AN: I am interrupting your reading to bring you this message: thank you for all the support. if you wanna join a discord to talk about this or just make friends check my profile for the link (in my conversations)
Ava was sitting next to Xyra, both of them a few feet behind Theo. The room held a massive circular table which the pirate captains crowded around. It didn't seem very comfortable, what with the paper and mugs scattered about everyone's space and the pirates bumping elbows. Each of the officers that the captain's invited to the meetings sat behind their captains, forming a ring around the edges of the room. They had nothing but their own books or pieces of wood provided a surface to write on. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. Ava's neck and back hurt from hunching over the notes to write legibly. The constant demand to be sitting up in a hard wooden chair with nothing in front of her to lean on made her sorer by the hour. Xyra didn't seem fazed by this so Ava thought it best to keep her mouth shut and avoid complaining.
They had been in the room for countless hours at that point. The sunlight seeping in through the windows had been long gone and some yawns could be seen from around the table. They had long been past the first item on the agenda, comparing notes as to the recent attacks. A surprising amount of pirates came forward with stories of being targeted. At first, the conversation lulled, only one or two captains spoke up as to the risks their crew had faced. After it was clear that there was something unspoken hanging in the air, Theo came forward with the admittance of what had happened to them.
Theo recounted with great detail what the Scorned Woman had encountered. She explained how they were baited into the Tuskeri's trap and then also how they encountered a ship flying a false distress signal. The room's energy shifted after that. Theo, a powerful pirate quite literally sitting with the biggest name in pirating, had admitted to being bested at least slightly. That confession opened up the room for more pirates to step forward with their stories. Over a third of the almost one hundred pirates there had mentioned some sort of run-in with something out of the ordinary. By the end of the discussion, they had narrowed down how their foe was attacking to four main tactics.
The first was fake distress signals, like the one they had encountered. A flag would be raised or a ship would be staged to look abandoned when it was just a trap to lure in pirates. The second way was more common around the southern continents where islands and small rock formations provided perfect cover for awaiting ships. Ambushes strategically set in known pirate looting routes seemed to be the most common of the four and from the looks of it, what had caused most of the missing pirate cases in the first place. The third was fairly straightforward and the tactic, that was mostly used in the North, was a simple chase. No hidden ambushes or plots. The faster ships were able to get away and those that weren't fast enough were not sitting at the table with them. The last tactic was contracting hits on crews. This one seemed to be only aimed at larger and more infamous pirating crews.
There was one topic of conversation that dominated the meeting for a while. One of the pirates who had narrowly escaped an ambush said they were fired upon by a volley of metal arrows. The confusion in the room was palpable and it quickly amassed as he showed what he was referring to. In his hand, he held a strange contraption, a long spout emerging from its handle. The man showed it off and claimed it to be what had only been a rumored invention before, the hand cannon. The contraption was passed around the room and even Theo couldn't keep the conversation from derailing to the implication of this new discovery. Uncilo had to call a break to get the pirates back on track.
It took a while to get through all of the retellings of the pirate's experience with being targets and Ava was thankful for the semi-frequent breaks Uncilo called. Her hand felt like it was going to fall off from the number of notes she was taking and by the first break, not even an hour in, she had to take Cooker up on her offer of drugs. They fell into an easy routine during the breaks. There was a room in the hallway outside the main meeting that was, for the most part, free of others. Xyra and Ava would inform Theo of the happenings of the room around them and Cooker was able to give Theo advice on how to navigate the conversation in the room. Cooker would then share her drugs and they would be off for another round of pirate debates. At first, only Ava partook but as the night grew longer, Xyra joined in. Notably, though, Theo did not allow herself to indulge.
Ava understood now why Cooker was taking it. It helped her be more effective, so much so that the pain that had been apparent in her wrist was gone. She was a stallion, charging through the battle, unable and unwilling to stop. She paid immense attention to the details of those in the room. Their expressions, body language, who talked to who and when, who talked, and who didn't. Which officers seemed uninterested and which didn't. Ava was a hawk and nothing slipped through her gaze. The most noticeable thing, to Ava and to everyone in the room, was what a pain Fletching was. There was nothing that was said that Fletching agreed with and that became apparent when they moved past discussing types of threats and began to identify possible culprits. At every theory proposed, Fletching scoffed and would spout off some reason why their logic was flawed. The frustrating thing was that he wasn't always wrong.
Ava wanted to strangle him by the time they were nearing the end of the night and she knew she wasn't the only one. The others around her, mainly those that leaned more towards agreeing with Theo and her coalition of pirates, looked peeved. There was a clear divide between the pirates. Captain Owl and Blue and about six or seven others tended to rally behind Theo in discussion. Theo had a lot of important names on her side, at least Ava assumed they were important from social clues she picked up from the meeting. Theo's coalition sat near Uncilo and opposite to them was a minority that tended to support Fletching. Captain Firinz, a young Dovish man that sat next to Fletching also proved to be a nuisance during discussion. Together they managed the conversation for what seemed to be the opposing group in the meeting.
Ava quickly caught onto the dynamics of the room because they were not hard to pick up on. Theo was on the inside of Corinspian politics and Ava was constantly impressed by Theo's political prowess. The way she commanded the room when she spoke was impressive. She switched up her tone, engaged her audience, and avoided sounding condescending. Whether Theo was close to the head of the council or not, Ava was sure she would still yield influence over others. The whole night was tense, seemingly endless, and stressful but Ava was invigorated. Alliances, powerful coalitions, and the power of words and discussions were what made The Center tick and Ava was familiar with this environment. She wanted to speak up, counter the arguments made by the opposition, or even just call bullshit on something but it wasn't her place. Instead, she would write notes to Xyra who would pass them along to Theo.
After what Ava could only assume was no less than eight hours. They had cycled through a few theories and a general consensus was forming. Theo, along with another person Captain Tack, led the discussion. Cooker was a large help too, giving historical accounts for the likelihood or unlikelihood of certain conspiracies proposed. With Theo facilitating discussion and asking probing questions to try and assert the validity of certain theories, they were able to narrow it down to one suspect, the government. The pirates had ruled out a merchant guild being behind it. The scope was too large and the costs too high for a merchant guild to want to challenge pirates. It was cheaper for them to incur the costs of pirate raids than call for open war against the group. They also ruled out a coalition of nobles or greater houses for largely the same reasons. Failure to wrangle the pirates would result in a backlash against land dwellers and the population would turn on their superordinate houses.
The Center had the funds, the council members seeking reelection would benefit from attacking the pirates, and the reach these attacks seemed to have all added up to a government scheme. The question in the air was no longer who but how. How did they manage to catch them so off guard? How were they being targeted? How was the navy involved and how many ships did they have?
A middle-aged man was now talking, standing up in an attempt to project his voice did not work. His meek voice barely traveled but it didn't matter much because Ava wasn't paying much attention to the details of his words. Just the general argument and how others reacted.
"- coercion is the only logical solution. They know where we frequent, they know who secures us our leads, and how to target us. They're coercing our connections with violence and threats to give us up and it's working. That is the only explanation."
There were a few nods of approval, even some audible agreement but not as much as when someone with influence and command spoke. The man finished and sat down. A few beats of silence followed before Ava saw Theo shift in her chair. Theo leaned back, one arm falling back over the chair. Her clothing had slowly been stripped off break after break and now she sat with only a black loose undershirt on, tattoos on full display.
"Or there's a rat," Theo spoke and the whole room broke out into immediate clamor and side chatter. Theo's relaxed demeanor didn't change even as the energy in the room grew anxious and the shock from her suggestion sent waves around the room. Even Xyra tensed next to Ava.
Ava watched as Theo looked over to Uncilo who was fixing Theo with a look. It was one of a parent and their child, a nanny with the toddler they are taking care of, a teacher with a misbehaving student. Theo was letting the drama of her statement sit, for whatever reason, and Uncilo was urging her to finish her thought.
Theo leaned forward and grabbed her drink off the table and took a sip. Upon putting it down, she stood up, as she normally did when addressing the group, and began her explanation, "Captain Olisin brings up an excellent point. They know our sources, they know our looting routes, they know who to hire to take us out. To me, that points to a pirate working with The Center to funnel information, not coercion of our allies."
Theo was met with enthusiastic nods from many but with objections and shouts from others. Someone called out how it was far fetched.
"Need I remind you all," Theo said and placed her hands forward on the table and raised her voice slightly, "that there were seven of our captain's hanging from their ships not even a few hundred feet from the entrance to Corinspe. Our secret island on secret waters."
"Aye but we've always known they know where Corinspe is," Captain Firinz rebutted.
"The general area of Corinspe, sure. A mere minute away from the break in the reef? I don't think so," Theo argued with him.
Next to Firinz, Fletching slammed down his mug of ale with a loud bang and licked his lips clean of the ale's froth, "I agree there may be a rat. But who's to say it isn't you, Captain Theo."
A few snickers and whispers from the minority side of the table steered away from Theo's command of the space.
Ava saw the muscles in Theo's shoulders tightened as she removed her hands from in front of the table and ignored Fletching, looking to the others around the circle, "Even if they knew the location of the entrance they still wouldn't have been able to find it so easily. I have known the route to Corinspe for half a classification and I still almost get lost sometimes," as Theo presented her case, more people began to nod along. "Let's play into hypotheticals and say they knew where our entrance was and could get there with no help from an expert pirate sailor. Setting up the grotesque spectacle they did takes time. Tell me, was it just luck that allowed them to know the exact times the patrol checks the reef when that schedule is switched every cycle for this exact reason?"
A growing conviction amongst the pirates could be seen and heard through positive mutters and nods were any indication. Officers leaned forward to confer with their Captains as Theo spoke.
"We are dealing with a mole, gentlemen. Plain and simple, a traitor to Corinspe and to the pirate council. Someone helped The Center navigate to our waters and helped them set up a shrine to their mockery of our autonomy. They've been helping track down our sources and shared our routes."
Theo sat down and as soon as she did, competing yells filled the room. Everyone was trying to get their thoughts and theories in. Theo had opened an unknown and she looked over to Uncilo in apology. After a minute or so, Fletching held out his hand to quiet everyone down. Not everyone paid attention and he slammed the hand down to call everyone to a halt. He slowly pushed himself out of his chair and put his hand over his stomach.
"Captain Theo seems to have a lot to say about this purported rat and their exact involvement. Maybe the perfect way to disguise her involvement in this whole affair is to be the one accusing others and shift blame to someone else."
"That is the second time tonight, Fletching. Speak another word suggesting my involvement with the murder of my brothers and I will make sure to remove your kneecaps from their rightful home," Theo threatened and placed her hands back on the table, her upper lip curling up in anger.
Uncilo stood from his chair, "That is where we are going to end tonight. It is late and emotions are running high. We will convene tomorrow in the fourth hour of the aftermorning. Everyone, get some rest. Tomorrow we will be discussing the next plan of action for the situation at hand. If you have a proposal to be voted on, make sure to bring it prepared to go to the floor tomorrow. Let's keep discussion civil tomorrow, please."
With that, the meeting had concluded for the night. Xyra leaned over and informed Ava they were going to meet in the now coded "break room." Xyra stood up and took a few steps towards Theo, whispered something to her then stepped away and towards the exit. Ava took her hint and followed again, being given strict instructions to avoid getting separated from the officer. They walked to their usual room, Cooker following shortly after. They were waiting for Theo to come in, Xyra pacing the room. Finally, the door opened to reveal Theo on the other side.
Theo had been having a friendly conversation with someone outside and let out a hearty laugh as she waved them off with a promise to finish catching up the next sun. As she stepped through the threshold and the door closed behind her, the smile quickly faded into a look of anger and disbelief.
"What the fuck?!" Theo yelled and threw her coat, which had been in her hand, off to the side. It crashed into a vase and took it tumbling to the ground with it. Luckily, it just bounced off the carpet on the floor with no damage.
"I know," Xyra said and began to quickly walk to where Theo was now pacing.
One arm was crossed over her chest and the over held her hand up, covering her mouth trying to calm down. It was useless though, she was really worked up.
"And I can't even say anything because then I look guilty!" Theo screamed again and Ava watched as Xyra maintained a few feet of distance from the captain.
"Theo, I know. But you need to lower your voice, we can't have people outside hear you," Xyra said, trying to avoid the implications of Theo being heard losing her shit privately. The Captain had a reputation to uphold.
"He is probably the fucking one behind all of it. Fuck. He played it so well. If we throw it back at him, the accusation will slide right off," Theo walked towards Xyra now. Theo stopped in front of her first mate in thought and almost like she couldn't help the release of emotions, she shoved Xyra in frustration, "Xy, I fucking hate him."
Xyra, firmly planted and probably expecting the outburst, barely moved. She grabbed Theo by the wrists and held them tightly in her hands. She tugged on Theo's wrists and forced the Captain to look up at her. Theo struggled lightly against the hold and her jaw was clenched in frustration. There was a marked difference between the composed politician in the meeting and the exasperated young woman in front of them. Ava could tell that Theo, who was not affected by much, was taking Fletching's accusation hard.
"I know," Xyra validated Theo, "but Theo, he knows how to get to you. This is him toying with you. We don't have time right now for anger to cloud our thoughts. You heard Uncilo, proposals are due on the floor tomorrow."
Theo still didn't meet Xyra's eyes, her gaze fixed on Xyra's necklaces. Ava watched as Theo took in a few deep breaths and released the tension in her jaw. Ava watched as Theo calmed down, quickly and without further assurance from Xyra. It was always eerie to Ava how she did it, how Theo was able to compartmentalize her feelings and push them away when they were not convenient. Theo gained composure and anger no longer registered on her face, just a neutral expression. Xyra let Theo's wrists go and Theo brought her arms to her side and walked away. Before reaching the door she turned around.
"Red, good job today. Cook and Xy, you too," Theo nodded and tipped her hat towards them, and then walked out.
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Ava was splayed out on one of the various beds in the room she was in. It was Xyra's and she wanted to ask why Xyra had two large beds in her room but it wasn't important, it was probably just the way the room came. Cooker was taking up residence on the other bed and Xyra sat by the fire in a large armchair. The room was filled with smoke and suddenly it was filled with Ava's cough. She had taken a harsh drag from her havcera cigarette and was met with Cooker's giggles.
"Where is Theo?" Ava laughed, it had been a while since they had left the meeting and Theo still wasn't back.
"She won't be sleeping here tonight. She'll be arriving first thing in the morning," Cooker said from her spot on the bed, and this time it was her turn to cough.
"Why?"
"She's meeting with some of the other captains to come up with a proposal to bring to the floor tomorrow. A solution for our current crisis," Xyra informed.
"We don't get to know what the plan is? We get no input?" Ava asked and propped herself up on her elbows.
"Not this time. They finalize their plan while we relax and sleep then Theo brings it with her in the morning. She sleeps, we review the plan, strategize if we need to, then it's meeting time," Xyra ran Ava through the schedule. Ava never failed to be shocked at the lack of preparation or information they revealed to her, even when she was on a need to know basis.
It was silent, just the occasional cough filled the room. They each had their own havcera cigarette and they were all on the same wavelength, enjoying the peace and quiet after a long sun of constant clamor. Ava let the warmth from the fire in the room and the warmth from the high wash over her. She closed her eyes and felt like she was hovering just over the bed. Her levitation came crashing down when she heard Cooker finally speak.
"The hand cannons..." Cooker sat up as the thought had just popped into her head.
Xyra held her hand out to plead with Cooker to stop, "Not tonight. I'm not thinking about that until at least after I wake up. Let me enjoy this."
And Ava understood that sentiment. She was usually so curious and eager to learn. An unknown device with dangerous potential would normally be something she would be dying to talk about but the energy was not there. Her hand was on strike from writing all sun and her whole body, voice box included, joined in solidarity. The hand cannon meant people with bad aim could shoot metal pieces at someone from far away, deadly didn't even begin to describe it.
The much-needed silence overtook them again and it was only broken again when Xyra spoke up. This time, Ava couldn't understand the exchange. It was in a different language but Ava couldn't pinpoint which it was. It went back and forth for only about a minute before it stopped. Ava always found it rude when they did that, feeling like it was about her but she excused it since they were high. It was probably just some random thought Xyra wanted to say out loud.
Ava's eyes were beginning to close and not in just a relaxing way. Her body was demanding sleep so she reluctantly pulled herself out of bed. Her limbs felt heavy and her back hurt; she couldn't wait to get to sleep.
"Alright," Ava yawned as she walked towards the door, "I'm heading off to bed. Have a good night."
"Goodnight," Cooker hummed from her spot laying on one of the beds.
"Tomorrow morning you need to go into Theo's room for the proposal papers," Xyra instructed.
"Why me?" Ava asked.
"You're sleeping with her so hopefully she'll be nicer to you than us. She sucks in the mornings," Xyra reasoned.
Ava flushed red from embarrassment at the casualness of Xyra's mention of it. She spared a glance over to Cooker and by the looks of it, it was news to her. Cooker's mouth had dropped open and her brows had scrunched together in what looked to be concern. Damn Xyra. Ava gave a quick acknowledgment as to her task for the morning and made her way out of Xyra's room. She found her room, which she had yet to step foot in, and slept like a rock.
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It was as if she had just shut her eyes when there was an aggressive knock on her door. Ava turned around in bed and pulled the covers up over her head in an attempt to ignore the noise and go back to sleep. Then memories of where she was and the night before flooded to her and she shot straight up in bed. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Had she overslept and forgot about what Xyra had asked her to do?
Ava scrambled out of the bed and spared a glance at the window as she put her shirt on. The sun was barely peeking out over the horizon and Ava realized she was not late to anything. She had probably only been sleeping for a few hours, at most. The knocking resumed and this time it was longer, harder, and more aggressive. It was accompanied by Cooker's voice.
"Red, open up," Cooker demanded from the other side and Ava's stomach dropped at the words.
Ava would have been lying if she said she wasn't beyond livid at the intrusion so early. There could have been at least two more hours of rest for Ava but now she was awake. And for what? Ava walked to the door and yanked it open to find an underdressed Cooker. Cooker pushed her way through the doorframe and into the room. Ava scoffed at the sudden intrusion and shot a questioning look to Cooker before closing the door.
"May I help you?" Ava asked and took a good look at Cooker's face in the growing sunlight shining in through the window. She looked pissed and Ava was lost as to why.
"Are you sleeping with Theo?" Cooker asked, standing at the foot of Ava's bed with her arms crossed over her chest. Her usually shaved sides were growing in with fuzzy hair and if she didn't look so mad she would have looked sleepy and soft.
Ava wasn't sure if Cooker had figured it out or if Xyra was the one that broke the news but either way, but now she knew for sure. Ava was not in the mood for this conversation, especially not when it could have waited for a time when the sun was barely over the horizon.
"Excuse me?" Ava laughed and then rolled her eyes before attempting to walk back to her bed, "You woke me up for this? I'm going back to sleep."
Cooker stopped her, arm shooting out to press against Ava's chest, keeping her from getting in, "I asked you a fucking question, Avery."
Ava's chest flared hot with anger and she roughly grabbed Cooker's arm and pushed it away from her, shoving Cooker back in the process, "What the fuck is your problem?"
Cooker stumbled back a bit but with two quick strides was back in Ava's space, closer this time. It didn't look like Cooker had gotten much sleep and if Ava had picked up anything about Cooker in the cycles they had been friends it was that she was testier when tired, more so than other pirates.
"Are you sleeping with her?" Cooker asked once again but Ava no longer saw anger. There was panic, helplessness, guilt, or something of the sorts in Cooker's eyes and Ava nodded slowly.
"I am," Ava said softly and Cooker grunted in frustration and stepped away from Ava.
"We're fucked," Cooker squatted down and put her head in her hands. Ava could feel the panic emanating from the hunched over girl, it was beginning to spread to Ava too.
"I don't understand what the problem is," Ava said.
Cooker lifted her head and scoffed, "You're the daughter of the man that killed her parents and you don't understand what the fucking problem is?"
"What?" Ava had to blink a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
Cooker raised an eyebrow and stood up, taking a few steps towards Ava, "You're father was the council member in charge of the massacre at Lamentations. Were you not aware of this? I mean you clearly knew she couldn't read, I'm surprised this part didn't come up too."
Ava felt a huge weight crashing down on her chest. There were too many things to address in Cooker's statement and Ava didn't know what to focus on. Theo had never told her who the councilmember was that was sent for negotiations and Ava never asked. Subconsciously she knew the answer and didn't want it to be true.
"She didn't tell me it was my father," Ava admitted, in almost a whisper.
"You should have told her who you were before you slept with her," Cooker almost spat.
Ava was not going to be cornered and blamed and shoved a finger in Cooker's chest, "Where was that advice when I asked for it before getting vetted? Where was that advice when you told me to keep it secret until I got the votes to be a pirate?"
"You were not supposed to sleep with her!" Cooker yelled, "You were supposed to become a pirate, and then tell the crew who you were and hope that you had done enough to gain their sympathy and that is all. Not sleep with the Captain."
"Well I fucking did, Cooker! Fuck!" Ava threw her hands up in the air, in exasperation. She had nothing constructive to say. Cooker had told her not to tell, then remained neutral and was now telling her she should have come clean.
Even though Cooker's argument made little sense compared to what she had said in the past, Ava understood where it was coming from. Ava should have told Theo. She had multiple chances to do so but didn't. It would have been different if she had known just how deep the connection between her father and Theo went. She had just assumed Theo harbored the same ill will for him that most others did but this ran deeper; it was personal. Ava would have said something if she had known but now it was far too late.
"I can't say anything now," Ava said but it was more herself finally realizing it out loud.
She had kept telling herself that her past was behind her. That at the name dropping ceremony, the flames had consumed her past self. But something inside of her was still holding onto that little bit of herself. She was still hoping, deep down, that she could come clean one day and show others that she had changed. Reconcile her old self with her new one, bring the secret to light in an attempt to clear her guilt. That could never happen now and she felt sadness over it. Felt the weight of the secret for the first time in a long time. The trick of dismissing it like it didn't matter like in the long run it would erase where she came from, wasn't working and she was going to have to carry the burden around forever.
"We agree on one thing then," Cooker said, "no one can know. I fucking mean it, Red. Theo will not believe I didn't know. She knows I know what you look like and maybe I could have explained it away before but the closer you get with her and the longer that goes by since your confirmation, the more fucked I become. So you open your mouth and you're as good as dead and it won't be the crew that calls for your head, it will be me."
"I will allow this one threat to slide by, Cooker, but I am not some fucking child you can bully into submission. I will keep my mouth shut for her sake and for yours because I don't want to hurt her and I don't care to see you on the outs, I don't need threats to comply."
"Fine," Cooker walked to the door and turned around with the handle in her hand, "be careful with calling too much attention to yourself. Last thing we need is someone recognizing you."
"That won't be an issue," Ava grumbled but Cooker had already shut the door behind herself.
Ava crashed back down on her bed and covered her face with a pillow as if that would smother her thoughts. Guilt and uncertainty ran through her blood and iced her veins. She was every day falling more and more in love with someone her father orphaned. Theo was falling in love with someone who was complicit in government-sponsored murder for 16 years, engoring herself on the riches that came from the blood of others.
It wasn't her. That wasn't her choice. Her father was not a reflection of who she was and who she could become. Coming clean would penalize her for something she had no control over. That is what kept repeating itself in her head. Justifications for keeping quiet. She felt tears begin to spill down her cheeks and it felt good. The more her brain produced thoughts, the more her eyes produced liquid.
Ava thought about Theo and how close they had been almost right from the very beginning. She thought about how much Theo meant to Ava, how much she willed their coupling to go far or at least not fizzle out anytime soon. Theo had been everything her sisters used to gush about when they pictured their dream partner. She was sweet, strong-willed, charismatic, and Ava's heart sped up when she was around. Ava also thought about all of the pain Theo had been through in her life. All of the loss and the suffering she had seen and encountered. Ava thought about Viv and how Theo was lied to and toyed along. All the while, the tears flowed freely from her tightly shut eyes. Ava thought about how she couldn't step away, how it was selfish but she couldn't help it. Ava didn't want to stop having Theo in her life. But if Theo never found out then it wouldn't be a problem and eventually, lengths down the line, it would all be forgotten.
It must have been two hours of silent crying when she heard the commotion of others coming in from the outside. Pirates. Whoever was still out working on proposals were all making their way back in now. Ava's limited window for sleep had been taken up worrying about things she could not control. She pulled the pillow away from her face and let the cool air hit her hot cheeks. She allowed for a while to pass until her eyes had lessened in redness from the crying and the noises in the tavern had settled back down.
She slowly planted her feet on the floor, grounded herself with a large, deep breath, and walked over to Theo's room. The room was unlocked and she slipped inside with ease. A ray of sunlight was peeking through Theo's window and splaying out on her back, highlighting the symbols of the moon on her back. Theo was laying on her stomach, as she did most nights, and she looked to be happily sleeping amongst a large array of pillows. Ava tiptoed to the small side table next to the bed and tried to quietly shuffle through papers to find what she was looking for. All of the notes were in Aelizan and she cursed herself from being so noisy with the papers. She felt Theo shift next to her and suddenly she was being pulled into the bed.
From the shock, she let out a small yelp and a low chuckle emerged from Theo. Ava's back was to Theo who had easily swept her into bed and held her tight. Ava was being spooned and the warmth emanating from Theo was a nice change to the cool air in the tavern. Ava tried to contain a smile but couldn't. The tears and guilt from earlier a distant memory, the Theo effect. Ava flipped around as carefully as she could without disturbing Theo and watched her.
Theo's eyes were still closed but when Ava turned around, one of them peeked open. She flashed a lazy smile at the redhead and Ava returned it.
"Mornin'," Theo mumbled and closed her eyes once again.
"Morning," Ava whispered, "Xyra sent me in to get the proposal papers."
"All the ones on the table," Theo provided helpfully and Ava began to slip out of bed but Theo didn't let her go. She hooked her arm around Ava and refused to let her leave the bed, "stay."
"I can't," Ava almost giggled, butterflies forming in her stomach at Theo's early morning rasp, "I've got to go be a good officer."
"Can I least get a kiss?" Theo opened her eyes once again and Ava actually giggled that time.
Embarrassing herself as always.
"You're much less grumpy than I was warned you would be," Ava leaned over and planted a soft and slightly lingering kiss to Theo's lips, "they were right to send me in."
"Aye, you've disarmed me," Theo said with a cute grin that quickly turned into an adorably unattractive yawn.
"Sleep well, Captain," Ava said and planted a kiss on Theo's cheek and then walked out but not before grabbing the papers.