Goldheart never regrets being a pirate. But sometimes, the stories make him wary.
The Kraken, a monster of the deep; with tentacles as long as the the tallest waves, reaching to the sky and dragging ships down to the endless depths of the sea. It was horrid that the last thing you would ever remember of this beautiful planet before your death would be the roar of the Kraken and the smell of a thousand corpses, and as the terrible monster dragged you below the waves, its strong tentacles would rip you apart as you disappeared forever.
Goldheart shuddered. Just thinking about the Kraken made him cold.
But the Kraken wasn't the only monster of the seas. The blue hedgehog has heard many other stories of many other terrifying creatures of the deep. He often has to remind himself that they aren't real, but time and time again during the night, Goldheart would hear the waves crash against the wood of the ship, and he would be reminded of the terrifying stories he has read and heard.
The rest of the crew doesn't seem as bothered. It made Goldheart embarrassed; being the only one on the entire ship still afraid of these ghost stories. He's considered asking them how they coped with the idea that dangerous monsters could be swimming in the sea below, but the thought of being laughed at always stopped him.
Goldheart sighed, leaning over the railing, watching the waves below. He just awoke from another nightmare about being swallowed alive by a Kraken in the depths of the sea. He shook his head—it was getting tiring, these nightmares about monsters.
"Goldheart?" A voice spoke. Goldheart's ears flicked, already knowing who was behind him.
"Hey, Captain." The blue hedgehog answered, still keeping his eyes on the ocean.
Shadow stepped up quietly, finding himself standing beside his first mate and watching the dark waves. The two hedgehogs stood silently; no words were passed between them as the both of them listened to the roaring sea.
Shadow eventually spoke up.
"Why are you up?" He asked, leaning his arms onto the railing. Goldheart shrugged as an answer.
"Couldn't sleep." The blue hedgehog responded, still refusing to look at Shadow. Goldheart swore he saw a tentacle rise from the water, then disappear again. He shivered.
"Goldheart," Shadow said, his tone soft yet demanding. He wanted answers. "Tell me what's wrong."
Goldheart lowered his ears, sighing mentally. Shadow always looked out for him, but sometimes it was just too much. No point in hiding now; the captain had him on a pedestal.
"Monsters," the blue hedgehog answered, keeping his voice low, "are they real?"
Shadow hummed, amused. He wasn't too surprised—it was the first mate's first year at sea, after all, and if he had to guess; Rouge was probably telling old stories and myths to the poor guy to scare him back to land. The captain cleared his throat, thinking of his following words.
"Do you think they are?" He asked.
Goldheart groaned, dreading his next response, whatever it may be. He glared at the ocean waves as if they could answer for him. Ridiculous.
"Yes," he eventually answered, "and I'm scared of them."
Shadow smiled softly. He stepped closer, wrapping an arm around Goldheart's shoulders.
"It's alright." The black hedgehog said, keeping his voice soft to calm his first mate. "I used to be like you when I first started sailing."
Goldheart chuckled a little, not daring to believe that fact. But the blue hedgehog couldn't deny it as he listened to Shadow talk about his first days on the sea. Shadow used to be scared of monsters—just like Goldheart.
The black hedgehog eventually wrapped up his story, and Goldheart now definitely felt safer on the seas.
"And just for the record?" Shadow began, a proud smirk appearing on his muzzle. "If any monster wanted to hurt you, they'll have to go through me."
Goldheart slept soundly ever since that night.
