NEED

Evilla, I hope you realize how hard this is to do. It's hurting my brain to rewrite all of this.

Chapter Six

Reiyll grinned from where he stood on the deck, surrounded by many crew members. Adrian had been given an older cutlass, rather worn, but reliable in quality. Reiyll's grins were wicked when he met Adrian's gaze. Micha wasn't really sure what to think about the situation. This was going to be interesting. Hopefully she'd get some money out of it.

"So, boy, ye know how to fight?" Reiyll taunted, waving his sword at Adrian.

The older man chuckled at Reiyll's choice of nickname. "I'm the boy? Funny, you don't look a day over sixteen."
Raising an eyebrow, Reiyll smirked. "Wanna fight me and prove that even if I look like a boy, I can fight like a man?"

Adrian shook his head. "You seem to be so set to fight me, I suppose I have no choice, even though I was told it's just over a silly bet anyway."

Reiyll made the first move. When Adrian blocked it and the two were standing taut, blade-to-blade, Reiyll grinned. "Nice block, boy. Winner gets the lady," he hissed, nodding in Micha's direction. Micha narrowed her eyes from where she stood, a few feet off, and considered hitting the fool, but she wanted to see what happened.

The fight began and a few more members of the crew gathered to see what was happening.

Adrian wasn't winning, nor was he losing. He was a little slower than Reiyll, but he'd obviously had a little bit of training during the last few days, for he had a slight skill with his blade. Reiyll was still quicker and sharper and caught his blade against Adrian's flesh multiple times, earning blood in his favor.

Knocking the cabin boy to the ground on his back, Reiyll placed a boot on Adrian's heaving chest and grinned. "Looks like I win, boy."

Micha studied the situation and noticed that Adrian's shirt had flipped up part of the way. His pants were low and she could see his hipbones, but what caught her eye was the black mark next to his hip. What was that…? Staring harder as Reiyll spat venomous insults in Adrian's direction, Micha concluded it was a tattoo. So, he had a tattoo… Maybe there was more to this than she knew about. Perhaps he was a crazy gang member, or a biker from a far off land. She amused herself with her thoughts. Since Adrian had joined the crew, she'd spent a lot of her time trying to figure out what his mysterious and haunting past could have entailed.

Warrick stepped onto the deck, frowning deeply. As soon as his presence was made known, many crew members scattered. Only the three stayed behind to receive harsh judgment from their captain.

"What's all this, then?" Warrick asked, narrowing his eyes. His gaze softened when it fell across Micha who stood innocently watching, but hardened on Reiyll. "Release him."

Reiyll moved his foot and reached down a grimy hand to help Adrian up.

"Good fight. Next time you won't be so lucky," Reiyll snarled as Adrian brushed himself off.

Micha shook her head. "Captain, they were just behaving like men."
"Aye, and I suppose that's…all there was to it?" the gray-haired captain asked, raising an eyebrow at the lustful teenager who'd come close enough to beheading their newest member of the crew.

Reiyll nodded, smiling falsely.

"Aye, Captain."
"Well then, yer dismissed, boy. Get out of me sight." Warrick put a hand on his pistol and left his free hand to reach for Micha's arm. "We be talkin' about this later. Tend to his wounds."
Warrick nodded with a smile which was returned by one of her own.

"Come on, Adrian…let's get you cleaned up."

---

Warrick was waiting for her when she entered his quarters. "Come in, Micha dear."

He was staring out over the open water through his cabin's windows, smiling contently. It seemed whenever she was near he was happy. Perhaps he softened his image only to impress her. She didn't know what to think but was beginning to have a fondness grow for the tired old captain.

"Tell me what happened out there this afternoon," he prompted, meeting her eyes for a moment before returning them to the waters.

Micha blinked several times, joining him at the window.

"Reiyll's…jealous, I think. He might see Adrian as…a threat."

"To a girl who's nearly half his age?" Warrick exclaimed with a chuckle. "That's crazy talk."
Micha nodded. "Yeah, it might be, but Adrian and I are getting along well. Reiyll…isn't taking kindly to him, I guess."

"Yer sayin' "I guess" as if ye know he doesn't like 'im. What do ye really know about Reiyll?"

"He…well, he's a disgusting swine of a man who wants nothing more than to…well, he's a pirate. Enough said on that matter," she said, shuddering. Warrick understood. She was a woman on a pirate ship. It was simple.

"What else do ye know?"

"Nothing. He doesn't talk to me about anything."
"He's a cold-blooded murderer, a scallywag. Ye can't trust him with anything. Remember that when the time comes." After that, Warrick said nothing more and Micha stayed in the cabin for awhile with him and they watched the sun go down in silence.