Shevecimedua

Sunlight filtered through the porthole in Dua’s cabin, gradually pulling the Mirror female from her slumber. She loved waking up with the sun and stretched happily, a smile on her face as she gathered some supplies and began to mentally prepare for the day.

Noita, the ship’s doctor, had promised to teach her how to make his famous salve for sunburn, and Dua was eager to learn. In just a few month’s time, she would be replacing Noita as the ship’s official doctor, and she needed to learn as much as she could from the Spiral before he retired to pursue his true passion in life.

The water was calm that day, and the ship rocked gently from side to side as Dua gathered a few herbs from her personal garden: a small window box she had constructed and nailed underneath the porthole in her cabin. The cabin was small, but as a resourceful dragon, she had been determined to make the most of the space. More than anything, she was simply grateful to have a place to stay on the ship at all. When she first wandered onto its deck nearly half a year ago, she had half expected to be executed instead of welcomed with open arms…

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Life had been difficult as a Plague dragon, especially since her flight identity was so obviously displayed on her face in the form of primal eyes. Even as a hatchling, she had quickly learned that no clan would welcome such a dragon, as most were convinced she would spread disease. When Dua began to learn the basics of becoming a healer from other Plague dragons she met on the streets, she tried to convince clan healers to take her on as their apprentice, but everyone she asked refused to teach her. They found it simply absurd that a dragon with her background would want to become a healer in the first place, and regardless, they told her no Plague dragon had ever made a good healer.

Generally a positive dragon, Dua became disheartened after years of pleading and no one to teach her. She had begun to lose hope she would ever be a healer and decided she needed to get away from it all and escape the negativity in her life. So, naturally, she boarded a pirate ship. Or rather, she thought she had boarded a pirate ship.

She had found the perfect hiding spot in a half-empty crate of old maps, and lived there for a few days, subsisting mostly off of the ship’s rats. It wasn’t her proudest moment, but then again, beggars can’t be choosers. Eventually, she knew she would have to reveal herself to the crew, but decided to wait until they had been at sea for a few days, hoping they’d be far enough from the nearest port that she might win over the crew before they had a chance to ditch her. Or worse, kill her.

But when the ship’s captain, Pandemonium, had gone looking for one of his old maps, he inadvertently stumbled across her hiding place. Dua had hurried to explain herself, pleading for the captain to spare her life and to give her work on his ship to repay her debt. The captain had considered her words carefully, seeming to be lost in thought. To Dua’s relief, he didn’t immediately kill her, but instead asked what skills she possessed that might be of use to the crew. When Dua responded that she knew the basics of healing, a smile spread over the captain’s face, and Dua would never forget what he said next,

“A healer, you say? Oh yes, I think you’ll fit in quite nicely here.”

He had taken her straight to Noita’s cabin, introducing her to the Spiral and announcing that she was to be his apprentice, starting that very moment. Noita looked absolutely crestfallen at the news, narrowing his eyes and looking down at Dua with a skeptical gaze. They got to work immediately, as he was in the midst of preparing a complex ointment for infectious wounds. Much to Noita’s surprise, Dua caught on quickly, managing to understand his gruff and half-mumbled instructions. Despite his initial resentment towards her, Noita couldn’t help but admire Dua’s work ethic and fearless attitude, and ever since that first day, the two had worked closely side by side, saving the lives of their crew and one another countless times.

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Now, six months later, Dua was quite at home on the ship that was not, in fact, a pirate ship, but simply the home of a traveling circus. Her open and selfless nature meant that she made friends easily with almost everyone in the crew, but she tended to spend the most time with Noita.

Although the two had formed a close bond, their personalities could not be more opposite, as Dua was reminded when she stepped foot once again in the doctor’s quarters to find Noita sound asleep in the corner. Thick cloth hung in front of every window in the cabin, so almost no sunlight could get through. Humming a cheery tune, Dua entered the cabin and began removing the curtains, allowing the bright morning sun to illuminate the space.

Almost instantly, she heard a loud groan from the corner of the cabin and chuckled to herself as Noita cracked one sleepy eye open, glaring at her in disgust.

“Close the bloody curtains….” he ground out through gritted teeth, but really it sounded more like a low growl.

Dua simply laughed aloud and continued removing the curtains while addressing the very angry lump that was Noita.

“Rise and shine, oh great teacher,” she mocked him, grinning widely when the Spiral snarled in response. “No, no, you promised you’d teach me your salve recipe today, and the day’s not getting any younger. If you’re gonna abandon me in a few months to go off exploring every day, the least you can do is teach me enough to get by. What if someone gets sunburned while you’re off hiding in some cave 10,000 miles away? Hmm?”

Noita responded with another irritated grumble that sounded vaguely like “Don’t care.”

“Well I care,” Dua continued, Noita finally giving in and detaching himself from the corner of the room. “And I will be the best healer this ship has ever seen.”

Noita simply rolled his eyes and made his way over to their workbench, his tail dragging along behind him as if it were too much effort to lift it off the ground. Melodramatic, as per usual.

Reluctant as he seemed, Noita was actually a skilled teacher, and he began laying out ingredients on the bench, explaining the properties of each as Dua took meticulous notes.

By the time they heard the bell that signaled mealtimes, Dua was able to create a perfect replica of the salve on her own, and Noita, after inspecting it, was once again amazed at her aptitude for the healing arts.

“Alright, alright, it’s perfect. Well done,” Noita sighed, secretly proud of his pupil, even though he refused to show it. “That’s enough for one day, psycho, go get some grub and leave me alone for once.”

Dua laughed merrily as Noita headed back to the corner of the cabin, motioning vaguely at the windows. Dua understood what he meant and carefully closed the thick curtains until the cabin once more resembled a dark cave.

“Oh, quit your whining, you old hermit. You know you love me,” Dua called over her shoulder as she left the cabin to join the crew for mealtime. It was too dark for her to see in the healer’s cabin, but as he watched her go, Noita smiled.