high_seas | ☠Thirtieth Reel: Recovering

Most of her crew had been recovering from their last curse. Most being just Arthur, and the rest of them repairing any damage that came from the curse. She still didn't understand the true nature of the curse, but it seemed to occur each year. They would have to be on alert next year.

For now, she was down in the galley, making tea for Arthur. She seemed to know what she was doing so far. Nothing burned down at least.

Arthur was just lucky that he healed relatively quickly, even if not quite all of his burns had healed yet and he still kept his fingers bandaged. Drawn to the preparation of tea like a moth to a flame, he wandered down into the galley.

"That smells lovely."

Grell looked over her shoulder and spotted Arthur there, smiling to him.

"Hopefully it will taste just as such." She turned back to her preparations, looking at all the labeled jars she had in front of her. She took up the jar labeled 'sugar' and then a spoon, before going into it with said utensil. She pulled out a mountain of sugar and slowly pours it into the kettle, which already had tea leaves floating in it.

And not a single crystal of sugar was wasted! There was a happy smile on her face at this!

Watching her, Arthur did his best not to grimace at the amount of sugar she poured into the kettle. Ah well, she was still improving, little by little. "I'm sure it will," he said, putting on a smile for her as he took a seat at the table.

So with the tea set for boiling, which hopefully won't take long (pending she doesn't forget about the kettle), she started to prepare the tea cups.

"Are you certain you wish to be up and about?" She knew he was still recovering from that last nasty episode of what that even was. Grell still couldn't truly comprehend it.

"Do you really expect me to lay about in bed for weeks?" Arthur asked with a raised eyebrow, even as the expression pulled on the still healing skin along a portion of his face. "I didn't do it after the real war, and I'll not do it after an imaginary one."

"There's my strong Fatherland~!"Grell grinned, resting the spoons onto the saucer. "With that attitude, you'll be back to your handsome self in no time!"

"You, my captain, are a flatterer," he said with a chuckle as he cradled his cup in his hands, enjoying the warmth. "Do go on."

"Oh, but if I do, there simply won't be an end~!" Grell grinned before checking to see that the tea was actually boiling. Shrugging, she sat down across from the other. "I don't mind the sound of my own voice, but really!"

"One of the many reasons I like you," Arthur said. He started to lean his cheek on a hand before being reminded of how tender both were.

"Ah~? Is that so? Care for a preface?" She wanted to hear as many reasons as possible!

She noticed his change in position. "How are your wounds?" Grell wasn't aware if he healed quickly or not.

"Fishing for compliments, my lady?" he asked with a chuckle before glancing down at his bandaged hands. He did heal more quickly than a human, but not as quickly as he did at home when he was connected with the rest of himself. "They're healing, but I'm afraid needlepoint is still out of the question."

"Only if you take the bait!" Grell grinned before hearing the water reach a peak of readiness. She got up and made sure to pour slowly to not get hot water everywhere. "There'll be time for that soon enough."

With the preparations completed, Grell brought over their cups. They were still pretty hot to the touch. "I hope this came out alright." She made sure to pay attention, be careful, and look at labels. Nothing could go wrong, besides the large amount of sugar.

Holding the cup delicately with the tips of his fingers, Arthur took a testing sip. Well, it wasn't salty. That was promising at least. A little too sweet still, but... He smiled, and actually took another sip.

"You've improved quite a bit."

Grell gasped a little and gave a few claps. "What wonderful news!" She took up the cup and tasted it. Indeed, too sweet, but not salty! "We should mark this day on our calendars!"

"We'll have you brewing tea to make India himself proud of you before the anniversary," Arthur said with a chuckle at her enthusiasm.

Grell waved a hand dismissively. "I'd rather make you proud, honestly." Wasn't that all that mattered?

The nation smiled and took his cup back for another sip. "You've already impressed me, Grell."

Finally, Faye had the chance to get some gambling done. That was her main concern at this particular island (well, after all the clothes shopping that she did during the daylight hours). At night, though, Faye dressed herself up like a woman who knew what to wear when distracting others at a game of poker, choosing a figure-hugging black dress. Maybe you can catch her leaving her poker game late at night and drag her away for a drink, or stop and ask her where she's going before she gets there - why not join in the gambling, right?

[her night would probably go just as she'd planned for a good amount of time. There was plenty of card games and other forms of gambling for her to take part in. Closer to the end of the night though, she might catch a glimpse of something odd through the window in the the wall closest to the table she was playing at. It was brief- it looked like someone had popped their head up just enough to get a look at what was going on, then disappeared. Though the appearance was too quick to get a very good look at the individual, they'd happened to have bright green eyes of a very familiar color.]

*This evening was going pretty well. She'd won a fair amount of money, but was still keeping up as though it was all some kind of fluke. She hadn't even had to cheat all that much - her dress was distracting enough. That, and Faye's pokerface was excellent. But she dropped it for a moment, surprised to see something move - though it was the bright green that really put her off. Faye quickly looked back to the table, but struggled to concentrate quick so well. She did her best to untense her shoulders, but as she continued to play, her eyes kept glancing at that window. There was a chance it was just a trick of the light afer all...*

[another ten minutes or so would pass without anything appearing, and maybe she'd start to think it had really been nothing when finally it happened again. The silhouette of a head came up, paused a couple seconds, then left again. This time if she'd been looking when it happened, it wouldn't be too hard for her to recognize Thash even though it was dark outside]

*She was just getting back into the swing of the game when she saw it again. And this time there was no mistaking it. It was definitely Thash. She cursed almost silently under her breath, and folded her hand as she was unable to concentrate fully anymore.

Shortly after, she made her apologies, and the game was dying out anyway. Taking her reasonable winnings into her purse, Faye stood and headed for the door. One of the men went with her quickly to the door, taking her shawl and placing it over her shoulders. If Thash was close enough, he might hear that he was offering to walk Faye home. She politely declined, stepped daintly outside, then cursed under her breath as soon as the door had closed behind her*

[Thash hadn't been watching her close enough to catch her signs of annoyance, although he did see she was leaving and had a hunch she might not be pleased if she caught him hanging around. So he decided to depart the area and maybe come find her a bit later to ask her if she wanted a drink or something. However, she exited the building a little faster than he anticipated, and before he could leave she'd see his back as he walked down the street away from her]

*Faye practically growled when she saw Thash walking away from her and she had to bite back the urge to just yell at him. Instead, she trotted on up to him, the sound of her heels on the ground making it obvious that she was right behind him. But she wouldn't stop until she reached him and tugged at his arm*

Oi!

[When he heard her heels approaching, he knew he'd been spotted. He stopped walking and half turned towards her, giving a weak smile. He hoped for a minute maybe she thought he'd happened to be in the area, but the tone of her voice told him she'd probably guessed what he was up to]

Uh hi, Faye...

*Once she'd grabbed his arm, Faye then gave it a heavy shove back to him, then folded her arms over her rather show-offy cleavage as she glared at him. There were people around, and she didn't much want to cause a scene about this, so for now she just whispered at him angrily*

What the hell did you think you were doing back there? Were you SPYING on me?

*She felt a little ill for a moment, wondering if maybe he just didn't trust her to go out and be around other men*

[he blinked a bit at her shove, maybe a little surprised by just how mad she seemed. He took a half step back from her, hunching and frowning a bit almost like a pet that'd been caught doing something it knew it shouldn't be doing]

S-sorry...spying? I don't think Id call it spying. I just....stopped by now and then...y'know, to check everything was okay.

*Faye caught that look, the expression on his face when he leaned back from her slightly. Instantly, she pouted, and pointed a finger at him in her frustration*

Don't you do that puppy dog face with me, mister! It's not gonna fly!

*She shook her head then, tossing her now-longer hair back over her shoulder as she looked around her, trying to figure out what to make of all this*

What are you checking up on me for? Huh? I told you I'd let you know it was going okay. I TOLD you I'd tell you when I was coming home. That not good enough? You don't believe me?

[he wasn't sure what she meant by puppy dog face, but he looked down as she continued to voice her displeasure]

'Course I believe you.... But things can happen quickly, y'know? [hed thought of an inner of explanations if she caught him... Someone might subdue her before she could use her journal, someone might drug her so she passed out, or even if she did get to use the journal to contact him, she could get hurt while he was on the way if he wasn't close by. But he didn't feel like laying out all those excuses under her hot gaze. He just felt ashamed....she was right, it'd been a rude thing to do and probably made her feel like he didn't respect her]

...you're right. I'm a jerk... [he sighed] I still let my paranoia override my common sense sometimes...

Things can happen. But that's why I brought this thing with me in the first place.

*She lifted her purse, heavy with her winnings and her journal, and tapped it against his chest, and not exactly lightly, but not too heavily either*

You're not a jerk. But you can't follow me around forever, Thash. I need to do things on my own sometimes. Don't you? Isn't there something more interesting you could be doing instead of following me round everywhere?

[he looked down at her purse when it hit his chest and he hunched a little more]

Well...at first I was workin' on a pair of small knives I've been making, but I got bored. And I kept thinking about Gun Frontier... So I came I to town to grab some food and get my mind off it, but it didn't work. Well, I mean I got food, but it didn't get my mind off of anything.

[these were the times when it might be beneficial to have more normal hobbies or some semblance of a social life]

Thash...

*As frustrated as she was, Faye sounded more tired when she said his name then. It was a little upsetting for her to know that he was having such a bad time while she was busy enjoying herself with others*

You need to stop worrying so much about me. I'm a big girl. I can look after myself.

Yeah....okay. [it was clear by his voice and expression he felt bad... Not just because he'd gotten caught, but for the frustration he was causing her] sorry if I...ruined your game or anything. I'll find something else to do.

*Faye just stared at him a few moments more, still not sure how to handle Thash when he was like this. It was much easier for her to deal with someone who was aggressive or angry towards her, instead of someone like Thash who showed what he was really feeling, and he didn't seem happy*

Well, I can't go back to the game tonight. So. Here I am.

*Then she looked at him expectantly, wondering what he might want to do now*

You can't? Aw man, I really did screw it up for you huh... [he looked at her apologetically and scratched the back of his neck, trying to think of some way to make things better]

Well um...have you eaten?

Yeah, you kinda did.

*For as much as Faye didn't like seeing Thash in that way, she still wasn't exactly one to say things just to make someoone else feel better. He had screwed up the fact that she might have won more, but that was okay. She shrugged*

But hey, I can always come back tomorrow night.

*Faye put a hand on her hip and looked at Thash steadily*

You buying?

Sure... It's the least I can do.

[he wasn't particularly hungry after having eaten earlier himself, but he was more than willing to sit with her and maybe snack on something while she had a meal]

*Faye wasn't particularly hungry either, but she was happy to just look at Thash and wait for him to take her somewhere by way of apology*

I want tea and cake. Can you take me somewhere for that?

Hm...yeah! I think I saw a place a few streets over with that kinda stuff. Like a little bakery cafe place. [he seemed to perk up a little, turning to lead the way] shall we?

Mmhm. Let's go.

*Faye nodded and headed along with him, glancing back the way they had come. She put her bag back on her shoulder, happy with the weight of the money there*

You know you could have just joined in but - I don't need a bodyguard...

*Her voice was much more gentle now at least*

I know you don't... I just need to have some better self control, seriosuly. Not just in how I act but how I think. [he was determined next time to make himself think about something else and not worry about her...if he could do that, it'd make leaving her along much easier]

[hed take her to the place he'd seen earlier, and buy her whatever tea and cake she liked. After that it'd be pretty late and time to call it a night. The next night she went out, Thash decided to do something useful and tried to make some business connections with local restaurant owners...see which ones might be interested in buying fish from him while they were docked there. It kept him suitably distracted and he didn't go to check up on Faye]

After the harshness of the nightmares brought up into reality, Corsair was a breath of fresh air, almost with the feeling of one of his old colonies in the Caribbean. For the moment, he was doing some shopping for supplies. With a smaller crew not as much food was needed, that was true, but the work was harder, and it was harder on their clothes. And perhaps he was looking for a good jar of marmalade to lift his own spirits as well.

☠Thirtieth Reel: Recovering

Leaving Isla Empieza Nov 10th

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On the Island - 14th - Evening

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15 - On the island