"Nothing more huh? No secret tragic life story?" She leans in closer to him with a smug smirk. 

The broody quiet types always had their secrets. That's at least one thing she has learned in the smuggling business. Many of the clients that her captain met with were the same. All of them wearing fake smiles or emotionless facades during negotiations. They acted all tough and stuck-up while working on these master schemes of theirs. They kept their hands clean while it was folks like her that did the actual dirty work and risked time in prison or worse. Cowards, the lot of them. 

This Sable guy wasn't like that though. This guy had to be more than just a guard. He had a little flying lizard! That wasn't normal. There was a story there at least. What's more is that she had clearly hit a nerve. He wouldn't react like that if there wasn't more to him than just his profession.

The more he tried to appear emotionless and neutral, the more she wanted to see him break. It was all too tempting for a someone like her with more confidence than sense. 

"What's the story with the flying iguana anyway?"

She looks at Celeste with some curiosity. She does have a soft spot for little critters and the drake kinda looks a little like a turtle if she squints hard enough. She likes turtles. Reaching back into a pouch on her belt, she takes out a little limp fish that certainly smells like it has been in there far too long to be good anymore. She couldn't tell. Tritons did not have the greatest sense of smell above water. She offers the fish to Celeste as Sable starts his interrogation. 

"Few hundred Solars, didn't count 'em, was too busy kickin' their asses."

She shrugs, not really understanding if her words were helping or hurting her case in this situation. Catching on wasn't her forte and she was already convinced that Sable was not a real guard and instead was some sort of spy or imposter. 

"Don't know, wasn't me who set the exchange up. I just deliver the stuff."

Sable didn't deign to answer her question, refusing to even acknowledge it despite the way her smirk seemed to be an attempt to goad him into responding. He had already said enough—too much, if he was being honest with himself, that moment of weakness one that he regretted—and whatever his story was, it was his own, not hers. Tragedy and all.

It wasn't as if her question was born out of anything other than curiosity anyway. As it always was with people like her. They wanted to know simply to sate themselves, holding onto the information only as suited them or if it was useful. Fueled by an inherent hope that they might be able to twist it to their needs and wield it to get themselves further in life, they snatched up the pieces that were given to them, handled recklessly and carelessly, uncaring of who might be cut or burned by it. He had met quite many in his life that fit that mold, his brothers among them.

At least the woman before him didn't seem to be cruel as he was used to from family and strangers. She was... practical and with both enough and less sense than she needed to get her out of situations like this, and he had seen the way she had been mindful of the crowd that had gathered even as she stood cocksure with her whip. Granted, he was also certain she was the type to argue caring about a handful of strangers should she stand accused, but it was a dispute she would ultimately lose from those that observed her. If she didn't simply give herself away, of course.

"She is a drake," Sable corrected the woman, biting down the sigh that nearly slipped free in faint exasperation.

He was about to leave it at that, too, and deny her anything more than just his name, but if he were to keep things... as they were and without any sort of hostility or suspicion, giving her something would be preferred, he realized. "...and she found me one day. Ten years ago."

That was where he would leave it, though, a firm look in his eyes when he met her gaze for the answer... before he relented and added. "Her name is Celeste."

Celeste, in turn, looked incredibly unamused by the fish that was offered to her, the scent quite unappetizing. It reminded the small drake of the bodies of fish often seen floating belly up around the wooden beams that held up the docks, and after a moment's hesitation, she leaned forward and opened her jaws.

Instead of snapping it up immediately, though, a cone of snow and ice escaped from behind white fangs. With a cone of cold, one that carried the bite and chill of the most frigid winter, Celeste froze the little fish, crystals of ice spreading across its scales as it solidified from her breath, and once she was satisfied with its state, her jaw closed around it with a final lunge, wings outstretched to keep her steady.

The fish was gone, and Sable spared a glance to his misbehaving companion who should have known better. "...are your fingers alright?" he asked after Celeste had the decency to look a little ashamed of herself as she licked her lips, though he couldn't tell if it was actual remorse as his attention returned to the triton woman.

With a heavy breath, Sable took to writing down what he had learned so far along with what he was given following his questions. It was... admittedly not much. He had, had a feeling she was not the one to orchestrate everything, likely an underling of the person who had taken on the job and seen to its end, and her words only confirmed that. It was better than nothing, though.

His hand stilled, and Sable looked from his notes to the woman, the false name she had given him remaining unwritten along with any vulgar and speculative comments she made. "...and as I am to understand it, you are unlikely to name who set up the exchange, correct?"

"A drake? That just some fancy word for baby dragon?" 

Somehow she knew what a dragon was at least. 

Surprisingly, Sable actually gave her a decent answer to her question rather than just telling her to shut up and answer his questions. He really was dropping the ball on this whole tough-guy-guard act. Or...maybe this was the act? It was hard to tell. 

Something was bugging Tsarra though, for as dumb as she is, she still has some sense for people otherwise she would never be tolerated enough to join any crew or work with anyone. Sable was seeming more and more...genuine the longer they talked, and that confused her. It was the pauses, the consideration, the added information without further prodding. This wasn't how spies worked.

It is distracting enough that Tsarra doesn't even realize that Celeste had nearly frozen and munched her fingers clean off. She blinks and looks at her empty hand with the ice crystals sticking out from her skin. 

"Well...that's chilly." She shrugs and rubs her fingers across her pants to get the frost off.

Both this and the way Sable talked distracted her enough from the context of the situation enough that she just mindlessly answers Sable's next question. 

"Oh, that'd be my capt'n, Laresha Adol. She's the smart one."

She says it with some pride, as if she had any claim to the intelligence of someone she associates with. There's a moment after she answers where she stares at Sable with a grin which slowly fades into a look of realization. 

"Fuck. I didn't say that. Ye heard nothin'."

The name is not an obscure one. Laresha Adol is a tiefling pirate captain of a ship that has terrorized the southern coasts of Charon for a few years now. She has a reputation of cruelty and brutality that makes bounty hunters run in the opposite direction if they see the banners of her ship on the horizon. Rumor is that her silver tongue could cause people to willingly throw themselves overboard and drown at sea or walk into open flames to burn alive.

Her capture has long eluded hunters and authorities alike, and there is worry that she will become bold enough to use her infamy to influence trade and politics in ports across the southern seaboard. If she were to pursue such acts, there is little doubt that Charon would be facing the rise of a new pirate empire to contend with the Court's Council of Thorock or the crime syndicates of Ashen Fathers to the northwest. 

It's hard to imagine that this dumb triton woman that stands before Sable is actually part of such a vicious group of pirates with many successful campaigns under their belts. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that Tsarra was lying, or that she was merely another expendable pawn of the would-be pirate queen. 

"...drakes are descendants of dragons, but... she will not become one when she is older," Sable had explained, the topic one he was familiar with and far more open with than any other. "She will simply be considered an... adult. Whenever that might be."

Whether she was aware or not, the triton woman had stumbled onto a source of confusion that Sable had yet to rid himself of or alleviate in some way. It had not been a lie when he said that Celeste had found him ten years ago, but in terms of information he wouldn't be sharing with her, that his drake companion had not grown much in size in all that time was one.

As far as he could tell, though, it was not... detrimental to Celeste in some way, nor was she unhealthy or sickly. She was simply small in size. No larger than a cat, truly. As she had been since she came upon him on that wintery night, his blood staining the snow as the wolves fled from its scent.

Such things were not a concern at the moment. Instead, he gave the woman a sympathetic look as she pulled her hand back from Celeste's demonstration of her affinity for a certain element. Fortunately, there was no discoloration to indicate frostbite, but there would be a conversation later about being careful with one's breath once his shift was ended.

"...my apologies," he offered. "She sometimes forgets her... potency."

To say that Sable was mildly surprised when the triton woman—whose name he had yet to learn—gave the name of her captain up with a leading question when he already assumed she wouldn't, would be one thing. Just as it would be another thing to say that he was surprised to hear just who her captain was, the first letter stopped mid-stroke of his pencil as he glanced up and kept his reactions at bay save for the way he stilled.

"I see..."

Sable observed her differently then, the sharpness of his critical gaze no longer one awaiting some form of trickery or a bit of magic suddenly brought forth to be used against him. Instead, he looked intently, searching for any signs of bruising, of old yet telling scars, of anything that might tell him that Captain Adol's cruelty and brutality extended beyond reputation to her own crew.

His mind was not put at ease when he saw nothing of that nature on her, though, and instead, it was filled with concern for what might befall a woman such as her should anything that was happening now reach her captain's ears. Sable could only imagine the sort of punishments that might come to someone who failed under that banner, and while she was a pirate for as much as they danced around it, denying and confirming in equal measure, that did not mean he wished her harm for what transpired.

The crime and all the consequences of it should find the perpetrator, not someone who was simply following orders... as he did.

"This... unnamed captain that's involved," he said, continuing to play to her not incriminating herself, "...would you say that she has given you a reason that you might... reconsider serving under her?" he asked. "Any abuses? Any reason that you might... worry over returning to them?"

Every word he used now was carefully chosen. Just in case. She could either easily brush it off, or should she need it, he could attempt to find a solution and help her. If needed.

"...otherwise, might I recommend that, should it come to light that said unnamed captain is near the city, that you... admit to nothing and instead volunteer for community service," he added after a beat. "It may spare an individual caught in the... crossfire the burden of a fine and a prison cell."

"Well, she's pretty cute and fiesty. Gotta be tough when yer smaller than everyone else." Tsarra nods approvingly at Celeste. 

Even if the drake wasn't ever going to be a dragon, that didn't mean she couldn't hold her own. It was all about attitude and spunk, and the little flying frost lizard seemed to have it in spades. 

She could sympathize with the creature, the triton woman was often underestimated by those who looked down on her both metaphorically and literally. A transgression she rarely tolerated, being quick to throw hands, water, swords, and whatever else she could reach.

That said, she wasn't taken seriously most days even by those she considered allies. Pirates didn't tend to have healthy ways of interacting with one another, quick to jeers and harsh words. Toughen up. That was the philosophy out on the unforgiving high seas surrounding Charon. Being a wuss on the deck was a good way to get knocked overboard or cast aside. No-one who was weak willed survived very long aboard even the more friendly ships. 

It wasn't all bad though, she had friends amongst the crew. Friends she would lay down her life for just as fast as she would punch them in the face for an inappropriate joke made at her expense. And then there was Marine, dearest Marine. Just the thought of her made the tips of Tsarra's ears flush. 

This wasn't the time for that though and the sea elf wasn't even on her mind as she was stuck in a standoff with this insistent guard known as Sable. His next set of questions make her furrow her brow in a frown. 

"What kind of question is that?" She looks at Sable with complete indignation like he had just suggested that she do something unreasonable and blasphemous. 

To her, it was. Captain Adol was everything she dreamed of being one day. She was the triton's role model, a perfect example of giving-no-shits-about and taking-no-crap-from other people who have their thumbs shoved so far up their own asses that the only way they can smile anymore is to step all over those who have to work hard for what they deserve rather than being served it on a silver platter because they were lucky enough to be born into a rich and easy lifestyle. 

"No, never. That's mutiny talk."

She shuts down that topic immediately. How dare this guard suggest abandoning the crew. She wouldn't do that. That was dumb, she had no reason to. They were the closest thing she had to family since...nevermind. 

"She ain't here. If she were then ooooh boy those asshole wouldn't have gotten away with tryin' to swindle us."

She folds her arms with a huff, though something Sable mentions does get her mind turning.

Community service. What even was that? Serving the community? What community? Serving what to them? People should learn to serve themselves. Whatever it was, it sounded ridiculous. Though prison sounds pretty bad too. 

"Is it even volunteerin' if yer bein' 'recommended' to do it?"

At first, Sable thought the triton woman's outburst at his question was one of blind loyalty or the sort that was earned with fear and the breaking down of strength that did not allow you to think in any other way. Yet as he looked at her, he did not see the look of someone that had been fooled, tricked, or beaten into unquestioning service to another. He saw loyalty, yes, but there was more to it, as well, something that ran deeper and far more honest than what he was expecting... from a pirate.

It was also clear to him that he had offended her, something he had been trying to avoid and stumbled into regardless. It was why he always maintained that he was better for the watch rotations than dealing with the populace with patrols. He did not need to be personable and there was no risk of him failing to do so when he was simply observing.

"...it was an honest one," he answered her, his voice softening a touch in light of the mistake he had made in being a bit... tactless in asking it despite his attempts to be careful. "There is a reputation that follows... her, and I was concerned that it might extend to those that serve under her. To you."

Nothing more needed to be said. It was explanation enough, but he remembered the way she regarded Celeste once introduced, and how the kindness she had shown her wasn't false or a presentation of some sort, and so, he added, "...my apologies if it was not... appropriate of me to ask."

He was fortunate that she continued to talk to him after that, something he did not take for granted. And although it was not a note he wrote, he filed away the information that, while not in the city, Captain Adol, her ship, and crew, were near enough that one of her own could be sent in to complete a job... somewhat. He had to wonder if she expected that there would be complications.

Her question was one that had a small amount of amusement surfacing, a whisper of a smirk, hardly there and hardly noticeable quirking the corner of his lips. "...yes, I believe it would still be volunteering," he told her.

"Even if you do not have a reason to... do so here for," he motioned, "this, volunteering for community service is not considered an admission to guilt in most cities, and assisting with something... menial or trivial can help you avoid something far more... unpleasant." He paused for a moment, his eyes shifting to look past the triton woman where he caught a glimpse of two figures on the opposite side of the docks slowly making their way towards them along a set path. "...in some cases, you might even be paid, if not by the ruling force, then by the people you are helping." There was still some time before the other guards would reach them, though that time could very well be shortened if they recognized him sooner.

A quiet sigh escaping him, Sable found that this was the first time he considered reinforcements an... inconvenience. Their presence certainly wouldn't help the situation any. If anything it would serve only to see to it that it deteriorated.

At least he knew that he had time enough for one question: "...how are you planning on leaving the city?"

This guy was so weird and this conversation seemed like it would never end. Her mind starts to wander to thoughts about escaping and how she's going to explain to Captain Adol that her mission was kind of a bust. Well, technically she did deliver the goods and she did retrieve the payment. She could just leave out the whole getting their clients arrested probably and being chased down by a weird guard guy in need of a haircut. 

She snaps back to reality when Sable brings up Captain Adol's reputation. 

"Why is that a concern? She's infamous! An inspiration! She is a far better person ta work for than any king or stuck up noble."

The confusion on Tsarra's face was evidence enough that what Sable was trying to say to her had gone right over her head. Again. Why had he brought up volunteering in the first place? Wasn't he going to arrest her at one point? No, no, she had figured out that he was a fake already. That's right, but then why was he still talking so much? Was this some code she was supposed to know? Damn sneaky bastards dancing around conversations and not just speaking plainly. 

She's been playing plenty nice with this guy yet he's still just yammering on about...getting paid??? Hold on, if there was coin involved that changed things. She was never one to turn down treasure or coin. The promise of Solars made her forget about the irritation that had been building up inside her, at least until she remembered he had been talking about volunteering only a few moments earlier. The goldfish brain works in tiny circles. 

"Wait, wait, wait. I thought volunteerin' for somethin' meant you didn't get paid."

She was pretty sure that was correct. Otherwise it's not being a volunteer and it's being hired for a job, right? Yeah, that was how it worked. This guy was just making shit up now. 

When asked how she plans on leaving the city, she just nods over to the docks then holds up her hands and wiggles her fingers. It's slight, but she does appear to have webbing between her digits. Based on that, seems like she plans on swimming away from Sol City which is a pretty weird thing to imagine if the pirate ship isn't anywhere nearby.

It had been a feeling from the beginning that, for a great portion of what he said, the meaning and... intent behind it was missed. The confused looks that were flashed his way with increasing occurrences were quite telling of this, and every time he tried to explain or... elaborate so that he might be understood without implicating either of them further, it seemed to only make things worse for the both of them as their... discussion neared being almost circular or repetitive.

Still, he felt a need to clarify something. A final attempt as he would not seek an argument with her over what was the truth from one person to the next. "...she is infamous, yes, though, for those of us who only know of her through rumors and the stories that make it to shore... it is for her brutality and cruelty."

Sable would be the first to say that it was best to never trust what was whispered and spread amongst people with no form of evidence of the deeds or misdeeds of another. Too much could be changed, details created or removed as suited the voice that was sharing them, for it to be relied upon. Ever shifting, a person's reputation was like sand that flowed with the wind cutting through it, reshaping itself time and time again. But if there was even one grain of truth to it, one detail that wasn't a falsehood, acting out of consideration or kindness in the face of it was worth it rather than letting someone who was suffering continue to suffer because of that inherent apprehension.

It was the very reason why Sable had asked, why he had felt it necessary, even if he knew now that, perhaps, his concern had been misplaced. Not because it was his job as a guard, but simply because it was who he was, foolish that it might be for the... weakness that it had so often proven itself to be.

That... heart of his, the one hidden away, the one that only sometimes showed through the wall of ice constructed to protect it in his eyes, was likely why there was a bit of amusement at the woman's surprise that there was sometimes a reward at the end of volunteering. It seemed in this, their roles were somewhat reversed in what was understood and seen as... difficult to believe. He, when it came to her captain; and she, when it came to freely given service.

"...officially, yes," he answered, voice a touch softer. Lighter, even. "But... if it is a task that has been posted for some time or there is a bounty attached to it... Solars have been known to be... allocated. There are also the... people within the community that you are helping to consider." Tucking away his notes, Sable reached up and scratched under Celeste's chin before giving her the silent command for her to fly off, a flap of her wings carrying her away. "While it is... not always very much, they sometimes offer... repayment themselves. Out of the kindness of their hearts."

There was the matter of the other guards that were drawing near, though, and even as she didn't explicitly state what her plan was, she made it quite obvious. For however strong and... suited that she might be to swim great distances, doing so now would risk exposure of a kind that might fall back on her for a dispute that was largely not her fault. Despite her involvement.

A gentle frown graced Sable's features, one that was not because of her. "...it seems you have a decision to make, then," he told her, letting his voice quiet so that it was only loud enough for her to hear. "There are two other guards on approach that will likely ask questions when they get here. You can either come with me, where I will... advocate for you and keep your activities... vague. Or you can shove me, now, and run." But before she could commit to something, he added, "If you attempt to... swim, the other two may jump to the same conclusion I have about your captain and her ship being nearby. Whoever she and you might be."

"Well, aye, that's the point in being infamous. Ye don't get infamous for being nice." She scoffs and shakes her head like Sable should know better. What a silly man.

She crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow as she listens to Sable talk about allocation and repayments. The expression of skepticism only gets greater the more he talks. "Kindness of their own hearts? Pfft, what a load o' crap. People don't actually do that. Everyone is out fer somethin', even if it's self-satisfaction."

Her frown deepens as Sable lowers his voice. She glances over her shoulder at the two approaching guards and her urge to make a break for the water gives her goosebumps along her usually sleek skin. There's a conflicted look on her face as she is unsure what's the best course of action to take. She doesn't trust guards. Sable is a guard. So she shouldn't trust him, right? 

Something inside her just isn't sitting right. She's unsettled and anxious and she doesn't like it. She's not used to feeling this way and for the briefest of moments that look of confliction morphs into a bit of panic. She takes a step back away from Sable and water gathers around her arms. The crowd around them backs off a bit just as the two guards push past them. 

"What's going on here?" One of the guards manages to ask just as the triton woman turns around and blasts them both with a sudden wave of water which knocks them down onto the cobblestone as well as a few bystanders.^[1]

Tsarra glances over her shoulder at Sable before bolting to the side and shouldering past some civilians in an attempt to escape into the water below the docks. 

One of the guards coughs and starts to push themselves off the ground. "Stop there!"

---

[1] Smashing Wave

The look of panic was easy to recognize. It was something that was... universal when it came to the inhabitants of Charon. It was clear in the slight widening of the eyes, in the wavering gazes that shifted from one thing to the next quickly and chaotically as their minds spiraled, struggling to determine what to do next whether it was to fight, freeze, or flee.

As the woman before him took a step back, Sabel already knew what her decision was, even if she hadn't quite reached that conclusion herself, but his anticipation for her to bolt betrayed him. He hadn't seen the water building up around her until it was too late, and whatever words he might have offered her to try and stay her from attacking were lost as he watched his fellow guards knocked back by the force of her spell.

It was crossing a line that was quite clearly drawn for him between duty and... understanding, of knowing that there times when persecution wasn't necessary, that people did not need to be treated like criminals for very minor things. He'd have had no trouble coming up with an excuse for why she had slipped away from him, the information he had gotten from her enough that the incident could have been laid to rest, the ones who claimed to be victims having a choice of either letting what happened go and dealing with the damage to the property themselves or admitting and answering for dealing with pirates.

But that was before she assaulted two of his fellow guards.

Cursing his carelessness and the way things unfolded under his breath, Sable took after her. With lengthened strides and the good fortune of the bystanders wisening up enough to part for him to pass, catching up to her now was a much easier ordeal than it had been the first time, though Celeste was perfectly perched regardless, watching them both with intelligent eyes from one of the wooden posts that made up the docks.

Grasping the triton woman's wrist before she could jump, Sable pulled her towards him, and as her back crashed against his chest, his other arm crossing in front of her to hold her in place, he ducked his head forward ever so slightly. "I need your escape to look like an accident," he hissed in her ear as she likely thrashed in his hold... before, with a final step, his boot dragging on the wood of the docks, he tipped them both to one side... and braced for the impact with the water as they fell over the edge.

Breath held, Sable immediately released her once they were under, and with a furious bit of kicking, he made his way to the surface, confident that that hint was actually taken in proper form.

It was a well-known fact, after all, that humans couldn't outswim tritons, and her escape would be easily excused because of it.

The triton is pretty slippery, but her short little legs can't quite outpace those of one lanky boy on land. Sable catches her and is quick to put her in a hold, which she is not too keen on. 

"Get off me!" She does indeed thrash in protest against the man, knocking her own hat off her head.

His breath tickles the edges of her finned ears and she shoots him an indignant look. Before she can say anything, the horizon spins and tips before her eyes as the tall man throws them both into the waters below the docks. The two other guards scramble to their feet and start to rush over to the aid of their fellow guard. 

Water rushes all around the pair and Tsarra's gills flare, expelling the air from her lungs and filling them with salty sea water.^[1] She blinks through the bubbles and suspended sediment from the waves that washed up against the wharf, spotting Sable as he releases his hold and makes an attempt at getting the surface. 

She almost reaches out to grab at his ankle and drag him back down to ask just what the hell he was thinking, but she remembers that he is an air breather and probably couldn't actually have a conversation under the surface. A stream of bubbles escapes her mouth as she huffs before she gathers the water swell of the waves around her and pushes it up towards Sable, lifting him up and sloshing over the edge of the docks to deposit him on solid ground.^[2]

Once she's sure he's not going to drown, she swims off quickly to deeper water, disappearing from sight of any walking along the docks.^[3]

"Damn!" One of the guards exclaims as they scan the surface of the water for the triton. 

The other guard runs over to Sable and helps him to his feet. "Are you alright? What happened?"

---

[1] Gills
[2] Shape Water
[3] Webbed Digits

It was with a rather soggy thud and a grunt as he hit the well-worn wood that Sable found himself back on the docks, soaked thoroughly with ocean water dripping from every inch of him. Magic, he figured, its use the only explanation for why he was spared having to clamber his way back up in drenched armor, not that he was complaining. He could already tell he was several pounds heavier from the water alone, never mind that he was also starting to get a touch cold as what had been a pleasant breeze now brought something of a biting chill with it that the sun couldn't quite chase away.

His raven black hair clinging to his face and draped down the length of his back, he ignored the look of amusement at his self-inflicted misfortune cast his way by his scaled companion in favor of coughing shallowly a few times to clear his throat of the cloying saltiness before drawing his next few breaths evenly. Celeste, in all her mystery, had always found these sorts of situations entertaining, and with a chirp, she lifted herself into the air on the beat of her slender wings while Sable accepted the offered assistance from his fellow guard, even as he truly didn't need it to get back on his feet.

"I am fine," he informed them, not bothering to look in the direction of the water, intuition telling him that there was no hope of seeing nor finding her now that she had access to the water's depths. "There was an... incident a few blocks away. The men involved are implicated in piracy, and the woman you saw was... an informant of mine."

He watched the two pass a look to one another, doubt a flicker within their gazes. "...she enjoys a bit of trickery at my expense. This was... a similar instance, and no doubt she's quite pleased with herself that it was not solely me caught in the... tides of her mischief."

That seemed to be enough to have them stay their tongues from any other further questions, and before they could think of any, Sable was walking off, his steps taking him back in the direction he had initially come from in chase of the triton woman that had now successfully escaped. He still had to relay what he learned to the others, after all, the work of a guard seemingly never finished and refusing to pause long enough to allow one to dry themselves off.

Tsarra peeks out of the water once she's at a safe distance from the docks. She can just make out Sable and the guards heading off to town. Sea water pours off the brim of her hat and a seagull flying overhead takes a cursory swipe at her. She waves the annoying flying rat away and blows a few bubbles in the water. 

She had got away easy enough, but something was bothering her, like an itch across her skin she couldn't get rid of. Though she isn't the most self-aware or insightful, she does start double guessing how she handled that situation. Maybe she should have cooperated with the guard. He went out of his way to let her escape. That wasn't normal scumbag guard behavior. A part of her felt conflicted, but she couldn't figure out exactly why. 

It wasn't like that guard was ever going to be someone she could actually trust...right? She feels her stomach churn. Dammit. What was wrong with her? Running from guards was what she did in every town! Why was this time any different? Sure, Sable had talked to her and treated her like a person rather than some annoying barnacle. He even talked to her nicer than her own crew and showed concern for her wellbeing. But that didn't mean anything...right?

"AAAAGH-BLRBLRBLRB." She sinks down under the water and has a temper tantrum. 

Tsarra huffs and peers back out of the water. Sable and the other guards were long gone now. There is nothing she can do at this point unless she walked back out of the water and just turned herself into the guards. And even then, there was no guarantee she'd get the chance to apologize to Sable for being a jerk earlier. Plus she had to return to the ship to let the captain know about what happened. If she didn't, then she'd get yelled at for certain. She didn't want that. 

That thought distracts her enough to forget about feeling any guilt about how she behaved around Sable and all the trouble she caused. She starts swimming under the water and heading back to the pirate ship. She had a lot of explaining to do upon her return.