The chronic rocking of the ship going over storm waves had made her weary. Blue had finished her work on Z's clothes some time ago and placed the set on the desk, along with a towel — no doubt he would be soaked from the downpour.

When she noticed that the ship was now gently bobbing in calm island waters, Blue considered getting up from her spot on the bed. She leaned back as she did this, considering the matter quite heavily. No, she was too tired to properly entertain such an idea, not to mention more sore than usual from mending his clothes.

Now it was only a matter of time until he came down to the hold to pester her.

Just as expected, he made his appearance sometime after the ship had been stopped. He had changed his clothes and seemed dry enough that she wasn't annoyed by his presence. What surprised her, however, was his grumble in response to her greeting. He sat at the other side of the bed, just about threw his pegleg off, and then curled up underneath the blankets despite her presence.

After looking at the lump that he was, she uncertainly blurted out, "Uhh—"

"I'm freezin'," he shot.

He had pulled his limbs tight against his body. Further inspection allowed her to notice his shivering. It was full-bodied and he tried to fight it, but every other one was nearly violent, the cold rattling his form. He had been out in the storm for quite some time…

Blue considered this new situation. After all the sailing he had done, he would be tired after a normal day. With the storm, she did not doubt that he this, and the cold he felt was visible. She, too, was rather tired and cold.

She didn't like the idea that had come to mind, yet she saw no alternative.

With a sigh, Blue scooted closer to the other. When she lifted up the blanket behind him, she noticed him tense and go still until the shivers forced otherwise of him. She ignored it all, squeezing in between him and the wall. Laying like that wasn't the most comfortable position, requiring that she hold her injured arm up with the other and steady it against her side lest it pull at her shoulder. More pressing, however, was not allowing Z any of the smart-ass remarks she sensed coming as he shifted.

"You are cold and so am I. This is the best solution to both of our problems."

She pressed her right hand against his back when she was certain he was about to try rolling over for whatever reason. That was unnecessary, just as the noise he made was. She was thankful his back was still to her.

"Uh huh." She thought that would be it, then he started again: "Y'know, they say skin-t'-skin contact's th—"

"Another word and my knee may slip somewhere precious."

He snickered before shivering again, teeth chattering. That all seemed to take the wind from his sails as he yielded, "Fine, fine."

Blue slowly let out a breath. He didn't attempt to make any further annoying statements or move and that allowed her to finally relax, though her hand stayed where it was. As cool as he was from being out in the elements, he was still warmer than the air. No, she was now acutely aware of just how cold she had become. She vaguely considered this as sleep crept into the places that the fading cold left.

Blue awoke to pain shooting out from her shoulder like lightning. Her arm was strewn along her side and that wasn't a particularly comfortable way to hold it, especially not for so long. The drowsy thought crossed her mind that she should have just sucked it up and put her arm around Z to prevent this in the first place — then she mentally kicked herself for even thinking that.

Her mood worsened, she forced herself to sit up in the empty bed. Another hazy moment passed and she was aware of the ship bobbing in calm waters, the sound of gulls and lack of rain or extreme wind.

Blue sat there for quite some time in some amount of relief that they were finally rid of that storm. It didn't improve her mood that much, her pain too severe, but it was a nice realisation. She soon heard the distinct footfalls of her shipmate and she turned to look just as he rounded the corner to her.

"'Bout time y' got up."

Blue gave him an unimpressed look before moving to the edge of the bed so she could get up.

"Y' wanna take a look at what's all here?"

"All what's…?" Right, they were at the big uncharted island that they had spotted new construction upon. "I suppose so. After I have eaten and dressed."

"There might be somewhere t' eat here," he reasoned.

Between the pain and medicine, Blue's appetite had been terrible and she just couldn't match his excitement over the prospect of kitchen-made food. "I think I would just like a mango," she said.

There was a slight but noticeable disappointment that crossed his face. He shrugged and nonetheless said, "Fine by me."

She ate half of the mango she said she wanted. That seemed to work out fine as Z ate the rest before helping her get into a fresh change of clothes. Blue was still having to force herself to let him help, that and allowing him to brush the hair that she had come to despise. Maybe that would pass, maybe not; she did hate that he had a point, too.

From the desk's chair, Blue looked up from working on the laces of her boots and asked, "Have you explored the island at all?"

"Not in a long time," he said, inadvertently answering another lingering question she had been wondering.

"Well, there are no other ships here, but that does not mean we are alone. All of this did come up rather quickly…"

He nodded. "Weird, huh?"

She grunted an acknowledgement to him. With her laces tied up, she stood. "Shall we?"

Z was particularly curious about this new establishment, giving her a grin as they set off to explore it and failing to lose it even as they stepped off the ship. They took their time looking around the dock and Blue decided that this place was meant to become some sort of outpost based on all the docks and supply barrels around them. Still, both of them kept a wary hand on their cutlass' grip, ready for trouble should it show itself.

The path forward was also a ramp upward. Along the way was what appeared to be a fairly large building mid-way through its construction. Far closer, however, was the sight of a woman in brilliant red garb coming down to greet them. A cutlass sat upon her hip but stayed unwielded. They looked from her to each other before back to her.

"I can offer you two a few moments of my time," she said.

Blue immediately got the feeling that she would not like this woman, especially not after she had forgone a proper greeting. Z's stupid grin held strong.

"So what's all this?" he asked, so ever straight to the point.

"What he means," Blue said sternly, shooting a glare at him, "is that it is good to meet you, miss…?"

The woman stood tall. "I am the daughter of the greatest pirate ever. For now that is all I'm going to tell you."

Blue recoiled slightly. She and Z exchanged uncertain glances again before he shrugged.

"So?" he asked again, gesturing in general to the crane and construction above them.

"Today is not the day to reveal our purpose."

Blue didn't like that statement one bit and it must have shown.

Taking in her expression, the woman said: "Have faith in us for we will bring you a glorious spectacle this world has never seen! I'll say no more now. Return to us in one moon's time, when our promise of fortune and glory awaits!"

Blue was dumbfounded by the woman's words. She and Z watched as she turned and made her way back up the ramp before their gazes settled upon each other yet again.

Z shrugged. "Guess there's nowhere t' get breakfast then."

"I guess not." Blue stood there for a moment longer, unsure of what to make of the encounter. "There is nothing at all for us here; we should leave."

He gave her a look and they both knew she meant that he would be getting them going, though neither voiced that thought aloud. When they got back to the Forlorn Phoenix, Blue stopped at the desk and Z made his way to the map table.

"Shall we make for Old Boot Fort?" she suggested.

"Ehh, Castaway is closer. Ah, that big uncharted island's even closer."

Blue peered through the window for a long moment. "The wind and waves are good for southeast travel."

He looked up to check her words. "Well, y're not wrong about that…"

No, she wasn't, and southeast took them closer to Morrow's Peak Outpost, just as they had discussed before the storm. Now Blue was certain that he was anxious about the idea of continuing the Winter's End's mission despite his initial agreement. For her, something had stirred deep within her after reading those records and she refused to let the matter lie. He was, perhaps, right to not be as eager as she was.

Z disappeared to the upper decks while she thought about that.

Old Boot Fortress wasn't such a bad place, Blue decided. The first visit here had been tainted by Z's methodology, something she was still a little peeved at. He was a smart ass and he knew it. Despite that, he had also known just how unlikely it was for them to encounter any real danger at the fort, the incident at Hidden Spring Keep becoming something of an irony. That always lingered in the back of her mind now when they were at any known skeletal fortresses, though she was fairly relaxed here despite it. The real problem was that the same thing she liked so much about this particular island was now suddenly a point of contempt.

The matter was slowly considered for the long while that Blue stood underneath the ladder to the fort's highest point. It had been so easy to climb the remaining part of the structure before, and now she was barely mustering up the courage to even try. She was certain that such movements would be impossible, yet she reached up, just to make sure. As expected, her left arm was perfectly fine, but the right one refused to raise after a point even as she pushed through the pain that started coursing through it. The range of motion she was allotted wasn't an impossible amount to work with, but when she considered the pain that lifting her weight would cause, there was no way.

Refusing to worsen her injury — and that was the excuse she would use, not the fear of the pain — she instead made her way back down to the main part of the island's upper level. She could still go around the edge of that to get a good look at their entire horizon, it just wasn't as fun or fulfilling. The exact feeling of not being able to climb up something and take in the view was one that she could not describe, and yet it clawed at her insides all the same.

When she grew tired of being on the island, she returned to the ship. Z was still asleep on the bed, spread out like a starfish. With all the sailing that he had done in the poor weather, she had encouraged him to get some real rest. He had barely argued with her and yielded easily. With what had become her usual spot now occupied, Blue sat herself at the desk.

Simply sitting in a proper chair and being awake was a nice change of pace. Not so nice was how much her shoulder complained, and for no particular reason that she could deduce other than existing. She would simply have to suffer through it, but once her shipmate was up, she would allow herself a generous sip of that pain reducer.

The matter of the books from the Winter's End still weighed heavily on her mind and she found herself thumbing through them once more. They were rich in story, full of accounts retelling what the crews involved had done, and while she felt like she understood Garrett's desire for her to save the collections, that, too, weighed on her mind. Why her? she supposed. That question had come up quite a lot in recent days.

One book belonged to a Captain Eli Slate of the Morningstar, a final ship's log. Scattered entries from another collection amended the back of it, further detailing their end. Another book belonged to Captain Jackadyle Hancock, the final log of the Winter's End. Touching that one felt like courting death.

The third book was the most interesting. It was everything the crew of the Winter's End knew about their alliance's journey compiled into one book by Garrett. She now realised that in her dazed state before that she had mistaken their quest to be the restoration of the Shroudbreaker; that was only part of it. Rather, their goal was to reach the Shores of Gold — wherever that was — a task that required the item.

She had heard of the Shores of Gold before. She had heard it before but thought it nothing more than a tall tale repeated ad nauseam by sailors who thought they were clever. Considering that the Winter's End and its alliance mates were doing something very real, something that she had held in her own hands before, she decided that there must have been some truth to those stories. They were all still liars, of course.

Undertaking such a journey was still something that Blue wasn't quite sure about. Why risk so much to get there? What was there? She had no solid ideas, only a curiosity that was getting the better of her. A place with such a fantastical name was surely home to many treasures; that was all she could think of. The Shores of Gold… perhaps it was literal? That would be a sight to see. It sure would explain everyone's interest in it, too.

After the run-in with the Winter's End, she now sought to complete that journey herself. She — and Z — had been forcefully pulled into this foray so it was only right that they see it to its natural end. Whether or not what remained of the alliance would agree was another matter.

The shipwright of Dagger Tooth Outpost had told them to go to Morrow's Peak Outpost. Blue had no idea who it was they were to look for until it dawned on her: Grace Morrow. The outpost was named for her, and wrecked upon it was her ship, the Shroudbreaker.

Everything made sense now.

Her knee-jerk reaction was to tell Z that she now had a more definitive plan. How a conversation with Morrow would go… what would happen after… Well, that was quite a question. Besides, Z was still asleep; she'd have to sit on the matter for a while longer before getting his thoughts on it.

Not so far from their location was Crook's Hollow, so after a brief discussion, they made way for it. Blue had intended to help with sailing this distance, but between her fatigue and Z's insistence that she sleep, it was difficult to keep up that intent.

Before that had happened, she shared her revelations with him. He seemed unconvinced at first, but her voicing her thought process had him agreeing with her that it was Captain Morrow they were looking for. The matter of what exactly was to be found upon the Shores of Gold and what they would do with it was not something that they discussed — that was for another time.

Once they arrived at Crook's Hollow, they shared a pomegranate and Blue suggested bathing. There was no proper body of water to use, but she knew that there was flowing water, including a waterfall right above the shoreline at a cave opening. It was there that she sat, naked from the waist up and still pondering events that had led her to this exact moment.

Despite being under the water for some time now, she still didn't smell right. In fact, she decided that she hadn't smelled right since her injury. Whether it was from the blood loss, the stress of it all, or if it was just a new normal, she wasn't sure. It wasn't bad by any means, simply something she was annoyingly aware of now.

There was a lot that she was now hyper-aware of. The pain of a shoulder was more uncomfortable than that of many other places, but this pain was a significant one. It radiated up into her neck and jaw, as well as down through her chest. All of it had her considering every move with her torso that she made.

She considered a lot of things. The way Z had tended to her lingered in her mind. Had she let him, she was certain that he would have totally babied her, done anything she asked or needed while she sat and rested. Yes, she did need to do that, but she was not completely helpless and despised how he was making her feel that way. It was peculiar, too; they weren't very close, she thought. Then she decided that if that were the case, she probably shouldn't have slept against his back as she had. He had been so cold that night, though — it would have been embarrassing for both of them if he had died of exposure. Did the Ferry even offer return trips for something like that?

Or perhaps she was overthinking everything. They had certainly come a long way from how things had gone the day that they met, but thinking back to that just reminded her of how… pushy… he could be. Like today: she had noted that this would be a good opportunity to do some laundry and he had refused to entertain the idea of her cleaning any clothing — no matter whose it was — and taken the washboard from her grasp.

Z did not strike her as a particularly chivalrous sort. He liked fighting, did not do so with honour, and he had no qualms about being a sneak, either. When they shared space with his friends, he did not seem to treat her any differently from them.

Blue was beginning to get suspicious.

Lifting her head, she looked to the other end of the waterfall where her shipmate sat. He was furiously scrubbing the shirt of the Morningstar outfit against the washboard while trying not to tear it, desperate to get the remnants of blood out of it. That shirt had more dark spots than lighter areas now and would likely forever be stained. It didn't help Z at all that Graymarrow had rent quite a hole into it.

Tired of watching him grow more frustrated by the moment, Blue said, "Let it be. You are going to rip that apart if you keep going the way you are."

He lifted his head to look at her, expression shifting to one of thoughtfulness. Whatever was on his mind, she didn't inquire, didn't wonder for long, and he didn't offer it up. Instead, Blue held her breath and let the cool water run over her scarred face for as long as she could manage. The cold of the storm in the Wilds had been harsh and bitter, sapping strength — the water here was refreshing and soothed her aches.

Z made a noise that she didn't catch right away. When he called properly for her attention, she pulled away from the water to look at him.

"Y' gonna need help washin'?"

She wanted to shoot him a negative response, but that would have been entirely untruthful and unmanageable. Rather, Blue paused to think. At this point, her pain had become tolerable enough that she could bathe herself, but her hair still presented a problem.

"Do you still want me to keep my hair?"

Surprise flashed across his face. "Err, it— well, like I said, no need t' cut it when y'll heal faster than it'll grow back."

Blue had a hard time believing that. He refused to listen to her. Yet she stayed her tongue, not nearly bothered enough to repeat the matter. No, like most everything as of late, Blue simply couldn't care about whatever hang-up he might have had.

"Fine then."

Hell, maybe she ought to take more advantage of his recent generosity.

They rested at Crook's Hollow and the next day surprised them with especially good sailing conditions. With both of them unwilling to let such an opportunity spoil away, Z took them along the crosswind, swinging south of the rock cluster near Ancient Spire Outpost and stopping there early in the evening.

Stood upon the taller of the two peaks, they eyed the galleon that seemed to be coming their way, uncomfortably close.

"So what's the plan this time?" Z asked.

"Well, we know nothing about this ship…" Blue trailed off, uncertain and drowsy from a dose of medicine.

The last galleons to meet them here were ones they were acquainted with in one way or another. They had managed it just fine, but that was then and this was now.

"… and I do not think I am going to be very much help in a large fight."

Z snickered. "Really? Y' did jus' fine with that one guy at Shipwreck—"

"He was focused on you; I was lucky to surprise him," she shot. "And handling a weapon with my left hand is… awkward at best. A two-on-one fight is easy enough — this is a full crew that may not take lightly to our presence."

"So what're y' thinkin'?"

"Well," she started, thoughtfully bringing a hand to her chin. Blue watched the galleon a moment longer, realising something. "They are not coming here."

"Huh?" Z blinked and followed her gaze a moment later.

"Look at their angle… They have been following the wind up until now. They just turned out of it, straight east. The waves will drift them southerly."

He looked at her. "Y' sure'a that?"

"Quite."

He didn't seem certain of her certainty. That was fine; Blue wouldn't blame him. A little while longer and the galleon was sailing past the outpost. Then her realisation must have leaked into her expression, the two of them looking at each other with differing expressions.

"What?"

"Wha, no, you first," Z insisted.

She wrinkled her nose. Looking back towards the galleon, she raised her spyglass to better view it. "That… I wonder, might it be the Octavia?"

He made a curious noise. "Might be, I guess; they are comin' from the right way t' know where t' go."

"Precisely," Blue said as she lowered her spyglass. "Between the wind and currents, they are perfectly on course for Morrow's Peak."

"You wanna tail 'em?"

His suggestion surprised her. With how little sailing she had been doing herself, even if it was at his insistence, Blue had expected him to want to eat and rest. He really should have. And yet…

Looking to him, she asked, "What do you think?"

"I say we go after 'em."

She chuckled, hiding her nervousness. "Even when that means more work sailing for you?"

"Uh huh," he said with a nod. He started down the path back to the docks when he stopped a moment later, turning to look at her. When her expression failed to show that she was convinced, he added: "I can sleep when I'm dead. Let's go!"

That got an earnest chuckle from her.