[C] And a Bottle of Rum

Both men glared at her with dark stares as they struggled.

"Catch a corner already," one grunted softly. He hefted the barrel up a little more. It was heavy. Very heavy.

Giacinto watched the three of them for a moment before returning to barking out orders.

Tamara did as she told, shrugging off the dark glares.

She remained quiet as they lifted it onto deck and wherever they were taking it.

The human had done a number of physical jobs in her life, so it was not too much of a struggle. Though she speculated that it would be difficult for her to carry it with only one other. Hopefully her physical strength would get better over time, and quickly.

A lot of the humans were doing the physical work at the moment.

The Vampires were just waking up as the sun was setting. Humans had already been awake for a long time. They were doing everything they could until the Vampires were awake enough to actually help out.

[Later in the evening]

Most of the humans had packed up and gone to bed now everything was on board. The Vampires rose and had gotten the ship out to sea easily enough.

Now the night was bright and Giacinto was leant over the railings, looking out at the beautiful sights of the sea.

The crew was odd. Even more as she originally thought.

As the men, like the couple she helped out thought out the evening, went to bed, more men began waking up. She knew that there was the odd one or two that would stay up for night watch. But this was almost half of the crew.

She made her way over to her Captain, clearing her throat as she came closer.

"Surprised to find that some of your crew work during the night. No wonder this ship is rumoured to be one of the fastest out there."

"Why do things go bump in the night?" Giacinto asked in response to the woman's comment.

Her voice was quiet; almost eerie in its tone. Like she had said it without even thinking about it.

Her gaze stayed fixed on the rolling waves in front of her.

Tamara frowned.

"Why do things go bump in the night?"

Bit of an odd question. Or was it  riddle? She has never been good at those.

She took another set forward, glancing at the Captain and then out at sea.

"What kind of question is that?"

"A question to make you think."

Giacinto bit her lip as she stared out at the moon. It was full.

The night of Werewolves. She wondered how her Werewolves were getting on. She hadn't seen them in such a long, long time.

"Things go bump in the night because everything is scarier after dark." Her lips quirked up into an amused little smirk.

Her crew was known to be rather scary. Unstoppable.

Tamara's frown deepened.

This great Captain was really not turning out like the vision she originally had for her.

Was the shorter woman tying to scare her?

"Nothing goes bump in the night. The shadows just trick you. That sort of stuff is for children, scare them from going where they shouldn't."

A low, husky chuckle sounded from the woman.

Nothing went bump in the night, huh?

Giacinto raised her head as a man appeared next to her, seemingly out of thin air.

"Smooth sailing, Captain. No storm in our way for miles."

"Excellent. Continue on. Look for the larger ships for now. Smaller ships can be left for the day crew." Her red gaze turned back to Tamara as the man all but disappeared again.

"Many things go bump in the night, sweetheart. Don't delude yourself into thinking any different."

She visibly jumped as another voice joined the conversation. Knuckles turning white as she gripped the railing.

...How?

She sure they were alone on this part of the ship. It should of been easy to hear anyone's footsteps on a ship, especially at night with the sea this calm.

Her brown eyes turned to look into Giacinto's red ones. They were even more disturbing without the light of the sun or candles.

"Nothing more then people."

These very crew members were what Tamara thought weren't real. The things that went bump in the night.

Vampires.

Giacinto's gaze was firm and unwavering. The woman wanted to send fear through the woman. Through fear Giacinto gained respect.

"What makes a person that doesn't also make a monster?" Giacinto was a person. She was also a monster. The very thing that went bump in the night and made people scream.

Tamara inched back. 

"Rapist's and murderers - they are monsters."

If those were the things the Captain was talking about, then she agreed. Other then that, there was no figurative monsters. Like the monsters her mother and younger brother believed in. 

If you can't see it, it is not real.

Rapists and murderers?

What made a murderer? There were people that needed to kill to survive. Sometimes Giacinto had had to kill to survive.

"And the other types of monsters?"

There were things that Tamara couldn't see.

True monsters. The things that really went bump in the night.

Why was she pushing this subject?

"Until I see them, they are not real."

It was difficult keeping hold of that gaze. She looked back out at sea, hair still standing on the back of her neck. Even when she was not looking directly at the Captain, she could still feel her gaze.

"They are just old stories."

Giacinto gave a soft hum in response.

She would see them soon enough. Her crew weren't very subtle with their abilities.

"Stories come from truth."

No story was truly made up.

Old legends always have some form of truth in them.

"That is true, but I am pretty sure it is so watered down with things chucked in there, like creature that go bump in the night, that the origin is unrecognisable."

The stories of her grand mothers people was proof of that. Watered down and twisted to appeal to the Spanish children. 

Colour came back into he knuckles as she realised her grip on the rail.

So, her Captain not only had a pair of disturbing eyes, but is also superstitious? Then again, more sailors and pirates are. She kind of hoped Captain Tony would of been different.

"Sometimes that's true," Giacinto admitted.

Unfortunately some stories were blurred and twisted so much that they weren't recognizable.

But there were some that had elements of truth in them.

A lot of those were dangerous creatures; hardly exaggerated in tales that were told.

"Be wary of the night, sweetheart. It isn't kind to pretty little girls like yourself."

Pretty little girl? She hardly liked to consider herself as someone sweet and delicate. Like those higher up women. Some who never work a day in their life.

She still flushed though - a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment.

"I'm a wo-" She caught herself before she could finish it. 

Straightening her back, she acted as if she never tripped over her words.

"I am a man. And not some little girl that you think I am."

Giacinto let out a soft chuckle at the explosion and the quick cover up.

She turned her body for the first time, facing Tamara.

"You can't hide yourself on this ship, sweetheart," she murmured softly, pressing her hand to the woman's chest, over her heart.

Her red eyes met with Tamara's for a moment as her fingers slipped lower.

Her own brother hardly recognised her. How could she figure it out so quickly?

The human's throat felt a little dry as her Captain pressed her hand over where her chest should be, constricted by the bindings.

She held the gaze, jaw clenching as the fingers dipped a little lower, unable to bring herself to slap the hand away, like she has done many times before. Her heart felt like it was in her throat.

"I can if I'm careful."

She had it figured. Keep her breasts bound at all time with a shirt on, and never take it off if in front of someone. Wear loose enough shirts just in case the shirt became loose. And avoid getting drunk and slipping up, either through her own mouth, or doing something dump such as striping on top of a table.

Giacinto shook her head.

They could smell it. She wouldn't be able to hide it at all.

"Good luck keeping it a secret."

Her fingers rested over the waistband of the woman's pants for a few moments before she pulled her hand away slowly.

Giacinto leant against the railing again, her gaze turning up to the moon.

She snorted a little. She really did not like how her Captain underestimated her. It won't be that difficult.

The human's heart sped up a little as the other woman's fingertips rested on her waist band. Shifting, she pressed her thighs together.

It only occurred to her handsome her Captain was. Even with the peculiar eyes.

She remembered to breath as the others hand was removed.
 
"What makes you think I can't keep it a secret?"

"Secrets are hard to keep on this ship."

People had their secrets, but they had a way of getting out on this ship.

Everyone knew just about everything about everyone on this ship.

Except her. So few people knew much about her. She was a closed book to everyone.

Her thick eyebrows were drawn together again, heart rate coming back down.

"I guess it is like a village. Rumours get around fast and everyone knows everyone. But as long as know one knows, it will be fine."

She had faith that the Captain won't tell. Woman to woman.

Half the crew already knew she was a woman and Giacinto hadn't needed to say a word about it.

Tamara couldn't hide this about herself.

"You gender isn't something that you'll ever be able to truly hide."

Giacnito's gaze turned back to the moon as she stifled a little cough. "The moons bright tonight."