"I reckon it'll be about twenty five of us," he said. Vega looked at him and nodded.
"Right," she said, her mind working quickly. "We'll need to work out livin' arrangements an' stuff." He raised an eyebrow, after all they were all living in a communal area now. Vega understood his unspoken question and answered it. "You've all been stayin' in one place, together. If you're goin' to be part of this community, then that needs to change," she said.
Dianarv considered her words and, perhaps, he would have answered but Vega had not, it seemed, finished. "There needs to not be a "pirate quarter" in Sweetsong. The way we manage that is that you get treated like anyone else what joins, an' we work out livin' arrangements that way." It was the only thing that made sense to her. "So, I need to meet everyone an' we need to look at skills an' stuff. Also, there's goin' to be some Elements comin' here to train a bit. It would be a good idea, I reckon, for your people to think about joinin' that."
That caused a surprised look to cross Dianev's face. "Why?"
Vega's expression showed that she knew it wasn't likely to be their first thought, but she believed that her thoughts were sensible. "Because there are stereotypes an' ever'one has an idea of what a pirate is. I were raised on a biqaj ship, so I sure as piglets is pink do. I know that every Scalvorian does, too, whether they liked the Pirate Lords or not. If this is goin' to be you lot bein' different, then this would show it."
He was quiet for a moment, and then he nodded. "That makes sense, I don't disagree," he said. His tone was firmer though and he spoke clearly, "but I'm not forcing anyone to do anything. If I'm not in charge, then I'm not and you can work with them as individuals." Vega smiled in response and nodded her head. "Yeah, that's fair. Deal."
While he didn't show it, Dianarv was surprised at her response - but he was also pleased at it and that did show. "I'm figurin' that the best thing that we could ask of you is to help with the defence an' the sailin'," Vega said. Dianarv grinned, a rare but genuine smile on his scarred face. "I'm good at sailing, it's true," he said.
"We do regular trips to Hopetoun, who we share resources with, an' into the mainland, o'course. Also, huntin' an' gatherin' trips. It would be sensible to learn a bit of survival too, while you're here," It was true, they were surrounded on three sides by places where it was hard to survive - it made sense to learn about it. "An' I guess the other thing is to ask you about joinin' in on things in the settlement. There's trial-to-trial jobs an' they need doin' so, yeah."
Dianarv nodded. "I'm happy to help out. There's no buildings here, is there any movement on that? Would you change your mind on it?"
Vega looked as adamant as she felt "Nope. We live in a way what's jus' respectful to Sweetwine an' choppin' down trees to build houses isn't, so no. If there's a big tree an' you lived in that, that'd be a different thing but everythin' here is as respectful to the land an' sustainable as we can make it." He liked the idea, but it took some bending his head around, he had to admit. "I don't understand how it all works so well, without buildings," he said. "I understand that might sound strange, since I lived on the sea, but you know how a ship is." Vega nodded. There were rooms and ceilings and a place for everything. It was as structured as a house, in many ways.
"But the reality is that it does work well," he wasn't ashamed to admit it - he'd been here a while and these people had a well-organised community who pulled together. He'd heard how things had gone around Scalvoris and there was no doubting that this place had fared better than anyone else in the attacks. He didn't doubt that the reason for that was at least partly because of the organisation. So, as weird as it seemed to him, evidently it worked.
"It works because everyone pulls together," Vega said, nodding. "People like Sir Chip an' Winston an' Flo an' Jasper- everyone here. They give what they can to make the place better an' that works. We need to keep that balance, it's natural," Vega firmly believed that. Dianarv wasn't sure that he did just yet, but this was a place where he found he could settle. He liked the lifestyle and the simple truth was that this woman who led the place? Her attitude was the sort of no-nonsense that he liked. "Your reputation is that you're good with a sword," he said. "I've heard you play the fiddle at night, obviously, and I've never heard anything so beautiful," he wasn't ashamed to say that, her playing was astonishing. "It's a strange combination. How did you get good at those two things, specifically?"
Vega shrugged slightly and, just for a moment, her eyes swirled in a whirl of shades, but it slowed. "I guess, there's two answers to that. I'm Faldrun's daughter, an' fightin' comes naturally to me. But also, where he's turmoil, I'm rhythm an' that means music is part of me, too. Also, I can't abide it when people think they can bully others, so I needed to learn to fight." Never was there a truer word spoken. If Dianarv was surprised at her revelation of being Faldrun's daughter, he didn't show it. Vega knew that it was not a secret and she knew that she was well-known enough for it to be something he already knew. "Also, I had my legs shattered in the docks collapse an' I had to heal an' learn to walk again an' stuff. I got bored an' learned to play the fiddle. That's when I discovered that I have some kind of gift for it. So yeah. Jus' lucky an' the reality of a life of adventure, I suppose."
He nodded his head. "I've heard some of the tales," he admitted. "But I wondered how many of them were exaggerated."
"Almost all of 'em, I'd say," Vega acknowledged. "That's the nature of people. One o' these trials we'll host a story night an' maybe you'll join in, hear some stories an' meet some folks. Stories about me what I've heard have been exaggerated or wildly apocryphal." With a grin, she stood. ""But I've told Arlo to quit tellin' those tales," she teased. "I've gotta get gone. It were good to talk to you, Dianarv. Welcome to Sweetsong, you're real welcome here."
He nodded in acknowledgement and then watched as she left. It was strange, he thought, but he believed her.
And that was unusual enough that the former Pirate King smiled and puffed, thoughtfully, on his pipe.
