Kind of a silly idea, and one that's been done to death, I'm sure. I don't care though; it's all character development, right? I mean, she's a pirate, so it might be a necessity, but... Oh well, I suppose it could happen.

What's the better choice? What's easiest now? Or what'll help down the road?

Swim

He surfaced, taking in a deep breath while splashing water all around him. He had always enjoyed swimming, ever since he was little. After all, there weren't too many things to occupy his time on Outset outside of chores, so he often got his exercise by swimming laps along the beach. He would always try and convince others to join him; however, the adults were too busy with work, and the children were too young to swim without their supervision. The only other person who could was Aryll, and there were times when she did accompany him. Often, though, she preferred to play with the seagulls in the lookout, chatting away with them as if they could speak back. It didn't bother him – she had her hobbies and he had his. So he swam by himself.

Now, though, he couldn't understand why he was alone. There were definitely others who could've jumped off the ship with him, yet no one had. Surely the men liked to cool off every now and then; wasn't it a reasonable assumption that they would have swam too? Supposedly it was, had they not been too tired from the day's work to attempt it. He couldn't argue with that. However, the captain had holed herself up in her room all day, studying several charts for a reason she refused to divulge. She had finally come out for some air, seating herself on the prow with her legs swinging to watch him. But she showed no indication of entering the water.

He couldn't explain it. It felt unbelievably refreshing, the cool water chilling his body under the glaring sun. It should have been an immediate choice. "Aren't you coming in?" he finally called up at her. She was motionless for a moment before he could make out her head shaking. "How come? It's really nice!"

"I don't feel like it," she called back with a shrug. The corners of his mouth fell into a frown. How could someone not feel like cooling off when the water was right here? Especially after being cooped up in small quarters, staring over papers all day?

"C'mon, Tetra! Swim with me!" he coaxed with an innocent smile. He saw her snort and dramatically roll her eyes, but she still refused him. What was wrong with swimming? "What, don't you like it?"

"Of course I do!" came the reply, but there had been an unmistakable hesitation. He frowned again. There was something in her voice that he couldn't let go. Sighing, he swam over to the hanging rope and pulled himself back up to the deck. Shaking his hair out, he wandered over to the prow, where she hadn't moved.

"Why don't you like it?" he asked, a bit more gently this time. He noticed her body tense slightly before quickly relaxing. Why was she hiding something from him?

"I do like it. Really." He wasn't convinced.

"Then why didn't you join me?"

"I didn't feel like it."

It was his turn to roll his eyes. He didn't understand why she was being defensive. "You're not hot?"

"Of course I'm hot," she answered crossly. "Who wouldn't be? Can't you feel the sun?"

"Then why not cool off in the water?"

"I-" She stopped herself, carefully thinking before finally closing her mouth. Standing up, she walked past him. "We're done talking."

"Tetra, wait!" She ignored him and kept walking, her destination unclear; it simply seemed like she just wanted to get away from him. He ran ahead and stopped her before she could get any further.

Her eyes narrowed in anger. "Move."

"Not until I know what's bothering you," came his steady response. She could have easily overpowered him right then, and the look in her eyes had him believing it for a moment. Instead, though, she sighed, her shoulders falling.

"Alright, look," she answered, not meeting his gaze and instead staring at something over his shoulder, "When I was little, we ended up in a bit of a storm. The waves were choppy, and they just kept hitting against the ship. And then this pretty big one came out of nowhere, and it slammed the ship so hard that it rocked, and then…" She trailed off with a shrug. "I dunno. I just… fell over the edge."

She glanced at him, but he said nothing. So she continued, "I couldn't really swim. I mean, I knew how to, but the waves were too strong. They kept pulling me under." She sighed, obviously not fond of the memory. "My mother jumped in and got me, but it just… It shook me up. I never really cared for being in the water after that."

He wasn't sure what to say. Part of him felt bad that he had tried to make her swim, but another part said that she should have told him something like that. Or at least just admit that she didn't like it. It would have been easier in the long run. "But I've seen you in the water before. You swim fine."

She shrugged. "I can swim, when I need to. I mean, I'm on the water a lot; it's going to happen now and then. I just don't like to. I'd rather just sit and watch it."

Link nodded in understanding. That would be a pretty jarring experience, to be sure. But still… "Why not just tell me you don't like swimming? It would've saved us an argument." She shrugged again, obviously searching for an answer.

"I guess I just thought that you would think it was silly," she replied finally. "I mean, a pirate that doesn't like swimming? Pretty embarrassing compared to an island boy." She quickly glanced at him and added, "No offense, I mean."

He laughed. "Relax, I'm not going to think less of you over something you don't like. I'm not that shallow, am I?" he asked, raising a brow and offering a cheeky smile. She slowly cracked one in response.

"Fine," she agreed with a roll of her eyes, "Next time I have a secret that interferes with your plans and ultimately pisses me off, I'll tell you straight-off what it is."

He raised his eyebrows expectantly. "Promise?"

After a moment's hesitation, she sighed and nodded, still smiling. "Yeah. Promise."