There came a knock on Jack's door, and he looked up, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes. "Come in." The door opened and Natalia stepped through, her clear eyes stern as she took in the neatness of the room in an instant. She was ridiculously observant, always had been. "We have a new sailor," she said quietly, one eyebrow raised. "A girl I picked up in Thicket." Jack shifted uncomfortably, the sky blue eyes he had seen in the common room flashing in his brain. "Right..." "She needs to get the tour and be shown her duties. I trust you can be in charge of that?" He sighed heavily, standing up and folding his papers, running his fingers through his hair. "Sure. Where is she?" "Last I saw, she was on the main deck," Natalia replied. She pursed her lips for a moment before speaking again, her voice holding a strange gentleness. "Don't coddle her, by any means, but I believe the girl's been through a lot. Be careful."
Avice was on the main deck, her arms folded onto the railing, keeping close to herself. She was watched the water, her brows furrowed as she stared uncomfortably.
Jack approached her, his arms crossed sternly as he approached. "Ms. Rohesia?" he asked as he came up to her, one brow raised.
When she said his last name, she took a small intake of breath, turning to look at him with a submissive expression. "I'm.. That's me."
His expression was not unkind and she would recognize him as the boy from earlier. He studied her with eyes the color of robin eggs and he paused for a moment before extending a hand to her. "Good to meet you. I'm Jack."
She looked down at his hand before giving a small wave instead. "It's nice to meet you, Jack. I'm Avice."
His brow furrowed and he dropped his hand somewhat awkwardly before giving her a small smile. "I know. I'm here to give you a tour."
She rubbed the back of her neck, her eyes trailing to the floor in embarrassment. "Right.. I should have known you, uh, knew."
"It's not a problem," he said, giving her an easy smile. "You were just being polite. C'mon. I'll show you around."
He led her forward, slipping his hands into his pockets. "So, for the first week or so, we'll just be figuring out what you can do here," he said, his voice low but pleasantly warm. "You'll be working with different crew members and seeing where you fit in."
She nodded slowly. "Is there any chances there's a job where I don't have to work with too many people?"
