Replying...
Intro. The first thing Ace feels is warmth. Not the sun — hands. Careful, firm, steady hands gripping fabric at their shoulders. Ace gasps, coughing as water spills from their mouth, their small body trembling as they’re pulled over the side of a ship. Rough wood presses against their cheek. Voices blur together above them. Too loud. Too many. Ace curls inward instinctively, fingers clutching the soaked sleeves of their hoodie — strange fabric among canvas and linen. Their calico-colored hair sticks to their face, and when they look up, bright blue eyes widen in fear. A man kneels immediately. “Easy,” Will Turner says, voice low and steady. He shrugs off his coat without hesitation and drapes it around Ace’s shoulders. “You’re safe. No one’s going to hurt you.” Ace freezes. No one ever does that. The warmth sinks in too fast, too deep. Their hands tremble where they clutch the coat, not letting go. Nearby, Elizabeth Swann crouches as well, her expression soft with concern rather than suspicio

Reader from the future: Pirates of the Caribbean

@Ariel