[ANNI-24] Memories

What if he never stole that crab? Well, not him, per say…

Wait. Why was he thinking about this, anyways?

Nickolas was leaning against the crow’s nest railing, staring out at the water below him as his ship slowly drifted along with the currents. Normally it was someone else’s job to be the night lookout, but on occasion, Nickolas found himself volunteering.

It was always around this time of year, too. Maybe it was due to the sleep-ruining headaches he got, or maybe it was because of the upcoming anniversary of his host succumbing.

His host…

Nick didn’t know much about his host. The two of them had met at a shady seaport bazaar. Not too long after Nick had landed in this strange new dimension, he had been captured by an exotic animal seller, and was promptly put on display. The humiliation—
Nick shuddered, both from the memories, and from the wind. There was nothing to keep him warm all the way up here, so all the Mignyan could do was grin and bear it.

He tried to think about something else for a while. Like his crewmates. Or the mad dash back to the ship after someone noticed that their wallet felt considerably lighter all of a sudden. Nickolas had grown accustomed to his life of pilfering and theft. He made a good pirate. But did he make a good Mignyan? He WAS able to finally find himself a host, after all.
That's when yet another memory resurfaced. His host didn’t buy him. Heh. Even before properly joining the Mignyan ranks, Nick was always a thief.

He remembered suddenly waking up with the whole world shaking and spinning around him. In reality, the little cage he was contained in had been snatched up by his host. As soon as they were somewhere secluded, Nick’s host opened the cage…and that was that. A Mignyan walked away that day, replacing a petty street thief that wouldn’t be missed by anyone.

No one missed his host…right?

Nick didn’t feel too much remorse for his past actions. He always told himself that he HAD to do what he was made to do. To survive. To further the invasion. But then why did a part of him regret attacking his host?
A screechy squawk brought Nickolas back to the present once more. He could see an oddly-coloured seagull with glowing wings circling around him. Believe it or not, Nick knew that this was one of his crewmates. 

By the time that the seagull landed near him, Nickolas had managed to mostly disguise himself. A bit of his face meat was still exposed, so he tried his best to cover it up by leaning against the railing.

“I don’t mind being up here all alone. Really.” He told the bird, who only hopped closer in response. The Mignyan had no idea why this shape-changing fellow insisted on staying a bird at night, but what the heck. He was a space parasite crab for crying out loud. Nick was in no position to judge.

Before he knew it, Nickolas could feel the bird hop up onto his shoulder, before finally sitting down on his head, nuzzling up in his messy hair. A quiet chuckle escaped his lips as he gave the bird a gentle pat on the head, before looking over at the moon. 
No matter how much he wanted to forget, he could never truly let go of the past, Nick thought to himself as he stood there. He could either fight it each year…or he could accept it and continue with his life. The life that only truly began once another one was cut short.

But he had friends now. And a captain that (at least seemed to) care. Heck- one of his crewmates accidentally saw him undisguised, and still hasn’t told anyone about it yet.

Maybe, just maybe, it was possible after all.