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GAL FRIDAY:


THE CAPTAIN:


unless he likes you then it's more like

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PIRATE JENNY GUABANCEX JENNY:

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[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.

[sictransitgloriamundi]

Huh.

[a quiet pause]

... I can't ever let any of you go. You know that, right. It would all be over in minutes, at best.

[saltwaterlungs]

He already told me. It's why I didn't bring it up.

[ Even if she ultimately disagrees with it, still wants to find a way to get everyone out. ]

Doesn't mean I like it, but I know.

[sictransitgloriamundi]

The only way any of this even works...

[a sigh]

Other entities didn't ignore Miss Storm because they didn't actually care. They didn't listen because we're shielded from their senses. They can't hear me.

[saltwaterlungs]

I wondered if you were lying about that.

[ Hoped, really. ]

So... do you have a plan beyond hoping nobody finds you forever?

[sictransitgloriamundi]

... No.

[saltwaterlungs]

Didn't think so.

[ Blows a breath out, catching a long strand of hair in it. ]

Mais, we'll think of something. There has to be some way we can make this work for all of us. For people to stop dying, for the dead to get their peace, for you to get out of this. I have to believe that.

[sictransitgloriamundi]

[frowns]

Why do you all care so much about what happens to the dead? They're worthless.

[saltwaterlungs]

Ouch, [ And ouch for Skulduggery there too. ]

I mean, aside from my oath, it's like. Circle of life shit. I'm only where I am because of a whole bunch of dead people I never got to meet trying to make shit better for me. Not just my family, but my fencing teacher's teachers, people who came before my in my faith, everyone else. I owe them.

[sictransitgloriamundi]

[he means his dead people and she knows it.]

No one owes anyone anything. You owe the shades here even less than that.