Durzog's Story

Durzog came out on the dock, deep brown eyes looking out from underneath the shelf of his brows. He was unsure of this city. He heard from the others about the city and what lay beneath it. It was not exactly his cup of tea, but he had come here to travel and that was what he intended to do. Scared, he decided to finally make it to the edge of the ship, looking down and out at the city before them. A sigh and a large finger reached up to scratch his thick head. "Not tonight. Bad things here." Head turned to look out across the ship he now lived on. It had been awhile since coming and it seemed as if he still did not know the lay of the land. He had not often talked to the others, as his position was not prominent enough to push it.

He did notice Captain was atop, not sleeping as he had mentioned he would do. Eyes quickly darted away from the male, thinking he did not want to be seen. Durzog decided to grab a bucket and a dirty cloth, beginning to wash one of the masts he had washed the day before, and the day before that. Can't be too clean, he had always been taught. If you were bored, you could be cleaning. Not that he was bored, he was just too scared to venture out at night, and was not tired enough to be sleeping in his quarters. Why not clean? He didn't see a reason why he shouldn't.

From the galley came the silhouette of Rueben. He was too restless to sleep and had hoped a couple of walks around the ship would tire him out. He quietly walked to the opposite side of Markus, careful not to disturb him. He gazed around calmly, waving hello to Durzog. Excitement of being in a new city made him grin. Despite all the speculation he had heard of Black City, Rueben was fascinated by its black market and the items that were said to be sold there. Aside from the excitement, he was nervous and, frankly, quiet scared.

It was dark. It was chilly. It was quiet. There are so many ways to describe the night, but none of them mattered to Chiru. She had been up all night. Why? Well, Chiru never needed to sleep as long as her motivation was still high. Fairies tended to have energy depending on their motivation. What motivated Chiru exactly? Well, she'd only gotten a beating thrice the day before, and of course, there was a hope of being able to play in the city that night. Every night, when everybody else was finally asleep, Chiru would sneak onto the deck of the ship and play around, and though she occasionally got caught and harshly punished, that never stopped her from doing it. Nighttime seemed to be the only time she'd ever get a chance to play, and if she didn't get to see this city that night, she'd never be able to, as she wasn't able to go anywhere without being noticed during the day.

So that entire night, Chiru was just entertaining herself with thoughts of what the new city would look like at night, and though she had no real plans but to just look into people's homes and whatnot, Chiru wasn't much of a planner, and any elaborate plans she would come up with would be soon forgotten. She was more of a plan-as-you-go type person, or rather, just a do-as-you-go person. Of course, some say it'd be wrong to refer to Chiru as a person, as fairies shouldn't be put in the same league as other creatures. But being a person or not didn't matter for Chiru, as long as she was the strongest, she could do anything!

Tip-toeing on her bare tippy-toes, she made her way quietly to the hatch ladder. She didn't take her coat with her, as she thought people would know who she was if she wore it outside, and if she was caught by one of the crewmembers, they may not recognize her. Of course, three things were wrong with her plan. One, she hadn't accounted the fact that nobody would be able to recognize the fairy anyway, two, if a crewmember caught her, they would know who she was anyway, and three, if somebody happened to wake up and find the half-coat on the floor (of where she slept), they would know she was missing. Though, other than these three major flaws, Chiru's plan was absolutely fool-proof. Though, because Chiru was a fool, the plan wouldn't work for her for that reason. Though, because Chiru was the smartest, she'd find some way out of it anyhow.

Carefully making her way up the ladder, her head hit the hatch grate. Using both her hands, she pushed up on the grate and leaned backwards, her head turned upside-down, her wings fluttering to support her in the air so she didn't fall right off the ladder. She only got to open up a crack with her childish hand, but for her, it was enough to scout out the area ahead. Despite only opening a crack, it made a creaking noise as it was opened, but to Chiru, it was completely silent and stealthy. She looked around, expecting it to be empty, when she saw two figures. A big plump figure near one of the 'big wood pole thingies' (she still hadn't received enough punishment to learn it was called a 'mast'), who Chiru determined was Dur. Though he was somewhat scary looking, Chiru liked him, as he wasn't all that mean at all, and was actually pretty soft. Also, there was another, skinnier figure, a short person who Chiru recognized as the cook. He probably was Chiru's favorite person, as he made all the food and he was really nice to her, unlike many others. And then, by the side, though she barely saw him at first due to it being dark, and he seemed to be hiding behind the edge, was a skinnier figure. At first, she didn't realize it, but soon, she recognized the cat figure as the Captain.

This was not a good situation. Maybe Dur would have let her go, but this was the Captain she was looking at. She's almost never interacted with the Captain, and almost as rarely saw him directly. Just by being awake and seeing him, she felt she was going to be caught and punished very soon. However, due to Chiru's vast intellect, she knew, after careful planning, what she was to do. Run as quietly as possible. Of course, it was a multi-part plan, but that was the jest of it, and really, the only part she could remember. So, that's exactly what she did, she ran as fast as possible...

... And fell right off the ladder and onto the wooden floor, causing her to go, "Oof". Chiru had forgotten that she had to actually get onto the deck before running. This wasn't too different than the many times she forgot to lie down before falling asleep, but even geniuses made mistakes. Chiru got up, climbed back up the ladder, and tried again. She stood on a rung of the ladder, place both of her hands on the hatch grate and pushed upward with all her might, and then her head emerged. Although, she only managed to push it up about a foot high, so as soon as she popped her head up, she got a hard clonk on the head by the grate returning to it's original closed position by invisible forces Chiru couldn't name. Once again, she dropped to the floor with a clunk, although her vision blurred as she moaned in pain while lying in a ridiculous pose on the ground, facing upward. Rather than getting up again, she felt she was unable to, and due to such a failure, she had lost all motivation to try again, so she just lay there until she regained her vision.

While Durzog was cleaning, his eyes decided to glance back up at the Captain, then back down to his clean cloth. It took a moment, but he realized there was a second figure beside the Captain. Eyes looked back up to him, noticing the Cook. The Cook was more than likely his favorite. Not for his personality, but for the fact he made food. It wasn't exactly great tasting, but it was food that could make him feel good about the day. His tiny lips smiled lightly, wondering what they were speaking about. It was then suddenly he heard a slight bang. Eyes darted around the dock, finally coming upon the tiny Chiru. He didn't much like being around Her for he always felt like he would squish her. A flattened fairy was not a happy fairy. Soon after the poor creature looked like she was not moving. Brow raised in curiosity, but just before he could lift his leg, a few others swarmed around her. He recognized most of them. In particular, Gamut. That lizard, although smaller than He, scared him. He was grumpy and always mean. Durzog made the particular attempt to never get hurt specifically so he would not have to visit the Lizard. Finally some of the others began to leave, to their quarters it seemed. All that was left was Gambut, Chiru, and Zaed. He liked Zaed. He seemed like a pleasant person, but more so he was the reason they went to particular places. That was a job Durzog liked.

Soon everyone had disappeared , or was on their way off the dock. His dark eyes looked around to see he was left alone. Not just left alone but completely ignored. For being the largest thing upon this ship, he felt easily ignored. Brows lowered, lips following suit in a frown. ears too even seemed to lower a bit, much like an abandoned feline. He grabbed the bucket and cloth, then stood to his complete height. With a sigh he slowly slumped back to his quarters. Fitting in was not always easy when you were the biggest and stupidest. Well, that's what he thought. "Nigh' Night" he mumbled to himself. Making his way to his over sized quarters he lay upon his bed. Eyes may have closed, but he never drifted into sleep.

Zaed was not particularly offended when the group broke with little word to him. He knew they were tired, contradictory to how most of them had been acting. His senses allowed him to almost feel the blood flow of those around him, and it made him a decent judge of how people were feeling or how they behaved. Most had the blood of tired individuals who would not get a wink of sleep that night. Zaed took another step back, and allowed a shadow to fall over him. Monitoring out of curiosity more than anything, Zaed watched the others as they broke apart. The lizard Gamut went to Chiru's sleeping area, where he assumed he would place the young fairy in her bed. Mitch had went the opposite direction, allowing his flame to guide the path. Rueben had been gone already, and Markus was heading up the path. Zaed did not know whether he would take his own advice, or continue to stand on deck. He did not mind either way.

Zaed was just about to turn, when he noticed Durzog had not left his standing place. The orc stood hunched slightly, and looked worried. More than likely for Chiru. Durzog seemed to be a very caring creature, which was very against any other orc he had seen. Zaed pondered approaching him now, but the large built creature seemingly sighed, and turned to go to his chamber.

Zaed turned around, and allowed his gaze to traverse the city-scape, what little was visible at this hour. He had already slept his time tonight, and would greet the morning sun this day, ready and awake on deck.

In the depths of the sea, Calypso was swimming peacefully until she noticed a dark figure. It had two big threatening eyes, hundreds of teeth sharper than needles and massive strength that could be felt with the ripping bite in Calypso's left leg. This is what happened around a month before she joined the crew. This is what happened in her nightmare.

She had a dream about this misfortune. Calypso had this nightmare for the first time, but it felt so real, even lucid dreaming couldn't help her turn this into something peaceful. She could feel the pain in her left leg even if she didn't have it any more. She was screaming both in her dream and reality. "GET AWAY FROM ME! LET ME GO! LET ME GO RIGHT NOW! DAMN SHARK!" her voice invaded the ship. "TAKE THAT!" She threw a punch in the air while still sleeping. Afterwards Calypso fell off the bed, but that didn't wake her up. She was peacefully sleeping on the floor. However this probably interrupted most of the others', if not everyone's sleep.

Durzog had just barely drifted to sleep when some screams rattled his ears. He quickly jutted up from his bed, ramming his head into the ceiling. Flinching down away from the ceiling in pain, a hand met the top of his head to rub it. " Owie." he prompted. Eyes glanced up at the ceiling with brows furrowed, as if blaming the inanimate object. A sigh and he turned his body to land his feet upon the floorboards.

The scream had awakened him but he was quit unsure of what to do. He did not like confrontations but if someone aboard was in need of help, he needed to assist. Despite thinking there would be others to help, he leaned forward and got out of bed. Looking in the dingy mirror he smiled, showing rotten jagged teeth. He frowned, not appreciating the look. Eyes looked down upon his half clothing, deciding it was good enough to be seen in. The Orc left his room and walked in the direction he thought he had heard the screaming.

Coming around the corner, he peeked his large head out to see Anne, Rueben, and Mitch at someone else's quarters. They began to walk away just as he noticed who they were. He stepped out from the other hallway, covering the entrance opposite of where the group walked, in his full frame. They had not noticed so he was determined to follow; still curious of what happened. Walking by the quarters they were just at, he peeked in, seeing everything alright. He continued his heavy steps down the hallway and toward the kitchen. With the three of them in there, he poked just his head in. The large green blob the only thing visible to those within. Dark brown eyes watched as Rueben tossed food at the other two, in hopes of their help. His lip lips smeared into a smile as he watched the food being flung around. Staying in his position he wished to smell the familiar delights. His large belly rumbled gently, causing a hand to land atop it in hopes of stopping it. He looked down a moment and whispered, " Shh. Eat soon belly. " Hand patted his belly, eyes looking back at the three within the kitchen. Keeping to himself was best, but he could not simply walk away from the food so close to him.

Rueben was mixing together a concoction of delights in a small bowl while turning on the stove. He poured the contents of the bowl into a pan and placed it on the stove. Just as he was turning, he spotted Durzog. Rueben smiled, fished out an apple from the pantry, and tossed it to the Orc. "Munch on this while you wait for breakfast. The food will be ready soon."

The cook continued to run around the kitchen, creating delights such as pancakes and toast. Soon, the galley was full of the intoxicating smell of cooked food. Rueben grinned at his creations, his eagerness shining in his eyes.

Suddenly an apple was tossed his way. Eyes widened when he realized it was in mid-air, about to hit his face. Due to his height , he figured the hand would not reach to the apple quick enough. So, in the quickest reaction he could think was possible, he opened his mouth quite wide. The apple hit the back of his throat, causing him to toss his head forward. The apple dislodged from the back and rolled along his tongue. He coughed a couple times but began chewing the food. He smiled in the process, bouncing his head up and down in thanks to Rueben. Without manners he spoke through his chewing, " T'ank you Rueben! Delicious!" He beamed in a deep voice.

This did not mean he would walk away from the kitchen. Watching the food cook was amazing to him. If it involved food, he enjoyed it. The smells of the meal cooking rampaged his nostrils, causing his nose to wrinkle here and there with anticipation. Durzog finished the apple just a few moments later, swallowing it; including the core of course. His mouth began to water as the smells caught hold of his taste buds. Although the apple was delicious and very nice of Rueben, he still wanted everything else that was being cooked up. How else did you think that belly of his showed up? It wasn't just his lineage; the guy loved his foods.

Markus opened his eyes suddenly, even though he was separated from the regular sleeping quarters of the ship his cat ears could easily pick up the scream, he got up and rubbed his eyes, he was wide awake from that little cat nap (OOC:hehehe). It took him a while to get below decks, but the problem seemed to be solved by the time he got there. Markus's sensitive nose picked up the smell from the kitchen "As if I haven't had enough distractions" he sighed. Markus walked into the kitchen, Durzog was watching Rueben cook, Anne and Mitch were helping, and it smelled delicious. "What are you cooking up this time Rueben? It smells great!" Considering Markus's cat nose was as sensitive as it was, that could of been a five star critic review.

"Thank you, that means a lot to me..." Calypso muttered in her sleep with a goofy smile. Part of her pillow was soaked by drool. She suddenly woke up. "Great... now I can't sleep!" Calypso thought with annoyance. Maybe she should go on a walk around the ship. This might help her to sleep later.

Calypso was passing by the kitchen and her smell sensed the delicious meal. "Rueben is cooking so early!" The sea creature thought. She entered in the kitchen and noticed that the cook had company. "Morning, everyone! I can't tell if it's too early or too late, but never mind. What's up?" Anne and Mitch were helping for the food preparing, Durzog and the Captain were watching the process. "Let me help you, people!" Joyfully, she started cutting some tomatoes. "These tomatoes are so bright, if I cut my finger and blood is poured all over them, nobody would notice!"

The screams, the people running about to aid the screamer, (Chiru maybe? Or the other smaller one, Calypso?) the sounds of others awakening and preparing for the day did not surprise Zaed much. He sighed slightly, wishing he had a bit more time to view his mental map in quiet peace. However, a ship is not a place for alone time. Or quiet, for that matter. Zaed allowed his top hat to fall a bit to the left of his head as he swung his head slowly around to view the commotion. Still mostly masked in the shadows of early morning, he saw that the crew was stirring about.

Zaed turned his head back to the city, trying to make out each of the land marks he had to remember. He was to lead the crew through the city, in order to find their client, who had not yet to have revealed his identity. At least, not to Zaed. In his mind, he saw the map of the city in an enlarged view. They would have to cut through as many populated (and civilized) areas as they could to keep from muggings. Single muggers would be a joke, but the Black City is known for housing many pirate crews. It wouldn't be easy getting past twenty large, drunken sailors with weapons and bad manners. There were sure to be crews just as qualified as their own docked here.

He heard the words of Durzog echo down the hall a bit, as he happily slurped on some sort of fruit. The image of Durzog's big frame, chewing on an apple or some berries, while helping Rueben cook, brought a bit of a smile to his face. The orc made himself out to be a monster, but he was more human than plenty of people he had met in his life time. In a sense of the word.

A lighter voice chimed in, also too far for Zaed to make out the words. Maybe the entire crew was up and about, except Gamut. Zaed had yet to hear to elder lizard's voice, not since he had taken miss Chiru to her quarters.

"I suppose it's time," said Zaed, to no one in particular. His goggled eyes stared over the black city, as the first small hints of daybreak began to caress the darkness of the night sky.

Markus smelled the meal one last time and then turned to Durzog "Alright, it's getting closer to the time we need to meet with the client, so I want you to tell everyone to meet on the deck, ok?" Markus trusted the Orc to get the job done, he turned back to Rueben "If you can spare a couple minutes, I want you up there too, if not, I'll repeat what I say to the others to you" Markus walked out of the kitchen and onto the upper deck, where the wheel was. He leaned against the fence and waited for his crew to come up.

Rueben saluted. "Yes, Captain!"

He hurriedly finished cooking, not bothering to clean up the mess he had made while doing so. Nodding thanks to the shipmates that helped him, he rushed onto the deck. In his arms, he managed to balance plates of breakfast which he generously handed to the crew that were up and awake.

He gave a small smile to Ari'wyn, waving hello and handing him a plate of food. "Eat up. We're about to head off soon!"

The beautiful dreams about flying together with members of her own race were interrupted by her ringing timer. The screaming above her had been faint, due to how deep she was below deck and not to mention her tired, sleep had sent her into a 'coma'.

Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she tapped the timer, making it quite. She removed her top and stretched, letting her tiny wings have some breathing time as they pulled their joints, stretching in unison to their owner's hands. When that was done, she donned her top back on, her wings folding beneath, giving her back a small bulge. After buckling on her signature mechanic's belt, filled with the equipment that she needed, some of which were an oiling can, different sizes of wrenches and a tapping hammer, Ria picked up one of the many empty bags in the workshop and slung it across her bag before tottering off down below to run her daily 'Phoenix Checks'. Noting that most of the mechanisms were moving the way they should and those that weren't were oiled to perfection, she hummed, giving a few parts of the ship some taps, to see if anything had gone hollow. Feeding more coal into the furnaces was part of this routine as well, and not just one, but several furnaces that ran the power around here.

Satisfied, she pulled her hair into a ponytail to let off some of the heat that was growing between her locks and made her way upstairs. Through the door and out she went, breathing in the welcoming fresh air. The smile on her face was filled with innocent joy and pure warmth as she enjoyed the scenery around, not knowing that they were to disembark in a 'black' island.

An eagle perched nearby the edge of the ship, to which Ria waved at before it took off. One of her friends of the sky had came to say hi. Turning around, she realized that their captain had been standing up at the wheel, so she quickly averted her eyes. For some reason, she was afraid of looking at the werecat in the eye. She did a quick and flustered bow before trotting down to the main hall, where most of the crew mates slept in, other than Siv and her, if she recalled correctly. She slept in the workshop, while Siv took her bed to the smith's.

Immediately, she was buffeted by the smell of fresh breakfast. A faint trickle of drool had flowed down from one side of her lip as she swallowed with a look of longing.

"Oh Reuben... the things you make." she crowed, before making her way to the dining hall, where it seemed everyone was present. Gun-toting Anne(Which she was a little afraid of), gentle orc Durzog(which she was also afraid of), their wondrous cook Rueben, Calypso(Another one she was afraid of), Ari'wyn(who had past her in the hall) and Mitch.

"H-hi everyone." she greeted quietly, entering the dining hall. "B-breakast?"

She held out her hands for a plate, which might have been taken for a rude gesture, but with the look that she had on her face... She was just more frightened out of her wits than a trapped brown bird.

Durzog had paid close attention to everything that occurred upon the deck. He stayed out of all conversations, but his big eyes watched what was most important. Food was more than consumed. In fact, he may have missed some things happening simply because he was too busy shoving the food down his throat; hardly catching the taste. It took a lot to fill the Orc's belly and he well knew such. When a woman began to board the ship and both Markus and Gamut stopped her with questions, he began to get scared. He found a pole to foolishly hide behind, in case something happened. The pole was still smaller than most every body part of his, so this was a silly sight. It seemed, despite The Captain's approval, Gamut was upset with the newcomer. If something upset Gamut, Durzog did not like it. He did not like loud things and an upset Gamut was loud.

Eventually the Captain had returned after disappearing and announced the ship would be gaining two large crates. This, too, scared Durzog. What could those be? What was in them? Why were they transporting them? He would make special note to not approach those items. In fact, if he simply did not think about them, then they were not there.

After some time, the Captain had found his way to his quarters. Most others had gone about business, or began making groups to venture out into the city. This was not something Durzog liked. He either went with into the big scary dark city, or he was mostly alone on the ship. This confused him so. It was quite the predicament. The large Orc made his way to the edge of the ship where he could look out beyond the City. Despite the bad things he had heard, the sunlight shimmering off the city sure made it look pretty in Durzog's eyes. Perhaps it would not be so bad. If he followed with the others, he would be safe, right? Brows fell down slightly, lips turned upside down; frowning at the thoughts he could not decide upon. Eyes looked at Anne, Ria, Calypso, and the others in the slowly growing group. He would be afraid of squishing Calypso and Ria, but was more afraid of Robin and Anne. Durzog sighed heavily and leaned over the railing of the ship. Elbow rested on the railing, hand facing up and supporting his double chin. Eyes looked at the slowly busying dock. His fears outweighed anything else. This irritated him, but he figured there were more productive things to do upon The Phoenix, rather than dilly dally around town and break shops. His large frame made it easy for him to do so.

It had been decided by the over-sized creature; stay on the ship and do something productive. No fun for Durzog. he noted to himself. As always.

Rueben nodded, his excitement nearly contagious. "As well as a couple of other crew members. The more the merrier, isn't that right?" He laughed and looked around. "Well, I'm going to look for some ingredients. I'm planning a surprise feast tonight and I want to create all of the crew member's favorite dishes! Or try to anyways..." Rueben refocused his attention on Ria. "I'll meet you at the plank! I want to gather a bit more company!"

He hurried away, tripping over his feet for a bit. He spotted Durzog and beckoned him over. "Come to the city with me! I need you to help me with a surprise!"

Durzog lifted his head and flinched simultaneously as Rueben came up behind him and asked him , "Come to the city with me! I need you to help me with a surprise!" with excitement. His eyes looked out at the city. Although he had just decided he did not want to go, he was half happy someone had invited him somewhere. That did not mean the big guy wasn't scared though. He nodded to Rueben. " Okay. I go. No leave me any place, Cook." He shook his head, making sure Rueben understood. He looked at the plank and noticed Robin and Anne were of the few waiting. Yes..he was about to travel with that lot. This, in particular, made him feel uncomfortable. " I help you." He stated out loud again. More or less, it was a comment to remind himself why he was going to go.

If it was possible, the eager boy's grin grew wider. "Thanks, friend!" he quickly said before scrambling towards the gangplank where he would wait for his companion's arrivals. Rueben stopped beside Robin. "Is there any places of interest we should go to?" he asked, eager to head off. He knew that the informative women would be able to tell him the ideal locations for exploration.

"Well, I'm going to look for some ingredients. I'm planning a surprise feast tonight and I want to create all of the crew member's favorite dishes! Or try to anyways..." Ria smiled a little, the Chef was not confident with his cooking, despite how well everyone enjoyed it. She was looking forward to whatever it was he had planned. "I'll meet you at the plank! I want to gather a bit more company!"

She nodded, and gracefully, almost ethereally, walked to the plank, a tad afraid to be travelling with the swashbuckling red-head. Despite her good interaction with the Captain, Ria was a little uncomfortable with the quartermaster, unintentionally of course. It was the mature and grown-up personality that kept Ria away from her. Ria's wings were restless, shifting about under her clothes.

Breathing in, she shouted from the side of the ship. It was unlike any shout a HUMAN could do, but as an Avian, Ria's specified yells were musical, a harmony of sounds, thrilling, squawking, chawing. It was her call.

A few moments later, if one were to look under the ship, they would find several different birds flying about, and several were on deck, large, small, colourful and bland. The birds flocked around the pink haired girl, who giggled and patted a few, conversing with them in little tweets and calls. It felt a little odd to hear those sounds coming out from a human looking girl. In return, the birds talked with her as well, telling her things she wanted to hear about.

After a while, she nodded, sending the bird 'cloud' flying away, back where they came from.

"...Well...no purple apples, a few shops for the things I need..." Ria ticked them off on her fingers, then froze. "...R-right...it's the Black City."