Snippet #1439052

"Wait a second," the girl interrupted, pouting with her arms crossed. "Is this story just gonna be about a bunch of boys? They get to have all the fun."

"Oh, no, lass," he chuckled, amused by her sudden change in mood. "There be plently examples of the fairer sex on this here voyage. Though some," he added thoughtfully, "not quite so fair as others..."

****

"Get back here, you cheating little halfbreed!"

Yeah, like that was going to happen. Angel would've rolled her eyes had she not been so preoccupied with running for her life. The girl shoved past an older couple, ignoring their shouts as her boots pounded against the metal ground. And right on her tail, a group of pilots, older than her by a good number of years and pissed beyond belief.

The guys had been almost too easy to con. So caught up in alcohol and the thrill of gambling away hard-earned cash, they'd allowed her to join in without question, probably thinking she wouldn't be much of a challenge. They'd been proven wrong, however, as she won seven games in a row, raking in any money almost as soon as they put it on the table. She'd have gone for eight, but when one of the players became sober enough to realize that the dice would continuously land on the same two numbers, Angel decided it was time to take her winnings and go. Fast.

Now it would seem they were out for blood, namely hers. Didn't anyone on the Central level have a sense of humor?

The girl skidded around a corner, lungs burning and legs threatening to give out by the time they reached the marketplace. Laughing in relief with what little air she had left in her lungs, she plunged right into the crowd, shoving through with little to no regard for other people. Angel was far more concerned with losing her pursuers in the throngs of travelers, shoppers, and the like.

With five people looking for the same person, though, her odds weren't the best at the moment. Especially not when that one person was a Halfblood who stuck out like a sore thumb. She blamed her slightly tipped ears and pure white locks on her mother. To be fair, she blamed a lot of things on the elven woman who'd brought her into the world and then promptly abandoned her. But that was beside the point right now. Bottom line was that running wouldn't be enough; she'd need a place to hide if she wanted to get out of this in one piece.

The solution to her problem wasn't sublte by any means. In fact, it was quite the opposite: a huge, beautiful ship in black and gold, sitting proudly at it's port like some noble bird. Angel's heart couldn't help but swell at the sight of the magnificent vessel, in spite of her current situation. It was impressive yes, but more importantly it was a perfect place to hide. With both well-wishers and crewmen so preoccupied with praises and long goodbyes, one noticed a teenaged girl slip into the the cargo hold.

Angel flopped back onto a pile of canvas meant for repairing sails, panting heavily but sporting a wide grin. Not only had she avoided her would-be captors and made off with quite a pretty amount of cash, but she'd also managed to sneak aboard this beaute of a ship. Talk about a productive day.

Once her breathing had slowed back to somewhere around normal, the halfblood sat up and looked around. Not that there was much to look at, of course; just a lot of crates full of suprise. If nothing else, though, she'd hopefully be able to find out what ship she was on, maybe even where it was going. Whatever the destination, it must be somewhere far away, if the amount of supplies was any indicator. Well that was just fine by her; the farther she got away from her so-called "parents" and their plans, the better. There was no way in hell she intended to go back and get hitched to some spoiled rich boy. What kind of a life would that be? Not the one for her, that much was for certain.

After sifting around a bit, she finally found what she was looking for on the side of a crate filled with mechanic's parts. "Daedalus, huh?" she mused, testing it out for herself. "Well, not my choice in a name, but whatever. As long as it's going somewhere." Using a sack of potatoes as a pillow, Angel laid back with her hands behind her head, grinning with personal triumph. She was finally getting off of this floating hunk of metal, finally getting the chance to go out onto the Cloudsea and have an adventure of her own. Because, whether they knew it or not, the crew of the Daedalus had just picked up an unexpected passenger.

((So, who's gonna find the stowaway, I wonder? ^^))