n o t o r i o u s

Rhymer, Rhymer, Rhymer. She certainly had a way of keeping to herself, even after all the months and the near death moments they’ve had together, Hideyo barely knew her. Not that he cared to know, whatever business she wants to keep to herself is exactly that. Her business. There were certain moments, however, where Hideyo wanted a peak at just what Rhymer was thinking, at what triggered her reflex of silence.

“Rhymer, if I didn’t know any better,” he eyed her curiously, speaking in a low tone.  “I’d say yer getting nostalgic on me.” He scoffed, smile on his face but no joy in his voice. “The sea changes us,” He repeated her words, but with more disdain. He looked out towards the ocean, towards where Rhymer looked before taking a moment to speaking again, “I suppose it has to change you, otherwise it’d just be a giant graveyard.” He laughed along halfheartedly, breathing out a long sigh. 

Hideyo repeated her again, though in a different tone. “Don’t be cheatin on cards” He chuckled genuinely at the words, turning his gaze from the sea back towards Rhymer. “Ahhh”  He slapped his hand on her shoulder, leaving it there after initial impact. “Gotta say, not looking forward to you changin’ from now.”  He looked away lazily, “Don’t know who else I’ll find to pre-listen my shit.”

Rhymer tensed a little as Hideyo clapped her on the shoulder, wincing as his hand collided, sending a tremor through her body. She laughed in spite of the pain, “I don’t think I’m a woman who changes too much, Hideyo--not sure if you’ve noticed,” she said with a dark laugh, shaking her head and holding an arm across her torso, where her pain seemed to radiate from.

“As much as my morals have ever-so-slightly shifted, don’t know if it’ll be permanent.” Did this life mean anything to her? What did it matter--her old life had gone up in flames and there was no turning back, not that she had ever been looking for that. Rhymer didn’t quite know what it was that she was looking for--something more, most likely... But what that was, she hadn’t any idea.

“Just….” He looked at her curiously, placing his guitar down for a moment.  “Just… having fun, right?” He sang, swaying his head to the beat.  “That ye must admit, those fuckers deserved it.“  Not that Hideyo particularly cared if they did or not, but it certainly felt more fair. Leaving his guitar in the sand Hideyo continued his pacing “I’ll have keep my eye on you then, if that’s the case, or else they’ll do away with me.”

He sighed. “It’s been a while since we’ve done anything like that, Rhymer.” A tad too long for Hideyo’s liking, but he had accepted that. “Sometimes I think I should just, throw this away,” He pulled out his sword to add to his drama, swaying it around carelessly.  While their usual hit and run tactics got them quite a bit of money, it certainly didn’t leave much room for thrill. 

With a chuckle to his voice, he looked to Rhymer. “Were you ever not?” He teased her. Rhymer was definitely one to resort to violence as a last resort, all too unwilling to kill for ‘no good reason.’ It was great to see what these reasons amounted to.  

“As if the Captain would ever do away with you--your songs have gotten the ship through some tough times, now,” Rhymer adjusted her stance, a little uncomfortable at the question. She elected for a shrug--she hadn’t disclosed her background to many people, to anyone in this new life of hers really, but the memories of her time in the Navy truly cause a ripple of nausea to spread through her body. The men were no better than those who the Navy deemed pirates--they were monsters just the same, hiding behind a uniform and the sanction of Kings.

A small smile danced on Arno’s face “But of course madam. I have always been quite lucky.” There was a slight tension in the air. Arno didn’t like it. “Perhaps, a drink then? Since the game wasn’t quite a fun one?” He was already standing. He wasn’t sure if she was actually going to say yes, but he was heading to the bar regardless of if she knew that or not.

The stranger was just like every other over-confident man that Rhymer had met before. His clothes were too tailored, Rhymer assumed he was just another person who strived for the appearance of perfection, a facade that he likely couldn’t afford to drop. But, with a roll of her eyes, she took the offer a free drink, wary of all around her, especially this man.

She followed him to the bar, sitting down but keeping a stool between them. waiting for the tankard of ale, rum--whatever it was. Rhymer looked at him expectantly, “Well?” Her voice was monotonous. “You’re treating me with these... Hard-earned,” the word dripped with sarcasm, “winnings?”

Compliments from Rhymer were rare, so Hideyo took them when he could, though he was fairly sure that Rhymer wasn’t too well versed in music. “Repetition is the sincerest form of flattery,” He leaned towards her, placing an arm on her shoulder.  “so maybe I’ll hold you to that.”  He stepped back again, pacing slowly around Rhymer. “Although I should thank you for that bif of …entertainment earlier.Goes to show you, Nassau?” He shot a glanced towards town, “hasn’t changed much.”

Rhymer half scoffed, half laughed as she shook her head, looking to where he did, toward the port town along the coast of New Providence. It really hadn’t changed. Though citizens had grown up, moved along, changed careers--died... It seemed like Nassau laid untouched by the Empire ruled by London, far from its reaches, yet still a jewel that they wanted.

“That was not me trying to be entertaining...” She said, finally speaking. Rhymer was quite the opposite, a woman who described herself as boring, much-preferring loneliness to any company. “Just...” Was it justice? Was the life of a pirate stripping her of her morals? The Cutlass, to Rhymer, was unlike any other ship--there was no unnecessary, grusome murders. They stole from those who could afford it, and many times, the ships were insured ten times over. “Hm. But if you were so entertained, you may have to watch out. You may have competition.”

Before the cards even hit the ground, more than half the other players were stood up, outraged. Some people in the bar who looked on seemed worried, fellow crewmates perhaps.

Hideyo kept eyes on the initial cheater, his disappearance happening just before the dealer showed his tricks. He felt the tapping on the floor, swiftly pulling out his sword and bearing the blade against the mans neck as he tried calling away. 

Hideyo didn’t glance at him. “Uh-uh,” he hummed, his voice turning into a serenade. “Don’t you remember what I said?” He lightly pressed the blade into the man’s skin, “Yer luck ran out.” He looked down, smirk on his face as he whistled a soft, low tune, just for the man to hear before slicing his sword. 

Hideyo’s dramatics were always a joy to see in action--even though the steely expression changed his face was chilling to the bone. Both crewmates sprang into action, swords were out and outrage radiated through the small, but full, tavern. Their annoyance bubbled into anger, which was only contagious in an environment full of drunkards, aching for gold that they’d likely never seen.

Rhymer and Hideyo were back to back, swiping at the cheat’s accomplices, men from other tables who were there as backup, or doing the same. It had seemed that the two pirates of the Cutlass had fallen into a long, long-standing operation--not that either of them cared when they were being cheated of their hard earned money.

The House wasn’t going to win this time.

Once they’d beat and sliced their way through enough bastards, Rhymer took the satchel of coin that was rightfully theirs and the two of them pushed their way out, swiping at those who attacked them before finally reaching the door and splitting ways, knowing they’d meet up again later, just to see their haul and check on one another.

Kingsley opened his mouth to make some witty retort, before his brain fully processed the voice. Rhymer. Realising that trying to lie to her was futile, he peeked at her over the top of the pages. “No, I suppose not.” He closed the battered book and put it down on his desk carefully. “Curse you and your perceptiveness. If it was Alistair, I definitely would’ve gotten away with it.” 

He beckoned her inside, letting her know her presence was quite welcome. “Tell me, Rhymer, would you call me a fool for being hesitant to leave my ship in the very port where it began its journey? I have this… odd sense of foreboding.” Perhaps it was just the long trip that had brought them back to Nassau that had tired him, making him more wary about his surroundings. It couldn’t hurt to see if he was the only one feeling that way though. 

Rhymer listened. She was good at it, letting people talk and work things out themselves, speaking in circles until they came to an answer. She liked listening. There were those, of course, whose words she couldn’t stand whatsoever--but overall, if those she cared about had something to say, Rhymer would always lend an ear. She watched the way his expression changed as Kingsley spoke--he was so young and looked even younger, and his face did nothing to help this appearance.

It was still very hard to believe that a boy of his age could be a captain. But--he was effective. The crew split things evenly, rarely got into scrapes they couldn’t handle--and because of that, it was easy to respect and expect much from the young captain. It could even be easy for some of the crew to forget just how inexperienced Kingsley was. “When you feel that, you listen.” Her words were simple, easy to remember.

“Never ignore that,” it was that same sensation, the empty feeling in her gut, that had saved her life, and the lives of others, countless other times. “You are going to be different every time you come back, but this port’ll stay the fuckin’ same--the world’s funny that way,” her voice, as per usual, had the same low and rather monotonous sound, not too much infliction, “just keep your wits about you.”

Arno grinned and dealt the cards. At first it was simple, people winning randomly. Then the accused kept losing. Everything that he had won was divyed back out to the table fairly evenly. “Well I suppose that we should call this game while it’s even then? Before someone were to get shot.” He glances at the pistol in the table, then back around the people at the table. Most seemed to agree with him, the one accused of cheating eager to get out of there. “What do you say madam? Had enough of this game?” It appeared that everyone was going home with more than they had started with, the cheater with less. But if someone was paying close enough attention they would see that Arno was making out quite well in this game.

It seemed that Rhymer let Hideyo play his little game. He’ll thank her for that later. “Right then, I’ll start,” He threw a couple extra coins into the pile, giving the main winner a daring smile. “Pfft, afraid of winning now? Maybe ya should shoot him.” Egging him on seem to work, as he now laid in front of them a much larger sum of money. Hideyo ‘drunkenly’ laughed

It was all about timing, Hideyo had been watching his movements for a couple games now and knew just when to play his act. Just as this stranger reached for the dealers hand,  the table lurched up as Hideyo ‘caught’ himself from falling off his chair, “Ah, apologies,” he laughed as he leaned forward. The cards dropped more haphazardly than the dealer likely intended, but it was just enough to give everyone here a fair shot. He surely wouldn’t debate it. 

The round played out and surprisingly, our friendly neighborhood cheaters’ hand wasn’t so great. “Mmm, maybe yer luck ran out?” Hideyo reached for the coin the loser specifically placed, “Shame.”

Hideyo was gracefully disgraceful. It was almost an art form, Rhymer thought, though it felt a little much to herself--she was never one for much showmanship. The game, for just a moment, for just enough, was thrown into Chaos, and the deed was done: everything was out of the accused's hands, and right into God’s. And it so seemed that he was smiling right down on them, just as so many missionaries stated he never would on the lives of pirates.

Suddenly a loser, the man was outraged, but the other patrons insisted on another round. It played out--and Rhymer was the bigger winner, with a hand that was almost as unbelievable as the man before hers. “Hm,” she snorted, sneering right at him. She tossed the flagon before her toward the dealer--he stumbled and foolishly, haphazardly, and the deal was finished.

“Ahhh,” he played a chord, “So we meet again,” he laughed, drifting towards her. While being at port was usually at least somewhat entertaining, fun it was much more fun this time around with the Cutlass crew. It felt a lot… happier, to say the least. 

Hideyo thought about her question for a moment before bursting into song.  “T’was a game, t’was a shame, on his rise to fame, The cheating bastard met his end, he and his friend maimed.” He spun, ending the short song with bow. “I suppose I don’t, although I’ll probably change the tune of that one.” He sneered, the last bit not being one of his better works. 

Perhaps it was hypocritical of Kingsley, telling his crew it was important to spend some time in town while he himself had refused to leave the ship, but he didn’t care. While Nassau did hold fond memories for him as the port that began his adventure, he knew it could just as easily herald the end too. Two years ago, when he’d come to Nassau to track down the infamous Alistair Flint, he’d had nothing to lose. Now he had everything.

He’d been staring out the porthole, watching the wide open sea, when he heard the creak of footsteps against wood. He quickly moved over to his desk and plonked down into his chair, picking up a book while he did so. By the time the person reached the doorway, the book was held up and blocking his view, giving him the pretense of seeming busy. “Yes?” he asked to the silence, sounding bored. “Can’t you tell I’m busy?”

Rhymer, unlike a few people she knew, was more of the type to stay behind on the ship while docked at a port. There never seemed to be much offered in the way of pleasures, and Rhymer felt much more comfortable within the darkness of a ship she knew well rather than a wide, open port town which had much unpredictability. This did not mean there weren't instances where she found herself leaving the Cutlass for a break--time spent away from people she was often holed up with for months was eventually needed every now and again. This was one of them--and at the least, she could see if anyone else who had stayed back needed anything.

Being a rather perceptive individual, she hadn’t seen Kingsley disembark and decided to travel down to his quarters to see if anything was ailing him or if there happened to be anything he needed from the shops of Nassau. “Busy?” She snorted, “I don’t think anyone reads for long like that.”

While the chaos of Nassau was fun, Hideyo couldn’t only take so much of the same brawls and the same drunk pirates before he got bored of it. He found himself walking along the beach, playing, rather loudly, a sea shanty. As he walked, there was a sway to his movements, half dancing to his music, half from the earlier drinking. For a moment, he was at peace. 

At first he heard footsteps but he paid them no mind, continuing his playing. It wasn’t until he heard someone humming along did Hideyo stop. “Ah, “ He quickly turned, “So you know this song then?” He played the following notes, humming along to the next verse. 

“No, but I’ve heard you sing it enough,” Rhymer said, a rare smile spreading over her lips. “Should’ve known that I’d find you singing somewhere,” she said it rather lightheartedly, unsurprised that Hideyo was singing as he walked along the beach of the island--especially not after their recent escapade. The escape was a rather chaotic one--but they made their way into shadows and lost any pursuers, going their separate ways for a time before coming across one another again.

Hanson didn’t gamble himself, but he had to get away from the ship and watched this whole situation play out. He was already a few drinks in now and this whole…disturbance was disturbing his time away from his crew. “Honestly, just shot the man and stop making a fuss!” He yelled from the bar. “Why argue and start a fight when you could end it now?” Good one less pirate and I didn’t even do anything. It’s a wonder that they don’t kill themselves off. 

Arno rolled his eyes at the other fellow. Honestly, it was the easiest thing to spot. The fellow was clearly cheating. With that stupid grin on his face as he won more and more money. Arno was honestly surprised it took the rest of the table so long to catch on. The pistol was a bit excessive though. He let out a sigh as the woman asked if the rest of the table would like an explanation, most of the table looked like they were about to fight. Honestly, can’t it just be a simple game of cards for once in this port? He brushed some dirt off of his suit in disgust looking around the bar. Clearly, he chose a poor bar for a simple game. Best make the best of it then. 

Arno cleared his throat and spoke “Well it is obvious, isn’t madam? The fellow is cheating. But instead of blowing his brains out, might I make another suggestion?” He paused for a moment, tapping the top of his cane. “I suggest another hand in which this here…fine fellow, wagers all that he has yet won, back to the table. As well something a bit…extra. Say a finger or two. Maybe an eye. I would leave that choice up to you madam, as the one who caught the cheat.” A sly grin crossed his face “I would of course deal this hand, as the neutral party, of course.”

The man speaking up seemed suspicious--too well dressed and dripping with over-confidence to be someone she could trust, even an inkling. Madam, she rolled her eyes, looking away from him and instead toward the accused, gesturing with her pistol that he stand up--him doing so almost immediately. She hardly heard the peacock a few seats away. “Hm?”

A finger--gruesome, but effective. Surely something someone would remember for future, friendly games. The grin that stretched over his thin lips made her stomach turn, “Deal it out, then,” her voice was low and gruff. It was clear she was far over this game and not at all interested in further fooling around--from anyone.