"Hold your arm out straight. Straight! No, not like that! Like this," and she demonstrated, knocking the sword out of his hand for the umpteenth time. Felix cursed under his breath and went to retrieve his blade, leaving Morgan chuckling behind one hand. The two had been sparring for some time, waiting for The Black Pearl, Captain Jack Sparrow's infamous ship, to return with its latest cargo of booty. Captain Sparrow had left his first mate and her helper on Isla de Muerta for no reason other than to "guard the gold" that they stock-piled from every raid, even though with its obvious location it needed no guarding – in reality, their constant on-and-off bickering was getting on his nerves, not that he let on. Even so, the two had jumped at the chance for some break time. Mounds of gold, jewels, and random items of value were the only things to give witness to their sword-play.
"Now, I want you to bend your elbow, like this, and hold the sword firmly. Leave your wrist loose, that's what's going to swing - that's better." She complimented the skinny man as he managed to parry one of her blows, yet she kept her sword held tightly. Having been born and raised as a pirate, Morgan Skully was not one to lose her sword over a minor skirmish like this. Her own father had been captain of his vessel in his day; Felix, on the other hand, was a desertee from the British fleet and Morgan was not at all surprised by the lack of training the damned weasels taught their men. Then again, Felix had never seemed to be one to take anything but the easy way out, which was why she was trying to drill him in the basic skills of sea-life - it wouldn't do to lose a crew member in a stupid accident.
Felix held the sword up and studied it for a moment, and then studied Morgan's stance. He was lanky as the sword was thin - his nose probably could've weighed down a boat, yet it gave a certain balance to the other features on his face. Six feet tall and clumsy as a fish on land, he was probably one of the most awkwardly graceful men she had ever met. Even Jack can get around when he's sober, and that's saying something, she laughed silently to herself as she watched Felix attempt to pull his long limbs together in a semblance of a defense. She struggled to hide a smirk and lunged forward, causing him to take a step backwards and lose his footing yet again, spilling him in a wash of gold coins and curse words. Morgan couldn't help but out rightly laugh, bringing tears to her amethyst eyes as he came up with a crown set askew on his knobby head, covering both of his eyes and a frown souring his whole face.
"Mother of Pearl, but will you ever learn?" She reached out a hand to help the man up - she was barely five five, yet she had the strength of five men. Tanned possibly to the bone, Morgan was the opposite of a courtly lady of the day. Hardly a damsel in distress, she wore her hair long and wild, letting the wind brush its red curls into a tangle and in the end had to put it down in a braid that coursed down her back like a snake. The two were opposites, yet held an easy friendship as if they had known each other all their lives - even so, Morgan had suspicions about the man that she hid in the back of her mind. They had been crewmates for a little less than three months, enough time to build trust and prove it a hundred times over. Felix pushed the crown off of his head easily and accepted the hand, swinging up onto his feet and retrieving his sword in one motion. He nodded at her and fell back into the stance - instantly her features faded from amusement to seriousness. When it came down to blades, there was nothing to joke about.
He came at her in an expected attack - head-on, like most newbies to the sword. A charge more like a run, she sidestepped and gave him a push to ease his momentum into full speed and out of control for him. What she wasn't expecting was his foot to come sliding out from under him as he pitched forward, sending her falling into her own pile of swag. She lost her sword - her father's rapier, one of the few things she had left to remember him by - and her head rolled from the sudden pain of crashing into a thousand pieces of gold and some very hard rock flooring.
"Morgan? Ah damn, I'm sorry, I wasn't watching my footing." He was sitting, elbows on his knees in a relaxed position. Morgan crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him, an obvious sign that she was fine. He laughed, the sound like a quiet crash of thunder - she wondered for a moment where the sound came from in such a paper-thin man. Sitting up found her head spinning again and Felix was suddenly there putting a hand on the back of her head to check for bruising.
"I've learned to roll with the falls - though I suppose I've gotten used to not expecting it," he mumbled, worried that he had really hurt her. The close proximity was awkward for a moment - two sets of eyes aligned like stars and only the sound of coins sliding on top of coins could be heard as Morgan moved her hand to push him away. She simply smiled in return and stood up with no fuss.
"I'm fine, truly. What's a bump? Now where's my sword? I've got to get you back for that one." She found her rapier and turned to find Felix standing up - something seemed to have changed in him, some kind of resolve suddenly coming through in the expression in his face, in the posture of his body. She flexed her shoulders and stood en guarde, beckoning him forward. He stood silent for a moment, regarding her, and began to pace to the right. Morgan copied to the contrary, pacing to the left, and they circled for a moment, testing each other and looking for openings. Morgan made the first move, picking out a mistake - he had left his left side open when he crossed his right foot over his left, putting him in a weak position. He quickly parried, knocking her sword to the side with a strong blow, but only causing her to switch to the right. She noted that he was keeping up with her much better than before - in fact, he was doing far better than before, as though he had been toying with her and was only now revealing the true measure of his skill. There had been a few moments like this before - where she sensed that there was something more there, but she couldn't decide if he was unwilling to tap into those skills or if he was simply hiding them for one reason or another.
Now she was sure which one it was, and she wasn't sure she was happy with the idea.
She moved to the right, and he followed - she struck and feinted, back and forth, back and forth, and he either copied or parried each move with perfect skill, never missing a beat. They continued on like this for five, ten, fifteen minutes, neither willing to let the other into their defense. Finally they came to a standstill, once again pacing in a circle and watching each other like sharks. Morgan's face had gone dead serious, her amethyst eyes shining like hard glass; Felix's face was apathetic yet stern, a stony expression that seemed so unlike the joking man she knew. It was as if he was trying to prove something to her, something she had yet to learn in the three short months she had known him.
Morgan studied him for a moment, and recalled the doubts she'd had when Jack had first hired him onto the ship - she had said he could've been a British spy. After all, Jack was still wanted for his shenanigans at Port Royal, to name but one of his many offenses against the crown. And he wasn't the only one with a noose just barely around his neck - many of the crew members could've ended up swinging if they were caught by the red-coats, herself included. Or he could've been nothing better than a drunkard, and look at how he tied his knots! He was obviously a good-for-nothing, but that had changed when they had attacked a Spanish galleon. Instead of fighting like everyone else, Felix had been overcome with an apathetic demeanor (much like the present one) and he had simply swept aside two men and had tied off the wheel within a few moments. Because of his actions, they took the ship in half the time they usually did, and left it whole and intact, as Jack liked to. Jack had then simply shook his head at Morgan's complaints, saying that Felix had proved himself enough by doubling their usual haul.
She remembered how angry she'd been, how certain she'd been that there was something wrong with this man. Yet they had become comfortable in each other's presence - sharing rum, exchanging stories of their past. Morgan had wondered how true any of them were, but had never thought to ask. She had attempted to bury her suspicions in the back of her head and to listen to her captain, as her father always had taught her. After all, she and Jack had been friends since childhood, and he had helped her in many dire situations - as well as vice versa. Why would he ever not know what was right?
And now those doubts came rushing back, and she wondered faintly if he had had ulterior motives for wanting this "break time" here, on Isla de Mureta. Her thoughts must've shown on her face, because she missed a feint that Felix made - an underhanded move, something she should've noted but missed, and the next thing she knew, her sword arm was behind her back. Since he was so much bigger than her, he had simply reached past her blade, grabbed her sword arm and twisted it around, bringing his blade around to slip nicely between her chin and throat. One twitch from his wrist and blood would flow, far too quickly to be staunched and far too much for her to be saved. Morgan cursed aloud and lifted her chin away from the blade, the sneer on her lips making her pretty face bitter.
"What's this, then? You win. Care to lemme go?" She could feel the quiver in his hand as the blade twitched against her tanned skin, wondered what he was thinking. It felt strange, to be in this position - usually she had others at the tip of her sword, telling them to hand over what she wanted. She hadn't been in this position in a long, long time, and it was not the least bit comfortable.
"Felix?"
"Look - I know you don't trust me. But the captain does, and 'es the one who 'ired me." He slowly released the grip on her sword arm, lowering his own and taking a step back. She simply stood there, trying to rein in her infamous temper. Morgan, never one to be a damsel in distress - never one to let a man best her or take advantage of her in any way, shape, or form. She didn't like being told off by this toothpick of a man. Her empty hand clenched, loosed, and clenched again as she counted to ten in an attempt to calm herself.
"Morgan?" He made the mistake of taking a step forward to lay a hand on her shoulder, afraid he'd frightened her – but, oh no, he hadn't frightened her. Nothing less than the noose could scare Morgan Skully, daughter of James Skully. Right as he came within an inch, she turned on the ball of her foot and slugged him across his face. Surprised, he took the blow full force and went down, but sure enough rolled back up, his own fists turned out. Usually it wasn't in a man to hit a girl, and that was exactly how Felix was - so instead he dodged and defended, trying to keep from collecting more damage than his already profusely bleeding nose. He managed to her a hold of her shoulders, but her force and some misplaced coins made him go down again. He took Morgan with him, attempting to hug her to his chest until she stopped trying to beat him into a lifeless pulp.
"I know what Jack said, I never went against his word! I've known Jack since I was six, I know Jack, and I know what he said! Don't you think you can get away with tellin' me off, you yellow-bellied son of a -" The last word was cut off as Felix pressed his mouth against hers, his large hands wrapped around her biceps to keep her fists away from him, away from causing bruises. The action caught Morgan by surprise and she paused for a moment wide-eyed as her mind blanked of all the anger that had suddenly swelled to the surface. Anger at being dismissed in her opinions that Jack had thought to distrust her, to distrust what she had to say. She knew that the mutiny had hurt him, but didn't he know that if she had been there, she would've been on the island with him? Didn't him saving her from that crazed voodun priest prove anything? And now, here, this man, this ingrate, who Jack had selected to serve on his ship, had the nerve to tell her what she ought to think, and then...she noticed that he had moved back, was sitting back on the balls of his feet now - watching the thoughts play out over her face - having pulled back a second before she had realized what was going on. He smirked, obviously knowing every little thing on her mind and understanding everything, which for some reason irked her anew, and brought a storm cloud over her features again.
In response, he released her arms, causing her to spill over backwards and into her own blessed space. Her head spun with a mix of confusion, anger, and butterflies in her stomach. The only thing she could say was "I know what Jack said," over, and over again until she finally ran out of those words to say.
"I know. I just...I thought we ought'a say somethin', since it's been on yer mind fer so long."
"Whadda mean? How did you know?" She furrowed her brows, surprised that he knew what had been on her mind for the last three months. His gave a small smile in response.
"You think I don't notice things? I'm quiet, an' I act dumb, but I'm not. In fact, I'm a bit offended that you wou' think that of me." He winked, making another one of his jokes. He pulled his long legs up to let his elbows rest on the knees, a more relaxed and familiar position. Morgan felt a burning embarrassment wash up over her face - she was smart when it came to things like ships and piracy. Other people, and relationships, that was a whole other world to her. Oh, she knew how to pick the crew members, how to watch for signs of unease, distress, and mutiny. She knew how to watch for the signs that something bad was going to happen. But how to stop others from reading things in her, now that was a mystery she hadn't figured out on her own. She glanced to the side and found her sword, somehow lost in the brief brawl and lying askew in a pile of gold and jewels.
"Yeah, well, don't think I think that. Call it a woman's intuition - I think I know things, and so I know 'em. You ain't been on the ship that long, so what else was I suppose to think?"
"I'll give you that, but what's with all the looks? The glares and the nasty looks. One moment, you're as right as sunshine to me, and the next I think I'm being bowled over by a wave. I don't get it." Morgan shrugged.
"Sorry, but I get a bit testy when Jack doesn't listen to me. I mean, we've known each other for so long, but for some reason he's not the same lad I grew up with. Little less than a year ago, there was a mutiny - he wasn't the same man afterwards, and it bothers me sometimes. You, you're just another thing he didn't listen to me about." She smiled sheepishly. "I'll try to knock it off, I will." Felix nodded, taking the words at the face value and treasuring the sight of her blushing in embarrassment. They fell silent for a moment, and another question rose to Morgan's lips as the sound of a bell tolled through the caves.
"The Pearl's back." Morgan didn't even have to have the words leave her mouth - Felix was already standing, one hand held out to help Morgan up. She considered the option of disregarding his offer, but that would break everything they had just worked out. She took his hand in her own smallish one, and stood up with the fluid grace that can only be acquired from being raised on a ship. For a moment, they were but a breath apart and the heat in her cheeks wasn't from embarrassment, and then she could hear the sound of oars splashing and voices shouting about the latest loot. She stepped back, releasing his hand and looking towards the mouth of the cave. A moment before the rowboats came into view she muttered her last question to Felix.
"Why'd you kiss me?" He smirked in reply to the question.
"You're cute when you're angry." The sound of Morgan's palm slapping Felix's cheek was the first thing to greet Jack Sparrow, who was already confused as to why his first mate looked so perturbed and why the new hire was rubbing his cheek and looking like the cat who got the canary.