Dangers Lurk Below

They arrived at the Singing Sisters, the group of islands that the pirates aboard the Scorned Woman knew as their safe place. A place only known to them. The island housed lush green jungles and white sand beaches. The weather outside was dreary and rainy though and didn't give the island the tranquil vibe Theo was so used to. Fuck northern winters, it only got colder and rainier from here. While the weather was a nuisance they were able to unload and bury all their treasure within a day and a half. Then they were back to setting sail towards Corinspe.

A nasty storm was forming in the distance right in the path to Corinspe. Since they were still bound to arrive at Corinspe with plenty of time to spare they decided to take a longer route and avoid any danger of a storm. The new route added three nights to their journey but Theo would have rather another three nights at sea than an eternity under it. They managed to steer clear of the storm.

Since leaving the Signing Sisters, Theo had been getting weird dreams. Three nights in a row she had vivid dreams that made no sense. Flashes of images strewn together with no connection between them. An empty ship deck, fire consuming a tree, a dark stormy night with flashes of thunder littering the sky. By the time she would wake up she would be so shaken up that she would forget the images she had seen, unable to string them back together. On their fourth night after leaving the Signing Sisters, only another evening away from docking in Corinspe, Theo got another dream. This one was different though.

Theo was standing out on the deck of her ship, the night sky above her was gray. She looked around at the empty deck. There was no one else on there, just her. She had an undershirt on, loose and flowing in the wind. The wind picked up speed and almost seemed to take on a life of its own as it tore at her clothing, the cloth ripping at her back, right over her tattooed sigil. She felt the cold air at her exposed skin and looked up at the stormy sky. As she looked up, it cleared up and she was able to see the moon. But the moon she was used to was replaced with the sigil she had learned to draw as a kid. The one she made on the beach and the one tattooed on her back.

Nothing else happened. There was no movement on deck and the wind died out. She was alone and it was quiet. Theo took a step forward, nothing happened. She called out but there was no response. She looked out past the edges of the deck but was met with only darkness. She kept walking though, the wood cool against under her bare feet. She heard a noise from the helm and rushed towards it. She climbed the stairs with incredible speed and as her eyeline caught sight of the helm, Theo saw a figure looking out into the ocean.

The figure was glowing, emanating a slightly blue light from around it. It turned around and Theo felt a warmth enter her body replacing the cold feeling that was there before. Theo felt herself smile in the dream and take a step towards the familiar figure.

"Riva," Theo said and bowed slightly.

The tall figure moved towards her, her features more visible as she came closer. Her dark skin contrasted the light blue robes she had on. Her eyes were aglow with the same faint blue that emanated from her surroundings. Riva's tightly curled hair unmoving and perfectly kept despite the wind that had begun to kick back up. She walked slowly towards Theo, ethereal in her presentation. She reached a long arm out towards the bowing Captain and lifted Theo's chin up to her gaze with a slender finger.

"My child, do not be mistaken," Riva said, "there are dangers lurking beneath the surface."

"What does that mean?" Theo asked.

Riva pulled her hand away from Theo's chin and began to walk away. Theo reached out to try and touch her God but she couldn't, Riva was too far and Theo's feet were stuck in place. Theo didn't understand what had been said to her. It made no sense. She lived on the ocean, of course, there were dangers lurking beneath it.

"Please! Stay," Theo pleaded, "I need your help. What does it mean?"

Riva turned around and walked back towards her follower. Theo did not dare to reach back out or make a move to touch Riva. Riva stood in front of Theo and placed thumbs over Theo's cheeks gently, palm cupping her jaw and fingers tucked behind her ears.

"You do not need my help, child," Riva said, "you never have. You are a worthy one."

Riva bent down and placed a kiss on Theo's forehead. Theo closed her eyes to cherish the rare interaction she had with Riva and when she opened them again she was in her quarters, awake and staring at the ceiling. She heard a rumble in the distance and sat up, looking around her dark room. Suddenly, her room illuminated with a flash of light from outside. There was a lightning storm somewhere in the distance. Theo got out of bed and got dressed.

On deck, her crew was working hard through the night. She took a lap around the deck and saw nothing out of the ordinary. On the helm steering, the ship was Navi. Theo climbed up to her and greeted her with a sleepy smile.

"There is a storm nearby," Navi said, "Looks nasty."

"Aye, let's try and avoid that," Theo stated.

Navi rolled her eyes a bit, "I hadn't thought of that before. How genius."

Theo reached out to shove Navi's shoulder and then walked to the edge of the ship, leaning against it, "Why are you on the night shift?"

"I've been working nights for the last cycle."

"Doesn't answer my question. You hate nights, so why are you working them?" Theo rephrased.

"You know why," Navi didn't meet Theo's gaze.

"To avoid having the same schedule as Xyra," Theo spelled it out.

"What are you getting at? Is it going to be some bullshit lecture about unifying the team and not letting romance get in the way?" Navi grumbled.

"I'm not here to lecture. I was checking up on you," Theo tried, "I know Xy and I are close but that doesn't mean I don't care about your feelings in all of this too. How are you doing?"

"I would be doing better if she gave me a reason," Navi shrugged, not meeting Theo's gaze.

Theo had no more information on the matter than Navi had. From what she had gathered, Xyra had cut things off with Navi to protect herself. That was information passed down from Cooker who was simply speculating. Navi had someone waiting for her onshore in Corinspe and Xyra was not in the business of sharing. Navi liked to be adventurous and have friends in many ports, sex friends more specifically. When they were first together Navi stayed loyal but once they split Navi had gone back to her old way of doing things. No one judged, it was just Navi and she wasn't the only one of the ship that liked to keep her options open.

However, a length earlier Navi had found someone on land, someone she claimed was more than just a friend. This new friend, Theo honestly couldn't remember their name, lived in Corinspe, and worked at an apothecary there. If Theo were to guess why Xyra made an impulse decision to break things off with Navi it would be because of the fact they were rapidly approaching Corinspe and the aforementioned special friend would be waiting for the navigator with open arms. Navi had made it clear with her partner that while she was at sea anything went but fear of Navi's partner was not Xyra's problem. Xyra had problems with controlling her jealousy when it came to Navi and Theo bet that Xyra knew she couldn't handle not being the only one receiving Navi's affections. Breaking it off before Corinspe gave her plenty of time to adjust to life without Navi before having to see the other two together.

"My guess is she didn't couldn't stand not having you to herself," Theo shrugged.

"But she did have me all to herself. I haven't been fucking around with anyone when we dock. Only her," Navi argued.

"Aye but you have someone onshore. That isn't just sleeping around, that is an emotional connection."

"I don't have anyone onshore. That is what I'm trying to say."

"Jin," Theo remembered their name.

"I am not with Jin anymore. I haven't been for a long time. We've been split longer than we were even together," Navi said, "I couldn't do a relationship with a land dweller. I thought maybe they were special but it was just a fad."

"What?" Theo scrunched her brows together in confusion, this was news to her.

"What do you mean what? I've been telling you this whole time. I'm not with anyone," Navi said.

"You've never said anything about it before."

"I just assumed people had figured it out."

"How would they have? You don't talk about your personal life to anyone Nav," Theo laughed, "You aren't so much an open book."

"So Xyra broke it off with me because she thought I was with someone else?"

"I've said enough. It is all speculation," Theo held her hands up. "If you want to know you can go talk to her like a mature adult."

A bright flash illuminated the night sky before falling back to darkness, a booming crack heard seconds later. Theo's had spun to the location of the lightning and she squinted in an attempt to make out how serious the storm ahead of them was. They could take their time going around it since they were not due in Corinspe for another 7 suns. Theo preferred to stay away from the island anyway, the closer to docking on the sun of the pirate council meeting, the better. Certain crowds tending to flock to Corinspe to vacation before the meetings and other groups liked to wait to spend their time at the island after a meeting had concluded. Theo preferred the company of the latter group.

"Captain! A ship on the horizon!" A call came from the crow's nest.

Theo patted Navi on the back then walked down the stairs to arrive back on the main deck. She was handed a spyglass by one of the deckhands and she looked out in the direction she was pointed to. It was dark and not even the moon could provide relief behind its curtain of clouds. It was a large ship, she couldn't make out any other details.

"I can't see its colors," Theo said then handed the glass over to Cooker who had emerged from the lower decks after hearing there was a ship on the horizon.

Cooker raised the spyglass to her line of sight and began to search for any clues that Theo could have missed. After a few minutes, Cooker handed the glass back.

"They've raised a white flag," Cooker said, "they don't seem to be moving."

"Get us closer to that ship," Theo called up towards the helm then put the spyglass back to her eye, staring out into the horizon.

"What's the plan, Cap?" Juri, one of the sailors asked.

"Get close enough to scope out what's going on. If they need help then we will do our best to help them," Theo explained.

"It looks to be a large merchant vessel. Any plans to raid?" Cooker asked.

"We aren't low on anything," Theo shook her head, "It's an unnecessary risk to try and raid their ship. They're big, we don't know what that cargo is carrying and how far they are willing to go to protect it."

"Aye, aye, Captain," Cooker said, then began to back away, "gonna go wake up Mor and tell her we've got a white flag on our hands."

Theo didn't answer. She just kept her eye on the horizon. The silhouette of the ship getting closer and easier to see. As they got closer, the storm brewing to their left became more and more serious. The deep rolls of thunder echoed through the air and the frequent strikes of lightning gave them momentary light. Each flash, Theo was able to get a better picture of the ship they were gaining distance on.

It was large and the only flag waving was the flag for help. The ship had gun ports lining all along the broadside of the ship that was currently closed. The ship was not moving, they had dropped anchor. Theo felt the commotions of her crew waking up and preparing. Morgana eventually came to stand by her side and Theo briefed her on what she had observed.

"Get Oceane to ready the cannons, just in case," Theo commanded and Morgana complied.

As they approached the mystery ship, Theo felt the pressure in the air shift. Her fingertips began to tingle and her heart began to beat fast. Something seemed off and she wasn't sure why. The storm was growing to their left and if something went wrong, there were limited options for their escape. If the other ship were merchants protecting something valuable and saw a well known pirate ship approaching, Theo wasn't sure if they would lay down their arms. She was beginning to think maybe they shouldn't have approached but she couldn't ignore a distress signal. If the people on the ship were in need and Theo turned away to let them get caught up in the quickly approaching storm, her guilt would be too much.

The sails were pulled in a bit and their speed began to reduce as they got closer and closer to the other ship. They were about 400 feet from the ship when Theo could finally make out shapes on board. Or, she could have if there were any. The deck was completely empty, not a sailor in sight. Her gut wrenched around as her nerves started to claw at her again, something wasn't right.

Theo dropped the eyeglass from her point of vision just as a huge flash illuminated the sky, lightning lashed down onto an island near them. Theo's attention was caught by that particular strike and she focused on the island it struck. A faint glow began to emerge from the dark landmass and Theo raised her spyglass again but this time aimed it at the island. She saw fire begin to engulf some of the trees, even through the rain. She swung her line of sight back over to the empty deck and a cold chill ran up her spine. The images she had in her dreams. They all flooded back to her now.

The storm. The empty deck. The trees on fire.

And then she remembered the reason she had been awake and out on the deck in the first place. Riva had come to visit her in her dreams. Theo had been issued a warning.

There are dangers that lie beneath the surface.

Riva wasn't talking about the ocean. She was talking about the ship in front of them. Theo dropped the spyglass onto the deck and turned around swiftly.

"Get us away from that fucking ship!" Theo yelled as she ran up to the helm, "It's a trap!"

The sailors around her looked confused but did as they were told and began to work towards shifting away from the lone vessel instead of next to it. Theo yelled out more commands, now on the helm and pointing in different directions. Morgana was instructed to ready the vanguard and Oceane was instructed to prepare to fire at will. Their ship began to turn away, veering to the right of the mystery ship. She was handed back the spyglass she had carelessly discarded earlier and looked at the ship, watching for any sort of movement.

There was nothing.

Perhaps she was just being paranoid. Maybe she was reading too much into her dream and missed the message completely. She kept her eye trained on the deck. She felt the rush of people below on the deck but Theo kept watch through her spyglass, having to adjust herself to keep it trained on the other ship as they began to move away. The Scorned Woman which was once close to the other ship had shifted in the opposite direction to try and run from it. Once the Scorned Woman had visibly changed its path, that's when things began to shift.

The other ship, which had been stationary up until that point began to move. At that point, the Scorned Woman was about 400 feet to the right of the other ship, it's bow turning to face slightly away from the other ship. The once desolate deck was now flooding with people. Many people. They just kept pouring out of the ship's hold.

"Definitely a trap!" Theo relayed to the deck, "there are about 50 on the deck! Fully armored. They've got archers!"

She shortened the spyglass and tucked it into her waistband and ran up to the helm where Navi, Xyra, and Cooker had all gathered.

"We can take 50," Cooker said.

"We can't fight them," Theo said, "we don't know how many they have under the deck too."

"Full sail ahead?" Navi asked and Theo nodded. Navi shouted the command and the sails on each of the three masts all unfurled.

The wind from the storm a few miles away from them was helping them pick up speed but the other ship was hot on their trail. The other ship was slightly smaller and it didn't seem to be weighed down with any cargo. It was indeed a trap, this merchant's vessel was not on the seas for the business of trade. The ship was gaining on them and Theo looked back through the spyglass. They had turned to the right as well and began to sail so they would be parallel to the Scorned Woman's port side.

The Scorned Woman was picking up speed, pushing to the limits of how fast it could go but the other ship was not only closing the gap between their bow and the Scorned Woman's stern but they were also closing the distance between their broadsides. Theo had looked over right on time to see all of their gunports opening up, at least 20 from her count. She dropped her line of sight on the ship.

"Navi, get us the fuck away from that ship," Theo stated obviously and then rushed down the helm, "Vanguard! At the ready! Oceane, fire at will!"

Theo ran back down and looked around to take stock of what was happening. Morgana and many of the vanguard girls had armored up and were on deck waiting to see if they would be needed. The deck was taken over by sailors, their commands and hollers filling the air. Theo kept an ear open, listening to them, and making sure they were doing their jobs. They were rapidly accelerating which was good but the wind was putting a lot of strain on the masts which was not. Theo peered over the port side of the ship to see the other ship rapidly closing in on them.

"Oceane," Theo called out, "now would be a great fucking time to fire those cannons!"

As if the powder was awaiting her command to ignite, the ship rattled with the force of the cannon fire. Boom, boom, boom. One after the other they fired off with the intention of tearing the other ship apart. Theo watched as one of the cannonballs fell into the water just short of making an impact but the other two pummelled through the other ship. One crashing into the stern and the other scraping through the deck. The other ship was close enough that she could hear the shouting and the wails from the other deck.

"They're gaining on us," Ava called out to Theo from the helm and Theo looked up at her.

She hadn't seen her emerge but she was probably being used to relay things between the crew. Theo's heart lurched a bit at seeing her above deck and not holed up below where it was safer. But Ava was a part of the crew now and had proved herself to be capable. Theo was fumbling for a response because obviously, the other ship was gaining on them, Theo had eyes, but she was the captain and she was expected to know what to do for their next course of action.

She turned to run to the helm, yet again, in order to devise a plan when she suddenly found herself in the air, flying backward. She hit the deck hard, her shoulder which had mostly healed yelled at her in pain. She heard ringing in her ears and she sat up to look at the panic that was ensuing on deck. There were women on the ground, trying to recover and Theo looked around trying to assess what had happened. Finally, her brain caught up to the situation and her thoughts were less foggy from the impact, she realized they had been hit by a cannonball on deck.

Theo scrambled to her feet and helped the girl nearest to her and then she looked back for anyone to give her an update on what she had missed in the few seconds she wasn't paying attention.

"We got hit at the helm too!" Xyra screamed across the deck and Theo knew they were backed into a corner. Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest and her ears hadn't stopped ringing, she wasn't sure if it was from the blast or from the stress.

"Navi we have to turn this ship around!" Theo yelled once she had regained her ability to form a sentence.

"What?" Navi questioned from her spot in the helm, "Turn where?"

"Into the storm!" Theo explained and climbed the stairs to where Navi was, fighting the harsh winds up. Ava was up there and so was Cooker.

"Captain, all due respect but are you out of your fucking mind?!" Cooker asked.

The ship trembled, another volley of cannonballs had been shot from their ports down below.

"They are faster than us and have more people aboard," Theo said, "and we've already been hit at the helm."

"Exactly! We would be going into the storm with a broken helm," Cooker argued.

"As opposed to fighting each other with cannons until our ship is unable to sail and we get caught up in the storm anyway," Theo threw a rebuttal her way, "We have only gotten this far because we don't take on enemies we know we cannot beat. I prefer my chances with the storm than with whoever the fuck they are."

A large plop was heard in the water behind the stern, a missed cannonball.

"Navi, are you good to turn this around?" Theo asked, knowing the difficulty of the maneuver she was asking Navi to do. Trying to maneuver them away from a fight and in the complete opposite direction into a storm, all while being as quick as they could to avoid being hit, was not an easy task.

"Aye, Cap, but I don't know if I can promise you that we will survive that storm. We'd be going in with all of our sails up. Our mast would be in jeopardy," Navi looked unnerved, the queen of storms was wavering.

Theo faltered in her decision for a second, if Navi was apprehensive about a storm then it was bad. But they had no other options; it was either a slim chance of success through a storm or a slim chance of success facing off with the other ship. She had to just head for the massive clouds in the sky and hope Riva would guide them through the winds and the waves.

"Do it," Theo advanced with her previous plan, "Turn us around and await my command to bring in the sails."

Theo was taking a gamble and everyone on the ship that heard the command to turn around knew it. But they also knew they could trust Theo to make the best decision for them under pressure, it was why she was captain. It was why they had survived that long. Theo wasn't always sure her plans would work but she was always sure it was the best option.

Theo heard Navi relay what she wanted from the crew and they didn't hesitate to get into motion. They were going to abruptly turn, it was a risk and it was time-consuming but they were in danger of getting too close to the other ship if they continued on their same trajectory. Theo saw Ava dart past her and into the lower decks and Cooker ran to help with the sails, readying herself for the order to bring them in. With the well-trained sailors and Navi at the helm, the Scorned Woman began to turn, leaving them vulnerable and in a position for the other ship to gain ground. Oceane took her last opportunity before they turned away in order to shoot. Another three shots from the canons shook the other ship but it wasn't long before two massive metal balls collided with their own ship.

One, Theo estimated, clipped their stern and the other crashed straight into the back of the ship, she suspected her balcony was no longer usable. Within minutes of that exchange, the Scorned Woman was successfully on its way towards the storm, the other ship struggling to keep up. The other vessel, probably because it was staffed with more fighters than experienced sailors, had a rough time turning around and regaining speed and the Scorned Woman was able to pull ahead. Each minute that passed, they were farther and farther away from the other ship but they were not in the clear just yet. The storm was rapidly approaching and Theo calculated they had about a half-hour before they were in the thick of it. Even on the outer bands of it, the wind was severe.

"Batten down the hatches," Theo called, "Sailors, be prepared to furl the sails. Leave only the jib and the foresail up!"

Theo yelled the commands as she began to climb up the mainmast, to where Cooker was clinging to one of the beams. With the monster of a storm they were facing, every sail would be twice as hard to gather. Theo gave Cooker a nod and it was returned, she sat down on the beam too, thighs tightly gripping it. Theo watched down below as the ship was preparing for the lashing it was about to get. Theo looked up to the sky and closed her eyes for a moment.

Riva, please, keep us safe, she thought, calling out for aid.

Theo felt the first sprinkle of rain hit her face and she looked back, squinting through the dark to ascertain how far the other ship was. It was now out of sight, having decided to stay away from the storm. Theo would have sighed in relief but with one threat gone, another was just beginning. Theo yelled to the other sailors on the mast to bring in the sails and her call echoed throughout the deck as others repeated the command. The wind was growing more violent and the rain switched from a mere mist to heavy droplets very quickly. Admittedly, Theo was cutting it very close and she could have made the call to lift the sails sooner but she couldn't risk losing the ground they had gained.

Theo and Cooker expertly raised their portion of the sails but looking around, others weren't so lucky. Towards the top of the mainmast, the crew in charge of bringing in the main top gallant were struggling, the wind making it near impossible to do anything. If that sail wasn't brought in though, they risked their main mast breaking from the intensity of the winds. Theo quickly set out to begin climbing towards them. A hand came over her ankle and held her in place mid-climb, it was Cooker.

"You can't go up there, Theo! It's too dangerous," Cooker called out over the loud winds.

"If anyone can pull in the gallant sail it's me," Theo said, her smaller body mixed with freakish grip strength made her the go-to topgallant girl on all of her old crews. It was risky but she had the experience.

"Xyra is going to kill me if I let you go up there in this weather!" Cooker yelled up at Theo, holding onto the mast tightly with one arm and Theo with the other.

Theo kicked out her leg and managed to catch Cooker on the side of her face. Cooker released her grip on Theo's ankle and Theo took the opportunity to scurry up. She briefly looked back and called over her shoulder, "Now you can say you didn't let me."

Theo fought against the wind and climbed to the top, the fat droplets of rain now pelting her face. Feeling like hundreds of tiny pins attacking her cheeks. She carefully transitioned onto the beam and scooted alongside one of the girls, helping her pull her side of the sail up. Now, one side of the sail was up but the other side was still being raised.

"Climb down!" Theo screamed over the sounds of the storms, releasing the one she had just helped from her duty.

Theo scooted her way to the other beam, starting to aid the other girl with pulling the rest of the sail up. A particularly strong gust of wind coupled with the ship hitting a large wave broadside led both of them to almost be toppled from the mast. They held on tightly, the other girl leaning down to wrap her arms around the beam. She was one of the new girls and Theo had no idea why she had been assigned up there. If she had any sailing background, it clearly didn't include having to go through storms because her terrified expression was giving away her inexperience. She would have to double-check and pay closer attention to where people were being placed.

"I need your help," Theo's voice cut through the madness, the air was getting harder to breathe, something about the wind whipping around them so fast didn't allow her to get a proper breath in, "You're going to need to let go of the beam and help me raise this sail before the mast breaks!"

The girl looked up at Theo, wide-eyed. Theo held out a hand trying to coax her to take it and release her full body clutch on the beam. The girl was reaching out to take it when some wind blew them back so hard that Theo was inches away from her grip slipping and tumbling to her death. The wind did not stop its assault on the mast and Theo heard a resounding crack in the air. She saw the beginnings of a break in between her and the girl. Theo acted quickly, arms shooting out to grab the girl's forearms. The crack was getting wider and wider with each attack from the wind and part of the beam loosened below the girl before it broke off, falling to the ground.

Either the shock of the moment rendered her useless or she hadn't caught up to what was happening but the girl was no help holding herself up. Theo's grip on her arms was the only thing keeping her from plummeting down but Theo didn't know how long she could hold them both up. The other girl's deadweight pulled Theo closer to the jagged edge of the beam. She hooked her ankles over each other and used the leverage from the beam under her to hold her up. Both of her hands gripping the other girl's arm. Theo tried to pull up but the girl looked down and began to panic. Her body began to slip from Theo's wet grasp but Theo continued to pull up with all her might.

"Hold on!" Theo screamed but the girl's hands were flailing, unable to grip anywhere on Theo's forearms. The girl slipped further and further until only Theo's hands were gripping hers.

"Don't let go!" the girl said, Theo didn't even know her name.

No sooner did she say that her hand slipped out of Theo's and her arms flailed helplessly as she fell. Theo watched as her body hit the deck and she turned away, stomach threatening to spill what they had for dinner. She had dropped one of her crew, someone that was so new Theo hadn't even had the chance to remember her name. She wanted to stop but her job wasn't over yet. The mast was still in danger. Theo felt sick to her stomach when this happened when one of her crew died and there was no time to mourn or honor their life.

Theo took a second to gather her reeling thoughts then sprung into action, trying to fix the mess at hand. Theo made quick work of taking her dagger to the ropes that held the sails and she managed to cut the cloth free. She sheathed the dagger and kicked at the sail until it fell victim to the wind and it was dragged out to sea. Her body was worn out in that short time just from having to keep herself on the mast. She looked down and spared one last glance at the girl but she was gone and Theo wasn't sure if her body had fallen overboard or if it was taken away by one of the crew.

Every second she spent up on the mast was another second her life threatened to end the way the other girls did. Theo carefully climbed down the mast, taking her time to secure her footing on the ropes below. To say it was chaos once she got back on deck was an understatement. The ship was void of any cargo and the lack of weight meant the ship was having a hard time on the waves. Theo stepped her feet to the deck just to be thrown onto her back as she began sliding around the deck. A hard wave had hit the starboard side of the ship and sent a giant wave crashing onto everyone on her portion of the deck. She felt her head slam against the wood on the edge of the deck and she quickly reached out to secure herself onto the nearest solid surface.

Theo pushed her hair out of her face and took a look around at many of the women writhing in pain from the force of them being pushed around the deck. It was dangerous out there and Theo had a feeling she would have to make the call to stop fighting the storm soon. The bestial nature of it coupled with the fact that they needed to focus most of their energy on keeping water off of the ship meant there was little they could do on deck. Theo stood up and pulled her way up to the base of the stairs to the helm.

"Navi! Heave to!" Theo screamed upwards, not wanting to risk climbing stairs in case a wave came in and knocked her overboard.

"We can't secure the tiller by ourselves!" Navi yelled back and Theo took her chances and ran up to the helm.

Climbing onto the helm Theo saw Ava and Navi were both struggling with the wheel, trying to pull it leeward, opposite to the sails. It was too dangerous for anyone to stay up to steer so their best bet was to pull the helm opposite to where the sails were blowing in an attempt to stabilize the rogue ship. It would be a matter of hoping the winds were on their side and the ship didn't capsize. They had no say in their survival once they heaved to but it needed to be done. If Navi stayed up here, she would not only be unable to control the tiller by herself but she would likely not survive the rough seas.

Theo joined the fight against the wheel and used all the strength she could muster in her arms and forearms to pull against the tiller and force it the way they needed it to go. Between Theo and Navi, they were able to do it and Ava stepped away to grab materials to secure the wheel in place. Making quick work of it, they were able to secure the helm leeward and had successfully heaved to.

But Theo had imagined success too early. Navi and Theo were thankfully both still holding on tightly to the wheel, aware of the cardinal rule of running a ship during a storm, hold on, and don't go overboard. Ava, on the other hand, decided she would trust her skinny frame to hold her in place against a raging ocean. She was walking away from the helm, going to continue her duties on deck when a large splash of water rose up from the side of the boat and came crashing down on them. Ava had been about to make her way down the stairs when it hit. Theo watched as Ava's legs were swept out from under her and she fell forward, hitting her head on the stair railings on her way down.

Theo felt her blood go cold and her muscles seize up for a fraction of a second. Ava wasn't getting up. The wave had just barely stopped short of being powerful enough to take Ava's limp body with it into the ocean. Theo waited for the ship to stabilize a bit before rushing forward and holding one hand onto the railing and using her free arm to try and scoop Ava up as best as she could.

"Tell everyone to head inside!" Theo relayed to Navi. "We need four at the bilge pump! We'll do half-hour shifts!"

"Is she okay?" Navi had left her spot clinging to the wheel and was now behind Theo, hanging onto the nearest rope to her.

"I don't know," Theo answered honestly and took a second to let what was happening sink in. Ava had a gash where her hairline started and the rain pelting her face was not washing away the blood fast enough. Ava's eyes were shut but Theo could feel her chest moving up and down. She wasn't sure if Ava was okay but at least she was alive. Theo snapped herself back into reality, there wasn't time to spare, "Get the pump going! I'll be out as soon as I can!"

Theo spared a glance forward. There wasn't another wave that would have been an immediate threat so she took her opportunity to go. She released her grip on the railing long enough to throw Ava over her shoulder and rush down the stairs. Theo made sure to secure herself to a point on deck once she had cleared the stairs. Bending her knees and keeping closer to the ground, she slowly trekked her way to the other side of the ship, to Tuni's room. There were plenty of times where Theo had to stop to readjust Ava or hold on to something for dear life while the rain and wind battered them. She was finally within a feasible distance of the infirmary, only a small amount of space was between them and a relatively safe room.

"C'mon, Red" Theo looked down at Ava who was splayed out in Theo's arm, having slid off her shoulder on their trek over. Theo shook Ava slightly to see if she would wake up. Ava didn't, her head just rolled to the side.

Theo abandoned the hope that Ava would suddenly wake up and walk to the infirmary. She adjusted the redhead in her arms once again and made a run for it. The ship was tilted a bit so it was an uphill battle to the door. Theo reached out and gripped the door just as the boat rocked heavily. Theo, with what little grip strength she had in her reserves, was able to hold onto the door with one hand and Ava with the other as a wall of water rose up and slammed into the deck. Theo pried the door open and the wind pushed her inside, tumbling forward on top of Ava. Ava fell back and loudly slammed into the floor.

Theo scrambled off of Ava and reached over to pick her head up off of the hard ground, "Fuck. Fuck, Red. I'm so sorry. Shit!"

What if Ava was going to be fine and Theo's little tumble fucked it up. She wasn't a healer, she didn't know what was wrong or how to help Ava. All she had done was make it worse. Theo was blaming herself for Ava being unresponsive, Ava had no business being on the helm helping That was Ava's first storm on deck and it was far too aggressive to be her first time helping out. Theo knew Ava was breathing but she just needed to double-check that the girl in her arms was alive. Theo's fingers came to rest on Ava's neck, feeling around for a pulse.

The tumble into the room had not killed Ava, thankfully. But Theo couldn't even begin to predict what would end up happening to Ava. Panic, terror, and a gut wrenching feeling of loss momentarily fell upon her. What if Ava never woke up? Theo pushed the thought out of her mind. They were in the middle of a life-threatening storm and the rest of her crew needed her too. All of the anxiety that had built up since heaving to and getting a second to relax was pushed behind a wall. Theo's crisis wall, as her crewmate's referred to it, was Theo's innate ability to be able to push panic and chaos away from her thoughts in times of extreme stress. It was the reason she always seemed eerily calm, even when killing. The wall went up and there were no thoughts of Ava or loss or heartbreak. Only the goal to keep everyone that she could alive.

Tuni was nowhere to be seen but there were people lining the beds in the room. Some were asleep, others were looking over at Theo's display, Ava in her arms. Theo got up and quickly found Ava a bed. The door swung open and in walked Tuni, one arm full of supplies.

"Fortune! You cannot go out there when it is like this," Theo scolded, not only was Tuni small and easily swept away by any force but she was also their only healer. Her life was a top priority on this ship.

"I have patients and I needed things from the kitchen," Tuni fought back, then looked over at Theo, and worry spread across her face, "Are you hurt?"

"Not me," Theo said and then gripped the edge of the bed as the ship rocked hard to one side, "Red."

Tuni's eyes followed to where Theo was now looking and her gaze fell on Ava. A gasp escaped Tuni's lips and she pushed Theo out of the way and began to examine Ava. Theo probably should have gone back out there and relieved someone from pump duty but she needed to stay to at least see Tuni start helping Ava. Tuni pulled Ava's hair out of her eyes and pushed it off her forehead. She examined the gash on Ava's forehead then began to feel around her head for something else, Theo didn't know what she was doing. Ava's head was gently set back down and Tuni lifted her shirt.

There were bruises forming on one of her sides, where she had slammed into the staircases and there was blood over a lot of her stomach. Looking closer, there were large scrapes and gashes on her stomach too, like debris had hit her. Theo hadn't seen those. Had Ava been outside helping with the helm that whole time while being injured? Theo couldn't stomach watching anymore, she left without another word.

She came up behind Navi who was partnering with Morgana to work one side of the bilge pump. Theo tapped her on the shoulder and Navi looked over then nodded. Navi began to untie the rope that was around her waist, securing her to the ship, and handed it to Theo. Theo tied it securely on her and began to work the pump. Switching out was a constant thing after that, moving people in and out of positions. Theo would work until she would get tapped and then catch a break in the lower decks until it was her turn again, in and out of the rain all night. Time seeped together and Theo couldn't tell how long they had been at it, hurtling through choppy waters, but it didn't show any signs of stopping.

Finally, after what she could only assume was over 12 hours, the winds began to stop beating, the rain began to lighten and the sun was finally able to be seen peeking out from the gray skies. Theo was across from Navi when things finally died down, both of them exhausted but still working the pump. Theo had had a while to plan out their next steps and was ready with commands as soon as the rain let up.

"Get us to the nearest island," Theo said on a downward push to the pump, "we're going to have to do some repairs before we dock at Corinspe."

Navi nodded and pulled away from the pump but Theo kept at it. They had a breach in the hull, even with no storm they needed to do this. At seeing the rain die down, Xyra emerged from the lower decks where she had been resting before her next turn at the pump. She came to help Theo but Theo had other plans.

"Find me girls that will pump, everyone who worked the storm needs rest," Theo panted out, not stopping on the pump, "then alert carpentry that we are going to have to careen the ship for repairs."

Xyra nodded and Theo could see the pain in her eyes. Careening on an island they didn't know after being chased by a mysterious enemy ship was not ideal but it would have to be done. Xyra left to do what she was told and Theo felt the adrenaline leave her body and each turn of the pump left her more and more winded. Finally, her replacements came. She untied the rope from around her waist and let it drop to the ground. She turned around and headed to the infirmary, to check up on Tuni and inform her that the storm had subsided.

"Tuni," Theo called as she walked in, "Storm's over. Better catch the girls before they scatter about."

Tuni narrowed her eyes and looked between the door and Theo. Theo knew Tuni was debating whether to check on her captain first or the other women who had been pumping. They too were just as finicky as Theo about getting treated for injuries, preferring to wear the proof of their adventures over bandaging them until they were healed. If Tuni wanted to check up on them before they passed out from exhaustion she would have to move quickly.

"Go," Theo chuckled a bit, with what little energy she had left, "I will be here when you get back."

There were a lot of her crew in the infirmary and she wanted to stay at least until they woke up to be able to talk to them. She also wanted to stay because she was invested in the recovery of a certain redhead. Not that she wasn't invested in the rest of the crew's safety but she wasn't sleeping with any of the other crew. Theo reducing Ava to just someone she was sleeping with was discounting what Ava actually meant to the Captain. Ava made Theo warm inside, happy, bubbly. Theo couldn't explain it but Ava was a breath of fresh air and Theo felt herself always gravitating to her.

Theo was snapped back into reality and she realized, once again, the situation they were in. She walked to the bed Ava had been put in just to check on her. Theo had hoped to find her awake but Ava was not. She thought maybe she had woken up at some point in the half a sun Theo was out working and had fallen back asleep to rest so Theo walked forward and shook her a bit.

"Red," she whispered and bent down closer, "wake up. It's me."

There was nothing. Ava hadn't woken up at all. Theo checked her pulse, still there. Ava was alive but not awake. Even after all that time, she hadn't recovered. Theo felt bricks in her gut, weighing her down. Theo glanced around the room to see if anyone else was awake. At first glance, no one was so she bent down and placed a kiss on Ava's cheek.

"Don't leave me, exal"

Keeper of my affection.

Her eyelids pricked with sleepiness and she was not going to last much longer on her feet. She left Ava momentarily then pulled a chair over to the foot of her bed. Theo stared at Ava's sleeping form for a little until she felt creepy about it. If she was in that situation she wouldn't want anyone staring at her, no matter the relation to her. Theo rested her head on the edge of the bed and felt her breaths getting deeper and sleep began to overtake her.