Emmaline turned to follow Amal quickly so that the flamming blush in her cheeks wasn't immediately apparent to the sailors as they scattered to their duites. Amal really did have the knack of appearing at the worst possible times. The walked back along the sail tending gangway to the rear of the ship as cloud bursts continued to open above them, sending down sudden blasts of warm rain that stopped as suddenly as they began. The sea to their rear was obscured by darker clouds and the mist of distant rain merged water and sky into a single gray continuum. The drumming of the sails overhead grew deafening and the ship healed over to the wind, canting the deck hard enough that the guns snugged up against their stowing lines. Captain Diego appeared from below decks in a canvas coat peering up at the rigging with a critical eye before glancing back at the approaching weather.

"Lay her sou-souwewst," he called to the helsmen, "and shorten sail or we will have spars carrying away by nightfall!" 

The wind whipped up around them and Emmaline's hair, mostly secured in a lose braid flew around her face like a halo. They stepped down the stairs and through the doors which muted the sound considerably. Even so the timbers continued to groan with the strength of the sea surging beneath them.

Emmaline stepped into the cabin ahead of Amal her blush unabated. She hadn't truly meant for him to hear what she had been saying but what was done was done.

"Ummm..." she said lamely as he closed the door behind them.