"You killed all of them... except the women and children." Ram said slowly, struggling to understand the clearly unhinged man in front of him- Oliver was brutally decisive when dealing with most of the pirates... But the few females that died did so at the hands of Polina, not him.

And when dealing with the children, he was... gentle. And kind.

Oliver watched the pirate ship shrink into the distance as they sailed away; he couldn't be sure they would actually do what he wanted, but it was worth a shot... at least, he thought it was.

Ram's words barely registered, though he could easily pick up the unasked question: why? Why spare the pirate women? They were likely just as guilty, and just as vicious, as the men...

"I don't like killing women if I don't have to... And I won't kill children." He said softly before turning a fierce glare on the large Demon man. "Speaking of children... those two may be Devils-"

"We would never hurt children." Ram shot back angrily- and clearly offended by the very idea.

The standoff only lasted for a second before Oliver nodded apologetically, and grunted. "Sorry..."

"Please don't take any offense, Ram." Polina said, having just rejoined them. "Oliver just worries because of personal experience... and because of how you all have talked about Devils so far."

Shaking his head, Ram leaned against the rail with a sigh. "That's fair. Most of what we've dealt with in the past are their military- and the pirates, of course. Their kingdoms leadership are all bastards, as far as I can tell..."

"And the pirates are the worst."

"But the common people..." Ram shrugged, staring off into the distance. "We've only seen a few- they've always been the aggressors, and we've never gone to any of their cities, so that's not surprising really... But their people aren't too different from us; some are assholes, some are decent..."

Glancing carefully at Oliver, he spoke softly. "We've even helped some of the kids we've rescued find homes... Like Isadora."

"The Captain's daughter?" Oliver asked, a hint of surprise in his voice- and a glimmer of respect in his eyes.

"Yeah." Ram smiled fondly. "It's not really my story to tell, but he adopted her when she was little. She stays with his mom when we're at sea... even calls me 'Uncle', if you can believe it."

Oliver chuckled softly. "Yeah, you seem like you would be the cool uncle."

"That's just slang where we're from, 'cool' meaning 'awesome' or fun..." Polina added in, seeing Ram's confusion. Turning to Oliver, she took his hand and leaned into his side. "But, speaking of kids, we need to talk."

Oliver's eyes widened in panic for a moment at her statement- they had talked about kids, but this was way too soon! Was she pregnant? They had taken plenty of precautions, and even agreed to wait...

Seeing her mischievous look, Oliver's racing thoughts screeched to a halt and he exhaled loudly. "That... you... Don't do that to me! I nearly shit myself!"

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"What, you don't want to have kids with me?" Poli tried to pout- though her lips twitched with suppressed laughter. After letting her boyfriend squirm and struggle for a response for a few seconds, she quickly kissed his cheek to reassure him. "You always get that 'deer in the headlights' look when someone bring sup kids. It's actually kinda cute..."

"But no, I'm not pregnant. I'm talking about the two Devil kids we just brought on." She spoke gently, though the twinkle of humor in her eyes never faded. "The Captain is finding a place for them, but one of them, Jal, asked to be adopted."

"Ok..." He responded slowly, not sure why she was bringing this up- if the Captain had it handled, why did they need to talk about it? "So, who is going to adopt him?"

"Well, first off... it's her. Jal is a girl." Polina said, her humor fading for a moment. "Apparently, being an orphan and signing on to a pirate ship is already dangerous enough without adding... well, I'm sure you can imagine what can happen to a young girl that's all alone and surrounded by some pretty bad people."

Oliver nodded with a grimace. "Yeah, I don't blame her... But you said 'first', so what is 'second'?"

"Second..." Polina giggled softly, the previous amusement returning in force. "She asked us to adopt her- specifically, she wants to be adopted by you. Apparently adoption is pretty common here, and ,when the Captain mentioned helping them find a family, her first thought was to ask that."

"Me? Why the hell would anyone ask that? Especially after-" Oliver waved his hand vaguely towards the pirate ship in the distance, eyes wide with disbelief.

"I can't say for certain what her reason are..." Poli shrugged, eyes dancing with amusement. "But, and this is just a guess... but maybe because the most dangerous person she's ever seen came in, wrecked a bunch of pirates, saved her, and then was all nice, gentle, and caring towards her?"

Oliver froze- had it really been like that? It wasn't like he had really done that much; the pirates didn't stand much of a chance against their better guns, or his magic... And, while he was nice to the kids, he tried to be nice to all children... "I don't know... I mean, I guess from a kid's perspective..."

"You made her feel safe." Poli said gently. "If her life was bad enough that joining a pirate ship seemed like a good idea, then that's a big deal to her."

Oliver rubbed his face with his heads, feeling lost and confused. "But... how could I adopt someone? I mean, I'm not against having kids; I just don't think I'm ready for that... And that doesn't even take into account us taking on these crazy jobs; there's no way I could rationalize bringing a kid with us, and leaving her at home..."

"And we're from a completely different world!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "We wouldn't just be taking in a kid, but taking them away from the very world they know- and straight to a completely alien world! I don't even now where to begin on how difficult that would be for her... a completely different language and culture, and all the problems that come from a transition like that..."

"Not to mention we would have to get some sort of illusion item for her to fit in! I mean-"

He had begun to pace, hands in is hair as he frantically thought through what was being asked. But, if Poli asked him to do it... he knew that he would. He just had to figure out how-

Seeing him work himself up over it, all of Poli's humor fled. Snagging his arm as he passed, she quickly pulled him into a hug. "It's ok, Oli. I thought about all that, and made sure to bring it up to her. While she's still asking, I told her she would have to wait for an answer. I want to make sure she knows exactly what she's asking for- and I'm not saying that we should adopt her."

Seeing some of the tension leave him, she leaned in an kissed him softly. "I'm sorry for teasing you so much Oli. It was a bit childish of me, and I should have considered how worked up you would get over this- I know it's not something you would take lightly."

"But is it something you want?" He asked softly, unconsciously holding his breath as he waited for the answer.

Poli hesitated for a second, biting her lip. "I mean, I know I want to have kids with you someday, but... now? And adopting a twelve year old, not to mention all the other issues you brought up?"

She sighed softly and shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. I mean, I sympathize with her, and she seems like a good kid... But its not a small decision. And, just like you, I'm not sure I'm ready for that."

Ram cleared his throat, reminding them that they weren't alone- and, as the pair blushed in unison, he awkwardly jumped into the conversation. "I don't mean to intrude, as this is obviously a private conversation..."

"One that would probably be better to have in private..." He coughed, pointedly not looking at them. "But just so you both know, if you choose not to adopt the child, I'll make sure to find her a good home- one with decent people that I would trust to do well by her."

The couple shared an uncertain look- this wasn't a situation they had expected to encounter... and he was right that they should probably discuss it privately. "Thanks, Ram. We'll just retire to our cabin for now... and talk about it."

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