Hanahbaptiste shook Wheel's hand, glaring at him. "Don't touch me." She didn't have the patience for this, and she hadn't liked how he'd grabbed her. Hana eyed Wheel, the man was slightly shorter than her, she realized. He'd stripped off his shirt while coming downstairs- was he trying to emphasize his lean physique? Despite the chill, he was sweating from his exercises with Rio. 

He put his hands on hips and repeated, "Tell me about blood magic." 
"It takes a lot of dead people. Are you looking to do something with all the people you kill?"
He smiled without a trace of humor, "We're all killers on this ship. If you're trying to hurt me, you're doing a poor job of it." 
She looked at him levelly, checking the surge of resentment and frustration with a cool, "What would you like to know?"
Wheel was briefly put back because of the question, but recovered himself and said, "How powerful is it?"
A hint of Elbish pride stirred in Hana's heart as she answered, "It's an outdated practice. The old blood sorcerers were quickly swept away by more disciplined magics." 
"That's great, but it doesn't exactly tell me what they're capable of."
Hana furrowed her brow, "I don't know how to work blood magic, if that's what you're asking. But I do know that a single human could produce incredible magical energy."
"So it's like the old stories? Exploding cities and massive storms?"
"You can't store it, so you either have to use it all at once or waste it. Which is why blood sorcerers always destroy themselves. If you can only work massive spells by killing people, things start to backfire."
Now that they were talking, Hana felt herself losing the caginess from earlier. 
"But the Barizians are doing fine, so obviously they know something you don't."
She took that back.
"Seven virtues, you're a dick."
Wheel pushed his jaw forward, eyes bright, "That's the problem with you. You spend so much time looking through a telescope you don't figure out that you're looking up your own ass."
Hana's blood pounded, "You're going to be sorry you said that."
Wheel laughed, "Gonna complain to the Captain?"
"No, I'll set you on fire."
"Is that what Elbar does to pirates?" He lowered his voice, mocking, "Is that what you're going to do to Rohaan after you're done civilizing him?"
Hana spat. She said, "We shoot rabid dogs in Elbar."
"I may be rabid, but I'm no dog," he countered, "Watch it, princess. I bite." He swept past her, closing the door to the armory before she could say anything. 

"Fucker."

Hana went to her room to begin her work.