"You should take care of yourself a little more," she said gently. "What would we do if we lost you?"
That hit Jared. He realized Jade cared for him and he wondered what everyone else thought of him. He's been telling a huge lie to everyone and soon he could pay the price. "Oh, well... Y-you know me..." He blurted, chuckling for a quick moment before shoving the bottle of rum to his mouth.
She cocked her head, and studied him. After a moment, she shook her head in amusement. "Weirdo. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Alright," she said, giving him a worried glance. She tossed her braid, and jumped up, grabbing onto a thick beam across the ceiling of the kitchen. She swung for a moment, and then hung, suspended in midair. "I'm so excited," she said, as if hanging from a beam was the most common way to talk. "There's a lunar festival for the next week, celebrating the blue moon tomorrow. There's apparently dancing, and songs, and plays..." she trailed off, flushing slightly as she realized she was babbling. She dropped down from the beam sheepishly.
Jared's smile had turned into a laughing grin. "I can see you're definitely excited. Get some rest so you'll have lots of energy for... tomorrow? Do we dock tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Well, we're technically docked now, since we don't dock in the harbor, but we'll go out tomorrow." She frowned. "I'm worried about Natalia. She shouldn't be going out like this; it isn't safe for her. Over exertion could kill her right now."
"It's because of these rumors about this 'treasure'. I think it's a load of bunkum, but who knows... "
"I suppose," she said, trailing off. "But it would be pretty cool if it did exist." She gave Jared a warm smile. "I'm going to sleep now. You should too."
Avice nodded. "I should've painted this, but it slipped my mind. Too late now, I suppose." She stood up, giving a quick nod to Ellia. "I should get to bed. Adventurous day tomorrow, right?"
Ellia smiled widely. "You bet. It's been years since I've been to Urela. It will definitely be an adventure." With a nod to Avice, she stood up, dusted off her legs, and climbed the ropes leading up to the crow's nest.
She breathes a little heavy and brushes her bangs out of the way of her hair. "alright, just to be safe..." She approaches Natalia and lifts up part of Natalia's shirt that was covering the bandage,which was covered in blood. "Well, even if it's fine,your gonna need to come get this bandage changed. This might sting a bit though." She grabs the bandage and slowly starts peeling it off. "OH MY GOD WE NEED TO GET THIS FIXED RIGHT AWAY!!! What have you been trying to do?! This gash has been closed and dried and stitched hours ago and somehow YOU REOPENED IT!" She grabbed Natalia's hand. "Look,I know your captain and you have duties to take care of but nobody else is gonna have duties if you die." She was sweating and she looked panicked.
Natalia's hand was small and cold but strong in Sierra's grasp. She looked down at the bandage in surprise, and reached down her free hand, and lightly touched the wound with her fingertips, her palm still closed around the locket. "Huh," she said lightly, almost faintly, examining her own blood on her hand. "That's not good." She frowned. "I suppose I have been moving around a bit." She seemed oddly calm, but it was like the calm before a storm. Her hand was trembling slightly, although if it was from fear or physical pain was unsure.
"I guess so." He put the bottle of rum away and stood up. "Sleep well. See you tomorrow" He stretched.
"See you tomorrow," Jade responded, and left the kitchen, climbing the stairs to the deck. She looked up at the now prominent stars, and smiled. Shaking her head, she sighed, and went to sleep.
Jared watched Jade leave and quickly grabbed his book of mythology and opened it up to the back page. Inside was a single envelope. He looked around before sitting down and carefully unsealed it. Inside was a single letter. He read it. He then put the letter back in the book and leaned against the wall, nodding off to sleep.
The ship swayed with the sea, the old wood creaking in the breeze. And somewhere, in the distance came the sound of haunted singing.
Jared opened one eye. The singing was... Weird. Was he hearing things? Probably. He was still curious to whom it originates.
Jade hesitated. She was in her quarters, a small room identical in structure to every other quarter, with enough space for a bed, or more commonly a hammock, a cupboard, a locked chest, and not much else. Her viola, her most prized possession, was stashed in her chest, as well as some photos and a small pouch of gold. Her cupboard held sheet music and various pieces of rosin, and at the bottom was her clothes. At the moment, she was putting on a loose white blouse that she felt was the most comfortable to sleep in, traditional sleeping clothes in her home country. Try as she might, she couldn't get used to sleeping in her day clothes like most pirates. She pulled her braid loose, and cocked her head as she listened. The singing was enchanting, and it seemed to be getting closer. She stuck her head out of the door, her curiosity piqued. Ellia jolted with a start. She had fallen asleep in the crow's nest, again. She had to stop volunteering for these late night watches. The singing reached her ears, and she squinted, looking for the source of the sound.
The singing was...oddly compelling. Was it a Siren song? Who knows... Jared got up and walked onto the deck. "Do you guys hear that?... It sounds nice."
