HIRAETH // Captain Puffy X Reader

9

In the belly of the ship, Gemma put you to work helping you move around some of the barrels supplies were stored in, consolidating half empty containers so that you could stack the empty barrels inside of each other and free up space - something that was limited out at sea. It was the sort of mindless work you had often been put to on the Blue Knave, and you picked it up quickly, working in silence. 

You weren't really expecting Gemma to try and talk to you - what with you being a prisoner and all, and having insulted the entire crew upon your arrival - so you were a little surprised when she did. 

"So where are you from?" 

You set down the barrel you had been carrying and turned to see Gemma hefting two of the empty wooden crates up on her shoulders before toting them to the side of the ship where you were stacking the empty ones. "Pardon?"

"Where're you from?" Gemma repeated, setting down the barrels with a thunk. 

"Oh." You said. "Uh- Beckinsdale. It's sort of near the pine forests by the western border." 

Gemma hummed, going to peer into another barrel to see if it needed to be consolidated into another. "Seems sort of far from the shore for you to end up in the king's navy." She noted. 

You headed over to another barrel as well, popping the lid and peering inside. "This one's apples." You said. "And yeah, I guess. My father and my mother were both in the navy before they retired though, so it seemed fitting."

You hadn't really thought about your family or Beckinsdale for quite a while - the goings on of the ship usually held most of your attention. But without much to do in the cell for the week you had been locked away, you'd found yourself reminiscing about your childhood in the village, hollowing out pumpkins to use as 'sparring dummies' with your wooden swords, or finding the tallest spruce tree to see who could climb to the top. It felt so distant from where you were now, and even though you would stay on the sea for your whole life if you could, you found yourself missing the pine scents of home. 

"Apples can stay." Gemma said, drawing your attention back to the task at hand. 

You closed that barrel back up before checking another one - this time carrots. "Carrots." You announced, glancing back up at Gemma. "What about you?" You asked. "Where are you from?"

Gemma grabbed another barrel, bringing it over and dumping the rest of it's contents - also carrots - into the open one in front of you. "Audunbast." She said. "Well - not originally, but I moved there when I was about nineteen." 

"That's in the mesa, isn't it?" You asked. You had heard of Audunbast before - it was a big trading town, and a place with a reputation for churning out artists and heroes alike. 

Gemma nodded. "Right by the shore, too." She picked up the now empty barrel she had dumped the carrots out of and brought it over to the other empty ones, stacking it with the rest of the group. Now that she had told you, you could see the mesa in her - the careful plaits that covered her whole head, the various shades of red, orange and yellow she wore. 

You jammed the lid back onto the carrots and moved to the next barrel, prying open the lid on this one to reveal potatoes. It felt good to be up and moving and doing something, even if you were technically helping the enemy. It wasn't like organizing supplies was anything too intense though, and you would take what small mercies you could get on this ship. 

You and Gemma worked in semi-comfortable silence for a few more moments, just listing to the ocean outside and the gentle back and forth of the ship underneath your feet. It didn't last too long before Gemma spoke again though. 

"Tubbo seems to like you." 

You glanced up, a soft smile coming to play on your lips. "Yeah, he's a real sweetheart." You paused for a beat. "When we were briefed about the ship and the crew, they didn't tell us Puffy had a son."

"Well, he wasn't exactly supposed to happen." Gemma said. "But we do the best we can to raise him - the whole crew is sort of like his family, in a way. They all dote on him - but I'm guilty as well." She grinned, moving past you to get to a barrel of various fabrics. 

You found another half barrel of potatoes and dumped it into the one you had opened first. "I can see why. He's absolutely adorable - I wouldn't be surprised if he's got the whole ship wrapped around his finger." You popped the lid back into place before taking the now empty barrel and stacking it with the others. 

Gemma laughed a little under her breath. "Everyone, including our captain." She said. "He could ask for the moon and she'd do her best to give it to him."

You were lucky that Tubbo had taken a liking to you then - you knew his asking was really the only reason you were out of your cell now. If it had been up to Puffy, you probably would have rotted for eternity.

You hadn't exactly made the best impression when you'd thrown fruit at her through the cell bars. 

Still, you couldn't bring yourself to feel to bad about it. She was the enemy after all, and no amount of thin kindness would bring you about to actually respecting her. 

Gemma set another barrel down with a thunk, the beads in her braids clacking together when they swung. You looked at her as she turned back around to grab another - you could see yourself coming to like her though, she seemed disciplined and confident for a pirate. And between Gemma watching over you and Tubbo's playful company, maybe you wouldn't be so lonely on board here.