Look at the Stars, Look How They Shine for You

"Am I allowed up there?" I asked Jack as he walked past me. My eyes were fixed upon the crow's nest that towered above the deck. It was only accessible by an intricate series of rope ladders. It was my third day on the Pearl, and I had been in a good mood the entire time.

We had left Port Odessa two days prior, and I adored being out in the open sea. It was ironic, that being so disconnected from the rest of the world make me feel closer to it. I had been introduced to the rest of the crew bit by bit. I'd strike up conversation, or they would initiate it. I had worked at committing all of their names to memory, and I pretty much had it down.

There was Pintel, who was bald and round, and his partner in crime Ragetti, with the wooden eye. Cotton was the mute, and his parrot got on my nerves quite a bit. Marty was the 'little man', but he was tough as steel. Another man, relatively frightening, called himself Grapple. He seemed tightly knit with one called Mallot.

"If ye can make it up without breakin' your neck." Jack replied, challenging.

I smirked at him, basically inviting him to stay and watch. I took a few steps to the bottom of the mast, stretching all of my muscles to prepare for the climb. Once I was satisfied that I was ready to go, I placed both hands onto the bars protruding from either side of the mast and heaved myself up.

Considering my job, I had to stay fit. Which meant that climbing up this was a walk in the park. I took my time reaching the top, pacing myself so my breathing stayed relatively even. I made it up in good time, swinging my legs over the edge of the wooden barrel and admiring my surroundings. The ocean stretched on for miles around. We were a minuscule spec in this vast collection of blues and greens.

It was overwhelming, being in the middle of it all. The crow's nest swayed back and forth in the wind, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. The air was also much more active at this height, and so my hair was flipping in every direction. I rolled my eyes and fished out my only ponytail holder from my bra. I pulled all of my hair back and tied it up. Then I sat down, being content with watching the landscape.

"Ye dead yet?" Jack called from below. I laughed to myself before peaking over the edge at his small figure.

"Shall I jump and you ask me that again?" I joked.

"Don't particularly like cleanin' up dead bodies, love." He said. I admired his ability to keep his composure. When he wanted to put on a show, he could. Unlike me, who moved away from the edge to laugh lightly.



"Will, I have a favour to ask you." I said, interrupting him from his scanning of the horizon near the helm. He turned and smiled.

"What is it?"

"Would you be willing to teach me to...sword fight?" I asked, unable to contain my anticipation. He laughed.

"Are you sure you want to know how?" He asked.

"You have no idea." I mused as he removed his sword from the holder.

"Jack, I need your sword." He stated plainly, looking over at the captain.

"For what." He said, unamused by the statement.

"Cat wants to learn how to fight." Will replied. Jack's eyes stayed glued to his compass, but his lips curled at the sides.

"Is that right? You sure are taking quite the dive into pirate culture, ay?" He teased.

"Can I borrow your sword?" I said a little impatiently, anxious to start my lesson. Jack rolled his eyes, and removed his sword from his belt. He handed it to me and I held it proudly in my hands. I flexed my fingers a little, getting accustomed to the feeling of it. Swinging it through the air a few times, I was ready.

"Shall we?" Will said.

"Lead the way." I said, and he walked down the stairs and to the middle of the deck. There were a few of the crew members scattered around, but I didn't care. Will turned to face me, and I braced myself.

"The first thing you need to know is basic defence. There are three main blocks. High," He demonstrated by putting tilting his sword diagonally and placing it in front of his forehead. I mimicked the move. "Middle," He lowered the blade to his waist, turning it vertical. "And low." He said, facing the tip of the blade towards the deck. I ran through all three blocking techniques and he smiled. "I'm going to come at you slowly, block as best as you can." He said, taking a few steps back.

I nodded, signaling that I was ready. He took two normal steps forward, gently bring his attack high. I blocked it easily. He repeated this with the other two techniques a few times, until I had a general idea. I had to admit, I was a pretty fast learner.

"Go faster. And don't swing so lightly." I said. He looked reluctant, but continued anyways. He came at me with more force and with a heightened pace. Mixing up the orders I wanted to laugh, it felt like we were doing some tribal dance. We were locked like this, offence against defence, for numerous minutes.

"You are doing well." He said, slightly surprised. I laughed, and noticed that a few of the men were watching us from the sidelines. "Shall we try attacking?" He offered. I nodded my head vigorously, desiring to learn everything there was about the sport.

Will taugh me many things, stabs, jabs, slashes, trips, and kill shots. Of course, we only pretended with the latter. We were, afterall, using real swords. We practiced, and practiced, and practiced, and practiced, until the both of us were toppled over. A crowd had now formed, and the men mumbled amongst themselves.

"I must admit I didn't expect you to learn so fast, love." Jack's voice came from behind me. I turned to face him, still catching my breath. "But you must learn footwork. One little trip and it's goodbye kitty." He teased, mocking my name. I rolled my eyes, turning away from him. "Come now, let's see what you can do." Jack said, and I heard the sound of a sword being drawn. I sighed, figuring he took it from a crew member.

I heard his footsteps loom closer so I spun in an attempt to shock him. It didn't work. His blade swung up to block mine, and he had a smirk plastered on his face. Pushing me back with his sword, he prepared himself for the battle.

"If I step here..." He said, crossing his feet as walked to the left. I tried to watch him, but he lunged at me. I quickly blocked him, understanding I would have to rely on my own insticts to get through this. I took a deep breath, and relaxed.

"And now I step again..." Jack said, taking a few more steps counter-clockwise. I glided to the left, fluttering my feet in a frenzy of strategic moves. My entire body seemed to be coordinated, as he gave me more and more. We kept on spinning, around and around and around. Slashing, blocking, skipping hopping, breathing. I almost wanted to shut my eyes and enjoy this little dance. Enjoy how easily it came to me.

Looking at Jack, I mimicked his smirk. I was doing damn well for my first time. I was doing damn well regardless. Knowing that in a game with a player like Jack, relying on wit for cheap wins, I'd have to work my skills. Which meant fancy bending, something I was capable of due to the modelling career.

I dropped to the ground, bend my left leg and extending my right, swinging it around and tripping the captain. I smirked again as I got up, placing my blade (well, his technically) against his throat.

"Impressive." He mused, moving the blade away from his face. I flipped it around so he could grab the handle.

"Thanks." I replied. I listened as the men talked about the performance, but one comment in particular stood out.

"Ooooh, kitty's got claws." The man called Grapple teased. I sighed, turning to face him.

"Please don't call me that." I said calmly. The man laughed, taking a few steps towards me.

"Whatchya gonna do, sweetheart?" He asked, crossing his arms against his chest and staring down at me. Everyone fell silent, and I took a deep breath.

"Just please, don't." I said. He laughed, coming closer. I felt tension lace the air.

"Whatever you say." He replied, and I turned to walk away. But he just couldn't help himself. "Kitty."

A flash of anger surged through me like an electric pulse. But the anger was momentary, and replaced with memories. Him, staring at me through a haze. Mocking me, repeating my name over and over and over in an attempt to make me cry. And when I didn't things just got nasty.

The man's ignorant laughter drew me from my thoughts and I turned to face him. I knew how I looked right now. I was giving him a death glare worth seeing. My teeth were clenched and my fists curled up into balls. A slight tremor took over me, and the man's smile slowly faded. As if to add to my appearance, an uncalled for gust of wind blew my ponytail holder right out of my hair, causing the strands to fly wildly. The very sun seemed to be blocked out. The man looked around, grunted, and left.

Slowly, the rest of the crowd disappated, some shooting me skeptical looks. I sighed, calming down, and walking over to where my ponytail had gone. I picked it up, hastily tying my hair back again. I turned around and gasped, not expecting Jack to be right behind me.

"What was that?" He asked.

"I just don't like that nickname." I replied nonchalantly, trying to push past him. He stepped in front of me.

"Looked like a lot more, love."

"Well looks can be decieving." I replied. I looked up at his face and noticed his eyes were scrutinizing the side of my face.

"You've got...metal all over your ears." He commented, gesturing wildly with his hands. He caused me to laugh, bringing me out of my sour mood.

"They're called earrings, Jack." I replied.

"Yes I know what they are, Catalina. It's just that you've got an abnormal amount." He said, staring at my multiple piercings.

"Really?" I said, surprised this was considered a lot. I only had triple pierced lobes and double cartilage piercings on either ear. "This is nothing where I come from. And I don't even have all of my rings in." I laughed.

"'ow many 'oles have ye got on you?" He asked, laughing a little.

"I've got my eyebrow pierced, my nose, and my snake bites." I replied. He looked at me funny. "Oh, snake bites are right here." I explained, gesturing to the two spots beneath my bottom lip.

"That's quite a bit." He said, almost impressed.

"Yep." I replied, pushing past him. I was happy to see he let me. I went up to Will, who patiently waited for the exchange between Jack and I to be over. "Thanks for the lessons." I smiled.

"I've never met someone who could take down Jack on their first try." He said in an approving tone.

"You've never met someone from the future either." I joked.