KingSweet

Apologies

I would like to say that I had an idea for appeasing my brother, or half of one at that. In reality, I had no idea at all. We didn't get in many fights when we were younger, probably due to Max's patience with my desire to mix all of our toys together. He would build Lego houses for my little dog figurines, and I would conscript my Polly Pockets into his G.I. Joe missions. In my mind at least, it had always been fair. The only time I remembered Max being truly mad at me was when I'd overwritten his profile in Paper Mario. I'd wanted to be in the first save slot, and had assumed his save file would scoot down to the two slot when I saved my game. I'd apologized, but he barely spoke to me for weeks, and I was left to pack my own lunches. I got really tired of peanut butter sandwiches... though Max never did save in the one slot again.

Point being, we didn't have a forgiveness ritual. There was no "traditional" gift that was the tried and true method for apology. This was new.

Pirates never apologized, because no one was truly offended. People understood. It wasn't personal, just good tactics. Stepping over others was a part of the game. Yet Red... he had a right to be angry with me. It was personal, and I had no choice but to apologize in a way that managed to be embarrassing enough to earn forgiveness without showing others why it had to be Red. For starters, I'd have to admit that he had been right. And then all I'd have to do was convince him to accompany me on a dangerous mission with a bunch of people that probably hated him

I needed a drink.

I figured I'd grab a firesweet from Flor for the road. If I hurried I could probably still catch Red before he made it back to camp. I could follow him from the rooftops and wait for an opportunity to separate him from his crewmates. That might work. I'd have to find Flor first though. The idea of facing my brother without the overconfident air firesweet always gave me was terrifying.

The girl was nowhere to be found. Flor normally appeared a heartbeat before I realized I wanted something, and now that I actually needed a drink she was missing? It sounded like Vidan's handiwork to me. He'd probably say something ridiculously reasonable about how an apologetic person is never confident. Because of course, he would already know. That was the mole's job, to know things.

I stood in the entrance to the back rooms of the compound and realized I was stalling. If I was so nervous that I would rather have a chat with Vidan than talk with my own brother... I was in trouble.

I removed my mask and slipped out of the compound, hesitating for a moment in the shadow of the doorway for some of Vinyé's many crew members to stagger by. I waited for them to round the corner on their way back to their bunks before jogging after them, watching the buildings to find one with iron wrought supports underneath the balcony. I found one a few houses down with fancy scrolling metalwork full of whorls perfect for placing a foot in. I swarmed up the columns to the roof.

Red was sitting three buildings down the street, legs dangling over the edge of the roof as he watched the sun come up over the harbor.

I joined him, sitting in silence and kicking my feet back and forth while I waited for my brother to speak first. I steeled myself; waiting for the scorn I knew was coming.

"I'm sorry," he sighed.

I snapped my head to look at him, legs frozen mid swing as I tried to figure out what he was talking about.

"I forget sometimes," he continued. "That I'm barely supposed to know you here. I know you want to keep it that way. It would be awkward if your crew knew you were a tag-a-long instead of a 'real' pirate. I slipped up in the Conclave. But your handler... he really set my teeth on edge. He looks at people like they're things to be hunted. Knowing that he not only has you, but a whole group of girls? Something's not right about that. I couldn't stand by. Instinct interfered. I've spent my whole life looking out for you... that isn't something I can turn off."