Tysm For Your Patience With This Reply Friend ! - Tumblr Posts
🪐 — IZZY HANDS for stede !
The comment surprises Israel to say the least. Part of him wanted to tell Bonnet to fuck off back to his fancy quarters and read a book or knit or something. The other part knew that he’d feel a lot more comfortable if this man could defend himself and better yet, fight like a proper pirate. He knew that Ed had started to train him a bit but the captain was taking a bit of a break for some reason it seemed. Being stabbed would do that. It seemed that Bonnet wanted to keep his training up.
Who knew, maybe Izzy could make it an ‘accident’ that Stede got run through during training? No. No. Edward had said no to killing him but the thought still crossed his mind. Strengthen one of the captains and the entire crew would be stronger. That was the logic he was going to follow here.
“Fine – take that ridiculous coat off unless you want it sliced up, Bonnet,” Hands said, fluidly shifting his weight to change directions on the deck. He went and collected up two dueling blades. He knew he’d have to take it easier here but part of him wanted to just go hard out, really put the fear of god into the man. That’s how he had learned after all.
Waiting until Stede had done as he asked, Izzy then walked closer to toss the sword to the deck in front of the man. “We start now.”
The first mate waited until the man had bent down to retrieve the blade before he took a smooth step forward and swiped downwards with his own sword. It came incredibly close to the other man’s neck, even slicing off the tip of his shirt collar a bit.
“Lesson number one. Don’t take your fucking eyes off your enemy,” he explained calmly, looking down at the captain.
IT WAS WISE FOR A CAPTAIN to learn from the best, was it not ? & ed had told him that it was izzy that had been his sparring partner for years, long before the two had come to the revenge. & so with edward taking a temporary break from their lessons for his health, it seemed a wise decision for stede to continue on his own with the first mate as a stand-in. & it would be nice to see the look on ed’s face if he surprised him with some new moves when he was back in fighting order. if, of course, steve could get through an encounter with izzy hands without being run through himself. in spite of his most recent lesson with edward — the one that had left ed out of commission for a few days in the first place — stede didn’t think he was really prepared to experience that again firsthand. though izzy’s tone leaves something to be desired when addressing a captain, stede removes his silk coat at the other man’s order & laid with delicate care over the railing, & he bends to retrieve the weapon from the deck. but no sooner do his fingers brush the handle than the other man has stepped forward & dropped his sword, the blade pulling up only a hair’s breadth away from his throat. izzy had been edward’s partner in swordplay as in all else, & so stede expected him to fight similarly to edward. but he could see now that was a foolish assumption. izzy was nothing like the other captain, his form perfect & his movements tightly controlled in a way that ed’s seldom were. this will not be the practices laden with laughter & banter under the moonlight that he has come to enjoy — no, sparring with izzy was certain to be something entirely different. ❝ well, it’s not very good manners of you not to let me at least take up my blade first, ❞ stede complains, standing straight once again as he settles the sword in his grip. & though he’s beginning to feel as though he’s out of his depth with this match, he takes the advice to heart, his eyes remaining locked on izzy’s as he straightens. & he doesn’t hesitate, raising his own sword — he hopes without warning — to parry the other’s away from his neck before striking out in the general direction of izzy’s shoulder.