a sea tale

pasteries and pirates

Warnings: implied sex

Scar’s pov:

Maybe it was the adrenaline and running to sneak a person out the castle from my dad or the fact Grian in my arms, but my face was bright red. With ease we made it. Bdubs is very distracting. Getting Grian to walk was another story though. I helped him up onto my back and managed to make it to a clearing in the forest. “Alright” I said plopping him down in the grass. “First things first-” I paused, how exactly are you supposed to teach someone to walk? Babies just kinda learn. “Standing” seemed like a good place to start. “Alright just umm, here” I took his hands and hoisted him up. I held him under his armpits till he was able to use his legs to keep him up. Once I was sure he could stand on his own I slowly removed my hands. Sure he wobbled a bit but overall he was doing pretty good. “I’m doing it! He exclaimed.

I gave him a warm smile. “Now, move one leg in front of the other. One step at a time.” he nodded, swallowing his fear. He lifted one leg, wiggling a bit as he tried to regain his balance. He hurriedly placed his foot on the ground in front of him, almost falling. “You got it” I encouraged. “Just one more step.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and took another step. Slowly but surely he made his way over to me. For walking with his eyes closed he was doing really well. I took his hand and he opened his eyes, slightly shocked he was already right in front of me. “You're a natural!” I said, smiling and lifting him up, spinning him around. The yelp quickly followed from him as he wrapped his arms around my neck. “You're gonna drop me!” he shrieked. I burst out in laughter. “I promise I won’t”

He managed to wrap his legs around my torso to secure himself. He started giggling as I struggled to tear him from my body. “How is your grip this tight?!” he chuckled and finally released me as I helped him stand on the ground again. After another half hour of practicing and running we headed into town. Everything seemed to fascinate Grian, especially the food. “What's that?” he asked, pointing to a raspberry tart roll. “Another pastry, wanna try it?” his eyes almost sparkled with excitement. I chuckled and turned to the merchant selling the pastries. “Two please” he nodded and placed two on a small cloth, handing them to me. I reached for my coin pouch and handed him back 2 coins. “Thanks Joe!” he smiled and nodded. “Of course” he offered a slight bow before I walked off. “People really seem to respect you here.” grian said. “I guess it comes with being a prince. I’d much rather not be royalty however.” it’s not like I didn't like royalty but I wish I could live my own life.

Grian nodded, seeming to understand my unspoken words. We walked around for a while before stumbling upon a small stand with bouquets of flowers. There were a few different ones. One full of poppies and one that particularly caught my attention full of poppies and lilacs. It held a strange sense of familiarity. I brushed it off, and when Grian was distracted by something else and bought it.  I walked up to see what Grian was looking at… a seagull. (aka a demon) I tapped him on the shoulder causing him to turn around. His eyes widened as I held the bouquet up to him. These flowers didn’t grow on this island so they were completely foreign to him. His eyes lit up as he took it in his hands. He held it up to his face and inhaled the sweet scent. “Oh scar… it’s beautiful,” he said, giving me a warm smile. My heart fluttered and a soft rosy blush rose to my cheeks. “O-Of course.”

Grian’s pov

It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. Sure we had flowers in the sea, but they were nothing like these ones. The scent was so much more pungent yet so soft. I plucked one and slipped it behind my ear. I was pulled out of my thoughts when Scar took my hand and started running. “Wait, why are we running?!” I asked, gripping the bouquet for dear life so I didn't lose it. I could see the sheer panic in his face. I turned my head and noticed a group of people. They were the same people from the other door… the pirates. Me and the woman made eye contact. She raised an eyebrow and then looked at Scar, smiling. “Your highness! Where are you off in such a rush?” Scar halted as the trio approached. The one with blue hair was saying something to the one wearing the yellow bandana, earning a chuckle as he glanced at our hands. The leader spoke up. “Who’s your new friend?” Scar only glared at her. I stepped forward. “Nice to meet you, I’m Grian”

She smiled softly towards me before smirking at Scar. “The pleasure is all mine.” She brought my hand to her lips and placed a gentle kiss. Scar glared at her. “Gem…” she smirked and raised her hands defensively. “Sorry lover boy.” she said, smirking. I didn’t get it. And as I looked to see the gem's snarky smirk, The other two holding back giggles, and scar’s bright red face, I knew I was the only one who didn’t get it. The one with blue hair stepped forward and leaned on Gem’s side. “Name’s scott, and that's Impulse” he said, gesturing to the other one. I nodded. “Why don’t I show you the ship, ey?” Gem suggested. Scar was about to refuse but before he could oppose it, I nodded, fast on her heels as she headed towards the docks. Scar reluctantly followed

Their ship was small but had so many little details. It wasn’t like the sunken ones I had seen, though I guess it makes sense since they were a small crew. Gem even taught me how to use a cannon! Scar seemed to be hating every second of it however. I pulled him aside. “You okay?” I asked. He sighed. “It’s just… I don't trust them. I can’t figure out Gem’s intentions.” I ran my hand through his hair and then scratched the back of his neck. It was something I always did with my siblings to help them relax. He only looked at me slightly confused. My hand froze but i wasn’t sure if i was supposed to remove it or not. I finally decided to take my hand back which I instantly regretted after seeing the slight disappointment in Scar’s eyes. I was about to say something When Scott approached us. “We gotta head back to town to see a mechanic, you're welcome to join.” I looked back to Scar, pleading him to let us go.

He sighed and nodded. A wide grin spread across my face. I hurriedly followed after the trio. It was a short walk. We made it to the center of the shops before taking a sharp right turn. This path was much overgrown yet very well kept. Eventually we made it to a small house, gears and red dust everywhere. Before we could knock on the door a loud explosion was heard from inside, shaking the ground. Scott smiled and stepped forward. He opened the door and black smoke quickly flowed out clearing the room. A tall man covered in soot and ash stood there. He moved to his desk and grabbed a wet cloth, wiping his face and coming through his hair. We all entered the house as Scott closed the door behind us. “Hey hot stuff” he joked due to the man’s fire colored hair. “Scott, who’ve you brought with you?”

He turned around to face us. His eyes widened and they fell on Scar. He quickly fell to one knee and bowed. “Your highness” Scott rolled his eyes. “Royal suck up” he muttered. “Scott!” the man chidded. He turned his attention back to us. “My name is Tango, how may I serve you?” Scar cringed at the formality. “No need for all that, we’re… tagging along with them.” he said, referring to the crew. He was slightly surprised but nodded and turned to Scott. “What did you three need?” Gem sighed. “Our cannon broke” “again?!” he exclaimed. “We got cornered by the stupid navy and fired it too many times.” she said. He groaned. “I hope you have the money to pay for it this time.” Scott slowly walked over to tango with a sly smile plastered on his face. ‘I’m afraid we don’t have much right now…”

“Would the same payment as last time work?~”

Scott said as he curled a finger around Tango’s shirt’s collar. I could see Tango shudder as his face burned bright red. He lightly shoved Scott back. “No, I really can’t afford to do that.” Scott, frowned as he realized what he meant. Scott rummaged through his pouch and pulled out a bag of coins. “This is all I have right now, I promise I'll pay you the rest the second we get it. Do you have enough to get you through the week?” tango fell quiet. Scar cleared his throat. “What does he mean ‘enough to get through the week’?” he asked. Tango shook his head. “Nothing I should concern you with.” Scott rolled his eyes. “He’s low on money and can’t get food.” Scar smiled and pulled out his pouch of coins. He tossed them to Tango. “Ah, y-your highness, I can’t possibly accept this much!” Scar shook his head. “I insist.” Scar leaned back and whispered in my ear. “It was my father’s anyway.”