Chapter 16:

Tala put on the blue dress again, not wanting to be as exposed as she would be in her furs. After her previous encounter with Hook, she wanted to avoid drawing too much attention to her body again. She hadn't yet decided how she felt about him touching her so brazenly, even though she was most certainly the instigator in the situation.

Despite being hated by most of the patrons, Tala wondered back to the tavern the next day, hoping that seeing a friendly face would make her feel more sure of herself again. Truthfully, she was rattled by last night's experience. She laid awake all night, thinking of that kiss and those hands of Hook's. Thinking of how he touched her so intimately.

Why had she let him? She could have stopped him. She could have pushed him away and struck him if she wanted. Something held her back, and that unnerved her more than anything. Tala didn't want to think for even a second that she might be surrendering to Hook's charms. Not for a second.

Thankfully, Sebastian was there behind the bar when she came through the doors. He glanced up at her, then chuckled and rolled his eyes. He had explicitly told her to stay away, but she seemed to do whatever she liked.

"Are ye lookin' for a fight because you're bored?" He asked her, using a rag to wipe off the tankards behind the bar.

"Are you offering a fight?"

"Not me," he huffed with a shake of his head. "I'd never lay a hand on a woman to harm her. The same can't be said for the lads that frequent this place."

"I'm not afraid of them," Tala shrugged her shoulders, pulling herself up onto the barstool nearest to Sebastian. "If they lay a hand on me, then they will lose it."

"A woman who can handle her own incredibly attractive," Sebastian grinned, setting a tankard down in front of her. "Can I get ye some fresh water, lass?"

"Yes. Thank you."

He pulled the barrel out from under the counter, then dipped her tankard in it to fill it with clean water he brought in from the spring. Once he handed it back to her, he leaned forward on his elbows to watch her.

She seemed mostly like herself, but there was something a little off. Tala seemed distracted as she sipped at her cool glass of water, looking at nothing as if totally absorbed in her own thoughts.

"Is everything alright?"

"Hm?" She glanced back up at him, blinking as if she was confused by his words. "Yes. Why?"

"Ye seem a bit distracted today. Is there anything I can do?"

"No. I just don't understand men." Tala's little fingers tapped against the edge of her tankard. "In my tribe, who you married is often decided at birth. Women have a duty to bear children and raise them. Sometimes they love their husbands. Sometimes they just respect them. But I was a warrior. My duty was to my people. Things like desire... touch... romance. I've never known them before."

"Ye really shouldn't be saying that out loud in here, lass," Sebastian warned her, looking around to see if any of the drunk pirates lingering at the tavern's scattered tables had been listening. Thankfully, they didn't seem to be paying her much mind at the moment.

"What is it like?" She asked more directly. "To... love someone. To want to touch them so badly."

Sebastian sucked in a deep breath. He had minimal experience with love but some experience with lust. He believed it to be a natural human experience, but Tala was clearly unaware of her own human nature in most ways.

"Well," he cleared his throat. "When I feel lonely, sometimes I... meet with one of the women on the island. There's one that I used to love truly. She didn't care much for me, not really. But we were intimate. I'll say this. To me, she was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. When I was around her, my hands itched to touch her. I longed to kiss her, even when she was away. Especially when she was away. And being intimate with her was... magical. When ye love someone, it's natural for ye to want to touch them. Ye want to hold their hand, to run yer fingers through her hair... to feel their skin against yer skin. It's more than just a want. It's a need. It's consumes you."

"Consumes..." Tala repeated the word, noting how serious it sounded when he said it. Was that what was happening to Hook? Was he being consumed by his desire to touch her? "Can you want to touch someone you don't love?"

"Sure. Many people do. Many men take a woman to bed that they don't love just to satisfy their physical needs."

"Am I just... a means to satisfy physical needs then?" Tala sighed, taking another long sip from her water. "Your people are much less disciplined than mine. You do whatever you want. There's no rules. No... community."

"That's what freedom is, lass," Sebastian laughed. "We are a people that value freedom above all else. That's what the pirate's life is all about."

She didn't seem too amused by his response. If anything, Tala seemed to have lost a little bit more respect for pirates as a whole. Perhaps she missed the rules and communal expectations of her tribe. Things must have been simpler when she always knew what she was supposed to do.

"Do ye have a man pursuing you, Tala?" Sebastian asked, wondering what the cause of her confusion was exactly.

"In a way."

"Do ye think he loves ye?"

"No. I think he's in love with my flesh. And he hates that I refuse him."

"Must be quite shocking to Captain Hook to be refused," Sebastian scoffed. "He has bedded every woman he's ever wanted. Even before he became young again. He's wealthy. He's powerful. He's intimidating."

"He's a bastard," Tala cursed under her breath.

"Aye. That, too."

As if he knew they were speaking of him, the Captain himself suddenly came through the tavern doors. Everyone drinking at the tables tipped their hats or bowed their head to him as he passed by them. He didn't even acknowledge them. His focus was fixated on the little wildling at the bar.

"Good afternoon, Captain," Sebastian put on a fake smile. "Can I get ye anything?"

"I'm here to look after what's mine," Hook said rather firmly, taking a seat beside Tala, who refused to even look at him, "but I'll have a pint of ale, if you don't mind."

"Of course," Sebastian nodded, getting to work filling a tankard for him.

"I suppose I should thank you for being such a good friend to my little wolf," Hook went on, intentionally speaking as if Tala was his possession. It irked Sebastian.

"No need to thank me. It's always nice to have a friend."

"Indeed."

Hook reached over to touch Tala's shoulder, but she jerked away from him. She slid off her stool and started for the door without a single word. He might have chased her if he hadn't felt a bit guilty for what he'd said and done the night before. Hook let her disappear through the doors.

"Careful being her friend," Hook muttered back to Sebastian. "She bites."

"It may not be my place-"

"It almost certainly isn't."

"Whether it is or isn't, I think ye should hear what I have to say."

Hook glared at him for a moment, but he said nothing. If Sebastian had some kind of insight into what was going on inside Tala's pretty little head, then Hook wanted to know.

"She doesn't understand yer intentions," Sebastian explained, handing Hook his pint of ale. "Tala doesn't understand the idea of sexual desires. She thinks you're only interested in owning her body. Like she's mere livestock."

"I already know this."

"Well, I bet ye don't know she wants you to see her as more than that. Which means she must feel something for ye. Even if she doesn't understand that just yet," Sebastian told him truthfully, even though he thought it might be better to lie. Part of him wanted her to continue hating Hook.

"Did she say that?"

"In not as many words."

"I wish she confided in me the way she confides in you," Hook pouted, downing half of his glass in one gulp. "You didn't have to tell me that, so... I guess I should thank you."

"I just want her to have her fresh start. Losing her home anf her tribe was very painful for her.".

"I know that, too."

Hook rose to his feet, leaving the rest of his drink on the bartop. He didn't want to get drunk again, to say things he would regret in the morning. For once, he wanted to be completely honest with Tala.

"Hopefully she returns home tonight. Keep an eye out for her if you don't mind. Send her to my home once you find her."

"Aye aye, Captain," Sebastian grumbled, wiping down the bar and cleaning out the tankard he left behind.

Hook left to wait for Tala outside his room. He hoped she would come back quickly, but he also knew she liked to hide and pout when she was upset. Either way, she would return home eventually. He would be there waiting for her.