Blue's Story

Somewhere in the skies...

A cool morning rested on the sky, with rolling clouds not but teen feet below the Phoenix, gleaming in the early sun, as far as the eye could see, radiating gold with beauty and power that captivated even the thickest of skulls, and the world laid so calm as time seemed to sleep, leaving only peace behind in its tranquil absence. The sun barely rose out from the horizon, creeping lazily up into the heavens with about as much eagerness as anyone in a coma, and all of this was accompanied by a light breeze, just brisk enough to make the waking process quicker but sweet enough to pass through the lungs clearly and painlessly, rejuvinating the soul from its slumber with each breathe. Drifting through the drowsy world without a sound, seemingly if not to disturb the stillness save for its slight hum of the engines, was the Phoenix in all its glory, beautiful more so by its imperfection spread through its small and worn body than its perfection, and the sails fluttered in harmony with the imperfect perfection that was the ship itself. A thin mist was resting among the deck of the boat, lounging about to see the notorious yet gorgeous airship, as some of it poured off like a slow moving waterfall, but there always seemed to be more situating itself comfortably with the Phoenix like old friends.

The crew finds itself tired of this sky, however, and feel as if they have been at sea for too long, so a quick decesion must be made. The only option for any land time to resupply lies to the three close sister-islands of Paradiso, Parada, and Perodo.

Paradiso is the most well known, or rather infamous, of the three, being medium sized, and this is because of its connection to smuggling, pirates, and Opate trafficking (Opate is a drug common in the lower reaches of civilization, just like opium), and this causes it to be dangerous constantly with pirate-lords, drug bosses, and gang leaders trying to take control of the island. Parada is an uncharted and unknown island not but ten miles off the coast of Paradiso, but it is massive and thought to be uninhabited. Perodo is a quaint and small island twenty miles from either of the two island with a Avanessee (a colonial empire lead by a peaceful race of subhumans) colony on it named Canness, but in last few months it has been completely unheard from, causing suspicion of an attack by Paradiso but no records prove.

So it must be. So they must decide...

Rel'Kaz Del Va Hiim

Rel'Kaz sat in front of his workbench, the materials that made up his bullets in separate piles on the table, as well as his molds for his shot on it as well. He also had different bullets in different piles, sorted into the uses they had. One pile had a black stripe going down the middle of the casing, these were the ones he used normally and were the largest of the three piles. The next had an orange stripe going down the middle of the casing, these had a different shot shape, more conical and it had a curved tip. It also had a larger powder charge packed into the same sized casing, propelling the shot at faster speeds and the shape of the shot let it pierce armor better. This pile was the second largest. The next pile was the smallest and also had a peculiar shot shape. It had more of a pyramid shape, with sharp edges and a pointed tip. It had an even larger powder charge, very close to the point that if any more was put in, the rifle's barrel would be unable to hold the pressure. The casing holding all of these components was painted with a red stripe.

He looked over the table, and his dwindling supplies. He hadn't gone ashore in weeks, and he was running low. Even if he had begged Sebastian, which he wouldn't, he wouldn't have gotten more out of him. He sighed as he took up one of the black striped casings and started assembling it. First he put the rounded ball of lead into the insert where it fitted nicely. It wouldn't fall out but it would come out when it was fired. Then he flipped it upside down and poured in the powder from the small pouch he had until he put in the right amount. Then he wrapped a small piece of paper over the open end to make sure that the powder wouldn't fall out. The paper was the most expensive part of the lot. It was strong enough to stay on the casing but flammable enough to burn quickly and with a fairly large flame for its size. This would ignite the powder in the casing and propel the shot at whatever he was aiming at. He assembled five more and then stopped. He still wanted to have some left for his pistols, which did not operate like his rifle. He put some of the cartridges into a small leather pouch that he used to carry his ammunition around in. He counted in total that he had put in thirty black stripe cartridges, fifteen orange stripe and eight red stripe. The rest he put into a wooden chest that he kept under his bed, all in all he had another sixty black stripe, thirty orange stripe and fifteen more red stripe. He put the rest of the remaining supplies into a box that was built into his table, keeping some of the powder into a small horn to pour out from and some of the shot in a small pouch.

Rel'Kaz left the pouches and the horn on the table to bring with him if he went out later. Then he went over to his bed and lay down on it. He'd catch some sleep before he had to go on deck again.

The room that doubled as the captain's room and office was a mess, and was also always dark. The only light in it was a single lap that sat on the great oak desk which grandly stood in front of a window that covered the entire back wall, supposed to be showing the beautiful sky as far the eye could see but instead was covered with makeshift drapes, and upon this desk was stacks of paper built high scattered everywhere, even some on the floor, and the only other furniture of note was the chest in the corner that had clothes pouring out of it, a throne of a chair that sat behind the desk with a child's chair stolen from a nursery in front, and a simple cot bed that was concealed by a wall that was simply more makeshift drapes. The single tiny flame flickered, manifesting yellow lines dancing across the walls and floor, causing shadows to avoid the light, moving where it is not in a very fast and endless chase.

Caintry sat in the large chair with his face down on the desk, half covered by paper, sleeping peacefully, but as soon as the sun found its way into one of his eyes, snaking through the many holes and sending powerful pillars of light even overtaking the flame's, he slowly rose and opened his eyes, a piece of paper still sticking to his face. With a yawn, he took the paper off his face, and he blinked several times so that he may begin to read, and when he finally could see without blur, he brought the paper in front of him.

Notice: Highly Wanted

Caintry Osborne of Denauc

Attention to all true man of Zentril with any zeal, among the many wanted posters we have posted concerning the crew of the ship, The Drunken Waitress, this man should be caught first. His crimes include:

~ Burglary
~ Murder of a Guardsman
~ Exploding a Tavern
~ Bedding the High Dutch's Wife
...

Caintry threw the poster back down unto the desk and stretched, thinking of the past ship where he was a mere cabin-boy with nostalgia, and he strained his memory thinking of exactly how long since that had been. He decided since burglary was on there, it must of been his third time to Zentril, placing about fifty or so years ago, yet it strangely seemed like a more foreign time now for all the events that had happened after that. Between watching his entire crew die including watching his old captain, a burly and cruel man, burn until black, and commandeering his own ship, although some ignorants would call it a steal, much has changed since he visited Zentril, and he decided that it was good. Finally, fully awake with the past fresh on his mind, he fought through the piles of paper for a good three minutes, shuffling very loudly through parchments. Ah ha! Here we are. He pulled out a map of what seemed to be the region he was in and he saw in the corner what looked like three blotches of spilled whine. Was it? No, they were exactly what he was looking for, and he knew that these were his only options. Since they were a small ship, he would have to island hop frequently, lacking the materials for long sky-hauls, and as of now he was pushing his luck being airborne this long as it is. So, now seeing that he had three options on where to go, he weighed them, but eventually he ended that he should bring this up to the crew. Sitting back down into the chair while studying the map in deep thought, he pulled on the string that would ring a bell in the cabin girl's room, signaling her that he required her.

Thinking of the day to come, he waited...

Alex sighed in frustration going over the cooking supplies they had. They were, at this time and to put it lightly, low. She didn't dare ask Sebby for more. Well his real name was Sebastion, but that was too long of a name to say fully unless she was angry with him. Anyway she wasn't going to ask him because she knew better and had gotten all she could until they docked. With another sigh she looked at the requests by the crew. They all wanted a different meals and she couldn't make any of them. And what's worse is she knew that even when they ate, their stomachs were still grumbling and they didn't have their full strength.

Getting angry her ears and tail ticking in frustration she kicked over an empty bucket. "I need more supplies goddamnit!" Throwing her list away, she stormed out of the kitchen and to the deck above. The glaring sun didn't help her mood any as she stormed towards the Captains cabin. "Stupid goddamned bright as ball of sun, I'd skewer ye if I could." she shouted up at it then continued on her way. Unless one was new, she knew none of the crew would pay her no mind, they were used to her by now.

She bursted into the Captains office and slammed her hands onto the desk. "I need more supplies Cainy! and unless you want a grumpy no good fer even swapping the deck crew, YOU need to get us docked to get them! And if one more of these good for nothin sissys complain one more time bout them not gettin enough food, I'll zap em myself! This is RIDICULOUS! Why we haven't docked yet I have no clue! Yer laking in your duties, lacky Mc lackerson!!!" she yelled at him going on her tirade of rants, yet again. Her ears were flat and tail flicking back and forth in iritation. Her golden eyes glaring at him.

Aurea

Wind whipped around Aurea as she hung from the bowsprit of the ship, body upside down as she looked to the endless sky all around The Phoenix. Wood and metal gleamed behind her, the contoured form of the ship cutting swiftly through air towards whatever destination they were going to. Her hood and hair streamed backwards, strands whipping as they were tugged and released. Thrumming from the engines reverberated through her, a calming sensation. Closing her eyes slowly, Aurea simply rested, relieving herself of the stress and boredom that came from constant flying without any form of action or interesting event. With nothing else to do, she thought back to the day she had joined the crew of The Phoenix.

The job was simple enough: get into this house, plant this item here and take that one there, get out. Something she had done dozens of times before in a seamless fashion. Nobody should have even suspected her. Tales of her escapades usually took time to get out as it would embarrass the target's greatly. Not a soul knew it was here either unless they hired her. She didn't like to leave witnesses, no matter how 'innocent' they may be. The heist itself remained rather trivial, presenting no difficulty to one such as her. Returning to the house of the family who had hired her, she found, much to her chagrin and panic, almost the entirety of the city's police force gathered. Fleeing through the alleyways, roof-tops, and crowded streets, Aurea eventually found herself near the docks of the city. Having escaped for the moment she knew it was but a matter of time before the police cornered her. No one could have known she was here. She left no trace when she left a city, disappearing into the night without a foot-print to mark her. Someone had obviously been tracking her for some time. Her family? Perhaps.

Finding a poster requesting crew members for a ship- The Phoenix- she hastily signed up, eager to be underway. And that was how she ended up here, dangling over a bottomless drop with only her legs to support her on a smooth piece of wood. Wonderful. Swinging upwards, Aurea grasped the bowsprit and swung her legs around, turning to face the ship once again. Adroitly making her way to the deck of the ship, she dropped next to her Aether rifle which rested against the hull. A most wonderful weapon that her family had possessed. Deducing the means of manufacturing the aether for powering the weapon had taken years but she knew it by heart now. All she needed was more ingredients. Looking up as footsteps sounded heavily on the deck, Aurea saw Alexandria storm into Captain Osborne's cabin. A most interesting former-pirate, Alex. Restoring her hood to its place over her head she returned to her cabin and shut the door.

Sparsely furnished, the only piece inside were a small table, a closet, and the bed plus a small chest under the bed. All she needed to survive. Returning the rifle to its place inside the closet, she checked under her pillow to make sure the pistol remained there. It did. Good. Stepping outside once again with the small weapon tucked into the folds of her voluminous cloak, she began to prowl the ship, boredom driving her to activity.

Boredom. No other word could describe the feeling the held Varsh in its iron grip. He was sitting on his hammock, cleaning his mighty blade for the umpteenth time, running a bit of rag down the steel over and over. With a growl of frustration he set the sword aside and began going through the Tes'Ar, a series of movements that Hashari warriors perform to prepare their muscles for action. He planted his feet shoulder width apart, and stretched, hands touching the ceiling of the small cabin he called home. Then, he moved into fluid motion. Rapidly going through a series of movements, mimicking the actions of war. At the end of it he leaped forward, slamming his bulk onto the floor and letting out a mighty bellow. He was lightly sweating as he sat down once more, and then sighing. How he longed for something to test his strength against! Then, he remembered the bottle of ale that he had kept in his chest. Here was something to test his strength against! A hard liquor said to defeat even the strongest of men with a few swallows. Eagerly pulling the chest into his lap, he pulled out the bottle, tearing the cork out with his teeth, and beginning to drink. After a few chugs, he was feeling rather boisterous. Thus, he decided to sing.

"Vish, so rask. Ha! So vir! Ha!
Torosk so! Ha! Me so! Ha!
Tulero da! Ha! Te do! Ha!
Amras ba! Ha! Qir lo! Ha!"

With each "Ha!" he would stomp his foot, his basso voice rumbling out in a tidal wave of sound that permeated the ship.

The supply room reeked of burning metal and rotting food. With the low supplies the Sebastian had to make due on some of the items. Scrap metal from junk was being melted using a slow burner he had made, filling the air with rustic odors, to form into bullets. Current virgin stock was only about fifty bullets, which spread between the entire crew, was nothing. He counted up the amount of recycled bullets he had made. Ten. There was enough gunpowder that he made the previous day to make another twenty. He put five cartridges, thirteen steel balls, and a small amount of gunpowder into a sack.

He turned his attention to the food being churned on the next table. He had been converting the kitchen scraps into a biofuel for several weeks, filling the air with a foul smell. It would be worth it to have extra fuel to keep both the ship and the Quartermaster running. Only a few more days until the barrel was finished. Lastly he turned to the food rations.

They were meager at best. There were several sacks of flour and salt, but little on terms of meat. A dozen potatoes, nine onions, one bulb of garlic, and four apples. Sebastian made sure that the supply room always had a few caged animals that could be slaughtered in emergencies. Once the crew stops getting a full meal, they start to question how much is actually available, once they find out the actual amount, problems start. He picked up a knife and looked the last swine in the cage.

After the squealing from the slaughter, Sebastian stuffed the pork into a sack along with half of the potatoes and all of the onions, apples, and garlic. He tossed a vile of olive oil and some rosemary too. That would be enough to satisfy the crew. He walked through the ship with the two sacks on his back. He stopped by the kitchen only to find that Alexandria wasn't there. So he left the sack in the kitchen and continued to the gunners quarters.

He came to the room that Rel'Kaz was in, knocked, and entered. The man was on the reloading bench. Smart. Sebastian set the sack of ammunition on the table. "Use it wisely." He nodded the the gunner. He left the room to find the captain.

When he got to the captains quarters, he found Alexandria in front of Caintry. No doubt about food rations getting low. He coughed a bit to make his presence known. "Captain, I need to talk to you about supplies. Alex..." He turned to the cook. "I've left some pork along with other things in the kitchen for you."

The navigation room was a small room that propped itself high on the ship with windows that wrapped all the way around the room; a hammock was hung in the corner with a small chest underneath it and an oversized, torn dress hung in front of it to block the view of the actual hammock and chest. In the middle of the room laid an average sized desk with atlases, books, maps and loose papers scattering the top, some of which were now drifting off of the desk due to the gentle wind that was trying to dance itself through the open windows.

Blue sat in the window, one leg propped up against it while the other hung inside the room while she flipped a compass around her finger. Every so often, the wind would twirl the hair that framed her face around, causing loose pieces to unravel itself from the bun she had it up in. It was apparent that she hadn’t been to bed yet, as her black button up shirt was button down below her collarbone and pulled out from her waistline of the tan pants she wore and if that hadn’t given away the fact that she had been awake all night, the circles underneath her eyes that where just starting to darken would have.

How was she able to sleep? Blue had just gained vital information about the location of where her brother could possibly be; the majority of the night she had been thinking up of ways on convincing the Captain to go to the island of her choice. While the ship was rumored to have been seen at both, Paradiso and Perodo, Blue had the hunch that she would have better luck with Paradiso considering the fact that it was a popular port for trafficking and smuggling. The only benefit of going towards Perodo was the fact that they would have secrecy as it was a small port that hadn’t been heard of in a long while.

She bit her lip in thought and inner turmoil as she kept calculating which of the islands the Captain would choose and going over the routes they could take to get them there quicker. It wasn’t a secret that supplies were running awfully low and from the way everyone’s been on edge lately, it wasn’t going to be long before someone exploded in anger. It was Blue’s job to try and get them there quick and alive with little complication and while she enjoyed a good brawl, she wasn’t in an exact mood to get into one today because of her not doing her job properly in finding the best and fastest route.

With sudden and quick moves, Blue stood from the windowsill and walked over towards her desk. She shuffled through the papers, trying to find the maps where she had chartered and graphed the sky in this general; when she was able to find it, Blue’s hand reached behind her ear and grabbed the pen that always seemed to be resting there when she isn’t using it. She began to silently draw lines and write down notes, remembering the stories and information that she had received or heard about these skies. If she was correct- which Blue knew she would be- they would have to make a turn somewhere down the lines; to her predictions, she estimated it would be around noon before they’d make the turn, entering into the air current of which would help them accelerate towards the islands quicker. Of course, this wouldn’t happen if the weather suddenly turned bad.

Blue noted this but since the sky looked so damn clear, paid no mind to it. She sat working in silence for a moment before hearing the hissing of a certain cat from the Captain’s quarters. While this didn’t bother her, it did encourage Blue to make a separate route to Parada, the island with no ports or civilization, just in case the Captain wanted to venture there as that route was surprisingly easier to travel than the rest. While she did do it out of good will, it didn’t stop Blue to make the route seem long and treacherous on the map; there was no reason for her to travel there nor was there much reason for the crew to venture there either.

It didn’t take Blue long for her to finish mapping out the routes that she deemed suitable to go through and with the islands she thought were better to travel to, leaving Parada practically in the dark with only one route towards there. If she had to, Blue would try to push the idea of Parada out of the Captain’s head so there would be no chance for them to even contemplate traveling there. She sat in the chair for a small second, watching the clear, blue sky from her chair, taking in the momentary peace and ignoring the yelling that came from the Captain’s room.

For a more comfortable seat, Blue returned to her windowsill, resting on it and allowing the warmth of the upcoming sun hit her as she read through her map, carefully proofreading the suggestions she had made on the map. Blue had no favor in making the Captain believe that she was unsuitable for such a job as this was the only way to find her brother; she made sure she was extra careful in presenting routes to the Captain because of this. It would be bothersome if she was out on her own once more.

Selitos was at peace. He had found himself a breezy spot up in the tops and was sitting just under one of The Phoenixes swept back sails. He had wedged himself in to his little corner just under an hour ago he figured and despite the fact that his buttocks was slowly going numb he was content. He had a perfect view of a gorgeous sunny day and the breeze tricked by and played with his hair. He plucked a couple slow chords on his lute. Life was good. Granted they'd been afloat for far too long without seeing land and the crew was starting to get restless. People were getting snappy tempers flared and it was all he could do in his unofficial role as ships counselor to keep things civil. Still things had finally settled down and he'd been able to get some much needed time away befo---- *SLAM*

He looked down in mild surprise to see the cook storming into the captains cabin. Oh bother. Faint yelling followed quickly thereafter and the whole crew started to converge on the captains quarters. Muffled conversation in several voices followed and Selitos figured he should absent himself no longer. However instead of joining the crush around the captains cabin he wandered over to the navigators cabin.

"So what's all that about then?" he said as he produced a pair of apples seemingly from thin air (though likely from some secret coat pocket or up his sleeve) "Apple?"

"hmmph" was Alex's only response to the Capt.'s display of authority, She hadn't expected everyone to show up, and hear her shouting. Looking around her eyes rested on Sebastian.

"Thanks Sebby, I'll get to work prepping it right away." as she stalked out of the the Captains quarters she patted the top of Markel's head and leaned in to whisper to him. "You got a good teacher there lad, learn well from him" she said and smiled at him.

Once she was back on the deck and out of earshot she burst into laughter. "Oh Cany, good show good show!." she whispered to herself. I have to apologize to him now, no one was supposed to show up. she thought to herself.

Walking into the kitchen she went through the supplies in the bag Sebby gave her. "Oooh A little spice!" she shouted happily. She sat down and snapped her fingers watching as everything was removed from the bag and being prepped. "Ah the joys of magic!" She then propped her feet up and began singing a soft tune smiling all the while. She poked her stomach, she didn't even feel the hunger anymore. She figured so everyone could have a little more she would share her portion with everyone. She had been doing it for the past 4 days but she wouldn't tell anyone that. She loved her crew and was willing to sacrifice her happiness for theirs.

She flicked her ears, waiting for when everyone was out of the Capt.s cabin. She wanted to apologize but she didn't want anyone there when she did so. Seeing as everything was prepped she decided to make it into three meals instead of one, so as the crew had food throughout the day instead of one meal. As she cooked she thought, about her past and how far she had come. "At least from that experience I know how to take a little and make a lot.

Once the first meal was done, though she used her magic to get it done fast, she divided it out and put the bowls on the platter. She first went to the door to the engine room and placed the bowl on the shelf she had installed for Amelia and picked up her communication horn, "Am Am,your food is out here" she then went to Blue's room to discover that Selitos was there to. "Well here you guys go, pork stew. Odd to see you here Seli." whistling she place their bowls on a shelf that wasn't covered in maps and continued on. Opening Varsh's room she wrinkled her nose "If I didn't know any better I would say you were a Pirate drinking this early!" then she placed his food on his small desk. The last person she visited below deck was Rela Kaz. "Here Kazie! your portion." she said and whisked to the top deck, she had seen Elwise waiting and Aurea pacing, "Here guys meal in done." Then she sighed and entered the Capt.s cabin once more. "Here ya go Sebby, Mitsie, young Markie, and Capt." she set his bowl on his desk. Tucking the now empty platter under her arm she smiled. "Breakfast is served, enjoy." she went back to her room to lay down.

Varsh's drunken revelry ended with the entering of the cook with a bowl of food whose scent triggered a ravenous hunger that had been hiding. At the end of Alexandria's comment he responded with "Nothing else to do on this ship. Might as well drink to pass time." His words were slurred, and he tottered over to the desk, slamming his bulk into the seat and quickly snatching up the bowl, devouring the food within a matter of a minute or three. Then, he decided to leave his cabin to get some air. Moving onto the deck, he quickly breathed in a few breaths of the clean fresh air of the open sky. The drunken haze with which he viewed everything faded somewhat, and he decided to visit the captain to see about when they were going to get to kill something.

He knocked on the door frame (Missing the door) and then moved in. Varsh made it to the captain's desk and said "Captain. When we going to fight something? My blade thirsts for blood! I need battle! This endless sailing grows dull fast!" As he spoke, a huge waft of alcohol stained breath hit the captain directly in the face..

"So what's all that about then?"
Blue looked up to meet the face of Selitos, the Ship’s Silver Tongue. Not only was he a smooth talker and quite charming, the man’s face was above average and Blue could’ve sworn it was one of the other reasons as to why he was so excellent at his job.
"Apple?"

She stared at the red apple for a bit, obviously not seeing how he had pulled it out of his shirt and while she tried to prevent her face from showing any type of awe, Blue knew that since it was Selitos, he’d be able to tell that she was in wonder. Blue took the apple, taking a bite of the fruit before re-reading the sentence she had been on when he arrived. “If I am not mistaken, I believe that the ship’s kitten has become temperamental, although it seems to be resolved by now.” She said, referring to the silence that had now embraced the ship once more.

“This apple is pretty tasty. Did you ‘commandeer’ it from the kitchen?" She looked over at Selitos and smiled at him with her crooked smile as she finished checking her work. It didn’t take long before someone else popped in- the voice of the hissing cat, Alex, who was now in a chipper mood and was handing out bowls of stew. Blue was quite happy that Alex was in a better mood; no one wanted to travel with a sourpuss, especially one like Alex (although she was quite enjoyable when in a positive mood).
"Well here you guys go, pork stew. Odd to see you here Seli.”

Blue took the bowl of stew and thanked Alex. In all honestly, Blue didn’t have the stomach for stew this morning and knew that the apple would suffice. Blue turned towards Selitos and handed her bowl to him. “As repayment for the apple, kind sir.” She joked, giving him another crooked smile before taking an additional bite of her apple and then setting it down on the desk. She continued to shuffle through her papers, keeping the planned routes propped underneath her arm before she stopped and looked at Selitos, opening her mouth as if she was going to say something but before she could, Markel walked into her room and causing Blue to forget whatever it was she wanted to say.

While Blue thought of Markel being quite odd as he seemed a bit lost at words whenever she was around him, she always seemed to treat him with gentle care. Blue chalked it up to him being a child, but Blue knew very well within her that it was because Markel’s sense of adventure and imagination had reminded Blue of her brother when they were younger and spent their days exploring. Because of this fond memory Blue seemed to picture within Markel, she was quite oblivious to his feelings that he had about her.

"Cap'n wishes you to go an' see 'em in his quarters Madam."
Blue smiled at the boy, nodding. “Alright, thanks Markel.” Blue said, now holding her plans in one hand as she gently ruffled Markel’s hair, her hand lingering a bit on his head as she turned towards Selitos. “Well I guess I will see you when the Captain calls us out for a vote, Selitos.”

Blue left the navigational room and headed towards the Captain’s quarters, seeing Elly on her way towards the room. She smiled and nodded at her before stopping outside of the Captain’s door frame, knocking first and then waiting several seconds before entering, watching Varsh's drunken movement. While somewhat violent, Blue had nothing against Varsh and usually didn't mind his presence. Nonetheless, Blue ignored the man and walked towards him, lowering her head a little before straightening back up.

“Good morning Captain.” She said, paying no mind to whoever else may have been in the quarters and partially closing the door behind her, leaving it cracked just in case Elweise wanted to follow her inside the Captain’s room. “I am assuming that you have called me for the route plans.” Blue took the planned out routes and handed them out in front of her waiting for the Captain to take them.

 Mitsuhide heard all that was said and noted the changing tones in Caintry 's voice, how gentle he was when addressing him. It struck him as odd but if something was amiss he knew Captain Osborne would tell him sooner or later. Upon receiving his orders, Mitsuhide bowed but before he exited Alexandria entered with a bowl for him. Mitsuhide was not hungry, his appetite had been ruined simply because of the day it was and what had occurred on this day so long ago. However he thought it rude to decline the food and so he bowed and accepted it. "Thank you."  He said plainly before exiting and going below decks to muster everyone on the Deck for his announcement, but not before dropping off the food in his own room.

 Much like the captain, Mitsuhide's room had a "can on a string" comms system. It was not very clear, he honestly preferred to go door to door, knocking, and to search the ship but despite this, he wanted this all to be done quickly so he could return to mourning the memory of those he had lost.

"All hands, all hands, this is the First Mate speaking. Report to the Deck at once for an important announcement from your captain. I say again report to the deck for an important announcement from your captain.".

 He spoke loud and clear but knew that it would still be come out as if he had his hand over his mouth. With that he exitted, not even looking at the food he had been given and stood at the deck, ready to give clear instructions to anyone who came up to the deck, and ready to go and fetch anyone who paid no heed to that obnoxious horn in their mind. As he waited he decided to remove the hair pin from his katana 's guard and just stood there at a daze for a few moments, the sorrow showing on his face momentarily before he came to and collected himself.

After some formalities, most of the people had left the room; all save for Blue and Varsh.

Caintry could feel his skin crawl as the stench of alcohol filled his nostrils, causing his stomach to lurch, and he gave a face of disgust when he looked upon Varsh. He had remembered the day when he first met Varsh, he indirectly saved him from slavers and saved his life, and he had proven to be the most handy of a comrade in a multifarious array of brute ways. He may of even been First Mate if it was not for his stupidity , and not just that but his endeavor to not even learn another wrinkle into his brain. Also, Caintry thought that Varsh and he could have been good friends, even though Caintry likes to think he is at least a pleasant companion to his entire crew, but he would not socialize with a drunk. Caintry despised drunks, not understanding why anyone would sacrifice the clarity of their mind to just have the ability to be slurred and make stupid decisions, and he was thankful that his people back home were pushing for deeming alcohol illegal, although he never did catch up on how things were doing in Denauc since he left. There was not much information on a nation that prefers isolation, but then suddenly Caintry’s deep thought was interrupted by the entering of Markel.

He watched as Markel escorted the walking stench of whatever intoxicator he drunk out of his cabin, and he thanked the Muses, a common saying that popped up in Denauc, that Varsh was gone. And here I was, afraid I would have to shoot someone.

Now, Blue and Caintry were alone in the shaded room, the lamp throwing flashes of red and yellow light on and around them, and Caintry let silence fill the space in between them, creating a heavy haze that was building like a growing blanket. It almost seemed like one could touch the silence, the lack of noise, and without causing a sound, he took the papers and set them down on the desk as he started to stand.

“Thank you,” his words were kind but the potent silence made his voice cut through the air with power and immovable authority, “I will look at these later, but I have something I would like to speak with you about.”

Caintry slightly strode towards Blue with a grace that seemed off put by the mood, and his face held his signature smirk. However, his smirk seemed more intimidating than welcoming, and he began to speak again with the powerful kindness.

“I trust you, Ms.Samson, but you hold more power on this ship than you probably know. I hold the wheel that steers the ship, I command the crew, I am the Captain, but you, Ms.Samson, you are the one that could easily…” Caintry paused as if carefully choosing his next word, "mislead me. Now, I have been to the Islands of Sharnown, and the Togani are peaceful people.” Caintry now spoke softer and slower, “However, the people do not make a person, I am a prime example of that, so I must know. Will you mislead me?”

Caintry left the last sentence with a warm tone, but that would not help the ominous tone that he had used. The room’s dimness seemed darker, and the shadows the single light casted seemed more menacing. He looked at Blue. Gods, what a beauty! She looked sweet to Caintry, innocent in a way, but he had the lives of many in his hands. While that would not stop him from getting in a wonderfully dangerous adventure, he could not let self interest get in the way of such an important job such as navigator, the entire reason he did not take the role himself. Well, that and he would hate the extra work. He hoped to become better known to Blue, however, so he decided that his usual smirk would be a warm smile.

She covered her surprise well, but it was always fun to arrive with a surprise up ones sleeve and Sellitos was a consumate preformer. However upon hearing her statement about the cook he could only roll his eyes. He was totally unsure of how to deal with that cat. She seemed to bounce all over the place and he had a hard time deciphering what was going on with her. A confusing and frustrating situation to find himself in, considering he accounted himself a rather good people person.

"This apple is pretty tasty. Did you 'commandeer' it from the kitchen?" she inquired with ever so slight a smirk?

"I am shocked that you should think such things of me!" he said with mock indignation. However he couldn't quite hold it together and broke into a mischievous grin. "They say the forbidden fruit tastes best. he said with a wink, then shrugged and spread his arms wide in appeal "How else was I supposed to find out"

Just then however Alex popped into the room and Selitos was forced to make his apple disappear briefly into his cloak. Thankful that he hadn't yet taken a bit of it.

Well here you guys go, pork stew. Odd to see you here Seli."

"Mmm the soups smells great Alex and I figured the captains cabin seemed quite crowded so I came to offer our lovely lady navigatrix some company and make sure she has the map the right way up" he replied smiling in jest.

She handed him her bowl with a mock courtly address "As repayment for the apple, kind sir' He decided to play along, taking the bowl in his free hand and attempting a courtly leg "M'lady is too kind" The effect was only slightly ruined when he spilled some of the steaming hot stew on his wrist and let out a muffled oath in Avenesian and licked the soup off his wrist.

Markel came in and summoned blue to the captains cabin. The little fuzzball seemed somewhat frazzeled but Selitos hadn't know him long enough to decide what to think

“Well I guess I will see you when the Captain calls us out for a vote, Selitos.”

"Pick us somewhere nice' he chuckled. She exited, and he followed soon after, leaving the spare apple on her desk. Her not eating the soup had concerned him slightly so he figured she'd want something later.

Upon being summoned on deck Sellitos sauntered his way over and took up a seat on the capstan waiting to hear what would happen next.

When the two were finally alone, the atmosphere around them suddenly changed to a much more serious and almost intimidating or powerful air. Blue instantly knew that she wasn’t here just to speak over the planned routes but instead something else and before Blue could even control it, something grabbed the back of her stomach, making her wish she hadn’t given her stew to Selitos. Despite the growing tension in the air, Blue remained calm and watched her trusted Captain as he began to speak, concluding that he was, indeed going to speak to her about a much more serious matter than routes and how to get there.

“I trust you, Ms.Samson, but you hold more power on this ship than you probably know. I hold the wheel that steers the ship, I command the crew, I am the Captain, but you, Ms.Samson, you are the one that could easily… mislead me. Now, I have been to the Islands of Sharnown, and the Togani are peaceful people. However, the people do not make a person, I am a prime example of that, so I must know. Will you mislead me?”

“I will not mislead you, Captain.” Blue said in a confident tone, staring at him as he smirked at her, releasing some of the tension. Blue gave him a small smirk back, now realizing that the creature that gripped her stomach was named Guilt and while she reasoned with herself that she had nothing to feel guilty about, the feeling would not totally disappear. “I have grown attached to this crew and the ship, along with its Captain; it has become my new home and I enjoy seeking adventures with everyone,” Blue looked up at him, smiling a bit wider. “So I promise I will not betray or mislead you or the crew.”

Blue held up her arm as if to show him her muscle of loyalty she had for them and while she looked perfectly fine on the outside, she was in a small panic on the inside that she was desperately trying to swallow. All in all, the Captain had destroyed any way Blue could convince him which island to head towards for there was no way she could even bring up the subject now. Often times Blue wondered if the Captain was that smart in figuring people out or whether he just blindly followed his instincts. Nonetheless Blue shouldn’t allow this to ruin whatever chance she had to find her brother; there was still a chance that crew would –hopefully- pick her desired route.

It wasn’t like she was there to betray them but Blue knew that she would easily sacrifice anything for her brother and perhaps that was why she felt the small guilt gripping at her stomach. Not to mention no one on the ship had known she only joined the ship due to this reason. Although this resided in her mind, Blue was honestly speaking the truth to the Captain; she had grown attached to the crew and ship, as well as the sense of adventure she had lost long ago when her brother had disappeared. Because of the Phoenix and company, Blue had regained her sense of adventure and met some good people and this was all thanks to the Captain for allowing her to join him.