Z heaved a great sigh as he stretched his arms out over his head, some joints cracking. It had started raining just before they had gone down to rest and had continued through the night. Now he felt the need to get up, stretch his legs, do anything besides sit in the chair at the desk.

His pacing took him down to the lower deck where Blue slept. He eyed her for a long moment before sitting at the foot of the bed, unsure of what to do with himself. He despised being cold so braving the rain and looking for something to do on the outpost was out of the question. Waking Blue up seemed… ill-advised. He was thankful when she roused on her own, even if she did end up giving him a more accusatory than curious look.

She turned onto her left side some and pushed herself up halfway. "What are you…?"

He shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. An' it's still raining."

She narrowed her eyes at him before looking away, expression shifting to one of proper curiosity. A thoughtful noise came from her as she sat up, leaning back against the wall as he did. She was still and silent for a while until he noticed her looking at him.

"What?"

"Could you go back to sleep?" she asked, sounding genuine.

He made a small whining noise and shrugged once more. "I dunno, maybe. That chair's not really comfortable enough t' sleep that much in."

She stared at him for so long that he had no idea what to make of it, not even when she did eventually move, kicking away the blankets. He thought she meant to offer the bed to him and he started trying to refuse when she grabbed a fistful of his shirt, surprising him, and just about threw him down on his back. Z was even more perplexed when her next move was to curl up against his side and throw her mangled arm around his chest. When he finally understood that nothing more was going to happen, she was already fast asleep.

Just when he thought he had her figured out, something changed and Blue remained a mystery to him. He didn't mind that she wasn't so cold towards him anymore, but that change had come at a cost. He didn't know if it was worth it. He hadn't even gotten himself situated and yet he realised that he was quite comfortable with her at his side, so very comfortable, far more than he would ever admit, and that, too, was making all his hair stand up on end.

Perplexed, Z carefully brought his arm against her back to ward off the cold, damp air of the Wilds, folded his other arm behind his head, and lay there in abject confusion of his current world until he properly dozed.

Galleon's Grave Outpost was in the middle of the Wilds. If you went any direction you could, there was just more of the Wilds. Unless you went east, apparently, but the Shores of Gold was only so accessible thanks to the Devil's Shroud. And it was disappointing. Maybe not to the point of tears — not that Z would ever have said that aloud — but terribly so. And the Devil's Roar to the southeast was entirely out of the question.

Being stuck in the Wilds was more annoying than disappointing. It felt like he had been there and only there ever since crewing up with Blue. He knew that wasn't the case, but it sure felt like it. A few days' travel saw them at Kraken's Fall. Distant cannon fire saw them climbing up the gigantic island's southern peak to investigate.

To the south was a Skeleton Fleet. Within it were two skeleton-crewed galleons, one on either side of another galleon that belonged to a living crew. Blue had made a comment about that crew's bravado when they spotted all the ships fighting each other. Z wasn't quite as impressed.

"Ehh, people do that all the time," he said. When Blue's expression towards him shifted to a quizzical one, he continued: "Good gally crews are damn near impossible to take down. Those skellies are outmatched even if they have more ships."

She looked at him for another moment before her attention went back to the battle, a soft noise of acknowledgement coming from her. Z was happy to sit on the rocky ground with her and watch the ships for a while, but saying that had made his mind wander.

Crews with more people could do more things, make more money, he always said. But those crews were stronger in other ways, too. With four people — or more, on occasion — they could take shifts doing whatever, whether that be lookout duty, cleaning duty… or just taking care of each other.

It wasn't that he harboured any ill-will thoughts towards her, and it wasn't her fault, but as it stood, Z would have to look out for her and she could not return the favour. She had managed to do so on the one occasion at Shipwreck Bay when a rogue pirate had come aboard during a storm, but that had been complete luck as far as he was concerned. They could continue to work with her left arm so that she could fight with it, but who knew how long that would take?

"Are you all right?"

Z blinked and realised that he was thinking very hard about the matter, so much so that it must have shown. "Uhh, yeah."

She didn't look convinced. He leaned back on his hands and watched the battle for a little while more.

"If it bothers you that much," Blue started, giving him an uncertain look; "we can always go help them."

He shook his head. "No, no, it's not that— them. It—" He took a breath and spoke slowly, "Do you remember what I said about larger crews?"

She eyed him cautiously. "That they can make more money?"

"Err, yea, but…" He rolled his shoulders. "That's 'cause there's more'a them. They… They can take more risks… an' look out fer each other an'…"

It was slight, but he saw her gaze intensify. Z wondered if she understood what he was getting at, but she said nothing and he felt forced to say more.

"I'm thinkin': why don't we go crew up with some'a my friends?"

She looked away from him after a moment, but her expression turned impassive. The way Blue looked out at the battle, he thought that he wouldn't get a response.

"And how do you propose we do that?"

That wasn't a no…

"Well—"

That was a good question. He wasn't sure how exactly they could make that happen outside of just happening to run into somebody. Blue wasn't fond of the Ferry, so while there was the idea to suggest she go that route and leave him to take care of the ship, he didn't see that. He could send himself to the Ferry, hope to run into someone while he was there, but if Blue were to happen upon any trouble while he was away…

He shrugged.

Blue recoiled and shook her head, looking to her other side. "So you have an idea and no means of putting it to action."

"Kind of," he mused, refusing to bring up her injury so blatantly.

They sat there in silence for a time. Blue wasn't stupid and he wasn't about to treat her as such; he knew that she must have understood what he was getting at. Still, he wasn't very good at being tactful, so he took a deep breath…

"What I'm sayin's that if… if we can, if…" — he could hear her saying this — "if the opportunity presents itself, we should crew up with some'a my mates 'til y're doin' better." It was slight, but he noticed her tensing up. "Y'know, 'cause I can only look out fer y' so much on my own."

She didn't look appreciative of that idea. It bothered him far too much to not bring it up, though, and after another moment, she relaxed. He fully expected her to chew him out for something, so he was pleasantly surprised when she agreed.

"All right then."

"Wh— Really? Y' don't think it's a bad idea?"

"Of course not," she said slowly. "It is as you said before, larger crews can make more money, and their numbers afford them more opportunities to… well, more opportunities all around, don't they?" A pause. "It seems a natural progression of our… partnership."

It seemed neither of them wanted to bring up her injury and Blue seemed to be taking his words in stride. That was fine with him — he had just wanted to get that out in the open.

Now to actually find any of his friends…

With that giant battle to their south, the decision was made to head northwest to The Crooked Masts. The island had no beach to speak of, requiring that vessels stop particularly flush to the rocks that passed as its shoreline. Z was thankful that his shipmate was feeling good enough to stand at the helm and get the sloop situated, even if she stood awkwardly to the side and only used a single hand. She stopped them along the northeastern side of the island and as he finished tying the final sail ropes, he heard a peculiar noise come from her.

Looking over to her at the bow, Z spoke too quickly, "What?" He then followed her line of sight up to the platform that was built up along the rock pillar, a large brazier on it, and then he understood.

"That," Blue said, pointing at it. "That. What… You cannot be serious."

He snickered hard. "Yea, we are. It's one of the things t' light during the Festival of the Damned," he said.

Blue looked annoyed. "There is no way that anyone could ever climb up there."

"Uh huh," Z chimed with amusement. "Gotta shoot yerself with a cannon."

She looked over to him now, staring incredulously. Z simply held her gaze, the stupid grin on his face unwavering.

"I think I will pass," she said finally.

Z leaned back against the supports of the canvas back as she started downstairs, muttering something to herself. He was never going to get tired of her reactions to the more fun aspects of this place.

They had done it again. They got situated in the shallows of Shipwreck Bay and then retraced their old steps up to the island's peak. Perhaps Blue appreciated being able to get somewhere high up. He had noticed her tendency to climb stuff and that had been really hard for her as of late. Z just liked how easy the view was to get to. Still, he could detect a hint of… something in her while they were sat way up there.

Another thought crossed his mind. Not only had they been up here both times they had visited the island, but the first time, he had let his irritation get the better of him and instigated a somewhat friendly fight with Blue. They hadn't done that since, and she hadn't held a weapon in her left hand since back at Morrow's Peak. If she wanted to be capable of taking care of herself, that needed to happen more often.

He ignored the curious noise that came from his crewmate when he stood up and started back down to the ground. When he had found two suitable sticks, he looked up to find her standing nearby, arms crossed. Blue didn't look as though she didn't know what he was up to, more… annoyed than anything, even if it was slight.

"What are you doing?"

"What's it look like?" he shot back. Then he tossed a stick her way, which she tried and failed to catch. "Y' haven't touched a sword since before we left fer the Shores of Gold."

Blue was mid-way through picking up the stick when he said that. She gave him a frustrated look. It didn't matter how she argued with him — if her injury were temporary, it would benefit her to be able to fight with her left side until it was better; if it were permanent, then she'd need to do this at some point anyway.

"Fine. I suppose." She gave the stick a good once-over. "Are you proposing that you beat me over the head once more or do you plan to allow me some proper practise?"

He couldn't help a small grin. At least she wasn't being difficult. "We can do that if y' like. Jus' follow my lead, eh?"

Blue side-eyed him but didn't complain. He approached her and took a readied stance; she did as well.

"I'm gonna swing at ya but I'm not gonna hit ya," he warned. She gave him another look. "Jus' see how it feels, all right?"

Her expression shifted slightly and he made his move. It was a simple strike, easy to see coming and easy to do something about. He only put so much effort into it, too. As she should have, Blue brought her own stick to clash against his and her expression shifted once more into something he couldn't quite pinpoint. They did this a few more times before Blue took a few steps away and looked at her hand as though it weren't of this world.

"What is it?"

She huffed. "It is… awkward is what it is. Yet not as much as I expected it to be. It…" She shook her head. "It is far more natural than I expected it to be."

He allowed himself a small grin. "Yea. A lot of people don't have very much trouble gettin' used t' usin' their other hand."

"No—" She cut herself off and looked at her hands. He couldn't tell what exactly she might have been feeling, but it was something meaningful with how it bothered her.

"What is it?"

"I… I am reminded of when I was very young. When I was told to do this or that, I would try to initiate it with my left hand." She stared at the top of that hand for a moment. "It… took me a long time to understand that I was to use my other hand."

He didn't think he was understanding. "What, they used t' complain at ya when y'd use yer left hand?"

She made a face. "I wish that was all they had done."

"… oh." Z scratched at the back of his head, uncertain that he understood and not entirely sure that he wanted to.

"My mother was the most gentle about it," Blue continued. "The others… well, I take it more adults than not take pleasure in making the little ones scream when they can."

No, he understood, and he agreed. There was a discomfort on his face as he nodded. That wasn't the point of Blue sharing this, though. "So… y're left handed?"

She looked at her hand with some sort of realisation. "Well, I— perhaps? I have spent my life thus far using my right hand. I am uncertain…" She sighed after her words trailed off and shrugged her shoulders, wincing.

"So y're left handed," he said more sternly.

"In time I suppose I shall be."

He nodded again. That was an acceptable answer. Now there was the question of whether or not to continue…

"Did y' hurt yerself?"

She stared for a moment before understanding. "No, it— … no."

He didn't believe her one bit and he knew that showed on his face. That didn't stop him from shaking his head. "Nah, let's call it good an' head back. We'll practise with those old swords'a yers so y' get used t' the weight."

She wrinkled her nose at him but kept quiet as they made their way back to the ship.

A strong wind took them west. By this point, all signs of battle south of Kraken's Fall had disappeared to them, from the ships fading out of their view long ago to the clouds above it all ceasing to call to them. They could have gone in any direction they liked, but before them was a previously uninhabited island. Or at least it had been for a while. Now… well, Z wasn't sure of what it was, either.

The island was made up primarily of a great stone archway. Surrounding it at every major directional point, almost like a cockeyed compass, were smaller rocks. Three of them had a single dock on them; a larger dock extended out from the main island's southwest side. As they passed the small east rock with a dock, Z spotted a cannon on it that pointed at the main island. That seemed like it was asking for trouble until he thought about how it could also be used to fire oneself to the mainland. They had been here before when the construction had more recently begun. Now, though, there was so much that was completed or otherwise nearly done…

"What is this place?"

Z shook his head. "This is all new to me." He didn't notice her looking at him right away; he raised a brow when he did. "What?"

"You know," she started, leaning on the railing to the helm's left side; "when you proposed your little idea to me and put it to action, you made it seem like you knew everything about this world." She paused. "It seems that the longer you are by my side, the less you know."

At first, he wanted to respond with sharp words, growl about how the place was ever-changing and that he did know just about everything, thank-you-very-much! When he spotted a whisper of a smirk on her face, he realised she was teasing him. He wasn't sure how to respond to that and was thankful for the late hour to excuse his fatigue with, then the dock attached to the mainland that they came up to, giving him cause to turn away from her to raise the sail the rest of the way.

That wasn't to say that he hadn't encountered some strange firsts by Blue's side. Pirates on these waters taking hostages, the Shores of Gold, Skeleton Lords… He'd be lying if her words hadn't truly stung a little.

To their north, by the northernmost existing dock, were two galleons. One was a bright blue and white, the other a brilliant green and white. He could spot no crewmen anywhere.

No longer was the great building up the way under construction. It didn't sound like it was bursting with activity like a busy tavern, but looks could be deceiving. If this were not to be some sort of outpost, then what else could it be? It seemed he and Blue were of the same mind.

"This seems much like an outpost, does it not?" she said as they walked up the ramp to the building.

"Kinda…" He rubbed at his chin as they walked. "I saw a spot for a shipwright, it looked like. But I don't see anywhere for the Companies' reps…"

They were up to the building now. The lady that had greeted them here before was facing another, said something that he didn't catch, and then stepped inside. It seemed Blue was brave enough to approach the woman who remained beside the closed door. Said woman noticed them and though her expression shifted to one that was less annoyed, she was still clearly agitated.

"Are we allowed to know what this is?" Blue asked, gesturing to the building in general.

"This is the Glorious Sea Dog." She cleared her throat. "I'm Amaranta, currently the vice-leader of the Sea Dogs Arena."

So that was what the sign said. Below the letters was an image of a very furry dog.

Blue was enthused. That or she was relishing the opportunity to talk to someone that wasn't him. "Tell me about it, then?"

"Apparently 'we celebrate the competitive spirit.' That's what I've been told to say by that pair, anyway."

"Pair?"

"DeMarco and Lesedi, the twins."

That was a name that he hadn't heard in a very long time. Z was so surprised that he didn't hear what else Amaranta said.

"So this Arena is a test of one's ability to fight in a fair environment," Blue said, almost questioning. She put her hands on her hips, expression thoughtful for a moment. "But is it worth my time?"

"The question is are you worthy of the Arena?" Amaranta shot. Blue recoiled slightly. "When I'm in charge of the Sea Dogs, things will be very different. Only the best will be allowed to compete! Everyone else can go back to finding spotted pigs for the Merchant Alliance."

Blue didn't seem like she knew what she thought of this.

"So," Z started, hand on his chin until he decided to ignore the woman's poor mood; "it's a last ship standin' kinda deal? Sounds fun. I love hearin' a gally crew scream when a sloop hits 'em with a ballastball."

Amaranta rolled her eyes. "It's a fair competition. None of those cursed cannonballs are allowed, and only galleons are allowed. We supply the ships for the competitors for some reason."

Well, that was a downer. It was very interesting that the ships were supplied, though. That kept him interested. When Z looked at Blue, he noticed that she didn't seem totally annoyed about this. Still, looking at her in her vest and trousers — rather than the pretty dresses she first wore around him — reminded him of her injured arm.

"I think we'll pass fer now," he said. He ignored the noise of disgust from Amaranta. "We got some friends t' go meet up with."

"That we do," Blue commented. She looked up and then at the setting sun. "It is all right that we stay here for the night, yes?"

"Do whatever you want," she said. "I'm just here to spread the word." Without another one, Amaranta turned away from them and stepped into the tavern.

He and Blue looked to each other before she started them back down the ramp to the dock.

"I do not like her," she said once they were safely out of earshot. "She is very rude. Something about her is not quite right."

Z chuckled. "Yea, I dunno what her deal is."

Blue made a thoughtful noise and said nothing more for the night.

He and Blue had silently been eating their dinner at a corner table when he heard footsteps outside the Drowned Rat. Z was less than enthused to see four people pass through the threshold a moment later. There had been no ships around when they docked the sloop not so long ago, and these pirates' clothes and gear were all mostly dry, so they had to have used a rowboat to get around. Why, he could not immediately discern. Instead, he glanced at Blue, but if she was uncomfortable with their new company, she didn't show it. No, just like always, she was ready to deal with people in a non-violent manner. He supposed that, given her state, that was their best option, but he wouldn't be able to relax around these people.

Those people had started finding their places in the tavern. A man went towards the counter while a woman came towards them, and the remaining two — Z didn't look closely at them but thought them another man and woman — went over to the long table with bench seating. He and Blue both ignored them all in favour of giving the one approaching them their attention.

Blue, stiff and alert but wearing a pleasant smile, sat upright and sharply addressed the woman first. "What can we do for you?"

"Oh, well," the woman started, clearly a little agitated herself now; "I thought I ought to introduce me and my crew since we're going to be sharing this tavern tonight's all."

Z eyed her curiously. Blue did, too, just for a moment, before speaking again.

"Forgive me if we seem a little shocked. We check the horizon regularly and saw no ships whatsoever. You and your crew's clothing is dry, which means you didn't swim here. You see how mischievous this seems to us, yes?"

The woman forced a light laugh, a hand coming up to her chest. "Ah, yes, yes, I do. I'm sorry. We were short on supplies when a megalodon took some interest in us, you see. We did not fare very well."

"And it jus'… didn't care 'bout yer rowboat?" Z chimed in.

"Ah, no, it did not. The little ones followed us for quite a time, though."

That was what he expected to hear. Still, Z was unnerved. When he spotted Blue looking at him, he thought he read her expression as more one of curiosity than anything else. He didn't know what that could be about. He just hoped it didn't mean Blue was actually interested in making friends with these people.

"What was your ship called?" Blue asked.

"She was the Brawling Blight. She's seen better days, I'm afraid. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no real reason. I was simply wondering if you were another crew we heard of being dispatched by a megalodon."

He got the feeling that Blue was doing exactly as he had hoped otherwise. Z only paid so much attention to their conversation, instead paying more attention to the woman's shipmates. They seemed restless. He focused back on their chit-chat when he heard Blue sound surprised.

"Well, it's only a small favour. We needn't share the tavern, you know?"

"A sloop can be crowded even with only two people," she shot back. She pushed her nearly empty plate of food away before standing. "Besides, we were only here for dinner."

"Ah. I see." The woman tapped her chin as though thinking. "Well, see, as much as I understand, my crew might not be so forgiving."

All of said crew was now looking in their direction.

Z stood as well. He was closer to the door, but the interloper was somewhat in their way. He grabbed Blue by the wrist with his furthest hand and pulled her behind him as he shimmied towards the door, keeping himself between her and everyone else.

"And that'd be a big mistake," he warned.

The woman gave him an exaggerated shrug, feigning a helpless expression. "I'm only telling you because I think it's fair to give everybody a warning."

Her crew was on their feet now, encroaching.

That was stupid of her. Z thought she was just getting a kick out of the situation and he forced himself to look past his rage. He turned his head only as much as he needed to in order to look at Blue, who seemed rather indecisive. Her light pulling only made him tighten his grip on her wrist.

"Ship. Now." That was all he said before damn near throwing her out the doorway, slamming the door shut with his shoulder.

The entire crew lurched after him but one man was especially eager and looked intent on grabbing him. Z met the man's advancement with the open end of his blunderbuss' barrel. The tension that had been growing in the tavern suddenly shattered as the dead man's crew looked on in horror.

The tavernkeeper was the first to break the silence. "Now there's blood all over my floor!"

"Wha'd ya go and do that for?!" one of the crew cried.

"Now I'm really gonna fuck you up!" the remaining man hollered as he drew his cutlass.

Z was just disappointed that he had to use his gun so soon. They would certainly not allow him time to reload it so he simply swapped which hand held it and drew his own sword.

The woman that had approached them in the beginning hung back as her two remaining crewmates stepped forward. Z was not allowed time to consider who he wanted to focus on fighting when the man swung first at him. It was sloppy and Z recognised that he was fighting with more emotion than thought. A second swing was parried but Z didn't advance as he could have, making sure to keep himself between them and the door.

It was a good thing he had the foresight to not drop his gun. When the other woman had an opening to lunge at him, he had to shove her sword away with the blunderbuss. That did, however, allow him the opportunity to step forward and drive his cutlass into her gut. His sword withdrawing with a squishing noise was more than satisfying to his ears, the thick coat of blood on most of his blade's length confirming that she would die. He pointed his sword at the man before pushing her away with his gun. Judging by the look on his face, he was about to charge Z.

The first woman's voice pierced the air. "Zac, get out of my way."

He stepped back from Z before turning his attention to her, nodding sheepishly as he put distance between himself and them. Z thought this curious until he saw her draw two swords. It wasn't disallowed in the Sea of Thieves, but it was very uncommon.

In the time it took her to take one step, Z thought about the situation — which he decided he now thoroughly disliked — before barrelling into the door, breaking it off its hinges, and heading for the bit of jungle behind the tavern. As much as he relished the opportunity to fight a duel-wielder, so uncommon as they were, he had to consider Blue. Dying now would do her no good.

Even after all these years with his pegleg, he still forgot how much it slowed him down. The only thing that saved him from having a pair of swords in his back was immediately stopping when he realised he had so little distance and turning to slash at the woman. He was glad to hear her yelp, taken by surprise and only just blocking Z's swing. He swung again and though it was blocked, he heard her grunt. Z reckoned he swung hard enough to threaten her grip on her weapons.

"You're not leaving so soon, are you?" she shot the moment she recovered. She swung both her weapons and it was his turn to hiss in pain, a sloppy move from her grazing his arm. "We were only going to bother you and make you feel bad for leaving us, but you're the sort to rush head-first into a fight, aren't you?"

Z forced a smirk. "Guilty as charged," he said haughtily.

A sideways swipe coming from down low was a hard thing to block and Z didn't have the opportunity to leap away. He was able to block the top blade, but the lower one connected with his knee, just above his pegleg, dropping him with another pained hiss.

"Gotcha."

Z only just kept himself quiet as she lowered her weapons, forcing his eyes to stay on her.

"You know, you could have just let my guys rough you up a little, but nooo, you had to go and shoot Lance in the chest. You couldn't just—"

"Hey," he said simply.

She looked flustered. "What?" she shot.

"Nothin', I just wanted y' t' stop movin' fer a minute."

The woman looked confused for a moment until Blue brought her dagger forward around her neck, slashing her throat in one smooth move. She yelped, a sound that turned into a gurgle, and brought her hands to her neck, futilely trying to stymie the flow of blood. She turned just enough to glance at Blue before she fell over.

"Odd," she said as she looked the woman's body over before the Sea of the Damned claimed it. "I have never seen someone else use two swords at once. I read— well, that can wait."

"Uh, yea, yeah, it can," Z said, a little confused by her perplexity. He looked her up and down and noted that she was soaked.

Blue put her dagger away and then offered her offhand to him. He put his weapons away before a startled yelp coming from behind him startled them, too. They looked over to the remaining crewman stepping away from them.

With his condition, Z was willing to let the man go. He had even started to think of what to say when a gunshot went off beside him and he saw the man fall drop.

"… remind me t' not piss you off," he said somewhat playfully as he took in the sight of Blue holding her Eye of Reach. She gave him a little scoff before extending her hand again. He awkwardly got to his feet. "And, uh, thanks."

"Don't thank me yet," she said, looking him up and down. "You are still to get back to the ship."

He made a face. "So, y' sent it off, jumped, an' came back, didn't ya?"

"Not exactly, but yes. I sent her northward and then jumped."

"Ah." Saltwater to a wound, especially a sword cut, never felt good — he did not look forward to that. "Well, I'll be able t' swim jus' fine, I'm jus'… gonna… ahem, I can't really walk."

Blue gave him a quizzical look before looking down at his leg again. The amount of blood certainly helped her understand. With a little huff, she put her left side against him and they got him situated so she could help him to the water. Z didn't bother silencing himself or toning down how much he swore and how he swore when it came time to actually swim. The water more than stung a little.

When they were in deep enough water, a merfolk circled them for a moment before stopping, poking her head out of the water and beginning to sing her song. Blue waited beside her until Z caught up, and then they each took a hand of hers and were whisked away, back to the Forlorn Phoenix.