Chapter Four – Skirmish

"Monsters, eh? Good place for your crew then I think," Carly spoke airily to Rachel, helping to lower the anchor.

"You've hardly seen monsters, Carly," Rae glanced at the girl as the anchor plunged into the seawater.

-----

"Wonderful place it is, Corcova," Rae and the others walked inland from the pier.

"Awfully leafy, don't you think?" Carly looked at the jungle that lay ahead of them. The others ignored her.

"It'll be dark soon, better get a move on," Jack said, venturing into the jungle with Rae not far behind.

"Why're we here anyway?" she called after them, "No one said anything about a jungle,"

"Come on," Will took Carly's arm and followed the other two into the jungle.

A few hours had passed, and the moonlight illuminated the jungle floor beneath them in patches. The trees were beginning to thin, and the soft crunching of moist dirt and brush beneath everyone's feet was the only sound, besides Carly's incessant ranting.

"Are we almost there? I don't care for jungles, my sister and I got lost in one when we were young. I don't think you have any idea where you're going, I don't think there even is a city,"

"Can't we shut her up?" Rae whispered to Jack, hand on her pistol.

"Hold out a bit longer," Jack mumbled. Somehow he had managed to keep his cool through the past few hours of Carly's voice, which was growing even more annoying every minute.

"Are we there yet?" Carly asked.

"Is it possible for you to shut your hole for more than a breath?" Rae looked at Carly threateningly.

-----

They stepped foot into the city of Corcova to be greeted by the sounds of gunshots and laughing, accompanied by the welcoming smells of smoke and rum.

"And when he realized I finished the last bottle, he hit me across the face with it, so I grabbed him by the-"

"CARLY!"

She closed her mouth for the first time in hours, and looked at Captain Sparrow.

"Carly. Love ye to death dear, true or not. We've been so lucky as to be graced by your presence in a time of crisis and frustration only to be greeted by yet more crisis and frustration, and I'm sure with your tongue and flapping gums even a deaf man would be thoroughly annoyed, as are the rest of us."

"I should think you'd love stories, Captain Jack Sparrow, I'm sure you've many of them." She held his gaze for a moment before looking ahead at what was Corcova, a slight attitude in her voice.

They entered a particularly crowded and noisy tavern, though it seemed to be one of the less violent ones to pick from. Liquor bottles were being thrown across the room and shattering against walls, as well as drunken men being thrown onto tables and beaten. The lot made their way to an unoccupied table with a few drinks left on it. Will and Carly took their seats across from Jack and Rae.

"You never answered my question Miss Rae, why are we here?" Carly asked as she picked up a full cup.

"Captain Rae. You'll not forget that," Rae put an emphasis on the title 'Captain'.

"And so I should bring up the point that you left me with your filthy crew to be insulted and disrespected, as one would think I had been punished for a crime which I did not commit. It was, in fact, your crew that threatened me, and so I in turn threatened them out of self-defense. Therefore we're even and I shall address you as do Will and Mr. Sparrow, captain or not." Carly took a mouthful of her drink, keeping eye contact with Rae as if daring her to argue. Rae stood and drew her sword.

"You will address me as Captain, like my crew."

Carly set her cup down on the table, quite calmly. "You don't want to fight me, don't make a fool of yourself."

"I was taught by the best," Rae said to her, glancing at Jack, "The only one making a foolish choice here is you."

Carly stood and drew her sword as well. Without warning, Rae swung her sword fiercely at the girl. Carly ducked and swung back. Will and Jack watched the two girls as they fought.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" asked Will.

"Let them get it out of their systems." Jack held up his cup to make a toast, "To luck."

Will held up his cup as well, "To vengeance." They drank, and then returned their eyes to the sight of Rae and Carly, now swinging their swords madly at each other on a table.

"I should've killed you from the start!"

"Why would you have done that? You would have no entertainment for later, as well as no one to point out that your footwork could use a little improvement." Carly smiled and jumped off the table.

"As does your strategy, Miss Carly," Rae leapt off the table and kicked a chair at Carly. She stumbled and caught Rae's blade with her sword, just inches from her face. Rae swung again, determined to slice Carly in half. Jack and Will approached them.

"Ladies, if you'll be so kind as to hold off on the bickering till a later time, we'd better be on our way," Jack announced. They paid no notice to him and continued to fight, until Rae's sword was hit out of her grasp. Carly spoke, slightly out of breath, as was Rae, the two keeping their eyes on each other.

"We are not finished, Miss Rae."