A fool at the helm leads his crew to wisdom

The night passed by and the morning sun crawled up into the sky. Since the sea was a dangerous place, we swallowed our egos and agreed to keep watch. I took the last shift and was the only one awake to witness the beautiful sunrise in the middle of the sea... Yeah, who am I kidding? I would much rather sleep!

I silently grumbled on the lounge chair when a deep yawn sounded from behind me. Eric walked out from the cabin of the yacht. The cabin was pretty huge, with 2 rooms and a bath alongside the usual control room.

"Morning, Eric. Do you mind doing me a favor," I said in a soft tone, not to surprise him when he just woke up.

"Morning. What can I do?" He replied.

"Just get to the helm and turn towards starboard, would ya?"

"The control room?"

"Nope, at the wheel, over there."

"A wheel on such a modern yacht?" Eric shrugged and went to the helm.

"Like this?" he asked as he turned the wheel.

"Yup, that direction."

"Argh, I am turning it! Is it moving?"

"Just a bit! Turn it more!" I shouted back,

"Now?"

"Keep turning it!"

For a solid fifteen minutes, he tried to turn the ship towards starboard, but the ship wouldn't move. I told him to continue trying, which he did, to no avail.

Suddenly, the cabin door swung open, and Nea walked over to the deck. She looked around a bit and fixed her gaze on Eric, who was still trying to steer the boat.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Towards starboard! It just doesn't move!" Eric gritted his teeth.

"This is a yacht? You steer in the control room..."

The pretty man stopped in his tracks. As if he had received a shock as great as the one he got yesterday. He stared at Nea with his mouth wide open and then turned his face towards me. Unable to control myself anymore, I burst into a laughing fit. What a damn fool he was!!

Eric dashed towards me to beat me up, but a loud bang stopped him as the door to the cabin swung open again. Out came a black cat with its tail flailing around. Kou purred loudly before walking over and nesting in my lap.

"This guy was here too?" Eric asked in a stupor.

"Who do you think was commandeering the vessel all along?" I replied.

"Really? This cat can drive a yacht!?" Eric screamed.

"OF COURSE IT CAN'T! He's pulling your leg!!" Nea said in disbelief at this fool's gullibility, while I enjoyed another hearty laugh.

The rest of our journey went similarly. I kept teasing Eric, and he kept getting teased. After a point, Nea was too tired of playing the straight guy and joined me in teasing the bastard. By that evening, the target shifted to me, and both the folks tried to pull my leg instead. Of course, being as great as I am, I never really fell for their antics. Ok, maybe once... twice... damn it, fine. About 7 times, but nothing other than that!

We cooked food and played some games, conversed about Ussera and a bit about our destination. Captain McWhiskers made a home of my lap and turned his job of captaining into a hobby. The day passed by and night dawned again as we divided shifts once more. The next afternoon, we could make out our destination.

At the Western end of Ussera, influenced by its neighboring country, laid the unconventional a conventional border town. While it was the territory of Elisbonear, it was unlike both the land of water and the land of fire. This unique blend made it a popular tourist spot. In the center of the ocean, surrounded by water and people alike, was the Island of Shanshan.