It was night, the ship was docked, and Markus was on the deck, looking over the edge. They had docked yesterday, and Markus had decided to stay and rest for a while, despite his words to the crew, Markus couldn't sleep no matter how much he tried, so he went out on the deck. "This city seems interesting, I should look around tomorrow" Markus said to himself. He laughed, they had docked at the infamous "Black City" it's reputation for the nickname came from it's huge black market on the lower levels of the city. Markus knew some of the jobs here might be illegal, so they had to be careful. Markus sighed and continued to look at the night waters far below them.

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.

Rueben gave a jump of surprise as he heard the hatch grate creaking open in the dead silent night. He ran towards the hatch, curiosity getting the better of him. He opened the grate and peered down, his eyes flashing with amusement as realized the source of the sound. "Chiru!" Rueben chuckled quietly. "What are you doing out so late?" He jumped down the beside her, being sure to softly close the hatch above him. He crouched beside Chiru, concern flickering across his face. "Are you alright there?" he questioned, standing up and extending a hand to aid her.

Gamut was not happy. That phrase could be roughly branded as his default state of being, but it was especially true in this case. Of all the places that brat of a captain had to drag the crew to, it just had to be black city. A festering pit of scum and villainy. And most certainly the last place the old lizard would want anyone on the ship near.

He argued, excessively, with Markus against coming here. And as always the boy just ignored his judgment ran off head long to get into trouble again. Honestly, a ship captain that was barley more then a child? A crew with most crew barely under twenty? Gamut figured it'd be a miracle if they weren't mugged first step on shore. In fact he thought it was a miracle nobody hadn't already tried to sneak onto the Phoenix already to either steal it's cargo or the ship itself. Such a target would easily attract the the attention of looters looking to make a quick bit of coin.

It was because of this paranoid mindset that Gamut kept himself up for most of the night, warily watching the docks from his window. So he could be forgive on the excuse of exhaustion and his already on edge nerves for overacting when he heard the grate slamming and a series of bangs from the ladder.

The door to his cabin slammed open when he kicked it. The old lizard bounded down the hall, a wicked sharp sickle in hand to confront...

...Chiru lying flat out on the floor in a daze.

Gamut sighed, lowed his weapon and messaged his temples. "It's two in the morning and already someone is trying to get themselves dragged off to the infirmary." He only vaguely noticed Rueben but shoved him out of the way with a sharp "Move" as he grabbed a lantern and squatted down besides the fairy.

"Oi, Chiru. You awake?" He said snapping his fingers in front of her face. "If you are then how many fingers am I holding up?" He asked, waving two digits.

Markus heard everything, he sighed, he just wanted ONE moment of peace, but alas, The Phoenix isn't a place of peace. He walked over to Chiru and the old lizard, crouching down and offering his hand to help her up, he said: "What are you doing up so late? You need some rest if want to come into the city with us". Markus barely saw Chiru, her being th cabin girl, but that didn't mean he had to be rude. He looked up at the old lizard "I suspect you are helping? You always do" Markus sighed and continued to hold his hand out fr Chiru.

"Yes, I am." Gamut said flatly. "And I'd be able to help her better if I didn't have people crowding around my patient!" He slapped Markus's hand away. "And I could ask what you're doing up at this hour myself. Both of you." He shot a look to Rueben as well. "You brats need sleep for this doomed trek into town tomorrow."

Gamut returned his attention to the dazed fairy and shun the lantern light closer to her eyes. The pupils looked dilated. The girl was probably experiencing a temporary blindness but she should recover soon. If it had been anyone else then he would be more worried about head injury. However the fairies natural recovery abilities meant he wouldn't have to be as concerned with this one.

"I still don't know why in Terreth you'd want to come to this stink hole of a city." The old lizard grumbled. "Mark my words boy nothing good will come of this venture."

"The reason I came to this 'stink hole' of a city is because someone requested us for a job, with a payment of one hundred thousand credits" Markus let that sink in. "Well" Markus yawned "I'm off to bed now" he headed off to the captain's quarters "And please do make sure Chiru is alright". Markus honestly cared about every member of his crew, so he was being sincere about wanting Chiru to be ok. "If you don't want to come in the city old lizard, you can stay here and beat the crap out of looters" Markus laughed and walked into the captain's quarters. "I do hope that taking this job was the right choice" Markus sighed and lay down on his bed, a few seconds later he was curled up, asleep.

Rueben crouched down beside Chiru and affectionately ruffled her hair. "I'll bring you a treat tomorrow, okay? You poor girl..."
He began to walk towards his cabin when he stopped and looked back at Gamut. "Isn't the danger all part of the adventure?" He smiled, hiding the fear of being scolded or hit behind the head by the lizard.

Mitch stood atop the mast, twirling a small thread of fire through his fingers. He looked out over the city, surveying its people and structures with interest.

"Now THIS looks like a city I could have some fun with," he mused.

As he looked down at the main deck of the Phoenix, he saw Markus cross to his quarters and go inside, presumably to sleep for the night.

"Markus probably has the right idea," thought Mitch, "Who knows what kind of trouble we could run into out there tomorrow?"

Mitch nimbly leaped out from the mast and grabbed one of the many ropes extending down to the deck. He used this rope to climb down and land softly on his feet beside Gamut.

"I see you've got your hands full here," Mitch chuckled, motioning towards Chiru and Rueben.

"Need any help with them? Or would you rather I just stay out of this one?" Mitch's eyes flashed as he winked at the old lizard.

"Isn't the danger all part of the adventure?"

"Only for the reckless and stupid." Gamut growled after Rueben. With the captain and cook both departed Gamut took another brief moment to ponder to himself why he wasted his time with teenagers like this. Coming back to the present though he other things to focus on. Namely the still dazed fairy passed out on the floor.

"Alright, come on squirt." He said as he picked Chiru off the ground. "Lets get you back to your bunk before you do something else to hurt yourself." Carrying the little fae creature on his shoulder like a toddler, Gamut began to cater her back to her bunk. He paused briefly to shoot a look at Mitch. "Go to bed." He grumbled before walking off.

Really it was just to early in the morning for this.

"Alright, come on squirt," growled Gamut without even acknowledging that Mitch had said anything, "Lets get you back to your bunk before you do something else to hurt yourself."

He hoisted the fairy over his shoulder and carried her back to her quarters.

"Hmph," thought Mitch, "I suppose it's just too early for the old fellow."

Mitch snapped his fingers to create a small flame light and made his way back to his quarters. Once there, he changed into a nightshirt, hung up his gear, sprawled onto his bunk, and went to sleep.

Anne wasn't a light sleeper but voices from the deck had woken her. She would have made her way to see what all the commotion was about but she recognized the voice of the doc and didn't bother. If there were trouble, real trouble anyways they would be simply chatting. All the same though she got up and put on some clothes and her boots then opened her door before grabbing a book and sitting on her bed. If anyone needed her she'd be ready.

The city most likely had everyone on edge with excitement or worry and that was why they were all up before the sun. In her pirate days she have visited a city much like this one quite often to barter and trade with others of her kind. She had a place in that city, it wasn't much for sleeping but storing all the bounty that she would get after they would divide the haul. Looking out her port hole into the night sky she wondered whatever happened to all her shiny expensive treasures.

In the darkness of the map room to the ship, Zaed's eyes opened slowly as some loud banging, and the sound of a door being flung open at the speed of a sharp kick awoke him. He had fallen asleep in the Phoenix's navigation quarters, as he often does whilst studying maps of the places he has yet to be. It seems he had been burning the midnight oil for weeks, and the Phoenix had not deterred him from his habits. It was a bit surprising, hearing this noise; despite this city's reputation, he hadn't quite figured their would be an intrusion on the first night. Switching his goggles from high-light lenses to low-light, the room around him seemed to show itself a bit more. A body was half stomping, half walking down the side path of the ship. The body stopped, and he made out the voice of Gamut, as his chastising was unmistakable. Surely it was in good faith, Zaed believed, for the elder seemed to have a good heart. Who wouldn't be annoyed by a motley crew like this, and so young at that.

Zaed lifted his body from his place at the table littered with cold candle wax and old maps. The air in the cabin felt a bit nippy, but being already fully clothed allowed him to easily rebound into a regular temperature. Standing, and listening to each clop of his boots as they made contact with the wooden floor beneath him, Zaed made his way to the door. The cane in his hand was more for concealing purposes rather than actual walking: the hilt of the black can can be pulled at, and at the end is a long Rapier blade. The cane makes for a great sheath. As he opened the door to the room, he allowed his newly awakened eyes to roll left and right across the path. It was quiet, and dark, except for the lantern held in Gamut's hand down the way. Gamut's back was to him, shrouded in shadow. He could also see the chef, Rueben; the captain, Markus; and the loveable handy-orc, Durzog. He knew all of their nicknames, but he generally called them all by their full name.

Zaed made his way down the path quietly, and arrived around 10 yards away from them, only catching a few words from Gamut.

"...in Terreth you'd want to come to this stink hole of a city." It seemed as if the city's descriptive words were spat. Not that Zaed disagreed. "Mark my words..." The rest of the sentence trailed into the night sky, seemingly floating away with the steam that left his lips as he spoke into the frigid air.

Zaed took a few steps forward, and found that the fairy-woman, Chiru, was sprawled along the ground, in some sort of confusion. Zaed's brows furrowed, and he took another few steps. Making sure not to crowd them, Zaed stood off to Gamut's left side and spoke: "Is miss Chiru alright?" Zaed's brows furrowed further. His eyes were worried, although he probably appeared fairly docile beneath his red top hat, and his narrow, round black goggles over his eyes. He allowed his weight to shift slightly onto his cane, as he awaited any sort of instructions or information on the health of miss Chiru. Gamut now had the young fairy in his arms, and the man Mitch had appeared. It seemed that they may have the situation under control, so he took another step back, and waited.

Chiru was only barely aware of what was going on. Her head hurt and her vision was blurry. Though, Chiru was a tough girl and didn't bother crying, although she moaned some. She wasn't able to see the first figure, but she heard him. She was barely able to mumble something, but then a much larger figure appeared before her. Upon being asked a question, the fairy answered "N-Nine?" Soon, there were many figures around her. She barely could tell who each of them were, but not of them seemed to keen on shouting at her. All she could mutter over and over in a whiny tone was "Ow" and "I'm the strongest." It was typical that mentally, the fairy couldn't be brought down, because Chiru truly was, the strongest.

Though, her vision did begin to improve, though it was hard to tell because it was dark, the lamplight just only making it worse with it being bright. As she became more aware of her surroundings, she started to complain more and more, and non-stop as well, holding her head. The cook had just ruffled her hair and went back. Though the commotion was because of her, it didn't seem like the full attention was on her, despite her annoying complaints. She kept glancing up at the grate above her, trying to figure out what hit her in the first place, determining that whatever it was, she would defeat it.

However, she was interrupted by being picked up by the lizard-man, who carried her to her bunk. She didn't bother resisting, as she was rather tired anyhow. After being placed back in her bunk, she reached for her half-jacket and covered herself with it, grinning somehow. Yes, though Chiru's head still hurt and she kept holding it here and there, Chiru was already looking to a brighter tommorow. Though, then and there, she decided it was best she rested her head, of which held the brain of a genius. She soon fell asleep. Some of her hair, mainly in the top and back areas, had begun to become frost-covered, a sign that she was healing. Though, to her, it wasn't cold, nothing was. She was cold itself, and though it seemed that she had no place on a vessel called 'the Phoenix', mentally, Chiru was always on fire. 'Cause Chiru is the strongest.


Chiru then proceeded to have pleasant dreams about the past, about snowball fights with Sunny, Luna and Star, about living in the same treehouse as Daisy, about night-viewing with Jorick, about hide-and-seek with Kiaryi, battling magicians, catfish, vampires, ghosts, crows, lunarians, evil combines and frog gods. Perhaps even in slavery, naivity was a good thing.

Ria was down in the workshop, seeing as her bed was there. But instead of sleeping, the Avian girl was working on a very...unique looking machine. There was what seemed to the an iron canister with a nozzle at the bottom and a cover on top, with two pairs of incomplete wings made from pieces of thin, light wood, overlapping each other like feathers.

The Avian girl was very careful with her work, using a pair of delicate tongs to pick up the wood pieces and link them to the wings. Every once in a while, she would take a look at the very worn looking diagram of what she was creating. She almost messed up a linkage when she heard disturbances somewhere above her. She shook it off and took a look at her handy timer, something she had created to keep time, since she was always cooped up inside the workshop, rarely travelling outside unless there was somewhere to explore. The gears were self-sustaining, a technique she had learned from Kirro, a process that required precise carving and correct weights for the continuous rotation to occur. And the timing was sometimes a little off, since the tilting or accidentally nudging the timer would cause it to either go faster or slower, but it was accurate to an extent.

"Oh my... it's this late?" she gasped, then looked up at the ceiling. "What are they doing anyway at this time of the night?"

Rather than go up, Ria picked up her project and slipped it into a leather sack lined with cotton. This was a secret project and she didn't want anyone to know what she was making...

Instead of going upstairs, she went to bed, extinguished her lantern. She stared up at the darkened ceiling. She wasn't anti-social. In fact, she enjoyed the presence of the other crew and was friendly. But other than that, she was also quite shy and due to this, spent less time with the others, since she was afraid of either offending them or anything that might make them dislike her. So she kept to herself most of the time, but would join the crew whenever they grouped up to travel. But of course, when it came to her job, she would never let them down and would instantly be there to begin repairs.

"Good night." she said quietly to herself. This was something that she had hoped to say to the crew with confidence, but for now she was content with just practicing it.

With a smile, she closed her eyes and went to sleep.

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.

Had already been awake for several hours now, Robin sat patiently on a stool on the inner-section of the Phoenix. With a book open ahead of her, lying in the near end of the book, she glances downwards at it, reading the page like a scanner. She doesn't even flip the page, she has a raven beside her at the edge of the book to do that bidding for her, flipping it with its beak. "Thank you" is all Robin says each time it flips it with its beak and it just responds with a short crow.

Robin turns her body and the seat of the stool follows with her as she turns, her back now to the counter and her previous book. She looks around the room of the stuff lying around and the artifacts. "Was this the best thing to do," She says to herself quietly "Maybe I should reconsider some thing. I don't think it's too late to leave. But leaving is no longer an option. Even if this place burns down, it'll be a short shelter to myself then..." A drift of wind from the open window blows her hair gently across her face and she pushes it back to place.

"Let's just see how long it lasts then." She turns her head and looks back at the raven, who looks back up at her. "Shall we?"

Rueben tumbled out of his bed. He had just gotten settled in, ready to be wrapped in the arms of beautiful sleep when screams pierced his subconsciousness. He blinked, still dazed and tired. Rueben rose from the floor and stumbled outside, one hand on the wall to guide him towards where he heard the screams come from.

He knocked quickly on Calypso's door, unease and thoughts of an intruder on the ship replacing his fatigue. "Hey! Everything alright in there?" Rueben called, worried for his shipmate. "Calypso! Open up!" He yanked open her door, looking around.

Anne watched as the cook stumbled past her door to Calypso's room. Sitting down her book she went after him and stopped behind him after he looked into Calypso's room. "She's having a nightmare about a shark. You could wake her up if you like but people having lucid nightmares tend to be violent." she leaned against the wall next to the door peaking into the room at Calypso sleeping contently on the floor. "If you want to move her I'd be careful. She could mistake you for a shark." She smirked at Rueben.

Rueben nodded. "I can take a couple of hits." He picked up Calypso and gently set her on her bed. He turned to Anne and yawned. "Well, there goes my sleep." He stretched and walked past Anne, heading towards the kitchen. Rueben stopped and looked back. "Care to help me cook breakfast?" he offered. "We'll be heading out to the city later, so I need to pack everyone something to eat."

Mitch was jarred from his sleep by loud screams coming from within the ship. He blinked a few times, still not entirely sure if the screams were a part of his dream or reality.

He leaped to his feet, grabbed his dagger and dashed out the door, barreling down the hallways to the origin of the sounds. They lead him straight to the open door of Calypso's room. As he began to round the corner, Rueben stepped out of the door.

"We'll be heading out to the city later, so I need to pack everyone something to eat," Rueben said.

Mitch dug his heels into the ground, barely stopping himself from colliding with the boy.

"Everything alright down here?" Mitch asked, panting slightly. He still clutched his dagger, knuckles white from the tightness of his grip.