heretherebemuses | Open post

The ship had shown up a couple of days before, and Lydia was pretty sure Killian had mostly spent that time acquainting himself with it in that time. She thought it was half a wonder he'd come off of it to tell anyone (ie. her) about it at all. Or to eat or sleep, for that matter. Though, she reasoned afterward, there was probably space enough to sleep on it, and maybe food somewhere.

She wouldn't really want to test the theory, though, nor eat whatever was hanging out on a pirate ship.

But she had to grant that it was a really nice boat as she stared at it from the docks, head tipped slightly. Finally, she dragged her gaze away from it and over to its captain, a smirk curving her lips. "So. Going to give me the tour?"

He doesn't know how the ship got here, or why it's here, but it's here, and he covered every inch in his examination of it. She's exactly the same as she was before Blackbeard got his grubby hands on her. Everything is exactly where it should be.

There is in fact somewhere to sleep on it, for an entire crew, and even some food, though he hasn't really missed that part of it.

"Of course. How much do you know about ships?" There's no point in repeating things she already knows.

"I know enough, and what I don't know, I can always figure out," she tells him mildly, flipping a loose lock of hair out of her face before reaching up to draw all of her hair into a messy, elegant bun. All the better to keep it out of her face if she's going to go on a ship. She's pretty sure a ship is no place for someone dressed like she is, but she'll make do.

"You'll know if I'm really conused."

"Let's start with the deck then, since that's where we are, and work our way down." That seems to make the most sense to him. "You can see the masts, square-rigged, and the wheel for navigating. Access to the rest of the ship is, obviously, from the hatches on this deck."

"Sounds good," she laughs a little, happy to glance around as he mentioned things, studying and memorising to the best of her ability. If only the basics stuck with her, then that'd be progress; boats weren't usually something she cared about. "I assume the hatches have stairs? Or only ladders?"

"They're sort of a combination between stairs and ladders. There's not a lot of extra space for true stairs, so the builders put in what they could." He crosses to one of the hatches and opens it. "Would you like to see?"

"Hm," she muses, eyebrows arching neatly. It's a little hard to picture, but she thinks she can manage. Even so, Lydia offers a pleased smile. "Sure. Better than trying to imagine it, especially when I've got a perfect example right here."

"You go first then. I'll follow." That will give her a chance to take a look around without him in the way, but he'll be down right after her if she has any questions. "It's a bit dark down in the hold, so you'll need to give your eyes time to adjust."

When Claire had dreamed about escaping The City, she hadn't thought it would turn out quite like this. Standing by the railing at the front of a very large ship, she stared out at the water with a little smile on her face. It had been a long time since she had been out in the water, way back in Haurvatat actually, but it had been nothing like this.

Hearing the familiar click of boots behind her, she turned to watch Hook approach while her smile grew. "I can see why you love it now. Being out on a boat like this? It's amazing."

Everything he had heard about leaving the City had been that it wasn't possible to leave this way. Try and sail away and you'd end up right back where you started, according to everything that he'd heard. So it shouldn't be possible for them to be here doing this; but he's definitely not going to complain too much. In fact, his only complaint would be that this isn't his beloved Jolly Roger.

Still, maybe they can find a way back to a world that has her in it.

"Wait until we really get going. Then you'll see the freedom a vessel like this can give you, to go wherever you like, whenever you like."

"I believe you." She told him with a warm smile before looking out at the horizon where it was only water for as far as she could see. Nothing but water and the sky growing darker as night loomed ahead of them. Somehow it just made everything beautiful to her and she had to wonder if it was the freedom that made it that way.

"I should probably worry that this is some kind of illusion and that we're not actually escaping but I can't bring myself to care right now." She added a moment later, wrapping her arms around herself as she glanced over at him again. "I hope it lasts for a good while if it is an illusion."

"We're out farther than anyone has ever gotten when trying to leave this way." He's talked to the sailors. He knows. "I don't know how, but we're on our way out of the City." Maybe this is how it chose to let them leave, rather than some other way.

"There's a shoreline not far from here." He'd seen it from his perch in the crow's nest. "We'll anchor in the lee of it for tonight."

Claire looks over her shoulder to watch the sailors for a moment while listening to Killian. There is a jovial feeling as they move about doing their tasks, most likely because they are happy to escape as well.

"Sounds good to me." She smiles at Killian again, winking playfully. "I'm following your lead, Captain."

"In that case, there's one important thing you need to know. No one sails for free." Which is something they had already discussed before they agreed to do this. "I'm sure you'll be sailing as well as the rest of them in no time." She seems clever enough, after all, and he's taught others how to sail. Between the two of them, they'll get her knowing what she needs to know.

"We'll start with something easy."

"I remember." She nods when he points out that no one sails for free. "I could maybe cook for everyone? That's something that I could do unless you can think of another job where I can actually learn to be a sailor of sorts."

She trails off before smiling at him again, nodding. "Okay, I will do my best to be a good student. What are we going to start with first?"

"You could start with cooking, since it's something you already know how to do." It's an important job, too, because they work on their stomachs. (They're all important jobs, of course.)

"Then we'll decide what to cover next."

"I could do look out?" She suggested, glancing way up high to the platform on the main sail. She had heard the proper name being used by some of the men but she couldn't remember it now that she was trying to think about it. "The perch or the nest? Up there?"

Yes, she realized that she sounded like she had no idea what she was talking about but that was because she didn't. She wrinkled her nose at him while waiting for him to correct her.

"Crow's nest?" He knows what she meant. "First you'll need to learn how to climb the rigging to reach it." Which is a good place to start, and it's something she'll need to know anyway. "You can move to that at some point."

"I am actually quite good at climbing things and I'm not scared of heights. At all." She won't tell him that she had learned not to be scared after getting her powers and making it a habit of jumping out of tall buildings. That won't really make him feel better about possibly getting her to climb up there one day. At the same time, he won't have to worry about if she ever did fall down.

"So where do we....I sleep?" She corrects herself, clearing her throat. "Where do I sleep?"

"Can you climb things while those things are making their best effort to throw you off?" The sea might be calm now, and the ship fairly still, but it won't always be. Many a sailor has been swept away by waves or wind or both, and she won't be climbing anything until he's sure that she won't be one of them.

"The crew share quarters." He has his own cabin, and there are officers' quarters, but he can't justify giving her special treatment and kicking someone else out of their quarters. "I'll show you."

"Hmm, that I don't know." Claire admits, glancing up again. She could tell him that she would be fine but she can see his concern. That and he knows what its like to be on the sea which is an experience she doesn't have. If he doesn't think she is ready yet, then she will believe him.

"Have they ever had a woman sleep in the same room as them?" She looks suddenly wary, unable to help it. She doesn't mean any offense by it but she has to know. "What about down in the kitchen area? Could I put a cot there?"

With his previous crew, the one he'd chosen and groomed himself, he could have assured her that even if they'd never had a woman sleeping in the same room, they wouldn't have dared to try anything without risking his wrath. This crew came with the ship; while he can tell that they're fine sailors, he can't say much else about them.

"Aye, you could put a hammock in the galley. You'd be warmer there anyway, with the stove there. I'll show you."

He leads her across the deck to a hatch. As they pass one, he indicates it, and mentions in a casual tone, "My cabin is there. The hold and the rest of it are reached down this way." He opens another hatch and leads her down an open ladder to a room containing a few long tables and a cookstove. "A hammock would fit in the corner there."

If it had been his own crew, she wouldn't have asked but she knows that he isn't as familiar with these men and so she is relieved when he doesn't push the idea. That he seems to understand what she is getting at.

"And good for the days when I cook so much that all I can do is just collapse in bed." She agrees with a chuckle.

She notes the casual way he mentions his cabin while motioning to a door and already she is tracking how far it is from where she will be. The thought makes her smirk and she quickly presses her lips together to keep from doing so in a noticeable fashion. What? She couldn't help flirting with the idea of things every once in awhile. She is still thinking about it a little when he leads her down into the eating area. She nods, glancing around. "I can work with this."

"We can put a partition up as well, for a little more privacy." And a place for her to put her personal belongings, since each of the men have a bunk and storage space of their own.

"Since we're down here, would you like a tour of the rest of it?"

"That would be nice too." It is going to be a little weird having such a small space with no real walls or doors but she would happily give that all up in trade of getting out of The City.

"Sure." She nods at him. "Lead the way around."

Open post | Captain Hook

( CoS verse + some modifications )

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