Skyrun

Chapter 17; The art of being a Slightly Better cabin boy.

The next morning they took to the skies once more, journeying out in search of the treasure that the mysterious map had promised.

In the meanwhile, Liam was kept mostly busy with teaching Ezra how to be a cabin boy.

"You haven't been here much longer than I have-- what gives you the right to tell me what to do?" Ezra demanded, frowning slightly. 

"Look, if you don't bloody well shut up, I'll have Tophsy hit you again."

Truth be told, even though the girl had apologized for kicking the thief in the stomach and other less-than-desirable-places he still seemed wary of her.

The thought made Liam smile.

Tophsy, it seemed, was the only girl on the ship Ezra was shy with; the others were not the same case. And as Liam was showing the other boy how to properly swab a deck, he kept noticing the girls of the crew casting glances at Ezra or winking at him, blushing whenever he took notice of them. Indeed, Liam had never heard so much giggling in his life.

Most of it coming from Ezra himself.

The boy, however, did not seem to mind the flirtatious words or grins and would simply smile back or perhaps even chat with a few as they passed by. Needless to say, he was polite-- perhaps a bit too polite-- and he did a truly spectacular job of ignoring Liam. In fact, Ezra was polite to everyone but Liam-- which was quite understandable-- and he only ever spoke to the boy as a show of being the better person.

"You have quite a friendly crew." Ezra remarked as Raven cast him a secretive smile from the opposite side of the deck.

Liam rolled his eyes, 'Gods give me strength...' he thought bitterly. Turning from his work, he said aloud, "I wouldn't get too close; the women tend to bite, and the men are liable to tear off a piece or two of you if you upset them."

"How would I upset them?"

"By talking to the women."

Still, his warning went unheeded and soon Liam began to notice the dirty looks the men were giving Ezra as he breezily charmed even the most cold-hearted pirates on the ship, all while swabbing the deck, his dark curls whipping about his head as the wind ran invisible fingers through them, the sunlight cast upon him slashing across the sharp angles of his face.

Blimey, no one should look that good swabbing a deck.

Swallowing nervously, Liam cast an uneasy glance around the ship as he mopped, noting Coin and Burn standing a bit off to the side, coiling robe. The two were giving Ezra a rather nasty look as he spoke to Raven and a blonde pirate Liam had never met before. Both girls were giggling as though Ezra was the most amusing person they had ever met, and this only seemed to infuriate Coin and his companion further, with both appearing as though they wanted to throw Ezra off the side of the airship.

Yet, then again, Liam rather felt the same way.

Nevertheless, it was not the fact that he did not like the young man-- it was moreso that everyone else, mainly the girls, liked him. And that, in turn, made him unlikable. He was charming, witty, knew all the right things to say, and was entirely too much like Phillip had been-- with the girls flocking to him in ways that Liam knew would never happen to him.

Still, he didn't have time to think about that fact when Coin and Burn both came striding toward them, making Liam's heart sink.

Raven and the blond girl stayed put near Ezra, giving the approaching men unamused looks. Yet Coin ignored them both and instead walked directly to Liam.

Typical.

"Who's the pretty boy with you then?" the black-haired pirate hissed, his rank breath hitting Liam square in the face.