Hercule couldn’t bear to think. Every time he did the texture of smoke, choking and irrepressible would resurface. The pain kept his mind focused however, and with his broad back burnt, bits of wood splintering up and out of his back like the pins of a porcupine, blistered skin rising up amidst each blackened spike.

He maintained a singular pose, prostrating himself in front of the cage bars, praying to a god all his own.

Balsam's comatose head was bandaged, and Yvette cradled him in her lap. Her left foot was unrecognisable, the flesh under her calf distended and pulled apart, wrapped in a meagre attempt at a bandage. Her eyes were glazed over as she barely took in the scene around her.

Eyelids cracked open as Balsam looked up at their captors, the light was dim, filtering down through the interior corridors of the ship's guts. The warm glow of lanterns cutting a silhouette out of the figures before them.

"so, what are these folks to you?" a voice spoke…

Two men were on the other side of the bars, one sat on a small stool, while another paced, between the brig they sat in and the corridor above, constantly stepping up and down onto the stairs as his motions pronated, his whole body flickering between positions like it was caught in a strobe.

Balsam blinked, ‘head trauma, brain damage, I’m seeing things’

“His name is Balsam Hossain. He tried to charge us a toll for passing through the pass behind Khisset, then tried to kill us.” The sitting man stood, coming further forward until his brown face appeared under the filtering sunlight. “Guess I did remember your name after all,” Jerico said.

Balsam grinned, “guess we’re at your mercy ay Jerico, how’s that hand doing by the bye” he said, pushing his way out of Yvette’s lap, Hercule stayed silent, his back quivering slightly as he muttered unintelligibly.

the jittering man, turning and disappearing into the depths of the ship, spoke as he left, “talk to us, we’ll need to figure out what to do with them” he said. Balsam watched as he walked off, his gait appearing normal now, his shadow lengthened as it played on the ship's corridor, the movements of a slow decrepit old man.

“My hand is fine good as new, actually” Jerico shot back, waving his healed hand in front of the cage bars while Balsam shrugged

“Guess I wasn’t as good a shot as I thought I was” he muttered turning back.

The sight that greeted him, dark as it was. took him a moment to register and with his grin cracking he swallowed dryly, Hercule’s spiked back and Yvette’s bruised and battered features though it was Yvette’s lower leg that was the worst of all, and he found tears leaking down his face as he looked at it, like someone had taken a still soft clay representation and squeezed. The skin wasn’t right, purple and split like an overripe fruit.

“What did you do to them? Yvette? Yvette!” Balsam demanded, looking at Yvette, whose gaze remained distant. Hercule groaned weakly.

“You attacked us,” Jerico said, his voice tight with emotion.

Yvette blinked slowly, only now noticing that Balsam had gotten up. She turned to look at him, one eye bloodshot he noticed as she steadfastly avoided looking at their captors.

From a side room, another figure came to stand in front of the brig with them, wiping blood off her hands with a damp washcloth. She noted the prisoners coldly, glancing at Yvette’s leg with a worried look but fixing her glare on Balsam.

Coming to stand next to Jerico, Curie pushed the washcloth halfway through the bars. “Clean yourself up if you like,” she said, backing away as Balsam approached.

“means you’re not going to kill us, gonna try and strike a bargain again?” Balsam said, motioning for Yvette to keep looking at him while he cleaned her face.

Curie watched Balsam’s ministrations for a while, crossing her arms as she leaned into Jerico’s shoulder, his arm wrapped around her legs.

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“Bargain… so you want to bargain now that you're no-longer surrounded by your lackeys” Jerico said.

“Course I do, because I’ve actually something to offer unlike you, Nam, a whole Chest’s worth” Balsam replied, waving the washcloth at him sardonically.

“Well It’s too late now we’re well out of port, nothing you could offer would be worth us going back to Khisset” Jerico shot back, thumping his fist against the brig bars.

They sat in the semi silence for a while, the light from behind glowing dim as every now and again the washcloth was handed back and forth between the bars.

“What happened to Yvette?” Balsam said finally, motioning to her leg.

Curie glanced down at Jerico, both of them shaking their heads. “We don’t know, perhaps a beam fell on it when you shot at us ” Curie said.

“One of the witches grabbed it,” Yvette whispered in reply, her voice strained and thin as if she’d been screaming. Speaking so suddenly seemed to break her out of her daze, and she sucked in a breath sharply as her ruined leg shifted.

“How could someone do this?” Balsam whispered back, pain etching his voice. He looked up at the backlit figures with a newfound terror. Curie felt Jerico’s grip on her leg tensed for the moment, a shocked shudder going through his body at his expression, she caressed his head gently drawing her fingers through his dark curls.

“You attacked us,” Jerico’s voice quivered as he repeated himself, not really believing in his own words. “They just defended themselves.”

Yvette’s head thumped against the wall of the brig as he spoke. Passing out from the pain, her face pale and drenched in sweat.

Balsam grabbed her, stopping her from falling as she drooped over the edge of the wall-anchored seat. “Just defended emselves” he scoffed through gritted teeth, pulling her steady. “Will she survive?” he asked, daring to ask now that she was unconscious.

“I’m sorry,” Curie replied, her voice now gentle. “The chances aren’t good.”

“Damn you,” Balsam spat, cradling Yvette to him.

“No, no, no, fuck” Hercule intoned, bits of charcoal, and pain wracked tears snapping off as he tried to get a look at her.

They left them there, beckoned by Canipto to the main room. Curie had to be pulled away, her eyes on the shadowed form of Yvette, the two men weeping over her like something from a painting.

“We have to help them,” Curie said, curled up against Jerico’s chest, stroking one broad arm. The conversation with Armistice and Canipto hadn’t been surprising: fair weather and they’d live, a long journey and they wouldn’t. And that was only with Curie begging them not to kill them outright.

"We can't, the medallions can’t help them, only us," Jerico said, pulling her closer.

“we have to, we can't just leave her to die.” she replied sleepily, yawning. Then realising what she was doing, snapping her mouth closed indignantly “I can’t believe I’m used to this, I’m tired, in a situation like this!'' she pushed herself away from Jerico slightly, the anger not leaving her face.

Turning over she sat up, the blanket pooling around her slightly, as she looked up and out at the dark waves.The ship rocked them against each other, the night growing steely outside the port window,

“Curie, Darling” Jerico said gently "you should sleep, staying up won't do us any good"

“We can help them in the morning, they need rest now anyway. you've bandaged her up, perhaps she'll feel a little stronger tomorrow.”

Curie stood, shaking her head, "no, no I'm tired of not being able to do anything, being dragged around like we're on a leash" she pushed the door open roughly “you sleep, I'm going to help her.”

Jerico sat up as she left, the bed suddenly cold and unwelcoming. he leaned back against the wall, and ran his fingers through his hair

Curie walked into the main room and spotting Armistice pushed her way forward, to stand in front of her. Armistice was sat cross legged in a side nook, a bowl of something cupped in her hand, a spoon halfway to her lips.

“Give me the key to the cage” Curie demanded, her face still flustered from leaving Jerico.

Armistice looked at her curiously, sipping from the spoon as she watched her. “No.” she said simply, placing down the spoon.

“No?” Curie deflated slightly at Armistic’s flat tone, something about the woman's demeanour broke no argument.

“NO?” no, she wasn’t going to back down, Curie balled her fist her finger flashing out, waving it in front of Armistic’s face, “I’m going to help them, don’t tell me no, give me the key!” she half shouted.

Armistice stiffened at Curie’s tone, placing her bowl to the side she stood

“Oh, don’t think your standing will intimidate me anymore” Curie said, backing up a few steps involuntarily

The table in the room’s centre stopped her from retreating any further, Armistice reaching behind her to grab a satchel, she loomed over Curie, not even looking at her as she rifled through the Satchel.

The key looked small in her hand, and she dropped it into Curie’s shaking fingers, turning her back on her and returning to her meal without a word.

Curie didn’t realise she’d stopped breathing until her vision grew light, she sucked in a breath, turning to look away from the woman as she rushed towards the brig. Not noticing Canipto’s wan face in the dark recess of the room next to where she passed.

Canipto watched as Curie passed by, approaching Armistice he pushed himself into the nook next to her

“She’s but a newborn, be gentle with her” he chastised, “after she’s done with them just dispose of them quietly”

He patted her thigh as Armistice nodded, “I know, I know, I will try my best to bring them into the fold”