MDZS Collection

He's a Pirate - "What Do You Know of Sirens and Merfolk?"

Wanji had no idea how long he and his crew were left in the brig, but suddenly, he heard light giggles. He paid no mind to it until the door to his cell creaked open, and a child hanging off the handle.

"Hello." Wanji managed. Why was there a child on board?

"Hi." Came the quiet, shy response. This kid seemed like he wanted something, so Wanji waited patiently until the little guy could work up his courage.

"Auntie Qing says I need to leave Baba alone but she won't play with me. She says it's nap time, but I wanna play! Will you play with me?" The kid's hands played with his hem as he nervously waited for an answer.

"Mn." The kid's eyes sparkled.

"Really? Thank you, Mr. Angel!" he cried, jumping on Lan Zhan and wrapping his chubby little arms around his neck.

"Do you think I'm an angel because of my white uniform?" Why else would a kid call him that? However, the child shook his head.

"Nu-uh. I know you're an angel 'cause Baba says!" He proclaimed triumphantly.

"Oh, is that so?" Lan Zhan couldn't help but wonder which of the dreaded pirates would call him an angel.

"Baba says Lan Jawn (Lan Zhan but like me, he can't pronounce it yet) looks tall and big and scary, but he's sweet and gentle and kind an-and honorerabable..." The kid trailed off, frowning as the word somehow became longer and his tongue got tied.

"Honorable?" Lan Zhan spoke the word slowly and enunciated clearly so the kid could more easily hear how the word was supposed to sound.

"Honor-er-ab-able." The kid said again, stomping his little foot in frustration. Lan Wanji was at a loss. What was he supposed to do now? The word just got a little jumbled somewhere along the path between knowing the word and saying it.

"Baba says that word just doesn't work quite yet," he brightened up a little, "like soulmate! I couldn't say that word either!" that piqued Lan Wanji's interest.

"Oh, is your mother on board as well?" It made sense. The kid wouldn't be here unless his mother was one of the crew or the wife of one of the officers.

"Silly angel! Mama and Papa were taken away by Wem Rouham!" The kid plopped himself down in Wanji's lap, unaware of how his words made the man pale. Wen Rouhan had killed this boy's parents, and if Wen Qing was his aunt, that meant his name was also Wen. This pirate ship was the safest place in the world for him, and it was heartbreaking.

"Why was it important for you to say soulmate?" he remembered how the word made the kid light up. Once again, the child's eyes began to sparkle.

"'Cause it makes Baba happy! He found his soulmate and he talks about him all the time! But one time, it made him really sad. I asked him why and he said he can never be with his soulmate. His soulmate is good and kind and can never love a man like him. I don't get it. Baba is good and kind and takes care of everyone! He says everyone on board is family, whether they Wems or not! Why can't somebody kind and good love him too?" he stared up at Wanji through big, glossy eyes. How was he supposed to respond? He didn't know who his Baba or the man's soulmate was, so how could he answer this kid? The boy leaned his head on Wanji's shoulder and yawned. Lan Zhan could see the golden glow of the setting sun painting the dark wood almost orange. As the kid became more and more limp in his arms, Wanji hummed. Normally, he would never utter a single note of this melody to anyone other than himself or the boy he wrote the song for, but it felt right to use it as a lullaby for the boy.

"That's Baba's...song..." the kid mumbled as he drifted into a peaceful sleep full of sweet dreams. The kid was probably mixed up. There was only one other person who had ever heard that song, and he had been delirious and fevered the only time he heard it.