Their time in Aeliz had been a whirlwind. It had been like a rocky night at sea, terrifying yet thrilling. Sobering but at the same time, not at all. Ava was constantly stuck between worrying about the future and living in the moment. What had started as an exciting journey as the ship's second in command quickly turned into a living nightmare. Xyra knew her secret. She was going to be stripped of her command, ignored, tossed aside until it was time to tell Theo. And then after that, she would be humiliated at a trial and thrown in the brig until they found a suitable island to leave her to die on.
Of course, like most times, life was not as dramatic as she often built it up to be and none of that happened. Xyra granted her more responsibilities than she had ever had before and promised to be a witness at her trial. Between her, Cooker, and the relationships she had formed with the crew she would probably stay on the ship. Theo would understand too, Ava told herself that all would be forgiven in time; it was all that she could hope for. What she had convinced herself would be her downfall seemed to be just rough seas that would pass in time.
During their journey through Aeliz, Ava saw growth in herself she didn't think possible in such a short amount of time. Not only was she growing stronger and faster in combat, but she was also stronger and more firm when it came to handling conflicts amongst the crew. Endless suns at sea was a recipe for angry pirates and Ava had to put out a lot of fires. During the trip, she also learned how to keep her worrying at bay, at least slightly. Emotionally, she was stronger in her resolve to not let her thoughts take control of her. There were times when it was inevitable but she had impressed herself with how well she was handling the journey.
Something inside of Ava had snapped after that night she had cried in Xyra's arms. It had been two suns of misery for her, endless sobbing into her pillows categorized that period of the journey. She soon realized that she could not control the future. She could not control what was to come. Ava was better off living in the moment, learning from her newfound position on the ship, and have a fucking great time in case these were, indeed, the last good cycles of her life. Obviously, that was easier in thought than it was in action. Sometimes the pit of despair and hopelessness would claw its way back to the surface and Ava would have to spend a while dealing with it but when that happened, she threw herself into her work. Most other times, though, she allowed herself to live in the moment; to think of herself as the pirate she was, not who she used to be.
Their journey through Aeliz also led to blossoming new friendships, with unexpected people. Xyra, who had been her enemy at the start of the trip had become like a growth on her hip, always there right alongside her. Pearl was another, her gentle energy and general lack of conflict surrounding her made her a magnet for both Xyra and Ava. Rooming with Pearl proved to only strengthen a quickening friendship. She was a stark opposite to Oceane yet the same light energy surrounded them. They talked about Oceane a lot, she and Pearl had come onto the ship at the same time and figured out pirate life together. Pearl was missing her just as much, or even more than Ava was. Morgana and Navi, while she wanted to get closer to them, seemed to be in their own world. Making adventures for themselves where there were none. Which was understandable given that they both had boring jobs compared to Ava and Xyra.
The jobs and roles that she and Xyra had to take on were not what Ava had imagined. What she had experienced on the ship prior to their trip through Aeliz seemed like child's play compared to what they had started to do. It finally felt like real pirating, she felt like a real pirate. It was not even two nights since they had picked up information from their first lead that she realized just how much she had to learn. She would say she was out of her depth but that would suggest she hadn't immediately adapted to the situation at hand.
They had just arrived in Hovertae, a small island in the waters of southwest Aeliz, and were not even stopping for the night. Xyra had not allowed anyone off the boat for that very reason, it would be a short mission and they would be gone before dawn. Only Ava, Morgana, and Palomy came with Xyra. While Palomy was one of the new girls, Morgana had quite quickly promoted her to second on the vanguard which meant she accompanied them as a guard. Xyra had kept the information of who they were meeting and what they were doing close to her chest. It wasn't until they had hidden their dinghy between some brush and were on their way into the small city on the island that Xyra filled them in.
They were meeting with a merchant guild leader. He was a part of a more or less powerful guild that had operations in Elox, Aeliz, and Dove Island. The information they had been given tipped Xyra off that this member of the guild had been one of the ones behind sending out fully armed vessels with mercenaries as the cargo, baiting pirates into traps. How she figured that out from just a few documents of information was beyond Ava. Xyra told them that Morgana and Palomy would stay hidden in an alleyway across from the guild leader's house while Ava and Xyra went to go get information. Ava was unclear as to how exactly they were going to get information until the situation was unraveling in front of her.
Xyra and Ava were in front of the leader's door, Morgana and Palomy hidden in the alley behind them. Xyra knocked on the door frantically then looked over at Ava.
"Play along," Xyra commanded.
Ava raised an eyebrow, "Play along? Wh-"
Ava doubled over, the air leaving her body. Xyra had socked her right in the gut and then had the gall to lean down and help hold Ava slightly upright. The door opened before them and Ava heard Xyra's voice change from stoic to panicked and almost whiny.
"Please, sir," Xyra cried out and then took a few shaky breaths, "please help us, they're trying to kill us. They've already tried to hurt her."
"Who is trying to hurt you?" the man who had opened the door looked out onto the street.
"I-I don't know. They came out of nowhere," Xyra was really selling the panic.
The man moved and opened the door, "Come in."
"Can you take her? My leg..." Xyra looked down at her leg and soon Ava was being taken out of Xyra's arm and escorted inside.
The man had a tight grip on Ava, making sure she didn't fall to the ground. They had barely crossed the threshold when Ava heard the door close behind them and suddenly there was no longer anyone holding her. She stood upright on her own and looked over to find Xyra holding a cloth over the man's face, his limbs flailing as he tried to get away. A few moments passed and the man slumped in Xyra's arms, unconscious.
"Hope he is the right guy," Xyra held the man up and Ava's eyes widened, "I am joking. I am pretty sure he is."
"Xyra, you don't even know if this is our target?" Ava's eyes widened.
"We do not deal with merchants. I had no way of knowing what he would look like."
"What now?"
"Get me a chair," Xyra requested and Ava jumped into action before she asked any questions.
Ava pulled the chair over and was practically dismissed by Xyra. Having been told to get to the side, she simply observed as Xyra tied the man up. It was incredible just how quickly it all had happened. One second they were outside and the next a man was tied up and Xyra had not broken a sweat doing so. Ava recalled what Theo had told her, about how they were trained as children, and Ava could see the training in action. She also recalled being told about Xyra's affinity for torture and by the looks of it, that is where it was going. It should have dawned on her that this was the plan given her close call with torture just the other sun. Strangely, Ava didn't feel scared for what was to come, she almost felt excited. Xyra had walked over to a cabinet once she tied the man up and rifled through its contents.
"This is him. His name is engraved on a box in here," Xyra said, then looked over to Ava's corner of the room, "Any questions?"
"How do we know he's got the information we need?"
"I told you already, from the manifests we got the other night," Xyra explained.
"A list of ships does not necessarily lead you right to a guild leader's doorstep," Ava pointed out and Xyra laughed at that.
"One of The Center's ships came to this island. There is nothing of interest for them here, except of course if they wanted to do business with a merchant guild. Why would they come here in search of a merchant? To hire them to conspire against pirates. If there is any information to be had, he will know it," Xyra explained, "anything else? He's bound to wake up soon."
"What if he doesn't know anything and we torture him?"
"That's a risk we take," Xyra shrugged, "but I know he has something."
Turns out he did, he had a lot of information and Ava just watched as Xyra pulled every little bit of him. It was hypnotizing to watch it happen, the way Xyra transformed. Almost like how Theo changed personas when having to kill. It was scary but also exhilarating and Ava wondered what was wrong with her. Punching, pulling, slicing, breaking; Xyra did it all and Ava did not look away once. As the blood flowed from the man, so did the secrets he held. Without even having to be told, Ava took notes.
Four cycles before, a man from the navy, a commodore, had come to him offering him 10 thousand gold pieces for every pirate captain their guild killed. He mobilized the whole Aelizan merchant fleet with hired swords in order to go pirate hunting. He had already brought in 40 thousand gold, 20 thousand of which were pure profit for him. He also spilled the names of three other merchant guilds that he knew were approached with the same deal. Ava couldn't believe how easy he was to squeeze for information.
He was gagged and still tied while Xyra was cleaning up her tools. Nothing had happened in a few minutes and it seemed to her that they had gotten more than they came for. Ava chanced a question, hoping her general lack of interruptions had afforded her at least one.
"What now?"
"We kill him," Xyra said and at that, the man in the chair began trying to scream through his gag.
"Unfortunate for him," Ava mused, "shouldn't have admitted to killing four pirate crews."
"You read my mind," Xyra chuckled.
"Can I do it?"
"Do what?"
"Kill him."
"You want to?" Xyra's face scrunched in confusion and she hesitated to answer, "he'd be tied up and helpless. That kind of kill is different than what you've experienced before..."
"Aye, I know," Ava stood up, "can I?"
"Sure," Xyra began to put her tools away and then motioned over to the man, "anytime now."
Ava put her notes down and walked over to the man. She wasn't all too sure why she had asked, maybe a feeling of not wanting to be left out. Xyra was a professional and knew what she was doing, maybe if Ava showed a willingness to take on tasks, eventually Xyra would give her more to do. Torture wasn't something Ava had previously been keen on learning but its utility quickly became apparent. She pulled her dagger from her waist. The man struggled against his restraints and Ava huffed.
"I really am sorry," she pressed the dagger to his throat, "I hope at least you got to enjoy your money before all of this happened."
Quickly, so as to end the man's misery, she sliced her dagger across his throat and she could no longer take it back. She had done what she had done and slowly, the life drained out of him.
"Speaking of money," Xyra said and looked around, "start opening drawers and closets. He's bound to have a couple of thousand coins lying around."
Ava blanked for a moment, the command taking a bit to process. She was a bit in shock at what she had just done. Xyra was right, it was different from self-defense. This was a lot more real, a lot more bile-inducing. Ava took a deep breath, which was a mistake because the metallic scent of blood filled her senses. Ava held the back of her hand to her mouth and suppressed a gag.
"You alright?" Xyra asked and Ava gave a quick nod. Xyra held her hand out, "give me your dagger, I will clean it for you. Go find the money."
Ava should have felt slighted by being dismissed so easily but she could tell that Xyra meant no harm by it. In fact, Ava detected a hint of care in Xyra's tone. She was letting Ava remove herself from the situation and take a moment to breathe. Which is what she did. She left the room they had begun the interrogation in and walked hallway to hallway, room to room, searching drawers and cabinets alike. Taking the time to calm herself down.
What she found didn't parallel the wealth they had accumulated in Gossem but there were quite a lot of gold and silver coins stashed in different areas of the house. It took Ava some time to gather all the coins in one place and once she had finished, Xyra was hovering over her.
"How much?"
"Can't be sure but over 3 thousand for sure."
Xyra raised her eyebrows and nodded in approval, "Very well. Start grabbing some to carry back to the ship."
"We can't carry this by ourselves," Ava commented as she began to figure out the most efficient way to stuff bags of coins in her clothes to maximize carrying capacity.
"Don't worry, Morgana is going to come and help. Get on your way," Xyra said towards the back door, "go back to the boat. Don't start uncovering it until we get there."
Ava didn't hesitate to jump into action, she ran out of the back door but quickly adjusted her pace. She had to be careful with her movements, too fast and the coins would clink and call attention, too slow and she would risk being seen. Ava took alleyways back to the small beach that housed their hidden boat. Palomy had joined Ava shortly into their half-jog back and they laid low at the beach until the other pair got there. The boat was quickly uncovered, the coins transferred onto it, and pushed out to sea. It wasn't until they were rowing back to the boat, the silhouette of the island visible because of the bright moon, that Ava noticed a large smokestack rising from the island.
"Look, fire," Ava pointed out.
"Aye, we set his house on fire," Morgana chuckled, "great observation."
Ava furrowed her brow, "What?"
"Is there an issue?" Xyra sighed a bit.
"So, we are just razing cities now?" Ava crossed her arms and frowned.
"You think she learned the dramatic flair from Theo and Cook or she's just like this?" Xyra looked over at Morgana.
"A bit of both," Morgana theorized.
"I'm right here," Ava chimed in.
"The fire from his house will not reach the other houses around it," Xyra reached under Morgana's bench and grabbed the vanguard leader's bag. Morgana, occupied with the oars could not stop her from doing so, Xyra pulled out a flask from it and handed it to Ava, "if I plan on razing any cities, you'll be the first to know."
"What's this for?" Ava looked at the flask.
"Your nerves," Xyra said.
"I don't need it," Ava tried to hand it back.
Xyra reached forward and placed both of Ava's over the flask, "If not for nerves, then for celebrating a mission well done."
Xyra, who had warned her about killing a restrained person, probably understood where Ava's head was at. Not fully ready to process it yet but the reality of what she had done was sinking in regardless. Her body was very jittery and her chest was weighed down with a bit of unexplained dread. No guilt, just like the last time, but perhaps a bit of shame. Shame for jumping on the opportunity, shame for not being guilty, shame for not being able to process it after requesting to be the one to kill. Xyra was right, she needed a drink. Ava unscrewed the flask and drank far more than she had intended to on the first swig.
Soon enough, the flask was almost empty and the boat was bumping up against the edge of the ship. Ava, even slightly intoxicated, managed to help get the coins out of the boat and to Xyra's room for counting. Morgana and Palomy were dismissed, Pearl was instructed to report to the captain's quarter for coin counting, and Xyra excused herself to go help Navi start sailing to their next destination. Pearl was expedient in her duties and counted with impressive speed. After they counted, Pearl debriefed Ava on everything that was bought and what they needed in the next town.
"Between the food rations and the materials for ship upkeep," Pearl looked down at the papers she had brought in with her, "it was about 200 gold for everything."
"That's a bit steep," Ava had already had a bit of experience in shopping for the ship and she knew that for what was bought, 200 was a lot.
"Aeliz prices are always killer," Pearl put her papers down and smiled, "but we made just over 3,200 gold so I'd say we are off to a good start."
"Always the optimist," Ava smiled and stood up, "I'll see you in the room later, I have some more duties to attend to. Go grab some food before everyone else catches wind that there are leftover portions in the kitchen."
Ava waved her goodbyes and walked towards the lower decks to have a chat with some of the women and inform them of the disembarking schedule for the next several cities. It was a while before she managed to get down to the kitchen herself and ironically, there was no food left. She rummaged through the cabinets and found nothing but stale biscuits, grabbing a handful was all she could do. Ava slipped onto a bench in the mess room and began to pick at her biscuits. Shortly after, Xyra came in and looked over at Ava with a slight chuckle. Just as quickly as she had entered, she walked into the kitchen leaving Ava alone with her pathetic dinner.
Ava was going to leave and just head to bed, trying to avoid thoughts of the night until another time, but she needed to talk to Xyra before retiring for the night. They had another busy morning and she needed instructions. It was a fortunate thing that she had stayed because when Xyra emerged from the kitchen, it was with two plates of food. Xyra walked over without her crutch and sat down, only her splint and makeshift boot to hold her weight. Ava was going to scold her but Xyra cut off any chance to.
"You have to come and eat before the crew finds out there are leftovers," Xyra sat down and placed a plate in front of Ava, "if not, you get stuck with nothing."
Ava couldn't help but laugh, "Thanks for the advice."
They ate in silence, the food cooked by Xyra was on par with Theo's. They were similar in so many ways, their upbringing clearly having imprinted on both of them. Ava easily cleared her plate and after dinner, Xyra pulled out a cigarette and offered it to Ava.
"What is it?"
"Sard."
"How did you get that?" Ava asked. Xyra was a sard magician.
"That's of no importance," Xyra said and lit the sard with the candle that was glowing between them, "you good?"
"I mean, I'm not bad," Ava shrugged, "perhaps good isn't the word for it though. I can't explain it."
"And even if you could, I probably wouldn't understand how you feel. Killing, and violence, are different for everyone," Xyra exhaled smoke, "you can take the sun off tomorrow. There won't be anything important to do, I'm just visiting an old lead to check in on them."
"I don't want a sun off," Ava rejected the offer and licked her lips before asking the question that was at the forefront of her mind, "what is it like for you?"
"With combat, I feel a bit guilty. I mean, it's mostly because whoever it is most likely stands no chance against us," Xyra took a deep drag of her cigarette, "I try and avoid combat as much as possible though."
"And what about with something like this?"
Xyra chuckled - humorlessly- and tapped her free fingers against the table, "Lately? Different than I ever have before."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing I'm willing to speak about," Xyra cut off any further line of questioning from Ava.
"I literally will not leave you alone until you tell me," Ava threatened, without much effort behind the intimidation. Xyra knew it was true.
Xyra pushed her hair back, faced with no choice but to at least give a vague, half-ass answer, "I'm beginning to scare myself."
There was a heavy fog that came over them, the room thick with silence. Ava was rendered silent.
"Heed my advice more carefully in the future. At least take into consideration things I say, I tell you things out of concern for your well-being, not because I think you will fail," Xyra pursed her lips together, she looked exhausted. She stood up and walked in the direction of her crutch.
Without turning around, she walked out of the mess and Ava had to turn around and call after her, "I need to talk to you about tomorrow!"
"Take the sun off!" Xyra shot back and continued on her way.
--
After the first incident of torture, it became almost a common occurrence for them. One piece of information led to another which led to another and suddenly they had an incomplete mosaic of what was happening. So many little pieces making up larger pieces yet the whole picture was not yet revealed. Since that first time though, Ava had been given a strictly hands-off approach. In a cycle, they had partaken in just about a dozen different interrogations. All of them involved some form of violent coercion yet Ava was sat on the sidelines. Xyra was keeping her from the real action. From the real experiences.
Xyra hadn't briefed her before any of the other subjects but the one they were headed towards seemed different- a higher caliber. The others they had visited were low-level merchants operating out of smaller islands but as they traveled through Aeliz they began to visit larger islands with larger operations. Xyra and Ava were walking through town as the sun set with Morgana and Palomy at a safe distance. This, a very inopportune moment in Ava's opinion, was when Xyra decided to tell her about their next target.
"Sully is a roamer," Xyra began, out of nowhere, "I believe he has given a few pirate captains bad leads, like what happened to us in Gossem so we are going to pay him a visit."
"Roamers? Like the smugglers?" Ava asked, "Don't you need a tattoo to do business with them?"
"Aye."
"Do you have one?"
"Aye."
Ava's eyes widened, she had seen the first mate in short sleeves and low cut collars many times and had never found any tattoos.
"You've got tattoos?" Ava asked.
"That is not important to our mission," Xyra scolded, "we are going to be meeting him at his house. There is a guard there that will let us in, without the tattoo you won't be allowed past the foyer and the guard will be there watching you. I am going to need you to take care of him."
"Take care of him?"
Xyra reached out and grabbed Ava's hand as they walked and slipped a small vial into it.
"One drop of that and he will be out in a minute, then you can actually take him out," Xyra informed her, "after that, just wait for me to finish with Sully."
"How do you suggest I get him to take a drop of that?"
"You're a woman with lips," Xyra smirked a bit, "puckering up is always a solution."
"Gross. Fuck you," Ava laughed a bit and looked around to make sure no one was looking before she allowed herself to fall behind a bit. She walked in tandem with Morgana and reached her hand out a bit, "I need your bag."
Without question, Morgana handed it over and once it was secure in her grip, she picked up her pace to walk next to Xyra once again. She fished around in the bag until she found the object she knew would be in there. The flask. With less than a minute to spare before they arrived, she managed to drop the contents of the vial into the flask, she had to remind Morgana not to take a sip later lest they have a fallen soldier on their hands. Now, all Ava had to do was figure out to get the guard to drink it.
They arrived at the door and it was opened by a large man quite quickly after Xyra knocked. Ava watched as Xyra pulled her hair to the side and sure enough, the back of her neck had the symbol of the Roamers.
"She's with me," Xyra said as she stepped inside, "she hasn't got the tattoo so you'll just have to keep her company out here."
The man nodded and motioned Ava inside. Ava walked in and the door was closed behind her. It was time to get a move on, time to put her skills to the test, the clock was ticking and this man needed to be taken care of. As usual, it wasn't hard for her to get a conversation going. Ava asked about his tattoos and that was all it took to get him to start talking. Ava put her charm to the test.
It started with a small twirl of her hair, then little giggles strategically spread in, then she switched to awe at whatever he was saying. As the conversation progressed, she slipped in one curated lie that would pique the interest of only a man, made a suggestive comment, batted her eyelashes, and all of a sudden, they were sharing the flask between them. Ava, ever the gracious giver, allowed him to go first and the fool fell right into her trap. With a resounding thud, he hit the ground and Ava made quick work of removing her dagger from her waist and driving it into his jugular.
She had assumed it would have gone slightly wrong, it had been a while since she had to flirt with a guard to get something or get out of something. It was a common practice for Ava back at home when she was always sneaking around her estate at times she shouldn't have been. Ava had her sisters to thank for that area of expertise, lengths of watching them flirt had taught her a thing or two. They were good for something after all. Everything had gone according to plan. Ava looked down and watched as the blood poured from the man's neck and once again Ava felt a slight pang of shame over what she had done.
But it was only a slight feeling, one that ebbed from moderate to nonexistent. It was easier than the last time and Ava realized that she most likely would feel less shame the next time that came around too. If the talk with Morgana after her first kill, all those lengths ago, was any indication, Ava wasn't normal. It didn't make Ava feel bad though, Morgana said others felt the same way as she did so at least she wasn't all alone. Ava couldn't quite get a read on how Xyra was handling it all. With the number of people Xyra had to maim and kill in the past cycle, Ava would have assumed Xyra would be out of sorts. That wasn't the case; she was functioning normally, just like Xyra always did. But her words on that first night of torture told a different story. She had said she was scared of her own actions, did she regret it? She would have to ask later.
Time was passing and Ava had nothing to do but wait for Xyra with a dead body in the room. Even if she didn't feel too torn up about the kill, it wasn't pleasant to be faced with the sight of her actions. Ava figured she would just offer her help to Xyra and get the corpse out of view but when she went to open the door to Xyra, it was locked. There had been horrible screams coming from the room so Ava was positive that Xyra was okay in there and doing her duty, so why the lock? Ava felt slighted at first and then nervous. Had she done something to make Xyra lose trust?
She backed away from the door and set out to explore the rest of the house in an attempt to distract herself from the very obvious cadaver. Eventually, she heard her name being called and as she walked out into the front room, Xyra was waiting.
"Ready to go?" Xyra asked.
Ava tried to peek to where Xyra had been earlier but the door was closed. She nodded in response and they walked out the same way they came in. Morgana and Palomy followed them back and just like most other nights, they were on their way with little issue. Once they arrived back at the ship, as Xyra kept Navi company at the helm, Pearl and Ava spent time together. It had become a routine for them, she and Pearl would catch up once their missions were over and then Xyra would spend time with Ava when the progress of sailing was to her satisfaction. Unless Navi was off sailing duty, in which case no one mattered to either of them except each other. Which made Ava want to throw up, it wasn't fair that they got affection and she didn't.
Once Pearl had retired to her bed to rest and Xyra was done out on the deck, she came inside the captain's quarters to Ava's company.
"Just who I needed to talk to," Xyra said as she pulled off her shirt and made her way to her desk, "get some paper. You are going to take notes on what I found out today."
Ava had many questions about how it went and what Xyra did but she figured if she worked diligently on the notes, she would get questions later. It was always a give and take with Xyra. What Xyra had extracted from Sully was a goldmine. He was approached to do business with The Center and forced into it. Ava felt bad for him, that he had to die when it wasn't even his choice to target pirates. He had given two separate jobs to two separate pirate captains and upon their arrival at their destination, were killed by the receiving party. Sully also told her that one of the roamer leaders in Aeliz refused The Center and was killed, another had been moving around to stay in hiding from The Center and another two of them were actively involved in plots against pirates.
The sum the roamer had received was a mere 10 thousand per job, a third of the price of the hit that was taken out on them. He had only been given instructions for two jobs and hadn't been contacted by The Center for close to 3 cycles. What was now of interest to them though was who had ratted the roamers out. The underworld, Ava was realizing, was tightly intertwined. With pirates, traders, roamers, and other illegal communities all tied together with a vast webbed network of leads and contacts.
The roamers had a strong connection with a well-known pirate affiliated contact in Aeliz named Ben. This contact served as a hub for all pirates passing through Aeliz and was there to offer information for upcoming jobs, government information, and travel routes among other things. Apparently, Ben had been compromised and had been giving up underground leader's locations to be exploited by The Center. Xyra was hellbent on finding him and cutting off the leak at its source and had diverted their course to go confront him. The island they had just visited, Inrair, was supposed to be their last stop in Aeliz. They had just over a cycle until they were expected at the rendezvous point and they had a lot to get done in Elox. Xyra insisted that the new destination would be their final one and that it would be worth it.
Once they had finished their note-taking session and debriefing, it was only a few hours until dawn. It was just the two of them in Xyra's quarters, each of them with some liquor in their hand. Navi hadn't come in for the night like she usually did. Ava had noticed that Navi wouldn't come around on the nights after an interrogation but she couldn't figure out why that would be. Did Navi not like the idea of torture? Ava didn't know how and couldn't find a way to steer the conversation to answer her questions. Xyra clammed up when anything too personal was asked so Ava had to be careful with how she approached it.
There were other questions though, more pertinent to the situation at hand and she was more than happy to ask those.
"Why'd you lock the door today?"
"How does Theo put up with your incessant probing?"
"Insults won't work on me, remember? Evil mother and a crew full of pirates has made me immune," Ava said.
"It was not an insult, it was a question," Xyra shot back.
"Answer me," Ava demanded with a pout and a huff, "why'd you lock the door?"
She had figured out the key to getting Xyra to be nicer to her; act like Oceane. Ava and Oceane were similar souls and Ava just had to make sure to showcase that. It had taken her and Xyra a while to warm up to each other because Ava reacted to Xyra's coldness with either nerves or anger and neither were received well by Xyra. Now, she knew she could demand things and get away with it while Xyra would most likely respond in her normal Xyra manner.
"I locked the door because I made the decision to. As the first in command, I do not need to answer to anyone about the choices I make on a mission," Xyra justified and crossed her arms looking at Ava, unamused.
"Did I do something to get myself locked out?" Ava mimicked Xyra's crossed arms.
"No," Xyra said but offered nothing else.
"Why did you do it then?"
"Why do you feel the need to question everything I do?" Xyra sighed and fell back in her chair.
"It's so hard to just get a straight answer out of you," Ava whined a bit, "he was screaming a lot more than anyone has before. Is that why you did it? To keep me from seeing what you had to do?"
Xyra pursed her lips and looked away from Ava towards the wall. She looked like she was contemplating whether or not to just simply dismiss Ava, as was a common occurrence when Xyra had enough of Ava's social visits.
"Aye."
"Why though? I can handle it."
"Doesn't matter. I wanted you out of it," Xyra shot back.
Ava huffed and scrunched her nose in slight annoyance, "I'm tired of being underestimated."
"I wasn't underestimating you," Xyra answered with another sigh and then grabbed some papers, in hopes that Ava would take that as a hint to drop the conversation.
She didn't.
"Sure feels like it," Ava retorted, "You think I can't deal with grotesque things but I can, I've been sitting through your interrogations this whole time."
Xyra put the papers down and motioned towards the doors, "The night is over, Red. Conversation too. See yourself out."
"No," Ava challenged and stood up, placing her hands on the desk, "if you are going to keep me from doing my job as a second and being by your side, you will be candid with me as to why."
They were caught in a staredown with each other. Ava's brows were furrowed, indignant. Xyra leveled her with a look, a warning one to sit and take it down a notch; which Ava had no choice but to follow. She was outranked, after all, and her outbursts couldn't always go without being checked. As Ava sat, Xyra began.
"I am protecting you."
"From what? I killed that man today without so much as even blinking, Xyra. I can deal with whatever went on behind that door," Ava pleaded her case.
"That is what I'm afraid of," Xyra looked at Ava, her bothered expressions melted away to a concerned one.
"What?" Ava whispered, with a tilt to her head.
"You think that because you're fine now, you can do whatever is throw at you but it's not always going to be like this, Red," Xyra shook her head, "you won't always be unaffected. One sun, everything you have seen and done will come back to haunt you."
Ava shook her head, "You're wrong. Morgana explained it to me, she and I are different."
Xyra actually had the audacity to laugh in her face which only made Ava grow more annoyed. Usually, it was the other way around. Xyra getting fed up with Ava. Something about being excluded even given her rank and having proved herself multiple times was infuriating.
"Don't laugh at me," Ava insisted, "I'm serious. She doesn't feel guilt after a kill, neither do I."
"Have you ever asked her how she felt after torture?"
"No..."
"And if you had, she wouldn't have an answer for you," Xyra stood up using her crutch as support, "that is because she has never done it before. Why? The first time she ever saw it, she bolted straight out of the room. Killing out of defense for the crew or on the vanguard is different than what we've been doing."
"Killing is killing. Violence is violence," Ava argued and stood up too and crossed her arms.
"Wrong," Xyra grabbed her crutch and hit it against the floor, "no one is meant to hurt another being in the way I did tonight, Avery. No one is meant to witness that either. It might not take a toll on you now but before you know it, it will catch up to you."
"Then how come you do it?" Ava asked, "How come you are immune to whatever it is you say will happen to me?"
"I do it so no one else has to," Xyra admitted, "when I want to keep you from an interrogation, I will do so. There are certain things I do not want you around. That is final."
Ava clenched her fists together and nodded. Xyra was the first in command aboard the ship and no amount of arguing would change the fact that she had the final say in all mission decisions. Ava would just have to either wait it out, as she had with vanguard, or give up. She watched as Xyra began to walk out.
"Where are you going?"
"If you won't leave the room, I will," Xyra answered.
Ava walked after her, "You didn't answer my last question. How do you do it? Keep it from affecting you."
"I don't," Xyra deadpanned.
The previous conversation was suddenly not as important to Ava anymore. Xyra was adamant that what they had been doing was mentally taxing and had just admitted that there was nothing she could do to stop it from affecting her. As a quartermaster, and also Xyra's friend, Ava was now worried. She truly hadn't considered the toll it was taking on Xyra because she seemed so calm about it. Ava rushed past Xyra and plastered herself to the door, preventing the first mate from opening it.
"Red," Xyra said with a warning tone, "move."
"Talk to me," Ava stipulated.
"I am a pirate. Talking is not within my skill set," Xyra pushed Ava aside, quite easily, "by the time I come back I want you in your own room. You have a long sun ahead of you tomorrow."
Without waiting for any sort of response from Ava, Xyra exited the room. Fled, was more like it. One thing was for sure, Theo was easier to crack than Xyra was. Every person on the ship had been open to Ava, except for Xyra. Fucking pirate.