Hell Hath No Fury - Book One

Belonging

Theo woke up early and went through the motions of her captain's duties. At first, she was hoping Evana would have gotten started on her project so Theo could have an excuse to not do anything but help. However, when she swung by, to offer her help, she learned that Evana wouldn't be starting for a few suns. With that plan foiled, Theo had no choice but to continue with her boring morning duties. She steered the ship, checked in with all the women she had encountered, ate lunch with Miss Yurwa down in storage and went through the inventory with Xyra. They would have to restock at their next stop on a myriad of things and she was looking forward to having to hassle and negotiate, something she did well. The morning came and went, nothing eventful happened to pass the time.

Being a captain was fun but Theo was never the administrative, sit-down type, hence the choice to enter a life of pirating. Leading people into battle, sinking ships, finding treasure, manipulating men into lowering their prices, that is what she signed up to do when she became a captain. Not going over how many barrels of beer they need, and how much meat they have to find when they dock at their next city.

The sun was beating down on the deck as Xyra and Theo made their way up from the storage room. Xyra was still droning on about supplies and stocking up and Theo felt bad, but she hadn't caught anything Xyra had been saying, because as soon as she got onto the deck, all she could do was think about how it was past noon.

"Theo," Xyra called her attention, "can I do that?"

"Aye. Of course. Do what is needed," Theo said confidently and put her hands in her pockets.

"You haven't been listening to a word I said, have you?" Xyra asked exasperatedly.

Theo felt bad and she tried to give Xyra her most apologetic face, "I'm sorry. It's just been a long morning and I know you don't need me to double-check what we need because I trust you.

"

Xyra rolled her eyes and closed the notebook in her hand, "Whatever. Go enjoy the rest of your sun. I'll take it from here." Theo smiled and hugged Xyra and Xyra pushed her away with a smile, "Leave me alone, you absolute scoundrel."

Theo laughed and waved goodbye to Xyra as she announced the shift change to the rest of the crew. Theo made her way back inside the ship and to the library. She was hoping to find Ava reading there and invite her to hang out during the night like they had been doing throughout Ava's time on the ship. Last night, Ava did not come by after their discussion but Theo was working the ship until late anyway. She enjoyed the new girl's company and found herself missing their conversations last night, not that she would admit that out loud. Once she made it to the library she found Ava curled up with some biscuits and a book.

Theo walked into the room and leaned against one of the bookcases, "What are you reading there?"

Ava looked up, a little startled, "Uh, the history of the first six classifications."

Theo snorted a little, "I'm sorry. My apologies, but isn't that a little boring?"

Ava shook her head and put her book and biscuits on the table, "Not at all. Well, at least not to me. I like reading about the past, it helps us understand where we are now. I think Cooker reminded me of that the other night and so I decided to pick up reading while I'm here."

"Very insightful," Theo smiled, "I just came looking for you to ask if you want to come by my quarters tonight?"

Ava looked quite surprised but she nodded anyway, "Yes, I would enjoy that."

"Great, I'll see you after supper," Theo said with a big grin and walked out leaving Ava to her book.

Ava was taken aback. Theo had sought her out and asked to spend time with her later. She wasn't aware that her company was enjoyed that much by Theo. Enough to have Theo come looking for her to invite her to come by in the night. It crossed Ava's mind that maybe this was because Theo was a nox, maybe she liked Ava. For some reason, Ava felt dirty for thinking that and immediately regretted it. Theo had not done or said anything that even hinted at that and was most likely just genuinely being friendly. As she had been the whole time Ava had been aboard.