She found him easily, and she couldn’t help the grin that stretched across her face when she saw him. “Hi there, handsome,” she greeted him teasingly. “Long time, no see.” She practically skipped toward him, bouncing on her the soft pads of her feet when she found herself in front of him. “Care for a drink?” 

Kinzie hated being separated from her crew, and while she had seen some of her mates during the lockdown and then the journey to the new island, she had yet to see Cyd. While texting kept them in contact, she knew that she would feel a lot better after seeing him face to face. She also knew that he would be working, considering he didn’t know how to just relax. 

Walking around, gaining her bearings on the new isle, she moved around pirates and royals alike trying to do the exact same thing. It took her the good part of the afternoon to find Cyd. When she did, she smirked to herself and took off running, jumping up onto his back when she was close enough. Covering his eyes, she laughed into his ear. “Guess who,” she ordered, licking her lips and biting down, trying to conceal her laughter. 

Kinzie hummed in agreement, smiling sleepily as she padded fully into his bedroom and made her way over to the bed. She knelt at the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping under her weight, and crawled to him, situating herself side him. She curled up against him, resting her head against his chest. “Thanks,” she said quietly. Despite the fact that most of their rendezvous were sexual in nature, she found that Cyd was one of the most genuine friends she had, and she was glad she could come to him when she was feeling down. “You’re a very large teddy bear, Cyd Gallowglass,” she teased, tiredly. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “But don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. Wouldn’t want to ruin your cred.” 

“I don’t see why we can’t,” Wendy said, watching Cyd with a defiant expression on her face. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her face pinched inward slightly. “What’s the harm in it? You get more information from me, I trust you a little more,” she listed. “I think the lot of you would be better off trying to get to know the people that you have taken as captives. It would certainly be beneficial, I’m sure, to know what we’re like. What we’re capable of.” 

“You could have died, Cyd,” Kinzie responded, rolling her eyes as she finished cleaning the barrel of the gun she was holding and placing it back down on the table in front of her. Pressing her hands against the wood, she took a breath before looking over at him. She smiled gently. “I’m glad that you’re okay, that you’re safe. But I can’t shake the feeling that you and Emerson and everyone on that ship were... lucky. And then we need to be a little more grateful for it.” 

Kinzie was fuming, her rage simmering just below the surface as Cyd continued to pull her away from the fight that had almost broken out. Her knuckles were itching to hit something, someone, and there was smoke practically coming out of her nose, her ears, her mouth. If she had the ability, she probably would have burned Cyd’s hand with how hot she felt.

“They deserved it,” she argued, glaring at him as she pulled herself away from his grasp and crossed her arms over her chest. “Did you not hear the names they called me? The other shit they said? They need to learn a lesson.”

The other pirate leveled a much too expectant expression at her, and she huffed, turning and walking away from him. She knew that he was following, hearing the footsteps behind her. He said her name, and she shook her head. “I get you don’t want me getting into trouble, that it’s not good for the ship, blah, blah, blah,” she listed, her voice lowering to mimic his. “But you have to let me fight my own battles. I don’t care the odds.”

Turning abruptly, she put her hand against his chest, stopping him. Meeting his gaze, she shook her head once. “I don’t care if you’re my superior. You will not do that again. You’re not my father, nor are you the boss of me. Emerson is. So I suggest you mind your damn business if it doesn’t involve you.”