Cris shows who's the Captain while still being a gentleman to his fiancee.
In an attempt to make Kyl feel
comfortable, while he was still blindfolded, Alaia guided him toward the room
next to the galley, guiding him to a seat at a rather large wooden table.
“Where do you come from?” she asked.
"Silvermoon," he said quietly.
"Were you kidnapped?" he whispered.
Alaia smiled so warmly and gave Kyl's
arm a careful squeeze. "No, I am not. I am with the Captain, and very much
by choice." She paused for a moment, biting on her lip. "Were you
given a choice about coming here?"
“Well, it was
either that or die," the elf softly said. "But this I was told: I
would get paid for this. Is that true?"
"Of course it is. There wouldn't
be a crew otherwise. But... what exactly did he tell you about this...
job?"
"Ziggly said that it was just
doing pirate stuff. That's it." There was shuffling around the corner of
an entryway.
"Doing pirate stuff. Damn that
Ziggly." The dwarven woman stood reclining against the doorway with her
arms folded and shaking her head.
Alaia didn't have the chance to
respond before Gerty came into sight and walked over to her. Her smile grew by
bounds and though she kept one hand on the boy the other moved away once they
were close enough so she could lean over and kiss the dwarf's cheek. "He
is an awfully helpful little toad, isn't he?" She grinned a little at that
and shrugged, getting her hold on Kyl back. "But I suppose it really
should be the Captain explaining those things."
"Toad. I like that, lass. Aye,
that he is. Where’s the Captain? I want to say hello." Gerty looked
around. Kyl kept moving his head toward the voices.
"Can I get this thing off?"
Gerty laughed a hearty laugh and reached over to remove the blindfold.
"As long as ye stay here." Kyl
blinked and rubbed his eyes. He glanced at the ship, the dwarf, and then his
eyes stopped on the redhead woman, who he assumed was the one speaking to him
calmly: Alaia.
Gerty looked at Alaia and smiled
brightly. "How have you been, lovely?" She had taken to calling her
that since real or first names weren't really used among them.
Alaia gave Kyl a gentle pat once he
could see and finally pulled her hands back to herself. Her smile was bright
and focused then fully on the dwarf. "Good! But we were starting to get a
little restless. And he said he'd be down in a minute. He's just taking us
out." Her eyebrows raised a little. "How was your vacation?"
"Good, lass! Spent time with the
family. Got a few recipes we gotta try!" She looked behind her and smiled
again. Kyl stared at Alaia and furrowed his brows before turning to the
entryway. She just beamed at Gerty, though her smile softened when it turned on
Kyl once more. But she turned away upon Cris' approach, stepping out of the way
so he could hug Gerty.
Cris walked toward Gerty, his arms
stretched out to her. "There she is."
"Glad to see ya, Captain." Cris
smiled and Gerty chuckled. "Still blonde, eh?"
With a sigh, Cris nodded, "Ay.
What choice do I have, hm?" He saw Kyl and walked toward him. The elf’s
fingers gripped the seat tightly. His light-emerald eyes turned to look at
Alaia, as if seeking help. Cris grabbed another stool and placed it in front of
the elf.
Still, even as Kyl settled so
nervously her smile was there and warm, as encouraging and comforting as she
could make it. "Just a talk," she murmured softly and stood nearby
but definitely out of the way.
Gerty smiled and
said "Good luck there, kid," She walked toward the galley and Alaia
gave Gerty a little wave, but she wasn't planning on going anywhere herself,
even though she had things that needed to be taken to the galley. They could have
to wait until later.
Cris sat in front
of the elf. "What's your name?"
The elf lowered his head and
muttered, "...Kyl." Alaia stayed right where she was and hoped that
maybe her presence would put the kid a little more at ease.
Cris slouched and
rubbed the goatee on his chin. "What are we going to do with you?
Hm?" Silently, Cris studied the elf, causing Kyl to start looking
at Alaia while he avoided the captain's eyes. "What brings you onto my
ship?" Cris finally asked.
Kyl continued to look at Alaia, as if
seeking the right answer. Alaia said nothing but she held the boy's gaze and
gave him a nod and an encouraging smile when Cris asked his question. She
didn't think the truth wasn't going to hurt him here. He mumbled,
"Ziggly."
Cris nodded and
smirked, "I heard you try to rob him. What led you to such a stupid move?
Don't you have a home you should be at?"
Kyl looked back down. "No."
He looked up a little and noticed that Cris was still looking at him. "I
mean, I..." He hesitated a bit before saying, "...I wouldn't go
back." Alaia's brow furrowed gently and for a moment she wondered what so
horrible that would keep him from home.
Cris lifted an eyebrow. "Can't
be worse than possibly being killed out at sea with us."
The elf lifted his head quickly and
glanced at Alaia. Her smile was still there, however, when he glanced up at
her, but faded and a little sorrowful. "It's not a merchant ship,"
she added softly. "It's not an easy life and sometimes even the people on
your side are bad." Cris nodded, knowing well how that went.
Kyl looked at Cris and asked,
"Is that guy Ziggly bad?"
The captain couldn't help but laugh.
"No. He thinks he is, but he's not."
Kyl smiled a little, "So all
that shit about him killing me?"
Cris stopped laughing and looked at
Kyl, "No, he'll kill you." He made sure Kyl saw him straight into his
eyes before speaking again, "And so will I if you betray me." Kyl's
smile quickly disappeared, his eyes widening as he sought to keep breathing. He
broke eye contact with Cris and glanced at Alaia nervously, his body trembling.
Alaia gave him an apologetic,
sympathetic look when he glanced to her again. "You need to be loyal if
you become a permanent member of the crew. It's the most important thing. And work
hard. You'll adapt if you're careful and do your work." She glanced down
at Cris herself then; she wasn't sure if she was being helpful, or if he'd be
annoyed that she was even talking for that matter. But she chose to settle on
the floor beside him and rested her head against his knee.
Cris placed a hand on her head and
turned back to the elf. "Do you understand? I hire manpower and get rid of
them. Some of them die, the ones who work, get paid. If you can't work by my
rules, I can either kill you or throw you off, depending on how hard you worked
before you fucked up." He reached for his dagger and quickly placed the sharp
tip against Kyl's neck. The young elf gasped and shivered again. "It'll be
your choice. Get it?" Kyl nodded slowly and Cris lowered his dagger.
"Stay out of my cabin. Eat Gerty's food. Don't ever disrespect her."
His words were followed by a gesture toward Alaia. Kyl nodded again, glancing
down at Alaia and wondering why she was sitting on the floor. "You're the
Kid."
Kyl looked at the captain and
furrowed his brow. "I'm Kyl."
Cris shook his head and placed his
dagger away. "Not while you're on this ship. You are the Kid. You don't
like it? We'll throw you off right now." With a roll of his eyes, Kyl
shrugged. "I didn't hear you. Did you say something, Kid?" Cris
stared at him with a severely serious look on his face.
"That's fine," Kyl mumbled.
Cris smirked. "No, you don't answer
that way. I'm your captain now. Now, what was that?"
Kyl glanced at Alaia before sighing
deeply. "That's fine...Captain." With a nod, Cris gestured toward the
entryway. "Ziggly's out there. Learn something and be ready. You never
know when we'll be under attack. Go." Kyl quickly jumped out of his seat
and ran up to the deck. Cris chuckled softly and sighed, looking up at the
ceiling. "What the hell did Zig do?" He shook his head.
Alaia just listened and gave
encouraging smiles whenever she could. Once it was over and Kyl was rushed out,
her smile lifted so much. She wrapped around Cris' leg then and hugged him so
tight, nuzzling into his knee as she did. "Brought you someone young. But
he'll be fine. I'll help him out a little and... he'll be great." She
kissed the side of his knee.
"He reminds me a lot of me. He
can't be that young either, right?" He gently tried to guide Alaia around
so that she would sit on the stool Kyl abandoned. She gave him the poutiest
look when he urged her up but she settled on the stool, her eyes locked on his.
For a moment she simply searched his face but with a heavy sigh, she arose
again and pushed herself onto his lap instead. "I hope I don't scare you
away, love. I have to be, well, harsh with the crew or I'll lose my ship. I'm
sure you understand that, being on that other ship, but, well..." He
stopped for a moment and simply stared at her.
"I do know... and it won't scare
me away. But if it happens a lot, you'll just have to let me start helping
choose the crew because it will mean someone's doing something wrong." Her
voice was soft, both teasing and not, as she wrapped around him and stroked his
cheek. "I'm not the one you have to worry about," she whispered.
He stared at her silently and his
hands pulled her legs around him. He spoke against her lips in a whisper,
"I love you." That led to him pressing his lips against her.
"You better," she managed
to murmur against his lips before he pressed in and she gave way to his kiss.
Her legs wrapped around him better, her arms tangled around his neck and even
in that kiss she was smiling.
"Hey Wolf! You can have your
five seconds to get off, but I need to know where the fuck we're going,"
Ziggly shouted from the entryway.
Alaia grinned and gave a soft laugh
at the shout but she did not blush and only tilted her head aside a little so
Cris could see. Cris smiled against Alaia's lips once more and moved his head
to the side. "Well, we're going
to my cabin, but the ship is heading to Booty Bay. We have business to settle
there." Ziggly turned around, but not without mumbling and mocking Cris'
orders. Cris turned to Alaia and smiled. "Shall we?"
She rolled her eyes as Ziggly left
but then she was grinning again and tightening her hold on Cris. "As long
as you don't mind me not letting go." If it was possible, her grin grew
even more.
He placed his hands on her behind to
hold her better and smiled. "Never let go, lovely."
"I won't," she whispered
and kissed him again before he could get up, though this one was gentle and
soft.
He carried her up to the deck, toward
his cabin, unconcerned with whatever Ziggly or Kyl had to say as they passed by.
Alaia certainly didn't care what anyone saw or what they thought. Not here.
They were the crew after all and that was sort of like family, right? So she
kept herself as wrapped around him as she could and was giggling all the way
into the cabin, where Cris slammed the door shut.
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