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THE CAPTAIN:


unless he likes you then it's more like

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PIRATE JENNY GUABANCEX JENNY:

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[saltwaterlungs]

[ You know what that's totally on her but she's still mad about it. ]

Gross, [ And pointedly opens her terrible book. ]

[sictransitgloriamundi]

It wasn't even very good. And that's why you should always judge a book by its cover. [nods firmly] I'd thought it odd that something that won a Pulitzer would have shirtless men on it.

[saltwaterlungs]

That does seem like a pretty dumb mistake to make.

[ She wrinkles her face up behind her book. ]

I don't want to hear any more about it.

[sictransitgloriamundi]

[pauses.

stares at her for a minute.]

This isn't some Catholic thing, is it.

[saltwaterlungs]

There are so, so many reasons reasons that I don't want to hear about erotica you've read that, for once, my faith doesn't even rank.

[sictransitgloriamundi]

[props head on fist]

So asking questions and then getting mad about the answers is just a general thing for you, then. I really had thought it was something I was doing.

[saltwaterlungs]

[ "Oh sorry, should I just wipe my memory when I get an answer I don't like?" not worth it not worth it- ]

I'm not mad, I just don't want to talk about it. You really don't need to make this a big deal. Because you're doing that. You could like- ask me a question or something. Generally conversations work like that.

[sictransitgloriamundi]

Do they? It sounds so boring. How do they not generally work?

[saltwaterlungs]

Do I look like a linguist to you? I don't know. There's a bunch of ways to fuck something up and only a few ways to get something right. It's like anything. They're not boring if you like, care about what the other person is saying.

[ Stares pointedly at her terrible book. ]

[sictransitgloriamundi]

Huh. That must be why, then. Interesting.

[leans head on both fists, stares out at the ocean.]

[saltwaterlungs]

Yeah yeah, sick dunk, as usual.

[ Rolls her eyes behind her book. ]

You don't have to keep coming out. Like- your bullshit about 'blah blah you come here for a purpose' or whatever, you could just not show up. It's an option.

[sictransitgloriamundi]

They get mad when I don't. As if it isn't their own faults... [idly, dropping one hand down to doodle invisible pictures onto the floor.] I only come out when there's even a slight chance of something interesting happening in the first place.

[saltwaterlungs]

I'm not 'them'.

[ And he sure does seem to come out whenever she visits. Even answered her question without fuss, which is hard to square against that circle. ]

Dunking on me can't be that entertaining.

[sictransitgloriamundi]

[a pause]

Being on... neutral terms, at the very least, would please him. So I'm. Trying that.

[and this is literally him trying. which is sad.]

[saltwaterlungs]

[ ... huh.

She's probably still going to resent Skulduggery's influence for preventing her from getting what's coming to her. But... his care for her being enough to make the Captain... try for neutrality? That's a weird not awful feeling. She finally drops the pretense of the book to actually look over at him, all their histories of terror and violence, the scar that stayed over her heart, the memory of his nails pressed into her cheek. Yeah, it's depressing that this is the best he can muster. Genuinely. From anyone else this would not be good enough, she would expect more- like some apologies maybe. But... even ageless Djinn running murder hell-boats want to be not what they are sometimes. And she doesn't want to be cruel anymore. ]

I can do neutral if you can.

[sictransitgloriamundi]

I can. [a shrug] Neutral is easy. I don't feel very strongly about most things. [...] Most people.

[saltwaterlungs]

[ Nods. She can make an educated guess as to who that 'most people' excludes. Because again, they are very unsubtle about each other.

Darcy sits herself up properly again, casting a glance over the rest of the ship. ]

For what it's worth, I do hope you prove me wrong about you.

[sictransitgloriamundi]

... I'm honestly not sure what that would even look like. I can't kill the parts of me that others find disagreeable. Not anymore. [starts fiddling with sleeve] What else is there.

[saltwaterlungs]

[ Shrugs. If anything the fact he's willing to talk like this at all is doing a lot to help. The elusive deeper parts of him that aren't just concentrated essence of bitch. ]

I don't know. But I don't think anyone can kill parts of themselves. Not properly. I just think we can... make choices to act differently. I don't know what it would look like for you. But... it would be nice to not have to worry about Skully so much all the time.

[sictransitgloriamundi]

[glances over at her, frowning.]

Whyever would you be worried about him?

[saltwaterlungs]

Because if he's wrong and he gets hurt, there's nothing I can do about it. Of course I'm going to worry.

[sictransitgloriamundi]

Oh.

[silence.

at length:]

I love him. [...] I don't know what it means. But I do.

[saltwaterlungs]

[ A small, quiet sigh. ]

So do I.

I wish it was enough to guarantee you aren't going to hurt him.

[ And she fiddles with her own sleeve. ]

[sictransitgloriamundi]

What would be enough, then? Whatever it is, I'll do it.

[he doesn't. sound like he's joking?]

[saltwaterlungs]

[ She sits and thinks about that for a while, her brow scrunched. ]

I don't know if there is. If someone cares about you, you can hurt them. Because you know so much about them and everything. Like- even if I had a way to hurt you in case you did... what then? You die and we all die.

[ Darcy hugs her knees to her chest. ]

I don't know. I don't think caring about people gets to be uncomplicated or easy.