Ravaged Seas (1x1 Cj and Started)

[cjr09]

"Okay, fine, I may have forgotten you existed. Temporarily." she concedes- if it could even be called that- and gives a flippant shrug.

She scans them both curiously as they get up on deck- they're both taller than her, why was everyone but Lyric taller than her- and jerks her head up to indicate the crows nest above.

"Alright, brief rundown. Captain's quarters are at the stern of the ship-" she waves to the back of the ship, to the door leading under the wheel, "Officer's quarters are directly beneath mine. The rest of the crew's quarters are to the bow; just set up a hammock somewhere. Storage is the vast majority of the hold and wherever else we feel like. We will do just about anything except deal with human or animal sale. If we come across that, we take them back to where they came and set fire to those who do. If you attempt mutiny on me, I will kill you and feed you to Lyric's birds. If you don't know this vessel is called the Morningswan and she is the type of vessel known as a Galleon. Not that big, but she's packs a punch and she's the fastest ship out there. There is a grand total of thirty-six people aboard this ship and we all have to work together to stay alive. Can you do that? she says, and it's more rhetorical than anything as she turns to encompass the ship, sweeping her hands in a grand gesture.

"These people are my family and my friends. If you do something that could threaten them I will personally feed you bit by bit to the crows, she says, staring them down- it's not unkind, but it's not warm either, and after a few moments she seems to concede.

"The only position of useless layabout is taken up by Fenrir, the direwolf you'll see lazing about on deck. Lyric- my navigator- has a thing for birds and as such do not be surprised to go below decks and meet face to face with a crow. Guard anything shiny. That should be about it, so any questions?"

[Startedraining]

Bri hesitantly licked her lips, realizing that this captain wouldn't be messing around. She quickly scanned the ship's deck, "What do we have to do to get this ship gone as fast as possible?" she asked Tetra glancing from the direwolf to the docks. Guards were not around, but there was still a crowd and a hustle going on. It made her very anxious to escape before her brother could be taken from her. She cleared her throat.

Sven looked at ease, "I'm ready to head down. Could one of your other members show us our quarters and a place to stash any objects we may or may not have with us?" he smiled at Tetra, "And maybe a more detailed tour of the ship? Where is off-limits?"

[cjr09]

"A woman after my own heart," Tetra mock-swoons, rolling her eyes dramatically. "The sooner we get out of here the happier I will be. Lyric, show them around, would you?" She calls, glancing skyward.

Lyric thumps down next to them in a blur of black and green.

"Hi," he says, rather lamely- standing up fluidly, shifting his weight restlessly from foot to foot.

"Well, we're heading out within the hour. This'll be a four day trip- just a milk run to see how the crew runs with new members. I'll be topside if you need me," she says with a shrug, turning sharply on her heel and starts barking orders in the same breath.

Lyric watches the two new members with wide, unblinking green eyes- milky sheen of blindness barely noticeable, before gesturing to the hatch that leads below. "Come on, I'll show you where you guys can stay if you'd like," he says with a shrug, voice totally neutral as he starts down the ramp- a crow giving a shrill caw before lighting on his shoulder and riding with him below decks.

"Better hurry up!"

[Startedraining]

Sven immediately rushed forward, urged by the crow's monstrous noise. Hopefully, Sven didn't accidentally kill one in the mornings if they made too much noise. He clapped a hand around Lyric's shoulders, "Perk up, sonny. This trip is about to be wild." He snorts a laugh to himself and retreats his arm before Lyric could snap it off. Honestly, this kid was terrifying.

Bri followed more casually, watching Tetra vanish as she followed Lyric and Sven down below docks. It was dark and musty, and immediately Bri felt at home. Naturally, as a street child, the dark and despicable places were her forte, and if she had been brought up any other way, she would probably have been uncomfortable. That, in this very moment, was the least of her worries. She glanced around and glared at those glaring at her. These men looked like brutes, hungry and glazed eyes frightened her, and she stepped closer to Sven. This was the only part about ships that she didn't like. Not that she could do anything about it, she wasn't a captain.

[cjr09]

Lyric stares Sven down with a perfectly neutral expression for a few, heart-stopping moments.

Then breaks down laughing.

"Honestly," he wheezes, clutching his stomach in an effort to keep from doubling over, "We're not gonna bite, man. He'd have more to say on the matter, but his laughter goes into high pitched wheezes as he struggles to breathe. The crow on his shoulder pecks him irritably on his left ear- and after a few more moments manages to get under control.

"Come on, I'll get you through the tour. All right, first thing's first- living quarters," He leads the way to what was the biggest 'room' on the ship- next to storage, of course. There are hammocks of all colors- mostly muted grays and browns- strung haphazardly all over the place, some with barrels nailed down to the floor nearby, holding books and lanterns, both lit and unlit. There's some spare hammock's there- [/color] He points to a pile of them tucked under the ramp- "But they're pretty uncomfortable so you might want to get one of your own when we next hit port.

"If you've got something or somethings you'd like to keep with you- books and stuff- we'll find a barrel and nail it to the floor and you can use that," he says, then jerks his head to the rafters. As you've noticed, we keep crows and ravens around here. They're mine, technically- and they really like shiny things, so if you have anything shiny best keep it on you at all times. They don't make noise when they don't have to- usually. So if they start cawing in the middle of the night, that's not them being horrible. There's probably a problem."

"The only place that's technically 'off-limits' is the Captain's Cabin, but she actually doesn't care if you go in there. Grace- She's our cook-slash-doctor- slept in there because she didn't feel super comfortable out here with all the guys. Now she just sleeps in the kitchens, but the offer still stands," he turns his sightless gaze to Bri, "So if you want to hang out in there, Tetra might grumble a bit because she's like that, but she won't mind." He turns back to Sven, There's a few actual 'rooms' here- technically they're only for officers, but if you'd like to stay in one you could just ask. I think the only one with a vacancy is mine, and it does have a free bed if you'd like to stay there until you can get an actual hammock, that's fine by me. I'm never there, anyway."

He finally pauses for a bit, flicking sightless eyes between the two of them. "Er, anything else I need to go over?"

[Startedraining]

Sven glanced between the hammocks, then leaned a bit closer to Lyric, putting his hand to his face to whisper, "Man, it smells in here," and leaned away. Never in his room? What. How could this be? "Where are you when you are not in your room? Your... cabin." Sven asked him, setting his hand down and them immediately pulling it back up as he had touched something sticky. He made a face at his hand and looked at Lyric, still waiting for an answer.

Bri stepped away from the two boys and explored the mess of hammocks. It seemed to her as though there was a lot of space that was being wasted. Barrels blocked her path a few times, she had to go around. It was haphazard, and she knew that if Sven were to stay down here with all these people he would surely have a heart attack, or be attacked, because of his sarcastic nature. She looked in their direction though, and smiled at herself when Sven touched crow fecal matter. Serves him right. She returned to the boys after she had inspected, "I elect to stay with the captain until I get used to such small quarters. If she wants me to leave at any point, I'll speak with..." she struggled with the name, "Grace. I'll speak with her about moving to the kitchen for the nights."

[cjr09]

"Well, I'm the navigator. I'm usually up in the crow's nest- if it's nice out, I'll sleep up there too, he says with a shrug, turning back to Bri.

"You remember where the Boss's cabin is, right? You can go and ask her now, if you want. And I can show you to my quarters, if you'd like. The crows stay in there, too, but I promise they're careful about where they go. Usually they have the presence of mind not to on the ship. Unless they don't like you," he says, shifting back to Sven.

"We've got about an hour until we go- you're free to do with that time what you please, I guess. Just be topside when we shove off, yeah?"

[Startedraining]

"Aye," Bri smiled at Lyric, and saluted him. She turned to head topside, while Sven mumbled something about 'stinky crows' and their 'poo' everywhere. Maybe he should've looked first. The day was starting to get cooler, the sun having peaked and was now coming back down to the east. They would leave later tonight, she thought. She climbed up the stairway that led topside and her hair was thrown away from her face as the wind picked up. The direwolf she had seen earlier was lounging on the side of the deck, it's eyes closed and a low rumble coming from it's throat.
She scanned the deck for Tetra, and seeing no sight of her, proceeded to the direction she had pointed for her room. Captain's quarters. She idly wondered who the first mate was, but then remembered it was probably Lyric. Briefly, Bri thought about their history, it must have been a lot to stay together so long. She reached the door that Tetra had vanished into before, and knocked lightly.

Sven stuck his tongue out at Bri as she left, then grumbled to himself, wiping the crow dung from his hand. "So Lyric, about this captain we have... what is she like?"

[cjr09]

Fenrir lifts his head from where he lays- snuffling quietly and letting out a massive yawn and hauling himself to his feet, padding over to Bri and sniffing her hand curiously before nudging it in greeting. He makes a small whining noise and trots over to the cabin door- scratching on it and whining loudly enough to turn some heads, but they just snort and turn back to what they were doing- used to his whining.

Tetra bangs open the door, glaring down at the dire who just lolls his tongue out of his mouth and wags his tail. "You are utterly useless, I hope you know that," she grumbles, but it lacks heat and even less when she kicks open the door to allow him in, looking up and spotting Bri across the deck. She seems confused as to what she's doing there before her eyes light up in realization, vanishing back into her cabin and leaving the door open in a silent invitation.
~

"Tetra, you mean? Well, she's the captain. She's always been the captain. I've known her for literal ever and she was the boss back then too. We don't really have a first mate because if Tetra is ever rendered unfit to captain then we're probably all dead anyway- Oh, hey, here we are." He shoves open the door they've come to, revealing a relatively normal looking room- bed, drawers for personal items and clothing, desk shoved in the far corner- aside from the colorful nest hung close to the ceiling. It's several hammocks strewn together and filled with colorful fabrics and pillows of all shapes and colors, creating a large nest curled close to the ceiling and difficult to get into- you'd have to jump off the wall and haul yourself in.

"I sleep up there, when I remember to. You can take the bed, if you want, he says with a shrug.

[Startedraining]

Bri stepped hesitantly into the small office, equipped with a personal hammock that looked much neater than the ones below deck, and a desk facing a port hole. There was carpet under the desk, a rug perhaps. Threadbare, and very red, it set the tone for the room. Bri couldn't help but think blue would be a better option for the rug, but she made no move to point it out. Candle and lamp holders decorated the walls, allowing much light to be emitted. They were all burned out, but soon would need to be lit as the sun sank. The direwolf lumbered to the hammock and rested just underneath it, it's back pressing up against the cloth.
Examining the room more closely, Bri suddenly remembered that Tetra was in there as well. Blushing furiously, Bri looked at the wooden floor and lifted her hands, "My apologies for bothering you, I was wondering if you'd allow me to stay up in this cabin as I get used to such small quarters down below decks. I'll keep my things down there, and only use this place to sleep, if that's what you would like," her voice was cool and collected, she looked up as she finished her request, eyeing Tetra with curiosity, looking her up and down.

__

"You sleep up there?" Sven asked, impressed, "Nice. How would you get up there?" he looked at Lyric, "Me? Get the bed? You're generous, but I'd take what the host has. I don't want to feel like you're giving anything up for me," He smiled warmly, and glanced up at the hammocks that were tied together. Like a crow's nest. Lyric really liked crows, Sven mused, although I myself cannot say the same.

"Where are you from, Lyric?"