"Good morning, young man." Hei, on his own and controlling the ship's wheel, greeted Vincent with a nod, taking the offered breakfast from the crates he carried.
"Where's Beidou?" Vincent couldn't help but ask. This was the first time she wasn't at the wheel during his morning rounds across the deck.
"Down in her quarters. Ordered me to send you down there when you came by."
Beidou having him head down into the captain's quarters? In all his time cleaning and running errands across the ship, that was the one room he'd never been in. What could she want that warranted a meeting in there? A private meeting…with just the two of them…
Could it be?
"Believe you're getting lucky?" The old man questioned with a sideways glance.
"N-No." He quickly denied the far too accurate deduction. "I wasn't thinking anything like that."
"Your face is far more honest than you think." Hei said with a chuckle. "Return to me when the captain's through with you. We shall continue your training."
Speaking of training, there'd been something Vincent wanted to ask. "Can Shi join us?"
"That faint-hearted boy?" The old man paused, giving the request thought before looking forward. "Should the Captain give her permission, I will not turn the boy away, however, you are my focus. Should he fail to keep up that will be his problem."
Not a definitive yes but it wasn't a no either.
Finishing up handing out food topside, Vincent headed back down, returning the near emptied crates to the storerooms before making his way through the swaying halls of the ship and stopping in front of a door at its end. It was no different than any other onboard, nothing truly setting it aside as the place where the crew's leader resided.
Not once beyond his initial realization had he thought of Beidou as anything along the lines of a game character. This situation, from the rough but well-meaning crew, to the taste of salt that always hung in the air, was far too real.
Still, with the way everyone onboard admired her, the unconditional trust in her decisions, and the confidence she held herself with made Beidou seem like such a distant figure. Like a celebrity or some other larger than life person; the kind most could only ever hope to catch a glimpse or constantly hear about in gossip.
It was odd knowing that a person like that was behind this door and waiting on him.
He knocked and received muffled permission to enter.
Despite being large in size, he noticed that the room was markedly plain, almost no different than any other on the ship besides the obvious. One side there was a bed that, while a little larger than the ones in the crew quarters, looked almost exactly the same with a sizable chest at the foot of it. On the opposing side was a wide desk, a greatsword hug on the wall behind it alongside dressers that acted as an armory of sorts, various weapons hung within them.
"You drink?" Beidou, sitting on the edge of the desk, set down the sheet of paper she'd been reading through and held out the mug in her hand. Alcohol wasn't something he could say he particularly cared for. Splitting a bottle between friends on, say, news years or something similar? Sure. Guzzling it down like some on the ship did when they were through with their work? Not at all.
A sip couldn't hurt though.
He took the offered mug and went in for a taste. There was definitely a burn. A faint burn that was quickly overwhelmed by a surprisingly fruity sweetness that lit up his taste buds. The savory warmth outclassed any alcohol he'd ever had before this.
"Would you look at that? You're handling it like a pro." Beidou's voice brought him back down, his sip having gone on far too long to still be considered one by this point. He quickly handled the mug back over. "Hadn't pegged you as a drinker. Most of the crew can't handle this stuff." Really? The people he'd seen drinking, whether it be day or night, couldn't handle that? It didn't seem that strong to him.
"By now you know we're headed to Liyue Harbor." She stated more than asked. "Before we get there, we'll be making a small detour to deal with some pirates. It'll be the usual for us but you're a guest here. Thought you could use a heads-up." She pushed off the desk's edge and headed towards the dressers, reaching into them and tossing one his way.
A sword, about as long as his arm and in a dark red sheath with long buckling connected to it. He'd only seen such things on the internet and on display in places like museums.
It was far lighter than he expected.
"And a little insurance just in case things don't go how I expect." Beidou added.
"Are you sure giving some stranger you pulled out of the water a weapon is a good idea?" Vincent question, his mind catching up with what was going on now that he'd gotten over the initial surprise. This was more or less the equivalent of some cop assuring him things would be fine then handing him a loaded gun just in case.
Not nearly as reassuring as it might've sounded to some.
"Not at all." Beidou shamelessly admitted. "But I have a good feeling about you so I'm sure it'll be fine."
"That's…an interesting way to go about things."
"Recklessly is the word most use." Beidou said with a laugh. "As much as I'd liked to find out how well you hold your alcohol, that old fossil is waiting on you. When we get the chance lets share a few drinks."
He nodded, taking that as a dismissal though stopped once he reached the door. "Would you mind if Shi, joined the old man and I for training?"
Beidou raised a brow. "Hmmm, maybe it'll do that boy some good. If the old man allows it, feel free to bring him along."
Nice, a yes. All that was left was to see if Shi was up for it.
…
"Horse stance."
Vincent instantly took the ordered form while Shi, already building up a nervous sweat, clumsily coped just beside him. Much to Vincent's chagrin, the old man handed over a pair of water filled buckets. "Don't let any spill."
Another insane demand. Why wasn't he surprised? The old man seemed to enjoy changing things up the moment Vincent got comfortable. He'd like to say that it wasn't as much of a painful experience without Beidou and her vision involved but he'd be facing a different set of troubles today.
A low but concentrated blowing of air hit his neck, an involuntary shiver nearly causing him to spill some water. "Ahhh, that didn't work?" Xingmi all but purred in his ear. "Guess I'll have to try something else. ~I wonder what~"
The old man taken it upon himself to find replacements for Beidou whenever she was too busy to participate in these little training exercises, said placements revolving between the three women he'd become acquainted with. Their methods all differed but the same goal was shared between them; trying to distract him from whatever task the old man dulled out without outright pushing him or anything of that nature.
Deal with Xingmi was…hard…in more ways than one.
While he waged a war against embarrassment, the building of a very uncomfortable boner, and the swaying ship, Vincent tried to keep an eye on Shi from the corner of his eye. The old man corrected his stance, but nothing could be done for the wobble that was already laying claim to his outstretched arms. It wasn't long until his legs followed, the ship's swaying inevitably knocking him over.
Watching Shi really put into perspective how fit this body was. Had it not been for it and its prior experiences, that would've been him.
A finger glided down the back of his spine and he jerked, water hitting the deck.
Fuck.
Vincent flinched, a lid put on any sounds as the old man pinched his shoulder and twisted, a very uncomfortable sting spreading out from it. The old man didn't let go until he fully steadied himself and forced himself to retake the horse stance.
"I hate you." Vincent muttered to Xingmi as the old man returned his attention to Shi.
"Hate and love are just two sides of the same mora." Xingmi said. "How about you show me some of that hate tonight hmmm~?"
Damn this woman.