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“If you don’t mind me asking…” Lucius’ strained voice came from the storeroom as he struggled under the weight of a wheel of cheese that Stede had said would be worth every penny (which, he assured Ed, was a lot of pennies), “why didn’t we top up on supplies before, instead of only looking for oranges?”
Stede, Lucius and a few other members of the crew had just returned from a shopping trip, having been forced to run the last part of the way to avoid the downpour of rain that had come out of nowhere, keeping the food more-or-less dry but putting some of the crew in a foul mood.
“Well, we weren’t low on supplies then,” said Stede, who had managed to retain his cheerful disposition. “We used most of them up during Carl’s birthday party. I still don’t quite see how Buttons knew it was his birthday, but he was insistent.”
“To be fair, mate, you were the one who insisted Roach make a four-tier cake,” said Ed.
“Just be grateful it wasn’t an orange one this time,” Lucius muttered.
“You use up all the oranges on one cake once, and…” Stede trailed off, looking off into the distance. “Can you hear that?”
“Hear what?” several members of the crew said in unison.
He hushed them all. “Listen.”
Silence fell, and Ed strained his ears to hear above the commotion of rain. Then he heard it. A faint but unmistakable yowling
“Sounds like a cat,” he said.
“Yes, and not a happy one.” Stede’s tone was thoughtful. He furrowed his brow before turning resolutely and beginning to make his way to the deck. “I’m going to see if it’s okay.”
As if possessed, Frenchie jumped up and made after him. “Captain, whatever you do, do not go anywhere near that cat.”
“But it could be hurt!” Stede insisted. “Even if not, it’s out there, all alone, in the rain.”
Frenchie turned back to the crew, sighing sadly. “It’s too late, he’s already under the cat’s spell.”
As Frenchie trudged away in defeat, Ed approached Stede, talking to him quietly as the others returned to talking between themselves. “Mate, you don’t have to go out there. It’s probably just a stray cat. It’ll be fine.” As if hearing him, the cat gave a particularly impassioned cry, making Ed wince. Like nails on a chalkboard, he thought.
Stede’s expression was gentle yet determined, his eyebrows drawn. “Ed, I know I don’t have to do this, and I’m not really that keen to go back out into the rain, but if I was that cat, I’d hope that someone would come and help me, too. Bundle me up, take me somewhere dry. Wouldn’t you?”
“I guess,” Ed mumbled. Once again, Stede was reminding him how different he was than what he was used to. Jack, Izzy, pretty much anyone he’d used to know would have ignored the cat without a second thought. But this was Stede. If there was even the slightest chance the cat was in danger, he was going to do something, and Ed supposed it didn’t make much sense to try and stop him.
“Then it’s settled. Let’s go.”
“Wait, ‘let’s’? As in both of us?”
Stede’s face fell. “I mean, well… I assumed you might… come with me?
And with Stede looking at him like that, eyes hopeful, seeming to wonder whether he should risk a smile, his still wet hair plastered to his face somewhat endearing, Ed found himself unable to say no.
After a minute or so of following the sound of the caterwauling and getting absolutely drenched, they were led to a docked rowboat. Stede peered in, and when he turned to look at Ed, his expression was one of utter adoration. In the rowboat was a black cat with bright yellow eyes and white paws, its small stature suggesting it was hardly older than a kitten. Its fur was soaking wet and matted, its tail was puffy, and upon seeing Ed and Stede, it arched its back and hissed loudly. Not one to be challenged, Ed glared back.
“Hey, don’t worry,” Stede said gently, crouching down. “We’re here to help you.” To be honest, Ed was growing less fond of this plan by the second, but he managed to keep that to himself.
Still, as the cat shrank back from Stede’s offered hand, he couldn’t help but point out, “Doesn’t seem to like us very much.”
“Hold on,” said Stede. He stood back up, cupped his hands around his mouth, and then he began shouting out to the empty port even louder than the cat had yowled, “Has anyone lost a cat? Black cat, white paws!”
Miraculously, the cat in question did not make a break for it at this point, though it did look thoroughly disturbed by Stede’s apparent loss of sanity.
“Hey, mate, what are you doing?” Ed hissed.
Stede looked at him incredulously. “Calling for the cat’s owner, of course.”
“Mate, by the looks of it, it hasn’t had an owner in a long time.” He gestured to the cat, to its knotted and patchy fur, to the piece missing from one of its ears. As if understanding and not appreciating having its private life talked about, the cat hissed again.
“Oh.” Stede frowned, then caught Ed looking and attempted a smile. “I’m sure you’re right. I just hoped that maybe it had somewhere to go home to.”
Ed felt the abrupt urge to comfort him, to assure him once again that the cat would be okay, though this time not just to stop him from going on, well, a wild cat chase. But before he could say anything, Stede brightened like the sun bursting through the clouds, “I know! I’m going to get some food.”
Ed looked up at the dark clouds filling the sky. “Now’s not really the best time for a picnic.”
“Not for us, for the cat!” Before Ed could say anything, Stede was already on his way back to the ship. “Stay here, make sure it doesn’t go anywhere.”
And so, Ed was left alone in the rain with a cat that did not seem to like him at all and he honestly wasn’t too fond of either.
“Right, so that’s happened,” he said, and, oh God, he was talking to a cat. He looked up into the clouds again, as if expecting God to actually intervene in some way, then at the cat, which hissed once more (no surprise there) but made no attempt at running away, which he supposed was something.
Ed watched the cat stare at him, and the longer he watched it, the more he realised that the cat didn’t seem particularly wild or menacing. It had clearly been in the wars, but despite all its howling and hissing, more than but more than anything it just seemed annoyed. And wet. Which was probably a large part in why it was annoyed, really.
“Uh, Stede’ll be back soon,” he said, just on the off chance that the cat had understood him before, or maybe just to have something to offload his thoughts to. Probably that.
The cat blinked, its eyes glowing in the dark like lanterns. At least it didn’t hiss this time, he thought.
A few seconds of silence passed. Ed shivered, feeling the effects of the rain, and crossed his arms across his chest. The cat gave a meow and nimbly jumped out of the boat.
“Hey, you’ve got to stay here,” Ed told it, but instead of running away, the cat padded over to him and pressed up against his leg. “Oh,” he said. “You’re cold too?” The cat meowed in confirmation and wrapped its body around his leg, using him as cover. Ed watched it pensively. Maybe it didn’t hate him so much after all.
“Looks like someone made a friend.” Ed’s eyes darted in surprise. Stede had returned from the ship, now carrying a plate, upon which was a fish.
Almost immediately as Stede finished his sentence, the cat leapt away from Ed as if it had been burned, back into the rowboat, perhaps thinking Stede’s words were aimed at it.
“I… I wouldn’t say that,” Ed muttered, face growing warm despite the chill of the rain.
He watched as Stede laid the plate down, whispering words of encouragement as the cat cautiously approached it. Stede’s gaze was fixed on the cat, but Ed only had eyes only for Stede, finding himself drawn back to when Stede had first invited him to have breakfast together; how he’d met Ed’s hesitation with assertions that he’d be no bother, that he had way too much jam for one person, anyway. Ed couldn’t remember the last time before that he’d been taken care of like that.
Ed had practically forgotten all about the cat until Stede’s face broke into a grin and he whispered excitedly, “Listen!”
Ed did so, and at first he could hardly believe his ears, but there was no denying it. The cat, that minutes ago looked as if it were plotting Ed’s slow and painful murder, was purring. Stede led out a laugh, a sound of pure joy, and Ed couldn’t hold back his own smile, though the cause of this was more due to Stede’s reaction than the purring itself.
Once the cat was finished eating and looking extremely pleased with itself, Stede once more attempted to reach a hand out to it. This time, however, instead of pulling back, the cat came forth, purrs increasing in volume as it brushed its head against his hand.
“There,” Stede said, scratching the cat’s ears. “We’re getting along, aren’t we?” In response, the cat gave a cheerful ‘mrrp’ noise.
Thunder clapped, and the cat cowered closer to Stede, who frowned. “It is raining rather heavily, isn’t it?”
Ed already knew where this was going.
“Maybe we could just bring the cat back to the ship until the weather’s cleared up; give it a dry, see if it wants any more food…” He trailed off, hope gleaming in his eyes.
Ed supposed the cat wasn’t that bad, and it seemed to like Stede, and at least not hate him… Still…
“You know,” he said, he hoped offhandedly, “back on my ship, I didn’t allow pets. I was pretty strict about that.” He felt a pang of regret as an image of Fang’s dog flashed in his mind.
Stede’s face fell. “I wasn’t suggesting we kept it,” he bluffed, “just that we looked after it a while and then sent it on its way.” As he spoke, the cat had made its way into his arms, the affection with which he stroked it, paired with the love in his eyes as he gazed at it making every word infinitely less convincing.
Oh, to hell with it.
“Alright.”
“The rain wouldn’t have had to have completely stopped; we can let it go as soon as it’s just drizzling - What did you say?”
“Alright, we can bring it back to the ship.”
Ed wasn’t sure he had ever seen Stede this happy. “Oh, that’s wonderful! That’s…”
As if by magic, the rain abruptly stopped, the clouds clearing and revealing bright blue skies, a rainbow visible on the horizon. Stede’s mouth hung agape, looking almost horrified.
“Maybe we could just let the crew say hello-”
“We can keep the cat, if you want,” Ed cut him off, getting the words out before he could second guess himself.
“Really? But… I thought you said you didn’t allow pets on the ship?”
Ed shrugged. “Yeah, but that was on my ship. Last thing I heard, we’re co-captains, so I think you should get the final say on this.”
“Oh.” Stede nodded, trying to contain himself, but Ed could tell he was internally beaming. “In that case, I say we keep the cat.”
Ed looked at the cat to see how it would react to this, but at some point Stede’s stroking must have lulled it to sleep. Still, he could have sworn that the contented smile it was wearing grew slightly wider, just for a second. Unable to help it, Ed gave it a quick single stroke, murmuring, “Welcome to the crew,” no longer feeling strange about speaking to a cat. Well, not as much as before.
As they began the walk back to the ship, moving slowly so as not to disturb the cat, Ed thought of something. “If this is going to be… the ship’s cat, I guess, it really should have a name, shouldn’t it?”
Stede smiled, looking as if he’d already thought of that. “I thought perhaps you should have the honour of naming the cat, as co-captain.”
It should have been such a small thing, especially since Ed still had mixed feelings about whether he even liked the cat, but the gesture had Ed lost for words. It took him a moment before he could respond, but as he took one more look at the cat, it was painfully clear to him what to say.
“Lucky,” he decided. “That should be its name.”
Stede’s eyes crinkled. “That’s perfect.”
And it really is. After all, you couldn’t really get luckier than being loved by Stede Bonnet.