The Scathed

[Crestshot]

Ok, ladies and gents, pirate lads and lasses, it is time for the continuation of the Story of Kat Crestshot. Here, get ready for adventure, excitement, and the dash of something else....

If you have not read the first part of this story, it is highly recommended that you go to that first. Here's the link:
Her Beginning

If you are returning to the story (because of how much you are drawn to the awesomeness), welcome back! It's good to have you here. I'm hoping this next part of the story meets your expectations. With that, we shall continue. I present the newest chapter in Kat's journey.

(Please note: While this is in the POTCO universe, there are some things that have been changed around or enhanced for a better story experience. For instance, Wildwoods is more wild, not just a large clearing with trees on the side. Thank you.)

An Old Friend



Kat Crestshot made her way into Wildwoods on the island of Tortuga in the Caribbean. She was just looking for some skeletons to kill. It was a slow day in the Caribbean. She almost wished she could go sailing for a while just to break the monotony, but her poor little sloop was being repaired. Kat would have done it herself this time, like she usually did, but, unfortunately she had annoyed the wrong enemy ship last time she was out at sea, so this time repairs had to be done by O’malley and his crew due to the extent of the damage. For now, she was staying in King’s Arm on Tortuga beach. So she wandered around for a while with her pistol out, shooting at a few skeletons that crossed her path. It was good target practice at least.

She came to a small clearing in the dense foliage upon a gathering of skeletons. With a grin, she raised her pistol, aiming for the one nearest her, when she saw a flash of red hair in the center of the group. Skeletons don’t have red hair, so there must be a person in there, she thought. She put her pistol away and drew her cutlass instead, feeling it would be better suited. With her pistol, a shot may stray, hitting whoever was trapped in the group of skeletons.

Kat snuck behind a tree close to the skeletons, close enough to hear the excited grunts and mutters of Jolly Roger’s servants. “This one will be easy,” one of them laughed evilly. “Yah,” grunted another. “Which part should we tear off first, the arm or the leg?” The skeletons hooted gleefully. Kat snuck behind them gracefully and without warning, she slashed through the first one! It fell to the ground in a green glow and its comrades turned towards her.

There was a lot more than she had originally anticipated. Oh well, all the more fun for her. She grinned and then began her carnage, cutting off this one’s head and stabbing through that one’s chest. The person who had been in the center of the mob began helping her as well, drawing an old cutlass. It was clear from his fighting style he hadn’t honed his skills the way she had. He still took down two or three of the skeletons by himself though. They finished with the group quickly.

After the glowing had stopped, Kat turned towards the man who had been in the center of the circle. When she saw who it was, she took a step backwards in shock. “Lawrence?” she asked, astounded.

“Kat,” he said wearily, smiling at her. His eyes then rolled into his head and he crumpled to the ground.

“Lawrence!” Kat cried out, diving towards him. She examined him and noticed a gaping wound on his leg that was dripping blood profusely. Her hand touched it and came away covered in the sticky substance. She gasped. There was a strip of cloth that was stuffed in her jacket that she kept for instances like this. She grabbed the band and wrapped his leg. When that was finished, she reached into another section of her coat to grab a tonic that Fabiola the gypsy kept her well stocked on, knowing well Kat’s tendency to get into trouble. Kat tipped one of the more powerful ones into Lawrence’s mouth, hoping it would go down.

Lawrence spluttered for a moment, but the liquid went into his system. He lay still again, but Kat wasn’t worried this time. It took time for the tonics to work. This one should begin working in just a few minutes, so Kat waited rather impatiently for it to take hold of Lawrence’s body.

While she waited, she studied Lawrence, having not seen him in months. There was something different about him. He seemed thinner and his hair was more scraggly than it had been. His clothes were worn and torn, which wasn’t all that odd to see in the Caribbean, but it looked like they had been exposed to more than just sea and storms. It almost- she hated to say it, but it almost looked like they had tried to be torn from his body.

Before she could study him further, Lawrence’s eyes fluttered open. They wandered for a moment before focusing on her face. His mouth quirked up slightly in a faint smile. “I must be dreaming…” he murmured.

“No, Lawrence, it’s really me,” she told him softly. His eyes began closing again. Kat smacked his face lightly, desperate for him to not fall back into unconsciousness. “Lawrence. Lawrence, wake up!” she told him. His eyes shot back open, focusing on her immediately. The tonic must be taking effect.

“Kat!” he cried, trying to get up. He hissed in pain and grabbed his leg, falling back onto the leafy ground. Kat sat with him where he lay, clutching his tied wound.

“Are you alright?” she asked him, concerned. He still gripped his leg, but he grinned stiffly up at her. “Nothing that won’t heal, Kat,” he replied. She offered her hand to him and hauled him up. He stood unsteadily on his good leg for a moment and tried to put weight on his bad one, but it shot right back up into the air.

“Do you want to try heading back to town?” she asked him. “I don’t want to be around here if more skeletons show.” It wouldn’t be hard for her to defeat them- the skeletons that roamed this area were very poor fighters- but she was worried about Lawrence. If more skeletons were to show, they would likely gang up on him, being weak as he was at the moment.

Lawrence nodded his consent, so Kat wrapped her arm around his shoulders. He did the same, and the two slowly made their way for the town of Tortuga. Kat pulled her pistol from its holster, much to the alarm of Lawrence. She noticed the expression. “Just in case,” she told him, loading the tri-barreled weapon.

Thankfully, there wasn’t too much disturbance on the way back. There was only a skeleton or two that tried approaching them, who Kat dispatched of quickly. Her aim was a little off because of supporting Lawrence, but it was still pretty dead on, and none of the skeletons escaped more than two of her shots.

They finally made it out of the Wildwoods and back to the King’s Arm. Kat sat Lawrence down at one of the tables and went to go talk to Johnny McVane, the owner of the tavern. While she was gone, Lawrence mulled over his thoughts. The trip back had taken a lot of energy out of him, more than he had expected. He was usually much stronger than that. His face reddened slightly at the thought of Kat carrying him through the forest. Last time he had seen her, she had been much more awkward, not nearly as steady on her sea legs. Now, though- now she was better than he was. She had grown a lot in the months that had been separated. He continued these thoughts in that direction while he was alone.

Meanwhile, Kat was at the counter talking with McVane.

“Come on McVane, I just need one more room,” she argued with him.

“For the amount you’re paying now, Crestshot? No way,” he told her. “I’ve got other patrons, and only a few rooms. I can’t afford it!”

Kat huffed in frustration. Johnny was usually very accommodating of her needs. He had provided her with a room immediately when her Cutthroat Wolf was put in for repairs. She had begun to think he was a nice man in his own right, despite how rough the Caribbean was.

What Kat didn’t realize is the reason Johnny always treated her so well was because of how well she paid. She was rather naïve that way. Every time she was in port, she visited King’s Arm, preferring it over the more rowdy Faithful Bride. He was always at her beck and call, listening for the jingle of coins when Kat was in town. Because of his brilliant service, Kat kept coming back and tipped well. It was a cycle they both liked.

Now, though, Johnny was putting his foot down. Kat was trying to get him to give her an extra room for free, while she still paid for her one. The King’s Arm was booked, and he wouldn’t get rid of a paying customer for Kat any day of the week.

Kat decided to try and work it from a different angle. “What if I pay for half price of the extra room while still paying in full for mine?” she tried to persuade him. McVane shook his head, his red ponytail flopping everywhere.

“I’ve got other customers, Kat!” he said angrily. “I won’t be kicking them out just because you don’t want to pay!”

“Want to pay?” Kat said incredulously. “Johnny, I can’t pay. I can’t afford the full price of two rooms!”

“Aw, you’re full of it Kat,” McVane said, waving his hands at her. “Everyone in the whole bloody Caribbean knows you’re loaded, they just don’t know where you keep it all.”

Kat had to smile internally at that. It was the truth, though she wasn’t about to admit that to him. She was very good at what she did. Her money was kept in various locations in this sea, just in case one of the others was found or used up. The Tortuga stash, though, was running low. Repairs for her Wolf cost quite a bit, not to mention paying for other expenses on the side, like her room here or ammunition for her pistol.

Kat began arguing with McVane again. “Do you remember that little sloop out there, Johnny? The one that’s completely shattered and broken? The one that’s mine?” she snapped. “It takes more than a little gold to pay for repairs that extensive. I seriously can’t afford another room!”

“Then you don’t get one,” Johnny said, crossing his arms. Kat realized that this was his final word on the subject. She sighed.

“He’ll have to stay in the room with me, then,” she said with resignation.

McVane couldn’t resist chuckling at her. “Oh really, Kat? Is that how this is going to be?”

Kat scowled at him. “No, that is not how it is going to be, McVane,” she told him darkly. “He’s just… an old friend.” She looked over at where Lawrence was sitting. Yes, old friend indeed.

McVane seemed pleased enough with this answer, but was still gruff. “Well, what you keep in your room is your business. So long as I get my room back in one piece, it doesn’t bother me.”

Kat nodded at him. “Don’t worry, Johnny. We won’t be killing each other or anything up there.” She left and walked over to Lawrence. McVane shook his head at the women’s back. Hmph, old friend his right foot. She may be good at what she did, but in some instances, she truly was stupid and naïve. The thought then fled his mind as a new patron walked in, and his demeanor changed to that of a friendly bartender.

Kat approached Lawrence, who was still immersed in his thoughts. “How is the leg feeling?” she asked him.

Lawrence looked up at the face of the beauty. “It’s feeling much better now, thank you,” he replied. Kat sat down in a seat next to him. The pair was silent for a moment.

“Well, I suppose this makes us even,” Lawrence said to break the silence. Kat looked at him in confusion. He gave a small smile.

“Remember the last time we saw each other?” he explained. “You tried to give me money you had just gotten from selling your ring as payment for saving your life.” He paused, seemingly lost in the memory. “And I wouldn’t take it. I told you later, once you had made your own way, that you could pay me back.” His mouth turned to a small frown. “I suppose you’ve paid me back quite adequately now,” he murmured.

Kat recalled all of what Lawrence had explained. How could she possibly forget? That time with him marked the beginning of her life in the Caribbean. There was also the fact that he had saved her of course. Lawrence was a man she never could forget. Even if she had never seen him again, she had made a connection with him that was unlike any she had ever experienced, or, as fate knew it, would experience again.

Kat took his hand that was resting on the table in her own. “Nothing will repay what you did for me Lawrence,” she told him. “One life does not equal another, nor does one experience make another cancel out.” She looked him straight in the eye and spoke. “Those hours you gave me a few months ago will always be special to me. Just because I’m helping you out doesn’t mean that I forget how much you’ve helped me.”

The pair held eye contact for a moment, hazel eyes locked on green. Kat felt a fluttering of something inside of her, but she pushed it back down. It scared her, that feeling. She was so used to closing herself off from everyone and everything else, so why not this as well? The feeling went under the surface and into the depths, and Kat drew her eyes away from his.

Lawrence had felt it too, but unlike her, he embraced it. He didn’t know what it was, but he knew that he had nothing to fear from it. For a brief moment, he entertained the idea of voicing it, but something in Kat’s eyes shut down, and they left his. Lawrence felt dejected at the sight. He remembered telling himself all those months ago that he would find the right time to be with her. For what, he didn’t know. The time hadn’t been right then, and it apparently wasn’t right now either.

Kat released his hand and stood up. “I talked to Johnny McVane over at the bar to inquire about a room for you, but he said it wasn’t possible. That being the case, we’ll have to room…together.” She said the last part hesitantly. Not all of her previous lifestyle had left her when she turned to pirating, and the fine lady in her cringed at the thought of having to room with a man that was not her betrothed. The Kat side of her, though, said it was for necessity and overpowered the Lady Katherine.

“It’s on the second floor,” she continued. “Would you like to go up there now to see it? Do you think your leg can handle it?” she asked, not wanting to push him.

Lawrence flexed his leg a little. There was still a sharp wince of pain from the wound, but he felt the leg as a whole would support him now. “Yes, I believe I can walk up a few stairs,” he said, standing up. He took a chance to put part of his weight on the leg. It throbbed, but it didn’t buckle. Ah, how he loved the fast working tonics the gypsies of the Caribbean made.

Kat was apparently satisfied with his state, so she motioned for him to follow her. They passed through the door at the back of the bar that led to a flight of stairs. Lawrence followed slowly, careful not to put too much strength on his bad leg. He used the wall on either side of him to brace himself as he limped upwards.

Kat waited for him at the top of the steps. She felt a twinge of guilt at not being able to help him, but the steps were so narrow that the most she would be able to do would be to haul him up while walking backwards. So she waited patiently for him as he made his way up.

When he finally made it to the top, he was huffing. “Who knew that blood loss would make everything so difficult?” he asked jokingly. Kat gave a shrug and waited for him to recover. “Come on, my room is this way,” she said after he had regained some of his breath. They walked down the hallway past two other small rooms and into her own. It was tiny, with only a small bed, chair, and a set of drawers. Kat turned towards Lawrence a little shamefaced.

“It’s not a lot, but it’s only temporary,” she explained. “My ship is in for repairs, and I usually stay on there.”

Lawrence examined the room, not critically, but just acceptingly. “Don’t worry, it’s fine,” he told her.

Awkwardness was permeating through the room. “You should lay down,” she muttered. “You know, rest your leg.” Lawrence agreed and sat down on the bed. “Thank you so much for everything, Kat,” he said gratefully.

Kat smiled at him lightly. “It is nothing,” she replied. “Now, just sleep.” She sat down in the chair and watched as he stretched himself out on the bed. Lawrence yawned and closed his eyes to the sight of Kat staring at him. He was comforted by the fact that an angel was watching over him as he slept.



Lawrence is back! Haha, I know some of you like him, so, ya know...just for you guys. Nah, I'm just kidding, it was in the outline all along. But you guys can pretend...you know....

Ok then, new story, new reviews, yah? How 'bout it mates? Constructive criticism is welcome always. Also, this is how posting is going to go- Every Thursday is posting day. If I'm off, don't hesitate to PM me or post on here asking, "Hey, where's the story, huh?" I am in the middle of writing the fourth chapter for this though, so that shouldn't happen for awhile, if ever (hopefully).

Ok then mates, that's it for my rambling. Thanks for reading!

-Kat Crestshot