"Let me show you how to fish, son."
His dad was never a fisherman. At best, it was a cultivated hobby. His dad was a crate hauler. He steered away from wheeled vehicles and automobiles and traded them for ferries and ships. Lou recounted days spent on the ocean, his dad yapping at him to help untangle nets and carry boxes when he lingered at the bow, letting the salty air soften the roots of his hair and tangle split ends into sailor knots.
When his dad parted ways with his mum, he couldn't blame her for tossing his things to the curb. Lou made sure to grab whatever he liked before it was carried off in bins and sacks.
His fingers could still trace the grain pattern of the piece of driftwood he kept on his desk. He'd find himself instinctively following the sweeping dips and twists as he walked along the hull. The Irons groaned in displeasure, unaccepting of the foreign touch. He apologized under his breath and returned to his quarters. The mattress squealed as his weight pressed into it, the sea rocking him to sleep like the arms of his mother.
It felt safe. It felt natural.
It made him forget what her shirt fabric even was.
Teddy had been a hard man (being?) to bargain with. For a stuffed animal, he was quite possessive of the Irons lower levels. That was his place to wander. It was only after a lot of prodding and a few pints that he could convince the bear to give a tour.
"Hey, there's this guy I know that could really help out around here." A grunt of a huff. "Need someone to help pull weight around here."
Xkryxx was an old acquaintance and a welcome member of the crew. A right proper and articulate Plantmet. The Irons had never felt more cared for.
And the music. By gods, the music he played was pure magic. Lou had a rough time trying to remember a time before Xkryxx's songs.
He was having trouble remembering a lot of things.
It was easier to say he never had parents in the first place.
Sonder was a unit of pure muscle and soft inquisitions. The sails became their trapeze. Watching them work was like watching a dance, a flutter of fabric and a tugging of ropes, pulleys pulled taut and wire giving way to their practiced routine.
It was difficult to avoid scuffles as their targets increased in value. Cuts, scrapes, bruises, twisted nerves- they needed something more than hasty splints and rough bandages.
Victoria "It's just Vic" was a no nonsense surgeon, a trained academic, and a godsend for the crew. No injury was could not be fixed. Teddy was soft and pliant under her touch. Xkryxx was tended to like a garden and a fortress. Lou and Sonder were cake walks to the doctor.
It was only a matter of time before her skills were needed elsewhere.
Chris could patch things up, sure, but that was not the only thing she was capable of. The Irons crew had always been a family unit. However, the ship only really felt like a home when her bubbling laugh could be heard.
She brought something they desperately needed- fun. Amusement. Empathy. Undying loyalty.
Her leaving left a hole bigger than any canon could dream to make.
"You better remember us."
Lou returned to the bow, wind whipping his ponytail around like a loose tether, a breeze tickling the whiskers peppering his face.
The Dolphinbirds song sounded like crying.
His own tears melded with the salt of the ocean. It filled it further.
Her return was met with a chorus of the crew's sobs.
She could not remember them.
But Lou could not blame her.
His old home was faded and blurry like a soaked photograph.
Their story would become an album.
