Edward
After Renn—Avila's falcon whom she introduced to us—made her sudden appearance, the three of us finally set off for the Jackdaw. We were again joined by the Grand Master once we had stepped out of the tunnel network of caves, who was now trailing behind with James and I, engaged in a hushed conversation. Meanwhile, Avila marched ahead, with that bird still perched quite completely upon her arm. I was rather impressed to see her arm hadn't faltered from the fatigue of holding such a creature up for so long.
"Both you need to understand why she is so important." The Grand Master's hoarse whisper brought my attention back to our discussion.
"Important?" Kidd spluttered indignantly, earning a fierce shushing motion from the old assassin. He then lowered his voice. "'Ow the bloody 'ell is that wench important?" "Because she is the person we have been looking for, for a long time now." James snorted.
"Well unless Mr. Charles Arkwright has some'ow managed t' switch his own gender—"
"James Kidd, that woman there is the Seeker." Jonathan deadpanned.
"Righty-o then. So she's a seeker. Ain't that jus' smashin'. But what the 'ell does tha' mean fer us?"
"You mistake me, James Kidd, she is not a Seeker."
"But ye jus' said—"
"She is the Seeker"
"But...Wait, what does that mean fer us? Fer th' Brotherhood?" Kidd inquired.
"It means she can help us find Arkwright and other powerful Templar figures. And perhaps she could even help us bring them down once and for all." I answered, after putting the pieces together. I'd already done a fair bit of research on this Seeker and what they were capable of. Avila seemed to fit most of the criteria quite perfectly. Jonathan nodded.
"Edward Kenway is correct James, so I suggest you put aside your quest for vengeance and try to look at the bigger picture."
"And yer sure o' this? I know it ain't a common occurrence but it's impossible to—"
"James, shut up." Avila hissed suddenly, no longer moving.
"OI, don't you go—"
"I said shut up! Just shut your trap and listen." James Kidd closed his mouth and whispered through clenched teeth lividly. "What. Is. It?" Avila didn't say anything for a while. Her eyes were staring at the ground but I could see she was listening out for something by the way she turned her head this way and that. A few minutes of silence passed, save for the usual medley of jungle wildlife activity, and then the lass furrowed her brow.
"Can you hear that?" She whispered
"Hear what? The birds calling? The waves crashing? Monkeys chattering? Yer gonna 'ave t' be a lot more specific lass." Kidd retorted, voicing my exact thoughts. What the hell was it she could that the rest of us couldn't?
"There it is again. Only..." Avila trailed off. Kidd and I continued to watch in confusion as she gently raised her arm, sending the falcon into the air.
"Honestly, ye must be hearing things 'cos I sure as 'ell can't, HEY! Where do ye think yer goin'!" Kidd cried out, but he was too slow. Avila had bolted and disappeared around the corner into the dense foliage.
"Shit." I cursed. "C'mon Kidd, let's go find the crazy bloody woman." He scoffed. "Like 'ell. She can die out there for all I care, after what she did." I sighed. There was no time or point in arguing at the moment. So I just nodded my farewell to the Grand Master, I turned and sprinted off in the direction our dark-haired lass had. She wasn't that hard to trace, not with my Eagle Vision. Plus, the trampled fern fronds and prominent footprints were a dead giveaway.
As I ran, I was aware of a loud mewling cry growing louder and louder, sparking my curiosity. I chased her for a few minutes before stumbling into a clearing, where I found her kneeling over...a log? Running over, I slew to a halt next to her and saw that the log I previously thought she was by was really a jaguar lying motionless.
"Jesus woman, get away from that! When it wakes it'll tear your throat out!" I exclaimed, reaching for her. But she held up a hand to stop me.
"It's all right, she's dead anyway."
Upon closer inspection of the carcass, I saw she was right. The huge feline's throat had been ripped out, likely by another one of her kind, and dried blood had stained and crusted the fur around her throat, chest and most of the ground surrounding her. It was then I saw a tiny little bundle of golden fur flecked with murky black spots cradled against Avila's chest. I peered closer as it shifted in her arms. It was another fucking jaguar. A baby, but a jaguar nonetheless.
"Why in the devil's name are you holding a jaguar cub?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I heard him crying before when Kidd wouldn't shush up. This must have been his mother, poor thing."
"Indeed," I replied unsympathetically.
"Edward." She chided
"Well, what do you want me to do?" I deadpanned.
"Let me bring him with us."
I chuckled "Hell no, that thing is not coming anywhere near my ship."
"Edward, he's just a baby. We can't just leave him here, he'll die."
"Do you have any idea what those things are capable of? He may be cute now that he's asleep, but when he wakes up and grows up, he'll rip you apart."
"Of course I bloody well know what jaguars are capable of, I've seen what they can do. But this little cub couldn't hurt me. Look at him, he can't be older than a couple weeks."
"Do I look like I care?"
"Of course not. So what's it to you if this jaguar maims or kills me? You hate me remember? I'm just a means to get you what you want." Actually, I didn't hate her. I hate what she did, but not necessarily her.
"A jaguar doesn't belong on a vessel at sea."
"Then it's a good thing we're going to Havana and will most likely be staying there for a while if we're to start searching for Arkwright."
"Yes, but it'll take at least a fortnight to get there. Two weeks at sea with that thing ain't gonna to make my men happy, or me for that matter."
"Then he can stay in my cabin."
"That's not your cabin actually, it's Sam's."
"Well, then I guess that leaves yours, seeing as how Mila is in there as well. I'm sure she'd be more than glad to help me look after Vasheera."
I frowned. "You named that thing?"
"Yes, I did. So stop calling it a 'thing.' Like you, I have no love for jaguars, but unlike you, I care." I let an exasperated sigh slip through my lips and thought about this for a moment. She really wasn't going to give this up, that much was obvious.
"Tell you what," I began slowly. "That thing—"
"Vasheera."
"—is not to leave my cabin. The men are not to see it. And if it so much as scratches anyone, yourself included, I'll toss it overboard without a second thought. Got it?"
"That's not going to happen." She replied steely, her glaring eyes meeting my own.
"Good. Make sure it doesn't." A rustling noise interrupted our intense staring match.
"There ye two dumb arses are! Been lookin' all ov'r the bloody place for ye both." Kidd took in the sight before him, sighed and turned back around. "If that thing bites off yer face, I'll be th' first t' laugh me arse off." He called back over his shoulder as he strode away.
"Not if I teach him to bite yours off." She retorted as she stood up and carefully adjusted the sleeping cub in her arms. She looked up to the sky and let out a short, sharp call, summoning her blasted bird. It came swooping down in a gust of brown and beige feathers and landed heavily on her shoulder. Avila didn't even wince.
"Lead the way Kenway."
*****
I'll admit, I was surprised at how little the crew resisted to the fact that we now had a jaguar and a falcon joining us on board in addition to a woman, who had strode aboard as though she were the vessel's captain. But then again, I can't imagine they'd be too eager to try to stop her upon seeing the young jaguar in her arms, her beady-eyed falcon watching every move from its roost on her shoulder and the cold, challenging expression on her face. She was a force to be reckoned with, that was certain. It was quite a refreshing change from the simpering courtesans who'd flirt and smile sweetly and insincerely, whereas Avila's rare smiles were ones of danger and dripping with malice.
"I'll be in the cabin with Vasheera and Mila."She announced, striding off and leaving no room for disagreements of discussion.
Drawing in an irritated breath, I motioned to Kidd and we both followed her into my goddamn cabin, making sure to lock the door behind us. Upon hearing the click of the bolt fall into place, Avila cast a wary glance over her shoulder and her hand dropped to her hip, where her usual cutlass was no longer sheathed. She then walked over to Mila lying on the bed, whose eyes were no less calculating than her friend's, and placed the sleepy cub on the bed covers. Turning back to Kidd and I, she sized us up and assumed a relaxed stance of lazy confidence.
"So, what's the plan then boys?"
Kidd cocked his head, oozing the same arrogance as Avila. Jesus, they were both as bad as each other. "An' what makes ya think-"
"Don't even try to patronise or antagonise me right now Kidd, just tell me where we need to go, what needs to be done and who needs to die."
"I think ye've done yer fair share o' killin' lass."
Avila snarled and lunged for the loudmouth. Her nails were a fraction of an inch away from clawing out his eyes when I intercepted her attack.
"Time an' place lass, and that ain't now," I warned. She said nothing, simply ripped her arm from my grasp an headed over to my desk, which was littered with various maps, navigation equipment, and a globe. All, save for the globe, was flung off with a dramatic sweep of Avila's arm. Before Kidd or I had the chance to react, she'd already unfurled and was now smoothing out a large parchment. Gritting my teeth, I made my way past the mess of the floor and stood beside her, studying the remarkably detailed map of the Caribbean.
"Where are we now?" The lass asked softly, leaning on the desktop. A curtain of midnight tresses fell from behind her shoulder, still slightly damp from the pools on the island. Without even thinking, I reached out and gently brushed her dark locks back, even tucking a few tendrils behind her ear. She didn't move but gave me a curious sidelong glance.
I quickly dropped my hand and cleared my throat. "There was water dripping onto the map."
Kidd snorted at my bullshit as he moved to join us, while Avila just raised an eyebrow ever so slightly.
"I'll ask again then, what is our plan?"
Standing to attention, I motioned to where we were on the map and started to explain the mission.
"We're here, after being docked just at this island. We need to sail to Havana, but first, we need to stop at Nassau again on the way. There, we'll rendezvous with Thatch, Anne, and Mary. We'll need to restock, Kidd you can oversee that, along with debriefing the rest. Avila, you and I will be at work getting the information we need. We know that our first target is in Nassau, but we need him alive. For a bit. Once he tells us the whereabouts of Charles Arkwright, he will no longer be of use."
"This plan is very vague and flawed. For a start, who is Arkwright and what is his significance?" Avila commented.
It was Kidd who answered. "Charles Oliver George Arkwright is a Templar hell-bent on locating the Observatory, an ancient place of ancient power. It works like a giant spyglass, it allows the user to see through the eyes of anyone around the world, that is still living. They are able to do so by using blood samples from anyone and a Crystal Skull. Arkwright is an imminent threat because already has the pieces he needs to utilise the Observatory, the Crystal skull and numerous vials of blood from very important people, including members of the brotherhood who are of high ranking and have access to vital information. How we don't quite know. Bu this is why he is our ultimate target, eliminate him, and we eliminate the threat of exposure and chaos and manipulation that looms."
The lass gave a nod of understanding. "Duly noted. So, to Nassau we go then."
Kidd furrowed his brow. "That's it? No more questions, no contradictions or objections? Just... let's go?" He asked incredulously, to which Avila replied with a long stare.
"Shockingly enough, yes that's it. For now." She deadpanned.
I clapped my hands together, signally the end of our discussion, went over to unbolt the door and headed out on deck.
"Adé! Set a course for West South West, we need to get to Nassau before the sun sets on the day after tomorrow."
"Aye Captain, Nassau it is."
"Oui, on doit aller très vite si on voudrait trouver cet homme avant que les autres le fassent." Came a soft murmur from my left. Turning, I was greeted with the sight of crimson lips, slightly parted, a mane of midnight tresses framing sapphire eyes. I had gazed at this face many times, yet this time I was struck by something different. Gone was the hard, knife-like beauty, in its stead was the calm, wild and mysterious beauty of the ocean, almost as though a mythical sea nymph had boarded the vessel.
I was intrigued to say the least.
"Ils arrivent." She whispered.
Only then did I shake off my foolish reverie and replayed what she had just in my mind. Well, I tried to. French was never a language I could wrap my head around.
"What was that lass?"
"I said we'd better move faster if we want to find this man before the others do." She replied.
I was confused, well and truly. "Others? What others? Who else would know about Arkwright?"
"You'd be surprised," She began as she wandered to the deck's railing. "You'd be quite surprised by how much our little island organisation would know of ancient artifacts of power."
I slowly made my way over to her by the railing, watching as she leaned her elbows on the polished wood and gave a nostalgic smile.
"My mother is, was, is it bizarre that I'm unable to feel sorrow upon remembering that she's gone? What daughter could possibly-" She sighed. "That's not relevant, what I was saying is that she was hell-bent on finding these artifacts and places she'd heard of through our extensive network of spies. I remember hearing the Observatory come up in heated discussions my mother would have with some of the visitors to the island. I'd never thought twice about it before, it wasn't my place to ask questions, just kill. But my concern is that some of the other survivors from the island," She glared at me for a second, before continuing. "May also know something, perhaps obtain the wrong information about what it is capable of and seriously hurt or kill themselves in their attempts to uncover it."
Pushing away the railing, Avila turned to face me with an intense look on her face. Gone was the ocean nymph, the Boudicca-like woman had returned.
"Edward," Her voice was soft, like the whisper of a knife curving through the air. "I'm just worried about my family. I doubt I'll be able to forgive and I know I'll never forget what you and your pirate crew did to my home and the people I cared about. You think what I did was bad? Killing the members of your brotherhood? Imagine what I feel. I lost nearly everything, again. And that's on you."
Stepping back, her eyelids flitted shut and she exhaled, snapping them open.
"I'm willing to look forward, to aid you in stopping Charles Arkwright, but I'm going to need you and James to do the same. Put your grievances aside, for now, to focus on our objective, and I will also and I'll co-operate." Avila reached a hand out to me. "What do you say to that, Captain Kenway?"
I took a moment to think her proposal over, all the while feeling the burning stare of Kidd, Adé, and others of the crew.
"I think I can work with that," I replied, clasping her forearm as she held mine. Our gaze locked, and at that moment an understanding passed between the both of us. No, this was not a fresh start or a new beginning. Simply a truce in order to achieve a common goal.
But as she walked away to join Adé at the helm, I began to wonder what exactly this common goal was.
Lots of love to you all