Skyrun

Chapter 9; Sky storm.

In the end, Liam went the extra few steps when cleaning Valentine's quarters.

Not only did he tidy it from top to bottom, he even found some old velvet curtains and paper lanterns stowed away belowdecks and he hung those up as well, thinking the room would look no worse for having them.

In fact, there were all sorts of things he found that-- upon being meticulously arranged in the captain's room-- made it look quite nice indeed; there was a woven rug in hues of black and ruby red that matched the curtains, and a painting of a ship on the sea-- an odd sight, but interesting nevertheless. 

All together, the room took on a more sophisticated look fit for a captain. And when Valentine saw it, she squealed in delight and gave Liam a kiss on the cheek for a wonderous job well done.

In the moment, Liam felt quite proud of himself and again at dinner that night when Valentine bade him to sit next to her for their evening meal. 

Thus, side by side with the captain-- and with Tophsy giving him beaming, approving smiles from time to time-- Liam listened to the pirates as they told their tales of life in the skies.

Some spoke of how they lost a limb or an eye in battle, or of the treasure they had found in their long years of raiding, or how they had gotten on the ship in the first place.

"T'was when I had just lost me wife," one pirate by the name of Slim was saying now, placing his hands of his ironically large stomach. "I was but a drunkard in the streets then. I had nothing. But then this beautiful lady comes up to me one day, she does." he then lifted his mug of ale up to Valentine, "And she introduced me to the wonderful world of the skies. I haven't been happier since!"

There was a lot of whooping and cheering then and even Liam found himself clapping along.

Valentine, meanwhile, only grinned and waved her hand. "You're all too kind. I simply thought Slim would make a decent cook, is all."

"And to this day, it's the only mistake you've ever made." Tophsy shouted, and the table-- Slim included-- burst out in raucous laughter.

After that, a few more told their stories of how Valentine had found them, one way or another and had brought them aboard regardless of what their past had been.

"My parents died in a village fire," the dark-haired pirate, Raven began, her voice deeper than Valentine's and smoother than summer silk. "Val was the only friend I had and, not knowing where else to go, I joined her stupid little ship and haven't regretted it so far." she then grinned at the captain, who smiled back. "And I don't think I ever will."

"Well, isn't that sweet?" Coin butted in, a sly smile on his face, "But, come now, I want a more interesting story; something with more blood and death. Something more... scandalous." he looked at Sinclair then, his grin going wicked, "How about you, Sin? Why don't you tell all of us what you were before you became Valentine's little pet."

Immediately, the tension around the table spiked and more than one of the crew members muttered darkly at the thief's words.

Finally, however, Valentine barked, "Coin! That's enough! I intend to spend this evening without any sword fights on deck an' I don't need you starting them!"

Frowning, Liam could not help but think that perhaps was Coin simply trying to get petty revenge on Sinclair for what happened earlier in the day. And now, looking upon the silver-haired pirate, Liam could see that his face held the look of a cornered animal-- his body rigid, his gaze avoiding all the others at the table.

And yet, for all the good the captain's warning did, there were still a few pirates who were adamant in hearing what Sinclair appeared to be hiding in his past, and Coin was by far the worst of them. Thus, with a smirk still on his face, he asked, "Why not, captain? We all want to know the big mystery behind your Second in Command. So tell us, then, Sinclair."