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Barely had the sound of Thibault’s frantic howl been drowned out by the sea before Celeste was in motion. While Nicolette struggled against Brannigan’s grip – and now Piotr had a hold of her too, and while she might have squirmed free from one she could not get away from both - her captain was looping a length of rope around her waist, Dax grabbed the other end and then Celeste went over the side. Nicolette terror redoubled as a flash of what Celeste had told her went through her head – life in the winter sea is measured in minutes –
“Nico!” Kali had appeared in front of her, blocking her view of the spot where her dog and her lover had disappeared. She was pushing something at her, shaking her shoulders. “Nicolette! You want to help them, help us with the net!”
Sense finally reasserted itself, and Nicolette ran out into the wind and the rain, standing alongside Bailey. She barely even knew what she was doing but Piotr was on her other side now and she followed his movements to get the mass of netting in place, ready to scoop both of them back out of the sea.
-
Maker damn it, this was why it wasn’t a good idea to have animals on board. Isabela cursed as the mutt disappeared over the rail and the minstrel’s scream split the air. This was going to put a damper on the long awaited escape from Kirkwall, in the most literal sense. Fighting the way through the storm was second nature to her, and she would have continued onwards with muscles finally feeling the good ache of battling the wheel, only Celeste then went and pulled the more hare-brained stunt she’d ever seen her do.
And considering the kind of stuff they’d got up to over the years, that was saying a lot.
In seconds, Celeste was in the water, and Isabela was trying to steer the Wicked Grace in roughly the same direction they dog had gone over. Guiding a craft through rough weather was one thing, actively steering it around a tight point another, but Isabela hadn’t earned her reputation as Queen of the Eastern Seas without being a damned good helmsman. The volley of words that followed as she bullied the ship roughly where they needed to be could have turned the air blue, if anybody could have heard her over the waves. There was one outstanding thought in her head, though, that was a bit distracted from the urgency of the current situation.
Well, I’ll be damned.
If Nicolette had gone overboard, Isabela would have understood the response, but Nicolette’s dog? Celeste clearly had it bad if she was willing to go that far to save the minstrel from grief. This would be worth some quality teasing, assuming they actually managed to fish them both out of there.
-
The seconds ticked by and Dax bawled as the line went tight around his arms. “Drawing in! Get ready to cast the net!”
Half-blind from the water trickling in her eyes, but protected from the worst of the spray by the oilskin, Nicolette tried to copy what everybody else around her was doing, and on Kali’s signal, the net went into the water. Slowly, they began to retract it, and she held her breath and prayed to any and all gods that might happen to be listening.
“Nico!” Kali had appeared in front of her, blocking her view of the spot where her dog and her lover had disappeared. She was pushing something at her, shaking her shoulders. “Nicolette! You want to help them, help us with the net!”
Sense finally reasserted itself, and Nicolette ran out into the wind and the rain, standing alongside Bailey. She barely even knew what she was doing but Piotr was on her other side now and she followed his movements to get the mass of netting in place, ready to scoop both of them back out of the sea.
-
Maker damn it, this was why it wasn’t a good idea to have animals on board. Isabela cursed as the mutt disappeared over the rail and the minstrel’s scream split the air. This was going to put a damper on the long awaited escape from Kirkwall, in the most literal sense. Fighting the way through the storm was second nature to her, and she would have continued onwards with muscles finally feeling the good ache of battling the wheel, only Celeste then went and pulled the more hare-brained stunt she’d ever seen her do.
And considering the kind of stuff they’d got up to over the years, that was saying a lot.
In seconds, Celeste was in the water, and Isabela was trying to steer the Wicked Grace in roughly the same direction they dog had gone over. Guiding a craft through rough weather was one thing, actively steering it around a tight point another, but Isabela hadn’t earned her reputation as Queen of the Eastern Seas without being a damned good helmsman. The volley of words that followed as she bullied the ship roughly where they needed to be could have turned the air blue, if anybody could have heard her over the waves. There was one outstanding thought in her head, though, that was a bit distracted from the urgency of the current situation.
Well, I’ll be damned.
If Nicolette had gone overboard, Isabela would have understood the response, but Nicolette’s dog? Celeste clearly had it bad if she was willing to go that far to save the minstrel from grief. This would be worth some quality teasing, assuming they actually managed to fish them both out of there.
-
The seconds ticked by and Dax bawled as the line went tight around his arms. “Drawing in! Get ready to cast the net!”
Half-blind from the water trickling in her eyes, but protected from the worst of the spray by the oilskin, Nicolette tried to copy what everybody else around her was doing, and on Kali’s signal, the net went into the water. Slowly, they began to retract it, and she held her breath and prayed to any and all gods that might happen to be listening.