Everything about the ship smelled so weird.

Felis could have laughed if he wasn't currently a cat, paws tapping against floorboards as he rushed to explore the place. It was so much: the saltiness in the air, the strong, briny scent of fish, shouting from one crewmate to another as the black-haired Bruxa from before called out to the Urco boy, Jack. At least, Felis was pretty sure that was what the captain had called him, and if not, that was his name now.

He watched Jack intently, a paw scratching behind his ear all while the boy rushed to one side of the ship, pulling at a few ropes before scrambling to the other to do the same thing.

Huh.

Curious, Felis leapt forward, making his way to Jack's side. It was hard to keep up with his tall, skinny legs, but, once he wormed his furry little body directly in the middle, it wasn't so hard. A short cry left the boy, and he tumbled forward, hands held out to catch himself as he hit the floor.

"Jack?" The Bruxa lady tossed a glance over her shoulder to find the boy flat on the floor. "What are you doing? Get up."

"I'm trying," he explained, and Felis didn't miss the annoyed look in his brown eyes as he glared, pushing himself back to standing. "But this darn cat keeps getting in between my legs!"

"Cat?"

There was a tapping of boots, and Felis quickly stepped backwards as she made her way over, gaze narrowing at him, particularly his scarf. "Oh. The Reverie."

Felis' tail twitched. Again with that dumb term. He was getting sick of being called that when he'd just clarified that he was indeed Felis Duquesne, Greatest Thief and Mibster in all of Crisol. So he yoinked at his magic again, imagining it slowly draining from him like water from a vase until he was a boy on the ground on all fours.

He stood, arms crossing. "I'm not a Reverie. I'm a pirate, just like you."

The Bruxa lady did not look amused, and the arm crossing was quickly matched. "And what makes you think that?"

"Uhhh..." Quickly, he glanced around the ship. He knew he was a pirate now– the papers said so– but as for proving it... He looked back up at her, hand fashioning a quick salute. "Ahoy my matey! What arrgh we doing today?"

Her frown deepened. "We do not say 'arrgh'."

"Nuh-uh. You just did." He pointed a single claw at her.

"No, I did not."

"Actually, you did technically say arrgh," Jack pointed out, very helpfully, and Felis gave him a quick nod.

"Thank you."

The teen just returned it, a mischievous grin spreading across his cheeks. "Of course. Anytime."

The lady's black boots began tapping impatiently, and her fuschia eyes glowered at the both of them. "Well then! Since you're both pirate experts, I expect that I can trust you to figure out the rest of the chores. Enjoy shoving off by yourselves. I'll be in my cabin."

She began to walk off. Not that Felis minded. In fact, the second her back turned, he stuck a tongue out at her, but Jack on the other end froze, hand reaching out as if he could pull her back.

"W-wait! No!" he shouted. "Come on, Vessa! I was joking, please."

"Joking is a luxury for those who can handle their consequences." A fang poked out of the Bruxa's lips as she sneered, and slowly, she eased her thin frame onto a barrel to watch them, pleased. "Now go on. We leave port in a half hour."

Jack just stared at her, fluffy tail and shoulders falling before his hands smacked at his face, dragging down it as he let out a loud groan. "Arrgh!"

Felis nodded at him. "Yep. Just like that. Pirates."

"No! It—" Jack cut himself off, sending Felis a scowl. "This is all your fault! Now I have to do everything!" Again, he glanced about, looking frantic. "I gotta cast off the rest of the lines, raise the anchor, adjust the fenders, the sails..."

Felis squinted. Most of those held no meaning to him, but he felt like he ought to be adding to the list somehow with other, boat-ly things, and soon, another came to mind. "And swab the deck!"

Jack's head sharply turned to him, black curls completely ragged, and he reached over, grabbing a mop in one jerky motion, and thrusting it in Felis' hands with another.

And then he was taking off, his bulky white shirt flowing behind him as he left to probably do all the other things he listed, leaving Felis to stand there. Alone. With a mop.

Felis blinked at it, not liking the way that the Bruxa lady, Vessa, was watching him with sly amusement. Like he didn't know how to swab. But of course he knew how to swab. He was a great swabber, and, turning up his nose, he placed the bristles of the mop directly onto the wooden floor, and pushed.

Instantly, a sharp, almost spiky, scratching sound hit his ears. It clawed at his nerves in a painful, grating way, and he yanked the mop back, staring at it. Sure enough, it was just a mop, with a long wooden handle and a tuft of cotton strings, but the second he gingerly lowered it to the floor, he could hear it: the soft, swishing sound of each piece rubbing against the wood... and it hurt.

"What's the matter, Reverie?" Vessa tossed her ponytail over her shoulder, grinning at him, fangs gleaming in the bright afternoon sun. "I thought you were a pirate?"

"I am!" he told her, and again, he went to scrub, but the sound returned. It was itchy, uncomfortable, and Felis' ears pressed back, panic running through his arms, like he had to run, but from what? There wasn't anything except a mop, and a floor, and Vessa snickering and Jack's feet against the floor and the ocean waves crashing and the caw of a seagull, and it was so much. So, so much. A wordless yell left his mouth, and Felis flung the mop away.

It clattered to the ground– just one more noise– and that was it. He burst into tears, clutching at his head all while his heart pounded, and he panted for breath. Why? Why had the mop felt so spiky? His fingers twitched, and instinctively, he reached for the bag of marbles tied at his hip. Maybe if he touched the glass, it would smooth out the spikiness, and his ears would stop hurting, or his head. Maybe it would round it out. He didn't know. All he knew was that everything needed to stop.

"Cat boy. You okay?"

If Felis looked up, he could see Jack over him, a look of concern on his face, but he could hear him talking, breathing, the way his clothes brushed against each other as his hands fumbled. "What happened?"

Felis went to answer, but he couldn't. He was shaking, and now his hands were shaking faster, his whole body twitching. Finally, a sound left him, but it wasn't words. Just a mumbled noise as he used a hand to push Jack back.

"Come on boy," Vessa sharply called out from the corner. "Speak."

Panting, Felis took a step back from them, but he could only go so far until he hit the edge of the ship with nowhere else to go. They were close, only coming closer, and all he could do was shake. His face was wet, but he couldn't wipe the tears away. Only shrink back and raise his arms to his face, praying it would go away.

"I said speak." Suddenly a lavender-skinned hand was sharply grabbing at his wrist, and he was getting tugged to his feet, enough to feel Vessa's warm breath on his face. "What, did you forget how to use your words?"

She was mad. He knew that, and it was all because he couldn't swab the deck and he couldn't explain to her why, because he didn't know. His whole body was shaking from sobbing now, and he jerked away again and again, trying to leave, trying to run, but her grip only tightened, and no matter how much he wordlessly yelled, she didn't let go.

"Vessa! What do you think you're doing?"

The hand let go, and Felis almost tumbled to the floor from the momentum. He managed to steady himself though, and, looking up, he found Grace suddenly out of her cabin, staring the Bruxa down.

Not that she relented, her back straight and chin up. "Teaching your new recruit that he can't just start crying the second we have chores to do." She glanced over her shoulder, staring him down. "This isn't a playground, kid. It's a tightly run ship with rules and regulations, and if you don't like it, you can leave."

A shudder ran through Felis under her glare, and his hand found himself in his marble pouch once again. He picked one out. It was a blue swirlie, the mica flakes in it sparkling in the light. Wrapping his fingers around it, he tried to breathe better. It was easier if he held it tight.

"Excuse you?" Grace tipped her head at her, brows furrowing in anger. "That isn't your call to make."

"Look at him!" Her hand flung out, sharp, black nails scarily close. "Crying, barely able to talk, shaking..." She looked down, spotting the way he was rolling the marble around in his fingers, again and again. Suddenly, recognition seemed to flash across her face, but it only came with the rolling of her eyes and a heavy groan. "Dear Ceris! He's just like Serendipity."

Serendipity. Felis thought about the word. Was that an insult? It sounded like another insult. Cabin boy, Reverie, Serendipity, so many names that he didn't understand. When were they going to stop?

Grace finally followed Vessa's gaze, her own, teal eyes scanning him up and down dully. Then she shrugged. "Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. The point is, either way, it is of little concern to you. Might I remind you of your own position, First Mate?"

Instantly, her position stiffened, boots moving to stand side by side as her shoulders drew back. Still, Vessa was far shorter than her captain, and eventually, she backed down. A sharp tsk left her, her next words as venomous as her race. "This idea of yours is going to come back to bite us, but very well. Go play mother again. See how that works out for you." She waved her hand, and after that, she walked away, finding Jack and eventually moving along to help him with the chores she'd left him to do before.

Not that Felis cared to pay attention to that much anymore. At some point, he'd sunk to the floor again, still gripping onto the marble. His palms were sweaty now, sliding against the glass in a weird way, but it was something to focus on. He kept rubbing it.

"Hey."

There was a shifting, and suddenly Grace was sitting next to him, arm propped up on a bent knee as she leaned back, looking at him, but far enough away to not be in his space. A soft, sad smile rested on her face, and when she talked, it was quiet. "Are you all right?"

He met her gaze, staring at her intently as a sound left his lips.

Nodding, she looked away, head tipping back until she was staring up at the sky, not him. "I'm sorry. Vessa can be... very strict. She has a specific way she thinks the ship should be run, and if anything ever does line up with that, well—" She sighed, continuing to stare out into nothing. "But it's not your fault, all right? So you don't have to cry. I get it. First day is always scary, and there's a lot to learn and a lot to do."

Felis frowned, and he looked down at his boots. He began picking at the laces. His breathing was a lot more normal now, and finally, when he opened his mouth, he was able to find his voice again. "The mop was spiky."

"What?" She turned to him, brows furrowed once again. They seemed to do that a lot. "Did you get a splinter?"

"Mm-mm." He shook his head, watching brown strands of hair fall over his eyes. "It just scratched in my ears and up my arms. I hated it." His knees curled up, and he hunched over them. "I don't want to do that ever again."

"Um." She paused. "All right. We'll find you a different job then, and Jack can do the cleaning. There's plenty of other tasks, so we'll find you something, don't worry."

Another deep breath, and Felis nodded. So he could still help then, but even as the thought comforted him, it didn't stop another from continuing to weigh on him, squeezing at his heart uncomfortably.

"What's a Serendipity?"

"Hm?" Her pointed ears pricked up. "Oh! Serendipity isn't a what. She's a part of the crew. Actually—"

She pushed herself up, holding out a hand for Felis to pull himself up. "Do you want to meet her?"

He watched her hand, hesitant. "I don't know if I want to see anyone else right now."

"If you don't, that's fine too, but..." She shrugged, the smile never leaving her face. "I assure you she's very nice. A lot better than Vessa, and her cabin is quiet and away from all of this." She waved at the two others, bickering over yet another task, Vessa tugging Jack by a single, floppy ear while reprimanding him over what seemed to be a knot. "I think it'd be good for you, and I'm sure you'd get along great."

"Mmm, all right." Felis let himself be pulled up, and then he was being led back to the cabins beneath the staircase. At first, it seemed like he was going to be taken to that same, messy room Grace had talked to him in, but instead, she led him to the one next to it, reaching out to ring a little bell posted right outside the door.

"Serendipity? It's Grace. Do you mind having a visitor right now?" she asked, decently loudly with the wooden door closed off. "We got a new member in our crew."

There was no answer, but even so, Felis could hear shuffling coming from the other side of the door, and then the knob was turning, the door opening to reveal a woman with long, blond hair sectioned into parts with golden bands, and arms folded up, pressed into a fancy blue dress.

"Felis?" An arm gently wrapped around his back. "Meet our navigator, Serendipity."