Tender Waves - A DreamNotFound Story

Chapter 1: Of Cabbages And Kings (And A Whole Lot Of Names)

It was a boring Tuesday.

Not that all Tuesdays weren't boring, but the knowledge of how dull the specific day really was just made things worse. The long hours of the day combined with the smell of salty waters and an irritated mood were enough to make anyone a grouch. There was no foreseeable land, either, or prospective merchant vessels, and that was enough to make a famous captain gloomy as hell.

His humor at the time was caused by restlessness. A battle had been fought and won a few weeks ago, with an independent nation just beginning to thrive. Of course, this was one of the first fights, as more were sure to come, but the empty feeling of just doing nothing seemed to consume the man. All he could do was sit and wait at this point for some other adventure or challenge to arise, and nothing seemed promising enough. 

He couldn't have conquered the world already.

But no new opportunity was really presenting itself.

Of course, the aforementioned captain seemed to be the only one who was depressed.

His crew of skilled buccaneers went about their day on deck, not really noticing their leader's foul attitude at the time. The captain was holed up in his cabin, looking over different records and maps that were scattered across his acacia desk. His comrades seemed to be enjoying their obvious off-day, faint chords of song muffled by the man's closed door and thick walls as they worked or hung around lazily.

They had earned this break time, to be sure, but the captain never liked the quiet for too long.

And for good reason.

It was almost a good thing that his first mate and a few prominent members of the man's gang burst through the door to his space in a loud and jovial manner.

"And here is!" Sapnap, the captain's right hand man, grinned as he strolled up to the desk of his leader. "The man of the ship!"

Sapnap definitely worked a good look for his position. Floppy raven hair was partnered with a white bandanna around his head, his 5' 8" frame being muscular. He wore a long black coat around his shoulders, a loose white blouse serving as his shirt. A sunset medallion hung from his neck and a leather belt was strapped at his waist, various explosives and an occupied scabbard attached to it. Ripped black trousers and leather boots completed his casual look, scruff framing his tan face as he beamed at his good friend, a scar sliced on his right cheek. His real name was Nick Beckerson, but the crew-family hardly ever used it. Names held power, for both good and evil, and there were few who lived that got away with referencing any pirate's old life, as it could be seen as disrespect of their current threat. Sapnap rarely let anyone call him by his true name.

"We see him every day, why are you introducing us like it's our first time meeting him?" BadBoyHalo rolled his eyes, his arms crossed as he entered alongside a few other pirates.

BadBoyHalo was another alias, covering up the male's real name (Darryl Noveschosch). Had he not been a marauder, Bad would've been seen as anything but bad. He earned the nickname during the start of this initial crew, in a game where everyone had been drunk but he. An avid advocator for the purity of dialogue, he was the friendly sea-doctor of the Seafaring Modernized Pirates. He was short and thin, his appearance veering slightly on strange. A black jacket bordered with scarlet was worn over a simple grey shirt, black pants and boots making up the rest of his look. A leather strap fixed with potions or different medicine vials slung itself across his body, the hood of his jacket only allowing tufts of his black hair to poke out. The male's clothing description alone would've sounded harmless had his skin not also been pitch-black, with piercing white eyes and two small bumps atop his forehead. Some called him the Devil's Disappointment, but that was a story for another time.