Hell Hath No Fury - Book One

Too Many Talks

Theo had rowed herself back to shore in the morning, alone. By the time she woke up, Ava had already slipped out of bed without a goodbye. She was woken up by her voice on the deck, speaking to some crew members that had made their way onto the ship that morning. Theo didn't know if Ava had left without saying anything because she rushed to go help whoever was on deck or because she didn't want to be around Theo any longer; either way her heart still hurt at waking up to an empty bed.

Theo was not in a rush to get out of bed, although she should have been. She was due to meet up with Xyra and Cooker for some breakfast before Ava would join them to debrief on the cycles apart. Later, they would meet up with the officers to sift through all of the leads they had gathered. Theo could sense that the morning was growing late by the time she woke up and that any breakfast plans had most likely had begun without her. Not feeling too appetized, she took her sweet time getting ready and didn't emerge from the room until the voices had disappeared from the deck.

Theo took the opportunity of a clear deck to slip out of her quarters and into a boat, grabbing the oars and heading back to the island. The sun was bright and high in the sky while the wind was almost nonexistent. It created a very hot, not so pleasant ride back. But the calmness of the ocean and the peace she felt as she heard the oars dip in and out of the water offset any misery the heat was causing. She wasn't looking forward to the journey back up to Corinspe but at least it would be cooler than the south of Baethos this time of length.

Theo docked and made her way to the room Cooker had been staying in during their time on the island. That was probably where they were. Theo was thankful for the late start because the common area of the tavern was devoid of many of her crewmates. Which meant that she was able to greet her crew and head up to the rooms with little delay. Those she had spoken to had confirmed that the two officers were in Cooker's room, which saved her from having to hop around in search. Theo stopped outside of the room, trying to catch some of the conversation happening without her, just like she had when she was younger and they would talk about 'grown up' things she couldn't know about.

"I've heard that joke before, Cooker," Xyra said.

"No, you haven't. I just made that up," Cooker replied, "you just think all jokes sound the same because you lack any sort of humor."

"I will shove my foot up your ass," Xyra snapped, "I would find that humorous."

Theo rolled her eyes but couldn't help but let out a silent laugh. She had expected a conversation about something serious but when it came to Cooker, she should have known better. Theo entered the room before Xyra actually put her foot up someone's ass. She was hit with a wave of heat, no windows were in the room but there were several candles lit to give off light. Theo couldn't even get any words out before she was making a guttural sound of disgust because of the heat.

"Nice of you to make an appearance," Xyra said as she put away a book that was open on her lap.

Theo didn't say anything, she just rolled her eyes before pulling her shirt off, skin already cooling down. She took a seat near them and slumped against the back of the chair. When she looked over at Xyra, there was a look of grave concern. Theo sat back up and looked around to see what was the matter.

"Theo, are you and Riva alright?"

Theo furrowed her brows, "What are you talking about?"

"I thought your bond with her meant that you were protected from sea monsters," Xyra said and Theo tilted her head absolutely lost, "clearly a Kraken attacked you last night."

Theo looked down at her chest that was littered with large hickeys, they also curled up her neck. One of her hands snapped up to cover some of the marks and she used the other to throw her balled-up shirt at Xyra's face. Cooker clapped her hands together as her laughter filled the air and she reached over to Xyra for a high five. Xyra pulled the shirt off of her face with a slight smirk playing on her lips and she met Cooker's palm with her own.

"I retract my previous comments calling you unfunny," Cooker conceded and sat back in her chair and jutted her chin towards Theo, "you look like you were on the losing end of a fight with a bunch of forest fairies who can pack a punch."

Xyra snorted and brought her hand to cover her mouth. Theo still caught the noise though. She narrowed her eyes at both of them.

"If the jesting is done, we can start this meeting," Theo didn't try and hide the annoyance she was feeling that morning.

"We can't start. Red's not here," Cooker said, "which is odd. I'd assume she would come with you."

"She had some quartermaster shit to attend to this morning," Theo cleared her throat and shifted her gaze away from the girls.

"Everything okay?" Cooker asked, sensing the tension emanating from Theo.

"Aye, everything's fine," Theo shifted in her seat and scratched her head, restless and wanting to focus on debriefing each other, "hey, listen, did Red -uh- did she mention anything about me on your journey?"

Xyra raised an eyebrow, "I am going to need more context to your question."

"Did she say anything about me? Or her and I?" Theo asked, pushing her hair out of her face and looking up to meet Xyra's concerned face, no joking that time around, "Like about us?"

"Aye, she spoke about you. She was not writing poems about how much she missed you and reciting them to the whole crew but she mentioned missing you several times," Xyra replied, seemingly treading lightly with how she responded, "it was pretty obvious, it was not really something she had to announce. She was getting pretty anxious to see you those last suns of the journey."

"Okay," Theo looked down at her pants and picked a piece of lint off of it then placed her hand on her bare stomach, staring at it.

"Is... there a reason you're asking?" Cooker asked slowly once she realized Theo was not planning on elaborating.

Theo shrugged, "Just wanted to know. Was thinking about it yestersun and just wanted to follow up."

"Right," Xyra said but she didn't sound convinced, "speaking of following up, we never got to dock at the port that had the information about Red."

Theo shrugged and sank further back into the chair, "I'm sure it's fine."

"For getting laid last night, you sure are in a fucking mood," Cooker said and exchanged a look with Xyra, which Theo caught and raised her middle finger at.

"And you woke up late," Xyra added and opened her book again, "which makes even less sense as to why you are giving us an attitude."

"Will you both just shut up?" Theo closed her eyes with a huff.

"Maybe she's hungover," Cooker pointed out, "or hungry. Hey kid, you hungry?"

"It's hot and I'm still tired, that's all," Theo insisted, cracking one eye open.

"Cook, you heard her. Let's leave her alone," Xyra hummed, her nose already buried back in the book.

"Thank you," Theo sighed.

Theo was left alone, thanks to the policing of Xyra. That also meant she was left with her thoughts. She still hadn't fully processed what had happened the night before because what the fuck had happened? When they were leaving Corinspe, Ava was about to confess her love, and then their first night back together and she had ended things. Paused things. It was the same, she didn't get to be with Ava anymore. It was all so confusing. Theo didn't know what she had done. Ava had told her that they were fine, Theo hadn't done anything, and that it was all to protect their feelings; but it just didn't make sense.

Theo had sunken to the bottom pits of love and it would be near impossible to swim up and avoid drowning in heartbreak. She believed, even though Ava was making it hard to do so, that Ava loved her. Or at least, was falling in love with her. How would spending time apart do anything but make them pine for each other? If there was a possibility that by the end of this war, one of them would be dead, why wouldn't they spend as much time together as they could? Theo wished she could tell her all of that, could level with her, and honestly say things would be worse for Theo without Ava around. But Theo had still not graduated with a master's certificate in confronting her problems just yet.

She had made progress but the conversation the night before had set her back several steps. Someone she had learned to be open and vulnerable with had blindsided her with a shitty reason as to why they should end things. Theo wasn't exactly in the mood to share her inner thoughts any time soon. There was always the possibility that Theo would spill her heart out for what seemed like the dozenth time just to be met with nothing in return. The nagging thought that Ava was lying to her about her reasoning came back.

Perhaps, she had found someone else. Or realized on her journey that there was a whole world to explore before she settled down. Or maybe with some distance between them, Theo didn't seem as great anymore or worth the energy. Or perhaps, she truly was afraid of losing Theo and just didn't want to put herself up for heartbreak. Theo couldn't be angry at any of those options. Ava had been too good to be true anyway and this was what she wanted, Theo had to respect that decision.

It didn't mean she had to be happy about it or try and act overjoyed when her heart literally ached. But she also didn't want to tell anyone what was happening; so, she would need to reel in the attitude. Her attitude had to be at least amicable so the sun could go by with no fights or issues. After a while of silence, Cooker became anxious with the quiet and began to pace. Theo watched her walk around the hot room for a few minutes before turning her attention to Xyra, who looked to be more wound up by the second.

She could practically see Xyra physically react to the sound of every footstep, she looked to be trying hard to keep her reaction under wraps. But no amount of lip bites, fist clenches, or hard blinks could get Xyra back to being relaxed unless the noise stopped. And if it didn't, Xyra would snap. Usually, she was able to tune it out but when there was a lot Xyra was dealing with, she could no longer block out the little things. That in itself was worrying because it meant Xyra was going through something, Theo would have to ask about it. It was best to keep tensions low so Theo took that as a good moment to suck it up and attempt to be nice.

She called Cooker back over to the chair and decided to ask her about the night before, and any shenanigans she might have missed when she left the party. There was nothing Theo missed, but Cooker would have made anyone feel left out. She knew how to milk a story, how to make it more interesting than it was. Theo was engrossed, so much so that she didn't notice the person walking in. It was only until she heard a soft voice speaking with Xyra that she looked over to see Ava talking to the first mate. Theo quickly looked away and back to Cooker as the story wrapped up, unable to bring herself to make eye contact.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ava squatting down next to Xyra's chair as they were engaged in a hushed conversation. Whatever was being said managed to get laughter to erupt from their corner and Theo's stomach panged with an unfamiliar feeling. She finally looked over to see a smile on both of their faces, more animated than she had seen either of them since their arrival. Theo felt like cold water was running through her veins at the sight of the two so close. It was no secret that Xyra had come around to tolerating and even liking Ava but when they left Corinspe they were not nearly as close. The emotion Theo was feeling was jealousy. It was not something she usually experienced and definitely not in relation to her best mate.

Xyra had someone, whatever jealousy was there was unfounded. But still, Theo couldn't help but feel slighted. Why did Xyra get Ava's laughter and Theo didn't? Ava made her way over to a chair and Theo took that opportunity to peel her gaze away from the quartermaster. She sat up straight and cleared her throat.

"Right," Theo started, "now that we are all here, we can get started. I'm sure we both have a lot to tell each other. Who's first?"

"We'll start us off," Xyra said and picked up some notes that were on the side table next to her. They weren't there before which meant Ava had brought them in.

Xyra held up a collection of papers before explaining that they were copies of the relevant manifest documents they had collected along the way. In true Xyra fashion, she gave too many details about each of the manifests, where they came from, and descriptions of each one's content just to report that their initial analysis hadn't shown them anything of interest. Xyra also reported on the interrogations she had committed along the way.

Xyra was usually detached and unemotional when it came to her duties. An almost clinical tone was always attached to her words, using precise language to ensure the message was getting across. But something about the way she was speaking about the interrogations she had undergone was too detached, too unemotional. Not only her words or tone were of concern but her expression. There was no passion or fire behind her eyes. No sense of pride for what they had done or the information they had gathered. Interrogations, and the torture that came with it, were usually a highlight for Xyra. From her report, they had managed to successfully get information from over a dozen targets; Xyra should have been elated.

Theo decided it was something best saved for later and instead she focused on Xyra's words. The information they had retrieved was a gold mine. The sloop's efforts had, at the very least, given them a story to go back to Corinspe with. A narrative. An explanation. The web that The Center was spinning had caught the majority of the underworld with it and it seemed to all be coming from one source.

The rat.

Cooker took the floor next to connect what Xyra had said with her own findings. There was a small discussion about Hoffstater being back in the picture, taking the lead on land against the underworld. Ava looked deeply disturbed at the mention of him, and Theo felt bad that she had to deal with the possibility of having to come face to face with the man she was once promised to. Cooker also mentioned that the leads they've always gone to were running and it was because they were sold out. The same thing had been happening in Aeliz but the difference between Aeliz and Efriti was that the Efritian underworld would rather run than cooperate; at least a good majority of them. Cooker also took the time to inform the other two of the manifests the Scorned Woman had collected. Unlike the sloop, however, they had managed to find a pattern.

"We'll put both manifests together when we have our officer meeting later and see if that's a pattern we can find in our manifests too," Xyra handed Cooker the hand-written copies of the manifests for safekeeping but Cooker handed them right back. Xyra rolled her eyes but still took the papers and tucked them into her coat.

Theo almost gagged at the sight of Xyra still in a long-sleeved, heavy coat. It was an inferno in the room. One she was desperate to get out of, both because she wanted fresh air and because Ava somehow made the room hotter, more unbearable.

"Anything else?" Theo asked, a bit impatient even though she tried to reign in the tone.

"Aye, a lot, actually," Cooker interjected, "we still have a bunch of shit to debrief them on. Land businesses for one."

"That can wait," Theo waved Cooker off, it wasn't the time to discuss business outside of the pirate war.

"If no one else has anything," Xyra spoke up, "Red has a report prepared for us."

Xyra nodded over in Ava's direction where Ava gave a small nod and a smile back before looking down at the papers in her own hands. After clearing her throat, she began to debrief the group. Ava told them of her time in Elox, going through the streets and bumping shoulders with Eloxian society trying to find out what The Center was selling.

Lies, as always.

But it was helpful to know what lies there were. What untruths they could directly prove false when the time came to win over the public. They would need the public on their side if the pirates did decide to make a decisive strike at The Center. Opinions about Elox and The Center could easily change if they were able to say the right things to undermine the government.

Even though what Ava was saying was helpful and very informative, Theo couldn't focus. She blamed the heat for her fuzzy head but in reality, there was a very obvious distraction in the room. Theo gave her full attention to Ava, that was not the problem. It was that simply looking at Ava was enough to derail any chance of her following along. The words left Ava's mouth but all Theo could focus on were her lips and the slight scrunch in between her eyebrows when she would look down to check her notes. The movement of her chest when she took a deep breath to continue speaking was elegant, Theo didn't ever think someone breathing could look so poised.

In her time soaking in Ava's features, Theo noticed that she had filled out. The lanky girl with her collarbones exposed that stumbled onto her ship was a very different picture than the quartermaster sitting in front of her. Food had clearly become Ava's friend over their journey apart and Theo thought she looked amazing, healthy, strong. Theo remembered Ava opening up to her one of their nights together that she used to never eat, either because her mother would send her to bed hungry or what she ate was limited by others. Theo felt good knowing that she had been able to provide Ava with a place where food was never a weapon. Ava's arms had almost doubled in size, small, defined muscles ran along her upper arms. Morgana, or whoever was training her, had gotten her to bulk up and Theo was almost sad that she wasn't the one that helped Ava get there.

Ava's eyes met Theo's for what felt like the first time since she had entered the room about halfway through her report. Theo could have sworn there was a blush across her face when she looked back down to her notes. The feeling of giddiness she experienced at the thought of making Ava blush was followed by a pang of sadness at the thought that it wasn't really something she should have been doing. Sleeping with Ava the night before had been a bad idea. It made things so much harder. Ava was pinned under her the night before, breathing out Theo's name and now she had to sit and stare at her and act like Ava was never hers.

Ava was never hers, Theo knew that. Theo had to keep telling herself that.

Theo forced herself to look away from Ava, looking off to the side as Ava kept talking. She was able to listen better like that and what Ava had accomplished on the streets of Elox was impressive. Her and Pearl made a good team, apparently. After Ava was done talking, Cooker wasted no time in disobeying what Theo had said and took her turn to report on the land businesses.

Cooker made sure to mention and point out that Theo took it upon herself to give a lot of the businesses under their protection a free pass and not collect on their debt, which Theo would find a way to enact payback for. After a mild scolding from Xyra about how they needed that money to pad the ship's fund in case they fell on hard times, which was bound to happen with the classification going on and the war having no discernable end, but the lecture was lighter than it could have been. Cooker continued on by highlighting all of the businesses that had been relinquished to their control and Xyra seemed a bit happier at that news.

Their meeting seemed to drag on and the heat was not helping it go by any faster. Ava ended up yawning at one point which earned her a glare from Xyra. Ava bowed her head in a silent apology and Xyra simply nodded and focused on the conversation again. Theo watched the interaction with a raised eyebrow, nonverbal communication was now something Xyra and Ava had mastered. That was cool. She wasn't jealous.

Cooker wasn't saying anything of value at that point, just retelling specific stories about the journey that didn't matter, so Theo lifted her hand and Cooker trailed off from her tale.

"Anything else that is new before I call the meeting?" Theo asked.

"Our future plans?" Ava chimed in.

"There's not much we can discuss when it comes to our future plans until we have the officer's meeting to decipher if there is anything the manifests can tell us," Theo shrugged, "we'll discuss future plans then."

Ava nodded but Xyra cleared her throat.

"There is one matter about the next voyage I would prefer to discuss now, without anyone else here," Xyra made the request but her eyes failed to make contact with Theo.

Theo sat up from slumping in the chair and motioned for Xyra to go ahead, not able to work through the possibilities of what would come out of Xyra's mouth.

"I would like to stay on the sloop as the Captain," Xyra stated and Theo had to blink a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

She never thought she would see the day that Xyra was volunteering herself to be in charge of a ship. Further, she never thought she would see the day that Xyra would give up her position as Theo's first mate.

"Um," Theo said in response and rubbed her face trying to think of a response, "I was going to make Cook captain, just so she can have a bit of experience with the title. So she is able to say she's captained a ship, y'know, in case we ever want to put Cook's name in the running for Head of the Council. "

Theo hadn't yet had a chance to explain to Xyra what had happened with Uncilo and she didn't think it was the time. If Xyra pushed further, she would elaborate. But until then, Theo would keep any stress that wasn't about the ongoing pirate war at a minimum.

"That's fine, T," Cooker shrugged, "we've got time for that. If Xyra wants the position she can have it."

"And what would you do?" Theo asked.

"I guess you're stuck with me as first mate," Cooker shrugged.

"And Xy, your first mate?" Theo looked over at her previous second.

"I would say Red could do it but she has got quartermaster responsibilities on both ships, so she will be bouncing around."

"Aye," Ava confirmed, "I've got to get to training the new girls. Morgana and I were going to propose the plan later for how we could split up training duties and it includes us switching ships often."

"Care to share that plan now that it is relevant?" Theo gave Ava the floor.

"Uh-" Ava suddenly looked nervous, like she had spoken out of place, not yet used to being seen as an equal, "The new crew on both sides need to learn how to be a part of the crew but they also need to learn to fight. We were going to each work with a different ship at a time."

"You would switch off every sun?" Theo raised an eyebrow, "doesn't seem very feasible."

"No," Ava looked down at her notes, "not necessarily every sun. Every three or four. Almost like small, intense bouts of each kind of training."

"Sounds like things have been figured out prior to having passed it by me," Theo said snarkily, "no use in being a captain if my crew makes all the decisions without me."

"Theo, they were trying to make things easier by having already figured out a plan for us," Xyra defended.

"Understood," Theo nodded, not giving in to the argument that could emerge between her and Xyra, "Xy will captain the sloop, Cook's my first mate, Ava and Morgana will tackle training for the new crew, and the sloop is still missing a second. Any suggestions?"

"No one else has experience as a second and anyone capable will already have another job," Cooker pointed out.

"Red can do it," Xyra offered and Ava's head snapped up from where it had been looking at the floor.

"I can't, I'm doing training," Ava said, "and I'll be between both ships."

"You and Cook can switch ships and act as seconds for both," Xyra explained, "training won't take all sun and if you need to step away to help us with something, you can."

"Are you okay with that, Cook?" Theo asked.

"I don't think I'll ever get another chance to be Xyra's second, so I might as well take any opportunity to fuck with the both of you that I can," Cooker laughed, "all good on my end."

"And you, Red?" Theo met Ava's gaze.

"I'm not comfortable with that," Ava shook her head while looking at Xyra, slight anger on her face from being offered up without being talked to first.

"She was an excellent second to me and I am sure she will be a great one for you too, Theo," Xyra said, ignoring Ava.

"Xyra, stop," Ava shook her head, "Theo's second is way above anything I am prepared for."

"Red, take the opportunity," Xyra turned her attention to the quartermaster, "I have no complaints about your work with me and I am personally recommending you to watch Theo's back; that is not something I take lightly."

"You're vouching for her?" Theo asked.

"Aye, I am."

"Then I see no problem with you taking on that role, Red," Theo nodded in the redhead's direction, which was a lie because Theo could see a large problem with it. Theo was in love with the girl and having her in closer proximity wasn't going to help, "it would save us a lot of time trying to figure out how to arrange the officers if you did this."

Theo tried to switch her snippy demeanor to be an encouraging one. Ava was partly to blame for her mood that morning but it didn't mean that she needed to take it on her or the others. The other girl had made her choice and Theo taking her upset feelings out on Ava would be cruel, it would be punishing her for speaking her mind. That wasn't something Theo wanted to do so she mustered the best smile she could, another round of encouragement for a clearly hesitant quartermaster.

Ava sighed before nodding, "I'll give it a chance."

"Great," Theo nodded and stood up, "if that's all, I'm calling this meeting to a close."

"Is there a time for our next meeting?" Ava stood up too and gathered her stuff.

"When everyone is awake and corralled into one spot," Cooker chuckled, "so not before sunset."

Ava groaned a bit, "Everyone is partying tonight. We'll miss it."

"Have you become a party animal in our absence?" Cooker teased and walked out with Ava, who looked quite annoyed with her.

Their conversation was muffled as they walked further and further from the room and Theo stood in the spot she had gotten up at, looking over at her first mate. Previous first mate? Previous second, current first mate? It was confusing.

"Can we talk?" Theo asked and crossed her arms.

Xyra stood up too before grabbing her stacks of notes from the table next to her, "Maybe later, I promised Tuni I would let her check out my leg after this meeting."

Theo wanted to protest and keep Xyra there. They had barely gotten time together since Xyra arrived and Theo just wanted to get a read on her friend but she figured cornering Xyra wasn't going to get her anywhere. Whatever was happening with Xyra was not going to be solved by forcing her into a conversation. Theo would have to wait for the right time but she hoped that the right time was sooner rather than later.

Xyra had made no move to spend time with Theo. She didn't leave her room in the full sun before, not even for a bit while the others were partying. There had been a certain tension emanating from her the whole meeting and then she requested to not be on the Scorned Woman. Nothing was adding up and Theo wanted to address things before it was too late. Xyra always had a stick up her ass and her being withdrawn was common but not in the way she was being at that moment. There were few times when Xyra seemed so dejected and it never boded well.

Theo was still standing with her arms crossed, Xyra across from her waiting to be officially dismissed. Theo nodded her head and let Xyra go. Xyra didn't even give her farewells before leaving. Theo was left alone in Cooker's room with nothing to do until the meeting at night. Maybe a walk around the island would clear her head, she could probably go to the beach on the other side of the island and stay there for a while, the water would provide respite from the heat and the mood she was in. It wasn't too late in the morning so, she would be back before the meeting was even close to starting. Theo grabbed the clothing she had shed and walked out with the bundle in her arms, making her way towards the beach.

------

The book Xyra was reading was not particularly interesting. It was alright, but nothing that was new or exciting. It was one she picked up on one of her stops in Ellox, so she should have expected to be disappointed. Books that were distributed around Elox were usually romance, fluff, and nothing aside from a knight slaying a dragon during the pre-Baethos era. As a child, they were interesting. But once she read one, she had read them all. Still, Xyra had never stopped reading a book once it was picked up; a habit Cooker ingrained in her.

She was thumbing from one page to the next when someone cleared their throat. Navi was sitting up in the bed with her own book in her lap but her eyes were focused on Xyra and not the book. Xyra met her stare and raised an eyebrow, questioning the intrusion on her focus. Navi flashed her a smile and Xyra couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Can I help you?" Xyra asked.

"Bored," Navi pouted.

"Is your book boring?"

"I wouldn't know, I've been on the first page for the last hour," Navi shrugged, "can't focus."

"Oh," Xyra turned back to her book, "sorry about that."

Xyra heard Navi laugh but she had been in the middle of one of the only interesting pieces of prose in the whole book so she was sucked back in, unable to respond to Navi the way she needed. There was shuffling, Xyra sensing that Navi had left the bed. Once the piece of writing that had her caught up had ended, she spared a glance up to see Navi had pulled a chair to their window and was staring out of it. Xyra watched Navi's head shift slightly from side to side as she looked down at the people down below.

Xyra turned back to the pages that awaited her and there was little interruption for the next several minutes. She could vaguely hear Navi shuffling around, having a hard time sitting still like usual. More time passed and Xyra was quickly losing interest in the book; she was about to put it down when she heard a deep sigh. Xyra looked up to see yet another pout on Navi's face. Xyra set her book down on the side table next to her and stood up, walking over to the window.

She bent down and placed a kiss on Navi's shoulder before resting her chin there. Navi was sitting with her chest to the back of the chair, which gave Xyra the perfect opportunity to place herself flush against Navi's back. Navi turned her head slightly and caught Xyra in a soft kiss.

"You heard my pleas," Navi joked and gave Xyra another kiss.

"You mean your nonverbal manipulation which was a pathetic attempt to try and get me to empathize with your boredom?" Xyra chuckled and rested her head fully on Navi's shoulder, taking a peek out of the window to see the passersby on the street.

"Aye, that is correct," Navi replied and reached a hand back to nestle it at the base of Xyra's neck, fingers slipping into her hair as she began to rub it soothingly.

"Well, I am here to help with the boredom," Xyra said, "what can I do?"

"Let's go out."

"Really do not want to," Xyra complained, pulling her head back.

"Xy..." Navi turned her head around and looked at Xyra with a deep frown.

Xyra frowned "Are you upset with me? What is with the face?"

Navi sighed and faced Xyra, turning around in the chair, "I am worried. About you."

"There is no need to worry," Xyra said as she began to back away towards her chair.

"I beg to differ..."

"I have been doing fine. You have seen it first hand, no more freezing up or crying," Xyra shrugged, "you can do nothing more for me, there is no need to worry."

"I hate not being able to help you...I can see that something is up and I feel powerless," Navi rubbed her forehead with two fingers, looking more worried than when they had started the conversation.

Xyra didn't quite know what to say or what to do, she had been fine. Or at least, she had assumed she had been fine. Sure, she could have been more enthusiastic or social but she had just finished a three-cycle stint as a captain, she was a bit burnt out. Alright, so maybe Xyra hadn't been doing the greatest but she had believed she had done a good job at hiding it. Xyra figured it was best to not escalate the situation and divert.

"You have helped a lot, Navi, you've been there for me the whole time," Xyra tried to comfort her, "you are doing a great job with making sure I am doing alright."

"I felt like that was true before, but now... I'm not so sure," Navi said, sadness laced in her tone, "before we got to Elox, when you first broke down about... you know, I was worried about how you would handle it... And for a bit there you weren't really yourself but slowly I saw you come to. You were at the deck parties, you started to sleep solidly through the night, I didn't have to force you to eat but now, we've only been here two suns and I already see you getting worse."

"I am afraid I do not quite know what you mean," Xyra dismissed the observations but she knew exactly what Navi meant.

"You're withdrawn."

"If what people say about me has any truth, I am always withdrawn," Xyra crossed her arms.

"Aye, you are withdrawn and kind of an asshole to everyone, it's part of your charm but this is a different kind," Navi tried to explain her side to Xyra who was clearly ready to push against anything Navi said, "you've barely spoken to Theo, you haven't touched a meal since we got here, and I could tell you weren't sleeping last night. You didn't even come down to the party last night, Xy. Over three cycles away from your crew and you didn't even come down."

"Sometimes I do not feel like interacting with people, Nav, the party was just too much," Xyra defended herself.

"You've always taken your duties as first mate pretty seriously, Xyrabellis, and that includes pulling yourself to parties even when you don't want to," Navi crossed her arms too, mimicking Xyra's stance.

"I missed the party, big deal," Xyra turned around and walked back to her chair.

"Xyra, I think it's more than that. I think that our journey through Elox and back here was a temporary fix to a larger problem," Navi took a few steps towards Xyra, "it was a patch when you needed it in order to complete your duties and make it back with the crew in one piece but something changed when we got here."

"Whatever you are stepping around, just say it," Xyra made firm eye contact with Navi, a wave of disdain flashing across her face.

"I think you are breaking down..." Navi finally said what she was thinking but it came out in a whisper, "And I know I don't know what that looks like with you- I barely knew you the last time it happened- but I just know I haven't seen you this way before."

Xyra looked away and scoffed. She was frustrated because she wasn't acting any differently. She just had a longer face at times, more curled in on herself than normal, but she was always quiet and silently judgmental in a corner, it was her thing. She had convinced herself that she had mastered not letting anyone know what was going on with her and having someone be able to read her so well and know just what was happening was a rude awakening. Xyra looked back at the presence she knew was looking right at her. They locked eyes and were just staring at each other. All of a sudden, Navi getting so close to her emotionally was suffocating her. She was just trying to help and trying to participate in Xyra's life and her feelings but those feelings belonged to Xyra. It was something for her to handle, she didn't need anyone else in her business. Xyra was about to start getting defensive, she could feel the coldness rise in her but before she could say something to hurt Navi, to push her away, there was a small knock on the already opened door

"Am I... interrupting something?" Iona asked, "I can come back."

"No," Navi said, putting on a smile and looking over, "needed something?"

"A bunch of people followed Theo to some beach across the island," Iona said and jerked her head towards the entrance of the tavern, "just wanted to see if you all would be joining."

"Theo went to the beach and is just letting everyone go along knowing we have an officer's meeting later? Any reason why everyone thinks that is a good idea?" Xyra crossed her arms as Iona delivered the news.

Iona shifted from foot to foot, awkwardly, not used to being on Xyra's bad side, "Uh, I think maybe it's because Morgana told us all yestersun that she wasn't planning on coming back with Tuni until sunset tonight. So, we have time to kill before then."

"Where did they go?" Navi asked.

"No one knows," Iona replied and then began to walk away from the door, "well, I'm going to join them. Invitation is still open."

They waited until she was out of earshot before Navi turned to Xyra with a disappointed face.

"Did you have to be rude to Iona? Ever heard of 'don't shoot the messenger'?" Navi crossed her arms.

"I thought my crass demeanor was part of my charm," Xyra retorted.

"Most times, but that is because you usually know the difference between those who deserve your wrath and those that don't," Navi stepped forward to close the gap between them and put her arms around Xyra's waist, pulling her in, "Let's join the others. It's hot as fuck here, the beach sounds perfect."

"I am good here, it is not too hot for me and I need to collect my thoughts before the meeting," Xyra pulled the arms off from her and stepped away, trying to head back towards her book, "You go ahead."

Navi sighed, slipping her hands into her pockets with a nod, "Sure, love, I guess I will see you at the meeting."

Xyra nodded and retreated back into her chair, not even waving goodbye as Navi left. She opened her book to where she had left off and stared at the page in front of her. Her eyes skimmed the words but the meaning of them didn't register. Her thoughts would drift from the sentence she was on towards the sense of dread she was feeling, that she had been feeling since arriving on the island. What Navi had said was true, the journey down to the rendezvous had been but a temporary good streak in what was gearing up to be a long struggle against her own mind. The stress of arriving on time, which they didn't do, and being in charge of the whole crew was a distraction.

With the distraction gone and Theo in close proximity, she could feel herself shutting down. The combination of still struggling to come to terms with the emotions that came with her recent string of torture and having to keep a secret from Theo that might ruin everything in their lives was taking its toll. She probably would have been able to handle each of them individually, at least that is what she told herself, but together it was killing her. All of the energy it took to push a breakdown off was coming back to bite her in the ass. She could feel the motivation and care being depleted from her body and at that moment, more than ever before, she wished she was religious. Maybe having a god would help, maybe they were able to take burdens off of shoulders. She felt tears spring to her eyes as she felt a range of emotions at once, things she had been numbing since arriving. But once again, she pushed it all back down. She couldn't cry. She couldn't give in.

Xyra slammed her book shut and carelessly tossed it on the side table. She put her head in her hands, feeling the sweat from her face as she did so. She didn't know why she still had a coat on. She had been lying when she said she wasn't hot, perhaps she was trying to torture herself; a good way to get rid of some of the incessant guilt she was feeling about Theo and about all the victims she had hurt. It was getting too hot though, and she was feeling faint. After standing up, she peeled the sweaty coat off and climbed into a slightly cooler bed. If reading wasn't to take her mind off things, sleeping would. She had tossed and turned all night and the bed felt so welcoming. Without much fuss, she was drifting off into a hopefully peaceful sleep.

----

Theo walked into the room that had been pointed out to her as being Xyra's. The door had been open so she didn't even bother knocking before entering, looking to the edge of the room she found who she had come to see. Xyra was laying with her back flat on the bed, dead asleep. She was clad in just an undershirt with sweat drenching it and some pants that were not made for what she was slumber. Her body was almost too big for the bed and as such, she had spread out at a weird angle with one arm dangling over the bed. Her mouth was slightly ajar and Theo looked around the room to see if there was more to the story.

There was not much out of place. No drinks were lying around, no lingering smog of smoke from drugs, nothing to point that Xyra had intoxicated herself into slumber. It wasn't like she was expecting anything to call her attention. Cooker was the one that coped with drugs, Xyra usually coped by being an asshole. There was a book on a side table and Theo walked over to it and picked up the cover, being able to read the cover of one of Xyra's books for the first time ever. Reading common was now something she could casually do, she was untouchable.

A Quest Forgotten

Theo snickered at that, no wonder she had fallen asleep. The title alone seemed boring as fuck. If Xyra was awake, Theo would give her shit for it. This is what she was missing all that time that she gave up on reading Commmon, being able to nosey around in Xyra's stuff and make fun of her for it. Well, to be fair, she had always done that but now she got to do it with more stuff.

"Oi," Xyra said and Theo quickly turned around to face her first mate.

"You're awake," Theo noted.

"Your attention to detail is extraordinary, Captain Theo," Xyra sat up, placing her feet on the ground as Theo flipped her off, "Is it time for the meeting?"

Xyra was getting up as Theo sat down in a chair and shook her head, "No. Just came for that talk you bailed on earlier."

"Right," Xyra nodded and seemed almost hesitant, something Xyra rarely exhibited around Theo. She walked to the door and shut it before taking a seat as well.

Theo placed her elbows on the arms of the chair and folded her hands over her stomach. Her sight was on Xyra, unmoving, trying to will Xyra to begin a conversation even though Theo was the one that requested one.

"What did Tuni say?" Theo asked.

"Hm?" Xyra raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest.

"About your leg. You said you had to go get it checked out by Fortune," Theo reminded her and Xyra broke eye contact, looking down at the floor.

"Why are you asking me if you know the answer to that?" Xyra had the nerve to roll her eyes but still not meet Theo's gaze.

"Because you lied to me instead of sitting down and talking to me, for whatever reason," Theo stated, she wasn't angry more than she was hurt.

It had eventually gotten to her that the meeting would have to be postponed until at least nightfall because the golden couple had decided to fuck off to who knows where. It was a small island, so if she really wanted to she could have found them and forced an earlier meeting but she had better things to attend to. Mainly, figuring out what the fuck was wrong with Xyra.

"I am sorry about that," Xyra sighed and looked at Theo once again, "I was just exhausted and wanted to come back here and get some rest."

"You didn't come to talk to me yestersun because you slept through all of it," Theo pointed out and mimicked Xyra by crossing her arms, "you didn't even come out to the party at night. Being tired is not a valid excuse. "

"If I fucking hear about this party one more time..." Xyra grumbled before trailing off.

"What the fuck is going on with you, Xyrabellis?" Theo pressed.

"I do not know what you mean?" Xyra shrugged.

"I just-" Theo sighed, breaking whatever tough guy facade she was trying to have with Xyra, "I have been wracking my brain all sun trying to figure out if I did anything before I left to have made you hold a grudge or if it was something I said this morning, or literally find any reason why you would step down from being my second and refuse to acknowledge it by not talking to me."

Xyra's hard demeanor cracked a bit and her brows knitted together with a guilty look, "Theo, the position is too much for me to handle right now..."

"I know I can make it too much sometimes, I know I'm not easy to work with..." Theo cleared her throat trying to stop herself from getting too worked up or emotional, she didn't really think that Xyra considered handling her to be too much, "but I can make it easier. I'll listen more, be less stubborn, agree with you more. I don't know, Xy, just... tell me what I did wrong?"

"Theo, it is the job that is too much, not you," Xyra frowned and uncrossed her arms, "you've done nothing wrong, kid, I promise."

Theo frowned too, her arms were still crossed though and instead of relaxing them at that answer, she tightened them. Her brows furrowed. There had to be more to it. Xyra didn't just wake up one morning and decide she was going to try and push Theo away and act weirder than she has before. Theo felt the question coming up in her head without wanting it to. She knew why it came up though, it had been something she had been thinking about all sun. She had a ridiculous theory but the longer that the thought was in her head, the more it made sense.

"Then, did you do something wrong?" Theo asked.

"What?" Xyra looked taken aback, shocked almost.

"Did you sleep with Ava?" Theo asked and bit her lip in anticipation of the answer.

Xyra's frown was wiped from her face and it was one of disbelief, her mouth hanging slightly open and her eyebrows comically raised. After a few beats, she laughed; hard. Theo didn't laugh though, there was nothing to laugh about.

"Wait," Xyra stopped laughing and her face fell backed into a scrunched one, "Theo, are you not joking?"

"There is nothing to joke about, I'm serious," Theo uncrossed her arms and sat forward in the chair.

"I am with Navi."

"I don't know how long you put it off before you finally got back with her, anything could have happened."

"Why would I sleep with your girl, Theo?"

"Because I've slept with yours," Theo blurted out.

"That is not a grudge I still hold with you, she was not mine to tell who she did and did not sleep with, she made that choice as much as you," Xyra seemed honest in her answer, almost a hint of sadness registering on her face, "I did not sleep with Red, what would make you think that?"

Theo let out a deep sigh, letting out the tension that had been in her shoulders all sun and falling back in the chair, "I don't know, Xy, it was just something I thought of."

"You had to have some kind of logical path you followed to arrive at that conclusion," Xyra said.

Theo broke eye contact and looked down at her hands. Her logic was based not only on Xyra's behavior but Ava's too. The whole break up- pause- whatever the fuck was going on with Ava was still raw and she would have to preface with that to truly answer Xyra's question. But it had not even yet been a whole sun and she felt as if admitting what had happened to Xyra was almost dooming the decision to be real. Maybe if she held on a little longer, if she didn't speak it into the universe, it would be less likely to happen. Ava could rescind her decision. But that was flawed logic, same as her assumption about what had happened to make both Ava and Xyra act the way they did. Theo wanted to not speak the truth to what had happened but Theo wanted to be open with Xyra in hopes Xyra would do so too.

"Ava ended things last night," Theo finally said the words that she was dreading, "She said something about putting a hold on things for the sake of sparing ourselves if one of us dies but I just think it's such bullshit."

Xyra kept a frown on her face as she stood up from her chair and dragged it over next to Theo before sitting back down. She placed a hand on the captain's knee, "Sorry to hear that, mate. Really."

Theo didn't look at Xyra, she just shrugged and stayed looking at her hands, "She said there had been no one else but between the suddenness of that and the way you were being I just panicked and my mind went there."

"Why there, of all places?" Xyra pressed a bit farther.

"I saw the way you two were this morning, bouncing off each other. You complimenting her work," Theo heard how ridiculous she sounded, it was a bit deranged of her and wholeheartedly jealous, "You both used to hate each other, there is tension and history there... I just thought maybe you guys had done something and felt guilty and that is why this all has happened."

"Well, you thought wrong," Xyra patted Theo's knee before removing her hand from it.

"Then, what is really going on with you? Why did you step down from being my second? Why is there this weird energy we have going on between us?" Theo turned her head to look at Xyra.

It was Xyra's turn to look down at her hands. She closed her eyes and shook her head, as if trying to pull herself back from the brink of admitting what was going on. She opened them and looked almost embarrassed.

"I froze up on the journey," Xyra whispered as she grimaced, "I am afraid that if it comes down to it, I will not be able to protect you. I trust Red and Cook to do that more than me, right now."

"I can take care of myself, Xy, I need you by my side. You're, like, the fucking brains behind it all," Theo praised, "I'm more like a shadow captain, with you pulling all the strings."

That made Xyra chuckle and look up, fidgeting with her hands, uncomfortable with the compliment, "Theo, you do not need to do that. I do not need assurance that I am good at what I do and I do not need you to lessen your own abilities to make me feel better."

Xyra paused and inhaled deeply, her sign that she was gearing up to face emotions she would rather run away from, "I have been starting to feel things after interrogations... What you and Cooke used to describe to me after missions, or on bad nights, or if the feelings were keeping you up at night. It's worse than I could have ever imagined."

Theo was searching Xyra's face for any note of teasing or lying but there wasn't any, "Xy, that's so fucked."

It wasn't the right thing to say but Theo didn't really know if there was a right thing. Xyra actually laughed at that, then nodded.

"Aye, it fucking sucks," she acknowledged then flashed Theo a small smile, "you have done nothing wrong... Truth is, I just need a break to learn how to navigate through these emotions."

"For sure..." Theo said, not knowing what else to say. It wasn't often that Xyra was so open with her own struggles and Theo wanted to do nothing to screw up Xyra feeling like she could confide in Theo, "do you want to talk about things? Like, about... y'know."

"Does it ever stop? Like do you ever stop feeling it?" Xyra asked, her eyes were fixed on Theo in an almost desperate state.

"Feeling what?"

Theo could see Xyra pause to swallow the lump in her throat before she looked back down at her hands, "Like a monster. Not human. In disbelief."

"Aye," Theo nodded even though Xyra wasn't watching, "eventually, it's not constant. It will most likely come back when you do it again, I know when I turn on the theatrics and invoke Captain Theo, it comes back to me after it's over, but you'll learn to work through the feelings and move on."

"I am sorry you and Cook have had to go through this all your lives," Xyra said sincerely.

"And I'm sorry you now have to deal with half a classification worth of repressed shit," Theo threw the apology right back.

Xyra nodded, an acceptance of the apology for something Theo didn't do. She was quiet for a bit and Theo said nothing, just watched as her friend was deep in thought; sorting through whatever their talk had dredged up. A single tear made its way halfway down Xyra's face before her hand was wiping it away, quickly.

"Are you okay?" Theo asked, it was a question she knew the answer to but she hoped it was open enough for Xyra to continue to open up.

She shook her head slowly and Theo was surprised that she was still willing to open up, "Navi thinks I am breaking down."

"Are you?"

"I did not think I was. But she pointed out that I was engaging in habits I trained myself out of," Xyra said.

Theo frowned, she knew exactly what Xyra falling into a breakdown looked like. Skipping meal times, up at all hours of the night, sleeping to avoid socializing, dejection, sadness; all of which Navi probably noticed during their time away.

"You can't train yourself out of that stuff, Xyra, you know that," Theo shook her head, " you always think you are the exception and you can fight your way out of your mental state but you can't."

"Theo, I get it," Xyra said, "I do not need a lecture."

"Right, I'm sorry," Theo would have to spread her truths farther apart to be more palatable for Xyra, "I am proud that you were able to recognize that you needed to step away."

"It is not something to be proud of, it is what I needed to do to keep you safe."

"Thank you for keeping me safe, then," Theo reached over and placed her hand on Xyra's thigh, "want a hug?"

"No."

Theo laughed, "Didn't think so."

Xyra gave Theo, and those she liked, affection because they enjoyed it; not because she was partial to it. Xyra patted the hand on her thigh.

"Want to talk about you and Red?" Xyra asked.

"Not really," Theo shrugged, "the girl I love dumped me, there isn't much to say."

"Love?" Xyra raised her eyebrows and squeezed the hand on her thigh, "sorry, Theo, I was not aware it had progressed that far."

"It wasn't like we actually ever said it, which I guess is good, but that doesn't mean my feelings for her just disappeared," Theo found herself speaking about it even when she had said she didn't want to. She waved off the conversation, "we should probably talk about more pressing matters."

"There is more to discuss?" Xyra complained, "I feel as if we have already covered everything under the sun. I do not know how much more I can handle."

It was a joke but Theo also felt the seriousness behind it. She agreed, it had been only a few suns together on the island but she had already had too many unpleasant or long conversations and she was over them. But Theo had been needing to speak with Xyra about Cooker for a while and she could put it off no longer.

"It's about Cooker," Theo said.

"That she almost died?" Xyra asked, "I already know that... She told me."

Theo frowned, so Cooker was willing to open up to Xyra but not to Theo; who had been there, who had almost had to watch her die.

"You talked about it?" Theo asked, wiping her frown away, trying to be cool about it.

"Barely, she just mentioned what happened and that you both hadn't truly talked about it yet," Xyra explained and looked at Theo knowingly, "jealousy is never a good look on you. She did not share anything with me that she has not shared with you."

"Did she seem okay when she talked about it?"

"Not really, no," Xyra recalled, "she seemed shaken up. Said you were pretty hysterical that first night but that you got better."

"I didn't get better, I got better at hiding the panic," Theo shook her head and rubbed her forehead, "I have not stopped thinking about it, Xy. What if we had lost her? We've never been that close to losing each other before..."

"It is bound to happen eventually, Theo," Xyra said bluntly and then sighed, realizing how cold it came across, "I just mean to say that we have escaped death for long enough; it is bound to catch up to us. You always need to be prepared to lose us."

"I will never be prepared to lose either of you," Theo quickly replied, "I didn't know how true that was until it was about to happen to Cooker. And then again when you didn't come back. It was endless hours at the docks waiting and just thinking you were never coming back..."

Theo felt herself getting too emotional. Too worked up. Too off track. Before Xyra could answer, she changed the subject.

"I need you to talk to Cook."

"About?"

"Her drinking and using has gotten worse, way worse," Theo pinched the bridge of her nose, "we had agreed that she would cut back but that only lasted, like, half a cycle. Tuni tried telling her something, I attempted to get her to just fucking take it easy countless times, even Oceane said something; nothing works."

"She's probably just stressed," Xyra defended.

"No shit, but that doesn't mean she can just start the day high and end it plastered, Xyrabellis, she's going to run herself into the fucking ground," Theo raised her voice slightly, getting heated.

"Is it that bad?" Xyra frowned and crossed her arms.

"It's bad. And she keeps excusing it saying her work isn't suffering but that is the least of our worries," Theo shook her head and sighed, "Tuni has gotten more and more worried. She hasn't said anything to me about it but I can tell she thinks something is really wrong with Cook... The way she looks after her and follows her around when Cook is trying to be alone. And if Tuni is worried, it's bad."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Xyra looked lost, "if she won't listen to you, what makes you think she is more likely to pay attention to me."

"Because even though I'm her captain, this is one command she won't follow. But I know she'll listen to you," Theo theorized, "she has always paid more attention to your advice than mine."

"It is because I give better advice," Xyra always attempted to crack jokes at the wrong time, it would have been funny if Theo hadn't been still genuinely worried she was going to lose her friend to addiction, not other people. Theo narrowed her eyes in Xyra's direction which caused her to nod, "I'll get her in line."

"Thank you," Theo nodded and stood up, what she needed to talk about had been settled and now she was going to see if everyone was back. She was walking out when Xyra stopped her.

"Theo," Xyra called out before she reached the door, "were you planning on telling me you were offered to head the rebellion's navy? Or that there was a rebellion, for that matter?"

"When it became relevant, aye," Theo nodded and then turned to keep walking.

"It is relevant right now. You were asked to lead their bloody navy," Xyra stood and walked towards Theo.

"We have bigger things to worry about. I am not entertaining a discussion about this right now," Theo put her foot down. She meant it, that kind of discussion wasn't relevant at the moment but she also just didn't want to hear what Xyra thought about it. They were all a team and if two out of three of them had decided it was best to join the rebellion, it was more likely to happen.

"Aye, aye, Captain," Xyra said and she could sense the argument brewing if Theo stayed any longer. It wouldn't be having Xyra back if there wasn't an impending fight about her leadership decisions.

"Good to have you back, Xyra," Theo looked over with a smirk, just to tick off the girl before walking out.

----

"Before we get started, I need everyone to give a round of applause to Morgana," Theo said as she stood in the middle of all of her officers, "let's give a congratulations to her for single-handedly fucking up every single one of your nights. No one leaves this room until business is finished."

Morgana, not one to allow herself to be cornered into feeling ashamed of her actions, doubled down on her choices and stood up, taking a bow as everyone either clapped or booed her. Even Tuni joined in on the fun and started to boo. Once Morgana had taken a seat, Theo began business. She introduced the agenda, a brief on their discovery led by Cooker and Xyra followed by a deep dive of the manifests collected to find patterns. Theo sat back in her chair as the others took to the floor to speak to the officers. It wasn't a lengthy brief, by any means, Cooker and Xyra understanding that taking time away from partying would get them jumped by the officers after the meeting. Once it was finished, Theo took that time to recap, for all of those not paying attention; which happened to be Navi and Morgana.

"So," Theo said, standing up and smoothing out her shirt, "not much we can gather from the manifests at first glance. What we've extracted from it so far, though, tells us that their navy has been moved to a more central location and that the amount of ships in their command has not really increased from the estimates we've always had."

"How do we know they aren't just tricking us and making us believe they have no other ships?" Iona piped in, being a bit better at understanding strategy than others on their crew.

"We don't," Theo shrugged, "but from what we've seen, they're spending too much of their time, resources, and funds, on their land defense and operations. They've even pulled Hoffstater from the navy and have him working out of Efriti as a general."

"Who is leading the navy, then?" Morgana asked.

"We have no confirmation of this but it's most likely one of the Vaith sons," Cooker chimed in, "at least according to some of our sources close to the growing rebellion."

The source had been Sabine, which in Theo's opinion should have been confirmation enough, but it was always better to not assume things. However, a Vaith being in charge of the navy was the worst-case scenario. Assuming he was in charge was not the worst thing; it would render them more prepared.

"Regardless of who is leading them, they are weaker than expected and confined to a more central location," Theo explained, "which means that an attack against them is possible, a blow to their military structure and an opportunity to end the conflict against us is possible."

"If they are as weak as you are saying, why've they been able to wipe out half of the underworld?" Morgana asked.

"The element of surprise," Oceane offered.

"The rat," Xyra responded as well.

"Most likely both of those," Theo nodded along, "bottom line, if we play it right we can threaten to attack them at a certain point, central to where they've stationed a lot of their ships. We can bait them into sending most of their navy. If we are prepared for a fight, and they are not, we have a chance at crushing them."

"I don't see that working," Navi chimed in and Theo couldn't help but chuckle at the input.

"Why's that?" Theo prompted.

"They will prepare for a fight if we threaten them, the whole point of a threat is to warn the other side you are willing to engage in battle," Navi explained.

"Sure, but what if our intentions to attack them were leaked? It wouldn't be a direct threat, and we can lie about the logistics of it all. We can make them believe that it is a handful of ships attacking a place of importance to them to get them to join their full force to meet us," Theo argued, "make them believe they have the element of surprise when they won't."

"And how would we do that?" Xyra took her turn to speak up.

"If we catch the rat, we can use that knowledge to play them into sending a false report to The Center and bait them so we can finally end this shit," Theo crossed her arms, "which, of course, means we actually need to figure out who the fuck the rat is. Which is what we are doing now."

Theo reached toward Xyra for the stack of manifests she was holding. Taking possession of them, she began to split the stack, "We are going to work in teams, everyone will eventually get a look at all the manifests. More than ten pairs of eyes on this should give us some shred of information."

Theo let the girls split up into their own teams as she handed out the different papers. Some of the groupings were chaotic, Morgana, Navi, and Oceane all together did not initially strike Theo as a group that could get anything done, while others were more promising. Iona and Pearl, for example, were who Theo had placed her bets on. However, eventually, all her officers showed her why they were officers in the first place. Each group came up with the exact same information after scouring the manifests.

What Cooker and Theo had previously identified as a pattern turned out to be one, and probably something major at that. In major cities and ports across Efriti and Aeliz, ships with floral-themed names kept appearing. That part of the mystery made itself clear early on, most groups had picked that out within only an hour of searching. What they couldn't find out was what it meant. Who was behind these ships? Were they connected with anything? Could anything else besides a pattern be discerned? The answer seemed to be 'no'.

Hours had passed and all other crew members had been drinking and causing a ruckus in the downstairs area of the tavern they were in. It was taunting everyone and as the minutes flew by, her officers were getting antsy.

"Can't we just call it?" Cooker was the first one to suggest it, the only one brave enough.

"Aye," Navi took the chance to piggyback on Cooker's boldness, "we've got a good bit of information. Might as well just wait until Corinspe so we can compare notes with everyone else."

Theo would have argued back but she knew everyone was burnt out and looking forward to the party, to enjoy their last night before a long journey up to Corinspe yet again. If Cooker and Theo hadn't been able to decipher the significance of the pattern of ships in the cycles they had been in possession of the manifest, and just under a dozen eyes couldn't pinpoint anything either their likelihood to gain anything new the longer they went at it was slim.

"Fine," Theo conceded and looked to everyone's relieved faces, "floor is open for any final comments. If not, go enjoy your last nights of freedom before you are worked harder than you ever have been before."

Oceane let out a hoot and was the first one to hop to her feet, "I've got a keg of ale calling my name, everyone, out of the way, please!"

Xyra stood up too but cleared her throat, indicating that the meeting wasn't over, she intended to speak. Ocenae stopped in her tracks and frowned, huffing out a sigh as she sat right where she stood, on the floor at an odd angle in the middle of everyone. At the realization that they were not done yet, Morgana groaned loudly but was quickly hit by Navi. A few moments of bickering between them settled down when Xyra threw a glare Morgana's way. Once it was quiet, Xyra spoke:

"I might have an idea for a lead we could pursue in order to get information on this whole flower situation prior to arriving at Corinspe."

"And that would be...?" Theo prompted, a bit miffed that Xyra had failed to mention a plan ahead of time, in any of the times they had to speak prior to right then.

But Xyra's lack of explanation looked to not be because of dramatic flair, as Cooker's announcements usually were, but because she was still thinking. Theo could see it in the way her brows knitted together and fidetiing with the fingers on one hand.

"Vivexa," Xyra said and there wasn't a single person in the room that's jaws were not slightly ajar; even Theo's. Xyra could barely utter the woman's name without wanting to fly into a fit of rage; the fact that she was suggesting seeking out the greatest threat the Scorned Woman had seen was shocking.

More so for Theo because she truly knew how Xyra felt about Viv, pirate business aside. Viv had hurt Theo and Xyra had taken on the mission of gutting the spy if Xyra ever laid eyes on her again. Theo wouldn't allow that to happen, if they did come face to face, but it was still something she wanted to avoid.

"Why?" Tuni was actually the first one to ask, she had never been a fan of her no matter how amicable Tuni acted when she had been around.

"Last time Theo saw her, she was on a job trying to find out what was occurring with the pirate disappearances," Xyra needed no time to think of her reply for the explanation, she had already thought through it all, the pieces had clicked into place, "I am sure she has something useful for us."

"Was she even looking for the same things we were?" Cooker asked, "is it worth the trip to wherever she is?"

"Even if she gives us nothing that tips us off to the exact nature of who the rat is or how to take down The Center, she might hand over something useful," Xyra said.

"That snake would never just hand over things for free," Morgana said.

"Which is exactly the purpose of the ship fund, to provide gold for our crew's needs," Xyra stated, almost bored with the line of questioning from everyone, like she had expected everyone to keep up. Theo almost laughed, Xyra was being more like herself than she had been since Theo saw her.

"Can we even guarantee she will have anything for us?" Ava asked.

"We can," Theo spoke up for the first time, "Vivexa will not move on from a job until it is done. Until the mystery is solved. Until she can point to an explanation."

"And she has moved on from the last job she had," Xyra informed, always keeping tabs on her, "she's now working for the noble family of Dricastar."

"She's working for the fucking Ammyrets?" Cooker scoffed, "Is there a client she won't take?"

"Apparently not," Navi was surprised too, her eyebrows raised.

The Ammyrets were like the Vaiths, hated by most everyone. If it wasn't the Vaiths being blamed for the problems of their worlds, it was the Ammyrets. Not only were they nobles but they sat on the Baethan Council and were a big rival to the Vaiths. Their political competition had the cost of real lives. Theo would've been shocked that Viv agreed to work with them if Theo didn't understand the lengths Viv would go to for some coin and a boost to her reputation.

"So, how is she going to be of help to us cooped up in the Ammyrets' estate? We can't even lay eyes on her in there," Theo reminded.

Dricastar was several suns of travel inland and the estate was near impossible to get inside the walls of it; let alone infiltrate it for long enough to go find Viv. It wouldn't be worth the risk to their crew for information they might already know.

"Their constituency ball is coming up soon," Xyra informed everyone, "and I happen to have an invite to that."

"How?" Morgana asked.

"My family is invited, as they are every length, and as such I was invited as well," Xyra shrugged, "my brother is obsessed with the idea of me going to one of these functions and finding me a husband-"

Xyra paused so everyone could laugh, which she knew was coming; she even cracked a smile herself.

"-and he owes me a few favors. I am sure he will get us in," Xyra finished.

"Infiltrate a noble's ball?" Cooker asked and crossed her arms, "sign me the fuck up."

"Dricastar is at least three suns inland," Theo pointed out, not as willing to jump on the plan as Cooker, "it's going to take us a third of a cycle to get there and back and we are already behind schedule, we won't have time."

"Even with the added time to our voyage, I believe it is worth it," Xyra advocated for her suggestion, "we all know that pirates are not timely people, they are going to be late to the meeting and we will be sitting around for suns with nothing to do. Even if we are the last ones to arrive, what if we were able to piece everything together ourselves? It would be worth the time."

"I know this is personal but going to Dricastar would mean I could personally escort my brother to my sister," Oceane piped up from the floor, "she lives near there now."

"So, the proposed plan is for a handful of us to meet up with Xy's family, get taken to a ball with their invitation, use that opportunity to find Viv, and then getting information from her," Theo recapped, "all while not knowing whether we'll even be able to reach her or get anything out of her."

"Aye," Xyra nodded, "that is exactly what was proposed."

"Very well," Theo nodded and looked around the room, "put it to a vote then, all in favor for making a stop in Dricastar before going to Corinspe?"

Oceane, predictably, raised her hand. She was the first to do so and everyone but Navi and Ava followed in raising their hands. Theo took account of the votes and then announced the call.

"The ayes have it," Theo crossed her arms over her chest, "you are all free to go. Navi, Pearl, Xyra, I will need you all up early in the morning to help me plan a route. Take that into account as you party tonight."

Everyone stood up and walked out of the room without saying anything in response. They rushed out of the room in an effort to make it out before Theo had the brilliant idea to bring them back for something else. Ava was the only one that stayed back. Theo walked over to the empty seat next to her and sat down.

"Any reason that you are not rushing out to the party?" Theo asked.

"Not really feeling too into the party mood," Ava flashed a small smile Theo's way, "you seem to be in no rush either."

"I am in no mood for a party either," Theo sighed and slumped back in her chair, "but I know I need to be down there."

"You're the captain, you technically don't need to do anything," Ava offered.

Theo chuckled, "You're right, but I faulted on my party duties last night in favor of fucking you so I have to make up for it now."

"Well, my apologies," Ava laughed a bit.

"Apologies for what exactly? Coming onto me after you broke my heart?" Theo teased and leaned her elbows on her knees with a smirk, "Being too irresistible to pass up the opportunity to have my head between your legs? Inconveniencing me so I would have to go downstairs to entertain tonight instead of resting?"

"It was more along the lines of sorry for inconveniencing you, but I am also sorry about everything else," Ava admitted with a slight frown, but it slowly formed into a smile, "I'm especially sorry for being too attractive to resist."

"Ah," Theo nodded and stood up, "as you should be, it truly makes all of this all the more difficult."

Ava's face fell a bit and she stood up too, "Theo, I really am sorry about all of this."

Theo mimicked her frown and stepped towards her, "Oi, no real apologies, please. I was just messing with you. You shouldn't feel guilty for making the choices you did."

Even despite the soreness of the subject and how much she was actually upset, she gave Ava a warm smile. Damn her need to make others happy, damn the redhead for making Theo want to spare her feelings even when she had hurt Theo. Even with the smile and the reassurance, Ava didn't look any less sorry and Theo took that as consolation that it was as hard for Ava as she claimed it had been. Which confused Theo even more. If she didn't want to, why did she? It was actually what was in her head the most, what was the real reason Ava broke things off? Was she genuine in her reasoning?

Theo would never know, she decided she was going to drop any thoughts or questions about the situation. If she didn't think about it, it wouldn't affect her. Eventually, everything would sort itself out and she would allow herself to feel a certain way about it when that time came. If she wasn't with Ava at the end of the pirate war, then that was something for future Theo to deal with.

Ava said nothing in return but she looked at Theo in a way that sent butterflies fluttering throughout Theo's blood. Theo took a few steps back and started to head towards the door, Ava still said nothing. Theo walked backward as they were engaged in intense eye contact before Theo reached the door.

"Well," Theo said, still not breaking the stare, "guess I must get going, socializing against my will awaits me."

Ava still said nothing, but she did offer one last smile and a wave. Theo finally turned around and headed down towards the noise and music. She was certainly planning on getting piss drunk and forgetting about everything for a while.

-----

Xyra, once again, made every excuse in the book to not have to go down to the party. Instead of following Navi downstairs to join the others as her hand was tugged on by her partner, she slipped away from the group and went to her own room. The book, as boring as it was, was the only thing in her room to entertain her. It wasn't like she could just pop into a shop on the island and look for a better book to read, roamers didn't often keep any of the books they were paid to smuggle. The small island would have nothing to offer her except nature and it was far too muggy outside to enjoy that. So, she delved into the boring world in front of her and tuned out the music from downstairs.

It must have been only a few hours before someone stumbled into her room. Xyra would have looked up but she was afraid that if she pulled her attention away, there was no way she would be able to return to the book she was torturing herself with. The footsteps got closer to her and the book was snatched out of her hand. Looking up, Xyra saw none other than Cooker. She rolled her eyes and tried to get the book back but Cooker held it up with a taunting smirk. Xyra reached out and punched Cooker in the stomach which made the other woman groan but she didn't hand over the book.

"What are you reading?" Cooker laughed after recovering her breath from the hit, she stumbled away to prevent any further attacks. Xyra stood up to follow but she wasn't fast enough to stop Cooker from reading the title, "What the fuck is this?"

Cooker laughed and opened it to a random page before beginning to read. Xyra sat back down, not having enough energy to chase after a clearly drunk Cooker. Cooker closed the book after a few minutes with another round of laughs.

"That was awful," Cooker pointed out.

"I am well aware," Xyra replied, "it is all I have on hand."

"I don't think you could pay me to read this."

"Are you here for any particular reason?" Xyra snapped, trying to get back to solitude.

"Coming to get you so you can come drink with me," Cooker began to walk back over as she tossed the book through the air.

Xyra caught it but in the process, a few of the pages got bent and Xyra could not be more annoyed, "I'm not going to go drink with you. But now that you're up here, let us have a talk."

"Woah, I'm good," Cooker chuckled, "thanks for the offer though."

"It was not an invitation you can decline. Sit down, please," Xyra insisted and this time, Cooker was the one who rolled her eyes.

With a dramatic flair, Cooker sat down on the chair, slouching down on it. She sunk so low that her shoulders were practically flat on the seat of the chair, her ass nowhere near the seat.

"Cook, I need you to actually be serious," Xyra requested.

"Why are you trying to have a serious conversation with me while I'm fucked up?" Cooker said but complied and moved a bit back up on the chair, taking up a somewhat proper sitting position, "Actually, why are we having a serious conversation at all? Didn't we just have one when I saw you for the first time?"

"Theo asked me to speak with you," Xyra replied, tapping her fingers on her leg.

"Fuck, really?" Cooker frowned and actually sat up properly that time, "she's been with me for three cycles, whatever it is, she could have told me herself."

"Apparently, she has tried to," Xyra shrugged, "and she is not the only one."

Recognition flashed across Cooker's face before she shook her head and stood up, "I'm not talking about this."

"The fact that you know what the problem is before I had the chance to tell you lets me know that it is something you need to talk about, and now," Xyra stood up too and took a step so she was in Cooker's path in case she wanted to bolt to the door, "sit down."

"No," Cooker shook her head and took a step forward, "I told you, I'm not talking about this shit."

"You are worrying people, Cook," Xyra also took a step forward, "sit down so we can actually have a mature conversation."

"And if I don't cooperate? What will you do, torture me?" Cooker said with a look in her eye that showed Xyra that she had meant the phrase as a stab, not just an expression.

It felt like a slap on the face but Xyra didn't let the emotions register across her face, her gut took the brunt of it, making her a bit nauseous. Instead of answering, Xyra stepped forward and put a hand to Cooker's chest as she pushed her backward. Cooker was too drunk and too off-balance to really make any evasive maneuvers. Quite roughly, Xyra pushed Cooker onto the chair, causing the other girl to fall back onto it, the chair squeaking across the wood as her body weight pushed it back. Cooker basically yelped and put a hand to her chest where Xyra had pushed. Xyra turned on her heel and walked back to her chair before taking a seat.

"You owe me a conversation for that comment," Xyra crossed her arms over her chest.

Cooker looked away from Xyra and her face had subsided from anger and was now a bit guilty. No apology came though, not that Xyra would have expected one.

"What is it Theo said to you?" Cooker asked, looking over at Xyra.

"That you start the sun by getting high and end it drunk," Xyra recalled, "which isn't anything different than what I saw throughout the sun. She wants me to get you to stop."

"Good luck," Cooker rolled her eyes, digging her heels in before any sort of progress could be made.

"As long as you are the second on my ship, you will not get away with it," Xyra shrugged, "you are to reduce what you use and lay off the harder stuff. There are plenty of alternatives to lolly that are not as bad for you. And, less drinking."

"That isn't fair, Xy," Cooker panicked, her face had grown more and more concerned with each of the requirements that Xyra had laid out, "I'm dealing with a lot right now! You should know. If I thought anyone would understand, it was you."

"Cook, those are excuses. Shit is not going to get better or easier, it is only going to get harder from here. You need to learn how to work through shit instead of running to numb yourself," Xyra shook her head.

"Says you," Cooker snorted.

"Stop diverting," Xyra said sternly, "I am not cutting you off completely. I am not trying to corner you. I am not trying to make you feel bad."

Cooker crossed her arms, slumping back into the seat in defeat, she knew that when the Scorned Woman's crew had a rule to enforce, it would be taken seriously. Cooker would not be able to get away with any sneaking and she understood that, "Sure, make me a prisoner within my own crew."

"Cook, I am doing this and going along with this for your own good. I am worried about you," Xyra sighed.

"You could show it, y'know," Cooker mumbled, looking away.

Xyra's face softened from its rigidness. Cooker backed down from battles with Xyra way too easily. Theo was right when she said that Cooker paid attention to Xyra more. Xyra stood up, "Do you want a hug?"

"Kinda," Cooker shrugged and clambered to her feet before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Xyra.

Xyra hugged Cooker back and rubbed her back slightly "Sorry your life sucks right now."

"I had a good run of life not sucking for a while there, it was bound to happen," Cooker mumbled, "I'm going to be a nightmare to handle."

"You already are," Xyra joked.

"Am I interrupting something?" a voice came from the doorway, it was Red.

"Aye!" Cooker said with her head buried in Xyra's chest.

Xyra slapped Cooker's back in a scolding manner, "No, you are good to come in."

Xyra pulled away and turned towards the door to see Red standing there, one arm crossed over her chest and holding onto her other arm. She took a tentative step in, clearly hesitant because of Cooker's response.

"Were you also sent up here to come fetch me for the party?" Xyra asked as she sat down, Cooker took the time to claim back the chair she was using before.

"No, I was actually already up here," Red replied and stepped further into the room, "I skipped out on the party and heard voices over here so I thought I'd investigate."

"Did you hear they are cutting me off?" Cooker asked, side eying Xyra.

"Cutting you off?" Red titled her head.

"From drugs. They are not letting me drink or do drugs anymore," Cooker pouted and directed it towards Xyra.

"We are not cutting her off from it all, pay Cook no mind please," Xyra rolled her eyes then looked back over at Red and motioned towards one of the many chairs in the room, "come join us."

"Well, I'm sorry that they are doing whatever it is you are overdramatizing," Red gave her condolences and found a chair.

"If you are truly sorry, you will help me break out of this prison," Cooker tried her hand at recruiting Red into her nefarious smuggling plans.

"Then I suppose I'm not truly sorry," Red shrugged.

Cooker frowned at the statement but Xyra laughed before adding, "What were you doing hanging around up here?"

"Didn't feel like partying," Red shrugged and picked at the fabric on the chair.

"Theo told me about last night," Xyra said, "I'm sorry."

"What happened last night?" Cooker asked.

"I put things on hold with Theo," Red answered.

"Why?"

"Because things between us were getting intense and I didn't want to string her along just to tell her who I really am," Red was still not looking at either of them, a frown set on her face, "I'm hoping that it helps her see me in a better light once everything comes to the surface."

Red, as always, was pretty open with her feelings. It made the conversation easier, maybe there was a point to healthy communication and introspection with one's emotions.

"Damn, that sucks. Also, you broke up with her after you guys fucked? Not one to judge but, ouch," Cooker provided her input. It was unhelpful and not relevant to the route Red and Xyra were attempting to take with the conversation.

"I broke up with her before," Red jumped to her own defense herself but it honestly didn't sound great either way, she realized it too, "it probably wasn't the best course of action but I can't take it back now."

"Cook, could you maybe be a bit more sensitive towards the subject, please?" Xyra rubbed her temples then looked at Red, "for what it is worth, you did well in stepping away before things got more intense. Hopefully, it pays off in the long run."

"Aye, hopefully," Red shrugged, "is there any way can we change the topic?"

Cooker looked ready to launch into a new conversation, she sat up straighter in her chair and took a deep inhale before there was loud yelling from downstairs. A single word, fight, was able to be discerned from the noise of chaos. All three of them looked at each other before bolting out of their chairs and down the stairs to break up whatever drunken fight had broken out.