The Greatest Beasts (The Sea Beast x OCs)

Lineage and Inheritance

Crow's PoV

It was a moment of pure terror when Vekas didn't break the surface. Made all the scarier when some of the volunteers said the water was to dark to see anything in due to the amount of blood moving around. Only after we dropped the anchor with Jacob and I tied to it by the waist see the carcass of the Brickleback with our missing hunter entangled in a bunch of tentacles.

'There he is!' I Mentally shout as I break out my saw and urgently swim to the tentacles, the tool easily chewing through them like they were nothing and attaching Vekas to the chain using my rope. And with a simple tug of the chain by Jacob and me holdin' the bottom of the anchor, we were on our way up.

It only took a moment for us to break surface and rejoin the crew on the deck. Without wasting a moment, Jacob gives the near-drowned man mouth to and pushes hard on his chest. It was the quietest and most tense moment the Inevitable had ever had. Until..... Jacob was headbutted away from Vekas as he went onto his side and vomited half his insides onto the deck, breathing heavily and shaking with his pale hands.

"Someone get him below deck and checked in with the Doctor" with great care and concern, a pair of deck-mates pick him up by the arms and legs and move to the stairs. Of all the times he is Incapacitated and unable to fight, why did it have to be when we are so close to fighting the Red Bluster.

3rd PoV

Whilst Vekas was getting his wounds patched up, Crow looked at the dark waves, a sense of quiet fear and exhaustion around him. In all the conquest and thirst for vengeance, he never stopped once to think about the possibility of him lossing one of his boys, let alone the rest of the crew. And now that he took a moment to reflect on his choices, and all the pains that came with old age suddenly flood him.

His arms thick as a pillar felt heavy like a sack of brick, and worn like a jacket. His head felt like both a boulder and a cloud, focused and lightheaded. Hell, even the clothes around him felt like they had seen several generations of Captains.

As if reflecting its captain, the ship's mast groaned, a few splinters of wood pocking out and landing on the deck, while the sails looked beyond repairs. Even more, the paint was beyond fucked, the railings were full of holes and the deck had more holes than a chunk of cheese!

 "Captain, the mizzen's in splinters, and I don't like the main." "She can't fight" Both Sarah and Merino argue as they step forwards, nervous and prepared for the usual angry outburst whenever they cant fight the bluster. "We'll come back for the Bluster when she can, repairs shouldn't take too..." Jacob continues wearily.

"Set a course for three bridges, were going home" Crow orders, lazily walking to his quarters with his back hunched over, much to the crew's shock. "Welp, time to get ourselves patched up then..." one of the crew mutter as everyone moves bellow deck, some forming a line to see the doctor.

Timeskip 4 hours

Jacob was finally getting his wounds treated, with a large gash across his back getting sown and the bandages revealing minor blisters and bruises, despite the thick cloth protecting his hands. 'could have been worse' he mentally sighs, knowing the next few days are going to be rough.

Just as the doctor was finishing up with his back, he finally payed attention to the people around them and the grim conversations about the current circumstances. 

"If you know what's good for you, you'll keep clear of the captain, poor guy was so close" "He was close enough to smell the red devil" "If he can't have the Bluster's hide, he'll have ours, that's for certain"

Yeah, people were battered and beaten to say the least. Not one person had a smile or held their heads up high, despite the somewhat successful hunt. 'Welp, time to lift some spirits once again' "Why, It's gloomier than the Helgard trenches down here, we've taken some right proper beasts on this hunt, and we will be payed accordingly, we'll restock our ammunations and well topple that red devil"

He elected to jump off the bench he was on, ignoring the slight sting of the stiches randomly tightning as the doctor followed since he had yet to finish sowing Jacobs wounds and was clumsily fumbling to keep up with him. Jacob's little speech did reassure everyone, if only by a bit. Except one inexperienced hunter.

"Can we beat it Jacob? They say the Bluster could command the sea itself" He asks with uncertainty. "Aye, and it shoots fireballs out of its eyes, they say. It's almost enough to make your knee's melt." He winks with overexaggerated swagger, as the doctor finally finishes stitching him up and puts his shirt back on.

"But I'm not afraid, 'cause I'm on the Inevitable with you lot; This ship has taken more beasts than any other, and for good reason. She's certainly got the scars to prove it" He continues, gesturing to splinters that were never fixed and new planks melded with older ones. One particularly old sailor pulls down his sleeve and reveals a gash, joyfully yelling out with a laugh "As do we Jacob!"

"Aye, and every hunter's scar, is a life saved. A merchant sailor on their first voyage. A mother. A son. All hunter's die for the same thing." He continues, gesturing to different people whilst recounting the tales of their respective scars. With another laugh, someone speaks up "Aye, being a hunter"

"Ain't that the truth" Vekas yells out from behind a room covered by a curtain. "Every hunter dies a great death, just as every hunter lives a great life!" and with that conclusion, everyone is back to laughs and pats on the back. At least momentarily.

"Jacob! Captain would like a word with you and Vekas. speaking of which, GET UP YA LAZY BOOKWORM" she shouts, receiving a rude hand gesture from behind the curtains as they get pulled back to a visibly exhausted Vekas with loose bandages hugging his midsection underneath his coat. "I heard you old woman!" he grumbles as he and an amused Jacob walk the mocking crew to the stairs.

After knocking and entering the captain's quarters, they take a seat per their relative's request and try to plea their case. "Uncle, I apologize for our performance, but we know its location now, and it wont take long for my ribs to heal and for repairs--" 

"Boys, I hate them demons with every fiber in me being, but saving Nickleknob was the right thing to do. Ye steered my right today" He calmed them as he poured Jacob and him a shot of booze while Vekas just took out some water from a random flask he pickpocketed. "Well, I'm sure were both glad you see it that way." A confused Jacob says with a hint of relief.

"We'll go home, collect our bounty and repair the ship. we'll come back for that demon and bring hell down upon it." He toasts as he leans back into his seat and guzzles down his drink, while the boys just take sips.

"And what then? What is to become of the Inevitable after I'm gone? Through battle and wear, every beam, block and spar has been replaced since she was launched." He monologues as he looks out the window then around the boys, him patting Jacob on his shoulder.

"Yet she lives on. It's an eternal thing, unlike me." By this point Vekas understood what his uncle was implying, and got up to admire both the painting of the inevitable and the multi-generational captain's log. "Come"

"Here is my greatness, my father's before me, and his father's before him. On the day we take the Bluster, I shall make me last entry. And it shall be passed onto you Jacob" Crow explains. Jacob looked astounded, as Vekas looked away with slight jealousy. "I've known it since the day I pulled you from the sea. You'd been out there for days, hot and burnt from the sun. But there was a fire in you Jacob, one that wouldn't go out"

"Then I held you, and I knew, fate had brought me a son." Vekas' jealousy slowly morphed into a hint of loathing, silent thoughts beginning to form in his mind. 'Fate had brought me a son. was your nephew not capable?' he loathed, the rest of Crow and Jacob's conversation fading to white noise as he had his crisis in his mind.

It was pushed into the back of his mind as Jacob and Crow embraced, with Crow whispering "My boy" Proudly into Jacobs head, unaware of nephews look of betrayal. Crow put Jacob next to Vekas and looked at his nephew, "And you, you will continue to watch Jacobs back as you continue this mighty ship's legacy, never to turn your back on each other". They both nodded, looks of pride and confidence on their faces and Crow put his hands on their shoulders, "You two are going to do great things"