Episode 26.5 “Crewmates”

Danger lingered in the air and the race back to falcon’s nest was on. Conveniently the winds in the area were strong and full of magick so fighting against the storm Rhael was making…left Dorion worried with each second that past. He knew he needed to think fast and call upon some of the others who weren’t at Falcon’s nest.

"Anthi, are you there...please respond and fast," Dorion said nervously.

Anthi, who was elsewhere snapped out of her nap and smacked her lips a bit; she was so happy to finally get some time away from the kids she couldn't pass up the chance for a nap. She quickly reached out for her linkpearl on the table and knocked it to the floor, accidentally activating it.

"Gods dammit! Shit! Fu-hey! Don't you roll away from me! I should shoot whoever decided to make these things round,” Anthi complained into the linkpearl.

After some more cursing, several crashes, and even a couple howls of pain, Anthi finally responded.

"Hi! Yes! I'm here,” Anthi responded in a bubbly tone.

"A-anthi..." Dorion sounded out of breath and scared, "I know you’re good with time and stuff like that but tell me today is not the day I murder this world. We're in Corethas and we relocated to Falcon's nest...it's under attack by Rhael...please tell...me...nothing happens to the kids...they are all there."

Anthi blinked a bit and looks around.

"Kids? ...OH SHIT,” Anthi exclaimed, "ARE YOU MOTHER FUCKING KIDDING ME?! SCARLET! GET DOWN HERE AND BRING YOUR COUSINS WITH YOU!!!"

After several more rounds of cursing and yelling Anthi used her magick and found herself right where the kids were. Anthi finally sighed as she held all three kids.

"The kids are safe. I've got all three of them with me now. I'm guessing Rufus and... Wait... Did you say under attack,” Anthi asked confused.

"You got there....already,” Dorion gasped.

As Anthi was with the kids, the door was shut by a wooden plank and the Lord Commander was inside looking at Anthi confused. For a moment it took him a while to remember who she was but, he remembered her face from the files about The Legacy. A sigh of relief came over him as he kneeled beside her to help her with the kids.

"The parents are outside...they are fighting Rhael as we speak...I decided to stay with them while the others tried to handle what was happening out there...you are Lady Oelum right,” Aymeric asked.


For a moment, Anthi used her aether to instantly time freeze for everything and everyone to analyze everything that was going on.

"...Okay. So... The safehouse is being attacked. They left the kids with...whoever this is. And the others are off playing in the snow... Fuck me,” Anthi grumbled scratching her head.

Isabella remained sleeping in Aymeric’s arms where as in Anthi's Scarlet tried to tug on the collar of her shirt and Tristan hung onto to her bottom leg. The little ones spoke a few words here and there but it was mostly baby babble...or saying Mama and Papa. Scarlet held her hand with her five little fingers extending to Anthi as if she was trying to say something. Anthi looked towards the kids and sighed.

"Why am I not surprised you three didn't get frozen? Considering all the things you three do... And don't even get me started on HER kids,” Anthi grumbled.

Anthi noticed Scarlet's hand and flicked her ears a few times. Thinking Scarlet was just wanting something to hold, Anthi gave the small child some of her fingers to grip onto. Scarlet closed her eyes and Anthi could feel a small amount of aether flowing...she was seeing these from Scarlet's perspective and some of the things her parents saw in Broken glass and every moment up until this...and in the distance of one of the visions she could see a male viera green and unusual looking to her but yet so familiar. Anthi's eyes flutter as she is pushed through the entire timeline so far. Luckily for her, it happened very quickly. Unluckily for her, it doesn't feel nice. Still, she sets the children on the nearby bed and rubbed her eyes.

"Scarlet...remind me to teach you not to do that without permission... But... Are you sure that's everyone that you saw? Right down to the same details,” Anthi said to Scarlet.

With tears in her little eyes Scarlet nodded and pointed to the door...she knew her parents were out there. Anthi knew that what Scarlet was showing was nothing that wasn't true. Anthi sighed again as she looks towards the door.

"...I'm probably gonna get killed for this, but... If anyone other than me, your parents, or one of the other Legacy members shows up, go back to your playpen."

With that in mind she picked up her rifle and stared at it for a few seconds.

"I hope that she got the memories wrong, Sage,” Anthi said sadly.


In Aleport, a Roegadyn Captain sat at his table looking over some information on his next voyage when he was approached by a young sailor. He normally didn’t allow women to join his crew as he felt it was a distraction for his men but, she had a letter of recommendation from a fellow Sailor and friend whose crew she use to be a part of.

“My friend Rex speaks highly of you...how can I be sure you are a good sailor...let alone bandit,” the Captain chuckled.

"Well that all depends on how much ye trust yer frien's, Cap'n. Worse comes ta worse, ye can jus' toss me overboard,” Anthi smirked.


"I don't normally keep women on the vessel...the boys...are well boys...if you can handle yourself then you should be fine...for now I will keep you with the gunner...the boy doesn't speak much but he's too old to be a powder monkey so...maybe you can make him useful...Follow me to the docks and we'll get on our way,” the Captain smiled.

As the two walked along the docks the man continued to explain why he normally stood his grounds on women joining the crew but in any case Anthi just grinned. Any boy that wants her would have to catch her and she grew up running and climbing through trees to avoid people in the past from killing her…so she knew a ton of survival techniques. As much as she thought that, she didn't say all that; instead she salutes the man.

"Aye aye, Cap'n,” Anthi smirked.

The captain lead her up to the to the main deck and pointed to his ship, "A beauty isn't she? This is my ship the Sirensong...named after well..you know."

"Aye aye. She...uh.... Has quite the story ta tell,” Anthi grinned.

"That she does...well head inside I’ll introduce you to the crew after my meeting with my first mate, the Captain saluted once again before leaving Anthi to the boat.

Anthi reluctantly walked onto the ship and takes in a deep breath of that fresh...mold. She quickly began to cough to clear her lungs before walking towards the cannons. Who knows? Maybe her partner will be...clean.

"The things I do to observe these people,” she sighed.

Near one of the stairwells a young man happened to be resting...he seemed tired and quiet compared to some of the rowdy men she heard on the top deck...he seemed to be a bit...different. Anthi began to walk below deck; several of the guys had tried to grab her, and now several of the crewmates were sporting nice fresh black eyes; while some had broken noses to go along with them. Once she made her way downstairs, she took in a breath and rolls her shoulders.

"Gods above those boys are rowdy... And we've not even left port yet,” she grumbled.
Still sound asleep the young viera began to slouch further down the wall...his arms were covered in bruises and what seemed to be cleaning items all around him...this was probably the guy the captain mentioned as being useless. Anthi's ears flick at the sound of soft snoring. She followed the direction and tilted her head when she saw someone sleeping; curiosity and cats have always gone well together, so she walked closer and crouched in front of him.

"So uh... You alive there, mate,” Anthi asked.

The man jumped from the touch of being awakened...his eyes a bit black from lack of sleep. He looked the woman up and down...she seemed pretty important the way she was dressed...The man got up quickly and bowed to the woman

"S...sorry...I was just getting some rest after cleaning the sleeping quarters and the stairwell...I will get right back to work,” the young man said nervously.

"Hmm... That's all well and good, but... Can ye tell me where I might find the gunner? The Cap'n says I'm ta be workin' wi' 'im,” Anthi asked.

"That would be me," the boy sighed, "Well the only gunner really...most of the crew is pretty established...."


"And yet they got ye cleanin' the... Ya know wha, nevermind. Ye got them canons set up? Barrels o' gunpowder set to a dry area? Jus' tell me what needs doin', an' I'll get ta work,” Anthi smiled to him.

"To be honest...I did it all,” the young man said nervously.

He began to point to all of the empty buckets and things around him. He explained to Anthi that while most of the guys drank and ate at the local pubs or messed around with locals. While they partied, they’d often come back and just harass the young man or beat him up; but he didn’t want to tell her all that.
"We should be setting sail in a little bit...I...I am sorry if I was supposed to have you help me,” he said nervously.
Anthi blinks for a bit before taking a step back in surprise, "All of it?! By yourself?! There should've been enough work to keep me and you busy fer most of the voyage! Then that's all there is to it. We're doin' some checks! Best to keep things in top shape! And now that I'm here, we might spot things you'd normally miss."

"I try to get stuff done…because most of the times..." the young man paused..."The crew locks me up in the cellar a majority of the voyage."

"If that be the case... Might be ye ain't useless like the Cap'n says. Alright, I watch yer back and ye watch mine! I'm the only woman on a ship full of men, so I'm sure ye can guess why I need some extra eyes,” Anthi smiled.

"I get it...it's not every day we have someone join our crew that is a woman...the men can be a bit...savage..." he whispered.


"Yer tellin' me... Done broke about five noses, and no tellin' how many black eyes I've handed out... But come on. We can walk'n'talk. Let ya finish yer nap once we finish checkin' thin's out. Savvy,” Anthi smiled

"Aye," he smiled again, "Where do you want to go first?"


"Check ammo, powder, and the canons. We can figure out from there,” Anthi said as she lifted some boxes around.
The young man realized as he worked with Anthi, he didn’t share his name, so he decided to speak up, "My...my name is Sage...what's yours?"

"Anthi! And Sage, huh? Simple. Short. Rolls off the tongue easily. I like it,” Anthi said from on top of a box.

"Thanks...it’s the name the villagers named me...I used to live in the shrouds...well by myself really...I would just hang around the trees and just do little things to get by...one day I decided to just...travel,” he explained.
Sage did a good job of keeping the powders and cannons clean...Anthi had never seen such a clean room before...let alone the rest of the storage. Still as clean as it was it didn’t stop her from being curious as she climbed around while they chatted.

"Villagers, huh? Any idea what village? My clan originally came from the Shroud, but right on the border of Ala Mhigo. Ya know? Now let me tell ya... Ain't no food weird like Ala Mhigan mixed with Gridanian. All them flavors of Ala Mhigo...and then you get the wood that Gridanians call food,” Anthi explained.

"I lived in the South Shroud...In Snakemolt," Sage Admitted, "I... uh...lived on my own so I was given food by random mages or caught fish to eat."

"So then ye managed ta avoid havin' the locals cook fer ya? Good deal,” Anthi admitted while looking at the cannons,
"Yeah .... for as long as I remember I've pretty much been on my own," Sage explained.

"Hmm... Not a bad thing, if ya ask me. Started off with my clan, then got pulled into the Garlean military,” Anthi explained.

"You have a strong background then,” Sage admitted.

As the two spoke to each other...she could see some of the men coming and going from floor to floor pointing to Sage and laughing. They never saw Sage happy let alone smile so the mocking began right away and Anthi could see that Sage felt defeated by their actions.

"She probably pitties the lad. Shame even she can see how useless he is,” one of the pirates laughed.

Anthi's ears flick as she listens to the men speaking. As quickly as they spoke, they passed by the two of them and judging by the work Sage had done, Anthi could see that he was still a bit tired.

"Everything looks good! I don't see why you can't finish up yer nap now. I'm sure we'll get busy once we're out at sea anyways,” Anthi said looking down at him.

"Thanks...I try to do the best I can...so that you know things are easy,” Sage said a bit tired.


As Sage began to drift off to sleep…he could sense that he and Anthi could potentially be friends. It had been a really long time since he had one and he really wasn’t sure how long Anthi would be with the crew. He hoped that she would stay with him and the others. Anthi could also sense that this guy definitely had a tough upbringing and someone she could have an impact on. Even as he rested, she found herself drifting off as well leaning against him.



After a few months of being crewmates...Sage began to become more confident and Anthi helped him learn to be a better gunner...for once the captain did not find him as useless...For the most part the captain still gave Sage shit but, as long as he was with Anthi the Captain wouldn't speak as he liked her. On this particular day, Sage found himself standing on the bowsprit. The ocean air moved through his hair, and he took a big breath just feeling one with the ocean. To think only a few months ago he was fearful of his crew and never saw the top of the ship until now.

"Oi, Sage! The main rope on cannon three's lookin' a bit worn out. Where'd we put the spares at,” Anthi yelled to him.


"Uh next to the cannon there...there should be a small chest,” Sage said still staring at the ocean.

"Nope. We used that one last week patchin' up the scaffolding,” Anthi yelled to him.

As she looked for it, Anthi could see the way Sage stared at the ocean…he was truly happy with this life now. As Anthi was close to him, she looked at that cut on Sage's face and sighed before reaching out to touch it.

"And while I'm happy that yer startin' ta defend yerself more, wish ya didn't have ta damage yer face fer me,” Anthi sighed.

"Look some people need to be put in their place. I am no longer a punching bag...it’s a flesh wound anyways,” Sage chuckled as he balanced to sit on the head deck ropes, “For once...I am happy to be sailing..."

"Speaking of sailing... Ya find yerself someone special in port the other night? I know the other boys can't shut up about how many women they got,” Anthi asked.

"There were a couple of maidens throwing themselves at me...hell a couple of the men too...but...nothing that really struck me you know...just had a couple of ales at the pub,” Sage chuckled, “How about you?"


"Eh, nothin' that caught me eye. Even if they did, not really one for quick things, ya know? Spent all of my free time workin' on our engine. Speaking of,” Anthi said pulling out a box, “Here ya go. That final piece fer yer gun."

"Holy crap dude...that's awesome...thanks," Sage winked at her, “You always know how to spoil me...tell me what does it do?"

"Well, that's up to you. It's yer gun. Though if I were you... I'd go more for ambush tactics. Find a time when your target has dropped their guard and POW,” Anthi smiled, “Ya spend so much time down below deck, could even set some traps fer enemies what get on board."

"You act as if I am always down there...I don't always anymore you know..." -Sage stuck his tongue out at her, “Ey Anthi...when this voyage is over...what are your plans?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure. I might go back home to Ala Mhigo for a bit. Though I've been hearing of some stuff going down on the mainland. Might check that out for a bit. Who knows? Both of us might get the chance to get our land legs back,” she explained.

"Ala Mhigo huh? never been...maybe we could...you know...check it out,” Sage said a bit nervous.

"Sage, are you flirting with me? I never knew you had the stones for that,” Anthi teased, “I could use the company. And you can only see so much roaming around by sea."

"N... no... well,” Sage rubbed his head almost in defeat, “I don't know...I guess you can say...I like having you around?"

Sage instantly buried his face into his legs for a moment and sighed how could he be so obvious? Anthi can't let this one pass her up; so, she stepped closer and placed a hand on his chest.

"My boy, you've got quite some courage trying to flirt with me,” Anthi smirked wrapping herself in him, "Come on, there's a storm brewing. And who knows? Do a good enough job helping me with the cannons, and I might let you touch me, and I not break a bone. Really become the envy of the crew."


"I wasn't really trying to…clearly...I am a coward,” Sage blushed hard as he tried to change the topic,  "Cannons! Yeah! Let's check on them sounds great!"

Anthi giggled as she stuck out her tongue, "Work on your confidence some more, and you'll have the pick of the litter. So to speak. Once you get that going, I'll do anything you want me to. Deal?"

"Anything you want...what,” Sage said nervously, “I uhhh..."

Sage was speechless and his heart was racing like mad; why did he fancy her so much?! Anthi nodded as she leaned forward and pulled the collar of her shirt down a bit.

"Yep. Anything,” she whispered, "Until then, we have to deal with those cannons, and you have to improve your confidence."

"What are you talking about I am cool, calm and collective," Sage laughed trying to sound cool, "I mean...psssh I could do as I please if I wanted to."

"Uh-huh. Sure you can, Sage,” Anthi mocked.

Confidence he muttered to himself...As Anthi walked towards the cannons Sage decided to be sneaky and grab her in an embrace from behind.

"I can totally be confident," he whispered.

Anthi eeked out in surprise, but then just laughed.

"You're on the right path! That's for sure! But as much as I'd love to see what you're capable of doing... We do have work to do,” As she whispered another thing into his ear, “And are you confident enough to be my first?"

As they worked on the boat Sage blushed at what Anthi had just told him. He had never done anything like that either and wasn’t really sure how to handle what she said. Sure, he had kissed men and women before but, never to that extent. For now, he tried to keep his focus on their work.


“You know you need the captain to treat you with respect when I'm not there,” Anthi said trying to change the subject.

"He never liked me...even if you are here or not...the man will always despise me...I've been with him for almost two years now...nothing has changed,” Sage sighed.

"Then do something about that. MAKE him respect you,” Anthi suggested.

"Like what,” he asked.

"For starters, let your work talk for you. And if he tries to hurt you again, defend yourself. Even if the whole ship turns on you, you still got me on your side,” Anthi explained.

"You really believe in me...you think I got what it takes,” Sage questioned.

"If I didn't, you'd have a broken arm right now for grabbing me like that. You have the potential for greatness. You just need more confidence in yourself and your abilities,” Anthi laughed.

As Sage and Anthi made their way onto the deck with more supplies…Sage could notice in the distance a large storm was rolling in and fast. Before he could call out to warn her to brace something a wave quickly hit the boat sending both of them flying into the air. Anthi eeks out in surprise at the sudden jostling. Still, she hears the cry for help from her crewmates as tries to grab onto Sage.

"Anthi!" Sage yelled out, "Take my hand!"

As the two reached each other a large wave smacked the boat tossing the two friends into the ocean...when both finally came to...they were in different parts of the world.



As the vision ended Anthi looked at Scarlet…how was she able to tap into magick like this so young. Seeing this vision again though made Anthi sad. Apparently Anthi tried to look for Sage but Sage was injured so bad...he was in a coma in foreign country for nearly a year...no one knew why the young man that rescued him cared for him in the way that he did but, he was willing to help Envy recover.  After the boating accident Envy had never sailed again because he lost the person he liked most...sure he found comfort in the man that rescued him...but he always knew that there love was just temporary as his family wanted him to marry a nice rich girl with status in their country...during this time Sage grew bitter and drank...robbing vendors and getting himself into trouble...this is what lead him to being jailed for the "apparent murder" of his lover and  his clan...ultimately leading Sage to Haruka. The Sage Anthi knew was lost to addiction and sin...and as much as she wanted to see more of the images Scarlet gave her…her little powers were unable to dive too hard into it just yet. As Anthi held onto Scarlet's little hand...Scarlet looked to Anthi as if she just peered into her past. The little girl continued to stare at Anthi as if she knew what Anthi had to do.

"Now who told you that you could go through my memories? Now stay safe for me, alright? We don't want you and the others to get hurt. And do take it easy on Aymeric. He's not used to your antics like I am,” Anthi explained to Scarlet as she held onto her weapon.

Scarlet smirked and tilted her head as she watched Anthi head into battle.

"They will be safe here with me...I promise," Aymeric smiled, “Good luck out there.”