Destiny's Binds

In The Endless Sea pt 1

Lloyd couldn't rest a second while he was aboard the Bounty. Between harbouring an enemy from the Cursed Realm, half a pirate's crew -which included the captain who had successfully undertaken a mutiny- and Jay's naivety surrounding the danger they were in, Lloyd had his work cut out for him. Part of him wished he'd never left Ninjago. Still in the back of his mind, Mystake's words were gnawing at him. The King would never redeem him. It made sense, considering all the labour Lloyd's done for the King without reward.

If he could convince Harumi to run away from her destiny, they could be happy. Instead of being under the constant foot of the King. Lloyd knew Harumi felt suffocated by the King's expectations. She never wanted to be a princess; the royal family adopted her. Overnight, she had royal duties sprung on her. Now she was getting married off for political reasons; surely Harumi would prefer to escape.

However, no matter how idealistic Lloyd was, he knew that he was chasing folly. If Harumi didn't marry, the tensions would escalate into war. Ninjago would feel the wrath of a few people's selfishness. Lloyd considered the option to not offer Harumi an escape. He wouldn't know until the moment; his morality might be stronger than his desire for freedom.

But first, before he had to decide, he had to survive the journey. Jay was adamant to work on the ship, considering the crew was small. Which meant he was rubbing elbows with the same people who attempted to ransom and kill him. And weirder yet, he did so with a smile.

Pixal and Zane only brought a few sailors from the original crew from their first journey in the Bounty. Considering there was no money in the journey, there was no payment for the crew. Thus only a few loyal sailors choose to stay.

Nya brought a small band of 'reformed' pirates. Even though Nya wasn't the captain, she acted like it. She ordered her posse around. Which they always responded to well. They respected her.

She also dressed like a captain. Expensive fabrics made up her clothes. She must've stolen the garments from a poor merchant. A pendant anointed her chest at all times. Jay often asked about the jewels' significance. Nya gave him skeptical looks and insisted she just thought it was pretty so she stole it.

Nya's brother, Kai, was Nya's right-hand man. After Nya became the captain of the Misfortune's Keep, Kai joined her crew. As Nya acquired wealth and fear, she bought more boats to create a fleet of danger as she patrolled the merchant routes between the Dark Island and the rest of Ninjago. Kai was one of the captains of her other boats. He kept to himself, snapping at anyone who tried to give him direction that wasn't Nya. He was working for a pardon as well.

Lloyd found him hard to trust for multiple reasons. Not only did he act sleazy, he also wore expensive clothing. Except, unlike Nya who was willing to get the clothes dirty in the grunt work, Kai cared about his appearance way too much. He always had to make sure the humid air of the sea didn't affect his tailored clothes and styled hair. He was very proud of his appearance. Lloyd considered him narcissistic and you could never trust a narcissist.

Another crew member from Misfortune's Keep was Dogshank. An unfortunate name for an unfortunate woman. She was a butch woman, with a snarl and a bad attitude. Like Kai, she didn't take orders from anyone but Nya. Except Lloyd got the sense that Kai and Dogshank were indignant for different reasons. Kai was independent and hotheaded; he thought he didn't need anyone to direct him. Dogshank seemed to have a distaste for men in general. While she never listened to Pixal without Nya's intervention, Dogshank never disrespected her. In fact, from their interactions, Dogshank looked to respect Pixal for her high position of power on the ship. Lloyd smelled a misandrist.

The last of Nya's crew was the worst one: a serpentine. Clancee was a disgusting creature. His pale green scaly skin, long neck, and snake-like features made him into a monster. Jay took to Clancee right away. (Jay would be the one to ignore the advice: 'Never trust a snake.') Clancee had an awful stutter and weird enjoyment of cleaning the ship's deck. Lloyd kept the closest watch on him.