Seeing how Diego happened to be the closest thing to his first ally, Rhys let the lack of tiger warnings slide with a grin and well-meaning alcohol theft, fingers plucking the bottle from the pirate with practiced ease. He was about to respond before he got interrupted by a new voice. The prince turned and hastily got out of the way of the newcomer, nose instantly picking up the scent of what smelled to be good food.
Rhysand smirked and returned the look-over, appreciating the sight of the person standing before him, then lifted his bottle in greeting. "Not quite a crewmember. Stolen prince held for ransom." Though, Vekra has been talking about finding a way to get my shit together. This might be the perfect chance. He ignored that thought and accepted the offered hand, an amused snort slipping past his defenses.
"Trust me, the palace cooks would have walloped me if I didn't have a taste for good food with how often they had to deal with my meddling. Rhysand, though you probably already knew that." He cut a gaze to Amira with an arched brow. "Unless this ship isn't as inclusive as I thought with what goes down."
Sockeye let out a short laugh, something about the sound close to mesmerizing. Unnervingly so. "'Course I knew who you were. It's manners to ask, though." They said, crossing pale, thin arms over their chest. "Lookin' forward to the feedback, fancy pants. I'll pull ya aside later, for now I gotta go help the boy. Oh, and don' get–" Diego smacked their shoulder as they looked at the bottle in Rhysand's hand, and the two shared a look that was close to a conversation before Sockeye shrugged. "Don' get too comfortable around Morrigan. She might stab ya, 'specially if you're drinkin' and bein' a dumbass. Later." They were gone, then.
Diego just grinned, linking an arm with Rhysand to lead him to the table Amira and Morrigan were sitting on. "Sockeye's great. They're the best damn chef I've ever met, and wicked sharp. You should hear them and the Captain go at it, gold."
"We are 'educated'," Amira said, making air quotes. Morrigan briefly looked almost amused at that, though the expression was gone so fast it almost seemed like a trick of the eye. "Fancy education and all. Only good thing out of it is holding your own, the rest is nonsense. I am certain our guest knows what I mean." She arched an eyebrow at Rhysand, lips turned up at the corners just slightly. Most people guessed that her accent was either posh, or the result of only studying English by reading. They'd be right on both accounts, but no one ever guessed it was because she was from a royal family.
Well, this is definitely a new scene. Rhysand flitted his eyes back and forth between the crew members, eyes lingering on Sockeye—to be respectful, of course, while they talked; certainly no other reason. The prince resigned himself to the fact that he'd have to get used to the fast-paced environment he found himself in. It was completely different from the palace, where discussions were dragged on for hours by lazy but posh speech and bountiful instances of eloquent filibustering.
These pirates swapped conversation topic by the second. He could hardly rewire his brain fast enough to keep up.
When Amira addressed him, he put on an easy smirk and leaned his forearms against the table, eyes on her. "Precisely. 'Educated' debates and conversations hold many words with little meaning. Sometimes you might get lucky and have a few cutting points here and there, but the rest is filler." He rolled his eyes just thinking about it. "Can honestly say I don't miss it. A single meeting can last five hours and only cover half a topic."
