Oystercatcher Tide Pools and the devil makes three

Winterfinch brought her paws to a halt in tandem with him, waiting with some unnameable mixture of feelings for his explanation. It wasn't like she was in love with the guy—she barely knew him, and he was still a pirate, and she still had to consider the possibility he was just as bad as Mullins in another way, of course—but he saved her life. She was grateful for it, and possibly halfway hopeful he would prove to be a decent friend. Finch couldn't remember the last time she had one of those.

But a friendship built first and foremost on a lie was destined to fall apart, and she felt a sinking disappointment in her breast when he revealed the truth now, and not sooner. They'd been together at least a few days, hadn't they? Maybe not... Truth be told, the days were all blending together for Winterfinch since escaping.

So you fake being a pirate so others think twice 'bout messing with you, she summarized. Honestly, it wasn't a bad idea. It wasn't an egregious crime, either. Finch just didn't know what to think about the act; it sat weirdly in her stomach, somewhere between offensive and clever. Why carry on with it once we were away from them, then?

She watched him carefully, now, trying to get a bead on whether he was simply toying with her.