It had bothered him until the brute had lost hours of sleep thinking about his previous conversation with his sable friend. Raptor had never been anything but good to Smokestep, and his cockiness and brash attitude had somehow hurt his best mate in a way that had driven the corsair further from their pack. It had seemed as though the pirate had made several poor decisions regarding those he cared for. He missed the wild companionship of his mate, and he could smell that spring had fallen on their beach. Before long, he knew that they would be searching for berries and fruit to create fresh rum for the crew. The Captain was nothing without his best rum-maker, and he had fought himself in admitting such a thing.
 
Trekking across the sand, Smokestep searched their small caves for signs of Raptor, but he could not catch a scent of the sable pirate. Worried, the brute lifted his head and called for the Quartermaster, hoping that his mate would heed his call and that they could sort what had occurred the last time they’d spoken to each other.

It felt almost as though Raptor had appeared right before him. Smokestep watched the sable corsair approach and felt his stomach sink further within him. He thought he ought to have been carrying stones in the pit of his gut for it to feel such a way. It was in the few moments that it took for Raptor to arrive where Smokestep felt most aware of how he was standing and behaving. His feet shuffled for a moment in the sand and when his Quartermaster finally closed the space between them, he did not say a word but locked his eyes with the sand at Smokestep’s paws. The silent resolve that passed over his friend was enough to cause the Captain’s heart to clench tightly within his chest. He breathed deep and then shook his head back and forth.
 
“Rap, mate… I’m awful sorry ‘bout wot I said to ye last,” he started with a near sheepish expression. It was difficult for the proud young Captain to admit that he had done something wrong, but he was hell-bent on fixing what he had done to the pirate who stood before him. After all, the young Cairn believed they were already kin. “Piper would be lucky to have a mate like ye. Ye didn’t deserve wot I said, right, an’ I’ll give ye one free hit wit no fight back ‘cause I know yer doin’ yer best and I need ye here, mate… I need ye to help me run the crew.” He then straightened himself and waited to see if Raptor would take him up on the offer. It was only then that he noticed the marks on the other male’s body. His brows furrowed tightly over his gaze and he gaped daftly before Raptor.
 
“Wot the fuck? Ye fightin’ sharks? Who the fuck did this to ye? I’ll kill ‘em,” he snapped.  

“Aye… wouldn’t have tried to find ye to apologize if I wasn’t,” he stated to the first question.
 
It was then that the conversation seemed to unfurl. Raptor released what he had inside of him and were it not for his place within the pack, Smokestep would have recoiled at the sharp edge in his friend’s word. The pale young Captain was not sure what he was supposed to say when confronted with such a situation. His eyes roamed over the marks on Raptor’s body with a sincere concern. The Quartermaster was mad, but the Cairn boy could not have blamed him for feeling that way. Surely, his pride would have caused him to bubble if he had been on the opposite end of their conversation, but he was fortunate in that he sat where he did. It was more than he knew how to handle with his limited years of experience, and even Raptor should have known that Smokestep was just as new to the game of leading a crew as he was.
 
A heavy sigh fell from the marauder’s lips. “Cause ye like her? Cause.. cause I made a fool o’ meself an’ sent ye off into the wilds to fuck a crazy woman…” he trailed, trying desperately to fill in the blank of the question that had been left behind. His eyes grew fretful and he searched the face of his Quartermaster with concern and fear, wondering if this meant the end of his friendship – the end of his valiant companion in the ranks of his crew – and it clutched at his heart with an iron fist. Maybe – just maybe – it was because he was not the great Captain that he had aspired to be. Perhaps Raptor had wandered off and forced himself into a difficult situation because Smokestep had treated him in ways no friend should ever have been treated.
 
“Rap… I don’t always know wot I’m doin’, an’ I’m as hot headed as the next fella, but yer a good mate and ye didn’t deserve it. Just can’t figure out how to make it up to ye.”

“Yer a fearless pirate to me, Raptor…”
 
The truth was a wicked thing and it cut like a dagger. Still, Smokestep could not fault his best mate for sharing what he could. The young Captain was just that – young – and he lacked many of the skills a great leader might possess. He led with his heart over his mind and allowed for the wildest parts of his emotions to make decisions for him. It was obvious that he was still full of his youth. He had already made a slew of mistakes in leading his crew, but he’d done them with such confidence that he wasn’t entirely sure the others would hold him accountable for it. Smokestep couldn’t judge Raptor for the past that he had led, because he hadn’t been risen on pirate roots himself.
 
A heavy sigh passed between his lips, and the pallid yearling shook his head sadly. “Ye know, I ain’t a full-blooded pirate meself. Me father’s a raging loon wit an ego the size o’ the ocean is all, an’ he sent me ‘n Piper back here to re-make his pack. O’ course I did no such thing,” Smokestep admitted to the sable pirate. His two-toned gaze roamed to the face of his friend and he shrugged his shoulders as though he were disappointed in himself.
 
“I met this crew, see – the Fenriver crew – an they was led by their Captain. They loved ‘im; ye ask any o’ those sea dogs an’ they’d swear up n’ down that they’d die fer their Captain. I wanted that life, aye? I followed ‘em around fer months to learn how to be the best pirate there was an’ I can’t even say I’ve done that right.”
 
Smokestep gritted his teeth as the shame crept into his chest and sat there, weighted. It was difficult for him to admit that he was wrong, but he had never told a soul about his past and how he had come to adopt the life of a pirate. Sandpiper had kept her mouth shut, but he imagined she didn’t knock him down because they were as close to family as they would ever get. It didn’t help him to know that his sister was the only person holding his secrets, or that Raptor had found him and spilled his heart. Smokestep had wanted to be as ruthless as his father, but he had grown to only despise the dark leviathan who had ruled the bay before him. Were it not for Skellige, the young boy believed he could have had any life he’d wanted.
 
Another sigh passed between his lips. “I ain’t about to fault ye fer wot ye’ve told me, mate. This girl… do ye have feelins fer her? Do ye want a family here? I’d be alright wit a lil Raptor runnin’ about.”

Smokestep furrowed his brow into a tight line over his eyes. He latched onto Raptor with his stare, trying to comprehend what it was that the sable pirate was searching for. “Ye have a family… an’ I ain’t seein’ fit to kill ye unless ye run off an abandon yer crew,” he stated plainly to the dark-coated man. It had been his own fault for opening that door – for asking his Quartermaster a foolish question – and he wasn’t entirely ready to own up to the fact that most of his life was falling apart via his close relationships. Smokestep had only meant that, while Raptor did not yet have a mate within their ranks, it wasn’t as though he didn’t have family in himself and Sandpiper.
 
There was a heavy sigh that passed between his lips. The young Captain turned his attention away from his mate, deep in his own thoughts and troubles. “We can’t afford to lose ye. Whether yer crusty arse realizes it er not, yer an important part o’ this here crew. But, I’ll say ye can bring yer lass here if ye can convince ‘er,” he offered with a small shrug. Their first meeting had not gone entirely well, but Smokestep was ever the optimist. He had a feeling that if his best mate wanted to build a family with someone, Raptor would find a way to do that with a good girl.  

It was difficult for Smokestep to hear that there was someone out there who potentially wanted nothing to do with his best mate. His brow furrowed tightly over his two-toned gaze, and the young Captain frowned deeply in response to the first remark that had been made. Of course, when Raptor had first brought the woman to their territory, she hadn’t behaved very well and hadn’t seemed at all interested in anything beyond what was associated with her and her family. Smokestep remembered the day well enough. In spite of this poor first impression on her part, he wanted to give the lass the benefit of the doubt. If his Quartermaster could see something in her, there had to be something there that was worth chasing after, right? Something had to have settled in her to draw the sable pirate’s attention.
 
It seemed as though Raptor didn’t want to discuss his options much more after he’d said his peace. The dark-haired male thanked Smokestep and bobbed his head before he dismissed himself. It left the young Cairn with a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach. He kept wondering how he could assist his friend, but he didn’t know how to compel someone to want to be with him. It seemed Raptor wanted to embrace that challenge on his own, though, and so the young Captain let him walk away and hoped for the best.