Safe harbour in troubled seas (Morgan and Persephone)

Morgan was not happy right now.

They were returning to Motonia Bay with their badly battered ship in order to repair and resupply as fast as they were able to do so. The ship had taken a beating in both physical damage and in the loss of people. There were at least fifteen good men who were never going to see their sweethearts again.

And all because some spineless, gutless turd had decided that he wanted to make a name for himself and attack Morgan for the title of King of the Pirates.

He hadn't really wanted to fight, he never did when it came to these stupid challenges, but the other captain had opened fire when he had refused to meet him in single combat. The first salvo had taken the life of their youngest crew member, Tim. Morgan had seen red at that point and taken the fight to the other captain.

It had been brutal, it had been bloody, but in the end the Sirius had held together and they had lost fifteen brave men instead of losing the entire crew. The same could not be said for the crew and ship of the other captain. They had sunk it and left the survivors, few as they were, to Davy Jones.

Docking the ship, Morgan nodded once to Eduardo, who silently accepted his orders,

"Alright you dogs!" he called out, "You know your orders. Half of you get to work on repairing the ship! The other half go with Nathan to get supplies! Move out!"

Leaving his ship behind him, Morgan marched stoically to the dock master to pay for the right to park his ship where it was. As he handed over the coins, he noticed The Hydra, looking rather banged up herself, resting further down. He handed the dock master extra to pay for The Hydra and made his way towards the other vessel, he held up his hands when some of the crew looked at him warily,

"I seek an audience with your captain!" he told them with a faint smile, "She might know me as 'that arrogant guy in red'. I also go by Captain Morgan, if she's feeling charitable."

Persephone was having a nightmare right now, she had to go to one of the smaller ports to get the Hydra fixed after the attack on her by the Moldor Navy, to be honest she had expected them to take over the chase for her but she hadn't expected them to dedicate so many ships to her chase, there had been three ships after the Hydra and they had barely gotten away without it sinking. She'd only been able to escape by taking the other ships out by cannon, and by steering though a malestrom.

Sighing a little bit she groaned and sprawled on her desk, her locket was open on the table in front of her and she stared at William's portrait, just hoping that he would appear and tell her what the hell she should do in a situation like this. Persephone couldn't leave the girls, she'd promised them to find their sweethearts and lovers and she would do that.

When someone knocked on her door, one of the cleaning girls, she glared a little bit and the girl quickly told her what she wanted her for, apparently there was a Captain Morgan on the deck wanting to see her. Great, she was not in the mood for him today she had too much to worry about, including the finance of fixing the Hydra, a looting session would be required to replenish the ships funds after this.

"Very well." she stated brisquely, throwing on her black jacket, and picking up her rapier from its perch against her chair "I shall see him, go back to your errand Brittany."

The girl scurried away and Persephone wandered up onto the top of the deck, looking at Captain Morgan with steady eyes as she approached him. Smirking lightly, she held out her hand in greeting, before looking for his ship, her eyes widened a little when she saw it...wow...it looked almost as bashed as the Hydra when they had first docked.

"A pleasure to see you again Captain Morgan, is this a business visit or a personal one today, I can guess which though, given the state of the Sirius."

Morgan was allowed on deck and he merely stood on the edge of the deck, leaning on one of the railings as he looked out across the bay at the Sirius. It was his pride and joy and it looked like it had gone ten rounds with the god of the sea himself. But it was a tough ship. If even one slipknot was still tied and two planks of wood went unbroken then the Sirius would float and if she could float she could be rebuilt, stronger than before it he had anything to say about it.

Seeing the girl who had gone to fetch Persephone, rushing back out to complete her chores, Morgan knew that the captain was coming out to see him. He turned from the battered form of his beloved ship to face his fellow captain. Taking the hand she offered, he kissed the back of it. When he straightened he noticed her look towards the Sirius. He sighed a little bit,

"And you too Captain Peresphone." he greeted her with a faint smile before lookin forlornly at his ship, "I believe you have guessed correctly. How could you not? I mean... look at her. My ship looks as if she is dying where she sits."

He closed his eyes for a moment before shaking his head to clear his thoughts for a moment. Turning to Persephone he nodded,

"This is a business visit more than a personal one. I wouldn't waste your time seeing as the Hydra looks to be in bad ways herself." he acknowledged, "I would like to formally... ask for your assistance and offer you my own. It's no secret that people have begun to challenge my reign as the Pirate King and I have heard of your run ins with the Navy. I suggest we form some kind of agreement, partnership, to better protect ourselves and fight off both sets of enemies... if you are willing to entertain the idea should we move to your cabin to discuss it?"

Persephone knew how Morgan felt, if her ship was as bad as his, and it had been, she wouldn't have stopped until it was back on it's way to being fixed, and she didn't rest until she had gotten a master shipwright to actually help on the ship. Anything less than a master shipwright wouldn't do for the Hydra. She herself had done work on it during that wait, much to her crew's surprise.

"I understand that it must be hard for you to see your vessel like that, but, there are a few good shipwrights in this town, they will be able to fix her within a few days." she stated, although it was a rather monotone statement, it was one that was meant to comfort.

Hearing that it was a business visit she nodded her head, and although her crew were all busy with their chores she knew that she should move this discussion to her private office, if only for the fact that Captain Morgan deserved some privacy. Some time ago Persephone had accepted that the whole ship would eventually know about what they had discussed.

"I thought it might be something like that you were coming to see me about." she stated with a small huff, turning on her heel she beckoned for Morgan to follow her "Let us retire to my quarters, it sounds like a proposition I would like to discuss further."

Opening the door that led down onto the deck, she smirked softly as she reached her quarters, her bed was here also, and it served well as a bedroom and office, it was pleasant and clean with dark coloured wood and furnishings. Gesturing for Morgan to sit on the chair opposite her large desk, she swiftly took up her locket and placed it in her coin purse.

"Please sit." she smiled lightly, her business expression "Help yourself to some port. Now, about your proposal...I have to say I believe it appropriate to accept such a deal, we both require each others assistence, and we can both assist each other comfortably..."

Morgan gave his ship one more forlorn look before he focused on the conversation before him. The Sirius would be fine given enough time. However, he needed to ensure that it would live more than just one more day. And this bay was known for it's pirate presence. If they stayed here forever the ship would be destroyed. If they ran now, alone, they would be picked apart,

"It's the closest thing I can say I know to being married. Of course that might be because no woman has tried to make an honest man out of me." he joked lightly before nodding with a small smile, "I know... the Sirius will ride the waves again like the beast that it is."

She seemed to be considering the proposal and that was very good for both captains and both ships as far as he could see. He chuckled a little bit when she told him she had been expecting the visit to be about something to do with their situations,

"Are you a little bit annoyed that this isn't a personal visit?" he teased her slightly when he saw her huffing a little bit. Some of the girls scrubbing the decks were already gossiping about what he'd just said, making him smirk a little bit. It was his first joke since the Sirius had been attack. He followed her, "Lead the way O'captain my captain."

Entering the cabin, Morgan had to admit that she had made it very livable in here. He had done the same with his own cabin on the Sirius actually. Of course at the moment there was a canonball where his favourite bookcase had been. He'd have to replace that. Sitting down in the chair offered, he noticed how swiftly she snatched up the locket on the table but paid it no mind,

"Thank you." he said graciously before shaking his head, "Thank you but I don't drink when I'm trying to be serious. I'm glad that you agree that we can assist each other. I had hoped that we might be able to provide each other with whatever aid we can muster. For example, my crew is very skilled, as if yours. However, they tend to have vastly different skills in some cases. I suggest some form of cross-training so that we can gain strengths from each other, if you're agreeable."

Persephone smirked a little bit when he asked if she was unhappy that he didn't come for a personal visit. To be honest she had thought of him since they had first met, although, it wasn't in that way at all, she was thinking about when they would meet again and asking for his assistance when they did, although, she was more than a little bit relieved she hadn't been the one to approach for help first. A part of her still hung onto her pride in situations like this.

"I'm not annoyed at all, I was just a little relieved that's all." she smirked softly "I couldn't think of anyone I would rather not share a bed with, I don't need a mob of women accosting me for other reasons whenever I pull into a new port, thank you."

Many of her women here had been with Morgan in their time, and, it was more than a little creepy if she was honest the way they had all decided to join heer crew. She just hoped that they didn't expect her to do some miracle and get him to become a sincere and honest man ready to tie the knot with them, cause, that wasn't going to happen.

When he spoke about cross skills training Persephone hummed softly, this was true, they did need a few more skills on board the Hydra, a doctor for the main thing, and then lots of the more permenant crew needed weapons training, like, intense weapons training. There were only a few women who could fight and all of them had been tired out by the Navy attack.

"I think that's a good idea Morgan." she smiled lightly "We are badly in need of some medical and weapons training, and I would be happy to assist you with any training you feel your crew might need, me and my first mates will be ready to aid."

She was sure that Elizabeth and Niomi would be more than happy to get off the ship and meet some guys for a change, Niomi had been pouting about lack of eye candy for some time now.

"So, what do you need?"

Morgan could tell that there was at least a little part of her that wanted him to visit for non-professional reasons and he was looking forward to finding out her other reasons for having him visit. He had been thinking about her rather often since he had set out to sea after their last meeting. She hadn't dominated his thoughts so much as she had been constantly in the back of his mind. There wasn't a problem with that as far as he was concerned, he was actually hoping she'd been thinking of him too,

"Oh really now?" he joked with her before chuckling a little bit, "I see that the rumours about me are still circling about that. I would like to point out that it only happened once, there were only three of them and they were just complaining that she hadn't picked up an order of mine, it was all a big misunderstanding."

Morgan had to admit that he recognised a lot of faces here and it was honestly rather humbling to see just how many women he'd either slept with or helped out on this boat. He made a mental note not to stay on this ship for too long, they might try and pin him down. And he wasn't sure it would be in a nice way for some of them.

He could tell that his idea of cross training seemed to have been taken rather well and he was rather relieved. A lot of people could have taken that as some kind of personal attack on their skills or the skills of their crew and not simply as an offer of aid in good faith,

"Well we have a doctor and most of my crew are veterans in the art of swort and gun fighting." he agreed with a grin, "I must admit that our recruits have trouble aiming with the canons, if you could provide help with that, that would be great."

When she asked what he needed he grinned a little bit and stood up from the chair. Moving behind her chair, he gave her shoulders a little teasing rub before standing by the window,

"Would you take it oh so badly if I said I needed some cuddles from a beautiful woman?" he asked her with a wink before becoming slightly more serious, "But honestly... I need someone I can talk to. We're captains, the crew needs us to remain positivie and strong. I think that we both need someone who we can share our real thoughts and feelings with."

Persephone knew and realised that her crew had weaknesses, a lot of weaknesses and because she wanted to be able to make her crew stronger she would gladly accept the training from Morgan and his crew, it seemed quite simple what she was going to be offering him in return, the training to use the cannons properly, maybe she would see what else could be improved while she visited the ship. She was certain that Elizabeth would have something to say, she always did.

"I am glad, most of our crew don't have a clue how to hold a sword let alone use one, we have recently acquired so many new crew members that I am unsure if I will be able to accommodate them all if we continue to take on new members like this." she sighed softly "So your help is appreciated."

Nodding her head again, she thought it would be very simple to teach them how to aim the cannons, both she and Niomi, the ammunitions expert, could help them there; "I will ensure that your crew members recieve the very best training, don't you worry."

When he reached out and massaged her shoulders Persephone glared at the wood of the desk a little bit because she had jumped when he had touched her, she wasn't expecting it, and she never normally had relations with a man that she herself didn't instigate, probably because they were too scared she would jump on them and kill them for being indecent.

"You need someone you can talk to, I'm not surprised, given what was recently revealed." she stated with a small hum "I have to admit, I also require someone to confide in, my first mates don't need my worries on top of their own. So, we shall be each others confidants. It looks like we'll be seeing a lot of each other." Persephone smirked.

The best kind of captain was the captain who realised early on that their crew was not perfect and was likely to be constantly either growing or shrinking. It was a process of attrition at sea and massive recruitment on land. But the best thing you could do for your crew and your ship was to train them as best as you could. He had been doing it since he first became a pirate and he was glad to see she was going to be doing the same, she had the makings of the best kind of captain,

"Don't worry about that, I know of at least three members of my crew who could give me a run for my money when it comes to swordplay and many more who would best me in pistol combat." he told her with a small grin, "We help each other like this and our foes won't stand a chance. It's nice to work with other pirates again... I haven't done it in so long. Even longer if we're only counting ships with good captains and crew."

When she told him that she would be able to help train some of the recruits in canon aiming. Honestly the only reason they'd been able to sink the other ship was that they had been right abreast of it and they had been able to fire first,

"Thank you... you wouldn't believe how bad some of them are." he admitted before smirking faintly, "I guess it just goes to show how long it's been since I've ever encountered heavily armed resistance. Normally we just board them."

He was a little bit surprised that she had jumped from his touch alone. Hopefully it wasn't because he had become more repulsive while he was at sea. He smiled a little bit,

"Yeah... I'm beginning to get a little bit overwealmed I admit." He admitted before smiling a little bit more when she spoke of something similar, "I can definately help you with that. And you say I'll have to see more of you? Is that some kind of reward because I'm seeing it like that."

Persephone smiled softly, she was very glad to be able to have someone that she could be close to again, although it was a male, she thought that would be alright, she had been amourous with other men since she had lost William and it felt like they might end up spending a few nights together in each others arms as they tried to relieve each others worries and tensions.

A long time ago she had learnt to deal with the fact that no relationship she had would ever be long term, and she was used to walking away from her partner in the morning and not seeing them again. Although it wasn't the life she wanted for herself, running her hands through her hair she sighed a little bit, life had become complicated in the last few years.

"Well then, you should share your feelings with me Morgan, you have my word, as long as I have yours, that I won't tell anyone what we discuss in these sessions." she stated with a small smile on her lips, Persephone hadn't smiled a whole lot recently, not since the ship had been attacked so badly, she hated that she was unable to protect the Hydra.

Standing up from her comfortable desk chair she wandered over to the large window by her bed, she could see the beautiful sea from there and it was comforting at night to hear it almost lull her to sleep. Of course after the attack she had to purchase a new bed, it had been soaked in the battle and didn't look like it was going to dry easily.

"I don't think it is a reward." she stated quietly "I just meant that we both have many problems, we shall be seeing each other often as we discuss them I should think."

With a small cough she turned and looked at Morgan with a smirk on her lips; "So, I believe you are going to have to introduce me to your crew, and I to my own, I am sure that many of the women on the boat will love to have you dropping by often." she teased lightly, approaching a small chest, Persephone turned the key to open it and took out a small horn "Here, if you need our help this is one way to reach us, we'll make sure we're never too far away to hear it."

Morgan hadn't had a close personal friend since he had become a captain. It was the painful truth and he hated it. He had once been a very social person, someone who could befriend almost anyone and be their best friend within half an hour. But now the only people he could really confide in anymore were other captains and he didn't trust most of them anymore. Not since he had become King of the Pirates, not since they realised that if they stabbed him in the back they would become the king instead.

He wanted to have a long term relationship with a friend, with someone he could honestly be himself around and not be afraid of his opinions ruining the morale of the ship. Morgan wasn't sure he liked where his life was heading nowadays but he wasn't about to sit back and take it, he was going to rise up again without fail because that's just what he did,

"You have my word milday Captain Persephone, no one will hear of anything personal we discuss here or in my cabin or wherever we can meet privately." he told her easily before returning her smile with one of his own, "It's so nice to know that I can talk freely again... I haven't been able to for many years now. So there's my excuse if I now suck at conversations."

Looking out of the window, he looked over the waters of the sea trapped in the bay, noticing that the Sirius was already beginning to look a little bit better. Sometimes all that blood money from being a pirate came in handy; it got stuff done. He smiled faintly, "We may have more problems to discus, I'm confident that we'll be able to deal with them better now that we have someone to share with."

He chuckled a little bit and nodded his head, giving her a roeful smile,

"Oh you'll love meeting the boys. You wouldn't believe how many have been asking about your crew members and yourself. Oh the talk... such talk is not suitable for your ears milday!" he teased her with a wink before laughing a little bit, "Really? I can't imagine why, do I strike you as a catch right now?"

Accepting the horn gratefully, he held it gently in his hand, not wanting to damage it in anyway. Not only was it their lifeline to the Hydra, it was a gift from a friend, "I'm afraid I don't have anything like that to give to you. Instead all you ever need to do is fire two shots in quick succession. We will come running to you."

Persephone was about to reply to Morgan, she was glad that they had been able to sort everything out between them because she was going to be calling on his help soon she had no doubt, the Navy wasn't going to give up without a fight and so she would be fighting until they all died or they decided that they were best to give up. The money they had wasted...they could have just built another Hydra to be honest.

But. There was a commotion on the deck and she sighed softly, no doubt there had been some robbery or something among the girls again. She could hear that Elizabeth was attempting to sort it out but the tone of her voice was getting higher and higher and louder and louder. Putting a hand to her face she groaned a little bit, was there no end to her trouble?!

"I'm sorry but this meeting is going to have to take a raincheck. I don't know what's going on but that doesn't sound great. Please, since our ship is in better condition, feel free to come back later on with the men you need training, and some trainers for our girls." she stated with a small smile "And you can feel free to stay on afterwards if you wish to talk to me about something."

Taking up her captains hat, she sighed, rolled her eyes at the sounds of thumping and fighting, before ascending the stairs, holding the door open for Captain Morgan to leave.

"Wish me luck." she grinned "And I'll look forwards to seeing you later."