Welcome Aboard Ye Landlubbers! [OPEN]

[GoblinFae]

Standing up straight, Morgan tried to measure and found herself coming up a bit short in comparison to the self-proclaimed carpenter. 'Tall and cute, that's two in his favor. Poor thing looks like a strong wind will take him to sea though. Guess he's not going to be the one competent one. Oh well, just as long as he doesn't start making more holes in the bloody ship, he will do.'

"Well tell me Oliver what makes you think you are the boy for the job? What are your qualifications? Have you even worked on a ship before?" she questioned crossly with attitude. Morgan took great pleasure in giving new crew members, and old ones too to be honest, a hard time. It just made the voyages more fun before things could get boring at sea.

[Casey]

Olivia frowned at the unpleasant onslaught of skepticism and attitude coming from the woman in front of her – a woman?. This ship was okay with having women on board? Olivia was just starting to feel like an idiot for dressing like a man when she began to check out Morgan from top to bottom. This wasn't just any woman: she was strong, covered in tattoos, had weapons hanging off her belt. She looked like a force to be reckoned with. She looked like a pirate.

She snapped her attention back to the questions being asked of her. Boy? She hadn't even received the courtesy of being called a man. "Let me introduce myself, first," Olivia said politely. She took Morgan's hand in her own, bowed, and kissed the top of it. She felt as if she were harnessing the power of her twin brother's charm. "My name is Oliver Grey." Olivia dropped Morgan's hand and forced herself to suppress a giggle.

"And I've been a carpenter professionally for eight years now. And I worked in my fathers shop all the years before that. I can work with wood, metal, weapons, ships, carvings. Anything you want, I will see it done. But," she paused, and looked out towards the sea. The sparkling blue water waiting to take her to places far away put a small smile on her lips. She looked back at Morgan with her bright green eyes, "if you're unsatisfied, feel free to dump me at the next port. I'll be able to find another job anywhere." She exuded confidence when it came to her profession. It was her passion, and her life.

"What was your name, m'lady?" Olivia asked, using the words one would use to acknowledge a noble. Within her, she felt a burning need to figure out why this woman was allowed on board with no issues, and if she herself could stop acting like a man.

[GoblinFae]

Morgan's eyes widened slightly as she cocked a brow at Oliver. 'No one has ever done that before.' Her awe did not last long though as she returned to her previous state of disenchantment. "If I'm displeased with you I will dump you off whether we're at port or not. And don't call me lady," she said hissing out the word in disgust.

"I'm quartermaster of this ship. If you've got a problem or start trouble it'll be me you answer to you. If you are as good as you say then you will be of great use to us. If not..." Moragan shrugged and turned away.

Pointing to riggings she continued in a new vein of conversation. "As you can see the Chalice has seen better days of late. We ran into some trouble last time out and are need of some new or replacement spars. Later I'll have Ialu take you down under the ship and hopefully not drown you. We did a patch at sea and I want to make damn sure it's fixed before we ship out. If we have to do another fix out sea, it'll be your ass we troll."

The quartermaster demanded attention with her tone and actions. If the recruits did not learn quick to heed her commands both direct and wordless, they would not last long. Her temper had a habit of getting the best of her and while not all of her pranks and punishments were malicious, they were all memorable.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught movement and scowled at seeing a little foot swinging back and forth above her. "Hey pint-size! Get down here! There's work to be done and I won't be having you laze about on my watch!"

[zozee9]

Sky was peacefully watching clouds when she heard an angry voice. Calling her... pint-size? She was quite strong and tall for a girl her size! Then again, that woman was a good half a foot taller than Sky. So compared to her, maybe she was pint-sized.

Sliding down the mast in a matter of seconds, Sky ran to the mean lady. Noticing the new person next to her, Sky gave him a quick scan. He was as tall as the angry lady but seemed nice enough. At least there was one normal looking person on this ship. With a slight bow, Sky said, "My name is Sky. I'm probably your servant, too. What should I call you?"

Realizing that she was called down for a reason, Sky turned back towards Morgan. "Ah... sorry. I was just following the scarred man. What would you like me to do? Oh, and what's your name, too? I'm 'fraid I missed it earlier."

[Casey]

Olivia's eyes widened to the size of saucers from the tongue lashing she received from Morgan, the quartermaster. The second in command. Just as she was about to get her hopes up about a ship accepting woman aboard, they got dashed at Morgan's threats. She's going to do what now? Throw me over board or- or drown me?! That shut her up right quick as she listened intently to the rest of Morgan's speech. It could've been Morgan's intimidating demeanor, or it could've been the fact that Olivia had three pounds of hair sitting on her scalp under a hat, but sweat was building up on her brow and neck. She shifted around her baggy gray jumpsuit, trying to catch some of the wind in it to cool her down.

Her eyes followed the motions of the quartermaster's hands, and her gaze immediately fixed on the broken and dismantled parts that were in desperate need of repair. If there was one thing Olivia could count on, it was her inspiration to fix things. Working on a ship will be fun! ...As long as I don't drown, she thought to herself nervously, trying to lift her spirits.

She jumped as Morgan yelled up at half-pint. Olivia shielded her eyes as she looked up at the mast and saw Sky slide down with ease. He was like a little acrobat with those kind of dexterous moves. His polite bow and the word "servant" made Olivia break out into her easy smile. She nodded her head in return and said, "Hello, little sir. My name is Oli- Oliver. Oliver Grey. I'd be delighted to have your assistance, though there is no need for servitude." She chuckled and continued, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sky." What an interesting name. Something about Sky reminded her of herself when she was younger, but she wasn't sure what. She shrugged the idea off casually.

"That is, you can assist me if it's okay with... uhm," she furrowed her brow and gestured towards the quartermaster, realizing she'd never heard her name.

[GoblinFae]

She hissed through her teeth in exasperation but let the pair deal out their introductions. An idea was forming to get rid of both and she was weighing the pros and cons of it. 'We need repairs and we need them now. He can't get started without knowing the extent and the resources. Pipsqueak seems happy enough to be useless and in the way. Better have him annoy someone else for a change.' Not of course that Sky had been all that troublesome thus far, but there was no telling the fiery lady-pirate that, especially not as long as the captain was missing.

"Morgan," the quartermaster at last grunted out before smiling tightly. "Since the pair of you seem so close I will kill two fish with one hook. Our newest carpenter needs to access the damage and then come back to me with an estimate of repairs and resources needed. And you," Morgan waved her hand in a shooing motion to Sky, "go help him or something. Cause trouble either of you and you are both going for a drink. Now go be scarce!"

[Casey]

Olivia winced at Morgan's harsh metaphor and threat, then turned to go check out the extent of the internal damage to the ship. She patted Sky on the back to gently lead him in the same direction. "Don't mind her," she said, not in a whisper, to Sky with a warming smile, "she's just stressed out. I'm sure you'll be a wonderful help. We'll get this ship fixed up in no time." She decided she'd start at the keel and bulkhead, and then work her way up to the mast, and then outside of the ship to the rudder and hull.

As Olivia wandered through the labyrinth of hallways and stairs that would be her new home, she thought about Morgan. Something about her demanded respect. She was scary, but it made Olivia smile. There was nothing Olivia looked up to more than a strong woman in this day and age. She herself had grown up as one of the boys, so she related to the quartermaster, minus the bad temper. Olivia chuckled under her breath and shook her head, thinking about the wrath of Morgan. "That quartermaster is going to be a handful, don't you think?" she asked Sky. "What do you think of her? It's impressive to see a female quartermaster. Practically unheard of."

[zozee9]

Following Oliver around the ship, Sky smiled. She was reassured that this trip wouldn't be horrible since there was at least one nice person. However, she didn't really know what to do. Sky had no experience in fixing ships... but maybe she could learn. It couldn't be a bad skill to have.

Sky responded, "Yeah... But maybe she acts better when the cap'n is around. You would think she would wanna keep us recruits around since they obviously need us—or at least you. This ship looks like it's going to fall apart. Anyway, she's a little bit scary but there are scary people out on the streets too. It'll just take a little time to get used to her, ya know? And I guess she has to be strong enough to be necessary. She talks the talk and must walk the walk I guess."

Although Sky knew that there was another woman on the ship, she did not doubt that she would be looked down upon even more if people found out her true gender. Maybe even kicked off the ship. Sky was tall and strong for her age—even if she was a boy—but people automatically looked down on girls. And Sky didn't know any magic or sword fighting or even cleaning. Wouldn't be hard for them to find someone better than her. Therefore she wanted every safety precaution she could get... and she didn't mind acting like a boy. It was kinda fun to trick people.

Looking back at Oliver, Sky asked, "So what all d'ya need me to do?"

[Silverna]

Ialu yawned rubbing his eyes as a new voice reached his ears, followed by Morgan's voice which told him that there was a new crew member on board.  Sitting up gingerly so as not to fall over the side of the rigging he made his way back down to the decks, figuring that since he was unfortunately awake he might as well introduce himself.  He wondered which member of the crew it would turn out to be as he landed on lightly on the deck to here the new cabin boy say, "So what all d'ya need me to do?" He eyed the two of them thoughtfully, eyes holding a tiny amount of curious fire as he watched them, turning to the more unfamiliar face he said, "So you met Morgan I heard.  I'm Ialu, the master gunner."  He kept his voice light and friendly as if talking about the weather, the new crew member had already met Morgan and that was probably enough trauma for the first day.  'Asides he really didn't need to advertise the fact that he could control fire and was on a ship, that would wait until they were at sea after he'd given subtle hints.  Only Morgan and the Captain knew that the tattoo that was spread across his back was sometimes the only thing that kept him from burning the ship down around their ears.  Turning to the cabin boy he continued, "I don't think I got your name before when Morgan shooed you away."

[Zane]

Hans looked at the mighty vessel before him, this ship was to become his home. and for the first time in his quest for knowledge he felt he was literally about to step into a whole new world of knowledge. So it begins. Walking up to the gangplank, he looked up to the deck. "Permission to come aboard" he shouted up at the vessel.

[GoblinFae]

"And what if I were to deny you access?" she called back, moving to stand at the top of the plank, but careful not to step out onto it. Morgan rested her hands on both rails and peered down at the plain-looking man. 'Another one? Surely Cat-Eye knows better than to send me such wimpy hands, right? Damn Zephyr! This is my job and I am forced to have another do it because...I'm going to kill him.'

She did not allow herself to dwell on it, choosing instead to vent some more frustration out on the new recruit. 'It builds character after all.' Blocking admittance to the deck she continued to glare down in disapproval. "What would you have to say then?"

[Zane]

Hans looked up at the woman who bared him access to the ship. She is probably a high ranking officer on this ship, so I shall play it cool. "If you deny me access to the ship then you deny the ship access to a doctor, which the recruiter mentioned this vessel is lacking." Hopefully that wasn't too strong of a reply.

[Casey]

"I hope they need me," Olivia said quietly, more to herself than to Sky. The threat of drowning in the middle of a foreign ocean did not comfort her. Then, realizing her serious tone in front of the younger one, she perked right back up. "Wouldn't want to be fish food!" she said, in reality only half joking. She'd almost reached the hull of the ship when a voice from behind startled her. Olivia turned to see Ialu standing behind them. She hadn't even heard him come down the stairs and hallways from the deck.

"Ialu," Olivia repeated, noting to remember the name of the master gunner. Couldn't hurt to make friends with him. Almost immediately her attention turned towards the thought of what weapons he must use. They must've been from Connloath. Maybe they'd stop port there. She'd always wanted to see the gun shops there. It was the only country that made pistols, which made it a pain to acquire in Adela. Realizing she was keeping Ialu waiting, she jumped in, "Oh, yeah. We met Morgan. She's an interesting one." Olivia shrugged and continued, "I'm Oliver Grey, the ship's new carpenter. We're making inspections to see what needs repairs. And this is my assistant." She turned to Sky and motioned subtly for him to introduce himself.

[zozee9]

"I think I've been promoted," Sky said, smiling. "I'm no longer the cabin boy, now I'm a carpenter's assistant! Actually... I think I'm both. So, Cap'n lalu, my name is Sky." Sky's eye's widened. "Oh, I know you're not the cap'n. But I can still call you Cap'n lalu, right? Or maybe Master lalu? You're too strong not to have a title." Sky was just babbling now. This guy interested her. A lot. "I see you woke up from your nap. Obviously. Anyway, I really wanna learn magic. Will you teach me?"

During this dialogue, Sky only broke contact with lalu's eyes to see his scars. She didn't really have much courtesy. She was leaning slightly towards him and the majority of her weight was on the front of her feet, almost making her go on her tip-toes. But her wide blue eyes were wide with curiosity and her big grin was full of happiness.

[Silverna]

"Well it's nice to meet you both, Oliver, Sky."  Ialu said grinning, although he felt a slight hint of nerves as he stood near the one person on the ship he didn't want to find out about his fire.  It was hard being half fire faerie and half water nymph, both sides of him were at odds with the other making any type of control hard to handle.  "If you need any help with anything underwater while we're at sea let me know." He continued, "I'm half water-nymph so I can help you breath there, it's half of my domain." He turned to Sky, and couldn't help be amused at the boy's eagerness.  "I prefer Ialu but if you must add a title to my name I guess Master would be ok, just not Captain.  That title's reserved for the Captain only. I think you'll be everyone's assistant if they need you, so be prepared to run all over the ship."  Magic, now there was a conundrum.  "I can try..." he trailed off wondering how to doge the question.  "It helps if you have magic to start with, why don't we ask Captain first?"

[GoblinFae]

Morgan rolled her eyes at the self-proclaimed doctor and nearly took a step out onto the gangway before realizing what she was doing and putting her foot back down on the deck with a heavy thump. "Please tell me you have other talents other than hacking off limbs and being a general nuisance and a waste of space."

'Playing with the newbies is going to get you into trouble Morgan Loone. Tread carefully. Right, not going to happen. How long can I continue this before the others get back?'

[Casey]

Olivia managed to utter some kind of nervous sound that closely resembled a laugh. She reached out and tugged gently on the back of Sky's shirt to bring him back down to his heels so he wouldn't fawn so obviously over the master gunner. The sudden barage of magical banter took her off guard. She'd met a handful of magical beings before, but it was still an area she was not familiar, or necessarily comfortable, with.

'I'm half water-nymph so I can help you breath there'

A lump formed in her throat at the idea of trusting her life in the hands of a stranger as dangerous looking as the one in front of her. She managed to nod her head with a polite smile on her face, and then turned around to make her way to the hull as fast as possible. She thanked Kia it was too dark down here to notice the extra paleness of her face.

It didn't take long to find what she was looking for in the hull. She walked down a few steps, only to find the last steps submerged underwater as she tumbled face first into the black water sitting in the hull. It was only about three feet deep, but it was enough to catch her off guard. Olivia gasped loudly and nearly shot five feet in the air as she came shooting out onto the steps above the water. She gripped the rails of the steps tensely as her body slowly got used to the shock of the frigid water. With a voice laced with irritation of this sudden surprise, she said, "I think I've found my first project."

Rotting wood slick with moss hung around the bottom of the hull where she suspected the underwater patch the master gunner talked about was. It was at this moment she understood that there'd be no way she could fix this without his help. She just hoped he wouldn't drown her. Looking at Sky and Ialu, she said sternly, "I'm getting supplies. This has to get fixed immediately before that patch breaks and more water gets in."

[Silverna]

Ialu watched the new carpenter tug Sky back with a hint of amusement and wonder.  He'd never had someone fawn over him like the new cabin boy/carpenters assistant/what ever was needed was doing and it created mixed reactions in him.   He'd been thought of as a freak back in the water nymph village he'd grown up in, a freak and a bastard since his father took off to go back to his first family not even thinking about the consequences of leaving a boy who took more after his father then his mother would be.  Not that he was bitter, he'd come to terms with the fact that his father was a right git and he could trust no one except himself and later on the Captain, it shaped him into being the man he was today.  

He watched as the carpenter walked away, his head tilted to the side slightly, not really sure what to think.  A few minutes later he saw Olive come back, wet and bit back a smile,  he'd seen the leak but really couldn't do anything about it not unless he wanted to blow it up.  

"Do you need some help getting supplies?" Ialu asked, "I know where things are on this ship, but if you need things from land you'll have to get it yourself."

[Casey]

Olivia openly gaped at Ialu's statement. First, everyone just happened to forget to warn her of the huge hole in the ship, then told to get the massive amount of supplies on her own, and finally, the fact that she'd have to put her life in a stranger's hands. Dripping wet, freezing, and struggling intensely to contain her anger, she clenched her jaw shut. "I see. Very well." With a stiff form bordering on violent shivers, Olivia walked briskly up the steps towards the dock. "I'm on my own, then."

Emerging onto the deck, she glanced between the quartermaster and the doctor she recognized from the recruiting table. Walking up to Morgan, boots squishing with water with every step she took, she whispered in Morgan's ear, "You couldn't have warned me about the water?" She shook her head, sighed deeply, and shoved past the doctor to walk to the docks towards the town to buy supplies to fix the ship that wouldn't go anywhere tomorrow morning if it was still broken.

The tiny glimmer of optimism in her chest told her it wouldn't be as bad once they set out to sea. That was the only severe damage on the ship, or at least she hoped so.

[NightWind]

Stepping out from the recruitment table in the town square with the mists swirling around his boots, the cloaked man grinned wider than he had grinned in months. He felt fantastic. 'Finally! No more looking over me shoulder, no more being chased out of town after bleeding town.' A ship- why hadn't he thought of it before? It was so obvious. He didn't dare to sail the rivers in this area, but why not the open sea itself? Vladimir threw back his head and laughed delightedly, revealing his face for a moment before remembering he was supposed to be hiding and readjusting his hood to hide all but his nose and eyes.
  Striding through the town in high spirits, his mind whirled at the possibilities. The man he had spoken with had called it a merchant ship, but Vladimir hoped he still knew a jolly roger when he saw one. "If not, there's always the occasional raid." He mused with an evil-sounding chuckle, rubbing his hands together. 'Freedom! Freedom at last!' Arriving at the docks, he could see a man standing at the end of a gangplank, seeming to face down a woman on the other end aboard a ship bearing a flag that matched the design of the table in the town square. 'Still, no harm in making sure.' Vladimir thought, catching sight of a young and rather wet-looking boy who looked and smelled as though he had been dipped in seawater. "Oy, lad. This be the Reaper's Chalice, aye?" He asked the youth, gesturing toward the ship with the arguing figures. "I be eager to get to work if anything needs doing."