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James Porter

"We are tied to the ocean. When we return to the sea, to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came."

0 · 1,114 views · located in Merrinia

a character in “The Lost Treasure of Arimathea”, as played by xXxCryptic-AngelxXx

Description

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Pirate Alias || Midas
age: 20
sexuality: heterosexual
Faceclaim: Brenton Thwaites
hexcode: #B00000








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O U T S I D E || ----------------------------------

H E I G H T || 6'2"

W E I G H T || 147 lbs.

E Y E S || Mahogany Brown

H A I R || Depends on how much time his head spends in the sunlight. It's deep brown most of the time, but if he's in the sunlight without his hat for too many days, it starts to lighten.

O D D I T I E S || He has scars all along his back and a tattoo on his right shoulder blade. And has this tattoo on his left forearm.

A P P E A R A N C E ||
James is a tall and slender young man who likes to keep his appearance neat if at all possible. It tends to help persuade land-dwellers that he's not the scallywag they believe him to be. They're right, but they won't know that until their gold has been plundered. He has thick eyebrows and warm brown eyes that would make even a pirate lady's heart swoon. And they're tough lasses. He has a charming smile, though he only smiles when he either wants something from someone or is greatly amused. His hair is typically worn to just above his shoulders and tied back out of the way, but the tongs they make these days don't hold as well as he'd like and it tends to set his locks free.




--------------------------| | I N S I D E
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L I K E S || ✓ the sea ✓ the feel of the wind ✓ viewing the world from the crow's nest ✓ a pint of ale here and there ✓ studying the stars ✓ traveling the world ✓ coconut ✓ treasure ✓ command ✓ his sword ✓ his quarters [they're cozy] ✓ being unkempt ✓ his crew [they're hand-selected afterall] ✓ his reputation ✓ a rousing game of cards

D I S L I K E S || ✗ Not much of a fan of Meg at the moment ✗ the brig ✗ papayas [they taste funny] ✗ being on land too long ✗ being deceived ✗ losing control of a situation ✗ killing ✗ sailor music ✗ sirens [scare the bejeezus out of him] ✗ the possibility of a black spot ✗ endangering his crew
✗ practical jokes [as long as they're tasteful and not directed at him]

Q U I R K S ||
-- he talks in his sleep
-- uses made-up swears unless really angry
-- likes to spin coins between his fingers

F E A R S ||
-- death
-- losing his luck

S T R E N G T H S ||
-- Slight of hand: James is an expert at sleight of hand. He can pickpocket an official as they speak and never be caught. He can snatch something straight from your fingertips and you'd be none the wiser.
-- Uncanny Luck: James has the kind of luck pirates beg the stars for. Every job he takes comes to some sort of profit, even his wildest schemes seem to have him come out on top, and he never seems to lose at cards... unintentionally.
-- Endurance: James has trained himself to be able to go further than most others. He can stay awake for long periods of time. He can run further distances. He can endure pain for an extended period of time. If he can't do anything else, he can last.

W E A K N E S S E S ||
-- His crew: When it comes to his crew, the less risk the better. He's handpicked practically everyone and he doesn't want to see pain come to them. Unfortunately, he can't avoid it most times, but it's part of why he didn't want to embark on this particular journey.
-- Humility: With his luck and successes, it's difficult for him to not brag about his skills or achievements.
-- Close Combat: Meaning, hand to hand combat. He's great with a sword or a pistol, but when it comes to hand to hand, he lacks. :






D E E PXD O W N | |--------------------
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| Unorthodox - Clever - Cocky - Cautious|

James is a bit of an unorthodox captain. He's protective of his crew and he's not quick to kill. He values mercy over punishment--unless the crime deserves it. He doesn't embark on missions that could potentially mean the loss or cursing of his crew. Which is pretty much how he got himself into this mess. He requests respect instead of demands it. He would prefer to be loved than feared. However, he does have his moments of dominancy. He wants the crew to be the family he never had and works hard to protect it.

James is a clever young man. He can see his way through a conversation and have it end for his benefit. He's a quick wit and has even quicker hands which he uses to get whatever he wants. He's not learned by any means, but he's taught himself a lot street-smart wise. And he's learned a lot from his time on the high seas.

Due to his lack of humility and his uncanny luck, James is a bit of a cocky bastard. He doesn't believe failure to be an option unless overwhelming odds present themselves. He believes he can talk the shirt of your back if he's charming enough. He thinks he can draw before you blink and put a bullet between your eyes. His not entirely incapable, but he's a bit too arrogant for his own good.

James is unbelievably overprotective of the people he cares about. This is largely his crew and anyone who worms their way into his heart. He won't put those he cares for in danger unless a last resort and even then it'll eat him alive. He doesn't really show this side of him often. Largely because he knows it'll come back to bite him in the arse. Pirates are not touchy feely and his crew can be turned against him. Still... it makes him sick to think of losing his family and to think of those he already lost in his climb to the top.




---------------------------------------- | | H I S T O R Y
Image Image Image James Henry Porter was born to a low chaste family on the island of Murr and abandoned at the age of four. I say abandoned, truthfully his parents had died in an epidemic that wiped out a large part of the island's population. They left him in a group home that was kept quarantined from the outside world so that the children may be safe. To James, however, he was abandoned because they never returned for him. It wasn't until he was much older than he learned the truth and his opinion on his parent's changed, but not having his parent's for so long left its mark.

In the group home, he was a bit of a rebel. He liked to play cards late night while they were supposed to be sleeping. He would sneak food from the kitchens so the others would have a bit more to eat. He would yell swear words at the top of his lungs in the middle of the day just to get some attention from the less than attentive nurses who ran the home. He would flirt with the girls, fight with the boys, and tell stories to the younger ones. He liked to pull pranks, too. Every attempt to be his own person was met by one thing: a lashing. Hence the scars on his back. Every time he would misbehave he'd either be hit harder or an extra hit would be added. It didn't change him though. He was the same boy, but when he became captain of his ship... he vowed he would only punish harshly for the crimes that fit.

When James was thirteen, he escaped the home--now an orphanage for the children whose parent's had perished--and found his way to the shipyard in search of work and adventure. He started his time aboard a vessel as a powder monkey. Then he was a cabin boy. His pretty face tended to mean trouble for him and he had to escape more than a few advances from the older men who had been too long from port.

He liked to hop ships, learn new skills, and make new reputations for himself. Somewhere along the way, the found himself with a knack for luck. He wasn't sure if he was blessed by some artifact or cursed by one who thought luck was a curse itself. It turned James's whole life around. At seventeen he was the captain's first mate. He could flirt his way into any woman's skirt, and compliment his way into a nobleman's good graces. He could gamble any time and win... every time. Any mission he embarked on was met with vast treasures at most and no lives lost at best. His captain gave him the alias Midas, for all he touched turned to gold.

By the time he was eighteen, he had a name, a loyalty from a crew who once liked to hang him from the yardarm and would rouse him from sleep to have a good time when he wanted nothing more than to sleep, and... after the death of the Captain, he was to take over the ship: The Stardust. Most of the older men left the ship for retirement or for new journies, but some of the younger crew stayed. By twenty he was Captain James "Midas" Porter, Captain of the Stardust and Leader of the Youngest Pirate Crew on the Seas. And Life was good...

Until the mutiny.

So begins...

James Porter's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Tessa Locke Character Portrait: Valentina De la Torre Character Portrait: Philip Walker Character Portrait: Pyon Sun-Ah Character Portrait: Rosia Hienrik Character Portrait: Meghan Cunningham
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M e g X| | XJ a m e s

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H e l l f i r e | | M i d a s

C a p t a i n | | P r i s o n e r

#e6b800 | | #B00000






XXXXCaptain Meghan Cunningham stood amongst the noble people of Astorium in the largest sitting room of Lord Chamberlin's estate, a glass of wine gripped in her hand. While she couldn't deny she looked gorgeous in her attire, she also felt ridiculous. It was hard to move her arms and even harder to breathe at times. Rosia had to lace her up tightly to get Meg the fashionable thin waist, and it was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. Her First was somewhere in the house, being her eyes and ears. Meanwhile she was stuck here, eyes on the man who owned the very thing they were here for-- the updated map of Merrinia. They needed this map in order to find the keys to the lost treasure of Captain Corso. And they need it to find Arimathea, the garden of Eden. None of these places are expressly marked on the map. Especially Arimathea. But it would get them close enough.

It had to.

Meg shifted her hips beneath her skirts so the dagger she borrowed from Vale, her navigator, wouldn't jab her in the thigh. She made a mental note to purchase one for herself the next time they were at port. While she preferred her twin pistols or her cutlass, they aren’t subtle enough to conceal on her person. Not well anyway. Meg needed this to go off without a hitch. She didn’t need the Land King’s navy sailing after them once they left. And she would like to return here at some point in the future. Besides
 she was only here to borrow the map.

For now, she was buying time. As she sipped at the wine in her glass—an expensive brand that still tasted like dirt to her—her thoughts strayed to the rest of her crew.

James, the former Captain of the ship was in her brig. She buried down the feelings of guilt deep down as she thought of the mutiny. He refused the journey, the search for Corso’s treasure, and the majority of the crew’s wishes. She couldn’t let it continue. Not if she wanted to find that treasure. Not if she wanted to make her parents’ deaths mean something. Rudy, their youngest by far, was keeping watch on the ship along with Tessa—her master Rigger and eyes and ears on the ship, Vale, Jack—the gunner, Bill—her third, Philip—her helmsman, and Sunni—the surgeon.

Somewhere just outside the estate was Vera—their cook and tonight’s distraction—who was awaiting the signal for her entrance. Meg had to admit, when Vera walked out in her getup
 her heart beat a little faster. The woman’s past made her the perfect person to serve as the distraction for the night. Meg did feel a little guilty about this as well. Vera was a person after all and having her play this part was
 not the best, but they had no other choice.

Her finger tips brushed the chain of the necklace she stole from the Lord and Lady’s bedchamber. Not only will it aid in their distraction, but it will serve as the signal. It was such a simple thing, a necklace of diamonds and pearls hardly bigger than her pinky fingernail, but it was definitely an expensive piece. Although, this specific necklace was chosen because it seemed to be the least worn. It was buried under a pile of jewelry. All Meg had to do was loop her pinky around the end and gently pull it away.

All she needed now was the go from Rosia and their plan would be underway. Even if it was the last thing she'd ever do, she was going to get that map and find the treasure.




XXXX Mutinied Captain James Porter sighed loudly as he laid on the wooden floor of his prison cell. Straw crinkled beneath him as he shifted, staying far away from the corner where a chamber pot was chained to the wall. With the waves on the high seas, he couldn’t be entirely certain it was clean over there. Then again, this whole cell was more than likely no better than that chamber pot, but James decided to ignore this thought and stick to keeping from the corner.

He still couldn’t entirely believe he was in this particular position. His crew turned on him
 over greed. He sighed again at the thought. It wasn’t entirely greed. He had denied them adventure, he denied them mystery
 and greed. James knew he was unorthodox as a pirate captain and that most on his crew didn’t mind. It seemed that his refusal to go on Meg’s wild goose chase was the last straw with them. And here he was, in the brig when not even a day prior he was asleep in his quarters, dreaming of the wind on his face and sailing towards the horizon.

When he woke to the nightmare that was the mutiny, he was shocked, angry, hurt, and most importantly
 relieved that no one had been killed. If his family didn't think him a fine captain, then fine. Let Meg squander her winning for a while
 They’ll be begging for him back. His stomach growled loudly and by the light leaking through the side of the ship, he knew it would be about dinner time. Vera was more than likely cooking something up in the kitchen for the crew. He wondered if he’d even be allowed to eat. Meg wasn’t heartless, but he couldn’t be certain of her treatment considering where he’s found himself. Maybe she was keeping him alive for his luck.

Or perhaps
 his luck had run out.

Although, now that he thought about it
 the ship was unusually quiet. He expected a party. Drinking, food, merriment on their victory of taking down Captain Midas. However, there was a noticeable silence. He knew they had docked somewhere, but that was the extent of his knowledge. Maybe he could get Bill to drink with him. Or Phillip. Maybe Rudy? He wished someone would bring him a drink. He needed one after today. And food preferably.

Whenever he closed his eyes, he saw the mutiny.

He was asleep in his quarters, dozing as was previously mentioned, when there was a commotion on deck. He didn’t think it was an invading party since no one had sounded for battle stations. There was shouting and the metallic clanging of swords. However, the commotion was missing the cries of pain that came with a boarding. He crew was never one to give up easily. Well
 not noticeably anyway. So he pulled on his breeches and a simple shirt along with his boots and his cutlass before heading out the door. Right as he emerged, Meg was there, her wild red hair blowing around her face in the breeze, shining in the morning son like a fire. Hellfire.

”I’ve come to relieve you Captain,” she said, fierceness in her tone, but an apology in her eyes. ”Come willingly or face the consequences of your actions.” Behind her were the few who opposed the mutiny, on their knees with pistols pointed at the backs of their heads or cutlasses at their throats. No one looked willing to be in this position, but Meg—the treasure—was worth the sacrifice. He was no fool. He knew the treasure’s worth to each member of the crew.

Especially Meg. Her parents died in search of the treasure and to her it would be for nothing if she doesn’t find the treasure. For nothing, if she couldn’t claim it for her family name. For nothing, if she made nothing of herself


So here they were. James standing in obvious surprise, Meg with a cutlass to his throat, and his crew divided. So, he surrendered. It was better to do so than to be the cause of any harm to his crew. He didn’t believe any of them capable of hurting the others, but they were desperate to cause a mutiny
 how far were they really willing to go?

With his mind caught up to the present, he closed his eyes and let out a few soft notes before continuing through the song:

Safe and sound at home again,
Let the waters roar, Jack,
Safe and sound at home again,
Let the waters roar, Jack,

Long we’ve tossed on the rolling main,
Now we’re safe ashore, Jack,
Don’t forget you’re old shipmate,
Faldee raldee raldee raldee rye-dye-doe!

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Pyon Sun-Ah Character Portrait: William Morgan III Character Portrait: James Porter
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The manifest is set, release the mooring lines
From the top, from the nest, looks the perfect night

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So I’ve gone out to sea
But this time it’s gonna be a burial for meï»ż!

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Bosun Bill was on the mast, watching over the Stardust. The previous events flew by, and Bill was not a fan of the mutiny. Never. A crew was his number one priority, even if they would treat him like rotten fish. The night was quiet, so quiet that Bill could hear the waves and the bubbles they made each time they bumped up against something. The Stardust was rocking from left to right and the laughter and booming activity of the mainland were heard at the dock. Listening to milieu wasn't Bill's favorite activity, so he slid down the mast and went to get his Hurdy-Gurdy.
The whole deck was hushed. The gunner crew and Leigh were the only ones active on the ship, emptying tankards of beverages on the forecastle deck, the only light provided from the silver moon. The pirates needed a break from the weight of the crew's division caused by the mutiny, so they decided to have a drinking party on the deck. Bill was about to interrupt their quiet gathering, and at the sight of an Officer, the pirates tensed up, slipping their tankards behind their backs quickly, hoping that Bill hadn't noticed.
"Ease up, lads. I need me some scallywags for me shanty." Bill then instinctively throws his concertina towards Rum, who barely caught it. Rum was one of the few on the ship that could aid Bill when he was playing his instruments.
"Aye." Ale replied while the rest of the pirates relievedly prepared their throats for some shanty singing.
Bill spun the crank on his Hurdy-Gurdy which was slung around his neck and pushed the keys with his left hand. The sounds were slightly scratchy, though they droned out a harmonic melody aided by Rum's long, airy tones of the squeezebox he held and rhythmically pressed before the 7 pirates sang in half-drunk harmony, a musical composition Bill had made and called Becalmed.

"Becalmed, becalmed, hold fast my friends,
We're far from journeys end.
Through trying winds and ocean 'pades,
We'll find our way again.
Though tales tell of danger,
We rule the waves."


The quiet sonances of the breeze and the sea accompanied and guided the song, which was euphony the ocean provided.

"Becalmed, becalmed, hold fast my friends,
The crest of the waves comes.

Sailing into the tempest,
Sailing through the shallows,
The wind has called our names.

The roar has silenced for us,
The birds fly free above,
And heavens have called us,
But we will not follow.
Until our tale is gold.ï»ż"


The echoes of the pleasant end of the sea shanty filled the night as Bill joyfully proclaimed his trademark phrase when drinking;
"Drink up ye jolly lads, fo' the sun may never rise til we set sail fo' home again!ï»ż"
Though other matters had to be done. Bill left his instrument on the ship and walked around the ship, putting his Hurdy-Gurdy in his quarters and descending down into the Brig. The deck quieted again.
"Cap'n. Or should I saw James Porter the filthy traitor?" Bill gave a hearty chuckle as he reached the rusted bars.
"I'll get you a drink, sir." The boatswain sarcastically termed James as 'sir', though he saw that his friend needed some grog. This was one of the first times Bill had seen his former Captain so dejected, though he couldn't help but crack a joke.
"Oh and just so y'know, Ye won't be in the brig for long. I never betray me cap'n." Bill went back upstairs to get his former captain a drink.
The deck was still quiet.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Tessa Locke Character Portrait: Valentina De la Torre Character Portrait: Evangeline Casper Character Portrait: James Porter
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Tessa
#54002a
Master Rigger
Valentina
#ca8765
Navigator
Evangeline
#f54747
Stowaway

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It was only a few minutes later when they reached the brothel. It was a plain stone building. She took a deep breath. Evangeline never minded walking into the brothel, but she realized Vale would be surprised. The first time Vale had brought her to a brothel...she fainted. She stopped in front of the door and turned around slowly. She smiled sheepishly at them, mostly Vale. She parted her lips to speak, but closed them again, causing Vale to raise her brow in curiosity.

“Kitten!” yelled Juliana as she swung the door open.

“Hello Juliana, how are you?” she asked. She knew she wouldn’t get an answer. Juliana had her eyes on the women, mice, behind her.

“Who are these lovely ladies?” Juliana practically purred. Evangeline felt her cheeks start to burn. Tessa watched the interaction and upon making eye contact with this Juliana person, she gave the busty girl a small wave. Eva watched as Juliana walked passed her, put a hand on the woman’s back, and led her inside. A soft sigh escaped Eva’s lips as she followed. She looked back at Vale who was on her tail, but had her arms crossed. Eva saw Vale’s cheeks were red, but she spoke nothing. Or more like the words wouldn't form.

“You may want to save your friend from Juliana. She doesn’t waste time in getting
friendly,” Evangeline said, her face on fire now. She couldn’t believe she had to say that to Valentina. Vale opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. All she could do was shake her head a little.

“She’s her own woman.” said Vale, not even giving them a second glance. Eva watched Julian lead the woman into the main room. Eva decided if Vale wasn’t worried about her friend, she wouldn’t worry either. She headed off towards her room. Vale followed right behind, skipping a few steps as she went. Eva’s room was at the very top and at the end of a hall. Evangeline’s room was pretty simple. There was just a bed and large chest in front of the window.

“How is being a pirate?” Eva asked as she walked over to the chest. She pulled a key from between her breast and unlocked it. She knelt down as she looked for Valentina’s gift. She had made it a while ago after being under the blacksmith's wing for a while.

“Exhausting
 but it’s good coin and keeps me on my toes,” Vale half laughed, gazing out of the window. Eva pulled out a small dagger from the chest and stood. She turned around to hand it to Valentina. Vale noticed the movement and turned just as Eva held it out, eyes going a little wide. Eva smiled and took a step closer to Valentina.

“Take it Valentina,” she said softly. She wondered if Valentina liked the gift. Vale let her eyes wander over the blade. It was stunning, designs she’s never seen before. Vale took it and examined it in her own hands. Pretty light and it had a nice feel in her hand. “Thank you
 it’s gorgeous.” she said, looking up at Eva and giving her a big smile.”Where did you get it?” she asked, giving it a twirl between her fingers, the giddiness getting to her. Evangeline let out a small laugh and just smiled.

“I made it, I got work with a blacksmith again when I came back,” she said. Evangeline turned around to dig through the chest, but Vale cut her off by wrapping her arms around her waist. She gently squeezed blinking back the tears. “Hey,” she whispered. Evangelien tensed and took a shaky breath.

“Hi...I s-should start packing...” she whispered back, her voice giving a little. Eva continued to take slow deep breaths to keep her emotions bottled up. She didn’t want to let them get to her and make her cry.

“Where do I start..?” Vale sighed. She pushed her forehead against Eva’s back. “I-I’ve missed you,” she started. Valentina had a painful lump stuck in her throat that was making it hard to speak. “I’m not letting you go for a second time, y’know that
 right?” she began again, her voice slightly cracking towards the end. Eva felt her eyes water and had to blinked quickly to keep tears at bay. The only reason she didn’t turn around was because Vale’s forehead was against her back.

“I’ve missed you too,” she said quickly so her voice wouldn’t shake. “B-but we need to hurry to somehow sneak me on your ship...” she said. She had calmed her emotions earlier and talking about how they felt would only make her cry. Eva felt like she couldn’t cry again. If she cried again, she probably wouldn’t stop.

“H-how about you go check on your friend?” she asked. She still took deep breaths. Eva felt her body slowly shake as she tried to hold herself together. Vale gave one more light squeeze, composing herself. She took in a deep breath, but let out a shaky sigh. Her question was left unanswered and though it stung, Vale pulled away and nodded.

“R-right” she stammered, sheathing her new blade. Before she left the room, Vale stopped at the door frame. She glanced back, but kept her eyes on the floor. “...I’m sorry.” she whispered, continuing her way out. Evangeline quickly turned around at the apology. She was confused. She went to Vale and wrapped her arms around her. She squeezed tightly and rested her head on Vale’s shoulder.

“I love you Valentina De la Torre. You have no reason to say sorry...I know you won’t let me go again...I plan on holding onto you until you or I die,” she paused to take a deep and shaky breath, “I-I just don’t want to cry again after yesterday.” Eva closed her eyes to push away the images of the lifeless bodies. Vale first tensed, but then relaxed back into Eva’s embrace. She listened, wiping a stray tear or two from her face and nodding. Almost on the verge of looking like a sniveling child. Vale opened her mouth to speak. She wanted to know what happened and how she could help, if she could. What made her best mate so hurt? Did she have to crack some skulls?

There was a loud knock on the door just as the moment was getting tender. It made Vale jump slightly. Without waiting for a reply, the door opened. Tessa poked her head through with a bored look written all over her face and Vale relaxed again.

“Are ya two done yet? I'm gettin’ tired of waitin’ around and at this rate the ship’ll leave without us,” she said. “Even if technically you shouldn't be on the ship,” she added in a mutter, eyes dead with annoyance as she looked at the girl that lead them there. Evangeline just smiled when Vale’s friend walked in. Seeing the stranger’s eyes made her feel better. Vale on the other hand had turned her head, making sure she wiped any stray tears left behind. Slowly Eva let go of Vale. Though, she did give her a peck on her cheek to comfort her and herself before doing so. She turned to smile at the other woman.

“I am glad you were able to escape Juliana. I’ll be done in a minute or so,” she said, a big smile on her face. Valentina gave out a little laugh, walking over to Tessa and bumping her shoulder. “She’s finished with you that fast?” she teased. “That’s no fun.” she added, with a wink. Tessa huffed a laugh as Eva quickly turned and took a pillowcase off a pillow.

“It wasn't like that,” Tessa said quietly and tried to suppress a small smile. “After you two left, she touched me hat,” Tessa paused and her faced turned into an annoyed expression. “So I tied ‘er up and gagged ‘er and had myself a drink while I waited. It was a pretty good drink too,” she sounded a bit proud about the tying up part while the part about the drink was more of an afterthought. “Are ya okay though?” she added under her breath leaning closer to Vale.

Valentina felt her cheeks heat up and she nodded quickly. “Yea, I’m fine
 thank you.” she whispered back, giving her soft smile. Vale perked back up and gently grabbed Tessa’s chin grinning. “Now this I have to see,” she almost laughed, reaching up but looking at Tessa for a moment. “Permission?” Tessa couldn't hide the small amused smile that came to her face at that.

“Permission always, m’lady,” she said almost teasingly. Vale took the hat and smiled at Eva, placing it upon her own head.

Eva smiled back at Valentina before she walked over to the chest. She filled the pillowcase with two dresses, a pouch filled with coins and jewelry, eyeliner, and a small chest filled with sewing supplies. She turned around to look at the two woman.

“All ready,” she said cheerfully. She held the pillowcase over her shoulder. Eva glanced around the room one final time. This chapter of her life was closed. It was time to start a new and more cheerful one.

It wasn’t long before they neared the docks, Vale providing background music by whistling all the way there. She was feeling giddy and it showed, even though they were each carrying a sack of apples and mangos. It was a gift from the Madam of the brothel. The idea to sneak Eva on was to simply cause a distraction and have her sneak below deck.

“This idea is stupid,” Tessa said with the sack of fruit in her arms. She looked around as they walked and noticed an empty barrel. She let out a low chuckle. “Hey, why don’t we just stick ‘er in a barrel?” She said sarcastically. Vale let out a little laugh, but almost dropped her sacks of fruit. Eva’s eyes went to Tessa, glad she finally committed her name to memory.

“If the barrel has a few holes in it, then I am fine with that idea,” Eva said. A second later she slowly walked over to the barrel while Vale watched. The lid was on the side of it. Slowly she inspected the barrel. There were a few holes in it, so she wouldn’t mind getting in. Evangeline placed her pillowcase in the barrel. “Wait, you’re serious?” Vale blurted out.

“This is also a stupid idea,” Tessa commented as she watched Eva put her stuff in the barrel. Eva looked at Tessa and gave her a small smile.

“But it is your idea,” she replied. Eva thought she heard a small sound, but ignored it. Tessa rolled her eyes at this.

“I wasn’t serious!” Tessa groaned in response. Vale grinned and Eva’s smile widen as she let out a small laugh.

“She’s cute,” Eva commented as she glanced at Vale. “Ain't she?” Vale chuckled, nudging Tessa’s shoulder with her own. Eva heard movement near the lid and took a step back to get a better view of what was hiding between the lid and barrel. Her eyes filled with surprise and delight. Evangeline snatched Tessa’s hat and squatted, Vale tried to peek over her shoulder. Her hand disappeared between the lid and barrel. When her hand came back, it had a bird in it. It made a faint sound. The poor thing looked weak. Slowly Eva stood, turned the hat upside down, and placed the bird inside. She had her hands underneath the hat to provide support for the birdie.

“First off,” Tessa started. She was trying not get too loud as to not scare the bird. “I am not fucking cute,” she glared daggers at Eva. “Secondly, don’t ever touch my hat again or I will murder ya
 Next time,” she paused. “Ya get a pass tonight because of that there birdie. But never fucking again. No one can touch me hat,” she glanced at Vale then muttered under her breath, “Except Vale.” This earned a soft smile from the other woman who glanced back for a moment. Eva had been distracted by the bird as Tessa spoke. She hadn’t even listened to Tessa’s words. She gently stroked the bird’s head while she looked it over. Just as Tessa stopped speaking, she walked over to her. She smiled at the woman. Eva looked at the birdie and then at Tessa.

“Isn’t it cute? Do you think it can stowaway too?” she asked. She smiled at Tessa happily. “Let me see!” said Vale, making a little o with her lips when she saw the little thing. It’s one of the cutest things she’s ever seen. “Can it?” Vale smiled up at Tessa. Eva’s eyes returned to the bird as she saw it begin to fall asleep. She loved animals. Tessa stared at Eva for a few minutes before blinking.

“You are a child. We’re smuggling a fuckin’ child aboard,” Tessa said, more to herself than the other two ladies. She almost sounded shocked. A moment later she put a hand to her face. “What did I get meself into?”

“Don’t call the birdie a child Tessa. Be nice. I think it may be sick or something,” Eva said, worry lacing her voice. Eva held the hat out for Tessa to take. “Want to hold it? I don’t think it will do well in the barrel with me.” Tessa let out a long sigh and took the hat with the bird. It took them awhile, but they finally made it to the ship.

Valentina held the hat with the birdie inside but she kept peeking inside just to make sure it was alright. The two headed below deck with a barrel and hands emptied of sacks. Tessa rolled the barrel down the stairs before setting it up right. Being in a moving barrel was not a pleasant experience for Eva, especially with the six sacks of fruit in there with her. She had to bite her lip to keep herself from making a sound. Her grip on her lip loosen when the barrel was finally still.

“Oh, ahoy, James,” Tessa said with a wave to James then boosted herself on top of the barrel. Vale was too entertained watching the bird in Tessa’s hat than where she was going. She helped as best as she could, but there were moments where she almost kissed the ground a few times. When she heard Tessa’s voice that’s when Vale looked up. “James! Look,” she walked up to the bars and squatted down. Vale tilted the hat a bit so he could see the little bird.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Tessa Locke Character Portrait: Valentina De la Torre Character Portrait: Philip Walker Character Portrait: Pyon Sun-Ah Character Portrait: Rosia Hienrik Character Portrait: Meghan Cunningham
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XXXXAs soon as the sole of Meg's boot touched the wood of The Stardust a calming sensation moved through her body, causing her muscles to relax. The Stardust might not be Meg's ship, but she was home. Ever since she laid eyes on the navy blue masts and dark wood, she loved her. She was her ship whether James liked it or not. She stuck out her hand and ran it over the wood of the side just as Rosia crowed from behind her, "Cap'n on deck!" She smiled softly, rolling her eyes just at a tad at the formality. Nice to have a first mate, She thought. She closed her eyes a moment and when she opened them again, the nostalgic Meg was gone and was replaced by Captain Meghan Cunningham.

"Look alive ye scallywags!" She yelled to her crew. "We've returned with the updated map and will set sail within the hour! Just in case we've got Land King men on our tails!" She looked at the near-empty deck, and her eyes narrowed. Where was her crew? "First Mate!" She turned to Rosia, "Find me crew and tell them all hands on deck. I want Philip on the helm and Tessa in the rigging. Have Vera make a nice dinner for everyone including that rat down in our brig." She started towards her room and paused. She turned back towards Rosia. "Oh, and tell Sunni I'll come by in a bit. I know she gets a tad lonely when we're out on land." And she secretly wanted to see what her surgeon thought of the dress. Not that she'd ever admit it to anyone.

Instead of going to her quarters to change, she made her way towards the ship's brig to visit their prisoner.

XXXXJames's wishes for a drink and company were quickly answered. Just as his song died on his lips, he heard boots coming down the wooden steps to the brig. The man had addressed him as captain and then a filthy traitor which made his hand curl into a fist but with a deep breath, he relaxed again. It wasn't Bill's fault he was in the situation. It was his own. "Aye. A drink would be grand, Mate." He paid little mind to Bill's comment on him being free shortly. If the pirate was daft enough to free him without the order of his captain, it could very well be his head. At least, that's how traditional pirating was done. James... he'd yell about it, but in the end, he probably would do nothing. Bill was family. This crew was family. They just... needed a reminder. They'll let him out. They had to...

As Bill's boots retreated back up the stairs he yelled. "Bring me rum you bilge rat! Not grog!" More quietly he said, "The stuff tastes like... well like you're kissing a lemon. A dirty, rum soaked lemon." There was a clanging as someone brought supplies on board. James swiveled his head to get a better look and spotted Vale, the ship's navigator, and Tessa, the ship's master rigger. Then again they were pirates. There should be no shame in it. Tessa's mouth was even worse than his own. Why the two were stowing supplies he wasn't sure considering both of their duties lie on the ship's deck. Meg would want them up there. That is... unless she was already failing at being a pirate captain. He gave a small arrogant smirk which was wiped away in surprise when Vale came bounding up to him with Tessa's hat in her hand. Inside the hat was a small bird.

He rose to his knees and moved towards the bars. He stuck his hand through and reached to touch the top of the bird's head lightly. It was soft and so very small. "It looks sick..." he said softly. He raised his eyes to Vale's and said, "Does Meg know you've brought aboard a bird?" He looked back down at the winged creature and whispered, "Even still. Best you bring it to Sunni. See if she can patch the thing up." He knew their ship's surgeon was more of a people person, it was possible she'd know what was wrong with the bird.

He heard the clicking of heels coming down the stairs and he looked over in confusion. As far as he knew, no one on board wore the types of heals that would make such a racket. Except maybe Vera, but it was uncommon. When he saw the redhead of Hellfire striding towards him, decked out in finery... he laughed. "Why Meghan Cunningham! You look like a wolf in sheep's clothing!" He guffawed. "My word what an outfit!"

Meg stood on the other side of the bars of James cell, watching him laugh with an unamused expression on her face. She had come down here to give the news about the map and to inform the former captain that... if he wanted he could be captain again he just... had to take a chance for once. His luck would see them through, she knew it, but now...

"Tessa." She said sternly, command hardening her tone. "Valentina." She didn't look at them, but when she felt their attention turn to her, she continued. "To the deck." With a seething glare at James, she added, Now. Before Vale passed she stopped her and said, "Wait here," She pulled the map from her garter and handed it to her navigator.

When they were gone, she stepped towards the bars... and in one quick movement, she had James by his shirt and pulled him towards her. His face nearly met the metal and he cussed quietly. "You will not make fun of me in front of my crew again, is that understood?" She said, her words laced with anger. "Is that understood?" James just nodded, shocked at Meg's sudden mood change.

"Good." She released him. "I came to tell you that we had the map and that your position was free to be taken back, but I think I'll keep it instead." She smirked at him, her eyes burning like the hair on her head.

James glared back at her. "You won't make it a week without me. You're a quartermaster, Meghan. Not a captain. This is my ship. My crew. And I'll be damned to Davy Jones's locker if I just hand it over to the likes of you."

A sadness spread through her core, dousing the burning fires of her anger. "You were my friend you know. I didn't want this to happen... you left me no choice you were--"

"In the way? Yes. I suppose I was."

"This treasure is my birthright, James. My parents--"

"Died looking for it. Yes, so I've heard. But are you really willing to sacrifice their lives for your... suicide attempt?"

"I gave everyone a choice. No one is doing this blindly, James." She turned from his cell. "I'll have Vera bring you a meal." And with that she flounced back up the stairs. Tears prickled in her eyes. She was so frustrated with him. She blinked them away, took a deep breath, and went below decks once more to find her favorite surgeon.

"Sunni!" She called right before entering the room. "There is good news and bad news! The good new is we got the map. The bad news is I had to wear this--" She looked up as she entered and saw her helmsman and her surgeon sitting close. Philip was drunk which was just fantastic. She crossed her arms, her frustration easily racing back to her. "Am I interrupting something?"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Valentina De la Torre Character Portrait: Philip Walker Character Portrait: Meghan Cunningham Character Portrait: Evangeline Casper Character Portrait: James Porter Character Portrait: Timothy Rundell
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"Heave a pawl, O heave away,
Weigh hey, roll and go,
The anchor's on board and the cable's all stored
To be rollicking randy dandy-O,"



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A.K.A. Riggknot
#54002a
Master Rigger

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Sat upon the barrel, Tessa watched as Vale went up to James to show him the bird. Though she couldn't help the small smile on her face from seeing Vale be so excited. She shook her head slightly at the former captains comment. If only ya knew what was in this barrel, the birdie would be the least of our worries, mate, She thought. She was so focused on the exchange, she hadn't noticed Meg come in dressed to her ears in that beautiful dress. At hearing the command in Meg's voice as she ordered them to go up, Tessa did as she was told. For the most part.

She carefully slipped off the barrel, but before leaving spoke under her breath as softly as she could. “Don't make a fucking peep,” the last thing Tessa wants is for this stupid plan to fail. Then up top she went, furrowing her eyes when Vale was stopped. She wanted her hat back but knew Vale would return it
 eventually
 after she has fun wearing it around.

Once upon deck, Tessa took a look around. It seemed everyone was where they needed to be. For the most part, at least. She made her way over to the ropes that were needed to be adjusted to set sail. Everyone seemed busy at work. But not busy enough to make a comment apparently.

“Ay, where's your hat?” said Rum, though Tessa didn't care who said it either. Though, she supposed they had a point. It wasn't often she went around without her hat. But it was in good hands she knew.

“Fuck off,” she spat as she continued walking until she made it to where she had to be. She waited until the anchor had been raised and the helmsman was at the helm. Though she wasn't surprised to see him stir the kid, probably trying to get him to help. She rolled her eyes at this then went to take care of the rigging.

Some ropes loosened here, others tightened there. Just as the sail dropped ever so slightly to just catch the gentle breeze, Tessa couldn't help the song that came to her. Lightly under her breath while she went about pulling and tying ropes she sang, “Now we are ready to head for the horn, weigh hey, roll and go. Our boots and our clothes, boys, are all in the pawn to be rollickin’ randy dandy-o,” she reckoned the song was quite fitting. She sang even as she pulled and tied ropes and watched as the land became further away. Soon they'd be at sea. Soon we'll be at home, she thought.

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Character Portrait: Evangeline Casper Character Portrait: James Porter
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XXXXJames sighed as Meg left in a huff. His heart was still racing from her outburst and his near collision into the bars. As his former friend retreated up onto the deck of his ship, he decided to take up his vigil on the floor once again.

Evangeline was silent and grew tense when she heard unfamiliar voices. She bit her bottom lip to hold back a giggle when James said Meghan looked like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Eva remembered Tessa’s “kind” departing words. Soon she felt uncomfortable as James and Meghan spoke. Eva was never one to listen into the conversations of others. She felt like she was intruding in a private moment. Since she couldn’t do anything about not listening, she decided not to feel bad about it. By the end of the conversation, she was filled with worry. What the hell was Valentina a part of? Would Vale and Tessa be sacrificed for this big voyage? Would Meghan’s “suicide attempt” kill them all? She became lost in thought for a while. Worries and doubts filled her mind. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard someone come down again.

“Enjoy, lad,” she heard a male voice say before she heard the man quickly depart.

James didn’t say much in reply as Bill passed off the cup of rum to James. Especially since the boatswain took off down the way and back up the stairs. He raised an eyebrow at his friend and took a swig of rum
 and nearly choked. Bill hadn’t given him a tankard of rum. No. He had given him a tankard of rummed down grog. “Shite, Bill! You bilge rat! You’ll be shark bait when I get out of here!” He yelled, then, more quietly said, ”If I ever get out of here.”

Soft and feminine giggles escaped from the barrel for a few seconds. Evangeline couldn’t help herself. The randomness of James’s words made her giggle. The curses thrown in didn’t help either. She wondered what this Bill had done to poor James. She felt bad for James. It seemed he had his ship stolen, was trapped, and now Bill had done something not so nice to him. Evangeline kept her hands pressed against her mouth as the last of the giggles escaped. Suddenly, her cheeks became hot. She realized James likely heard her. A nervous and hopeless laugh, more like a whimper, then escaped her lips. It sunk in that she blew her cover. She stayed still and silent because she had no idea what to do. Would James call the rest of the crew down?

A soft sound came from the nearby cargo that Vale and Tessa had brought aboard. At first, James wondered if it was a mouse sniffing around their newly acquired goods. Then, he realized it wasn’t a mouse but the giggling of a girl. It wasn’t a giggle he recognized. Although, now that he thought about it, he had many women aboard his vessel. While other captains had a problem with their presence believing they were bad luck, he actually enjoyed their company. Rosia had energy. Tessa’s shanties tended to lull him to sleep when they sailed late at night. Vale was a skilled navigator. Meg was a hellion in combat. Vera was an excellent cook. Sunni was the best surgeon he had ever seen. This sound was not one he had heard from any of the girls on his ship but he had been with enough women to know the sound of a giggle when he heard one.

”’Ey! Giggling barrel.” He positioned himself so he was facing the barrel without much effort. ”Come out of there, now. Trust me it’s better if you come out now than if they make you come out.”

It took her a second or two thanks to the sacks and her pillowcase, but she slowly stood while lifting the lid off. Her cheeks felt as if they were on fire. She kept her eyes on her skirt. Evangeline didn’t, couldn’t, make eye contact yet. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She was nervous. Though, she had some hope since James hadn’t yelled for the crew. Her eyes went to the lid as she placed it on an adjacent barrel. She still didn’t make eye contact.

She had to take slow deep breaths to relax her body. The deep breathing helped her not giggle and or laugh as well. She had no idea why, but she laughed and or giggled when nervous. She smoothed her dress out. Slowly, her eyes rose to find James. Eva made eye contact for a second before glancing at her skirt again. Her cheeks felt even hotter now. She hoped she wouldn’t get Tessa and Valentina in trouble. Evangeline decided she would introduce herself.

“Hello,” she paused to make eye contact, “My name is Evangeline
but I go by Eva as well.”

James stared, perhaps a bit too long, at the stunning woman who appeared from the barrel, his cheeks heating a bit when he realized a right lady had heard his swearing. That being said, he hadn’t actually expected there to be someone inside the barrel. In fact, he honestly thought he had hallucinated it thanks to the grog given to him by Bill. Although, grog was nowhere near strong enough to give him hallucinations, but that's besides the point.

When he finally found his words he said, ”Ahoy. I’m um
 Capt-er
 that is
 I’m James Porter. Former captain of The Stardust.” He cleared his throat. ”What brings your aboard this fine vessel this day?” He cleared his throat again and continued, ”Well besides obviously being brought on board by Vale and Tessa.”

Eva calmed as he spoke. He didn’t say anything unpleasant. He even seemed nervous, which she found cute. As her nervousness left her, she gave him a big and friendly smile. The smile reached her eyes. Her lips parted to speak, but they closed again. Evangeline enjoyed the relief that filled her. She was beyond happy he didn’t call for the crew. Eva didn’t exactly feel safe standing in the open, but it’d be rude to have a conversation while hiding in a barrel. Carefully she sat on the edge of the barrel and scooted back onto the adjacent barrel.

She slowly removed her legs from inside the barrel to not expose any flesh. Evangeline used her hands to keep the skirt close to her legs. Once her legs were free, she placed her feet on the floor. She stood and walked over to James. Eva kept a foot or so away from the bars. She gave him another smile.

“Nice to meet you James. I haven’t been able to see the ship yet, but I bet it is lovely,” she said. She tucked a loose lock of hair behind her left ear. Today she had worn her hair out. Eva made a note to braid it later. “I am here
I am here because of Valentina. She is my dearest friend and my only family now,” she said, glancing down at her feet. Her heart ache a little at the thought. When she looked back at James, her eyes held a bit of sadness.

“Why are you in a cell?” she asked, ready to change the subject.

James, still holding the tankard, took a swig of rum, forgetting it was grog, and nearly spit it out onto the floor of his cell. He muttered about Bill once more before placing the tankard on the floor and pushing it to the corner of his cell with his booted toe. He cleared his throat and ran his fingers through his hair. ”I was ah
 mutinied against.” He pulled out the thong holding his hair back, shook his locks free, and--after combing his hair with his fingers--tying it back up.

His mind registered the rest of her statements and he smiled sadly, his hand meeting the wooden side of the ship. ”Aye. That she is. Always has been.” His eyes softened and brightened with pride. Then he remembered she was no longer his and lowered his hand. ”She’s in other hands now.”

”I didn’t know Vale had a land friend. As long as I had known her, she had been seafaring. That isn’t to say she doesn’t care or didn’t talk about you. I think she was trying to protect you. Being a pirate isn’t exactly the safest of professions.” His gaze moved towards the stairs. ”Speaking of, It’d be best if Meg didn’t find you. Although, The Stardust is a small ship. I’m sure it won’t take her long.” He frowned, trying to think of a way for the girl to stay out of sight. He knew that now Meg had the map and the ship was stocked
 it was likely they weren’t to return to land anytime soon. That reminded him


”Please tell me Vale told you where we were going
”

“Well, I can’t stay hidden forever. It will be okay though, I have Valentina...and maybe Tessa,” she paused as she thought she heard a sound, “
and I have no idea where we are going, bu-” she stopped short as she heard footsteps. Her eyes widened with surprise. Eva had forgotten where she was for a moment. Quickly and without thinking, she ducked behind a barrel. She glanced at James. Eva flashed him a small smile to reassure him that everything will be okay.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Rosia Hienrik Character Portrait: Meghan Cunningham Character Portrait: Callie Avis Character Portrait: James Porter
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The walk home was lighthearted. It was as if Vera had a skip in her step. The wine bottle swung in her arms; she cradled it as if it was her child. When the ship came into view, she hummed. The Stardust is the only safe place in the world for Vera. There, she is surrounded by friends and allies. On land, who knows where spies may lurk. Sure, they were eons away from Pierce and his crew, but money runs deep. A few months back, she heard the name “Venus” while visiting a bar. They could have been talking about anyone, but it scared Vera back onto the ship. She didn’t touch land for months after.

Her captain hopped on first, then Vera, then Rosia, who promptly announced their arrival. That made Vera’s grin grow wider. These were her people. Meg took charge immediately, ordering her crew to get prepared for sailing. But she was waiting for those words; those words and her name. And they came in the form of a swift order to prepare a meal for the crew. Finally, Vera would be able to enter her element. Her true home. Her kitchen was waiting.

However, the kitchen would need to wait a bit longer. For now, this dress would absolutely need to go. With a swift, “Aye, captain,” Vera headed towards her quarters. Well, their quarters. She pushed into the crew’s quarters and shuffled over to her hammock. A hammock that was often left unattended, whether Vera found solace in someone else’s bed or napping on the deck. She rifled through the small chest that contained her belongings and pulled out a quite different dress. This one was much more simple, no frills or lace, but it was a crimson red. If she dirtied with blood, it would be less noticable. It fell just above her knees with a ragged edge. Clearly it had been cut to shorten it. The sleeves, well, lack there of, had suffered the same fate. As the corset knot was undone, Vera sighed loudly in relief. She certainly didn’t miss wearing those.

Once the dress was on, Vera was off. She raced to the kitchen, humming wildly to herself. She was sure nothing could improve her mood, but as she swung the kitchen door open, she jumped. In her kitchen was a ragged animal, clawing at her dress with desperation. Vera did her best to stifle her laugh, but an unruly snort and chuckle escaped. “Excuse you, ma’am. Need some help?” She joked, approaching Rosia. Then she noticed the stray potato. “Oh my, having a little snack, are we?” Although she was chastising the shorter woman, she couldn’t hide her playful tone. “I need these to make dinner, you little rascal!” Vera snatched it up and walked to the other side of the kitchen, closer to the pantry. They had stocked just a few hours before, so she had plenty of fresh meat to work with. A lovely cow flank sat in her icebox, ready to be butchered. She pulled out a large pot and filled it with a mixture of ale, water, salt, pepper, garlic, and some bay leaves. As that worked on boiling, Vera pulled out her meat and started cutting it into cubes. “You know, you don’t look bad in that dress,” Vera teased her. Although she wasn’t looking up from her knife, a grin spread across her lips.

Rosia at this point was close to just getting a cutlass and cutting the dress off of herself. She was startled when she heard a voice talking to her, looking up and seeing Vera, smiling back at her. “I don’t neednt help.” She said back to Vera. Rosia gave up on messing with her dress, and settling down at the table she was sitting at. In reality she probably could’ve used help getting the dress off, or at least loosened, with how she has shorter arms. But she didn’t exactly want to ask for help with such a simple task of taking off a dress.

As Rosia reached for the potato she took out of the pantry to snack on, Vera snatched it up. “Ey!” Rosia shouted at her, giving a pouty lip when she talked about how she needs it to cook. “If ye let me eat it now, less food to cook.” Rosia said as she watched her take it back to the pantry. Rosia got up from the table and dragged a barrel closer to where Vera was working and sat upon then, struggling to get comfortable with the dress still on. Whenever the ship was steady flow and calm, and Rosia wasn’t asked to worked anywhere else, she liked to come down and watch Vera cook and prep food. As she saw the cook bring out all her ingredients and seasoning, she noticed and remember Vera had started painting the jars and bottles with labels to try to get Rosia to read. Rosia was just staring at the labels trying to decipher the symbols when Vera brought up her dress.

”It be pretty, isn’t comfor’able. Hand me that knife and I’ll be fixin’ it. Yours was much be’er. Ya legs lookin’ nice.” Rosia said as she repositioned how she was sitting on the stool. Rosia wasn’t one to flirt, but she was one to speak her mind and what she thought without giving it a second. “So that sand stuff ye put in the pot, that says ‘say-lety’?” Rosia asked, attempting to pronounce the letters on the salt container.

Vera huffed at Rosia’s comment about making less food. The entire time she spoke, she never looked up from her meat. “I enjoy cooking, dear. Why in the world would I want to cook less? I would have to cook less if you stole all of my ingredients...” As she finished cutting, she placed the knife down on the counter a ways away from Rosia so she couldn’t snatch it up. Vera scooped all of the meat up and dumped it into the pot. With a stir, she covered it and let it sit.

Then came the compliment. Vera laughed curtly. Although the comment was said in a rather terse tone, it was a compliment none-the-less. She decided to ignore the heat in her cheeks and continued working. “You don’t want to cut it up! You’ll ruin how pretty it is. Let me finish up here and I’ll help you out.” Vera glanced over at Rosia if only for a moment. Her mind wandered off track for just a moment before she jerked herself back into awareness. Next came the onions. She began peeling them and tossing the skins aside. Then Rosia fixated on the salt, attempting to read it out loud. “Not quite! But you did get rather close, Rosebud.” Vera’s voice was always kind, but when she began teaching, you could tell it oozed with patience and warmth. That nickname was thrown in there just to tease. You know, in a gentle way. “Look at each letter and pronounce them by themselves. Ssss-aaa
” Vera trailed off, hoping that Rosia would finish for her. She was now slicing the onions into smaller pieces

“But with knife I could cut like ye do with the meats and stuff.” Rosia commented back to Vera about not cutting up her dress. “Aye, fine. Help me af’er food is done.” She finished after reaching for the knife before Vera moved it out of her short reach Rosia sighed when she was told she was a wrong about how she pronounced the labeled word. As Vera started the word, Rosia figured out what she was trying to do. “Lll-tttt
 Wait! That say salt?! As in the wa’er?” Rosia exclaimed and questioned loudly, pointing towards the wall that held water on the other side. “No. I refuse. Ye said before the second thingy made a ‘Ay’ sound. Like Ace on the cards!” Rosia continued laying her forehead down on the counter in play-like defeat. “Tis dumb. How much long’r till food done.” Rosia asked, rolling her head sideways so now her cheek was against the counter. Rosia hated feeling like she couldn’t do something, hence why she didn’t really try to read or let anyone attempt to teach her, but with Vera she knew she wouldn’t be judge.

Before Vera even spoke, she had dumped the onions into the pot and stirred the mixture. It was starting to smell lovely. A few more herbs and spices found their way into the pot. “Yes, salt. They take out the ocean water and let it dry up in the sun. Then they scrape the stuff up and it makes food taste better!” Vera heaved the bag of potatoes out of the pantry. It seemed to be half her size but she hoisted it up anyways, almost miraculously. Then, she began to cut them up. Generally she would soften them first but everyone, including Rosia, seemed eager for the food to be finished.

“I know, that was a different sounding ‘A’ though. All the letters sound different depending on what letters are around them. When you say ‘salt’, that’s why it sounds like ‘salt’.” Vera scoffed when Rosia called it dumb, but the smile never left her face. “It’s not dumb! Just complicated. It takes a while to learn, but you’ll get the hang of it eventually. Try reading this one.” She paused in her slicing to hand Rosia the small jar that said ‘pepper’ on the front. Then her hands went back to cutting. She was half way done.

Rosia lifted her head up as Vera told her it wasn’t dumb and then took the small jar Vera was handing to her. Rosia looked at it for a couple seconds as her mind turned and she tried to figure it out. “So the ‘Ar’ thingy changes the sound of the ‘eh’ right? So t’is would say ‘Peh-par’?” Rosia asked curiously. She knew Vera would sniff most things as she put them into her dishes, so Rosia decided to smell the small jar she handed it. Immediately Rosia sneezed to the side, almost dropping the jar. After she put the jar down she sneezed a couple more times. “Blach. What you given me ‘ere, messin’ up me nose” Rosia said as she scrunched and then rubbed her nose.

Vera listened intently as Rosia went through pronouncing the words out loud. Her smile widened when she said it correctly. “Yes! That’s pepper.” In one quick motion, she rounded up the now diced tomatoes and began picking them up and putting them into the pot. When she looked back, Rosia stuck her nose a bit too far into the jar which resulted in a sneezing fit. “It’s a spice! You aren’t supposed to inhale it.” Vera took the jar back so she could toss a few more peppercorns into the mixture. She churned everything in the large pot, making sure it was all mixed nicely, before covering it and letting it sit. “Alright, give that a few more minutes and we’ll be good. Wanna read some more?” Although Vera was genuine, there was a light teasing in her tone. “I have plenty more jars.”

Rosia started to regain her composure as Vera told her pepper was a spice. “Well, I see you always sniffin’ the jars.” Rosia was happy that she pronounced the word correctly before she started her sneezing fit. She felt a small sense of accomplishment and was smiling to herself and towards Vera for helping her. Rosia shrugged her shoulders before talking again. “Don’t know. Alot for today, still confused with salt not being like ace.” Rosia rubbed her nose a couple more times as the pepper still was irritating her a bit. Burgundian partlets“Next time, tell me not to sniff. Please.”[/color]

“Well, I sniff the jars at a distance, I don’t jam my nose into it.” Vera taunted her, her devilish grin never once fading. Once Rosia expressed her confusion and irritation, she nodded in understanding. “That’s alright, don’t worry. We can learn some more another day.” Vera checked her pot again; it was boiling nicely. She gave it another good stir before covering it once more. “Don’t go sniffing my jars then if you don’t want a nose full of pepper.” Vera smiled. She liked the way her dish looked, but she wanted more. It needed more punch. Humming to herself, she disappeared into the pantry again, coming out with some colorful peppers in her hands. She cut them up, stripped their seeds, and tossed them into the mixture. That should add some extra warmth. “Alright, now that just needs to settle for a bit. Want me to help you out of that dress now?” The content of the words seemed so vulgar, but Vera’s intentions were nothing but innocent. Well, mostly.

Rosia continued to watch Vera move elegantly through her kitchen, checking her pot and getting more ingredients to add to tonight’s meal. Rosia wasn’t entirely sure what it was but it did smell amazing and Rosia knows Vera always makes amazing food so Rosia isn’t one to complain about whatever Vera puts in front of her. “But your food always smellin’ good, so why don’t the jars smell good like the food?” She commented before standing up and pushing the barrel she was using as a chair back where she got it from. As walked back towards Vera, she heard her ask if she still wants help with her dress. “Well, I mean ye won’t let me go cuttin’ it off, so yes.” Rosia answered, as she smiled towards Vera.

Vera loved talking to Rosia. It gave her the chance to teach someone, and teaching was always so satisfying and rewarding. “Well, there’s a reason I only put a little bit of the stuff in my food. Its very intense.” Vera walked over to her cleaning bucket and wet a cloth. She cleaned her hands, making sure to scrub the smell of onions and raw meat off of them. “Now, to get that dress off
” Vera approached Rosia again. As they stood so close together, their height difference was quite clear. Vera thought it was adorable. “Hold still.” She walked around the younger woman so she stood behind her. “Dresses may seem fancy but they’re rather simple. Just gotta get this tight, upper piece off
” Vera grabbed at the strings tying her corset together. With nimble and calculated movements, she untied it. Immediately it started loosening, but Vera was fast enough to catch the sides of the dress before the entire garment fell. “They slide right off! See, not that bad, hmm?”

As Vera approached her, Rosia smiled. “Finally.” She said, reaching her arms back and showing she could only reach a few strings and couldn’t really do much. As she fidgeted around, Vera quickly told her to hold still, Rosia sighed and just let her arms down as Vera walked around behind her and started talking about the dress. Rosia didn’t wear these style of dresses often, not exactly her style, so she knew very little about them. For a second she felt one string come undone,but then very quickly they were all loosened. Rosia jumped as it came loose, but more from Vera quickly grabbing and holding her sides. Rosia stated to blush lightly, not entirely sure why though. Rosia just stood there for a second before cutting the silence. Oh, yeah. Feelin’ much better now. Rosia said to Vera still standing behind her.

“Good, I’m glad you’re more comfortable. However
” Vera paused to gently squeeze Rosia’s sides for emphasis, “As lovely as it might be, I can’t spend the whole night standing here and holding you.” She giggled. For some reason, her instinct was to just lean forward and hug Rosia like this, place her head on her shoulder. It seemed like it would fit perfectly. But that last thing Vera wanted was to lose her grip and embarrass the poor girl, no matter how much Vera wouldn’t have minded. She paused in speaking, taking the time to chew the inside of her bottom lip. “Meg-.. The captain must be looking for you, no? We’re about to set sail! What are you doing wasting your time down here with me?” Vera continued to tease her, but this one seemed a bit more half-hearted. She didn’t want Rosia to go quite yet, but both of them had a job to do. It took her a lot to stop the disappointed sigh from leaving her lungs.

Rosia giggled and jumped a little again when Vera gave her a light squeeze. Rosia just nodded when Vera commented about not being to just hold her, though she was comfortable right now, Vera was right about what she said. Rosia might be needed up top soon if they start to set sail, Bill might need her up on the sails, or Phillip might need someone to steer the helm while he goes off to do more things. “Aye, do have to do that” Rosia put her hands over Vera’s that was holding her dress up for a second, and then took control of her dress and spun around to face her. “T’anks again, for t’e dress, and salt and pepper words.” She gave Vera a light smile before she darted off towards her quarters to get changed and ready to set sail. “Peh-par
 S-aw l-t” She said to herself but also out loud as she left the kitchen.

Vera’s smile was subconscious as Rosia praised her. Although she would do it in a heartbeat without being asked, it felt nice to be appreciated. “No problem, dear. I’ll be here if you need me. Always,” She hummed, giving Rosia a wave as she left. Hearing the younger woman repeat her words caused Vera’s heart to swell with pride.

A few minutes passed. Vera busied herself with other tasks. When they stocked up on meat, they essentially purchased the entire cow, intestines and all. So Vera went out of her way to grind it all up and make her own sausage. For now, she just needed to mix the chunks with some spices and let it sit for the night. But that kept her occupied for a decent amount of time. After cleaning her hands once more, she approached the pot. Upon opening it, her body suddenly remembered how hungry it was. It smelled so delicious; she hadn’t eaten all day because she was too nervous. But now she was ready to gorge herself. But she wasn’t the only hungry person on deck. As the cook, it was her job to feed everyone. While mixing it again, she wondered if this would be enough for everyone. She ran down everyone’s names in her head, thought about portion sizes, but then one name stuck with her. James wouldn’t be able join the others in the mess hall. Vera was thought about it but only for a moment. James wasn’t a bad a man. He was always kind to her and treated her with respect. With a sigh, she pulled out one of her large wooden bowl and filled it with the stew. After adding a spoon to the mixture and pouring an extra tankard of ale, Vera left the kitchen.

Once on deck, Vera saw all of her friends and crewmates working hard to begin setting sail. A part of her felt weak and useless, causing a pit to grow in her stomach. She couldn’t hoist the sails or steer the ship or even shoot a gun. Vera frowned. Her disappointed facial expression remained as she walked down the stairs once more to enter the brig. “Good evening James!” Although he was their prisoner, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t treat him unkindly. “I’ve got dinner here for you.” She hummed as she approached the bars.

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Character Portrait: Valentina De la Torre Character Portrait: Meghan Cunningham Character Portrait: Evangeline Casper Character Portrait: Callie Avis Character Portrait: James Porter
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XXXXJames heard another set of footsteps coming towards the brig. These were softer and, judging, by the smell, it was someone he was expecting. He knew he was right when he heard Vera greeting him. His eyes flashed to Eva, but found she was gone. She was probably hiding behind the barrel. Good, he thought, Stay that way. It’s not that Vera would show any animosity against the lass. More in the opposite. She’d probably see the lass as something similar to a lost puppy.

As she came closer, the smell of food filled his nostrils, his stomach letting out a loud growl in response. ”Well
 It’s a better evening now that you’re here.” He said to her with a smile and noticed the disappointed look on her face. ”Why the face? Is it because of the Mutiny?” His fingers twitched in anticipation of a meal considering he hadn’t eaten since the night before. It took all his control to keep from reaching through the bars for the bowl of stew in his cook’s hands.

Of course, as Vera approached, James tossed her a kind, flattering phrase; one that wiped the foul look off her face. “Are you sweet on me, James? It’s starting to sound like you are,” She teased him as she approached the bars, her usual smile sitting comfortably across her lips once more. Once he brought up the mutiny, it took some effort to keep from grimacing. It was brutal; they had to take the ship from a man who had never truly done them any wrong. And what was she supposed to say to him now? Vera had sided with Meg. She needed this money. She helped take the ship from him. “No, no, nothing about that. Was just hoping the food tastes good,” so Vera did what she did best: acting. She couldn’t let James know how she really felt. “But I suppose I won’t know that until you taste it, hmm? Here, eat up,” As she finished speaking, Vera passed him the food and drink through the bars, hoping that would be enough to stop him from asking questions she didn’t have answers for.

James snorted at Vera. ”You? Make something that isn’t absolutely delicious as if the angels of heaven prepared it and served it to us mortals as a sign of divine mercy?” He coughed into his fist. ”As if.” He smiled at her and winked once. When she passed him the food and drink, he took them with a quick ”Thank you.” before he downed the entirety of the drink. He needed to get the taste of lemon out of his mouth. He tried to be patient enough to blow on the stew before shoving the spoon into his mouth, but he failed significantly. In fact, he burned his tongue and the roof of his mouth on the stew and let out another string of colorful--and partially made up--swear words.

Evangeline was in an uncomfortable position behind the barrel. She was squatting and the wooden end of her axes were digging into her soft flesh. Eva didn’t dare to move as she listened to the friendly conversation. Relief filled her when James finally said thank you to the woman. She assumed the woman would leave soon. Eva couldn’t stay in her current position for much longer. Just as she hoped she wouldn’t get a splinter, James let out a string of swear words. Evangeline was surprised again by James.


Soft laughter escaped her lips and she fell back onto her bottom. “James and his swearing,” she whispered under her breath. Instead of staying still this time around, she stood. She used the barrel in front of her to steady herself. Her eyes glanced over James before they found the woman. Evangeline gave her a sweet, but small and shy smile. She broke eye contact for a second to fix the skirt of her dress. When she looked up, she was still smiling.


“I’m Evangeline, or Eva if you prefer,” she paused to move around the barrel. She stood between James and the woman. Eva stood a bit to the side, so she wouldn’t block anyone’s view. Eva held her hand out to the other woman. “Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?” she asked.


Vera couldn’t help but giggle at James’ embellishing compliment, “Oh stop that, James.” She couldn’t help but linger as the man started eating. She really did want to know how her food tasted. As he began scarfing it down, she frowned and furrowed her brow. Before she could open her mouth to scold him for not waiting for it to cool, Vera heard something moving behind her.

At first, she assumed it was just Rosia or Rudy scampering about and causing trouble. Her motherly reprimanding would have continued if she hadn’t turned and faced an entirely new person. Immediately, Vera went on edge. Her knees bent, lowering her stance somewhat. The dagger hidden in the back of her boot was now in arms reach. However, this strange woman didn’t appear aggressive or hostile in any way, so Vera allowed herself to relax, but just so. She was ready to defend herself at a moment’s notice. “Hello, Evangeline
” Her uneasiness was evident in her tone. She eyed the young woman up and down. “My name is Vera. If you don’t mind me asking: what are you doing here?’ She shifted her position, taking a slow step towards the exit of the room. Vera wanted to be able to flee if need be.

Eva watched as she lowered somewhat and tensed up. She was unsure of what the woman was going to do. When the woman spoke, she relaxed. Evangeline knew the woman was uneasy, but she couldn’t fix that issue. She wrapped her arms around her waist as she listened to Vera speak. Eva gave her a nervous smile now. She was only nervous as she wasn’t sure if the woman was going to start screaming or running or both. Evangeline had noticed she took a step towards the exit. She parted her lips to speak, but closed them again. Eva realized she shouldn’t tell her exactly everything. Though, she didn’t want to lie either. Slowly, to not frighten the woman off, she used her right hand to run her fingers through her hair. She smiled at Vera as she processed her thoughts.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Vera. The food you made smells lovely
” she paused to glanced at James, but her gaze returned to Vera, “I am here because of a friend
I knew they couldn’t stay with me
so we decided I’d stowaway.” Eva tried being as honest as possible, but at the same time she didn’t want to give away too much information. She didn’t want to say Vale’s name yet. Eva knew she could not mention Tessa. Though, she hoped Tessa wouldn’t rat herself out. She knew she couldn’t keep Vale out of the mess. Eva imagined Valentina would come to her defense when she was exposed.

James was about to eat another spoonful when Eva popped up from behind the barrel. He hadn’t realized she had been making noise before now, but when he looked to Vera to gauge her response
 she was on edge. She probably thought the girl was a threat. James snorted and went back to his stew. Let the two females work it out. What could he do stuck behind these bars anyway. When he heard that Eva thought the food smelled delicious, his first response was to say, ”Oh you have no idea. I don’t think anyone else could make a meal fit for kings out of what we pirates manage to scrounge together.”

Then, after spooning another bite into his mouth, he realized that she was probably hungry. He looked longingly down to his bowl before holding it out to Vera. ”Here. Hand this to her. She probably needs it more.” He sat down, bowl still being held out. ”What do you think Meg will do when she finds out the lass is here?” It wasn’t polite to speak of such things in front of the subject of conversation, but he was hungry and it made him a tad unfiltered. ”I doubt she’ll do anything too terrible right? I mean I was mutinied against, and I’m still here in one piece.”

“Eat James, I’ll be fine,”
she interrupted. She gave him a smile to reassure him and thank him for the offer. Evangeline hadn’t been hungry since the incident happened. She pushed her thoughts away, but couldn’t help the shaky breath she took next. Eva looked at Vera, her smile now slightly faded. Her heart stung a little at unwanted memories. “What is Meg like?” she asked softly, wanting a distraction. She vaguely remembered how Meg had spoken to James earlier that night.

Vera just stood by as the two of them exchanged words. Truly, she didn’t know what to make of this situation. This woman didn’t seem to harbor and ill will, but she still could have asked for a job on ship instead of just stowing away. “No, James. Eat your food. I have plenty for everyone.” This was something she would speak sternly about. She returned her wary gaze to this Eva, who was asking her about her captain. A part of her was screaming to run and get Meg, but she couldn’t help but feel for this poor girl. If James hadn’t accepted her in the past, she likely would have stowed away too. “First, she’s Captain to you,” Vera corrected her in the same motherly scold that she had sent James’ way. “Second of all, Meg isn’t cruel, but she also has rules. I’m sure she would have let you join from pure compassion alone. But I’m not entirely sure if she’ll take kindly to someone stowing away on her ship.” As time went on, Vera’s posture relaxed more and more. However, she was still ready to defend herself at a moment’s notice. “Why don’t you meet her for yourself? Might as well get it over and done with with.” Vera took more steps toward the exit, but this time, she ushered Eva along with her.

James sighed after Vera’s scolding and retracted the bowl of stew. Secretly grateful, he continued eating spoonful after spoonful of the now cooled food until little was left. In fact, the last spoonful he had stuck into his mouth
 was the one he choked on when Vera suggested she meet Meg now. He whipped his head to her. ”You can’t be serious.” Then again
 she had a point. If they all waited until they were in the middle of the ocean to reveal the lass
 it might make Meg even more angry with them. So
 ”No. Nevermind. She’s right. With Meg, things must happen now. Not later.” He sighed, feeling for the poor lass. ”Might as well follow Vera. Her presence might prove helpful.”

As the two began their leave up to the deck, James was sure to add. ”Just remember this when dealing with Meg: the lass is a hellfire.” He made sure to give his empty bowl and tankard to Vera before they left as well. ”I wish ye luck lass.” He said to Eva, his accent emerging.

Eva smiled as she listened to Vera. She took note to refer to Meg as Captain. Evangeline was relaxed and stayed relaxed as James put in his opinion. She decided to listen to them. It seemed like it would be better to meet Meghan sooner than later. Before she let Vera usher her out, she grabbed the chest and pouch from the pillowcase in the barrel. The only thing left in the barrel was the fruit and her pillowcase. Though, the pillowcase did have two dresses and makeup inside. She opened the small chest and stuffed the pouch in there. Eva closed the small chest, but it wouldn’t close completely. She tucked it under her left armpit before she followed Vera. She flashed James a smile to thank him for his advice and the luck.

“Vera, there are sacks of apples and mangos in the barrel I came in
” she said as she followed. She assumed Vera would want to know as she seemed to be the ship’s cook. Eva cleared her mind as she got ready to meet the Captain of the pirate ship.

Vera was ready to argue with James, but he seemed to realize his mistake. “Don’t worry, James. Meg can’t say no to me,” Vera was exaggerating, of course, but she just wanted to have the two of them relax. A few steps up the stairs, Eva told her about the fruit. Without hesitation, she jogged back down the stairs and went straight for the fruits. She hadn’t had mangos in a long while, and she was already planning on a what to cook. A pie perhaps? Hmmm, yes, mango rum pie. Her mouth was already watering. She had to shake her head to return to reality. No, she had to face this. Show Meg the stowaway now, make pie later.

Once the sack was slung over her shoulder, she started back up the stairs. Vera was already trying to come up with a plan, but she knew that there wouldn’t be much she could do. She would never dare challenge Meg’s final word. In that past, she’d bartered with the woman for better funds, but once Meg made up her mind and said no, Vera knew not to press her authority. Perhaps this was why they got along so well? Who knows. For now, she just needed to introduce Eva to her captain. As soon as she stepped on deck, Vera swiveled to find that head of fiery hair. It wasn’t difficult to spot Meg, standing beside Vale. With a silent nod to Eva, she stepped over to Meg.

“Captain.” First, the proper greeting. She bowed her head down for a moment, almost out of instinct, before continuing. “Pardon me. I don’t mean to interrupt, but we have
 a guest on board who wishes to speak to you.” Vera then stepped to the side, gesturing to Eva to step forward. She bit her lip nervously, her doe eyes trained on her captain to see her response.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Tessa Locke Character Portrait: Valentina De la Torre Character Portrait: Philip Walker Character Portrait: Pyon Sun-Ah Character Portrait: Rosia Hienrik Character Portrait: Meghan Cunningham
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Being stopped by the captain made Vale almost break out in an internal sweat. She watched Tessa take a few more steps before turning slowly but when Meg handed her the map, she breathed out a soft sigh of relief and nodded. She even did a double take heading up because Vale had to admit, the captain did look stunning in that dress. In her mind she also hoped Eva would be safe for now. Vale knew she was going to be found out sooner or later but she preferred a little later. At least long enough for her to work on the map and hopefully not be caught off guard. With it now in her possession, Vale was expected to get to work fast but the small bird she carried was taking more of her attention. Right before heading above deck, Valentina did stop at medic but she saw that Sunni was preoccupied at the moment with...Philip.

Vale didn't make herself known but she did roll her eyes at the helmsman. You have such bad timing, she thought before glancing back down at the bird. The colorful little thing had it's eyes open now but was still weak. It couldn't move much other than blink at her and Vale felt sad for the poor thing. She softly rubbed the back of it's head as she climbed above deck.

The navigator was just in time, everyone was at work getting the ship out of port. Tess was at the rigging and the anchor had just been lifted... they were finally going back out to sea. Heading towards the helm, Valentina climbed up onto the small wooden platform she had installed herself. It was sort of her own little spot and also where she built in her sundial/compass. She had been working on the contraption for years after learning a few things while traveling with her uncle. Some adjustments and teaks were needed which is why Valentina took the task of building it into the ship herself. Everything needed to be just right for it to work properly.

Vale placed the hat with the bird down on the wooden platform. She took a moment to pull off her jacket and folded it into a comfy square to lay the bird on before placing Tessa's hat on her head. Then it hit her. "water!" she blurted out under her breath, reaching for the pouch of fresh water she had laced to her belt. She shook her head as poured a little into the cap, placing it next to the bird. "Sorry lil pajarito, it has been a big day for the both of us, huh?" The colorful bird responded by sapping up the water. She sat next to it, pouring out a little more then criss-crossing her leg. Finally, Vale pulled the map out and unraveled it out in front of her. Her eyes scanned every inch of it, she was getting deep in thought when Philip and Rudy came to the helm. "Aye, Rudy." smiled Vale from where she sat, tipping Tessa's hat in his direction but gave another eye-roll towards the helmsman. "Philip." she simply said, returning her attention back to the map. Vale began tracing her finger over the parchment, figuring out which way to go best.

Her attention was taken again by the Captain herself striding right up to her. Vale looked up, greeting the captain with a nod and a grin. "Tis a beauty," she referenced the map. "We need to chart a course. Do you suggest going up and around or down and under." Valentina looked back at the map contemplating it when Rosia joined in. “Sorry Cap’n. I was b’low deck with Vera, she was takin’ me dress off.” Rosia said non-chalantly.

Rosia scanned the map they had laid out, mostly just seeing shapes as Meg traced her finger across it. Rosia pronounced the words to herself in her head, thinking back to her reading lessons with Vera. “Whenev’r we go up, it gets colder
” Rosia mumbled out loud, but mostly just to herself.

Vale acknowledged Rosia's comment giving a subtle nod to it. She traced the first path, "We can go up and over but," Vale paused for a moment looking up at Meg. "there is the possibility of running into ice and fewer ports... I don't think going north is worth it. The best is to go under." she explained, tracing out the second path going south. "We'll need to stick close enough to land to supply, but far enough away we won't be stopped." said Meg and Vale instantly agreed. "Yes, if we go under we have a few more places to port in between if anything." Vale pointed out Guicona, Snitinlos, Quinlterra, Isccumo, Serbe, Mobe and Beweyma.

When she went to look back up her eyes instantly locked with the two lasses coming up behind the captain. It was Vera and... Eva. “Captain.” Vera began. Valentina visibly gulped, she wasn't per say afraid of Meg, Vale just didn't want to go through the drama that might ensue. “Pardon me. I don’t mean to interrupt, but we have
 a guest on board who wishes to speak to you.”

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Character Portrait: Tessa Locke Character Portrait: Valentina De la Torre Character Portrait: Philip Walker Character Portrait: Pyon Sun-Ah Character Portrait: Rosia Hienrik Character Portrait: Meghan Cunningham
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>Four Days Later<
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XXXXOnce they left the island of Hartford, Meg had requested that Vale set a course for the smaller islands off the coast of Snitinlos. These small islands were really part of the Guicona territory, but they were so far from the mainland that they remained empty. Well... empty of people. The islands were used as storage for the Land king's men as they sailed from island to island. They were also used by pirates. James's crew had been multiple times to stock up when they expected to be on a long journey across the sea. Or, like in this specific instance, they were being chased and they needed supplies fast.

The island typically contained alcohols, nonperishables, and barrels upon barrels of fresh water. Meg knew water would be the most important. You can go for days without food but not very long without water. And while they'd be surrounded by water on their journey, Meg knew that the ocean wasn't a water source. So, they were there for the water, some of the nonperishables, and whatever fruit, veggies, and meat they could find. Sometimes they found a few barrels of goods that were fruit and vegetables based, but they were only there when the king's men had dropped them off to be back for them shortly.

As she stood on forecastle, salty sea breezes blowing through her hair, Meg took a deep, relaxing breath. She so badly wanted to dive into the sea and swim for an hour instead of lug supplies to and from the ship. They had reached the island now and Meg decided she'd split the crew into two groups. Half would stay on the ship and keep a lookout for enemies and the other half would go on land to haul off goods. She wanted Rosia with her on land. As the first mate, she was technically Meg's second in command due to lack of a quartermaster. She wanted Tessa on the ship to keep an eye on the ship for her. While Bill was the boatswain, she wasn't sure she could trust him just yet. He was the one opposed to the mutiny. Vale would be good to have on land in case they came across any trouble. Bill and Philip she wanted on land with her. Both so she could keep an eye on them and so they could do some heavy lifting. She had a difficult time deciding whether or not to bring Jules. Primarily because he was excellent for heavy lifting, but if trouble arrived on the seas he would need to ready the crew that remained there. So Jules would have to stay. Rudy will be staying too. Meg wanted him up in the crow's nest to keep watch. They really needed someone devoted to lookout so Rudy could help Jules more easily. Vera and Eva will need to stay as well.

Meg felt guilty about having to leave Vera behind, but she wasn't sure Eva was trusted enough on land and they needed people watching the ship. She had enough people joining her on land. She'd have to look for something special to bring back for Vera. Maybe a sack of sugar if they had it.

As Eva came to mind, Meg realized she still hadn't figured out who had brought the girl on board. However... she was spending a good amount of time with Tessa. Meg's stomach squeezed a little at the possibility of her friend doing such a thing without even telling her after the fact. She would have to talk to her before they left.

Which reminded her... she needed to inform James of their leaving. Not to request permission or even because she was in the habit of informing her prisoners of her whereabouts. James was different. James had been a friend. And... maybe she could convince him that things were going to be worth it. As she made her way down to the bring, she decided that she'd give orders when she returned to the deck.

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Character Portrait: Tessa Locke Character Portrait: Valentina De la Torre Character Portrait: Philip Walker Character Portrait: Pyon Sun-Ah Character Portrait: Rosia Hienrik Character Portrait: Meghan Cunningham
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XXXXEva smiled as she saw Tessa. She had unintentionally been hanging around Tessa more than she should have. She had been avoiding Vale like the plague. Evangeline didn’t want to get her dearest friend hurt by Meg. Since Tessa was with Vale when they met, she decided to stick to her. Eva felt like she could trust the blue eyed woman. It hadn’t clicked for her that if she hung around Tessa, people would think she brought her on the ship. Tessa’s back was to Eva, so it was easy for Eva to walk right up behind her. She went on tippy toes and stroked Mango’s, the bird they had found, head with a finger. He was sitting comfortably on Tessa’s hat. The little fella, who they assumed was a fella, seemed to be doing better.

“Hello Mango, is Tessa being nice to you?” she asked. Tessa jumped hearing the voice behind her. She was getting ready to punch whoever it was but stopped short seeing it was Eva and scolded her.

“Fuck do you want now?” Tessa said, the scold on her face not easing up. Evangeline flashed Tessa a smile.The woman did amused her.

“I just want to spend time with Mango. You seem to be hoarding him,” she said playfully. Tessa turned to start walking away, looking at some nearby ropes.

“It isn’t my fault little birdie won’t get off my damn hat,” Tessa said as she walked.

“Well...can I have your hat then? I’ll give it back to you once I get him on my shoulder or something,” she replied. Eva walked alongside Tessa to keep the conversation going.

“Fuck no. You cannot touch me hat. Fuck off,” Tessa said, not sounding as angry as she would when speaking to others. Eva placed a hand on Tessa’s shoulder to try to get her to stop walking. “Please?” she asked.

“Hmmm,” Tessa stopped for a moment and looked at her. “Fuck your please.”

“If you said please when we met at the tavern, you wouldn’t owe me a drink,” she replied, only risking the words as no one was nearby. Eva got on her tippy toes again. Carefully, but quickly, she lifted Tessa’s hat off her head. “I am going to check on James. I don’t think he has seen Mango since I got here,” she added before she headed down to the brig. As she walked, she placed Mango on her shoulder.

Rosia had just woken up from a small nap upon the crowsnest when she heard some talk below her. As she rolled over and peaked her head over the edge she watched as Tessa and the stowaway interacted. Tessa seemed to have taking a liking to the girl. She giggled to herself when she heard Tessa curse at the lady for asking to touch her hat. But when she heard the stowaway talk about a tavern, Rosia stopped giggling and was confused, The ship hadn’t docked for days, how would they gone to a tavern toge- Rosia interrupted her own thoughts with a gasp, realizing it was Tessa who had brought the stowaway onboard.

Tessa followed after Eva, trying her damndest to get her hat back. As she followed, she muttered curses under her breath. Though they were directed at Eva, she wasn’t expecting the girl to actually listen to a word she was saying. “Ya don’t need to grab someone’s hat like that. Just take the fuckin’ birdie, don’t need my whole fuckin’ hat.” Eva stopped in front of bars that kept James a prisoner. She looked away from him to look at Tessa.

“I said I would give it back once I got him off the hat, but you refused to give me the hat,” she replied, matter of factly. Her gaze returned to James. Tessa’s hat was held between her hands. She smiled at James. “How are you are you today James? I brought Mango down to see you.”

“Ahoy there, James,” Tessa said with a small wave as she tried to grab her hat. Eva turned slightly, so Tessa couldn’t grab her hat. Mango was on her shoulder, but she didn’t want to give the hat back yet..

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James had been in the brig for four days. Well five if you count the day before they actually left port. He had been visited a couple times by the crew and by Eva. Apparently Meg hadn’t chewed her up and spit her out. In fact, it seems she had made her a member of the crew. It surprised him, but he couldn’t deny that he was glad. He rubbed at the stubble forming on his chin and continued his song, ”Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen. Nobody knows
 me sorrow.”

He heard voices and footsteps coming down the stairs and into the brig. The first person to make their appearance was Eva, a familiar hat in her hands and an orange and green bird on her shoulder who was looking much better than when he last saw him. A smile formed on his face, but it quickly turned to one of distress when he saw the scowling woman stalking up behind Eva. Oh Tessa was angry.

Eva greeted him first. He was about to respond when Tessa interrupted with a greeting of her own. He gave a strained smile, feeling the tension in the air. James had known Tessa long enough to know two things: Don’t make her angry and never, ever touch the hat. Unless you were Vale. ”’Ello Eva. Tessa. What brings you to me quarters on this fine
” He glanced to the side of the ship where a small bit of light was peaking through. ”Day?”

By the time Rosia roped her way down from the crowsnest, Tessa had already followed Eva downstairs, Rosia quickly followed after them below deck towards the brig. As she caught up to them, she overheard Tessa and Eva talking with James. Rosia had only come down here when she followed and helped Vera bring James food. “Oi! Riggknot ye turncoat! It was you that brought the stowaway onto the ship.” Rosia said, announcing her presence to the others as she came down the stairs. “Captain Hellfire won’t be like’n this!” Hearing the familiar voice, Tessa knew exactly who it was. She rolled her eyes and turned towards the voice.

“Oi now! Does it really fuckin’ matter anymore?” As she spoke, Tessa made her way over. At the back of her mind she got the thought that she was lucky to always carry a spare rope around with her. “Look at ‘er! She’s a fuckin’ kitten, for christ sake!” She kept moving forward until she was a foot or so in front of her. “Does it really look like the girlie’s any harm?”

Rosia took a quick glance at Eva, who smiled and gave a small wave to Rosia, before looking back up at Tessa right in front of her. “Nay, but ye went behind the Cap’n’s back.” Tessa nodded at this.

“Alright, if that’s how ya’r thinkin’,” Tessa said then cracked her knuckles. What proceeded was something that you’d have to see to believe it. Tessa seemed to pull what seemed to be an endless rope out of nowhere. “Ey, whatcha doin’ with th-” The rope went through the air it what seemed like endless directions. There was cursing. There was kicking. There was a near escape then back into the rope hurricane that was Tessa, a mere rope, and her hands. “Tessa! Stop that right now!” Eva scolded, crossing her arms under her chest. Tessa actually listened to this, but is was more because she was done. She stood up and Rosia seemed to fall a few centimeters onto the ground, now tied up completely with her arms bound behind her back, her legs bound, and a gag that seems to be a spare handkerchief. “Aye, I think that may be good enough,” Tessa said showing that she may be a bit proud of herself.

James sat and stared wide eyed at the events unfolding before him. He raised an eyebrow at Rosia’s accusation. So they didn’t know that it wasn’t only Tessa, but Vale as well. The fact that they had to guess meant Eva hadn’t told Meg. Interesting. When Tessa pulled out the rope, he honestly thought it was for Eva. I mean
 she had touched the hat. He was thrown for a loop when instead she began to tie up Rosia. ”What are ye doin?” He asked them, more surprise in his voice than concern. It was the most bizzare thing to James.

That’s when Meg made her way down into the brig. She stopped short at what she saw. Her first mate tied up. Tessa, the only one who could’ve tied up Rosia, standing beside her. Eva standing off to the side, Tessa’s hat in her hand an
 is that a bird on her shoulder? She thought she had heard chirping while visiting Sunni the past couple of days
 It appears Eva wasn’t the only stowaway.

And James just sat there and watched. Watched her rigger tie her first mate
 shit. ”What the bloody hell is going on!?” She demanded, eyes simmering. ”Me first mate is tied up. Me rigger the culprit and
” Then she remembered why she wanted to talk to Tessa earlier. ”Tessa Locke. Were you the one to bring aboard the stowaway?” Her eyes narrowed. Her plan had been to pull her aside and speak to her privately but the scene before her
 and with James watching
 She’d have to punish her friend or risk the crew questioning her leadership.

Hearing her name - her full name - Tessa knew then that she had fucked up. She let out a long low sigh and turned to face her captain. “Aye that’s the question, isn’t it?”
She sighed again, and looked over at Eva then rolled her eyes. “Aye, this is a fuckin mess,” She mumbled, putting a hand to her forehead and sighing again. “I guess there be no more reason to keep it a secret nor lie.The short answer to that, Captain, is yes. Yes, I did bring the girlie aboard,” Tessa admitted. Then added under her breath, “Even though I didn’t want to.” Eva very slowly, silently, walked towards Tessa as she spoke. Once she finished speaking, she took a step to the side to stand in front of Tessa. Evangeline moved the hand with the hat behind her back to give it to Tessa. Her expression was blank as she stared at Meg.

James whistled in the cell beside them. ”Ye fucked up.” Meg’s glare turned on him and he stepped away from the bars. She turned her attention back to the women before her. ”I’m listening.” She took note of the fact that Eva now stood between them. The girl was going to get herself killed one day doin’ that. Tessa sighed once again. She took her hat, placed it on her head, and walked around Eva until she came face to face with Meg.

“The long answer,” Tessa started. “I was at a whorehouse and met this lass. The lass told me she had.. No family left. As you know.. I don’t have any family. But I found one here on this ship. I figured ’oi, this young lass could use some help.’ So.. I helped. Stuffed her in a barrel and here we are now.” She paused a moment for it to sink in as she hoped nothing about her gave away this this was only half the truth. “I’m sorry I hadn’t told you from the start, Captain. But I knew where we were going and that we didn’t need anyone new,” She added, then stood and waited for a reply. Eva just smiled as Tessa spoke. She gave the woman a quick and tight hug from behind once she finished speaking. Evangeline was grateful and now in debt to Tessa.Though, Tessa still owed her that drink.

Meg sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, the skin tight around her eyes. ”If you had told me sooner, it would’ve been fine.” She looked up at Tessa, their blue eyes meeting. ”But you went behind me back and you hid her.” She motioned down at Rosia, still tied up. ”Now you go and do this?” She sighed, her shoulders rising with command, but slowly as if they were pushing up against an invisible weight. ”One hour from the mast.” She said simply. Tessa had been the one to string ‘em up so many a time. She knew what the punishment was without Meg needing to explain.

She kneeled beside her first mate, pulled the knife from her boot Meg knew she kept there, and cut her loose from the ropes. There was no untying a rope Riggknot had tied. ”I was planning on leaving you in charge of the ship. I’ll have to leave Vera to that.” She returned the knife to her first mate, handle out with one hand and helped her up with the next.

Rosia wiggled out of the ropes and stood up with the help of Meg, and putting her knife back in her boot, nodding her head and thanking her captain. Rosia looked over at Tessa. “Ye still a turncoat...” Rosia said with a slight smirk, she wasn’t one to hold grudges, plus it would entertain her to see Tessa hanging from the mast. Meg shot her a warning look before walking back towards the steps and up to the deck to give orders.

”All hands to the deck!” She yelled as loudly as she could, her voice edged with anger. They would know she meant business. Once her crew assembled, she began. ”We’re going onto the island for supplies. I will be going ashore with Rosia, Vale, Sunni, Bill, and Philip. Jules, Rudy, and Eva will stay on the ship. Vera will be left in charge. And Tessa.” Meg paused. Upset at the words that were about to leave her mouth. ”Tessa is to hang by her ankles from the mast while we are gone.” While she didn’t normally explain her orders, she felt this one needed an explanation. ”While I don’t punish me crew for small indiscretions such as bringing aboard a new crew member, Tessa did so behind me back and was found tying up the first mate below deck. Because of her actions, she must undergo this punishment. Alone.”

She pointed to the horizon. ”We meet back here when the sun is three hands high off the horizon. Dismissed.”

Setting

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Character Portrait: Tessa Locke Character Portrait: Valentina De la Torre Character Portrait: Philip Walker Character Portrait: Pyon Sun-Ah Character Portrait: Rosia Hienrik Character Portrait: Meghan Cunningham
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J U L I A NX| | XD R A G O N

| Master Gunner |
| #B02E04 |
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It had been a long four days. There was tension among the crew members, not violent tension, but tension nonetheless. Jules tried to stay out of it as much as possible, and instead woke up early every morning, did the usual morning gun rounds with the gunners, and stayed on deck, usually with a cigar, until midday. Then they did the rounds again, and Jules supervised his crew, especially little Rudy, to ensure everything was done professionally and quickly.

On the second day, Jules finally noticed the new young woman on the ship, somehow not noticing her at dinner the night before. He asked her questions about herself, and she called him Mama Bear teasingly. She was a polite girl, vaguely secretive, but weren’t they all. Jules hadn’t seen James all that much. He’d delivered food once or twice, and the two had made some effort to talk to one another, but it was odd. Jules supported both Meg and James, each for different reasons, and he wasn’t quite sure how to express that to either person.

On the fourth day, he heard the call of land ho! from the deck, and looked out at the approaching island. He adjusted the black band around his arm. Two months, five days, and thirteen hours. He had no idea how long he would keep count for, but the guilt still ate at the back of his mind and he took a drag from the cigar in his hand. It was, at least, a sunny day, that made the guilt feel a little less intrusive. Steps sounded coming up from the brig, and Hellfire made her way purposefully on deck.

”Cap’n on deck,” Jules muttered under his breath, and put out his cigar between his calloused fingers and sticking it in his chest pocket.

”All hands to the deck! We’re going onto the island for supplies. I will be going ashore with Rosia, Vale, Sunni, Bill, and Philip. Jules, Rudy, and Eva will stay on the ship. Vera will be left in charge. And Tessa.” Meg paused. ”Tessa is to hang by her ankles from the mast while we are gone. While I don’t punish me crew for small indiscretions such as bringing aboard a new crew member, Tessa did so behind me back and was found tying up the first mate below deck. Because of her actions, she must undergo this punishment. Alone. We meet back here when the sun is three hands high off the horizon. Dismissed.”

Julian raised an eyebrow and turned to Riggknot, eyeing her hatless form. That story was a bit unlike her, but Jules brushed it off and made eye contact with Eva, who was holding the little bird that the crew had taken a liking to, and Riggknot’s hat. Interesting. He gestured his head towards the usual place of punishment.

”Been awhile since we’ve had to string anyone up, ey?” he moved up behind Riggknot after Meg was off and nudged her with his elbow. ”Shame its gotta be you. But don’t worry, I’ll do the tyin’ and I won’t do it as tight as you do, I’m not as skilled as you anyhow, none o' us are.”

As much as Jules wanted to stretch his land legs, he understood that it was important for the Master Gunner to stay on deck in case something were to happen or an attack were to occur. He’d much rather a quiet day anyway, not sure that he could handle the business of trade and crew's rambunctious nature at the moment. He made his way over to the mast to start preparing the usual tie-up.

Passing Bill on his way, he turned to his friend and flipped him three silver. ”Oy, pick me up some tobacco and leaves, I’m runnin’ low.” Bill knew what he liked. He’d tobacco habit a few years ago, after the militia, where most of the other men smoked. He had never invested in a pipe, instead using leaves to wrap makeshift cigars, something odd for someone who worked around gunpowder so often. Of course, he never lit one below deck , and only ever smoked on a clear day, over the gunwale above the water, to avoid any danger.

When he reach the yardarm, he reached up and began the tie, and then turned back the Hellfire, now prepping her little departure crew.

” ’ow long is this t' be for, cap?” Hopefully not too long, Jules wasn’t a punishment sort of mood. Sometimes, especially when Riggknot wasn’t the one being strung up, this whole process could be rather fun. But if most of the crew would be off-ship, and he had to do the tying, it wasn’t as nice of a process. He could only hope this wouldn’t be too long a punishment, Eva was a nice girl anyway, not that this mattered to Riggknot's participation in bringing her aboard, but Hellfire seemed to like her enough to keep her. He looked around at the rest of the faces of the crew, wondering which of the other members could have been an accomplice in the endeavor. Perhaps there was more to do today than Jules had originally planned. That was good, he supposed, despite his reluctance for punishment. It would keep his mind off Armand. An interesting day had begun.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Tessa Locke Character Portrait: Valentina De la Torre Character Portrait: Rosia Hienrik Character Portrait: Meghan Cunningham Character Portrait: Evangeline Casper Character Portrait: Callie Avis
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Once Tessa had taken her hat, Eva laced her fingers behind her back. She stayed still when Tessa went face to face with Meg. Her heart sped up as she grew nervous for Tessa. As she listened to Tessa’s “long answer”, she was grateful the woman didn’t give Vale away. The story was simple, and Eva reran it in her head. She knew the details of the short story could become important later. When Meg replied, Eva wondered if they should just tell her the truth. Would Vale get in more trouble if Meg found out later? Maybe it wouldn’t matter later when, if, Meg found out. She pushed her thoughts away. Evangeline just watched as Meg helped Rosia from her predicament. She was glad to see that Rosia was okay after her tussle with Tessa.

Evangeline listened to Tessa as they followed Meg up to the dock. She couldn’t help the huge grin that graced her lips when Tessa said please. She wondered for a second if she could teach Tessa manners. Before she gave the idea anymore thought, she simply nodded in reply to Tessa. Once they were on the deck, Eva found Vale and gave her the hat. She quickly left Vale’s side once she gave her the hat. Eva knew she couldn’t explain what happened to Vale at that moment. Vale questioning her would likely have caused suspicion from Rosia and or Meg as well. She didn’t need Vale to get in trouble. Evangeline stroked Mango’s little head as she listened to Meg speak. She had wanted to go on the island, but knew she’d be more of a help on the ship. Eva didn’t plan on going against Meg’s orders either.

All the blood seemed to have left Eva’s face, hands, and feet when Meg described Tessa’s punishment. Eva felt herself go cold. She couldn’t help, but fear for Tessa’s safety. Her own fear of heights made the fear worst. Evangeline pushed away the memory of what happened to Victoria when they were little girls. It was easy to do so as Meg came up to her then. Evangeline listened and knew she would be staying. James had mentioned Meg was on a suicide mission. I’ll be heading for death with Vale and Tessa. If I can save one of their lives on this journey, then staying will be worth it.

As she thought, she watched Mama Jules deal out Tessa’s punishment. A chill ran down her back and her stomach tightened into a hard knot. She couldn’t watch Tessa just hang there. She’d be too tempted to take her down, and she knew that’d piss Meg off. She stroked Mango’s head once more as she went off to find Sharktooth. The woman had mentioned she wanted to catch some fish once they were docked. When Sharktooth decided they caught enough fish, they stopped working. Eva wiped the sweat from her face. She took in a deep breath as she took in the salty scent of the ocean. The scent was pleasant to her. As she looked around the ship, she spotted Tessa. Evangeline smiled. She was glad her punishment was over. Her gaze then went to blue ocean as she saw the crew’s boats approaching.

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A few Days Later
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XXXX"Just. Fucking. Brilliant," Meg muttered under her breath as another wave bashed into the side of the ship. Her hands were already cramping from holding on to the helm so tightly. The salt water and force of the waves weren't helping. She gritted her teeth as she locked her stance in an attempt to be immovable. She had relieved Philip not too long ago. Can't have one man at the helm at a time like this. Too long and he could weaken and lose control. It was best to take shifts. It would've been better to have her navigator on deck but since the island... Meg shook her head and thoughts flew into the sea of her mind. She couldn't think about Vale now. She couldn't allow the guilt to gnaw at her bones.

Her crew needed her.

The storm had been raging only a short while, but it was one of the strongest--if not the strongest-- storms Meg had ever sailed in. "Bill! Make sure every man has a lifeline!" She called out to her Boatswain. "I don't want to lose a single crew member to the sea!" She grunted under the weight of the wheel and suddenly regretted her decision to take over. "Philip!" She called out to her crew, hoping he wasn't far and that the wind wouldn't cover her shout. "Either take the wheel back or find someone who can!" She wasn't about to voice her regret. "Julian! Stow the guns!" She tried to make a tally of her crew based on what she could see, but a wave slapping into the side of the ship sent salt water stinging into her eyes and she resisted the urge to rub them with her hands. After all, they were a little preoccupied.

She knew that Sunni was in the med bay working on a way to fix Vale. She hoped her rigger was out--already tied to the ship-- and finishing up on the masts before the winds tore 'em in two. Bill was on deck, she could hear him giving orders to the [NPC] crew. Philip had been relieved of his position temporarily, though Meg did wish he'd take it back. She wasn't sure where Vera was but prayed she was safe. Same went for her first mate, wherever she was hiding. She hoped little Rudy had been the first to be tied to the ship since he was so small. Her heart suddenly ached for her crew. If only she could lock 'em up like James so she knew where they were and that they were safe instead of this chaos.

James... the poor sod was still down in the brig. Meg ignored her wonderings--not for the first time, mind you--if their bad luck the past few days had been due to the fact that Midas was below decks as a prisoner and not above them and free. Which also brought to mind little Eva who had taken to following Vera around the ship. Meg still couldn't believe that Tessa hadn't told her about the stowaway and she also couldn't believe that Vera would disobey her orders like that. A bit of her hellish flame went out. No one was taking her seriously. Maybe she wasn't going to be the captain she thought she could be.

Without respect, how could she keep a ship in order and a crew from falling apart?

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| Master Gunner |
| #B02E04 |
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Julian was ready to step forward to defend Riggknot at little Jack’s announcement. As much as he mothered the girl, she was quite loyal to Hellfire, something he wasn’t sure he was comfortable with just yet. He looked over to the non hanging woman and nodded his support after flicking the last of his cigar overboard. Then Vale fell, and fell hard.

He dashed forward with the captain and reached out as Bill grabbed the woman, and Jules placed a heavy hand on Hellfire’s shoulder. How much could go wrong in one day.

***

Jules leaned back and watched the pensive captain as she gripped the helm so hard her knuckles turned blue. She was angry and tired, and nothing had worked out as well as the rest of them thought it would. Jules had taken to calling her captain now, it seemed appropriate after the time had passed, and though he had visited James down in the brig, there had been no efforts that he knew of to overthrow Hellfire. Which he had resigned himself to willingly. Rebellion was too time-consuming. The angry water slammed against the ship, throwing several of the unaided crewmen towards Julian. He caught Mead in between his hands and steadied the boy. ”I’d wait for cap’n, but she oughta tell us to tie ourselves off soon, storm’s comin’ in strong.”

As he left the boy to his duties, Hellfire’s voice rang out above the winds, and Jules heard her orders. The gunners maneuvered their way towards him, and he gestured at the remaining guns on deck, only eight. ”Lifelines first ya scoundrels!” He winked at Bill and they tied themselves off to begin heaving the guns down to the stores so they wouldn’t cause problems on deck. Each gun, especially the eight-pounders, took to crew members to roll and carry, but the process didn’t take too long with the whole gunner crew working together.

Julian made his way back into the wind on deck after the second to last gun was carried down and saw two of his crew, he couldn’t tell who at this distance, were already securing the wheels and dragging it towards the steps. The captain had a wistful look on her face and he figured she could use some guidance, or a hand, or a break, really. He glanced around, making sure everyone who he could see was secured to the ship, and then made his way toward the helm, shouting out as he went.

”Who needs aid? Riggknot, where are ya?! Cap’n, need me to handle the helm? I’m not sure where Nameless ‘as gone!” He climbed the steps to the helm, and stood next to Hellfire, looking down at the deck below them. Everyone was carrying out her orders without fail, though he supposed that with a storm coming they didn't particularly want to be thrown overboard in the spray. He put a hand on Meg's shoulder and grabbed the helm with the other. "I've got this until Nameless appears, you go, deal wit' your crew now li'l lady. This is a good chance to show 'em yer strengths." He waved her off and looked down again, feeling a bit like a mother hen. He hoped Plague was handling Vale like she had been for the past few days, and wondered how James was feeling down in the brig. He looked out for Rudy, making sure the boy was safe before nodding him over. He supposed now would be a good time to learn about emergency ship mechanics. For a moment, when lightning flashed, he was certain he could see Armand's face flash on Rudy's body, but in a split second, the memory was gone, and all was as it was before, slick with rain and thunder. The ship tossed upon the waves, and the Dragon stood strong.

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Character Portrait: Tessa Locke Character Portrait: Valentina De la Torre Character Portrait: Philip Walker Character Portrait: Pyon Sun-Ah Character Portrait: Rosia Hienrik Character Portrait: Meghan Cunningham
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The winds grew more violent around him as the Dragon tried his best to keep a firm control on the ship. He wasn’t as skilled as Nameless in the ways of maneuvering, nor was he an expert navigator, but he was strong, and had a sense of where they were going from before the storm hit. Water splashed up onto the deck and he leaned on the helm to push into the wind in order to continue heading in the right direction. He wished the storm hit at a more opportune time. After days on the boat with uncertain knowledge about Vale and their destination, everyone seemed more on edge than usual. Julian didn’t blame them, it was normal to become agitated after days of uncertainty, he had certainly been there before, but now was not the time for anger or hesitation.

Of course, the weather waits for no man, and there was nothing much he could do. From below him on deck, the crew was still bustling about, and others had gone below “WAVE! BRACE Y-" came a shout from below, and Julian could do nothing but try and steady the ship as a giant wave crashed onto the deck. He wasn’t worried, the crew was tied off, or at least he wasn’t worried until he watched Bill get torn off the side of the deck into the churning ocean beside the ship.

”Man overboard! Man overboard!” cried Mead, panicking on deck.

”Bill ya fucken fool!” Julian searched around wildly for someone to take over the helm while still holding on. ”Ale! ALE! C’mon lad take over this steering!” Anyone who know the ship well could do it, and he handed off the helm to the first crewperson who arrived. Jules sprinted down onto the deck and grabbed a rope to secure around his waist. He grabbed Rum by the shoulder and dragged him over to the edge, searching down into the water for the body of the boatswain.

"There!” Shouted Rum, pointing into the water, and Jules followed his arm to see the left side of Bill tossing around in the ocean.

”Right then,” Jules gripped Rum’s arm again, keeping his sight on Bill to ensure he didn’t lose the man in the waves. ”Hold onto the end o’ this rope, and tie off too, ta make sure ya don’t get washed away. You keep yer eyes on me, and when I start wavin’, you help me pull that bastard back up here.” Rum nodded and the two men prepared themselves, ensuring the knots were tight and that Rum had a good grip on the rope. The preparation took maybe half a minute, and already Bill was rapidly drifting away from the boat. ”Here we go then!” He dove off the boat and felt the rope pull after him.

It was cold. Julian considered himself to be a decent swimmer, he wouldn’t have joined a sailing crew if he wasn’t at least decent. But these waters were treacherous, and the sea shifted him to and fro, towards and away from his goal of grabbing Bill and hoisting him onboard. He swam as hard as he could, but with the rocking boat and churning water. By the time he reached Bill, he was panting with effort and his limbs had gone numb. Bill was unconscious and his lips were blue, and Julian pulled him by the arm to his chest and tugged on the rope, waving with a numb arm up to Rum, who he hoped was still watching from the deck, which he could barely see in the wind and rain. He tried to shout but found he couldn’t after the intense lung work he had to do to make it far enough out, and he instead panted louder.

For a moment, he thought that maybe this was the last moment he would ever have, surrounded by the violent and bitter mistress that is the sea. He clenched Bill with one arm and tried to use the other to swim closer to the boat, moving away from them and pulling the rope taut around his midsection. This was it.

A tug came from the other end of the rope. Rum, with a rush of strength, was pulling them back up. Julian scrambled to find footing on the side of the ship, and the two men managed to heave the extra weight back on deck, tying Bill off immediately so he wouldn’t be thrown over again. Julian lay beside him and spit out water.

”Well done Rum, well done. Go get someone to help, wouldya?” he wheezed, before lying his cheek on the damp deck and passing out cold.

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XXXXSince Vale hit the deck a few days ago, Eva was not herself. She was worried sick about Vale. Eva couldn’t even keep her optimistic nature up. A nasty thought kept nagging at her; Vale would die and then she’d be truly alone. The deaths of her sister, niece, and nephew were still fresh. She wasn’t sure if she’d survived Vale’s death. Evangeline hadn’t visited Vale since Bill carried her down. She wasn’t worried about Vale being alone, she knew Tessa was with her often. She saw the women enter the medical bay multiple times. Eva knew Vale had friends on this crew that’d visit as well. She feared seeing Vale would cause uncontrollable crying. Evangeline had to keep it together.

Since she didn’t visit Vale, she worked. She often went to Vera or Rosia to see what they needed help with. If they didn’t need help with anything, she’d found someone else to help. There always seem to be something to do on the ship and that was a comfort to Eva. She worked silently for the last few days. Eva was in an odd mood and wasn’t speaking much to anyone on the ship. She focused on whatever task she was doing and on keeping her mind blank. The only creature she spoke to was Mango. She spoke to him when she couldn’t eat or sleep. Her appetite had left since Vale got ill. She didn’t have any urge to eat and sleeping had been an issue since she gotten on the ship.

She was grateful for her loss of appetite for the past few days because a storm had started. It was a force to be reckoned with. Evangeline was trying to stay on her feet, but it was hard. Her hands were occupied as they held Mango. Eva had seen the storm coming and knew she couldn’t allow him to be sitting on her shoulder when it hit them. She knew she needed a lifeline as well, but she needed to put Mango in a safe place first. She worried for James as well, which was why some rope hung off her right arm. It seemed as if she didn’t have the sea legs to brace a storm. Her sea legs were fine until this storm. It took her some time before she reached the stairs that led to the brig.

Evangeline scooted down the stairs as walking down was not an option. When she reached the bottom, she stood as carefully as she could. Although, a wave hit the ship and she flew into a wall. She braced herself against it as she gasped for air. Her eyes went to Mango and was glad he seemed unharmed. She hoped her grip hadn’t tightened too much when she hit. Once she had her breath back, she walked over to the barrel she had stowed away in. Eva opened it and placed Mango inside. It was the best she could do for him. The barrel only had her things inside. She closed it and was glad to have her hands free now. She could steady herself a bit more easily now. Her eyes wandered over to the cell to find James.

“Hello James, how is this storm treating you?” she asked, her voice breathy. She walked over to the cell and gripped onto the bars. She glanced at the rope hanging on her arm, but decided she’d have a conversation first, or try to. She brought the rope down to see if he’d want to be secured to the cell’s bars. She wanted a conversation first as guilt ate at her. She hadn’t been down to visit him the last few days. Eva had been too lost in her storm of emotions to think of anyone else. It was not like her at all.

James scratched at his chin, the beginning stubble of a beard growing in, as he hummed sea shanty after sea shanty. It had been a while since he’d seen a friendly face. Not any longer than a day, but with the storm, he hadn’t exactly been a priority. The only updates he had on his ship came from his former crew. Former because he was no longer captain. He was a prisoner. He’d heard that Vale dropped from an unknown poison. He knew Tessa had been strung from the yardarm only to be cut down by their cook minutes after Hellfire left the ship. He also knew that Eva had been allowed to stay. It wasn’t as if he’d had any doubt Meg would allow the girl to join them. He just knew she wouldn’t be all too happy to have something like that done behind her back. She liked to be in the know. Which is also why he was surprised Vera wasn’t in the cells with him.

A loud thumping came down the stairs just as a--presumably--large wave rocked the ship, sending James’s stomach into his throat. Hence the humming. While James was a well traveled seaman, storms weren’t as common. If he had been on deck or in his quarters, he would’ve been fine. Maybe a tad disoriented, but fine. Down here? Forget it. The ships usual gently rocking was replace with violent tilts that messed with his head. And, in turn, his stomach.

With the wave came a toppling Eva. She had the small bird--Mango he believed-- and a line of rope. She made her way, unsteadily, to the barrel from which she had emerged long ago and placed the bird inside. Content with the securing of the pet, she turned to James and made her way over, a little more sure footed, and greeted him.

”Ahoy, Eva.” He said, stiffly. ”Not well I’m afraid.” Another waved struck the side of the ship and he cursed inwardly, resuming his humming. He had been told an old-wives tale about how humming kept you from revising a meal. So far, it held true. ”I’m surprised to see you in such a fine state. You barely have sea legs, how is it you’re unaffected in other ways?” He said, purposely being vague. Eva smiled despite his answer and ran a ran through her dam hair. She took a deep breath to inhale the salty air. The smell of the ocean eased her stomach a bit.

“Well, my body may have more important things to worry about. I haven’t really had an appetite since Vale took ill. Also, I likely do not have the energy to be affected by other matters.I have trouble sleeping if...” she stopped to not reveal an odd dislike of hers. Her eyes glanced at the rope and then at James. It was time to change the subject. “Would you like to be secured to the bars of the cell? I wouldn’t want you to get too hurt during the storm.”

James raised an eyebrow and shook his head. ”I don’t think it’ll make much of a difference down here.” Her words caught his attention and his sympathies. Since the ship had been taken, he hadn’t slept much either. ”I’m sorry about Vale. Has Sunni had any luck at all?” He asked. He much liked the navigator. She was someone who looked like they could kill you, but was really a sweet roll. Or whatever the land-kids said these days. ”If it helps to ease any of your concerns, Sunni is the finest medic I’ve ever encountered. We’re greatly blessed by the sea to have her as a part of the crew.” He grunted as the ship rocked backwards. ”If it helps, I don’t get much sleep either.”

“I am glad Sunni is a good medic, but I don’t know if she has had any luck. I haven’t been able to bring myself to go see Vale or to ask anyone about her health,” she paused to take a shaky breath. If Vale died, it would become known. She glanced at the barrel Mango was in and watched it begin to tilt. It didn’t fall fully because another barrel was in the way. Eva walked over to the barrel and moved it in front of the cell. She took the rope, knelt on her knees, and began to tie the barrel to the bars. She wished the wicked storm would lighten as she did all of this.

“I am sorry you can’t sleep. It is likely hard to sleep in the cell. I really have no solid reason. Though, if we can’t find sleep, I imagine it will find and take us. It has happened to me before,” she said. Once she was sure the barrel was secured to the cell and checked on Mango, she sat on the barrel. Her hands return to gripping the bars of the cell. Eva smiled at James as she was unsure of what to say now. She had things she did want to ask. Evangeline was intrigued by James and wanted to know more about him. Slowly her eyes went to meet his eyes.

“Did Megan give you the choices of being locked away or leaving the ship?” she asked. She remembered how Megan had given them to her. Eva had decided to stay. Though, she thought of how they were heading to death daily. It was hard not to think of it when her friend was ill.

James watched Eva all the while humming under his breath. He was listening, but humming helped things. When she was situated in front of him once more, she met his eyes. He looked down and away from her when he answered. ”No. She didn’t. That’s not really how a mutiny works.” When your crew and ship change hands, the one in charge called the shots. There were no choices. Though, if he’d had one, he definitely would’ve chosen to stay. ”Not that it matters much anyway. I’d die before I left my ship.” And if the storm grew worse, he’d probably die with his ship. Like a captain should.

He licked his lips, attempting to change the course of his thoughts. ”I can tell you have more questions. Ask away. I’m an open book.”

“H-how about you tell me about yourself?” she asked as she glanced down. She was embarrassed he knew that she wanted to ask more questions. Evangeline was glad for the permission, but she felt shy now. She feared she’d asked something that would be considered impolite. The last thing Eva wanted to do was to offend James. She looked at him a second later to give him a smile. She knew some could find her first question hard to answer. It was hard to tell someone about yourself at times. She decided to give him a lifeline just in case he needed it. “How about you tell me the story of how you became a pirate?”

At her question, James laughed. ”I suppose a land maiden such as yourself would want to know such a story.” He said with a grin. It was definitely one to distract. ”I’ve practically always been a pirate,” he began with a shrug of his shoulders. ”I was picked up[color=#B00000][b] when I was thirteen doing the work that Rudy now does for us.” He ran a hand through his hair. ”The sea has been my first love ever since.” Another wave rocked the ship and he winced. ”Although it seems we’re having a bit of an argument at the moment.”

“Well, I suggest you start whispering sweet nothings to your first love and beg for forgiveness,” she said jokingly. She tensed as the ship was bombarded by more waves. Eva closed her eyes and had to focus on her breathing for a few minutes. She hoped the storm would end soon. Evangeline kept her eyes closed as she freed a hand to start taking her boots off. Surprisingly, she was starting to feel warm. Seasickness seemed to be getting to her and it was unfriendly. She opened her eyes again to throw her boots into a corner behind her.

“I hope we visit land after this storm. I will need to get new clothing in case we run into another storm. I may need to switch my weapons of choice as well,” she said. She slid the same hand into the pockets of her dress.The pockets were actually slits. She took each axe out carefully from their holding places. She got down from the barrel only for a second to place them near the boots. When Evangeline got back onto the barrel, she leaned her forehead against the cool bars. She closed her eyes again as her fingers wrapped around the bars. Eva thought of some conversations she overheard on the ship.

“James
why didn’t you want to go hunt this treasure your crew seems so determined to find?”

James watched Eva, concern filling his eyes. She was looking a tad green. He reached through the bars when she came close again and rubbed a comforting hand in circles on her back. He did so slowly, and hesitantly at first to see if she would mind. When she asked her question though, his eyes turned hard. ”Because it’s dangerous. My crew is my family. You don’t wish harm to come to your family.” He sighed, laying his own forehead against the bars. ”I mean. Being a pirate is dangerous enough, but a cut and a bullet wound can be mended. Curses and major injury on far-off shores? With no hope of any greater aid? Starvation and thirst?” He shook his head. ”I don’t want those things for my family. Just like you wouldn’t wish it on Vale.” He looked up at her, his brown eyes soft. ”I wouldn’t wish it for you.”

Eva eyes opened for a second to confirm it was James rubbing her back. The touch was comforting. She hadn’t had any affection, platonic or not since she stepped onto the ship. She missed the hugs and cheek kisses she got when at the brothel. She pushed the thought of the brothel away quickly as the thought of her sister wasn’t far behind. Eva opened her eyes to look at him when he sighed. It was a surprise to her when she blushed at his last sentence. She took a deep breath, but this time to cool the sudden heat in her cheeks. ”I...I wouldn’t wish it for you either James,” she said softly, shyly. She slowly slid a hand through the bars to cup his cheek, if he’d allow it. She met his eyes.

“Although, if my family were going to go on a dangerous journey, despite my protest, I’d rather be at their side to help. I wouldn’t want to be trapped in a cell with no way to help them when danger came. Your whole crew did decide to go on this journey, they weren’t forced. If you were free, I imagine you would be a great help during this storm...” she sighed as she went to moved her hand away from his cheek. She closed her eyes again. Her heart ached before she even spoke. “I stayed with my...sister, until the end...even though I knew she wasn’t safe at her current job. I couldn’t force her to go elsewhere with me and be unhappy. I decided to stay with her to keep her safe...as safe as I could.”

James smiled softly at Eva. "Sometimes that's all you can do." He looked out the porthole. "Go down with the ship."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Tessa Locke Character Portrait: Philip Walker Character Portrait: Pyon Sun-Ah Character Portrait: Rosia Hienrik Character Portrait: Meghan Cunningham Character Portrait: Evangeline Casper
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ImagexxxxxxxxxxxxxRosia”Jack” Hienrik

xxxxxxxxxThe Mate||#7C67A




xxxx“Everybody in the world knows,

xxxxxI’m a little twisted, twisted.”

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Rosia stumbled for a second before catching her footing as another wave crashed against the ship. “Mighty great storm we havin’ ‘ere.” Rosia said outloud. She quickly saw a rope go over her and tighten around her waist, turning around and see it was Tessa making sure she would stay with the ship. “Aye yes. Thanks you Riggnot.” Rosia paused for a second and looked around. “I gonna head up the mast to get an eye on this here storm and make sure the riggings hold.” She shot a smile and rushed to the mast. Not many people would be excited for a storm, nor would many pirates willing climb a mast the height of the Stardust’s in the middle of a high sea storm, then again, not many people or pirates were like Rosia.

Climbing the mast wasn’t as easy as it usually was for Rosia, but she was still able to up to the lower sail without losing her grip too much. As she pulled herself up to stand gripping onto the mast, she looked down she could hear Bill giving commands to the gun crew to secure cannons and themselves. Rosia was quickly distracted when she heard a snap and saw one of the rope rigs on the fore sail broke loose, opening a portion of the sail. “Fuck these wet ropes and their wet mothers.” Rosia mumbled to herself as she quickly danced across sail to get to the loose rigging. Though he knots weren’t as good as Tessa’s Rosia knew hers would be able to hold unto this storm was done.

As Rosia fixed the sail after a couple close calls, and another mighty strong wave hitting the ship Rosia was quickly distracted with hearing Mead yell something and seeing Julian run and jump off the ship. It didn’t take long for Rosia to figure out what had just happened, someone went overboard. “Aye! Someone help Dragon and Rum!” Rosia shouted as untangled herself and worked herself back to the center of the mast to climb down. When someone goes overboard, it doesn’t take long for the situation to unfold, but during a storm the situation can quickly go form bad, to worse, to over, and not in a good way. Rosia hoped by the time she got down from the mast Julian would be back on the ship and all would be fine.

When Rosia finally reached the deck, she had to untangle her rope first before she could head over to make sure all was good. Thankfully Rum had some help and was able to pull Julian and the person who had gone overboard back up, seeing it was Pyrite. “You two crazy bastards goin’ for a swim in this storm? Couple of ye get them below deck and figure out where Nameless went. I gotta take over the wheel a hopefully get us out of here soon.” Rosia barked out as she rushed to the helm to try to get control over the ship. Next to Phillip, she was the next best helmsman on the ship in her opinion.