Snippet #1911304

The room was thick with tension. Shaafir’s comment hung in the air. Pavati watched as Kaitsu moved away from John and lowered her blades. The small woman stated that they were leaving and heading to the captain.

John wiped sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his shirt once the tiny, threatening woman stepped away. He began to restate his position but his voice died away when it became clear that they were ignoring him.

Pavati realized suddenly that they were serious. The pair was in fact going to take John’s alcohol and her out of the room and to the captain. Part of her assumed it was a ploy to scare John into sobering up but now it sunk in that they were leaving the room, without John. Pavati tried desperately to control her breathing, panic creeping up her spine. She hadn’t been out of John’s sights since he had taken her from her family.

Her eyes caught the look on John’s face. There was anger in his eyes, the likes of which Pavati had never seen before. She was sure if he could get his hands on her that more than just her arm would suffer. He clearly hated the two people in the room but there was no way he could come at them. Pavati felt sure that when she returned to him he would kill her. Her eyes closed briefly. She raised her chin and opened her eyes again. So be it.

Kaitsu passed by her and nudged the door open. Pavati wobbled slightly on her feet and waited for Shaafir. She knew there was no way she could follow without falling. Once the dark skinned man was close enough to her again, Pavati lightly steadied herself on his arm. She gave him another apologetic look.

“I am not used to a rocking floor...” Her voice was a quiet whisper to Shaafir.

Her eyes were cast down as they exited the room. Pavati kept waiting for John to rush forward and pull her back into the room. By the time the trio reached the captain’s door Pavati was doing her best to control her panic again. "What will the captain expect of me?" She looked at Shaafir, her internal question clear on her features as Kaitsu knocked.

Pavati’s eyes snapped to the doorway as Kaitsu began to explain what they found. Uncertainty washed over her and she felt slightly ill. Her grip on Shaafir tightened briefly before she realized what she was doing and let go. She hated feeling like a trapped animal, hated it almost as much as she hated John.

***

John watched the dark man take Pavati out of the room and he was seething even more. Standing, he threw the first thing his hand landed on at the door. The small metal instrument, for measuring distances on a map, fell to the floor. His drunken state made the throw weak and wild.

He stumbled about the small cabin, grumbling angrily to himself. They had taken all his bottles. The small bitch had taken them all, likely dumping them over the side at this very moment. Or worse, she, the captain and the man were drinking it. Maybe they were mocking him or letting Pavati drink. “How dare they....”

John’s mind went through all sorts of scenarios of what was happening in Gareth’s cabin. He needed a drink. Badly. Tripping over the blanket he made his way to the chests. Somehow the blanket had ended up on the floor. Likely the wench with the blades pulled it off as she searched his room, trying to make him look like a slob. John tossed the chests open. Gone, every bottle was gone. A loud angry growl erupted from him.

His eyes went to the wall. John smiled. He was a sneaky bugger, at least in his own mind. He moved to the wall and pulled at the loose board. He had stashed one bottle here, just in case. He was glad the boatswain was a woman, only a woman would miss that sort of detail. “Stupid, stupid bitch...no contest for this man.” He mocked the woman who only minutes before had almost made him wet himself.

Taking his last bottle, John sat on the bed. He popped the cork and began to drink. His mind wandered back to what the captain or the dark skinned man might be doing with Pavati. The mocking drunk became an angry one.

John swayed and looked at his bottle. Empty. He was confused. It couldn’t possibly be empty already. Hadn’t he just opened it?

“You...bring me another...” John looked around the room for Pavati. Then he remembered. No woman and no more booze. The bottle clunked to the floor and John wiped his mouth. They took them, took it all.

He sat on the bed, falling heavily on his side and drifted in and out of consciousness. In a small moment of clarity he remembered the officers were to meet in Gareth’s cabin. There was no way he could function without a drink; he knew he would need a small nip just to get him through all the talking. Something to take the edge off the headache it would give him. Hell, he was getting one just thinking about it. Sitting up, he rubbed his head and pondered his problem.

Someone on this wretched boat had to have a drink. John pushed himself unsteadily up and off of the bed. He made his way to the door and out onto the deck.
Most were going about their business, crew not worthy enough to talk to an officer like him. John spotted the bareheaded man....the gunner...at least that is what he thought he was. How was he supposed to keep them all straight?

Rocking on his feet, John watched him. He had a pipe between his teeth and a flask in his hand. “Oh merciful god, there is hope for good men in this world.” John decided that Zaal being on deck with his flask was a message from heaven, just for John.

He approached the Demician. “Nice water tonight....should be...be smooth sailing.” John offered Zaal a smile. “Didn’t get your name earlier friend. Too busy with my clumsy assistant. Good help and all that...” John was rambling and leaned on the rail to steady himself.

“Went and broke an arm...that bad. I sent it off to be fixed up. Only right you know? “ His tone made him sound as if he was a very caring and sympathetic man. It had been his idea that they take her and fix that arm after all.

John raised an eyebrow at Zaal, “Not a talkative man...I like it....care to share a sip of that with a friend and fellow officer?” John hadn’t in reality let Zaal say anything yet as the words just kept streaming from him. He reached a hand out towards Zaal, clearly expecting the man to share his flask.