"Well, you sort of ruled out the navy, so I would think it might not be them, so perhaps people like us? Or Hunters?" Nathaniel said shuddering, "I'd hate to be the one held captive then, all the stress that person must have. Will they live through it? Will the ransom be paid? What will happen? I know that some pirates do this a lot more often than you, but gosh, this is tough." He shook his head again, "Just, wow, there's a lot riding on this then."
He laughed. "I don't think other pirates would come after us. You're worrying just a little too much, Nathaniel." he shook his ehad slightly, smiling. "Trust me on this one. You're worrying just a little too much. Yes, some healthy caution is good, but you're worryng too much."
"I think someone out to be worrying a little bit if anything, but if you say so." Nathaniel grinned a bit, finally relaxing, "I mean, I'd rather worry too much, then not worry at all and just throw caution to the wind. To me, that's just a bit silly and definitely a dangerous thing to do. You could end up having yourself and your crew die." He shook his head at himself, "I'd rather play it safe, but then completely ravage the homes of the aristocrats."
He nodded a little bit. "Yes, of course. I didn't mean to throw caution to the wind, I'm not stupid. I only meant that worrying is only useful to a certain degree, and then it becomes rather useless and only hinders what you really meant to do."
" I get that, I guess I just overthink things, a lot." Nathaniel said shrugging, "So, what are you going to tell the man, how are you going to make it clear that he has to pay or else?"
"I am not quite sure yet. I have been working on a few different drafts for the letter, but I don't have anything concrete in mind yet." he explained, looking at Nathaniel.
"Oh, I understand, well I do hope that you figure something out soon. The guy is getting a bit annoying." Nathaniel muttered, referring to the shouts coming from the belly of the ship, "Should I go see what's wrong?"
Elis had gotten tired of staying inside the bottom of the ship, and the rats weren't helping. So, he had resorted to screaming his head off in hopes of someone coming. When the rats came closer to him, he began to scream louder, "CAN SOMEONE PLEASE LET ME OUT!!!!!"
Felix sighed. "No, it's fine. I'll go check on him." He headed down to the belly of the ship, poking his head into the room where Elias was. "What's wrong now, then?" He asked, taking his hat off to card a hand through his hair, arching his eyebrows at Elias.
"R-RATS!!!!!!!!!! P-please let me out!" Elias said, stammering, he pointed at the rats enjoying the bits of food that he hadn't forced himself to eat, "L–look, I'll have my father pay you even more to let me out of here. I cannot be near those creatures." He said shuddering, "Please?"
Felix narrowed his eyes a little bit. "Fine. I'll let you out. But no snooping around the ship, and if I see you grabbing at any weapons, you'll be right back in here before you can say "rats"." He said, pulling out a key and unlocking the brig.
"Promise." Elias said jumping up and over the tray were the rats were, "You will not get any problems from me." He glanced around looking up at the man in front of him, "I. . .er. . .is there anything I could do then, or a place where I could stay? So I'll be out of your way?"
Felix thought for a moment about that. He didn't want to try putting Elias in his own cabin, that could have bad results. But neither could he put him in with the rest of the crew; that was a guarantee for trouble.
"Well," Elias said quietly, gently drumming his fingers on his leg, he was a bit tense being around this man again, but it was much better than being near the rats, "Honestly, I could stay anywhere other than here, and I won't make trouble, at all."
Felix frowned a little. "You can come on deck with me for a while. We can figure out sleeping arrangements later." He replied, stepping back to lead Elias out on deck. The ship wasn't a bad one, and was rather clean, as far as ships go.
"Oh, okay. . ." Elias followed behind him, he kept his eyes down as they surfaced to the top deck, he could feel the stares of the other men, and that just made him feel even more awkward, 'Oh god, maybe I should have stayed with the rats, they weren't giving me the death glare.' But then, he remembered who he was, and he straightened up, still not making eye contact with anyone, but feeling a bit better about themself. If they were going to be treated like this, they would at least accept it with dignity.
Felix smirked just a little, gesturing to the men to calm down and get back to work as he led Elias over to the ship's wheel, the smirk still tugging at his lips. "Alright, rich boy." he said, stretching and settling in near the wheel, eyes scanning the horizon. "You're out o' the brig."
" I realized that, oh, where are my manners, thank you for letting me out of there." Elias said looking out at the ocean, "Do just let you be now? You do what you must do, and I do whatever keeps me out of the way?"
Felix dipped his head slowly. "If you like. Just stay in eyesight, Elias. I don't want to have to track you down." he said, looking over at Elias for a moment, before his eyes returned to scanning the horizon.
"If you have any books I'll be fine." Elias muttered, "I can stay out of your way, then keep myself entertained if that is even necessary. Alright?" He was already feeling a bit nervous, the stares, maybe not of anger, but of annoyance wasn't helping, and having this man near him wasn't making him feel better, just more intimidated.
Felix nodded a little bit. He stood straight, ducking into his cabin and returning with two older books, their covers ragged and slightly stained. Well loved, really. "These are all I have." he said, holding them out to Elias and looking out at the horizon again, not really wanting to meet his captive's eyes.
"These will work perfectly." Elias said as he carefully took the books, that would defiantly keep him out their way. He sat down in the same area that Felix was in, but tried to not get too close. he opened the first page of the book and began to devour the words, forgetting about what was going on around him, and focusing on the words he was reading.
Written on the title page was "Felix A. Blackwood" in delicate, curling cursive script. The pages were dog-eared and worn, a few with light penciling in the margins. They had obviously been well-loved for years, and were not new books in any way. Felix was silent, keeping an eye on their direction.
Elias was growing more lost in the book when he felt eyes on his, self consciously he glanced up, his cheeks a light shade of pink. Not really noticing anyone he continued to read, enjoying the book thoroughly, this book sort of made him think of the books he had back home in his library, They were also loved as well, and slightly falling apart at times.
Felix studied Elias for just a moment, letting out a quiet breath, then looked forward again, starting to hum quietly to himself as he kept an eye on their route.
Elias had gotten through most of the first chapter and a half and was about to continue when he put the book down and stood up looking over the edge of the ship and at the water. It looked so calm, beautiful, almost serene. He found it hard to believe that he had been afraid of it for so long. He closed his eyes and took in the smell of fresh salt water.