Joy Boy lay on the deck, barely able to move. He raised a trembling hand.
"Hungry... so hungry..."
Rhett wanted to throw his shoe at him.
"Haven't... eaten enough... for a month..."
Rhett: "???"
His mist paused.
What?
Hungry?
A month?
He had been ready for a fight, and this was it?
The man who had been bouncing around, slapping cannonballs, and breaking his mast with the wind from his arm... was starving?
Rhett's expression froze.
He felt like his intelligence had been insulted.
So he wasn't attacked. He just fainted from hunger.
Rhett looked at Joy Boy. His eye twitched.
"Fine."
He ignored the hungry idiot. He wasn't a snack.
He saw the pursuers. His mist exploded.
Behind him, two giant wings formed. They were made of flowing mist.
"Hold on, kid."
He took off, pulling the rubber ship with him. They flew away.
They landed safely.
Rhett dropped some food.
"Eat."
Joy Boy cried out in thanks and ate.
After finishing, he looked at Rhett with pleading eyes.
Rhett threw him more.
He watched the pile disappear. "Hey, rubber head."
"What?"
"You've been sailing a while. No crew?"
Joy Boy was confused. "Crew? What's that? Can you eat it?"
Rhett sighed. "A crew is... you invite people to sail with you. They become your partners."
Joy Boy's eyes lit up. "I get it! You're strong! Join my crew!"
"No."
Joy Boy deflated.
"Why? It would be fun."
"I already have my own crew. The Blood Pirates. I'm Captain Rhett. This is my vice captain."
He paused, realizing he didn't know her name.
Joy Boy's eyes sparkled. "So cool! I want a name like that!"
"Names are earned by the sea. They come from your actions."
Rhett looked at the drooling giant.