Piercing

It was dark and Ava had been patiently waiting for their night out to start. Theo rejoined her, then Xyra followed by Cooker. Cooker had been sleeping for most of the sun and then drinking the other part of it. She had taken a nap to get ready for another round of drinking. Ava worried about Cooker's internal organs. They didn't bar hop that night, instead, they were sticking to a bar close to the port. It was one they had been in on the second night, although the details of her time there were hazy.

Ava didn't drink anything, her stomach threatening to quit on her if she even attempted to take a sip of the foul-tasting dark liquor they served there. It was a laid back evening compared to their previous ones, the four of them just sat around and talked as the night passed them by. She was asked a little bit about herself by Xyra and Ava glanced at Cooker. Cooker had her glass raised to her lips, peeking over the rim to watch Ava respond.

Ava told the group that she was one of many children. She was raised pretty wealthily but she was out of the spotlight because she hated all of it. Ava had been tutored from home and she had decided to run away because of an impending marriage. She tried to stick as close to the truth as possible, omitting only her family name and her status as a noble. She did that partly to ease her own conscience about lying and partly so it was easier to track what she had told people. Ava in turn raised her own questions and found out more than she had expected from Xyra.

Xyra was from a great house in North Efriti. She ran away and stumbled across Theo shortly after Theo herself had left home. Xyra renounced her last name a few lengths before, legally, but had been a practicing "no-namer" for a long time before that. No-namers were those born with a last name that subsequently lost or renounced it. Xyra was an only child and was only 8 when she ran away and Ava was shocked that people that young could survive out in the world all by themselves. Ava could now establish a timeline in her head, Theo left home and met Xyra and then two lengths later Cooker joined them and they had been together ever since. Ava had managed to piece that together from cycles of collected information.

Like most of their conversations, they were about four dozen topics away from where they had originally started and they began to talk about tattoos. Xyra explained she had none, she was not a fan of pain and didn't ever want to endure the harsh process of it. Cooker and Theo booed and mocked her but Ava sympathized with Xyra; she wasn't sure tattoos were her thing either. Ava looked at the two tattooed pirates, she couldn't even tell how many tattoos they had, where they had them, where they began or where they ended. The designs that were visible on Cooker were intricate and looked like it took a lot of time and grueling stabbing. Theo was always wearing clothes that covered up her tattoos so Ava never really caught a good look at them.

"Speaking of, you reckon we should go get a small one done now?" Cooker asked and rolled up the sleeve on her left arm, "I've got space right here."

Cooker pointed to a spot on the inside of her forearm and Theo held out the same spot in hers, "Mine is empty too. We should get a siren on it."

"Aye, matching mermaids," Cooker chuckled and they shook on it.

Ava was baffled at how easy they were deciding to get something on their body for the rest of their lives, "That's all it takes?"

"Aye," Xyra answered for them, "a siren is a very sensible idea compared to others they've had in the past."

"I am officially at my limit with hearing shit talked about me. I am an excellent person with excellent judgment and I will not be told otherwise. Now let's go get our bodies permanently marked with painful needles," Theo got up and they all followed her request.

Ava had experimented a lot since stepping aboard the Scorned Woman but nothing could get her to get a tattoo. For some reason, the pain and the permanence scared her. She felt that this adventure she was on was a dream she was going to get woken up from at any moment and a tattoo would make her undesirable to her family, leaving her with nowhere to go. To affluent Baethan people and those with last names, tattoos were equated with criminality and poverty. Those with no last names were identified by their tendencies to get tattoos. Ava was afraid that if she were to ever have to go back that she would be dug a grave for having marked her body.

Instead of walking straight into the building, they arrived at, Theo knocked. At first, the slot in the door pulled back and a face peeked into view. It lit up when they saw who it was and they opened the door, "If it isn't the triplets."

"Kar," Cooker said and walked into the room, "I've missed your ugly face. Are you down to do some art tonight?"

"Straight to business," the person said, brushing their short hair out of their face, "I've got some time. What are you thinking?"

"Theo and I. Sirens on our arms?" Cooker showed them the spot she wanted.

"I've got something in mind for that, sure," Kar nodded and walked to a chair and sat, "Who is first?"

Theo volunteered to go first, rolling up her sleeve to expose a forearm covered in tattoos. Ava had somewhat wished that Theo would have taken off her shirt to get tattooed but knew it wouldn't have been wholly unnecessary. Theo made no noise of pain or any movement while her body was being repeatedly stabbed with a small needle. Kar had a small hammer and a pointy pick and was driving the ink into the skin by hammering it. Ava winced every time the hammer came down on the pick but Theo just stared intently at Kar's work, only gritting her teeth together and curling her free hand into a fist. Ava felt the burning in the pit of her stomach as she watched Theo. She tried willing for it to go away but it was persistent. The sweat forming on Theo's forehead was from the pain. The sweat forming on Ava's was because watching the Captain was torture.

Cooker was next and while she didn't make a noise, an impressive display of strength, she constantly fidgeted and talked quickly as an attempt to distract herself. Theo, who looked almost like she was high, sat next to Ava.

"You getting anything done?" Theo asked with a dopey smile.

"I'm not into the idea of tattoos for myself," Ava said.

"No piercings either? I've got a bunch of earrings I never use. You can have some of them," Theo offered.

Ava reached up to touch her earlobes. None of Lord Vaiths daughters could have earrings until they were married. That was a pretty common practice seen in the Elox and The Twins. Women had to be married first before they decided they could get their ears pierced and they could only get it done with their husband's permission. It was because of a woman's body not her own. It had to be kept pristine for whatever man she would marry. To pierce an ear wasn't a choice women could usually make without a man.

Ava figured she would do it. She did not belong to a man. Not a mystery man n nor a real one. Not even her father. She was allowed to do what she wanted to her body and it was her choice alone. Tattoos might have been too much of a leap for her but a piercing would not be.

"I think I will pierce my ear. Only one," Ava said, "I like the look."

"Aye," Theo nodded her approval, "Like a proper pirate."

Cooker finished up after a while and then it was Ava's turn. Ava was not the best with pain or needles. She would get so hurt when the seamstresses would accidentally poke her with sewing needles. She couldn't imagine a needle going through her whole ear. Her nervousness must have been evident because Kar put a hand on her knee.

"It will be over before you know it. You've got this," Kar said.

Theo walked over and held Ava's hand, "Squeeze if you need it."

No sooner did Theo say it, Ava squeezed hard. Kar wasn't even ready. They were still preparing the needle but Theo didn't complain. She took the pain in her hand hoping Kar would be ready sooner rather than later. Kar walked over and held the needle up to Ava's ear and then pushed it through. Ava let out a high pitched noise but it wasn't quite a squeal or a scream. The needle was pulled out and a cloth was at her ear with rum on it. It stung when it touched her ear but she held the cloth there anyway. It hurt, her ear throbbing at the intrusion but Ava refused to show her pain. If she was going to keep up with her pirate counterparts she couldn't show how a tiny pinprick affected her.

When it was all done and Kar stepped away, Ava let go of Theo's hand, "Is that all?"

"You're all set," Kar smiled at her, "Good job."

Theo grabbed the coin purse on her side and removed it, setting the rest of the contents on the table. Ava could not tell how much was in the bag but it was at least 20 coins in there, mostly gold. Kar was getting a good bargain, two tattoos, and one earlobe piercing for a tiny fortune. Ava could tell why Theo was so well known now, she hadn't met anyone so generous in her whole life. Granted, Ava hadn't met very many people in her life but she knew Theo was not a normal person. She was special, caring, willing to look out for others. Ava was overcome with another wave of warmness but this time in her chest. She watched as Theo and Kar argued over the amount of money. Theo held up her hands and scurried around the room trying to avoid Kar giving her back the pouch.

Once Kar gave up and Theo was convinced they would keep it, the group was ready to leave. They said their thanks and Xyra led the way back out. Theo and Cooker took up the rear, comparing the new ink on their skin. The street was no calmer than it was earlier in the night, drunk people running amuck. Back onboard the ship, they did not waste much time saying their goodbyes and heading to their respective rooms. Ava went to the cabin she had slept in the night before, getting the go-ahead from Theo to take a night to rest properly. Ava was in the cabin taking off her boots when she heard a light knock on her door.

"Come in," she called, "It's unlocked."

The door creaked open and Theo stepped in, closing the door behind her.

"I'm back," Theo sheepishly smiled at the redhead.

"You just couldn't stay away, could you?" Ava teased and Theo laughed.

Theo took a few steps towards Ava and held up her hand, two fingers pinching something in between them. An earring with a small black diamond hanging from it, "You need to keep an earring in it or it'll close."

"The hole?" Ava asked stupidly and Theo chuckled.

"Aye, you can pick another one later if this isn't what you want but I thought you might like it," Theo confessed with her free hand coming to rub her neck, "Matches your new sword."

"I love it," Ava grinned, she had never seen a black diamond in person. Even with the small size of it, it was mesmerizing. It reflected some of the moonlight that was coming in from the window. Theo had picked this one just for her and even cared enough to match it to her recent purchase, there was no way she was going to pick another one, "Can you put it on for me?"

Ava hadn't ever had her ears pierced and the thought of poking and prodding around to try and find the earring hole made her queasy, her ear was already sore. Ava hoped Theo didn't take it as an odd request and Theo looked like she didn't. She walked closer to Ava and gently tilted her head to the side a bit. It was the closest they had ever been and if Ava looked down just a little she could see as Theo's face went serious while she focused on not hurting Ava. Her fingers were not soft, the tips of them rough from a lifetime of use but Ava didn't mind them. They were calloused but gentle as she guided the earring in.

Ava wanted to just turn her head, lean down, and kiss Theo. There was an urge in her to do it. It was as if her revelation the first night in Niveal, after the whole Zeal debacle, had opened floodgates. Her brain could no longer push the feelings aside and it was making up for lengths of lost time. The ignorance she had towards her own emotions and feelings made it easy to disregard the attraction, unaware, and conditioned to reject them. Her enlightenment had now become her curse and her stomach could not stop doing backflips whenever she saw Theo.

Theo stepped back and smiled, "There aren't any mirrors here so you'll have to take my word for it, but you look dazzling."

"Thank you, for the earring and the compliment," Ava said and touched the earring. The slight pull from the weight of it was an odd feeling but it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would.

"Goodnight, Red," Theo said with a smile and began to back away.

"Goodnight, Captain," Ava returned the smile and watched as Theo slipped out of the room.

Ava went to sleep that night on her side, tender ear up in the air to avoid any mishaps. There was a grin on her face as she fell asleep.