None of them knew what to expect except some fighting between the pirates and the Starsling Kingdom's navy. The half of the fleet that stayed behind to surround and attack Pirate Haven was larger than the half thatDristel brought with him to chase Toz.
Dristel brought the ships and members of the fleet that had the greatest hope of being able to catch up to Toz, and since he didn't know what to expect, he made sure to bring enough forces in case they encountered an ambush. That had, of course, backfired due to Taienra's attack.
According to reason, the majority of the fleet's ships should have been able to put up an even fight against the pirates of Pirate Haven. And a battle on that scale wouldn't end as quickly as the chase and showdown between Toz and Dristel.
However, aside from a few skirmishes and scuffles, Pirate Haven and the Void around it were already peaceful again.
Taienra's speed made sure that Toz and the others caught up to the Representative before he and Red Hook could participate in the battle, so the devastation of the Starsling Kingdom's fleet was all due to the pirates of Pirate Haven. Not a single of the strongest leaders had contributed to the battle, but it had still been an overwhelming victory for Pirate Haven.
Out of the group of humans and beasts gathered outside the perimeter of wreckage, Red Hook was the only one not noticeably stunned in absolute surprise due to the shocking result of the battle between Pirate Haven and the Starsling Kingdom's fleet.
As everyone else regained their bearings, they noticed Red Hook's lacking surprise. However, Red Hook answered their curiosity with nothing but a mysterious smirk.
Before they could press further, the pirates of Pirate Haven and the two surviving big pirate crews noticed the Red Hook's and the Representative's return. Taienra's arrival was impossible to miss, but she didn't have the same reputation in Pirate Haven, and no one really knew her part in what happened. And the Bunglehoppers were hidden due to Taienra's size and the trees on her back, so the pirates only cheered for the two pirate leaders' return.
The Representative and Red Hook coming back alive and well meant that they had won over Stris and Dristel, the enemies of all of Pirate Haven. If they hadn't won, Pirate Haven's overwhelming victory wouldn't have mattered since Dristel, and the half of the fleet that followed him, would be enough to raze the city to the ground. If that wasn't worthy of celebration, nothing was.
However, before they could begin partying, they first had to clean up and loot whatever they could from the wrecked ships surrounding the city.
And Toz and the others wanted to find out what happened to the Starsling Kingdom's fleet while they were away from the city. Red Hook was already confident she knew most of what had happened, but she also wanted a detailed report.
Thankfully, her subordinates noticed her arrival, and Avian came to greet her.
Avian stood on a small boat with his two pitch-blank ravens on either shoulder as he came to pick up Red Hook. Toz realized that it was one of those two ravens which had delivered Red Hook's agreement to meet and most likely what had alerted them of their arrival at Retsy's courtyard.
And now that no one bothered concealing every last bit of their strength, Toz and Avian noticed that the other had the darkness attribute. After making the realization, Toz realized that Lucy had probably discovered that as soon as he saw the raven drop off the message. However, Toz couldn't figure out what was running through Lucy's mind as Lucy simply eyed the two birds and Avian.
Avian's thoughts were almost written on his face as he clearly displayed some surprise at finding out that Toz had the darkness attribute. However, Red Hook snatched his attention back by snapping her fingers in front of his eyes.
Red Hook and Avian turned away and began moving toward the Red Hook Pirate Crew island. Avian looked like he was about to explain to Red Hook what had happened at Pirate Haven when Joan interrupted him.
"Wait!"
Joan successfully grabbed the attention of Red Hook, Avian, and the others nearby, and she grew nervous due to everyone looking at her. Joan turned toward Avian as she continued. From what she had been told by the others, Avian was Red Hook's subordinate and worked closely with Tasha. His black hair, ravens, and dark full-body coat were everything she needed to identify him, even if she had never seen him before.
"I-is Tasha alright?"
Avian looked at Red Hook with questioning eyes. Red Hook only nodded and waited for Avian's answer.
"Yes."
Despite the short and curt answer, Joan sighed in relief.
"Thank you."
Joan stepped back and was about to head deeper into the forest so that the others could do what they needed without having to worry about two of the three weakest members of their group.
However, Red Hook caught her eyes before she could turn around.
"Things are a bit messy right now, but I'll tell Tasha to go look for you at the Bunglehoppers as soon as possible."
Avian looked at his leader in surprise before turning to look at Joan, who once again expressed her gratitude. With a nudge from Red Hook, Avian continued steering the boat toward their island.
Red Hook turned around, showing off her back as her blood-red hair glistened in the glow of the stars and burning wreckage. To Joan, it looked incredibly majestic and the perfect image of a stoic but distant rogue pirate who stole from the rich and gave to the poor, drank until sunrise, and charmed everyone around them.
Joan was so emotional that she didn't even notice how much she had begun idolizing Red Hook.
The others also noticed Red Hook's attempt to look cool and suave. However, unlike Joan, they saw how her attempt failed miserably as she almost stumbled and fell when Avian accidentally collided against a piece of wreckage drifting through the Void.
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