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"Why are we putting flowers on the table? I mean, there are
pirates onboard right?" Ismay chuckled as she placed another bouquet of
dried flowers on the table.
Gerty chuckled. "Captain wants it to look nice. Something about a
big meal for us. Which means we'll probably find the crew goofing off once
we're done." Gerty placed the old metal dishes on the wooden table and
Ismay frowned.
"There's writing all over the table."
"Well, we have had it for a while," Gerty replied.
Kyl walked in and sat at a chair. "We gonna be eating right for
once?" he asked, placing his boots on the table.
"Git those things off before we start measuring you for pegs for
your feet!" Gerty growled. Ismay's eyes widened. She still wasn't used to
the way the crew spoke to each other, so she silently continued to set the
table. At least Ziggly wasn't there yet, she thought.
Meanwhile, in the cabin, Cris leaned against the desk, watching Alaia
get ready. He smiled silently.
Alaia wasn't doing anything fancy with herself, no more so than she
usually did anyway, but she was taking her time because she was a little
nervous. She was smoothing out her dress so carefully, adjusted the blue fabric
that hugged her arms and left her shoulders bared, fiddled with the flower she
so often wore in her hair and finally let out a heavy sigh because there just
wasn't anything else left to pretend to do. She plucked at a bit of the sea
glass adorning her necklace when she looked up and she blushed. As hard as she
was trying not to appear nervous when she looked at him she failed just as
badly.
He chuckled and pushed himself away from the desk, walking toward her.
He had cleaned up with a clean red shirt and his hair had been fixed instead of
looking ragged after a long day. "You look fine, lovely. Who are you
trying to impress?" He placed his hands on her waist and kissed her
forehead.
She gripped his arms, just behind his elbows so carefully and pushed
into him. "Me," she replied quietly and shrugged.
He hugged her tight and sighed. "We don't have to do this if you
don't want to, you know."
She nodded, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I know. I just
don't want to cause any problems. Some ships don't even allow women; and you
have one that's pregnant. I just... don't want it to be a problem."
“Well, I rather have women onboard.” With a chuckle, he nodded. "But
I want them to know this so that they can keep an eye on you." He cupped
her chin and tried to lift her head. "I want you to be safe."
She let him lift her head; she always did, and looked up at him with
such wide eyes and the sweetest little smile. "Ok. It will be ok."
She managed to make her smile just a little bigger.
He smiled back at her and leaned in to kiss her softly. "You are
so beautiful." His voice fell to a whisper, "I'm the luckiest man
alive."
That kiss lifted her smile even more and calmed her nerves so
easily. She did not form a verbal response to him but cupped his cheek and
nodded in agreement as she rose on her toes to leave a little kiss on his neck,
avoiding sensitive areas. And then she took his hand and laced their fingers
together, her voice just above a whisper; "Now I'm ready."
He tightened his grip around her hand and smiled. "Let's go
then."
In the galley, meanwhile, Kyl had his face on his plate as he waited
and Ismay was worried about him while Gerty finished putting the food on the
table. It was then that they heard the goblin's voice, "What the fuck is
all this about?" He saw the flowers on the table and grimaced. "What
the fuck is that?" He looked at Ismay and snarled. "Was that your
idea? This ain't no party ship, wench."
"Watch your damn mouth!" shouted Gerty.
"Don't tell me to watch my mouth, bitch!"
"I’ll shut it for you, ass!"
Ismay inched closer to Kyl, who lifted his head to watch the two argue.
"Should we intervene?"
Kyl shook his head. "Nah. This is normal."
Ziggly and Gerty continued to yell at each other and Cris walked down
the steps, sighing. "Both of you shut up! We're going to have a civilized
dinner! Ziggly, sit your fucking ass down. Gerty, serve the damn meal!"
Kyl smirked and sat up on the bench and Ismay ran to her seat.
"Psh, civilized..." Ziggly grumbled as he sat, scratching his
crotch in the process.
"You do realize this is a pirate ship, right?" Kyl asked.
"It doesn't mean we can't be decent pirates," replied Cris,
as he helped Alaia to her seat. "Good evening, Ismay," he said
politely. Ismay half-smiled and looked down, still scared of her surroundings.
Alaia took little notice of the yelling anymore but she gave Ismay a
soft, sympathetic smile; she remembered very well getting used to such things.
Kyl, however, nearly had her giggling as she settled into her seat. Flashing a
smile at Cris she pushed her hair to one side, getting it off of her shoulder
before smiled around at everyone else.
As Gerty gently placed meals in front of Cris, Alaia, and Ismay, Ziggly
leaned on his hand, elbow propped onto the table. "So what's with the
pussy meal?" After giving Kyl his plate, Gerty threw Ziggly's plate in
front of him, food scattered all over the table. He snarled at her and said,
"Watch out with this one, new wench. I bet she misses when you two are
together too, eh?" He snickered.
"I’m going to kill him, Captain," Gerty melodiously said as
she passed by Cris and Alaia.
Alaia gave a brief scowl in Ziggly's direction before quite
pointedly turning her attention away from him. She focused instead on her plate
and stifled a soft giggle at Gerty's comment.
Cris sighed out loud and looked at his plate. It was some sort of
cooked bird with vegetables. He shrugged and began to eat while Gerty served
wine in the goblets. Alaia thought everything looked wonderful but then again, it always
did when Gerty was cooking, whatever she might have come up with. Kyl reached out for his
serving but she passed by him. "Tea for you." He sighed and went back
to eating. Ziggly commented once more about Gerty as she passed by, but she
ignored him, as tempted as she was to pour the wine over his head. She was
about to serve Alaia and a small stream may have dropped in her goblet.
"I'm sorry! I'll get your tea! I'm so sorry!"
She looked at Cris and he shook his head, calmly replying, "It's
fine."
She turned to Alaia. "I'm sorry, lovely!" Ziggly, Kyl and
Ismay looked surprised at her reaction.
Alaia was already poking at some of the vegetables with her fork
when Gerty started with the wine. She was just as surprised as everyone else by
the dwarf's reaction. Her eyes had widened to enormity when she looked at Gerty
but then she smiled and reached out to grasp the tiny woman’s arm before she
could get away. She didn't say a word to calm her but reached up enough to kiss
her cheek, Ziggly being the only person she ever excluded from such a thing,
and then turned back to her plate. "Well, I think this looks wonderful," she said then before taking a
bite and flashing that smile again.
Gerty nodded and cleared her throat. "Thank you." She rushed
to bring her tea and Kyl's as well and finally sat down beside Ismay, who
stared at Gerty endlessly. The silence was taken over by the scraping of silver
forks against the metal plates. Cris lifted his eyes to look at everyone and
looked back down, "It is good, Gerty. Thank you."
Kyl poked at his bird and shrugged. "It's tough."
Ziggly, gnawing at the food like an animal, spat out as he spoke,
"fucking pussy meal."
Ismay blinked and turned to look at Alaia, still shocked at the
language used. Gerty simply glared at Ziggly and returned to eating.
Alaia paused and heaved out a sigh so she could address Ziggly. Her
eyebrows raised, she asked, "What would you rather have?"
Ziggly smiled, his sharp teeth grinning widely and covered with chunks
of meat. "Wenches would be nice. Why? Are you offering?" Kyl
snickered and Ismay gasped a little as Cris threw his fork on the plate, the
sound ringing in the room.
"Really, fucker?"
Ziggly laughed. "She fucking asked!"
"One fucking meal in peace. Is that too fucking much to ask for,
asshole?"
"You’re the one surrounded by wenches! I mean, look at the damn
Kid. He passes for a wench too since he has no fucking balls!"
"HEY!" Kyl was going to yell back at Ziggly, but he noticed
Alaia’s intense look on her face.
Alaia looked Ziggly over as if she were sizing him up, as if she
hadn't heard a single thing that anyone else had said. And after her sizing up she
grinned. "We both know you aren't man enough to handle me; there'd be
nothing left of you when I was done. And there's no point in arguing about it;
truth is truth." She looked so sure of that. She was always so nice and so
sweet but she had her moments and someone on that ship almost always brought
them on. She turned back to her plate then as if nothing had been said at all.
Cris didn’t bother after her comment and grinned, turning back to his
plate. He knew Alaia was capable of fending for herself and he enjoyed watching
her stand up to Ziggly.
Kyl muttered quietly, "I have fucking balls."
Ziggly, however, glared at Alaia. He stood, which no one could really
tell, and snarled, "I don't give a fuck who you're with. You don't say
shit to me." He was about to lunge onto the table when two guns appeared,
pointed at him. Gerty had her shotgun ready and Cris' gun was pointed at him,
although his eyes were still on the plate.
"Sit down, Ziggly," he calmly said. It was Gerty gesturing
for him to return to his seat that the goblin looked at.
Ziggly returned, "I'm only backing down because you ain't worth
it, baby," he said, addressing Alaia. As soon as his ass hit the chair,
the guns were put away. Ismay's jaw had dropped and she had scooted closer to
Gerty after her gun was put away. Kyl chewed loudly as he smiled widely. So
far, it was the best meal he had had on the ship since he joined up.
Alaia wasn't bothered. She wasn't scared of Ziggly, not in the
slightest. She had a retort and would have paused to say something until he
said she wasn't worth it. She promptly burst into laughter. "You are so
full of it," she laughed. "And stop trying to scare me, it doesn't
work." She gave a little sigh then, however, and looked apologetically at
Cris. It was just so hard not to keep the Toad going, she didn't mean to egg
him on but he was just so damned annoying. Cris nodded silently and finished
the vegetables on his plate as one hand rested on her lap under the table.
Kyl noticed that there was silence once more and he asked, "Why are we eating all fancy and stuff? I
mean, I ain't trying to be like all Ziggly and all..." Ziggly gave him the
finger and Kyl continued, "But, like, is there something like, special or
something?"
Cris lifted his head and placed his fork down. "Well, yes, there
is." Gerty looked at him with caution in her eyes. Cris looked back at her
and nodded as she glanced at Alaia as well.
Alaia put her fork down as well but only so she could rest her elbow
on the table and then her chin in her hand. Her other hand slid into her lap
and took Cris' but she just smiled at him and raised her eyebrows. "And
what might that be?" She grinned, still expecting this would go badly but
she didn't care anymore.
He hesitated a bit and then leaned back in his chair. "I’m going
to be a father." Gerty and Ismay smiled. Kyl's own smile slowly
disappeared.
Ziggly immediately responded with "Does she know?" as he
pointed the fork at Alaia. Cris rolled his eyes and sighed.
Alaia rolled her eyes as well, but the goblin was not going to spoil
her mood. She just shook her head and then moved closer to Cris so she could
wrap her arms around his waist for a moment and burrow herself into his
shoulder. "Such a pain," she murmured so that only he would hear and
gave him a careful squeeze.
Gerty sighed as well and smiled at the two. "Well I think it's
great news. And I'm glad the Captain has found someone who doesn't want him
dead, kept a secret, or anything else." Cris sighed again and tilted his
head back in disbelief that Gerty would bring back the memories of his former
lovers. Kyl frowned and looked down, his expression suddenly saddened. He
pushed the plate away and folded his arms on the table, his head resting on his
arms, like a little boy.
Alaia wasn't even looking at anyone else. "No, there won't be
any problems from me. Or anyone working on my behalf. My brother even likes
him."
"Good!" Gerty smiled.
Kyl sighed and rose from the table, "I ain't hungry."
"Sit down," Cris said.
"I said I ain't hungry anymore."
Cris stared at Kyl. "And I said sit down. Now." Kyl sat and
sighed.
Ziggly chewed with his mouth open. "So the wench is going to
become a fat wench. Great. I think we should give up this pirate thing. No,
seriously. Wenches, pussies, babies. Fuck, I miss the real Captain. He was serious fucking business."
Cris sighed and shook his head. "This is my ship and this is what
I am allowing on it. You're lucky you're still here."
Ziggly grinned. "You need me, bitch."
"Listen, we wanted you to know because you're family." Cris
turned to Ziggly, "As fucking annoying as some of you may be. And because
we need more eyes watching over her." He looked at Alaia. "Tia
knows."
Ziggly laughed loudly and clapped his hands. One of those laughs turned
to coughing as he choked on a piece of food for a moment, but he cleared his
throat and continued to laugh. Gerty looked at Cris and Alaia, concerned. Both
Kyl and Ismay had no reaction.
Alaia only knew what Cris had told her of Tia, she knew that he was
worried, afraid even and she was concerned as well but only because he was. She
worried for him rather than herself. She didn't know enough to explain anything
to Kyl or Ismay and Ziggly's laughter simply drew another sigh. But she gave
Cris' hand a squeeze. "We'll be fine."
"Did you hear what he said, wench? Tia knows. That witch will do anything
to get what she wants. You two are fucked." Ziggly returned to his meal
and seemed to be enjoying it a bit more. Gerty glanced at Ziggly, but didn't
comment. He only looked at Cris, who knew that Ziggly wasn't joking.
"Who's...um, Tia?" Ismay finally spoke up. Kyl looked around,
curious as well.
Alaia only glanced at Ziggly and then to Kyl and Ismay. "A
troll. A very sick and twisted troll with a vendetta." She looked at Cris
for emphasis and held his hand a little tighter. "But we'll figure out a
way to take care of her." Cris remained silent and leaned back.
"She's a fucking witch. Crazy bitch too," Ziggly said.
"Ain't no way to get away from her."
"Ziggly, shut up," Gerty said calmly.
"Hey, I'm just saying the truth here. All fucking shit aside, you
and Wolf know as well as I how fucked up she is." He turned to Alaia,
"You're gonna need all the help you can get, wench." He shrugged and
began to pick at his teeth with a bone.
"Ziggly..." Gerty started.
"No, he's right," Cris interrupted. He finally looked up and
looked at the crew. "That's why you need to know. I need you to keep an
eye on her when I can't. Anything odd, any strange animals, strange pirate,
anything, you need to deal with it. Kid, get a gun. Ismay, get a weapon. Alaia
must be protected." He turned to look at Alaia, his face covered with
worry.
Alaia listened carefully to everything that was said. She still
wasn't worried, not really. This was all too new and she was still far too
capable but she knew now that this, Tia, was something they were going to have
to talk about. She simply didn't know enough and being unafraid did not mean
one should remain ignorant. She gave Cris a gentle smile when he turned to her
and raised a hand to cradle his cheek. "We'll figure something out,"
she said softly. "I can always get some big, angry paladins to stand guard
if nothing else," she teased gently, hoping to coax even the smallest of
smiles out of him.
The corner of his mouth lifted and he nodded. He
turned back to his empty plate and exhaled. "Gerty, thank you for the
meal."
"So, where are we going?" Kyl said. They
all looked at him and then back to Cris.
"Wherever the sea takes us. She knows where
we need to be." Cris touched the vial of seawater around his neck and
nodded. "Wherever she takes us."
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