Team Enigma: Age of Piracy

Chapter 2 - A Crack In A Mirror

"I don't like to sleep without protection," Cara snapped, catching Winter's gaze. "God knows what you pirates get up to at night."

She finally moved to let Winter in, slumping back on her bed. "Well, I need my beauty sleep, what is it?" Winter grimaced. She was pretty sure if Captain ever met this kind of person, she would have decked them immediately. The thought made her smile. She reached into the cupboard and felt her hands close around a bottleneck, only the finest rum available to steal, of course. Winter fetched it and drew two glasses out.

"A nightcap?" The words felt so strange coming out of her mouth as she passed Cara a full glass of rum. Winter barely touched hers, preferring to have her wits about her at all times. Cara wrinkled her nose up as she sipped.

"Jeepers, that's strong!" But she continued to sip at it and though, it may have been Winter's imagination, she thought she saw the girl smile fondly as she drank.

Cara had transformed the Captain's quarters of course. It was alarmingly pink, fuzzy and accompanied by the same perfume smell that made Winter want to gag. This was almost worse than death. Winter would rather have died at Skullrock than see her friend turn into this...monster.

"Why are you here? Ooh, for a slumber party? I could do your nails or braid your hair, maybe?" Winter fought the urge to retch at her suggestion. The Doctor was slumped over a chair in the corner, exhausted by her work, and no wonder. If Winter had to spend all day with this, she would be exhausted too.

Winter twirled Captain's discarded Stetson on her finger.

"I didn't think it was quite me," Cara noted. 

"It's very you. More you than you know."

Cara laughed. "Too much drink, I presume, you're starting to confuse me! Tell me, Winter. I see the others around here. I see how they look at you, all worried and concerned. They care about you a great deal. The girl in the hat says-"

"Pay no attention to what she says!" Winter interjected quickly. Last thing Cara needed was to know what Winter was thinking.

"She says you had a very special friend on board. Someone you lost. Was she nice?"

Winter suddenly felt the same feeling overwhelm her as earlier and bit back tears, thanking her lucky stars that it was too dark in the room for Cara to see her eyes well up. "She could be. Badass was the term that was most appropriate for her, though. Caring for her crew, she would lay her life down for them. But if you got on her bad side...it wasn't pretty."

"She sounds awesome," Cara mused.

"She was," Winter replied with a slight twinge of bitterness. Bitey jumped onto the bed and greeted Cara with a nuzzle of his wings. Cara seemed to be biting back a yelp, but her eyes were bright.

"He really likes me for some reason," Cara explained, shrugging. "I like dragons. They're cute."

Perhaps not all hope was lost. Cara reached for the Stetson and admired herself in the mirror. "Hmmm, a difficult look but I'm sure I can rock it."

"You always did..." Winter mumbled, barely audible. 

Cara looked at her a moment, staring at her intently. She looked as if she was trying to place her like Winter was a missing piece of an impossible puzzle. "Whoever your friend was, Winter...it is Winter, isn't it? Yes. Whoever he or she was, she was lucky to have you. "

Winter left her quarters that day, feeling more hollow than she ever had before. And that was saying something. She made her way back to her bunk and stared out at the night sky. "It will get better soon..." she told herself. And here's the thing. For the first time in a very long time, longer than even she could say, she believed it.