Skyrun

Chapter 25; NOT dying does wonderous things for one's health.

For the next several days, things between Liam and Valentine were awkward at best.

Mostly, the boy avoided making eyes contact at the dinner table and, whenever he could, he tried not to sit directly next to Valentine as they ate-- choosing instead to spend his time chatting with Tophsy and, as a direct result, Ezra. 

But what made the entire situation worse was the fact that both his other friends had grown quite close; they flirted, laughed at one another's jokes even if they were not funny, and once or twice Liam caught Tophsy sitting on Ezra's lap.

It was only when they began kissing rather than eating that Liam decided that it was time to go back to his old spot. This, accompanied with a few days of heavy labor as the ship began sailing into dangerous skies, helped him to heal quickly and before long he was visiting with Valentine like he always had.

Albeit with the fact that he still wished to kiss her ever so slightly.

Sighing, Liam knew it would take more than a few days to recover from being rejected, but he was still willing to accept the choice Valentine had made without continuing to feel negatively toward her.

Blimey, it was almost as if he was growing up or some rubbish. 

How his father would have laughed.

But just as Liam was about to wonder what his father truly would have thought of his new-found maturity, the boy suddenly heard a shout come from up in the crow's nest and Valentine yelled at the top of her lungs, "OI! SHUT UP, YOU NASTY LOT! I'M TRYING TO HEAR WHAT THE LOOKOUT SAID!"

Immediately, every pirate fell silent... including the lookout.

Huffing a sigh, Liam watched as the captain tried again, bellowing, "Spyglass! What did you find?"

"Pardon?"

"I SAID, WHAT DID YOU FIND?"

Glancing at Sinclair, Liam leaned over to the man and whispered, "The lookout's not good on hearing, is he?"

"Why do you think we put him on lookout?"

"Is his eye-sight really any better?"

"More or less."

Bloody heck, they were all doomed.

Thankfully, Spyglass-- that is, the lookout in question-- shouted down that it was only a merchant's ship, to which the crew responded with a cheer that shook the heavens. 

Even Sinclair perked up at that, and Liam could not help but ask why they all seemed so excited.

"It means a raid. There'll be gold and spices and perhaps more ale as well. Blimey, I haven't had a good raid in ages." the man answered impatiently as the pirates around them began scurrying from their chairs and drawing their weapons while Valentine shouted out orders. 

Then, without warning, the airship lurched forward, gaining speed while the crew continued to cheer. From then on, everything was a blur as they approached the ship; Liam pulled ropes, readied cannons-- which he was not even aware that the ship had-- and helped Valentine in any way he could.

And as they grew closer and closer, the boy could feel the air buzz from excitement, crackling like lightning. Yet most of the excitement seemed to from from the captain herself. Her eyes sparkled wildly and her lips were pulled back into a wide grin as the cargo ship came into sight.

"Finally," she breathed, locking her gaze on the finely crafted vessel, "Now Hawk, I'm going to show you what real pirating is." Suddenly, she cupped her hand to her mouth and shouted, "Spyglass! Hoist the ship's colours!"