Hello, friends! I'm not dead, thanks for asking XD

(WARNING: Again, this chapter contains the consumption of rabbit-brewed alcohol. Still nothing drastic, but still there.)

I've added a little out–of–fandom reference here ;) Tell me if you find it!

It didn't take long for me to get pulled into the festivities. I found myself regalling crowds of attentive rabbits with the story of my initiation kill, and I had to admit, they were a good audience, gasping at all the right moments, silently listening with wide eyes as I told how Captain Snake had scared me half out of my wits before announcing my success, and bursting into laughter when I made a joke, which, as Ophie flippantly told me later was awful and shouldn't have been acknowledged at all. I decided not to listen to her, because she seemed to be a bit grumpy, as she always was whenever she was forced to socialize with anyone other than the crew.

I was reaching for my third–maybe it was my fourth–flagon of Ale, when someone grabbed my wrist, and tugged me off my stool, and there was Eliot, grinning at me, and gesturing to the dance floor.

"Dance with me?" He didn't really look like he'd had all that much to drink, so he must've just been in a very bold mood, which I didn't appreciate.

"If ya' think I'm gonna go out there," I gestured to the cleared space of dancing rabbits. "Ya've got bats in yer belfry."

"Don't think I do," Eliot grinned, tugging my wrist. "Yer the future Captain, Flora. Take a moment to celebrate, why don'tcha."

"I am celebratin'," I protested, glancing reluctantly back at the untouched Ale. "With liquor."

Eliot scoffed. "Aw, c'mon. There's plenty've healthier ways to celebrate. Come dance, have fun the way other rabbits our age do." He looked at me with pleading eyes, and suddenly, I felt as though I couldn't refuse.

"A'ight, fine." Eliot's whole face broke out in a goofy grin as I said this, and my stupid heart beat a little bit faster than normal. "But I'm doin' this for you," I griped. "Not 'cause I wanna have fun."

Eliot shrugged. "I'll take it."

.

.

.

"Look."

Jo turned from the painting he'd been observing, a somewhat gruesome depiction of a buck who looked like a slightly younger version of Captain Snake stabbing a harpoon into the heart of a monster, a ship that must've been the Valiant in the background, its billowing blue sails ripped in several places, and a lucid green tentacle painted into the foreground, reaching toward the youthful Captain, and attended to Picket's whisper, which had been loud enough for the company around the table to hear, but quiet enough that no one else had noticed. Jo followed Picket's gaze, and saw Flora Jenkins, who was reluctantly following a buck, who looked to be about her age, towards the dance floor. He noticed that Captain Snake himself, who he hadn't seen since they'd entered the tavern, was gesturing to the two as he talked to the older doe who'd been with Flora when she left the ship, and smiling knowingly. Helmer, he also noticed, was glaring at the Captain with an expression of intense dislike.

"Captain…" Jo asked hesitantly, twisting his hands together in his lap. "Do you know–?"

"We've met." Came Helmer's short, flat reply.

"Do you trust him?"

"No." Helmer scowled. "I don't. Could be a trap, for all we know."

"A trap?"

Helmer smirked at the doubt in his voice. "Here's a tip, boy: Always think everything is a trap until proven otherwise. It'll keep you alive."

Jo figured this wasn't much of a development, as Helmer didn't seem to trust anyone and a trap didn't seem plausible , but still, it unsettled him. He glanced at Picket, who shrugged, and continued watching Flora Jenkins and the buck she was dancing with, her reluctance giving way to laughter. The thing Jo found was that she looked like she was completely happy where she was, here and now. He didn't want to have to yank her into a world of war and fear and suffering. She had a future, a family. And yet, he'd sworn he'd do anything for the Cause. But right now, he didn't feel like a Causer. He felt like a villain.

.

.

.

I'd never danced with someone before, as silly as it sounded. Not this way, anyway. Whenever the tavern nights came while we were in port, customary dancing was to link arms with the person nearest to you and go skipping through the throngs. I'd done that aplenty with Blythe, yes, but not this way.

"Eliot!" I was laughing,enjoying us being spun 'round the room, but I needed a break. "Take a breather, I'm going to lose it."

"Oh," He stopped, leading me over to a table, and glancing back at the bar. "I'm getting a drink, want one?"

"You know it."

"Of course," He rolled his eyes. "Make it your last, will ya'?"

"Yes, Mum."

He laughed one last time, and disappeared into the crowd of rabbits. I smiled after him, and was about to close my eyes for a brief rest, when someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind. A black doe around my age, in an elegant dress. She wasn't from Yorkstien, that much was clear.

"Excuse me," She smiled politely. "Might you be Flora Joveson?"