Ravensblood Forest salt wavering

maybe @Crowell again even tho we have one shhssj but truly AW esp to those she hasnt met! backdated to feb 20.

belonging to the ragged pirate was something chani would never forget. she was coated in his scent, and surely he had told the others of his claim.
ravenous appetite and frequent sickness kept her low. weak. subdued. 
chani lay upon a ragged sprawl of seagrass, counting the days.
counting.
waiting.
enduring.

he comes on long legs, his tail a great flag in the sky, rippling with an authority which yells: mine! she is mine!
standing over her, leering upon her with dark pools. ah beauti' ahv a view, ainnit? he asks, cheeky voice. reaching to nudge her cheek in the way of an affectionate husband. but he knows what he is doing, and it is cruel.
stepping over her with lanky, flea bitten and scarred legs and leaning upon his haunches then. reaching out with a paw to cup her face, to force her eyes into his.

ah-whoooops

Crowell gave him the creeps. Even more so the way he seemed to possess the young Sapphique woman.

Excuse me, Hex told the man, pushing past him—and knocking that forelimb aside—to place a vole near the woman's haunches. He backed up and then turned his gaze at his fellow pirate.

Just making sure they're fed and well, he remarked, raising his brows.

He stepped back, settling upon his haunches. Watching. Waiting to either be turned aside by force or for Crowell to go from the awkwardness of it all.

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a smile saved her anger.
the rough cup of crowell's paw singed chani's skin, rising the rage that lurked just beneath. a breath! for them! for them!
and so she smiled, a lazy, tired look, her eyes holding his own.
a smile, past watery eyes and an anger that threatened to be her very end. chani did not address the other who had brought them food, more for his sake than anything. if he suffered, no more meat.
"crowell." chani licked dry lips. "what did you bring for me?' a morsel, a rich bite. something worth the trade of her body. she made it good these days; she tried to make him feel nice, if only for the protection.
one day chani would feel his eyes pop like grapes between her teeth. today was not that day. today she must survive.
and so she smiled.

eyes cut hauntingly to the boy who so boldly waltzed past him, basically shoving him aside! from his own wife! the pirate loudly guffaws in response, rising from where he'd seated himself, inserting himself brusquely into the other man's face.
but it is the sweetness of chani that quells that rising urge to maim. her question: what did you bring for me? then, light bulb. crowell's eyes, focused on the pathetic form of—what was his name? meh, crowell couldn't bother to remember.
he croons like a bird husband to chani, snatching the vole by the tail between two toes and dangling it quizzically. ah, looks lie ah uh— he sniffs, brows knitting, whadda'dem things called?
he grins and turns head to hex, where he blows a long cloud of putrid breath into his face. i bett'ya know, lad. whads this ting i caught for me wife?
eyes daring. teeth shining.

Hex stood firm against the rancid presence of the pirate, snatching back the vole. He tossed it back toward the rear of the den and then returned his gaze toward Crowell, defiant.

It's called their food, he said firmly. Make sure 'your wife' eats her fill.

With disgust in his face, he pushed past Crowell, without a second glance back. As much as he wanted to shield Chani from his ugliness, he didn't have the power to do so. 

All he could do was make sure they ate. This, he'd done.

worthless wretch. the boy who had brought food seemed to tense against crowell's word. the vole's tiny body arced through the air under the sound of his insistence.
the shoving would garner crowell's worse attentions, chani knew, and forced herself to slide a paw up the pirate's sinewy arm.  "he be jealous," she murmured in a sultry appeasement that she hoped would redirect him.
it sickened her. but then again, so did everything these days.

he watches him go. eyes of venom tracking the boy's every movement. it is only chani's purring voice that grapples his attention, and he snaps eyes to her.
ye be thinkin' I be a bleedin' idjit, do ye? he asks, lowering his head, peering at her with one eye. why're ye bein' so nice? where's yer fire?
he huffs. the man seems genuinely... disappointed. and uninterested, but mostly peeved, as his hackles bristle. teeth gnashing in his closed mouth.
he inhales a deep breath.
ye tell me yer name now?

a fucking moron. a blithering idiot. crustacean shit for brains.
"vomitin' multiple times a day will do dat," chani explained softly. patiently.
he meant to claim them? and he did not even comprehend what they took to grow?
her name. her name. her name.
the oxide eyes were veiled.
"erzulie."

he rolls his eyes, ignorantly. 'e be disappoin'in me. he then curls out with rancid breath, peeping down at her with one eye.
making to sit down, once more, hoping this time to be uninterrupted by any skeeving, scrawny little shits. they ain't got no respect these days, them youngin's. crowell snarls up his nose in thought.
the fuckin' audacity.
ye get a loa' of shit fer brains dere? he scoffs. dese kids 'ese days, no respect.
thoughts swept away by the name she offers. erzulie. crowell looks at her for quite some time before smiling, eerily. now t'ats a prett' name.

"i do not be payin' him any mind," chani said, satisfied that crowell had taken the bait and did not seem to intend plaguing her again.
"thank you. it has been in de family a long while," she could not resist saying before another wave of sickness overcame her.
"will you get me off work detail, please. maybe a day or two. i am too weak." it was the truth, no matter how much chani hated to tell it.

he squints at her sudden sickness, brows knitting like it’s a personal inconvenience.
aye, now ye askin’ fer favors, eh? he mutters, voice all gravel and sea-slick bite but he doesn't move right away. figures. take a man’s strength an’ then beg off when it’s time t’ pull weight.
still, he shifts, rises, circles her like a dog claiming territory. the curl of his lip is somewhere between a grin and a sneer.
i’ll talk t’ the cap’n, aye. get ye off fer a bit. but ye owe me.

"good." all her cunning, all her theatrics, to bring her face up pleasantly. "bring me some water an' i will pay what i owe right now," chani offered, turning and allowing her claws to meander through the fur of his chest.
this man had killed pepper.
this man had killed pepper.
"just be gentle-like, hm?" chani murmured, urging crowell on with a flirt of her eyes. it was easier when she pretended she was not herself.

he pauses.
her claws trail, her voice goes all soft, and his grin doesn’t move—but something in his eyes flattens. dulls.
the fuck d’ye take me fer? he mutters, pulling back with a snort. some horny dog? ain’t even lookin’ fer a tumble right now. just a favor. he turns his head, eyeing her sideways now. when i want it, ye’ll know. til then—save yer breath.
he spits off to the side, then jerks his chin. i’ll get yer water. stay put.

im good to continue or fade here, up to you!