That green gaze was harsher than Will remembered. A remnant of the days when its owner had a bright golden coat and pristine white sails. Now, she was black from the tips of her masts to the bottom of her keel. "Well, well." Pearl mused. "The whelp returns." "I'm not a whelp." Will sighed, in no mood to argue with, of all people, Jack's ship! She shrugged. "Whatever." Will glared but decided to let it slide. "So what brings you here this time?" She asked. "Tired of wigs and fancy dresses." "No! Elizabeth and I face the gallows." He replied. "Whatever for?" She asked. "I didn't take you as the law breaking type and most certainly not for a crime serious enough for hanging." "We were arrested for helping Jack escape." "And I never did thank you for that day." Pearl sighed. She shifted her weight as best she could in the sand. "What is it you want?" She asked. "Jack's compass. That's what Beckett asked for..." "Becket?!" Pearl snarled. "Don't you dare make deals with that sniveling weasel." She hissed. "You know him?" He asked. "Aye. He's the reason I'm black." She replied. Will caught on at once. "He, burned you?" He whispered in disbelief. "Aye. All because I refused to all slaves for him." She replied. "It was Jack's cleverness that saved me but at a cost." "What cost?" He asked. "I wasn't aware of this myself until a few days ago. We were sailing rather peacefully when he suddenly ordered the crew to head for the nearest land. I didn't understand it, then I realized, we were being followed. The shallows are the only safe place for us now." She said. "What's following you? Pearl!" He demanded as the ship grew distracted again. "A monstrous Leviathan who's name I don't dare speak." She answered. "Jack, you must save him!" She begged. "Why? Where is he?" He demanded. Pearl shivered, her eyes closing. "Pearl, talk to me." Will begged. He knew the black ship must've been hurting. For her to be stuck on the sand was the equivalent of a whale being beached. She was slowly, but surely being suffocated under her own weight. "Pearl." Will placed a gentle hand on her bow and her gaze snapped back to him. "Head inland through the forest. There's a village in the mountains." She said. "Got it." He paused. "I'll get you out of here Pearl." He said. "Don't promise me anything, boy. I've had quite enough of those over the years." She growled. He gave her nose a pat and raced off. "Will, wait! The people here they..." Pearl began but Will was gone. "They're cannibals." She finished lamely. "Damn whelp. I bet he is a eunuch. Pity really." She muttered to herself.
Sure enough, Will fell right into a trap. Pearl, from her vantage point, could not see the village but she could see the canyon where the rest of her crew were being held in cages made from the very bones of their comrades. She watched with some amusement as they swayed back and forth like a pendulum. "Come on men! It'll take all of us to crew the Black Pearl." Will shouted once they'd grabbed a secure hold on the cliff face. "Not really, about six would do!" Pearl called. "That's encouraging. Anything else you'd like to add?!" Gibbs asked her. "Oh yeah, quite a few things." She grumbled. She turned her attention to Pintel who was trying to undo one of her mooring lines. She lunged forward, her teeth clamping shut just inches from where he'd stood just a second ago. "Feisty aren't we." He taunted. She growled. "If you so much as even think about stealing me." She hissed. "I'm sure you recall those early days after the mutiny." She rarely liked to revisit those dark times but in this case, she'd make an exception. The two shuddered. "Okay, you've made your point but we're still stealing you." Raggetti called. "Don't make me lean just a bit further." She hissed. "You don't scare me, pretty girl." Raggetti said. "I should. We're on the same playing field now boys. You don't have that curse to protect you anymore." She said. Pintel growled and delivered a harsh swat to her with the rope. Pearl growled but refused to show anything else. She was familiar with abuse. Barbossa had taken his temper out on her many times. Blood leaked from a wound just below her eye. She hissed. "Don't you start with me." She growled. "Then behave yourself, lass and we'll treat you right." Pintel replied. Pearl growled but said nothing more. The last thing she wanted was to be too wounded to take Jack to safety should he escape. If not, well she had no plans of living without him. Let the Kraken come and take her and these two miscreants as well.
She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Gibbs and the others racing towards her. "Thank Neptune." She whispered. Will patted her nose. "Get ready to make sail boys." Gibbs hollered. Pearl bit her lip in worry. "What about Jack? I won't leave without him!" Will spoke for her. "Thank you." She mouthed. He nodded. "Oi!" Shouted a familiar voice as Jack came rounding the corner. A few seconds later, the whole Pelegosto tribe came after him. "Time to go." Pearl said. "Aye." Will voice his agreement. Pearl turned around in the shadows, showing her stern to the oncoming tribes people. "Jack hurry!" She shouted as she sailed into deeper waters. If she had to, she'd drop anchor but she couldn't risk having the tribe come aboard as well. Jack grabbed hold of the netting along her side. "My friends, this is the day you will always remember is the day that you almost..." A wave shot up from beneath Pearl's keel then. When the mist cleared, her found her glaring at him. "Shut up, and climb aboard!" She growled. "Yes ma'am." He agreed. They sailed a few miles to another part of the island's coastline at the mouth of a familiar river. "Drop anchor." Jack ordered. "What do you have planned?" She asked him. "I have to go upriver." He replied. Pearl sighed. "You know how I feel about that woman Jack. She's not right, she's... well I don't know what she is but she's not human, savvy?" "I know, Pearl. I know." Jack stroked her rail. She purred. "Just be careful alright, or I'll come up that river and toss you to the piranha's myself!" She growled. "No worries, I'll be fine." He promised. "You better be." She growled. He climbed down into the longboat. She took that chance to lick him. One swipe of her massive tongue covered him from head to toe in ship slobber. A few crewman grimaced but Jack just smiled and stroked his ship's nose. "Be a good girl alright." He begged. She grinned. "What me? How could I possibly misbehave?" She asked. "Oh, knowing you you'd find a way." He laughed. She kissed him atop his head. "Stay safe my love." She begged. "I'll see you soon. I promise." He replied and the longboat rowed away upstream, leaving Pearl to watch as they disapeared into the mountains ahead.
