It wasn't Theo's first pirate initiation but she was as nervous as the first time she ever did it. She liked to give all the girls a proper experience. Initiation was one of the most important parts of being a pirate, a ritual that united them all and Theo preferred it to go perfectly. A flub of her words ruined the whole process. Theo was dressed in her usual initiation outfit. Long, black, velvet coat with a blood-red shirt underneath; the colors of the Scorned Woman. She was standing at the front of the initiation room, a large flag laying flat on the ground in front of her.
The crew lined the edges of the room and the initiates all knelt by the edges of the flag. The flag was black, with the image of a dagger piercing a heart in the center of it. The image was red, although the color on it was fading. It was the flag that usually flew proudly on the top of the Scorned Woman but tonight it was being used to bring the new recruits into the fold. Everyone was now settled, the witnesses Ava had chosen, Ava and Xyra had all managed to file in at different times and they were ready to commence.
"Welcome, recruits of the Scorned Woman. Tonight, you leave behind your old life as citizens of Baethos and become citizens of Corinspe. This is a place where you get a say in who is our leader, regardless of your status. This freedom of choice comes with a price. There are rules. These rules are to never be broken and never to be told to anyone that is not a pirate.
Theo looked around to see several wide eyes looking up at her, "I cannot tell you these rules ahead of time but I can assure you all, they will not cause you harm. If you are hesitant, you are free to leave."
Theo waited for a little bit, no one moved an inch.
"As citizens of Baethos, you were forced to bear inequality, forced to sit by in fear of repercussions, forced to live with nonsensical and suffocating rules. But as citizens of Corinspe, you are free to do as you please except for five simple, logical rules. You are to never speak of details regarding life here on Corinspe. It is a closely guarded secret and even the most unsuspecting person could be a spy trying to get information. You are to never aid or inform a Baethan army unit, a noble, or any bureaucrat. You are to never speak as to where the location of the island is, any estimates as to its directions, or any strategic information about it. You are to never harm or hurt another pirate unless it is in self-defense, you have been issued a challenge, or there is a legitimate grievance. Finally, if the time ever came that Corinspian sovereignty was under attack, you are compelled but not forced to fight for her."
Theo saw the typical flash of relief on everyone's faces. Usually, when told there would be rules they had to agree with without knowing what they were, people got panicky. It never failed. But after the rules were stated, small smiles or neutral expressions replaced worried ones. No rules could be as bad as Baethan rules, hundreds of ever-shifting laws created a fear of doing anything out of the ordinary that cursed the Baethan population; with good reason, the Center inflicted terror on those who didn't comply.
"There are also rules you must follow as a part of the Scorned Woman, rules that are put in place for the safety of the crew. No assault of any kind on a crew member. While fights are bound to break out, each person who is in a brawl has the right to a trial to hold the other person accountable. Robbing another crewmate or any unwanted sexual advances will not be permitted on the ship either, that is a no questions asked removal from the crew and Corinspe," Theo recited this particular set of rules firmly to not leave questions in anyone's mind about her willingness to make due on the consequences of the rules.
"You are not to speak to any other pirate crew about the affairs of our ship or the affairs of other pirates on the ship without explicit permission from that person or from me. There are spies and rats at every turn and a small slip up can cost someone on this crew their life. You are entitled to a share of whatever fortune we come across as members of the Scorned Woman, regardless of the role you played to acquire it. As members of the Scorned Woman you also have the right to call a trial to settle any grievances you have with any member of the crew," Theo spoke slowly, so the rules seeped into everyone's heads and they wouldn't forget.
"These are the tenets for this ship. The rules that differ us from just any other pirate ship. You are expected to sacrifice a small portion of your absolute freedom in exchange for protection, shelter, family, and a place on the crew. The rules laid out tonight are the foundation of your Pirate Oath."
Theo stepped forward to the edge of the flag and pulled her dagger from its place on her hip. She laid it carefully on the black fabric and stepped back, allowing space for someone to step in front of her.
"Whenever you feel as if you are ready to take this step you will stand in front of the dagger, face your crew, and take your oath," Theo said and crossed her hands in front of her, "Xyra will be the one guiding you through your oath."
There was silence and the girls lining the three other edges of the flag looked hesitantly amongst each other, unsure of what to do. Theo tried to keep her smile at bay, these ceremonies were not the smoothest and the initiates often stalled for a few minutes, never wanting to be the first one up. This time though, there was a clear fearless one amongst the group and it was no surprise to Theo that it was Ava that got up first. She stood up from her spot and made her way in front of the dagger. She faced Theo first and shot her a wink which Theo had to pretend didn't amuse her. Theo cocked up an eyebrow and jutted her chin out ever so slightly to inform Ava to turn around. Ava did and was soon facing her crew and Xyra who was standing behind the row of girls lining one edge of the flag.
"You choose to come forward to pledge your loyalty to the Scorned Woman?" Xyra asked an obvious question in Theo's opinion but it was a part of the process.
"Aye, I am ready to take my oath," Ava confirmed.
"By reciting what I ask you to, you will be accepting both the pirate rules and the crew rules. This oath follows you past your time as a pirate and even if you are no longer with us you will be expected to keep true to your pledge of loyalty, which includes silence as to our customs and life," Xyra said and Ava nodded in understanding, loyalty even beyond their time as a pirate was all covered in their training.
Xyra ran through the first part of the oath, giving Ava instructions on what to say and what to fill in.
Ava's voice was confident, not shaky or faltering, "I come to you, crew of the Scorned Woman, as your elected quartermaster. I promise to be loyal to the crew and the ship for as long as I call this crew my home and even after that. I pledge that I will not stray from the rules without facing consequences."
"Now, pick up the dagger in front of you, state the name you have chosen to be on Corinspian records, and spill blood on the heart in front of you. Your blood will join every other pirate's who has been on this crew and from this day forward you will be known as a pirate of the Scorned Woman," Xyra instructed.
Ava wasted no time in picking up the dagger. She examined the blade for a few seconds then advanced forward, three steps onto the flag until she was at the edge of the symbol. She wasn't all too sure if she was allowed to step on the flag but no one stopped her so she continued. She looked back up at all of the crew staring at her expectantly and the initiates looked on in anticipation, anxiety, and apprehension at the sight of the dagger.
Ava pressed the blade into her palm but kept it still, the pressure reminding her what was about to come. She looked around the room and took a deep breath, preparing herself for the beginning of something new. This time, an actual new slate. She was presenting her pirate name and taking an oath of loyalty to the place she expected to spend the rest of her days.
"I am Red, a pirate of the Scorned Woman," Ava pressed the dagger harder into her palm and sliced it across her hand, her brain almost trying to hold her back from hurting herself. She felt the sharp sting of metal slicing her skin and she felt the blood begin to seep out, "I take this oath and vow to never break it."
She held her hand out and squeezed it into a fist, watching the crimson droplets flow from her hand and splatter on the dagger and heart on the flag. Her blood was fresh and dark, contrasting against the faded red currently there. The droplets ceased to fall from her hand and she took a step back, off the flag.
"Crew of the Scorned Woman, I present to you your quartermaster. From here on out, known by her chosen pirate name, Red," Xyra announced and the crew around her erupted into cheers.
Ava cutting her hand open had sent a jolt of adrenaline through her body and between that and the support from her crew, she barely noticed the pain from her throbbing hand. She saw Xyra motion her to face Theo and she did. Theo took the dagger from Ava's free hand and nodded.
"Welcome to the crew," Theo tipped her hat towards Ava once they were facing each other and offered a genuine smile, "Red."
Theo returned the wink she had received earlier and pointed Ava over to the side of the room, where Tuni was waiting with bandages. Ava followed instructions and went to where she was directed as everyone else slowly began to take their turns. With Ava as an example, the rest of the girls were visibly less nervous. Theo cleaned the dagger between each girl, watched them take their oath, spill blood, and move away. There was only one girl left at the edge of the flag and by then the crimson red had overtaken the faded blood on the flag. The girl, as the dozens before her, took her blood oath. Theo took the dagger from her when she was done and wiped it off before following their same footsteps to the front of the flag's symbol.
"Pirates of the Scorned Woman, new and old. I stand before you now to take my own oath as captain, as I do every time we are in this building. This is a recommitment to my old crew and a promise to my new ones. As your Captain, I pledge to do everything in my power to bring safety and good fortune to us. I vow to not put us in harm's way for selfish purposes and I promise to enforce the rules unbiasedly. My job is to protect and guide our ship and it is my lifelong goal to see that that happens," Theo put the blade against her palm and quickly sliced along her palm.
"I am Captain Theo and this blood oath bounds me by duty to never stray from what I have promised here tonight," Theo held up her hand to show the blood that was beginning to flow from her wound then held it over the heart and dagger and let her blood mix in with those that went before her, "I will spill my own blood just as easily as I have just done in order to fulfill my duties to you all."
Theo stepped off the flag and no sooner did her feet touch the bare floor did she hear the metal sound of blades being unsheathed. Around the room, all old members of the Scorned Woman had their blade or weapon of choice held out.
"Our own blood once freshly stained that flag when we swore to uphold our duties," Xyra said, her own longsword drawn and held towards the flag, "today we reaffirm that promise."
Clamors arose from all around them, pirates shouting a mix of different things. Some yelled out 'ayes' in agreement while others shouted their own vows or promises. The shouts died down as Theo held her bloodied hand up.
"Let us never forget the promises that were made here today. Hold yourself, your crew, and your officers accountable. I leave you with that," Theo said and put her hand down. Her somewhat serious demeanor faded and a mischievous glint flashed in her eyes.
"Now, no pirate oath is fulfilled unless you party hard enough to make the legacy of the pirates before us proud," Theo announced to the room, "now, go party your new pirate asses off, or believe me, I will reject your oath and kick you off this crew."
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It was a whirlwind after Theo spoke the words that sanctioned everyone to go have fun. Old crew members rushed the newcomers with tackles and hugs and promises of an epic night. Ava was instantly met with strong rough hands clamping down on her shoulders and yelling congrats at her. It was Morgana and Ava didn't even answer; she just wrapped her arms around Morgana's torso. The taller girl wrapped a firm set of arms around her too and Ava's cheek squished up against Morgana's chest. She was going to pull away, knowing how Morgana felt about physical contact, but she wasn't allowed to. Instead, something crashed into from behind, another person.
The person wrapped their arms around the duo and Ava could tell by the height and laugh that it was Cooker. However, that wasn't the end of the wave of attacks against the newfound pirate. Another body collided with their small bundle and sent them careening onto the floor. There was laughter all around her, including her own and when she was finally let go she saw that Pearl, Navi, and Tuni had all joined in on the fun.
After that, the next few hours were somewhat of a haze. They eventually moved out into the open area where the bonfire was. More people that were not from their crew began to pour in with food and drink and it seemed that the whole island was invited. All of the excitement and commotion blurred together into each other and Ava's night was going by so much faster than she had expected. Not only was she a new pirate she was also the quartermaster so Ava had to make sure to go check-in with her girls and make sure they were having fun and not freaking out about their new life. The one thing she did notice in the few hours they had been outside was she hadn't spent more than a minute with Theo.
"Red," Theo had said when they had seen each other after the ceremony, "Congrats on officially becoming a quartermaster and a pirate. Big night."
"Big night indeed," Ava answered stupidly, unable to think of something clever to say.
Theo flashed her a small grin then got whisked away by someone else. It was understandable that they hadn't seen each other and Ava had to remind herself that she wasn't with Theo, no matter how many times they slept together. Even if Theo ever saw her in that way, Theo was a Captain and had a responsibility to the others too.
It had been a few hours of Ava bouncing around from group to group, between the inner circle and her old lower deck girls, between the carpentry girls and the vanguard. She was like a small bird, flittering from branch to branch, that is, until she joined the dance circle. With a drink in her hand, sloshing around, she danced until she could dance no longer. It wasn't her free will that pulled her away though, it was her best friend. She felt a grip around her arm and her body being dragged backward. For the dainty hands that Oceane had, she had quite the grip. It was all those years sailing and tying ropes.
"Come with me to the lake!" Oceane begged through the loud music the assortment of instruments were making that was fueling the dance circle.
Ava's cheeks were red from the small amount of ale in her system and from the dancing. She was catching her breath and letting the small breeze cool her sweaty skin. Oceane repeated what she said and pointed in the direction of where the forest began again. Ava was glad it was repeated because she was still reeling from dancing so she hadn't fully paid attention the first time. A lake? In the forest? Ava wasn't complaining though, it seemed promising.
"Lead the way," Ava reached down and clasped Oceane's hand into her own.
Oceane, who was drunk, skipped along and led them through the dark forest to what was supposed to be a lake. Ava was not holding onto any hope that it would actually be a lake but as a giggling Oceane led her over roots and under branches, she could hear the voices of a large gathering of people and upon getting closer, Ava saw that there was in fact a lake. There was a small waterfall that was cascading a bit of freshwater into it too. It was large and there were at least 100 people around or in the water.
Oceane led her to the lower deck girls and Ava joined them once again, exchanging stories about the antics that had transpired that night. Eventually, the group dispersed when some wanted to go into the water and others didn't. Ava wasn't particularly keen on the prospect of going into a jungle lake without even knowing how to swim so she skipped that part. Oceane tapped her shoulder and pointed over to a series of large rocks, Theo sitting atop the largest one with a bottle of wine in her hands.
Theo had shed the many layers of clothes she had on before and was just sporting an undershirt and her pants. Theo was laughing, a hand to her chest as she tried to catch her breath. There were several people around her, some she recognized and others she didn't. Some crew members, some pirate captains she knew from earlier, and some other men she didn't recognize. She watched as Theo took periodic swigs from the bottle but Ava didn't notice Theo make any significant input on the conversation. Theo looked up from the group and locked eyes with Ava, a smile coming across her face that was soft and tender. A noise from her group caught Theo's attention and she broke the gaze but when she looked back towards Ava, she tilted her head inviting Ava over.
Ava tapped Oceane and let her know that they were going to be on the move. Oceane was helped up by Ava and they made their way over to the rowdy group by the rocks. As they approached the conversation stopped and the big bald burly man that had been at Grog's earlier spoke up. He held his bottle of dark liquor out as a pointer and motioned at Ava.
"Oi! You are Red, the quartermaster," the man said with a grin, one of his canines was gold.
"Aye, that is me. I didn't get the pleasure to get your name," Ava held out her hand, Xyra told her but she had forgotten due to the many drinks she had consumed that night.
The burly man laughed and clasped Ava's hand tightly in his own. His calloused hands easily enveloped hers and he shook it aggressively, probably not meaning to, "Captain Owl. Best pirate to ever hail from Nefriti."
"I am not questioning your judgment on that but I am sure there are others that would say that title is theirs," Ava replied and Owl laughed and held his drink up as confirmation then took a swig.
After Captain Owl, she was introduced to others. Most of them were regular crew members or officers on other boats but there was one other Captain there, the young brunette boy from Grog's that seemed to get along well with Theo. When it was his turn to introduce himself, he hopped down from his small boulder and walked over to Ava, and took her hand gently into his. He brought her hand up to his lips and placed a kiss there then took a small bow.
"Red, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Captain Blue of The Swallow."
Ava couldn't help but laugh a little at the chivalrous display and did her own curtsy, "The pleasure is all mine."
The interaction, while funny, was valuable. In just a short ten-second span Ava noticed two things. The first one was Oceane's reaction to Blue kissing her hand and the second one was Theo's reaction to Ava's response. From the corner of her eye, she saw Oceane roll her eyes at the display but it was not annoyance towards Ava, thankfully. Upon looking up from her curtsy, she had also caught a flash of some unhappy emotion crossing Theo's face. Her face had quickly fallen and her gaze was averted from the situation in front of her. As quickly as the feelings had registered on Theo's face, they were gone. Ava instead was now faced with a tight grinned Theo looking around the lake.
Something was going on between Oceane and Blue and while she had never heard her mention his name or talk about him, she was certain of it. Something was also going on with Theo. The attempt to be subtle with her reaction failed and Ava wondered what it was. Then it dawned on her, Theo was jealous. Or at least jealousy was what Theo had felt in that short exchange between Ava and Blue. The implications of Theo being jealous were dangerous and if Ava were not careful about jumping to conclusions she would have said Theo liked Ava. The thought made Ava melt and she would be lying if it wasn't something she hadn't already thought about.
At every turn, Theo had also felt what Ava was feeling. Wanting to spend time together, the attraction they felt, the choice to sleep together, the choice to spend a lot of their free time together. At every step of the way, Ava had doubted Theo and Theo had doubted Ava but this time she was determined to learn from her mistakes. If Ava was struggling with the fact that every time she looked at Theo she just wanted to profess her feelings for the pirate Captain, Theo was probably feeling the same. At some point, she would find the courage to confront Theo about it but for that moment she was content in the limbo they were in.
She didn't even realize she had tuned out until a loud objection came from within the group, the conversation had thankfully not been one that required her input. Theo was laughing and smiling again, any amount of jealousy that had been present was no longer there. Two others were gone, it was Oceane and Blue. They had managed to start their own side conversation a few feet away from the group. Ava, being a nosy friend, ignored the commotion from her current group and tried focusing on the conversation between the other two.
"After the meeting, you can come by my quarters if you'd like," Blue said, a sweet silky voice came from him. He was trying to turn his charm on, "I can even take you out beforehand."
"I'm not sure," Oceane shrugged but a smile was still on her face, "I promised Iona that we'd go to the top of the mountain so we might not be back until late and I might be tired."
"I'll make it worth your while," Blue tried convincing her, "we had a good time this aftermorning. Right? I mean, I had a good time this aftermorning and I hope you did too."
"I did have a good time. But I also made a promise," Oceane retorted and Blue made a small whimpering noise as if he wasn't expecting so much resistance after whatever had happened that sun.
"If you are not tired will you spend your evening with me? We don't have to do anything you don't want but I know Uki's Tavern has a new chef and it's rumored to be the new best food in Corinspe. I thought maybe you'd want to try it out with me," Blue asked again, rubbing his neck.
Ava was brought out of her spy mission by a hand at the small of her back. Her head whipped over to find Theo smiling up at her.
"I wanted to show you something, follow me?" Theo leaned in a bit to whisper.
Ava really wanted to figure out that whole Oceane situation next to her but the butterflies that erupted in her stomach at Theo's proximity would have turned violent and murdered her if she didn't go with Theo. It wasn't too hard of a choice though. Special one on one attention given to her by the Captain of the ship, the person she was sleeping with, and the person she was currently head over heels for versus continuing to eavesdrop and invade the privacy of a friend. The former was the obvious choice. Plus, her invasion of privacy had already yielded results and she had a good idea of what was going on.
"Lead the way, lady Captain," Ava teased and Theo grinned, leading them away without even excusing themselves from the group.