Unemployed

Contrary to her claim, Ava was not the best ship scrubber the Scorned Woman had ever seen; she was closer to the worst one. Somehow, Ava managed to screw up cleaning. Well, it was more complicated than that. Pearl and the small group of women Ava had been grouped up with went around the ship for three suns and patched up anything on the ship that needed fixing. They also checked the ship for different maintenance issues and cleaned up different messes aboard. It didn't look hard, it didn't sound hard, but to Ava, it proved to be extremely so.

Pearl, who Ava knew to be a gentle and calm giant, was the same as a boss. She did not take Ava's many failures hard or make any comment on how much Ava was holding up progress. Pearl tried hard to teach Ava how to do things, very, very hard. It was no use. On the first sun, they were in charge of cleaning and detailing the room that Evana had designated to be a training room for the crew. Ava was tasked with scrubbing the floor, having been the lowest ranking member of the group in terms of seniority.

Pearl had stood a few yards away examining the work Ava had been doing when her face grew concerned, "Ava? What did you do?"

"Pardon?" Ava looked over where Pearl was standing and tried to figure out what she meant.

"Show me how you've been scrubbing?" Pearl asked and Ava did as she was told. She scrubbed the floor with two hands, all her might, and in a front and back motion. Pearl walked over and stopped her, "Alright. I'm going to take you off the floor."

"Why?" Ava asked as Pearl pulled her off the ground.

"I don't know why or how, but you're ruining the wood," Pearl said, "It's alright though. We'll find something else for you to do."

Pearl was as positive the rest of the time Ava worked but Ava could tell she was getting more and more exasperated as the suns went on. Pearl had Ava try and identify rotting wood, but that was a skill Ava did not grasp. Pearl had Ava work with Skins who was on loan from carpentry to patch up problem areas on the ship, Ava was useless. Most tasks Pearl had, she made Ava try but there was no luck. By the end, Ava just shadowed Pearl and kept her company.

Pearl was quiet but didn't seem to mind when Ava talked, so she did. Anytime Ava would ask Pearl something, Pearl answered with something simple and not very informative. Ava didn't get the feeling Pearl was being rude like Xyra usually was, she was just naturally reserved. There was something about the tall people on the ship and being total mysteries. Pearl did, however, ask Ava many questions. They were usually short-winded and not elaborate but Ava did not need much else to start speaking. They mostly discussed Ava's journey from home down to South Elox.

On the third sun of her stint under Pearl, Ava was approached by her boss. It was nighttime and there was a small party happening on the deck. Ava was sitting on a barrel enjoying the company of Oceane and Cooker when Pearl approached. She looked almost nervous coming towards the group.

"Ava, can we speak?" Pearl asked, a small frown on her face.

"Aye," Ava hopped off her seat and walked away from her spot, "You look stressed, did I do something?"

"No, I have a meeting with Theo now and I just wanted to give you a heads up before you hear it from her," Pearl said

Ava got nervous. What had she done?

"I'm going to tell Theo you aren't suited for a job under me," Pearl said quickly, "I'm sorry."

Ava laughed and put her hand over her chest to feel her heart beating wildly, "Is that all?"

"Aye," Pearl said, brows still furrowed, "I just think you might be better suited for something else."

"I knew that, Pearl. Everything I touched turned to absolute shit," Ava laughed again, "I'm sorry you were so torn up about it."

"It's just I would think we have become friends over the past few suns working together and I didn't want you to be cross with me," Pearl admitted and Ava leaped forward to close the gap between them and hugged Pearl.

Pearl hugged back with little hesitation and Ava felt the boatswain relax under her embrace. Ava pulled away and did a silly bow before returning to her spot amongst her friends and Pearl left for her meeting. Ava was pleased she was going to be moving onto a new job, hopefully, one she was good at. Once Pearl had finished her meeting, Ava would follow up with Theo about her new duties during their nightly rendezvous.

The duty she was given when she did meet up with Theo was not one she had even expected to have an opening. She was being made to train as the lookout. Ava was neither here nor there with her opinion on the job going into it. However, by the end of her first shift as lookout, she knew it was not for her. The entire job was looking through a sea glass and waiting for a ship or a piece of land to pass by. She had managed to get told off within her first few hours of training.

"So, you just sit up here all day? Do you ever get burned from the sun?" Ava asked.

"No," Hika, the lookout, said. Ava was familiar with them and they had polite conversations some nights on the lower decks. "I keep covered."

"Ah, I see," Ava conceded, "Do you ever get lonely?"

"No, I enjoy the quiet," Hika said, hoping Ava would get the hint.

Ava tucked her legs to her chest and put her chin on her knees, "Would it be possible to bring a book up here? Like in case I get bored or do we have to look at the water the whole time?"

"You have to be looking to be a lookout, so no. No books," Hika put plainly.

"How do you see at night?"

Hika drew in a sharp breath, "Red, I usually enjoy your presence but if you say another word for the next three hours I will shove you off the crow's nest."

Ava quieted up quickly and was indignantly sulking for the rest of their shift. She didn't say another word even though she really, really wanted to know how they saw at night. It was a valid question and it never got answered. She spent her next two suns being bored out of her mind, silent and burning from the sun. On the third night of being lookout, she rushed into Theo's office.

"Have you heard back on the decision?" Ava blurted out.

"The decision?" Theo questioned.

"If Hika wants to take me on for longer?" Ava elaborated.

"Ah," Theo stood up and put away the book she was reading, Ava noticed it was not in common, "No I haven't heard but last time I spoke to Hika they did not seem to be opposed to bringing you on."

Ava sighed a bit and hesitated a moment before getting the courage to say what was on her mind, "I know this might sound selfish but can I reject a job?"

"Lookout isn't within your skill set?" Theo chuckled, "I wasn't aware it was all that complicated."

"The looking part I am good at," Ava smiled sheepishly, "It's the patience portion of it that proves to be out of the reach of my abilities."

"Then aye, you may pass up if Hika says she'll take you on. We don't want you to be anywhere you don't want to be placed in," Theo reassured Ava.

"So what would my job be tomorrow?"

"To relax," Theo laughed a bit at Ava's eagerness, "We've only got one sun until we get to Clabonne and you have been working for six suns straight. Take the time to regroup and recoup."

"That certainly beats staring at the horizon for hours on end," Ava commented, "Since I have no early wake-up time, can I join you in whatever you were doing?"

"As always, Red, I am yours for the night," Theo smiled.

While Ava had spent many suns doing jobs she was bad at, nights with Theo made it worth it. Well, that and the training sessions the crew was receiving. She was nervous about Theo pulling her from training on some technicality. Ava was worried that because she wasn't an official pirate, that she wouldn't get to train. That wasn't the case and Ava was allowed to participate in the two-hour aftermorning training sessions.

From the sixth to the eighth hour of the aftermorning, every other day, all crew members except those sailing stopped what they were doing and gathered on the deck. Morgana yelled out drills for them to follow and it didn't take long for Ava to grasp the vocabulary that was used. Every session Ava was paired with a different person, all slightly better than her but not anywhere near experts with a blade. She assumed they rotated the girls so no one was stuck with Ava but she didn't mind. Every new person meant a new height and style to practice against.

She knew her technique was not good and on most of the exercises, her arm would give out before she could finish the repetition. However, she didn't give up or get frustrated; she just tried her hardest to imitate what Morgana was teaching. The training was a well-needed break in Ava's routine and it gave her a moment to breathe in between failures at work.

Theo was constantly making rounds to check on the pirates. She would correct a crew member here or there but would rarely stick around one place for too long. Around Ava, however, Theo hovered. Ava wasn't sure if it was unconscious or if Ava was just so bad she needed very special attention. Either way, Ava improved whenever Theo would help. Ava learned how to block, thrust, sidestep, and hold a proper fighting stance. To anyone else it wouldn't seem like much but coupled with the small bouts of training she already had, she felt capable of defending herself. She hoped that she wouldn't have to test her fighting ability anytime soon but if push came to shove she believed in herself.

However, two-hour training sessions proved to be far too short. Ava was itching for more. Theo had done so well with Ava during training she wondered if she could ask Theo to train her for the vanguard. That request would take more guts than she had so she dropped that idea for the moment. Before arriving in Clabonne, their first stop, Ava tried to steal Oceane or Iona away for a quick sparring session or a defense class but they were always far too busy. Even if they weren't busy, Ava assumed the answer would be no. They trained hard enough in the morning with Theo and Xyra.

Calm nights with Theo rounded out her sea time routine. After a long day at work and some physical activity through training, the peace she got with Theo was welcome. Theo, like Ava, ended her days exhausted. Theo was training for several hours in the morning, then going about her duties, then training again; all with a hurt shoulder. The training every morning wasn't helping matters much. She was pushing herself hard to try and get to a place where she could confidently fight with her uninjured arm.

All of the extra exertion mixed with the injury meant Theo was very lazy and very lethargic, not very fun to be around. The others, Xyra and the lot of them, avoided her room like the plague. Theo mostly dozed off in between slow and easy conversations with Ava. When Theo would nap, Ava would read. It was a pressure-free understanding, they didn't particularly need to be speaking. The company they provided to each other was enough. At first, Ava felt uncomfortable about sticking around. She felt as if Theo was only letting Ava come by at night just because the Captain felt bad. On the third night of them lounging around together Ava brought it up and Theo offered her reassurances that yes, Theo very much wanted Ava's presence. The issue was not brought up again.

----

After Theo had told Ava to stay to wait for Hika's decision, Theo fell asleep. She was lying face down in her bed. She had told Ava that it was only going to be a quick lie down to settle down from a long sun. Ava knew before Theo even went down that she would be out cold so Ava made quick work of settling in and reading. It wasn't too long after Theo had succumbed to sleep that Hika came in. It was quite an awkward conversation when Hika mentioned they were there to extend an offer of employment to Ava and Ava had to let them know she was turning it down. Hika understood though.

"If I'm being honest, I didn't see you lasting more than a few cycles," Hika had admitted and Ava laughed along.

Once Hika left, the room was quiet and undisturbed for the rest of the night. Theo had managed to startle awake when Hika shut the door and she looked around confused. After apologizing profusely for once again falling asleep, Theo got up from the bed and began to walk around the quarters. In the six nights they had been at sea, Theo's quarters began to look less and less like a storage room and more like it was fit for a captain. As people sobered up and recovered, they would swing by and recover whatever items they remembered they bought. There was still quite a bit of stuff and Theo began to rummage through the leftovers.

"Soon you will all be mine," Theo joked sleepily as she went through the contents of the room. She picked up a black hat that had a hanging veil that covered the top half of her face and pulled it on, "What do you think? Fit my style?"

Ava looked over from her book and laughed. The hat was not flattering at all and a bit too loose on Theo's head, "If I were a councilmember I would create a rule banning the use of that hat and then jail you for wearing it."

"If no one comes to claim it, I am burning it," Theo laughed and pulled the hat off of her head. She continued to peruse but Ava did not go back to reading. Instead, she watched as the captain methodically searched through the unclaimed items. Her sleepiness evident in the way she took her time in each action she took. Every little while, she would yawn, shake her head, and then get back to her tasks.

"Maybe you should consider kicking me out and getting some actual rest tonight," Ava commented after a particularly long and heavy yawn came from Theo.

"Nonsense. That is just my body's way of expelling sleep," Theo retorted without looking up from her pile of items. She dug her hand under a pile of clothes and fished out a bag. Her face lit up, like a child getting gold coins on founders' day. Not even a second later she frowned and let out a sigh.

"What's wrong?" Ava asked, setting the book aside and walking over to where Theo was.

"There is an entire bag of jerky here and I forgot to re-up on my own supply. An entire bag, Red. And it's six different kinds of jerky," Theo whimpered pathetically as she showed Ava the contents of the bag. Theo returned the bag deep inside the pile she had pulled it from, "Nineteen more suns and it is mine. It just has to go unclaimed for that long."

"It's yours," Ava said, recognizing the bag as hers from when she went to the market.

"Technically, you are correct. My ship, my jerky... I could just take a little. It's a fucking bag load of jerky. No one would miss a portion or two," Theo rationed and pulled the bag back out.

Ava laughed and elaborated on her point, "No I mean, it's yours. I bought it but I forgot to give it to you."

"This is yours?" Theo held the bag back up.

"No, it's yours. I bought it for you and now I am giving it to you," Ava said.

"But why?" Theo broke out into a huge grin, pulling one of the types of jerky from inside the bag.

"I heard you mention you were out one day and hadn't seen you get any more," Ava shrugged off with a smile.

"Well fuck me. Thanks, Red," Theo stood up and grabbed Ava's hand leading them both over to her desk, "It would be rude of me not to share."

"I will pass," Ava chuckled and sat back down on the chair, tugging her hand free, "I am not too much of a fan if I do admit."

"While that is tragic for you, it means more for me," Theo sat on her chair and started to snack, "I learned how to make jerky when I was just four lengths old."

"How?"

"My father," Theo smiled and chewed off a large bite of jerky.

"You're not fond of details are you," Ava chuckled and picked up her book.

"No need to be detailed about my life when you have several books about me that can provide those," Theo smirked.

"How do you know?" Ava paled, mortified.

"I went to go check on Ber, the bookkeeper, shortly after you were in her shop. She let me know someone had been sniffing around for books about me," Theo laughed at the redhead in front of her who looked shocked, embarrassed, and was three seconds from diving off the balcony.

"I was going to tell you once I started reading them," Ava fumbled over her words trying to get an explanation out, "I just didn't want to bother you with questions."

"You aren't under interrogation. It's your money and your time, you can choose to spend it how you want," Theo reassured.

Ava nodded, not knowing what else to say and took up reading once again. Theo stashed away her gifted jerky and pulled out one of Tuni's special cigarettes. Theo was past the point of asking if it was alright with Ava to partake around her, the answer was always yes. Ava's company since they had left Niveal was much needed. Theo was able to lay low and regain some energy while also having some company. The other rowdy pirates on her crew could never come to the level of calm Ava maintained. The pain in Theo's shoulder faded away with each drag from her lit cigarette. She was relaxing, eyes getting heavier with every moment that passed.

"You're from which island on Aeliz?" Ava asked, flipping through her book.

Theo cleared her throat and tried to blink the sleep out of her eyes, "Pardon?"

"Which Aelizan island were you born on?" Ava repeated.

"Zaridios," Theo put down the rest of the cigarette, the light having gone out in between her dozing.

Ava flipped through her pages, "I've read about all of Aeliz and I didn't read about Zara... Zarida? Zeri-"

"Zaridios," Theo tried to help.

"Zaridios, right. I didn't read about it," Ava flipped the book over to Theo but Theo didn't make a move to grab it from her.

"It might be under a different name then," Theo said, failing to mention what that was. Ava knew though, from reading about the history of the continent, what the island's new name was.

"Lamentations," Ava said.

"Aye," Theo nodded and closed her eyes, leaning her head back, "That is where I am from. You already finished Aeliz? I thought you had just started on Efriti?"

"I am a fast reader. Efriti is old news. So is Aeliz. I'm going to start on Dove Island tomorrow," Ava boasted and Theo yawned again. "Theo, I think you should sleep."

"I was just expelling sleep," Theo reminded.

"Your eyes are closed," Ava said and Theo hushed her. Ava rolled her eyes and went back to her book. If Theo wasn't going to make Ava leave, she figured she would re-read the history of Lamentations.

The nights with Theo proved to be very effective for making sure Ava sped through the book. Ava felt like her mind was an all-consuming machine. She was a never-ending pit of consumption for new information and that was proved through her incessant need to read. It was starting to become an obsession, to read until there was nothing left to learn. Ava was tired of not knowing, of being looked at like she was stupid, of feeling judged. She had started only six nights before with the history of Efriti and had managed to read through all 200 of those pages and the 200 pages dedicated to Aeliz. She had already been dabbling in the history of Baethos before but this new book provided much-needed context for current times.

It never failed to baffle Ava just how small-minded she had been before. How she believed everything her tutors fed her, never questioned any of the books she read or the rules she followed. Sure, Ava was a classic rebel wild child within her household but the rebellion stopped with her childish antics and difficult attitudes; she never quite dipped her toes in open rebellion on the whole system she was raised believing in. Things were rapidly changing though and Ava, more so than before, was realizing just how out of her depth she had been. Walking and traveling around Baethos with historically inaccurate information. What if she had said the wrong thing to the wrong person or insulted someone without meaning to? Ava was lucky to have made it as far as she had.

While studying Efriti, Ava learned that it was in fact considered two separate continents, North Efriti and South Efriti. Well, it was considered two separate continents by everyone except for The Center. South Efriti, known as Safriti, now functioned as a completely autonomous state; their own economy, social institutions, their own language, and even customs that were all unique to Safriti. Safriti had announced their split from North Efriti, or Nefriti, during the 21st classification. There had been 21 classifications since then and Safriti was not any better off than they had been when they declared succession.

Efriti declared their secession after over 400 lengths of unfair and unequal treatment. Efritians were part of the main supporters of the revolution that led to the Great War so they were negatively affected during rebuilding. Greater houses and noble houses were staffed with Eloxians, The Center believed that only Eloxians possessed the intellectual and the moral capacity to be leaders. Lesser houses were fitted with elites from the Twins which meant that all natural-born Efritians were left to prove themselves, having to serve at the pleasure of the lesser houses. They were forced to be no-namers until after the first classification.

However, after the first classification, no Efritians were promoted. This didn't end and the mistreatment of Efritians continued. By not having access to the political world, Efritians were pushed out of decisions about their own homeland. They were not allowed to have a say in the laws created, could not participate in their cultural traditions, and were persecuted if they refused to obey their Eloxian nobles. This treatment was met time and time again with protests and clamor from Efritians but they were routinely ignored and pushed aside. Their problems were exasperated by the lack of resources provided to them, the Eloxians taking everything in Efriti for themselves. The Efritian experience of being pushed aside classification after classification united the continent and Efritians declared open rebellion. It was a massive revolt and when The Center refused to recognize Efritian's power and their demands for equality, Efritians kicked most Eloxians and non-Efritians out of the south of Efriti. However, that was the extent of the successes of the rebellion, succession from the immediate threat of non-Efirtians but not from the reign of The Center.

From that day forward the continent was split into Nefriti and Safriti. In the modern-day, relations between the two places are amicable in terms of trade and there are no inquisitions on either side anymore. However, that doesn't mean that The Center does not brutalize Safriti anymore. Safrititi is always at the point of rebellion. Cautious guerilla groups knew their strength lied in overextending The Center and their resources. So the tension was always brewing just under the surface, waiting for the day where Safriti was in a position to fight back against The Center once and for all.

.

For all intents and purposes, The Center handled conflict and business in Safriti the same way it did in Nefriti. They sent classifiers to classify, sent the army in case of trouble, and even had a Safritian embassy, separate from the main outpost in Nefriti. The way the government functioned within Safriti practically rendered it as its own territory. Nefritian business was never mixed with Safritian business. Each side of the continent had its own representatives, own rules, and own rules of engagement. It was treated by The Center as its own independent territory, except for the small detail that The Center never officially recognized Safriti or that it had declared independence. They dealt with Safriti as if it were an autonomous state but never admitted to it. They always simply referred to any recorded interaction with Safritian territories as having happened in the South of Efriti.

Every book printed by The Center, every piece of recorded history in The Vault, every government-funded school curriculum, they all spread lies. Ava couldn't know just how far the misinformation seeded but every noble and great family she had ever been around failed to realize that Efriti functioned and was treated as two separate states. This deceit was made easy in a couple of ways. Books were heavily censored in Baethos and comprehensive and correct ones were hard to come by, Cooker had explained. Little to no written news came out of Safriti, most of the underworld and no-namers communicated through the spoken word. What was common knowledge to some in Efriti was lost on elites in places like Elox and Dove Island that had little connection to the outside world. And while Safriti held was eventually allowed to name five noble families to rule over Safriti and balance the five noble families in Nefriti, Safriti was never allowed to have a seat in The Council of Nobles.

Her readings on Aeliz did not prove to be much different, oppression and silencing from The Center were commonplace there too. Aeliz was the birthplace of the revolution that started The Great War. They were punished for it by being run off their lands, killed, or forced to work in Elox as servants. Aeliz was uninhabited for dozens of classifications. On the 32nd classification, a very progressive council set out to reinhabit Aeliz and make it a burgeoning civilization that could contribute to the wellbeing of Baethos. This progressive council appointed ten willing noble houses and 100 greater families to start a civilization and profit off the land. The chosen families would then sponsor people to come. Not only was this incursion to settle the new continent shocking in and of itself but for the first time, other continents that were not Eloxian became somewhat equal. The Council's appointment of ten nobles was distributed as so: two nobles from Nefriti, two from The Twins, two from Dove Island, and four from Elox.

By the 40th classification, the Aelizan people had been widely successful in their endeavors. Unique to Aelizan culture was the view of equality amongst the people. Everyone regardless of gender, religion, language, or skin color had an equal place in society and life on the islands. Aleizan's paid their share of taxes and imported what was needed to The Center with relatively few complaints. Because of that, they were able to get away with not having a large army presence. Until the beginning of the 40th classification when a new Council, the harshest one Baethos had seen in generations, took power. They were unhappy at the way Aleiz was progressing and found them to be a threat to the hegemony of Baethos. Aeliz had sprouted its own language, customs, and culture and rarely adhered to rules set forth by Baethos.

So from the 40th to the 42nd classification, the army presence grew and the people became almost imprisoned on their small islands. From an elaborate civil society that valued helping each other to shackled people, unable to communicate in their language, or enjoy their customs. The unrest began to stir and the people of Aeliz were ready for a rebellion, calling for the independent continent of Aeliz. One of the Aelizan islands became the rebel outpost, Zaridios; Theo's home. Zaridios was small and had never caused The Center any problems so they managed to stay discrete. The lack of attention given to Zaridios allowed the rebels to wreak havoc on the Baethan army and The Center's commands. The rebels created a lot of noise the first 5 lengths they were active before The Center finally agreed to a meeting to discuss the terms of peace. It was a victory for not only Aeliz but for the Baethan people, things could be different. But the agreement to a truce and peace was a trap and The Center squashed the rebellion quickly. On the night they were supposed to begin negotiations, the army killed all rebel leaders and burned Zaridios to the ground. The rebellion was dead and the people of Aeliz were cracked down on even harder. The island Zaridios was renamed by the people as Lamentations. The Aelizians were lamenting their failed rebellion and their losses.

The massacre was on the fifth length of the 42nd classification. Almost 13 lengths prior. As Ava reread the history of the small island, she began to wonder if Theo was there, if she witnessed her island burning. According to the calculation she had made, if Theo ran away from home 12 lengths before and the massacre had occurred around that same time that would mean she was there. Ava could be speculating but she now believed Theo ran away from home because she had none left, it had burned to the ground. Ava now felt bad for asking about it, Theo's possible connection to the tragedy could explain why Theo didn't elaborate on her birthplace. Anytime Ava would ask about or mention a certain place, Theo would jump at the opportunity to regale her with stories of that location, adding to Ava's knowledge of the world but not that time.

Ava was pulled from her reading when she heard a sound from Theo. The captain had dozed off and begun to snore. Her third snore was particularly loud and it jolted her awake. She sat up, brushed her hair out of her face, and tried to shake it off as if she had never fallen asleep.

"Is it time for bed, Captain?" Ava asked, looking up from the book. A smirk playing on her face.

Theo cleared her throat, "I think it might be, yes."

"I'll see myself out, then," Ava stood up and gathered her book and the small bag she had started to carry around. She packed away what she was reading and made her way to the door.

"Before you go," Theo called out, "since you are free tomorrow, come by an hour before training so we can vet you and get that out of the way."

"Sounds good," Ava smiled at the captain, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Red," Theo smiled in return.

Ava closed the door behind her and then burst into a sprint. She had no idea what time it was but in her panicked mindstate, she didn't care to even estimate. There was no one on the deck and she ran into no one on her way into the cabins either. All that was going through Ava's mind was being discovered. In the bliss, she had been in since joining the crew she had managed to forget she would be vetted. She had no idea what would be asked or how deep it went.

Was it too early to come clean? Had she solidified enough connections to be protected and not thrown to the wolves? Was it worth the risk to have a clear conscience? She could keep her cards close to her chest and stay silent but end up getting discovered anyway. There was no right answer, any way she decided to go was not without risk or consequence. She had to get to Cooker. If anyone would know anything about the vetting process it would be her. In the dark hallway, she had difficulty finding Cooker's room but managed to find it, a C carved into her door. Ava knocked frantically on the door in hopes of a response.

"Cooker! It's Ava!" Ava said loudly as she banged the door with an open palm.

There was no answer and Ava's panic was weighing on her chest. She kept hitting the door until it opened. She was not met with short hair and tattoos but with a tall figure with long black hair, Xyra. She had no shirt on, just a white undershirt, and the pants she had been wearing all sun.

"Oh," Ava said, cheeks going red from embarrassment, "I could've sworn this was Cooker's room."

"It is," Xyra said, gruffly. Her voice was heavy with sleep. What had Ava interrupted? "I'm heading out, Cook."

"Alright, night," Cooker called out from inside the room, propped up on her bed.

"And you," Xyra pointed at Ava before she left, "keep it down."

"Aye, my apologies," Ava nodded curtly and then walked into the dark cabin. She shut the door behind her and waited for a few beats, "Are you sleeping with Xyra?"

Cooker snorted a bit, "Fuck no."

Cooker provided no other information or explanation as to why Xyra had been in her room.

Ava got to the point, "I'm getting vetted tomorrow."

"That is what you came in here and woke me up for?" Cooker was exasperated, "I have to start work early tomorrow."

"I know," Ava said apologetically, "and I am very, very sorry but I'm freaking out. Should I tell them the truth?"

"I wouldn't recommend it, Red," Cooker said with a yawn, "It's up to you. I've got your back if you come clean but you risk getting dropped off at Clabonne. Or captured until it's the perfect moment to use you as bait. Or killed as revenge for the crimes of your father. Ya never know with these ladies."

Ava was not taking this lightly but Cooker seemed to be. Ava walked over and swatted Cooker, "I'm being serious. I need help, Cooker."

"Fine, what do you think I can help you with?" Cooker gave in.

"What are they going to ask me?" Ava started with the most obvious question.

"Nothing major. It's to ensure your safety and ours. They'll ask about where you are from, if you had any family problems that we need to worry about, they'll ask about your connection to any illegal or underground communities and if you've been in any trouble recently. Honestly, Red, you'll be fine. Vetting is usually done so we can protect our asses and no one comes raiding our ship because of some trouble you were in," Cooker explained and then laid back down with her eyes closed.

"So I should lie?" Ava clarified.

"I'm saying if you did lie, you probably wouldn't get caught. You've been around for a while, I'm sure they won't be as scrutinizing with you," Cooker toed the neutral edge, giving advice but not outright condoning anything.

Ava let out a frustrated groan, Cooker was not helping. She wanted a straight answer, should she come clean or wait it out. Either way, she would have to come clean eventually. She was already lying though; she might as well have kept her identity a secret, using the extra time to secure herself a role on the ship. Ava was going to take her chances by sticking to her original story. Her name was Ava Ableworth and she ran away from the Great Ableworth family after disagreements over a marriage.

"You keep saying, 'they.' Who is 'they'?" Ava asked, she was going to milk Cooker for information on how to coast by with or without her cooperation.

"Theo, Xyra, and a witness of their choice. It's usually whichever one of us in Theo's inner circle that isn't busy," Cooker mumbled, sleep threatening to overtake her.

"What is their role?"

"Just to make sure Xyra and Theo are not intimidating or leading the person they are vetting. It has never happened before but Theo's irrationally terrified that one day she'll turn into a power-grabbing monster and so she has checks in place," Cooker elaborated then sighed, opening one eye, "Red, please I am so tired. Is that all?"

Ava nodded, "Aye, again I am sorry. Any last piece of advice?"

"Don't give them a reason to suspect. Nerves are your enemy," Cooker advised then turned her back to Ava and shooed her away with a flick of a hand.

Ava frowned, not feeling wholly convinced she was capable of that. Nerves are your enemy? How was that supposed to help at all? Obviously, nerves were the enemy. In a vetting meeting that would be the first thing, she would look for. Cooker failed to give her any knowledge she could use or apply. No nerves, right. She would just rehearse her story and do that until she could answer the questions in her sleep.

Ava Ableworth. Great Family. Ran away because of an impending marriage. No one was looking for her.

Her thoughts kept getting in the way.

Avery Vaith. Noble Family. Liar. Fraud. Untrustworthy. No one was looking for her.