(no subject)

[bringmethatnpc]

Everything in Panama City had gone mostly according to plan, a rare happenstance for the pirates in this motley crew, and the more superstitious among them spent the first few days on board their new vessel debating whether this meant good luck or bad, fair wind or foul.

The Spanish ship they'd stolen isn't large or particularly pleasing to the eye, being in need of some new paint and wood maintenance, but it's seaworthy and swift before the wind, and most importantly, well-stocked for a long voyage.

And a long journey to Singapore it will be.

Comments

Below deck

[bringmethatnpc]

Spanish colors stowed and forgotten in a dark and damp corner of the hold, the ship that had once carried silver is now firmly in the hands of pirates. This is particularly evident below decks, where the mess is soon that of sea dogs thinking more often of grog than running a tight ship.

The dim light and faint creaking are ever present.

Re: Below deck

[badinlatin]

Mal doesn't like staying below deck. It's not that he's bothered by the movement of the ship on the water (something still more or less new to him) but compared with the view above, being surrounded by wood planks is not how Mal chooses to spend his days.

"Will?" Mal calls around in the mostly-darkened space immediately below, hammocks swinging around him calmly. "You about somewhere?"

Re: Below deck

[turned_captain]

Will isn't hard to find when you need him. If he's not working, he's watching Elizabeth or, like now, lying in a hammock and trying to get some sleep even in the middle of the day.

He's not asleep, though, and rolls out of his hammock the instant Mal calls out, reaching for a shirt quickly.

"I'm here."

Re: Below deck

[badinlatin]

"Stay there, I'll come to you."

And Mal does, even though it takes him some time -- no matter how tightly stowed some people's things are, it's still an effort to sidestep stray clothes or belongings on the path to Will's hammock.

"You sleep any?"

Re: Below deck

[turned_captain]

It's enough time for Will to fully dress, turning his back to the wall anyway out of some remaining shame regarding his whip scars. He's certainlynot the only man on the ship with similar, but that doesn't mean he's comfortable with the fact his father gave them to him.

"Enough," he replies, fastening his belt on firmly, and checking for the position of his sword.

"What do you need?"

Re: Below deck

[badinlatin]

"To do something."

It's a quick enough answer, and true, even if Mal does keep his voice down in the otherwise empty space for no reason.

"We're close enough to our destination that I figure there can be some planning in specifics taking place? Not that being out on the actual ocean ain't pleasin' and all -- "

Re: Below deck

[turned_captain]

Will lifts his head up to look over Mal's shoulder at the ladder to the main deck, checking or anyone else listening.

He can understand having to do something.

"We don't have flying ships around here, Mal. Sailing takes time."

He's not happy about it, though.

Re: Below deck

[badinlatin]

"Trust me, I'm aware -- if I could've fit a shuttle through the bar door I would've."

Mal pauses, here, not sure where to go next, or how to advance plans already laid.

"There're lifeboats on this thing, right? We're not that far out, away from the temple."

Re: Below deck

[pirate-gibbs.livejournal.com]

Gibbs lies awake in his hammock, bottle at hand but not feeling any form of sleep, rum-aided or not, coming to him. Everything has been going well so far, which can only mean that there is much to go wrong when the passage is made and the ship gains a day.

He climbs out of the hammock and begins to walk about the cramped quarters, humming an old shanty to himself.

Re: Below deck

[try_corsets]

Elizabeth doesn't sleep near the crew. She stays close to Tonks, in the cabin, and away from Will, though nothing would suggest that her fiancé would wish to string his hammock beside hers anyway, and not just because he has long been concerned with propriety.

They aren't talking. It's as much her fault as his, she knows, if not more so, and as the days and nights begin to blend together, she avoids the eyes of the crew and keeps more and more to herself, a task which proves easiest at night.

Sitting on a formerly neat pile of cordage and sail cloth, back to a wall, Elizabeth hears the light humming and draws herself further into the shadows until only the tips of her boots are showing. She watches Gibbs approach, waiting until he is much closer to say:

"I do not know that tune."

Re: Below deck

[pirate-gibbs.livejournal.com]

Gibbs is momentarily startled by Elizabeth's voice. But he knows that a ship's bowels tend to hide things. Things far worse than Miss Swann. So he's almost glad to see her.

"It's about Captain Kidd, God rest him. I learned it back in my navy days, when I fought against the brethren. I suppose some things stick with you.

"I see I am not the only one awake tonight."

Re: Below deck

[try_corsets]

Raising an eyebrow, Elizabeth gives a perfunctory nod.

"It's too fine a night for sleeping," she hedges, eyes silently daring him to question why she's spending it below deck. "Captain Kidd. Do you believe the legends of his lost treasure, Mr. Gibbs?"

It's said with a small smile, just visible in the dim light.

Re: Below deck

[pirate-gibbs.livejournal.com]

Gibbs gives a small laugh. "Of course not, Miss Swann. I never knew a pirate who could leave a treasure in its hiding spot for long. All that nonsense about buried pirate gold is something we started telling each other to explain why none of us ever has any money. Whatever Kidd had, his men would have spent within days of his passing.

"And if it's a fine night, why are you down here?" He's sharp enough to wonder.

Re: Below deck

[try_corsets]

"Not all treasure is easily spent," she remarks, fingers lifting to her neckline as if searching for the piece of Aztec gold that used to hang there.

Sharp, yes, but perhaps not wise enough in the ways of women to recognize the danger in pursuing certain topics when a vague response has already been given. Elizabeth, eyes narrowing, shoots him a sidelong glance and purses her lips.

"I thought I might enjoy some solitude," is her waspish response, which is as close as she's going to get to admitting she thinks Will is top side. A sigh, and her expression softens. "But truthfully I was growing a bit bored."

Re: Below deck

[badinlatin]

Mal hasn't gotten used to the hammocks -- cloths on the ground almost feel more like a bunk on Serenity than the maritime compromise between sound sleep and a rolling ship. That leaves Mal dozing while propped up in a corner, awakened when Gibbs passes.

"Wei," he offers to the man, even if he's not really looking for him.

Re: Below deck

[pirate-gibbs.livejournal.com]

"Good evening, Captain." Gibbs moves closer, and gets out a hip flask he took charge of when they took this ship.

Re: Below deck

[badinlatin]

"Good evening yourself," Mal returns not unkindly. "What was that you were singin'?"

Re: Below deck

[pirate-gibbs.livejournal.com]

"A song about the demise of Captain William Kidd. Have y' heard of him?" He knows that Mal is from far away, and knows not to assume much.

Re: Below deck

[badinlatin]

"Not a jot, sorry."

He's standing now, since conversation continued down below might stir some of the other people trying to sleep.

Re: Below deck

[bushel-o-apples.livejournal.com]

Barbossa must sleep. He just must, right? Odd, then, that no one seems to manage to catch him at it. The most that anyone can say about his activities below deck is that he spends some time in the deepest part of the hold, doing who-knows-what, and passing through on his way back to the deck.

Re: Below deck

[try_corsets]

Elizabeth hasn't slept.

It's nearly dawn, and she has done nothing all night but sulk over her conversation with Will. She's actively avoiding him, moving about below deck like a ghost.

However, the thing about avoiding someone is that you are far more likely to know exactly where they are at any given moment, and ever since he disappeared topside, Elizabeth hasn't been able to locate him.

She's starting to worry.

After checking the hold, the galley and the crew quarters, she smacks into Barbosa's chest, clearly distracted.

Re: Below deck

[bushel-o-apples.livejournal.com]

"Now, now, miss Swann, it's not proper of a Lady to go barging into men like that."

He watches her amid the gloom of the hold, yellow-rimmed eyes agleam with contained laughter.

Re: Below deck

[try_corsets]

Scowling, she draws back with the sort of haste that would cause a swish of her skirts were she wearing any, and automatically straightens her shirt.

"It is well for us both then that I have no concern for the rules of propriety. If I did, I would most certainly not be here."

Re: Below deck

[bushel-o-apples.livejournal.com]

His eyebrows raise and his smirk turns into an amused little smile.

"Is that a proposal, miss Swann? Why, coming back to life must have made wonders for my already dashing looks."

But the joke lasts for only a few seconds. Then he goes back to seriousness.

"That's right, miss Swann. This isn't the kind of place one would expect to find you. I'd rather more think you are an above deck kind of person."

Re: Below deck

[try_corsets]

Hard-pressed not to give an undignified snort, Elizabeth ignores his comment as best she is able.

"I'm looking for Will." Just a glance of him across the ship would do, she almost says. "Have you seen him?"