Hell Hath No Fury - Book One

Stubborn Squared

If Ava had unlimited time and invincible hands, rigging would have been right up her alley. But Ava only had three suns and her hands were quite delicate, as was apparent by her many blisters. As she had expected, Oceane broke it to Ava on the third sun of rigging that it probably wasn't for her. Riggers needed to be fast, able to think on their feet if something on the ship went wrong. If a rope broke or a pulley malfunctioned, Ava would have to know how to quickly find a solution and execute it and she just did not have the know-how. Oceane encouraged her to request to be put on sailing, Ava was sharp and could learn that.

Oceane offered to once again train Ava but this time for sailing and Ava wanted nothing more. Theo gave Oceane the approval and Ava found herself learning about sailing. It was interesting and Ava felt like she was keeping up for the first few suns. Throughout her time training under Oceane, she had gotten closer to the pirate. Even if she was shit at every job she had, at least she was making connections. Forging her place on the ship in case she couldn't rely on a job to prove she was useful. Ava was glued to Oceane's side the entire time from the morning they started. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and their nights were spent together.

It had been so long since she had someone she could just be young and dumb with. Oceane was mischievous, sly, hilarious, and generally fun to be around. Ava had gotten a small glimpse of her personality in Niveal but this was a new level. She had opened up to Ava and Ava witnessed the oddball that was Oceane. Ava embraced it and found herself closer than ever to the young Safritian girl. Oceane had been with Theo since the beginning, she joined during Theo's original recruitment push the first time the crew visited Safriti. However, Oceane had been at sea for much longer. Her father had been a fisherman and had taught Oceane how to sail. Her father also taught her the traditional Safritian way of fishing, with a bow and arrow.

Sailing was Oceane's first job and then she moved up to rigging and then became a full-time vanguard member. If Navi ever needed extra hands though, Oceane was the first person they'd call. Ava learned a lot about Oceane and in turn offered her own information, like always sticking as close to the truth as possible. Oceane had a lot of questions about Ava's wealth and how she was raised and Ava was more than happy to answer them. Morning, aftermorning and night they spoke about their upbringings, the culture they knew, and the traditions they each had. No book Ava read could replace hearing about places from real people. Oceane and Ava grew to be like birds of a feather in a short amount of time and Ava was ecstatic. She hadn't had a friend like this since her chambermaid, almost half a length before.

She had friends on the ship, that much was true, but the nature of her relationship with Oceane was different. It was lighthearted and silly but with the ability to be serious. With the others it was different, she was still herself but a bit more reserved. One on one time with Oceane drew out her childish side, her carefree side. Ava had experienced a lot of emotions since she left home but the overarching feeling had always been a worry. Oceane's company allowed her to take her mind off of all of the questions and what-ifs about her life and allowed her to enjoy her time.

Ava felt a bit guilty once night time would roll around though. Like her brain was on a timer and every night at around the same time a pang of guilt would hit her. It wasn't like she wasn't allowed to hang out with other people, she was. For some reason though, skipping out on her nightly time with the captain was taking a toll on her. She missed Theo, missed her teasing and her knowledge, her calm exterior, and her air of charm. Fuck. The Captain had buried herself inside Ava's head and made no move to leave any time soon.

Even though she missed Theo, she didn't give in. A different side of her, not the side that wore her heart on her sleeve, was distancing herself from the captain. After two nights of being told by Theo that her company was not needed Ava decided to make herself a scarce commodity. If Theo could cancel on Ava, Ava could do the same. She never actually canceled though, she simply didn't show up after dinner. Theo never came to find her though and the longer Theo ignored Ava's absence, the more she was driven to make sure Theo noticed it. It was petty but Ava never claimed not to be.