Golden Waters

Chapter 1

Written by: Fench 
Edit by: Toasy

Archer loved life as a pirate. The scent of the sea, the salty wind in his hair and the gentle back and forth rocking of his ship The Rising Sun.

The sea was calm now. They had had a little storm earlier that day, but it had gone fairly soon. You never knew with these waters. One second it's clear blue skies, sunshine and a normal breeze and suddenly the weather changes to complete, huge storms.

Luckily everything and everyone came out unscathed.

Well almost everything. 

He sighed as he looked at the bowsprit¹ of the ship. A big creature (they only saw its shadow) slammed right into it, which meant the wood had splintered and a big chunk was missing. They had to get that repaired the second they could get some wood.

He stole another miserable look at the broken bowsprit and turned around to check in with his crew.

He decided to start with Seàn, his best friend and the quartermaster, and Vallora, Seàn's wife and the healer of the crew.

His multicolored eyes quickly scanned the ship and he soon spotted them. Vallora was sitting on the brown, worn wood of the railing, while Seàn was holding her to make sure she didn't fall. They were whispering to each other and Vallora giggled every once in a while. Vallora's long, curly red hair was tied in a loose ponytail and fell on one side of her shoulder. Her blue eyes were twinkling with mischief and she had a smirk on her freckled face.

Too late he realized they were in a heavy flirting session.

With two couples on board this wasn't an unusual sight, but that didn't mean it was less awkward if he had to interrupt. 

So Archer did what he does best in these situations: he ignored them and walked past, making it seem like he was on his way to the quarterdeck.
He desperately hoped they wouldn't notice, or else his entire ego would be destroyed.

"Smooth captain." He heard a cheerful, feminine voice coming from his left. Dam. Got caught anyways.

Archer turned towards the girl at the helm of the ship. Her dark eyes were twinkling and her short, wavy dark hair barely touched her shoulders. "I don't know what you're talking about Narina." He tried to play it off.

"Hm, sure." Narina said and winked, her dark skin glistening in the afternoon sun. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

Ego saved for the day. "Appreciate it." Archer said and fondly rolled his eyes. 

"Oh by the way, Caleb told me to tell you we were getting low on resources." Narina suddenly remembered. "Do you want me to set a course to Barataria Bay?"

"Sounds good, I'll check if he needs anything in particular." Archer nodded gratefully. "Thanks Narina."

"Aye, captain!" Narina said cheerfully and started to turn the ship.

Archer made his way down, receiving respectful nods from the crewmates he passed. He let everyone know they were restocking to make sure they all knew what they were supposed to do once they arrived. 

He could smell the animals long before he saw them, but he had gotten used to it in the last few years they'd been keeping animals on the ship. It had been Caleb's idea at the time. They all knew Caleb adored animals, and when he had told them they would come in handy they didn't hesitate to acquire some.They wouldn't have to buy milk and eggs if they had animals producing said things. 

Besides, who could say no to those hazel puppy eyes of his?

The young cook was in between the goats they kept, checking every single one of them after the small storm they had earlier that day.