
"Seems similar indeed," Francesco replied to Sofia. She seemed to agree with Francesco that these demons differed from the ones that they had all faced in the past. After hearing out Alisa, it became clear that the two of them had a lead and were following up on it. Francesco and Massimo, however, weren't on this ship to deal with any demons. "Massimo, he -," Francesco wasn't sure how to explain it without making Massimo sound unhinged. There was no way to beat around the bush, though. "Massimo likes to LARP," Francesco sighed. "We're out at sea because he wanted to pretend to be a buccaneer this time by taking a dangerous sea quest. We've dealt with the threat that we were tasked with and are now waiting for anything else that comes our way till we get sent out on another official mission." Massimo heard the ongoing conversation and decided to help out Franceso by adding some explanation. "It wasn't any magical beast, though. It was Mighaghora, a foul Kraken that terrorized everyone out at sea. Mighaghora usually retreated after feeding on whole armadas, which made it incredibly difficult to find and slay it. Fortunately, the magic beast became too confident and started to stake out the same spots for too long," Massimo chimed in without commenting on the LARPing part of what Francesco had just reluctantly shared about him. Why would he? It was true. In the brief moment of silence that followed after Massimo's reply, Massimo suddenly remembered something that he had heard from the captain. "Fran, the captain told me that there is something weird going on on a nearby island. Maybe it has something to do with the demons? We could investigate the phenomena on the island while the Pegasi continue their own investigation at sea." Ships, magical sea beasts, and now a reason to investigate an unexplainable island mystery? It was perfect. Massimo only needed to bait Francesco to agree with the change of plans. "If there is nothing going on on the island, we can take another ship and return to investigate the matter at sea. And if there is nothing going at sea, the ladies can perhaps come to the island to investigate the matter with us there," Massimo quickly added. The storm was getting worse by the minute and Massimo had to come up with a plan before Francesco changed his mind. Since the ship was already set on a course, Massimo decided to quickly call their mounts before Francesco had a chance to reply at all. "Bonnie! Clyde!" The lower deck started to tremble as two creatures started to gallop from the large animal quarters beneath the ship to the deck. Since no horses were being transported this time, there was more than enough space for the two of them. The beasts had the body, hind legs, and tail of a horse; but the front legs, wings, and head of a giant eagle, with a cruel, steel-colored beak and large, brilliant orange eyes. Clyde sank its talons in the ship's planks and started to stretch out while yawning. Bonnie, on the other hand, started to gallop cheerfully around Massimo and was actually excited to do something again. "Boys, you won't be able to navigate through the storm on Bonnie and Clyde," Cpt. Scott cautioned as he appeared from behind the griffons. He started to pet both beasts while feeding them the remains of a recently slaughtered cow that was about to be prepared for tonight's stew. "Such a storm, you will both die at sea." Cpt. Scott then scratched the back of his head and questioned his sanity due to what he was about to do next. "I need this back, you hear me?" "Oh, is that -?" Francesco said with astonishment as he looked at the relic in Cpt. Scott's hands. "Yeah, yeah. It's that relic. Calypso's Promise. I'm good enough to navigate through this storm without it," Cpt. Scott boasted while crossing his arms. "Interesting, I thought it was a myth," Francesco replied. "Safe passage, regardless of the weather conditions, right?" Massimo said as he leaned over Cpt. Scott's shoulder and inspected the relic in Scott's hand. His breathing started to intensify as he began to daydream about the continuation of his buccaneer adventure. "Right," Cpt. Scott replied without wondering at first why a warm breeze was blowing directly into his left ear. The captain then slowly turned his face around to the left and saw Massimo's face hovering so closely over his shoulder that he nearly kissed the fool on the cheek by accident. Massimo had the audacity to then turn his face towards Cpt. Scott and look him straight in the eyes with a puzzled expression on his face. "Hey." Cpt. Scott whispered as he gently placed the palm of his right hand on Massimo's face. Their faces were only separated from each other by a few centimeters. "What the hell are you doing so close to me, fool?!" Cpt. Scott roared while throwing Massimo over his shoulder onto the upper deck. The throw was executed so well that Massimo flew several meters through the air and crashed on top of some crates. "On my honor as a Kingsguard, I'll return the relic to you even if it's the last thing that I do," Massimo yelled with great excitement as he raised his hand from between the rubble to give a thumbs up. Scott's loud laughter could be heard all across the ship. It was hard for the crew to determine whether it was Cpt. Scott's laughter or the storm that was shaking the whole ship at that moment. "Cpt. Scott, we thank you for allowing us to travel with you," Francesco said while accepting Calypso's Promise. "And thank you kindly for allowing Bonnie and Clyde to travel with us as well!" Massimo added while still chilling among the rubble on his back. Bonnie, however, grabbed Massimo's shoulder with its beak and threw him on her back because Francesco had already mounted Clyde. "Till next time." Francesco raised his hand to signal his farewell as Clyde began to flap his wings and ascend into the storm. Massimo quickly followed Francesco on Bonnie to remain within the range of Calypso's Promise while screaming out his farewells at the top of his lungs. "See you soon, Cpt. Scott, miss Sofia, miss Alisa, crew, old man, and stay brave kid!" Massimo, unfortunately, could not be heard due to the storm. They only saw the Kingsguard moving his mouth while waving and doing finger guns. "I still can't believe that guy is a Kingsguard...," Cpt. Scott sighed as he stared at Massimo trying to keep up with Francesco through the storm. /exit Francesco Bartolomeo and Massimo Serrarosa |