Cove of Shadows ━━ Will Turner

𝐗𝐕 ━━ Sagum Opens

GIBBS WAS IN FULL HIBERNATION, the brimful pain; fruit of the season. The first spring rays came out of their nest, piercing the palm trees of the contiguous isle. Jack and his crew remained near it, the pirate fearing the vilest.

He had not forgotten the debt or the failure he faced. Jones had the key, and all these fights where many men had lost their life were vain. Lightheartedly, after the approach he had had to his friend, the pirate was serener, composed. Never had we seen him so peaceful, observing the arcana of the world through the small window of his cabin. Maybe all that would not bring anything. Perhaps his simple place in the universe did not rhyme at nothing, not even to a summer ditty.

The meager rhapsody of the poets flew above him, and he realized that Asteria's presence had brought him much. Aside from Gibbs, he had never had a real friend. Often hidden in this veil of irony, there was a man, suffering the dreams of his midsummer's nights, whose redemptive flame awaited him at the gallows.

As a child, no one really cared about him. It was common, yes, that one did not worry about their child, especially in the past days of philosophical enlightenment. But no laws should normalize it. And sometimes Jack was angry. He would like justice to be made. He would like all children — no, all humans to receive the love they deserved.

Merely gifted at expressing his own, it was in the relationships of his peers that he found comfort. What he was poking his nose into every corner was only the result of his interest in bonds he could never forge; like Finn the biologist, he used his head as a notebook, observing Will the ladybug and Asteria the firefly. What biophysical element did they need? Each other. What was their behavior to study? They were constantly seeking to find one another like the stars of a blueish night.

Although he was not a scientist, he believed fervently in the physics of emotions. Nobody was necessarily bad. Two chemical elements have a reaction, and when one changes one of the components the result is completely divergent. He believed it was the same for human relationships. One has good chemical reactions with some, and then with others it's the chemistry that doesn't work. Even with the best connections, the affinity could be lost, probably because someone has changed the initial formula.

And one in a sense, Jack was right.

During the spellbinding night, promises of proximity were kept; and Gibbs collapsed with weariness. The combats, the salty taste of his tears, everything made his head spin. Asteria and Jack had set to work to put him to bed, giving him a few hours of respite where ache had no place whatsoever. Like two parents watching over their little treasure, they stayed there for a good ten minutes, looking after the reveries of a tortured man. The moment ended with a friendly "good night", a few smiles exchanged and an infectious nod. Asteria had valued this very twinkling instant. Of her desire to help others, she had cherished this gesture towards Gibbs, and as the three of them had faced the sea, she felt perfectly at her place. Loved, in a warm and gentle atmosphere. She had once felt this with her father, but it no longer had much comparison. The pirates, this whole rhythmic lifestyle was her choice, although she had a hard time accepting it. Deliberately, she had thrown herself into oblivion only to feel the greatest adrenaline.

But then, while Jack also granted himself a moment of rest, the young girl reappeared on the deck of the ship. Two people less, but the head full of serenity. Raising her head to see Selene, a small idea crossed her mind. Grabbing a rope, she swung from it to climb to the top of the mast. Where she had perceived the Cobra. Where most of this story had begun. Swinging her legs like a frantic little child, she smiled at the luminaries in emphasis. She wasn't even surprised when she felt Will's masculine presence beside her.

"So you're spying on me now?" she asked, without even deigning to look at him, keeping her smile; her as the only spectator.

Will laughed softly, a peaceful echo in the night. He ran a hand through his hair, letting a glimpse of his attire: dressed as his equal, as usual, but he had left his leather and combat vests to remain only in an open shirt, revealing the musculature of his neck. Asteria, turning her head, was nothing but hypnotic. She had never seen so much flesh, and even though half of his torso was still covered, the roll-up of his sleeves made his arms attractive and dangerously exquisite. It was as if her attempt at ignorance stopped the moment she laid eyes on him. She had stopped laughing, a brutal return to reality like a shooting star crashing into the ground.