Miyu studied the small plate that lay on the table in front of her, still confused as to why the portion was so miniscule. Was it because the plate was small? Surely humans had to eat more than this… right? She had been pondering this thought for the past few days every time she saw them eating their baby-sized portions. She stabbed her fork into the tough-looking meat, devouring the whole thing in one bite. The crew here in the mess hall all stared with wide-eyes at her consumption, some mouths hanging agape. It was just a small portion, nothing to be shocked about… then again, that chunk had been roughly the size of a human fist. She took a look at the plates of the men surrounding her, seeing that they all had far smaller portions, that, and they had been taking small bites out of them.

  It was strange to see them eating so daintily, but they were humans. They had tiny mouths, it could not be helped. She devoured her share quickly, not wanting to remain in the mess hall for longer than necessary. It was a small chamber, cramped and reeking of sweat and dried food. Worse though was the stares she received from her crew mates. They did not seem happy that she was aboard. Miyu was no fool, she understood why.

  In their eyes she had tricked them into kidnapping her, and now Onica would be coming to take her back by force. Abandoning her would be pointless and could in fact make things worse. Miyu knew that this reasoning wouldn’t be understood by all these men, all they would see was a great big horn-head that was nothing but trouble. The only way she could secure a position on this ship was to prove her worth in battle. That opportunity would no doubt come soon, captain Terg had been saying that he was looking to raid a nearby island, that his coffers needed to be replenished.

  They’d been on the run for a few days now, and no oni airships had been spotted as of yet, so Terg was feeling more confident about setting down to pilfer some of the smaller islands. He had been considering raiding a village, but had thought it better to raid a bandit base instead. This decision was good, both because bandits would likely have more loot on them that was worth something, and because Miyu would have parted Terg’s head from his body if he went after innocent people.

  The men on this ship were no real threat to her unless she fell asleep, she could split their skulls with a flick of her wrists if she so desired. If they turned their blades on village folk, that would be the last thing they ever did, she didn’t care if she ended up stranded on some backwater farming island as a result. Still, she couldn’t kill them if they planned on attacking innocents, she couldn’t run a ship this size all by herself. Miyu would have to pretend to go along with the idea until they were boarding the island, then she could slaughter them all.

  Well, if that were to happen, anyway. She had no issue with slaying bandits, and that seemed to be Terg’s goal. She made her way up to the deck, receiving harsh glares as she went. The sky was clear tonight, a rarity in Yulon. The dark sky was dotted with too many stars to count, they were above, below, all around the ship and gleaming like shards of shattered glass. She approached the rail, leaning on the palms of her hands as she stared in awe. Just below them, the moon Oculas shone a brilliant purple, the crown gem of the night. Its smaller twin, the viridian Rhetyna, sat beside it, white like the stars surrounding them.

  This sky was more beautiful than it ever has been… or maybe the view from Onica simply wasn’t as good as it was aboard an airship? It was hard to say… but she wouldn’t be going back to compare. This was her life now, her choice. Yulon was her oyster, and she would see every island that she had heard of in her youth.

  Mariga, the Island of Gold. Bulus, Island of beasts. Kena, Island of Plenty… just to name a few. Maybe when her travels were done and over with she could retire in one of these places, forging a new kind of life. Miyu would hopefully be wealthy enough by then to live an easy life, at least, that was the plan. Without her family's pressures, maybe she could even begin to wear dresses and grow her hair out.

  Other oni women had been allowed to do such… but not Miyu. Unfortunately, she was special to her kind. A one in a million birth, to the High Chief’s own family nonetheless, dresses had been the furthest thing from their minds. ‘You are Short-Horned, the path of the warrior is yours’ they would say… curse her stunted knubs for subjecting her to a life she had no interest in.

  She was larger, stronger, and faster than her kindred, in exchange for underdeveloped horns that only grew to nubs once she had reached adulthood. Her father had been so proud to have fostered a Short-Horn, even if it was a daughter. He had raised Miyu like her brothers, teaching her the blade and other forms of combat, strictly ensuring that she became a great warrior.

  While he succeeded in this… Miyu had felt dejected from being locked into that lifestyle. She wanted to wear dresses and have long hair, she wanted to bake bread and honey cakes like her mother did, but that was not ‘her path’. She was not resentful to her father for this, he was harsh but she knew he loved Miyu in his own way. Yet, she was a woman grown now, and one thing he had taught her was to stand up and take charge of her own life.

  So Miyu did, and she fled Onica when the opportunity presented itself. Now she was free to be as girly as she wanted! At least once she was done with her tenure as a pirate. Dresses unfortunately weren’t built for battle, but growing her hair out was on the table at least. She smiled, maybe she could find a man that would actually look at her like she was a woman? Her smile faded… fat chance of that happening. She’d never met anyone in her life that was half as strong as she was, that coupled with her great height made finding a man that would want to settle down with her all but impossible.

  Oni men were out of the question for the same reasons… no self-respecting oni man would want their woman to be more powerful than they were. Miyu doubted that men of the other races would be different in that aspect… and honestly, did she want a man smaller than herself? She drummed her fingers on the railing as she thought about it. Miyu concluded that, while she would prefer a man taller than herself, that it simply wasn’t in the cards. Damn her Short-Horn blood.

  Ah well, she’d worry about the ‘man’ part of her journey after her time with Terg was concluded. However long that would be. Maybe when he became old and gray, then she’d part ways with him. Had she been a normal oni she wouldn’t have had time to waste, but due to her nature as a short-horn, she could afford to take her time with life. If she really wanted to, she could even go beyond the Fog-Gates, to the other Shards of Faenor… but doing so would likely mean never seeing Yulon again, never seeing Onica again…

  She wanted to say goodbye to her family at least first, but only after she was sure that she wouldn’t be trapped on the island. After a few more minutes of pondering her future, Miyu stood, straight backed, popping her knuckles before turning around to see that she had been surrounded. They had been trying to sneak up on her, but they had the stealth of a hog with buckets for feet. Five crewmen wielding swords widened their eyes in shock, and Miyu frowned at them.

  “You aren’t as sneaky as you think you are.” Miyu told them, “Leave me be if you want to live.”

  The men hesitated before the largest of them, a man head and shoulders shorter than herself, growled, “You killed us coming aboard our ship, why didn’t you tell Cap'n Terg about who you were?”

  She looked around to the other crewmen manning the deck, but they went out of their way to ignore what was happening, busying themselves with their toil. She understood, they didn’t want to help them, but they wouldn't try to stop them either, and Terg had retired for the night already, so she couldn’t rely on him to stop them. She then sighed, shaking her head.

  “He didn’t ask.” Miyu replied with a shrug, “Let’s just cut to the chase. If you are going to try and kill me, then come on, let's get this over with.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  She then gripped the hilt of Zila, her greatsword, and that’s when the first man, the big one, charged at her, aiming to swing his blade into her midsection. Miyu casually lashed out with her free hand, balling it into a fist just before it impacted with the man’s skull. She felt the bone crunch beneath her fist like an eggshell, and he was sent flying backward, end over end before he rolled to a stop on the other side of the deck. Blood leaked from the body's eyes and ears, fountaining down his nose in a torrent. The spot on his forehead her fist impacted was cratered inward, and the crewman did not rise again.

  She glared at the four remaining men, who’s mouths had fallen agape as they looked from the body to her, “So fragile.” She noted, “So very soft you are.”

  She then began drawing her blade, but the men all dropped their blades, falling to their knees before they began pleading loudly for their lives. Miyu sneered in disgust at the pitiful display… was this what her supposed comrades would be like once the battles began? She could not depend on these wretches to watch her back. Joining Terg’s crew had clearly been a mistake… she’d be leaving sooner, rather than later. She was grateful at least for the chance to flee Onica, but after this next raid, she’d be leaving.

  There was a small escape airship she could use, she’d just steal half the larder after the raid was finished and set off by herself. There had to be more honorable company to keep than this. When she sheathed her blade, Terg emerged from his chambers beneath the helm, blinking the sleep from his eyes and clad in nothing but his undergarments. He rushed over, eyes wide when he spotted the dead man on his deck.

  “Maly?” Terg asked the corpse, “By The Overseer… who did this!?” He screamed, head whipping this way and that.

  He saw Miyu and the groveling men, eyes narrowing before he approached them. Terg’s eyes found Miyu’s bloody fist, still dripping with crimson, “Miyu… explain yourself.” He demanded.

  “I defended myself.” Miyu said, shaking the blood off her hand, “The fools here were going to try and kill me.”

  “That’s not true cap’n!” One of the men on his knees cried, scrambling up and away from her to hide behind Terg, “We merely wanted to ask her about her homeland, and the blasted horn-head went mad and killed Maly!”

  Terg narrowed his eyes further, looking to the blades dropped onto the deck before sneering, “You think me an idiot, boy?” He asked the crewman, turning to face him, “Who asks questions like that at blade-point?”

  The man stuttered, “I- No we ah, we drew the blades after she hit Maly, but then she threatened to cut us all down!”

  “Then why are their five blades over there?” Terg asked, “Or are you saying Maly drew his blade right before he got punched?”

  “T-that’s right!” He nodded emphatically, “That is exactly what happened sir!”

  “I can tell you’re lying, you fool! Half rations for the lot of ye, you’re lucky that I don’t just kill you, now strip Maly of everything on his Overseer forsaken corpse, and toss ‘im overboard!” Terg shouted, his words heated, “Or I’ll let Miyu here turn you into jelly for her bread!”

  The crewmen all yelped pathetically and scrambled off toward the body, leaving Miyu on her own. It seemed that Terg was a man of good sense at least, but she supposed that you would have to be in order to sail the Endless Sky. Terg marched over to her quickly, a sneer on his face.

  “If this happens again, try not to kill them.” Terg hissed, “I only have so many crewmen to go around, and I need every single one of them!”

  “Then they better keep their distance!” Miyu yelled, not at Terg but so the crew present on the deck could hear her, “Next time I won’t be so merciful!”

  “Remember what I told you.” Terg growled, “No more killing me men, aye?”

  “No promises.” Miyu said calmly, “I can just say that I will try.”

  Terg stared at her a long while, grinding his teeth together before he grumbled something beneath his breath, moving over to his chambers before slamming the door shut behind him. Miyu sighed again, shaking her head before she turned back toward the endless starry sky. If she were to get involved with a man, she dearly hoped that he wouldn’t ever grovel before her. Another hour passed before she decided to retire for the night, heading down below decks. She barred the door to her small chambers, as she did every night she’d been on this ship. It was a cramped room, only large enough to accommodate a human-sized cot and a small chest. Maybe for a human it was decent ship space, but for her it was nightmarishly claustrophobic. Settling in to sleep took a long time, with her having to curl up beneath the cot with a bedroll for comfort, as she couldn’t fit in it. She did manage to drift off to sleep regardless, and after a particularly nice dream involving her baking the perfect cake, she awoke, sitting up from her bedroll with a yawn.

  Was it morning or had that been a nap? Based on the cramp in her shoulder, she concluded that several hours had passed. It had to be morning now, but the lack of light down here made it hard to tell for sure. She’d need to go above deck and-

  A loud rapping at her door cut off the thought, “Miyu! Miyu get up above deck, we got pirates trying to board!” A voice shouted, “Hurry!”

  “I’m up!” She shouted, standing quickly, “I’ll be right up!”

  She heard footsteps racing down the hall after she replied, and quickly she readied herself, donning her armor as quickly as possible before grabbing up Zila, not bothering to strap it across her shoulders as she unbarred her door and raced down the hallway, sprinting up the stairs with a dozen other crew members, drawing blades as they made it topside. As the man earlier had claimed, another, slightly smaller ship was approaching, with dozens of pirates gripping ropes on their deck, readying to rappel themselves down on their heads.

  This smaller airship had fantastic maneuverability, hovering just above this ship even as this one tried to fly away as fast as possible. The ropes came down, and then came the pirates, humans sliding down ropes and clad in breastplates. Crossbows were fired from the deck, Terg trying his best to get the ship out from under the one on top. A few bolts found purchase, knocking a few men off their ropes before they fell to the deck, screaming in agony before being finished off by her comrades.

  “Kill ‘em all!” Terg shouted, spittle flying from his mouth, “Whoever kills the most gets first pickin’s of their loot!”

  Miyu felt determination brew at those words, glancing at the ship above, wondering what would count as ‘loot’. She grinned as the first feet hit the deck, and she darted forward, drawing Zila and swinging it at the first pirate she came across. The long blade was as heavy as a man despite its relatively slender size, double-edged and coming to a sharp point. The blade bit into the man’s midsection, bisecting him and sending the upper half of the body flying, gore spattering the deck before she moved on to the next one, raising Zila high above her head.

  The pirate gasped in terror, raising his own blade to block Zila. The effort was in vain, as Miyu’s blade parted his with ease before the edge split the pirate’s skull… before cleaving the rest of the body completely through, splitting it evenly in half before Zila hit the deck, splintering the wood. Another man charged her from behind, holding a mace over his head. Miyu, like a horse, lashed out with a back-kick, her foot crumpling in his breastplate before he was sent flying through the railing of Terg’s ship, not even managing to get out a scream as he disappeared into the endless sky below.

  Miyu roared as she cut down the rest of the pirates, painting Terg’s deck with a fresh coat of red as she went. Time ceased to exist as she rent bodies, only stopping when she realized that only one invader remained alive… the one who’s throat was beneath her heel. She looked around, seeing that Terg’s men had basically done nothing to help her with the fight, standing around the bloodbath with wide eyes and gaping jaws.

  She sneered at them again, “You did nothing!” She screamed, “Useless fools, the lot of you! I claim the ship above as my loot, I’m leaving the crew!”

  “No you don’t!” Terg shouted, “You owe me for coming aboard here without telling me who you were-”

  “Try and stop me!” She shouted, “I dare any of you weaklings to try!”

  As expected, no one stepped forward, she looked down to the man beneath her foot, who stared up at her, terrified, “You can have this man as a replacement!” She shouted, removing her foot from his throat.

  The pirate coughed, gripping his throat and curling up into a ball.

  “If any one of you takes a shot at me when I climb up there, I’ll come right back down and kill the lot of you.” She threatened, “Do not test me.”

  Terg’s mouth clamped shut, and she could see him grinding his teeth together, clearly enraged by what she said. Miyu looked again at the ship above. It was a lot smaller than Terg’s ship… maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to fly it by herself? It looked like it had been meant for just a raiding party, more than enough space for her. She acknowledged that she lacked experience in flying an airship… but it would be better than spending another moment aboard this one. Just the thought of breathing the same air as these cowards sickened her. She grabbed onto one of the ropes that had been lowered to the deck, praying that it could hold her weight…

  She then quickly ascended, moving as a blur up the rope, hand over hand before she finally reached the deck of her new airship, seeing a group of stunned men staring at her. They drew blades, backing away as she once more drew Zila.

  “Get off my boat, all of you except the one manning the helm.” She ordered, raising her blade, “Or you’ll all end up like the fools you sent down to face me.”

  “She’s alone boys, just surround her and close in, she can’t block everything!” A man yelled from the helm, hands steady on the wheel.

  “Captain?” One asked, peering over the edge, “Our boys are all dead!”

  “What? That can’t be!” He replied, “Captain Kain is going to have my head if he finds out we ran off, kill the bitch and we’ll drop anchor right on the deck of that ship!”