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Red. Red was scary. Ahim noticed that Marvelous had more patience with her than any other member, but she also knew how quick he was to yell and start fights. Long after he'd told her to give it a rest, she remained outside, trying to find ways to brace herself against the gun's recoil.
Blue. Blue was cold. Joe watched over her sword training like an emotionless sentinel. When he took the sword from her and asked her to do strength exercises instead, she couldn't tell if he was mad or disappointed.
Green. Green was forgiving. Doc was kind and always took the time to teach her what to do if she asked. But she ended up asking over and over, and she was afraid that his kindness would run out.
Yellow. Yellow was warm. She didn't know why, but she felt safer and more at ease when Luka was around. But she'd been gone for a few days, taking care of some personal business in a nearby city. In the meantime, she trained and trained and trained some more, desperate not to lose her place with these pirates.
She stumbled back into the Galleon in the dead of night, wishing dearly that she still had her court physician or one of her parents to take care of her injuries. The first aid kit was easy enough to find, but with all of the bracing, the strength training, and the sword swinging, she could barely lift her arms, and if she tried to drag it out of the cabinet, she'd definitely wake up the rest of the crew.
Maybe she could just … go to bed and her wounds would be magically healed in the morning.
Something shifted behind her, and her soul almost leapt out of her body.
"Hey, calm down," a familiar voice called. "Have you been pushing yourself too -"
Luka -
Despite her aches and pains, Ahim turned around and hugged her tightly.
"Aw, come on, princess." She combed through Ahim's hair with her fingers, which seemed to soothe the fatigue in her body. "Why are you clinging?"
She had to be cool about this. She couldn't show weakness. She had to be strong. She had to be strong.
Her voice hitched in her throat as she sobbed, "It's all so much. I don't know how you all do it. It's all so much."
Luka chuckled. "Well, it helps that we - holy shit, are you bleeding?"
Oh. She'd forgotten about that. "Um -"
She motioned to the armchair in the center of the room. "Sit down, I'll patch you up."
Ahim obeyed her order until she realized that was Marvelous's chair.
"What are you waiting for, princess?"
She wrung her hands together. "… that's the captain's chair."
She scoffed. "I don't see his name on it."
"But -"
"Just sit, please. If Marvelous has a problem with it, I'll kick his ass."
Ahim immediately sat down.
With a gentleness that she never expected from her, Luka carefully examined her wounds and began treating them. "Like I was saying, the rest of us have been alone until recently. We had to take care of ourselves and fight to live. You're still new to this life, but you'll catch up in no time." She cradled Ahim's right hand, which was now covered in bandages. "… as long as you don't hurt yourself too bad."
She bowed politely. "Thank you, Luka-san. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should probably get to sleep -"
"Yeah, me too. Now come on -" She grasped Ahim's mostly-unbandaged left hand and started leading her to -
Were they going to her bedroom?!
Blushing, she tried to say, "Uh, Luka-san - I have my own room and my own bed -"
"I know. But I also know that you've been sneaking out at night to train until you can't move. Right now, you need to rest." She paused to place a small kiss on her forehead. "And if I'm cuddling you all night, then I know you're not sneaking out."
The blush spread from her cheeks to the rest of her face. Being this close to someone who wasn't family was new and a little scary … but not exactly unwelcome.
"… okay. Thank you, Luka-san."
Weeks turned into months turned into years, and for Ahim, the colors changed.
Red was passion and protection. Blue was determination and support. Green was sweet sunshine.
But yellow was still her favorite.