Safe

Ghosts

The meal Silver finished preparing for you proved to be delicious, but not as delicious as you were going to make it. You gave Silver and grateful smile when he handed you a serving, and he grinned back, usual, you, Stygian, and Jim sat alone in the kitchen counters away from all the commotion in the dining tables. You could also talk freely to each other without interruption. Jim spoke about funny stories from his past and make funny remarks about the crew members. He'd ask you questions--small simple ones, like favorite color, favorite memories while sailing with Stygian--and you admired his sympathy in not asking complex questions.

After supper, there was enough free time for everyone to enjoy themselves with a hot beverage prepared by Silver himself. You sat at the bottom of the stairs with Jim as he leaned against the wall. In the table near you, there was a small gathering of crewmembers as Silver told tales about the sea. He animated his stories by using his automail to create the sea monsters and everybody loved them. He told stories about heroes killing krakens, discovering merpeople, fighting off deadly pirates, and some of infamous pirates.

You listened intently as you waited for your hot chocolate too cool. When you brought your mug close to take a cautious sip, you heard Silver begin a new story.

"...she was a big part of Captain Flint's crew and devised the most astonishing creations. She was skilled in many ways. They say that she even helped in discovering Treasure Planet. She was the only true person Flint trusted..."

You choked on the scaldingly hot beverage and set your mug down quickly. Jim turned his head to look at you. "You okay?" He grinned humorously.

You cleared your throat. "Um, yeah. I just drank too fast. Burned my tongue."

Jim returned his attention to Silver's story, as did you. You frowned because the story he told was nothing like the one you hallucinated. This story was exaggerated and portrayed the main character as a heroine who allegedly defeated sea monsters and stole treasure for Flint. Not once did he mention an Edward Kenway, except she had a lover, and you realized his name was lost in history and legends. He told a tale about her discovering a cave on a jungle planet with intricate pathways that led to a priceless item which she left alone, for it was immobile. Its location is unknown, but the planet where she discovered it is.

As you listened to these stories, you lost your appetite to drink your beverage and left it beside you for Stygian to take. When Silver was finished telling his tales, he bid everyone good night, and as they all stood to leave, you and Jim stood to clean up after them and later wash dishes.

Jim sat on an upturned bucket and cleaned the dishes and placed them in a pile, and you sat on the other side of the pile and rinsed them. When it almost seemed like you were finished with your task, Silver came out of nowhere and dumped a motherlode of dishes and pots possibly collected from previous days. Jim looked at Silver defiantly as he picked up a pot and scrubbed angrily. You weren't too upset, at least it gave you a distraction from your thoughts.