Tiff and Vincent were hurriedly crouching down to collect the collection of backwash into their buckets, lifting up their bodies to toss the water overboard, the repeating process leaving their backs aching until they had to stand for a moment just to ease the sensation. The two men were newcomers to the Raptora, a small seafaring vessel that skimmed the Mediterranean under the eye of Fareeha Amari, collecting fish to sell at ports to make due, but also engaging in other flights of fancy, such as stopping off near Algeria in order to find old, buried, Carthaginian treasures, mostly to little avail.

Tiff was older, but more wily than his current counterpart, Vincent, who had made a career out of shutting up and simply doing what he was told. The two of them had been picked up in Italy, after the men they were replacing had hopped onto the harbor the first chance they got, and it didn't take long for these two to understand why that might have been.

"Who in their roight mind takes a ship 'n run it through a waterfall?!" Tiff grumbled, his aged back creaking with every twist and turn at his torso, "I tell yah, kid, that b'rd 'n charge on this ship- she's flyin' by the seat o' her pants!"

Vincent grinned, "Oh, come on old timer; at least there's never a dull moment on here. The last ship I was on, a trawler, it was nothin' but eat, sleep, fish; all day, every day. It's more bearable when there's no routine."

"Boy! There ain't s'posed ta be any water on a ship!" Tiff cried angrily, standing upright to straighten out his back, a flurry of cracks breaking the air, "'n don't think I don't know what yer really thinkin', boy. You make eyes at that red 'ead 'n were both in the slammer, or worse."

"Wh-! I'm offended at such an accusation!" Vincent assured eagerly, "Those two have been nothing but generous! I wouldn't dare have anything unprofessional in mind!"

Unconvinced, Tiff grumbled to himself as he continued throwing water from the deck, "You darned whipper-snappers. I can't believe I had ta run inta you of all people, offerin' me a-"

"Just sayin'," Vincent interrupted, his mind currently vacated within an absent-minded imagination, "That red head- what, Thalia? As generous as she is, she's just as plenty generous to the eyes."

"She also can't tie a slip knot ta save 'er life!" Tiff complained with a ragged voice, "I had ta go along aft'r 'er the other day 'n correct all the crap she was messin' up. I don't know how she got along this ship; she must be screwin' tha captain 'r somethin'."

Vincent frowned, "Oh come on, old man."

"You're blinded by yer own stupid eyes. Perks o' being young, I s'pose," Tiff grumbled with his own rolling eyes, "I tell ya though; I'm this close ta jumpin' ship- now I see why we're replacin' people; nobody stick around once they see 'em steering through waterfalls 'n going out inta the Atlantic Just ya see some goddamned dolphins! This 's a pleasure cruise, not a ship."

"Yeah…" Vincent sighed with whimsical eyes, "Pleasure cruise…"

Tiff eyed the young man with piercing eyes, "I'm tellin' ya ya quit that 'n-!"

"Hello boys," came a voice from behind them, causing the two to recoil in surprising, spinning around to find their captain, Fareeha Amari, approaching in stride, her tawdry pauldrons upon her shoulders signaling the lack of seriousness she had for her post, "How's is going?"

"F-Fine, Captain!" Vincent stammered nervously as he looked up toward Amari, praying silently that Tiff wouldn't continue his tirade, "We're just making due time gettin' all this water outta here!"

Amari chuckled with a childish air, reaching a hand to the back of her scalp to scratch her suddenly-itchy head, "Yeah, sorry about that. We were wanting to see the Saint Luca up close, but we kinda got too close there for a moment. Thanks for helping out like this."

Vincent was quickly to reply positively, though Tiff continued working, mumbling quietly to himself as Amari went on, "How's life aboard the Raptora treating you? It's been a week or so and neither of you have scrambled into the sea to escape."

Tiff quickly stood up, but before he could complain, Vincent was quick to interject, "Y-Y-Yeah, it's been great! I can't think of nothin' to find unbearabke!"

"Good, good," Captain Amari nodded to herself, turning to Tiff, "How about you? You look worse for where now that I get a look at you."

Vincent felt a tingle rush down the length of his spine as Tiff's shoulders rolled in preparation for his reply, his steely face coiling as he muttered, "I'm doin'."

"Just "doin'", huh?" Amari asked with distaste, looking off into the distance as she held her hands to her hips, "Well, as of now, you two make up half the crew, so I would like to know that you two are doing well. I pride myself on being totally open with my crew, though that sort of has to work both ways, y'know?"

"Totally open," Tiff grumbled, "Might explain why ya had crewm'n jumpin' ship soon as you hit port."

Amari rolled her eyes dramatically, wearing a grin, "Nah, they were just scared. We're usually light on crew, so we try to bring anybody aboard- often times they join up so fast they don't realize they're having to answer to a woman."

Her lips spun into a smirk, "That intimidates some men, y'know?"

"Oh, not me, Captain!" Vincent assures hurriedly, "I haven't an issue taking orders from anybody!"

Amari nodded approvingly, "Good. It's always nice to-"

"Not like I was gonna make it much nowhere else in life," Vincent continued with a sardonic chuckle, "I'm totally fine bein' a life-long follower!"

Slightly perturbed, Amari nodded slowly, "Gotcha. Well, as long as you two're good- If your men know what they're doing, let them be I say. Find me if either of you need anything, alright?"

"Yes, Captain!" Vincent shouted aloud, earning an appreciative nod from Amari before she turned to walk away.

Vincent gave a sigh of relief, though he quickly wore a look of panic as he noticed Tiff's increasingly annoyed face, the younger of the two quickly growing nervous of this old man's intentions. He quickly reached over to grab hold of Tiff's shoulders, pulling him away ever so gently.

"C-Come on, old man; let's not upset the Captain!" Vincent pleaded with a desperate voice, "Let's just get this done 'n-"

"What about tha red 'ed?" Tiff asked aloud, stopping Ameri in her tracks.

She half-turned to face him, a sincerely look of confusion on her face as she replied, "Pardon?"

Vincent felt a wave of nausea, quickly turning away to duck down and continue dumping the water as Tiff grumbled louder, "That other woman. She ain't carryin' her own weight on this ship; even I know that! I had ta' follow 'er down every line 'n fix her mistakes! I know yo're laid back, but one of those knots don't slip, ya lookin' at the whole beam swingin' around, hittin' skulls! It's dang'rous!"

Amari's face had darkened, her legs carrying her closer toward Tiff as he went on, "I fancy tha real reason people 're leavin' is 'cause ya prefer tha fun 'n nothin' else. You'd rather take ya 'totally open' policy ta bed rather th'n be 'n actual captain."

Tiff's face trembled angrily as he poured out his anger, though it did little to change Amari's stony face. She eyed him with darkening eyes, her bottom lip twisting as she bit at it from within her mouth, mulling over what course of action to take.

"I'm not a murderer," she clarified, darkly, "So I'm not gonna throw you off this ship right this second. Secondly, consider yourself lucky I don't tie your tongue into a knot- it would make the rest of this trip far more agreeable for myself, I assure you."

Amari lifted a single finger, pointing toward the old man, "Now get back to work. I don't want to hear another word about the personnel on my ship. Trust me, there's plenty I'd have to say about you right this second. Unless you want to drown in your floaties, I suggest you do as I say."

Tiff's eyes shot back toward his captain's with a stubborn gaze, no words being spoken by him as Amari turned once again to leave, speaking up over her shoulder, "Back to work, you two."

With a growing fire from within him, Tiff's lips began to curl in disgust, leaving Vincent to wrap his two hands against the old man's shoulder with a wary shiver, pulling him back toward his bucket, stammering nervously, "C-C-Come on, man; let- let's just make it back ta port before we're here without somebody who knows how to pilot this thing!"

The thought of impending trouble translating into a nervous twitch at his right eye, Vincent pleaded as he picked up the bucket and held it against Tiff's chest, "Ju- Just make it back 'n- C'mon, I'll give you a portion of my paycheck! Just don't- don't cause trouble! Please!"

A displeasing grumble left Tiff as he angrily grabbed hold of the bucket, turning back toward the layer of water that still remained aboard the deck, cursing under his breath as he crouched low, cracking his spine as he did so. Vincent watched for a moment with a slight sigh of relief before joining alongside him, shaking his head at how crazy this trip had already begun, knowing he only wanted to get off this ship alive.

Hours had passed. Amari pulled her coat over her shoulders as she rounded the corner inside the ship, heading for her quarters as she yanked at its front ends until it started to fit right once again. She sighed under her breath as she tried to drown out her annoyance from her earlier conversation with her two new crewmen, shaking her head at their words, even if it pained her far too much knowing that the old man was correct.

She had exhausted so much of her own resources simply to making the ship as simple as possible to maintain or work, which only served to confuse any and all newcomers, but which also didn't seem to help much at all. Not that Thalia's heart was in the wrong place- Amari knew it pained her lover as much as it did her that she was oftentimes the wrong cog in a wheel, forgetting important steps in even more important actions, misunderstanding directions, or even becoming unaware of scheduled things needing to happen. Amari learned, quick enough, that despite Thalia's purely determined heart, she'd found the poor woman working in a tavern for a reason.

For all the hours spent trying to help Thalia understand different mechanics aboard the Raptora, nothing seemed to stick. Like an artist attempting to understand algebra, Thalia's mind just didn't seem able to grasp so much of the ship, even if Amari did everything, and more, to give her lover an ever-easier ship to run. Still, Thalia did try, sometimes to Amari's annoyance, sometimes taking such attempts to gain understanding to extremes.

Amari reached into her pocket, fishing for the key to her quarters, her coat jerking around as she fiddling within its depths, finally pulling the ring of keys from the coat she'd still found so unfamiliar. She then had to fiddle with the lock in the dark, managing to find the correct key and unlocking her way into her room, the keychain ringing its high-pitched racket the entire time, leaving Amari with a groan, her long day apparently not going quietly into the night.

Stepping into the dark room, her eyes adjusted to the darkness well enough as she turned to lock the door behind her, returning to find a lengthy form upon her bed. Her brow furrowed with curiosity, having never seen Thalia totally buried beneath the blankets, hiding her sleeping head from her lover's arrival, though she figured there was a first for everything, moving on from the idea as she threw her shoulders back to lose her captain's attire, throwing it lazily onto the wooden floor beside her desk.

She peered down toward her shirt, watching her fingers fiddle around with the buttons, watching as the crease beneath its fabric gradually increased into her unsightly-sized bosom, a frown escaping her at the thought of all her work back home having left her with such an undesirable body, even though the thought of Thalia's touch lessened such ideas.

As she removed her shirt, Amari's frown remained as she reached up to undo the poorly-made fabric of her bra, a wave of dismay washing over at the sight before her until she finally surrendered her self-critiquing, simply making her way to her side of the bed, losing her washed-out pants along the way before climbing into bed beside Thalia's still body, greeted by such heavenly warmth as she slid between the layers of blankets.

Amari lay there, still, though having little thought of actually falling asleep anytime soon. Instead, her eyes shifted toward Thalia, wondering how long her partner would wait before continuing on with whatever she must have been up to before she'd walked in. She knew Thalia had been awake, probably up to something to Amari's dismay by how she'd pulled her blankets up to cover every inch of her. As ill-suited to ship work as Thalia was, she was obviously quite as ill-suited toward secrecy.

Soon enough, the light of a bedside lantern began to flicker, only slightly at first, but soon it began to glow with a lazy brightness, just enough to accompany the woman who'd turned it on. Amari felt the sheets curling down toward the foot of the bed, stopping just as it's breadth uncovered Thalia's head and shoulders, the bed shifting gently with whatever movement Thalia was making as she lay there on her side, unaware of the slight glance from her captain and lover.

Amari lifted herself ever so gently, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever it was Thalia was doing just over her shoulder, though the coils of the mattress betrayed her, a slight pressure hitting across from her as Thalia dropped her hands onto the bed in defeat.

She groaned, "Yes?"

Amari replied easily, "Just seeing what's keeping you up. Usually it's me, so I was confused."

Thalia failed to reply, leaving Amari with nothing more than speculation as she rose up, gazing over the softened skin of her lover's arm, frowning at the sight just beyond her olive skin, "You heard…"

"Yep," Thalia muttered lowly, "Every word."

Groaning, Amari reached up to rub her face, "I shouldn't be shocked. Old man's yelling could work the ears off of a statue."

Despite being found out, Thalia brought up the two footlong strands of rope and continued trying to tie a slip knot, remaining silent as her mind tried to work out how to accomplish such a thing. Amari allowed only a moment of regret to well up within her before reaching over her hand to hold Thalia's bare arm, causing a flinch throughout her lover's body.

"Quit," she muttered, "You're ruining my concentration."

"You quit," Amari countered, "Its however late. You shouldn't be concentrating on anything more than a good night's sleep."

Thalia turned her head over her shoulder, "I heard what they said. I'm not going to be a hindrance to anybody; especially to you."

"Who said you were a hindrance to me?" Amari questioned, confused, "That old man's a fool. You couldn't ever be anything of a hindrance to me."

Her voice lowering, Thalia muttered, "I know I'm no good on this ship. It's been a year or two and you're still having to show me how to do things; how not to screw up. Faree-"

Amari's tightened clutch upon her arm, bordering on something of a small embrace, caught Thalia off guard, though she went on with fettered voice, "Fareeha, I know I'm a detriment to this ship. I always have been."

"This whole ship was built for you," Amari replied, "Without you, it hasn't a purpose."

That gave Thalia a moment's pause, her brunette hair sliding from her neck as she lowered her head, trying her best to hide her face as her voice grew choked, "You- You've already said such kind things to me. You've always been so good to me."

"Well, nobody else was," Amari spoke easily, pulling her hand away from Thalia's arm as she scooted closer, pressing her bare chest into her lover's back, allowing her own arm to reach around her taut body and take the knot-in-progress, "Here. This end goes here, then loops around into that first knot, right?"

Fumbling slightly with the ropes due to the slight welling up of tears along her eyes, Thalia did as she was told, working the ends around as Amari spoke up, "You've always been so good to me, too."

"I hadn't a choice," Thalia spoke up with a humored voice, "You're such a lone wolf; I knew I needed to be in order for you to notice me."

Shrugging, Amari responded, "Why couldn't I have been into bad girls?"

"Fareeha, the first night I saw you, you put a randy through a corner table for slipping a insultingly low tip to the server," Thalia giggled, "I'm pretty sure you're enough bad girl for any one couple."

"You don't say," Amari muttered, reaching her head down to take a kiss from Thalia's neck, causing her lover to shiver with gentle elation.

She answered, "You're dangerous, too."

Amari went on, "I'm not really a bad girl. I did what I had to in order to make a living. In reality, I'm far more dangerous than any bad girl; I'll lull you in with sweet nothings and lay upon your feet such sophistry that you would follow me to the ends of the earth with what imaginative future I might have in store for two souls."

Thalia smiled sweetly at her words, despite unable to be seen, allowing Amari to finish up with, "'n fuck whoever might say otherwise."

A giggle erupted from in front of the captain, Thalia's entire body quaking as she curled up in laughter, shaking her head in disbelief as she reigned herself in, "You know, we were never allowed to use such language growing up. It's still kind of silly and new to me."

"Well, maybe that's why I keep saying it," Amari confided with an eased tone, "I never want you to go without such light-hearted affairs. That's a bowline, by the way."

Thalia quickly narrowed her eyes, examining the line, "W-Well, was I close?"

"Bowlines never slip, so- Not exactly."

Frowning, Thalia slowly began to unwind the knot, shaking her head, "I'm telling you, I'm impossible."

"So what if you are?" Amari asked, "I don't give two shits whether you do anything becoming of a sailor- I'd work this entire ship by myself if I had to."

Thalia shook her head, "Hush up. The last thing I want is to be a wretch upon your ship. I don't want to do nothing and have to watch you do-"

"You love me," Amari asked, suddenly catching Thalia off guard.

Slowly, Thalia allowed her head to creep up toward her shoulder, peering into the darkness beyond the glow of her swarthy skin. Amari had dipped her face back into her lover's shoulder, simply residing there as she contemplated leaving herself bare to this woman whom had so often been there to keep her held.

"You love me," she repeated, "That enough. You don't have to do anything else."

"Fareeha…"

"Love was always conditional growing up," Amari began, slowly, "My mother was a hard ass. My father, a general's assistant. They never showed affection. The only times I ever felt like I belonged was when I had fought my way into a decent meal. It was never just okay that I was who I was."

She left a gentle kiss upon Thalia's tender skin, "I've never had anybody I could trust. There was always some other motive- if it wasn't my parent's charge toward their own prestige through my upbringing, it was friends using me or comrades following behind me as I took to the front lines."

"All you ever have to do is love me," Amari completed, her voice a soft whisper.

Thalia gave a sincerely small smirk, returning to her half-undone bowline knot, "Well, I suppose I'll just have to learn how to multi-task as well. Loving you might be the only thing I'm good at in this life, but I still want to-"

Amari reached over, cupping Thalia's hand with her own, allowing her fingers to ever so delicately roll along until she had a grasp of the knot, Thalia doing her best to worm her fingers in between her lover's in order to keep the knot within her own grasp, grinning all the same as their hands grew knotted themselves as they slowly fought for control of the bowline.

"Tell me you'll be mine. Forever," Amari spoke up quietly, earning a deepening stare from Thalia, who hadn't ever heard such words from this woman before, "Maybe I'm afraid you'll learn too much. You'll outgrow my use to you."

Thalia took her free hand and reached over to take hold of her lover's wrist, her voice a hallowed whisper, "You have no 'use' in that sense. I'm not using you any more than I'm using my heart to pump blood. How could I ever outgrow somebody I love so dearly?"

Whether Thalia had given up, or Amari had gained the upper hand, she wouldn't ever know, but she managed to take a singular hold of the knot, quickly tossing it across the room with an instant gesture, immediately bringing her hand back to pull Thalia onto her back as Amari took a glimpse of her from above in her side-long posture atop the bed they shared.

She reached her arm up to half-embrace Thalia's torso, bringing her closer into her body as her eyes darted up and down her bare skin, gaining a nervous sort of giggle from the woman, Thalia bringing her feet over to fall in line with the rest of her, which had so tightly been brought into Amari.

"You know- AAH!" Thalia shouted in surprise before quickly falling into a laughing fit, "S-Sorry! Your feet are so cold!"

Amari grinned, shooting her leg forward, trying to wrap it tightly around Thalia's, "Maybe that's why I keep trying to get at you with them."

Thalia laughed as she desperately tried to escape such a stunning sensation, "Quit it!"

"-because it makes you laugh," Amari completed as Thalia squirmed away, still lost in gentle giggles.

She quickly retrieved an arm, pushing against Amari's shoulder in an attempt to escape, "Ha ha; stop! I think I much prefer your cursing if you're wanting me to laugh!"

"Hmm, really," Amari mused quietly, pulling her legs back her way to allow Thalia freedom from her frigid assault.

She waited for her lover to calm, the two of them not breaking eye contact as Thalia remained beneath the gaze of her captain. her partner. She shivered as Amari rested a hand atop her bare stomach, sliding it up so slowly, sending mild shocks the the tips of Thalia's hair standing on edge. Amari kept her hand there, warming it against such a sweet heat accompanying the gentle rises of Thalia's breaths, making herself adequately warm as she slid her hand up to take a hold of her lover's breast, Thalia's lips opening lazily even at such an expected sensation.

"You want it's words, huh," Amari nodded, dropping her head to the sis of Thalia's, taking a gently nip at her ear before whispering ever so slightly, "Then fuck me."

A quivering breath left Thalia as she took hold of Fareeha's neck with her arm, pulling her woman against her, the two falling quickly into love once again.

"Okay, now strap it over- There you go, see?" Amari instructed, standing beside Thalia as she worked to tie the shrouds back to the side of the ship, "It isn't difficult once you get the hang of it."

Thalia groaned, despite her proudly tightening the final knot, "You keep saying that. It's a lot more difficult when I'm trying to recall this when you aren't around."

"Hey, as long as you're getting the experience," Amari shrugged, "Look, you even beat those two buzzards."

"Because you did two-quarters of the lines," Thalia explained, grinning sardonically up toward her captain, "Trust me, I know my skillset, or lack thereof, better than anybody."

Amari replied, "I've come to know you all to well, Thalia. Now finish up here; I have to go get Vincent and have him head over to the port side and get those shrouds sewn up, okay?"

"Okay," Thalia nodded with enthusiasm, leaving Amari to nod in kind before walking off toward the two men finishing up the shroud further along the deck.

She diligently returned to the final two ropes of her shroud, taking it slow, recalling what Amari had just told her. She wound the line as she'd been instructed to do, though she quickly lost her train of thought in a sudden haze that overtook her mind, even with only three steps to follow. She stared down at the half-finished not, her hands shaking, with a deep frustration welling up from within her. She felt so helpless, and even more so, so very worthless as she watched the line, tears welling up at her eyes, so ashamed at her own inability.

She jumped in a shock, recoiling as she stumbled backwards, watching with surprise as the old man, Tiff, came out of nowhere, reaching out for the line and proceeding to tie it himself, leaving Thalia shaking from the inevitable coalescence of shame and surprise.

"Th-Thanks," she managed, but to no reply from Tiff, who merely finished up the final two lines of the shroud before turning his back and sauntering back to where he'd come from, grumbling to himself faintly.

Thalia quickly crossed her arms as she lowered her head, holding herself to keep from crying, her heart aching at how helpless she was, despite having just been told what to do. All she could hear were the crashing waves along the hull of the ship, wanting nothing more than to crawl into a hole somewhere, her mind only brought back to life as she heard the sound of the nearby lines creaking while being pulled taut, her eyes jumping up to find Tiff working his way onto the wall of the ship, pulling his old frame up as he grappled onto the shroud.

"H-Hey!" Thalia spoke up, walking over after him, "I-I don't think you should-!"

Tiff eyed her as he stepped shakily onto the raised platform, "'ey, I gotta job ta' do, 'n I'm gonna do it! She's got th' boy somewhere else, 'n you can't work a line ta save yer own life! Somebody's gotta get this done; there's too much slack 'n these ropes!"

Rebuffed, Thalia took a step back as Tiff's old legs worked their way up the shroud, the geezer shaking his head, "You'd better praise yer lucky stars ya must be halfway decent in that cabin; I got no earthly idea how anybody'd keep ya around otherwise."

Thalia slowly turned to leave, her shoulders slumped as she stepped away, shaking her head as she departed, feeling even more miserable as she left the old man to his devices. Tiff worked his old arms through the ropes, doing his best to keep himself anchored to the criss-crossing line, his exhaustion growing exponentially before he'd gotten halfway up. His breaths began to hasten, his eyes quickly wandering back over toward Thalia, though after his outburst, he hadn't an inkling to request help. Instead, he began making his way back down to the deck, mumbling fierce curses to himself as his aching body got the best of him.

As his foot reached the wall of the deck, the ship suddenly jolted with the force of a sinister wave of water crashing into its hull, causing Tiff to break free from his grip along the shroud, his body relying only on his singular point of contact with the ship, though his foot managed to slip, unable to hold his weight, leaving him careening down off the side of the ship. Between his exhaustion and the shocking sensation of falling, his throat tightened, leaving him with a silent descent into the waters below.

An incredibly faint crash of water caught Thalia's ear, leaving her halting upon the deck, slowly spinning around as her sullen face grew into one of curiosity. Tiff was missing. Confused, she eyed the deck, knowing the old man couldn't have gone anywhere quickly. She walked back to where she'd come from, giving the deck a decent glance, unsure of where he could have gone, though her mind immediately jumped to a far more dreadful conclusion.

She bolted to the side of the ship, peering over its edge to find Tiff halfway down the ship's length, desperately flailing his arms every which way, too disoriented to keep afloat beneath the crashing waves breaking upon the Raptora's hull. Thalia gasped a deep breath, spinning around and reaching up to her shoulders to pull off her thin coat before reaching for her shoes to throw them from her feet.

"h-HEY!" she cried out as loud as she could toward where Fareeha and Vincent had disappeared, "MAN OVERBOARD!"

Knowing she hadn't time to wait on them to arrive, Thalia eyed the edge of the ship with wary eyes, breathing heavily, almost hyperventilating, as she run her palms along one another, her mind reeling as she confirmed to herself, "You got this, Thalia. You can do this."

With that, she shot like a cannon toward the edge, clearing the Raptora's walls and descending like a cannonball into the waters below.

Not a minute had passed before Amari and Vincent came dashing around the corner, the captain with a desperate look on her face as she pointed Vincent toward the two spiraled clumps of lines that sat upon the deck, shouting aloud, "Grab the two mooring lines! Quick!"

Vincent broke away from her as he did so, leaving Amari to rush to the edge of the ship, peering down the length of the ship until she indeed spotted Tiff and Thalia in the water, Amari's eyes widening as she watched with terror. It appeared as though the two were relatively calm, Thalia having quelled the old man's horror, though it was clear that Tiff was quickly taking on water, his old limbs unable to carry him above the water. Amari quickly ran down the ship to where she was above the two of them, waving Vincent over as he rushed one of the thick mooring lines down to her, tossing it to her feet before dashing off for the other one.

Amari grabbed an armful of the giant rope, her muscles tearing at her body as she lifted the exorbitant weight over the edge of the ship, tossing it as best she could overboard before grabbing the line to keep it from sliding back down the length of the port side's hull.

"GRAB ON!" she shouted out loud, watching with gritted teeth as Thalia helped wrap the rope around Tiff enough that he wouldn't have to worry about grappling on to it with his own power.

Amari looked over her shoulder to find Vincent rushing the second rope to her side, holding out the first line for him to take, "Take this. Get Tiff the fuck back up here; I'll get Thalia, okay?!"

Vincent nodded obediently, taking the line as Amari retrieved the second rope, working her way down the deck to where Thalia had floated in the interim, throwing the line well behind her so that she could float down to it, though it was clear enough that the line was just barely reaching the water. Amari looked up the deck to find the line had gone as far as it could, a harrowing thought crossing her mind as she peered back down to the water.

Thalia tried desperately to grab hold of the rope, but after wrapping up Tiff, her strength had waned, leaving her far more frightened than she had been as the waves of water began overtaking her head. Amari's eyes widened in terror as Thalia floated beyond the rope's reach.

"Fuck!" she shouted, not bothering to remove anything as she hopped onto the ships edge, leaving Vincent terrified by what he was witnessing.

"W-Wait! Cap-!"

Before he could finish, Amari was airborne, crashing into the sea water below. She expertly swam toward Thalia with an otherworldly zeal, fighting the waves until Thalia fell out of sight, having been overcome by the roaring waters that the Raptora left near the backside of its hull. Amari's mind was so focused, she hadn't a moment to feel fear, instead taking in a deep breath and diving into the seawater, her powerful limbs carrying through the overpowering currents surrounding her, finding Thalia floating vertical, her arm still hanging upward toward the surface, though every portion of her body appeared lifeless.

Amari fought through the water, eventually coming to Thalia and ripping through the sea as she emerged upon the surface, taking in a furious gasp of air as she yanked an arm out from the sleeve of her coat, working Thalia's lifeless limb into it in her place, ensuring her the use of both arms while also keeping her lover anchored to her shoulder, Amari's arms churning like a furnace as her muscles carried the two of them through the powerful waves toward the awaiting mooring line.

Thalia's body hit the deck with a thud as Amari shed her coat, immediately falling to her knees and reaching both hands to Thalia's cheeks, examining her face for a moment before turning her head to the side and lifting herself to rescucitate her, locking her two hands into a fist just below her chest and putting her entire body into ejecting whatever water she'd taken. Vincent watched helplessly from a few feet away, switching from Thalia to Tiff at intervals, the old man having also collapsed on the deck, though he still retained the breath of life, despite not able to move an inch.

Amari's face grew increasingly desperate as she pushed again and again, with nothing happening, switching to Thalia's face, where she carefully locked lips with her, blowing into her mouth as tears began to well up at her eyes, mixing in with the water that covered her entire body. She returned to her chest, pushing desperately with both hands, though her muscles began to shake as the inevitable began to overtake her.

Her face long with worry, Amari shot a glance down the deck toward Tiff, who lay on his stomach as he took in weak breaths, his face turned to where his eyes could watch her in return, the two of them creating a thick enough air of tension that even Vincent became antsy as Amari left Thalia's lifeless body, rising to her feet and gritting her teeth as she gave the old man a supremely sinister stare.

"Yoooou…" she seethed, taking a single step in Tiff's direction before Vincent jumped to his feet, blocking her path with a frightful movement.

He stammered, "C-C-Captain! It-! Just give it a-!"

Vincent could tell that his captain was unable to hear him as she pushed past him, leaving the young man to scramble along with her, catching one final glance around Amari's powerful arm just s she closed the distance between herself and the old man.

"W-Wait! Captain, look! She's breathing!" Vincent cried out in desperation, finally stopping his captain in her tracks.

Amari whipped her head around to find, sure enough, the body of her lover rising and falling, ever so weakly, forcing her to return to Thalia's body before falling to a single knee, examining the water-logged body. She reached down to find a pulse, much to her relief, though beyond that and her hollow breaths, she hadn't much toward signs of life.

Standing back up, Amari turned to Vincent with an authoritative voice, "Vince. Take her to the nearest bunk. Make sure she's warm until I can get down there and switch her with some dry clothes. I need to plot a new course."

"New- New course?" Vincent asked, warily, having already witnessed his captain within the throes of emotion, "Where, uh- Where to?"

"Phocis," Amari answered matter-of-factly, "Somebody I know there might be able to help her."

A strenuously tense voice from Vincent answered her, "I-Is there a doctor there, or-?"

"There is. One I would trust would far more than the life of any man on my crew," Amari nodded, "Just take care of this one for now, okay?"

Vincent nodded, but as he crouched down to take hold of Thalia, Amari stretched out a powerful arm, grasping his shirt and pulling him close with a knowing look upon her face, "Don't do anything more. Got it?"

Shaking nervously, Vincent nodded with an uncertain speed, stuttering, "Y-Y-Yes m-ma'am- er, Captain!"

"Good," Amari nodded approvingly as she relinquished her hold, leaving Vincent to return to shaking legs before standing herself, "Due northwest. I expect a few days' travel time."

She eyed Tiff while Vincent lifted Thalia, her voice cold as she spoke, "You'd better pray she lives, old man."

Unable to reply, Tiff merely stared back at her, hiding his own unquenched contempt.