Year 765 The Storm Crawler Charge

Four Manuk rises had to pass in order to reach the Isles. Those bright days are the hardest for the expecting mage, one day of completely symptomless forgotten when these three intense morning sicknesses and sleepless nights wreck her. Food isn’t a possibility for Rhea on those days, to Connor’s displeasure. Rhea blames him for leaving those symbols out for her to see, her sickness only worsens afterwards. All her mind keeps thinking about are his goals and this new home everyone on this ship keeps murmuring about. A new home that feels more like a cage the more she ponders about it which didn’t help her health.

She’s been openly irritable, especially towards her husband. Her irritability feels misplaced lately since he had kept all the inquiries about the symbols to himself. Maybe not so surprising but he’s good at giving her space to breathe even when there isn’t enough room for it. Maybe it’s because he probably deals with plenty of moody seafarers or perhaps it is just her current health status. He won’t ever say to her like the plenty of other information he had withheld from her. It might have been humorous to see a giant man walk around her like he is on thin ice. Rhea will still find herself in a predicament whether she should confront him more or be patient. What keeps her from being too difficult is the fact that he had zero idea that she can read that cursed language. Then there is the fact that Connor had been super diligent when it comes to her physical needs. Food is delivered to her, and she isn’t expected to wake up early for anything. The coddling is annoying but not enough to make herself even more difficult. She fell for it hard.

Since she found out that Serana will be staying with Rhea as some midwife-whatever that is-and neither of them are happy with this arrangement. That old alchemist had been better at avoiding Rhea than her own husband and she is blind…

Serana’s young apprentice shall be traveling with the crew for reasons Rhea did not know, it probably had something to do with Ruffin.They had blossomed this friendship that even Connor won’t get in the middle of. Azar has somehow been “behaving” except when he hounds after either Rhea or strangely enough Serana. Rhea will never get the chance to know why…

The last morning sailing she awakes from the sound of yelling. After she hurriedly dress herself, she pokes her head out to see that they are preparing to dock. The female hugs her husband’s cloak tighter around her as she steps out to watch the ship closing in on the harbor. The cohesion of this crew fascinates her as they perfectly dock. In the distance, the confident voice of the captain perks her ears. His confidence is what kept this cohesion seamless, and he did it all well. She cannot see where he is, but she is certain he became one within the action of the crew. No matter how much she wants to watch her husband work, she is too keen to avoid him. If he saw her, he will drag her back inside.

Her arms cross over her chest, preparing to get an earful from her husband but enjoying the surge of chaos. She did notice Cid hauling rope around, and Iggy directing a team to disengage the cannons. Even Trevor helps with the folding of the sails. It is very likely that Gash taken control of the helm.

She did not see Ruffin, Eoman, Serana and Azar who are avoiding the chaos of the Nightmare Maiden by staying down below. The ship sways beneath her feet when it touches the pier. Once the ship settles, she waltzes on over the edge-ignoring the speculative looks-to investigate this new place. The pier is a little rickety, as if it hadn’t been maintained much in a while, holding enough strength to deal with a ship sized crew. Her eyes wander up to see a tiny villa, buildings built recently but in desperate need of repair. That part didn’t really matter so much since this place still looked better than Ormkirk, anything is better than Ormkirk. What really captivates her is the large green mountains that shape around this town like a crescent moon. All the mountains sport these lush rainforests genuinely like her old home and this part of the Isles made it grander in appearance. There is a large black manor, as dark as the wood on the Nightmare Maiden. It is far and alone away from the other building, sitting on top of a small cliff. She ponders if that is the place she will be staying, the sheer size of it brought on a shiver up her spine. Only Serana and I will be staying there? That is too big.

It is still a modest manor, smaller than the manor she burned in Damascus, but she is afraid of being in a large empty building all by herself. No matter how much she tried to force joy in seeing such a structure, it only brought more aches in her heart.

“Rhea!”

This sudden irritated call nearly had her jump into the water, recognizing the voice after some thinking. Who else would sound so mad? Her silver eyes shoot back at the culprit, a big grin on her face despite that she is technically at the wrong. "Captain. I was just sightseeing.”

Connor shakes his handsome face, sweat glimmers from his skin from charging to one side of the ship to the other. He still looks as ravishing as ever; her eyes skims over his sweaty body which reminds of he is hers for the taking. She shut those thoughts away since it is inappropriate to suggest anything lewd in front of the crew. He already corrected her once in the past. Rhea hardly understands the enforced modest practices of the Moarin-kind.

At this point, they have explored each other’s body enough time to start to draw them out of memory. Plus, she needs to stay upset to prove a petty point to him. Her attempts to be prickly melts instantly when he wraps an arm around her shoulders. Being this close brought on the blush on her cheeks; his displays of affection have become more frequent. In the past anyone who ogled them a little too long were usually served a deadly glare from the captain. From what she can tell, he is having a challenging time understanding that with public display means that people will comment or look at them. Hard to avoid it on this ship full of male pirates that find their captain’s affections towards her entertaining. His embrace is warm and welcoming despite the way he chastises which only gives her mix signals, “You know it is dangerous in your condition to be out here while we dock.”

“Vishka! You sound like Sabol not my husband.” Rhea snorts, leaning into his arm. She senses no malice in his tone, proof of an overprotective husband. He had admitted to her once before that all he worried about is her and their child. Still, accepting that reality only stirs the rebel in her. And the rebelliousness is twice fold till he gets around on telling her his goals. “As you can tell I kept my distance.”

“You clearly have a different idea of what distance is….” He pecks her forehead now, following his gaze where she had been staring at earlier. “Welcome home.”

“I…see…” She notices the others already start to file out from the ship and onto the old pier. A lot of them had family to meet up with so there is no waiting. Rhea already had her love near her so she can only imagine what they are feeling. Will Connor and I feel the same in the months to come? Her eyes shift to him finally. "You are my home. Not…a few walls.”

“A few walls that will keep you safe and not sick…. again.” Connor corrects her comment; this only had her groan so loud even a gullians roosting nearby are looking at her.

“You will not change my mind. That”- she points at the manor at the cliff sides. - “is intimidating.”

“Intimidating? “ Connor gazes at the same building, almost said this in a neutral tone but failed miserably. “Funny. I once thought that too not long ago.”

Rhea saw the bubbling of something darker beneath those copper eyes. It took a moment to remember; this is Connor’s inheritance from Master Roland. At least that is what he explained to her at the inn. That is too complicated and extravagant for a woman like her to understand when she normally got excited over utensils. Seeing him go through this dark cloud staves her irritation some more. “Then we both need to make it a home somehow.”

Connor is silent, she can feel his attention on her. If she had taken a second, she recognize the shock features he had. She isn’t one to easily speak with wisdom, it had been happening a lot lately. Instead of just agreeing, he finds the gal to correct her again. “I will do the work, you will rest.”

“Berhusk… I cannot even use my eyeballs.” Rhea rolls her eyes petting her stomach, she did it out of fascination. Plus, she can feel something, maybe not externally but their mana always swirling against her own. She can tell when it is going to be a dreadful day for her when even her own mana seems to chaotically dance with the smaller one. Today, she is given a compliant unborn child. “These restrictions are growing every day.”

“As long as you grow a little mortal in you then…yes…yes it will.” The Captain of the Nightmare Maiden returns, glancing behind them. The intrusion souring his tone. “Gash.”

“Sorry Capt’n. Didn’t mean to disturb “ Gash came around in their line of sight, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn’t look at all comfortable to interrupt. “Yer both need the break. But there’s somethin’ I need t’ speak t’ ye about.”

“Speak.” Connor does relax his features which is faster recovery than his usual. Unless it’s Azar, he will never relax around that one. His arms stay around her, now showing he wants her to stay to listen too. Rhea didn’t know how she felt about that. He’s been banning her from most of her original duties. She can’t even help Iggy melt more void rubies.

With no hesitation, Gash continues the conversation. “The admiral gave us money for the blue dust. How many are we givin’?”

“Twenty barrels full unless he flakes. That still leaves us ten for our own uses.”

Rhea straightens her lips on her face, not having a clue how this is all calculated. I do not want to go over finances again! Regardless, she listens thanks to Connor keeping her from going anywhere with that arm of his.

“And that old alchemist has some already. Lastly Capt’n, we have t’ pay respect t’ the families of our fallen mateys.”

A lump in her throat grew after the statement, feeling awful that she had pushed that in the back of her mind. Connor squeezes her shoulder, more than likely to soothe her. He answers curtly clean from any weakness, “I will be paying them a visit by myself. It is my fault for getting kidnapped in the first place.” Rhea gapes her mouth to retort; he cuts her off with ease. “Gash, get some rest. You’ve worked hard. I will be taking Rhea to the manor before I visit the families.”

Gash appears uneasy by this, just as uneasy as her. Why is he going to take on this task alone? Connor shoots him a stern gaze, “You will do as I say.”

“Aye aye.” Grumbles a very defeated Quartermaster, then he left their side.

Once he is completely out of their sights, Rhea did not wait to show her dissatisfaction. “You are not going to do this alone!”

“You are in no condition to have a say.” He said it clearly and unfiltered, stinging her ego in every way. What does he take me for?

Anger boils her mind; she slips out of his arm and storms towards the boarding line hollering. “Nope! Nope! Nope! You will have to hang me from my collar to stop me!”

“Rhea! Stop!”

“No! I cannot stay there knowing that you are handling this without any support. This is sounding a lot like not telling me about your goals. Why? My own husband believes I am some delicate egg!” She rambles while glaring up at the captain, her steps halts midway on the boarding line at least most of the crew aren’t there to witness their altercation. “I was just as much at fault for their deaths as you. Viskha!”

Connor stood there looking ready to outmaneuver her. Neither of them seems to want to stand down. “Because me telling you will make you sick. Besides, I am the captain, and I represent this crew, you don’t have a choice.”

Vishka, Vishka Vishka. Rhea is so upset she wants to shake him, but if she gets close, he’s going to stop her. Her fire in her burns but an ache in her stomach then lower back forces her to calm down. Serana’s warnings come back in her mind, how she could easily overwhelm their unborn child. Getting angry will hurt, and she felt it. Her sudden pause had even Connor change his tone completely. He is by her side in seconds, picking her up bridal style. Her faces burn with the sudden invasion of space, though she didn’t oppose it just shook her senses.

“I am okay.” Rhea mutters, holding onto him. Traitorous body!

“You didn’t look okay. What’s wrong?”

The concern surfaces his face, tucking away the captain façade. She’s seen this before when she gets sick. Did I look that bad?

“No. I felt a cramp. Sabol said that is a symptom. You can put me down.” This is not helping her win this argument.

“No. I’ll just take you to the manor-“

“Please no.” She really did not want to be seen like a meek damsel in his arms in front of people she had not met yet, it just stirs this anxiety into this suffocating feeling. Just like the many times she’s been on some stage to be….gawked at as if she were meat. Her hand reaches his face, feeling there is sweat from his earlier working and from this panic. Sweating isn’t something she can do, the moment of fascination tickles her mind. “I want to be by your side even for this. I already had to give up being part of this crew, and I cannot be by your side once you all return to the sea. Please let me be with you for these fleeting times.”