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Familiar’s whole body ached as she scaled the side of the Dutchman from the dingy, bobbing beside the huge pirate ship.
This time, she’d gotten unlucky and it had been designated her turn to go ashore and hunt down whatever idiot owed a debt to Jones. Although she was quite often chosen by the Captain to do tasks like that, which she complained was unfair. He always responded that she had kept her true human appearance, which made her the most logical option, of course.
It seemed she couldn’t be thrice cursed. Being a shapeshifter and personally tied to Davy Jones was bad enough, her biology couldn’t be messed up further.
As she braced her feet against the wood of the hull and reached her hand up to grab hold of the edge of the ship, a clawed hand closed around her wrist and dragged her up onto the deck impatiently.
“Welcome back, cat-sith.”
The thick scottish accent and the nickname ‘cat-sith’ let Familiar know immediately who it was that had grabbed her even before she saw her.
Larinna. The only other woman on the Dutchman. Although Familiar hadn’t clocked it at first.
When you were a human looking girl aboard a ship full of monsters, you didn’t go looking at the crew too long. You kept to yourself. And besides, it’s not like her gender was obvious. Lots of crew had long hair, and her clothes were loose fitting and pretty much just plant life at this point.
Of course, Larinna couldn’t help but make herself known to Familiar, and since Familiar’s oath, she mixed a little more with the crew. She had more protection, and she was in the same boat as them now (literally and figuratively).
“Larinna, fucking hell, just let me climb onto the ship next time.” Familiar groaned. She held up her sleeves, which now had scratch marks along it. “You don’t know how to be gentle.”
Larinna snorted, her eyes blinking at Familiar, all three unimpressed. “Neither do you, lass. And you have retractable claws.”
Familiar shook out her coat and sighed, looking tired as all hell. Whether that was a result of the mission she had just returned from, or the general effect of the Dutchman on people, was unsure.
Davy Jones appeared like a ghost between the two women, and they both jumped and swore loudly, Familiar letting out a stream of obscenities as she got her bearings back.
“Familiar, I trust your voyage was a success.”
“Wouldn’t have come back if it wasn’t.” She said, bringing her hand up to her forehead in a strict Navy salute.
Larinna quickly followed suit, straight backed and stiff.
Davy Jones rolled his eyes. He knew they were taking the piss, but there wasn’t exactly much he could do about it. They were just saluting him. He couldn’t justify that to the crew. And as much as he was powerful, he needed a somewhat loyal crew to not be mutinied upon.
“At ease, men.”
Familiar and Larinna both relaxed, exchanging shrewd looks. Larinna much more mischievous and open, Familiar’s the smooth smirk of rebellion.
Larinna was much more loyal to Davy Jones than Familiar was. In fact, she was deadly loyal. She’d asked to join the crew, and she had no hesitation in killing for him. She was known to be cruel even among the crew. While Familiar was only there because she had to be there.
It was an interesting dynamic to be sure.
They tried their best to avoid questions about loyalty, that always ended badly. Familiar and Larinna had taken chunks out of each other before, and they weren’t the most stable of campanions, but it wasn’t like they were spoilt for choice on the Dutchman.
Besides, Larinna’s naturally mischievous and troublesome nature worked well with Familiar’s disobedience and festering rage.
“Got something I think you might like, captain. From the victim.” Familiar said. This was a casual thing aboard the Dutchman and pretty much any pirate ship. You looted dead bodies. Eat or be eaten.
What did raise Davy Jones’s eyebrow was that Familiar, the girl he had had to wrangle into service with violence and promises, was offering him a gift.
He held out his hand.
Familiar pulled a shiny metal thing from inside one of her many pockets, where she stored the shiny stuff she collected. And she dropped it into the captain’s hand.
“It’s a tin whistle.”
Davy Jones rolled his eyes very slowly, making sure to be as dramatic as humanly possible while doing it. “I can see that.”
“Cockhead.” Familiar muttered under her breath, and Larinna bit her lip next to her. Whether that was to stop herself laughing, or because she was upset, Familiar didn’t know for sure.
“What was that?” Davy Jones asked, fixing Familiar with a cold stare.
She coughed and replied. “Could you play it? I heard it played beautifully in a bar. Folk songs, I think.”
“Aye. I can.” He grumbled, still giving Familiar a dangerous look.
“The crew thought it would allow you to play something more quiet when we’re all trying to sleep!” Larinna added brightly, and Familiar had to admire her courage. She said that much more cheerily and confidently than Familiar would have ever managed.
“Is that so?”
“Aye.”
He watched them both for a second, holding the tiny, battered tin whistle in one tentacle hand, icey eyes fixed on them. “Dismissed.”
Gratefully, Familiar moved off towards a safer part of the ship — meaning any part that was far away from the captain — and took a seat.
She heard the pattering of tiny, excited paws on the deck, and then a weight flung itself into her lap.
“Ow! Wee Bairn!” She scolded, looking down at the weird little creature in her lap. A catfish. A domestic catfish with paws and a fish’s body. It was possibly one of the strangest things she’d ever seen in her life. She’d nearly killed Wee Bairn the first time she saw him.
She was glad she hadn’t, however, because the crew loved him. Even Davy Jones, who had been caught giving him treats and teaching him tricks. Now he knew how to heel, how to sit, and how to fetch. So really, he was becoming a catfishdog.
Whatever the reason, he had taken a shine to her. Probably because she was herself partly feline. And the number of jokes that had come from the crew because of this was unbelievable.
She ran her hand down Wee Bairn’s scales a few times, and he started rumbling away happily in her lap.
“I can’t believe you named him Wee Bairn.” She said, for what felt like the millionth time. She just kept thinking about how ridiculous it was every time she saw the little thing.
“I didn’t name him, Maccus did.” Larinna shrugged from beside Familiar, tucking her knees under her chin.
“…right.” Familiar said after a slow pause.
She didn’t like Maccus. Maccus didn’t like her. That much was an open secret on the ship. Not even an open secret. More like a natural fact by now. Like how oil and water can never mix together.
“Come on, Candace. Don’t be so hard on him. He’s actually a decent bloke if you would give him a chance. As decent as folks like us get. You aren’t exactly a nice cup of warm tea, either.”
“Decent enough when he’s not brutally murdering people.” Familiar mumbled.
“We all brutally murder people. Don’t act like he’s so much crueler than the rest of us poor fuckers.”
“I…I don’t know. He…irritates me.” Familiar said, continuing to stroke the purring Wee Bairn. She put on a simpering tone of voice and went “Yes Davy Jones, whatever you say captain, straight away sir, let me just stand two fucking centimeters away from you in case you need me.”
“Hey, you’re being a right bitch.” Larinna suddenly snapped. She didn’t look amused, she looked angry. “I’m all for taking the piss out of my fellow pirates, but you know damn well why that’s the case.”
Familiar looked away and glared at the ground. She just couldn’t understand how you would reduce yourself to that kind of quivering mess. Didn’t he have some self respect? Critical thinking? She just didn’t understand how someone could follow along so blindly. For what, love?
“It doesn’t even make sense. Jones is head over heels, frothing at the mouth, madly in love with his fucking bonnie lass, Calypso. Why would Maccus even—?”
Larinna snorted, pulling out one of her boarding axes and picking barnacles off the handle one by one. “Get back to me when love makes sense. I would love to hear about it.”
Familiar paused, pursed her lips, and shook her head. “I don’t like him.”
“And you don’t have to like him. I don’t like some of the crew. All you have to do is not give him the stink eye every time you l see him.”
“Larinna.”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve seen you throw people off the side of the ship who couldn’t swim. Angler always has to rescue people.”
The corner of Larinna’s mouth lifted into a devilish little grin. “Heh. But that was funny, wasn’t it?”