"And what would lead you to believe that, Jared?" Cobiah kept his cool on the outside, but he was as cautious as a predator on the hunt on the inside. If Jared did figure out, there could be only two options: 1)Try to off him. Or, the less violent of the options, 2) Try and persuade him to his thinking.
"I've seen the flag before too, but like everyone else on this ship I have no clue who it belongs to. Like I said, I wished to get closer so perhaps we could figure out who it belonged to, and send them a 'message'"
"They looked awfully like you're flag... the Seatone flag..." He gave Cobiah a look. "But that maybe just a coincidence..." He held his grin and went back to the kitchen to prepare the food
Cobiah shrugged off Jared's claims as the cook went back into the kitchen, and ascended the decks to the main deck, and looked out at the sea. It was almost dark. Perhaps he'd volunteer to take the night shift tonight, so he could keep and eye on the ships that were previously tailing them.
Ellia turned to see Cobiah go on deck. She smiled at him and gave him a slight wave, although the back of her mind was still churning about Mr. Elliott. "Hey, Cobiah!" Ellia called in greeting. She didn't know much about the boy, besides his infamous family, but she supposed it wouldn't hurt to be friendly, would it? * * * Natalia placed the books back on the shelf slowly, deep in thought. That flag would bug her, she knew it, but until then, they had to continue on their mission. She stepped out of the captain's quarters, and climbed to the wheel. Penelope Lemming, a slight blonde girl with fish tattoos going up her arms, looked up and smiled in greeting. "Hiya, Captain!" "Ms. Lemming," Natalia responded, nodding in return. "The course is set to Maydye, I presume?" "Yes ma'am!" Penelope chirped.
"Hmmm?" Cobiah stirred as he returned to clarity from staring at the sea. "Hello Ellia. Taking another one of the late night watches, I presume?"
She grinned and shrugged. "I like the crow's nest; what can I say?" Glancing at an errant rope, flapping in the wind, she casually tied the knot into place, her deft fingers creating links upon themselves. "I wouldn't be surprised if Natalia made us double up on shifts tonight; I think the ships and their lack of identity are bothering her. What about you? Are you taking a shift tonight?"
"I think I might, it's bothering me quite a bit too. Hey, is there room for another up there? Would be a hell of a lot more comfortable if we didn't have to project our voices, I'm sure you're not a fan of craning your neck over, either!"
Jared had put together a potato stew for the crew and had brought a couple of bowls out to the deck. "Supper's on!" He called out.
Ellia slipped down the rope ladder, and landed neatly next to him. "There is room," she said, "but it's dinner time, so I'll come down to you." (Not enough for you, eh? I'll add more.) Natalia joined the table, and Rhys followed. He looked slightly nervous, although he seemed to be maintaining an aura of cockiness. Natalia turned to him, and raised an eyebrow when she noticed his mood. "You'll be fine," she whispered. "You have a story they want." She was unsure of why she felt sympathy for the boy next to her, but she did, and as she sat down and he did the same, she cleared her throat and addressed the crew. "Everyone, Rhys will be now telling the legend of Fawelore. If you are interested in hearing, please come join us."
Jared and his assistants brought the stew over to the table. They placed the bowls down in front of the crew members that sat down. Jared brought out a bottle of fine red wine and popped the cork. He poured Natalia a glass and placed the bottle in front of her.
Natalia didn't like alcohol; the one time she had been drunk had made her mind fuzzy, led her to make the gravest mistake of her life, and made her have a headache afterwards. Nevertheless, she gave a nod of thanks to Jared, and turned to listen to Rhys. Rhys cleared his throat nervously, and pulled on his bangs. "Alright," he said. "Now, the legend of Fawelore has been passed down from generation to generation, so the way I heard it may not be the one that includes everything. However, I went around the country to hear different renditions of the tale, and this is the accumulation of my research, exempting the exact location, as I am told that is classified " After a moment's silence, he began. "Past the fractals of the north, and the siren's sweet songs, Fawelore waits in the depth, bubbling as it sinks deeper and deeper, never hitting the floor." "It doesn't even rhyme!" a shipmate called. Rhys ignored him. "Past the time when numbers count, there lived an island. with sheep and hounds, running past gates in fields that lasted forever In a small hamlet by the sea, with fish and seals to spare, twice a year, at the summer and winter solstice a great beast haunted the town, destroying everything in it's path A girl lived in that village with eyes as green as spring and hair the color of the moon, with doubtful intentions in her heart She left the town one fateful day She'd find the beast! She's bring it's heart! And gain the fame and glory of her people. She walked for miles, years it seemed, until approaching a great cavern. Big enough for only one She held her sword, her breath, and her courage, and plunged into the deep cave. Her breath grew bitterly cold, as she approached the heart of the cave. deeper, deeper, deeper, she crawled until she found the beast. She noticed it's tail, coiled up in sleep. She noticed it's feathers, tight together in the perfect pattern she noticed it's chest thumping fast for such a large creature She felt a stab of sadness enter her heart, and she plunged the blade into the beast. A whine of pain emitted from it's mouth, and then the beast moved no more. She finished him quietly, working in silence, she removed his heart, and sighed in it's glory. She picked it up, was it her own heart ticking like a clock? Pulsing through her veins down to her fingertips? Or was it her quarry that she felt? Beating in the afterlife. She lifted the enormous heart, feeling the weight and the gravity pulling on her back. She staggered through the cave, back the way she had come. She stood at the mouth of the cave the warm night's air bathing her, and the weight of the heart grew too much. She collapsed on the ground, the heart crushing her body, as she turned to see the moon and stars The heart pushed to be with the ground, moved to be with the depths of the sea. The island crumbled and sank, following the heart's path. Now, the island lives in a bubble under the ocean. It sinks it sinks With the heart constantly pushing, it sinks, it sinks The walls adorned with gems and gold it sinks it sinks Brave explorers can find the island, Turn, and turn, and turn again. Find the axle, find the bend. The moon be praised, and the moon be damned Relinquere Cito" (I've never wrote something like this before, so please bear with me!)
Jared was intrigued by this tale, especially the part with walls adorned with gems and gold, but he couldn't help but eye up Cobiah. He was too uncertain of him to trust him at this moment. He took a swig from the bottle of wine.
Ellia turned to him with a half-smile. "It reminds me of the stories I used to tell my friends back home," she said. "Although, my stories generally had less heart-cutting, and more pixies." She shook her head, as if to dispel the memories from her brain. "What do you think? Could there be any truth to it?"
"There's some truth to every tale, my mother used to tell me. This one was passed down through word of mouth, so it's likely guaranteed to be inaccurate to a degree, but the captain trusts in its existence, so I will too."
Ellia hesitated. "I have faith in the captain," she said, "but I am worried about the credibility of this tale."
