Another Vivacity

Year 765 Manuk Soulstone

Rhea appears from the hatch, then steps onto the deck. Manuk's beautiful rays greet her. It felt so great on her face, even as the throne sank close to the horizon. She slows her pace to relish the intense heat. Wandering around the deck to take it all in, she barely notices that her aimless sauntering will lead her to the helm deck. The woman didn't even notice the one manning the helm watching her the whole time as she ride her fingers along the railing of this ship. The woodwork is admirable, tempting her to inspect each part of the ship while the captain is too busy to yell at her.

"Rhea..."

Strange, his voice must have been imprinted into her mind to have her hear it now. It must have been from all the yelling that she had to endure.

"Rhea!"

That is real! Rhea snaps her spine straight, turning her tense frame to face the current helmsman: Captain Connor.

You... vishka!? " Chathalic-rues . Miste-I mean-Captain!?"

Captain Connor opted out of his famous red draken coat to better endure his four-hour shift in the scorching heat. His button shirt is rolled up to his elbows, so she can finally see the pronounced forearms of a sailor right then and there. They prove her speculations that he trains tirelessly, not just on the maps and delegating.

The first two buttons are left open, his neck glistening in the orange light as well as the dip of his wet cleavage out for her to see. This man fills up his top, hiding barely anything. It shapes every flex of his body like a wet second skin. The sweat just made the fabric cling to his skin. His conservative attire for the past few days made her feel wrong for staring at his current underdress state.

It's ridiculous to perceive him in such a way since he still had sleeves and long pants. He even dons his satchel with the mysterious bottles that are strap across his broad chest. His sword and pistol are secure to his waist. Then he wears a waterskin jug hanging on a rope over his shoulder.

A white fabric ties his brown hair away from his forehead, potentially to reduce the sweat from his eyes. Sweat did collect on this stoic captain. However, on the way his calloused fingers rope around the pegs of the helm wheel, he isn’t at a point of being dangerously uncomfortable.

"What are you doing?" The question should not even exist with the way he shot her this pointy stare. Full of rightful judgement, not caring if she had an excuse to be here. Simply expecting her to run back to her room the moment he laid his sight on her.

"Okay~! I am sorry. I will go back..." Rhea face the stairs but that is as far as she moves.

"Rhea." His tone is ticking up to correct her.

She isn't going to let him. Her whole-body advances towards the captain, pointing at the water skin hanging rather lightly on him. "You need more water."

"There is absolutely no need for you-"

The woman ignores the intimidating aura or the fact that he is the type of gender she normally keeps her distance from, forgetting common decency somewhere in her room as well. She unhooks the empty waterskin jug from the rope, avoiding his reaching hand by a few steps backwards. Too fast for him, or he can’t try harder since he had to steer.

"By the gods...You really don't listen." He grumbles and rubs his wet face with his outstretched hand instead.

"Nope! For some reason, you seem to lose your memory on the terms of our contract a lot." Rhea glares at him, weary of his arrogance. He is still a mortal man, bound by limitations. "Never mind. Give me a few breaths."

This whole crew depends on his livelihood, meaning he cannot even chance forgoing water because of some strange pride.

He drives me insane. These thoughts circle her head, setting her face in a sour position the whole time. Even as she finds a barrel full of clean water, dunks the waterskin till it is completely engorge with it. Even as she rushes back, the cloud of negativity is as obvious as the waterskin pregnant with water.

"Here." Rhea motions the jug at him.

Captain Connor shifts his gaze from her sour face to the jug.

"Stop that! There is no poison!" Rhea reads into his speculative gaze.

"I know. I was watching you the whole time." The captain takes the jug and chugs down half's worth of what is in it.

Brat. "See...you needed water." Rhea rolls her silver eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. Sometimes she wonders if he is more stubborn than she is.

Captain Connor finishes his water inhalation, letting out a rather content sigh. Hearing him say or sound off any positivity is strange to her. That is why she nearly lost her jaw when she heard these words for the first time. "Thank you."

Holy Manuk! He thanked me!

"I-um-right...just doing as promised." Rhea shifts her reddened face away; she thought he will die before ever uttering those words to her.

"I'm considering recanting those terms since you have disobeyed me at every possible angle...in four days' time."

"That is not fair! Do you just think I should know everything in four days?" Rhea snaps, her red face now meaning something else entirely. He can't have a conversation with her without trying to irk her.

"I am merely sharing my fleeting thoughts. My expectations are high, but four days is unrealistic time for anyone." Connor muses, his attention on the horizon ahead of them. The wheel is kept in place by one hand alone.

So...he is just trying to only annoy me. Great!

"Oh...okay!" There is nothing okay about what she just heard. However, she chose to stay civil around him. She still worries that he might be too low on energy to bicker with her and man the helm. There will be a later date to revisit these arguments.

"Tell me...why did you agree to join the crew?" Connor asks out of the thin air. The heat of the sun did not burn away the energy to be nosy.

Rhea did not like this question. It meant going back to the memories of her pseudo-family. The one she had to give up helping Connor. The possibility of them becoming a true family but never being able to find out stings her heart hard. She was so close...

"I...do not have anywhere else to go." Rhea answers anyway, her gaze glaring down at the planks below her heeled feet.

"No other family?" Connor pries further and she hates him for it.

Why is he asking all this now?

"My parents joined the trail... I never got to settle since." This isn't what Rhea needs to hide from him. Still, the pain digs into the old mental wounds. Her defensive nature kicks in. "I do not see how knowing helps."

"It helps me understand who I just hired on my ship." Connor's blunt words made her embarrassed to even get so offended in the first place.

There is no real reason to be upset over him asking simple personal questions. It isn't like there is a viable way to use this information against her. Her parents had been dead for a while; there had been too many births moons to still be debilitated by it.

The orphanage really didn't feel correct to be her home either. She wants it to be desperately, that is why it hurt to be asked about it again. It is like being reminded over and over of what she can never have.

What is wrong with me?

"Do you hate it here?" Another one of that man's insufferable questions.

This time she springs her face up, raising one of her brows at him. "No...why are you asking?"

"Hmph." Connor didn't sound ready to be next in the interrogation block. He is good at keeping the ship straight ahead with all this probing that he is doing, looking like he was about to ignore her question entirely. The silence was damning; she could have burned two holes in him with all the heated glaring.

"I noticed you wear your feelings out on display a lot. I saw a lot of the faces you made during our training and when around the other crew members. I assume it has something to do with this place."

"Oh...I am frustrated about my own progress; you really are a ruthless teacher and do not wait for me to absorb any information..." Rhea's honesty drips out of her, not holding back even if it did offend Connor. He is asking in the first place.

"We are the only ones in a room when we go through these sessions. And you're oddly brave enough to fall asleep during it regardless of the facts..."

"Bah! That was one time!" Rhea's pout deepens, crossing over to the railing in front of the helm to keep her face away from the captain. He always had something to say to belittle her with. It is rather tiring to spend time going back and forth like this. If Manuk ever finds the perfect soul for the captain, that individual will have many struggles. They stand there in another awkward silence with him drinking more of his jug and she relishes the sunlight that is left. Weird how she isn't trying to leave his side anymore. There is a bucket-full list of reasons why she should be trying and yet she isn't moving. Maybe she is getting ill to the head?

"Everyone is hiding from the sun and yet you are out here enjoying it. Perhaps I should task an outdoor job for you." Connor finds his voice once more, shifting the wheel to the right.

"Will it involve food?" Rhea asks hopefully. With her influence, she can somehow change the portion size of every day's meals. She is even locking eyes with the captain to try to bend his will to her favor.

"Vaphicus will never forgive me." Connor's jest came out of nowhere, with no smile to carry the weight of the humor. It made it hard for her to choose between either smiling at him or motioning a very rude hand gesture towards him. Instead, she is happy someone is bounding up the steps to interrupt.

The blond hair and short stature gave the identity of the interrupter away. Ruffin pants, sweating as he gets there. He looks as sweaty as the captain, proving that he had been searching for her.

"There you are! I thought I never—ah!" The boy springs up from a tired slouching position to salute the captain. "C-captain! You're still working."

"Aye. For another while." The captain seems to soften his features, regarding Ruffin better than she will ever receive from him. It must be great to be the cabin boy. "Try not to lose her again."

"Aye Aye! Come on Rhea, leave the captain alone!" Ruffin grabs her wrist with both of his hands just to drag her away.

"Hey! There is no need to grab me!" Rhea stumbles to follow the boy back. There are a lot of words spilling out of this young boy, chastising her for running off and many other things. Sounding a lot like Captain Connor the more she half-listened to him. Her mind kept going back to the captain, praying someone would either get him more water or swap him soon.

The captain shouldn't have to work a shift. A captain is no different than a Bhushan in a Kraxxian clan. From her understanding of his role, he should have had enough people to take over. What he is doing is rather strange to her. Perhaps, Jerold can clarify some things to her when she goes to the sparring match tonight.