Later, the crew gathered at the fire to discuss where they should head from here. The campfire was burning. It ate up the wood as if it was ravenous. Aoife watched, staring into the reds, oranges, and yellows, for a while as everyone else ate. Eventually someone –she wasn't sure who– shoved some meat in her hands. It tasted bland; perfect for her mood. She didn't care what happened any more. She just wanted to lay down and never get up again.
Alas, as much as a pirate may want to do that, that is no way for a captain to act. She mentally stood up and brushed her breeches off. Then she tuned into her environment for the first time since their arrival.
It was eerily quiet, she realized. Only a few distant birds and the scamper of a rodent, most likely a squirrel, showed any sign of animal life. Plants were quite plentiful around her. All kinds of exotic flowers she had never seen before lined a spring and grew wild and free. It was dark by then, possibly midnight or one o'clock.
Parker cleared his throat uncomfortably. He wanted sound, not silence. "Well, what do you suggest we do, Captain Aoidh?"
"I think we should all share our opinions," she responded. "Right here, right now, everyone is now of equal rank. We will work in groups. I will get my hands soiled just as much as anyone else. Ranks are now gone, and I am just Aoidh. Now, does anyone know what we shall do?"
After a few moment's hesitation, one boy blurted out, "We shall die here and no one will even care, that's what shall happen!" A few other men were looking at each other and nodding their agreement.
"We must think positive here, or that very well may happen," Aoife told them sternly.
Another man spoke up. "We could cut down tree trunks and fashion a raft… I at least have a small ax on my belt."
"We should all carry a hatchet of some sort. Who here actually abided to the rules and has some kind of ax handy?" About half the men raised their hands. "All of you are now on chopping duty, starting tomorrow. All you do is cut down the number of trees necessary and make them into nice even planks. They have to be long so none of us fall off.
"Who knows how to create rope in an environment such as this?" One man knew. "You and you-" she indicated the man sitting next to them- "you tie the boards together when they get to you. Tight, remember, tight. We don't want to drift apart.
"Wokai and Parker, you know all this stuff. Make sure everyone's doing their job right, and don't hesitate to correct them if they did something wrong, there's an easier way, etc."
"What about you?" Parker asked her.
"I'm going to make oars… of a sort. Do you want to just drift around in the middle of nowhere of actually have a destination?"
"I would rather have a destination."
"That was a rhetorical question." She held each man's gaze for a second. "Any questions? Speak now, for tomorrow we work until sundown."
After a quick breakfast the next day, everyone got to work in their "groups". Aoife went far apart from the rest and sat cross-legged on the ground. She needed much effort and could not be distracted. She had a special kind of technique that took long to make, but is more efficient when paddling.
She had just finished two such oars when a man came bursting through the undergrowth, calling her male name. "I'm here! Over here!" she called back.
"Ship ahoy!"