Work Text:
Jim felt rather fatigued and burnt out.
It had been easy enough to dodge burnout back when they were written off as a mute and therefore didn't need to justify or explain anything to the others on the ship because no one expected them to.
The only meaningful interactions they would have were behind closed doors with Oluwande after everyone else on the ship had fallen asleep to the sound of Stede's voice as he read them Pinocchio.
It was isolating, sure, but they appreciated the isolation. Besides, it's not like the others completely ignored them. Everyone just understood that if you asked Jim a question, you'd be left with a few vague hand gestures as your only response.
But then, everyone found out the truth about who they were and the fact that they could speak and now they were expected to tenfold the amount they likely would have been had they never paraded around as a mute in the first place. It had been a Hell of their own creation at the end of the day- A necessary Hell, sure, but a Hell nonetheless.
"Do you think..." they began, trailing off into the briefest moment of hesitation before pressing onward. It was Oluwande they were talking to. They didn't need to dance around this sort of this. "I could go back to being mute?"
Oluwande smiled at them, a breath of amusement coming out of his right nostril. The others had been bombarding Jim with questions and judgements and biases and demands and then more questions constantly since their identity was revealed and it was extremely grating, having to constantly explain basic things and answer their questions.
"I mean, you can if you want to" he shrugged. "They all think you're weird enough as is. I'm not sure it'd make much of a difference either way"
"Hm" Jim nodded slightly, considering his words.
They did not speak for the rest of that night and hardly the next day either, but that was okay. Oluwande had grown used to answering for them anyway. It was as though things had barely changed, even though everyone's perception on them now was fundementally different than it had been before.
Oluwande would be there for them, speaking or not.