Snippet #2469790

Dio could feel the spike of adrenaline rushing through his body, the same feeling he got before a good fight. The feeling was always followed by a bout of exhilaration and he was already feeling antsy. His right hand rested on the hilt of his cutlass, flexing and relaxing subconsciously. Showing any kind of hesitancy, however, would not be good. His quartermaster was not going to let him forget that with the way he stood calmly and steadily next to him. It was a warning for the captain to not act recklessly, they were not in any position to threaten anyone. He made sure to give his quartermaster a look that conveyed his feelingsabout him at that moment. He did not like being told how to behave, nor did he like the fact that Alex was right – again – and none of this helped hold his temper. But Dio did not become the captain of his own vessel by being acting like a mindless brute, he was well acquainted with the intricacies that surrounded the politics of sailing and pirating.

Making sure that his movements were clear to the other party, he walked steadily and slowly towards the gangplank to get a better look at the captain. Her name had not been familiar to Dio but that didn’t mean anything at the moment. She could’ve been the clumsiest captain in the seven seas, yet she had a full crew – sober one, at that – while he only had around a dozen sailors give or take whom were having trouble seeing straight. It was clear how that fight would go down. One of his crew members had the foresight to light the oil lanterns on deck, he nodded towards the lad in gratitude. He may be a hardass captain, but he did have moments where he was a decent human being.

"Captain Dio, my ship will be anchoring here for the night."

Dio swallowed to urge to snort at that statement, but he did raise his eyebrows. This captain truly had some nerve to come here, anchor her ship and tell him off all in one statement. He could hear some soft murmurings coming from his crew behind him, obviously his crew was also aware of his temper. The captain however, did not utter a word, and even his quartermaster was a little bit surprised by that, given the look he gave him. Dio choose that moment to examine captain Calla and her arsenal. She was indeed a small and slender woman, dressed comfortable for long sails. She looked very young for a captain and this was for Dio a hint to not underestimate her. Being a captain was not an easy task, it required dedication, hard-work, respect and some amount of charisma. He took time to admire her ship, it was definitely a nice one and in good shape, slightly smaller than his own but then again, there weren’t a lot of pirate ships like his. The female captain continued speaking, not at all bothered by anything around her.

"I believe it is in the best interests of both our crews if we remained on friendly terms. A victory against a half-staffed ship is hardly a victory at all."

A tight-lipped smile appeared on Dio’s face, this captain Calla was truly working on his nerves. It was also odd how she seemed very unaware of the atmosphere. There she stood laughing as if she told a jest, her crew didn’t look amused, and neither was Dio. By divine intervention Dio did not to assault the other captain, he simply looked towards his crew and back again. A fight at this moment would do no good, but he could wait. Oh yes, he most definitely would wait for another appropriate time to put this captain in her place. Now though, he had to play along and that meant not trying to murder her with his glare.

“Ah, captain Calla, it seems we are on the same page.” He began with a pleasant smile on his face. Dio could be quite the charmer if he put the effort to it. “However, I must say you do not need to threaten me with your words.” He made sure he could be heard by Calla and Calla only, there was no need to instigate her crew for a fight. He advanced towards her, holding his palms in the air, when he stood directly in front of he continued, “You did not come here for bloodshed, your bravado was… inspiring but unnecessary, captain Calla.” He licked his dry lips and spoke in a louder tone. “We were merely having a nice break, everyone needs their day off, I’m sure y’all know that.” He casually shrugged his shoulders and could see some of the raven haired woman’s crew nodding their heads in agreement. A crooked grin appeared on his face, “ I’d love to welcome you on my ship, to my bread and mead, in fact- ” he paused and looked over to his quartermaster who could only shake his head at the captain’s slightly reckless behaviour. “-I insist upon it.” The forceful way he spoke his words would leave no room for rebuttals, he was going to call the captain’s bluff. She could choose to attack but she would appear very irrational especially after Dio’s manners, which were nothing less than pleasant.