Pirate: Crew of Desire and Bonds

Garrick rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

"Easy there, Big Sis Lucy. They’re not exactly criminals."

He looked at Jake and Grace, then smiled teasingly.

"...Though you two really went at it, huh? The whole floor could hear you."

Grace’s face turned bright red as she hid behind Jake’s back, peeking out shyly.

Jake just chuckled and scratched his cheek.

"Sorry about that. We... got a bit carried away."

Lucy the dwarf girl huffed, crossing her arms.

"A bit? I couldn’t sleep at all! My poor ears..."

Garrick raised both hands in a calming gesture, clearly used to dealing with the dwarf girl’s temper.

"Alright, alright, settle down, Big Sis Lucy," he said with a tired but good-natured smile. "There’s no need to arrest anyone."

Lucy glared up at him, the dark circles under her eyes making her look even more furious.

"Easy for you to say! I barely slept a wink because of these two animals!"

Garrick sighed and scratched the back of his neck again.

"How about this then? I’ll personally arrange a new room for you on the quieter side of the quarters. Farther away from... certain noisy guests. Free of charge for the rest of your stay. Sound fair?"

At those words, Lucy’s angry expression softened and brightened immediately. She crossed her arms and huffed, still glaring at Jake and Grace.

"Hmph. Fine. But it better be quiet! And thick walls! And free of charge!"

Garrick nodded in satisfaction.

"Done. I’ll have someone move your things after breakfast."

He then turned his attention to Jake and Grace, giving them a meaningful look.

"As for you two... try to keep it down next time, yeah? Not everyone enjoys a free concert in the middle of the night."

Grace’s face turned an even deeper shade of red as she hid further behind Jake.

Jake gave an awkward chuckle and nodded.

"Understood. We’ll be more considerate from now on."

Lucy shot them one last grumpy look before stomping past, muttering under her breath about "shameless humans" and "no consideration for their elders."

Garrick watched her leave, then looked back at the pair with a small smirk.

"She’s not a bad girl. Just... dwarves can be quite sensitive to noise. Anyway, you two free for a bit? There’s something I wanted to talk about."

He looked at them more seriously.

Jake nodded, waiting for him to continue.

Grace peeked out from behind Jake’s waist, her golden eyes filled with curiosity.

Garrick cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck again.

"I didn’t actually come here just to resolve a noise complaint," he said. "I came to talk to you two about the job."

He glanced between them, then suddenly smirked and let out a short laugh.

"After all... we didn’t pay fifty gold just so the two of you could stay in a room and fuck all day, hahaha!"

Grace’s face immediately turned bright red again.

She buried her face against Jake’s back with an embarrassed little squeak.

Jake chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Fair enough..."

In truth, he wasn’t unhappy at all.

The Vivian Caravan had already given them special treatment by letting him rest for a few days while recovering from his injuries.

That alone was more than he expected.

He looked at Garrick and asked directly,

"So... what is our duty then?"

Garrick didn’t answer right away.

Instead, he looked them both up and down, his eyes lingering for a moment on the fact that neither of them was carrying any weapons.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"We’ll talk about the details in a bit. First..."

He jerked his thumb down the hallway.

"Come with me. You two are walking around barely armed. That’s not acceptable if you’re going to work on the ship."

He turned and started walking.

"I’ll take you to get some proper weapons. Can’t have my people going out empty-handed."

Jake exchanged a glance with Grace.

She still looked a little shy, but she smiled and nodded.

Soon both of them follow closely behind him as they left the room and trailed after Garrick.

And as they walked down the hallway, Garrick lowered his voice slightly so only the two of them could hear.

"Even though I’m strong... I can’t be everywhere at once," he explained calmly.

"The ship is big, and with everything happening on the sea, we need a lot of people keeping watch at all time."

Jake nodded in understanding.

"So our job is patrol?"

Garrick smiled and nodded.

"That’s right. But don’t worry, we’ve already prepared a proper shift schedule for everyone. You’ll still have time to rest."

He glanced sideways at them with a knowing look. "And maybe... keep the noise down during those rest periods."

Grace’s cheeks flushed again, but she stayed quiet, walking closely beside Jake.

Jake just gave a small, awkward laugh.

"Got it. We’ll do our part."

_

_

_

Garrick continued leading them down the corridor toward the lower levels of the ship where they stored their equipment.

After a short walk through the quieter parts of the ship, Garrick led them toward a reinforced storage area.

"This is where we store most of our gear," Garrick said, stopping near the entrance where a few guards could be seen.

"Go ahead and choose whatever suits you. Swords, daggers, light armor, whatever feels right in your hands."

He looked at Jake first, then at Grace.

"Once you’re done, come find me on the deck. There’s a short group meeting before the next shift starts. Don’t take too long."

With that, Garrick gave them a small nod and walked off toward the upper deck, leaving the two of them.

Jake then turned to Grace and smile,

"Alright... let’s find something useful."

Grace nodded, her golden eyes scanning the entrance with curiosity mixed with a bit of nervousness.

As they stepped closer to the entrance of the storage area, a pair of guards standing watch gave them a brief once-over.

Recognizing that they were with Garrick, the guards simply nodded and stepped aside.

"Go on in," one of them said. "Old man John’s inside."

Jake and Grace entered.

The space was filled with rows of weapon racks, crates of supplies, and various pieces of equipment carefully organized.

And deeper inside the storage room, an elderly man with a thick gray beard and sharp eyes was carefully inspecting a row of short swords.

He looked up as they approached, his expression calm but assessing.

"You two must be the new ones Garrick mentioned," the old man said.

His voice was rough but steady. "Name’s John. I manage the gear around here."

Jake gave a polite nod.

"Jake. This is Grace."

John’s gaze lingered on Grace for a moment before he grunted, and waved a hand toward the racks behind him.

"Weapons and light armor are further in. Don’t take anything you can’t use properly. If you need something adjusted, tell me before you leave."

With that, he returned to his work, leaving them free to explore.

Jake and Grace looked at each other but didn’t seem to mind the old man’s straightforward attitude.

He clearly wasn’t the talkative type.

With that, they walked deeper into the storage area, where rows of weapons, armor, and equipment stretched further back.

The air smelled faintly of oil and metal.

Jake’s eyes scanned the various blades, while Grace stayed close beside him, looking around with quiet curiosity.

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