Ocean Eyes, Storm Cloud Minds

Chapter Ten

Lancelot looked nervously at Dandé, who hadn't yet noticed the lack of seats in the room, and he couldn't even see Ivy well enough to give a signal for help or to ask to sit where he was, instead of directly next to where the captain would be sat. Maybe Elric would go to his cabin to eat? Maybe he would be ignored for a little longer? Unluckily- as it seemed to be a recurring thing over the last few days- the world just wasn't in his favour, and instead he was left to be sat awkwardly next to the captain. Elric didn't seem too bothered by it, his plate clattering onto the table as he sat down, a half-empty bottle soon being on the table as well. He shuffled away and as close to Dandé as he could without sitting on him, the tension in the room so high he felt like he was choking- but he seemed to be the only one to notice it.

A sudden rush of nausea sent the overwhelming urge to be sick washing over him, but whether it was due to the tension or his own mind trying to give him a reason to leave, he wasn't sure. He started to stand, leaving his mostly empty plate and moved away from the bench, hearing Dandé call after him and even a slightly slurred threat about what would happen to him if he didn't go back, and yet he didn't even gLancelot behind him at the captain, pushing open the door and leaving as quickly as he could, his footsteps heavy and quick on the wooden floor. He heard the creaky door swing shut behind him and sighed as he leant over the railing, trying to keep in what he'd eaten despite how he was so sick his head was spinning.

"Damn this ship! Damn it to hell, with everyone on it!" He shouted, slamming his fist down on the railing, gripping onto it with his other hand and closing his eyes, the nausea slowly passing as his stomach settled. A small laugh came from behind him and he turned, seeing Elric leant against the wall of the dining hall, still a little more than tipsy (and a little more than just drunk), but looking remarkably serious compared to most other drunkards he'd seen. Elric took a few surprisingly steady steps toward the brunet, who decided it'd be better to meet him halfway than wait several long moments for the captain to finally reach him. He stopped in front of Elric, who glared down at Lancelot - only able to do this due to the heels on his expensive (another word to describe them is 'stolen') shoes.

The brunet stayed silent, not wanting to irritate the other, even though his nose crinkled in disgust at the strong stench of alcohol on the captains breath.

"Damn us to hell?" Elric echoes, quoting Lancelot from moments ago and watching the brunet hesitate to do anything for a moment, but cutting him off as soon as he tried to speak. "That's small bit melodramatic. We don't need you damning us to hell, when we've already got the entirety of the world doing that for no reason other than because of what we do." He said, his words slowly getting more and more full of malice to the point where the captain himself was getting audibly irate at the audacity of the other male. Lancelot said nothing, though, still not wanting to speak out of turn- which happened to be something he was fairly good at, as being a part of a large family had taught him to keep quiet unless he was needed- and let Elric speak up again first.

The captain took a half step forward, their faces only around an inch away from each other, to the point where Lancelot could not only smell the alcohol on the captains breath get stronger, but he could also feel the hot breaths on his cold skin, causing his face to tingle slightly each time the warmth began to fade and make goosebumps rise on his arms. A few moments of long silence made Lancelot speak up, his tone entirely neutral and passive - as if to show the man that he meant no harm in what he said, finding it too easy to offend this captain while he was sober, let alone in this state.

"No offence, sir, but is there anything else you wish to tell me, or can I leave?" He asked, about to mention Dandé and Ivy, but being spoken over before he could mention them.

"There's more to tell ya, but go inside. I need the crew ta hear this." He said, slightly slurred on a couple words but nonetheless easy to understand.

The brunet sighed as he turned, slowly making his way toward the door of the dining hall and letting out a soft breath of relief as he got away from the captain, small amounts of tension leaving his body as he moved back to his seat, sinking down into it and turning to Dandé, who was currently questioning him like he were a murder suspect. He managed to quieten Dandé down and was about to answer at least one of the many, many questions he asked before the captain ordered silence in the room and all crew members present complied, even if it did take them a few moments to get what could be as close to silence as possible. Elric gestured at Lancelot and immediately called him over, his voice loud and his tone overly confident. The brunet hadn't known him long enough to be sure if that was just because of the amount of alcohol running through his veins, or whether he'd normally be that confident.

He gLancelotd at Dandé and very briefly caught eyes with Ivy, standing up and approaching the captain. He forced himself not to be slow or seem hesitant, making himself appear as confident and as brave as he possibly could at this moment. Elric grabbed his arm, pulling him a little closer and making him stumble, hearing a couple people laugh as him and feeling the confidence die away instantly. 'So much for look brave' He thought to himself, having to force back an eye-roll as that'd only get him in trouble.

"As all o' yer are aware," He began, Lancelot unable to stop himself from noting that Elric's accent became noticeably more 'typical pirate' when he was drunk. "And as most o' yer are hatin' me fer," He continued, Lancelot shifting his weight between his feet as he waited for the other to hurry up and get this over with.

The captain paused and took someones bottle from a nearby table, taking a quick drink before putting it back and throwing them a coin as compensation. "I've given Blue here a chance to prove 'is worth." He said, seeming to finally be prepared to say what he's intended to. "And he seems like he's worth keeping around, so we won't throw him overboard just yet." He paused a laughed at his own humour - a lot funnier now that it would be if he were sober. "And instead he will take the role on this ship as cabin boy during daily tasks, and powder monkey when needed, as our last died!"