Furry-Within

Mikkaddo nodded to her standing with his refilled drink and moved back to where the rest of his crew was. He didn't care if they were worried about him bringing a woman on board, if anyone could fight the bad luck of having a woman on their boat he could and he knew it. This storm was what he would be worried about. When he got to where the crew was he whistled to get them to pay attention, taking out a pipe form his coat and lighting it while he waited for them to get ready to listen. "Listen up lads . . . this 'ere is the newest member o' tha crew . . . Elecktra . . . aye know the problem with having a woman on board, but don't start with me tonight. Ah got a way tah fight that bad luck, so . . . welcome 'er tah the crew." He grinned at her. "So 'ere we are . . . some o' them's a bit salty, but they's all loyal men 'afore thah mast they claims . . ."

He had been busy with silently contemplating the steady stream of new members into the crew, welcoming each individually that joined after him, admittedly surprised. He did not believe this ragged place had a lot of willing sailors, it was usually filled with nothing but people who had gotten tired of sailing and piracy. His left eye blinked at the woman that was introduced to the men. Really now, a woman? He wasn't one for complaining, well actually that's exactly what he was. He just shrugged at this however and looked at his now-empty keg again. He waved a hand towards the woman.
"Ye be welcome to the crew I guess, but don't be bringing me that bad luck I've heard about. Savvy?"

The Vultan continued to listen in on the conversation between the two from across the room. He said few words to the rest of the crew he had joined. Not giving his name to any of them, not even the captain, for good reason.

The whole conversation between the woman and the captain was nothing but hidden meanings and mysteries. All the talk about 'storms' and this 'trinket' didn't rub him the right way. And this woman...normal women were considered bad luck on ships but this woman was anything but normal she reeked of black magic. Vultan's tend to be a very superstitious group and the use any magic, especially black magic, brought nothing but trouble.

"Begging your apologies captain. But I donna think bringing this sea witch on our ship is a good idea."

The Captain gave  a good hearty laugh as he sat down again. "Lads don't be worryin' yer little heads over 'er . . . sea witch maybe, but we'd be doin' a damn sight worse to not be havin' 'er on our crew believe me." He sat down waiting for Elecktra to get herself introduced to the rest, this would be a very interesting trip, that was for sure. The things he was after, and the promises this girl was making . . . things were going to change very soon for him. He just hoped his crew was ready for it.

Sea witch was more of a compliment to her. She didnt play it innocent nor did she deny it. She wasnt all that bad at least, she had at least one good bone in her body. A soft chuckle on her lips as she lacked being phased by the mans comments. She let out a breath. "You wan me aroun, trus me.." She folded her arms over her chest and lifted her head up some. "Elehktrah.." Was all she would say, that was her name and thats all they needed to know.

A light brow would raise and smirk. "Bad luuk? Myth deaar, myth... I promes." She would say and flick her ears full of jagged pieces, she had been through life as it seemed. A gentle breath would be let out from her lips and she would simply step aside from the captain and find a seat  a little more distant then the rest, its just how she was. Mainly so she could watch them as they all talked. It was smart to figure who you were dealing with.

He dropped his face into his empty book, slamming his head against the pages. He was a horrible writer, and he knew it. He had never been out of the city his whole life. He'd written book after book about his upscale and noble upbringing, and one by one they were rejected. The buck was a dull person, and he knew it. He had been slowly realizing it ever since moving out of his parent's mansion. The city he had been so sheltered from was grimy, dark, and stupid. No wonder why no company would ever take his writings; the majority of people, the poor, would never willingly submit themselves to reading such trash about petty living.

The more time he spent in this tavern, seeing how people really were, the more isolated he felt. None of these trash knew about Mozart, or Dvorak, or Rembrant, or ancient Egyptian or Greek history, or anything an academic man of his stature knew. Yet, here he was, spending his parent's gold on boozing himself to sleep each night. And despite having been taught fencing from the royal family's personal trainer, he knew that any of the men here could kick his ass without a weapon. The more he thought about how different he was, the more he groaned into his empty book.

He lifted his head up and looked off to the side, hoping no one was paying attention to his fits. Slumping his chin against his fist, he surveyed the tavern with his eyes, catching a Captain, a woman and some others discussing something. Was that the same captain that busted in through the door a moment ago? The buck brought his wine glass up to his muzzle, taking a deep sniff of the aroma emanating from the drink before he lapped away at it.

Maybe he was drunk, but all he knew is that he felt horrible. He needed to escape this rut. He needed to escape his parents. He needed to escape this sheltered life of his! And here was a captain that needed crew! It seemed like fate was going to lend a hand. The buck stood to his feet. You're going to march right over there, he told himself, and demand that you be on that ship! He put a determined frown on his face, moving over to where the Captain sat.

The buck looked past the captain and stood rigid. He was pretty tall, but rather lithe. His expensive clothing hung loosely on him, hiding that fact. "My name is Shiloh Montague, at your service! I wish to set sail around the seas and witness the earth for myself."

With a wince, he added. ".... Sailing isn't too dangerous, is it...?"

The captain looked at the man in silence for a moment, feeling the instant silence of the new crew around him too. This kid . . . he was so damned pretty . . . surely he was joking, some prank his friends put him up to for a laugh. "You . . . you want tah join me crew lad? YOU . . . sailin' ain't dane-druss boy . . . it's what yer' sailin' after that can be dane-druss . . . yer crew . . . what's under yer boat . . . the people that sail up on ye while yer sleepin'. Yeah . . . it's a dane-druss life . . . why not go tell yer friends who set ye up tah me that . . . and get back tah yer pretty mansion in London, the sea's no place for a lad so pretty . . . ye'd die boy." He said leaning forward. "Unless o' course . . . ye ain't here cuz ye got friends puttin' ya up to it. Yer 'ere . . . ta put some REAL hair on that chest . . . tah make them little 'ands big an strong . . ."

The captain took a long swig from his mug, slamming it down on the thick wooden table under him and standing, as new as his own clothes still looked, when someone was close they could see the long years of damage on them, the tears and rips of a hard life, the pistol in his belt especially showed it, scratches and burns all over it, and part of the handle simply missing. He reached out a large hand of his own, grinning to show teeth of a stained yellow color, one of the fangs at the front sliced at an angle, and gripped the boy's hand tightly, shaking it. Even the skin on his palm was rough and coarse. He kept grinning at the kid and then looked at the crew silently. Each of them he stared at for almost a minute before looking back at the boy. "Welcome tah me crew boy! yer new life starts now . . . so get yerself a whore 'afore we get goin' as there ain't a willin' woman on tha seas won't tear up a pup like you . . ." and laughed raucously as he fell back into his seat, his large black hat falling off his head and his hand grabbing it from the ground, showing long black hair that was mostly pulled back with a single white stripe at the top, a part of his hair that was gone, but if he looked closer, the fur and skin were gone too. The white spot was part of the man's skull.

Shiloh almost wanted to retch at the captain's appearance. yellow teeth, callused skin, and... was that... The buck blinked, doing a double take with his eyes when the captain had dropped his hat. Was that.... Was that his fucking skull? Unable to contain himself as his flimsy hand shook the captains, he belted out "JESUS CHRIST..." and before anyone realized that he was sceaming in fear, he added ".... Jesus christ, am I excited to be a part of this crew!" He said, with a huge fake smile. He couldn't understand a single word the captain had said the whole time he was talking. Something about whores? Shiloh gave a shudder.

The Vultan leaned against a support beam as the young buck approached the captain. The child had the air of wealth around him.

"A noble." He muttered underneath his breath. Disgust began to grow in him. He waited for the captain to dismiss the child, but to his surprise and his anger the captain welcomed him in the crew. A sea witch was one thing but now a noble that was a bit too much. He thought that the captain must have a hole in his head for doing that. Seeing the skull showing on top of his head only confirmed it. But it was the captain's choice and he couldn't do anything about it. At least not on dry land.

For now he just held his tongue and stared daggers at the young buck.

*the semi-silence would be broken by the hum of a set of bagpipes. The badger having broken them out and beginning to play them. He sat at the spot he had when he first woke up. The hum beginning to shape into notes and a beat. It wasn't a fast song, but a cheerful one. The song sounding similar to this as the badger got up as he played his way around the tavern. Feeling the urge to drink slip from him as he played the pipes. His cheeks puffed out and fingers working happily to keep the notes regular. Even with his large bulky form, he managed to do little more then brush a few people as he played. He couldn't care about who hated the music, or who enjoyed it. He enjoyed it. And anyone willing to stop him would be just as happy to enjoy sleeping in the pig sty tonight.

He found himself back over by the captain. The music stopping for a moment as he looks to him * "Oi...I fergot...I dun want nobody swayin your idea of what kind a music we aave." *he said with a grunt, looking to the vultan with a tilt of the head. Saying nothing about him, but finishing his thought as he broke his eyes from the creature near the captain* "Better then listenin to the blathering gulls all day." *he looks to the buck. Perking a brow as he gave him a once over. Looking to the captain again* "Best put him on some ard work...looks to be nuthin but skin and bones." *he would walk back to his seat, passing the female and speaking his mind* "Ya got some bothersome air about ya missy." *He said in another grunt, but paying no heed to it other then that. He passed the pangolin with nothing else then a* "Excuse meh." *the smell being apparent what had happened as the badger wafted his backside* "Oooh...smells rich today. Its going to be a guud day."

He found it quite hard to sleep. Which was well what he was trying to do. After he had talked to the lady from before about bad luck and what not to bring, he had gone to a chair nearby and leaned back on it, closing his eyes. The normal rustle in a pub like this was no match for his ears to block out, but as the annoying bagpipe started sounding from the badger, he opened his visible eye, irritated at not getting any sleep. He saw the newest recruit, a skinny buck that seemed to be to no-good in a piratecrew. He grunted a bit, the poor lad obviously had water way over his head. Shaking his head he'd get up and stand beside the small male, looking to the captain.

"Cap'n, are we done 'ere? Me legs are getting anxious teh move an' we got a crew as capable as anyone else." He glanced down at the buck before adding. "More or less.."

The pangolin wore a robe of sorts, a pirate robe, of course, and it rustled a bit with metallic sounds as he moved about, from all the pistols hanging close to his body. Guns only had one bullet each in them, so he made sure to have a lot of them on his body. Not that it really mattered now.

Mikkaddo looked around the tavern, not satisfied, they'd need at least another six more to successfully crew the Rose. He got up kicking over a large chair and knocking a man down in the process. "OY YOU YELLA BELIED LIT'LLE SHITS! AIN'T THERE A SINGLE MAN LEFT AMONG YE?!" Plenty of people looked up when he said that and soon after they went back to their normal lives in the tavern. At their ignoring of him he grumbled quickly taking out his pistol and firing a shot into the ceiling, everyone fell silent looking at him then. He nodded at that and said. "OY . . . I need at least six more men . . . tah shove off, now yah get paid DAMN good on my boat . . . me hold's got money enough tah pay anyone got the damned sea in their blood . . . so . . . who among yah would join me crew . . . or are ya all just pussies . . . hell even the lilly white tit fed BOY over there had courage enough tah join! what the fuck is with the rest o' you!?" At that comment men left and right started rising, within minutes he had a full crew counting the one's who'd already joined. He put his pistol away and smacked his mug on the table to get their attention. "Alright . . . we got a crew . . . now all we need . . . is a destination. After all, what pirate vessel is worth it's hold's treasure if it ain't got a place tah go?" He grinned at that point and leaned forward, putting his boot on the table. "We got a destination though . . . an old sea witch out in the swamps. I got some'thin o' hers . . . and she got some'thin o' mine . . . it's a trade see? that's where we're goin . . . and after that, well . . . I'll let ya know where tah sail the Rose when we leave from her 'ouse." And grinned looking at all of them, then nodded and turend to leave the Tavern. "Come on lads! let's not let the wind get away from us!"

The sound of the badger's bagpipes was like nails on a chalkboard to the Vultan's hypersensitive ears. He folded them back to help block out as much of it as he could. A sigh escaped him as sound stopped. Ears began to unfold just as the captain yelled out to the crowd at the bar. "These people will be the deaf of me."

He just stayed where he was as more and more men joined the crew. As each one approached he looked them over for a second before returning his gaze back at the buck. The memories of what nobles like him that put his species though racing in his mind, making his blood boil. If the kid hadn't joined up with the crew he would slit his throat the second he laid eyes on him.

His ears pick up as the Captain began to speak again. Another sigh escaped his lips at the mention of first going into a swamp to see another sea witch. "By Witsuarunemitea we be going to see another 'Daughter of Danika'. As if one wasn't bad enough." He glanced at Elehktrah. "This journey be doomed even before we see water." He followed the captain out of the tavern.

As an answer to his question about leaving, he had merely gotten the captain to shout out to the rest of the tavern. Nothing too special, and sure, they were undermanned, but they would be able to manage, and if no one else of the weakminded men in the tavern wanted to come, then it was their loss. Or the crew's, considering their close-to-follow death. Marcs did not really care for what happened, but true, it would be better if they had gotten some more men.

He took a step back as Mikkaddo pulled out a gun, and closed his exposed eye as the man shot towards the ceiling, making just a tiny hole to the world outside. He groaned a bit as he raised a hand to rub against his ear, opening his eye to glare at the captain. "Fer god's sake, be gentle capt'n. That hurt me ears." He looked at the would-be-crewmembers that quite shortly started to pop up, and most of them was in his eyes, or eye, un-salvagable. But then again, considering the crew they already had beforehand, nothing could get worse by this.

As the crew started to move out of the tavern, he looked at the clearly nervous buck. "Stay around me boio, 'less you'd want one jumping at you on the way to teh boat, for money or worse." And with that, he started walking out of the door, seemingly not-caring if he was indeed followed by the thin male or not.

Elektra simply listened and watched. She did not care to say a word, merely observing all sights, and smells, of the new crew. She had a reason, she knew what he was doing and had a reason to be on board. It would benefit them all if she were. They all knew who they were going to see, but none knew her better than Elektra. She may not have said a word, but she could feel the eyes burning on the side of her head. One of the men merely glaring at her. Her kind was not much liked, but she was one that cared very little if she was liked, she knew though, that she was right.

When all was said and done, and the crew finally made she would simply stand. Standing before he even gave the orders. She would wander out toward the boat, like she couldnt smell where the man had came from? She observed the other boats until one smelled as musty as the captain. She would board, her dress floating wildly behind her with the sea breeze. The wind was picking up and it was starting to mist. The storm was approaching.

Once she was aboard she did not explore, she didnt have the need. She went down below, that would be her home. Unlike a stowaway she was there because it was the one place people did not like to be. It was the first place to sink upon attack and it was the loudest place. Elektra on the other hand, adored it, the water sounded like a storm to her, the fear of sinking was not on her mind, but it was the best place because of how few people liked being there. She set her own bag down on the ground, she had nothing more to bring aboard. It was time now.... to go to the eye of the storm. She could feel it beneath her skin, running up her arms and through her body as she sat in the darkest corner looking past the cannon out the porthole. A smirk written on her face. Student and master were to meet again..