Hana sat at her desk, her eyes dark from tire as she poured over the charts laid out in front of her, mapping out their course and comparing it to the map that had been drawn out by Captain Morrison back in Hawaii. Regardless of how many times she ran her calculations, however, the numbers refused to add up, though she did the math again and again, figuring there was something wrong with her counting somewhere along the way.

She was accompanied only by the soft light of the lantern beside her, her body hunched over the desk as her head wavered up and down, fighting sleep, knowing such a thing would be restless at best unless she figured out the course try were on. Reaching down into her pocket, she gingerly pulled out a piece of sugary candy, placing it into her mouth with a hopeful sigh, wanting another charge of energy as her pencil scrawled along the paper before her.

As she worked, the sound of clattering boots ran into her small closet of a room, earning her attention as she leaned back into her chair, curiously eyeing the doorway to find Jesse strolling along, the second mate lazily turning toward Hana as though the lantern light had just happened to catch his peripheral vision, though upon spotting the officer sitting there, he turned toward her, standing in the doorway.

"You still up?" he asked stoically, "Moon's about run half its course."

Hana frowned, "I could ask the same to you, you know."

Smirking, Jesse crossed his arms as his shoulder bore into the frame of the door, "Touché. But need I remind you who is the superior in this situation?"

Hana's face curled distastefully before Jesse chuckled, lowering his head as it shook side to side, "You know I hate pullin' rank. I was on deck fishing, trying to earn us some stores of fish."

"Still? We've had five catches by now," Hana asked incredulously.

Jesse shrugged, "All of 'em for nothin'. I figure since it's my fault, I outta bore the brunt of the work if fishing needs to be done."

"You're still on that?" Hana groaned, swaying her hand in his direction, "That's all bullshit, you know."

Jesse replied simply, "If it is or isn't, we still haven't a fish on board this ship. I'd just been at it for six hours now, not a single bite."

"Really?!" Hana asked with a half-convincing look of terror.

Grinning boyishly, Jesse shook his head, "I know you're about ta'-"

"Not a single bite?! By the gods! There mustn't be a fish left in the whole damn ocean!" Hana completed with seething sarcasm, her face dropping immediately after, "Shit happens. Fish don't bite, the boy you like doesn't return your letters; that's just life- I'm having to explain this to a man thirty years my senior?"

Jesse chuckled behind closed lips, his worn face rising to meet hers, "I s'pose sometimes you grow old without actually becoming wiser."

He shrugged absently while Hana shook her head, returning to her work as she pulled a straight-edge to draw out lines across her chart, leaving Jesse further intrigued as he asked again, "What're you up to?"

"Charts don't match up," Hana explained, "Or rather my math doesn't."

Jesse appeared surprised, "Your math's been wrong, maybe, three times since you came aboard."

Hana shot him a stare, pulling at the bottom of her eyelids, "Yeah, I know. Exhibit A. Now you know why I'm still up."

Shrugging, Jesse wondered, "Maybe we're truly off course."

"Oh hush," Hana shook her head, "I can maybe, MAYBE, accept that my math could be wrong. There's no way, in heaven or earth, that I've sent this ship off course. As certain as the sun rises, my routes are constantly perfect."

Jesse frowned, "I used to be able to say the same about my fishing."

Hana turned to give him a serious stare from her sidelong face, keeping her attention on him for a brief moment before continuing her own work, biting her lip as she ran the numbers in her head, once, twice, before writing the equations down on a slip of scrap paper to triple, and quadruple, check her math before continuing. So lost in her work was she that she nearly forgot that Jesse was even there, though the old sea dog merely stood there, staring at the soft brown hues along the lumber walls around him, a downtrodden face crossing him as he reminisced on his family.

"I shouldn't've come," he spoke quietly, a chilly timbre to his voice, catching Hana's attention, "Everything seemed in place for me to call it quits. My kids're starting school, my wife, whom has never felt so warm, I- I know she wants me to stay with her. She says I belong out here, but… I know better."

He sighed, "The albatross on our last trip. The Captain's daughter comin' along, as good'a sailor as I've seen on their first trip out here. All I've brought is a spat of bad luck."

Hana turned her head, her eyes narrowed critically, "What is this, confession time in the radio room?!"

A chuckle left Jesse's smarmy sort of grin as Hana went on, "Look, doofus, you're the most important person on this ship. Ask any of us, I swear it, we'd all, every last one of us, take you with a bad streak of luck over a voyage without you, alright? So just shut up. I thought the Captain already went over this with you."

Jesse nodded, "He did. Though, I forgot that your words somehow seem to stick more."

Grumbling, Hana frowned, "Probably because you're all so stupid at times."

"That might be it," Jesse grinned with a quiet laugh.

Hana's hands fell to her knees as she spun around on her stool, facing Jesse as she confided, slowly, "You know, my first trip on the Splitstream was my first trip off land in my entire life. I was, you know, a bit nervous- the first time Captain asked me to do something, I was so nervous I'd screw it up. I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't take to failure very well- I hate helping prove people like those Shimadas correct."

"I'd have never guessed," Jesse answered sarcastically, earning a glare from Hana that held quite a bit of her ire.

"My point is… It didn't take long for my eyes to be drawn to you and how you did things. You know, it was a comfort to know that, if I screwed up, somebody like you was there to help out…" Hana finished, frowning as she blushed with embarrassment, "You know, you may think the fates wanted you to stay, but… I, for one, am glad you decided to come along. Fish or no fish."

A humored voice caused her to visibly shiver uncomfortable as Jesse smiled, "Well aren't you cute."

She turned a sharp glance toward him, "I will stab you to death with this ruler…"

"I'm just screwin' around; no worries," Jesse admitted with a smirk, stepping into the room, "I do appreciate the sentiment, though. Now let's figure out our course."

"What?" Hana asked, shocked that Jesse also knew about cartography atop everything else.

He shrugged, "You just said it was nice havin' me around to help out with stuff you guys couldn't quite do on your own."

"Well yeah, but charts and calculations- you really have to-"

"It's warmer this year; that'll screw with the winds. El Niño 'n all," Jesse noted, "You got that down. Trade winds, currents, you got all that. Huh…"

Hana watched him s he poured over the charts for a minute or so, leaning over the desk and flipping through the stack of parchment there, finally coming to the course that Hana had originally plotted, running his fingers down his chin as he noted just how far off they were going.

"Last I checked, we were off, but hardly enough for concern; it was easily correctable," Hana explained, "Captain Morrison likes to skim across the thirty, but we're a good few tens of miles off course now."

She turned her head to guard his reaction, finding a saddened expression there which only fueled her into another chiding tone, "Oh, come on; you seriously think this is another thing of bad luck toward you?! Pretty sure the lucks of the six of us outweighs the single luck of yours."

"No…" Jesse muttered absently, "This much difference… This isn't luck."

His dark eyes turned to meet Hana's, "Unless our stowaway's packing quite the bit of bad luck herself."

The mention of the stowaway caused Hana's eyes to widen, a nervous chill scurrying down her back as she recalled the visit Angela had made, which had won Hana some delicious taffy, but had also bestowed a tremendous amount of guilt as well whenever the stowaway was mentioned. Jesse's eyes remained trained on her, though they became confused by her sudden lack of retort, his body straightening up as he brought up hid hands, picking at his nails as he began again.

"We'll Just reorient our course in the morning. I'll let Jack know," Jesse mentioned easily, his face still low while he fixated on his fingers, feigning disengagement from Hana as he spoke up absently, "Y'know, speakin' of the stowaway, Jack- Captain Morrison was concerned that his daughter might be sneaking down there to catch a story or two."

"R-Really…" Hana muttered nervously, burying herself back into her work to distract herself.

Jesse nodded, "Yeah, somethin' along the lines of her bein' lulled by adventurous people 'n places, especially after that whole Hanamura thing. Can't say I don't blame her; reason I got into seafaring was my old man's stories about it."

He shrugged, "Of course, most of his stories were about marauders desperate for blood or gold. He always talked about the one stowaway they kept around after he'd earned his keep. He was a youngin, nary a knowledge of the sea, but he picked up stuff quick, and he took orders. Just a shame he made it into the mess; he learned enough from the cook on his knife cuts, how to hold a knife 'n all that. He must'a gone deranged one night, started killin' everybody on the ship."

Hana shivered.

"I always wondered why he kept bringin' it up," Jesse wondered, "'course, he had the man's head on the mantle as a reminder not to trust stow-"

"She has!" Hana shouted in a nervous shudder, "I was on lookout, she came down and wanted to take my place! Jesse, please, we have to-!"

"Hold on now; I already had my suspicions," Jesse assures, waving Hana down before she could escape from her stool in a flight of pleading.

The officer pointed to the floor, "B-But can we trust her?! I knew it was bad business!"

"Look, she escaped from her ties once already, and she saved our crewman. I looked into her eyes; I found nothing but a frightened sailor so uncertain of her fate here," Jesse went on to explain, "I was just curious is all. Jack's been worried about her, askin' me every other day if I've seen anything. Y'know, I like the kid. I don't want her takin' down for a little curiosity."

Hana has calmed, though her skeptical eyes remained untrusting, even as Jesse finished, "Just, if it comes up for whatever reason, let her know her father's not stupid. I feel too privledged in my rank to speak such things to my boss' daughter anyway."

"Go ahead. You deserve a reprimand for lying to a poor comms. officer," Hana frowned as she turned back to her desk, "I'll let her know."

Jesse nodded, "Thanks. I see a lot of my sister in that girl. I'd hate to see that spirit doused; Jack's just doin' what he feels is right. I respect that."

Sighing lightly, knowing she couldn't help a broken heart whenever Jack's wife was brought up, Hana simply agreed once again to affirm her intentions, "Yes, yes, I'll do it, alright?"

"Thanks," Jesse smiled fleetingly, turning to leave, "No stayin' up too late, ya hear?"

Hana watched as the man's visage disappeared into the darkness as it left the small room, the lantern's glowing orange light unable to keep up beyond the threshold. Her shoulders slumped respectfully as she wondering whether or not it truly was the need to fish that kept him up so late on this night. Eyeing her charts, which had been correct despite her hours of attempting to find it contrary, she wondered if the same could have been said about her.

Fareeha pulled her arm out from beneath the thick blanket that had been brought out from one of the nearby crates, the cold air biting at her bare shoulder, though before it could escape, a tender hand took her wrist, keeping her from taking the quilt up to cover herself fully. Her head turned down to the patch of blond scalp that just barely left the confines of the blanket, Angela having buried herself against Fareeha's body with her face warmly greeted by a pair of warm breasts that the blanket itself couldn't hope to match in comfort. Fareeha took a quick jolt down her arm, trying to free herself, though Angela remained locked onto her wrist much like the rope had been a a mere hour ago.

"Geez," Fareeha spoke up quietly, smirking at Angela's childishness, "I'm not going anywhere, just- Ow! Let me go; I'm just gonna pull the blanket up, okay?"

Angela freed her nails from Fareeha's skin before allowing her arm to leave, offering up the freedom of Fareeha to yank the quilt up to cover her body, "What, you think I'm able to fuck 'n run on a ship? I couldn't go anywhere even if I wanted to."

Without Fareeha's limb to grapple unto, Angela wrapped her arm around her bare torso, pulling herself even closer against the woman's tanned skin, leaving Fareeha to return her stare to the now-empty hole in the top of the blanket, "You're cute, you know that?"

"Mm mm," Angela replied with a tiny, defiant tone.

"You truly are. I kind of want to lie and tell you that sex is always a precursor to a relationship just because of how cute and naïve you are," Fareeha went on with a teasing tone, which only led to Angela's face bounding from side to side within her bosom, her nose poking and prodding at her skin.

Angela managed quietly, "I know it isn't."

"Well you're mighty clingy for one who does."

A pause.

"You haven't anywhere to go," Angela concluded, giving Fareeha a throating chuckle behind her closed lips.

"Touche," she agreed, admitting to herself that Angela's warmth was pleasant nonetheless, "Though you certainly didn't take me like a woman knowing that. You certainly appeared like you were wanting your tongue to be a reason I come back to you…again and again."

Unable to guage Angela's reaction, Fareeha was left to her own devices, giggling under her breath as she shook her head, "And I did catch you drawing letters while you were doing that. That's something you find in books; it's more distracting in practice, you know; thinking about-"

"In which language?" Angela asked quietly, leaving Fareeha with a start, "I left a few with you."

Fareeha rolled her eyes, "And you think you're so cool and suave. There's no single doubt about how cute you are. You're bordering on adorable, y'know."

She peered down toward the bulge in the blanket beside her, "You're probably far too happy that I can't see your blushing face, too."

"You've seen every part of me," Angela noted, her voice further hushed by the thick fabric of the quilt over her, "I haven't much to blush about."

Fareeha's eyes narrowed, "I have, but the key is that I probably want to see it again. and again. and again."

Silence.

Fareeha chuckled as she allowed her shoulder to fall back onto the floor, lying there on her back as Angela rolled to her side, still clutching her stowaway's torso as she met her side, "Now I know you're blushing, Princess."

There remained no reply, though it might have had more to do with Angela readjusting herself to Fareeha's new position. She slid atop the blanket they lay upon, closing in enough that the side of her head could rest atop Fareeha's chest, her breasts not much of an impediment given their size and her pose. Angela hadn't given it a second though, though Fareeha's face slowly began to descend at the thought as her head lifted up to watch the Angeline bulge in the quilt just above her.

The warmth began to build underneath the blanket once again, leaving Fareeha with the urge to close her eyes and sleep, though she knew she couldn't. One of the two of them needed to remain on the lookout for the morning sun, and so proud of her work was she that she knew Angela was far more in need of such a think. To that end, she would make the sacrifice, much as Angela had made such a sacrifice unto her in the form of so many kisses and a generous pairing of nectars.

She gingerly began to stroke Angela's golden hair, ever so slowly, still catching a hint of its wetness that had so allured her. Fareeha had always felt so at home at sea, and had caught so many tales of beautiful mermaids that would catch glimpses of crewmen, prepared to take so lucky few of them into their arms. Fareeha would often take to such stories with such a sense of sadness, having no idea that any of those women would ever possibly be seated on an assortment of ocean rocks, peering out for another woman within whom they could discover solace. Yet here was one, and while she still retained her human form, Angela wet hair that clung to her face, it overtook so many fantasies that had preoccupied Fareeha in her adolescence.

Here was a mermaid, so golden-haired and fair, prepared to be Fareeha's own. Yet she couldn't bear to accept such a bargain. Not when she was so cursed, so brusque; when she was so undesirable beyond such trifling, physical actions. She knew Angela could do so much better. The best thing Fareeha could offer her was rejection. but not now.

For now, Fareeha merely enjoyed the presence of such beauty, such softened hair, such a warmth that kept her company and in comfort, here in such an uncomfortable place.

Suddenly, a quiet voice eeked out from below her, a soft, gentle thing, "Were you telling the truth?"

"About you being cute?"

A pause, Angela answering with a shaking tone, "About the devil and all that."

"I know what I saw," Fareeha confirmed, her breathing remaining even beneath Angela's head, "I have no way to prove it, but-"

"I think you're crazy," Angela interrupted suddenly, leaving Fareeha with a knowing grin as she peered down toward the bump above her chest, "You have to be to seduce the daughter of the man whose boat you're stowing away on."

Fareeha corrected, "Princess, you've got it quite back-"

"Stop," Angela suddenly instructed, "Quit with that name."

Fareeha replied, "I guess you've earned that much. Angela. Not everybody likes pet names."

She silently rolled the word around her tongue, mouthing the name, an illustrative tingle rushing down her spine as her tongue flicked from the roof of her mouth at the 'l' sound, finding quite a seductive motion in this language she had nary a clue about in its written form. Such thoughts only served to remind her of Angela's boast a moment ago, wondering how many languages she happened to know how to write.

Angela's hair slid down Fareeha's chest as her head trailed low, a slender voice escaping as Angela admitted, "I don't mind pet names… I'm just nowhere near regal enough for that one."

"Really..?" Fareeha spun her words with a decadent sort of tease, "I s'pose I should have figured as much. You can't be adverse to pet names, really, while also taking to being tied up so naturally."

Angela quivered at her recounting, though thankfully, Fareeha ent on, "All that talk about being tamed; for as free as you long to remain, you truly are one who seeks to held d- well, tied down, perhaps."

The temperature seemed to rise underneath the blanket simply from Angela's blush, though she remained calm enough to speak without Fareeha questioning her tone, "Only If it's the right person."

"And that's me?" Fareeha wondered aloud, "I'm a ragged-ass stowaway with nothing to lose. Ever single word of all this could be a lie- everything I ever told you. I'm a scoundrel."

Fareeha's arm slithered beneath the blanket, bringing her hand to the small of Angela's back, such a slenderous bit of skin that allured Fareeha's very senses just by its touch. She balled her hand into a fist, pushing it deep into Angela's skin and rolling it atop the bone beneath.

"This could all be a ploy. I could have done every bit of this just to win your trust, kill you as you sleep, right here, and escape," Fareeha notes with a shallow voice, as though just afraid of Angela agreeing with her scenario.

Without skipping a beat, Angela replied, "I don't care. You happen to make so many things so slow and pleasurable; I couldn't care less."

Fareeha scoffed at such bravado coming from such a pretty little thing, though Angela's confidence charmed her enough. She knew that was a quality she lacked, even if her frame often dictated an air of strength.

"Oh, hush," Fareeha managed between unrelenting lips, "…Angie."

A kind of relieved sigh cast overtop Fareeha's bare stomach as Angela took in a breath, only nuzzling her face into the skin that had so invited her. She soon fell asleep, though Fareeha remained awake and vigilant, knowing far too well that any moment alive could be her last. She only wished this woman's warmth, which seemed so angelic now, could somehow transcend the afterlife, whenever that might come for her.

She knew death was closer than she would ever care to admit.