(Lucca)
My father grips the wheel with his boney hands, his eyes resting on the sea out in front of us. The wind blows gently and the sky is cleared of clouds leaving the sun to send warm rays of light onto our ship.
A low sigh leaves his lips and immediately then I know something is up.
"Old man? Why'd you call me over here?"
It takes a moment for him to respond, and when he does his expression is mournful and depressing. "Lucca, you know I can't let my crew see me this way. It's just, my father's death was really hard on me. You remember your grandfather, strong and powerful, but always friendly and caring to anyone he met. I strived to be just like him when I was your age and when he passed everything of his was handed to me and it was overwhelming."
I see where this is going. He's sick. He's been sick for a while and this journey was supposed to be his way to go out with a bang, but I don't think that he's planning to complete it. How could he?
"My father just died, and there I was leading the crew he once had and all of them were calling me captain. It was horrifying. It took me awhile to get the skills of the leader, but Lucca, you have those naturally. When I die and you become captain, you won't struggle as much as I did. I just know it." He steps forward and pats my shoulder with a sad smile, and I know all too well on what's coming next.
It always happens. Every year since his time has started dwindling. "Tomorrow, when we make it to the cave, be captain for the day, alright? I need a day to myself. Especially one like that. I know you can handle it."
As much as I don't want to do what he asked, I can tell just by looking at him that he's in so much pain. At the moment, he isn't fit to lead the crew. When the anniversary of his father death arrives he's definitely not going to be able to it.
For his sake, I'll do it, but in the future there's no guarantee that I will. Maybe I should just hand the reins to Leonel. I've never been the type to take on a ton of responsibility. I'm not the guy that everyone looks up to.
"Alright, fine, I'll be 'captain' for you. Just rest easy. We don't have to rush our journey."
He smiles and I feel obliged to share a moment with him, so I wrap my arms around him and bring his body into a tight hug. He pats me on the back and I do the same to him before we pull back.
"Alright, Lucca. You go ahead and go eat. I'm gonna get some more rest."
I nod and watch him as he slowly makes his way down the steps, shaking with each step.
With a sigh I soon make my way down to the main deck and meet up with everyone who is either sitting on a chair or on the floor. They greet me with smiles while I just greet them with a curt nod.
"Tomorrow, we'll be pausing our journey to stop at the cave my father finds is nearest to his heart. It's important to him, so he won't be as cheerful. He's given me the duty of being captain for the day, so when the sun rises tomorrow morning, I expect you all to follow my orders and be respectful."
Most of the crew nods while others yell out 'understood' for their responses. When I look over, the only two who didn't say anything are Leonel and Tristan. They're too busy chatting away and laughing with one another to pay attention.
I shouldn't get jealous over something so simple. It's not like they're making out. Even so, seeing Tristan laugh like that because of someone other than me doesn't settle well in my stomach.
(Naomi)
My eyes trail over to Lucca, his own resting on the new member of the crew who I heard is named Tristan.
He's pretty cute, but in a puppy dog way.
He glances over at me and smiles sweetly, causing me to squeak and pull my knees up to my chest while sitting on the floor. People always make me nervous. It doesn't matter who or how close they are. I'm only able to talk with animals without stuttering or just staring at the floor the entire time.
The only best friend I really have on this ship is my brown bunny that I named thumper after a rabbit in one of my favorite movies 'bambi'.
I'm not allowed to see him during the day since I have so much work, but at night I tell him all my thoughts and secrets, and sleep right next to him. Well he has a small little cage, but I don't think he minds.
When I glance up my light brown hair falls in my face due to the fact that it stops at my chin and curls up at the ends. Usually I wear a clip, but everyone was rushing this morning to eat breakfast. I didn't want to miss it. When Lucca walks away, everyone seems to relax. Even I do just a little bit. He's kind of intimidating. Especially when he bosses us around.
It makes me wonder if he has a soft spot for the new boy because whenever I seem them together, they seem to be smiling. However, that's only a secret I tell thumper.
The quietness of the group quickly changes when a tall girl walks over and settles herself next to Tristan with a big grin.
She's not as tall as Tristan or Leonel and Lucca for that matter, but she makes me feel like an ant. As I peek past my hair, I find myself unconsciously looking her over. I look at her style, her hair, and well, her entire self.
She looks so cool, and so bold. It's like she's the complete opposite of myself. She's wearing a short dress that fits her perfectly and a jacket that matches and her hair is styled in a way that shows off the features of her face.
It just isn't fair. It's been forever since I've worn a dress, and the only things I wear now are big sweaters, hoodies, baggy pants and just baggy clothing in general. It makes me look smaller than I already am, but it also helps me go unnoticed.
As the girl chats away, I snuggle down into my sweater due to the chilly morning wind and let my eyes flutter closed. I must've fallen asleep because when I start waking up I hear someone talking to me.
"Hey, Love. It must be pretty boring sitting all alone."
My eyes snap open, and I look up to see the girl sitting right next to me. When did she get here? I open my mouth to reply, but quickly shut it and look to the side. Maybe if I don't say anything she'll leave. It's so difficult. She looks prettier up close, and she smells nice. Oh god I'm a freak!
"It's okay. No need to be nervous." She puts her arm around my shoulder, and leans on me.
That's when I began to shake. She's too close. Way too close. Quickly, I wiggle away, and stare at her with wide eyes. "W-Why are you t-talking to me?"
"Oh, hun. You looked lonely. Why wouldn't I talk to you?" She responds, scooting closer to me. Her hair is a vibrant red color, and her eyes are such a bright green that it's impossible do not get drawn in by them.
"You have really pretty eyes…" I mumble, quickly covering my mouth after doing so. "Sorry! I didn't mean- Well, I did, but"
"Calm down, angel. Thank you." She says cutting me off. She seems to remember that I don't like being hugged, so instead, she takes my hand. Her fingers interlock with mine which, of course, makes me flush red and my hands start shaking.
"No one really talks to me so I'm not used to talking with… people."
"Well, now I'm talking to you, and you'll have a hard time getting rid of me." She lays her head in my lap, and rests our intertwined hands on her stomach with sigh. "The sky is so beautiful."
For some reason I can't stop looking at her, and I don't even take a moment to look at the sky.
"Um… your name? You have one, right? Of course you do. I mean, name… yours?"
She stares at me for a moment before she grins widely. "Aww, you're so cute! I'm Alyssa. What's your name, Babes?" She gushes, squeezing my hand slightly.
"N-Naomi… Saito. Naomi Saito."
"Naomi. It's very cute." She brings my hand closer to her face, kissing it gently before letting go. She sits back up and looks into my eyes. "I can tell that we're going to be really good friends."
"Oh. Okay… why did you" I stare down at my hand and smile slightly, going back to looking off to the side. "Never mind."
I shyly glance down before my eyes go wide at the tattoo on her ankle.
"Dragon." I end up blurting out, quickly scrambling away from her.
"Y-You're a dragon?" I whisper as quietly as possible, which isn't difficult for me. I curl up and point to the mark on her ankle. "Are you?"
"I am, but don't be so scared. I wouldn't hurt someone as pretty as you." She doesn't seem scared that I know, and she certainly doesn't seem dangerous.
I flush at the comment and place my cold hands to my cheeks to cool them down. She's a dragon. According to my mother, her kind and my kind never get along. Should I tell her what I am? Can I trust her?
"H-How can I be sure you won't try anything?"
"Just trust me. I didn't hurt Tristan, and he's a merman. It's completely unheard of for a dragon to befriend a merman." She says quickly before snapping her mouth shut. "Forget that you heard that."
"Merman?!" I say a bit too loudly, causing a few heads to turn our way. "S-Sorry! It's just... she just-" Alyssa covers my mouth, smiling at the people staring at us.
"She's fine. Just a little tired." She drags me to her room, and makes me sit on the bed.
"Listen here, Tristan will not hurt anyone on this ship, okay? He's never hurt anyone. You can not tell a single soul about either of us. Please." She pleads, looking serious for the first time since I've met her.
"I don't think you'll hurt anyone. It's just that… I'm a-" I stop myself short when I feel my canines poke at my lip. I quickly look down and wiggle under her gaze. "I'm a Kitsune. Our kind and your kind and even merpeople… for some reason they don't like us. I can't trust you straight away."
"Well, I'm fine with that. Getting you to trust me gives me an excuse to be around you." She replies, winking at me. "I wouldn't have guessed that though. Foxes are supposed to be sneaky. You're too cute to fly under the radar."
"I'm not cute!"
I look up to her and immediately regret it. Why is she so gorgeous? Is it because she's a dragon?
I grab the blanket on her bed and wrap it around my body self consciously. After looking at her body, it made me realize that I have such a small tummy. I'm short and I have no fat at all no matter how much I eat. I've always been like this, and she looks perfect.
"I can't believe that you actually think that, but fine. I'll just agree to disagree with you." She answers, reaching out to rub her thumb over my cheek.
"Good. I don't want to argue. I can go ahead and leave now… you don't have to talk with me anymore. Other people on the ship are way more interesting than I am."
"I want you to stay." She sits next to me, and grabs my hand once more. Now that I know that she's a dragon, I easily realize how warm she is. "I'll follow you around like a lost puppy if you leave, so you might as well just lag down and take a nap with me."
I jut out my bottom lip and pout at the offer. As I think it over, maybe it's not such a bad idea. I hesitantly lay down and snuggle into the bed, bringing the blanket up over half of my face. "I'm fine with that."
"I didn't think that it would be that easy, but great." She kicks off her stilettos, and climbs under the blanket with me. As soon as she does, she scoots as close to me as she can. She takes my hand, letting her other arm lay around my waist.
She's so close, I can nearly hear the beating of her heart. I can't help myself, when she closes her eyes my hand slowly creeps up and a finger hovers over her bottom lip.
When I realize what I'm actually doing, I quickly yank my hand away and try to scoot further away. Alyssa however notices this and tightens her grip around my waist, pulling me even closer to her than where I was before.
"Why?" I whisper, my hand gripping her own. "Why are you doing this? You just met me, so why are you napping with a stranger?"
"Because I'm a firm believer that deep down, you know everything you need to know about a person just from observing them. You aren't a stranger to me because I know that we can be great friends if you would let yourself trust me. It sounds like stupid hippie shit, but I don't get a negative feeling from you. I trust you… Also I'm a big fan of napping."
I giggle softly and hide my laugh with the palm of my hand. She seems nice enough to trust, but part of me just can't. I need to wait.
"You know, I've never really had… friends before. When I was younger the only things I hung out with were animals, everyone else kinda scared me." I look up to her and smile gently. "Is this stuff that friends do? Take naps together and get this close?"
"Just with me… okay?" She sound almost possessive, but I don't know why.
After my dad died, my mom kept my brothers and I shut out from the world. I only left to come in this ship a few months ago, and since then I still haven't made many friends.
Leonel tries to be nice, but I can tell that he doesn't really like me, and Lucca is just terrifying. I'm practically invisible to everyone else. I wonder if this is all it takes to get more friends, and if it is maybe I could try it it's more people.
"But why? Was I wrong?" My smile fades into a frown. How am I supposed to know what friends do? Do they not nap together? If not, then does that mean Alyssa and I aren't friends? What are we if not friends?
"Not completely. Uhh… you're only supposed to nap with really close friends. Ones who won't get the wrong idea." She clarifies, making me even more confused than before.
"I still don't get it. What else would they think if we slept together?"
"Well, In Tristan and Lucca's case, napping involves a lot more touching, and a lot less clothes." She mumbles, making my cheeks turn red.
I'm not exactly experienced in that stuff. My parents never taught us about it, and I don't have any older siblings that could've told me. I usually just avoid talking about it at all because it makes me nervous.
"Oh, does that mean they're like best friends? We aren't going to do that stuff are we?"
"Oh, honey… sure, but you can only be best friends with one person at a time, and it should be someone that you love." She insists, bringing her hand up to poke my nose. "And we won't do anything like that. Not yet at least."
I huff and turn away from her with my arms crossed. I've always wanted more friends, and if this is how I get more, I don't see the problem.
"Is that a rule or something?" I sit up and grin from ear to ear. "I can just ask people if they want to nap with me, and then I'll get them to be my friend."
"No!" She responds before taking a deep breath and lowering her voice. "No you can't do that. Forget what I said about friends. Friends only talk to each other. When you date someone, then you can cuddle, nap, hold hands, and kiss each other."
"Does that mean… I mean we did most of that stuff. Are we dating?" I gasp and slap my hands over my mouth, my green eyes looking to hers in shock.
"Not really. See, when someone asks you to be their girlfriend, then it's dating. Only if you say yes."
I nod in understanding and lay back down, this time keeping a small distance between us. "Okay… I think I get it. Is it normal for your heart to beat this fast when I'm with a friend?"
I laugh softly and put my hand to my chest, feeling my heart slamming against my ribs. It usually only happens when I'm scared or excited, but I don't feel like that right now. I just feel happy.
She smiles and takes my hand, placing it against her chest to let me feel her heart beating just as fast.
"It's normal. Maybe we aren't just friends though. It certainly doesn't do this when I'm with Tristan. The heart wants what it wants though." She admits, and for once, her cheeks are the ones turning a pinker shade.
"Well, what does your heart want?" I ask softly, and she just shrugs.
"You, but I shouldn't act on what I want yet. Not until you trust me."
"I guess I'm not used to all this. Sorry you had to explain so much. We've done more talking than we have napping."
She lets go of my hand and lays back on the bed with me next to her. "It's okay, pumpkin. Talking is my second favorite hobby."
"What's the first? Napping?"
"Of course!" She laughs loudly before settling down. Boy, does she have a pretty laugh.
I'm new the the whole 'talking to people' thing, but I think my heart wants her too.