72 Spirits (1/2)
The wind has finally calmed down. Three days ago, the crew entered the Limaw Sea and they were welcomed by monstrous winds together with bouts of thunder and torrential rains that soaked the upper deck for a whole day. The buckets were filled to the brim several times when the crew had to wipe the floor afterwards.
Now, there was only a drizzle and intermitent rumbling sound coming from the sky. There was still no lights seen under the heavy fog.
Below deck however, you couldn't even hear the water droplets hitting the wooden floor. This was because of the thickness of the wood used to make this ship, which should be the case with how many gems they had to pay to have it built.
Inside the captain's quarters, a rough hoarse sound coming from the man lying on the bed was the only noise in the room. Captain Yati had been shouting for days now—when they encountered that huge octopus and whatever creature it was detaining their ship, then the storm after they entered the Limaw Sea. Fortunately, there were no incidents again once the storm stopped yesterday night, hence he was resting here until noon after finishing his promised cask full of spirits.
A movement on the bed dislodged the blanket on top of the man. A hairy arm placed on his stomach was touched by softer skin which woke Yati up. Since he had already rested for hours, he wasn't as mad if anybody else woke him up.
His halfhearted grumbling was later replied to by a quiet chuckle when he had his hands touch more naked skin. With eyes still half closed, Yati stopped grumbling and turned on his side to get more access of the other body beside him. It was difficult to find someone once they were out at sea, so he wasn't really complaining.
The grumbling changed to moaning and it drowned out the sound of the lock clicking and the door softly creaking open. Kana entered his father's room. He had his shields up since he knew that the old man had just drunk more than he usually had.
As he expected, the 'haze' inside the room was thick. There was a fire burning in the grate—his father's room was the only room with a fireplace in this ship—but it wasn't enough to brighten up the room due to the 'haze'.
Kana heard his father moaning a name—An'yi, the name of Kana's mother. That was when he realized that his father was having hallucinations again from his drinking.
Kana's mother was just one of the women chasing after his father. However, she had always been a favorite. She never complained about Yati's other women, and of course she was great in bed.
Despite the crew's complaints, Yati still took An'yi on some of their travels and soon, she died on one of these travels after having an infection soon after giving birth to Kana.
That didn't make Kana guilty though. His mother should have known how to take care of herself even if she chose to ignored her child. Besides, Yati never blamed Kana. He could see that with his father still having women on other ports—except for times like this when Yati didn't have any other women to turn to. It was always An'yi when his father was in the mood alone with his spirits. Kana thought that that was the reason why they sometimes call the drink 'spirits'.