Hiyo Descendants!

No, for once we're not about to go to bed... We're actually up this early! And writing! Amazing, I know. Today the Night Owls are Early Birds, and writing is our worm. (Yuck and or Eww on that analogy, but no less true.) We're babysitting my nephew Richard for the next two days, so hopefully we get some good writing in between potty training, school, playing and-

You know what, naptime is the best time. ;D

Anyway, we're back with another week of chapter updates. Last week we saw Gil rage and Deez do her best to keep him from hurting himself. Now what's going to happen when they make it back to the ship?

We hope you enjoy Innocent Lies... Wow, that title seriously just worked for this game I like to play.

Don't forget to stick around at the end of the chapter for Twisted's insights and questions, and we look forward to hearing from you!

Lots of Love

-Dark-

Uma massages her temples with one finger as she stares at the cabin door. Today had been a day, a day she didn't fucking want to think about once it was over.

T and Faustina's situation was less than ideal. She didn't want to punish one because of the other's actions. And since Faustina swore she was the one who pushed T, and not the other way around, she felt she had no choice but to leave the girl be for now.

Her eyes harden. But when T came back, they were going to have a nice, long talk. She couldn't blame him for hearing that Deez could be in danger and acting on it. She'd have done the same thing.

No, what pissed her off the most was the fact that he never considered this might be something they should all help with. After all, Deez was all of theirs.

Then there was Deez blanking on them because she'd yelled. She hangs her head with a sigh.

She wasn't sure what to do about that. With T under her sails it was going to be hard for her to work on it. She always knew that he was going to be a headache, but she wasn't expecting it to happen so quickly.

She'd never yelled around Deez before. Never felt the need to. Anytime she had Deez she'd been happy.

They were going to have to work on that.

Her anger, Deez's blanking, and T's thoughtlessness.

It sounded like sailing through a storm with full sails and a skeleton crew.

She was still worried about Gil. Her Sweet Boy had earned his moniker for a reason. It was so rare that he ordered the crew to do anything. So when James came in and told her that he'd barked at him to relay the message… It just wasn't good.

Faustina had immediately apologized after the two had left, indicating she knew she was supposed to stay a secret from Gil. The thought made her stomach twist. She hadn't thought about it, but had it hurt Faustina's feelings that they were keeping her a secret?

Just like her fucked up OV had?

Damn it. She taps her fingers on the table.

"I could be ah goin' ta get them." Harry offers as he rests a hand over her fidgeting fingers, "It ain'nah bein' like we don'nah know where they be."

Uma turns to look at him before she looks to the window. Should she send him to go get them? She shakes her head. "If Gil left, it was for a good reason. I'm not sure what happened, but maybe he just thought I was going to yell more and make Deez blank again." She hopes.

"Ya be thinkin' that be ah makin' him bark orders?" Harry sighs as he sets his firsts to his hips.

She takes a deep breath before she lets it out. "No." She admits reluctantly, "But we can't be sure of anything till they get back. It's Gil and Deez though. They're both powerhouses in their own right. They'll get back in their own time. I doubt they're leaving the cove."

"That don'nah be stoppin' ya from ah worryin' none," He sighs before he runs his thumb along her cheek, "do it?"

"No, it doesn't." She bites her lip, "But I trust them to take care of themselves. If they're not back by tomorrow night, I'll have you go check on them. But I don't want to force them back til they're ready. They've slept at the cove plenty without supervision while T was out. They'll be fine. They're good for each other. One always calms the other."

Harry grins, his eyes dancing with mischievousness as he kneels, but before he can tease her further they turn at the rapid knock.

"Dingy inbound"

"Huh." She stops tapping her nails as she stands up. That happened quicker than she'd thought it would.

"Looks like they be ready." Harry squeezes her shoulder.

"Aye…" She takes a deep breath, already feeling a storm brewing on the horizon.

Her gut was telling her that this was about what he'd seen 'T' do in the cabin. She wasn't sure how her Sweet Boy had taken the news, but her Baby Girl told her several times that if Gil asked, she wasn't going to lie to him.

Was he going to be upset at them for keeping him in the dark? It had been years since Gil had gotten angry, and she honestly wasn't looking forward to it if that was the case. Her anger could be explosive, but Gil's? Gil's could be terrifying. She rolls her lip between her teeth.

They wait with bated breath for the cabin door to open.

Sea gods, she hoped she was wrong.

Hoped he'd been frustrated with her for yelling and was just protecting Deez.

She brings up her hand to rub her temples. The anticipation was killing her.

So when the door finally opens she lets out a whoosh of relief.

"Cap'n." Gil greets as his eyes sweep the room. He frowns before he steps out of the way for Deez to enter.

Nothing gave off red flags yet.

He shuts the door behind her before he walks over to plop down on the bed, "Sorry bout earlier." He rubs the back of his neck with a sheepish grin before he holds his hand out to Deez.

He looks relieved when she walks over and lets him pick her up to settle on his lap.

Uma tilts her head as she looks between the two, "That's okay Sweet Boy, I know you well enough to know you wouldn't take off like that without a reason," She takes a deep breath as she takes a step closer to the bed, "but now that you're back I would like the reason."

Gil flops on his back, taking Deez with him. "I lost it." He stares at the ceiling. "When I found out." His arm wraps around Deez's waist when she readjusts to the new position and pulls her close. "And I needed to hit something. Hard. And a lot." He sighs.

She bites her lip, So it was exactly what she'd feared. Her eyes widen slightly as she takes in the carefully wrapped bandages on his hands. "I should have been the one to tell you Sweet Boy, and I'm sorry it's taken me so long."

Gil stays silent before he takes a deep breath, "Yeah, you should've." He frowns, not looking towards her or Harry, "But I get why you didn't." He brings up his free hand to rub his temples.

Apparently headaches were going around like whirlpools today. She takes a deep breath. At least he'd worked out most of his frustration, and if Deez was willing to be so close to him- Then they must've worked something out together. "We didn't-"

"Family doesn't lie to each other." Gil interrupts her evenly, "What type of example is this setting for Deez and T?" He sighs as he glances at her from the corner of his eyes.

She steps back as if he'd physically slapped her. "Not a good one." She bows her head. Wow, he didn't even have to raise his voice.

"Mate, ya be hella good at reducin' people ta feelin' like shite with ah single statement," Harry admits, mirroring her almost exactly.

"Because I'm honest." Gil frowns as he pulls Deez to his chest and starts absently playing with her hair, "And occasionally right."

"Sweet Boy-"

"I'm not upset, at least anymore. I'm just- I'm disappointed. But like I said I get it. Clearly I didn't have the best reaction, and it would've been a lot worse if you had told me at the time." He lets out a long-suffering sigh.

That was twice that he'd interrupted her. And hearing he was disappointed hurt so much more than any anger he could've tossed her way.

Deez smiles down at him, "You're okay now though, and we're home."

"Yeah." Gil nods as he runs a hand through her hair.

It would've been sweet if she wasn't so uncomfortable. "I'm really sorry Sweet Boy, I swear we didn't do it to hurt you,"

"I know." He glances at her before giving her a tight smile. "Doesn't make it suck any less."

She swallows as she blinks away the tears starting to blur her vision. "Bet it doesn't." She sighs.

Harry walks up and rests a hand on her shoulder, her hand quickly covers his in gratitude for the solidarity. "Ya be havin' any questions?"

"None that Deez couldn't answer."

Leave it to their Baby Girl to soothe the beast. "Well, if you do- We're here to answer them."

"I appreciate it." He shoots them both the smallest smile.

Her heart finally returns to its regular position in her chest. Her Sweet Boy, their Sweet Boy, was amazing.

Gil sits up, placing Deez to his side with a kiss to her temple. "Where's T? I thought he was cabin bound?"

"T is, but Faustina is the one who's out right now. And it doesn't feel right to punish her for something T did. So I told her she was bound to the ship."

He stands up with a disgruntled look before he shakes his head. "I'll be back." He comments as he walks out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

She makes eye contact with Harry before they join Deez on the bed, sitting on either side of her. She wraps an arm around her waist as Harry wraps his around her shoulder.

"Thank you for taking care of our Sweet Boy." She says quietly.

"Aye." Harry nods as they both scoot closer. "Ya be takin' on one hellova task ta be tellin 'im that." He leans down to kiss her forehead.

"And thank you for getting him home to us tonight." She nods. "We owe you one."

Harry nods before he nuzzles her, "Aye. It be one hell o' a thing ta be accomplishin' what ye be doin' today. So we be ah thankin' ya."

Deez furrows her brow as she looks between them, "I was just there for him. I don't think I helped him out very well at first, but once he stopped-" her eyes close, "Once he started talking to me, it was okay. But it's nothing you guys owe me for."

She nods as she twists one of her braids in her finger. "Aye. But you're not the one who pissed him off in the first place." She sighs, "So it was sweet of you to take care of him like that. It's the quickest we've ever seen him calm after that kind of storm." She shakes her head. "So we do owe you. A lot. We've been a family for years, but you seem to be picking it up where we've been droppin' it." She nudges Deez's head with her own.

Harry nods. "We be proud o' ya." He squeezes her shoulder comfortingly.

Deez sighs, "I messed up a couple of times, but we figured it out. We talked about what to do if he gets like that again." She tilts her head, "I- I'd forgotten he used to be so angry, that he used to hate being touched. But then he just wanted to sit and hold me, and he eventually let me bandage his hands."

"You did a good job with that." She rests her chin in Deez's hair as she suppresses a sigh. It hurt to know Gil had hit things with his bare hands again. That he needed Deez to bandage him up. They were lucky he took Deez with him. The last time he'd been so angry he needed to hit things he'd run off, only to come back a few days later with bloody hands and more than a few broken bones.

She presses a kiss to Deez's crown. Whatever Deez had done, she was grateful. The storm that was Gil's anger usually lasted for days.

"He told me-" Deez sighs as she twists in their holds so she can look up at her, "I'm sorry."

Uma's eyes widen, "Oh Baby Girl, you don't need to apologize to us, Gil's right, we're the ones that fucked up."

Deez shakes her head as she grabs her hands, "I mean for running. I would never run from you on purpose, or from our family. So I'm sorry."

Uma kisses her nose. "You blanked. It's alright. We all do it for one thing or another. I know I need to work on my yelling. We can work on it together."

"It doesn't feel like a fear Uma," She frowns as she looks away, "I don't even remember doing it."

She caresses Deez's face with her knuckles, "Whatever it was, we'll work on it. Can't have you running off with no memory of it, can we?" She kisses her nose again.

Deez sighs, "No."

"It's alright Baby Girl, I wasn't mad at you so much as worried. We're surrounded by water and you're still not the best swimmer. We're already working on our fears," she narrows her eyes. Well, everyone but T. She sighs. She'd thought he'd be afraid of chains after what had happened. But after what Harry told her that hadn't been the case. So what exactly was the boy afraid of exactly? She shakes her head. That was a conversation for later. "What's one more to be focusing on?"

Harry chuckles before he pulls to his chest and stands from the bed, "Now Uma, we can be ah talkin' fears later. We be proud o' the Treasure, let's be rewardin' her, aye?" He spins in place.

Uma's eyes brighten as she nods her head. "Aye, that is probably for the best. Our Baby Girl probably had a long day taking care of our Sweet Boy. She should feel good before she finally gets some well-deserved sleep." She smiles at the two before her brow furrows. Where had Gil gone? He was going to be upset if he missed this.

"We can't have family time without Gil." Deez taps Harry on the forehead, "Aren't those the rules?"

Harry pouts, "Family time be ah havin' rules?"

"Our Sweet Boy is obviously taking care of something." She walks over to nuzzle Deez. "And family time," She glares at Harry, "can wait 'til he comes back. We just wanna make sure you get something special for today Baby Girl. We want you to be comfortable. 'Til then, why don't you let Harry play with your hair while I give you a massage."

Gil glares down at the stairwell.

He knew exactly where they were. Hiding in their room.

Alone.

Away from their family.

At the bottom of the ship.

The musty, damp, underbelly of the ship.

He frowns. And the lower down you went there was less and less air.

He preferred the fresh scent of the sea and a breeze to carry it.

He shakes his head., "I can do this." He swallows. His heart was already beating hard against his chest as blood rushed to his ears.

He should have brought Deez. She was better at this stuff. And helped him through this.

He shakes his head. Everyone else had already met her and he needed to know. Had he ever hurt her? Was that why they didn't want to tell him? Why she introduced herself to everyone but him? He bites his lips as he starts to descend into the darkness. But, when it came down to it, his need to know outweighed his need to stay on deck. Reminding himself that both practically lived down there.

He'd been happy by Uma's orders for T to stay in the cabin. Where they could keep an eye on him and make sure, at least for a week, he was taking care of himself. If they were facing their fears as a family, he could face his.

Now that he knew the truth though, he was starting to get worried he'd done something to her. Something while thinking she was T.

His gut twists. She was the sixth member of their family and he wanted to meet her. His heart plummets. If he had hurt her, were the others keeping him in the dark because Faustina either didn't like him, or worse, was afraid of him.

He needed to know.

His stomach turns.

Another problem was not knowing if she would even be out? He knew that Uma told her she could have run of the ship, but he wouldn't put it past T to be hiding in the room either.

He blinks when he finds himself at the door.

Thank Deez for being so supportive. A small smile forming on his lips. His stomach plummets again before he takes in a deep, nervous breath, then forces himself to knock on the door.

The door creaks open slowly and a waft of bitter herbs burns his nostrils.

Wide green eyes meet his, then he sees the lips form a perfect 'oh'.

But before he can ask, the door slams in his face.

Okay… That was a new one from T. But if that's the case.

The door opens again, "Eh, um, S-Sup?" His now hooded family member squeaks.

He snorts. That was an adorably awful attempt at mimicking T.

What little bit of her face he could make out turns red. "Uh-" She blinks "um I- uh"

His brow lifts. She didn't seem scared, or like she hated him at least. She just seemed nervous and uncomfortable. She fidgets as she rubs the back of her hand.

"Faustina?" He greets hesitantly with a small boyish grin.

She looks up in surprise, head tilted as he feels the weight of her eyes on him. A soft sigh of relief escaped her lips as she opens the door wider. "Hi."

He grins as he nervously steps into the cramped room, wiping his palms on his pants. How were they okay with living- His eyes land on the glass that Harry had carried backfilled with murky liquids with several candles underneath them. Huh. He didn't know that those medicines had to be cooked.

"You're shaking." She frowns as she shuts the door, "Do you-" She stammers, "Can I show you something?"

He could feel his blush. Had this meek girl really just call him out? "Yeah…?" He nods curiously.

"Thank you." She breathes out softly with a small smile from beneath the hood before she walks over to the table and gestures for him to come over.

Huh. This wasn't going as he expected at all. He'd wanted to talk to her, find out a little about her. Meet her. But she'd caught him off guard with the door slam.

She points to the chair bolted to the floor, and he sits. He watches curiously as she pulls an empty glass bottle from one of the wire hoops and lays it in front of him.

Had the walls just moved closer? He grips the bottom of the chair.

She looks over to him with a gentle smile and holds up one finger before she pulls over the smallest candle that didn't seem to be doing more than adding extra light to the room. He watches it as it flickers in an attempt to distract himself from the walls closing in on them.

Didn't she notice it? He feels sweat beading on his brow. Great. This was exactly the impression he wanted to leave on her. His unknown family member. And maybe the shyest person he ever met. How was she ever going to see him as a protector, someone she could confide in and trust after this? He wipes his forehead and forces a smile.

As if his smile were permission she places the glass over the candle. His brow furrows as he watches it.

What a weird thing to want to show him.

That was until the flickers still and slowly dim until it was nothing but a stream of smoke trapped under the glass.

He blinks. What the? He tilts his head to the side.

"It ran out of air." So quiet he has to strain to hear her.

"It ran outta-" His eyes widened. Oh. He looks from her to the jar and back again before he turns to the other candles still flickering strongly under their assigned tasks. Huh. He stares at them. That was- He takes his first full breath as his heart slows slightly. He rubs the back of his head sheepishly. So she knew him well enough to know he was scared of small spaces then?

The thought makes him smile. He hadn't expected that.

She smiles nervously at him as she nods. Her feet shifting from one to the other as she continues to fidget with her sleeve.

"Thanks." What else was he supposed to say? They'd barely met and she'd just help him overcome a part of his fear, or at least understand it.

His eyes go back to the other candles and their strong flickering. He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "I came down here to meet you and the first thing you do is help me." How sweet was that? It reminded him of something T would do, but she was so much softer with her approach, not as frustrated when he didn't immediately see what was being shown to him.

Patient. So close to the way T was when he was teaching him to read with Deez, but not quite.

"I've wanted to show you for a while." She toes the floor with a small frown. She rubs the back of her hand faster.

"Do you want me to leave?" He asks with a frown.

She shakes her head before she points up. "I know it's still uncomfortable."

This was seriously T's other half? Gil rubs the back of his head, "I mean, don't be surprised if I run the moment a candle goes out." He chuckles, "I promise it ain't personal."

She smiles, "I know." She nods. Her head tilts to the side before "Can I help you with something?" She bites her lip as she moves her hands behind her back.

"I just," He drops his arms to his sides, "I wanted to meet the rest of my family while I had a chance," he explains with a grin.

"Oh." She blushes as she looks away, "I'm not much to meet I'm afraid. But thank you."

"Are you kiddin' me?" Gil pulls back in surprise, "You know about air and candles and other sciency things like Carlos. And you knew what was wrong without me telling you."

"Carlos taught me." She offers meekly. "And I know a lot about all of you." Her cheeks manage to darken further.

"Well, I want to know about you." He grins, "If that's okay."

She tilts her head to the side, "There's not really much to know."

"Sure there is… Like-" He bites his lip before he smiles, "What's your favorite color? Do you like music? Do you like the tarts Deez makes? Do you like to read? Do you try to find stars on the other side of the barrier? Can you swim? Do you want to hang out at the cove with me and Deez next time we go? Does T ever annoy you?"

After a moment she takes a deep breath. "Harry's eyes." She blushes as she starts fidgeting again.

He blinks. Was she saying that was her favorite color?

"I love music. They're delicious. I love to read, even though-" She shakes her head. "I couldn't really see up." She admits as her eyes flit to the herbs, "But I think I would like to try and find stars." She toes nothing again. "No," She shakes her head. "I- If Harry and the Captain say it's okay, I think I'd really like that, but I'm not allowed off the ship right now..."

Or hopefully ever. This girl would get eaten alive on the isle. He blinks. Did she come out on the isle? The thought scared him. He pushes the thought to the side when she continues.

"Sometimes he can be overbearing, I know he doesn't mean to be. But yes. Doesn't he slightly annoy everyone? He tries to mimic but..." A small smile curves her lips. "He's not the best at paying attention to those sorts of things."

Gil snorts, "Yeah, and he used to get onto me for that."

This was definitely not T. One, he smiles, T would rather die than admit that his favorite color was Harry's eyes.

Two, Faustina seemed nervous answering questions, but she answered them. T would have dodged until someone pinned him to the wall.

And three, everything about the way she moved and acted right now was uncertain and unsure. T was almost never like that.

She nods as she continues to fidget, looking up at him curiously.

Gil furrows his brow before he chuckles, "You wanna get back to working with the herbs?"

"If that's okay with you…" She looks up at him as if waiting for permission.

"Yeah. I uh, I just wanted to talk and meet you." Gil smiles, "Let you know that I know now, so you don't have to worry or nothin'." He shrugs as heat fizzles across his cheeks, "And if you want, I'm here for ya."

"Thank you." She smiles meekly. "For caring. I'm sorry we lied." She bows her head as she pulls her hands behind her back again.

"Well," Gil awkwardly rubs the back of his neck, unsure how to react to her bow, "now we're family, so you don't have ta do that anymore."

"I won't." She promises. "I-I'm sorry," She keeps playing with the sleeve. "It won't happen again."

Huh. He watches her. "I'll leave you to your herbs then." He grins sheepishly as he reaches over and ruffles her hair without thinking about it. So he's surprised when she grins up at him with barely a flinch.

That was… Different.

"Want to come back up with me now that we all know."

She shakes her head. "Can I please stay here?" She asks timidly.

He looks around the small room with a frown. "If you want too." Everything about her was flaring his protective instincts, and apparently something about leaving the room scared her. He knew enough to tell that. "Okay." He nods, "I'll talk to you later?"

She nods.

She was so quiet it was almost painful. "Cool. Lock the door behind me." He reminds her before he heads out the door with one last glance.

Once he hears the click of the lock he heads back up the stairs.

Heya,

Tch. I've seen cotton candy less fluffy than this chapter.

Do you guys think T is aware that he's a walking headache? OR do you think he's oblivious to it? As his writer, he definitely notices people tend to rub their heads a lot near him, but as for the rest... Thoughts?

About Uma's epiphany. What do you guys think? That it would hurt Faustina's feelings to be kept as a secret from a member of their family. I'm not sure if any of you have mentioned it before (goldfish) but yeah, she's not wrong. Did any of you think about it?

Despite the trust for Deez and Gil to take care of themselves and each other Uma still worries about them. What do you think about her admission?

As Gil's writer, I love how level headed he can be in a sea of turbulence once he gets his shit out. What do you guys think? Does it make sense for his character to both agree that Uma should have fact told him the truth, but can understand why she didn't?

Deez can be so humble sometimes. In the first scene especially. It takes a lot of courage to stand up to the level of anger Gil was displaying in the previous scene but in Deez like fashion she just waves it off. Agree? Or disagree?

Deez is just the fucking cutest. I think it was adorable when she asked about there being rules for family time, wanting to make sure Gil could be a part of it. And Harry's response made me lolz. That being said, what do you think about the Sea Family's reward system? Grooming and massages for helping each other? Sweet right?

The fact Gil is willing to face his fears for his family is very telling of his character. Especially because he was willing to face it twice in the same day, what did you think about his original thoughts of dragging Faustina back up to the room to be with their family?

It doesn't matter how many times I read it, Faustina slamming the door in Gil's face has me rolling. The fact that she tried to act like T right after, just beautiful. Where did you land on it?

Gil's thoughts that he may have hurt Faustina, so badly that he was willing to face 'suffocation', hurt to reread. Was that something you had taken into consideration?

What did you guys think about Gil's questions? What about Faustina's answers? Were either what you expected?

Gil knowing that T would rather die than ever admit Harry's eyes were his favorite color made both of us die laughing. Is it telling? Did it surprise you? Do you agree with Gil?

Poor Gil, all intentions flew right out the window. Apparently it didn't take long for Faustina to have our Sweet Boy wrapped around her finger. Are you disappointed he didn't drag her up? Surprised he let her stay in the room?

As much as you love to read this

We love to know the gist

Of what you thought of this chapter

Like us, did it fill you with laughter?

*Sorry not sorry, I love to rhyme*

Much Love and Appreciation

-Twisted

Covid Corner

Shit's starting to straighten out, maybe, that's the hope anyway. We hope it's true, but we aren't holding our breath either… Hope you all are well, even if you're still stuck in this hell.

Personally, we're still doing great, we really hope all of you can relate.

-Twisted-