Starlight

11

"Can I ask you something?" Aoife's voice piped up. They had been walking in silence for about an hour. Clearly silence was getting to her, Hook on the other hand didn't mind the silence. It gave him time to ponder over things. He honestly found nothing wrong with being in silence, there was an odd comfort in it. Every so often there would be an animal call in the distance, the cool breeze which was travelling through the trees would cause the leaves to rustle quietly. He found solace and peace in these sounds. On board all there was was the constant sounds of yelling, shouting, arguing and drunken singing. It wasn't exactly the best place to sit and try and do some thinking.

"What is it?"

"How does one become a pirate?" Aoife asked innocently. It was something she had thought over a few times. It doesn't seem like a job that anyone would just blindly go walking into and accepting. It was dangerous, there was a thrill she supposed, but ultimately it was so dangerous the pros surely were outweighed by the cons?

Hook glanced up at her. The path they were walking along had a small bank beside it. This bank was overgrown with foliage. Brambles curled upwards into the air as if they were trying to clutch onto something. Somehow Aoife managed to walk in a way to not get caught up. A few flowers peeked out from the suffocating brambles, but it was hard to see their petals through the thorns and vines.

"Like, do you get initiated into it, or something?" Her tone was very childlike in a way. Much like a child would ask a question. There was a level of childlike curiosity to Aoife which was a little endearing.

"No, you don't. It's a way of life, much like you chose to live your life as a Lost Woman," he smirked which caused her to roll her eyes. She really didn't like being referred to as that. "My crew and I chose to live our lives as pirates."

"Are there people chasing you?"

"Like?"

"Authorities?"

"Yes."

Aoife nodded thoughtfully. "But they've never caught you." She stated with a smile, her eyes quickly looked down at him.

"No." He smiled and ducked under some more vines. The further they walked on into the jungle, the more the low hanging vines appeared. He climbed up and over a fallen tree and jumped back down. His boots quietly crunched the leaves.

"What made you decide to be a pirate?"

"That is another story, for another day."

"I hit another nerve." She narrowed her eyes and jumped to swing herself over a small gap. Her hands loosely gripped onto a branch and her legs effortlessly vaulted forwards. She landed in a crouch and stood up and commenced walking again.

Hook sighed, he could easily admit his origins of becoming a pirate weren't exactly the easiest to explain. Looking up at Aoife he mused over it, she could probably understand why he chose this lifestyle. But it honestly wasn't something he was willing to start talking about. Despite it all, this was a part of him that he didn't want to talk about, not yet anyway. "Where are we heading to?" He asked, changing the topic back to one they could equally talk about.

Aoife sharply inhaled. "Mermaid's Lagoon." Pouting she stuck her hands in her pockets. "Don't like mermaids."

"Oh, I gathered." He said lightly. "Although," he paused, Aoife looked down at him and waited for him to continue. "I highly doubt the mermaids would want Smee." Hook smirked and tried not to laugh, he looked up at Aoife. She looked slightly worried that he'd say such a thing, because it was clear mermaids weren't fussy, but there was also something else. When he looked closer it was clear that she was trying not to laugh.