Remus/Dumbles
moonbus!! pirate moonbus!!
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"You wanted to see me, Captain?"
"Remus." He startles a bit at the use of his name. Most of the crew call him Lupin, or the nickname they gave him: Moony. The captain smiles—a placid curve of the lips, the true smile flickering in those unnervingly blue eyes. "Come in, come in. Have a seat. Wine?"
It isn't so much a nod as the instinctive bob of his head. Captain Dumbledore pops the cork on what appears to be a rather ancient bottle and pours them both generous glasses.
"You've proven yourself well aboard this ship." He doesn't add the qualifier, 'for a captive.' "You work hard. Never complain. People like you—that's important. How would you like to stay on with us?"
Remus never wanted to be a pirate. When he was taken aboard The Phoenix after its siege of the enemy ship, Werewolf, he hoped perhaps to finally be free of this life—one way or another. Now he finds himself saying, "I'd love to. Thank you, Captain."
The captain waves a hand. "Welcome to the crew, Remus. We're lucky to have you." He raises his glass, holding eye contact as they toast, and even still as they drink. As Dumbledore licks his wine-stained lips and smooths his silver-streaked red beard.
Remus gulps, the dryness of the wine burning the back of his throat. "Is that all, Captain?"
Dumbledore pauses. Swirls his wine. Sets down the glass with a gentle thud. "Yes," he says, all breath and no voice. His eyes trace the grain of the wood in his desk all the way to Remus's scarred, knobby hands. "You're free to go, lad."
"Am I free to stay as well?" Remus asks, the faintest of grins tugging at his cracked lips.
The captain inhales audibly, his deeply lined and heavily ringed fingers twitching. "Yes."
pirate ship game
