Thalassa
As expected, Maea had a lot to say. Thal remained unmoving through the entirety of her speech, her face a mask of indifference. Most of the crew stood similarly, a silent judgement being passed on her as they took their cues from the Captain. When she gave no reaction, they followed suit, crossing arms and standing stiff against their posts. Even when the final words were said, the silence was a palpable thing, thicker than the heat that pressed against their skin. It seemed to have a presence of its own, daring anyone to break the power it held.
Thal was the only one who dared. After a poignant pause, she spoke, her voice flat as she leveled her gaze on Maea. "That's a great story, and those are a lot of pretty words." Crossing her legs, she leaned forward to rest an elbow on her knee. "I just wish I believed them."
The story had been moving, full of things to pity and relate to. If she'd heard it before, she might have felt those emotions, growing closer with the sharing of her past. But Thal had let the wound scab over, soothing the ache with other friendships that didn't make her question her worth, and she no longer found herself wanting to crack it open for someone who hadn't given her a good enough reason to. Not when Maea's history came off as a tactic to pull at her heart strings, when her 'determination to change' had already failed on multiple occasions, when she made it sounds like friendship should be an exchange rather than a relationship.
Her head tilted, casual and devoid of emotions as her tail flicked idly behind her. "Amongst pirates, our word is a binding contract." She didn't hide or soften the word, her sharp eyes scanning for a reaction as she continued, "Once we lose that, we're nothing. We're untrustworthy and lawless." A few sailors nodded their heads in agreement. They may be beyond the laws of Caido, but they had their own system of morals, ones that guided them in trades and thin alliances with each other. Breaking that word was like severing the only lifeline they had to the shore, somehow expecting someone to swing by and save them even when there was always the possibility they would get stabbed in the back.
That's how Thal felt, and she wasn't sure she wanted to live with the uncertainty of Maea's alignment. "Even doubt is a hard thing to overcome, and on the open sea, it can be deadly." Not being able to trust someone to take orders, to watch your back, to stand with you; it was something that made people hesitate, costing them their lives. She didn't take those kinds of risks.
"When we question a crewmember's loyalty, we give them two options: walk the plank and take their chances with the gods," if they happened to survive, she didn't interfere, but there was no coming back from such a decision, "or, they face the captain in combat. Winning - or surviving - earns them a second chance. Losing..." Her smile was wicked, letting Maea infer what the results of failure might be. (Hint hint: it's usually death.)
Leaning back on her hands, her smile vanished, replaced with the stoic expression of a seasoned captain. "I'll give you the same options: leave now or face me. Your choice." In other words, 'Prove to me how much this supposed 'friendship' means to you.'
Thal was the only one who dared. After a poignant pause, she spoke, her voice flat as she leveled her gaze on Maea. "That's a great story, and those are a lot of pretty words." Crossing her legs, she leaned forward to rest an elbow on her knee. "I just wish I believed them."
The story had been moving, full of things to pity and relate to. If she'd heard it before, she might have felt those emotions, growing closer with the sharing of her past. But Thal had let the wound scab over, soothing the ache with other friendships that didn't make her question her worth, and she no longer found herself wanting to crack it open for someone who hadn't given her a good enough reason to. Not when Maea's history came off as a tactic to pull at her heart strings, when her 'determination to change' had already failed on multiple occasions, when she made it sounds like friendship should be an exchange rather than a relationship.
Her head tilted, casual and devoid of emotions as her tail flicked idly behind her. "Amongst pirates, our word is a binding contract." She didn't hide or soften the word, her sharp eyes scanning for a reaction as she continued, "Once we lose that, we're nothing. We're untrustworthy and lawless." A few sailors nodded their heads in agreement. They may be beyond the laws of Caido, but they had their own system of morals, ones that guided them in trades and thin alliances with each other. Breaking that word was like severing the only lifeline they had to the shore, somehow expecting someone to swing by and save them even when there was always the possibility they would get stabbed in the back.
That's how Thal felt, and she wasn't sure she wanted to live with the uncertainty of Maea's alignment. "Even doubt is a hard thing to overcome, and on the open sea, it can be deadly." Not being able to trust someone to take orders, to watch your back, to stand with you; it was something that made people hesitate, costing them their lives. She didn't take those kinds of risks.
"When we question a crewmember's loyalty, we give them two options: walk the plank and take their chances with the gods," if they happened to survive, she didn't interfere, but there was no coming back from such a decision, "or, they face the captain in combat. Winning - or surviving - earns them a second chance. Losing..." Her smile was wicked, letting Maea infer what the results of failure might be. (Hint hint: it's usually death.)
Leaning back on her hands, her smile vanished, replaced with the stoic expression of a seasoned captain. "I'll give you the same options: leave now or face me. Your choice." In other words, 'Prove to me how much this supposed 'friendship' means to you.'
Guess I got caught in the middle of it
Yes I've been taught, got a little of it
In my blood, in my blood
