“You know, you can’t leave me in the dark forever,” Cas announced as he burst into Valentine’s office.

The captain groaned, peering over a pile of papers he’d stacked so high that they nearly covered his face. “You can’t just walk in here whenever you want. I’m the captain of this ship.”

“Yeah,” Cas countered, striding towards him. “And I’m the prince of an underwater kingdom. I think that makes us evenly matched.”

Valentine shook his head. “I assure you, that statement is painfully incorrect. You are nowhere near my equal at essentially anything at all. In fact, the only skill of yours that manages to exceed my own is your ability to be a complete and utter nuisance.”

“Oh, that is so not true.” Cas plopped his elbows down on the desk, peaking around the stack of papers. “I’m sure there’s plenty of other things I’m better at.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Valentine said, laying down the report he’d been glancing over. “I didn’t take your talent for annoying everyone around you into consideration. My sincerest apologies.”

“Okay, I guess I walked right into that one.”

Cas flashed a smile, hoisting himself up and planting his ass on the edge of the desk. Valentine grimaced as several papers were squashed beneath him.

“You know,” Cas continued casually, crossing one leg over the other. “If you actually told me what was going on, maybe I could at least attempt to help. We’re supposed to be following some map, but I don’t even know what we’re looking for, or why!”

“I’ll tell you what you need to know when the time is right,” Valentine said, his mouth curling into a scowl. “Now get the fuck off my desk.”

Cas didn’t budge his ass nor the argument. “But when will the time ever be right?”

“When I trust you,” Valentine replied flatly.

“Bahaha!” Cas burst into laughter, giggling so hard he nearly toppled off the desk. “Like that’s ever going to happen. There’s a higher chance of the oceans freezing over, of octopuses learning to fly, of a parfait being a bad dessert option—”

Valentine buried his face in his hands. “Gods, do you ever stop talking?”

Cas smirked. “If I did, would it make me less annoying?”

“Considerably,” Valentine said.

“Then I’m afraid I simply can’t,” Cas countered with a wink. “According to you, annoying everyone around me is one of my very limited talents. If I gave it up, then I’d have almost nothing else going for me.”

His grin slipped, the reality of the joke sinking in.

Swallowing hard, Cas adjusted himself on the desk, turning to face Valentine. “But in all seriousness, I really do want to help more. Maybe…”

His face lit up as he leaned forward, which caused Valentine to instantly tilt the other way. “Could you teach me to fight?”

Valentine’s eyes narrowed into two ice-blue slits. “You actually believe I would have time for such a thing?”

“I mean… maybe…?”

Cas widened his eyes, sticking out his bottom lip and wobbling it as he scooched closer.

“Valentine, pleeeeease! Just picture me, a blue blob in the midst of battle, crying away while everyone else judges you for having such a useless crewmember. And all because you were too busy doing boring paperwork to train this poor, defenseless little merman—”

“If I say yes, will you shut up?” Valentine snapped.

Cas nodded ecstatically.

Valentine groaned, casting a wary glance Cas’ way. “And you truly want to learn? This isn’t some bullshit excuse to get out of work?”

“It's the truth,” Cas said, his brows drawing together. “I really mean it. I don’t want to be a burden here.”

Valentine’s mouth settled into a hard line. Then, after an excruciatingly long moment, he offered Cas a curt nod. “Then I’ll find a way to make time.”

“Really?” Cas exclaimed, nearly toppling off the desk.

“Yes,” Valentine said sharply. “Don’t make me regret it. Now please get your ass off my papers and out of my office.”

Cas shot up, grinning from ear to ear as he offered him a dramatic salute. “AYE, AYE, CAPTAIN!”

Valentine pinched the bridge of his nose. “And for the love of the Gods, please learn to speak at a reasonable volume.”

“You got it, Val! From here on out, good ol’ Cas is gonna be be quiet as a mous—”

Valentine waved a hand. “Actually, forget the volume. Just stop talking entirely.”

Cas gave him a thumbs up, spinning on his heels and making his way towards the door.

“Oh, and one more thing, lover,” Valentine’s voice sounded from behind him.

Cas paused, arching a brow as he glanced back over his shoulder.

The captain stared at him for a moment, his gaze intent as he took Cas in. The mer-prince refused to move a muscle as the sensation that he was being evaluated settled over him.

Finally, Valentine sighed, leaning back in his chair as he came to a decision in whatever silent battle he’d been fighting with himself.

“The map,” he said, his voice so low it was nearly a whisper, “it’s leading us to an island where a crystal is located. That’s what we’re searching for.”

Cas’ breath caught, and his eyes grew wide.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to tell me anything until you trusted me? Unless...” Cas let out an over-dramatic gasp, spinning in a half-circle to face him. “Val, you actually trust me?”

Valentine rolled his eyes. “No. Obviously not. Hence why I only gave you two sentences worth of information regarding what’s ahead.”

He gathered his papers as he spoke, smoothing out a few that Cas’ ass had accidentally wrinkled. “But you’ve just proven yourself to be capable of at least attempting change. Such a declaration is the only tolerable thing you’ve done since we’ve met.”

Val lifted his head, his gaze boring into Cas. “Whether you can actually follow through with it, however, will be a different animal entirely.”

And there it was, finally, a chance for Cas to prove himself.

“Captain,” the mer-prince breathed, his heart swelling in his chest, “I promise, I won’t let you dow—”

Thunderous pounding rang from the door.

“Captain!” Jasper’s voice called excitedly from the other side. “Come up to the deck! There’s something you’ll want to see!”

***

Cas leaned against the railing, attempting to make out the island as they approached. This was a surprisingly difficult task, considering the thick sheets of fog rolling off the water. It surrounded the ship, making Cas feel like they were floating through a dream. The only indications that they weren’t traveling through an endless sea of hazy nothingness were the dark silhouettes of palm trees in the distance, their massive heads breaking through the fog.

The rest of the crew stood gathered at the edge of the deck, their anticipation so electric Cas could practically feel it crackling through the air. After his first full week on the ship, he’d finally begun to identify more members of the strange, colorful cast that made up the Scarlet Mamba.

His gaze fell first to the master gunner, Ozob, who sat on a barrel, one leg draped over the side. The tiny, dark-haired man’s gaze never left the island, even as he absently juggled three balls. He always wore the facepaint of a jester, with splotches of red on his cheeks and even more smeared across his mouth, which curved upward into a permanent smile. Cas had a theory the guy was a failed clown turned pirate.

Said “failed clown theory” was further backed up when Ozob dropped the balls he was juggling. They plummeted with three pathetic plunks, rolling across the planks and past three more pirates.

The first was the woman with the long braids and the ever-present sword swung over her shoulder, who referred to herself only as The Tooth. This came from the fact that every time she claimed a life, she ripped out a tooth as a trophy. She’d mentioned wanting to start her own jewelry line with them, which Cas figured at least got her points for creativity.

The second pirate was a stout man named Pie-Rot, who donned a barnacle-encrusted peg-leg that kept getting stuck in every nook and cranny of the ship. This often required a good four or five crew members to help pry him out.

And last but not least was the third pirate, a tall, wiry man with axes instead of hands, who was appropriately referred to as Axe-Hand Jim. Not much need to elaborate on that one.

“There it is!” The Tooth exclaimed, leaning over the railing and pointing ecstatically at the island. “We’re so close, I can almost taste the—”

Just then, her foot landed on one of Ozbo’s balls, sending her nearly toppling over the edge of the ship. Pie-Rot and Axe-Hand Jim scrambled to keep her from plummeting, only for Pie-Rot’s peg leg to get caught between planks, and for Axe-Hand Jim’s attempt to go… well… as well as someone with axes for hands can go.

The Tooth screeched as she tumbled forward, the sound cut short as a massive hand grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, hauling her back.

Said hand belonged to the tiger-headed guy. Cas had asked his name once and he’d roared in his face. So yeah, you could say he wasn’t exactly one for small talk.

As Mister Tiger Head gently lowered The Tooth to the deck, his green eyes settled on the island in the distance, and his furry features shifted into a strangely hopeful expression. The Tooth stilled beside him, and Ozob slipped off his barrel to join the others. The whole group huddled together in jittery excitement as they stared out into the fog. Cas’ eyes narrowed at the sight.

Just what was on this island that meant so much to the crew of the Scarlet Mamba?

“This can’t be as easy as just rolling up to an island and finding what we’re looking for, right?” Cas asked, turning to glance at Johan beside him. “Do you think this place is, like, super dangerous or something?”

“Mm-n,” Johan replied flatly, not even bothering to look at him.

“Is ‘Mm-n’ supposed to be a yes or a no?” Cas asked.

Johan shrugged. “Mm-n.”

“Ugh.” Cas’ head fell back with a groan. “You’re the literal worst.”

“Mm-n.”

After muttering a string of choice words at Johan, Cas’ gaze returned to the island. He watched the towering palms grow in size as they drew nearer, the fog swallowing up everything else around them.

Well, he supposed he’d learn the answer to his question soon enough.