“I need to find my first mate!” I call out as I round the corner and enter the sitting room. “Don’t call him your first mate,” I hear Evert call back from outside the open window. The front door opens, and he and Sylred make their way down the steps and into the room. “Why not? He became my mate first. That makes him my first mate.” “First mate makes him sound like he’s your favorite. Or a sailor. He’s neither,” Evert says, coming up to me.
