talk with your hands.

         𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐌𝐀𝐃 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 ...                                                  ( 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 )

Casey shrugged. He’d had very little quiet in his time. Even quiet places weren’t truly quiet. Casey hadn’t been able to silence his own mind in years. “Very few people have business on a ship,” he pointed out with a shrug. “Do you know how many sailors actually can’t swim? The number would astound you.”

Casey pursed his lips. He wasn’t about to give his name to a girl that looked like she came from money. He was sure his name was officially known as a pirate by now. “Casey Collingswood,” he said, giving the last name that still sent a pang through his heart to hear. But Carter’s name was the easiest for Casey to take, and no matter the hurt, he loved hearing it still.

          ‘  yet  it  seems  i  am  meeting  some  by  the  minute  .   perhaps  times  are  changing  .  ’    and  she  is  simply  making  small  talk  ,   saying  thoughts  that  had  crossed  her  mind  but  she’ll  never  fully  believe  in  .   not  unless  she  sees  times  changing  right  in  front  of  her  eyes  .    ‘  i  would  love  to  know  ,   if  you’re  willing  to  tell  me  .  ’  

Fane nodded, feeling the lines on his back burn with the memory. That hadn’t been pleasant and ranked as one of the worst experiences of his life. And that was including the five years that Fane spent living in the hills of Northern Ireland and sleeping on the ground and occasionally in trees. “Still, you don’t have to hit me, lass,” he pointed out, smiling despite his words. “Please. He can’t possibly do anything worse to me than the Navy hasn’t already, and yet, I’m still standing.” Not through lack of trying on one of the officer’s part. He had taken issue with Fane being an Irishman.

“Hey, most pirates I’ve seen were good at being pirates,” Fane promised, mirroring her in fixing his hair. He knew his hair was long gone, though. The humid weather down here and his curls hadn’t mixed a day in his life. They weren’t about to start now. “I just play the violin. Sometimes, I sing for them. But you can tell that I’ve been playing a lot. Look at this. My violin loves me.” He lifted his chin so she could see the red marks on his skin from his violin.

        ‘  well  ,   maybe  you  can  tell  your  pirate  friends  you  have  an  angry  friend  at  home  that  will  beat  you  up  worse  than  they  can  ,   and  then  you  can’t  play  at  all  for  them  .  ’   it’s  an  empty  threat  from  the  woman  ,   for  she  knows  pirates  would  hardly  give  a  care  for  her  ,   nor  would  they  listen  to  her  words  .   still  ,   if  she  ever  found  herself  on  a  ship  ...  well  ,   at  least  she’d  go  down  saying  some  very  heavy  handed  words  on  the  matter  .  

“The quietest place around,” Casey repeated. “This is a port city. The quietest places are going to be on the ship’s themselves.” He gestured vaguely towards the docks. “*But if you’re concerned about someone seeing you buying *books, you’re likely not interested in going to one of those.”

Casey thought about the other options. “The tavern will only be slightly quieter than the tavern associated with the brothel,” he settled on. “If you’d like company, I’d happy to escort you.”

        ‘  to  be  quiet  is  to  have  a  lack  of  noise  ,   there  must  always  be  a  place  less  quieter  than  somewhere  else  in  this  city  .  ’   whether  that  matters  on  time  ,   well  ,   she  doesn’t  have  the  liberty  or  freedom  of  time  .   girl  only  has  now  .   ‘  regardless  ,   i  have  no  business  on  a  ship  .   that  would  stick  out  more  than  me  in  a  rowdy  bar  .  ’  

“Whoa, lass,” Fane said, minding the bow as he hugged back. “Ow, ow, you don’t have to hit me.” He took a moment to put his violin away so that it wasn’t damaged. “I’m a wandering bard, I’m wandering and barding, and if I just so happened to wander and bard in the vicinity of one of my oldest friends, well, that’s not my fault.” It was.

“I know, I know,” Fane said, letting her lead him around back. “Normally, I get the chance to say goodbye, but this crew was sailing out immediately, and if I tried to leave, they were just going to take me and not pay me.” He smiled, ruffling her otherwise tidy hair. “They were fairly mundane as far as pirates go. Your usual scavenge and pillage. They did more scavenging, though. I don’t think they were all that good at being pirates.”

      ‘  i  hit  you  to  make  a  point  -  and  do  not  act  like  it  hurt !  you  and  i  both  know  you  have  experienced  far  worse  -  ’  yet  she  sticks  her  finger  into  the  dimple  of  his  cheek  ,   wiggles  it  childishly  ,   small  giggle  falling  from  painted  lips  .   ‘  one  of  these  days  father  is  going  to  catch  you  ,   and  then  i’ll  never  see  you  again  .   what  am  i  to  do  then ?  ’  as  if  she  hasn’t  threatened  it  a  thousand  times  before  ,   it’s  hard  to  tell  if  she’s  joking  or  not  ,   for  her  face  has  gotten  more  solemn  ,   and  as  dear  as  he  is  to  her  -  he’s  also  a  reminder  of  there  being  two  different  worlds  out  there  .   daniel  and  fane  were  just  lucky  to  have  theirs  collided  .  

Casey was in the market for a new hat. Dutch had left on what he’d called a ‘sabbatical year’, whatever that meant and effectively left Casey in charge of The Boneheart. And his hat wasn’t suited to any form of captain, acting or otherwise.

He’d just placed one on his head, eyeing his reflection in the looking glass when he heard someone speak. Casey caught her eyes through the mirror and turned, a full grin on his face. “Now, how am I going to tell on you, sweetheart?” he asked, passing a few pounds over for the hat without looking away from the young woman. “I don’t know your name. And as for a drink, well, I don’t know if you know this, but you’re in Nassau. A pretty gal like you is going to get noticed wherever you go.”

In the days after returning from his latest “kidnapping” on The Golden Wind, Fane grabbed his violin and his coin purse and headed out to Daniela’s family house. He was sure she’d be worried. He hadn’t had the chance to say goodbye this time. 

Upon arriving, Fane hopped up on a fence post and pulling out his violin. He started playing the song he always played when he got here, playing the melody repeatedly until he saw the familiar head of dark hair. “She is handsome, she is pretty. Oh, she’s the belle of Nassau city,” Fane sang, unable to hide his grin. “She is a-courting one, two, three. Pray, can you tell me who is she?“ 

Fane laughed softly, pulling the violin from under his chin. "Miss me, Lady Dani?” he asked, pointing the bow at her. “I’m fresh off the boat and back until another crew decides I’ll be a great temporary addition to the crew.”

         thoughts  run  a  mile  minute  when  she  hears  his  voice  ,   throws  the  covers  off  her  legs  before  running  down  the  stairs  and  THROWS  herself  into  his  arms  .   only  seconds  later  she’ll  pull  back  ,   hits  him   (  lightly  )  on  his  shoulder  and  points  at  him  ,   a  scolding  tone  on  her  face  .    ‘  what  are  you  doing !?  are  you  trying  to  get  me  locked  up  for  another  month ?  ’   she  asks  ,   shaking  her  finger  at  him  .   ‘  we’ve  known  each  other  how  long ?  ’