A Pirate and His Wolf (Pirates of the Caribbean)

Chapter 11

Soon the wind was in the sails once again, and the Interceptor was crashing through the waves on the sea. Jack stood, compass in hand, at the wheel of the ship. Will and Gibbs were helping the crew.

They'd only been sailing for a few hours when the crew spotted a storm on the horizon. "Are we going to sail through that?" Will asked Jack, who merely opened the compass.

The needle spun around and stopped pointing to the left before it pointed towards the storm. "Yes," he replied simply, before tucking the compass away and continuing to steer. To the left of Jack, standing by the table covered with maps, was Zachary.

Will wandered over to him, realizing they hadn't spoken in about last night. "What are you looking for?" he asked, as Zachary traced a line through the map, halting in the middle of the ocean.

"I don't know." He muttered, looking past Will's shoulder and to the storm behind him. "Passing through it?" Zachary asked, Will, who sighed before nodding. "Makes sense, the winds will propel us forward."

"Trust Jack to send us through a storm to get a little closer." Will grumbled, looking down at the map, his eyes resting on the small land labeled 'Port Royal.'

"We'll be closer to getting Elizabeth, Will. That has got to count for something." Zachary replied dully.

"Are- are you alright Zachary?" Will asked, noting that his tone was somewhat dull, and he looked slightly troubled and tense.

Zachary sighed, "I just don't want to lose control again, Will."

Will paused before connecting the dots and realizing why Zachary had been so tense lately to go gallivanting with pirates when they'd broken Jack out of prison. "You don't have to be scared, Zachary?" Will asked, "I'm always going to be there for you."

Zachary didn't say anything for a few minutes, and just when he was about to, Jack interrupted. "Rum, love," he said, pointing at Zachary.

"Yes, Jack. Thanks for asking," Zachary said sighing, placing a strained smile on his face as he gave Will one last look before heading down the steps and into the cellar below.

Will walked back over to Jack, "Ordering him around? Really?" He asked, somewhat angrily.

Jack smirked, "He's a man of his word, mate. He wants forgiveness, and so he has a debt to repay, and who would I be to allow him to break his word, eh?" he finished with a smirk.

"Rum better be the only thing he's giving you Jack, mark my words," Will said, before turning back to the storm, which was steadily drawing closer. "How far away are we?" he asked.

Jack turned to the maps, waving his hand over the entirety of the ocean. "Close," he said, before heading back to the wheel, where Zachary was already waiting, with a fair few bottles of rum.

Jack picked one up and took a swig. "Ah, much better, thank you, love." And as though he'd just spotted the storm brewing ahead, he called out to the rest of the crew. "You might want to save your strengths and have something in your bellies, eh?" he pointed towards the storm and heard the grumble of the crew.

"I used to dream about joining a bunch of cutthroat pirates," Zachary said, appearing beside Jack at the wheel. Jack looked at him from the corner of his eyes, "And has that dream been fulfilled?"

The corner of Zachary's lips quirked up, "Not until we've stolen some treasure, it won't be."

Jack grinned at him, "Aye, but what about the true pirating life?"

Zachary furrowed his brows, turning his body so it was angled towards Jack. "What do you mean?"

Jack smirked, snapping the compass shut. "The key to being a true pirate," he leaned in towards Zachary so he could feel his breath on his cheek, "is acting like one."