Jack grumbled slightly as he followed her, but he still had to stop several times to avoid hitting a beam. When they got to the deck, he was immediately greeted by two sailors. One was a small, red headed girl with a button nose and freckles. The other was a gangly young man with beady eyes and a permanent frown. It was he that spoke first. "I don't want to be partnered with Isabelle," he said, pointing at her with a scowl. "She thinks I'm the attacker." The girl rolled her eyes at this and put her hands on her hips. "He obviously is. Have you ever seen a more glum human being? A person that frowns that often has to be hiding SOMETHING." Jack held up his hands and tried to speak. "Listen, you two-" He was cut off by the boy again. "Of course I'm glum you nitwit! I have to hang around you for God knows how long!" "Oh boo-hoo! You've been looking to kill me since day one, haven't you?" "If we could just pause and discuss this rationally.." Jack began, but he was interrupted yet again. "Ha! Listen, Izzie, if I wanted to kill you, you'd be long dead by now." "Try me, freak." "Enough!" Jack had a headache. "Ms. Taivyn, if you do believe him to be the attacker, then you now have the most important job on this ship. Keep a close eye on him at all times. I know the captain will appreciate your dedication." The girl sighed, but saluted, and took two fingers and made the 'I'm-watching-you" action, glaring at the boy the whole time. "As for you Mr. Kelle, please spend your time trying to find the real attacker. Prove Ms. Taivyn wrong. I'm afraid I cannot switch partners for you two simply because you don't get along. Figure it out." They both nodded, staring daggers at each other, and walked away. They had barely gotten 10 feet before their bickering voices rose again. Jack sighed and turned towards Avice. "That was ridiculous."
Cobiah let her words ring in his head for a bit. "They trust me..." He thought. This struck a chord with him. Of course, he was planning to make off with the treasure and use the wealth to hopefully topple his father, but he never planned on harming anybody. Perhaps he could negotiate more favorable terms with the captain later.... "It's no consequence to me. You're a hell of a lot better than some drunk halfwit. Besides, if anyone tries to finish the job with you, I'll make sure they get some of this." He gestured to a well concealed dagger under the folds of his clothing. It looked spotless. You could tell he never had to use it.
Avice smiled, watching the arguing pair. "Now I see how difficult your job is. Difficult, but it also seems hilarious. Is this what it's like all the time?" Avice asked, tilting her head to the side. She no longer smiled, but you could still see happiness on her face.
Jade looked at the dagger with a mixture of amusement and incredulousness. "How many weapons do you have under there?" They exited the room, and Jade paused for a moment to regard the bloodstain on the floor. "You know, weirdly enough, I don't get the feeling that the attacker is going to come back. I mean, they had a chance to finish me off, but they didn't. Something stopped them. I just worry who they might be after next." * * * Jack shrugged. "Some situations are better than others. Those two are a frequent pain, though. I can't tell if they're lovers, friends, or what. They just confuse me constantly."
"Friends and enemies? How weird..." Avice pursed her lips for a moment, silent. "Hey, I have a question. What do you like about the ocean?"
Jack paused, his brows furrowed, and he stared out to the sea as he considered Avice's question. "I'm not really sure," he finally admitted. "I guess it wasn't really that I was drawn to the ocean, but more that I was repulsed by the land, if that makes any sense." He crossed his arms and shifted his weight to one side. "As cliche as it sounds, this ship was really the first place I felt safe." He seemed to awaken from his stupor and focused on her. "What about you?"
Avice stared into the water. "It's so mysterious. There could be beasts we could never dream to imagine right below us and we would never know. And it's so calming. But also dangerous and terrifying." She looked back at him, her eyes matched the sky.
"The rapier is mostly for show, I just happen to be damn good at wielding it. I also have a flintlock tucked away in there." The two continued towards the mess hall. "If they are brave enough to attack again, atleast we'll know who did it this time. It'd look awfully suspicious for one crewman to be harmed while the other was conviently not absent."
He listened quietly, thinking on her words and when she finished speaking, he gave her another shy smile, shaking his head slightly. "You're interesting, Avice. Your reasons for loving the ocean is most people's reasons for fearing it." * * * Jade nodded in agreement. "I wish I had turned around quickly enough," she said bitterly, shaking her head regretfully. "Granted, I may have been stabbed in the chest instead of the back, but at least I would have been able to see who it was, maybe get a fighting chance. This was just... cowardly."
"If it went through the chest you would have been dead, don't fret about it. This kind of thing doesn't happen once. They'll try to go for someone else. Thing is it will be harder with two people." They entered the mess hall, Cobiah urged Jade to sit down. "It's best if you sit as much as you can, I'll bring the food to you."
"I never thought of it that way. I could never see anyone fears the ocean, even with the monsters. I guess other things scare me." She rubbed the back of her neck, sheepishly looking to the horizon.
She sat down, hating the helplessness that settled in the pit of her belly, but knowing that he was right. The best way to get better was to be patient and to rest. She almost groaned at the thought of it. "Thank you," she said to him as he left. "Seriously. * * * "Really? Like what, if you don't mind me asking?" Jack turned and looked at her, one brow raised quizzically. (Please remember, if you want certain events to happen with you character, please PM me and let me know! This includes romance, if you're into that sort of thing. I'm not going to initiate any events that involve certain characters unless I know you want me to.)
"I don't know. The usual, I guess. Failure, abandonment, stuff like that." Avice shrugged, then looked at him. "What about you?"
He laughed a little nervously, and then rested his head on his hands. "I don't like heights," he admitted. "I mean, I can deal with it, but I try to avoid them whenever possible."
"The baby ones? They're just as bad as the adults, if not worse! They make you think they're adorable, but then BAM! They're all grown up and have their teeth stuck in your skin! Terrible creatures. As for the ones that aren't poisonous? Still nasty. Like the one that strangles it's prey. Gross"
Jack shook his head in disapproval. "I don't even know who you are anymore. I'm afraid we can't be friends anymore. We'll have to switch partners."
He looked at her suddenly, and realized that she had taken him seriously, and that perhaps that joke wasn't as funny as he thought it was. "Oh, God, Avice, no. I was just kidding. I promise I'm not going to switch partners on you."
