Luster jolted from his daze, his gills flared as his gaze darted between the boy and the Crew. His breath hitched, and panic surged through him.
'Nope, Nope, I'm out. I've heard enough stories to know where this is going'.
"I-I, uh… I'm gonna go check on the… uh, y-yeah," luster mumbled, barely audible,.
No one acknowledged him.
He turned, slipping beneath towering fishmen, swimming through the gaps between their legs. It was tight ,too tight... but he forced his way through, twisting, squeezing past the evershifting limbs of the gathered fismen.
Their voices rumbled from above.
"What… what did he just do?" one muttered, staring wide-eyed at the hands of the boy their captain had brought aboard.
Another took a step back, blocking Luster's path beneath, his jaw tightened. "What is he? That's not… normal, is it?"
Luster shoved his way past the man's legs, forcing himself through the cramped passage with little regard. The man lurched forward, nearly losing his balance. His frustration boiled over, his voice a thunderous roar. "Hey! The hell're you doing down there!?"
Luster ignored him. He didn't want to be around when things went south, it was everyone for themselves.
His breath quivered with fear as he swam frantically, away from that monster dressed in fishman skin.
Finally, he managed to force his way past the last of what obstructed his path in that forest of living stilts before bursting into open space.
Get away, Hide.
That was all he cared about in that moment.
Until his eyes landed on the mountain of treasure they had taken for themselves after hailing victorious in the battle they fought against the Robber Pirates.
His pulse grew uneven, his legs unsteady. Fear gnawed at him, urging him to run but, he didn't.
Because in that instant, terror met greed.
His hands clenched at his sides, trembling. His feet shifted, muscles tensed. Then..... he ran.
He had made his choice.
He threw himself in front of the treasure, hesitation no longer gripped his heart. His razor-like teeth sank into his hand, his spilt blood anchored him in his resolve.
"I don't care what you are," he said, his hand trembled as he spoke, sinking his jaws deeper with every word. His eyes sharpen into narrow blade that cut through the golden sheen of his goggles, piercing the dim of night. "You want my treasure, then come and take it!."
🐟🐟🐟
Vander Decken IX's voice sliced through the thick unrest. "Huh," he mused, his grin widening as he stepped forward. He crouched slightly, his eyes locked onto the boy's freshly webbed fingers as if assessing a rare piece of merchandise. "That's somethin' you don't see everyday," he continued, tilting his head ever so slightly. "Seems there's more to you than they thought, kid."
The boy blinked, then slowly his gaze rose up to look at Vander Decken.
The Captain's voice carried no heart, yet it settled over him with an unexpected sense of calm—comforting him were the words of his hero, on this dark ship, surrounded by strangers.
Vander Decken turned his gaze to the side.
The Fishmen murmured among themselves, eyes fixed on the boy—the way one might stare at something unnatural.
'They're gawking. Every last one of them.'
'But I don't blame them, he's... definitely not normal… if I don't steer their attention elsewhere, they'll start asking questions better left unsaid.'
He let the silence hang a moment longer, then rose to his feet, shifting his stance.
"What's your name boy?" Vander Decken asked, his voice low but clear.
The boy hesitated, his lips parting as he tried to respond. Though all he could manage was a halting repetition of the word: "Name?"
It felt foreign on his tongue—like trying to grasp smoke. Something important, maybe, but entirely unknown.
Vander chuckled, "So, you don't got a name, huh?" He crossed his arms, his grin curling with sharp amusement. "Well, let me tell you something. Nothin' comes free on this ship... not your spot here, not your food, not even a name."
The boy's gaze dropped back to his hand, the webbing flexing as he moved his fingers experimentally.
"If you want one," Vander Decken continued, his tone carrying weight, "you're gonna have to earn it. Show me you've got more of that spark in you and maybe I'll call you somethin' worth rememberin'."
Vander Decken turned away from the boy, his grin fading away. "For now, you're just a guppy," he said, his voice carrying easily across the deck.
"You'll start at the bottom," Vander Decken said, his voice steady and loud enough for all to hear. "Scrubbing the deck, running errands, doing whatever's asked of you. That's the way of the Dutchman. If you want anything better, you'll have to claw your way up, just like the rest of us."
The boy lifted his head, his eyes shone with a new light. He tightened his fists at his sides, his voice low but steady as he said, "I'll work hard, Captain."
Bahoho!
Vander let out a short, rough chuckle, the corner of his mouth twitching upward. "That's the spirit, guppy. I'll be watching so try not to slack off"
He turned slightly, pointing a finger at a fishman that stood at the front of the crowd. "Hey you, get him somethin' that fits. Can't have him wearing that old coat, it's a mess."
The fishman paused for a moment caught off guard by the sudden comand before lifting off the deck, muttering under his breath as he swam off.
Vander Decken glanced back at the boy, his grin softening just slightly, though that wicked edge never left his eye.
"Keep at it," he said, his voice lowered but it was no less commanding. "and one of these days you'll earn your place on this here pirate vessel."
The boy stood, frozen in the moment, bathed in the half-light that silhouetted Vander like a figure carved from legend. His starry eyes, clung to the Captain with a reverence that bordered on worship.
Each word that fell from Vander lips seemed to echo through the boy's soul, moulding him into something more.
In that breathless space between awe and awakening, something stirred.
Conviction! an unshakable resolve to live up to, the towering myth cloaked in flesh that is known to him by the name Vande Decken IX.
To become a hero...
---
if you want leave a power stone and a review.