The Wind's Will

[Kharmin]

Morgause hummed into the kiss as she smiled sleepily. Rest easy? With her fatigue that would not be a problem. Resting comfortably? That was another story.

"Leave the dishes," she purred, "and come to bed. You need your rest, too." Her deep green eyes were hidden by half-closed lids which further enhanced her sultry, soft voice. She edged closer to the far side of the bed and patted the space she had vacated. "The ship is in capable hands for now," she whispered with a stifled yawn. "I know that I would sleep much better knowing that you're near me."

[Shura]

Cameron set the dishes aside near the door where they could easily be recovered later. She glanced over her shoulder at the tempting sight of Morgause sprawled across her bed and bit her lip lightly. Once again her emotions and Mind warring with each other on what to do. On the one hand she had spend along time as it was with her lover and needed to at least check on things on deck. but on the other exhaustion had started to weight heavily on her body, pulling at her to join Morgause in bed. Hanibal was trust worthy enough and surly if anything was wrong she would have been told by now right? Her attempts to convince her self fell short of her own uncertainties. She was in charge of a ship now, sick, tired or injured she still had her responsibilities.

She smiled slightly from her spot near the door for if she moved closer to the bed she would probably never leave her quarters. "I just have to check how things are going. I'll be right back." She assured feeling bad for leaving Morgause but she pushed it a side for the moment as she stepped out side.

The cool sea breeze which greeted her as she walked out on deck made the captain smile. Everyone was winding down for the evening as the day crew switched off with the night. She didn't get very far before Hanibal spotted her from beside the helm, he was switching with the helmen as well. "Captain, I thought you were resting."
Cameron smirked slightly. "Aye... fair rested the whole day." She replied, which wasn't a complete lie. She had slept a couple hours after Morgause's fever broke.
Hanibal smirked slightly noticing the uncertainty with in the captain. Cameron carried herself with confidence and authority, enough to fool most who hadn't known her for years already. However she was still young and new to captaining a ship. True confidence would come with time and experience. "All is well Captain. The see is calm and the winds are strong."
"Any sign of being followed?"
Hanibal shook his head as she drew closer to the captain "Not another soul on the seas for miles." He relayed tilting his head slightly taking notice of the captains condition. "You't not looking too well."
"Just tired..." Cameron muttered "Don't worry I'll be rested and well come morning."
"You're still in no condition to take the helm. There's still another two days sail before land. Use it to recover for the next leg of our trade agreement comes once we dock at port. Better you save your strengths for then."
Cameron frowned slightly, seeing the good sense in the mans words. Still didn't put her mind at ease much, ill timed injuries only made everything more complicated. "Alright..." She sighed. "I'm still going to come out here to check on things, Just because I'm Injured doesn't mean I'm and invalid." She warned.
"Aye, aye. Rest and I'll alert you my self should anything happen."
"Thank you Hanibal." Cameron smiled slightly before returning to her Cabin

Once in side Cameron noted that Morgause had fallen back asleep, though it didn't surprise her much. Sh glanced a satchel which rested on the table which was full of supplies to tend to both her and Morgause injuries. She knew her bandages had gone too long with out changing but wasn't exactly looking forward to changing them either. Dark crimson spotted the ones around her abdomen hinting that some bleeding had happened thanks to the battle and the activity afterwards. What was a few more hours? She thought to herself moving over to the bed and carefully laying beside Morgause as not to disturb her. She shifted to curl up beside the red head finding a comfortable position before passing out

Exhausted and her injuries caught up to Cameron as she slept deeply though the night and into the morning. Usually she was up at dawn but she had slept past it, resting quietly beside her lover. Although slightly paler than before and a tad bit warm.

[Kharmin]

Morgause woke early in the morning and smiled pleasantly as she felt her lover's body next to hers and the captain's arm around her. She drank in Cameron's scent and luxuriated in the feel of contentment. She recovered a good amount of her endurance overnight with the breaking of her fever, but the wounds still ached. Still, it was high time that she started pulling her weight around the ship, so with great reluctance she eased herself from the captain's embrace and got out of their bed.

Her legs easily found the rolling cabin's floor as her balance at sea, trained for many years, carried her deftly across the room. She found her pants and quietly drew them on. She tossed her cloak about her shoulders, picked up the dinner dishes and eased from the cabin to the deck.

The morning sun had crested the horizon mere minutes ago and the strong breeze that had carried the Winds Will overnight continued to press them toward their next port. The few crew on deck lazily managed the sheets as at present there was not much to be done. The debris from the flight past the naval blockade had been cleared, the ropes and lines coiled and stowed and the cannons secured.

Morgause turned and looked back at the helm. One of the sailors, whose name eluded her, manned the wheel and of the first mate there was no sign. She figured that he must be asleep which accounted for the lackadaisical manner in which the few crew on deck laid about.

She crossed the deck to the stairs and took the dishes below. The cook hadn't yet risen, having had a bit too much rum overnight, so after Morgause set the dishes aside in the galley, she stole a chunk of bread and re-filled the water skin.

Quietly, she returned to the cabin. Cameron had shifted in her absence, but still slept soundly. Morgause fought the temptation to rejoin her. The captain needed her rest and Morgause needed her strength. It would be a long, healing process over the next several days – perhaps weeks for the wound in her side – and resting was perhaps the best medicine currently on board.

She chewed absently at the bread as she sat in one of the overstuffed chairs. Morgause hadn't really looked before, so she took the time to glance around the cabin. Maps and charts were rolled and set into small, square cubbies next to a small bookshelf which held several books. Assorted other trinkets and things were scattered throughout the room and Morgause wondered if they were any indication of Cameron's interests or personality, or if they had been left from the previous captain.

[Shura]

Cameron slept quiet shifting slightly as passing dreams played out on her head.Most were pleasant with visits from a certain siren however some were not as enjoyable. Cameron tensed and shifted uncomfortably in her sleep muttering incoherently under her breaths as her breaths quickened. Her shifting turned into thrashing before she jolted awake sitting up with a gasp. Sleep still fogged her mine and blurred her vision but she was able to tell she was on a ship from the rocking motion. A sharp pain flared up from her midsection branching out to the rest of her body and she laid back on the bed with a groan muttering a curse under her breath.

[Kharmin]

Morgause watched as Cameron tossed in her sleep. She worried that the captain was having bad dreams and considered snuggling up with her, but she knew that if she did so, they would never get out of bed.

Suddenly, the captain surprised her a she sat up and gasped as if it were her last breath. Morgause quickly crossed the cabin and sat on the edge of the bed to console her. "It's ok, love," she said in her normal, soft spoken voice. "I'm here, and everyone is safe."

[Shura]

Cameron jumped slightly as the bed shifted but calmed when she realized who it was. "Morgause..." she whispered softly, as if to assure herself more than anything. She let out a sighed heavily letting out a breath she didn't know she had been holding Her senses cleared the last bit of haze from sleep. Her wound ached worse then it had the day before but the pain was slowly receding. Cameron took a few shaky breath to settle her own nerves before realizing how bright it had gotten in her cabin. "What time is it..." she wondered aloud before shifting her gaze back to Morgause, "Your looking much better..." She smiled slightly.

[Kharmin]

Morgause realized the captain's pallor color and shook her head disapprovingly. "Seems you have been working yourself too hard on my account," she whispered as she lightly pushed on Cameron's shoulders to lay her back down in the bed. "I am feeling much better now, but still need some time for my wound to heal. How about yours?"

Morgause pulled at the captain's shirt as she attempted to discover the extent of Cameron's injury. Her green eyes harbored no quarter; she would examine the bandages and the wound with or without the captain's leave.

[Shura]

Cameron laid back with out much of a fuss not really wanting to earn another painful jab from her wound again. "I'm fine." She tried to reassure, "It just hurts from the sudden movement." She muttered trying to stop the red head from fussing over her wound, in truth she wasn't sure how bad it was but could feel it had gotten worse compared to when she first was stitched up. But the red head was insistent and Cameron wasn't in much of a position to fight back with out just hurting herself more.

The bandages the wrapped most of Camerons midsection had loosened from her thrashing and constant movements some dried spots of dark crimson peeked through the bandages however her right side had developed a larger blotch most of it was already dried.

[Kharmin]

Morgause eased Cameron back with a look in her green eyes that did not allow for any argument. She worked at the bandages which showed the need for changing and finally removed them by deftly cutting them away from the captain's toned mid-section.

The sutures were sloppy and Morgause frowned at the shoddy workmanship. She was grateful in a way that her own stiches were not nearly as amateurish as what Cameron had; still, she was disappointed in their workmanship.

Morgause retrieved the basin and the wash cloth that Cameron had so expertly used to bathe her earlier and daubed at the edges of the wound. Even though she put very little pressure to them, Cameron's reaction indicated to Morgause that things clearly weren't going as well as the captain's bravado had made it appear.

She shook her head and continued her work as she said, "Your friends at the clinic did neither of us any real favor other than to sew us up and set us on our way." Morgause stood and collected the basin and wash cloths. With a stern demeanor, she locked her eyes on Cameron's and said, "Do not get up from this bed. I will get some fresh water and bandages so that we can fix this up right."

[Shura]

"Would have stayed in port longer to recover more, but time wasn't exactly on our side..." Cameron muttered. She couldn't help but tense up as her wound was tended to. Hissing slightly in pain as the cloth brushed against a particularly tender area where the stitches had come undone, most likely from all of the movement during the battle. The wound its self crossed horizontal along her abdomen side to side, a few inches above her navel, a hair or so deeper and the situation could have ended in a very different manner. Blood oozed from the open wound but it was a slow bleed, the edges around the wound showed some discoloration.

Cameron glanced down at her abdomen frowning slightly, the stitches showed the mark of someone who was still in training, however she really couldn't be picky when passing out from blood loss. before sighed at Morgue command, "As you wish." she muttered softly not really sure if she wanted to get up. "The satchel on the table has some supplies in it." She offered.

[Kharmin]

"Yes, sorry about that," Morgause replied, "but I'm used to it. I've been leaving ports in rushes for years and I hadn't given it much thought."

Morgause unceremoniously dumped the contents of the satchel onto the captain's table. She rooted around in the mess and found needle and thin, silk thread. She turned to Cameron and said, "Those stitches won't do. We'll have to redo them. Do you have anyone on board with a steady hand, or would you rather me handle this?"

She turned back to the contents strewn on the table and spied an herbal salve that would help against infection, but no anesthetic. She shook her head and tut-tutted her luck. "Nothing here for numbness," she said. Sorrowful green eyes turned to Cameron. "Sorry, but it's going to hurt."

[Shura]

Cameron wasn't sure if the sherp shooter was joking or not when she mentioned restitching the wound. To her dusmay she wasnt. The captian edged back on the bed a but. "No, un... I'll be okay. The wound will heal fine." She replies for once showing genuin fear, despite trying to hide it. The captain hated needles, sh had stitches in the past but had been knocked out before the process started.

[Kharmin]

"No, it will not," Morgause persisted as she began threading the needle. The task was simple as she focused her vision and with a single, easy motion ran the thread through with a steady hand. "Now, do you want me to do this or someone else? There is no other option."

She turned and tossed her red hair over her shoulder and regarded Cameron with pure affection in her green eyes. "I promise to do my best to minimize the pain, but if you prefer another's handiwork it will not upset me. It is, after all, your body."

[Shura]

"I Prefer none at all" The captain grumbled under her breath as she shifted further back on the bed as if trying to escape. She knew the stitches needed to be done but that didnt help muxh to quale jer resistance. She gritted her teeth slightly realizing she couldnt exactly escape. Iven if she managed to get out of the room hanibal would just force her back. She groaned softly resting her head back against the head board glancing up at Morgause. "Theres a full bottle of rum under there cabinet... itll dull some of thr pain."

[Kharmin]

Morgause retrieved the bottle of rum, unstopped it and sniffed the contents. "I'm not sure how me drinking this is going to dull any pain, but I'll give it a try." She smirked as she quaffed a mouthful and smiled as she allowed it to slowly run down her throat. "If anything, this will make my hand less steady."

Of course she was joking with Cameron as she tried to put her lover's mind at ease over the impending operation. She handed the bottle to the captain.

"I'm going to get this water basin refreshed," she advised, "and then we'll see how numbed you are. Do not leave that bed." Green eyes enforced the order as Morgause retrieved the basin and headed for the door.

"Drink up, dear," she whispered softly. "I promise not to gone long."

Morgause left the cabin and was practically run over by the first mate. She sternly informed him that the captain was not to be disturbed by anyone, including him unless the ship were burning to the waterline. Her confident manner and steeled green eyes harbored no room for discussion. Satisfied, she dumped the stale water overboard and went below to refresh the bowl. When she returned, the first mate stood, infuriated, at the captain's door.

"I know your role here," Morgause said to him in a gentle whisper, "but there are things that aren't yet in your confidence that I am unable to reveal without the captain's permission. I'm sure that you can understand that."

Morgause placed her hand on the handle, then turned back to the first mate. "I know that you and I haven't been on the best of terms," she said. "When this is all over, I would very much like to rectify that as I feel we will be sailing together for some time." She opened the door just enough to allow herself through and said over her shoulder, "I think it would be important to the captain that you and I get along."