Stavanger Bay towers and shadows

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.