Melody was enjoying the quiet; nothing really relaxed her more than the sounds of the waves or the feeling of salt water. Still, she often found herself feeling… empty at the end of the day. This, what she was doing right now, it was surviving, it wasn’t living. The same routine day in day out, the same faces, the same places, the same thoughts. She had never intended for this to be a permanent set up, but somewhere along the lines she had allowed the comfort, routine and safety to suck her in and trap her here.
However she heard something that put her on alert, the sound of boots on the sand. The girl sat up in her hammock and reached for the dagger in the belt around her waist, drawing it as she slipped into the shadows, moving lithely through the wreck as she tracked the intruder’s position through the noises he was making, unused to the weak spot or terrain the wreck contained. She, however, made not a single sound. This old boat had been her home for a long time; she knew every inch like the back of her hand. Eventually she was able to come up behind the intruder.
A man, bigger than her certainly, she could make out that he was well muscled. He could probably overpower her in a fair fight; her skills were more of the stealth and endurance variety. She honestly hoped it did not come to a fight, hopefully he’d leave when asked… along with some prompting. Moving up quickly behind the man she pressed the blade lightly into his back, just enough that he’d know she was there, but not hard enough to harm him in any way. Hurting him was not her intention, just letting him know that she wasn’t messing around.
“I’m going to give you a chance to explain yourself and then I am going to give you a chance to leave. One chance only. Why are you here?” There was the potential that he could simply be someone who walked in here off the beach, if she she’d let them be on their way. But the bottom line was that this was still her home and she’d defend it if the need arose. It wasn’t a secret around the town that she collected treasure.