Author's Notes: Grrrrrrr…school should be condemned to the ninth circle of hell, with the betrayers and mutineers. Stupid school. Keeping me away from this fic, which I have such high hopes for. Grrrrrrrrr…
ANYWAY! Chapter 7. Finally. I'm TRYING to write chapter 8 as we speak. Not going so well, but it's… going. Kind of. Bear with me, I'm not keeping on top of this as well as I wish I could. It's my junior year, and as such, I haven't got a whole crudload of free time of late. Midterms, don'tchaknow.
DEDICATION: This chapter is dedicated to Rachel (Aithne on ff.net) and her boyfriend; I'm glad you're both okay, and I hope that you STAY okay! No more car-stunts! *hug*luff*glomp*
And now… IT'S STORYTIME!!! On Halloween, I (tried to) dress like Jack Sparrow, right? Get all beaded and braided and pirate-i-fied and what have you… go trick-or-treating. Go to this one lady's house. Kchan points to me and asks the lady, "Who do you think my friend is trying to be?" The lady considers and then says, tentatively, "A gypsy?"
Huzzah, I say! Huzzah! The above really did happen, and I was/am so HAPPY! My
theory is well-founded! HA!
That said, I think we can move on to bigger and (hopefully!) better things:
Chapter 7: New Beginnings
In the span of three months, Jack had quickly learned the ways of the pirates with which he now lived, ate, drank, and worked. He and Barbossa made fast friends, and Barbossa taught the younger teen all he knew about the ship, which, Jack learned right off, had no name. When he had asked about it, Barbossa had merely shrugged and told him that "the cap'n has more important matters to deal with than givin' a name to 'is ship, mate." He hadn't volunteered any more than that, so Jack let the matter drop.
It soon became apparent that Jack was a quick study, and the captain ordered the older crew members to teach him some of the more difficult tasks. Soon after, he was climbing and swinging about the rigging with the rest of them. And while they all loved to tease him about his age, it was clear that they had accepted him into their make-shift family.
During his first month aboard, Barbossa had shown him a companionship that he had never known. He was always around to show Jack what to do, and he'd even taken the blame for a few of Jack's botches. Jack was stunned; he had never had a friend before, and suddenly there was an entire group of people that CARED about him. Barbossa, especially, surprised him. He hadn't expected the older teen to be so fond of him; he'd seen Jack in his moment of weakness. Despite that, Barbossa never spoke a word about it, and for that, Jack was grateful. Jack and Barbossa were closer than friends; by that third month – they were brothers.
The crew had taken quick note that the newcomer posed no sort of threat to them. He was very… strange. That was the only word they had to describe him with. One minute, he would be hyperactive as anything; the next, it seemed he had reached an all-time low. It was during these latter moments that Jack would draw into himself, not letting any of them know what he was about. It was almost as if he had never been socialized as a child, they decided amongst themselves. They laughed it off, however, deciding the kid must simply have had too much sun and that it was affecting his mental stability.
Barbossa wasn't one to question his new friend; if the boy wanted him to know of his past, he would tell him. He took the boy's mood swings in stride, and took Jack himself under his wing.
The first important thing Jack learned in his time with the pirates was how to hide what he was truly feeling. The crew taught him the importance of secrecy; a pirate had to know how to be cunning, they told him. A pirate couldn't be afraid to do something that was best for them, even if it was at the cost of others. They taught him to lie without letting on that he was being false. They taught him to steal; to go undetected. They taught him to load, aim, and fire a gun, although they noticed his reluctance to learn those particular skills. As the fourth month began, Barbossa began teaching Jack about swordfighting. The boy had reacted rather unusually, Barbossa thought, to the prospect of learning to duel. Most his age would die for a chance to wield a sword. However, Jack seemed merely to… accept it. As if it was something he had to do. And so, Jack agreed.
"Now, mind, there're RULES to follow in a formal duel, but yer a pirate," Barbossa winked, "so we'll call 'em guidelines, and disregard them for now." Jack smirked.
"In other words, you don't know them, so you can't very well teach them to me." Barbossa snorted, but disregarded the comment.
"When are ye going to start talkin' like a pirate, Jack?" he asked instead. "Ye still sound like a stuffy old blighter," he added, blue eyes glinting as he playfully punched his younger counterpart in the shoulder. Jack sighed, shaking his head.
"I don't know, Barbossa… this is just the way I've always spoken…" he trailed off, and Barbossa was startled as he noticed the sudden change in the other's demeanor that indicated he was having one of THOSE moments. The boy seemed to have retreated into the recesses of his own mind, as if trying to block something out. He was just beginning to wonder if he should say anything, when the boy blinked, the focus returning to his eyes, and looked up at him. "Sorry…" he mumbled, looking a bit embarrassed. Barbossa just shook his head.
'I have to stop speaking in the manner I was taught,' Jack chastised himself, 'if I'm going to pursue this path, I have to learn to play the part...' His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Barbossa's voice.
"Here," Barbossa said gruffly, tossing a sheathed sword at his younger companion. Jack caught it deftly, and immediately set to work imitating the way Barbossa had his own sword. Barbossa watched in bemused silence as the smaller boy clasped the thick belt around his thin waist. The boy glanced at him for a split second before unclasping the belt, readjusting it, and clasping it again. 'He really is a bright kid,' he thought to himself. Jack was tightening the belt, now. Barbossa raised an eyebrow. 'Too thin, though. We need to start feeding him more.' Finally, Jack looked up, straight at him, and Barbossa was pleased to note that he had the sword within perfect reach of his right hand, and was waiting patiently for further instruction.
"Don't know what I'm going to do with ye, Jack… I jus' don't know." Jack only grinned. "All right, then! First thing ye gotta learn is how to draw your weapon, and you 'ave to do it fast, you understand me?" Jack nodded, and Barbossa noticed the serious look he'd adopted; he always seemed to have that look when he was learning something new. 'Attentive kid… no wonder he's bright.' Barbossa smirked, and with a flourish, drew his weapon and held it up in challenge. "Your turn, Jack."
Jack had watched the movements of Barbossa's arm. He noted that he hadn't tried to pull the sword out of the sheath vertically; he had kept it at an angle so as not to let the sword stick in the sheath. He nodded once, then reached across himself to his left side, grasped the hilt of the sword, and pulled. With the sound of scraping metal, the blade was drawn, and Jack imitated Barbossa's stance, holding the sword in a defensive position.
Barbossa nodded once, then, before Jack could think to move, Barbossa's blade was at his throat. Jack stared at him, wide-eyed and startled, and Barbossa stared right back. After a few moments, he removed the blade, and the younger boy let out the breath he'd been holding.
"Ye're going to 'ave to be quicker than that, Jack; you'd've had your 'ead lobbed off in a real fight," the older boy commented dryly. Jack scowled.
"That's why you're supposed to be TEACHING me!" he responded indignantly. Jack forced a childish pout, and Barbossa couldn't help but laugh. No sooner had he begun, however, when his laughter abruptly ceased; the blade at his throat made laughing rather uncomfortable.
"Is this how?" Jack asked, holding the sword steadily at his friend's neck. Barbossa smiled very slightly.
"Ye're learning, mate… ye're learning."
Jack pulled the sword away silently and stepped backward; Barbossa rubbed at his throat absently.
"Going to have to teach ye to strike," he muttered. "Get back in that stance o' yourn," he added. Jack complied, then waited expectantly.
~*~*~
Over the course of the next few days, between shipboard tasks, eating, and sleeping, Barbossa went over vertical and horizontal strikes, thrusts, parries, and sidesteps. Jack was, admittedly, the fastest-learner Barbossa had ever known. He seemed bound and determined to keep up with Barbossa's teaching, rigorous as it was. Halfway through the second week, though, Barbossa noted that Jack, while having improved greatly, was beginning to tire. A week and a half straight, he'd been teaching the boy to fight, and only now was he showing signs that he was worn out.
"You want to quit for the day, mate?" he asked between advances. Jack was visibly struggling to keep up. Since that first trick he'd pulled, he had yet to defeat Barbossa in a duel. Now, it seemed like an obsession for Jack to best the other.
"I'm… fine…" he huffed, barely dodging Barbossa's assault.
"What makes ye think you'll beat me, boy?" he teased. "Ye've been tryin' all week--"
"Because I'm Jack Sparrow!" Jack cut in angrily, as if trying to convince himself of something. The statement seemed to draw out some hidden reserve of strength, because it was then that Jack pinned Barbossa, his eyes alight with determination.
The two stayed perfectly still for several minutes, Jack's blade to Barbossa's throat. Both were out of breath from the sparring, but Jack managed to choke something out between gasps that would stick with Barbossa for the rest of his years.
"Because… I'm Jack Sparrow… savvy?"
"Yeah," Barbossa murmured, perplexed. "Yeah… I savvy."
End Notes: You like? You no like? We now have the origins of savvy, and proof that Barbossa will never live it down. *cackles maniacally* Next chapter, they'll land in Tortuga. I have happy (i.e. morbid) plans for it, but they're all jumbled up and I'm in the process of trying to sort them out. Give me time, people. For those of you who are still with me, I really appreciate it. ^_^V Makes me feel special.
Please R&R and lemme know what you think!