pirate king (pirate!au) ➵ ateez ✔️

noose

The three of you are walking along in town.

Unsurprisingly, after the crazy celebration the night before, majority of the crew had woken up with massive hangovers, most retching over the side of the ship or trying to nurse pounding headaches. To be honest, the only ones who weren't drunk were you, Seonghwa and Mingi.

Technically, Yeosang hadn't been drunk either, but he had left for town earlier in the morning to go search for Wooyoung, who still hadn't returned to the ship. When you had started to worry, Yeosang had simply reassured you that this was normal Wooyoung behavior, and he'd have their head gunner back on board before the ship set sail.

The biggest problem was, however, the fact that the ship's resident healer was also suffering from a hangover.

"You're such a lightweight, master." You had chided him this morning as he groaned in his bed, half buried in a mountain of stuffed plushies. "Everybody needs you to cure their hangovers, you know?"

"You can do it, apprentice." San mumbled weakly from beneath a pig stuffed toy. "You have a good master."

"Red ginseng, lemon and ginger tea and prickly pear cactus." You recalled diligently from your studies, glancing at the lump that was your master. "Am I right?"

The only answer you got was a snore in response.

So, that explains why you, Seonghwa and Mingi are together, walking along the town's marketplace, searching for a hangover cure for your poor crew mates. Seonghwa had offered his services to help you carry the groceries back, while Mingi simply didn't want to get in the way of his crewmates' projectile vomiting.

You don't blame him. The stench was absolutely awful.

"So, what are you looking for?" Seonghwa asks as you make your way through the crowd. There's a soft buzz in the air, a little subdued, but you chalk it up to being early in the morning and that nobody is quite awake yet.

"Opuntia, or prickly pear cactus." You tell him as you weave through the throng of people selling their wares at every corner of the long street. "Its fruit helps to ease hangovers, so that's what I'm looking for."

"Anything else?" Mingi asks, checking through his coin pouch. As the quartermaster and also the treasurer, all funds go through him before being spent.

"Lemon, honey and ginger." Bending over to check out some of the fruits, you study a lemon carefully for any defects and put them in your basket. "I'm also looking for red ginseng to reduce hangover severity, but it's an eastern root herb, so it may be a little difficult to find here."

"We are in the Caribbean, after all." Seonghwa remarks, using his superior height to his advantage as his eyes scan the multitude of stalls selling every sort of exotic plant, fruit, and even animal. "I do recall seeing a shop selling eastern herbs the last time I was here, though."

"Ah, Master did tell me to make sure we stock up on eastern herbs if I found any!" You chatter excitedly, turning to Seonghwa. "Did you see any worm grass (cordyceps) or fish bladders (fish maw)?"

Seonghwa nods, a smile blossoming on his face. "Yes! I can't believe I even found some dried black mountain ants there!"

Mingi stares at the two of you with a weirded out look on his face. "I'm not even going to ask any questions. None at all."

"There, I see it!" Seonghwa points over the heads of the crowd at a stall tucked all the way at the end of the street, his grin widening. "We did it, Chin Hae!"

The two of you exchange high fives and dash for the stall faster than Mingi can blink. He simply sighs, following the pair of you at a more sedately pace, shaking his head dryly. "Are all cooks like this...?"