𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐬 𖥸 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝘼𝙣𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙨

01. Bloody Waves

Perched up high on the mast of The Winged Victory, Captain Jillian could see miles of open water surrounding the massive ship on all sides, rocking them from side to side in a way that brought peace to her mind. Below her, on the deck, her crew of seventeen women roamed, chattering, working, and hauling up fish for the night's meal. 

     She smiled to herself upon seeing them, all of them so full vigor and determination.   

     The sight of her spirit animal’s shadow was hovering above her and the endless wing beats were almost comforting. The Magnificent Frigatebird normally didn’t soar far and today, he clearly wanted to be near her.

     "Aye, Saebeorht," she called affectionately, lifting her arm for him to land. So he did, his blunted talons clamping down on her forearm with ease as he squawked and patted her head with his beak. The gesture brought a smile to her lips. 

     Their bond had not always been that strong. Before, when they were still strangers to one another, Jillian had elected to ignore him, due to the fact that she was allergic to the feathers and droppings of most seabirds. However, after months of careful practice, they had formed a strong bond to one another. To this day, he was still a handful, as well as loud and obnoxious. But he was hers. And despite their differences, she would rather drown in the dark waters below than give him up.

     Occasionally, she’d get symptoms from her allergies that were frankly irritating to deal with, but they normally didn’t last forever. After all, they weren’t strong enough to kill her. 

     Saebeorht puffed out his feathers and clicked his beak, craning his head at the crew mates below him. He seemed to be watching them, taking in the sight of their workings and occasionally letting out a small squawk that sounded quite like a bongo. 
  
     Jillian ran a finger down the sleek black feathers of his wings, smiling slightly and pressing her cheek against him. He closed his eyes, seeming content with the momentary snuggle before he seemed to remember something and squawked at her.

     She pulled away, eyeing him curiously. "Yes?"

     As she opened her mouth, she realized that was a mistake, as suddenly, her very charming spirit animal regurgitated a half eaten fish right into her open jaws.

     She shrieked at the horrible foul taste, eyes already beginning to water as she tried to spit it out of her mouth, but her spirit animal was not having it. He gurgled at her in a scolding tone and clonked her on the head. Hard.

     The captain was forced to swallow, gagging at the taste, texture, and just the thought of eating something that her seagull had just thrown up. 

     “Why you little—” It was an effort to calm down after that, but nonetheless she closed her eyes with a deep breath as the taste invaded her mouth buds. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
 
     He flapped his wings with a content squawk, seeming proud of feeding his summoner. 

     "No, I don't care that you think I'm not eating enough. That was absolutely disgusting and if you do it again, I'm throwing you into the sea."

     Saebeorht simply returned to preening on her shoulder, letting out a crooning noise similar to a bongo. His red chest jutted out like a ripe tomato. 
 
     "Aye, Captain!" A loud voice shouted from below. Jillian spat out the little bit of fish still in her mouth and grabbed onto a rope near her position. Skillfully, Jillian swung down from her perch on the mast and landed with both feet on the deck. 

     "Yes, Ammiras?"

     Her first mate regarded her with a neutral expression, arms folded as he inclined his head slightly. “You’ve got some fish on yer cheek there,” His tone was light and humorous.