As soon as they had crossed the dune, Bryn and Doubar made sure to leave a little distance between each other and consequently the captain and the Celt. While the two women strode ahead, the brothers lacked behind a bit, strolling at a comfortable pace and eying the shrubs lazily.
Just a few moments before Maeve had given them a short introduction to what kind of herbs she was searching for but somewhere between the mentioning of marigold and buttercup they had lost trace of all the plants that the redhead was interested in and so the two men refrained from sampling anything else but chamomile, which at least they knew to recognize.
Their hands still being rather empty, Doubar and Sinbad were engaged in a rather innocent conversation, the older man just waiting for a sign of his partner in crime that their scheming was starting.
A few feet in front of him, Bryn picked some young myrrh with skilled hands, making sure the plant itself would not be harmed too much and could still grow to its normal height. While she added the fresh twig to the already large compilation of herbs in her arm, she turned her gaze to Maeve who adeptly scanned the ground beneath their feet. The Celtic sorceress' attention was all drawn to the multitude of flowers and bushes around them, a sparkle still in the brown of her eyes and a small smile evident on her lips.
"So", the brunette eventually ended the silence between her and the other woman, "What was that really about then? This little war you and Sinbad just fought?"
Her voice was light and she made no effort hiding her amusement about what she and Doubar had witnessed so shortly before.
For a second, Maeve froze upon the mentioning of the incident, knowing full well that her recent pay-back for the butt-slapping incident this many years ago wasn't exactly fitting into their whole we're-still-only-friends-and-just-playing-along-fo r-Doubar's-and-Bryn's-sake concept. However, since as far as the first mate and the brunette were concerned, Sinbad and Maeve were indeed growing closer thanx to their friends scheming, she decided a little bit of truth wouldn't really hurt when talking to the only female friend she had onboard.
"Oh, I just came back on Sinbad, really", she started, still a grin on her face, "Let's say, he had a funny way of encouraging me to use my magic when we first met, and I finally paid him back – helped him to increase his skills in scrubbing the casks."
The redhead's eyes glimmered almost with mirth, telling of how content she really was with the outcome of her little revenge. She knew she should have felt just a tiny bit sorry for Sinbad, whose head had hit the insides of the cask he was working on quite roughly, but she couldn't help but feel that somehow he deserved it.
A soft chuckle escaped her throat as she recalled the look that the captain had given her after clambering out of the keg, rubbing his sore occiput and trying to glare at her (at which he miserably failed because he was way too stunned to pull a decent angry face).
Bryn, who had hardly ever seen her fellow sorceress be this carefree and happy, couldn't help an amused giggle as well. And while secretly she wondered whether her friends' almost childish behaviour might indeed be caused by the fountain water, she tilted her head slightly, seeking the other woman's gaze.
"Seems that worked out then", she remarked with an obvious dose of humour in her voice before clearing her throat a little. "You and Sinbad making progress then?"
She knew that she was hitting a sore spot, the moment Maeve's smirk died in reply to this simple question. For a second the Celt frowned, obviously choosing well on what to say until finally she answered cautiously but with more honesty than she had intended.
"He's still the same sailor, and sometimes he's more of a kid than Doubar will ever be. I don't know if forever will ever be an option to him, but", she took a short breath; "we get along."
A shrug passed her shoulders then, and she turned away a little too hastily, hoping to end this conversation before it would really begin. But Bryn had no intentions of letting her get away so easily, especially since the Celt had given her the perfect reason to bring up Sinbad's nightly stroll.
Tensing ever so slightly, the brunette adjusted the herbs she carried and casually turned to look over her shoulder and lock gazes with Doubar.
Pale blue and brown met only for a split second, but the message still was clearly written in each of their eyes.
The game was about to begin. And they would both enjoy playing it.
While Doubar sent the young one an almost imperceptible nod – which he made sure neither of their victims could notice – Bryn returned her attention to where Maeve just knelt down to pick one of the herbs that grew there. Almost hesitantly she then approached the Celtic lass, crouching low beside her and doing her best to appear troubled and insecure about speaking up.
"Maeve", she eventually half-whispered before she touched the other woman's arm with her free hand, "I think there's something you need to know."
Just like she had expected it, the redhead halted in her movements for a moment, the little wheels in her head instantly starting to spin at top speed while the Celt tried to figure out what was to follow that first sentence.
If Bryn's voice was anything to go by, the brunette was just about to reveal something unpleasant, and somehow Maeve was rather apprehensive as to what kind of news that would be.
"What is it?", she finally managed to bring out, sounding rather wary all of a sudden.
Bryn in turn took an audible and shaky breath, just as if she was fighting with herself whether to really spill the beans or not, before she looked at her friend in sympathy.
"Firouz. He saw Sinbad wander off with a woman last night, while we all were sleeping." The brunette's eyebrows furrowed visibly while speaking. "As it seems, they were heading towards the Fountain."
The young one's hand remained settled on the pale upper arm, and she squeezed it gently before she added an apologetic: "I'm sorry."
For an instant or two, silence then fell between the two women like a heavy blanket. Bryn knew that their original plan had been to tell Maeve that she, herself, had seen Sinbad wander off but soon enough she had reckoned that this would give the Celt an opportunity to safe herself from the scheming and just admit that it had been her and that she and Sinbad had just talked some things through that night. If Firouz however was the one who saw them, then things were entirely different. Because towards the inventor and Rongar Sinbad and Maeve still defended their status as friends-only, and even something as seemingly innocent as a nightly walk would have blown that façade. No, with Firouz being the one who acclaimed having spotted Sinbad the two were bound to play along.
Bryn knew this, and so did the Celt.
The sharp intake of air that came from the redhead as she heard her friend's words proved just how well chosen this change in strategy was, and for a second Bryn had to fight hard not to let an amused grin conquer her features.
"Is… is he sure that it was him?"
When Maeve finally replied, her voice was slightly shaky. The shrub she had just been working on slipped from her slender fingers and almost would she have let the other herbs drop, too, but just in time avoided them to fall from where she had piled them in her crooked left arm. In her head, the redhead frantically tried to figure out what to do now, and automatically she turned her head to stare at Sinbad who was still blissfully unaware of this new development in things.
"It was fairly dark", Bryn eventually continued, her hazel gaze now following her friend's, "But he is certain. I guess it was the whole celebration, the music and wine… I don't think Sinbad wanted to hurt you. Surely enough he didn't even think it through. I mean…" The brunette let a defeated sigh slip from her lips before she offered a little helplessly: "You know what he's like at times. But he never means ill with it. He's just not thinking things through."
All the while, Maeve still pinned Sinbad with her gaze, foolishly praying for a miracle to happen – something like a sudden mind-to-mind connection or anything the likes that would enable her to discuss with him just how she was supposed to react right now. She could clear it all up, she knew, but that would mean admitting something that Sinbad and she had yet to really come to terms with themselves so telling the truth was no option at all. But if that wasn't then what would be? Frantically, she tried to get an overview over the current state of their scheming.
Doubar and Bryn believed that they were helping Sinbad and Maeve to realize the feelings they held for each other, and hopefully grow closer in the process.
Firouz and Rongar believed that just this growing closer was nothing but a charade, kept alive because the captain and DimDim's apprentice wanted to do Bryn and Doubar a favour, and help them bond over trying to get the other two to admit to anything profound.
And from all four of them, Sinbad and Maeve tried to hide the fact that they indeed were making some progress in their ever so confusing relationship.
But now, where did that leave her in this situation? Her auburn eyebrows by now having reached her hairline almost, the Celt puffed her cheeks, thankful that her intense thinking would go by as "letting the news sink in" by the other sorceress next to her. Then she made a decision.
If she really wanted to buy her and Sinbad some time, she'd better play along for the moment and then try to talk with the sailor as soon as she could.
"Does Firouz have an idea who that woman was?"
There was an edge of curiosity to Maeve's voice as finally she spoke, but she made sure that it was tinted with a with a good dose of annoyance.
Giving her friend her best sympathetic look, Bryn shook her head weakly.
"He's not sure, but he guessed it might have been this Ikram who we met in the day before." Then, suddenly becoming truly concerned their little game might have unwanted consequences for the woman who really had nothing to do with it, the brunette added: "But you're not gonna go and turn her into a toad now are you?"
"If anything, then I'll turn him into a toad", Maeve instantly snorted, making a mental note to herself to actually keep this in mind as a possible solution for any future situations in which Sinbad was genuinely being a prick (and heaven only knew he could be the epitome of one at times).
Right as if on command, in the very second in which the Celt had uttered this, the captain's gaze grazed her own, his blue eyes widening the tiniest bit upon seeing the faked exasperation on her face. But before he could even begin and ponder about it, he got prodded by Doubar who unbeknown to him made damn sure that Sinbad and Maeve would have no chance of conspiring.
So while the captain got distracted by his brother, Bryn tended to their other victim again, shifting slightly on her spot and thus drawing Maeve's attention towards herself.
"So, what do we do now?", she asked hesitantly, "Should Doubar talk some sense into him? I know he'd do it for you. You're like a little sister to him."
The mentioning of what the first mate regarded the redheaded sorceress to be elicited a warm smile from both women, and while Bryn was sure that – multiple layers of scheming or not – Maeve would never accept such offer she also was aware that the proposal itself would further lead the Celt into believing that Bryn and Doubar really had no clue who that woman Sinbad went on a walk with had really been.
And just like she had anticipated, Maeve shook her head in response, throwing her friend a troubled look before she sighed.
"That's between him and me. And although I appreciate your concern, I better deal with that on my own."
For another moment then the Celt just glanced at the brunette, her eyes unreadable to the other woman. But then, suddenly, something flashed in those deep brown orbs and Bryn felt herself wonder slightly about the expression. Albeit it still held a certain annoyance to it, there also was a trace of mischief now that she couldn't help but notice no matter how well the redhead tried to hide it.
But what she could not know was that Maeve had just decided to have a little fun on her own. If indeed nobody knew that she had been Sinbad's company, and if they expected her to be upset about the news then she could just as well play her own game. It would certainly be amusing to see the Nomad's captain be confronted with an angry sorceress, first having no clue as why she was and then being trapped because just like she he could not clear things up without giving them away. And once they were alone again she could just explain everything to him and they could make new plans as to how to behave, but for now she decided to make the most of it.
And thus she rose, ready to give Sinbad a piece of her – supposedly disappointed – mind.