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 Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 9:03 pm
One of the crew aboard the Luciana, a tall young man with his dirty blonde ponytail rather the worse for wear after the battle heaved the scorched body of one of their opponents off the deck, letting it fall into the water with a heavy splash. "s**t. Race." He grinned at the man next to him. "That was almost me, you know. Fire manipulator, right behind me."
"Yeah?" Race asked, sounding almost disinterested as he bent down to pick up a dropped saber, adding it to the pile of collected weapons from the dead pirate crew in his arms. They would be turned in later as proof of victory or sold on the black market to dealers if a steeper price could be obtained. "How'd you stop that?"
The crewman clicked his tongue, jabbing forward with an invisible sword. "Popped him right in the gut. Put out his flame just like that." Overhead the darkening sky gave a rumble, a few fat raindrops starting to fall.
His companion looked up, the water splashing onto his face as the rain began to quicken. "Looks like the storm's catching up to us. Hurry up, Axel, or you'll be stuck out here in it." He glanced down the deck. "There's one more body for you to take care of down there. I think they already got all of ours. I'm done. Hopefully we'll be able to make it into port before things get too rough."
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Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:35 pm
Lance got to her feet as Bugai tugged her off of the chair, seemingly a tad reluctant to do so, just so that she would appear non-cooperative. She noticed the subordinates eyes turn to her just for a moment, and she was sure to cast her gaze back to Falk in a mock-loathing way. She needed to keep up as much of an appearance of hatred as she could.
He led her down below deck, and into the brig, locking the captain into a cell. While the rest of the iron cages were empty, Bugai had still chosen the one farthest away from the stairs. The wood from the hull of the ship smelled a little damp, but somehow she found the scent enjoyable...It reminded her of her early days as a captain...If she got annoyed with the crew, which admittedly she did every once in a while no matter how much she loved them, she would go sit down in a cell for a while; it was usually a good indicator for them that she wanted to be alone.
Now however, she wanted very much to have them all alive and well, and irritated with them or not Lance couldn't help but want to round them up and maybe enjoy a few rounds of rum...Well, now they were on a most decidedly different course.
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Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 9:55 pm
Bugai was not gentle as he pushed her into the cell, using one hand as the other held the keys. She did not stumble and he was disappointed, but only mildly so. It was uncomfortable down here and he was certain she would not enjoy her stay, especially with its destination implanted in her mind and the iron shackles tight about her wrists, letting her stray only a few feet in any direction, not quite far enough to reach the edge of her cage. He did not speak as he locked the bars securely, rattling them once to test them although they did not need it. Giving her one last condescending smirk, Bugai left the captain in her dank cell.
***
It was noon now and the sun was directly overhead, beating hotly down on all below in this part of the seas. Cael wiped his brow, shaking the beads of sweat to the deck. He was standing at the head of the ship, mildly watching the seas part before them. His water manipulation was not needed at the moment; the ocean was being cooperative and the little encouragement giving to the sails was plenty. He closed his eyes as the salty air graced his face and pictured the route to their chosen island, already planning out how exactly they should head from there. He might change his mind later, of course, but it was nice to plan these things out, if only for fun. The map seemed nearly real behind his eyes; he could see the creases down it from where it was folded before he bought it and the slight rip on the upper right hand corner. Cael smiled as he pictured it, almost as if dreaming of a lover.
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Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 10:09 pm
Of course, the navigator was quickly pulled from his dream by the captain, walking up behind him and smacking him between the shoulder blades once in an overly energized manner. "Better watch out, Cael, or you might fall overboard and then where would we be?"Said Lina, with a bright smirk. Admittedly, she had quite a bit of affection for the crewman, as he was a recent member of their happy little gang, yet he was just kind of fun to hang around.
"Come on then, Fin's at the helm, and we're on our way to fine drinks and great treasure! Unless you are dreaming about one of the last two mentioned items, I think you should probably be doing something with a tad more entertainment value attached to it,"she encouraged, gesturing back to the crew. They were all minding their stations, but some of them had started a game of dice as well. The Air and water manipulators on duty to keep the sails full and the ship speeding along obviously couldn't participate, but it seemed everyone else was having fun with it between phases their appointed tasks.
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Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 10:18 pm
Cael almost did lose his balance when the captain hit him playfully, but he quickly regained it, turning about with a bright smile. "The rum in port does sound good," he said almost wistfully, letting his tongue briefly dampen his lips. He glanced down at the game of dice, debating momentarily if he felt like joining (and if he had anything on him to wager). "How're our supplies?" Cael asked instead. "I'm dry. We got anything good to drink?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 10:27 pm
She thought for a moment, dreaming of the stock below deck as he had of the map. Lina went over it bottle by bottle, remembering the ones she personally had taken out. "Well...Lets see...Most of the good stashes of rum are gone, so we'll have to restock those, obviously, but...."Silence as she continued to think about what was left after that. After a few seconds more of the quiet, she snapped her fingers, "...But we've still got a bottle or two of 'The Purple Stuff'!" The very name of the drink was given total reverence.
At once, several of the crew member's eyes widened as the words hit their ears. Last time they had brought that stuff out, the hangover lasted for three days, and they played strip poker; Fortunately, as good as the captain was sober, she was at least twice as good bombed, so she ended up winning about 90% of the crew's clothing --- She demanded they keep their underwear, however.
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Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 11:40 pm
Cael grinned widely, clapping the captain on the shoulder. "That sounds great!" His grin stayed as he hurried down to the hold and quickly pulled out a couple bottles of the famed drink, popping the cork out of one of them and taking a swig even as he went back up to the top deck. It burned his mouth and throat as it went down and he felt it coiling comfortably in his stomach. The vapors rising from the bottle were intoxicating even by themselves and he checked his walking to make certain it was still steady; he wanted to avoid the impression that he was a lightweight.
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Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 11:55 pm
Unfortunately for him, most of the crew already thought (whether they voiced it or not) that he was definitively one of the first who would go down when they started drinking. Immediately, several others rushed up to him when he stepped back on deck, grabbing bottles to share. Kit however, had somehow caught wind of the release of the drink.
He walked out on deck, grin on his face, and took a whole bottle from Cael for himself as was tradition; namely, because it was entertaining to watch him smashed and breathing fire. Oddly enough, he never lit anything on fire that shouldn't have been, but all his cooking ended up tasting more smoky.
"Come on then! Drinks for the lively, and a good view of the festivities for those on duty!"said Li happily, grabbing a bottle for herself as well. She took one swig of it (a rather long one), and grinned, looking up into the clouds with the slightly purple-tainted sky. This especially good batch was doing its job well. "Hey Cael, how you holding up?"she said with a little bit of a wicked laugh. She knew he liked the brew, and more than likely he had taken a swig of it on the way up. The captain looked around at her extremely happy crew...They didn't do this sort of thing often, but damn was it fun when they did.
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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 12:29 am
"I'm fine," Cael laughed, sliding down to sit at her feet,the world spinning very slightly about him. He took another drink before passing off the bottle to one of the other crew members as they watched Sain, the youngest member, attempt to demonstrate a few steps of a dance and then fall on his a**. Cael roared with laughter, demonstrating the amount of alcohol in his system, and got to his feet, being careful to maintain his balance.
"Hey, move over, kid," Cael said lightly pushing Sain to the side as he got up again, only to overbalance once more, much to the amusement of those still watching. "This is how you put on a show." He cleared his throat, looking around his 'audience'.
"Fly bonny boat like a bird on the wing
O'er the sailor's cry.
Carry the lad that's born to be king,
O'er the sea and sky.
How the wind howls,
How the wind roars,
Thunder-clap fill the air, oh.
Baffled our foe
Stands on the shore,
Follow they will not dare, oh."
His voice was as clear as if he had not had a drop to drink, a light tenor that dipped with the piercing melody, ending on a softly fading melancholy note. The song itself, contrary to its words, was filled with a lonely heart-breaking desire, although it was not certain if this was how it was designed or simply how Cael had learned it. Regardless, he bowed deeply as it ended, blown apart on the sea breeze, grinning as he soaked up the slightly-drunken applause and cheers.
((...You'd be surprised at how long I've wanted to put this song in here.))
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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 9:19 am
"Way to go!"shouted the captain with a bit of a laugh. It was always entertaining when Cael sang - Which it seemed to her, was almost exclusively when he was drunk. Everyone aboard the Coup d'etat was certainly enjoying themselves at the moment.
"Another! Sing another!"cheered the crew in a somewhat-drunken wave of merriment. They called for any mate with lungs to issue a note or two - despite many of them lacking the navigator's gift for song. At one point, Sain tried to suggest Lina sing. Her response was completely expected.
"You want me to sing? I'll tell you what; the day any one of you beats me at a full game of poker, I will sing like a canary!"she declaired, taking another long drink after.
"Some day, Captain!"replied Fin, with a deep laugh from the helm. Given, he never drank with the crew - especially the purple stuff - but enjoyed seeing everyone having such a good time. In truth, he was also the one who had come closest to beating her at the game. Really, he had stopped drinking with anyone except maybe Li, after his brother had given him up as a drunk.
"Yeah, you wish,"said Lina, with a somewhat cat-like grin. "Come on everyone, lets see if we can get another song out of Cael before he passes out!"she added, followed by a round of cheers and Alyx trying to get him to take another swig of the drink.
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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 8:20 pm
Cael grinned brightly, feeling enveloped in the cheer that surrounded him. "Give me another drink!" He called instead, snatching the bottle that was passed to him from Alyx and tipping his head back for a long, slow gulp. He swayed slightly as he pulled it away from his lips, tossing it neatly to one of the others. "I'm out of songs," he laughed, lying, "but get me a pretty lady and I'll dance for you."
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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 8:33 pm
"Unfortunately we're fresh out of those this far out. You'll have to wait until we get into port!"Said Lina with a bit of a laugh. The captain enjoyed having fun with the crew, they were all so lively...especially when they had a few drinks in them....or, in this case, any more than six drops of the purple stuff.
"Come on Captain! Don't be so..."Sain started, smirking at her a little bit, but he was cut off by Lina.
"Finish that sentence kid, and I will attach you to the anchor,"she said, eying him good-intentionedly, but none the less with a look that said 'push that luck and I might consider actually doing it.' That shut him up quick. "But hey, a few more drinks in you two and maybe we can get our youngest crew members to dance!" That got a roar from the rest of them, something between laughter and cheers.
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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 8:56 pm
"Not a bad idea," Cael tauntingly beckoned Sain forward. "Come on, kid. I'm not going to let you lead, but if you say please I might let you pick the tune." He grinned around him, soaking up the laughter and applause. This was where he liked to be. "Come on, hitch up your skirts," he continued. "Why don't we go for something a little flashy, if you get my drift."
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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 10:41 pm
"No way, nuh-uh, never gonna happen!"said Sain, backing away from Cael like he might explode at any moment. Why did he have to be the girl!? That wasn't fair! Besides, he couldn't dance at all.
"Aw, come on Sain! Give it a try!"said the captain, eager to see the pair dance. This would be something to really remember if the crew could just coerce its youngest member into putting his pride aside (possibly with a few more drinks) and dance. "You wanted me to do it, why not give it a try?"she added, hoping to maybe irritate him into just dancing already.
"No! No chance, there is no force in heaven or hell that could get me to dance!"said the reluctant teen, wide eyed and apparently suspicious suddenly of every other member of the crew with a bottle in his hand.
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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 10:50 pm
"Aw," Cael pretended to be offended, still standing in the middle of the rough circle of crew members that had formed about him, waiting for the show to go on. "Come on, gorgeous. I'll even give you a kiss if you're any good."
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