Hooked

4.

Pierre was there when Ash swung open the door and left Asterin's cabin.

"Ash, why are you smiling like that?" He asked cautiously.

She shrugged and walked past him. "Made them mad."

He let out an exasperated sigh and caught up with her. "Why would you do that?"

"Well, to be fair, they pissed me off first."

"Gods, Ash, that's no reason," he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "What'd I tell you??"

"Be respectful?"

"...yes."

"I only respect people who respect me. They didn't do that," she replied matter-of-factly.

"Those kinds of rules don't apply to the captain."

"Sounds like something they should sort out then."

Pierre sighed and dropped the subject. "Where do you want to go?"

"To the side of the ship."

They reached it, and Ash leaned against the deep-red railing and closed her eyes, breathing in the salty air.

Pierre stood a few feet behind her, examining his nails. "Need to paint these again," he muttered.

Ash either didn't hear, or she was ignoring him, but he chose to believe the former.

He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet and did that weird puffer fish thing with his mouth when he didn't know what to say. The wind blew through Ash's hair and she looked quite peaceful.

He finally decided on joining her at the rail and stared out at the ocean, which was calm today. "What are you doing?"

"Thinking."

"About what?"

"How I'm going to get out of here."

Pierre glanced over at her, and saw her eyes were still closed. "You can't, really."

"I know," she frowned. "Is my father still alive?"

She might not have liked him very much, but she still needed to know.

"Redbeard?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, he is."

"And the cook? Tall, lanky, shoulder length hair?"

"Yeah, him too," Pierre chuckled. "I couldn't forget him, he was cute."

Ash finally opened her eyes and laughed. "I always thought so, too."

Pierre snorted, "Might have to fight for him."

"Nah, you can have him, since you want a boyfriend so badly."

"I won't protest," he grinned.

"I could use an early lunch," she faced him.

"Alright."

They stopped by the kitchens, filled two plates up with food, and headed back to the storage cabin.

Ash and Pierre sat across from each other on the floor and ate in silence for a little while.

"Don't tell Captain Asterin, but I'm going to make this cabin more comfortable for you. Put in some blankets and a pillow, find a chair somewhere, and a table."

Ash froze her hand mid-bite. "Thank you, Pierre." It was the first genuine nice thing she'd said since she got here. "You know, for someone who knocked me out and kidnapped me, you're not too bad."