Rise of the Shark((Void)

"And to think I wanted to keep the little bastard." Darcey helped Malcolm with the preparation of the meat. She spread some salt on the deerskin to prepare it for cutting.

Malcolm snorted a laugh and shook his head, tossing one of the seasoned slabs of venison onto the skillet on an already burning stove. The meat sizzled the second it hit the hot metal. "If you want a reliable pet," he stated simply, expressing his own opinion. "A dog is the most loyal beast there is. Never seen a dog bite the hand that feeds it."

"Never really liked dogs. I don't know why though." Darcey helped Malcolm with as much as she could, without stuffing up the meal.

"They are the most loyal of beasts," Malcolm said, making certain that the venison in the skillet was cooked before he set it aside and began cooking another seasoned slice. "You not knowing why you don't like dogs is strange, it is."

"I had better get this up to the captain" Darcey said quietly as she grabbed the plate, and headed off to give Bryan his food.

"Captain Waverly, your food is ready" Darcey said with a bow as she presented Bryan with his meal.

Bryan looked up from his desk at the scent of cooked venison and offered a warm smile to Darcey. He could tell just by her face alone that Malcolm had talked her ear off. "Malcolm running his mouth again?" He asked with a tiny laugh echoing from his throat as he set the quill down onto parchment. "Poor brute must feel alone if he's driven you out of the galley so quickly." Bryan waved the young woman into his quarters with a hand before he rose from the chair and crossed the floor to the basin sitting empty on the only non-cluttered cabinet top spanned between the dresser and bare wall.

"I'll admit, the man can talk" Darcey said with a laugh as she entered Bryan's quarters. She set the plate on Bryan's desk, and took a seat on the couch for a moment.

"It's his own fault, you know," Bryan stated simply, pouring water into the basin before he proceeded to splash it onto his face after he'd rolled up his sleeves. "Ever since I brought him aboard the ship, he'd taken to keeping himself in the galley unless something major happened to the ship, like a storm or a run-in with Assassin ships or even ships we raid as pirates. I was thinking about getting him a dog to keep him company but never saw that plan through." Bryan's hands grabbed the edges of his shirt and raised it high to dab at his face to dry it before he crossed the floor again to sit back down at the desk where he plate of food rested.

"Now that he's chased you out, I guess I'll have to get the man a pet."

"Aye, he was going on about dogs something fierce. Seems like the man really wants one. As for me? Well, after the incident with the monkeys, I've decided I don't want an animal companion." Darcey started to snack on the berries that she had picked earlier.

Bryan gave a soft chuckle and he shook his head before cutting into the venison on his plate. "I think Malcolm once grew up with dogs," he commented, popping the strip of meat he'd cut into his mouth. "He never speaks of how he came to be on the Demon Wave since I brought him aboard in Turneffe. It's to be expected, I guess."

"As long as I don't get woken up by a barking dog, I'm happy." Darcey looked at the berries in her hand, and chuckled quietly. "Now I know why the monkeys were after me."

Bryan gave a small chuckle at Darcey's realization and popped another strip of venison into his mouth. "Why?" He asked, not taking his eyes off the papers on his desk. One of them next to the plate Darcey had set down seemed to be describing something. Probably something important but the words weren't readable from a distance.

"If you're asking about why I don't like dogs that bark, well, its because they make too much noise. If you're asking why the monkeys were after me, it's because of the berries that I had in my pocket. Bastards were after my food." Darcey threw a berry into the air, and caught it in her mouth.

Bryan couldn't help but laugh and almost choked on the half chewed strip of venison before he actually managed to swallow it. "Perhaps you should have let them have it," he said with a chuckle. "Maybe that baby monkey wouldn't have been so keen to bite you then."

"And let them run off with the food I found? Come on, captain, we're all pirates, so we fall under the broad spectrum of thieves. Finders keepers" Darcey said with a laugh before she ate another berry.

Bryan couldn't help but chuckle. She was right, after all. He knew that if he found something first, he'd fight until it was safely secure in his possession. He remained silent for a time, popping another chunk of meat into his mouth before a hand swiped at the parchment and brought it closer to his face for a more detailed inspection. The way he moved suggested that it was something rather important. His hand lowered the parchment to the desk again, the scar on his lip stretching as he took another bite of the venison, fingers picking up what fell from his fork back onto the plate. From the way he was reacting, it must have been something from someone important.

"What's the matter, captain? A letter from the missus" Darcey asked jokingly. Judging from the way Waverly was acting, she could only guess that the letter was from a wife, or someone truly important. She suspected that he would not tell her, after all, they barely knew each other.

Bryan swallowed what meat he was chewing on and tossed the smaller piece he'd been holding into his mouth, sucking the juices off of his fingers before he gripped the paper again and shifted it a little further away from him. "Not married," he said simply, as though it was no big deal. "And it's in Torres's handwriting. Apparently, there's a pair of Assassins the others call the Twin Cobras in Nassau that's been giving the local Templars some trouble. He wants me to deal with it."

"Never heard of them. Just the Demon, and Snakefang." Darcey looked at the piece of paper, and closed her eyes as she thought for a moment. She was a Templar too, and it was her duty to help the Order in any way that she could. "I want to help."

Bryan paused in his eating for a moment, giving it some thought before he went back to his meal. "Torres warns that these are twin brothers by blood and work as a team. They're never far from one another. It's an Alpha mission, highest priority." He turned his head to look Darcey up and down for a brief moment before he swallowed what he had been chewing. "You sure?"

"I'm sure, captain. Much like my surname, I'm no Saint. Using my feminine charms to distract my enemies has become something of a hobby to me." Darcey looked up at Waverly, and smiled slightly. She couldn't wait to fight an Assassin again.

"From what Torres has said in this letter," Bryan stated, returning to the desk and parchment while his fork made short work of the rest of the venison. "They've wormed their way out of being killed once before. No doubt they'd try it again. Seems like the Assassins trained these two very well." In honesty, Bryan sounded a little respectful and admirable of the Twin Cobras' skills.

"Assassins are always going to be dangerous, captain. They are trained to hunt and kill us" Darcey said with a sigh. She didn't seem bothered by Assassins. Darcey looked at her hands, and sighed. With her wounds, she wouldn't be able to fight as well as she normally would, but she was sure that her gloves would be of some help.

"True," Bryan stated, a finger running along his scarred lip calmly before he reached out and touched the parchment again, reading its words for the upteenth time. "But the way Torres speaks about these Twins...he makes it seem as though he'd sent others to try and take them out without success."

(I'm half tempted to make the Twins a thing :3 XD)

"Well, let's just give it a try. I mean, where's the harm in trying?" Darcey looked at her dagger, and smiled. Nothing would get in her way of serving the Templar Order.