The Sparrows |{Jack Sparrow x OC}|

Chapter 9

I awake to the sound of drums. To bright wisps of sunlight glittering above my head. The sun was nearly rising. I rolled onto my side in the creaky bed, watching in awe as the sun's rays and ocean waves meted into a pool of light. 'All this for me each morning' I thought, grateful. I'm once again distracted by an ote'a drum beat coming from the deck. I roll out of bed, planting my feet on the cool wood. I slip out of the loose nighdress I had put on the night before, the morning air chilling my bare body. I shuffle through my bag, pulling out a tan skirt that touched my mid-calf, and a turquoise wrap. I tie the wrap around my chest, securing the tie between my bust, leaving my shoulders bare.

After slipping the skirt over my hips, I swing open the saloon door and curiously step onto the deck. Only a few crewmen were working as the sunrise hadn't yet come. The ship wasn't actively moving. It was resting, shifting in anchor with the churn of the waves. 

I spot the source of the drumming. It is Bo'sun, stern-faced as ever, with another crewman relaxing against the railing of the ship, both palming small hand-crafted drums, effortlessly creating synchronized rhythm. I walk over towards them, mesmerized by their talent. Nina had taught me dance steps to this beat. During our lessons, she encouraged me to be grateful. Be grateful for the sea, the sky, the grass, the sunshine, my feet and legs for allowing me to dance, my mind for commanding them to. "It be so easy to think of what ya don't have, Flori," she'd remind me swaying her hips to a rhythm only she could hear, "Stop and honor what ya thankful for in yer steps."

"You are very talented." I smile and nod at the men in encouragement.

Their heads snap up in unison, Bo'sun stopping his taps and glaring, his partner, pounding harder with a bright smile. "Thank ya, Miss Baudin." 

I shake my head, "Floria."

The man nods, moving his whole body to the beat he created. "Floria. Ajay." He bumped his elbow against Bo'sun, prompting him to resume the music.

Bo'sun shakes his head, and, perhaps I had imagined it, the faintest smile came to the corners of his mouth. I had leaned against the railing, tapping my fingers against the wood that had already heated slightly from the faint sun.

"You a dancer?" Ajay called to me.

I smiled, perplexed. "How did you...?" 

"You be tapping ya feet like one." He grinned, and I couldn't help but laugh, joyfully reflecting on the happiness I felt while moving to music.

"Have been for a while, Sir."

"Eh," he taps Bo'sun, and they begin a new beat, a much faster one. "Dance wid us, Floria!" He urged, and Bo'sun nodded me over, encouragingly. "We all need the practice so we don't be rusty."

I shake my head, smiling excitedly for the first time since Nina taught me her talents. Since she helped me feel that I belonged, that I had something to give after my world was taken. I side step from railing, lifting my hips while making a beckoning motion with my hands. 

"Eh, she still got it!" Ajay called, grinning, quickening his beat. With arms rising overhead, I sharply drop my hips in a quicker rhythm, closing my eyes, feeling the rising sun warm me from head to toe. I begin the omi slow and controlled, traveling over to Ajay, bobbing my head up and down watching his hands fly across the skin of the drum. This encouraged them both to beat faster, quickening my omis. I hoot as I knew they were testing how fast I could go. 

Some of the other crewmen had stopped working and were watching our little performance. 

I danced my way over to Regetti who was attempting to omi in a quick and jerked fashion, smiling ear to ear.