Jacob couldn't quite believe that Tyler was walking next to him.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Jacob asked. "Who brought you?"
"Brought me?" Tyler said laughing. "I'm 18 now Jacob, I can bring myself!"
"18???! Shit!"
"Yes, you've been gone for three years, you know. They think you're all dead."
"What?" Jacob said, snapping his head round to look at Tyler.
"They think you're dead," Tyler repeated, like it was an everyday occurrence that someone announced your family had given up on you.
"Everyone?" Jacob asked in disbelief.
"Well, not everyone. I mean people don't like to say it outloud, but the fact they sent me and Doug to try to get some supplies, shows that they've given up on you ever coming back."
Tyler pushed open the door of a Tavern and without really thinking about it, Jacob followed him inside.
"Captain!" he heard being shouted across the room and he turned to see most of his crew sat at the tables by the window.
It wasn't until he caught Pete's shocked expression that he remembered that he still had Raephier by his side. He tensed up ready for an onslaught of questions, but thankfully there was someone else there to distract them.
"Tyler!!!" James said, crashing into Tyler and giving him a bone crushing hug. "What you doing here boy?"
Tyler pulled back and rolled his eyes, although his face was practically splitting in half his smile was so wide.
"As I said to your main man here, I'm 18 now. And we got sick of waiting for you guys so me and Doug have come to try to get supplies."
More of the crew had now gathered round Tyler, many patting him on the back and ruffling his hair.
"It's dangerous, you shouldn't be here," grumbled an angry looking Lyle, but he still pulled Tyler in for a quick hug.
"Yeah well I had no choice," Tyler said. And for the first time since Jacob had laid eyes on him, he saw pain flash across his face.
"What do you mean?" Jacob asked.
Tyler just shook his head and looked down.
"It means our people are in trouble," came a voice from behind, and Jacob swung round to see Doug, another man who was a child last time Jacob had seen him.
Jacob and his crew greeted Doug as they'd done Tyler, but it was much more subdued due to the concern about the news from back home.
Everyone sat back down, and Jacob pulled up a chair next to him and gestured for Raephier to sit.
"What do you mean our people are in trouble?" James asked.
"Literally nothing has come in or out since you left," Doug said. "And last year the floods were worse than usual and so a lot of the crops were lost. People are going hungry, our homes are getting old and are in need of repair, and everyone is just spending all of their time and energy on keeping our enemies out. The kids aren't going to school. Disease is spreading like wildfire and people are giving up."
Jacob dropped his head into his hands and rubbed his temples.
"We'll make it this time," James said, putting his hand on Doug's shoulder. "We have a plan, don't we, Captain?"
Jacob did his best effort at a smile.
"Yes. My ship is full of supplies and we're due to set sail tomorrow."
"I'm guessing this isn't your first attempt then?" Tyler asked.
"Fifth," Lyle grit out.
"Don't worry, we'll make it this time," James said, casting a quick glance in Raephier's direction.
Jacob felt Raephier tense up beside him and wished he could place a reassuring hand on him without it being noticed.
"Yeah, well I don't mean to put added pressure on, but you really need to make it this time," Doug said. "I'm not sure how much longer they can hold off. Gramps was talking about surrendering if we don't get back before the month is out."
"No! They can't do that!" Pete said desperately. "They'll take everything! They'll bleed the land dry of all resources then disappear as quickly as they came, leaving us with nothing."
Everyone went quiet as a somber mood settled across the group.
It was Tyler who broke the silence.
"I don't believe we've been introduced," he said, turning to Raephier.
Raephier's eyes went wide.
"I'm sorry," Jacob said to Tyler. "This is Raephier."
"Raephier," Tyler repeated. "That's an unusual name. Where you from?"
"Oh a long way away from here," Raephier replied.
"And are you part of Jacob's crew?" Tyler asked.
"Erm," Raephier said, shooting Jacob a nervous glance.
"No, he's not crew, but he is a guest on board my ship," Jacob replied.
"Captain?" Lyle said through gritted teeth.
Jacob understood why Lyle was concerned. They made a decision that they would keep Raephier's presence a secret on board, but now there were several crew mates around the table that had just become aware of him. They might not know what he was capable of, but there was no hiding him anymore.
"Have you got a problem Lyle?" Jacob asked with a tone that suggested it wasn't wise to disagree with him.
"I'm sorry, but he can't be trusted!" he said in a low voice.
"Can't be trusted?" Tyler said in surprise. "This guy saved Jacob's life back there! I think he's more than earned his place on the ship!"
"What?!" Pete said, turning to look at Jacob.
Jacob rubbed the back of his neck.
"We happened upon Tyler in a spot of bother with some men," Jacob explained. "A fight broke out, and after the men had conceded defeat, one of them decided to try to attack me from behind. Raephier stopped them."
"Stopped them how?" Lyle asked, looking uneasy.
"With a piece of wood!" Tyler answered with a grin. "It was amazing! Knocked that bastard clean out. And a big man he was too!"
Jacob looked over at Raephier who was squirming around in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with the attention.
"Like Tyler said," Jacob added, "Raephier more than earned his place on my ship."
"Well, welcome aboard Raephier!" James said with a grin.
Lyle said nothing. He just sat back on his seat with his arms folded across his chest.
"So what did the men want with you Tyler?" asked Pete.
"Oh you're not gonna believe this!" Jacob said laughing.
Tyler smirked. "He was upset because I bought something that he claims was put aside for him."
"Ok?" said Pete, looking confused at Jacob's expression.
"Go on," Jacob said, "tell him what the item was that caused all this chaos."
"I can do better than that," Tyler said, turning to Doug. "Have you got it?"
Doug looked around nervously, then opened up his bag and reached his hand inside.
A few seconds later he pulled out a golden yellow shell, about the size of a child's fist, and held it out on the palm of his hand.
It was undoubtedly a beautiful shell. But worth getting nearly killed for?
"A shell?!!" Pete spat out in disbelief.
"I know, right!" Jacob said, equally amused.
But then Jacob noticed that to his side, Raephier had suddenly sat up very straight. He turned to look at him and saw that his wide eyes were fixed onto the shell, a look of disbelief on his face.
Jacob turned to look at the shell again. He could see that it was beautiful, but he struggled to understand Raephier's reaction. He wondered whether it had just been a long time since he'd seen anything beautiful. He decided that he'd ask him about it later.
"Can I hold it?" Raephier asked, shocking Jacob even more.
Doug looked at Raephier with reluctance written all over his face.
"I'll be gentle with it, I promise," Raephier said. "I know the importance of such an object."
Doug eventually nodded and placed the shell in Raephier's hand. Raephier very gently held it between his fingers and gazed at the shell in wonder.
"So what's the importance of it then?" James asked.
Raephier gave a brief glance at Doug. "It's the shell of a Machinun crab. A crab that's on the verge of extinction. In fact they may already be. This crab is the master of disguise and despite having such a beautiful shell, they rarely show it, because most of the time they stick things on their shell to camouflage themselves. Then once a year, during mating season, the top layer of the shell comes off, along with everything they've stuck to it over the year, and they look like this again," Raephier said, holding up the shell.
"So not only is it a rare creature," Raephier said continuing, "but the chances of finding one during the one day of mating to be able to get a shell of this quality.....well that's nearly impossible."
Raephier then handed the shell back to Doug.
Jacob stared at Raephier in amazement.
"How do you know all that?" he asked.
Raephier looked down as his cheeks turned pink.
"My dad studied marine life. I guess I picked up a lot from him."
Jacob just shook his head in amazement.
"So why don't you come back with us?" Pete said, addressing Tyler and Doug. "There's probably enough room on the ship for whatever supplies you bought."
Tyler shook his head.
"It's probably best if we stay separate. That way at least there's two attempts to get home. Best not to put all our eggs in one basket, so to speak."
"And you have a plan?" Pete asked him.
"We have a plan," Tyler grinned. "But even without a plan, our boat is much smaller than yours and so it's easier to get through undetected."
"Aye, that's true," Jacob said with a nod.
"Speaking of which, we'd better get going," Doug said.
"You're leaving tonight?" Jacob asked.
"Yeah, we need to get a head start on you guys!" Tyler said with a grin.
Everyone started to stand up, and hugs and parting words were exchanged. Even Raephier got pulled in for a hug by Tyler, and then to Jacob's amazement, Raephier then went and gave Doug a hug as well.
Jacob knew that as soon as the two men left, attention would be redirected onto Raephier, so he quickly bid the men good night and ushered Raephier out of the tavern.
They both turned and started walking up the now deserted street towards the Inn where they were staying. Jacob was lost in his own thoughts, and Raephier was quiet too. Raephier was walking so close to Jacob that their arms would occasionally brush against one another.
Jacob stopped thinking about home to momentarily wonder whether it would be acceptable to take hold of Raephier's hand. After all, he was only protecting him, right?
Jacob let his hand graze Raephier's and gained some confidence when a few steps later, Raephier's hand brushed past Jacob's.
Jacob took in a subtle breath before reaching out and taking hold of Raephier's hand in his own.
"I hope you haven't found this evening too overwhelming," he said, as a distraction from his action. "It didn't go exactly as I planned."
Jacob smiled at Raephier and was relieved when Raephier smiled back.
"That's ok," Raephier replied. "I still enjoyed myself. Well, maybe not the fighting part, but everything else was nice. I haven't felt like this in a long time."
"Felt like what?" Jacob asked, stealing the occasional glance at Raephier as they walked.
"Like....like I'm alive," Raephier replied.
Jacob frowned. "But you've always been alive. I don't understand."
Raephier chuckled lightly. "I may have been physically alive, but I haven't been living."
Jacob felt a tug on his heart.
"I'm sorry."
Raephier laughed.
"What are you sorry for? You're the reason that I'm living. I should be thanking you."
Jacob tugged on Raephier's hand so their shoulders bumped.
"I should have done more," Jacob replied, still feeling the guilt for every negative emotion that Raephier had felt since coming onto his ship.
Jacob thought that Raephier was letting go of his hand but actually he just loosened his grip enough to enable him to thread his fingers through Jacob's.
"You've done more than enough," Raephier said quietly, nudging Jacob's shoulder back.
They entered into the Inn with their hands still entwined which was greeted by a knowing smile from Sally.
"Have a good night," she said with a grin, as the two of them headed upstairs to their room.
Jacob felt the bed calling to him the moment he saw it, and quickly started to undress.
As soon as they were settled in the bed, Jacob lifted his arm to invite Raepheir to snuggle into him.
Raephier moved in close without hesitation, but he seemed restless.
"What's on your mind?" Jacob asked.
"Do you think Sally thinks we're together, as in romantically?" Raephier asked, making Jacob thankful for the dark masking the surprise on his face at such a question.
"I think she just wants us to be, rather than thinks we are," Jacob replied hesitantly, hoping Raephier wouldn't be scared away by that admission.
Raephier sighed. "I don't know why she would want that."
Jacob felt himself tense, although he wasn't exactly sure why.
"Why? Am I that unloveable?" he asked in a teasing voice, although even to his own ears it sounded strained.
"Not at all!!" Raephier said, lifting his head off Jacob's chest. "I just thought she would want the best for you, that's all."
Jacob couldn't help but pull Raephier closer into his body on hearing those words.
Raephier settled back down onto Jacob's chest and within a few minutes, his breathing evened out and Jacob knew he'd fallen asleep.
Raephier's words had affected him more than he would care to wish for, and he knew it would be a while before he would be able to sleep. But he was ok with that. Because he had Raephier in his arms.
Jacob gently kissed the top of Raephier's head.
"I think she does want the best for me," he whispered.