Amelia hopped to attention to follow Scarlet and Iris. She wore a slight smile in her awkwardness, unknowing how she should behave in front of the captain and a person of such hard stature as Iris.

~~~

"Cap'n, shall I get th' injured crew b'low deck? Th- ones in t' bad o' condition t' run th' lines?" Daniel asked. He knew full well that he should and then report to the decks to help fight against the angry sea but as per hierarchy, he needed the captain's permission to leave her presence.

Low rumbles of thunder began to roll across the waves.

Avery nodded and said "yes, doctor. Please go about your orders. If you have any trouble please let Bane know. I will be at the helm if anyone is in need of me" then the doors opened and Iris was there with the cook and her young helper.

"Captain..." Avery nodded and said "you can go iris. I will be along in a short while" iris nodded and left and scarlet moved forward. "Captain...this is..." Avery raised her hand, looking very serious now. "I know Scarlet. I need to have her speak to me"

Amelia grew uneasy in her spot among the sailors and Scarlet. The vibrancy of day dimmed, the sea rolled with more sway and there was something low in the distance. The sailors all gave her sweet smiles and nods before moving on their way. The crew knew it was time to move. She stood and scurried her way to the most familiar part of the ship for her, the kitchen with Scarlet.

~~~

Daniel strode with a purpose through the decks calling; "Storm's comin', i' ye be injured git under t' deck. I' ye cn't git there yer self, crew help 'em out." He helped haul one or two sailors lumber to the lower decks. The mighty ship rolled between deepening waves, thunder rumbling a little louder.

Once the injured were in a relatively safer spot of the vessel. Daniel again traversed among the sailors strong, shouting encouragement as he went.

Bane was running around securing sails and supplies, Iris working on the canons and weapons. Scarlet was packing the kitchen supplies and said to Amelia “we have to make sure if we have heavy waves that we will not have things falling out”

Avery was at the helm and trying to keep the ship steady. Bane made it to her and said “Captain you need to get to your captain” Avery shook her head and said “get everyone under deck. I’m guiding us thru the storm. The Strike and I will handle this...” Bane cursed and then nodded, heading to get the last of things handled.

"O-okay." Amelia nodded, stepping uneasily on the rolling deck. She helped Scarlet gather as many glass bottles and loose ends as she could. They dumped what they could into empty barrels strapped into the corner of the kitchen. Crates had tied lids on them. Dining utensils were tossed in and amongst the containers that contained hay to soften the jostling of rough seas.

~~~

Bane looked peeved as he strode down the slick stairs from the helm. Avery looked focused and fierce against the growing darkness. Her hair glinted with sea spray, making it look like she was on fire.

"Bane, wha' orders are th'r?" Daniel called into the wind. He leaned over to help a sailor batten down a line off one of the sails.

Scarlet nodded as the last of the supplies were secured and she said “alright my dear, now we find a place to wait out the storm…let’s grab blankets and head to the main cabins. The kitchen won’t be safe to wait this out in…”

Bane cursed and said “her crazy orders are to get under deck and make sure every is secured…while she guides us out of this storm alone. I can’t get her to get to safety. And she didn’t look as well as I would have liked…” Iris limped over and said “everything is secured. What’s going on?”

Amelia did as she was told, stumbling the whole way behind Scarlet as the older woman lead her by the hand to the cabin area. She had seen a few storms but none of them had quite appeared so quickly or with such force. She was astounded that only 20 minutes ago it had looked like a little rain on the horizon.

"Scarlet?" she asked, the wobble of confidence surprising herself. To her own ears it made her sound like a lost child. Going below decks made sure that as few people as possible could be swept off the deck and drowned, but it also made it harder to get out if the ship was to go down.

"Have you ever seen a storm like this before?" Her heard squeased so hard it felt like it could cut off her air.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel let Bane repeat the orders Avery had given for Iris through the howling wind. The trio gripped onto rope and pole tightly to be sure not to be thrown overboard by the rolling waves. The Shadowstrike was a strong vessel but even now it groaned under the pressure of the turbulence it found it's self in.

Daniel had defied Avery's orders at almost every turn, he wondered if he would be able to talk sense into her now or let it play out. He couldn't very well take the helm from her, he had no clue how to steer and it would be far out of line even for him.

"Than let's git down below." Daniel huffed. "Unless ye two git yer'selves a better idear?"

Scarlet shook her head as they headed below deck and said “no...and I’ve seen a lot of storms. But don’t fear, the strike was made to take any kind of beating. The captain won’t let it go down” she found the others and pointed to a nice dry spot in the middle.

“Head there little one. I need to check with the quartermaster for a moment”

Iris looked at Bane who said “the boat was built to handle storms. It has a lock down system that if the boat flips, the doors are air tight and the ship won’t go down, like a balloon underwater. But that doesn’t protect the captain...” Iris looked towards the captain and then said “we must have faith in her. She hasn’t let us down before...she won’t this time”

Avery was pushing hard to steer the ship out of harms way, but the storm wasn’t reacting how she thought it should be. She cursed and muttered “it’s a cursed storm...I have to get us out of here...”

Amelia curled her skirts around herself and sat where Scarlet had indicated. She pulled her knees up to her chest and stacked her crossed forearms on her knees, and her chin on top. She watched some of the sailors roam about and others stick together in groups. One was telling a story of myth and legend to occupy the minds of some of the more nervous sailors. She waited patiently for Scarlet to return.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel left with the other masters on the ship for the decks below. They wobbled as they descended slowly, careful not to be tipped loose lest they be lost to the dark waters.

"Bane," They had reached low enough that they no longer needed to shout over the howling winds. "How does the Cap'n know where she's going? thr's no sky or shore t' speak o'." Maybe it was a way to help Avery.

Scarlet moved back to Amelia and sat down, putting an arm around her. “It’s alright dear…the captain knows what she is doing…” the man in black walked past them, glancing at Scarlet for a moment then looked away. Scarlets cheeks went red, then she looked away and moved a little.

Bane shook his head and said “no idea but she always knows…it’s like the ship and her speak on a higher level…I’ve never understood it but it works. I’m more worried this wind hitting her up there…I pray her safety line is secured…” iris looked at Daniel and added “cap had life ropes put all over for storms like this…you tie the end to your waist. It’s saved lives…but only if it’s secured right.”

Avery was fighting the storm, stocked to the bone and using all her might to steer her beloved ship out of the storm. She could feel the way she needed to go, but the wind was strong and she kept slipping around, the grip on the helm the only thing keeping her from falling over. Her life rope was tied around her middle, but the knot was getting loose in the rain and wind. She had to hurry this before hey were hit harder.

Amelia humphed with begrudging assurance under Scarlet's arm. She noticed as a keen, hopeless romantic teenager would, that Scarlet responded to the black-coated man differently than the other sailors they'd encountered so far. Amelia was half certain she had met the entire ship up until that moment.

"Scarlet," she hushed, "Who is that man?" It was hard for her to keep a smile tucked away and indifferent curiosity in her tone.

~~~~~

"Ingenious indeed." Daniel agreed, pondering their words, then his face fell. "Did no-one make sure her line was secure?" He asked, as calm as the waters in the eye of a storm. In the silence, he searched the faces of those Avery trusted most. It was solemn.

"Damn th' kracken and th' fool." He scolded. "This ship ca' go on wi' out us, bu' not wi' out 'er. A poor tied knot anywhere on th' ship is life 'r death f'r th' whole crew." He stood up on sure legs and began rummaging around the deck. He was going to need an extra long length of line.

Scarlet looked at her and said “that’s master Shade…you met him this morning. His the head of security on the ship…he is the captains eyes and ears on the ship. He makes sure everyone is safe…” she looked down at her hands and said softly “his a selfless man…”

Bane ran after him and cursed “she secured it, but it might have been the one of the ropes that wasn’t treated for heavy rain. We have been in the works switching the ropes out. But in the panic I didn’t see if the one she grabbed was a new one. The knot will come right out in this storm if it’s the old one”

Iris jumped over and opened a sealed crate and whistled. “Daniel! Ropes are here!”

Avery was steering the ship, seeing the eye of the storm, where she was heading to be clear. She just had to get there. But suddenly she felt her life line go limp around her waist and she cursed. She held on for dear life, knowing if she slipped now, she was dead no matter if she was cursed or not.

"He looks like a hard man." Amelia commented, eyeing him until he left their view. She had, in the moment, forgotten that she had met him previously and that she had hidden behind Scarlet at the time.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel grunted in acknowledgement of Bane's explanation. He had expected more from Bane as he was second in command. Though Avery was incredibly capable, she wasn't infallible.

"Aye," Daniel came over to Iris and began pulling on the line of rope to see if would be long enough. "This be th' treated rope?" he asked as he tied a harness around his waist and thighs with most of the rope to one side of him, and enough length of rope to tie a harness around Avery with her garments on the other side.

"Right, ye lot wi'' hold th' lives of meself and our cap'n in yer 'ands." He fastened a portion of the long end of the rope around a sturdy beam and handed the tail to Bane. He handed a small coil of the rope to Iris. "Let this out as I go, when I'm on the other side of the stairs I'm going to tie it as I go to the ship. When I get to the cap'n, I'm going to tie her in as well." He looked to the port that would lead him out of the depths. "Iris, tha' door will have to be closed swiftly behind me." The rain pelted as the mighty ship was tossed. "Don' fail us both." He cautioned, and with a mighty push on the door, Daniel was back on deck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel ascended the stairs to the main deck, tieing himself off at the top of it with a loop knot since both ends of the rope were attached elsewhere.

"Avery," He called into the storm, tying himself off again at the base of the stairs that would lead him to where Avery was. The wind whipped his face with salt spray. The deck was slick with rain and salt. The tie he used for his hair was already lost to the storm, blinding him further. He felt his way up the stairs, calling her name and again tied himself off at the top. The last length to go was in front of him. He glimpsed Avery unattached to the ship, he heard her call to him but the winds stole the words. She struggled to keep her eyes open in the pelting rain, her captain's hat long gone. Her hands were ghostly pale with the effort of guiding the ship and holding on. Daniel began his rocky crawl across the bridge, towards his captain.

Scarlet sighed and said “he doesn’t mean to be…his just had a rough life…a bloody one…but he is a kind man once you know him”

Bane nodded and yelled as the door opened “don’t worry, we won’t let you both into the sea! Just be careful and watch your steps!” Iris moved to a post and move the top around it, to make it easier for weighting it down but able to move.

Then the door was shut behind him, and they all started to pray for the pair out in the storm.

Avery was fighting the storm when she heard her name being called. She turned and saw Daniel and yelled “what are you crazy! Daniel go back!” She slipped a little bit held on, her body numb now from the strain. She turned the helm and saw what she had been hoping for. A way out of the storm. She moved towards it, hearing Daniel behind her as she said when he reached her “almost out…almost there.”

Her skin was raw from the wind and rain, her body tight and stressed.

Daniel made his way along the slippery deck, sliding by a few feet with each mighty rock of the ship. Once he made his way to the pedestal at which the wheel spun on, he hoisted himself up and around, grasping the wheel on top of Avry's hand for a moment before unlopping the end of line that he had saved for her.

"Beggin' yer pardon Cap'n." He called over her shoulder as they both grasped the wheel for support when the ship crashed down from the crest of a mighty wave. Daniel felt intensely uncomfortable being behind her in this manner, he justified it by assuring himself that it was the best way to secure them both without obscuring her line of sight and way through the storm. Still holding on with one hand, he used the other to wrap the rope around her waist, and back through his own loop. It was easier to tie it if he could use his hips for leverage or he'd lose balance and pull them both away from the wheel. He tried his best to move with the strain in her arms to allow her to steer. The entire encounter was uncoordinated, but the job got done. Now, Daniel really was stuck out in the storm with the captain, his front to her back and his hands on either side of her own on the wheel.

Avery grinned back at him yelled “it’s fine! Just hold on tight already. We are going to ride this next wave put of this mess!” She turned the wheel hard and the ship turned, the next wave pushing them into the center of the storm and into the clear. The eye of the storm was always calm. Now she needed the clear shot too out of the storm and they were finally safe.

After a few minutes she said “I need to stay and make sure we stay in the middle…till I see a clear shot to get us all the way out…” it was still raining on them, and she was soaked. But she kept her grip even though she couldn’t feel her limps anymore. She was pale and skin rashed.