The officer—a broad-shouldered man with a scar cutting through his eyebrow—jerked his thumb toward the hatch. The rest of the crew bustled around the deck, checking ropes and cannon lines, boots slamming against wood in a rhythm Y/n had long memorized.

He paused, squinting toward the distant island on the horizon, its port town a smear of color against the blue. Then he looked back at Y/n, expectant.