Ava did go back to Theo's the following night. And the night after that. And the one after that. It was a ritual now. A ritual she got accustomed to quickly, a little too quickly. She would spend her mornings with Tuni or Cooker messing around on the deck, even helping them with the odd job here or there. Then her aftermornings were spent holed up in the library reading the same book she had started previously. It was quite boring, Ava thought, but it was useful information. Unbiased too.

When nighttime came, Theo always came knocking on the library door and they went to their balcony where they began to exchange questions and answers. The second night they were together Theo asked Ava questions about herself. She had just turned 16, she had four sisters and three brothers and she was the youngest, she was the only of the girls that wasn't a twin. Her favorite thing to do back home was climb and help in the garden and she had left home over 40 suns before she boarded the ship. The third night they escaped to Theo's balcony they exchanged questions about favorite foods and colors, best memories of a pet they had and their childhood best friends. Ava told her about her chambermaid who always helped her make fun of her mother together and they drank some of Theo's fine wine. The last night was not as animated and lengthy as the other nights. It had been a long sun for Theo and Ava had seen her working throughout it around different parts of the ship. They only spent about an hour together in the library that night when Ava urged Theo to get some rest.

Theo reluctantly had stood up and gone to bed with the promise of showing her around all of the best shops in the morning. Ava was instructed to be ready to go bright and early and she listened to those instructions. She had her shoes on and her money pouch ready to go and tied around her waist, perhaps a bit too early. The sun had not yet fully risen before she was dressed but Theo had the same idea of "bright and early" as she had. There was a knock on her door not long after she had gotten dressed.

She opened the door to a very relieved looking Theo, "Oh thank fuck. Thought maybe you weren't ready as early as me and I didn't realize it until I knocked but of course it would have been too late anyway. Glad you're awake."

Ava laughed and bowed dramatically, "Your wish is my command, Captain. Bright and early."

"Right," Theo laughed and offered her arm, "Shall we? We must be quick."

"Why?" Ava took Theo's arm and they set off.

"We're sneaking off the boat," Theo explained and they quickly made their way down the hallway and the stairs.

"Because the captain isn't allowed off the ship?"

"Because the captain isn't ever given the chance to get off the ship alone unless we dock early. Pirates are sleepers, no one wants to wake up at the crack of dawn to go into a city they've been to before. I, on the other hand, love my alone time in the city," Theo told Ava as they made it off the ship.

"You aren't having alone time though," Ava commented as she looked around the port. The sun was just beginning to shine over the water and onto the docks but there was barely a soul out yet.

"Aye, I'm not alone but I also don't have a band of 20 pirates with me," Theo countered and Ava shrugged, understanding the logic. One quiet-ish passenger versus 20 rowdy pirates, Ava knew which she'd pick.

They began to make their way down the docks and Ava took everything in. It was beautiful, not necessarily the richest place or the fanciest but it was so different than what she'd seen in Elox. The building's here looked to be primarily made of this bright red clay. Not many people were out but those she did see wore beautifully patterned silk clothing. As they made it out of the docks and more into what looked to be a central place of shopping, Ava realized there was nothing open yet.

"Theo," she nudged her companion, "nothing's open yet."

Theo nodded "Aye, we are not going to the shops yet. Just wait."

Ava knew by now not to try. Theo was smart enough to know that Ava wanted to know where they were going and if she was withholding information, no line of questioning would get her to answer. Ava knew because she was the same way. She had a tight lip when it came to her own secrets, it's what let her get away with so much back home. It was everyone else's damned loose lips that always got her in trouble.

They were not walking for that long, thankfully for Ava's squished feet, before they arrived at what looked like a bakery. It smelled delightful and Ava's stomach suddenly panged with a vicious hunger, she needed whatever was in the shop and a lot of it too. The bread was not her favorite thing on the ship, it was stale and dry and after the third sun there was none left and they had to eat sea biscuits. Hard and stale sorry substitutes for bread. Theo opened the door to the bakery for her and Ava stepped in taking another deep breath. She took a long look at all the pieces of bread and pastries out for display and her mouth watered. She was going to spend all of her money here before she even got anything she needed.

Theo walked past Ava and to the woman at the counter and began speaking to her. Ava walked down the length of the shop looking at all the varieties trying to decide what she wanted. Before she could even order Theo called her name from a table. She looked up and saw that there were quite a few different slices of bread and pastries laid out in front of Theo. Ava walked over to the table and took a seat then raised an eyebrow, "I didn't order anything."

"Don't worry, I got these for both of us. The first time I ever came here it was packed with people and half sold out by the time I could choose what to get. Trust me on this," Theo reasoned.

"For a woman's choice enthusiast, you sure seemed quick to choose for me. Am I perhaps finding flaws in your character, Theo?" Ava teased and Theo laughed.

"You can always leave this all to me and go pay for your own bread."

"No thank you, this will do just fine," Ava laughed and looked around the table before picking up one of the slices of bread on the table. Taking a bite, Ava swore she saw celestial beings. It was crunchy on the outside but warm and soft on the inside. She let out an audible moan and Theo laughed.

"I know," Theo leaned forward and handed her a small knife with butter on it, "if you thought that was good, try it with that."

Ava spread butter on her bread and took another bite and somehow, it was the best thing she had ever tasted. She never took bread for granted until now. After that slice, she reached for another. Ava would have felt embarrassed at how fast she was eating but Theo was already finishing her second while reaching for a pastry. They sat in silence as they ate, too engrossed in the food to want to talk.

After three slices of bread, one cheese pastry, and a fruit tart, Ava leaned back in her chair and put her hands over her stomach exhaling a large breath, "That was the best thing I have ever consumed. I was not worthy."

"Bread. It just fucking gets you," Theo mused and chuckled at herself. "What's your shopping plan? What do you need?"

"Um," Ava thought back to the mental list she had kept over the last few suns, "ink, quill, new shoes, maybe something new to wear just to have two things to wear-"

Theo laughed at that one and Ava scoffed and raised a questioning eyebrow, "No, I'm sorry. Carry on. I just forgot you were the rich greater house type."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ava crossed her arms.

"Means you've got ten gold and your priority is a change of clothes when the ones you have on aren't even dirty. Probably cause you're used to a change of clothes every sun and a bath drawn by your chambermaid," Theo challenged and Ava rolled her eyes.

"Rich coming from the person who has three wardrobes full of clothes and jewels," Ava challenged right back then broke out into a smile, "Now you've made me lose track of my list."

Theo laughed and got up, "Come on, I'm sure you'll remember on the way."

Ava got up and gave her thanks to the baker behind the counter before walking out with Theo. The sun was up higher now and people were beginning to come out onto the streets. Theo began to lead her through the streets and took Ava's hand into her own when it began to get too crowded. She was taking her to a shop that sold stationery and writing materials that weren't too expensive. Jarth wasn't too fancy of a place like Tassey was. So she was sure Ava could find everything she needed with the money she had.

They arrived at the small shop and slipped inside, there seemed to be no one but the shopkeeper inside and Theo let go of Ava's hand, "Ink and quill should be here."

"Thank you," Ava said then began to look around the small store, walking to each of the shelves and examining the products. There were all kinds of colors of ink and types of paper. She found an ink and quill set for only four silvers and she bought it. Others were cheaper but she figured quality would last her longer.

"Where to next?" Theo questioned as they exited the store.

"Shoes?" Ava suggested and Theo nodded.

"Ah! I know the perfect place for boots. They buckle together so there's no need to struggle with pulling them off," Theo offered and Ava's nod gave her the go-ahead to start making their way to the next shop.

It was close by and they avoided the busy main street everyone seemed to be walking on. The more people she passed and the more shop windows she passed the more she was fascinated by how different everything was. Much less drab than Elox, if she was being honest. Much less green too, there wasn't a tree in sight.

They made it into the shoe store and then stopped by to look at clothes. After, they passed by an apothecary, a fortune teller, snuck onto the boat to drop off her stuff then ended up back at the bakery again for another pastry. As they were standing outside eating a sweet bread Theo pointed to a building down the way, "That's the city center. Official jobs and vacant places are administered by some tellers there and there are also unofficial jobs and other announcements on a giant board there, things like that."

"Right. The next things on my list, a job and a place to stay," Ava remembered. She didn't quite want to leave the ship just yet but maybe if there was a decent place to stay here with a good job she could settle for that, "Will you be coming with me?"

"No, I've got some pirate things to attend to with Xyra and the crew. I'll be waiting for them here."

Ava nodded and looked at Theo, "Can I come?"

"Afraid not, friend. Pirate only business, seeing as this is a bit more of a risky one," Theo admitted and shrugged an apology.

Ava nodded and dramatically sighed, causing Theo to laugh. She stepped forward and saluted the captain, "I'll be on my way then."

"We're leaving right after sunset so be back on the ship by then! We've got another three-sun journey ahead of us," Theo called after her as she began walking away and Ava gave her a thumbs-up as she walked.

She pushed past the crowded street and made it to where Theo had pointed to before. It was a large red building with armored guards standing outside the open doors. She walked into an open foyer of people and saw the large board full of small papers nailed in, advertising odd jobs and different parties. She made her way to the edge of the room where she saw people behind small desks with papers stacked higher than they were. She approached one of them and cleared her throat, "Excuse me, sir. I am looking for employment and a place to stay. I was wondering who could help me with that."

The man she had approached looked up from his paperwork and motioned to the chair in front of him, "How old are you, ma'am?"

"Well, 16," Ava answered honestly.

"Do you have a guardian with you?"

"A guardian?" She repeated.

"Yes, your father or another man?" he asked, growing annoyed.

"No, I'm alone. Why do I need one?" she asked, genuinely confused as to why she needed a man to walk with her to ask some questions.

"I've got no official employment for girls who are 16 with no guardian permission. For places to stay, I might have something for you," He reached into his pile of papers and began sorting through it. After a few minutes, he had pulled out a few papers, "Without guardian permission, I only have four options of people who would be willing to rent to you. I have a four-room house, a villa, a basement under a clothing shop, and a room in a house. The cheapest of them would be the room which runs you at about 30 gold a cycle."

Ava choked a bit as she heard the price. After everything she had spent she only had about 7 gold left and would not be able to keep up with payments of 30 gold a cycle. She blinked and sat in the chair for a second to take in her options. The man cleared his throat and motioned that he wanted her out of the chair and she got up quickly and left the area. She was embarrassed and confused, why was everything so expensive and what was the big deal about her age?

She supposed she would just head back to the ship. Looked like she would be staying on board for at least another three suns. She made her way out of the city center doors and before she could make her way back to the ship she spotted Theo, Xyra, and a whole motley crew of pirates walking down the main road of Jarth. She could just go back to the ship or she could follow behind and see what they were up to.