Varsh Terask'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.

Elweise spends most of her time in her small quarters with her potions and herbs; which she insists on keeping with her and not in the normal supply closet. She only leaves the room to do her duties as bartender (usually later in the day), of if they are heading out. She insists on not being bothered unless an emergency arises and her assistance is needed. But today was a rare day, Elweise has made her way out of her room earlier than usual, and without being requested to. Elly is dressed as elegant as ever, in her frilly dress, little capelet, and pointy hat, decorated with bows. Unlike some of the other members of the Phoenix, Elweise always looks so clean and smelled nice. How she managed to look so nice all the time while working on a ship is a mystery to everyone but Elweise. It probably has something to do with magic.

Elly made her way though the ship and towards the captain's cabin. The lack of supplies was effecting her as well, and she very much wanted to go out and collect herbs and ingredients for potions. When Elly gets close to the captain's cabin she hears shouting coming from inside. Deciding that going to see the captain was not the best idea right now. So she hangs out outside on the deck, waiting for the captain's cabin to clear so that she can go in. She can hear the burly man, Varsh, singing from where ever he his, brought chills down her spine... 'disgusting'. She looks down the dock at the clouds blow, wondering when they are ever going to land.

"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.

Pacing, Aurea's eyebrows drew down furiously, creating a solid line on her forehead. The light-colored hair blended in quite well against her pale skin; despite the time Aurea had spent out in the open, sit was almost never without her cloak on. Without it she felt naked most unless she was assuming the role of a different person. Situational psychology was an interesting matter but one that she had never cared much to study, especially as it would do nothing to help her with her problems. While seemingly many, they stemmed from one source: herself. Always herself. If she hadn't decided to snag that one jewel, plant that one document, embezzle that one man. If. Quite an important word despite its size. Hardly a word at all. More so than single letter words. Not much use in them.

Perplexed at her sudden interest with the nature of words, she turned that confusion into anger, baring her teeth silently before pounding on a wall of the ship. Damn that bitch, her mother! "Rot in hell you forsaken maggot!" she screamed. Or would have had she been alone or somewhere sufficiently loud to drown out her voice. Instead, she muttered it before once again punching the wall. Scrapes appeared on her hand, revealing the pinky flesh beneath the skin. Snarling, she pulled out her crossbow, cocked it, and shot a bolt into the wall. Half the head dug into the wood, splintering the material. Ripping the bolt out of its target, she inspected the tip before it. placing it in her cloak. She would need that damn engineer Amelia or the Rel'Kaz bastard in order to fix the piece of ammunition.

Hearing steps upon the stairs from the lower deck, she swirled around, crossbow coming up to take aim at the opening. Her head took sight first and upon seeing Alex, the crossbow went back into her cloak with nary a flourish or rustle. Breathing deeply in order to calm down, she forced a smile onto her face as the bowl of soup was placed near her. Why must I put up with this insufferable fare. Where- Her mental rant ceased as the aroma of the concoction wafted to her nose, tingling the sensory nerves. It smelled good. Quite good. Bending tentatively, she picked up the bowl, scanning the outside for any form of tampering. Seeing none, she dipped her finger into the liquid, before lifting it to smell. Never hurt to check for poison or acid. Too many times such things had found their way into her food.

Scarfing down the meal, the bowl quickly emptied into her stomach, scraped clean. Sighing somewhat contented Aurea proceeded to the kitchen, leaving the bowl near the entrance. Done with that, she decided it was time she talk with the captain. Making her way to the captain's room, she spotted Varsh and Markel standing outside the door. Alcohol, the smell of it at least, permeated the air around the large man, a harsh, stinging stench. Stopping as the announcement came on over the jury-rigged communication system, Aurea sighed. Finally getting somewhere.

"Clean yourself up, Varsh. Your appearance is filthy, your odor worse, and I do not care much for alcohol in the morning. Excuse me," she stated, voice perfectly neutral the entire time through. Perhaps not the best idea to threaten the man, but she could get out if need be. A bolt in the chest would put him down. Passing to the door, she examined Markel out of the corner of her eye. A most interesting addition to the crew. Fondling a needle with her left hand Aurea stood there for a moment looking at him. Some new fur gloves wouldn't hurt, she thought, grinning softly. Opening the door, she slipped in quietly, standing at the back of the room as Captain Osborne finished his conversation with Blue. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to tell him the trouble she was in but it would help guide them away from Paradiso. Damn place most likely contained several, if not dozens, of people searching for her. Bowing her head, Aurea waited until she was addressed.

The last time Blue had saw her brother was when she had ‘ambushed’ the black ship which took him. While it was rather stupid of her to board the ship alone, Blue was unable to think straight as the thought of rescuing her brother fully took over. She found Willsih locked in a room where the trash had been thrown. Blue assumed he was tied up and tried everything in her power to break open the door but before she could even do so, the crew had surrounded her.

While Blue is no girl in combat as she had successfully took out more than several men who were twice her size, Blue was still a young woman who had been outnumbered by over thirty men; even at the time Blue knew she wouldn’t be able to beat them and in the end, she had focused her energy on breaking the door to give Willsih a chance to escape while she occupied them. Even though she broke the door, Blue was unable to free him as the crew had secured her and the captain of the black ship raised his sword and anchored it down on her back. It was only luck and determination that during his slashing, that she wiggled out of the crew’s men who held her (the reason why she has such an odd scar that extends from her shoulder to front thigh area).

Blue remembered how much she bled and how shaky the world seemed as she still continued to try and fight, her fingers just barely wrapping around the door-frame before the captain of the black ship tossed her aside. She wouldn’t allow her vision to fail as the blurry image of the captain walked near her, his sword raised over his shoulder with a twisted smile on his face- the image was so clear that it sent shivers of anger down Blue’s spine, even now, years later. It didn’t take long before the captain of the black ship kicked her like garbage and pushed her off the ship to fall to her death.

Blue’s eyes fluttered and she looked upwards. Hearing Alex’s broken formal speech had pulled her out of her memories completely which caused Blue to make a mental note on appreciating Alexandria more than she had done so before. A slow but dull ache seemed to resonate from her shoulder, back and thigh where the grotesque scar hid behind her clothing; this caused Blue to become uncomfortable so when the Captain had told her the sly joke about Alex, she didn’t react but only stared at him, seemingly confused. Blue looked at him for a short while more before bowing her head to excuse herself and dismissed herself entirely, walking into the corridor and leaving the Captain and Aurea together in the room.

Her fingers ever so lightly touched her left shoulder, feeling the deep scar that still remained underneath her shirt. Blue bit her lip slightly as her pace slight increased towards the deck, now regaining the importance of this vote. She must find her brother, she had to. The sleepless night was starting to take a small toll on her body as memories flooded her head once more; they seemed to all collide at each other and became rather loud, making Blue hold onto her head as she appeared on the deck, the sun’s bright rays making her squint slightly at it. It was quite fortunate that the warmth of the sun seemed to dim the chaotic thoughts that still appeared to clash in her head.

Blue made her way slowly pass the deck and into her quarters, locating a small glass of water Blue would always keep for the night so she could refrain from entering the kitchen after hours; she gulped it down eagerly before sitting in her chair at her desk, closing her eyes and allowing the thoughts to shatter one by one, releasing the tension of her headache. She placed her arm over her head and breathed calmly, the silence from her quarters soothing her as a memory seemed to continuously play within her mind- the memory of Willsih and her playing pirates when they were younger. The memory was so profound and sweet, it made Blue smile at the ache of her heart.

“Ah, how sweet.” She whispered, sitting back up as the thoughts seem to quickly dissipate. Blue rested her head on her desk for several moments, watching the cloudless sky in silence. To Blue’s surprise, it helped a lot to sooth her aches and pains that was caused by the sudden thrash of memories. She smiled a little bit, a red apple now appearing in her view to block out the sun’s rays; it was odd that she hadn’t seen it before- perhaps the headache caused her to ignore everything around her. Blue knew that it was the reason and picked it up, looking at the little red fruit before placing it back down on the desk, thinking it would be smart to save it for later.

With that, Blue stood from her desk and exited the navigation room and headed back out on the deck, quickly locating Selitos and waving up at him as a thank you for the apple he had left in her room. Instead of heading towards him, Blue headed towards a barrel that use to hold some sort of liquid and made her seat on it, waiting for the Captain to begin the vote.

As Aurea stepped into the room, Alexandria's voice came over the communications system, requesting a meeting with the captain. From the slight tremor in her voice and the hesitance with which it had been spoken, Alexandria was obviously uncomfortable about something. Perhaps that happy demeanor presented earlier had simply been a temporary state acquired during the preparation of food for others. On with the psychology again. Perhaps I should have chosen a different job, she thought, curious as to the random obsession. The boredom really was getting to her in ways that she didn't like. Though there was nothing wrong with messing with an opponent's mind. Quite enjoyable actually.

A small smile creased one corner of her mouth as Caintry jumped slightly upon seeing her. Despite the insufferable time spent on the ship, her skills still had not lost their touch. He really should have expected this from her. Stealth was something ingrained in her, surprise more so. She had been on the ship long enough for him to know that. Nodding silently at his words, she tapped her foot, staring at the wood paneling on the floor and walls. Quite glossy yet soot-stained and worn. A strange combination. Where did he find the time to keep-

Whipping her head up, Aurea realized that she was left standing alone in the cabin. Fumbling inside the heavy fabric of her cloak, she extricated the hand crossbow before rushing out the door. Seeing no one, she shot a bolt down the hallway, hoping it would do something. The head slammed into a door. Whose, she did not know nor did she care. "How could I have lost myself so?" she muttered, miffed at losing her chance to talk with him before the vote. Striding quickly to where the bolt remained, she tugged it out, this time more easily than on the upper deck. At least this head did not need to be repaired like the other one.

Cloak swirling behind her as she spun, Aurea proceeded slowly up the stairs, seeing no reason in hurrying to reach the top. It was only a few scant feet as it were. Nothing of note. Spotting the others assembled around the deck, Aurea tucked the crossbow back into her cloak before settling in near the stairwell, watching.

Varsh allowed himself to be led away by the small cabin boy that he could crush with one hand. Wandering down the hallway he felt the alcohol beginning to depart his system, burned by the fantastically high metabolism common to his race. As the unlikely duo walked down the hall, Aurea stopped briefly, saying "Clean yourself up, Varsh. Your appearance is filthy, your odor worse, and I do not care much for alcohol in the morning. Excuse me," . Varsh's eyes widened, and then a basso growl rumbled out from deep within his throat. He wheeled, brushing Markel's hand off his arm, muscles beginning to prep themselves for the joys of battle. His battle hormones were singing now, and they were only enhanced by the fact that Aurea seemed to wander off, not seeming to care to stay behind and see what she had caused.

"Coward! You insult a son of Terask and flee!" Varsh prepared to pursue, but the small voice of reason in his head made him remember the oath he had sworn upon boarding the ship. To defend all members of the crew as clan, to protect the ship as home, and to serve the captain as chief. Frustrated, he slammed his fist into the wooden wall, making a dull thud that reverberated throughout the hall. Splinters stabbed into his knuckles, leaving a dozen embedded. Little beads of blood appeared. Facing Markel, he said "Sorry. Anger is hard to control sometimes, specially after I drink. But I am no longer drunk. Promise. Anger burns it away. Like fire burns water and makes steam. So come, and I will tell a story. A tale of heroes!"

”Seb, you've managed to ruin half the wires in your forearm. What exactly were you fiddling with to cause this, must have been a mighty battery. Since your skin isn't that conductive from what I remember.” Sebastian smirked. The battery burst while he was patching it up, splattering acid onto his forearm. He had thought that it was fine, but as it turned out, it wasn't. He messed around with his arm after Amelia left, until he heard noise above deck. He thought it be a good idea to check that out.

When he came to the top deck, the bright sun glared into his lenses. He tapped out his current lenses for new ones that adjusted to the light almost immediately. Nearly the entire ships inhabitants were there, were with the exception of the rats. They were going to vote. A vote that could, rather would determine whether or not they would survive another voyage or die at sky. He walked over to the edge of the ship and leaned against the wall, waiting for the vote to start.