|| MY FLOWER ||

CHAPTER XIII

Quick note: The crewmates names, Hands; The alien with 4 arms, Grewnge; The alien at the canon, Birdbrain mary; the alien with arms as legs, Blinko; The alien with 1 eye, Onus; Alien with 6 eyes.

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Jim and [Name] sit on the shrouds of the ship, looking out at the endless space filled with stars. Jim sits, cuddled up into [Name]'s side, while [Name]'s head rests on top of his.

Silver approaches, resting his arm on the railing, a briar pipe in one of his hands. Jim fiddles with one of [Name]'s hands, avoiding eye contact with Silver.

"It wasn't your fault you know," Silver says.

Jim lets out a sigh, not replying.

"Why, half of the crew would be spinning in that black abyss—" Silver began to say.

Jim scowls, letting go of [Name]'s hand and jumps down, while [Name] stays seated.

"Look, don't you get it?! I screwed up!" He yells. "For two seconds, I thought that maybe I could do something right, but... UGH! I just..."

During the time [Name] had known Jim, he had seen him cry out in both joy and sadness, but he had never seen him this upset. Jim was usually a pretty laid back person; he never yelled.

Jim leaned on one of the poles, running his fingers through his hair.

"Just... Just forget it," Jim sighs.

Silver grabs Jim's shoulder and spins him around.

"Now you listen to me, James Hawkins," he says. "You too, [Name] Wisteria."

Jim looks up at Silver reluctantly, tears in his eyes as [Name] jumps down from the shrouds.

"You two have got the making of greatness in ya, but you've gotta take the helm and chart your own course," Silver says reassuringly. "Stick to it, no matter the squalls, and when the time comes you get to really test the cut of your sails, and show what you're made off, well, I hope I'm there, catching some of the light coming off you that day."

Jim sniffs. He takes a step forward and rests his head on Silver's round stomach. Silver's eyes widen, and he looks around for a bit. Jim cries softly, as Silver pats him on the back.

[Name] suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. That familiar feeling of being watched. He carefully let his eyes wander around them, but saw nothing, so he shrugged it off.

This isn't military training anymore [Name]. They don't have a reason to watch you anymore.

"There, there," Silver coos. "Lads, it's alright Jimbo. It's alright."

He hugs Jim tightly, before clearing his throat.

"Now, Jim and [Name], I- uh- I best be getting about my watch, and you best be getting some shut-eye," Silver says.

He frowns softly, watching Jim and [Name] walk away. Jim comes to halt right before the stairs, glancing back at Silver with a small smile on his face. [Name] was behind him and just spared Silver a glance. That feeling of being watched is still there. Jim looks back and jumps down the stairs one by one, Silver frowning again. Morph flies around Silver with a grin.