Disclaimer: I only borrow them from Disney, like toys!
Author's note: Same note as always. In my Pirates world, William is no longer cursed and serves as Jack's first mate on the Pearl. Pirate Cat
۞
Captain Jack Sparrow lifted his tricorn hat from over his face, as he glanced over at his first mate, who had his blue bandana pulled down low over his eyes... they were both soaking up some sun upon the main deck upon this fine afternoon. The Black Pearl was sailing toward the possibility of treasure that was rumored to be upon a Spanish galleon due into Jamaica, and it seemed like a raid just waiting to happen... sailing was good upon this afternoon, and Mr. Cotton was at the wheel. Jack and First Mate William Turner the Second were relaxing before they would lay in wait for their Spanish friends to show up.
"William?"
"Yes, Jack..." came the sleepy reply, one of William's brown eyes opening a crack under the bandana to regard the captain.
"Why do ye suppose tha' Davy Jones grew tentacles, really?" Jack's mind was wandering more than usual today, and this was a conundrum that had bothered him for some time.
William sat up and looked at Jack like he had suddenly turned purple. "What brought on a queston like that?" he frowned.
Jack twiddled a hand idly in the air, and cleared his throat, "Welllll... I thought it was because Calypso did him wrong after he had served before th' mast faithfully for 10 years, an' he was very unhappy, an' he cut out 'is heart, then grew tentacles."
William stared at Jack for this extremely condensed version of the story of Davy Jones, as Jack's eyes looked back at him with a certain hint of trepidation in them. He always knew when Jack was nervous about something when the captain's mustache twitched. "What are you getting at, Jack?" William asked, suspiciously.
"Ummm," Jack continued, with a hint of worry in his voice, "Do ye suppose tha' Calypso did it to him, somehow? I know tha' she was betrayed right back by Jones, an' imprisoned in human form by th' Brethren because Jones tol' them how t' do it, but... do ye suppose tha' Calypso can do that t' someone that she might be angry wif? Make 'em grow tentacles?" His tanned hand reached for the two small, beaded braids upon his chin, and he twiddled them to the point that he nearly pulled the beads off of them.
William finally understood, as he smiled at his companion, who was now nervously winding a dreadlock around his finger, as he thought this over.
"Jack, Tia Dalma liked you. She liked me. She has done us favors, even as she has returned to her form as Calypso. Are you concerned about something between you and Tia Dalma in the past?" William grinned slyly, as Jack's dreadlock finally became tangled around his slender finger, and he had to shake his hand wildly to free it.
He looked at William and said, bluntly, "Yeah." Jack's eyes grew quite round, but he did not seem to wish to elaborate.
William stretched out his long legs, and prepared to go back to his nap. Jack stared at him for a moment, then reached over and poked William's arm, rather hard. "Well??? William???"
"I wouldn't worry about it, Jack." William smiled, biting his lip a bit to keep from laughing, "... I'm afraid that you are a small matter to Calypso, in the grand scheme of things. She has better things to think about than you..."
Jack wasn't sure if he should be relieved... or insulted. "Captain Jack Sparrow is never a small matter," he huffed to himself. William bit his lip harder. But then, Jack reasoned, relief might be a better thing... but remembering the incident that might cause concern, he would keep an eye out for tentacles on his chin, just in case.
Uneasily, Jack pulled his tricorn back down over his own face and kept rubbing his chin... as his first mate tried hard not to laugh, for deliberately adding to his addled friend's worry... for as deep as their friendship had become, and knowing that they would both fight to the death for each other, William thought, with a low chuckle, sometimes he simply could not resist gently poking fun back at his friend... William reasoned to himself, with a grin, that it made up for all of the eunuch jokes...
۞