Fantasy Are you tired of sipping Crab Coladas? (Pirate RP) (Always Open)

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Well, that was a rude awakening. This demanding tone coming from Elaina sparked some sort of indignant fire within her, an urge to shoot back at her glare and step out to put her in her place rising closer to the surface. But she wouldn't permit it to breach; the attitude was justifiable, considering what she was relaying.

"Shit." Noon? How in the fuck did she let that happen? On top of that Sebas... having whatever the hell was going on with him. The crew probably would have been tearing what was left of the ship apart, had they not been drinking themselves into a stupor last night. "Give me two." Presumably minutes, but after shutting the door, whatever shuffling and swear-laden muttering she was doing inside only took around fifteen seconds. The door opened all the way, a slightly disheveled but fully clothed Fergie stepping out and righting her hat. "Keep an eye on Seb. I'll shape up the crew."

Closing and locking behind her, she whisked past Elaina without another word on her part. Somewhat to distance herself, but mainly in her haste to ensure there wasn't another disaster being made out of the place. Once Fergie stepped onto the top deck, she was relieved to see that the aimless crew was just that, aimless. Too hungover to try any dangerous activities, like roughhousing by the rails, but also to do anything useful without prompting. "Oi, lads an' ladies!" she called out, getting a few groggy head turns her way. "Hope ye's had yer fun. It's time to clean up this shithole. Make it look like we did somethin' 'fore captain comes 'round." Just as much of a jab at herself as to the rest, but it would be taken however, she supposed.

Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye​

Fuck fuck fuck! That beast with the maw big enough to look like an eternal void didn't even attempt to follow him. It just opened back up and began to swim up. As the void rose, so did Sebas to try and get away from it. While he knew it was hopeless, his flight response and adrenaline wouldn't allow him to stop any kind of struggle for his life. Him and death were in an eternal cat and mouse game, and while death WOULD catch him eventually, Sebas wasn't about to LET himself get caught

There were no "what to do's" or "what next" going on in his mind. The man's brain was absolute static, concerned with one thing and only one thing. NOT being eaten by this thing. However, as he grew closer to the surface and the void kept rising, Sebas's only reference for him making an inch of distance was the fact that the underwater landscape was being passed and he could see himself growing closer to the surface. Otherwise, it would seem like he was swimming in place. He darted through the water like a snake. Smooth, effortless, fast. He would dart and breach the surface to shoot out of the way of this beast, like a whale or dolphin, or that one flying fish. It was his absolute only chance at not being popcorn shrimp to a dragon, or whatever this mythical water beast was.

Sebas's eyes widened as the surface approached, behind him, the void chased, nipping at his tail. Eyes full of concentration for once in this chaotic situation, his was like a grappling hook in a storm. Desperate to latch on to SOMETHING to hang on to dear life, this only option plan was a sturdy rock and his mind/sanity the hook, this beast the storm. He had no idea how he was able to swim this well, but it was either swim or die. If he weren't full Piscean right now, he'd have gotten caught 60 seconds ago.

The surface was close! Sebas gathered all his energy and launched himself out of the water. He saw a figure approaching him from the sky. Rapidly. He knew his Piscean child when he saw her. It was Orabelle, and here at the worst possible time, about to be eaten along with him. However, the moment he saw her and caught her dissolved the fear into something more calm. Snatching her from her downward descent caused them to spin in the air, making it look like a dance if they had wings and weren't in the OPPOSITE of ideal environment for their species. "Sebas! You're finally Piscean!" she exclaimed happily
That statement brough him back into reality for a moment. "Ora, what the hell is going on here?" he yelled urgently.
Ora pointed down as they reached the apex of their airtime, about to start plummeting. She was smiling and her eyes wide with awe. "It's Her. Our Goddess." The beast launched out of the air, roaring with its maw outstretched. "We're Communing in Marianna's Spirit Region."

The fuck did that mean? Marianna was this beast?! Not what he had been seeing in his dreams since he got charged with Ora's care. That woman was pretty hot for being effectively a fish furry. Sebas wasn't an Interspecies Reviewer, but this beast here was decidedly NOT sexy

Clinging Ora close, Sebas braced himself as they were swallowed into the void of this beast's mouth


----------------------------------------------

The crew, acting zombified indeed and fighting their own individual alcohol demons, were forced to find some semblance of mental clarity upon hearing Fergie's words. Between her, Ash (who was nowhere to be found), and Sebas, there was no least wrathful of the 3. God's judgement could come from either of them. The moved in almost half speed to start getting stuff done

Fergie was hit with a wave of nose-melting stink. The ship was a MESS, as the crew basically partied until they dropped. The smell of alcohol and piss permeated the ship's air. Shattered plates, spilled food smelling of rot after sitting out all night in the warm air and then baking in the blazing hot afternoon sun, without the mercy of clouds to cut back on the heat. Clothes lying about, some scattered weapons, gunpowder, blood for some reason, vomit. It was something that, knowing Sebas and how he liked to keep things more controlled, added a lot of validity to Fergie's sentiment about getting it done before he emerged from his room. Sebas was no Adonis, but with how clean Sebas kept his quarters, living in a pigsty was still a pet peeve, as it should be to anyone..........not most pirates though, it seemed

It would definitely take the rest of the day and a lot of whip cracking to get this ship cleaned up, and this took priority over repairs and maintenance. They still had plenty of days on their no-raid clause to get prepped in that regard. This place was just currently a hellhole, and Fergie didn't have the mercy of a hangover or lingering drunkenness to think about. Elaina could stifle any of her 5 senses, and she probably opted for the sense of smell, which could explain Elaina wasn't gagging her brains out with every breath.

God help if Adonis decided to land on this ship. He'd throw away the whole ship along with the crew. It was like they threw all caution (and maybe standards) to the wind when they didn't have Adonis breathing down their necks. On one hand, it drove in that they were no different than normal pirates. On the other hand, it drove in that they were no different than normal pirates. The deciding factor was an immortal captain with the thirst to look too pretentious for the amount of savagery and vulgarity they engaged in
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Her relief was forgotten as soon as her boot sunk into some nameless, squelchy substance that she immediately regretted investigating with a downcast glance. "Wh--? The fuck?!" Was it dropped clam chowder? Vomit? Some vile concoction of the two? Whatever it was, it stunk something fierce, like rotting seafood would. But as she tried scraping the mess off her sole against the deck, she realized she was dealing with a whole minefield of... things. All the staples of a drunken banquet gone wrong, left to bake in the hot sun and waft in the air like some mocking tribute for the gods above. She hoped they liked their offerings with a side of dried piss.

"Do ye tick-bitten bilgerats need to be TOLD not to wallow in ye's own shit?!" Whatever generous disposition she'd planned to give the crew was effectively tossed overboard to plummet past the clouds below, terminal velocity unable to compete with how fast her disgust and ire rose. "This? All of this?" In a display that only expressed a mere faction of her anger, she halfheartedly kicked aside what remained of a fragmented bowl, a trail of sludgy brown goop left in its wake as it rolled across the deck. "A bloody embarrassment! What if Sebas saw the ship in this state? Gods forbid Adonis!"

Sure to have all their attention now regardless of the state of their hungover brains, she weaved among them as she paced the deck, looking to all as she belted out her lecture. "Though neither's breathin' down our necks this second, we're still under the Basenji flag. And that means upholding some damn standards." Fergie herself wasn't particular about hygiene. A quick dip into the sea or a tub of saltwater was good enough of a bath for her, so long as she didn't still reek like a sheep's crusty ass after drying off. But this went beyond particularities; she was no health inspector, and it was hardly as if pirates cared about that sort of thing, but this whole deck was becoming a petri dish with all the contaminants soaking and baking into it. "You lot of pirates might not give a fuck, but point is, Captains do. So long's we work for 'em, we uphold their standards." She passed by a group of pirates half-passed out and laying in some of whatever unidentifiable muck. They were given a particularly piercing glare. "An' takin' down a Golden Gun airship don't make the fact that ye fuckers apparently like the smell of ye's own shit any less embarrassing. Some of ye's know no shame, an' it makes me sick."

Credit where credit was due was a motto Fergie lived by, whether it meant dishing out praise or disdain. "I shouldn't even be givin' this speech. I ain't ye's mum. But I AM somethin' FAR worse." Sweeping over the crew with a razor gaze, she pointed at the filthy floor they stood on. "Come evening, the only ugly thing I see on this deck better be me own reflection! I want this place swabbed SPOTLESS! If I see so much as a wee SPECK of shit, then I swear, I'll make each and every one of ye's NEVER want to touch a drop of booze again!" Well, that wasn't much of a threat. A pirate would endure endless trials and tribulations, torment and humiliation, just for their precious rum. It was sort of the job description. "And I'll string ye's up by yer toenails an' beat ya's 'till ye aint got an ass left!" Better.

"So get with it! You!" She pointed at a few select crewmates who weren't staggering in place so much. "Clean up all these shards! You's over there, get some buckets! Anyone too hungover to stand can scrub the deck on hands an' knees!" Finally reacting to the awful stench that permeated the place by grimacing and waving away the putrid air, she ordered, "And someone get a mage to mask up this smell! Jesus fuck..."

No excuses would be allowed; if you were conscious and uninjured, you were working. But that easily extended to herself. Stressed or not, oversleeping as a leader was unacceptable in her mind, especially when situations like this could arise should the others be out of commission. It was no wonder why Elaina was as pissed as she was, being left to cope with that disaster. Though Fergie didn't care for her attempt to order her around, she really couldn't hold it against her. Hell, she herself would have been doing the same thing, even worse had the roles been reversed.

Cracking the whip on the crew's rears to make sure they kept up the work was the priority, but Fergie would be issuing apologies to her equals and betters come the time. Though while she made a headcount of the crew members on deck, a realization hit her. "Who's last seen Ash?" she demanded of whoever listened. Considering that she would have ripped into them for leaving the deck like this just as readily, it was odd that she was nowhere to be seen. Logic dictated she was oversleeping too, or doing whatever weird bear ritual she was talking about yesterday, but Fergie couldn't bite back the paranoia that something was amiss.

Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye​

In the pitch black dark, Sebas sighed. "You better be right on this, Ora."
Her face fins brushing against his leg told him that she was nodding. "That Viperfish beast is Her preferred avatar. She is nestled within."

As if on queue, a small light glowed amongst the otherwise unseeable dark. Ora began to follow and Sebas behind her, gun at the ready in one hand and the other ready to grasp Ora's foot to pull her behind him. It seemed like that swam in place, light seemingly never growing an inch closer or illuminating as much area as a period at the end of a sentence made on paper.

Like when he swam with Fergie into the viperfish pit, this darkness was oppressive darkness, a darkness seeming made by magic moreso than natural darkness. Then again, he doubted the insides of a beast would be naturally illuminated. It was the kind of darkness that made him uneasy, even though he had seemingly transformed into a weird Piscean form.

Soon, after what seemed like 5 minutes, the light began to grow. This prompted the duo to swim faster until they were engulfed in the blinding white light, which burned Sebas's eyes something fierce.

When he came to, he was floating in what could only be described as an aquarium in a completely white backdrop. Ora grabbed his hand as a splash occured and a being swam down in front of them. THIS was the fish furry woman that came to him in his dreams. "Mariana?"
This earned him a sharp pinch from Ora to his unscaled under-wrist. "Show some respect," she said sharply, then moved into the familiar position that Ora described as their bow of respect. As usual though, Sebas wasn't doing that shit. God or not, he wasn't about to bow for a damn thing. If he could describe Evangeline's breasts in an objectifying way and not be struck down, he'd be fine. A god that demanded to be bowed down to wasn't worthy of it, at least not in his mind

"Rise, my child," Mariana said. Her voice sounded serene but a bit hollow and echowy. "No need for such formalities in my presence."
"Good," Sebas said gruffly, "Why am I here? Why is Ora here?"
"Ora is here of her own volition," Mariana said, with seeming infinite patience. "I know you appreciate her moral support." Sebas wouldn't admit it in this moment, but he certainly did. "You've been abiding by my word faithfully."
"Don't flatter yourself, Goddess. I do it for Ora, not myself."
"Sebas!"
"But you feel and benefit from my influence, do you not?" she said with an admittedly welcoming and calming smile. "You have SOME faith, unlike what you have felt for other gods, do you not?" She inquired, and Sebas felt called out with these questions she already knew the answer to. Mariana wasn't exactly subtle with enforcing Her will on Sebas




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"Ash is........." The man couldn't finish the thought. Something about being made to move mixed with Fergie's wrath, mixed with his own drunkenness made him unable to finish the sentence.
"Ash is in the chapel doing some crazy thing with her bear."
"Probably getting fucked by it on the pew," someone piped up with a vulgar laugh, sending a few into crazed drunken laughter as they continued to do what Fergie ordered. "I'd pay to see that one!" Even more uproarious laughter. That was indeed liquid courage they were on

The sobering wrath made the crew move with a quickness, their staggering dazed drunkenness and hangovers having to be ignored. A lot of them groaned and muttered their curses at having to move their asses, but none of them were too drunk to lose all reason and dare argue. To note was Fergie's special friend moving without such daze, weaving through the zombified crew easily. If he weren't amongst the zombified ilk, maybe she was correct to not drink last night. He was part of the ones sweeping up the glass around the ship, wearing a cloth on his face likely to stifle a bit of that unholy smell.

"Fergie," Elaina said, standing in a doorway with a smirk on her face, "Now's your time to get him." She said in a low voice. "With these idiots as they are, you can pull him aside and end him, then throw his body from the ship. Plausible deniability. Capt's out. Bogrum's out. Crew is out. He's a wimp. Why not now?" Elaina's face was giving way to that less innocent, more condescending and more sadistic side, the more PIRATE Elaina instead of the nerd Elaina. She definitely engaged in human experimentation
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Okay, weird bear ritual, that checks out. That meant "not to be disturbed", so Fergie wouldn't press further. The crew was doing more than enough speculation for her, anyway.

This was the hard part of being among leadership. Fergie as a sailor was a very different woman, and would have been laughing right along with the crass back and forth. But Fergie as a raid leader had an example to set, that being to NOT mock her fellow officers in front of her charge. Some might have noticed the held in laughter, the smirk she bit back with a fang over her lip. But her most obvious course of action was to stride past the jokester and swat the back his head with a palm as she walked. "Respect yer betters."

Tch, "getting fucked". She's a wild woman, if anyone's "getting fucked", it's that bear.


Elaina's voice from the aftercastle as she walked past got her attention, especially the topic. Fergie leaned her back against the wall close to the doorway, keeping her eye on the crew as they worked. Though Elaina surely was honed in on their target, Fergie's gaze was sweeping, not lingering on any one particular person. "Yer gonna have to point 'im out," she whispered back. "'Cause I can't recognize 'im."

It was something that had occurred to her soon after the incident with the belt, but she had no time to discuss it with their expert Sensory Mage. For... reasons. "Hair, face, voice, nothin'. Just a blank slate." This had to be the guy. The same one who Bogrum caught following her the other day. When he pointed him out and she brushed it off, she couldn't recollect anything about the guy. She'd written it off as her mood at the time distracting her. Forgetting a face once was easy to disregard, but twice? Gods forbid she allowed a third time. What happened in the restaurant was so ingrained in her mind, there was no way she'd just "forget" what a new threat looked like. "Only that he looked crusty as fuck, but that's it." And everyone on the ship looked crusty as fuck after wading in the afterbirth of last night's party for hours in the sun. "He must have some sort of illusion shit goin' on, like meself."

It was only after she uttered that sentence that she realized how little sense that made. That creep was under constant supervision from Elaina, and was a vector for her science experimentation shit. There was no damn way a Sensory expert wouldn't know if her test subject had an illusion spell, no matter how selective it was. It hit her like a barrel to the back in bad weather, and she ducked hurriedly into the doorway with Elaina, urgency quickening her words. "Scan me. He's got me tagged."

Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Elaina Melora D'Umbra
The Canine- Deck- Side Room​

Elaina's eyes flashed a quick purple. "Lift up your hat, Fergie."

When she did so, Fergie would see a very small purple symbol on the inside of her hat, near the interior top. It was completely unnoticeable if it wasn't glowing. This was confirmed when it finally stopped glowing, making it completely invisible, even when put under some light. "He cursed your hat." Fergie's hunch was spot on, her paranoia not unfounded. While Elaina was stifling amusement up to this point, now things were getting a bit serious. Fergie would notice if she were cursed, but not necessarily if an item on her was cursed.

"The curse is called Mind Shroud. It shrouds the user's memory about a specific thing, making the victim unable to recall details," she explained, "You must be specific about what it is you don't want the victim recalling. In this case, it's used to keep you from remembering who you should look out for." She shook her head of the will to go nerd-mode about this curse. She was actually impressed at the play for paranoia. "This particular curse on your hat is coded differently. Instead of being a passive curse, it is an activated curse." Since activated curses were stronger than passive (always active) curses, Fergie was probably under a strong effect. "There is an activation condition tied to this curse." Meaning that something Fergie did activated the curse's effects. Since the activation effect wasn't explained to her, there was no real way of knowing short of analyzing the spell. It could be walking into her room, or saying a specific word or phrase, or doing ANYTHING

"I could look into it and get back to you with a condition, but......." Elaina looked at Fergie with a note of seriousness. "It's easier to just burn this hat and use a different one. As long as you have it on, your illusion relic is useless." Since the assassin knew what the curse was on, he wouldn't NEED to find Fergie or remember her face. He'd just need to follow the curse mark and, Illusion Relic or not, he had her perma-tagged. It didn't have to be activated. As long as she had that cursed hat on, she may as well take off the Illusion Relic

She conjured up a vial. "This gives you the ability to see everything that is accursed or under accursed influence. Check ALL of your personal belongings for curse marks. If it's cursed, I say burn it but at least keep it away from you, all grouped up together. If you feel like too much of your stuff is accursed, get back to me and I will figure out how to dispel them." It was a major pain in the ass to figure out how to dispel an advanced curse as it tended to be specific, which is why it was easier to burn it than to dispel it. However, Elaina couldn't just have Fergie torch all of her personal belongings.

To Elaina, all of these things were getting interesting. It was turning out to be a hell of a case to watch. Her motto was to keep out of people's business, but given that her own preconceived notions made her look incredibly foolish on multiple fronts, she would extend a helping hand here. "Don't do anything until you get that done. After that, we will figure out how to alleviate the effects of the Mind Shroud on you now." Once they cleared up the Mind Shroud, Fergie could get down to business on confronting her hunter

Problem is, the crew would be sober then, meaning their prime opportunity would need to be set up again. That is, if Fergie wanted to end her hunter. He was ramping up his efforts to find her though
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Seeing the hint of purple glow in her hat brought about a similar feeling Fergie had gotten finding the Ord of Misfortune on her ankle. There was indignation, but a great deal of dread along with it. Of fuckin' course he tagged Lucy... Though she had a magical connection to the mushroom cap, it wasn't technically a part of her, not like her lichen extensions were. The nature of the curse must have been too subtle for her to notice through Lucy.

The dread chilling her blood wasn't reserved for herself, demonstrated by the shock that froze her face when Elaina made her suggestion. The very thought of burning her most prized position brought her to cling it to her chest, as if someone would make the decision for her by snatching it away and casting it into an open flame. It didn't need to be said; that wouldn't be an option for her. If anything, she could just toss it in her room while she went about the day. Everyone already knew where she slept.

Rolling the vial between her fingers before clutching it tight, she gave Elaina a sharp nod. "Aye. Got me permission to yell at the crew if they start slackin'." Unlikely that Elaina would have to; Fergie wasn't bluffing when she said she'd beat their asses if they didn't finish cleaning up their own mess. And she wasn't going to let her investigation take long, indicated by her repeated words, "Give me two," before rushing off down the hall.

As she made haste, her mind began to race, piecing together all the parts of the puzzle. How could this have happened? She never let Lucy out of her sight, not without ensuring her security. Bogrum had locked the door after she left her stuff in his room. It couldn't have been then, that guy wasn't his roommate. She should know, she caught the asshole spreading drunken rumors about how Bogrum and her had to be screwing because he found her hat in his bed. The crew would believe whatever they wanted, so instead of arguing, she just kicked him in the gut and watched him puke his ale back up. It was funny. Then how the fuck... oh hell no. Then there was when she was passed out on the floor just hours before, knocked out cold. Sebas said he found her, so who knew how long she was out. Could it have been then that the guy sneaked by, taking advantage of her unresponsiveness to plant a tag on her? The Ord of Misfortune... and she had thought her worst misfortune from that was the humiliation.

She huffed, rising anger increasing the speed of her strides. Damn that angel! This was worse than she'd imagined. Elaina pointing out that it was good timing to off her pursuer was a double-edged sword. If it was good for her, it was good for him too. She couldn't let herself be alone for long in any one place, which is why she flew into her room and locked the door behind her tight, downing the vial and beginning her hectic investigation. At least she didn't have many belongings to rifle through.

Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

As Fergie went through her stuff, it wasn't just one thing. It was multiple upon multiple. Her precious belongings were cursed and cursed and cursed. Her tops, her bottoms, her weapons, her freaking panties. Like 90% of her belongings were cursed. She wouldn't even have a full set of clothes of items not cursed. Given the sequence of events, there was no telling when it got cursed, if it got cursed by him, if he sought a favor from Evangeline or Baroness or even this new "technicolor twink" god. Thinking about it, her disrespect of the divine was starting to lengthen her list of avenues this man could use to keep her in his sights, or was he toying with her? There was also the prospect of favors from Adonis, though there was reason to believe that a captain wouldn't want someone to hunt down another crew member of his own ship. Crew on crew murder decimated trust and Adonis seemed to have curses inflicted on Basenjis who harmed Basenjis (Kersact couldn't steal from a Basenji, for example

Regardless, a ton of her stuff was cursed and there were too numerous of options and time to inflict them between the divinity, her going on missions, her being out of it, and her drinking herself down.

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Meanwhile, Elaina was out barking orders, on some sort of power trip. Between having to turn off her sense of smell to prevent adding to the vomit supply, and these drunken idiots ping-ponging between wanting to fuck her and spreading whore rumors when she didn't reciprocate such feelings, she honestly wanted to use a good 75% of this crew for her experiments, starting with the ones who claimed to have slept with her. She was like a slave-driver and some of the leadership might even agree. Sebas definitely would if he woke up and saw this manifestation of destructive slobbery. Then again, he would put her to work alongside them, despite the most mess her making was her multiple library books she hadn't put back on the shelf yet, open to the pages she kept it on and hopefully NOT with alcohol and/or food stains on the pages.

At least for now, she got all the benefits of ordering people around with none of the long term responsibilities. Even if it was from some of the most disgusting things her 5 senses ever had to process.

WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

"How in the fuck...?!" Stripped down to nothing and she was STILL finding curse marks, a purple glow even manifesting on her briefs when she lifted them up. "Well, fuck me. This guy's good." Or ye're just careless. She tossed them aside, freeing her hand to brush her chin in contemplation. It still freaked her out, how her hunter had managed to get a hold on her personal belongings somehow. On such an excessive level, too. Careless or not, she had been too paranoid about locking her belongings for it to have been such an easy feat. Either he knew how to utilize the narrow windows of time where she'd been compromised, or he'd gotten favors from any number of the numerous divines residing among the crew. And they had plenty of reason to grant his wishes, given their mutual hostility...

But the how of it wasn't important. She knew the what, and while she was hardly in a relaxed state knowing what she was up against, not knowing had been objectively worse. Now she knew how he was evading her, how he was finding her, and to what extent it reached to. Can't dispel all this shit. He'll notice. If he found out they knew what was up, his efforts to do her in would start getting frantic. She needed to be able to predict him so she wouldn't leave more of a mess killing him. That, and she doubted Elaina would be willing to go through the work of dispelling that many curses, not without compensation. She had said she was willing to help her yesterday, but... Tch. Say ye respect me, an' kick me in the dirt not an hour later. Ain't trustin' a damn thing outta that mouth.

Turning it all against him would be a cake walk. She'd borrow an untouched dagger from the hold, leave her door unlocked, make a decoy in the bed, strip down and hide out in the corner, and wait. She remembered the knob jostling ever so slightly while she was in her hammock last night, someone testing the lock from the other side. It had kept her up for hours, but now it made her certain he would continue to try it, waiting for her to slip up. She'd grant that opportunity, come tonight.

Check, bitch.

---

"Oi, Elaina!" Fergie approached her on the deck, hands in her pockets and hardly as disheveled as she'd been rushing out of her bedroom earlier that morn- noon. An air of nonchalance about her as she said, "Easy lass, they've barely got them wits about 'em." Nevermind the lambasting she'd given the crew herself, and was giving the crew now as she swiveled towards one idling pair of hands. "RIPELY, GET THAT ASS MOVIN', 'R I'LL DRAG YE TO THAT ANGEL MESELF!!" She turned back and addressed Elaina with comparative calm, motioning her head towards the door. "We gotta talk inventory, 'fore Captain comes out. These drunks cleaned us out."

Decoy soon forgotten once they'd moved out of earshot, she got to the chase. "Found a few items. That weren't cursed." Not caring how well she'd take to the attempt at humor, Fergie was quick to insist. "Don't worry 'bout dispellin' nothin'. He'll know we're onto 'im." She wasn't about to tell her the full plan. No one was getting caught in the crossfire of this confrontation, if she could help it. "I'll be too busy wranglin' these idiots for 'im to get a go at me." Based on her understanding, stripping down to nothing would fix the problem, and she'd recognize the asshole once he stepped into her room. All she really needed to do up to that point was not be alone, not be out of earshot of any coherent crewmate.


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Fergie's plan was put into fruition, with them having to split efforts and co-lead the crew into cleaning the ship. With threats of not being able to drink a single drop of alcohol until the ship was cleaned, the hungover crew was wanting to extend their drunkenness and so they whipped into a staggering overdrive. Elaina especially was enjoying her power trip, at one point making a pirate clean glass barefoot for his hungover vulgar attempt at hitting on her. It seemed like anyone who wasn't her equal or higher may as well be a worm, a sentiment increased by the fact that the crew weren't in the best mindset and that, since they were pirates, drunkenness and vulgarity were a way of life. While one could condemn the being disgusting and living like pigs, getting drunk, playing cards and pillaging were a way of life



Sebas emerged well into the evening. He was a bit dazed, but was brimming with a weird energy about him. Most didn't notice it, but Fergie and Elaina could see that, at times, his eyes were different. Like Ora's, yellow with a vertical iris. Freaky shit, but it happened only once in a while if they concentrated on his eyes.

The rest of the evening and night were, for the most part, uneventful. Drinking, gambling, tone-deaf singing. General pirate mirth. However, unlike last night, Sebas shut things down earlier. While the ship was cleaned, Fergie did report to him that the ship did look like a pig sty and they spent all day cleaning. For that, they dialed back in the drinking at least for a night.

--------------------------------------------

Nearing Midnight

He slunk through the night, quiet as a corpse as he tip-toed across the ship's floors into the leadership sector of the ship. For some reason, Fergie has removed his curses. It was undeniable as, for the rest of the day after a certain point he couldn't put his hands on, all of his curse marks led him to her room and not the person wearing accursed clothes. There was no way she was just lying about in her room, so she had become privy to that information somehow. Maybe Elaina. Maybe one of the divinity. Regardless, he couldn't find her anywhere around the ship at any point. Every time he asked, they pointed him to someone that clearly wasn't her. Just another scrub on the ship. He knew what Fergie looked like. Maybe Elaina put them all up to yanking his chain. Hmmmm......still, he couldn't get access to her at all. For that reason, he had to be completely sure that she were in her room, hence why he waited to nightfall.

Having removed his shoes and any noise-making armor, his feet enchanted with deafening magic, he was dead silent as he made it to Fergie's door. Armed with a dagger, a poison vial, a suppressed gun, and a barrier to block off escape, he would claim her here. Tonight. That bounty claimed and the curse lifted, he was ready to be free. The man grabbed the door and gave it as gently a twist as he could. It didn't catch, so it was unlocked. Putting a suppression spell on the door to prevent creaking and any sounds made by contact with anything else, he pushed it open and slunk in like a shadow. There she was, soft heaving to signify sleep.

Moving gently, the man crept up to the bed and then STABBED into it, not stopping until he was certain the target was dead, which would be nothing short of mutilating the body. In a world of magic, not even triple-tapping would be enough at times. Just stab stab stab until there was no recognizable body to be seen when he lifted up the covers.
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

The day turned out to be easy to manage. Between making sure Elaina wasn't using her temporary authority to be too needlessly cruel (though with the way she'd heard some of the men talk to her, she allowed her some retribution here), ensuring everything was shipshape before Sebas woke up, and checking up on Bogrum's progress with the doctor, Fergie was always within view of at least one person, making any assassination attempt impossible unless her pursuer wanted to expose himself in front of the crew. When Sebas sent everyone off to turn in for the night early, she eagerly returned to her own room, preparations awaiting her.


The waiting was the hard part. She lay crouched in the darkest corner with not a scrap of cloth on her, her outfit stuffed over a balled up sheet and tucked into bed for its final sleep. Surely the curse marks would lead her would-be killer right to the bait, but it was a matter of when. Her fingers clenched and relaxed over the dagger she held close, itching to plunge it into unsuspecting flesh. She had considered using her Craftsman's Boon for a situation like this, jab a conjured carving blade or stake into his throat, but even that relic had been cursed. She wouldn't give him any reason to look elsewhere from the lump under the blanket.

Though it was difficult keeping her impatience in check, she wouldn't come close to nodding off, just as last night. Just as alert as when she first returned to her room, her eyes immediately caught the movement of the doorknob. Ears were primed to hear the slightest shuffle or squeak, but heard not a thing as he opened the door and crept in. Noise suppression, she surmised. Even after adjusting to the dark, it was hard to make out what he carried on his belt, but from what little light from the hall she could discern the outline of a dagger and a gun. The former was confirmed when it was unsheathed and brought down into the decoy again and again and again. Coward or not, this man had some balls to attempt this murder, and enough wits about him to do it well. He might have gotten away with it, had she not been a paranoid fish.

Didn't close the door. Didn't matter. If anyone outside heard what was about to happen, the stab marks that were being tallied into the bed would give enough justification for her case. While he was locked in kill-mode, she was creeping out of her corner from behind, bare feet carrying her quietly. Fergie didn't have any interest in questioning this guy; what was there to even ask? She doubted a dude who happened across a promising bounty would know anything about the machinations behind it all. All that mattered was that he was dead. That's why by the time he was lifting the blanket to see the bloody mess that wasn't there, she'd be rushing in. One hand clamped over the mouth to hold in his screams, the other sending the dagger's point into his exposed neck, severing artery and windpipe. Unless he had one more trick up his sleeve, she would be claiming him here.


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Stabbed in the neck, he began choking on his own blood and grasping at the neck after Fergie released him. He was trying to speak or gasp for air, but couldn't. The man knew it was over, but he wasn't about to go down without a fight. He'd fight until the last and, thanks to magic, this was actually possible. He couldn't save himself, but he COULD take her down with him

One hand on his neck, he used his free hand to point his gun back and fire, the gun making absolutely no sound but the muzzle flash undeniable. He unloaded until the gun was empty, aiming at Fergie's general area and peppering it with bullets. Unless she saw the gun and foresaw him not dropping immediately when she pierced his neck, she was getting shot at least once. Since he didn't aim though, just panicked thoughtless firing, he was hoping for even a graze of a bullet, anything to stop her movement or send her reeling.

Regardless, he flipped around and dropped his expended gun. Acting as quickly as possible as the drainage of his life pulled him towards the black fast and furiously, he raised his free arm and all the blood pouring from his neck gathered in his hand, forming into a ball and then into a dagger. Eyes wild with panic and rage, he leapt at Fergie with the blood-formed dagger
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Normally, Fergie wouldn't have released someone she had in a death grip. She even would have preferred to choke out the guy first before landing the killing blow, but that wasn't a good idea with someone who had access to both a dagger and a gun. It was often that a victim in this position would be rendered too in shock to retaliate, but any chance of them lashing out was enough for her to let go once she felt warmth sputter between her fingers. She aimed to kick him down to stagger him, but he was quicker, red flashes lighting up the room. She fled from his panicked range of fire, but searing pain in her arm indicated he'd landed a hit. Direct or a graze, she couldn't tell. Not fatal, not important.

She was certain that he'd come after her with the dagger once he'd expended his bullets. It was which dagger she couldn't predict. Why he conjured one from the blood gushing out of his neck instead of using the perfectly good blade left in the bed was beyond her, but she didn't want to find out by letting him jab her with it. Adrenaline and awareness of his impending death must have been making him move at a speed she almost couldn't compete with, as he lunged for her faster than she could leap out of the way of. Her free hand caught his hand as it was brought down, the strength behind his attack causing her arm to tremble as she pushed back. His panicked idiot strength was going to outperform her here, so she made to disarm him by plunging her dagger into his wielding hand.

Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Mistake? Maybe. Like the blood from his neck, the blood that sputtered from the hand Fergie stabbed caused more blood to be added to the pool. The man's strength at this point was weakening, down to a strength Fergie could compete with. In desperation, he took his hand from his neck, conjured another blood dagger using the blood and plunged it into Fergie's stomach. With her having been struggling to keep herself from being stabbed, it left her wide open and, since she stripped from her accursed gear, there was no protection

By this point, the man had a triumphant chuckle at his strike, which sounded like nothing more than a bloody gurgle, and collapsed to his knees. Too much blood loss to continue fighting and still losing more, a throat too pierced and too pooled with blood to speak, he had done all he could to secure a stalemate, a kamikaze move that would ultimately earn him nothing but personal bragging rights that he didn't drop like a complete bitch. He had no idea where he stabbed exactly, or if he hit something that would make it severe if not potentially lethal. He just knew he got her in the stomach, hoping to take her with him.

With that, he dropped and enough was drained from his body to prevent him fighting, and then to die quickly thereafter. Fergie's room smelled thick of blood, nauseatingly so to Sebas and Elaina standing right outside her room. Fergie could sense them there (the whole feeling of being watched was strong) but she had a bit more important matters to deal with.
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Fergie had taken a hit to the gut before. She knew what to expect when a cold blade pierced into her core (blood-hot, in this case). Try as she might to fight her body's responses, she still lurched and gagged, the strength in her limbs faltering from pain not even coursing adrenaline could stifle. An additional blow from her attacker was almost expected in her moment of weakness, but instead she felt his arm slip from her grip as he slowly collapsed, his own strength failing him now that he's scored.

Staggering backwards from the waning threat, her gaze and hands immediately lowered. She could only see and feel hilt and handle, the blade nearly entirely embedded within her flesh. Normally resilient, she could take a few hits and keep going, but not like this. Her spindly body only provided thin sheets of fat and muscle for protection, easily bypassed in close quarters and with her lack of oversight. Careless. There was substantial organ damage for sure. It was visceral, it was gushing blood down her legs onto the floor, and it was going to kill her if she didn't seek a doctor. Very fatal, very important.

Dr. Laylah would be pissed, she expected, being woken up at this hour. Assuming she was asleep at all. Did angels sleep? Not that it was important, considering she was close to joining her assassin. Frantic, Fergie patted the bed, grabbing one of the wads of sheets that had been nearly eviscerated from the man's relentless stabbing. Attempts at compressing the wound were haphazard, having to work around the dagger she refused to pull out here. The gaping hole in her gut that would leave would kill her under a minute.

Even though she understood that well enough, she was still greatly underestimating how much blood she was already losing, hobbling towards the door as if to make the trip to the sick bay herself. It was a sense that had been muffled during the fray, but she understood why it was there now when she could see two figures standing beyond the crack in the ajar door. Something deeper than the dagger in her stomach brought a vile feeling. "It's fine. I'll pay for the clean-up--" the rest that spewed from her mouth was vomited blood, splashing onto the floor and magical barrier that was going to keep her from exiting anyway.

Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

"Shush, Fergie," Sebas replied as he dumped Holy Water from his Everquench Canteen onto the wound. The soothing properties of the water would do some incredibly basic healing and painkilling. Enough to slow some of the bleeding alongside the wrap on her wound. She'd still need some medical attention stat

"Clean up this dude's body, Elaina. I'm gonna call an Emergency Meeting pretty soon," he said. His words were steeled as he picked up his raid captain. Not a care in the world for the blood now soaking his clothes, a good amount of it Fergie's, but most of it belonging to what would be her killer if he didn't haul ass out of here double-time

"How are you gonna approach dealing with this?" Elaina asked him
"Like a pirate." he muttered, "and not the Adonis brand."
--------------------------------------------------------

Fergie woke up in the hospital, looking into the face of Dr. Laylah. It was in the afternoon the next day, judging from the sunlight shining into the Medical Bay. Fergie was in usual hospital patient-wear, completely free of blood, her gunshot and her stab wound both wrapped. "Hello, hello," Dr. Laylah sang, "Fortunately for you, doctors rarely sleep." Doctors to mean angels, given what Fergie knew about her. "Good news: You live. The knife plunged into your body was a good attempt.......for someone who never stabbed anyone before." It was a desperation attempt from a man already close to death. Despite the copious amounts of bleeding, it wasn't like she'd be here as long as Bogrum was

"Compressing the wound, leaving the knife in you, washing it with Holy Water, and getting you here as quick as he did." Laylah explained, "If ANY of those 4 things didn't happen, you'd have met my God. How bittersweet." Grim words coming so happily from the mouth of the woman who just saved her from death's door. It was enough to make one wonder how Laylah personally felt about death despite it being her job to keep people from it

She quickly went over her clipboard. When explanation to her patient finally exhausted, she gave a kind smile and a nod. "That should be about all for now. If you need something, rarely will I NOT be here." With that, she moved on to another patient.
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Waking up somewhere other than her room was just expected at this point. The sun in the bay had been ignored since morning, her body rousing only when it felt like it could face the world again after what happened. Fergie herself just wanted to go back to that floating nothingness, but by the time she was blinking sleep out of her eyes, there was chatter in her ear. Huh, so the doctor wasn't pissed off at her? Considering how much trouble she'd proven herself to be in the past week, it came as a surprise. Maybe she'd just seen everything in her divinity, patience everlasting and unmoved by pirates and their way of throwing caution to the wind. Even though they tossed out sense and reason as well, just to see how far it could skip away before sinking into the sea for good.

But who had less sense? The assassin who didn't know how to land a death blow, or the pirate who didn't know how to avoid getting killed? Fergie sighed into her hands, surprised she could even lift them after how much blood she'd lost. Surprised that it was her body she was moving, and that she was still in it, her soul not being whisked away in the currents of the Soul Sea. It wasn't as if she hadn't known she was going to die in that state without aid. At the time, adrenaline dulling her pain and blood loss slowing her reasoning, there had been some deluded hope telling her that she could make it herself. Why did she keep letting herself think that...

When Dr. Laylah was walking away, Fergie turned her head from side to side, idly wondering where Bogrum was in here. Probably behind curtains, safe from interference as he was kept in a near-death state. The lichen piece she had told him to pocket had already lost connection, so she couldn't locate him that way. Her next thoughts were of Lucy; it wasn't by her bedside, but she could tell her hat was somewhere on the ship. Idle or moving, she wasn't well enough to tell. Eyes now lingering on the sick bay exit, she was wary of who might enter. If anyone's pissed at me, it's him.


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

The person who walked in was.......Adonis. Words of "shit...." inbound from many of the patients in the medical bay came as soon as recognition hit. The man looked none too pleased, though she couldn't be too sure if it was her he was pissed at. Laylah came over to meet Adonis
"Captain?" Laylah asked kindly
"Doctor?" Adonis responded.
Seemed weird, but the tension in this medical bay was instantly palpable, dense enough to put a bullet in. "I take it you didn't enter for treatment."
"Indeed. We got traitors onboard," he said darkly.
Laylah nodded, her expression finally falling serious, "The recreation I got from Fergie didn't lie. She acted in self-defense."
He looked to Fergie and then snorted. "I didn't doubt her," he said, turning back to Laylah "......Sebas put a bullet in the head of another pirate. Traitor, correct?"
"Correct. The recreation I got from that one told me there was an attempt at sabotage in Bogrum's raid that he was part of."

That wasn't good. However, that meant something else was at play. Was she being hunted? Or was this something bigger than her life as an individual? Was the one she killed hunting FERGIE? Or was he hunting a raid captain? "Carry on," Adonis said. "We will converse later." He stopped at Fergie's bed for a second, obviously contemplating speaking to her, but then deciding not to. Maybe he just decided against it given the recent situation as he just left instead of speaking to her

This was a problem. A situation that would undermine trust to the core, and it seemed like they were looking for Adonis to split things up. It meant there was a conspiracy on Adonis's ship as well.
Mutiny? Who knew?

Laylah looked worried, an uncharacteristic moment for the cheery angel, but she kept to her job. Apparently, she had an additional job than JUST healing the pirates on this ship.
"My sister-in-arms and I are on complete guard," Laylah said with an exasperated sigh, "One of my few Provocations is someone attempting to harm me, my patients, or damage places of healing or worship......or disobeying my medical orders.....Geez, I don't want to take a life." Her mind was preoccupied with the idea that someone could attack Fergie or even Bogrum while they were in the Med bay......or attack them period as a traitor to the Basenjis.

Laylah looked to all of her patients in their various states of injury. "Let me be clear," she declared over the group. "By order of Captain Adonis, do not attempt to skirt my medical orders. We've entered a heightened state of alert and doing so will put attention on you that you wouldn't want." While usually her dragging attempting-to-escape patients back into their beds used to be something of comedic effect, now it seemed a lot more no-nonsense coming from her.

There were rats amongst the dogs, and every one of them were sniffing out for them.


------------------------------------

The next few days crept by agonizingly slow. The overall leadership made passes between the ships, looking to sniff out the rats. Damon (the werewolf) literally sniffed them for anything suspicious. Fatimah conducted some high-power lie detecting. Evangeline stalking around with her sword drawn, eyes on fire with righteous anger. Elaina had eyes between the ships. Sebas seemed razor focused. Avery was never seen away from Sebas and never outside of cat form, probably as an iron-clad alibi. Ash kept the troops busy as stand-in Raid Captain with a grown-up Mama Bear prowling the ship on high alert

Fergie was forced to stare at a medical bay ceiling day in and day out, allowed out only to take a leak. The Medical Bay was locked down, with only leadership and new patients allowed entry as enforced by Naka.

Due to Adonis wanting to speed up recovery, he brought the doctor from the Basenji ship onto the Canine Ship, a High Priest. With that............... "♪Fergie♪," Laylah sang happily, "♫You and Bogrum have been secured release.♫" Not having seen the man in half a week at this point, he was completely comatose all of those days while his body healed up. "Head into the Stasis Room and grab him. Watch your back when you leave, and make sure he knows."
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

When instead the Basenjis' captain stepped in, Fergie visibly tensed all over. Take that back. It's him. He's pissed. There could only be one reason he was here now. But how could he have found out? Sebas was the only soul on the ship who she told about her plight, at least regarding the involvement of the Bronze Ballasts. He wasn't the sort to spill... unless he wasn't given a choice in the matter. I am fucked.

She was in the process of conjuring an explanation for herself, biting down a surge of panic at the utterance of "traitors", until she understood where the conversation was headed. "Traitors" being plural... had she led the Ballasts to them? The thought was smacked away; if the Ballasts wanted to settle a score with the Basenjis, it would have happened regardless of her involvement. But whether she was playing an unwilling part in this, or just happened to be in the way, she was certain it had to be them. That was the only reason her would-have-been assassin couldn't recognize her, her relic banning her appearance from all who were loyal to the Ballasts.

Adonis's gaze passed over her, and she stared back, wordless. When it was clear that he wouldn't be speaking, turning to take his leave, a thought occurred to her. I could help. She knew their tactics, how they operated. She had reason to suspect it was them. Though it would require outing herself as a fugitive in the process, risking whatever would come of that, there was an undeniable benefit. If the Ballasts wanted to cause harm to a rival in any way, it was in her best interest to stop them. If she could throw a wrench in the ever expanding machine that was their power and influence, it was a win for her.

He was already gone, but this was a decision that would take some time.

----

And some time she had. Well more than enough.

Between the lockdown and the conspiracy going on, Fergie was going stir-crazy, forced to watch the walls for recreation when whittling was getting boring (and Dr. Laylah fussing at her for getting wood shavings in her bed again). Despite the ebbing pain in her gut, as a mortal stab wound would do, she had even been tempted to try talking Naka into letting her get some fresh air. An ill-fated attempt it would have been. Fergie was only persuasive through intimidation, and trying to intimidate Naka would probably be like a fly trying to convince a horse to let it stick around its rear, only to be smacked away with a swish from its tail. That, and the whole "don't draw attention to yourself" the doctor had warned against.

So when not only her release was announced, but Bogrum's as well, Fergie was pulling the sheets off and rushing to the Stasis Bay. When she entered, peering inside from the doorway, she saw him seated in his bed and looking her way, as if he was expecting her. He smiled and opened his mouth, but she beat him to it. "Ain't ye a sight for sore eyes."
"Likewise." He made to get up, legs propping him in barely a hunched position, but dizziness or weakness made him decide to fall back to the bed. "I might need a few more minutes."
"Good. Need to catch you up on things," she said, stepping inside and shutting the door behind her. All other beds were either empty or keeping a patient frozen, so her next words would only be heard by him. "But... uh... how're ye feelin'?"
He took a moment to assess, and ended up shrugging his shoulders. "Alive." He'd already noticed her similar gown to his, but now finally made mention. "Have you been lucid this whole time? Doc said I was out for a week. She told me everything."
""Everything" meanin' the diagnosis, or the absolute shitshow goin' on outside?"
His face falling suggested that the latter was news.

Fergie gave him the gist. She told him about the assassination attempt, the attempts at sabotage coming into the limelight, how the ships were under lockdown in search of the moles burrowing about among their crew members.
"So it's not you they're after?" He didn't know if he should be relieved or not.
"I don't..." she huffed a sigh, arms folding. "Fuck, I don't know. Could be I'm just in the way." Her gaze cast down. "Or I led 'em here."
"You said they've been targeting leadership. The fact that he only started following you after you became a raid captain makes me think it has more to do with that."
Bogrum had a good point, but she'd say no more of that, looking back towards the door. "We need to find Sebas. Any more ideas, he needs to know about."

After giving their thanks to Dr. Laylah and her assistants, they made to exit the Medical Bay, passing the towering Naka. Bogrum seemed happy to see her, beaming when he said, "Ah, hello Naka. I hope you've been faring well, despite circumstances."
"Psh. Politesse, just after meltin' outta the ice cube. I'd be bitin' heads off."
"As if you don't normally?"
Already back to quipping at her. Could he really act so normal after everything? Fergie envied him. "We need to find Sebas ASAP. Know where he be?"


Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

"Welcome back, raid captains," Naka responded, her deep voice sounding welcome but tense. Given the situation, everything seemed tense. Still, her smile was a fresh sight amongst the itchy trigger fingers and short-tempered atmosphere. "Naka and Ash has been working in your stead. Frankly, Naka is glad you're taking the reigns again." That suggests that the jovial mood has aged like milk this close to the sun.

"Circumstances......." Naka said, "have not been ideal. Talk of rats amongst dogs doesn't sit well with Naka" Her tone got darker, "especially if among Naka's group." Her knuckles were white and gripped with the strength to crush a dragon's tail through its scales. "Captain Sebas is speaking with navigation. According to Elaina, Captain Adonis is looking to make a stop. Sky ruins, apparently. There is something Leader Fatimah wants from there."


With the ship's stopping, it could be seen as an effort to get the crew back together. Or Adonis just wouldn't let a few rats make them skip what was already a planned stop. Live for the loot..........

Anyways, as Fergie and Bogrum made their way to navigation, they saw a ton of new faces......and old Basenji uniforms. While Sebas had them wear stuff more comfortable and more freeform so long as it had the Basenji crest, the ones onboard were in their typical more navy-esque uniform. Either augmenting force, the ones under the demonic eye of suspicion, or replacement for their lost, most likely the rejects that Adonis would've put on the front lines to die first in a war anyway. More troops for Fergie to conscript into their savage ranks

On a positive note, the ship was back looking as shiny as it was when they first set sail, able to reflect the night rock floating overhead again. As they made their way through the crew, hails of good cheer sliced through some of the otherwise broody and restless mood. Ash was there giving out orders from atop her grown baby bear. "Ah. Fergie, Bogrum. Glad you made it out," Ash greeted them with a nod. Her aura was a lot more commanding, her eyes seeming more steeled yet more calm. Like an executioner's sword, her gaze was a sharp blade with a rounded tip. This was unlike the blazing axe wrapped with thorns that defined her personality just a couple of days ago. "This is Mama Bear. Those fights got me to my body count so I could upgrade my baby girl into a ferocious lady." Now Mama Bear on her hind legs was standing about as tall as Naka, though all 4s was obviously the preferred mode of presentation

"We have evidence of sabotage via dulled blades and alterations to cannons to cause misfires. I didn't even know until Naka told me what she found after scolding her crew for their bad accuracy." she said to them. If the duo looked back, there was a reason why fights took longer than they should, or why there were a ton of misses unless Naka locked on and guided them herself. It was a subtle thing, unnoticeable unless one knew their crew and their equipment........and if anyone knew their equipment and crew, it was Naka and her mortar team.

It could explain why the battle lasted a hell of a lot longer than it should have, and why their casualty rate was so high for a crew with a smaller overall force.

------------------------------------------

Sebas Deadeye
Navigation​

While Avery stayed close, Sebas kept Orabelle closer. The young girl was not liking this mood around the ship. Everyone looked scarier, their blades sharper, their hands more willing to use them. Their tongues? Accusatory. Their minds? Racing. Their peace? Gone. The girl only left his sight if she were moving into Elaina's sight.

Sebas was calm and cool......on the outside. He had to project that in order to assist in keeping his crew somewhat calm under pressure and to make the rats quake in their shoes. These last few days have been mentally taxing, not being helped with Evangeline walking around his ship with sword drawn. While in her defense, she did find a rat, he didn't like the constant threat she posed. She didn't like him. He was just trusted enough by Adonis that he could pretty much talk to her in the most vulgar sexualizing degrading terms he could muster and she couldn't do a thing about it

Adonis had told him they were headed to a sky ruin, that Fatimah needed something from it. "What about my raid captains?" Sebas had asked him with narrowed eyes.
"You have replacements," was the response from the captain before he left in a flurry of ravens. "Use them. With Laylah on board, they'll be fine." Well he was right about that. When her space was befouled, he had never seen a display of power in his life, or a man so fearful for his own life.

WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Naka expressing her gratitude to step down was given a reassuring smile by Bogrum. It didn't match his eyes, weary and strained as they were, and readily fell flat when she described the situation. So the captain wanted to go about business regardless? It wasn't unwise. "We'll start heading there. Thank you, Naka." Before Fergie could march off far, heading immediately in the direction of the navigation room as expected, he asked, "We are getting our clothes first, right? I'm still cold."

In favor of watching each other's back, they took turns at their respective quarters, each guarding the door while the other gathered their belongings. When they reached her room, Fergie wasn't sure if the effect was psychological or not, but the smell of blood hit her nose even though the inside was spotless of stain. Bogrum hadn't made mention, but if it was real it was probably assumed, knowing that this was the place she had her confrontation.

It was when they were finally making way to navigation when Fergie told him to hand her the piece of lichen he'd been pocketing. She snapped a piece off of her ear and gave him that, prompting a brow raise from him. "Spatial awareness shit. Hang onto it, an' I can find ye anywhere."
"You waited until now to tell me?" Honestly, he figured that was what had been going on, since she suddenly became aware of when to evade him.
"Ne'er asked." When that smug look on her face passed, she explained, "Need to know basis now. In case shit goes down."
"Ah. Noted." Either out of numb curiosity or aimlessness, his thumb brushed circles over the lichen piece. Even though it wasn't physically connected to her anymore, the magic would stay strong for a while, so she was feeling every stroke and touch. She deemed it more awkward to ask him to stop.

Ash and her newly-dubbed Mama Bear were another welcome sight. "Welcome to adulthood, lass. Maybe I'll buy ye a drink." It was hard to tell sometimes, but Bogrum had a sense she wasn't joking here. He wouldn't try deciphering it, Ash's next words taking precedence.
"That... would explain a lot." Bogrum wasn't about to shrug off responsibility. But if someone had sabotaged their weapons, they did a damn good job of it for it to have passed the inspection.
"Bastards. I'll sabotage them fuckin' necks from breathin'."
After hearing her brief recount of the assassination attempt, he believed her.

When they reached the navigation room, Fergie found herself staring the door down. Maybe everything going on would keep it off his mind, but surely seeing her would remind him...
"Well?"
"Mm?" She hasn't realized she'd been hesitating, boots planted. Without a snide word this time, she remedied that by knocking.

Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

Sebas Deadeye
Navigation Room​

Knocks on the door shattered Sebas's concentration. Must be Elaina, he thought. Swiftly answering the door, Sebas was instead hit in the face with recognition of his 2 raid captains. What a pleasant surprise, Sebas thought with a smirk as he looked at the duo. "Looks like Doc brought you back earlier than believed. What a time, what a time." Sebas held the door open for them to enter.

The navigation room was exactly what it seemed. Everything steering and navigation happened in here. Maps, the steering wheel, the engine room analytics, the sonar and present map of surroundings. There were only 2 people who operated in this navigation room. A gruff older man and a decidedly younger co-pilot. The navigation room was sealed with a strong barrier. Like a plane, it was designed to be accessible by only the most important. Here, it was the captain and his raid captains.

Sebas didn't bother with further pleasantries, which may indicate how much he had been doing as of late. He showed them a map. A red dot showed where they were and there were a bunch of things on the map, things that weren't visible of one looked out into the vast sky ahead of them. Out in the far distance, in the corner right of the map, lay an outline of a palisade icon and under it the words "Ahaztutako Herriaren Gaztelua." "OK," he started, "Before we move into the internal struggle, here's our next stop."

Sebas dove into the explanation of what they were up again next

The place was a floating castle......the ruins of it. According to records, the castle was headed by King Hemhart, the king of a country long lost, much of their nitty gritty records burned, the country itself absorbed by into another in the of Griole Empire. The King, having lost the war decisively, ensured his castle, its artifacts, and whatever records they could save, sent himself, his daughter and her 5 year old son, 20 square mile swath of land, and 100 men into the spirit realm to preserve what was left of his country. They have been floating in the Spirit sea for over 200 years

"As some of the last surviving records of this lost kingdom, its records are expensive enough to retire for generations," Sebas said to the duo, "We're talking money that can fund an a Basenji FLEET. For an individual, you can buy your way out of divine contracts." It was enough money to fund an entire fleet for months on end. This doesn't even get into some of the one-of-a-kind loot that has been lost for centuries. Lost currency, ancient spells, treasure maps to chests older than kingdoms standing right now

"The catch?" Sebas chuckled, "King Hemhart and all of his men have grown strong over the course of their time floating along the Spirit Sea. As primitive as they are, there's enough strength in them now for it to not matter TOO much." Not only that, but the prospect of finding their fallen men in the spirit sea. "Fatimah needs something called a......" Sebas looked at the word puzzlingly and struggled to pronounce it, "........ekaitz......... harribitxia. Elaina wants to learn the history. Adonis wants the secrets of how they're sailing the spirit sea."

Back in the saddle at last and an even grander raid was upon them.
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

Sebas's greeting was given an affable smile from Bogrum, who was equally happy to see him. Fergie just stared, confused. He ain't mad at me? Had she worried for nothing, or was it stewing under professionalism, waiting for when they were alone before he let her know how he felt? It had been a spectacular failure on her part, something that shouldn't go overlooked. Maybe it was a matter of waiting.

Bogrum couldn't mask his weariness for long, strain slipping under the cracks of his mask as they were given information on their next task. "We'll be fighting against an army," he said, not as a question but as a realization on his part. The question would be, "Can we say our crew is even prepared for a battle this scale, with everything going on?"
"We'll whip 'em into shape. Loot this big 'll rile up any crew. 'Sides, perfect opportunity to throw traitors to the wolves."
Given the grimace that passed through his defenses, he wasn't thrilled at all with the idea. Though a darker thought told him he should have done the same for the bounty hunter while on that raid. He had already contributed to several deaths, what was one more?

Fergie, meanwhile, thought this was an excellent idea. With loot to fund a fleet for Adonis, he could go up against anything. Renown rival pirates, the Royal Navy, and most importantly, the Bronze Ballasts. As powerful they were in their far reach, they were hardly the force they used to be. Taking on a full ham pirate fleet was out of the question for them. Unless the Commodore was willing to lose a shit-ton of resources just to get back at the Basenjis, which she doubted.

"Doc gave us this gist 'fore we left." Being stuck in the sick bay, not much information on the situation trickled in. "But I wanna know what the fuck happened while I was out. Who's been outed already?

Kylesar1

 

[Kylesar1]

(Sorry. I thought I hit send on this)

Sebas Deadeye
Navigation Room
"Catch a rat or catch a slave......"​

"It won't be just us," Sebas replied, "We'll get wiped. That's why Adonis is whipping up both the main ship and the other escort ship." The escort ship that was mentioned earlier in this RP but not elaborated on because it's not important overall. "Overall, it should give us enough numbers to constitute a fight-worthy force. We'll just be leading the charge as usual while the main ship supplies the longer-range firepower." Overall, they had the force behind them now to actually make something happen. This wasn't a Canine raid. It was a Basenji raid

When they inquired about the rats, Sebas scoffed. "7 total, including the one that tried to off you. 3 on this ship, 1 on main ship, 3 on the other ship. The investigation has been nonstop." That would explain the storm cloud the ship has been under for the last couple of days. "Adonis and leadership are moving back and forth and doing all kinds of stuff to oust them. We have yet to find a connection with all of them, or their motive or any trace of a plan." Sebas had definitely been checking using Elaina's eyes and Fatimah's magic.

"I assumed Adonis was just playing with us by wanting to stop knowing there are rats onboard," Sebas continued, "He can oust them, but Baroness wants a virgin sacrifice and a virgin sacrifice SPECIFICALLY to do it."

When talking to the leadership earlier, according to Baroness she would immediately reveal all of the rats. This immediately made Sebas firmly refuse to push Orabelle as tribute when Adonis had looked at him. Sebas held a cold fury as he matched the eyes of the leadership. The only virgin on the ship was under his care. "One, she's a fucking child. Two, she's MY fucking child. I'll gut all of you if you touch Orabelle," Sebas had spat to the leaders. The amount of venom in his voice was potent, even when recalling it to Fergie and Bogrum, that leadership didn't attempt to suggest otherwise. Sebas didn't even bother bringing up #3, which was that he would die if Ora died. That fact wasn't important.

"So that's kind of a no-go unless we get a Slave Ship. Still, I think there are other ways. We just need to find another rat. I have an idea." The idea was as follows: Find a rat, capture him, get Fatimah to probe his memory and then trace it back to ALL of the rest. "The issue is that we must take them alive, a hard feat in the middle of battle." One that could get THEM branded as a rat if caught attacking another Basenji. A dead body, and especially one that had their brains blown out, produced only fractions of memories, too vague or mixed to be of use. They needed a live rat
WayfaringWaaksian

 

[WayfaringWaaksian]

"An army against an army, then." That seemed to satisfy Bogrum for now, but given the deep frown that settled on his face, there were many concerns left unaddressed. And they would pile on as Sebas described the situation.

The urge to shout "BALLAST" was growing strong, especially when told that no motive or connection was found, but Fergie kept her mouth shut. Until they found more extensive proof that those pirates were involved here, and her would-have-been killer wasn't an outlier, she wasn't about to announce her past beef to the world.
But she would be speaking up when given their options. And with conviction. "No-go, period. No bloody sacrifices." The very fact that it was suggested made her blood boil. "If that Baroness thinks she can play with us like that, then all those damn tributes must've fried her brain." This went beyond their little pet spat they had on and off. This was precisely why she didn't like demons. One's soul being absorbed by one of those divine monstrosities was a fate worse than death, and a fate she wouldn't wish upon ally or enemy.
She was irate that this was even a talking point, but none of that was directed at Sebas. There was acid in his words, so she knew he was angry too. She couldn't know what happened when the Baroness announced her deal, but the fact that it was an option period made it clear that Captain Adonis had to have considered it. Fergie was still looking for a reasonable vase to return to Kersact and get her stuff back, and although her original plan had been to let Adonis keep the relic— having burned that bridge with the Baroness two times over at least— she was starting to reconsider. That was too much power and potential for harm at the hand of a sadistic demonness, and given Adonis's penchant for treating his underlings like pawns in his game...

"It would be a more challenging task," Bogrum offered his piece, and got the beginnings of a stare of bewilderment from Fergie until he carried on, "but I think we should keep our dependence on divine intervention at a minimum. I have no doubt that we'll be able to tackle this issue ourselves, if we put our heads together."
"Jesus Bogrum, don't scare me like that."
"I don't like that Baroness any more than you." If he disliked her more than her was another story. "But I wouldn't worry about it. There's no eligible offer that I know of here, and raiding a slave ship would be counterproductive at best." And disastrous at worst, given how much military reinforcement he could expect in the skies. "Though catching a rat in the act isn't without its own complications. Sebas, did you have particular suspects in mind?"


Kylesar1