“You’re seriously expecting us to go out there without having had breakfast?” One of the men grumbled.
Tristan frowned at him. “No, Mainio, I’m expecting you to let me go out there without having had breakfast. Or feeding any of you then. But I’m going alone and that’s that.”
(@Todo Add in a scene earlier showing the discrepancy yet fun of Tristan somehow being both Captain but also favourite ship’s cook…)
More grumbles broke out among the group clustered on the deck, Alan’s voice rising loudest of all. They’d already had this argument before Tristan had finally given up and rang the bell to wake the men. Of course it wasn’t a good idea for him to go out there alone, but taking any of the crew with him was even worse. What if none of them made it back to the ship? At least this way…
“If I’m not back by sunset tomorrow, promise you will set sale without me.” Silence fell, and the crew glared up at him.
“That’s not a very long time, Cap’n,” Mainio stepped forward, his expression grim.
Tristan shrugged. “You all know the legend. If I’m not back by then… No one survives staying a night on the island.” Ice gripped his heart as he thought of Simone, who set foot on the island the previous evening, but he forced the thought away.
Legends are always exaggerated anyway. Or let’s hope so.
“I for one think you’re being selfish, Cap’n. Taking all the adventure for yourself while we sit here and what? Count the specks of sand on the shore?”
“It’s not such a long time, Terrence. Before you know it I’ll be back and annoying you lot with unnecessary orders and instructions. We’ll both be back.”
Another silence fell. Tristan knew the crew cared for Simone as much as they would for their own little sister. She had certainly won them over in no time with her quick sense of humour and willingness to help out wherever it might be needed. Or to just surprise them with hot cups of coffee at the brisk light of dawn when—
Tristan shook away the memories, afraid it would break his facade. He had to keep a brave sake, for the men’s sake - for his sake. If he didn’t stay strong, he would never find Simone. He leaned down to pick up the pack that he had checked for final supplies. Some water, hard bread, a bit of dried meat and the remaining apple that no one else had wanted, it’s skin puckered and blemished. That had been on instinct, that inner voice he’d come to trust urging him to throw it in even though he wasn’t sure he’d consider touching it even in the worst bout of hunger.
“I’ll cook you guys up a great breakfast when we’re back at the island, I promise,” Tristan winced as he tacked on the last bit almost out of habit before realising how unrealistic that was.
“And you’d better dance for us!” Terrence shouted out, his sun-weathered skin crinkling with laugh lines at the corners of his eyes. Trust Terrence to keep a bright outlook on things. This crew was pretty alright - more than alright - and Tristan knew he would do his utmost to make things up to them, if they all made it back safely.
“Haha, in your dreams Terrence!” Was all he said before Tristan turned and leapt lightly from the boat to the shallows. Water splashed over his boots as he waded to shore, the sun already rising from the mountains in front of him while the moon still hung huge and low over the horizon behind him.
Trapped between two worlds, he startled himself with the strange thought, suppressing a shudder. He hoped it wouldn’t become a self-fulfilling prophecy, leaving Layna with no one but his ageing father to rule and keep their coastland safe.
Word count: 651
Debrief:
I haven’t painted anything (yet) and it’s current 22h26 as I type this… I did however, indulge myself in some short bits of brainstorming / worldbuilding before diving into this scene. I always switch between these modes, although in the past I’ve tended to spend a lot of time worldbuilding and not so much writing something with dialogue / interaction, so nowadays I try to work the worldbuilding into scenes like this. Questions I’ve been asking myself are things like - who are the crew? What’s the dynamic between them and Tristan? What is Alan (the first mate) and Tristan’s relationship like? What are “everyday” things I can have two characters do together to learn more about them and their world (which is where the cooking idea jumped in - and I love the incongruity of seeing a Captain referred to as the one to make breakfast!). I would try to set a timer for these kinds of non-scene explorations - 10 - 15 minutes at most, and then encourage myself to just start with a scene that incorporates that. And every time, something new and exciting comes up that does make me look forward again to the next writing session! Now to figure out what I might paint (quickly) to go with “Strong” and “Dance” and this scene all in one…