Pacing had officially become a common pastime in Temperance's notebook. Occasionally, she had laid down, as far away from Jack as possible whilst still keeping him in sight. Or maybe drawing circles in the dry sand with her foot.

Every so often, she could hear Jack mumbling, or even clearly speaking to himself, yelling ship commands she couldn't possibly understand.

She really hadn't spoken to him, not since he had flopped down on the sand in front of her, and he seemed to prefer it that way.

The landscape around them was barren, apart from the oddly circular rocks scattered here and there, there was nothing of use to them unless they ventured back to the surf.

She had tried, in vain, to convince Jack to move or even move him herself. But he was seldom upon staying put, and it seemed he would remain that way until he died.

That was another problem, sooner or later, Jack was going to need food, she herself didn't need any, thanks to the oh-so-wonderful curse on her shoulders. But she couldn't complain.

Squatting down on the balls of her feet, she picks up a rock, exactly like the few she's found before, nearly a complete circle.

It's light gray, with a few spots of a darker shade scattered around its surface. It annoy's her, or maybe it's just been Jack, but she takes it out on the rock.

She throws it, as hard as she can.

It bounces to a stop, a minute dot in her vision, with a soft, almost inaudible plink.

Growling in the back of her throat, she marches over to Jack, who is pacing around yelling what sounds like orders to invisible people.

She's pretty sure she's going insane and Jack might be as well. But it wouldn't be much of a difference, the voice in her head snarks back at her with an audible grin.

"Jack?" He doesn't respond but continues to shout out orders.

"All hands on deck you scabrous dogs!"

"Erm, I'm going down to the shore."

"All hands! Slacken the braces!"

"Great, I'll uh, be back soon?" It came out as a question.

"Haul the sheets! Weigh anchor!" She sighed

"Good to know, um, don't go anywhere." Turning on her heel, she walked away from Jack and his mumbling, and toward the border of the shoreline.

Keeping her eye's focused forward, and not on the dry ground at her feet, she doesn't notice the rock until she trips over it. Grumbling, she stands, brushing the sand from her cheeks and the front of her clothes.

When Temperance finally does notice the rock, she stares at in shock and bewilderment, before plucking it up hesitantly from the ground. The stone's surface is smooth, almost unnaturally so. Throwing the rock from hand to hand, she runs the pad of her thumbs over it.

Taking out her anger, once again, on the innocent rock in her palms, she throws it, just as hard as the last. And just like last time, she watches as it flies through the air and hits the ground far away.

Turning back toward the shore, she begins to walk again, settling at a reasonable pace, until her toe kicks something.

It's a rock, and she's pretty sure it's the same one she threw not moments ago.

"What in the...?" She bends down and picks it up, this time, trying to examine it more closely. It looks just the same as the others she's thrown across the dunes, or maybe they've all been the same one.

Tossing it gently, lightly almost, behind her back, she continues on, only to stumble over it again several steps later.

"Oh for the love." She growls, picking it up yet again. This time and she hopes it's the last, she drops it. It sits at her feet, like any old rock, and Temperance wonders if it's all a trick of the light, or perhaps she really is going insane.

She almost turns around, ready to head to surf, determined to ignore the rock, but out of the corner of her eye, she see's it twitch. 

 She stands still, every muscle in her body freezing. She's seen stranger things than a twitching rock, but when it moves again, she can't help but jump. It twitched on the ground, rattling back and forth until it jumped and sprang apart.

Temperance screeched tripping over her feet backward and landed on her back.

It was a crab, at least she thought it was, it looked like a crab now, but she was sure, moments ago, it was a stone.

Its eyes were black, vertical slits, the claws sprang out from its front, and they clicked together with the plinks only a stone can create. Its legs were tiny, six of them, three on each side, scuttled as it slid side to side across the bare sand.

"Hi?" She questions, speaking to the crab.

"A rock," she sighs. "I am talking, to a rock." The crab blinks at her and scuttles back and forth, as though mocking her. They both stand there, Temperance quite unsure what to do until the crab scurries away.

She gapes, watching as it travels over the nearest dune. Deciding, probably for the worst, she sprints after it, kicking up sand in her wake.

She can just barely see it, it's smooth, stone back racing across the desert as she streaks after it. It only occurs to her after they've run over multiple dunes, that she might have lost Jack. So slowing to a halt, she spins in a circle, searching for any sign of him.

There is none, so eyeing the nearest rise, she scales it, all the way to the top. To her surprise, the crab is waiting for her at the top, she catches sight of it as she nears the peak. 

It dances on the spot, in what to Temperance seems like excitement. She breathes out a laugh, and rolls her eyes, before coming to stand alongside it on the dune.

Her eye's widened, her mouth opens in surprise, and she treads to a stop.

The desert in front of her is no longer barren and empty, now it's anything but. There are ships, far too many for her to count. Some are whole and well, tipped over only slightly on their sides. Some are completely sideways holes adorning their sides, the sails lying limp on the mast.

Bits and pieces of ships lie here and there. An anchor, half berried in the dirt, a cannon which looks as though it hasn't been there long. Pieces of hulls of ships ly around as well, some large enough to be distinguishable, others not so much.

Taking in the sight as much as her eyes will allow, she grins and turns around to get Jack.

I know this is like, super short, but I wanted to get something in today. I apologize for the late update, and I hope you all have enjoyed it thus far.

One quick question, and kudos to @AlikiCruz for springing the idea to my head.

Do you all want an extended plot? It will have the same ending as it would without said extended plot, so nothing will change, just adding a couple new chapters one.

They will involve a character thought to be dead *wink wink* Temperance, and Sparrow.

So thoughts? Yay? Nay? Maybe? Eh? XD XD

We might get over 25 chapters guys, that makes me SUUUUUPER pumped!!!! Again, and as usual, thanks for reading, voting, and commenting. I love reading them, they make my day!

~Kelly~