Pressing his back against the stone wall, he shut his eyes and held his breath.
The sound of heavy boot steps marched right pass his hiding spot and continued down the cobbled alleyway.
Cole exhaled and slumped a bit.

Opening his eyes, he looked at the drying laundry that probably just saved him.
His gaze stopped at a pair of pants. They were about his size. He stepped closer and pulled them down. Leaving his own clothes on the line would be an upgrade for the person owning the simple clothes. His were made of the finest material and brand new.
The thought made his decision easier.

Wearing the black pants with a tear on one knee felt strange. He had never worn tattered clothes before, but at least they were clean.
He ruffled his short hair to get rid of the back slick he had been forced to wear for most of his life. The hair and his new attire should make people look twice before they recognized him.
Hopefully he would make it out of the city before anyone figured out where he had gone.
To be extra sure, he pulled up the hood on the short-sleeved sweater he had taken from the clothesline.

An idea sparked in his head. He picked up his pace and walked down to the docks.
If he hid on one of the ships leaving Lendro he should be able to escape. What happened next was up to the gods.

Cole had no idea if the place was a port or a harbor. He didn't know the difference, but it was full of ships.
He wondered how the people working on the ships got their jobs. Did they simply walk on board and ask?
In all of his twenty-four years, he had never learned how to apply for a job.

He stepped to the side to let two burly trolls pass with a barrel under each arm. They looked menacing with their glaring eyes and scarred arms. He would probably be dead if they wanted a fight.

Cole quickly walked further down the pier, glancing at the ships he passed.
Bronze Brier, Seablaze and Song of the Wales ... The ships had interesting names. Nothing that gave him the courage to try to get onboard, though. He didn't know what each of the ships did, either. Transport, probably, but he assumed they transported different things.
Hopefully at least one of them could use an extra pair of hands. They would have to teach him everything about being on a ship, but he would do his best to learn.

Something bumped in to him. He tumbled backwards, fell over a crate and landed on his back.
"Watch it, piss-ant!"
Cole stared at the big Taur bull in front of him, towering over him like a mountain of muscles. His nose was pointy and the full lower lip made him look pouty. The horns reminded him of the big ox at the farm near his home.
The bull had almost dropped the crate he was carrying.
"Watch where you're going before I break you in half!" he snapped while getting a better grip.
"Easy there, my friend. No harm done."
The annoyed bull looked over his shoulder and froze for a second.
Cole looked pass the bull and froze too.
The bull behind the angry one was the opposite of the one Cole had bumped in to. He looked well-dressed and had curled horns like a ram. Not as tall and more slender than the angry bull, but still elegant and confident.
"My apologies, captain. I lost my temper."
The big bull gave the younger one a small bowe.
"No harm done. Carry on."
"Of course, captain."
The bigger bull bowed again and walked off.

Cole met the gaze of the younger bull. The eyes of the blond bull had the color of polished topaz, and his amused smirk made Cole's heart flutter.
"Are you okay?"
Cole nodded.
"Yeah. I'm fine."
The young bull offered him a hand and Cole took it.
"Were you looking for something in particular?" the bull asked when Cole got on his feet.
Cole cleared his throat and nodded.
"I would like a job on one of the ships, but I don't know where I should ask."
He gave Song of the Wales a glance.
"Really? What sort of job are you looking for?"
Cole met the young bull's gaze.
"Honestly, I don't know."
The bull smiled.
"What can you do then?"
"Anything I guess."
"So sailor, navigator, cook, or cabin boy?"
Cole cleared his throat again.
"I don't know."
"Hmm ... Personally, I'm looking for a cabin boy. Would that be of any interest?"
Cole nodded quickly.
"Yes, sir... Captain."
"The name is Tanryn Dravas, but most people call me Tan."
The bull reached out his hand.
"Cole."
Tan smiled as they shook hands.
"Well. Come this way, Mr. Cole."
Cole quickly got his feet moving and followed Tan.
"It's Colter Roan, captain. But you can call me Cole."
Tan nodded.
"Noted."

Cole noticed that most people stepped out of their way when they followed the pier. Tan was probably known by many. His clothes were pretty noticeable too. Not many were that well-dressed on the docks, but he looked like most captains, so people most likely knew just by the looks of him.

"I guess you have little experience of ships?"
Cole shook his head.
"None. Born and raised on land."
"I see ... What makes you want to set sails then?"
Cole shrugged.
"See the world, I guess. And I need the money. My older brother is inheriting everything after our father, and I'm looking for my own path to follow."
"So that's why you don't have any belongings with you?"
Cole could feel his face getting warm and cleared his throat.
"Yeah. Didn't have much worth bringing along."
"A clean pair of underwear could have been nice."
His face heated up again.
"Yeah. I guess."

Tan stopped and looked at him.
Cole met his gaze, unsure if Tan was about to change his mind.
Tan then scanned their surroundings as if he were looking for something.
After a while, he met Cole's gaze again.
"Well. I guess you could borrow some clothes when needed on our journey, and then you can buy what you need with your first pay."
Cole nodded.
"Yeah. Sounds good."
Tan smiled and started walking again. Cole followed him swiftly.

Tan walked up the gangway to an elegant ship with two large masts and a red and golden decoration following the outside of the railing. Cole got a glimpse of the ship's name as he hurried to follow Tan.
Valkyrie.
He had never heard the name before, but there had barely been any talk about ships at home.
The ship was not very big, but maybe medium compared to the others. The gangplank felt a bit unstable when he walked over it. A rail or something that would protect him from falling in to the water had been nice too.

Tan stopped in the middle of the deck and turned to Cole.
Cole walked up to him while glancing at the surroundings.
"I only have four crew members, so it should not be difficuly to learn their names. Vultrak and Vujak work on the deck with Ezur. Track and Vu are Taur like me, and Ezur is a troll. Vungr is the cook. We call him Vock for short."
"Vock?"
"Yeah. Vungr the Cook became Vock and it stuck with him. As a cabin boy, your first job is the chores I give you. When I do not need you, you can ask Vock if he needs any help. If he doesn't need your help, talk to Track. Track is second in command after me. If the others give any jobs to you, it's best to ask Tack or Vock first. Vu can be a bit moody, and Ezur is about as dumb as a troll gets. Check first. You have my permission to wait until you know for sure that they're not just messing with you. Okay?"
Cole nodded.
"Good. We will be leaving soon, but I can show you your cabin before I'm busy with departure."

Cole followed Tan to the door that he assumed led to the captain's cabin.
It turned out they stepped in to a small hallway with stairs leading down in one end and a door in the other. Straight ahead was the door to the captain's cabin.

Tan walked over to the door to the right and opened it.
"It's not much, but you should find the most necessary in here."
Cole looked inside. The bed took up most of the space, but there was a slim patch of floor to walk on with a bench at the end. Under the bed were some cabinets and on the wall above the bed were a small shelf. The shelf was probably made for books or something.
"Make yourself at home."
Cole nodded and stepped in to the room. His closet at home was bigger than that, but he could get used to it. At least he was far away from his father and the old, stupid ideas called "tradition".

"Would you like to see the departure?"
Cole met Tan's gaze and nodded.
"Yeah. Absolutely."
Tan gave him a smile and walked off.
Cole closed the door to his new home and followed Tan up on the higher deck in the back.

Tan stood at the large wheel and gazed over the deck of his ship.
An older bull came up from below and gave Tan a look. Cole guessed the bull was the second in command called Track.
Tan gave Track a nod. Track immediately blew a whistle and started shouting orders. The three men got the ship ready for departure in an impressively short time. As soon as the moorings were drawn in, the men set sails and the Valkyrie started moving.

Cole noted a few guards on the dock. He only glanced at them while keeping an eye on everything going on around him. The guards looked like they were searching for something - or someone.
Cole looked ahead and pretended not to notice them. Thankfully, Tan stood in the way and hid him from the guards. Cole could barely see them past Tan in the corner of his eye.
His heart started beating faster, but the excitement slowly took over the fear.
Soon he glanced over his shoulder and saw the people on the port shrinking behind them. They were leaving Lendro, faster and faster, as they moved out to the Therison canals. The delightful sensation of relief soon made him hold back a wide smile. He had done it. The guards had not seen him, and no one knew he just left the port on one of the ships. Whatever life threw at him now, it could only get better.

"You look quite happy."
Cole met Tan's gaze.
"Sorry. First voyage."
"Nothing to apologize for. I didn't realize it meant that much to you."
Cole shook his head.
"It feels different than I thought it would."
"How so?"
"I don't know. Like you can feel the depth of water under your feet."
Tan nodded.
"Yeah. I know what you mean. That and the wind pushing us forward."
"Exactly. We're not attached to anything. We're just floating."
Tan smiled and looked ahead again.

Cole took a deep breath and enjoyed the salty breeze. Especially when he could feel the breeze ruffle his hair. He would never force it in place with a back slick again.
This was definitely the feeling of freedom.

A/N: The drawings are just for fun and my own "notes" on how the characters look. They are not meant to add or remove anything from the story and everyone is free to create their own image of the characters appearance.