Work Text:
“Heard you’re looking for work.”
Demeter jumped as a voice spoke directly in her ear. She twisted in her seat as a scarlet Queen sidled around her table and sat down in front of her.
“I’m sorry?” Demeter said, suddenly feeling very overwhelmed. The Queen before her was a vision – she was tall, easily as tall as Munkustrap, had a sharp, intelligent look about her, and was just overall stunning. Demeter swallowed hard. The Queen was wearing a white boat neck blouse with big puffy sleeves, a thick black leather belt over a loose green checked slit skirt, and a massive fancy hat with a purple feather. She was adorned with numerous weapons as well, from pistols to a curved sword. Very clearly, this was not a Cat to mess with.
“Work. You’re looking for it? What can you do?” the Queen asked, swiping the hat from her head with a flourish and raising a brow. Demeter flushed, and forced herself to look her in the eye.
“I- yes, I was told you would take me on. Captain Bombalurina?”
“In the flesh. So, what can you do?”
“I- I’m not sure, I-” Demeter stuttered, caught off guard and feeling pathetic. Captain Bombalurina did not look impressed.
“Listen, lady,” she interrupted Demeter’s stammering, “I’m not fool enough to ignore advice from Coricopat, but I’m really gonna struggle to justify to myself and my crew taking on an extra mouth to feed if that mouth can’t contribute in any way.”
Demeter felt the little confidence she had managed to garner plummet. Of course she should earn her keep, but what could she possibly do to help run a pirate ship? She could not fire a pistol, or navigate the seas, or even pay her way on board since running away from home! She blinked furiously, willing the tears not to fall.
What would happen to her now? She knew she had been lucky so far, very lucky. The moment she stepped onto the sandy beach of Nassau, Victoria had linked their arms and brought her to Munkustrap’s tavern, where she ran front of house with her brother, Misto. At first, Demeter had been terrified, thinking they were all working for her father or ex-fiancé, but it turned out they had all known her name because a local witch had foretold her arrival, and suggested she join Captain Bombalurina’s pirate crew. She had never met the witch, Coricopat, but everyone here seemed to trust him completely. She had had to wait for Bombalurina to make port, and had helped out as best she could in the tavern in the meantime. Munkustrap had been very kind, allowing her to stay in one of the rooms for free. The Cats here had been much kinder than she had expected, although she hadn’t allowed herself to think too much about what they would be like – anywhere was better than the place she left behind.
“Look, calm down, alright?” Bombalurina said, leaning back on her chair. “Like I said, only an idiot would ignore Coricopat. You gotta be able to do something, even fancy lords and lady aristocats have some kind of skills… Can you sew?”
“Yes!” Demeter blurted. In her relief, it came out much louder than she had intended. “I mean,” she recovered, “I made this dress I’m wearing myself.” It was an unusual skill for someone of her position, dressmaking, often looked down upon as a mark of the lower classes who couldn’t afford to have their clothes made for them, but it was something Demeter had always enjoyed doing.
“Sewing a dress is different from sewing sails, lady, but let me see.” Bombalurina reached over the table, running her paw along Demeter’s sleeve seams.
“Well, yes, I imagine tailoring dresses is significantly more difficult.”
The snark came out before she even realised she had opened her mouth. Bombalurina’s brows rose impossibly high. Oh, Everlasting! What on earth did she say that for? Had her sharp tongue not gotten her into enough trouble in the past? She clamped her paws over her mouth in horror, as if she could physically unsay it. A witch’s advice be damned, she’d be lucky if Bombalurina didn’t shoot her after that show of cheek!
But to her surprise, Bombalurina burst out laughing.
“And here was me questioning whether or not you had a spine!” she cackled. “That’s the attitude you’ll need on board with my lot!”
Demeter faltered for a moment.
“You… you’ll take me on?” she asked as Bombalurina leaned back once more, signalling to the bar for a drink.
“You betcha. We need a new sailmaker, the last one was completely useless, took a sword to the stomach not three days in. We’re sailing on rags at the moment. Cassandra will mutiny if I don’t get someone in to fix them pronto.”
Demeter gulped. A sword to the stomach? Another intimidating Queen?
“I… I don’t think I’ll be much good in a fight,” she mumbled. “I can try and learn, but-”
Bombalurina held up a paw to silence her.
“I don’t need you to fight. I have Cats who can fight. I need someone with the brains to know to stay out of a fight they can’t win.”
Well, that would be any and all fights. Demeter might be nervous, but she wasn’t completely stupid.
“That sounds good, then.”
“Lovely,” Bombalurina said, as Victoria dunked two tankards down on their table with a wink. Bombalurina slid one towards her, before clunking her own against it and taking a slug. Demeter took a cautious sip, and her nose wrinkled in distaste. Everlasting, ale was terrible. Bombalurina saw her expression and laughed again. “Come down to the docks tomorrow morning, ok? I got stuff to do and drinks to drink tonight. You can have a look at the sails then. Let me or Cassandra, my boatswain, know if you need material or anything. Don’t rush the repairs, I’d rather they were done well than done fast. Besides, a weird number of the crew have relations with locals here, they’re never in a hurry to set out again.”
She took another deep chug from her tankard, emptying it, before reaching over and downing Demeter’s as well.
“Yes, understood.” Demeter said. “Thank you, Captain.”
Bombalurina nodded as she got to her paws.
“Until tomorrow then, milady.” She gave a little bow as she swept her hat back onto her head with a wink. Demeter’s breath caught slightly in her chest as Bombalurina strode away. What she had gotten herself into, she hardly knew, but it would definitely be exciting.