This is outside the wheelhouse of my normal stuff I upload here, just a little... self reflective bit of fantasy work. Heavily inspired by Guts' Theme for some reason. Might work this into some grander narrative, but for now, consider this a random chapter in a story, left to hang on its own.


The sun overhead reflects off the brilliant blue waters of the open sea, broken only by the bow of a ship skidding across its surface. An imposing figure stood at the front, her lone eye closed in deep contemplation as she focused. How long had she been standing there?

The sound of the water, the feeling of her boots on the deck, and most importantly the sun beating down on her rough skin were what tethered her to the moment she found herself in. Her hand gripped her arm as she continued to focus on the moment, trying to make sense of where she’d just been, and what she’d seen. It felt like if she didn’t hold onto herself tightly, she’d be carried away on some unseen current all over again.

“It’s like I was there… or I guess, I wasn’t here…” she reached forward, hands grasping the railing of her ship as she looked down at them, clutching the rich dark brown of the wood that formed the bones of her ship. When she thought about the substance, her hands swiftly released their grasp, and she stumbled backwards, fingers twitching as she contemplated the connection.

“Cap’n…?” A hungover voice sounded from behind her, but she didn’t turn to regard its owner. Her gaze was frozen on the spot she’d just been grasping, as if she feared something would come from it. “What uh, what are you doin?”

Pink feathers and garish clothes entered her vision as the voice treaded into her line of sight, a cap concealing one eye from the harshness of the daylight. A flamingo in baggy yet styled sailors attire gently weaved his feathered hand before the shark woman, a bemused smile playing at the edge of his beak. “You look like you’ve seen somethin? Should I be worried?”

“No… You’re all good Marty.” She sighed out, stepping closer and suddenly wrapping her arm around him, turning him to face the waters with her. It was mostly to confirm that he really was there, standing with her, facing the same seas and seeing the same beauty that she was, but it didn’t hurt for her to be a bit assertive with her unruly crew member.

“I thought I was in a forest for a sec… there were trees everywhere. And a pool of water so clear I could see straight down to the bottom.” She closed her eye again for a moment, recalling the scene as she held Marty a bit closer, as if she needed to hold on to him to keep herself from ending up back there.

“A forest? Geeze Cap’n, that’s…” A shudder rolled through his form, and he looked down at the railing, the spot he’d identified his captain to have been staring at before. “You don’t think there was some sort of curse laying dormant in the wood of our ship do ya…?”

A snort of dismissal left the captain as she opened her eye again. “If any of us was going to get haunted, it’d be you, not me.” She flicked the brim of his hat up, revealing both of his eyes to the harsh light of day and causing him to recoil a bit. “Ghosts know better than to give me a hard time.”

Marty groaned as his hands shot up to cover his eyes, slowly working his cap back down as he grumbled. “Well… as long as you’re feeling ok… Magic and Visions, I just as well keep away from all that sort of stuff. Still uh… was it pretty there, in the forest? See anything that caught your eyes in the water?”

Her grip on him grew a bit tighter as he asked that, causing him to regret his curiosity, though his concern drifted away as she spoke. “I tried looking in the water, and I saw a reflection. Black scales, and golden eyes, filled with so much sadness…” Her voice lingered, as if she had more to say, but no words came. The vision had felt so encapsulating, she’d forgotten who she even was.

“A black dragon in the woods?” Marty’s voice echoed the sentiment, his brow raising as he looked up at his Captain’s face, unable to read the turmoil of emotions resting on it. “Sounds to me like you fell asleep on your feet Cap’n, you doing alright? You know we’re gonna need you in top condition soon, maybe you oughta have a little lie down of your own…” His feathered hand patted against her back a few times, trying to not so subtly nudge her to face the ship proper.

“If I start taking drunken cat naps like you, we’re all gonna be in trouble.” She rolled her eye as she finally relented, allowing herself to turn away from the sea. “Maybe a nap is in order… big day and all that. Not like there’s anything between here and our destination that could distract us…” With a deep breath, she began to head towards her quarters, her boots stepping resolutely on the deck. It was still very early in the morning, and in truth, she had come out here before the sun had even risen.

“Yeah yeah, I’m a layabout and a vagabond too, you know you love me~” He chuckled as he waved her off, his demeanor falling slightly as soon as she’d made her way through the door to her private area. With a nervous wringing of feathery hands, he looked out across the ocean, and wondered how such a peaceful ocean could give way to the violence of the battlefield they were headed towards.