A loud noise roused Z from his slumber. After a moment, he realised it was a splash, like that of a merfolk who was about to sing a song that wasn't meant for him. After the incident at Old Boot, he wasn't taking any risks and shot upright in bed. He nearly stumbled onto his single foot, then recalled that he had been forced to remove his pegleg. As he grabbed the walking stick beside him, he heard a pleased noise come from Blue.

Still cautious, Z grabbed his sword from his pile of belongings with his free hand and cautiously stepped around to the stairs. He climbed the few of them onto the mid-deck and stood there, peering over towards Blue. She was on the other side of the map table… fishing? He already knew that she did this but it was so strange to see, and during a storm, no less. The little thing she had been fighting with looked unlike any other fish he had seen before and yes, he decided, it did have a sword for a face. It was placed on a chain of hooks alongside two others and she cast her line out again. A fish showed interest very quickly.

"What are you doing?" Z immediately regretted not asking a more specific question.

"What does it look like?"

"I— yeah. What are y' doin' exactly?"

Blue sighed. "I am catching stormfish."

But why, he wanted to ask.

"There is another pole in the back beside the barrel of swords if you would like to help."

Z refrained from responding to that. He eyed her up and down, considered how much she and the fish on the other end of the line were currently fighting against one another and decided that this sort of fishing was certainly not for him. If anything, he wondered if he was going to have to help keep Blue on the ship. He sat at the table and watched, wary.

The fish was finally reeled in and he was struck again by how pointy it was. "Does that thing have a sword for a face?"

Blue hesitated. "I suppose it does. Removal of the face-sword is advisable before consumption."

Z was having a hard time believing that anyone would eat such a thing. It fought like hell and looked like a weapon — surely it wasn't good eating. Lightning struck nearby and illuminated the area, including his concerned face. He could see that Blue was having a silent laugh at his expense. "Very funny."

She only chuckled, baited her line, and cast it out once more. He couldn't hear whatever she said over the thunder and rain. It was still cold and dark, too, making this little sloop a miserable place to be. Somehow, he was too miserable to sleep anymore, too tired and too rested all at once. He loathed to admit that his leg felt better, even to himself. Everything else was terrible right now.

The rain was letting up ever so slightly and they would have fresh fish to eat so Z decided a short while later that it wasn't that bad. Pouting less, he turned his attention to Blue and considered asking her how long she had been up, if she thought they might be able to leave the island today. Instead, he sat there like a fish, mouth agape as he watched her fight with another fish. Stormfish, he decided, fought incredibly hard.

He couldn't help himself now. "Do y' need some help?"

"I have it."

Blue's feet against the sloped back wall of the sloop's mid-deck made him doubt that.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure!"

There was a moment of silence between them as she gave an earnest yank on her fishing pole. A large fish came flying out of the water and Blue fell back against the map table. Z briefly felt like he was in danger until his shipmate bounced back onto her feet and pressed one down on the nose of this stormfish.

"That thing is huge."

"Uh huh. Huh. Say, how few women say that to you?"

"N-no, Blue, that fish's bigger than you are."

"… oh."

He realised a moment later when she seemed to ignore him that she had tried to make a joke. Z just couldn't focus on that, though. The stormfish was genuinely larger than she was, maybe even him, and it was still alive, flailing. It also emitted a soft, gentle light.

"Well," Blue started. She scrunched her face up and then yelped when the fish hit her with its tail. Then: "Never mind. Get me a sword to kill this with."

Z held up his own cutlass before making his way over to her. "Do I just…?" He motioned to the general location where he thought the stormfish's throat might be. Blue nodded. "Alright then."

"Ah shee whya do dis noa."

Blue gave him a look, one of those looks someone had when they were trying to be stern and not laugh. "Once more without all—" she gestured to him in general "—without all of that in your mouth."

Z swallowed the mouthful of stormfish he had, sipped his grog, and spoke again. "I see why y' fish now. These things are delicious!"

"A pleasant side effect."

"A what now?" The words flew from his mouth. He chewed a piece of fish more and asked, "Y' don't fish jus' fer this?"

"Among other things…" Blue left her scraps for him and stepped away, heading downstairs.

That just wouldn't do. Z was in too good of a mood to just sit up here at the table and not do anything, especially not after that weird little conversation. He was about to follow her down to the lowest deck when she passed by him, heading to the opening of the mid-deck where the largest fish was hung just outside the hold. He stood beside her as she inspected it.

"So what's yer plan for cleanin' this one up?" he inquired, beginning to draw his sword in anticipation. He about screamed when Blue pointed her dagger at him.

"This one sells."

"Oh. Alright. Sells?"

"Yes." With that settled, Blue apparently finished her inspection and began working to clean it.

Z stood there for a very long moment, waiting to see if his shipmate would ask for help or… or something. When she made no move to speak to him anymore, he stepped out to the main-deck and took in the sights.

All that Z could complain about at this point was the wind and waves being a little rougher than usual. They were already quite rough from the nature of the Wilds, so their current condition was just obnoxious. No one liked the Wilds, and those that said they did were liars. The lingering edges of the storm acted like a veil, fighting against the morning sun's light, making the place all the more dreary.

"Hey Blue!" he called. When she grunted out a noise of acknowledgement, he followed up: "When y're done there, can we get goin' again?" He got another noise of confirmation and waited eagerly.

It was nice to be moving again, nice to be on his feet, nice for his leg to not hurt constantly. Excitement rattled through Z's figure every so often as they approached Dagger Tooth Outpost. After being caught in that storm, he found himself eager to visit an outpost, to sit somewhere drier than the ship. Blue seemed more cheery, too, though somehow he felt like it was for different reasons. Even the three ships that sat around the outpost did not dissuade their mood.

"Do y' plan t' get anythin' t' eat while we're here?" he asked as they were tying the sloop up to the main dock.

"I bought last time," she quickly said.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine."

"It is only fair," she said. "Now, the real question you should be asking is if you will buy yourself a room for the night."

"Huh." That was a good question, he supposed. He wanted to ask if she would, too, if they would share, but she always slept on the sloop's canopy. There was no point in trying to tease her. "I guess not with the bed here." Not that he would openly admit to having grown fond of it.

"Fair. Then we will eat, I will sell my fish to the kitchen, linger and loiter until it is time to sleep and depart tomorrow morn?" she suggested.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Y' got plenty'a those little stormfish to nibble on if this early supper don't cut it for me." He laughed when she rolled her eyes at him.

"Mind that you do not choke on the nose," she said. He had no idea if that was supposed to be a tease or threat.

Blue left him on the dock to consider that while she disappeared back downstairs. When she reappeared, she had brushed her hair back and dressed up a little nicer, just like when he had first ran into her. Most prominent was the addition of a pair of bows: one to keep her hair back, the other placed upon her hip; they demanded attention.

"D0 y' think that's a good idea to wear here?" he finally got out when he caught up halfway down the pier.

"What do you mean?" Blue asked. He stammered some and she rose a brow at him. Nothing meaningful was coming out of his mouth so she continued: "We are here to mingle, are we not? I should like to make a good first impression on those that are here. Your lack of colours is your own choice. You could fix your collar at least." She pointed this out literally.

Z sighed and did so. "Alright, but don't start any trouble. Got it?"

"The same goes for you."

Somehow, he felt called out.

There was a small group of pirates near the bay. They were clearly drunk and reeked of grog, merrily singing about nothing in particular with each other. They gave the duo a hearty wave in greeting that Blue returned with a more polite one. Z also waved back, far more uncertain; there should be more people here based on the number and type of ships docked. He followed his shipmate into the tavern.

Two crews worth of pirates had taken up a third of the tavern for themselves. There were now too many pirates here for the number of ships and that unnerved Z greatly. It was also unnerving that Blue greeted them first. She was loud and cheery, so unlike how he had come to expect her to be. He forced himself to smile as he stepped past the group with her and took a seat in a corner. He sat beside her so that he, too, could keep an eye on the others they shared the room with.

Keeping an upbeat demeanour was tiring. Z leaned towards her and asked lowly, "Puttin' on a show, are ya?"

She responded similarly, if shortly. "Do you not?"

"Not like that. They would've ignored us if y' hadn't been so loud."

"That is their choice and yours and I made mine."

Z suppressed a sigh. This was one of those things that they weren't going to agree on and he wasn't about to waste time trying to find an understanding. He was happy to request fresh meat — the kind with legs — when someone from the kitchen came out to greet them. Blue asked for whatever was fresh, though did specify that she wanted more than just meat. They gave the kid a few gold coins before he walked away.

The two of them were quiet while they waited for their food. Z placed his elbows on the table and brought his hands together, fingers interlocked, and rested his chin on his hands. Blue sat still for a moment longer until she wrapped her arm around his and leaned close before he could speak.

"Complain later if it bothers you so. For now, fit in."

"Y' could've jus' asked."

She ignored that. "A pair of fair dressed people walk in together, sit alongside one another… Look the part."

Z couldn't help a smirk. "Fair dressed, huh?"

"Do not let it get to your head; all-black clothing looks good on people of all sorts."

He snorted at that one. "Uh huh."

They both quieted as another pirate sauntered over and sat across from them. He was a large man, larger than Z, and unafraid of showing off his dark skin, covered in gold and scars and all other manner of blemishes. Alcohol wafted from his rigid being. "What brings you two t' the finest outpost in all the Sea o' Thieves?" He spoke slowly, fighting the drink.

Z and he shared a chuckle. Blue answered his question. "Respite from the storm. We were heading through the area and were caught unawares by it. We were lucky to be able to stop at — what was it? Thank you — at Shipwreck and weather the worst of it. It still soaked us thoroughly and we are in dire need of a hot meal and calm waters."

The pirate gave a hearty laugh.

"You ever been in a sloop that was rammed by a gally flyin' in a crosswind? It was kinda like that," Z added in addition to having reminded his shipmate of the name of the island they stopped at.

The other pirate nearly fell off his seat he was laughing so hard. The duo joined him in their own ways.

"And what has brought all of you here?" Blue inquired.

"Eh, the same thing for the brig crew. They almost capsized by their tellin'. My brother and I run a sloop together with our mates and came here t' wait the storm out ahead of it. I think with it passed now, this place'll be empty soon come tomorrow morn."

"I suspect the same."

The boy who had greeted them stepped out from the kitchen once more, plates in hand. When everyone at the table saw this, their acquaintance stood.

"I'll be taking my leave now. My mates will be lonely without me, after all."

"Of course." Blue dipped her head politely to him before he turned to rejoin the other pirates.

As the pair were given their food, Blue made short, polite conversation with the boy. Z couldn't be bothered to listen closely, watching the pirates they shared the building with. When they began to eat in silence, he wasn't sure how to feel about the situation.

"What do you think about him?" he asked.

"I think he was honest with us." He must have shown that he didn't agree with Blue's words. "There is nothing to be gained from lying to us, nor is a man that drunk capable of doing so."

Blue paused for a moment and they watched the boisterous group. She continued, pointing out: "In reality, Razzle is part of the brigantine's crew. A captain. He won it in a game of Liar's Dice and now everyone refuses to play against him. Right now, he is leader of this group thanks to his charisma and honeyed words towards the women. He is sweet on that sloop lady, but she laughs and smiles too much. She is not honestly interested in him. He did not lie to us, only bent the truth, perhaps unintentionally. He is so drunk I believe he told us what he normally tells everyone."

"Razzle? What? How did you figure all that out?"

"I listened, and I watched." Z blinked at her. Blue smiled. "You can learn quite a lot from people if you do not openly present yourself to be more important than them."

"Hey…"

"Most people are bad actors and cannot pretend to be polite. Even more are not clever enough to know when someone is doing just that. Mm."

Well, that was just rude. Then again, Blue was a rude person. Something about her saying it out loud seemed to make it so much worse.

"And yet, even though you know that I am doing just that, you still have this dumbstruck look all over your face." Blue took this opportunity to steal a piece of ham from his plate. He simply rose a brow. "It would seem that I have yet to fully figure you out."

"Maybe I'm too clever fer you," he teased. He stole a piece of meat from her plate — maybe it was pork at one point — and settled in to finish his meal. The potato on his plate was cut in half with the side of his fork so he could dig at the soft inside. Halfway through, he felt Blue shift on his arm.

"Is cleverness your excuse for calling Galleon's Grave 'the Shores'?"

He almost choked. "Say wha' now?"

"Is there a reason for you to call Galleon's Grave Outpost by 'the Shores'? I would think that might mean the Shores of Plenty. Everyone has heard of the Shores of Gold, but I hardly think th—"

He shook his head, flabbergasted. "Whoa, whoa!" Z was a little louder than he had realised. The other crews were dissuaded from investigating with a laugh that wasn't entirely forced out. He said again, quieter, "Whoa. What?"

"Not so clever, I think," Blue commented as she inspected a piece of food stuck to her fork. Despite her scrutiny, she ate it. He thought better of responding further to her comment as she picked at their plates.

"At Ancient Spire, I asked where you were heading. You told me Galleon's Grave. Before we left, you said you wanted to get yourself something nice before we left 'for the Shores'. Or do you not remember this? I have had quite a lot of time to think about it."

"Fine." It was hard to not yell, but the last thing he wanted to do was make a scene. "I'm s'pose to meet up with a buncha friends at Sanctuary."

He wished that Blue would yell and make a scene. Frustratingly, all she did was stare at him, make a curious noise, and then eat another bite. It felt like they sat there for an eternity while she picked at her plate. Finally, he pulled his arm away from hers and turned in his seat, staring at her.

"That's it? Just—" He mimicked the noise she had made.

"Yes." She looked unimpressed with him. "I have had quite a lot of time to consider your words," she repeated. "I could not fathom what you might have meant by calling Galleon's Grave by such a nickname. The alternative was that you were lying and your tongue slipped." She shrugged. "Whichever it was, I knew I would find out eventually."

"And you just waited?"

She rose a brow. "Why not? It is not as though you could kill me for it."

Z was taken aback by that. He wanted to say something, needed to say something, but what? What was he supposed to say to that? There were times when pirates would throw themselves at the Ferryman and his ship or otherwise find themselves visiting the Sea of the Damned frequently, but that statement was so…

"I am confident that there is nothing you could do to me that would be a surprise now. You have imparted information so valuable that I no longer have any reason to fear you."

"How could you say that?" he shot.

Blue turned slightly towards him. "Magic is alive and well in this place. It is easy to see this. Poisons and illnesses go away more quickly than usual, our wounds heal much faster — the list goes on. There is no threat that you could make that would change my mind. And should you do so, you would only prove yourself to be nothing more than a common criminal like every other pirate who tries to claim that they are more than that. It makes no difference to me."

He wanted to ask Why, but something about how certain she was in herself made Z doubt his ability to handle the answer she would give him. Her lack of self-preservation was something he had never seen in someone that wasn't blood lusted in the midst of a battle.

"Have you any more redundant questions?"

He sighed. "No— uh, what now?"

"We divert our course to Sanctuary Outpost, of course. That was the deal, was it not? Knowledge in exchange for you getting passage to your destination?"

"That… was the deal…"

"I admit, I should leave you here. Perhaps kill you and let your sort things out yourself. Anything else. But the knowledge you have given me is valuable enough that I will overlook it for now."

Relief flooded his body, but adrenaline replaced a moment later. He interjected: "I didn't tell you because I didn't trust you."

"Didn't, or don't?"

He hated that. "I think I trust you enough." She tried to speak and he put a hand up to silence her just like she would. "I trust you enough t' tell y' this now, and t' introduce y' t' those I know I fully trust. Y've been upfront with me… so I guess y're right: what do y' gain from lyin' t' me and what do I gain from lyin' to you?" He shrugged.

"Very good," Blue said far too quickly for his liking, far too much as though she had expected him to come to that conclusion. "We are in agreement that we now trust each other then?"

He nodded. She nodded back and extended a hand to him. They shook on it and they were quiet for the rest of the time they spent in the tavern. Z couldn't quite figure out what he felt like had changed between them.

The rest of the night had been quiet and fairly awkward. The duo loitered about the tavern for only a little while longer, and when they did go back to the ship, it was only when they exchanged 'good nights' that they said anything to each other. Despite their agreement, there was an uneasy air between them.

Morning seemed to come quickly. As this had been the first good sleep he had gotten since the storm and his leg healing, Z could have stayed there forever. The sound of a voice he barely recognised willed him out of bed.

"And he snores! That, the stars, the warm morning sun — why would I not be out here?" At least Blue sounded cheery enough. The sight of Razzle on the dock made him wonder if she genuinely was.

"Good morning! I was just tellin' your friend here that my crew was heading out to Golden Sands. We're trading out our brig for a gally over there."

There was no brig to be seen — or any sloops for that matter — so he believed him. "Nice. Flat trade or is coin involved?"

"A straight trade on our end. Our fourth is buying his way in. Ah, the name is Razzle by the way," he said with a polite little bow.

Z nodded back. "Z. That's not a bad trade."

"That's what I said!" He laughed, then held his head. "Ah, but I should be goin'. My crew is likely to run our ship into that giant rock if I don't make 'em steer clear of it."

"Of course," Blue said.

He gave her a two-fingered salute. "If you ever see our flag, come say hello!" With that, he unsheathed his cutlass and lifted it above his head, flinging himself off the opposite side of the dock. With a playful yell, he let the merfolk that was waiting take him into the water.

The two of them stared at the ripple in the water as it dissipated and a little while longer before turning to each other.

"About time you woke up," Blue said.

Z gave her an annoyed look. "What was that all about?"

"Our friend from last night wanted to take a few minutes to say goodbye before departing."

"Mm." Z had no strong opinion on that. "Did you not have a chance to wake me?"

"I did not. And when I became certain that he was friendly, he refused to let me. Besides, it would haven been impolite, after all."

Z blinked, stunned. "What—"

"You do not talk to people very much, do you?"

He was vaguely aware of his hands on his hips. "Well, does it matter what I say? Or are y' goin' to jus' decide on yer own?"

"I trust you to be honest about such an inconsequential question."

"Then I talk to people quite a lot."

It looked as though there was a rebuttal on the tip of her tongue. The both of them knew exactly what he meant, but thankfully Blue didn't seem to want to push the subject. He was glad for that.

"Now then, voyage plan." He motioned for her to follow him and made his way to the map table. Once there he pointed out Dagger Tooth Outpost, then the next closest island following their new route: Hidden Spring Keep.

"This is another skeletal stronghold. But it's the next island over." He looked up from the table and scanned the sky. "It should be fine."

"The last one was." Her words betrayed her expression.

He clarified himself: "No weird clouds. We'll be fine."

"Fine."

"Headin' west will take us there. The wind is…" He poked his head out from under the canopy to look at the flag. The wind was strong, but not a perfect beam reach. "What's that word? Serv…"

"Serviceable. We will make good time if we leave very soon and eat as we sail."

"Good idea. Get one of those fish goin' and I'll get the ship goin'?" he suggested.

Blue wrinkled her nose. "Very well. Buy a fresh keg of water before you do, would you?"

"Fine, but I'm gettin' more grog, too," he complained as he watched her disappear to the lowest deck. Blue said nothing and he took that to mean that she had no objections.

The walk to the tavern felt long. It was a long walk — this was Dagger Tooth, after all. Z hadn't slept late, yet all of the crews from last night were already gone. They had probably left in the early hours of the morning, he realised, and found that amusing. Leave it to the Sea of Thieves for bands of pirates to sail off drunk as hell and keep perpetuating those sorts of stories.

All things considered, the barkeep was quick to get Z the things he asked for. The fact that she could even stand was astounding. He made no comments on this, only watched with suppressed astonishment as she manoeuvred about in the back of the room. It was equally impressive that she managed to lift the kegs and carry them over to the counter in one go.

The boy from the night before was missing. Z found that somewhat curious. He didn't ask about it; time was on his mind. As he walked down the longest pier in all of the Sea of Thieves, however, he counted the pirates they had seen and realised that the boy had not been a worker there, but a pirate who had invited himself into the kitchen. That wasn't the first time something like that had happened in his presence and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

"I'm baaaack. We can go now," Z called in a sing-song tone. He heard Blue shifting downstairs and caught the scent of fish cooking — or at least reheating — drifting up the stairs. That seemed a good enough cue to get the ship moving.

When she emerged, Dagger Tooth Outpost was behind them and rapidly becoming smaller and smaller on the horizon. Half of a splashtail was held out for him to take and he wolfed it down graciously. He would now always be a little disappointed when it wasn't a stormfish, though.

Blue, dressed nicely as always, had ducked back downstairs. When she came back up, she held a coconut that had been cracked open, but the inside wasn't right. The inside was a solid sphere instead of being hollow and full of delightful coconut milk. "Do you think we will make it to Hidden Spring before nightfall?"

"Uh, maybe. If anything, not long after." The coconut was distracting… "What the hell's with that?"

"The…?" She sighed and gestured to the mass in the centre. When he nodded, she rose a brow. Her dagger, now simply placed on the hip opposite her sword instead of being hidden, was drawn. A chunk was cut off and offered to him. "Eat."

He hesitated for a moment and then took it, hanging onto the ship's wheel as though his life depended on it. "Uh, what is—" Blue's wrist twisted slightly in his direction "—Y' know what, never mind."

Hesitantly, Z took a bite of the weird coconut thing. It was softer than the usual flesh of one, but it was also much sweeter. It was one of the best things he'd ever tasted. "What the hell is this?" He had to fight the urge to shove the rest of it down his throat.

"Old coconuts that fall down on their own are like this," Blue said casually. "Most of the pirates here are too impatient to wait for them to be like this and only know coconut water. That is good, too, but as you are discovering…"

"This is way better!"

"Mhm."

Blue seemed quite amused by this, enough so that she stayed on the deck with him all morning. Neither of them said anything about her slowly feeding him the entire coconut heart. Both of them were in better spirits this morning after their talk and found each other's company to be quite agreeable.