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When Jay opened his eyes, he was expecting the cold, dark pit he had grown used to. What he wasn’t expecting was an… actual room . One he hadn’t seen before. He tried to get up, only to immediately wince from the pain and fall back down onto the comfy pillow. Right… yesterday he was fighting in Scrap-n-Tap, and– hold on, comfy pillow?!
He gave the alleged comfy pillow a gentle pat. Well, it sure did feel like one. He shifted from his back to his side, causing the bed to swing–? Ah! Not a bed, but a hammock . And all around him were more empty hammocks arranged in rows. This was… a sleeping quarters? Come to think of it, he didn’t feel that horrible weight on his leg anymore. Not that he was usually wearing it when night fell and it was lights out, but what the heck happened to being–
“Are- are you awake, Jay?” The squeaky voice of a certain serpentine pirate came from across the room. “I’ve brought you s-some food, fr-from the captain himself!”
Dropped off on the nightstand next to him was a tray of food, not too far from the presentation of that dinner he had with Nadakhan. Hm! And now here was a breakfast from Nadakhan. There were little sandwiches, a bunch of grapes, a cup of water, and A PUDDING CUP?! Screw the aches, he immediately sprung up to snatch it off the tray.
“Heh, wow, tell him I said thanks, I guess!” Something about those words coming from his mouth made him pause for just a moment. He was quickly shaken out of his thoughts when Clancee spoke again.
“I’ll be s-sure to pass the word!” He gave a cheery salute. “Oh right, and- and he also w-wanted you to know you’ve been relieved of your duties just for today. Aren’t you just a lucky pirate?”
Jay quickly finished the bite of pudding in his mouth. “Wait, what? Me? A pirate?”
“Right, right, nobody’s told you yet! Well, get this: Nadakhan w-was so impressed with you last night that he d-decided you should join our crew.” Clancee gave a pleased grin as he clapped his hands together.
“Join your crew…” Jay slowly echoed the words under his breath, and found a small smile forming. He didn’t remember what exactly he did last night, but it must’ve been really awesome to impress Nadakhan!
“The others d-don’t seem too happy about you being one of us now, but I’m s-sure they’ll warm up to you in time, don’t you w-worry! At least you’ve got good ol’ Clancee here!” He gave Jay a good pat on the shoulder before turning to leave.
Jay the pirate… While the name needed a bit of workshopping into something more pirate-like, it had a nice ring to it, he admitted. Maybe even better than being a ninja. His face fell a little when the ninja came to mind. What a surprise this would be for his friends, huh?– Or, well, his former friends. They hated him now, remember? Psh, some friends they were. Maybe he really did belong here instead, having fun doing cool pirate things with other cool pirates. And since when was he good at stealth, anyways? Pirates can shout and talk as much as they want, right? See, this was where he was meant to be!
“Oh! Oh and- and one last thing!” Clancee was apparently still around, poking his head through the half-closed door. “Your new clothes are under the tray!” And then it swung closed.
Curious, Jay set the empty pudding cup and spoon back on the tray before carefully lifting it up. There was, in fact, a (somewhat) neatly folded pile of green and orange clothes. The colours of the Misfortune’s Keep’s crew. He glanced down at his own gi, biting his lip at the rips and tears that riddled it. Hahah… This was a change he certainly needed. He didn’t need this garbage anyway, right? Yeah, it just served as a dumb reminder of his time as a ninja!
He pulled the folded outfit away from the nightstand to free it from its delicious breakfast tray prison, and also to examine it further. With some unfolding, it became clear it was pretty much almost exactly like the standard uniform around the ship.
“Ugh, boring,” he muttered to himself. If the captain was so impressed, could he have maybe afforded to put a little more thought into his outfit design?? How else was he supposed to stand out in this crew?? He fiddled with his blue belt. The fabric had a few loose threads and torn edges, but it was otherwise perfectly intact and easily removable. Maybe he could make an adjustment…
He pictured himself wearing it around his head like a cool pirate headband. It wasn’t much, but it could be a start! A start to the new life of Bluejay !
…Uh, heheh, maybe he’d work on that pirate name some more later.
He absent-mindedly stroked the blue belt’s fabric with his thumb. Was he really okay with keeping a small part of this? A small part of something he should just leave behind for good?
…Yes, he decided. It was only a little. It was nothing. And it only felt–
Ah, whatever . He plucked a grape from the tray and tossed it into his mouth. He had breakfast to eat, and a real good nap to take! Tomorrow would be a big day for him.