
"Elez found something," she replied, pulling away from Zenith in a panic. "Oh my Gods, I need to check on Elez." She said, turning away and quickly leaping out of the bed.
"I'm sure he's fine," Zenith smiled, swinging his legs over the side as he too stood up from the edge of the bed. After a few moments of stretching though, he turned to look at Pip, noticing the bandages that were wrapped messily over one of his arms. "Who hurt Pip?" He asked, his tone turning cold in an instant.
"Some guys attacked while you were here alone. I think someone poisoned them. Maybe a stowaway? Or a divine protector?" She muttered, turning back to watch as Zenith lifted Pip up from the bed, holding the small boy in his arms while he kissed his forehead and rubbed his hair.
"At least he's ok," Zenith sighed, glancing down at his own chest which was covered in dry bloody bandages. "Couldn't get much worse than me." He chuckled, stepping up to the door as he smiled towards Madison and left to investigate the sweet delicious smell.
The origin of the aroma was from the kitchen, where Kaylo had been cooking ever since he woke up from his painful slumber. Just like everyone else on the ship, Kaylo had experienced a powerful and mariculous healing, one which he couldn't quite explain. The moment he woke up and realised where he was though, the boy began on a feast for the rest of the crew, in order to celebrate their gracious survival.
Elez was the first to reach the kitchen, his wing still bandaged tightly against his side. The moment he saw Kaylo alive and well though, he ignored his aching body and stepped forwards as fast as his legs could carry him. The Angel boy reached out and grabbed Kaylo's side, pulling the boy away from his cooking as he grasped onto his body and embraced his tiny figure. Kaylo had never been a muscular boy, the only strength he had was in his arms, all of which was used for cooking and his natural throwing and shooting skills.
"E-Elez?" Kaylo muttered, his cheeks flushing pink at the closeness of their bodies.
"I thought I failed you," Elez mumbled, wrapping his only good wing around the smaller boy whilst he relaxed and rested his chin atop his shoulder.
"I assumed that it was you who saved me." Kaylo smiled, leaning deep into the boy's embrace while he relaxed and nuzzled into his arms. "Thank you," he said, his voice almost unheard.
"No need to thank me. You guys deserve a perfect life, I plan to make sure that you and the others achieve that." He smiled, leaning back and pulling away, before staring happily into the boy's eyes. "I remember what you said to me, and I'm sorry that I can never truly feel the same. But if you want someone to hold you, if you don't feel safe sleeping alone, or you just need a friend - then I'm always here. I'm prepared to be the best damn friend you've ever had, no boundaries." He smiled, causing Kaylo to tear up and embrace him once again.
"Thank you," he cried, holding tightly onto the Angel in front of him.
"Plus, I can be your wingman, I can hook you up with any guy you want." He grinned, running his hand gently through Kaylo's hair while he spoke.
"You're something else, Elez," Kaylo laughed, wiping away his tears of joy before moving back and smiling at his friend.
"I know," he smiled, petting Kaylo's hair one last time before looking around at the assortment of food that he had prepared. "Want help setting the table?" Elez asked, already moving to collect the cutlery.
"Yes please," Kaylo replied, packing away his used ingredients before carrying plates and bowls to the table with Elez close at his side.
"Hey! You guys are ok!" Madison yelled, tackling both of the boys as soon as they entered the dining room. Elez managed to stay standing, while keeping Kaylo upright with the support of his wing.
"Yeah, never felt better." Elez grinned, glancing over at Zenith as the swordsman entered the room with Pip peeking around at the small gathering of crewmates. "I see the reckless idiot is awake too," Elez joked, stepping over towards Zenith whilst Madison was left to help Kaylo with the food.
"At least I'm alive," Zenith grinned, ruffling Elez's hair as the two of them laughed and smiled happily.
"You guys are all up?" Haylee yawned, stepping inside the room with her long jumper covering the ends of her hands. She flapped around the comedically long sleeves, before wiping her eyes and waddling towards Elez and Zenith, pulling them both into a hug whilst the two boys smiled and hugged her back. Pip was also included in the hug, but couldn't really embrace anyone in his tiny arm-less fox form.
"Shall we all get some breakfast then?" Kaylo smiled, stepping back in with a whole tray-full of bacon, hash browns and sausages.
"Yes please!" Pip yapped, transforming back into his human form while his tail wagged excitedly from hunger. Zenith smiled at Pip's enthusiasm, as he sat down at the table with the boy seated comfortably in his lap, since he was far too small to see over the table if he was sat down on his own.
"Time to dig in," Madison hummed, pulling up a chair as she too sat down beside the table. Elez and Haylee stayed standing.
"Are you not going to eat with us?" Zenith asked, noticing that they had yet to take a seat.
"I will, I'm just waiting on Rayo to get the mail," Haylee yawned, holding open the door as her large golden owl swooped in through the hallway and landed gracefully atop her shoulder. He held a large binding of paper in his jaws, which Haylee gracefully exchanged for a slice of bacon. "Good boy," she smiled, sitting down at the table and leaving Elez standing alone.
"Elez?" Kaylo asked, looking up at the boy with a concerned glance. "Do you not want to eat?" He muttered.
"No, I just-" He was cut off as a bang echoed out from down the hallway, and almost immediately he had rushed off to investigate. Of course, the bang was nothing huge, it was more of a small thud of a body hitting the floor, followed by a weak groan of pain.
"Owww," Jade whined, rubbing the back of his head in annoyance. He had fallen off balance while attempting to sneak around and look at things.
"You alright?" Elez asked, stepping up to the boy's side as he crouched down and gently lifted him from the floor.
"I-it's you." Jade stuttered, his eyes going wide with realisation and shock.
"Yeah, welcome to the Nightshade Pirate ship," Elez grinned, stepping back to give him some space.
"You… actually saved me…" Jade muttered, staring up at him with tearful eyes. "You actually did it." He said.
"You didn't deserve to be treated that way, so yeah, I did everything I could to save you." He smiled, reaching out a hand for Jade to hold. "Come on, let's get you some food and some water, then you can meet the rest of the crew."
"You're serious?" Jade said, shakily accepting his offer and reaching out to take his hand.
"One hundred percent," he replied, taking hold of the shaky boy's hand and leading him slowly towards the dining area where the rest of the crew had already begun eating. The moment they stepped inside though, Jade backed up in response to a loud shout from Haylee.
"15 million gold!!" She gasped, staring down at the newspaper in disbelief.