For as long as he had existed, Elias had lived his life on the sea.
Born upon the ship of Deep Blue, his coloration had been seen as an omen of good luck by the captain steering the ship. This gave him the virtue of being the captain’s companion, and he was granted the title amongst the meager amount of cats upon the ship as “Captain Elias, of the Deep Blue”.
The hustle of the crew on the ship and the sound of the waves hitting the sides of the vessel rang upon Elias’ ears, although he did not move from where he was settled. Not unless his captain said as much. This was normal fare, the ship bustling with activity as they trawled across the ocean blue, and he would not trade it for anything.
Today, however, was a little different.
The clatter of swords cut through the air as the opposing ship’s crew jumped aboard, and Elias had scrambled to find somewhere to hide. Despite his status as the captain of the ship, he prided himself on letting the human crew do most of the combat, and he felt it was more of a risk to put himself in danger. The rest of the ship cats knew this, and he felt they understood - he was too valuable to the ship to put himself in danger recklessly.
Before he could get to safety, however, a pair of hands took hold of his body and he let out a loud snarl. Despite writhing and swiping in an attempt to get free from his unknown captor, he was whisked away from the ship as the stranger barked at his companion crew to leave the ship. He watched as the new ship pulled away, and a final loud blast emitted from somewhere nearby - and the old ship began to sink below the depths, down to its namesake.
His first ship was a pirate life.
His second was on a smuggler’s ship.
The boat pulled to a stop in the port of a town he’d not seen before, and Elias watched with half-lidded eyes as several crew descended down the walkway to the main deck on land. He never really could catch what it is the crew was collecting whenever they made it to shore, as they talked in hushed tones and fast whispers. Usually he saw them bringing heavy crates, and could catch a glint of something shiny poking out of a small crack or hole in the various boxes. He knew better than to try to see if he could pry into it further.
The crew returned on deck almost as quickly as they had left, and one of them seemed particularly antsy. Elias watched them with a quirked brow as one brought a crate over, and the antsy man shoved something into it. The cat’s ears perked as he heard something make a noise from within the crate, and as soon as he was sure nobody could see him, he crept over to get a closer look.
A bizarre animal he had never seen before, and then a second, looked back at him, and he blinked in shock. What was this thing? Looking over his shoulders to see if anyone was watching him, he leaned down and scooped up the smaller of the two from the crate and scrambled back to a darker corner of the ship before he set it back down.
“Aye, are ye alright?” His tone was quiet, although the animal didn’t seem to understand him. Elias breathed a sigh as he received no response. “Ye seem to be breathin’, so I’m guessin’ you’re feeling okay.”
He stared at the small animal for a moment as he mulled over his thoughts. He knew what would happen at the next port - these animals would be sold off, just like the other things they smuggled, and he had theories about what would happen.
So he supposed he would do as he’d seen before, and steal from his own crew.
At the next port, he bundled the animal into his fur on his back, and he made a break for it off the walkway. It wasn’t like he got away unnoticed, of course, but he was much faster than they were, and he slipped away into an alleyway a ways into town. His gaze focused on the entrance of the alley, ensuring that he wouldn’t be followed, before he shifted to set the animal down.
“Alright. We’re gonna find a new ship, and we’ll be right as rain.” He looked to the small animal, pausing for a moment. “Well, I gotta call ‘ye something, since ‘animal’ feels a bit too mean..”
The other sniffed at him for a moment before it settled back down, intently focused on Elias.
“Finnick. Eh, how’s that sound to ye?” He asked, and the small animal made a noise in response. The cat took this as confirmation, and he carefully scooped Finnick back up and settled him onto his back. “Then off we go. We got a new crew to find.”
And find a new crew they did; taking residence on a ship known as the Odyssey, Elias rejoiced in living a life on the seas again. Finnick was his companion, and the two partook in the many journeys the ship crew traversed.
The ship hit something, and Elias could hear a call coming from the forefront of the deck. A familiar call.
This was a call to battle.
The tabby sprung forward, not wanting to seem like dead weight this time, and he peeled through the throng of human crew to get an idea of what he was dealing with.
As he was surveying the chaos, something slammed into his side, and he hit the ground with a loud thud. Standing over him was a mostly white calico adorned with a gold chain.
“You don’t seem like you’ve ever fought before.” She snarled, raising a paw. “This’ll be easy.”
Reacting quickly, Elias swiped a paw to catch her on the face, and she recoiled. This gave him the time to scramble to his feet, giving a snarl in return. “Don’t be foolish, now. They don’t call me captain for no reason.”
The other cat seemed to become enraged at his taunting, and she sprung forward. Instead of tackling him, however, she swung her paw as hard as she could across the left side of his face. It connected with his ear and went down to his shoulder, and he let out a loud roar. She sprung back, seemingly satisfied, and she spat at him.
“Don’t forget who you’re messing with. You’ll see the Grimwood Galleon again, and you’ll remember the face of its captain, Siren’s Gale.”
She slunk away, and he collapsed on the deck before he passed out.
News did not travel fast on the open waters, although it did travel.
It was several months since the attack from the Galleon, and Elias had recovered well from his injuries. There was no way to save the eye or the ear, although he didn’t mind. He was alive, at the least. He knew one thing, however, and it was that Siren’s Gale would not get away unscathed the next time he saw her.
Fate seemed to work against him, though, as his crew caught wind that the Galleon had gone down on an unknown island in the middle of a rough patch of sea. No survivors were noted, and Elias had dug his claws into the baseboards of the ship. An accident had gotten to her before he could, and that made him angry. He’d wanted to flay her first.
The captain of the crew worked hard to get the last known coordinates of the Galleon, and they had tracked down the island that they shipwrecked on. Elias watched as they pulled up to shore, and for a moment he thought he saw someone staring at him from the treeline from the island.
A sense of intrigue washed over him, and he motioned for Finnick to follow him off the boat. The platypus obliged, and the two touched down on the sandy shore. It’d been so long since he’d touched sand, he thought.
Elias began to make his way into the line of trees, wanting to see the figure that seemed to stare right through him. Everywhere he turned, it seemed to be in the corner of his eye, and he picked up the pace. He had no luck, and that drove him nuts.
The last time the figure showed up, it was to taunt him, as it was paired with the sight of their ship leaving the island. He snarled as he clawed at the sand, wanting to lash out at the figure he’d been chasing. He’d been running after an illusion, and now he was stuck!
Swallowing his pride, he began to look for somewhere to rest for the time being, following the shoreline. He could hear a group of cats ahead of him, and he picked up the pace, wondering if they were in the same predicament he was.
As he caught sight of a shape in the distance, he began to notice a handful of cats, and he slowed down as he began to realize what he’d run into.
He’d found the remnants of the Grimwood Galleon, crashed onto the shore.
And sitting neatly in front of them was her.
“Siren’s Gale.”
She spotted him, and she smiled widely, her expression knowing.
“It’s been a long time.”
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