Wheel spat over the side of the ship, conceding that Uban had a point. "Damn, fair enough. And you're right, this crew is plenty good at taking down merchant ships and some coastal slavers, but the Barizians are likely to roll us." He straightened up, tossing the heavy coil of rope he had been tending onto the deck. "I'll talk to Pieter about arranging a training day." With that, the berserker sauntered off, leaving Uban alone. 

--

Pieter saw Wheel approach with the feigned casualness that let him know that Wheel was going to ask something of him. "Yes."

Pieter spoke flatly. The two men had a relationship founded on the fact that neither of them would blink if they had to kill the other. There was a time for mercy and kindness, but it wasn't between them. Wheel could guess at how much Pieter had seen, and Pieter was more familiar with the berserkers life than anyone else aboard ship. They could speak honestly to one another. 

"The crew needs combat training. Uban's never done anything like this, Rohaan's a danger to us as much as anyone right now, and Hana's greener than hell and vomited seeing a dead body. Barizians aren't normal, and it'd be suicide to crash the [i]Borealis[/i] into them.  "

Pieter nodded and chewed his lip. "Aye. I'll talk to the Cap'n. Start figuring out what you'll need."

--

Hana gratefully took the flask and took a sip. She hadn't known what exactly she had agreed to when she went with Berlin, just that it seemed like an opportunity to get away from the Schools. Life on the [i]Borealis[/i] wasn't like anything she'd experienced before, either at the Schools or when she had made her way across the Continent as a hedge mage. But she hadn't been prepared for that leap either. She'd made it because it was what she had to do. She'd leapt onto this strange little ship with transforming boys and men who could summon lightning. What else could she do but adapt? Wiping her mouth, she looked at the kindly pirate captain, "Thank you, Berlin. You're a true gentleman." Rising to her feet, she took a deeper swig of the rum, shaking her head at the bite. "Ooh. Careful, Captain, you'll make a drunkard of me." Squaring her shoulders, she bobbed a curtsy which was slightly ruined when she fumbled with the flask, spilling some on her breeches.
 "Oh fie!" Uselessly blotting at the spill with her hands, she cursed under her breath before remembering who was with her. "Pardon, Captain. I uh.. If you'll excuse me a minute, I'll get myself presentable."