“What’s the word, Silverfin? I understand you have learned what the Mami had given you a third leg for?” She smiled at him, flashing a top row of teeth as gleaming as the finest sea pearls.
“And you?” he frowned, looking from Mara to the door whence she had just exited. “I thought you said you don’t dothatanymore?”
“Not for coin,” Mara smirked.
The door opened again, and a tall person with long red hair and a hat pulled firmly over their face slinked out like an errant jellyfish and crept down the stairs. Silverfin found himself grinning at his sister.
“I see I’m not the only one in the family who has developed a penchant for a certain bipedal pelt coloring.”
“Shut up, you saw nothing,” Mara murmured and leaned closer. “So, tell me, brother. You are waiting for Hawk and Pane to divvy up a hefty prize in there, are you not?”
Silverfin bit his lip and averted his eyes. It wasn’t that he had any moral quandaries about lying, per se, but Mara had alwaysbeen his favorite sibling. And, well, if they ever did get the gold, surely he would share his portion with her regardless, if only to get her out of this reeking den of debauchery.
As luck would have it, at that precise moment, the opposite set of doors had opened and Hawk strode into the brothel, followed by a harried Ruiz.
“Come along, Mr. Silver,” Hawk’s tone hid a note of satisfaction. The negotiation must have gone well, Silverfin surmised, and attempted to rise from behind the table, refusing anyone else’s aid as he did so.
“See you when we’re back, Mara,” Silverfin smiled, hoping that the next time he saw his sister, it would be to share his good fortune and wealth with her.
Out in the street, Silverfin watched as Ruiz took his leave of the captain, having sent a wary look in his own direction.
“We are not returning to theOrca?” he asked Hawk.
“Not tonight. I had a better idea. Come.” Hawk’s hand gently steered Silverfin by his elbow. “How is your leg today?”
The question itself had been matter of fact, Hawk’s voice hiding no trace of pity in it, and yet, it made Silverfin flush to the roots of his formerly glorious hair.
“Still missing, Captain!” he snapped back in retort. “I’m more than just the sum of my missing parts, you know!” Little by little, what if Mami Wata took something else? A finger here, a toe there, until nothing was left but his heart. And that was probably the part of him the Pirate King had been least interested in to begin with.
Part of him wanted Hawk to, at least, have the decency to look hurt by his outburst. Instead, he merely sighed, lips pursing as he regarded Silverfin. At last, he hauled him up into what proved to be another bar, though this one, at least, smelled less of human rutting.
"Are you hungry? The food here is plain, but Elizabeth doesn't water the gravy."
Hawk's calm demeanor was difficult to stay angry at. Silverfin deflated, shaking his head. "Just tired, Captain. In truth... getting around on this... is more difficult than I would like it to be."
"Then we'll rest." The room he took Silverfin to was on the ground floor, simple and clean and with a very comfortable looking bed that made Silverfin very much want to sprawl out and sleep for weeks. But as soon as the door closed behind them, Hawk had drawn him close, one arm warm and strong around his waist as his lips found Silverfin's earlobe.
"You are much, much more than the sum of your parts. Missing or no," he murmured, voice throaty in a way that never failed to send shivers down Silverfin's spine. "I'm sorry if I made you feel otherwise."
“I’m sorry, too,” Silverfin muttered, leaning into the heat that enveloped him. “For losing my temper. I’m not used to being so... dependent.”
Hawk’s lips traced over the ligaments of Silverfin's neck, with gentle insistence, and once again his mind swam, bereft of any thought that he could hold onto for a life raft. If he could stay here, in this room, with Hawk, forever, doing nothing but this, then Mami Wata could definitely take his other leg, too.
“Finn?” Hawk’s breath tickled his earlobe.
“Y-yes?”
“We set sail tomorrow. And you still have to tell me the rest of theEstrela’s schedule.”
Silverfin's heart sank. Of course, that was why he was here, wasn't it? He pushed Hawk away, staggering back unsteadily. "I told you that you'd have it when you needed it. Isn't that good enough?"
Hawk's eyebrows knit. He took a careful step after him. "I'm just trying — "
"To what? To leave me behind? I have no other use to you, Captain. I'm a burden. You might as well leave me here with the leches and the drunkards."
“Well,Iam a lech and a drunkard. I might as well take you with me!”
“It’s all a big joke to you!”
