Check out Davy's Lantians

“Let's see those mongrels of yours.” Brenan said gruffly, curious about the sailors and why Davy was helping them find work.

“Good,” Davy nodded, “I’ve got the two brothers working down at one of my warehouses. Its hard work and it doesn’t pay well, but it keeps them occupied while they look around for a captain who’ll hire them.”

“But they’re not so valuable that you can’t afford losing them?” Brenan formed his mouth into an ironic smirk. “What's wrong with them anyway?”

Davy laughed softly. “They're, good men; experienced and willing, but you know how most captains can be about Lantians.”

“So you figured a big old softy like me, would give these outcasts a chance.” Brenan chuckled. “I'm sure I've served with men a lot less human than those two, send them down to the schooner, I'll look them over.”

“I think I preferred it when you were a grim, humorless bastard;" Davy replied, “they’ll be showing up at your ship in a little while.” With that warning Brenan headed back to his ship. He still had a great deal to do before he could stet to sea, not the least of the jobs was figure out how to start making some money to replenish the flow of silver needed to equip his new ship. It was just over an hour later when the Lantians arrived.

“Ahoy the ship,” a voice suddenly called from over the portside railing, “permission to come aboard.”

Stepping up to the gunwale, Brenan took a good look at the two men standing on the dock. They were dressed as typical sailors with loose-fitting shirts and canvas trousers, but they wore sturdy boots and knit caps despite the warm weather. Even odder was the tinted glasses that both of the similarly built brothers were wearing that hid their eyes.

“Permission granted, come aboard boys,” Brenan replied, pleased to see the two men ignoring the gangway and instead heaving themselves up over the gunwale. The two carried out the maneuver almost simultaneously and performed it with such ease and skill that it Brenan with little doubt that they had done it a hundred times before.

“I’m Brenan Kilgore, captain of this ship,” Brenan introduced himself, “and you must be the boys that Davy sent my way.”

“That we are,” the brother to his right said, and it sounded like the same voice that had called out the challenge to come aboard, “Davy told us that you wouldn’t mind two mutts like us. I’m Kyle Jones, and this is my brother Tyler.”

Brenan turned his gaze towards Tyler as the young man nodded his head at him as a greeting, and he found himself wondering if the boy was mute or just nervous. Still, Tyler took his hand when Brenan offered it as he welcomed the two men aboard his ship by shaking their hands.

“And how much experience have you got?” Brenan wondered aloud once the greetings were over and done with.

“We were raised on the coast Captain, and spent two years aboard the Dorian,” Kyle replied, “before those Cryn bastards went and sunk her on us.”

“Yeah, there’s lots of that going around,” Brenan said, but offered them no explanation, “and you’re Lantians. Can you breathe underwater?”

“No Captain, we're air-breathers, but we got good eyes for seeing under it,” Kyle’s words caused the two brothers to share a glance before removing their glasses to show Brenan their blank eyes. The solid black of their eyes was unnerving; it was like looking into the eyes of a cold and emotionless shark and Brenan understood immediately why the brothers chose to wear their tinted glasses. “We can still see on land pretty good without these, as long as we don’t have to stare into the sun, I guess.”

“A… and w-we can swim p-p-pretty fast thanks to o-o-our webbed feet,” Tyler stammered out.

“Webbed feet.” Brenan nodded remembering the sailor's tales he had heard in bars, “Don’t Lantians usually come with webbed hands as well?”

“Not us Captain, we got mom’s hands,” Kyle grinned, though Brenan doubted that Mother Jones’ hands were quite as calloused or dirty as those of her sons.

“So Captain, do you think you could use us?” Kyle asked, trying to sound confident, but clearly nervous about Brenan’s reaction to their differences.