On board! [stray kids pirate AU]

3

Just before dawn broke, Bangchan was already up and outside, looking at the fading stars. A pirate stumbled up the trap and walked groggily to his captain.

"Captain?" He asked.

"Yes, Toothy?"

"I checked the water and food supplies and we're quite low. We need to reach land soon."

Bangchan simply regarded him then left for his cabin. He sat at his chaotically full desk, a map there, an open book here...

There was a dilemma: he had found a clue for the cave's positon that was 3 days of sail away but would only appear once a year. Either they went to the closest port or they tried to reach this clue with low supplies.

His crew would follow him anywhere, but what if there was a danger they wouldn't be able to push back because of hunger or thirst? He could go by himself, there was an emergency canoe on the ship. But he could not just leave his crew.

Bangchan sighed and got up. He stared out the window at the back of his cabin. The sea looked calm and even, two dolphins jumped in and out of the water, their grey skin glistening in the waking dawn. He looked at the west southern Pacific Ocean on his map, trying to choose which direction to go.

Down in the hull, the four captives had gotten an upgrade. Instead of always being in their humid and small cells, they could sleep in the common area as long as they helped around during the day. It wasn't anymore luxurious than the wooden floor of their cells.

The way these pirates operated their crew was very different from how it worked back on their marine ship. They had night shifts consisting of 7 crew members that would sleep during the day and operate the ship at night. The captain was almost always awake to give commands—Hyunjin wondered if he was even mortal.

The four were now part of the day crew, which meant they had to sleep in the common area. Limbs and hair hung from the fifty or so hammocks, some were two per 'bed'.

With the high ceiling, most were double deckers hammocks. There were no windows, only a dim light coming from lanterns.

"I'm sure there's some that are empty." Felix said, mostly trying to convince himself.

"Forget it," said Seungmin, "I'm going on board. The sun's probably up."

"Me too." Said Lee Know

"Me three," Added Hyunjin, "Sorry dude." He placed his hand on Felix's shoulder then left, following the other two.

Felix sighed and started to walk through the maze of hammocks, trying to find an empty one.

"Hey, over here," A whisper said.

Felix looked around, startled, but he couldn't find anyone. Then someone unexpectedly grabbed him by the collar and pulled him backwards.

A door closed and Felix was now in another room. There were 3 hammocks and two double sized beds, real beds, Felix thought. Then he noticed the burly yet small man staring at him with a funny smirk.

"You're friends won't find any place with these pirates." He said in a calm and reassuring way, reminding Felix of a teddy bear. "You and your friends will have enough space here. Jisung and Jeongin said they don't mind either."

"Thank you." Felix said.

He put his spare clothes (his marine's uniform) on one of the beds. Felix started to leave but something still bothered him. He turned back to Changbin.

"Why are you so nice to us?" He asked, genuinely curious, "Is it just pity?"

The pirate shrugged, "I don't know, a feeling I guess." He thought about it more, "you kind of remind me of myself, when I joined 3Racha, when it was just the cap, Han and me. Umph, just a hunch, nevermind."