Thunder crashed loudly in the sky tonight. There had been no signs of a storm earlier, which in and of itself was a sign of what was to come. They had been prepared, but had not anticipated such intensity. The sea was wild, with restless and unforgiving waters, more than usual.<br/><br/>Something must have really, really pissed off the sea.<br/><br/>“Damn…” Charlie growled lowly, “This would be our luck, wouldn’t it? Nothing can ever be easy.” More water crashed over the ship’s edge as he barked some orders to his crew to keep the ship steady. “Damn…” He growled again, having to hold on to keep from sliding across the deck when the ship was tossed up a bit, with some of his crew. One torn sail on the main-mast of all places was hard enough on the Brig, but he had faith in his dear Lady Diana. She was a tough old girl who would not break easily in this weather!<br/><br/>“Captain! We are getting hammered!” One crew member hollered over the chaos.<br/><br/>“You think I can’t fucking see that? Shut up and focus on keeping us moving forward, I do not want to wake up at the bottom of the sea.”<br/><br/>“Captain, we’ve completely lost that sail now, it’s useless.”<br/><br/>Charlie sighed heavily, peering up at the ship’s mass. Usually it was a sight to behold but after that run in with another ship, the main-mast had been torn forcing him to haul ass back to the nearest town for repairs… well…  To see the storm had made matters worse, well, it was needless to say things were not looking good. But still. He would never lose faith, in his ship or his crew. If this puny storm took them out, what kind of pirates were they? What would that say about him as a captain?<br/><br/>“Get yourself together, men, we’ve been through worse than this! Shut up about the weather and sail!” He called out, stomping his foot on the deck for effect. Rain and salt water stung his eyes, his hair was in his face, but he remained as steadfast as ever. “Let’s get back on course!” He kicked a barrel out of his way as he moved along the deck, balancing himself when he needed. He closed his eyed and focused. “We will make it out of this.” When he opened his eyes, there was a glint. Fire. Something his crew knew oh too well.<br/><br/>This storm was no match for them.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">-------------------------------</div><br/><br/>Captain Charlie and his crew of the Lady Diana made it to town a day later. The ship had taken quite the beating and the crew was worn down. Nobody got any sleep that night. They had been thrown off course pretty bad, and with the damage done to the ship they even ended up in a different town than intended. But that was fine, at least it was land and they weren’t stranded, left to the mercy of the sea.<br/><br/>Everyone was happy to get off the ship and stretch their legs on land a bit, get some decent rest before their next departure. Charlie suggested they stay at least two days to get a decent meal or two and work on repairs. They were happy to go run off into town, most of them. Some of them stayed to help Charlie keep an eye on things and do what they could on way of repairs. Repair and restock. As much as he wanted to relax, it was all he could think about at the moment, especially as he looked up at his beloved Lady!<br/><br/>He’s been with her for five years now, coming across her shortly after he lost his Lunar Ghost…<br/><br/>“Oi! Who said you could dock here?”<br/><br/>Charlie turned around immediately, stern look in his eyes, “I beg your pardon?” He replied, eyeing up the portly man hurrying over to him.<br/><br/>“I said, you better have good reason for docking here, lad. We were told to keep the docks open. Big event today!”<br/><br/>“We got a bit tossed around by the storm the other day and were thrown off course. Once we recover, we’ll be on our way.”<br/><br/>“And how long will that be?”<br/><br/>Charlie exhaled slowly, feeling every ache of exhaustion catch up to him as his shoulders relaxed some. He took a step toward the man, leaning closer to his face, “As long as it takes.” He wasn’t in the mood for this shit. “Now, I don’t care who gives you the orders, you will let us stay here. Are we clear?”<br/><br/>The man shrank back a bit, but did not budge. He looked up at the Lady Diana, taking in every bit of her appearance. “Pirates…” he muttered.<br/><br/>“Bravo!”<br/><br/>“Leave. Now.”<br/><br/>Charlie unsheathed his sword and held it to the man’s throat, “Look, I’m not a man who likes resorting to violence. But if you think I’m leaving with my girl the way she is now, you have another thing coming.” It was true. He was not a man of violence, but he wasn’t against removing this man’s head from his shoulders either. “I say again: you will let us stay here. Are we clear?” He pressed the blade harder against the man’s skin, for pressure. It seemed to work for he nodded.<br/><br/>The man ran off once Charlie backed away, but he had a feeling that was not going to be the last he’d see of him.