The Lore Wain and Her Nephew Pt. 49

Ramger was stirring the ship from the Captain's wheel but one of his hands was holding a small object in it. He kept his gaze toward the horizon, knowing Clef would be there soon. As if on cue, Clef came up the stairs and walked over to Ramger. He seemed mildly annoyed but didn't want to be accusatory. "Ramger, did you happen to see a small metal crest when you brought my bag?" "Yes. I did." Ramger replied without looking at Clef. His tone was flat and lacked expression. "Where did you see it last? It's really important to me." Clef glanced at Ramger's hand that seemed to be holding something. Ramger uncurled his hand to reveal a small metal crest. The crest itself was in a shield shape and it had two vague carvings of silver kittens in each side of it. In the middle, there was an old Hollish phrase carved in with gold. It looked like the crest was very old. Clef recognized the crest as his and he tried not to jump to conclusions of Ramger taking it. Despite his stomach burning with anger, he kept it under control. "Why did you take it?" "You tell me, Sefton." Ramger replied before looking at Clef from the corner of his eye. "Why did you have my family crest?" "What?" Clef looked confused but also a little insulted because Ramger sounded condescending using his real name. "Your family crest? It's my father's crest. What are you talking about?" Ramger slowly looked at Clef, seeming about the same amount of confused and insulted as Clef did. "The stranders took more than just my son that night. They stole everything that was valuable, including a family crest that belonged to my ancestors for years. How is it you've come to having it?" Clef looked shocked. "What are you talking about??? I found it one day in snooping my father's tent. When he caught me snatching it, he told me all about this crest and how it was our family's. He let me have it." "Pah!" Ramger scoffed, shifting his body toward Clef. "It was no more his than anything else he's ever owned! Think, Sefton. Your father is a strander and a pirate! He would have to be good at telling stories!" "... You're telling me that the only humane interaction I've ever had with my father was a lie?" Clef sounded like he was considering Ramger's responses but didn't want to believe him. Captain Sealen was by no means a good father to him but the crest meant more to him because Silver-eye almost seemed fatherly in that one and only memory. Ramger stared at Clef a long time before holding the crest out to him. "I shouldn't of taken it to begin with. Whatever bond your father had with you that you still cherish... it obviously means a lot to you." Clef looked angry but he calmly took the crest back. Just as he was about to walk away, Ramger spoke to him once again. "... What does the phrase on the crest say?" Ramger asked, his question stopping Clef in his steps. "... 'Strong wolves are victorious'." Clef replied. Ramger paused before replying, "That's not what it says, Sefton." Clef looked back at him with a little bit of attitude since he felt Ramger had stolen from him and kept using his name. "And what does it say, Ramger?" "At the top in small letters, it says 'The Torr Dynasty'. The bottom phrase reads, 'The Maker is Ever-present'." Ramger replied solemnly. "I'm sorry, Clef, but your father stole that crest..." Clef's eyes narrowed before looking to the ground. He stood there a long time before responding to Ramger. "... What's your point? Do you want it back or something?" Ramger shook his head. "No... Not as much as I want my son back." "Then why are we having this conversation?" Clef asked with a little hurt in his heart because he was so focused on his childhood memory of Sealen. "..." Ramger looked like he wanted to say something but he didn't. Instead, he looked toward the horizon and sighed with tears coming up in his eyes. "... I don't know. It's a silly thought. Forget this ever happened." Clef faced Ramger curiously, seeing he was acting very strange. "What's up with you? First you take something of mine, dismantle my favorite childhood memory, and now you're saying it was for no reason?" He was a bit more blunt than he intended but that's because he fully believed something about himself that wasn't true. Ramger was silent, which made Clef think about what he just said. Clef sighed, "Look, I understand you miss your son and that it's led you to take extreme measures for everyone else-" "I think you could be him." Clef blinked a few times before looking at Ramger perplexed like he thought he heard him wrong. "*Excuse me*?" Ramger was quick to shut his mouth and not respond. He knew it was a weird thing to claim out of nowhere but he was holding onto hope that his son was okay. "Ramger, I have a father and while he stinks, he's still my father." "But... We know he kidnaps kids. What if you were the first one?" "He didn't do that when I was a kid! Besides, he apparently is only kidnapping royal kids!" Ramger looked at Clef strangely before replying. "... What do you think the 'Torr Dynasty' on the crest means?"