With a broad grin in place, the pirate blends from the shadows towards his family. He knows what today is - it's his niece's birthday! The stag had awoken with a strange, heavy sense of melancholy on his chest as he remembered Jack's first birthday, try as he might to focus purely on Maude's. His entire herd had gathered for the occasion, and each had brought gifts for the yearling lad. He'd been showered with presents that ranged from his own flask to hold rum in (Bartholomeo had pretended to disapprove, whilst secretly yearning for day he would be able to drink alongside his son) to pieces of armour for him to wear. Bart's gift had been the most well-received, however - one of his own swords, small enough to be wielded by Jack's young mouth.

He'd promised he would start Jack's sword training the day after that raid. It occurs to him now that he never thought to reclaim the weapon from the body.

That is why Bart has spent the morning on the cliffs to watch the sun rise whilst he sends a prayer to Jack's spirit. The early morning salt-laden wind has scoured the tears from his face, so by the time he greets Aelfwine and Tilney it's impossible to see that he's ever shed them. His smile is wide, his eyes twinkling, and there's no hint of the sadness that gripped him from the moment he awoke. This is Tilney's turn to spoil his child - Bart won't ruin it by grieving for his own.

"Now, her gift...do you think a flask of fermented apples is appropriate for a yearling?" His face is deadpan as he tilts his antlered head at his younger brother, before it splits into a smile and a booming chuckle. "I am, of course, kidding. I made this for her." From the coils of his dark mane he shakes a small piece of driftwood. It's only the size of a horse's hoof, but it has been painstakingly engraved with a variety of crooked symbols and sketches. The bay stallion had spent many an hour creating it with his one remaining knife, and the finished project has a rugged, sea-like charm. "It is a lucky amulet. When set down in a pirate's favoured place or given to his family, it is supposed to bring good fortune upon that place for as long as the amulet's owner resides there. If she sets it somewhere in the Edge, it should ensure the herd's prosperity for as long as she remains here, and is also supposed to keep the owner safe from dark forces like sea krakens and black magic." He beams, glancing between his siblings. How true the tale is he doesn't know, but given his pirate heritage he is a great believer in superstitions and charms.