Captain of the Bloody Rose

There was no response from inside when she knocked.

Stranger yet, when she opened the door, no one seemed to be in the room- nor was anything out of place.

Matthew blinked curiously, peering under Jane's arm to try and get a peek inside. "Something fall over?" he asked.

Jane looked around suspiciously, certain she had heard something from this room. Stepping inside she looked around, confused and a little wary that something might jump out at her. As she looked around she grew more and more confused and a little worried. Had she imagined the sound?

“I guess not.” She said quietly, answering Matthew’s question. Turning she looked back at him and frowned. “Shouldn’t you be working?” She asked sternly, though not meanly.

"Um.... Bye!" the boy eeped, slipping out from under her arm, hurrying off to do god only knew what.

"Something wrong?"
Joseph was coming up the steps behind Jane that Matthew had just torn down. He raised an eyebrow, wondering why jane was standing in the door way.

Jane turned to look at him in surprise, not sure what to say exactly. After all, how bad did that look, her standing in the doorway of his quarters, door wide open and everything. She wasn’t even sure he would believe the truth either though that was all she had to tell him.

“I thought I heard a noise…something falling…but there wasn’t anything wrong.” She said aloud, her face betraying her confusion. She could have sworn she heard something, and Matthew had heard it too so she knew she wasn’t going crazy or something like that.

He blinked, looking past her before stepping into the cabin, looking around. "... Strange." he agreed, though didnt let it show on his fface how he really felt. maybe she haddnt been to sea in too long of a time. Maybe she heard something like the porthole in the breeze? Or something?

"You're right though. Nothing seems out of place." he took his hat off, tossing it lazily onto his desk. "Comming in?"

“Sure.” Jane mumbled, stepping through the door and looking around again, wondering what the hell she had heard. Could it have been something simple like a door slamming somewhere else? Sounds tended to travel oddly when you were out to sea. Had it really been so long that she couldn’t even recognize simple sounds? More importantly, had it been so long that such things bothered her so much?

She shut the door quietly, her lips in a frown as she mulled over that thought. Especially as her mind lighted on the crew member who had such issue with her before. Could he possibly be right? Perhaps she really was out of touch with all of this.

Joseph's boots clunked dully on the floor as he walked, peering left and right to see if anyone was in the room, hiding.

"Looks like the coast is clear." he said.

No sooner had the words left his mouth and a thud came from his bed quarters.

He blinked, pulling his gun off his hip. "Then again..."

“I knew I bloody heard something.” Jane muttered darkly, lifting her skirts up to her thigh to pull out a wicked looking dagger that she kept in a leather holster she’d made to tie around her leg. She muttered darkly to herself as she stared at the bed, looking rather dangerous and a little wild.

“Come out come out whoever you are…” She said mockingly, angry as all hell that she’d almost believed she had actually lost her touch.

Joseph pulled back the hammer on his pistol, narrowing his eyes at the bed.

There was a thumping sound again, this time followed by a sniffing noise.
".... Bloody- you must be kidding." he growled kicking the mattress off the bed, frowning.

It was dogs. Lovely. Puppies. And a nursing bitch.

"..." Joseph twitched slightly, putting the pistol's hammer back down, placing it back in it's holster. "Of all the disgusting creatures..."

Jane sighed and put the blade back in its holster, wondering how the hell a pregnant dog got on the ship in the first place. When she heard Joseph call them disgusting however, she turned sharply.

“They’re not disgusting Joseph. Dogs can be damn useful when they’re trained. What I want to know is how the hell she got in here.” She said coldly, gesturing to the nursing mother. The dog looked up at them warily, probably wondering if they were a threat or not.

Jane kneeled, and held out her hand for the female to sniff. “Hey there momma.” She said softly, smiling when the dog licked her hand tentatively. “That’s a girl.” She said softly, reaching out and petting the soft fur of her head.

"They eat grass and puke, slobber, shed, bite...." Joseph frowned. Apparently he wasn't a dog person.

He sighed, kicking his boots off his feet and to the corner. "Looks like my bed's been taken." he frowned. "Can't verywell make it move with babies..."

He glanced at Jane when she looked at him. "Well, I'm not heartless."

Jane smiled softly when he added that last bit, having been about to retort angrily before. She wasn’t exactly the type to love pets really, but she had a soft spot for dogs. She’d had one as a child and had loved the animal desperately. It was probably that reason that she hadn’t had pets since.

“I would hope not.” She said, standing up and walking over to him. “After all, how would you put up with me then?”

She looked over at the dogs again and sighed, running a hand through her wild mane of hair.

“You could always take my room. I could find somewhere else to sleep I suppose. With your back you need a bed, I can always do without."

"yOU MAKE ME OUT TO BE SOME CRIPPLED OLD MAN." jOSEPH SAID IN MOCH OFFENCE. "aND WHY WOULD YOU BOTHER TO SLEEP ANYWHERE ELSE IF i WERE TO COME TO YOUR ROOM?" HE RAISED AN EYEBROW.

[sorry for the caps lock! XD too tired to go ahead and rewrite it]

Jane looked at him in surprise, not sure quite how to answer him. It wasn’t that she would want to go anywhere else. Just that she thought he would be more comfortable without her there? Honestly she didn’t know what she was thinking, but for some reason she had been pretty sure he wouldn’t want her around.

“I didn’t think…I just thought, well you’re not an old man obviously. I don't have a problem with sleeping there, I thought maybe you'd be more comfortable without me around...or perhaps..." she trailed off, a blush starting to form on her cheeks from embarrassment. She didn't know what the hell to say, and it showed.

((lol its okay. I was like whoah for a second.))

Joseph laughed, causing the nursing dog to look over with one ear perked up curiously.

"Just answer one question: would you like to sleep with me tonight or not?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

The blush rose in her cheeks unbidden and she turned away sharply, wrapping her arms around herself. What did she want? It was such an easy question and yet at the same time it was horribly difficult to answer. She stood there for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"Y-yes." She said, for the first time in her llife, stuttering over her words.

"Then, I think it's high time we get some sleep." He said grabbing a wool blanket off the back of his chair. "Ready?"

Jane nodded silently, patting the nursing mother lightly on the head before following Joseph out the door and towards her own rooms. While her emotions was tumbling around inside her violently, her expression remained unbothered. She walked like she was completely confident and ready to take on anything. She knew that no matter how afraid she was she couldn’t show it to her crew.

Once they made it back to her room that calm façade started to slip a little, showing in the small shaking of her hands as she opened the door and her awkward stance. Jane wasn’t sure quite what to say or do.

Joseph raised an eyebrow at her hands then looked to her face. Once they were in the room, he remained standing at the door. "You trust me?" He asked, offering her the lantern. As the ship moved, the room seemed to stand still.

Something about that lantern light gave him an other worldly look in it's orange glow. His two toned eyes didn't gleam with any sort of lust most men would have in this situation, and the shadow of his hair worked well to conceal his scars.

"If you would like, I'll sleep on the floor." he said. "Just stop looking at me like you think I'm about to bite you like some sort of monster."

“No. I don’t want that.” She said softly, ignoring the quick beatings of her heart. It wasn’t that she was afraid of him persay though there was a fear there. In all honesty Jane was just very very nervous, and completely unsure of herself. She’d never been in this kind of situation before. Sure, men had tried to sleep in her room before, and she’d kicked their asses for it. But she’d never invited someone to sleep there before and she wasn’t sure now what to do about it.

Jane took a deep breath and steadied herself. Fear was not something she liked to keep much company with and so she pushed it back, until it was so small she could ignore it. Turning to look at him she smiled, before beginning her normal routine before bed. Rinsing off her face in the bucket of water that she kept in the corner, and then taking a brush to her long dark hair, undoing the tangles that the sea wind had put there.

OMG YOUR ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-----

Joseph took his boots off and shirt, not bothering to undo his belt. He ran the cuff of his shirt over his teeth before folding it haphazardly ontop of his boots. He took his gun and sword off is hip, wining a bit as he moved. The scarring made his skin tight and reluctant to flex. Amazing how he could still move, let alone fight like he did and pull of the title of Captain.

"What do you think we should do with the bitch?" he asked. He never was around dogs much. And he was a bit annoyed that he had to give up his room to the nursing mother. Still, he couldn't move it. Not yet anyway.

Jane sat there thoughtfully for a moment, running the brush through her dark hair. What would they do with the nursing mother and her pups? It was a rather odd situation.

“First and foremost I’d like to know how she got onboard. As for the pups, they’d be easy enough to find homes for once we got to port. At least once they’re old enough. The mother on the other hand, no one would take her. Too old.”

Jane frowned at the thought of making the female a stray all over again. She would just end up pregnant again and this time she might not be so lucky with her nesting place.

"We'll keep one and the mother then on board. Let them chase off any cats or mice." he reasoned, still watching her through his two toned eyes. She reminded him of the ocean so much. Calm one moment then fiery and bitter the next. And only once had he seen a truly sweet side.

Jane nodded, smiling despite herself. She wouldn't have asked to keep the dog herself since she had felt his animosity towards the animals when they had been back in the cabin. Having a dog onboard would be a hassle until she was properly trained but one that Jane would take on willingly. She loved dogs, specifically for their loyalty and unconditional love.

"Thank you." She said softly, already thinking about names she would give the mother. She'd have to pick a pup to keep as well since Joseph said they'd keep a pup as well.

Joseph watched her, a bit surprised to hear her thank him. Such a simple thing to allow made her happy? If that were the case, he was tempted to let her keep them all.... Tempted.

They would stop in upper Florida and get rid of the pups and restock- then head to the Bermuda- then continue on to the eastern continent, working their way aroudn Africa.

They were looking at a good ten year long trip by the time this was over. But it woudl be well worth it.