Grumbo Oneshots

Where Am I?

Pirate AU. Grian is the captain of a ship. A storm rages.

"Bdubs, how does the weather look?" The captain of the ship is a bit concerned. He looks up to one of his crewmates. "I don't really know", he answers from the top of the mast, where he does his job. "Very many clouds, which is never the best of signs." Bdubs climbs down. He jumps the last bit, and lands in front of Grian, being a bit taller than him. "I suggest we just continue sailing." Grian nods, and after Bdubs goes his way, closes his eyes. The captain can feel the breeze of cold air on his face. Then he leaves the deck.

Grian plays cards with Iskall, Pearl and Gem in the kitchen. They hear heavy raindrops splash onto the roof. Pearl has just won a few coins from Iskall, when the door slams open. Scar and Bdubs come in, both soaking wet (from water, you piece of sh-). "It rains like hell", Scar mutters. Bdubs walks up to Grian. "I was a bit wrong. It storms." Grian stands up and lets his cards fall onto the table. "Hey, you had an ace of spades!" Iskall exclaims. "No wonder you were so confident." Grian laughs dryly, not amused by the situation at all. "Is there anything we can do?" "I'm afraid not", Scar says. "We just have to hope for the best." The room is silent for a few seconds. Then Grian sighs. "Scar, come with me." The scarred man nods and follows Grian. The two climb up to the deck, and are met with raging weather.

"You didn't underestimate the amount of rain!!" Grian shouts while holding his arm over his eyes to at least see something. "Sorry, what?!" Scar shouts back. "I said- never mind!!" Grian wants to focus on how to keep the boat stable. The deck is slippery. Slowly but steadily the captain makes his way to a railing he can hold onto. "Is there an island or anything like that we could anchor to?" he asks. "Nope", Scar answers. "But I see something on the horizon." Grian turns his head to the place where Scar is pointing to. A faded silhouette of something that looks like another ship. Grian nearly smiles but the ship slowly shrinks. "How can they sail so steadily?" Grian growls in frustration. "That's not sailing", Scar says. "The ship is sinking." "Ah, shit!" Grian murmurs. "Why couldn't this storm hit while we were in port?"

Scar leaves the deck, and Grian is about to, but he sees something in the corner of his eye. Something rather big floats on the waves. A plank. And, holding onto the plank... a human. Quickly, the captain turns around, and rushes to the edge of the deck to see more clearly. He nearly trips on the slippery floor but manages to take a grip from the railing. It is indeed a human. A tall man who looks unconscious. Grian feels the urge to save him. He knows there isn't a lot of time until he drifts away from the ship. "Scar and Gem!!" Grian shouts the loudest he can. Two of the strongest people of the crew. They come running. "What is it, captain?" Gem asks. Grian points at the man. "We need to save him. Get some rope."

My ship sank. Everyone drowned. But not me. I managed to... yeah, what did I even manage to do? I don't have a clear memory of it. My body is cold. The water is cold. A harder grip of the thing I'm holding onto. This can't be my way of leaving this world, even though it certainly is going to be. I accidentally swallow water. It tastes shit. I spit it out with my little strength. A light in the distance. Am I dead? Someone shouting. My half-closed eyes see a big... thing. More shouting. Someone grabs me. Their grip is strong. I get dragged across the water. I get carried upwards. I feel like I'm gonna faint anytime soon. I flinch, and spit out more water. Where am I?

Grian ties the rope to Scar, who jumps to the water. He gets a grip of the man. Grian and Gem pull the rope and drag Scar and the man up to the ship. Gem presses the man's chest and he spits out water. As they think of what to do next, the rest of the crew have come to the deck too. "What is this?" Iskall asks. "I saw him drifting with the waves, holding onto a plank", Grian explains. "So we... saved him." The rain slowly ends, leaving a fresh scent to the air. "He has a knife", Pearl murmurs and takes something out of the man's pocket. "He can be dangerous." "She's right", Iskall says. "We should tie him up, just in case?" "You're right", Grian agrees. "But let's wait for him to wake up first."

After a few minutes, the man moves his body rapidly and spits out loads of water. "Shit!" he shouts, and blinks his eyes. "Who are you? Where am I?" Pearl and Bdubs hold his hands down against the deck. "You're on our ship. Don't worry, we will not hurt you." Grian says calmly. For some reason, he can't look the man straight in the eyes. "And in order for you not to hurt us, we will tie you up. You're our captive now." The man is too weak to resist, and Pearl drags him to the mast, and ties him up. Grian gestures to the others that they'd leave. He waits for a few seconds. Then he turns around, and walks up to the man. "What's your name?" The man opens his eyes. "Mumbo."

"Mumbo", Grian repeats. "Where do you come from?" Mumbo takes a deep breath. "My ship sank." Grian looks deep in his eyes. Mumbo raises his eyebrow, and winks. This makes Grian blush. "I- I'm sorry to hear that", the captain stutters. "I have to go now. But I'll send someone to guard you. Behave." Grian starts walking towards the cabins. He resists the urge to look back, and sighs deeply.