Chapter Text
'That cursed Milo..' She thought as she laid there, her wound being tended to by boney, cold hands. Why she was still there, minus the wound, with one of the reasons she was in this state was beyond her. The two had not spoken a word to eachother since it happened, relying on body language and gestures. Maybe it was better that way, plus the crew would eat her alive had they known she was in the Skin-Taker's cabin. At the same time, she wanted to socialise but she was away from her friends. Gods, she hated it. "I'm sorry this happened to you." Skin-Taker spoke after all this time. "You told him to do it, didn't you?" She hated being this dismissive but it couldn't be helped. He sighed and went back to tending to her wounds, his movements as careful as ever. Were he not, well, Skin-Taker, she would've felt bad but he was one of the reasons she was there. He seemed to feel bad, as weird as it was, for what Milo did.
"You told him to kill someone he loves, you should've known this would happen." What did he expect? That Milo wouldn't do it? It made no sense to her. "When I said that, I meant Poppy. I hate that guy so had Milo killed him, we wouldn't have this problem." She supposed that made more sense, Milo really loves his older brother. In a way, she saw why he attacked her instead of his brother. It still hurt and she had one hell of a painful reminder. Why would he tell her after weeks, months even, of tending to her? Maybe because she never felt need for clarification. But that blonde bastard turned on her almost instantly because of a stupid rivalry. Percy never did anything that extreme because of it, if anything, he let Milo be mean to him. "Well, I suppose that changes things a little.." Skin-Taker helped her sit up, carefully holding her in case she needed extra support. "I'm good, thanks." He let go, backing up to give her space. It was certainly sweet of him. In a way. Sariah did feel strange being here and so close to Skin-Taker in a non-malicious context. It was oddly calming though, given the tone he used with her and the whole 'patching her up' thing he did. "I want revenge."
"What?" He sounded confused, understandable given who was talking. "I want revenge on that bastard, Milo." Well, he can't say she's joking. Everything about how she said it and looked at him said she was serious. He said he'd think about it before leaving. It bothered him. How could it not? She was a princess, a saint, in comparison to many. Revenge should not be in her vocabulary or a thought in her head. And yet, she said it so clearly and seriously. He should tell her that she shouldn't, that it would be too dangerous. But then again, it would save him work and he did believe in kicking ass indiscriminately, including a short, bitter princess. Plus, he was Skin-Taker, why tell her no? Useful is useful. Walking back in, he agreed to help her. "But you need another week of healing before you're in revenge shape." Yes, he cringed when he said that but it worked, somehow. She agreed to stay put and heal on the condition of company. "Company?" There were many on The Crackerjack but none that were good company. Horace was socially inept, as were Joe and Hans. Phillip fly would annoy her, Black Teeth might eat her and Kurt was awful around pretty women. Why couldn't he give her company? Well, she was too familiar, too trusting. Besides, he liked his privacy.
He realised he forgot Sunny. Sunny was quiet. Probably too quiet. He didn't trust anyone as far as he could throw him, and due to his new prosthetic arms, he could throw most pretty far. But if anyone was least likely to hurt her, it was him. "Alright, I'll send Sunny right over. If he gives you trouble, tell me." Sunny was a name Sariah heard a lot but she didn't know much about that person. Except for what they look like, that is. Sunny was intimidating, quiet and seemed to hate everyone. But someone was better than no one. Naturally, she agreed. Skin-Taker left to go get Sunny, leaving her to her thoughts. How hard could it be to talk to Sunny? He surely talks to someone, he can't not. Sunny might be fun to talk to. As they say, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Skin-Taker brought him in, Sunny seeming tired. "Sunny, Sariah. You know her. Keep her company." And with that, he left. Sunny sat down in a chair next to Sariah, not looking at her. Usually Sariah would be offended but this was a Rubberfish, who surprisingly didn't smell like rum or death, and the quietest one. Sariah picked up on the book he had in his lap, seeing that it was a horror novel she saw Percy of all people reading. "That's a good book from what I've heard." Sunny raised an eyebrow and looked up a little. "Percy told me about it, even offered to lend it to me. Do you like it?" He nodded, placing a bookmark in.
"You don't have to stop reading, I don't mind." She received a shrug but Sunny didn't look her in the eyes still. The lady thought on how to communicate with him, knowing he was unlikely to talk back. Yes or no questions seemed to be the way to go. "Do you like Skin-Taker?" A look of disgust and a firm shake of the head told her no. Kinda surprising but it was best not to push. "Um.. Sunny... Oh! Do you like yellow?" It seemed like a childish question but Sunny nodded. Sariah chuckled a little before coughing, gripping her wound. Sunny instantly stood up and moved to rub her back, trying to soothe her. "I-I shouldn't l-laugh, got it." It was strange to have someone else touching her. Don't get her wrong, Skin-Taker touching her was strange but she was used to it. Sunny, however, was a different ball park. However, both Sunny and Skin-Taker touched her carefully, clearly avoiding any area that would be uncomfortable. Sunny didn't even seem to want to check her wound, clearly avoiding her chest, which was appreciated. "I'm okay, don't worry." The quiet pirate audibly huffed at the insinuation of worry, sitting back down and reading his book again. And now, she was back to square one. At least she knew a couple things. Sariah just laid back down, staring at the painting so the ceiling. She never really got tired of looking at it. No clue who painted it though as Skin-Taker never said. Still, it was beautiful. The silence wasn't as uncomfortable as it was with Skin-Taker but she figured it was due to the reputation of the other, who was still reading. It was weird how Sunny hadn't left but she figured he was just doing as he was told, keeping her company.
Even if Sunny hated Skin-Taker, he could still be scared of him, and that's why he hadn't left. She tried not to think about it, keeping her sights on the ceiling. Skin-Taker soon walked in with his and Sariah's food. Why he needed to eat was beyond her. "Thank you Sunny, you are dismissed." Sunny rolled his eye before walking out, waving goodbye to Sariah. She sat up again, taking a moment to catch her breath and Skin-Taker placed the plate in her lap. He cooked their meals, making sure Sariah didn't end up sick and Sariah had yet to not finish her plate. "He wasn't too mean, was he?" She shook her head, saying that he was 'just quiet'. Skin-Taker nodded in understanding before sitting where Sunny did before he left and starting to eat. The lady started eating too, taking breaks to breathe properly. He wanted to say something but he was unsure what. He hadn't had a proper conversation with a living human in years so it was awkward. Sariah wanted to say something too but was unable to get a reading on the skeleton. In battle, he was quite temperamental but she didn't know if he'd take to conversation well. "Say um.. the painting on your ceiling is very pretty." He noticeably flinched at the sudden comment. "Thank you, I painted it." Surprisingly, Skin-Taker didn't sound cocky, instead sounding nervous. Oh, so he could paint, and really well too. Man was he full of surprises. It wasn't an unpleasant surprise. "My parents tried to get me into painting but I could never find a personal interest in it." Naturally, she took to gardening instead, she loved flowers.
"It's not for everyone. I just like colour." Of course he did, she was always just scared to say anything. After their small conversation, they kept eating, returning to the uncomfortable silence. Even the water was still and silent, meaning neither could listen to that. For some reason, Skin-Taker was who she trusted most at the moment, given how he could've finished her off or tortured her but chose to save her instead. It's not like she wanted to trust him, she'd rather pull out all her teeth one by one if she was honest, but it was better to ally with him than fight with him.