Long Journey || ATEEZ

The Ghost Queen

The storm lasted for a few days more, and the crew was starting to tire. Sailing in a storm was high-maintenance; at the very least ten or eleven crewmates had to stay up and man the ship, and trying to sleep whilst howling winds threw themselves at the ship in a fury was pretty much impossible anyway.

Yeosang had not been above-deck since he'd gone down to cover up the holes with Magik, and had been staying by the leaks in case any of the Magik circles were to become undone. The rest of the crew had been visiting and providing him with plenty of fresh food and water.

At least the kraken didn't seem to be making a reappearance; of which Hongjoong was deeply thankful for – for he was sure that if it did in their currently weakened state, both the crew and the ATINY would not survive it.

Especially considering the state the crew were in. Ben was still lying in the infirmary, unconscious. Doctor Juyeong had said he'd survive – for the time being, at least – and had been keeping a keen eye on him in the meantime. Yeosang had suffered a minor head injury and Wooyoung had sprained a wrist from catching San; Seonghwa for the most part was unharmed, whereas the worst Hongjoong had suffered was a splinter in his arm that had been shortly thereafter removed. Vi and Miyeon had somehow come out the battle unscathed, and the rest of the crew members had sustained minor bruises from handling the cannons, with only a smattering of fractured ribs from the kraken's suffocating embrace.

San, on the other hand, was on a whole different level of injuries. Three broken ribs and one that was fractured; cracks in both humeri; and several bruises from various encounters with the hardness of the deck. The doctor had said he'd heal within the fortnight, however; a demon's healing rate was truly phenomenal – though he wouldn't be doing any 'strenuous activity' in that time, according to the doctor.

On a happier note, the storm seemed to be coming to an end.

Though the winds still roared and the rain still spat, they seemed to have calmed significantly by now. Waves no longer swelled like they were purposefully trying to tip their ship over with vicious intent, and the clouds thinned and lightened.

And then, three days after the fight with the great sea monster, the skies cleared completely. Hongjoong woke up one day to cerulean-blue skies and a blaring summer sun, and he felt refreshed just from the sight of it.

Now came the problem of the ruined ship.

The ATINY was damaged – badly. She was barely holding together, and only from Yeosang's influence, but even he couldn't keep her that way forever; Magik was costly, Magik demanded energy to be used. And from the constant replacing of the Magik circles and lack of sleep, Yeosang was losing it, quickly. Sooner rather than later, they would have to stop off at land and get the ship repaired properly.

So Hongjoong spent the rest of the day poring over maps and his astrolabe, discerning their whereabouts, and planning a course towards the nearest stretch of land. He had already been planning on stopping off at Kroynick, a friendly country full of singing goats and dancing men before the storm; but they'd been blown off-course. The nearest island for miles was the island of Tilina, and already that was an issue. Tilina, a country sharing the same native language as Signeria itself, was famous in the news and in other countries. And not in a good way; there was always at least one article about their notorious hatred of witches and witch-hunts on news sites. It was a very hostile country, with only trade ships allowed in or out. They'd never be accepted there – not even as people, let alone pirates.

But Hongjoong was an optimist – or, at least, he'd convinced himself he was. And perhaps he was becoming one. For once, he was full of confidence, despite his crewmates' worries. After all the captain was all the rest of the crew relied on; he couldn't be showing weak resolve here.