Disclaimer: POTC is not mine. It belongs, strangely enough, to Disney
Ana comes down into Squirrel's cabin, a tray of food in her hands. Squirrel looks up from where she's sitting on the floor, quickly hiding something in her cloak.
"Don't mind me." Ana says. "I don't want your lucky charm."
Squirrel frowns slightly, bringing the silver coin back into the open. "It's not lucky." She says. "I don't have any luck of my own." Ana raises an eyebrow, then comes and sits down next to Squirrel, holding her hand out. Squirrel reluctantly hands the amulet to the Negro woman.
"Well, I'd say you do. This would've killed you otherwise." Anamaria says, examining the coin, rubbing her fingers over the bullet still lodged in it. "And well done for giving that bitch what for."
Squirrel accepts the coin when it is handed back to her. "Dawn's always picked on me. She was the one who gave me the burns." Squirrel's hand flies up to her shoulder. The burns are practically healed now, probably due to a combination of the burn salves and her salt-water dip. Only slightly browned skin shows that there had ever been a wound there in the first place.
Ana's eyes widen. "Why the hell didn't you shoot the bitch then?"
Squirrel shrugs. "I guess I'm not that kind of person."
"Even for revenge?" Ana asks, incredulous.
Squirrel pauses before replying. "I was going to shoot her. When I fell into the water, I still had the gun in my hand." Squirrel's hand twitches, as if reliving the memory. "I held it to her head as we were both sinking. I could've shot her…" She buries her head in her hands. "But I didn't. And I have no idea why."
Anamaria puts a comforting hand around Squirrel's shoulders, and, feeling the girl flinch, says, "It can't be helped, Squirrel girl. What's past is past. And I guess you've proven yourself to be a lot stronger than that Dawn bitch was." Squirrel looks up, confused. Ana explains. "You had the guts to try and take her down by yourself. I saw her. She was going to shoot the Captain. And you saved him."
Squirrel pinks, not realising anyone else had seen the reason she had attacked Dawn.
"Dawn, on the other hand," the Negro woman stands, walking over to the window, "Was going to shoot you, no qualms about it. You were in the way." Anamaria shrugs, turning around. "You showed courage under pressure, character and…" Anamaria laughs at Squirrel's red face. "The fact that you're not good with compliments!"
Squirrel mutters something under her breath, but smiles shyly.
A/N: Sorry about the shortness of this chapter, but there needed to be a girl-talk somewhere. You'll find out why in the next chapter.