Theo was walking the deck when she heard the call from the crow's nest, "Pirates incoming!"
She frantically looked across the horizon and saw a small shadow shaped like a ship. She ran as fast as she could up to the helm and took the spyglass from one the crew's hand and looked out to where the boat was "Aye. That's the Howler alright. Xyra, call everyone to their positions. Get Morgana to lead those who can't fight downstairs."
Xyra nodded and disbursed, leaving Theo yelling commands from the helm to the crew around her. Theo's mind was racing to come up with a strategy before they arrived. It was another 30 minutes before the first signs of battle would even come but they needed to have a plan. She knew that Espbar had just traded up to the Howler not even half a length ago and when he traded it, the seller took out all the cannons from below because he didn't have enough gold for it. Xyra walked back up the stairs and looked at Theo.
"Cap, the cannons," Xyra said, a little out of breath from running up the stairs.
"I know. It's our best chance. He has none and his crew is bigger so we need the advantage. I will alert the master gunner, we need the cannons ready to fire as soon as the ship is within reach. Bring Oceane to the helm. She's the only one here who can handle a bow and we are going to need one," Theo said and looked at Xyra, "You know the drill. If I don't make it out of this, the ship is yours."
With that Theo raced down the ladder and ran down to where the guns were kept and alerted the master gunner of the plan. When the shot was right, shoot. Theo even encouraged the gunners to not waste more than two cannonballs on it but to try and aim below the waterline. If the cannon hit the boat below the waterline while it was rocking above the surface, once the ship submerged again it would rapidly begin to flood. Theo needed to take the boat down before it could get to them. If Espbar boarded the ship with his full crew then it would mean sure defeat for the women.
Once she felt confident that the master gunner knew how to proceed she rushed back to the deck. Looking out at the horizon once again she saw the shadow appear closer and time was running out. As she was making her way back up the ladder to the helm, Morgana rushed past her with her hand in Tuni's and made her way to the inside of the ship. Morgana told Tuni to wait at the stairs as she rushed up them, down the hallway and began to bang on Ava's door.
"Oi! It's Morgana! I need to get you to safety! A ship was spotted in the distance!"
The door opened a few seconds later and a sleepy-looking Ava was on the other side of the door, "M' awake. What's the matter?"
"No time," Morgana took Ava's hand and began pulling her down the hall. After a moment they had made it back down the stairs. Now, Ava was more awake and the adrenaline and panic were starting to kick in. She saw Tuni, her hair was frazzled as if she had been woken up from sleep like Ava. Morgana began moving again and Ava followed. They made their way through the inside of the ship, collecting people as they went. Rose and Miss Yurwa were there with them and a few other girls too. They finally arrived at what seemed to be one of the last rooms on one of the lowest floors. They walked into the room and Tuni kissed Morgana goodbye. They exchanged rushed whispers and then Morgana was gone. Tuni closed the door and bolted it shut with a wooden plank from the inside.
"We should be safe here. Morgana will let us know when the coast is clear," Tuni assured the women in the room and Ava nodded at her and found a place to sit. It seemed like forever before she began to hear noise and she wondered what was going on up top.
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"They're in range, gunners! Fire the cannons!" Theo bellowed and she felt the boom of the cannons before she heard it.
The Howler was close now, almost in range to grapple it. Espbar was probably expecting to be the first to grapple but Theo wouldn't let him. The power of catching him by surprise with all the tricks in the book is how she planned on winning this one. Theo made her way across the helm and to Oceane, "Ready your bow, archer! When you've got a shot, take it!"
Oceane nodded and waited just a few more moments until the masts of The Howler were close enough to her. She tipped her fat soaked arrow into a torch next to her and released the fire arrow. The wind caught it and blew it away and Oceane cursed it. On her second try, she knocked the arrow back and released. It went flying and then hit the sail of the other ship. After a few seconds, the cloth began to ignite and the sail caught flame. Oceane cheered and shouted, "We've got her lit, Cap!"
Theo whooped and ran over to her, "Keep it going! Light her up anywhere you can. Let's sink this ship before we even have to shed blood!"
Oceane nodded and lit another arrow. Theo left her alone and climbed down off the helm she needed to be by the grapplers. Running over to the women lined up against the edge of the deck she looked at The Howler. Not yet, they couldn't grapple just then. Theo waited anxiously. She saw a crew of about 50 on the deck. Holes began to liter the side of the boat while flames began engulfing different areas of it. They had damaged it for good, there was no way Espbar would be able to stop the fire from spreading. She saw men scrambling to stop the damage and she knew they were distracted enough to not combat the grapples that would drag their ship closer to doom.
"Grapplers! Bring her in!" Theo yelled and turned to the rest of her crew, "No one boards that ship! It's a goner and whoever goes on it, ain't coming back. That means that we're going to have a lot of frantic pirates boarding our boat trying to leave the flames! Get ready and bring hell down on them! We take no prisoners tonight, ladies!"
The women around her drew their weapons, some yielded axes, others fought with swords. Morgana came up next to Theo with her Morningstar in hand and nodded towards her Captain, "Ready?"
"As always," Theo drew her sword.
"How many of 'em?" Morgana looked at the ship in front of her.
"Looked to be about 40 or 50 on the whole ship. I reckon not more than 30 will get on," Theo pointed over to Oceane. Now close enough to get accurate shots at people, she was knocking back arrows and sending them flying through chest after chest.
"Thank fuck we've got an archer or we'd be outnumbered," Morgana chuckled and spotted the first pirate straggling over the edge. Morgana took three giant leaps forward, lifted her Morningstar in the air and brought it down over the man's head. He went limp and crashed into the deck below, dead. Theo watched and shook her head, Morgana's strength never ceased to catch her by surprise.
Theo twisted her sword in her hand and pushed down the fear she felt in her stomach and pain shooting through her blisters. She was beginning to see people pour over the edge of her boat and she took a deep breath and charged forward. She wasn't met with much resistance at first. Most of the first men over were panicked and were more interested in escaping the fire than fighting. She almost felt bad cutting them down but it was either them or her crew. By the fourth person she began to encounter a fight and it was getting harder. She had to work a little bit harder and suddenly she found herself engaged in a sword battle that was sending her backward across the deck. She saw the man in front of her miss a step and without hesitation, she plunged her sword into his unguarded chest. She kicked him off her sword and he fell face forward onto the deck, blood seeping out from under him. She twisted her sword in her hand getting ready for the next person. All around her she saw women fighting and men falling to the ground. She took a quick survey of the deck and saw none of her women down, they could handle themselves.
Morgana had picked up an ax and was wildly swinging the Morningstar in one hand and chopping down with the ax in the other. If everyone's life wasn't in danger she would stay back and admire the sight but her life was in danger and so she had to tear her eyes away. She saw Espbar climb over the deck and saw one of her crew run to attack. Espbar was known for his skills in combat and he would cut down half her women without batting an eye. He was big and had the necessary fighting experience.
"Stop!" She yelled, "No one touches him! He's mine."
Espbar chuckled and swung his sword around in his hands, "Oh don't fuss. They'll get plenty of time with me after I've killed their captain. Such a pretty ship. Should thank you for destroying mine, now I've got an excuse to take yours. And you even went out of your way to find the treasure for me, how nice."
"Shut up and fight, coward," She taunted and held her sword up.
He laughed and inched closer, "Shame I'm going to have to kill you. I liked you, really. Refreshing face to see around the Islands. But it'll be one hell of a story, the way I sliced the lady pirate's throat," Espbar raised his sword and swung at Theo with all his strength.
Theo blocked it and continued to defend his blows. She maneuvered around the deck and avoided his attacks as best she could. She wasn't as strong or as tall as him but she was quick and she could outlast him. It was a dance he unknowingly followed and one she had done many times. She felt more confident with each step and he began to look more tired. She began to attack now, every three steps back she pushed forward one.
She saw the perfect opportunity when she was just about backed up against her captain's quarters. Her foot reached to the side and kicked a box in front of her just as Espbar was taking a step. He stumbled forward and before he could catch himself she kicked his sword out of his hand. He stood up and lunged towards her but she sidestepped him while slashing down, cutting his stomach. She stepped behind him as he bent down to touch his wound. Pulling him backward and bringing her sword to his throat she smirked, "Such a shame I'm going to have to kill you. But it'll be one hell of a story, the way I sliced the great Espbar's throat."
With a sickening sound, she drew the sword across his neck and kicked him forward as he choked on the blood seeping out. Some of the men dropped their weapons and ran back to their burning ship, to try and calculate a way out of the situation alive. Others knew they had nowhere else to run and kept fighting. Theo did her part and chased down any pirate that tried to make his way into the ship's inside.
After only ten minutes, it seemed there were no more men left fighting and they removed the grapples from The Howler. As they sailed further away from it, the fire that engulfed it grew bigger. Theo looked around the deck and saw the women looking at her, expecting her to give out directions. She found a crate that would hold her and she stood up, "You are all the best fighters I could have asked for! Those who are not injured, tend those who are! Bring them to the infirmary for Tuni to check out when she gets here. Boatswain and Carpenter, you assign duties of what needs to be cleaned. Morgana and Xyra, with me. We'll dump the bodies."
Theo hopped off of the crate and patted some of the crew on the back as she passed them. Morgana and Xyra approached her and together they began moving the bloody bodies to the edge of the deck. One by one, they threw the bodies over.
"That never gets easier," Xyra said through a pinched expression, examining the blood over her hands and clothes.
Morgana nodded slightly but chose to just wipe the blood off on her pants, "Going to go get Tuni. There are some wounded."
Morgana walked off and Theo raised an eyebrow and turned towards Xyra, "Know what's up with her? She usually glows after some old fashioned killing."
Xyra nodded and began cleaning her blade, "One of the guys that was killed used to be a mate on one of her other ships. Must've been hard for her."
"Yeah. I'll talk to her later when she comes back up. Thanks, Xyra for like, just doing good around here I guess," Theo acknowledged and Xyra nodded in response, patting Theo's back before walking away.
Morgana emerged from the deck with Tuni next to her arm around her shoulders. Tuni looked to be holding onto Morgana's side tightly, worried about her lover that just returned from a fight. Ava, whose hair was still messed up from sleep, walked out behind the couple and looked around. Her nose scrunched up and Theo could tell what the face was for, the smell of blood and death was settled over the deck and Theo remembered the first time she had smelled it. The pungent metallic smell that a person could feel pinching at the back of their throat.
Theo walked over to Ava, "Hey. You're looking a little pale there, friend. You alright?"
Ava nodded and pushed her short hair back, "Yeah. Yeah, just something about being locked in a room not knowing if imminent death awaited us is kinda... shaking."
Theo nodded, "The sight of blood can't be helping. How about I get you some tea and then I can walk you back to your room?"
Ava nodded and looked down at Theo, "Thank you. For real, like, thank you a lot for everything you've done so far."
Theo waved her off and shook her head, "Not to worry. The tea Rose has in her cabinets will calm your nerves. I'm thinking about a cup myself, post-combat jitters."
Theo and Ava walked down to the kitchen and Theo began to gather the materials needed. A kettle, some water, and a tin of tea. Slowly and quietly she began to brew it and Ava watched as she methodically went through the process. She could see Theo's hands trembling a bit as she mixed in the sugar and brought over the cups. They sat together in relative silence, sipping their tea. Ava still noticed how tense Theo was beside her, hands still slightly shaking.
"You alright, Captain?" Ava asked.
Theo flashed her a smile, "Aye, everything is alright. Why do you ask?"
Ava motioned to the shaking teacup and Theo put it down, "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. I don't know what I would have done if I had to be anywhere near the danger. Probably pissed myself." Ava wouldn't have said that last part so easily if she hadn't been so sleepy and out of it but it caused Theo to laugh which in turn made her do the same, "I just asked because I noticed you ask everyone else but no one asks you."
Theo put her hands in her lap and looked at Ava, a bit shocked at how quickly she seemed to be picking things up. She didn't know Ava very well but she seemed to be one of the most adaptable people she ever met. Xyra was talking a lot about how those with last names are spoiled and don't understand their way of life but Ava seemed to be accommodating just fine. Granted, she was the exception as most everyone who boarded the ship usually took way longer to get adjusted.
"After a big fight like that my body doesn't really know how to handle the adrenaline and the nerves so it just spazzes out for a while. It'll calm down though," Theo explained and left her teacup in front of her, not wanting to pick it up again.
"It must be hard to fight like that."
"Oh, no. I don't fight like this. The nerves don't usually kick in until everyone is dead. I kind of like to give my brain no time to think about the fight before I jump into it. Hasn't got me killed yet so it seems to be working."
"Well I'm glad it hasn't gotten you killed," Ava smiled.
"That is very kind of you. I am flattered that you do not want me dead as I can say that most people do," Theo joked and stood up, leaving her teacup on the table, "Here, I'll walk you back to your room."
"Sure, that would be nice thank you," Ava stood up and brought her cup with her. As they walked, Ava felt worry in her stomach. "Theo?"
"Hm?"
"They're gone, right? Like the pirates and stuff?"
Theo nodded and placed an arm gently over her shoulder and squeezed, "Yeah. They're all gone, ship and all."
She let go of her shoulder and silently walked alongside Ava the rest of the way. When Ava got to her door, Theo tipped the captain's hat still on her head and walked away. Ava walked inside and locked her door, falling back into a more rested sleep than before with the threat of pirates gone.
Theo walked back to the deck and observed the crew cleaning and repairing damages. Theo made her rounds around the deck and dismissed most of the crew. She informed all those she dismissed to be up early and they would take the first shift in sailing. All those that had to stay back and swab the deck would get time to sleep in the morning. She thanked them all individually and made her way back to her quarters, excited to relish in the feeling of being alone.
As soon as she unlocked her quarters and shut the door behind her, she sank to the floor. Dried blood stained her clothes and her hands still shook from the nerves of the fight. Her hands were bloodied and raw but she didn't want to get her wounds dressed by Tuni just yet. She felt fat hot tears begin to fall onto her cheeks and each breath became more ragged than the last. It was times like these that Theo felt her age, really felt small and inexperienced. She knew that every risk she took meant the risk of failure and the death of the crew was right around the corner. That pressure sometimes became too much to keep in. She let the sobs rack through her chest and after a while, she composed herself enough to take deep breaths. and managed to get up. Stripping her dirty clothes, she got into her bed and let her exhaustion from the long sun take her into a heavy sleep.