On his way down to the galley he stopped into one of the storage rooms and found an old pair of boots. They were still in good condition and looked like they might be a good fit for Finn.

He passed only a few of his crew on his walk. Most were probably still asleep or slowly waking up and making their way back to the ship.

He made it down to the galley to see the cooks were back and making breakfast. There were a few men forming a line to get a plate. One of the few benefits Xan saw to being in this horrible port was that they were able to restock supplies, and while they were still docked, they had the freshest foods to eat. Food they couldn’t normally have out at sea because it wouldn’t keep long enough. It was a nice respite from their normally repetitive rations.

He made idle chat with the other crew in line as he waited his turn. No one received special treatment on the ship, everyone ate the same thing and got the same rations. The two cooks played no favorites. Bribery was unwelcome and those who tried would be punished and shamed. The only reason Xan had any control over their dinner the night pervious was because the cooks were off duty and the ship was being restocked officially this morning. Everything left had been quickly brought in when they first docked to tide them over.

Xan seemed to be the last in line for the morning. As the others took their plates and left, he was alone with the cooks. He stepped up closer to them.

“I’ll need two plates this morning Blay.”

Blay, the assistant cook, stopped and gave him a puzzled look. Dimitri the head cook kept working but his expression mirrored much the same.

“Two? Since when did you grow an extra stomach?” He laughed good naturedly but leaned in with genuine curiosity. “Are you playing serving boy to the Captain now?”

“I took in a ward last night. He’ll be my new cabin boy and he could use a few good meals of yours.”

“You did what!? Wait…please don’t tell me you were the guy I heard about yesterday. The one that bought a slave about to be sold to Madame Múireann’s!?” Blay was frozen in place, his bug-eyed hazel stare zeroed in on Xan. Dimitri’s brow creased further but unlike his unfocused assistant never ceased his work.

“He’s just a boy, he’s not even sixteen yet. He’s been kidnapped at least twice now, and he was about to be sold to a brothel on the backside of Clew, by some hairy ogre who was beating the shite out of him. I couldn’t leave him.”

“Of course, you couldn’t you’re too soft-hearted. Remind me again how you became a pirate?” Blay had resumed his work, to keep the food from burning. His biting tone was bleeding into his movements until he nearly slung egg all over the floor.

Dimitri gently pushed him out of the way and took over, angling himself between the careless cook and the almost finished food.

“So, you just bought some kid off the streets!” Blay nearly yelled incredulously.

“Essentially, but I think he’ll work just fine here, and he’ll be safer here than he was back on land.”

“You call a pirate ship safe?” Dimitri spoke in his soft manner.

“Thank you! At least we have one voice of reason around here!” Blay said with snark practically dripping out of his mouth.

Thankfully Dimitri was the calm and levelheaded one. Blay on the other hand was as hotheaded as they came. Some of the crew would wind him up just for fun. At least until he threated their meals, then the game was over.

“Safer than Clew, and apparently safer than where he’s from since he was kidnapped not once but twice.”

“What’s so important about the kid that he would get kidnapped twice?” Blay was more curious and less indignant over the situation now. His outrage could ebb and flow faster than the tide.

“I don’t know. He said his parents died with fever several months back and then a few weeks ago it all started happening. I don’t know if he was lying about what happened a few months ago or if he’s just omitting details but I think there’s more to the story. It’ll all come out in time, I’m sure.”

Blay hummed thoughtfully before helping Dimitri finish the two plates. Xan didn’t usually tell the crew so much of his personal business, but Blay and Dimitri were two of his oldest and closest friends. He knew he could trust them.

Blay seemed to have come to terms with the newcomer onboard. He was always cranky when they gained another mouth to feed. Xan was sure after they had time to meet, Finn and Blay would probably get on like a house on fire. They both had sharp tongues and enough cheek to last them all into the next century.

Xan thanked them for the food and headed off carefully with his plates. He’d hung the boots by their laces off his belt and they bounced and bumped irritatingly into his thigh the whole way back. There was a precarious balancing act so he could unlock the door again. He slowly crept inside, and saw that Finn was still sound asleep.