**ok dudes i'm just going to keep posting this. feedback is appreciated.**

Chapter 2

The force of Ari's rather impulsive leap out the window nearly knocked the breath out of him as his boots sank into familiar wood that caved under his weight.

"Home sweet home," he muttered, a self-satisfied grin pulling on the ends of his mouth.

They'd landed neatly on the deck of his ship, recognizable by the tattered sails and awkwardly placed furniture. He looked around, eyes automatically flicking about to make sure everything was in place— though, truthfully, nothing was ever in place. Not on Ari's ship— the top deck was the least of it. This part of the ship, at least, was somewhat uncluttered. As for the rest of it— well, he didn't truly need all of the paintings and strange gypsy knick-knacks (that stupid fortune teller's orb wasn't even legitimate) that scattered the floor like clinging moss.

His ship was unique, he decided as he absently planted his prisoner on the deck feet first and took a moment to catch his breath. And to be unique was undoubtedly a good thing.

As he wandered over to the side of the deck he tugged his mask off with one hand and raked his fingers through his hair. The ocean spray stretched over the railing to sting his cheeks, and the wind pulled mercilessly at his skin. The view of the ocean was breathtaking enough; miles and miles of endless black ahead of them. To Ari, there was something comforting about a bottomless space. It was perpetual; steady. Reliable.

Releasing a puff of breath, Ari turned back to his ship, and the five members of his crew that had accompanied him. They were each silent, shuffling their feet as they awaited orders.

"Well?" He demanded, projecting the force of his glare onto a raggedy boy who stood awkwardly near the steering wheel. "Don't just stand there like an oaf, move!"

"Yessir!" The boy quickly moved to the task, clamping onto the wheel and vigorously heaving it to the side.

With an impressive groan, the ship slowly continued its descent down the Detache Ocean, heralded by the tropical winds and angry shouts from the saloon at the marina. The party guests that Ari and his crew had robbed had stormed out of the building and were screaming vague threats in the direction of the ship that was now somewhat smugly bobbing off into the distance.

Ari planted his hands on his hips and almost smiled, the corners of his lips twitching up in appreciation of the cool breeze. Ha.

"That went well, I believe-" he began, starting to turn around only to feel a stab of cold metal at his throat.

"Don't move," someone commanded, a glint of steel in an otherwise pleasant voice.

Ari sighed and slowly rotated around, feeling the sharp point slide faintly along his skin as he did so.

Miss Dimitri stood in her white muslin dress- it was rather muddy, now- firmly pointing one of his own swords to his neck. She took up a defensive position; one foot slightly in front of the other.

Ari obeyed her save to raise his eyebrows. "You can't be serious," he deadpanned.

Her voice hardened. "I am." A determined frown deepened her features, and there were no signs of mercy in her wide, hazel eyes. Her stance was confident and she held her sword like she knew what she was doing. Her left side was unprotected, however, and it didn't take Ari long to notice.

He moved swiftly. Taking advantage of the brief pause, he jumped backwards and out of the way. With his left hand he snatched a poker that was leaning against the railing beside them and knocked her sword to the side. Miss Dimitri was taken by surprise, and barely managed to keep her grip on her weapon as it sliced through the empty air.

Ari tossed his poker to the other hand, a slow grin spreading over his cheeks. "Well?"

She lunged forward, but he easily parried her blow and stepped to the side.

"Mm, a bit slow," he taunted. "Quicker, this time. One, two...now!" Metal clanged together as he brought his weapon up to meet hers.

Ari flashed her a confident grin- he was going to win this one.

Then, quick as a whip, Miss Dimitri tugged on the rope beside her, and a loose topsail blanketed downward, covering Ari like a sheet. He stumbled backwards, dropping his poker, and instantly fell to the ground. His elbows stung as they scraped against the wooden planks of the ship.

Miss Dimitri kicked his poker aside with one silk slipper. Her sword triumphantly sliced through the air and halted just before his throat, hovering by his collarbone.

Ari's breathing was heavy and wary as they stared at each other across the expanse of her sword.

Finally, he let out a resigned laugh. "Alright, alright, miss, I concede."

"Of course you concede." The furrow in Miss Dimitri's eyebrows relaxed suddenly, and her concentrated expression dissipated into a dimpled smirk. Her sword fell to the deck with a clatter. "This must mean that I win. Again," she chirped brightly.

Ari rolled his eyes. "Say what you will to appease yourself, Aveline." He took her extended hand and pulled himself upright.

"You were late," Aveline accused, wiping a smudge of soot off of her cheek. "Hale's breath reeked. Garlic."

"Apologies. We did hurry." Ari fell into step with her as they approached the deck railing. He paused to button his wrist sleeve, watching her piercing gaze rove over the ocean. "Did you find what we needed?"

"Did you ever doubt me?" Without looking down, she produced a small brown satchel from the inside of her sleeve. He grinned and started to reach for it before she jerked it out of reach.

"Politely," Aveline warned, swinging the satchel from her fingers.

"Hand it over, you twit. How's that?"

She huffed. "You want to get strangled, or what?"

Ari sighed. "Aveline, may I please-"

WIth a snap of her wrist, she hurled it towards his head with lightning speed. Ari barely caught the pouch before it slammed into his jaw. Scowling, he shuffled it into his jacket pocket, and when he looked at her again, Aveline was laughing.

Ari could remember a period in his life where Aveline Dimitri was not present. He simply preferred not to.

Lively, clever, and charming, his pretty childhood friend was sure to be liked wherever she went. As Ari tended to have the opposite effect on people, it was a marvel to everyone else that the pair were inseparable.

"Another success," said Aveline as she pressed her cheek against the railing, watching the black waves churn against the boat. She tossed small crumbs of a roll into the water, smiling absently as several codfish immediately rocketed up to the top and began sucking at the surface with their large, sticky mouths. The fish clouded the spot with their silvery fins as they darted through the waves.

"Ugh," Ari shuddered from behind her. "I absolutely despise that noise they make with their mouths," he continued, his tone dry, as usual, and carrying the cadences of faint sarcasm."Really, it's quite disgusting. It reminds me of that one opera singer we saw in Vineze who opened her mouth too widely when she sang, and there would be a bit of saliva on her chin...that's what those fish look like." Ari tended to babble, sometimes on purpose.

"You are rather frightened of sea creatures for a sailor, Mr. Carondelet," She teased, pulling pins from her hair to loosen it.

"Frightened?" Ari scoffed. "Who said I was frightened? Merely nauseated," He leaned back a tad to give her a quick, haughty once-over and sniffed. "You may want to go inside and dress. You look like a heathen."

"Try pirate," Aveline retorted, glancing helplessly down at her attire. Her dress had ripped at her knees and was soaked with saltwater around the edges of the hem, and she was sure her cheeks were equally dirty, if not worse.

"In any case, that was your last white dress, and I know how particular you are about your clothes." Her companion's eyes glinted smugly, and the effect might have been annoyingly charming had Aveline not known better.

He was rather beautiful, she sometimes grudgingly supposed; he was fortunate that his messy curls of hair suited him. And his dark eyes could be lovely at times.

But, much like an exasperated sister with an attractive sibling, Aveline didn't seem to notice as she snatched that stupid hat he was wearing off his head and placed it on her own. "Helpful as usual, Captain."

As Ari wandered away, Aveline knelt down to scoop a small, struggling trout from one of their fishing nets, and a few moments later it landed with a squelching noise onto Ari's beloved hair.

His shrieking was immediate.

"Welcome back, milady," a crew member called shyly from his spot at the wheel, his voice carrying slightly above Ari's vehement cursing.

Aveline tipped her hat at the boy, her eyes brightening a touch in the radiance of the ocean moon. "It's good to be home."

***

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