Chapter Text
January 1752.
Shay gripped the wheel as freezing seawater mixed with rain beat against his face. The deck of the Morrigan tilted dangerously beneath his feet. Without hesitation, he turned the bow another degree toward the edge of the storm.
"Are you trying to kill us?!" Chevalier shouted. Even at a time like this, his voice held the same arrogance that set Shay's teeth on edge.
"I'm trying to keep us alive!" Shay roared back. He could feel the Morrigan transmitting the shudder of each wave's impact through him.
They'd run into this storm three days ago. What was supposed to be a routine return trip had turned into a battle with the ocean.
A bolt of lightning tore across the sky, momentarily turning the world white. In that moment, Shay saw it-A bird. A bird struggling in the storm. One of its wings was bent at an unnatural angle, like a torn flag being dragged toward the sea by the wind.
Shay blinked, thinking he was hallucinating. What kind of bird would be out in weather like this? It should have-
Another lightning flash. The bird was closer now, about to crash into the waves.
"Damn it!" Shay cursed.
"What?!" Liam didn't catch what Shay said.
"Liam, help me take the wheel!" Shay shouted loudly.
The moment Liam took the wheel, Shay rushed to the gunwale, untied the last coil of the securing rope, and leaned his body out over the railing. The icy seawater instantly soaked through his clothes. Reaching into the darkness, his hand brushed against wet feathers and a hot, trembling body.
He grabbed the bird.
As he pulled the bird onto the deck, a wave nearly knocked him over. He took a few steps back, cradling the soaked, nearly unconscious creature against his chest.
Whether by luck or something else, the storm gradually subsided.
"Have you lost your mind?" Chevalier called out to Shay, acting as if he were crazy. "What is that? A seagull?"
Shay ignored him. He knelt on the deck and carefully opened his arms.
It was a hawk. Its brown feathers were plastered tightly against its thin body, having turned nearly black from being soaked. Its chest rose and fell faintly. But it was alive.
When Shay looked down at it, its eyes opened. A pair of golden eyes focused on him as if recognizing him. Then, the hawk closed its eyes and lost consciousness completely.
"Shay, what did you do?" Liam's voice came from beside him. "You almost got swept away by the storm just now."
Shay turned his head toward Liam. "It's a hawk. I grabbed it from the storm. It needs-" He stopped. He saw a figure standing beside Liam. The figure was the outline of a man. It was translucent, as if woven from light. Still, Shay could feel its gaze fixed on his face.
Suddenly, the deck lurched violently, and the figure disappeared.
"Shay," Liam asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Shay replied, his voice sounding hoarser than he expected. "I was just thinking how lucky this hawk was to have encountered me."
"You're going to treat a bird?" Liam's tone held no mockery, just confusion and concern.
"It's alive, Liam." Shay said, looking down and covering the hawk's trembling body with his hand to try to transfer some warmth. "It fought through the storm to reach the Morrigan alive. It deserves to live."
*
The storm died down just before dawn the next day.
Shay had barely slept at all. He carefully cleaned the hawk's wound with dry cloths and a little rum. Then, moving more gently than when he bandaged himself, he splinted the hawk's broken wing with two small pieces of wood and wrapped it with strips of cloth.
The hawk woke up once during the process. Its golden eyes looked at him, revealing confusion. Then, it passed out again.
At dawn, Shay leaned against the bulkhead and fell asleep. He dreamed that he was standing in Lisbon. In the dream, he knew it was Lisbon. The streets were crowded, the sun was warm, and people walked by laughing. Suddenly, the ground began to shake. Buildings collapsed. Screams drowned out everything.
Shay woke with a start, drenched in cold sweat.
Liam stood before him, his face looking worried in the dim light. "Shay, are you okay? You were having a nightmare."
"I'm fine." Shay wiped his face and looked to his side.
The hawk was awake and watching him quietly. Its eyes seemed lighter in the daylight, closer to amber than pure gold. It still looked weak, but its breathing was much steadier.
"It's beautiful," Liam said, looking at the hawk with a hint of wonder in his voice. "I didn't know you were the type to rescue birds."
"Neither did I," Shay admitted.
"Are you planning to keep it?" Liam asked.
"No." Shay replied. "Once its wing heals, it'll fly off on its own."
As Shay gripped the wheel again, he couldn't help but recall the figure he had seen the day before.
Now, there was nothing. Only the dancing morning light remained.
Shay shook his head, pushing the thought down into the depths of his mind. It would take another month or two to return to Davenport Homestead. He'd be better off figuring out how to care for the hawk in the meantime.