Chapter Text
Izzy wasn’t free from superstition, no sailor truly was, but he really thought he had a more level head than most. So when the captain of the ship they took had warned them that their cargo was mystical and there would be consequences if they took it, he hadn’t been concerned.
He had scoffed and had it brought back to the Revenge but the crew had refused to touch it, so he did his duty as First Mate and sorted it.
Most of it had been normal, food stores and trinkets, some coin. There had been one small chest that had been slightly… off. When he had picked it up it almost felt like it vibrated under his fingers and when he had opened it there had only been a leather collar and a few small animal shapes carved out of gemstone.
So maybe after a glance around to make sure that he was alone he had lifted the leather collar and slid it around his neck just to see what it would feel like. Had buckled it and swallowed against the pressure, and found it nice .
Approaching footsteps and he had scrambled to get it off and back in the chest and shoved it under a small shelf, feeling the need to hide it for some reason, just as Ed appeared in the doorway.
“Hey, Iz. Was looking for you. Crew said you were down here?”
He bit back his first response, forcing himself to be calm and stoic, as he looked up at Ed from where he was still kneeling on the ground. “Yes, Captain. Did you need something?”
“Just wanted to tell you good job with taking the ship.” Izzy’s shoulders went back and a small smile found its way out at the praise, but he managed to quickly push it down.
“Thank you, Captain.” Ed put his hand out to help him up and he took it and let him pull him to his feet. Ed’s hand was warm around his and he wanted to lean closer. Ed was watching his face so he turned it away, keeping his eyes down. He’d never been good at hiding emotion in them, better to just avoid eye contact.
“Did you find him?”
He yanked his hand out of Ed’s and took a step back at Stede’s voice. When he appeared in the doorway Izzy took another step back and sneered at him. It brought Stede up short as the easy look on his face slid to a frown.
Izzy grabbed the log book before either of them could say anything else. “I have work to do.” He clutched the log book to his chest and tried to make it out of the room, and it took everything to stop the flinch when Stede moved to block him.
Stede towered over him and he wanted to move back, curl in his shoulders, make himself as small a target as he could. Nothing he ever said against the man worked, and he was hyper aware that he was only still on the ship on Stede’s whim. Ed probably wanted him to stay, but Izzy knew his place, and it fell far behind Ed’s co-captain.
“Let him go, Stede. Lots to do after a raid.”
Izzy’s eyes darted up to Ed’s face, expecting him to be angry, but his face was soft. He risked a glance at Stede, at the frustration there, and ducked his head. “Thank you, captain.” He didn’t waste any time retreating, and he forgot all about the chest.
Until he woke up.
With a tail.
He reached behind him again, eyes closed as he begged anything that would listen to let this be a dream, and felt low on his back. Yup, still a tail. He looked back at it, long and fluffy, gray and black to match his hair. Of course, that made perfect sense.
He wrapped his fingers around it, surprised at how soft it was, and gave it a hard tug. He yelped, dropping his hand to rub at the base of it, and yeah it was definitely attached. It hadn’t taken long to remember the chest and put it together and here he was.
Someone would probably come look for him soon. Maybe. Or maybe they were happy to be free of him for once, maybe no one would even notice he wasn’t on deck. He shook his head and tried to finish getting dressed. His pants had to hang a bit lower than usual to allow for the tail. He’d tried to tuck it in, but that had been awkward and painful. Maybe if he-
A sharp knock brought his attention to the door “Izzy?”
Ed. Despite his panic, his heart picked up at Ed’s voice. He tried to think through what he should do and it took him a moment to realize his tail was moving. His tail was wagging . “I-”
“Izzy you in there? You never sleep this late, I’m just worried.”
Ed was worried about him. His tail wagged harder and his face flushed as he realized he couldn’t control it. He grabbed and held it down against his leg, able to feel it twitching under his hand as he tried to force it still.
Too late he realized he should have answered Ed, that his silence had gone on too long, and his door was pushed open.
“Izzy?”
Ed moved into the room and closed the door behind him as he eyed Izzy up and down, trying to figure out what was going on. Izzy turned his body so he could hide the tail and stared wordlessly at Ed, too panicked to know what to say.
“Izzy, what’s wrong?” He eyed the way Izzy’s hand was behind his back as he moved closer and darted out to grab it and yanked him forward. It made him lose his grip on his tail and it sprung free from where he had been holding it down, frantically swishing from side to side at Ed’s touch.
Izzy met Ed’s eyes and they just stared at each other until Ed finally spoke, voice very quiet. “Izzy, do you have a tail?”
“No.”
Ed tried to look behind him and he twisted to stop him. Ed huffed, and he really should sound more shocked, disbelieving, instead he sounded delighted. “You have a fucking tail mate, let me see.”
“Ed, I don’t-”
Ed cut him off by tackling him around the middle and shoving them both back until Izzy’s knees hit the edge of his bed. Before he could fall backwards Ed spun him and then he was face down in his blankets with Ed crawling on top of him. Ed tugged at his shirt so he could get a better look while Izzy struggled to get out from under him.
“Get off me!” His voice came out breathless and not nearly as stern as he meant to, kind of hard to when Ed was touching him so much. He wiggled and snarled out, “If you don’t get off me Edward, I swear I will stab you.”
He twisted his shoulders until he could see Ed, who was watching his tail. His tail that was wildy wagging from side to side, hard enough that it thumped against the bed and the wall, impossible to hide how much he enjoyed Ed on him. Ed hummed and looked up to meet his eyes, a gleeful smirk on his face. “I dunno Izzy, I think you like me on you.”
“I don’t-”
Ed reached out to grab his tail and the words caught in his throat as his fingers stroked through the fur. Oh, he definitely could feel that, it felt nice, calming. And then Ed gave it a tug.
He playfully rolled off Izzy when he shouted and doubled his struggle to get up until he stood in front of him. His face was flushed, embarrassed, and still his tail frantically swung from side to side, like it was begging Ed to notice how happy he was to see him.
Ed grabbed his sleeve and tugged him forward, “We gotta show the crew, they are gonna love this. It's such a nice tail, they are gonna think it's so cool.”
His protests were ignored as Ed dragged him towards the deck, partially because Ed never listened and partially because his stupid tail never stopped wagging. Fine, they could show them, probably the best way to see if anyone had any idea how to fix it, that is why he would allow it.
That he was desperate for attention, that they would look at him and see him, that had nothing at all to do with it. His tail thudded a little harder.
On deck the crew were doing their jobs, mostly. Without Izzy there it would make sense if they slacked off, but something about not having the angry little man stalking around the deck was unsettling. It didn’t feel right without him.
“Hey! Everyone come here!”
As Ed dragged him up into the sunlight Izzy grabbed his tail again and held it against his leg, suddenly unsure. What if they thought he was cursed and wanted him off the ship? Ed seemed to think they would be excited but maybe it would be just another thing that they used against him. Another joke.
He let go of his tail to grab at Ed’s arm, hoping to stop him. Ed turned to look at him and the smile faltered on his face. “Iz, you okay?”
He thought he had been hiding his thoughts fairly well, had planned on telling Ed that he had work to do - like him waking up with a tail wasn’t a big deal and he should just get back to work- but then he followed Ed’s line of sight.
Of course, the tail. It was hanging low now, small stilted movements back and forth, giving away his trepidation. When he woke up he thought the fact that he physically had a tail would be the problem, not that the damn thing would broadcast his feelings. He didn’t have time to come up with something to say to Ed as Luicus and Pete approached them, the others not far behind.
Ed pulled him forwards from where he had subconsciously eased behind Ed, and he stumbled as he was suddenly in front of everyone. He scrambled to hold his tail down and hidden behind him.
Lucius tilted his head as he looked at him, took in his flushed face and general dishevelment and his mouth twisted. “You okay, Izzy?” He glanced at Ed with a bit of suspicion on his face before he brought his attention back, “What’s going on?”
Izzy felt Ed tense at the implied question, asking if Ed had done something to him, and he scrambled to stop that. Sometimes that mistrust still popped up and everyone always felt worse so if he could avoid it altogether he would, even if it was at his own expense.
“I woke up with a tail.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
He swallowed hard and turned around and let the death grip he had on his fur go.
Silence.
Yeah, that was fair.
“You don’t gotta be nervous, Izzy.”
“I’m not-” Fang pointed at his tail, and of course Fang could read what the movements meant. He tried to gather him and speak again but instead nearly jumped out of his skin when someone touched him. They didn’t pull or tug, just pet the fur, and he whirled around. Lucius still had his hand out, face awed and open, and behind him he felt his tail swish against his leg, just barely moving.
“You really do have a tail.”
“I said that.”
He had their attention now and it was a bit overwhelming, but when Ed reached out to grab ahold of his elbow, giving him support, he forced himself to relax.
They were all talking at once, circling around him to look at it, petting it once Izzy gave a small nod that it was okay. Frenchie was mumbling about that they had told them the cargo was cursed, but it didn’t stop him from coming to investigate.
And dammit, his tail picked up speed as they talked to him, until Lucius laughed. He caught his tail, stopping the sweeping motion, and grinned, “Hard to pretend like you don’t like us with this, huh?”
“I don’t like you all, you’re-”
Lucius let his tail go and it went back to wagging, easy and relaxed, and he scowled down at it. Even his own body, or whatever this tail was, was against him.
“I think it’s kinda cute.”
The blush had faded once they were on deck but at Ed’s words it came back in a rush, and no one mentioned that his tail wagged a bit more frantically.
Caught up with trying to swat The Swede away from poking at his tail he missed Ed pull Ivan aside and ask him to go get Stede so he could see too.
Stede hadn’t quite believed Ivan when he showed up at the door to the captains’ cabin and explained the situation.
“First Mate Hands… has a tail.” Ivan nodded. Stede tilted his head and cleared his throat, “A tail.”
“Yeah, like a dog. Wags and everything.”
Stede nodded, because sure, why not. He had heard the talk about the cargo they raided being cursed but had thought that was surely supposed to just be a deterrent. He motioned for Ivan to head back up deck and followed him. It was rather exciting though, wasn’t it? A curse like he read in his books about pirates and the seven seas. The more he thought about it the more eager he was to see.
When he got on deck he couldn’t see Izzy at first, not with the way everyone was crowded around him. He got a glimpse of the man’s face, not smiling but not nearly as tense as usual and once there was a gap he could see him between he covered his mouth to stop his gasp. There was certainly a beautiful tail poking out from the top of Izzy’s pants, and currently it was moving rapidly from side to side, and he didn’t know much about dogs but he did know that meant one was happy. Not that he was calling Izzy a dog, even in his own head he tried to backtrack, like their first mate would somehow hear his thoughts and throw a tantrum.
In fact Izzy looked so happy at the moment Stede was hesitant about if he should approach. He’d been trying so hard to win the man over, to get just a tiny fraction of the pleased reaction Ed got from him anytime they were close, but clearly Izzy hated him. He had tried to talk to him just the night before, wanted to thank him for doing all the work with the log once he found out his crew had refused, but he had only been met with a scowl and Izzy retreating.
Ed kept telling him not to push it, that he had to let Izzy get used to things but that he would come around. Told him that Izzy didn’t hate him, but he didn’t know what else would explain Izzy’s reaction to him. They had gotten off to a rough start but it had been months since all that, and he wanted to get to know Izzy better. Much better if he was honest. His cheeks flushed at the thought and he looked back up to find Ed looking at him.
The man smirked at him and raised an eyebrow, before he tilted his head at Izzy. With a small nod he headed towards them. He tried to think about what he knew about dogs and he was sure once Izzy saw him the happy swaying would stop, that his tail would go still and stiff, angry.
Stede was nearly to the group when Izzy spotted him. Stede had that frustrated look on his face, probably mad that Izzy was disrupting work, and he felt his shoulders curl in even as he ducked his chin down. He worked hard to keep his face blank, didn’t want to give Stede the satisfaction of knowing how intimidated he was, and he scowled in his direction without meeting his eyes.
In the edge of his vision he saw Stede stumble to a stop at the same time Ed let out a small sad little, “Oh.”
His eyes snapped up to Stede’s face and tried to process what he was seeing. Stede had his hands up, and he no longer looked frustrated. He looked upset, concerned and he was looking down.
And now that he thought about it Izzy could feel where his tail was. He closed his eyes, and considered maybe just throwing himself off the ship.
His tail was tucked tight against him, broadcasting to anyone that wanted to see that he was afraid of Stede. Everyone was frozen and he didn’t want to see the pity on their faces. Stede finally seemed to snap out of it and took a step towards him, voice gentle, “Izzy-”
He didn’t wait to hear what he was going to say, just turned and fled below decks, tail literally tucked between his legs.
Ed and Stede looked at each other, both still caught in the surprise of Izzy’s reaction. When he had seen that tail tuck his stomach had dropped, like the boat had suddenly tilted. But instead of the boat it was reality.
Jim was the first to break the silence, “What did you do to him?”
“I didn’t do anything to him!” He turned to look at the crew and made a face at the looks he was getting in return. He redirected his focus to Ed, “I didn’t do anything to him.”
Lucius spoke up. “Before you got here he was all calm. Tail wagging and everything. As soon as he saw you, well, you saw.” Everyone nodded at Lucius’ assessment and Stede ignored them as he stared in the direction Izzy had gone.
The entire idea was just so ludicrous. Sure now that he thought about it Izzy did avoid him, didn’t make eye contact and he’d seen him cringe away but he’d explained it to himself as Izzy being disgusted with him. Which… didn’t make much sense, but certainly made more than Israel Hands, first mate to Blackbeard and best sword in the Caribbean, being afraid of him.
“I better go check on him.”
Stede jumped into motion and followed him, “I’ll come with you.”
Ed glanced at him, his mouth turned down. “Think that’s a good idea? What with his reaction and all?”
Stede grabbed Ed’s arm and forced him to stop, “Do you think I did something to him?”
“No.” He shook his head, and the instant answer at least settled the guilt churning in Stede’s stomach. They started walking again. “Just…” He trailed off and sighed, “Yeah, you better come along. We might as well get this figured out.”
“Now?” He expected they would find Izzy and calm him, try to convince him it was okay, but not that they would get right into it with him.
“Yeah. Gotta be blunt with him, can’t ease around it.” As an afterthought he muttered, “He’ll just get in his head about it the longer we let it go. Apparently he already has and I didn’t even notice.”
They were heading deeper into the ship and Stede realized he didn’t know where they were going. “Is he not in his room?”
“Doubt it.”
“But you know where he is?”
“Yeah.” Stede didn’t think he was going to say anything else but after a moment he added, “He used to hide down in the supply hold on Hornigold’s ship, he can fit himself into some tiny places. Guess he felt safer there when things were bad.”
“And on the Queen Anne, too?”
“No.” He rubbed a hand over his face and tried not to sound like he was making an accusation. “He wasn’t ever afraid on the Queen.”
“Maybe I should leave you to it.”
Ed shook his head as they stopped outside the door of the supply area and he hesitated to go further. “Think this is my fault. He felt safe on the Queen Anne because he was my first mate, under my protection. If he is afraid here, it’s because I let him down.”
They shared a long look before Stede motioned to the room. “Let’s get our first mate.”