FIZZETOOTH'S LAST MEAL
Akio walked quietly up the steps, the letter clutched tightly in his hand, his fingers smudged with charcoal. His eyes scanned the deck until they found his father—Varnok—standing at the ship's edge, one arm stretched outward.
With a quiet flutter, the royal carrier pigeon leapt from Varnok's gauntlet and soared into the clouds, vanishing into the grey horizon.
Akio stopped in his tracks.
His face fell.
His shoulders drooped as he stared at the letter in his hand. That was supposed to be for his mother, Secret, Special, Unseen, And now… she might never get it. Not without questions. Not without explanations he didn't want to give.
Varnok turned, noticing the change in his son's posture.
"You alright, son?" he asked, brow low with concern.
Akio jumped slightly, scrambling to stand straighter.
"Umm… y-yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," he said, voice just a bit too quick, hids the letter behind him.
Varnok narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"What's behind your back?"
"Nothing!" Akio chirped, the lie clinging to his lips like honey. He swung his other hand around and held out a wrapped bundle of food. "Here! I brought you something to eat."
Varnok eyed him for another moment before accepting the bundle with a slow, deliberate nod.
"Thanks, son."
"Okay, I'll just—uh—I'll go now!" Akio spun around and bolted off, practically skipping down the steps like a thief escaping justice.
Varnok chuckled as he unwrapped the food. Inside: bread, dried fish, and a small folded leaf for salt. The boy had even tucked it into a cloth napkin like a real kitchen hand. Varnok bowed his head slightly, murmured a quiet prayer, and began to eat.
From the shadows near the cabin door, Akio peeked out, watching his father chew. A small smile tugged at his face. He was proud. But before he could soak in the moment, he noticed someone else heading his father's way.
"Oh no."
Fizzetooth and Gargo Flinch-Eye strolled across the deck, half-drunk on laughter before they even opened their mouths.
"Oy, Varnok!" Fizzetooth called, dragging his uneven boots across the wood. "Still alive, are ya?"
"Better than you, I hope," Varnok said, without looking up.
Gargo chuckled. "Aye, you don't look too dead either."
They gathered around him, chatting about gods-know-what—probably curses, rats, and past hangovers. Then Fizzetooth's eyes caught the food in Varnok's lap. Slowly, sneakily, like a child testing fate, he reached down and snatched a small slice of bread.
One bite, No reaction, he just kept chewing.
Then laughing like the conversation was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.
He reached down again.
Two bites.
More laughter.
Now he was bold, leaning casually on the railing, nodding at Gargo's ramblings.
By the third time he helped himself, Akio was peeking through his fingers in horror. "Don't do it..."
Then came the fourth.
Fizzetooth reached down, grinning wide, but this time—Varnok didn't give him bread.
No.
Varnok gave him steel.
An iron bolt from the forge, Cold, Heavy.
Fizzetooth didn't look. He was too busy being hilarious. He bit into it like it was a sweet roll.
CRACK.
His entire body froze, the look of his face changed.
A sound like the shattering of gods echoed in his skull.
He trembled. Once. Twice.
Then slowly—like a man possessed—he stood up.
Not a word.
Not a grunt.
Not even a curse.
He just turned and walked off—trembling with every step like he'd kissed the Grim Reaper on the mouth.
"Fizz?" Gargo called, confused. "What's wrong with you? Fizz?"
He followed after his friend, baffled.
Fizzetooth kept walking.
Still shaking.
Back near the door, Akio slapped a hand over his mouth to stifle his giggle.
Later that morning, Akio stepped out from the cabin and spotted Billy Bloat and Slimy Nick standing by the edge of the ship, each of them with fishing hooks hanging from their hands.
"What are you guys doing?" he asked, jogging over.
Billy puffed out his chest. "We're going fishin', mate!"
Akio's eyes lit up. "Fishing!? Can I come?!"
Both men blinked at him.
"Nah, mate," Nick said, scratching behind his ear. "Your dad's not gonna like that."
"My dad?" Akio laughed. "Sure he will. It's just fishing—it's not like I'm chasing sea dragons!"
Billy and Nick exchanged a worried look.
"I don't know," Billy muttered.
Akio's eyes widened. He tilted his head, gave the softest pout, the gentlest stare—the baby eyes.
Billy groaned. "Aw, don't do the look."
"Yeah," Nick sighed. "He's doing the look."
Moments later, they were all in a small boat drifting beside the ship, lines cast out, sun glinting off the waves. Akio leaned over the edge, eyes sparkling.
"I'm gonna catch the biggest one," he whispered.
Billy rolled his eyes. "Not before I do, you ain't."
And somewhere behind them, Varnok sat cross-legged on the deck, chewing on the final bite of fish, shaking his head with a small, knowing smile.