<em>The Deck </em><br/><br/>"Will you tell me the whole story, once you've rest?" Colleen pawed at the knot of Jacqueline's arms. "Yes, I know everywhere on the ship. Food, drink. I'll do it."<br/>Resourceful as a mouse Colleen opened up a small closet, and pushed in a solitary lamp to illuminate the galley. It was a workshop for one industrious cook, little more than space for one to stand and turn and operate the shelved and festooned and stacked and overflowing tools of the trade. The morning's fresh catch lay staring dumb into the oxygenated world, and eager to prove her use Colleen set to work on them with a sharp knife.<br/><br/>In a short time Colleen had simmering on a logwood stove a low pot of bean and barley porridge mashed in bitter ale, diced with pale, tasteless fish and seasoned with perfectly browned garlic. The first bowls were for Jacqueline, and Danae, and with them came overflowing cups of grog, spilling on the deck wood, lending the galley a familiar aroma apart from the sea.<br/><br/>"How is it?" Colleen perched uneasy when deprived of Jacqueline's approval.<br/><br/>When Captain Baykur had locked her cabin tight, she stood with them in the aftercastle for a time as the too-hearty porridge settled in empty stomachs.<br/>"You must have nothing material to give," said Baykur. She was happy to meet Danae's gaze with fierce, urging blue eyes, and get a feel for what was truly being offered. "As for ransom, it is not mine to take. Doctor Heinfroth will no doubt work out the price for returning you to the mainland, or lodging you until your relatives can claim you."<br/><br/>"For my own part..." Baykur tore her eyes away, having intuit all she needed. "We can come to some arrangement later."<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Danae's passive perception</div><div class="spoiler_body">And who was Colleen? She moved to Danae's senses like a common whore, singularly pampered on a ship where the crew tanned dark as leather. Her familiarity with the ship did not suggest one confined to the captain's cabin, and yet if Captain Baykur feared what should happen to Danae or Jacqueline out of sight down in the hold, the same ought to be true for Colleen.</div></div><br/><br/><em>The Store Room</em><br/><br/>Zoe shivered under touch though the feeling was warm. It took until the small of her spine to become comfortable with Corinne's hands on her, and drinking it in, she savored the transition from body temperature to magical warmth. The tension in her narrow back eased from direct touch and sent Corinne's fingers searching into the groove of her spine, along her contour lest a spot be missed.<br/><br/>"Another boat is out there, still." Dr. Rehner considered this, collecting the last of the wet clothes in full arms. "I will get these back to you, at least. But, you have your health. Some would appreciate the chance to start again somewhere new. You are reborn. Take the good and leave the bad, if it pleases."<br/>It was a struggle for Rehner to work the store room door, but she managed out onto the deck, and began to hang wet clothes from the rigging without first shutting the door behind her.<br/><br/>Margaret uprighted from her seat to rush down the gaping door and shut it firmly. "Where have the other two gone?"<br/><br/>"That woman didn't give me any medicine at all," Michelle complained.<br/><br/>"Nor I," said Sage. When she caught on to what Corinne was doing with her magic, she led by the wrist to bring Corinne's heated hand to her own body, just over her heart. It thumped, she exhaled, and pinned with steepled hands. "But this is nice."<br/>"Let me," said Michelle. From further up Corinne's wrist she pulled, forced Corinne to turn away from Zoe and follow with her hand to a breast its perfect complement, with no space for air between where heat might escape.<br/>Zoe pressed to Corinne's back. "You have the lantern," she protest, reaching for the magic.<br/><br/>"Now we're at that doctor's mercy," Margaret said as she settled with Aloisa. It came as a grim warning, but then she saw Aloisa smiling, and her worry dissolved. She was smiling too, and finding reasons to inspect the grain of the weathered wood.<br/>"I preferred my privacy aboard the<em>Charlotte. </em>Now there's nothing for it. It does exhilirate a bit, but I would not care to go out there in this state."