Skyrun

Chapter 16; Ezra.

Liam looked down at the thief, then at Sinclair, then at the thief again.

Blimey, there was definitely a family resemblance.

There was a brief note of silence as they all stared at the brothers, each of them looking back and forth from Sinclair to the stranger.

Finally, the stranger stood and walked hesitantly to where Sinclair stood-- his hands reaching out uncertainly to push back the hood upon his head, a flicker of recognition in his eyes, followed by disbelief and wonder as he wrapped his arms around him, making Liam wonder for a moment that he was attacking the quarter master till he realized they were embracing one another.

Within this light, the quarter master's hair gleamed like freshly fallen snow in the shadows of twilight. And as Liam watched, it seemed to him that perhaps the man was crying, though he dared not mention it.

When the two separated, the stranger's eyes widened at the sight of Sinclair's hair. "Dio," he said, "I never knew that--"

But Sinclair held up a hand to stop him, a harsh glint in his eyes. "That is something we may speak of later. In private." then his gaze softened, "Look at you, my little brother. You're all grown up now..."

"Speak for yourself. What are you now? Forty?"

"I'm twenty three, you idiot."

"Sin," Valentine practically had steam coming out of her ears, "Are you going to tell me what in the skies is going on here or do I need wave my sword about menacingly?"

Liam nodded in agreement, feeling confused, but also sensing a spark of excitement springing up in his chest. To him, Sinclair had always been a bit of a mystery; tall, cold, and with a beauty as if he had been carved from smooth, dark marble, the quarter master held secrets. From that time that Liam had saved him from Coin nearly exposing said secret, he had always wondered what the young man had been hiding.

Maybe a long-lost brother had been it.

Shaking his head, Sinclair quickly regained composure. "Of course, captain. Though perhaps the ship would be the best place to speak of such things."

"Here, here!" Tophsy practically shouted in Liam's ear. giving him a headache all over again.

Groaning, he simply hoped he could make it back to the ship in one piece to hear about what Sinclair's mysterious brother had to say.

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"I was six years old when Sinclair left-- he was only twelve and the only other boy in my family besides myself."

They were all sitting around the dinner table on an empty ship, most of the other crew having gone out to roam the town on Valentine's orders. Thus, it was almost completely quiet as they listened to Sinclair's brother, Ezra, tell his tale.

Keeping an old cloth on his nose, Liam tried his best to hear through the pounding in his ears. In truth, he knew he ought to be in bed, trying not to choke to death on any blood that found its merry way from his nose to his throat. But he had been so fascinated by the prospect about learning more of Sinclair's past that he had promptly ignored the pain and had instead curled up next to Tophsy on a blanket near the table. They were both listening intently as Ezra spoke, his voice rich and smooth like Sinclair's, but holding a warmth to it rather than an icy snap.

"I was scared; I hadn't known where he had gone and the only clue I had was that he told me he was going to get the money father owed us. The money he had promised mother."

"Our father was not the sort to keep promises." Sinclair said, sneering.

Liam shivered slightly, thinking of his own father. Was he worried for him? Were he and his brother looking for him now? Or had they already had his funeral, thinking him dead?

That was a terrifying thought.

He shook his head, trying once more to listen to the story, banishing thoughts like that from his mind.

"But then," Ezra's eyes widened as though he were telling a terrifying tale, "One night Dio didn't come back."

"Your name is Dio?" Liam butted in, turning to Sinclair.

The quarter master regarded him coldly. "Not to you."

"Even I don't call him Dio." Valentine muttered.

With a wave of his hands, Ezra hushed them all. "As I was saying, one night Dio didn't come home. We waited and waited..." his voice broke slightly then and he cleared his throat harshly before going on. "We waited for eleven years and still he never came. Mother thought you had died."

Liam looked to Sinclair, certain once more that the young man had tears in his eyes, and quickly averted his gaze, feeling a lump form at the back of his throat.

"I became a thief to survive; up until mother died and our sisters were married. Then it was only me, a street rat who had to steal to eat." Ezra shifted to look at Valentine then, his expression apologetic, "That was why I stole that collar, and though I know it was no excuse, I hope you will still forgive me."

Leaning back in her chair, Valentine looked long and hard at the boy, as if making a decision. Finally, she smacked her hands down on the table and grinned. "Blimey, that's one of the best stories I've heard in years. And though I don't quite trust you just yet, since you happen to be Sin's brother I'd be happy to let you on this ship. We could use a few more handsome, strapping young lads..." she trailed off when she caught sight of Sinclair's glare. Coughing awkwardly, she amended quickly, "In any case, it's better than living off the streets. You could even think of it as repaying me from trying to steal my gift to your brother."

Liam watched as Ezra's face broke into a smile and he looked from the captain to Sinclair as he answered. "Of course! I've never worked on an airship before--"

The captain waved her hand, "Don't fret about it too much. You'll only be a cabin boy to start with anyhow. Hard to screw that sort of job up."

Liam sat up straight then, his heart hammering slightly. "I though I was the cabin boy."

"Congratulations then, Hawk. You've just been promoted."

"What am I now?"

"A Slightly Better cabin boy."

He frowned. "Does this still mean I'll have to wash your pantaloons?"

"Oi! You leave my bloody pantaloons out of this!"

It was then that Sinclair cleared his throat awkwardly and Tophsy giggled.

Valentine rolled her eyes and turned her attention once more to Ezra. "You'll start tomorrow. We'll be leaving that day as well, so be prepared not to step on solid ground for the next several weeks. Also, I'm entrusting Liam to teach you everything he knows about being a cabin boy."

"What?" Liam burst out, making his head ache dreadfully all over again.

The captain gave him a look. "That's right Hawk. There's a lot of wisdom that goes into washing pantaloons and I need you to teach it to this twit over here."

"The blind leading the blind," Sinclair muttered, "Wonderful."

Liam couldn't have agreed more.

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