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Allison tripped over her skirts as she was roughly shoved through the doorway. She tried not to fall onto the rough cobblestones of the street as she stumbled forward. Just when she felt like she was about to right herself her foot caught on the uneven stones of the street and she felt herself tip forward.
She closed her eyes and reached her palms forward, bracing for the jolting impact that was sure to scratch up her hands. Before she fell to the ground though she felt two strong hands wrap around her upper arms and steady her, pausing her fall to the ground.
She opened her eyes quickly and looked up at her savior as she righted herself.
Her eyes locked first on the simple chain around their neck, adorned with a cross and what looked like a trident. Her eyes moved further up and Allison felt her checks heat as she got her first proper look at who had saved her from face planting into the dirty street.
Soft features and startling eye’s were only accentuated by the multicolored hair and startled expression.
The girl quickly took her hands off Allison’s arms when she realized Allison had righted herself, Allison missed the feeling of her rough palms against her skin.
“Are you alright?” The girl asked, her voice was soft and it felt like drinking warm tea on a cool day as it leaked into Allison’s ears.
Allison just nodded dumbly and continued to stare at the girl. Now that she had a minute to take in her full appearance she noticed the loose and simple attire that was signature of someone who didn’t make a lot of money. Allison then noticed the knife sheath wrapped around the girls waist, contrary to her plain look the sheath was made of a sturdy looking leather and the handle of the knife was so ornately carved with what looked to be an intricate floral pattern. A hand came up to wrap around the handle of the knife protectively and Allison caught a flash of what seemed to be a fox design tattooed on the girl’s forearm.
“See you around.” The girl said quickly, clearly worried for the safety of her knife, before she turned around to walk the opposite direct.
“Wait!” Allison called quickly, grabbing the girl’s arm before she moved forward. “Are you with a ship?”
The girl turned slowly, reaching out to tug down the sleeve of her shirt so she could hide the mark that had clued Allison in on the girl’s profession.
“No.” The girl said definitively and turned to leave again.
“Wait, wait!” Allison moved to catch up with the girl but she was surprisingly quick for her small stature and Allison’s skirts were slowing her down.
“Please!” She called again in a last-ditch effort to make the girl stop.
She noticed the girls pace slow before she abruptly stopped and turned, causing Allison to almost run into her.
“What is it?” The girl asked, exasperated.
“Can I join?”
The girl’s eyebrows immediately furrowed and she looked confused, eyeing Allison from the curls still perfectly in place on her head to her fancy heeled shoes.
“You want to join our ship?” The girl had started to look at Allison as though she was mad, “We don’t take princesses, sorry.”
The girl started walking away again and Allison groaned in frustration.
Fuck it she thought to herself as she kicked off her shoes and started running to catch the girl.
She was easy to spot with her bright hair and Allison quickly caught up to her, panting lightly as she moved to stand in front of her, putting hands on her shoulders to halt her.
“Please,” she tried again, “I need to get away from here.”
The girl eyed her again, Allison couldn’t read the look on her face as she studied Allison.
They stared at each other in silence for a moment before the girl in front of her huffed.
“Fine, I’ll take you to our captain. The rest is up to you.”
Allison sighed out in relief, “Thank you, I owe you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. Our captain’s a hard-ass, you’ll be lucky to step a foot on deck.” The girl lightly pushed Allison out of the way before walking off in the direction she had been going. Figuring that was Allison’s cue to follow she turned and walked after the girl, winching as the cobblestones pressed on her bare feet.
“No.” Wymack said.
Renee sighed, she was almost certain that was going to be his reaction and the only reason she was willing to fight him on it was the look of desperation she’d seen on the other girl’s face. The wide-eyed look with a flicker of brief terror and uncertainty every now and then.
“Can you just meet her? I think she’d be a good fit for the crew.” What Renee was trying to say was that the girl was just as stubborn as the rest of them and willing to fight to get her way.
“Are you sure it’s not just your hormones trying to get you to help the pretty girl?”
Renee flushed and sneered at him, obviously she’d noticed the girl’s attractiveness. Her cheekbones sharp, nose rounded and soft, a perfect slope from the side view. Renee was glad the girl’s hair had been up or she might have spent hours staring at the way the highlights of blonde glittered in the sunlight.
“No,” She assured Wymack, “I really think she’d be a good fit. I think she needs somewhere to go.”
Wymack huffed and brought a hand up to his face rubbing over it in exasperation.
“If it was any of the other’s I’d say no.” He said and Renee felt her shoulder’s drop slightly, “But you’ve always been the best judge of character on this ship. If you think she will fit then I’m willing to meet her.”
Renee bit back a smile and felt how unsuccessful she was at it in the curving of her lips.
“She’s waiting on the dock.” Renee said and turned to leave the room.
Renee sighed as they walk to the girl waiting on the dock for them, her hands are wringing together in front of her and she was nervously eyeing every sailor as they walked past her.
“Hello.” She greets them timidly as they approach her, turning to search Renee’s eye’s hopefully, trying to find an answer in them.
“So,” Wymack says as they get closer to her, “you want a spot on my ship?”
“Yes please,” The girl hesitates, “captain.”
Instead of coming out confident the girl’s tone is shaky and questioning, as if she doesn’t know if she’d used the right word.
Wymack makes an appraising noise as he studies the girl in front of them.
“I usually wouldn’t even consider it, but Renee defended you and I trust her judgement. She wouldn’t do that for just anyone.”
The girl turns a surprised look to Renee and Renee raises an eyebrow and shrugs slightly.
“Why do you want a spot on The Fox? You look like you have a pretty nice set up here?”
Wymack’s eye’s pan down to the string of pearls around the girl’s neck before moving down to her dress, decorated with expensive jewels and lace.
“I need to… get away. My family, they, they want to marry me off and I, well-. I don’t want that.” The girl’s voice petters off at the end of her sentence and her eye’s get a faraway look.
“And what makes you think you can survive any easier on a ship?”
The girls eye’s lose the faraway look and she suddenly looks sharply and determinedly at Wymack.
“It might not be an easier life but at least I’ll be free.” Her eyes don’t stray from Wymack’s as he looks at her warily.
“Fine, you’re in.” Renee’s eyebrows raise in quiet surprise, she really hadn’t thought Wymack would agree to having the girl join the crew. “But one fuck up and you’re off at the next dock, got it Princess?”
The girl nods quickly and Renee can tell she’s trying to hold back a grin.
“Thank you Captain. I won’t let you down.”
Wymack just sighs and rolls his eye’s.
“Call me Wymack, we’ll introduce the rest of the crew when they’re back. I presume you’ve met Renee.”
The girl turns to Renee, her eye’s sparking in excitement.
“Renee,” she tests the name on her tongue. “I’m Allison.”
Allison reaches a hand out and Renee takes it and shakes it slowly, her hands are soft with none of the rough callouses that Renee’s hands have gained from years on The Fox.
Allison winches as the rope roughly scrapes against the freshly burst blister’s on her hand.
“Don’t worry, your hands will harden up soon enough.” Allison can’t remember the name of the boy crouched beside her helping her learn the different knots. She thought a week would be enough time for her hands to turn to the rough leathery texture that the rest of the crew had but apparently not.
She’d been introduced to everyone on her first night onboard but only a few of the names stuck in her head. Renee and Wymack she remembered. She thinks she remembers hearing the name Dan but she can’t remember who it belongs to.
Allison just nods and looks down at the rope in her hands, avoiding looking at the pink exposed skin on her palms.
Left hand rope over, or was it under?
She sighed looking up from the knot, if you could call it that. Her eyes caught on a flash of multicolour and she looked up to spot Renee walking across the deck.
She had a red scarf tied around the top of her head and the tails of it hung down her back, she made walking across the bustling deck look easy. She dodged the people constantly walking past and pulled on multiply ropes, checking the slack, as she went.
“Oh.” She heard a voice beside her say and turned to the voice beside her. The man was already looking back at her. “I was wondering why you gave up on your knot.” He gave her a cheeky wink that made her cheeks turn pink before she looked down at the rope in her hand again. Trying the bowline knot again from scratch.
“She helped you join right? Renee?” The man inquired next to her.
Allison just nodded her head, pushing back a plait of hair behind her ear.
“I’m surprised, it usually takes her ages to warm up to people. I thought she wanted to kill me for the first three years I knew her.”
Allison turns, giving the man a shocked look.
“Oh yeah,” he says through a laugh. “Renee is the most kind and caring person I know, once you get to know her, but it takes a long time to earn her trust. I’ve never seen her be nice to a stranger. You must be special.”
That causes Allison’s cheeks to pinken again and she looks down at the rope to avoid the man’s eye’s.
“What’s your name?” She asks, more to change the subject than actual interest. She was fine calling him ‘the tall one’ in her head.
He laughs at her question.
“I’m Matt.” And Allison repeats the name in her head to cement it.
“It’s hard, learning everyone’s name. Let me know if you ever need a reminder.”
“I don’t really know anyone’s names.” Allison admits with a mumble, “Well, except Wymack and Renee.”
Matt nods seriously and looks up from his rope.
He points to the direction of the person currently manning the steering wheel of the ship.
“Well, that’s Dan. My girlfriend.” He stops pointing and looks back at Renee. “I scored big right?”
Matt turns back to the deck, pointing next to the man she’d nicknamed ‘two’ due to the number tattooed right under his eye.
“That’s Kevin. Then there’s Nicky.” Matt’s hand moved to the different people as he introduced them and Allison made sure to pay attention to the names this time.
“Then there’s Aaron and Andrew. They’re pretty hard to tell apart, I know, but Andrew always has the bandages around his forearms so keep an eye out for those.”
Allison nods but doesn’t admit for that for at least the first three day’s she’d thought the two boys, Andrew and Aaron, had been the same person. It wasn’t until dinner one night when she’d seen them both in the same room that she’d realised they were separate people, much to her own surprise.
“Thanks.” Allison said as Matt finished pointing around the boat.
“Anytime.” Matt said with a large and compelling grin. “I’m here to help. I’m even willing to wingman for you, with ya know.” He gave her shoulder a gentle nudge and whispered “Renee.”
Allison just grinned rolling her eyes, “I think I’ll need a whole wingteam to win her over.”
Matt just laughed and continued to help her with the knot.
The boat swayed aggressively from side to side as the waves crashed into it heavily. Allison closed her eyes and tried to ignore it as her hammock swayed with the movements of the ship.
She felt another uncomfortable roll of her stomach and got quickly out of her hammock. Dodging the other sleeping figures as she rushed out from under the deck up the stairs running across the deck to violently throw up over the side, just managing to make it in time to avoid it spilling over the front of her clothes and the deck.
She heaved as her stomach emptied itself again. She felt the unconscious tears that come with vomiting rise to her eyes and she watched as a dribble of mucus leaked from her nose.
She groaned as her stomach finished emptying itself and leaned her forehead against the handrail, crossing her arms and resting them on the railing as well.
She suddenly felt a hand at her back, rubbing gently up and down. She felt another hand gently gather the hair fallen into her face and pile it on her back, tucking strands behind her ears.
She opened her eye’s slightly and turned her head, still leaned against the handrail to see who had come to comfort her.
Her eye’s widened when she realized it was Renee, who was looking out into the dark of the angry ocean. Allison hastened to wipe the snot off her face with her sleeve.
“You get used to it eventually,” Renee said as she looked down to Allison, she seemed slightly surprised to see Allison looking back at her. “Are you ok?”
Allison nodded and then immediately felt her stomach disagree as another wave crashed into them. She leaned back over the railing and threw up again, surprised that she had anything more than bile left in her stomach.
She was too busy being sick to notice the hand wrapped around her hair and rubbing her back again.
Allison groaned as her stomach finished upending itself again.
“Here,” a hand appeared in her peripheral, “eat this.”
Allison groaned at the offer of food, the last thing she felt like doing was eating.
“It’ll help, I promise.”
Despite her stomachs protest she took the small cube from Renee’s hand and put it into her mouth. She chewed it for a second, it felt like eating a potato before it had been cooked and a strange flavour spread in her mouth but miraculously, it seemed to help.
Allison pulled in a deep breath “What was that?” She didn’t feel strong enough to move her head off the handrailing but heard shuffling from Renee.
She opened her eye’s only to see Renee staring right back from under her. Allison was bent at a ninety degree angle against the railing and it left enough room under her for Renee to crawl in and sit, with her back against the solid wood of the handrailing, her feet spread out inbetween Allison’s own. The two of them made a rectangle shape, their heads now close together.
“Ginger,” Renee said as she looked up with a slightly awkward craning of her neck. “Don’t throw up on me ok?”
Allison stared down at Renee, taking her time to study the girls face. She couldn’t see much detail in the pale moonlight and soft lamplight that was coming from the deck but she could make out the girls expression. Her lips curved slightly and her eyebrows drawn with a hint of concern.
“Ok.” Allison said softly.
Renee reached up and Allison held her breath, despite how bad that probably was for her upset stomach.
Renee’s hand caught a strand of hair that had fallen and tucked it gently behind Allison’s ear, her hand lingering on the shell of Allison’s ear as she did.
Renee didn’t move her hand after she’d moved the hair, instead she moved it to cup Allison’s jaw, tracing her thumb lightly back and forth under Allison’s eye.
Allison let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes.
“Oh,” She suddenly heard from next to her head. “You’re new.”
Allison’s head shot up and she screamed as her eye’s locked onto eerie blue eye’s clearly on the wrong side of the boat.
Allison stumbled backwards, both from shock and the fact that Renee had just pushed up from her seat on the deck and was turning to face the…thing that had popped up on the other side of the boat.
Allison watched as the thing ducked it’s head behind the handrail, pure blue eyes and webbed fingers peeking out from above the railing.
As Renee spotted what had startled Allison her stance, which had been crouched and tense, immediately relaxed. Her shoulders dropped and she straightened up.
“Neil.” Allison heard her say and the human looking thing slowly rose up from behind the railing.
Allison studied what was in front of her. Even in the dim light Allison could see the eerie blue of it’s eyes, pure cerulean with no pupils or sclera. Instead of ears there were what looked like fins, his skin shimmered when the moonlight hit it and Allison realised he was covered in a light layer of scales. And when he smiled, his teeth were sharp and pointed, Allison repressed a shudder.
The thing watched her as she hid behind Renee, those uncanny eyes following her as she did. Suddenly Renee turned to Allison and she had to take a step back to stop their noses bumping together.
“Um this is Neil.” She said and gestured at the creature behind her.
“Hi.” It said, it’s voice was cheery and it smiled as it greeted her.
“Hi,” Allison hesitantly returned.
“Sorry for scaring you.” The grin was still there but it did nothing to reassure Allison, the pointy teeth were very off-putting.
“He’s a mermaid.” Renee said, she must have noticed Allison’s wary look, “And Andrew’s boyfriend.”
For some reason the second statement was more shocking than the first.
“Andrew?” Her voice coming out high pitched. “The little angry one. How’d he-“
Neil laughs at her shock and Renee looks amused.
“Don’t let him hear you call him that.” Renee said with a smirk.
“Speaking of that little angel, where is he?”
Renee scoffs, “Probably sleeping, do you want me to get him?”
Before Neil can answer though Allison hears shuffling behind her and Neil’s eye’s lock on something behind her and a magnificent grin spreads over his face. She turns to spot Andrew slowly walking up the stairs rubbing his eyes and yawning.
“Hurry up lover boy or I’ll flop myself on your deck like a fresh catch!”
Andrew rolls his eyes at Neil’s exclamation but Allison notices his feet speed up a bit.
When Andrew reaches Neil he reaches out, a webbed hand catching each side of Andrew’s face as he pulls him in for a kiss. Allison watches in amazement as Andrew seems to soften under the merman’s touch. They break apart and their foreheads rest against each other.
“I missed you.” She hears Neil say quietly.
Andrew hums, “Missed you too.”
Feeling like she’s intruding, Allison turns, ready to face the rolling of her stomach below deck where she doesn’t have to interrupt such a private movement.
She starts walking to the stairs below deck, noticing Renee walking along with her, but hears Neil call her name as she takes a step forward.
She turns and Neil is beckoning her over with a hand. Allison turns to Renee confused but Renee just shrugs.
Allison slowly walks over to Neil, as she get’s closer she gets a better look at Neil, the eyes are even eerier up close but his grin is as big and as careless as a little boy in a sweet shop and it calms her slightly.
When she’s in front of him, Andrew having moved out of the way for her, Neil reaches a hand out, hovering it in front of Allison. His nails are just as sharp and pointy as his teeth, almost claw like.
“Can I touch you?” He asks.
Allison draws her eyebrows together in confusion but gives him a hesitant nod.
He reaches forward and places a webbed hand on Allison’s stomach, his hand is cold even through the material of Allison’s shirt.
Allison watches in fascination as water slowly flows over Neil’s body, rising up from his torso to his chest before working along his arm, it looks like when rain hits a window pane and quickly rushes down.
The water eventually comes to Neil’s hands and soaks into Allison’s shirt. As soon as she feels the cold water hit her stomach her nausea stops. She almost buckles with relief.
The waves around them continue to pound into the boat but she feels fine. She looks up to Neil’s face in amazement, he’s grinning and he slowly removes his hand from her.
“Pretty cool right?”
Allison’s head just bobs up and down her mouth opening and closing as she tries to think of something to say.
“Thank you.” Is all she manages to get out.
“Anytime. It should last until the morning at least. Hopefully the waves have settled down by then.”
Allison continues to stare and as she watches that carefree grin she wonders how she was ever scared of him.
Eventually Andrew must get fed up with her and pushes her out of the way standing in front of Neil again.
Neil laughs at him.
“Such a grumpy boy.” Neil admonishes him.
“This is what happens when you wake me up in the middle of the night fishboy.”
Neil laughs at him but Andrew is wrapping an arm around Neil’s neck and pulling him close so he mustn’t be too angry.
Allison turns then with one last look at the wonderous boy before heading over to the stairs, Renee beside her as she goes.
“Did you know he could do that?” Allison asks quietly as they walk down the stairs.
Renee nods but Allison struggles to make it out in the weak light.
“I knew he could heal cuts and broken bones. I suppose it makes sense he’d be able to do sickness, I’d never seen him do it before though.”
“He’s amazing.” Allison thinks she’s in a little bit of shock.
Renee laughs, “Him being able to tame Andrew is the real amazement.”
They both laugh and Renee reaches out, taking Allison’s hand giving it a quick squeeze before trailing her hand slowly back to her side.
“Goodnight.” She whispers and walks back to her hammock.
Allison does the same and is glad the dark room hides her furiously blushing cheeks.
“Ok, just stay back. Only use this if you need to. But your first option is getting back on the ship, ok?” Renee pushes a fancy wooden pistol into her palm.
“Ok.” Allison says resolutely. She’d begged Wymack to let her help them with the next ship siege, arguing that three months aboard was more than enough time to learn what she needed to help. Now the time had come and her heart was racing but she wouldn’t admit it to anyone, least of all Wymack who she’d groveled to for this opportunity.
“Do you know how to use it?” Renee asked as she watched Allison hold the gun, she had it clutched between her finger and thumb, like a smelly piece of clothing.
Allison looked up to Renee and shook her head.
“Right,” Renee said, taking the gun back, “So here’s the trigger.”
After Allison had been given a rundown on how to use the gun the crew were all calling to meet on the main deck.
Allison had watched them do this before, the way they seamlessly moved together to undertake a perfect capture. Wymack didn’t like overtaking merchant ships, not wanting to hurt innocents, but it made their whole operation a lot more dangerous. A ship of pirates was a lot harder to fight then a ship full of merchants. This had been one of Wymacks arguments for Allison to sit out but she was sick of watching from the sidelines as her crewmates got hurt while she sat and did nothing.
So the time had come and she didn’t feel ready at all.
“I’ll keep an eye on you ok?” Renee said, wrapping a hand around Allison’s. “And if you do get hurt Neil can patch you up in a second. Not that that will happen. But you’ll be ok.”
Allison nods slowly, her heart is still beating fiercely in her chest and her palms are slick with sweat.
“Ok,” Allison said closing her eye’s and taking a deep breath. Suddenly she was enveloped in arms, she opened her eyes quickly and looked down to see the top of Renee’s head, tied in her signature red scarf. Allison quickly wrapped her arms around Renee squeezing tightly before the hug could end. Renee fit perfectly against Allison, her head tucked under Allison’s chin and arms around her waist and despite the warmth soaking from Renee to her, Allison felt a shiver go through her body.
Eventually Renee pulled back and Allison hesitantly let go.
Renee stood next to her and Allison looked at the rest of the crew spread near the railing. Matt caught her eye and gave her a wink, Allison wasn’t sure if he’d caught the hug or if he was just encouraging her for her first fight. She sent him a shaky smile back anyway.
Slowly the crew started moving to the small boats they would use to get closer to the ship they were attacking.
Neil had scoped the other boat for them, gathering vital information about where the defenses were and where the best place to board the ship would be.
He’d also made sure that there were a number of dangerous creatures in the ocean below the ship so that if any of the crew tried to make an escape overboard it would quickly be stopped.
Allison was in a boat with Renee, Andrew, Wymack and Nicky and was told that she was to be the last one to climb the grappling hooks rope and onto the other ship.
Allison watched as Andrew leaned over slightly, letting his hand drag lightly in the water. She watched as he smiled softly, surprised to see a smile on Andrew’s face and looked to the water to see the signature shimmering of Neil’s scales.
Neil had somehow got a pod of dolphins to push their boats. There seemed to be no end to what that boy could do, and it made their operation a lot safer. Both ensuring they had less time to be spotted by the other boat and ensuring they weren’t too tired from rowing by the time they reached the other boat.
Allison stood with her back against the railing of the ship, fingers clutched tightly around the pistol Renee had handed her as she stared hopelessly around. Everywhere she looked there seemed to chaos. Men jumping overboard, the Foxes ruthlessly cutting down those who didn’t. Of course they’d all been given the option of surrender but it seemed one of them were too keen on that idea so they fought but even to Allison’s novice eye’s she knew they would lose.
The foxes were efficient and worked together so brilliantly Allison would be amazed if she weren’t so horrified. Already the deck was slick with blood and the screams of men filled the air.
As she watched on she suddenly felt a hand grab at her hair, tugging her backwards, a hand clamped around her mouth.
She felt her heartrate spike and she immediately started struggling against the man, she fumbled with the gun in her hands, trying to think of a way she’d be able to fire it at the man so close behind her.
“Don’t struggle sweetheart. If I’m going to die you at least owe me a bit of fun.” The hand that had been tangled in her hair moved down to her waist as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against his body.
Allison gagged as she felt the man against her and her struggles against him increased to a frantic level. But just as the man started pulling her backwards, to a quieter area of the ship, Allison heard a whooshing noise and felt a sharp sting against her cheek before she registered a sound she’d never heard before but seemed like a wet squelch.
The hands holding her suddenly released and she stumbled forwards, straight into somebodies arms.
She screamed as she felt the arms tighten around her and started to struggle against them. The arms almost immediately let her go.
“Allison.” She heard her own name and looked up, seeing Renee looking at her with the most concerned expression she’d ever seen on the other girl’s face.
Allison relaxed in relief and moved forward again, wrapping the girl in the embrace she’d just denied.
“Oh God,” She whispered against Renee’s ear, “Thank you.”
Renee just squeezed her hard in return and Allison hung on just as desperately.
“Is it over?” Allison asked, scared to open her eye’s and see that she and Renee were hugging as the carnage waged on around them.
“It’s over.” Renee told her and it was only then that Allison was able to open her eye’s and step back from Renee.
She looked around her, the bodies of men were laying everywhere, Allison tried not to let her eye’s linger too long on each man. When she finally turned around she saw the man who’d assaulted her. He had a knife handle sticking from his eye that Allison now realized must have been Renee’s work.
She moved toward him, noticing the gun on the ground that must have slipped out of her fingers. Standing over the now dead man she didn’t feel a hint of regret.
Instead she leaned down, pulled Renee’s flower adorned knife from his eye. She wiped it on his shirt, making sure both sides were clean before she stood up again, walking over to hand Renee her knife.
“Thank you.” She said again as she handed it over.
“I told you I’d keep an eye on you,” Renee said with a soft smile, “Sorry I nicked you though.”
She reached up and wiped a thumb against Allison’s cheek, Allison shivered a bit at the contact and saw that Renee’s thumb came away stained red with blood. Renee must have hit her when she flung the knife at her attacker.
“Neil will be able to heal it but I think it might leave a scar.” Renee said with a frown.
“It’s alright.” Allison truly meant the words, she was happy to just be alive, “He and I can match.”
She smiled at Renee and Renee looked back at her with what seemed like awe.
“You’re not what I expected you know that Reynolds.”
Allison just grinned at her, a slight flush to her cheeks as she felt a drop of blood drip down her cheek.
Allison sat at the end of the boat, her legs dangling over the edge as she stared at black abyss below. The ocean at night always fascinated her, the way it would almost completely disappear on the clouded nights and when you looked down it seemed as though they were floating on nothing, or on the nights the moonlight was bright it would shimmer off the surface and paint the ocean a deep silver.
She kicked her legs lightly against the stern of the ship thinking back on the day. Neil had healed the nick on her cheek and she now had a faint scar in it’s place. She wouldn’t admit it but she was glad to have something to show that she fit in a little bit more with The Foxes they all had scars across their bodies and hardened hands that she hadn’t managed to quite get. Her hands just seemed to be one perpetual blister. Dan had assured her that they’d harden up eventually, but Allison had her doubts.
“Hey.”
The soft voice from behind her made her jump slightly, she hadn’t heard any footsteps. She turned to see Renee standing behind her, hands behind her back.
“I have a present for you.”
Allison quirked an eyebrow at her as Renee moved forward slowly.
“Close your eyes.”
Allison complied, a soft smile tugging at her lips. The night was dark enough that she could barely see anything anyway but she squeezed her eye’s shut as she heard Renee move forward.
She tried not to flinch as she felt something placed on her head and then a hand trail through her hair lightly.
“Ok, open.”
Allison did, only to see Renee crouched beside her. She smiled at the girl, the pale moonlight was reflecting off her skin and Allison tried not to stare.
She crossed her eye’s as she tried to see what Renee had put on her head.
She saw what looked like the point of a signature pirate hat and gasped, reaching up to feel the telling triangle shape.
“Did you steal this off a dead guy?” Allison asked with shock as she turned to look at Renee, who’d sat down in the same position as Allison.
Renee laughed lightly, “Well he wasn’t dead when I stole it.”
Allison laughed a little, only slightly mortified that she was laughing at the thought of a dead man.
“Do I look the part now?” Allison asked.
Her eye’s drank in the profile of Renee’s face before the other girl turned to look at her, eye’s moving leisurely across Allison’s face.
“You look beautiful.”
Allison felt her cheeks instantly and furiously heat and Allison was pretty sure Renee would be able to see her blush even in the dim light.
Allison turned back to the ocean, avoiding Renee’s gaze as she tried to settle the butterflies stirring in her stomach.
“You did well today, you know?”
Allison shook her head, “I almost got killed.”
Renee hummed a little, “But you didn’t. And you’re here now. That’s more than a lot of pirates can say for their first siege.”
They both sat in silence for a minute longer.
“Do you regret it? Joining us?”
Allison thought for a moment before she shook her head with a firm “No.”
“I miss my family sometimes but they-“ Allison’s voice cracked and she had to pause to breath as memories came flooding back.
Suddenly she felt her hand engulfed in warmth and she looked down to see Renee’s fingers wrapped around her hand, resting against the deck. Allison flipped her hand and laced her fingers through Renee’s, squeezing tightly as she continued on.
“They wanted to marry me off.” She took a deep breath, “I know it’s not really a big deal, it happens all the time but I just. I couldn’t. I would have hated that life.”
“Was he ugly?”
The laugh that was pulled from Allison was completely involuntary and loud. She lifted her other hand to clamp it over her move, trying to muffle the sound.
She shook her head. “No he was ok. He was just well, he was a he. I’m not really into that.”
Allison’s voice trailed off as she finished her sentence. She didn’t look over to see Renee but the hand in hers didn’t move which she took as a good sign.
“Allison.”
Allison had never heard Renee use that tone of voice, it was soft, almost reverential.
She turned to look at the other girl.
Renee was staring at her and Allison let herself look book, eye’s moving from red scarf, tied around Renee’s forehead to her eye’s, the blue in them barely visible. Renee was staring right back at her and Allison couldn’t help the way her eye’s flicked to Renee’s lips. Her cupids bow an almost ‘v’ shape on her heart shaped lips.
Allison wasn’t sure if it was her or Renee who moved forward, or maybe it was both of them, but suddenly there was only inches between them.
Allison may not have been sure which of them had leaned in but she knew she was the one to close the gap. She leaned forward, lips pressing against Renee’s desperately. The other girl gasped and Allison used the opening of her mouth to slide her tongue along the her bottom lip, shuddering lightly.
Renee leaned into the contact, kissing back with just as much ferocity. Renee’s hand moved up, pulling the hat from Allison’s head. Allison wasn’t sure where it went because suddenly there was a hand desperately clutched in her hair and Allison whimpered as Renee tugged at it lightly, causing Allison to tilt her head and the angle of their kiss deepened.
Eventually they both pulled away, gasping as if they’d been stuck under water. Renee’s hand was still clutched in Allison’s hair and she used it to guide her forward until Allison’s head was resting against her shoulder.
Allison turned her head and tucked herself against Renee’s neck. Renee’s hand eventually loosened, fingers loosely brushing through Allison’s curls.
Allison looked out at the ocean past Renee’s neck and a smile crossed her face. She wasn’t sure how she’d gotten this lucky.