The arrival of an unexpected griffin clattering her talons across the deck of the Gaping Maw was not a welcome one. Pirates across the main deck drew their weapons, more flooded up from the lower decks, and the Shark Titan stepped out of his quarters with a few heavy stomps. Iris blipped off of Glimmer's back and appeared on the deck on her hands and knees, fighting the urge to throw up as she desperately held up a hand to assure the pirates it was okay. It hadn't been the height that had turned her stomach, but the superfluous rolling maneuver Glimmer had pulled during her descent towards the ship.
"She's with us!" Eli shouted as he ran along the length of the deck, "it’s okay! Don't shoot!"
The pirates parted with judgmental expressions as Eli pushed through them and stopped in front of Iris and Glimmer, "Iris, what the hell?" he said as he caught his breath.
"Back to your business!" The captain shouted in an annoyed tone before stepping back into his quarters.
Eli glanced over his shoulder at the captain, then crouched to help Iris to her feet, "what this is about? I told you we're not supposed to be making scenes here, first the fight and now thi-- Iris?" He noticed her bloodshot eyes as she looked up at him, "Iris, what's wrong?"
She was fighting back sudden tears that she hadn't expected, "I need to tell you some things."
"Okay," Eli said softly, glancing around at the other pirates on the deck as they prepared to board the morning ferries to the docks, "go find Autumn in the galley, I'll see Glimmer off and then come straight down."
Iris nodded and hurried off towards the stern, keeping her eyes on her feet to avoid the stares of pirates. She blipped down the stairs and ducked into the galley as quickly as possible, taking a quivering breath as she shut the door behind her. She was full of fear that came from nowhere, her veins felt hollow and her chest felt heavy. Somehow her situation felt more real than ever, while the world around her felt distant and cold. Reality returned to her, along with a gracious relief from the sourceless panic, when she noticed the commotion in the galley.
"but food doesn't touch the counter," Killup the Gargoyle was protesting something, "food goes in the bowls and pans and pots, Killup's feet go on the counter, not in the bowls and pans and pots."
"It's still unsanitary," Autumn said in a more frustrating tone than Iris had ever heard from her, "look, what is this, right here?" she pointed at a spot on the counter.
"Wood?" Killup asked.
"No!" Autumn shouted, "that! Right there! It's a dirty footprint!"
"Oh, yes," Killup nodded, raising up a foot to inspect it for a moment, "looks like mine."
"Because it-- ARG!"
"Hey, now you sound like a pirate!" Killup praised her sudden progress.
"Iris, thank every god," Autumn said with a sigh, "I can't take it anymore. I can't work with this guy."
Iris gave her a tired, critical look, "it's been like, two days." There were still tears on Iris's cheeks, but Autumn didn't seem to notice.
"Two days of absolute chaos and destruction," Autumn threw her hands in the air before bringing them down heavy on a countertop. She was a bit too short to actually lean over the counter, so it looked more like she was leaning against a wall, "how did the old chef put up with this?"
"Old chef never had a problem with dirt," Killup said, "he always said it adds texture."
"It does not--" Autumn almost screamed, but halted when Eli entered the galley. He had a way of letting the whole room knew he was in a serious mood the moment he entered.
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"Autumn," he said flatly, "is there any work you and Killup can do somewhere else?"
Autumn started to argue, but Killup was already knocking over pots as he leapt off the counter, "come, come," he motioned for Autumn to follow, "to the grain storage, I'll introduce you to the rats."
"The rats?!" Autumn shouted in horror as she chased Killup out of the galley.
Eli closed the door behind them, then looked to the teary eyed Iris, "what's going on?"
"I--" she struggled to form words, "you were right. About everything, I guess."
Eli found a pair of stools along the wall and carried them over to the central counter top. He took a seat, motioned for Iris to do the same, and waited until she settled in before he spoke again.
"That's nice to hear, don't get me wrong, but what exactly is this about?"
Iris told him everything, starting with her argument with Milo and then the kidnapping, the fight that followed, and her conversation with the titan. He stopped her before she could get to the part about her mother appearing in the forest.
"I told you it would catch up to you," he said in a dark tone.
"I knew," Iris sniffled, "I'm so sorry. I should have listened to you."
He sighed, and his demeanor shifted, "and I shouldn't say I told you so. Let's just focus on what all this means, okay?"
Iris nodded.
"It sounds like you don't have to worry about the Commander anymore, at least for now, that's a good thing. The cloaked guys, those sound like Agents of Morose. Vic knows a little about them, more than me at least, but they're a secretive group. They've been here since the start of the hunt, Vic thinks their presence has something to do with the shock wizards and the dragon showing up, but we're not sure. That stuff is all way above our rank, not the kind of stuff I like to meddle in."
"Eli," her voice cracked, "I'm scared."
"It's okay," he said softly, reached across to pull her into a hug from where he sat. It wasn't the most comforting hug, it was stiff, unpracticed, and Iris guessed he didn't spend much time comforting people, but it was a hug all the same, and that's what she needed right now.
"I did fine last night," she insisted as she pulled away, "I kept my cool and held it all together. I don't know why I'm freaking out now."
"You want to know a secret?" Eli asked, "you can't tell anyone."
"Sure," she sniffled.
"Sometimes I freak out after a dangerous fight too," he admitted, "it all catches up to me all once, and I just kind of-- I just fall apart."
Iris looked at him blankly, "that doesn't seem like you."
"I know," he shrugged, "but it is. Keeping your wits about you while you're danger is critical, but no amount of training can ever really get rid of the natural emotions of battle. They'll always be there, somewhere, waiting to pop back up and show themselves."
Iris was quiet for a moment. It did bring some comfort to know that she wasn't the only one who felt like this sometimes, but it was still overwhelming.
"Honestly, I'm surprised it's taken this long for you to have a breakdown."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.
He laughed softly, "it's not an insult. I just mean that you've been through a lot in the past few months, and it's pretty impressive you kept it together this long."
"I've had some bad moments," she admitted, "you’ve seen a few. This-- this is all just a lot. Like, really, a lot."
"Yeah," he said in an understanding tone.
After a few minutes of silence, Iris spoke up again, "so what do we do now?"
"Well, the Commander's not after you anymore, that's good. And it sounds like the mayor general won't be either. But we know for sure that the Agents of Morose are, and that's the problem we need to figure out."
"We should be safe here, right?" she asked hopefully, "on the ship?"
Eli looked around the galley as if surveying the whole ship, "I don't know. I'd like to hope so, but followers of gods have a habit of not respecting any authority but that of the god they follow. For now, let's just keep our heads low and stay on the ship as much as possible. Hopefully they’ll catch word that the egg is already hatched and lose interest too, and if not maybe they at least won’t follow us when the ship departs from the city. I don't want you leaving the ship on your own again, either."
She nodded in acceptance. Under different circumstances, or even if he'd said it more like an instruction than a preference, she might have argued. At the moment, however, all she really wanted was to feel safe.
"I need to talk to Milo again soon," she remembered.
"The closing ceremony of the Grand Hunt is in a few days, we'll be attending as a team. We'll find time for you to speak to Milo while we're out, and wrap up any other business we have in the city while we're at it."
"Thanks," she said quietly.
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In the bowels of the third deck, Killup held up a glow stone lantern to cast dim yellow-orange light across the stacked barrels of grain. One of the barrels had an obvious hole gnawed into it near the top, and Killup knocked gently on the wood beside it. A rat poked its nose out of the shadowy hole and sniffed the air, then poked its head the rest of the way out to inspect Killup and Autumn. It was wearing a little hat sewn from a scrap of a canvas sack with just a few stitches.
"Roger, this is Autumn," Killup introduced, "new chef."
Roger squeaked.
"Oh, what the fuck?" Autumn asked in exasperation.