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━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🏴☠️ S T U R M H O N D 🏴☠️ ━━━━━━━━━━━━
The remaining hours of the night were restless for Sturmhond. After they were sure they had put enough miles between them and the sirens nest, he ordered the men and women to make everything ready for the night. Although he wanted to have Teuta on the Volkvolny with him, it was best if she stayed at the Billy over the night. She didn't like the order as well but took his command without arguing with him. If something came up, she would be able to handle the issue, Sturmhond was sure of it. Her and Bassim had been a great team. He made a mental note to give Bassim a raise when they would reach land in two days when he laid down in his bed after this eventful evening. There would be no need for him to think about something for Teuta, he already had a gift for her, and he was sure she would like it a lot.
The next morning went like an usual one, the crew was slowly recovering from the scare hours ago but got to work pretty quickly. They were eager to go on land and drink with their friends in a bar, celebrating their succeeded mission before starting a new job under Sturmhond's command.
It was around dinner time when Teuta returned from the Billy. "The crew is settling for dinner, we've checked the waters, we should be fine out here. Tomorrow, we will reach the main land and until then, Cassian said he has everything under control."
Sturmhond threw an unsure look over to her as she stepped next to him on the quarterdeck. Bassim had just excused himself to sit down at the dinner table after the anchor had been sunken down. "Should that ease my mind?"
"I don't know," Teuta replied honestly and took a deep breath before exhaling loudly. He is crossed with me and didn't talk a lot today."
"Because you saved him and me from certain death?"
"He didn't like the fact that I sailed the ship out, he wanted to do it."
Sturmhond shook his head in disbelieve. "He always wants to be seen as the hero ... Doesn't he know he would be dead without you?"
"I'm not sure he cares about anything anymore. The anger keeps feeding on him. There's not much that brings him joy on this adventure and he projects every bad feeling onto me." She looked into Sturmhond's eyes. "And onto you. I've heard a few ugly words in context with your name."
"I'm not surprised, really." Sturmhond leaned back against the railing of the ship and looked down to the main deck. The sailors were sitting around small tables, having their dinner. In the far, the crew of the Billy did the same. The sea was calm, the waves were low, and the sun was slowly setting. "He should appreciate life more. Especially after last night." His eyes returned to Teuta. "Thank you again, I wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for you."
"What's a First Mate without their Captain?" She replied with a small smile on her lips. "I just did what every good sailor would have done."
"I doubt that, half of these bastards over there wanted me to jump into the sirens arms."
"That's true," Teuta laughed. "They might would have let you jump but they would have defended their ship at all costs."
"We should name it ‚The Billy of Tea'," Sturmhond thought out loud.
She shot him an annoyed look. "You know how much I hate that nickname!"
"That's why it's so genius! And for the record, I didn't call you that, I just renamed the ship – And this is not a stupid context, you saved the ship from destruction, it's only fair it's named after you."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Whatever you say, Captain."
Sturmhond noticed her turning away from him to go down to the main deck, so he gently grabbed her arm to prevent her from leaving him. "I want you to command it, not Cassian."
Teuta frowned and turned back to him. "Why?"
"Because you're a better leader than he is," Sturmhond explained and let go off her. "You think quick, and I can rely on your decision making. You kept a clear head, saved me from jumping into the water and you were about to rescue Cassian as well. You drove us out of there safely. You would never lead us blindly into a sirens nest. You would never beat a defenceless child. You would never get angry about a rope not being tied correctly. And you don't let your people down."
"I don't know what to say to that ..."
"Just say you'll accept." His eyes were pleading as he took a step closer to her. "Although I would rather have you here on the Volkvolny, the Billy needs a great Captain. Cassian will only get us killed on the next mission. I need to know that I can trust my other Captain." He had managed to confuse Teuta completely, he could tell she didn't know how to feel about his words. "So, are you saying ‚yes' to my offer or not? I need an answer, I'm starving and the dinner smells amazing!"
"What about Cassian?"
Sturmhond could tell she wanted to accept his offer but the thoughts about Cassian were biting into her soul. In his opinion, Cassian lost all his rights to even be considered being the Captain of the Billy. He had continuously shown that he wasn't fitted as the role of a Captain while Teuta had gone above and beyond in her role as the First Mate. And she had saved Sturmhond and his brother.
"Like I said, he doesn't fit the criteria," Sturmhond simply said. "And he needs to accept that you're the better choice for this upcoming challenge."
"He'll think we're betraying him."
"He already thinks that."
"How very true ..." Teuta nodded slowly, giving in. "Alright, I'll gladly take the position."
Sturmhond's face light up and he put his hand out. "Congratulations, Teuta Delahaye – Captain of The Billy of Tea."
Teuta grabbed his hand and shook it with a smile. "Thank you very much."
"We should grab a glass of wine to celebrate it." Sturmhond let go off her and started walking over to the staircase that lead down to the main deck. "The crew will be happy to hear about your new position and I'm sure they'll miss you on deck – Although nobody is going to miss you like I do, especially in the upcoming week!"
"Are you now going to tell me what this mission is about?"
"No way."
"But I'm a Captain as well, now!" She shouted after him.
Sturmhond waved over his shoulder, going down the stairs. "We might be on equal positions, but I still call the shots, my love!"
