It wasn't like this was the first time that Ely had a nightmare. In fact, they had them fairly frequently. The only difference this time was that Ed had heard and woken them up. To begin with, they had been too wrapped up in their panic but as that slowly subsided they muttered "I-i'm okay... You can go," with their voice laced with shame.

I'm not leaving you behind. We're family.

A small sniffle escaped them as they forced back tears. They couldn't tell if the tears were because of the nightmare or the notion that they might finally have a family.

It had been a week. A very long and painful week.

Stale bread. Hard biscuits. Butter and meat so overly salted that it was difficult to get down.

As they lay in bed, listening to their stomach rumble, they couldn't stop thinking about how much they missed marmalade. That was the bottom line. They'd sworn off the stuff after finding out that it was made of oranges. Oranges were disgusting, all stringy rind and sour. Even the thought of eating one was enough to make Ely's skin crawl... but marmalade didn't taste like that. Surely, they'd be able to stomach just a little bit.

One hour after having that thought, they were sat in the hull of the ship where the marmalade was stored. 2 jars down, they stood up to reach for another. As they did, the ship lurched and sent Ely sprawling into one of the crates- knocking it over with a loud crash.

__________ Closed RP __________

@blackhearted-pyrate : Ed&Ely

Of course, George should have held out longer than they had. What sort of pirate would they be if they couldn't even hold themselves together in a storm? In the very least, they should have made sure that the coast was clear before sprawling out of the barrel that they had been hiding in for the past few days. They had managed to sneak onto the ship while the crew were turning over a town. The young foundling had had very little care for who the ship belonged to aside for the fact that they were clearly pirates. That was what George had wanted; a life like the character in the small children's book which usually weighted down their Hospital uniform pocket.

As the cold air below deck hit them, they had doubled over and retched. Nothing came up as they hadn't eaten in quite some time but the general nauseating feeling clung to them. Weak from hunger and sickness, it had been easy for two crew members to grab them. They'd been detained on deck as freezing shafts of rain came down like a curtain, causing George to shiver more than they already were. Honestly, they thought they might day there- either from the cold or the sickening feeling that the churning ocean sent through them.

Ely had learnt by now that threats like those from Ed were empty. At least, they were empty when they were addressed to Ely. Still, the young pirate decided to take this carefully.

"Don't worry. I won't" They shook their head "Do you want me to get you some water? Or I could maybe... go and get Stede?..." They scrunched up their nose a little in thought, trying to deduce what had caused Ed to end up in this state. They'd spent the evening in their room and had clearly missed something.

Ely didn't talk about their time at the Foundling Hospital. In fact, they actively tried to avoid conversation about it with anyone... but Ed wasn't anyone. He'd given them a place to stay- a home. Upon finding Ely, he could have decided to throw them over board or had someone run them through. They'd come to learn that that was most pirate captains approaches to stow aways. Ed hadn't done any of that.

He gave them a place to stay and a job. He never hit them and rarely raised his voice at them. They'd learnt a lot from him and they'd always appreciate that. If he wanted to ask a few questions and go digging around in Ely's background as payment then they would oblige. Someone upon Ely's being found had recognised their uniform as being that of the Foundling Hospital so Ed did know where they were from...Still, Ed's question wasn't directly about the Foundling Hospital.

It was a question that had likely been drawn out by watching their response to a fight that had broken out on deck. They were getting more and more used to those sorts of things and could generally handle it quite well... but, no matter how much Ely tried, they couldn't help the way that yelling made them scrunch back into their shoulders and clasp their hands close.

It was actually sort of easier in a big raid. The need to be running around and doing stuff (including defending themselves) helped to dispel any nervous energy that built up. There wasn't that sort of outlet when it was more of a domestic row.

They decided to play dumb, still absently wanting to avoid talking about the Hospital.

Ely was used to following orders. They were quite good at it. It had been a skill needed to survive at the Foundling Hospital and that fact would no doubt be the same while they were a pirate. Before running away, they hadn't known much about what piracy really entailed but presumed it would also include following orders or suffering the consequences.

Despite being familiar with the harsh way orders were conveyed by pirate captains and hospital matrons alike, they never seemed to be able to master the art of stilling their nerves in response. At Blackbeard's words, Ely felt their heart begin to thrum against their ribcage and their breath catch in their throat. They anxiously tugged at the sleeves of their jacket, digging their fingers into the fabric in an attempt to ground themselves.

"Y-yes, sir." They confirmed with a nod. Their voice wavered as it often did when they were afraid but they hoped it was a firm enough answer to be taken seriously.

"I-I promise it's not a lie..." The intimidation had forced Ely's voice into a sort of hoarse half whisper that quivered with their fear "I heard them discussing it. Taking the loot a-and running, that is... People don't really notice me, ya see?" They swallowed back their nerves as best they could. "I just thought you should know."

Ely sunk their teeth into their lower lip as they concentrated, mindless of the damage it was causing. They had to get this right. Their was always the nagging feeling in the back of their mind that one day they would take too long to pick up a new skill and Ed would realise that they didn't belong here; that they were useless.

This was the 3rd time they'd attempted to navigate the correct route on the map to the ships next stop. Apparently, neither of the last two attempts had even been close. They knew that Izzy and the Captain had already worked out the route and this was just a lesson so that in future they could help out and do it on their own... but Ely had learnt long ago, back on land, that even lessons came with stakes and consequences.

Carefully pressing the metal of the compass into the map, counting down the coordinates in their mind and making small pencil marks on the paper, they finally concluded on a route. Very hesitantly, they looked up at Ed for their verdict.

Stopping off in ports at sea side towns was a regular occurrence when it came to restocking the ship. Ely would be busy the day before their arrival, making lists of the stock to be given out to the crew who would go off getting what was needed. They liked days spent at port because they didn't have any jobs to do until the crew got back and it was time to start putting stuff away. They could spend all morning on the beach, looking through rock pools and trying to find all manner of creatures.

Before running away, they'd never even heard of most of these creatures aside from a few who were present as illustrations in books. Star fish were their favourite, aptly named for their shape. They were pretty with so many different colours and subtle patterns while also being fascinating as they stuck to everything.

Ely intended to spend their free morning looking for some. They took off their boots and socks, rolled up their trousers and headed into the pools. No doubt Ed had been attempting to get away from the flurry of restock day by coming down to the beach but Ely clearly had other ideas as they spotted him walking past.

"Ed! Come look!" They called out excitedly, giving a small wave before kneeling back down in the fairly large pool. They seemed undeterred by how wet their trousers were getting.