The next morning, the ship was still rested in the dock and a couple finishing touches were added to the ship. The crew was awake and preparing to set sail again.
Hueningkai and Soobin loaded a couple crates and barrels onto the ship again. They were able to recover most of their stuff below deck, and Soobin stored their map securely below deck.
"We should be good to go in a couple of hours Captain!" Hueningkai called, securely tying the shrouds in place. Yeonjun checked the other areas of the ship, everything had been fixed almost perfectly, although there were a couple seams where the bolts went.
"Are you sure the ship's good to go?" Yeonjun asked as Hueningkai gave the shrouds another firm tug.
"Yep! Just a couple more hours and we'll be out of here," The other replied with a smile, "The deck is secure, Soobin's friends really did a good job on repairs."
"The ship's almost good as new," Soobin said proudly as he walked on board. After everything was prepared, the crew untied the boat from its posts and quickly unfurled the sails.
Beomgyu climbed up onto the shrouds, looking out into the sea.
"Let's get going already! What are we waiting for again?"
The ship was pushed from the dock and they were on their way again. The ship wobbled a little after leaving the port, but Captain Soobin quickly took the wheel and steered it out of the port.
===========
The crew had smoothly started sailing again, under a bright sunny sky. Hueningkai and Captain Soobin napping peacefully rested against a couple crates. Yeonjun was at the helm and carefully steering the ship. Meanwhile, Taehyun was teaching Beomgyu how to write.
"You're doing it wrong," Taehyun commented, "Sentences have spaces between the words, yours looks all jumbled."
Beomgyu raised an eyebrow, dipping the quill into the ink again and scribbling out another sentence. Taehyun stared at it blankly, and shook his head.
"No. Once again, don't forget the spaces between each word," He explained, carefully writing out a sentence on a paper and showing it to him, "See? Like this."
Beomgyu huffed, and rolled his eyes.
"What if I can already read and write?" He said defiantly, "I don't need your help."
Taehyun scoffed, setting the quill aside.
"Then fine, write me a couple sentences," He said, sliding a sheet of paper over to the boy. Beomgyu picked up the quill pen again, then scribbled out a couple statements onto the paper, he handed it back to the other boy.
Taehyun picked it up, his eyes looking over the page.
"You spelled my name wrong," He said, as Beomgyu groaned in frustration,
"It's just one letter off! It'll be fine!" He dismissed, "At least I put spaces between each word, right?"
Taehyun laughed, setting the paper aside and capping the ink jar.
"Close enough," He smiled, "I'll call it progress."
Beomgyu giggled, putting the rest of the quill pens and papers away. He took out his telescope, climbing onto the shrouds and peering into the open sea. Taehyun took the writing utensils and took them below deck.
The wind seemed to calm down, and the ship didn't move much. Yeonjun slowly let go of the wheel, walking down from the helm and to the side railing where Beomgyu was leaning out into the sea.
"How's your jaw doing? Does it still hurt from yesterday?" Yeonjun asked, resting his elbows on the railing.
"Yeah it still hurts, but I don't really care," Beomgyu laughed, "I still can't believe I ran into San the other day. I mean, what are the chances!"
Yeonjun let out a light laugh, "You and San must be really close, you guys were brutal yesterday."
"It's all in good fun," Beomgyu scoffed, "Back before I met Captain Soobin, he was my closest friend. Until he left for knight's training of course, I never thought I would see him after that."
"But I did!" Beomgyu continued, "And he kicked me in the face!"
Yeonjun furrowed his brow, looking up at the other boy.
"You seem oddly excited to get kicked in the face," He commented, "You seemed to handle it a lot better than I do."
Beomgyu rolled his eyes, and scoffed.
"Well I can't exactly cry my eyes out either," He joked, then sighed, "I remember when San and I would sprint through a whole market with arms full of stuff, then we'd go back to our hideout and split the findings."
Yeonjun hummed in response, listening to Beomgyu ramble on.
===========
"--And then! The giant octopus swooped above the waves and CRASHED onto the ship!" Captain Soobin told, waving his hands to mimic the sea's waves. Taehyun and Yeonjun listened attentively with the glow of a lantern.
The five told stories under the blanket of a starry sky, and next to the light of a lantern. Beomgyu and Hueningkai were at the edge of their seats, Hueningkai anxiously staring at the captain.
"The sailor cried for help but no one had heard them besides the other crewmates," Captain Soobin continued, lowering his hands and glancing at the others.
"He quickly swam to a loose ship plant and clung to it for dear life!" He said, dramatically placing the back of his palm to his forehead. Then, he looked to the other crewmates again.
"Just then... He felt something move under the water."
Beomgyu's eyes widened with fear, gripping Hueningkai's hand.
"It was slippery, like a fish out of water..."
Yeonjun grinned at the captain, eagerly waiting to hear what happens next. Captain Soobin smirked, turning to Taehyun and Yeonjun.
"It was no hand of his crewmate... nor was it a mere fish swimming by..."
"IT WAS THE OCTOPUS!" Soobin shouted, raising his arms high. Hueningkai screamed, falling back from his chair and his back fell onto the wooden deck. Taehyun laughed, clapping his hands in excitement. Yeonjun playfully shoved the other, and helped Hueningkai up.
"The octopus GRABBED the sailor's ankle and yanked him! Deep below the surface of the sea," Captain Soobin continued, lowering his arms again and looking to his crewmates.
"There was no scream... or not even a sound to be heard after that," Captain Soobin said in a quiet voice, "Only the last remaining air bubbles rising back up to the surface..."
The bright smile returned to his face again as he looked up at his crew.
"The end!"
Beomgyu furrowed his brow, and sat up.
"That's it? The end!?" He complained, "No happy ending? No shish-kabob-ing?"
"Nope. That's the end," Captain Soobin snickered, "That's that, or at least all I remember from the tale..."
"No one tells stories like Captain Soobin does," Hueningkai sighed, resting his chin in his palm, "He knows every sailor's tale to ever be told, not to mention he could make one up any time he wants!"
Captain Soobin rolled his eyes, punching the other playfully.
"Oh stop it, I'm sure you've told plenty on your own," He scoffed, the other shrugged.
"My parents never let me read myths or legends," He admitted, "They said it was a waste of time, educational books only."
"Your parents are boring," Taehyun commented. The crew stayed quiet for a couple seconds before the captain piped up.
"Does anyone else want to tell a story? The chair's open," He smiled, getting up from his spot. Taehyun got up from his spot and switched with Soobin.
"I've made up my own over the past couple of days," He smiled at the others, then cleared his throat. Once he was sure everyone was listening, Taehyun took a deep breath.
"Alright," He grinned, "Let me tell you about the Sirens of Aurora Keep..."