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It took a lot of work to run a pirate ship. Especially all by oneself. Luckily, Scar had a few tricks up her sleeve. She was a mystic, which meant that the sails could unfurl themselves and the rigging never needed to be fixed. A course could be plotted from her captain's cabin at the same time her dinner was being cooked down in the galley. She never had to worry about sand banks or choppy seas. It was still a lot of work, but at least she didn't have to risk sailing with imbeciles who might want to throw her overboard the minute they found out what she could do.
It got lonely sometimes, but she had her familiar to sail with. She was a lovely black cat with one deep emerald right eye and the left was a shade of yellowish orange. At least, that was the form she chose to be in most of the time. She could shape-shift into almost any animal, her favorite, besides a cat, being a seagull. Her name was Olivia.
That's how Scar had wound up here, sailing in the direction of a little island that a small group of pirates had been marooned on. Livy had let Scar know that her contact aboard the Revenge had been left to die by one of the people Scar had assigned Liv to keep an eye on: Izzy Hands.
Scar cursed to herself as she sailed her ship, the Coven, to retrieve them. Her faded black cotton shirt was billowing in the wind she was calling up to move her ship a bit faster. Her black pants were loose around the top but tight around her shapely calves. Her bare feet were planted firmly on the deck below them. Her brown hair was tied back with a dark green ribbon matching the gemstones adorning her ears and hands. The left eye that she kept hidden underneath an eye patch was a startling shade of emerald, while the one she left exposed was hazel, leaning toward brown.
She was standing by the helm when she heard a rather out of place, posh voice yelling for attention. She sent Liv to investigate, morphing from the sleek black fur of her cat form to bright white feathers as she took flight. The emerald eye glowed an unnatural, eerie, green light under the patch as Scar used her familiar's vision as her own. The dinghy was sloshing precariously under the man's frantic waving, almost sending him flailing into the ocean. Scar couldn't get a good look at him through Liv's eyes, but it was enough to peak her interest.
"Livy?" The posh voice asked, and that was enough to have Scar sauntering over to the railing of the ship to peer at the man suspiciously, the green light dying down to its normal hue. He was dressed in startlingly plain clothes, but Scar still new that face.
"Stede Bonnet?" Scar called from the railing, "You're certainly a long way from Barbados. Looking good for a dead man."
"Uh yes well-" He began, but Scar cut him off.
"-No matter. Liv, help him aboard, dear," with that she turned back to the helm, laughing to herself at the baffled look on his face.
When he had cleared the railing, Scar turned to face him once more, "Welcome aboard The Coven, Captain Bonnet. My name is Captain Scarlet, but please call me 'Scar'."
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Scar," He replied.
She made a displeased sound at the title, "Not a miss, but thank you."
"My apologies, Captain Scar," He did a ridiculous little bow, and Scar had to stifle a giggle at his antics.
"No worries," She waved him off, "Now, apparently, you left Blackbeard on a dock, so in turn he left your crew on an island. Left them," Scar hummed closing her eyes as she pointed in a direction to her left, "over that way." Without further word, Scar maneuvered the helm in that direction.
"How do you know that?" Stede was cautiously asking, hand not so subtly twitching for his knife. Scar huffed in annoyance at that, flicking her wrist, watching in satisfaction as Bonnet's knife flew from its holster and lodging itself into the main mast.
Scar waved her fingers dramatically and sarcastically intoned, "Magic."
Stede's dumbfounded face was enough to actually let loose a cackle from her chest before she continued, "Oh calm down, Bonnet. I'm trying to help. Your idiot of a boyfriend decided to break a promise he made to me, I'm just trying to make it right again."
Scar heard yelling and looked out with a telescope in the direction of the commotion, "Oh look, there they are," and then to Liv, "Go let Buttons know we're here, would you dear?"
Liv took off in an instant, flapping over to the strip of land the marooned crew were seated on. The anchor dropped on its own as Scar turned to Stede, "Lower the dinghy and get your crew."
By the time Buttons had calmed down enough to listen to Livy and actually get on the damn boat, the stew Scar had made was getting a bit cold. They shouldn't complain though, seeing as it had been a few days without food by the time Scar had arrived to rescue them. One by one, the ex-crew of the Revenge clambered aboard the Coven.
Liv flapped over to Scar, landing on her shoulder, and immediately morphed back into her cat form, nuzzling against Scar's neck. Liv purred as Scar scratched behind her ears and under her chin. The only one who didn't seem surprised by the transformation was Buttons (He had a hunch that Livy wasn't a normal bird).
Scar cleared her throat with an air of authority, "Now, I'm sure you have questions," She held up her hand at the jumble of voices that erupted from them, "One at a time please!" She pointed to Buttons.
"Livy said you're 'ere ta help, and I am inclined ta believe 'er, but what exactly does a witch get outta this?" At the word 'witch', the crew started mumbling to themselves hurriedly.
"I prefer the word 'mystic', but, like I told Stede, I am here to make sure Blackbeard makes up for the promise he broke. Next question," Scar pointed to Oluwande.
He cleared his throat, "Buttons said you knew how to find us," At Scar's nod he continued, "Does that mean you can find the Revenge?"
"Yes, Liv has been tracking them since you got marooned," It looked like he had another question, so Scar took a guess, "Jim is okay, for now. I'm sure the head wound hurt like a bitch, but they were up and about yesterday afternoon. Next."
They all took turns asking questions on the deck of the Coven while eating the meal Scar had made. When everyone had finished the food, Scar stood up form where she had sat down on the wooden boards. Liv hopped down from her shoulder and looked up at Scar for directions.
"This is my first mate, Olivia, you are to follow her words as if they are mine," At the crew's bewildered expressions she started again, this time directing her words to Liv, "Maybe change to something that they can understand, dear. Yes, yes. I know human forms are annoying. It's just for a moment."
Liv's human form was that of a young woman with long, shimmering, silver hair, her eyes almost a mirror to Scar's, and her height a few inches shorter than Stede. Her voice was a rasp of tone that hadn't been used for a long while when she spoke, "I am first mate Liv. I am an extension of Captain Scar." She said the sentence like she was speaking it into truth.
"Thank you, Liv," Scar turned back the the new members aboard her vessel, "Liv doesn't like being in human form for too long," She nodded permission and Liv shifted back into her cat body, "But she can understand you no matter her form, and can communicate with me in the same way. I trust you will respect her, and me, in your time aboard the Coven. We will be coming up on the Revenge with in the next day or so. Until then, make yourself at home." With that little speech done, Scar strode back into her cabin.
Blackbeard's new flag whipped in the wind behind him as Izzy peered through the spyglass he held to his eye. The ship that had been following them had finally gotten close enough to recognize and Izzy cursed as he spotted Scar. She was staring straight back at him as if looking into his eyes, and knowing her, she probably was. Izzy ripped the telescope away and spit onto the deck as he turned to find Edward.
Izzy knew they weren't going to outrun the Coven, so preparing Ed for Scar's arrival was the next best thing. He hurried to the now bare Captain's cabin, knocking on the door with a huff. Ed was sitting on the bed next to the window, his own telescope in his hand. He lowered it as Izzy entered, speaking in a gruff tone, "Should've known Scar would show up."
"Well, boss," Izzy shrugged slightly, "You broke a promise, she was bound to find out eventually." He felt the broken promise in question throb in his boot where his toe should have been.
Edward sneered at him, narrowing his eyes, "Promises are for 'namby pambies pining for boyfriends', Iz." Izzy flinched at his own words thrown back at him before simply nodding.
"What's our plan then, boss?"
"Let them catch up. Have a little chat," He pronounced the t at the and of the word chat harshly through his gritted teeth.
"Aye, Blackbeard," Izzy left the cabin after being dismissed with a wave of Ed's hand.
The wind had picked up as he walked back out onto the deck. He pulled out his spyglass again, and watched as Scar sent that fucking bird over to them. Fuck, he should have known. At least he could give Ed a proper answer for why they didn't have a bird guy. It was because birds, apparently, worked for witches, fuck's sake.
The bird, Olivia he thought the name was, landed on the railing in front of him. Izzy recognized the green glow in its eye immediately and looked heaven-ward.
He spoke gruffly, "Ed wants to chat." He felt ridiculous talking to a fucking bird, but he knew it was listening, and more importantly, Scar was listening. Izzy confirmed his suspicions, watching through the glass, as Scar looked directly at him, nodded, and summoned the fucking bird back to her.
Izzy shouted for Fang to lower anchor and raise sails, and watched as the Coven sailed toward them.
"Israel Basilica Hands," Scar spoke as she swung a bare foot over the railing of the Revenge, "How lovely to see you, dear."
"Fuck off, Scar," Izzy's reply only earned a huff of a laugh and a hand patting his cheek. His eye twitched and he jerked away, "Ed wanted to speak with you."
"Oh good! I have some words to share with him as well. What a coincidence," Stede fucking Bonnet had climbed the ladder behind Scar.
In an instant, Izzy had the point of his sword resting on the base of Stede's neck, "I was talking to Captain Scar, not you, you twat."
"Oh, really now, Izzy, you must come up with better insults." Izzy lunged forward, but was stopped by the familiar pull of Scar's magic holding him back. He outright growled at them both, "I should gut you both where you stand."
"I can't let you do that, Izzy love, you know that," Scar's tone was soft, but the unmistakable glint of a threat shone in her eye.
Izzy's eye twitched again, "Fine." He lowered his sword, sheathing it back on his hip, before heading to the Captain's quarters.
He stopped them with a single finger, "I need to prepare Ed for that ponce," He pointed at Bonnet, "Wait here."
Izzy did not want to be the one to tell Blackbeard that Stede was back, but he also couldn't have Scar harming Ed if he attempted to stab Bonnet, no matter how much Izzy thought the twat deserved it. Izzy entered the cabin cautiously, closing the door behind him.
"Boss," Izzy started, then thought better and tried again, "Edward," That got him a reaction, Ed violently shooting out of his chair and rounding on Izzy.
"That's Blackbeard to you, dog," He spat out.
Izzy decided to cut to the chase, "Bonnet arrived with Scar."
Ed froze mid-step towards Izzy, foot landing heavily with the aborted movement, "What?" Ed sounded fragile, and Izzy hated it. He sounded like Ed and not at all like the Blackbeard he had just sworn he was.
Izzy elaborated, "Stede Bonnet is aboard the Revenge with Scar, and she wont let either of us stab him, so I figured I better warn you before he came in here."
Ed let out a heavy breath and nodded, grateful, at Izzy, "Yeah, thanks, Iz."
Izzy nodded back before going to open the door. Scarlet and Stede waltzed into the room, Stede like he still owned the place, and Scar like she had a score to settle. Izzy grudgingly admitted to himself that both instances might be true.
Scar was the first to speak, "Edward Teach, ten years ago, you made me a promise. One that you have broken. I want an explanation. Now."
"Oh piss off, Scar. I don't owe you anything," Ed started, but it was Izzy that interrupted him, much to Stede's confusion.
"Edward," Izzy warned lowly, "Don't speak to her like that."
The smirk on Scar's face faltered a bit, "Thank you, Israel, but I can handle this."
"I know you can," Izzy said, "but you shouldn't need to."
Scar flashed a smile at him and turned back to Ed, "Let's not do this, Edward. I just want to know why you hurt him. Then maybe I won't have to break my end of that particular deal." The threat was there, and it sent ice down Izzy's spine.
She hummed before speaking again, "Maybe you two should deal with your mess first, then, yeah?" She was gesturing between Stede and Ed.
"Yes, perhaps," Stede suggested, "I need to apologize, Edward." Edward's eyes never left Izzy's until he had spoken. Then, they whipped to his, and Izzy could see his resolve breaking.
Scar pulled Izzy aside as the two spoke, whispering, "Let's leave them to their apologies, dear." Izzy could only nod as he was lead through the door.
Izzy was just as handsome as Scar had remembered him. Of course, she had kept a close eye on him via Livy, but it wasn't the same as the real thing. They both stood outside the door to Ed's cabin, listening for any hint of violence that needed to be stopped, when Scar saw it. It was too small to see through Liv's eyes, but just at the base of Izzy's neck, was the emerald ring that Scar had given him so long ago.
She felt her eyes tearing up as she questioned him, "You kept it?"
Izzy tuned his head away from where he was glaring a hole into the cabin door to look at her confused. His brow furrowed until he followed her gaze to the sliver band he kept around his tie. He felt his face heat up, "Uh- yeah, yeah I kept it."
Izzy self consciously brought his non gloved hand up to cover it, but felt Scar's fingers get there first. She was reverently stroking the gem as she looked at it.
Izzy spoke again, trying to lift the mood a little, "You normally keep wedding rings, ya know?" Her eyes flew to his, a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth.
"Yeah…" She brought her left hand up to show him the silver band there. It was one of the only pieces of jewelry she owned that wasn't green. The deep blue stone caught the light of the setting sun and Izzy felt his breath leave him. She kept hers, too, and on the correct finger and everything. Izzy was struck with how much he had missed her.
"Fuck," Izzy swore, Scar's smile grew into a grin as he continued, "You kept yours too."
Scar laughed, "Normally keep wedding rings, ya know?" She repeated his words in a hushed whisper. Izzy took her hand in his and inspected the rings there closer. The blue and silver ring Izzy had given her sat situated atop the deep red and gold band that Ed had placed there so many years ago.
"Did you keep Ed's, too," Scar asked, still playing with the ring on his tie.
"Yeah," Izzy whispered, fishing a chain out from beneath his shirt. The deep red stone and gold band matched Scar's, "He doesn't wear mine anymore, I don't think, so I keep mine hidden." Even as Izzy said it out loud, he knew how petty that sounded, and judging from Scar's face, she thought the same.
"Izzy dear," she said reproachfully, "You have to know how childish that sounds." Izzy huffed a laugh despite himself. Yes he knew that, but this was Edward they were talking about here. Edward Teach was the definition of childish.
"Yeah I know, but it's been at least five years now," Izzy started, "I wouldn't know how to respond if he actually noticed me wearing it again."
Scar rolled her eyes at him, "Israel Hands-" She sounded like she was going to continue that sentence when a loud crash echoed from within the captain's room.
"Fuck," They both said in unison. Scar flicked a hand out and the door swung open forcefully to show an enraged Ed pinning Stede by the neck to the wall beside the desk.
Another flick sent Edward flying back into a waiting chair, green tendrils of smoke wrapping around him and keeping him held there. Ed struggled, his eyes wild. Izzy rushed over to him, and Scar closed the damaged door as well as she could behind them. She walked over to Stede, who was rubbing a shaking hand against his throat.
"You okay, Bonnet?" She questioned, "Let me see." She moved his hands aside and inspected the red imprints on his neck.
"What happened," Scar whispered to him.
"Told him I loved him," Stede whispered back, "Called me a liar and started choking me."
"Oh dear," Scar said lowly, "Next time wait for the confessions to have witnesses." Then, louder she spoke, "Izzy dear, Stede said the L- word."
Scar could practically hear the way Izzy's head dropped as he cursed a soft 'fuck sake'.
"Told him to wait til there was witnesses next time," Scar said with amusement in her eyes.
"Probably a good idea, yeah," Izzy replied, "I think he's calmed down enough, now, love."
Scar felt her heart speed up at the endearment, and flicked her wrist. The green smoke dissipated from around Edward and the chair. Ed didn't move, just slumped against the backrest.
Stede, however, noticed the pet name that had escaped Izzy's mouth, and inquired, though not softly enough, "Did Izzy just call you 'love'?"
Scar whipped around and clapped a hand over his lips, but the damage was done. Izzy's back straightened as he slowly turned to them and stalked over. Scar just removed the hand over Stede's mouth and rested her forehead against the wall.
Izzy voice was quiet and dangerous as he spoke, but the words themselves were what startled Scar, "Yes, I fuckin' did. Is that a problem, Bonnet?"
Scar felt a grin split her face as Stede quickly insisted that 'no of course not. No problem at all!'
Stede was leaning against the wall, still rubbing at his neck, when Ed spoke up, "Why the fuck are you wearing that?" He was pointing to Izzy now, his finger shaking in the air where it was held accusingly.
Izzy had gone pale and hurried to stuff whatever Ed had seen back into his shirt, "Edward, not right now, please."
"No, don't 'Edward' me," His impression of Izzy was unerringly close, "I thought you didn't wear that shit anymore."
"Edward Teach," Scar's voice was stern, "That is not shit and you know it. He still wears mine, why on earth wouldn't he wear yours?"
"Because he hasn't worn it in five years, Scarlet!" Ed's voice was laced with anger now, "Why on earth would he start again now?"
Izzy's voice was quiet, "Edward, I never stopped wearing it… Can we talk about this when your boyfriend isn't trying to apologize?"
Stede was thoroughly lost, "Wearing what?"
Scar shot him a look, but Stede just kept on, "Wearing what? I'm confused, what is he wearing? He looks the same to me."
"Bonnet, maybe stick to saying sorry," Izzy pretty much pleaded at him.
"Stede, please, the faster you settle this, the faster we can explain," Scar's voice really was pleading, so Stede nodded in agreement.
He started from the top, about how Chauncey had tried to shoot him, but had ended up killing himself instead. About how his words had rattled him so much. About how he went back to Mary to find there wasn't a place for him. About the fantastic fuckery he thought Ed would've been proud of. About figuring out he didn't belong there anymore, and finally about how he loved Ed.
By the time he was finished, Edward was crying, making both Izzy and Scar roll their eyes, but at least it was said. Edward was blubbering his own apologies into Stede's shoulder.
When he got to the part about throwing Lucius to the ocean, Izzy spoke up, "He isn't dead, Edward."
That got a confused look from everyone but Scar. She had seen him scrawl back on board with Izzy's help, knew he was hiding in the walls. In fact, she had heard him behind the panel just there, she flicked her wrist. The boards came sliding open and a squeak had everyone alerted to the presence of the scribe.
"Nice to meet you Lucius," Scar started, "I'm Captain Scar."
After the initial shock of finding Lucius alive, Ed had given him permission to take Jim, Frenchie, and a dinghy over to the Coven to reunite with the others.
Edward had finished his apologies and Stede had forgiven him, without asking the same in return, though Scar knew Ed well enough to know that he already had. They might never be back to the way they were, especially not after their next conversation, but Ed had forgiven Stede already.
"Now," Ed spoke after a moment of gathering his composure, "Tell me why the fuck you're wearing that, Izzy."
Izzy looked resigned, "I told you, Edward, I never stopped wearing it, and I only started hiding it after you stopped wearing yours!"
Edward looked hurt at that, and struggled to remove his glove, "You mean this one, Iz?" There, hidden just underneath the finger of his glove, was Izzy's deep blue band accompanied by Scar's emerald green one.
"Told you," Scar tutted not even trying to hide the amusement, "Childish, Izzy dear." Stede however decided to be quick on the uptake for the first time in his life.
"Is that a wedding ring?" His voice was tight and shrill.
Apparently, the other two men had forgotten he was there because Ed physically jumped and Izzy's shoulders tensed.
Scar was the one who answered, "Yes, Stede, those are wedding rings." She emphasized the plural, "And I'm guessing these two idiots didn't tell you we're married?"
Scar wiggled her ring adorned hand in the air, exasperated, "For fuck's sake, boys. You know how I feel about miscommunication."
"No! I wasn't aware Ed was married! What the fuck, Edward," Stede's voice had trilled higher as he spoke, almost hurting Scar's ears. She shot a look at Izzy that said 'really? him?' and Izzy shrugged because he couldn't understand why either.
Scar decided to ask Edward the entire reason she had hunted them down in the first place, "Yes, Ed. What the fuck, indeed. Tell me why you cut off his fucking toe or so help me god, I'll do the same to you."
"Shit, Scar, I wasn't thinking, I was so lost, I-"
"I told him the British should have killed him, Scar, I deserved it," Izzy interrupted Ed's rambling.
Scar narrowed her eyes at Izzy, but continued, turning back to Ed, "Ten years ago, you promised you wouldn't hurt him in any way he didn't want to be hurt, and in return I would leave you two alone. I would leave and you could be Blackbeard and his first mate, without me in the way, and, by god, I kept my end of that deal. Ten years. I have looked after you two from afar, left you alone, unless you were about to fucking die, but I did that because you promised me you wouldn't hurt him.
"I know I'm dangerous. I know I inspire certain things to come after the people I love, but damn it I thought I made it clear that I wouldn't let you get away with that shit. That was the deal you broke, now explain or I bind you to that chair feed you your toes as a fuckin' laugh, Edward Teach."
"Izzy threatened me," Ed said petulantly, folding his arms across his chest.
Stede spoke up this time, "I'm sorry, did you just say Ed cut of Izzy's toe and made him eat it?"
Izzy answered, "Yes, Bonnet. Keep up."
Edward started again, "I am sorry, Izzy. You didn't deserve that."
Scar was still fuming, but she knew that was the best she was gonna get out of Edward. Her shoulders relaxed but she still intoned darkly, "You do that shit again, and I'll lift the protective spells I put on you and let those fucking monsters come for you again. Same goes for you," she pointed at Izzy, then turned to Stede, "And now you. You hurt them, either of them, and you'll understand why I had to leave to protect them in the first place."
The ice in her voice seemed to shake Bonnet to his core because he looked like he was going to piss himself as he nodded vigorously.
"Good," Scar said, "Now, I need to go before-" She was cut off with a loud crash against the hull of the ship and screams from the crew, "-that." She huffed out, annoyed.
When Scarlet said monsters, that is exactly what she meant. The tentacles wrapping around the bow of the ship had to belong to something monstrous. The inky blackness of them nearly blocked out the daylight. Scar barely had time to side step as one of them came crashing down next to her.
"The Kraken has decided to visit again, and it's not Ed this time," Scar explained to a very pale Bonnet. She looked up just in time to see Liv dropping her staff down to her. The sleek black wood was almost as tall as she was and adorned with a large emerald stone at the top. The dark wood looked alive as it seemed to move and grow around and through the gem.
She took a deep breath before aiming her staff at the Coven, sending it flying a few hundred yards away, a bubble of green surrounding it to keep it safe. Then, she brought the staff down to the planks of the Revenge, the end of it sending wisps of green smoke out to meet the tentacles gripping at the hull.
The tendrils of smoke wrapped around the creature, prying it away from the ship before dragging it down into the water below. Scar grunted with the effort of it, her feet slipping as she pushed the staff forward against an invisible opposition.
She was loosing her grip, "Izzy!" In an instant Izzy was at her side, she continued with a strained voice, "You, Ed. You remember the symbols I tattooed on you?" Izzy nodded understanding and ran off.
He tossed a knife to Ed telling him the plan. Years ago, Scar had inked a protection sigil onto both of their arms, now, they needed to carve them into the wood of the ship. They had done this to the Queen Anne before Scar had left, but the Revenge had no such protections. She redoubled her concentration on dragging the Kraken back down into the water, willing her boys to carve faster.
Scar felt the air shift. It became easier to push against the beast as she chained it to the sea floor. It wouldn't hold forever, but it would be enough for them to get away. When she felt she could ease up against the strain without the creature surging back up to the surface, she yelled, "Hold on!"
In the blink of an emerald eye, the Revenge was hurdling past the Coven, Scar lassoing them along as well as they flew by. When she was certain they were safe, she let her hold on both of them go. She looked up to see the astounded looks on the faces of both crews, and promptly felt the world go black as she passed out.
Scar woke to a pounding headache and a dull pain behind her ribs. The rocking underneath her body had a different rhythm than the swaying of the ocean and she cracked her eye open to find that Edward was holding her, tilting back and forth. She also found that she had the use of both eyes, and panicked for a minute before Izzy's gloved hand appeared holding her eye patch. She let out a breath, but hissed out in pain when she tried to grab it from him.
"Hey," Ed's voice sounded from above her, "None of that now, love." She felt a hand in her hair, as she closed her eyes again.
It was always like this after using her magic too heavily, but it had been so long since she had had to use this much this fast. Banishing the Kraken to the bottom of the ocean and physically lifting two pirate ships was a lot, even for her.
Scar's voice was hoarse, "How long was I out?"
Izzy voice answered her, "About three hours. How long since it was that bad?"
She groaned. She knew the answer, but didn't want to say so she just shrugged her shoulders. In truth, it had been about ten years: the night she left to protect them. They didn't need to think this was their fault though, so she kept quiet.
"Ten years?" Ed guessed, she felt Izzy's hand go still where it had been carding through her hair.
Damn them. She groaned louder this time, putting as much feeling into it as she could. That was all the answer they needed, apparently, and the hand resumed its movements.
The next time she woke, she was alone in the Revenge's captain's cabin. Her eye patch was laying on the desk, and she sluggishly moved to grab it. Tying it in place, she headed for the door. She had to get back to the Coven before another creature decided to make this ship its plaything.
She was stopped by a sudden hand on her shoulder, whipping around, she weakly flicked her wrist. The owner of said hand yelped and pulled back, her magic wasn't fully recharged yet, but she probably shocked them quite a bit, literally. She felt where the air had crackled with electricity.
Panting and trying to slow her heart down, she registered that the yelp belonged to Bonnet, "Ow!"
"You're lucky I can't do much more than that, or your hand might be gone," Scar wasn't in the mood to be anything other than frank with anybody. Her head was still pounding, but the ache in her ribs had gone down. Not enough to be completely back to normal, but enough that she could breathe without flinching.
"I just wanted to say thank you," Stede said, rubbing his fingers, "You didn't have to save us like that."
Scar took a fortifying breath, "Stede, the only reason that thing attacked you in the first place was because of me. Don't thank me for cleaning up my own messes."
"I wanted to ask about that actually," Bonnet started, "What do you mean by that exactly?"
Scar had a feeling that there was no getting out of this conversation, so she said, "Get me some coffee and I'll tell you," before walking back to sit at the desk.
Stede came back with two mugs of coffee and two cups of tea on a fancy looking tray, followed closely by Izzy and Edward.
"Ugh, fine," Scar started, "fuck, I guess I'll tell all three of you then."
"You mean your husbands don't know?" Stede questioned.
Scar shrugged, "Never asked, never came up." She took a sip of her coffee as the other three sat, dragging over various crates and barrels to act as chairs.
Izzy sat on her right, Ed on her left, and Stede sat across from her. She set down her mug before speaking, "My mom is Calypso." Scar waited for that to sink in or raise questions, but they sat patiently for her to continue, "She didn't want me to leave. To come up to the surface. She has spent years trying to get rid of anything that might keep me here." She looked pointedly at the two rings on her finger.
"She has to know that I won't ever forgive her if she succeeds, but that hasn't ever stopped her before. Immortality will do that, I guess. Just glad it hasn't happened to me yet." Scar realized what she said as soon as she said it and wanted desperately to push the words back.
Izzy froze on his way to take a sip of his own coffee as the words registered. Fuck.
"You're immortal?" Ed voice sounded so vulnerable. Fuck. This isn't how she wanted them to find out. In fact, she had hoped they would never find out. It was hard enough that she was going to have to watch them grow old without her, but they didn't need to share in that suffering.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. She realized she was talking out loud when a shaking arm wrapped around her, pressing her against their chest.
"Fuck," She swore again, burrowing into the the lavender smelling leather, Ed's long hair tickling her neck. She was crying now, "Fuck!" It seemed to be the only thing she could say at the moment.
That and apparently, "Fuck please don't hate me."
"We could never hate you, love," Izzy's voice was whispering, "Bonnet could we have a moment."
"Yeah, I'll be talking with the crew when you're done." Scar heard the busted door open and close, as well as it could, as he left.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Ed's voice was strained as he asked her. His hand was gripping the back of Scar's shirt like she might leave at any moment. Which, Scar thought, was fair considering she had been about to do just that.
She had just calmed down enough to get a word out without the hitching of her sobs interrupting her, "Because I didn't want you to- I don't know- feel bad about it or something." It was a feeble excuse and she knew it, but Scar couldn't voice the real reason for fear of it becoming true.
"So you thought we would like it better if we spent what little time we had with you, well, not with you? Love, that doesn't make sense." Ed answered her with a look that said he thought she was being a dumbass.
"It made sense when it was protecting you idiots from my mother. It's not like I want to be away from you," Scar was exasperated and frustrated with them for not understanding. She hated every moment she had spent away from them. Missed them both dearly- and this was not how she wanted them to remember her.
"Does it have to be this way? Can you not just talk to your mom?" Izzy's rasp sounded from where he had been watching them speak.
"You just saw what happens when she wants to 'talk' to me. Plus, she might not let me leave again if I do. It was incredibly difficult to get away the first time," Scar was tired and her voice showed it.
"We could go with you," Izzy whispered.
"She would kill you immediately, Izzy dear," She felt like she was talking to a toddler. Izzy had to know that Calypso was not someone who just wanted to talk. Time had corrupted her into thinking that control was equivalent to love. Scar didn't doubt that her mother had loved her at one point, but that was more than several lifetimes ago.
"Is there really nothing we can do?" Ed was asking as he pulled back from the crushing hug he had wrapped Scar in. She just shrugged. Scar had had millennia to think of ways to stop her mother from being so hell bent on getting her home, but nothing had ever stopped her. Calypso was a goddess; what she wanted she got. And, if what she wanted was to terrorize anyone who loved her child more than she did, then, well, there wasn't much anyone could do.
"I'm open to suggestions, my loves," Scar began, "There isn't much I haven't tried, but it's worth a discussion I guess. I really do hate being away from you both."
"What if we found another mystic to help with the protections," Izzy hummed thoughtfully before continuing, "Isn't one of the reasons she's able to find us when you're here because you can't do the proper spells on yourself?"
"That could be a possibility, but it would take a rather strong practitioner," Scar replied, "Especially to hide someone if they're blood related. And someone who knows how to use spells to shield from a literal goddess. Someone like that would probably be have to be from a long line of old magic users, or immortal as well. Someone like that would be extremely hard to find."
Izzy had started pacing, but he spoke calmly, "But if we did? Find someone, that is. Could that work?"
"Might could, yeah," Scar felt herself starting to smile despite herself. It had been so long since she had dared hope, but maybe Edward and Izzy could make something work, "Until then, though, we have to get this ship properly shielded. I can do my best to help, but I might be a bit useless until my strength comes back."
They both nodded in determination and started to plan, asking for Scar's input and opinions about the placement of sigils and herbs needed for protective spells. The rest of the evening went on like that. Stede came back after Ed went to tell him that everything had calmed down, and he was busy looking through various books that had been hidden from Ed's tirade. By morning, a course for the nearest port had been set with a plan to stock up on herbs and other things they needed.