Chapter 1: Chapter 1: The Wisteria Pirates
A salty breeze tingled her skin, and she fluttered her eyes whilst breathing in a whiff of the sharp, fresh air.
"You shouldn't fall asleep like that," a voice whispered into her ears, humming along with it the hint of a teasing tone. "The salty wind will harm your skin."
"Aure…lia…?"
Feeling something soft on her cheek, the girl lifted her head to lock onto a set of purple, clear and crystal eyes.
Aurelia.
No middle name. No last name. Aurelia is Aurelia, and Aurelia was…
"Is my shoulder that comfortable?" she smiled, a light laughter escaping her thin, pink lips.
"Ah…" Aspen voiced, still taking in her surroundings. "You're… you're so…"
"So… pretty? Comfortable? Lovely?" Aurelia teased, tapping Aspen on the noise.
A faint blush revealed itself upon Aspen's cheeks, and she coughed and pushed herself up and away from the flirtatious female.
"So quick," Aspen muttered, hovering her hand over her nose. Quick to flirt, and quick to tease. Aspen could rebuttal, but sometimes, Aurelia was so quick that Aspen would constantly be caught off guard.
Tilting her head in slight puzzlement, Aurelia's wavy, brunette hair spilled onto her lap, and it looked so fluffy that Aspen can't help but want to jump onto her thighs and forget about everything.
Unable to fully resist her urges, Aspen reached out and gently caressed a few strands of that fluffy hair, and then it was Aurelia's turn to reveal her flushed features.
"Psst, the Captain and Master are flirting again," a crew-mate whispered a bit further away.
"I ship them… so much…" sighed another.
"You ship them? They're practically married," some other opined.
"In broad daylight? Don't tell Ruri," snickered one more.
Aspen coughed and regained her composure. Having just woken up, she was still dazed and unable to fully process everything. Usually, Aspen wouldn't mind their chatters, but having been bombarded with Aurelia's teasing first thing after wafting through her dreams, Aspen lost grip of her usual demeanor.
This was probably what Aurelia was aiming for… Aspen pondered to herself as she glanced at the bountiful female beside her.
Aurelia gave an innocent smile.
In difference to the previous rumors, the two were not married, however, it is true that they are dating.
Aurelia and Aspen had known each other since they were much younger, and they were already together before many of the crew were onboard.
Aspen twiddled with the white streak of hair on her head, reminiscing about the tales of before her becoming a pirate captain.
"Oi~ Captain!" hollered Seth, the boy who spoke of the marriage between his two superiors, "Ruri coming in at one o'clock!"
The four gossiping crew-mates laughed.
"Captain! Captain! Don't be fooled! He's just trying to scare you!" answered the Master Gunner, sitting on a stool beside the joking boy.
Aspen smiled at their banter, happy that her crew was as friendly as ever.
Then, turning to Aurelia, "How long was I asleep?" she asked.
"Hmm..." Aurelia hummed, "About twenty minutes?"
"Did Edwin report?"
"Not yet."
"After he gets here, we should set sail soon." A smile crept onto her face. "I feel like we're getting close."
Aspen picked up her hat and placed it upon her bed of dark, inky black hair. The stray white lock puffed out from her helm, a prominent feature of their leader.
Aspen the Free-spirited, they called her. Her signature silvery patch of hair—a unique and distinct characteristic—it screams for her wishes and dreams.
"Captain Aspen!" a shrill voice called from below.
"Uh-oh! Here comes our prodigy troublemaker!" Seth sarcastically hooted.
That earned him a whack from one of the people sitting beside him.
"Hah! Ruri has the worst timing," the Master Gunner cackled, hitting her leg in-between bursts of laughter.
Aspen rose an eyebrow and made way to the edge of the small, lackluster ship. There, on the dock, she saw Ruri, a girl still in her teens but quickly approaching young adulthood.
Ruri donned wavy blonde hair, which had barely reached her shoulders. Despite her childish look and behavior, Ruri is deemed one of the most talented amongst those her age.
Her talent? Magic.
But not just any magic, Ruri mastered both those of fire and light.
People rarely possessed a dual set of magic, if any magic at all. Out of all of the crew, only four members had any magical capacity. Aurelia was one of them, her specialty being dark magic; however, Ruri was the only one with two specialities.
Ruri mumbled a few silent phrases, and a magic circle appeared beneath her foot. With each hop, a new circle quickly emerged, and the one below it just as quickly faded.
Landing onto an area besides Aspen, Ruri's pale, golden eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"Your magic amazes me as always," Aspen praised the expectant girl. Habitually, the captain lapped her arm around her girlfriend's waist, and she leaned into her embrace.
Aspen, despite being five years older than Aurelia, was half a head shorter than her.
Ruri felt conflicted. She was happy that the love of her life had praised her, but she still felt sour that Aspen's affection was clearly aimed towards Aurelia, the Quartermaster and Sailing Master.
"Cap-"
"Captain! We're done loading the supplies!" Edwin, the Boatswain, came running onto the scene.
"Excellent!" Aspen beamed, "Tell everyone that we're going to sail in fifteen minutes!" Then, turning to Aurelia, Aspen softened her tone. "Find Luke and plan our course. I'll meet you there after I speak to everyone else." Aspen kissed Aurelia on the cheek and released her grasp.
Seeing both Edwin and Aurelia depart, and facing Ruri once more, the captain of the Wisteria pirates rested one hand onto her hips.
"Got any stories to share with me this time, Ruri?"
Ruri almost gave way to a pout. She knew. She knew that Aspen only saw her as a younger sister, even a daughter, but she couldn't accept it.
"You'll see that you will be happier with me," the young girl grumbled, promising to both her captain and herself.
Aspen chortled with glee. As captain, she was aware of her crew-mate's feelings, but she just couldn't reciprocate them.
"Maybe when you're older," she joked, patting the girl on the head before making way to the four gossiping idiots.
The young girl's heart almost sank upon that light-hearted and falsely-made promise, but she shook her head, renewing her determination.
I want you to be happy, Captain, she said to herself, but I want to be a part of your happiness. And… and I want to be happy, too.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Hax_Thirteen
Hax_Thirteen Apologies if I introduced too many characters at once! The crew has around a dozen members. I definitely won’t be able to include all of them, but I hope you enjoyed getting to know some of the Wisteria pirates~
Also, if there are any mistakes, whether it is grammar or mistaken knowledge, please let me know!
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