Ruby pulled her head back, away from his touch –or rather, his hook—and she looked at him like he couldn't be serious. "Pirates generally aren't known for just letting our prisoners go, surely you know." He said this as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Which…it kind of was, she had to admit, however grudgingly.

"If you think you can hold me here, you've got another thing coming pirate." She scoffed, she'd find a way off this ship, one way or another.

Killian quirked a bemused eyebrow at her, there was that spirit he so liked, and he shrugged, folding one arm over his chest and stroking his scruffy chin with the other. "Suppose you do escape, and let's even suppose you manage to get to shore without drowning. What's the plan, sweetheart? You're in Neverland, and it's not a forgiving place. Feisty you may be, but you'd be lucky to survive a day, never mind finding this baby of yours and getting home safely."

"You have no idea what I'm capable of." Ruby answered back defiantly, tilting her head at him slightly.

"Oh, I'm certain your talents are many and varied," a lewd smirk quirked his lips upwards and he didn't even try to hide the way his eyes flickered up and down the length of her body, "but how many stories have you heard of children actually being rescued from Neverland? Or even of people leaving it?" He raised an eyebrow, and now that she thought about it, the Disney version was the only one that sprang to mind. So far, it seemed to possess some glaring differences from reality. "The truth is, I've been looking for a way off this island for centuries now, and I have yet to succeed. What makes you think you will?"

"Because I will." She did her best to sound confident, but Hook failed to look impressed. "Look, I'm not just any… wench off the docks." She improvised the last bit and Hook raised an incredulous eyebrow at her, but she continued on. "I have abilities you couldn't dream of, and when I set my mind to finding something, I always manage it. So, I will find Alexandra, and I will find a way off this island, and so you should probably just take me back to wherever you found me and we can part ways as unlikely friends." She finished her words with a nod of certainty, but unfortunately Hook was not wearing the enthusiastic expression she had hoped for, rather, now he looked like he was questioning her sanity.

"Forgive me if I fail to have confidence in these 'abilities' of yours, but there are dangers in that jungle that could make a seasoned sailor weep; I know, because I've seen it. You wouldn't last a day if I just dropped you off on the shore." He dropped his arms, and she could almost swear there was some sincerity in his expression. "You'd be better off staying on the ship. You'll be safe here, and when we find a way back to civilisation, you'll come with us."

"Safe?" Ruby scoffed, folding her arms over her chest, a dangerous gleam in her eyes. "Is that what you call what I was in the hold of your ship just now? Because I don't feel very safe here, with your merry band of rapists. Or, let me guess, that's just the cost of my safety here on the ship?" She growled, and Killian blinked, a little startled by the feral noise that tore out of her lovely mouth.

"You have my deepest apologies for my men's behavior." That sincerity seemed to be fading fast. "You're the first woman they've seen in over two centuries," Ruby's scowl only deepened, "so you can understand what that would do to a man."

"Is that supposed to make it okay? You apologize and make some excuse about how 'boys will be boys' and I'm supposed to believe that it's not going to happen again?" The disgust was plain on her face, but Killian only shrugged. "Yeah, I think I'll take my chances with the jungle." She finished, brushing past him brusquely.

"Suit yourself," he made no attempt to stop her as she stormed out of the cabin and threw open the door, blinking against the bright sunlight. Her ears adjusted before her eyes did, and she was startled by the sound of a whip's crack renting the air, followed by the sickly sound of skin splitting and a man crying out in pain. When her eyes focused on the scene before her, she recognized the man as one of those who had tried to rape her below deck, his face still red and puffy from the pepper spray. Both his hands had been tied to some kind of rack, and Ruby cringed at the sight of his blood puddling on the deck, while a large man with a fluffy white beard brought the whip down on him again. Further down the deck, another of the men looked on in terror, already stripped to the waist and his wrists bound, awaiting his turn, and a third man was collapsed on the deck nearby, already having been lashed… Ruby could swear she could see the white of bone amongst the crimson mess that had become his back.

She had paused to view the scene long enough for Killian to come sauntering out after her. He paid little mind to the carnage going on below, instead watching her face with curiosity as the fury faded from her expression. "Somehow I didn't think you'd have such a strong moral objection to rape."

"Oh, I don't," Killian dismissed that notion, wrapping his arm around her waist and making Ruby grimace. "But I told them not to touch you until I had a chance to question you. I don't take insubordination lightly on my ship, and if I don't make an example out of them, the other boys might get ideas." He pulled her around to face him, forcing her to tear her eyes away from the man they were now taking down from the rack, and up to meet his gaze. "I hope I don't have to make an example out of you, now?" There was a thinly veiled threat there, and Ruby glowered up at him.

"Does that mean you're not going to just let me leave?"

"As I said, pirates generally aren't known for just letting our prisoners go, and I wouldn't want the lads to think I was going soft." He pointed out, lifting his hand to twirl one of her curls around his finger, his gaze flickering down to her lips briefly. "Besides, you've intrigued me with this talk of your 'abilities.' So I'm willing to make you a deal." Ruby narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Next time we go ashore for supplies, you can come along to show me what you can do. If I believe you've got any hope of finding a way off this bloody world, for the lot of us, and I'll help you get your baby back from the fairies."

"And what if I don't live up to your expectations?" She frowned, she had a feeling she knew where this was going.

Killian shrugged, pushing her hair back behind her ear and looking into her eyes meaningfully. "Well, if I can't find a use for you, I'm sure the lads will."

Ruby bristled, glancing back towards the unwashed scoundrels on the deck below. Once they were on land, she could slip away. None of them would be able to catch her once she had a place to run, after all.

"Don't worry, I'll prove myself." She growled, glaring up at him after a moment. Killian grinned devilishly.

"I'm sure you will, love."