The line between Jacobe’s brows deepened at the news. “Oh. No, no one that special, I suppose.” He had had friends aboard. Loyal mates who knew how Captain Morgan could be, and who taught him how to avoid unnecessary attention. No boon companions he couldn’t live without, though. His heart ached for them as much as he felt relief that he had been the one to survive. “I have family in Scotland. It’s been a lifetime since I saw them; I’m not sure how they’ll take me.” He absentmindedly smoothed down some of the wrinkles in the sheets that were bunched over his lap.
Kylie nodded a little. "Shall we take you to Scotland, then?" He asked. He knew it was a little odd; most ships wouldn't just take passengers anywhere they wanted to go, but to be honest, the Praesidium didn't have much else to do. Most of their duties were things that could wait or be done on the way; they had no specific ports to stop in, no wares to sell. "Unless there is somewhere else you would prefer."
Jacobe considered his options for a little longer, his mind briefly becoming preoccupied with the familiar sounds of life on a ship. After the moment passed he nodded. “Yes. Take me to Scotland.” He did find it odd how the captain seemed so willing to take him wherever. As critical as he held himself up to be, though, he wasn’t one to complain about an obvious gift. “That would be at least two favors you give me already,” he observed. “I’ll be indebted to you and your crew.”
He shook his head a little bit. "No, it's nothing.." he replied, waving a hand for a moment. "It will take us a while to reach Scotland, though, as that country is a good distance away from where we are now, as I'm sure you probably know." he gave Jacobe a moment to digest that, then said, "As you will be staying aboard for some time, there are some…ground rules that I must lay out for you."
Jacobe took in a breath, ragged, and less stable than he was used to given the circumstances. “I see. Yes.” He did remember a handful of things from before the storm. They were far away from Scotland, yes, but at the time he hadn’t cared. “Yes, I was helping with the map before…everything happened,” he continued, more to himself than the captain. There was another second of silence before Jacobe turned his attention back to their conversation. “Rules. Of course. Pray, go on.”
"Right. Don't leave your quarters at night, for any reason, for the safety of both yourself and my crew. Please don't go poking around the ship, either, even in the daytime. I would prefer if you remained either in your quarters, in the mess, or on deck, but nowhere else unless I or my first or second mates are with you." Kylie said.
Jacobe wiggled his chin up and down in a slight, albeit confused nod. He wouldn’t question the rules. In fact, there were even stranger rules on the ship he served on. Although even then he could go out on the deck and look at the stars at night if he wanted to. “Alright. I can live with that,” he finally said. “Speaking of, where are my quarters?” The room he was in, he assumed, looked like the captain’s quarters. The room was too nice, and the bed too comfortable.
Kylie hesitated for a moment. "You'll be sleeping in mine, at least until you're feeling better, as these quarters are more easily accessible in case of emergency." there were guest quarters, but they were…not in good shape at the moment. Kylie had put some of his crew to work fixing them up, making them more acceptable for use. In the meantime, Kylie would sleep in a hammock like the rest of his crew.
Jacobe stole another glance around the captain’s quarters again, now in a different light. This would be his place to sleep for however long it took for him to get better. The thought had the hairs on the back of his neck rising. Not that he particularly minded the kindness Kylie was offering him, it just still felt strange. An invasion of privacy that his previous captain would never have even considered if they had rescued a drowning man. “Oh. Well, thank you, sir. Your generosity is…astounding.”
Kylie's mouth quirked faintly. "Yeah, well, you wouldn't want to sleep in a hammock with my crew, I guarantee it." Plus, he didn't want Jacobe sleeping near his crew. Too much risk of the man seeing something he wasn't supposed to. Fangs, wings, some strange inhuman feature that didn't belong. This was safer, even if Kylie had to sacrifice his own privacy for it. "Is there anything I can get for you, right now? How are you feeling?"
Jacobe snorted, amused, but soon after winced at his own sudden movement. It was all too easy to forget he couldn’t move in certain ways from his rather less-than-convenient injuries. Still, he found Kylie’s comment about his crew humorous given his own experiences sleeping in hammocks. “No. I’m alright for now.” He hesitated, thinking. “Well…actually, I might need some rum or something like it. To take the edge off, if you have any to spare.”
He dipped his head slightly. "I'm sure we can scrounge up some rum for you." He replied with a soft smile, running a hand through his hair and then sticking his head out the door, speaking quietly to a crew member on the other side of the door. Then he returned back over to the cabin side of the door, giving Jacobe a soft smile. "There we go. Someone should be bringing some soon enough."
Jacobe sank back against the cushions, watching Kylie as he spoke to whoever it was on the other side of the door. His mind wandered. This captain was kind. He gave soft smiles and ran his hands through his hair instead of wearing stiff wigs for the sake of appearances. Jacobe liked that. Or maybe he was just too dazed to think straight, and too grateful to think of his rescuer as anything but good.
“Thank you again, sir. Don’t let me keep you from any of your other engagements.”
Kylie inclined his head for a moment. "My first mate is taking care of things for now." He replied, sitting down again and studying Jacobe. His reddish brown hair hung over into his forehead just a little bit, quite obviously not powdered or even really styled. There was, of course, the obvious question: were they pirates? Was this why Kylie had set up the rules he had, why he didn't powder his hair or wear a wig? Was this the reason they could just take Jacobe to Scotland without a problem?
