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Early mornings on the Albatross could be practically considered a different dimension. Where the sun is only just beginning to rise and the sleeping quarters are still dark with the void of dawn. Where the normally loud, and boisterous crew slept silently. Where a single whisper could be considered louder than a shout. An impossible vertex of quiet and calm.
Chip is never awake to see the sunrise. He’s a heavy sleeper, and won’t wake until something important wakes him.
He never sees these types of moments. But something has woken him up and he finds himself blinking up at the ceiling, listening to the sounds of the waves.
Even those sound different.
They echo and hiss in a sweet melody and If Chip were more awake, it might’ve even worried him.
He rubbed his eyes, rolling over to his side and not ready to get up just yet. He was warm for once and wanted to savor it.
He saw Jay in her cot a few feet away as his eyes adjusted. The curtain was pulled back like she had just collapsed after her shift. Chip watched the slow rise and fall of her chest, the way the bridge of her nose curved, and the shadows that fell over her face.
The darkness shrouded the bright color of her hair making it seem more brown than red. Jay rolled over onto her side, facing Chip.
She seemed more relaxed than he had ever seen her during the day. Or at night, too, with her night terrors.
It had been a good night, then.
A chunk of hair fell in front of her face and Chip wished that he was closer to her so that he could move it away. But he still didn’t get up.
Chip pulled the blanket up towards his chin, sighing lightly. He was comfortable.
The waves pushing against the side of the ship rocked it with a gentle rhythm. Normally just that would be enough to put Chip back to sleep. But for some reason, he couldn’t.
Something in the back of his mind was telling him that it was time to be awake. Even though it was still dark, and the sleeping quarters were still quiet and calm.
He no longer felt tired. The longer he lay there, watching Jay, he felt more and more awake.
So, having nothing left to do, and feeling embarrassment flood his cheeks at the thought that Jay might wake up soon to see him staring. He pushed his blankets aside, shivering at the sudden rush of less than warm air, and stood up.
He stretched his arms above his head, taking a deep breath as he shivered once more. It wasn’t cold, but after just being swaddled in blankets for a long time, any temperature less than that would feel cold.
Chip looked back to Jay, he shuffled closer to the side of her cot, knowing she was a light sleeper.
He tucked her hair away from her face with a soft touch. Her blankets had been kicked away from her moving around during the night, so Chip pulled them up over her shoulders.
Jay shifted but didn’t wake up.
Chip lingered there for a few seconds longer than he needed to, continuing to brush Jay’s hair out of her face. Her hair was soft, and it was weird early in the mornings when he saw it out of her ponytail. Red strands cascaded down her shoulders in a way that almost made it seem longer.
She was beautiful, Chip thought to himself. He had known that already, but that thought almost came as a surprise. Sneaking up on him through the softness of the morning.
He leaned down, pressing his lips gently against her forehead. Like she had done to him countless other times.
When he pulled back, his heart fluttered wildly in his chest as Jay shifted again. But thankfully, she didn’t wake up.
How would he even be able to explain the sudden, random burst of softness that seemed to overtake his entire being?
He blamed it on the early morning and the fact that he was still tired. He hadn’t yet settled into the slowness of the dark or the small bit of light that gradually had started peeking in through the portholes.
Chip backed away slowly, he rubbed at his cheeks. Feeling the warmth that bloomed across his skin.
Before he could embarrass himself more, Chip shuffled up the stairs to the main deck. He wrapped his arms around his torso, the salty wind blowing his hair in front of his face.
The horizon blossomed in reds and oranges, a small strip of paint against the black canvas of the night. Chip stared for a second, so unused to seeing the sunrise that he had almost completely forgotten what it looked like.
He swayed with the ship, frozen in place until another gust of wind shuddered against his skin.
Chip let the door swing shut, glancing around the deck.
He knew that Gillion often trained with Pretzel during his shifts, or did other things besides keeping watch. They all did, so Chip couldn’t fault him. What he did was none of their business.
As Chip noticed Gillion standing at the railing near the mast, he suddenly felt like he was intruding on something private. Gillion’s back was straight, his hands wrapped around the wood.
His tail draped across the floor, the end of it twitching and flicking, dragging his fins along with it. The orb around his belt was missing, he must’ve left Pretzel in the water barrel when he got up for his shift. It was odd seeing him without her. As far as Chip knew, the two of them were practically inseparable.
But Gillion stood alone. He didn’t seem tense, like how Chip had often seen. But he didn’t seem very relaxed either.
His hair fell down his shoulders, it had dried in the time that he had been out of the water. The green curls bounced and blew with the light wind.
Chip loved when his hair was freshly dry. The way it got fluffy and poofy, free of frizz for a few moments until he went to do anything.
Gillion’s hair had gotten longer in the months they had been together. It would reach to his mid biceps when it was wet, and the water flattened his curls.
The Triton’s ears twitched, the fins folding back towards Chip as he took a step forward. Gillion’s tail twitched again.
It was obvious that he knew that Chip was there, but he didn’t turn around. He didn’t say anything until Chip was only a few feet away.
Then, he tilted his head, his bright blue eyes glowing in the dark. A light smile crossed his face and he had the audacity to look surprised.
“Good morning, Chip,” Gillion said, lacking all of its usual volume and energy. Chip didn’t think that he had the capability to whisper, but there was something about the quiet on the deck that affected even Gillion Tidestrider.
“You knew I was there,” Chip wrinkled his nose. Gillion smiled bashfully.
“Maybe so,” he turned towards Chip, glancing up at him.
Chip never realized how short that Gillion was, even though the two of them stood next to each other all the time. He only came up to a little above Chip’s shoulders, the crown of coral on his head giving him another inch or two if Chip was being generous. However, during the day, Gillion always seemed so valiant and loud, much bigger than he actually was. He was too full of energy to ever sit still enough for his size to really register. But right now, he was quiet now, a silence settling over him. Compressing him with the weight of the morning.
Gillion turned away from Chip, staring out at the bright colors in the sky.
“Do you watch the sunrise often?” Gillion asked, tilting his head to the side. His ear twitched and the movement always seemed to catch Chip’s attention.
“No,” Chip admitted, “I’m never usually up this early.”
Gillion let out a slow breath, his chest rattling. He licked his lips and hummed.
“You like the sunrise?” Chip tilted his head to the side, pressing himself closer to Gillion.
“There is nothing like this in the undersea,” Gillion said, not really answering the question, “we have no sun or any moon. The fact that they rise and set is amazing to me.”
“You don’t have the sun and moon in the undersea?”
Saying the question out loud, Chip realized that it made sense. But Gillion didn’t point out the obviousness of the question.
“The light doesn’t reach that far down into the trench where I’m from,” Gillion explained, “it’s very dark.”
“You couldn’t see the sky at all?”
“Well…” Gillion let out a huff, “We had a ton of small bioluminescent fish that swam around… the stars remind me of them.”
The stars were starting to fade now, but Gillion tilted his head back. He held onto the railing to keep his balance, still unused to the gravity of the air that clung to his skin. There was wonder in his expression, sparkling in his bright blue eyes. The fading light of the moon and the stretch of the sun reflected on his face, creating an outline over his features.
Chip traced the curve of his face. The darker markings on his cheeks seemed to glow. His gills flexed along his neck and he seemed deep in thought.
“Do you miss your home?”
Chip knew the answer to that already. He had seen the way that Gillion stares longingly at the sea sometimes. Or the days that he seems sluggish, where gravity weighs heavy on his limbs. The way that sometimes his magic flickered and fizzed in the wrong direction, smites firing back on him or not having the intended effect. Years of practicing how to control his magic underwater were thrown out the window.
A sad look settled over Gillion’s face and Chip felt bad for asking. He turned away from the sky with a sigh.
“I do.”
Chip wrapped an arm around Gillion’s shoulders. Gillion let out a breath, leaning against Chip and letting himself relax.
“One day you’ll be able to go back there,” Chip reassured him, rubbing his shoulder. The moisture on his skin caused Chip to shiver, but it wasn’t enough to get him wet.
“I sure hope so,” Gillion smiled softly, “I hope for one day to be able to show you.”
Chip smiled back and chuckled, “that would be something.”
That idea seemed to make Gillion excited. His tail flicked back and forth and he laughed.
“The oversea is prettier, though,” Gillion said after a while. His eyes were still trained firmly on the sunrise. There was a hint of blue now as the sky brightened.
“Sometimes it is.”
There was a silence that settled between the two of them. Gillion’s hair tickled against the underside of Chip’s chin. Chip followed his gaze out to the horizon, a small, red sun was just starting to peek out, reflecting on the water with shimmering lights.
Gillion sighed, he pressed his face against Chip’s chest. He let out a small gurgle noise. The sudden movement surprised Chip, but he wrapped his arm around Gillion’s shoulder.
He wasn’t usually one for physical contact unless Chip or Jay dragged him into it. So the sudden moment of softness was surprising.
Maybe it was because of the quietness of the ship. Causing them to do things that they’d never do in the energy of the day. Chip never would’ve stepped up so close to Gillion from the start, he never would’ve tucked Jay’s hair out of her face before. But right now, there was something different.
Gillion probably felt it too.
Chip pulled Gillion closer to his chest, resting his chin on top of Gillion’s head. Gillion hummed and popped his lips.
“Thank you,” Gillion whispered, quiet enough that Chip wasn’t even sure that he even heard him.
“What for?” Chip chuckled.
“For offering your hand.”
Chip’s eyes widened, he squeezed Gillion tighter, “I’d do it a million times over.”
He had no idea why he was being so honest now. It was unlike him, but it felt right.
The door to the below decks creaking startled the both of them. Gillion nearly jumped out of his skin, the sharp coral on his head poking Gillion on the underside of the chin. They both separated from the hug, standing next to each other, closer than normal. A blush bloomed across Chip’s face and he coughed awkwardly, turning towards the door.
Jay rubbed her eyes and yawned, her hair fell down her back in long red curls. The white cotton shirt that she wore hung over her shoulders, the collar stretching to expose pale, freckled skin. The small bits of sunlight illuminated only her face and neck, there were bags under her eyes, freckles dark as they dotted across her face.
Chip recognized the shirt she was wearing as his own and felt a flicker of offense.
“Sorry for interrupting,” she muttered tiredly, “you seemed like you were having a moment.”
“No, we were just watching the sunset!” Gillion said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Sunrise,” Chip corrected. Gillion didn’t even react to it besides a small glance towards Chip. Even his face was slightly flushed, albeit a much darker blue than normal.
“Oh,” Jay walked over to them, rubbing her face, “sounds fun…” Her footsteps were light against the deck as she was barefoot. She must’ve just woken up.
She swayed with the rocking of the boat, saddling up on the other side of Gillion. She let her arms rest on the railing and blinked tiredly.
“It’s nice out,” she said. Chip nodded in agreement.
Gillion looked at Jay for a while, then to Chip. Chip smiled at him softly and Gillion nodded. Chip had no idea what he had just agreed to with that small smile. It was difficult having silent conversations like that when every expression meant different things for each other.
Chip watched as Gillion wrapped his arm around Jay’s torso, the same way that Chip had done so to Gillion. Although it didn’t really have the intended effect when Jay was the tallest one here.
Jay sighed and chuckled tiredly, a bit surprised at the gesture but returned it. Gillion leaned against her side and she smiled.
“Why are you up this early?” Chip asked, he looked Gillion’s head at her. Jay turned to Chip.
“Why are you up this early?” she parroted, “You’re never up this early.”
“Neither are you.”
Realizing that this conversation was going nowhere, Jay sighed again, “I woke up and neither of you were there. I got worried.”
'Worried' might’ve been an understatement. But Chip wasn’t going to pry.
“I don’t know why I woke up,” Chip shrugged, “not complaining. The sunrise is beautiful.”
Jay nodded.
“I am supposed to be taking watch,” Gillion chimed in, rubbing his eyes, his ears twitching. Jay smoothed down some of his curls.
“Right,” Chip huffed out a small laugh, “are we distracting you from your duties?”
“Yes…” Gillion said slowly, licking his lips, “but I don’t mind.”
Gillion took Chip’s hand cautiously, waiting to see how Chip would react. When Chip responded by squeezing his hand back, it made Gillion smile. Holding hands definitely was a bit awkward with the webbing between Gillion’s fingers, but they found a comfortable position and made it work.
There was more blue in the sky now and the sun was clearly visible, casting more and more light over their ship. The sunrise oranges and reds had started to dissipate and fade.
Chip looked over at the two of them. Gillion was staring out at the horizon, his eyes alight with awe and curiosity, pupils dilated wide. His ears twitched and flared out as he watched the sky.
Jay was leaning on the railing, she had moved out of Gillion’s half-hug and had instead grabbed his hand. She blinked tiredly, exhaustion still weighing heavy on her features as hair fell in front of her face. Chip longed to reach out and move it away but knew that he wouldn’t be able to face the embarrassment of being soft in the light of day.
In the early light of dawn, way earlier than either of them should be awake, Chip didn’t think he’d rather be anywhere else. Surrounded by his crew, his best friends, the most important people he had in his life. While the salty sea wind blew around them, causing him to shiver despite the warm weather.
Soon enough, the sun would rise completely into the sky and the spell would be broken. The quietness and the calm would be returned to these special moments in the wee hours of the morning and they would go back to their day. Jay would wake up more, get dressed, Chip would maybe even brush his hair. And Gillion would probably switch from the unusual whisper back to his loud, energetic tone.
But they still had a good while before that happened. Chip might as well enjoy it now.