Chapter Text
She missed flying. Made running from the Red Feather Syndicate so much easier. Now she had to leave, she wasn't safe in this city anymore. But after a couple of hours of hanging at the closest tavern to the docks, she found a man who seemed willing to help.
"Well... where you lookin' to go? We fly pretty much where the winds take us." The elder man scratched absently at his patchy beard. Wrinkles that couldn't lie about the life he had lived in the skies made her a little jealous.
"Just anywhere. I don't have much in money but I'll work."
"You runnin' from somethin'?" He asked. Though understandable, she was dreading the question all the same.
"I've pissed off some powerful people, but who hasn't?" The man nodded in solidarity.
"Fair." He laughed, his skin folded in familiar patterns. A life hard and full of laughter. "I won't grill ya on details-"
Thank fuck.
"- but if you got any last minute things you need to take care of, bet'er ge' 'em squared away. We fly in a couple of hours." He drained the last bit of his drink and stuck out a weathered hand. "Name's Spit. We can talk to the captain 'bout your situation if you follow me to the ship." Maybe the luminaries were on her side for once.
"Hildred."
The luminaries were, in fact, not on her side. Yes, she has found a discreet way out of the city. And yes, it's on an airship (she missed the skies, who can blame her?) And yes, she didn't have to do anything drastic like she might have assumed she would have to earn her pay on the ship. In fact, she didn't have to pay for anything. Because the helmsman took one look at her and she took one look at them and the world went quiet. Her heart stilled as the helmsman's eyes recognized her. Drank in the sight of her like a poor soul lost in the desert, only to find that the oasis is filled with venomous snakes.
"You're Hildred!" The child standing beside the unforgettable helmsman yelled with excitement gleaming on his face.
She really did try to respond. Her mouth went numb and her mind blanked. All she could do was nod pitifully, unable to look away from them.
"Gable! It's Hildred!" He tugged on their sleeve, his grin brighter than the moon that hung overhead.
"It's Hildred!" Carmel, the white raven on their shoulder, repeated. How he was able to say it in a mocking tone back was astounding and a little scary. Gable hefted a sigh, turned away and said that "it's fine."
It obviously wasn't fine. Her being there wasn't fine. The kindly man from before called out to them about payment. To which Gable replied with a "It's fine!" Louder and more distressed over their shoulder as they walked off. It was hard not to stomp when you're 7 foot tall and made like a brick wall, Hildred reasoned for her own sake. But she was ushered away to the bunks beneath and given reassurance that Spit was going to get clarification on what "It's fine!" meant for her case.
And so she was left there, alone on the Uhuru .
Cursing the luminaries, the air, the seas, the Red Feather Syndicate, and her own beating heart.
Being as they were, there came some benefits with being a fallen angel. Gable was 7 feet tall and built like a brick wall, for example. People moved out of their path when they walked down the streets. They have a cool flaming sword. They could go on and on about all the wonderful things about being them and trade them all for at this moment to be drunk. There was not enough alcohol on the ship to get them to the point they would be within the realm of "fine" for this situation. So instead, they sat at the captain's desk with their head bowed and fingers interlaced behind their neck. Maybe they could sleep until she was off the ship.
"Well that went great." Travis joked as he hopped from their shoulder and onto the desk. "Thought you might be glad to see her again."
They groaned instead of giving a reply. He hopped around on his bird feet and tugged on their hair. Gable blindly swatted at him as the door opened.
"Gable? You up?" Spit asked, poking his head in. "I wanted to talk to ya 'bout our rider." They knew that they needed to be professional about this. "Acting captain" and all that. They propped their chin on the desk. Being professional and acting professional were two different things and they didn't have to do both. Gable tilted their head for Spit to continue. "Now normally, the cap'n would have ta sign off on any passengers but be it as it may, you and Travis were off finishin' up a job. And I thought you migh' take some sympathy for the poor girl."
"Well she's more than a girl." Gable muttered under their breath, but not quiet enough for Travis not to hear. The raven snickered into his wing, much to their chagrin.
"What was that?"
"We- well, I met her at the bird competition. She... helped us get..." Seeing her brought back memories they thought they were through with. "She helped us in Burza Nyth." Realization fell on Spit like rain, each drop another memory. At least now Gable didn't have to explain their reaction on the deck. "She can stay for free. We owe her that much."
"I'd reckon she's not the type to just accept handouts."
"It's not a handout, she's..." Words escaped them, as each flew by none felt right. "A friend." But it would have to do. Still Spit seemed uneased by something, gears turning through molasses in his head.
"Now it ain't none my business-"
oh fuck.
"But when I was a-talkin' to her at the tavern, she mentioned that she'd made some powerful people angry." Relief shocked Gable out of their panic. Explaining past relations was one thing. Explaining them to Spit was a level they never wanted to be on. "All but begged for ride to anywhere."
"Get on with it." They hadn't meant to growl, but they were at their limit already.
"Where we gonna drop her off?"
Off the side into the sea, some dark voice in the depths of their head offered.
"We'll figure somewhere out. For now, I'll talk to Travis and Jonnit when I find them about rations and course."
"It's Hildred!" Travis mockingly croaked as he hopped around on the desk. Gable sighed and reasoned with the dark voice in them that they could throw him off the side and into the sea without much worry or concern from the crew.
"You go talk to her. Tell her that she's here as a... friend." And with that, Gable pushed Spit back through the door before he could ask anymore of them. Back against the door, they slid down to resume their position with their head bowed, fingers interlocked around their neck.
"Well, that went smoothly."
"Fuck you, Travis."