This chapter is oh so very late. There were all sorts of technical problems getting this thing online. Originally, it was written on a computer at school that just REFUSED to allow The Ninja to save, e-mail it to herself, and so on. So in short The Ninja got it saved on her computer, but lost all the formatting. Hurray. --

The Ninja doesn't like Macs ... at all.

...

Moving right along here…

Session 11: Reassurance
Against his better judgment, Garin decided against setting sail. His reluctance to stay was quickly replaced through a round of pep talks from his crew and that grog that they all loved. Garin gathered the courage to confront her again, but was he willing to take 'no' for an answer this time?

He left The Golden Dubloon briefly to retrieve something from his ship. With it in his pockets he felt much better about going through with it, but by time he got back he noticed that the atmosphere in the tavern changed.

He felt overwhelming grief, but he didn't know why.

" Watch the door. " The pirate told his crew as he headed into the back, and around the same time the barmaid Aisha slipped out of the storage room that Hannah disappeared into. " Miss? " Damn it, he forgot her name, but she seemed pretty upset. " Are you going to be all right? "

" I'll be fine. " Angela shot back with a choked sob, her hands clasped over her mouth. " But I'm worried about Hannah. Her friend passed on just a little while ago, and she isn't taking it well at all. "

" Then why are you leaving? " The usul locked eyes with her. " I know I wouldn't leave my friend alone like that. "

" My boss is less than understanding about situations like this, and there are pets to be served out there. " She explained, looking past him towards the tavern. " If I could spare anymore time to console her, I would, but I can't which is why … I hoped you could go back there and talk some sense into her, or at least watch her. "

Garin frowned a bit. " Watch her? "

" Hannah acts really stupid when she gets like this. I don't want her doing anything rash. " She looked up at him, and smiled. " You were once her friend, so I thought that you'd be able to make her feel better in the meantime. "

" I'll try my best. " It was all that he could promise her. " My crew mates are out there making sure that none of those Meridell scum start any trouble, so as the old saying goes – "

" I understand. " It was unspoken between allies in the pirate territories that they watch out for their own. Bowing her head out of curtsy, Angela swayed past him and back into the crowded tavern.

Garin didn't know what about the girl made him so edgy, but he felt as thought she held back a lot of information. It was more than the way she behaved after Jacques showed the crew his newfound weapon, but the way she acted in general. The fur on the back of his neck stood up, and settled once her scent was overpowered by the one of the girl that he wanted to please more than anyone.

" Hannah? " He could hear her crying even before he opened the door, but he did the customary thing and announced himself before entering.

" Leave me alone! "

Or not. She didn't sound like she wanted to be bothered, but once again he went against his better judgment and pursue his ambitions. " It helps to have a shoulder to lean on. " He said through the door, hoping she'd reconsider.

" Not yours … " Her voice came through much softer this time.

" Want me to go get Jacques? " He joked, hoping to get a better response out of her.

There was a pause this time. " What do you want from me? Huh, Garin? "

" I just want to talk. " He sighed, leaning against the door. " No pressure at all. "

Another pause made him consider giving up again, thinking it best to really leave her to her thoughts. Then ... " Make it quick. " He made progress.

And he didn't disappoint. No sooner than she spoke did Garin make his way over, crouching beside her before she even had a chance to adjust her stance.

Hannah imagined she must have looked a mess after the fall, the walk in the tunnels, and getting covered with the blood of a dead man even without the overwhelming grief that she felt now. Her normally clear eyes were pink from crying, a twin trail of tears staining her eyes down her cheeks. Through it all she still held the man's hand, trembling, and against her heaving chest.

Personally, Garin had a bias again sitting next to anyone who had died, so he crouched beside the mourning usul. He didn't look at the body. " I'm going to be strait with you; I can't say that I can relate to what you're feeling now. " This caught the girl off guard, and she looked up at him out of confusion. " I lost my folks before I could even remember, and I worked my ass off not to lose my crew. For a moment … " He smiled sincerely. " I thought I did, but I can't say that it's the same. "

" Why's that? " She asked, turning her body to face him. " Don't you consider them your family? "

" Yes, but … " He shook his head pitifully. " I couldn't bring myself to cry over the loss. Even in those times that I thought the crew, Jacques … that they might have been dead, I couldn't bring myself to cry. I haven't cried since … "

Hannah listened intensely. " Since? "

" The night I came back. A few months before my skirmish with Scurvy Island I thought I finally made enough to keep my promise to you, so I came back to propose. " Hannah was about to strike back, but he continued. " By time I got here, you were gone. One of the barmaids told me that you had left with some guy that didn't look like a pirate after he flashed some money. " His ears folded back, his eyes on the ground. " I thought … that I came back too late, and the guy bought you off to marry him. "

Taking it all in, Hannah bit her lip. If Garin had come just a few days earlier than that whole incident at Terror Mountain could have been avoided. Could. Knowing what she did know about the curse, Armin, the guild and Kanrik, would she have taken him up on his offer? Doing so would have saved her a lot of suffering, but what about Armin's tri –

Armin! Her eyes grew wide with fear, returning to the horrors of reality. " Armin's still in the mansion! " She cried in anguish, her tears falling anew. " I left him with those horrible people to save you … and him! " She pointed towards the silent third pet in the room. " And the faeries only know what they're doing to him now because of me … "

" You want the kid out? " Garin forgot his train of thought, for the moment. " I can send the crew in and – "

" No! " She shook her head. " If you send your crew in, they'll retaliate and crush this island and everything around it. "

" They wouldn't … "

" I don't want to take that risk. " She looked down at her hands, and the other that she held within them. " But I do want to save Armin. Barging in would've been easy, but we'd have to do this the hard way … "

" I don't care how we do it as long as it gets done! " Garin snapped, startling his female 'friend'. " If that's what it'll take to make you feel better, than I'll sure as hell do it. "

" Thank you, but … " Hannah couldn't pull her eyes away from the corpse of the pet that was once her ally and enemy. " I'm not sure if we can do this on our own. " Her voice quivered, and she sniffled. " I just wish we had some help. " Her eyes closed again, and she pressed her cheek against Kanrik's gloves.

All at once she remembered how he fought in the Ice Caves alongside her and Armin, as if they knew each other all along. The scenes played together backwards, to the point where she tried to kill him when he entered their camp. From there to his betrayal in The Bringer's tomb, to some rather sweet moments they shared traveling between Krawk Island and The Lost Desert. Those images burned her mind, and some of them her heart.

Burning …

She actually felt the sensation of burning!

Garin wasn't sure what he was seeing, the mark on Hannah's arm started glowing again. He'd only seen it for a few brief seconds as they almost fell to their deaths earlier today, but this time the glow lasted much longer. It was not a light, airy, blue like before, but a solid blue that could relate to the nighttime sea.

" Hannah, " He started as the light started to spread over her body, then the body of the dead pet. " What are you doing? "

It was all that he could ask as he witnessed this phenomenon. Hannah reopened her eyes two minutes after she closed them, much calmer than before. Her trembling stopped, and the whites of her eyes were once again clear. For a moment her eyes were distant, but she found herself with a blink. She looked just as confused, maybe scared, by what happened as Garin did beside her.

" Hannah? " He asked again, reaching over for her out of concern for his friend.

COUGH!

Garin jumped back, landing hard on his ass since neither he nor Hannah coughed. He tried to catch his breath, but he couldn't. The gears in his mind were churning out an explanation of what he'd just witnessed that he couldn't comprehend.

The once limp hand that Hannah held was squeezing back.

She … revived the dead?

If that were true, then he could only think of one reasonable explanation for the events that had just transpired; Hannah had to be some sort of witch!