Under Wraps

Chapter One: Stealing a Sea Spirit's Boat

"Hey, wake up! Wake up!"

The first thing he felt was the sogginess of his clothes. The boy realized he still had the clothes he stole from a poor sailor from before on. He hadn't even left the shore too, his bare feet being surrounded by the beach's waters. They felt stiff, as if he hadn't moved his entire body for a long time. The water just made his feet cold, hiding them almost as he was hidden from sight underneath the harbor's wooden boards.

He had been sleeping next to the wooden pillars holding up the harbor walkway, almost completely out of sight by anyone. The chances of anyone finding him was very low, so the fact that someone was trying to wake up made the boy wish he had just slept in a hotel or something to avoid any contact with people.

Even so, he mentally kicked himself for sleeping in the first place. Even though he didn't need any sleep, he had nodded off anyway, and now some random person was probably gonna yell at him for not doing a job he didn't have. He was directly underneath the harbor after all, and he looked like a sailor by the looks of his clothes. He even had a boat. There would be no doubt that he'd be seen as a young fisherman or something. And upon seeing a sleeping boy on the beach, obviously people would wake him up if they saw him hiding away to take a nap.

Humans were seriously irritating sometimes.

He kept his right eye shut, as his left one was already covered with bandages. Maybe if he pretended to be knocked out or dead even, the person yelling at him would leave him be. Honestly, he kind of felt like he had actually died and just awakened from what would have been his eternal slumber, with how heavy his clothes felt and sore his joints felt. How long had he slept, anyway?

"For the love of all that is holy, wake up and get off your stupid butt! I know you're pretending to sleep!"

The boy bit back a curse. This person was good. He could feel a weird aura emanate from them, but he assumed that was because he had just woken up and was a bit groggy.

"Hey," came a new voice, "I think she went over here, by the harbor! Come on!"

Upon hearing the new voice, the boy decided enough was enough and opened his eye to see the night sky sparkle above him. He came face to face with a considerably skinny girl around his age and height dressed in ragged clothing and a large dusty white bow headband. She had fair skin a bit dirty in some places, messy blond hair, and striking blue eyes, but the most defining feature was the angry, yet panicky, expression on her face.

"I swear," the girl hissed in a dark tone, "if you don't get your stinking tush off that spot right now, I'll throw you in the damn ocean."

The boy yawned, rubbing his eye. The thought of a late night swim didn't seem all that bad. "Go ahead. It'd save me a lot of trouble."

"Are you serious?" The girl demanded. She kicked the boy in the back, nearly knocking him into the dark, cold waters. "I'm trying to save you from a group of stupid violent drunkards! They'll eat us alive if you don't get up and hide with me!"

The boy almost lost his balance and immediately stood up to avoid further attacks. He could've cursed this girl, or heck, send her into the waters, but he held back. He honestly didn't want to bother with anyone. It wasn't worth the trouble.

Still, he couldn't help but respond. "So, you're telling me that I have to go with you so you can run away from a group of, uh, what was it? Stupid violent drunkards?"

"Yes!" The girl put her hands on her hips. "What about it?"

"I'm just saying, why bother me? I don't even want to know what you're doing here, but can you not drag me into it? It's pretty obvious you need to-"