Change The Tides

Deceit

Third Person

Heather smirked as she sat back and just watched as her word spread around like wildfire. She'd gotten to the Chip Shop earlier than usual and had spread her words through the local fishers that were aware that Arlette was a part of the crew, but didn't really give two shits about it. But they had been talking about it, and the crew naturally overheard.

They overheard that apparently Arlette had been heard talking about being "railed" by Dominic Collins, and how the age difference doesn't seem to be too bad anymore now that she's older and understands more, and fantasized about having his babies.

Her rumor was thriving, spreading amongst the crew like an infectious wildfire that was the first thing anyone heard that morning, and it was all they talked about as they huddled together and discussed what they'd heard. It affected the entire vibe of the crew, and despite them usually being very open with Arlette, they were honestly too scared of it being true to ask her. So they stuck together and tried to make sense of it by themselves, though this affected their morning routine, training, and would continue to affect everything the crew did.

Because the crew was hearing this organically, confusion quickly spread, they did their best to keep it on the down low during training, but Arlette and Harry could tell something was off. The second they were done, the crew had gone back to staying close to each other to discuss what to think, all while Arlette was just confused as to why everyone was acting so strange. She would've thought more about it at first if she weren't to focused on training, as every day she was using the practice swords more and more, and Harry was getting her to lift more and more weight, having a sneaking suspicion that he was getting her ready for a true sword. She was too busy being excited about possibly being able to wield a sword on a day-to-day basis, maybe she would even have her own one day.

As the group walked back to the Chip Shop for breakfast, Arlette dwindled behind, feeling the vibe from everyone she chose to distance herself slightly, even urging Harry, who hadn't heard anything yet but could sense the difference in vibe, to go on without her for a moment, that she just wanted to stretch some after the tough day of drills. Heather was very pleased so far, no one was mad but they weren't exactly pleased either, and having Arlette stay behind on the ship while everyone else went up for breakfast was just a joy. Just before she walked up to breakfast herself, she bumped her shoulder into Arlette's and simply gave her a slight hint as to why no one besides Harry and Gil were really giving her the time of day by muttering,

"Whore"

Arlette perked up and immediately looked at Heather as she sauntered away towards the Chip Shop, brow furrowed as she wondered where on earth that came from. She thought Heather was acting slightly too chirpy all day, but she couldn't figure out why.

As she lingered, back in the Chip Shop, Bonny had heard from the crew as they whispered and muttered things to each other and was still just as confused when she first heard. No one was angry, nor were they convinced, but they were confused. A few of them were slowly turning to feel hurt, they had saved her after all from the very fate she supposedly was fantasizing about. But others who knew her better than that were just confused beyond belief, Desiree, Jonas, Gonzo, and Bonny being the most perplexed, unable to even comprehend it let alone believe it.

Arlette came in a few minutes later to help Harry wrap up breakfast as usual, and only then did she ask him if something was wrong. Harry immediately paused and wondered why she would be asking something like that, as for all he knew everything was as it usually was. So he shook his head and told her nothing was, that maybe her paranoia was acting up. She liked that idea more than any alternative, so she took Harry's word for it and agreed that her paranoia must just be acting up.