Welcome Aboard Ye Landlubbers! [OPEN]

[GoblinFae]

Morgan's eyes widened before narrowing to fiery slits as she listened to the greenhorn's yapping. Her left hand gripped the hilt of her sword that rested there, so tightly that she was sure she would have a bruise in the pattern of the grip for days to come.

She sent a silent, yet telling look to the second mate. Chris would have his time with this supposed doctor as soon as she was finished with him. Not only had he tread on her territory but his as well. If such insubordination were to continue it would be the lash for him. Even now she was finding it difficult to not just drag him up before the mast and lay waste of his back until he learned his lesson. Good men died, when others took it upon themselves to do whatever they wanted. There was an order and balance within the crew that must be obeyed. To do otherwise, especially on Morgan's watch was to bring the very hounds of Hell snapping at your heels.

"Fancy yourself a bit of know-it-all then, Hands? Is your title Captain? Is this your ship? Do I work for you? No, no, and," she paused as if thinking before glaring fiercely and hissing coldly "no. You're nothing, a nobody. What right do you think you have to come onto our ship and tell us how to do our jobs? None! I run this ship under the captain's orders and therefore you follow mine."

Angrily the quartermaster shoved Hans' shoulder and got more in his face. "Perhaps you did not know but this is Second Mate Chris Walker and this," she waved up to the masts above them, "is his rigging. He has been here longer than you maggot and unless he has told you to do so, you do not touch it. He has served aboard this ship long enough to earn his position and respect. You have not. You should just be thankful you will even get a meal and a bunk to sleep in at the end of the day!"

Morgan gripped the man's shirt tightly in her fist and tried to throw him into Chris. "You talk to him," she growled, disgustedly, "otherwise I'm going to kill him!" Her arms crossed over her chest as she contemplated the many ways she could make this man's life a living hell here.

[Winters-Feather]

Ensuing efficiency.
Out of all the possibly worst things that man could have said as a reply, that was perhaps the worst. Chris could have killed Hans for that. He inhaled sharply.
Who in all the wide oceans of the earth did he bloody hell think he was?
Ensuing efficiency.
His rigging!
Chris clenched his fists even tighter as his jaw hardened.
He was about to give the man a fine tongue lashing when Morgan threw him a knowing glance.

The man stood up straight and squared out his shoulders, listening with a hardened, but calm expression as Morgan lectured the new sailor. An immense wave of gratitude and respect for Morgan swept through the pirate. Aye, she was a wild one, and not much of a lady. However, she could turn the wind around if she fancied it, and none was truer than she.
Or more wretched, he sullenly thought as she unexpectedly tossed the man over towards him.
"Yes, ma'am," he grumbled, shoving the weight of Hans off of himself.

Chris sighed. This was an utter waste of his time.
"Mr. Hans, I do believe," he said coldly.
"Stand up smartly, now," he demanded as he began to pace around the sailor.
Where to even begin...
"I believe Ms. Morgan has made herself perfectly clear. The only thing saving you from a lashing is because I hired you as a doctor, and expect you to engage to your duties immediately. Notice, sir, how I said doctor, and not rigger?"
Chris waved a hand towards the ropes.
"You don't appear to me as a man of the seas, so it's obvious to me that you don't understand that you don't touch something you don't understand."
Chris was vibrant and furious now. He unflinchingly stood in front of Hans, his face inches away. The pirate's glass eye gleamed in the light.
"Our rigging works a certain way, and your efficiency could very well cost our men lives," he said, venomously.
"Now, where did you interfere?  You're costing me precious moments of my time by having me correct your idiotic mistakes. Show me where you redid the knots and don't you ever go up my rigging again unless I specifically order you to.  Do I make myself clear, doctor?"

[Thief]

Damon was grateful he had taken his time in arriving. He crossed to the plank and walk up, careful not to glance towards the man now being scolded. 'Best to mind my own business,' he thought as he approached the woman who appeared to be in charge.

Stopping at the end of the plank, and careful not to set foot on deck just yet, he introduced himself. "Damon Pyth at your service miss." With a bow, he added, "I'm here to help wherever I am needed."

[Dreamwolf]

Cane held the ship in his gaze for a long while, staring openly at the thing that marked his every dream as a child. He had followed the rumors and sure enough the ship with the Chalice flag was there. He come all the way from Thanatos just to find a ship like this.

He walked up the gangplank and paused, hearing a stern voice. He also saw the other man that climbed ahead of him. Unsure of what to do he rocked back and forth on his heels, looking about nervously.

[Zane]

Hans' pride was crushed under the verbal assault of the quartermaster. It wasn't like he was trying to make every important person on the ship cross at him in one day. Oh no that would be a foolish man's desire, Hans liked to think that he was not a foolish man. But the Quartermaster's words rung true, he was new to the vessel and it was not his place to even attempt to work the rigging, he was lucky he was not being whipped at this very moment.

Then the Second Mate tore into him, at least he wasn't yelling. But his mood was obvious, he was quite pissed, as he had every right to be. Hans did not break eye contact with the man but it was obvious that it was not out of defiance. "Aye Sir, if you will follow me up I shall show you what I did."

Once up in the rigging, Hans took a moment to marvel at the set up of the ropes, it was not much different than it's original state, in fact only one thing had been changed, the ropes that hold up the main sail and attach it to the mast had been looped and a rope run through the loop, it was called a linemen's setup and was used to effectively raise and lower the sails with the minimal amount of force absolutely required, turning a job for a large amount of men into a job for as few as two. "Just pull the rope out of the loops and it's back to it's original state, it's my own rope but I have no use for it now, I'm sure you can find a use for it."

[zozee9]

With wide eyes, Sky looked around the ship. She had been daydreaming, waiting to be told to do something. After all, she had no idea how to deal with the gunpowder.

But then people started coming. She had walked towards the edge of the ship to talk to them, but soon decided that was a bad idea. There was yelling, shouting, and screaming. Sky had been backing away slowly when the strong man who had threw flowers at the mean woman (why would anyone get her flowers? Sky wondered) started talking about her. Sky kept looking back and forth, eyes continuously widening, and was about to say something when they switched topics again.

Unhappy that she seemed to have made a bad first impression with someone that looked important, Sky frowned and tried to follow the rest of the conversation. Tried to. All she really gathered, however, was that both the important strong man (did she catch his name was Chris?) and the mean woman were mad at this other new guy... a doctor... for trying to help. Sky had some troubles wrapping her head around this. But not wanting to anger Chris anymore, Sky merely continued looking around before, with a sigh, she backed away from the side of the ship.

With all of these new people aboard, Sky figured at least one of them would approach her and, probably, yell at her telling her to work. She hoped, however, that she'd be able to introduce herself to someone. Preferably someone that knew magic. And would teach her. But, as she didn't want to anger anyone, Sky decided to wait for someone to come to her.

[NightWind]

Walking back and forth, over the gangplank time and again, Vladimir realized something- he was tired of hauling wood and nails. Boredom was beginning to set in, and he was increasingly anxious to set sail before the town guard discovered the body in the alleyway and decided to investigate. 'All it be takin' is one lousy magpie,' he thought to himself, 'One bleedin' lout to sing out and then they be remembering, aye, there be a mighty shifty-looking stranger in these parts, and then wit' the damn questions.' Someone had to have seen him come here. The bottom of his sleeve cuff was red with blood, and though he had tried to chew it clean, the stain was still there. 'One blinkin' sod with blood on 'is hand and yer guilty.'
   Snatched from his reverie by the sound of raised, angry voices, the river pirate turned his head and grinned widely. "He did seem the like wot knows too much fer his own good," he snickered. Being thusly distracted he plowed right into the filthily-dressed cabin boy, nearly tripping in the process. "Oy!" He snapped, just barely catching his balance. "Feckless bleeding little-" Vladimir bit his lip suddenly, an idea flaring into his mind. He was bored with carrying wood. There were people standing at the gangplank- 'Cringing more like, a'feared to put a toe on thin ice' he thought with a mental sneer- and they didn't show any sign of moving out of his way. But now, it wasn't his problem- Vladimir smelled delegation.
   "Oy. Lad." Vladimir said suddenly. "Run on and fetch the last bitta wood an' like. Toss it in the hold with the rest o' the lot. Do it quick-like and I'll show ye a trick." He added as an afterthought.

[GoblinFae]

Keen eyes snapped to focus on the gangway and the two figures standing there. A guttural huff of disgust sounded from the quartermaster's chest as she allowed her gaze to once more rest on the ship's second mate and their new doctor. It did not escape her in that roving glance how the cabin boy was still loitering around but she would leave that to another matter has at least someone on the ship was trying to keep him in line. Those two could be dealt with later.

"Is everyone an imbecile here or have you all driven me mad?" she muttered testily. Louder still she continued, "Cateye, keep the rat out of my sight before I skin you both alive." Arm still crossed over her chest, she stomped over to the two men, if one could even call them that, hovering about awkwardly.

"You will get no welcome from me, so straighten up and shape up boys. Were you recruited or you both a bunch of dewy-eyed lads looking for an adventure? Because I assure you, you will find no such thing here. I am your quartermaster and as you can already see I don't take insubordination or caviler attitude well. This is not your ship and I am not your mother. If you want to leave the next chance you get is overboard so I suggest you both consider hard the choice you are making. And once you have done that, think again. I'll not have children running rampant aboard The Chalice. Am I understood?

"And you boy," she addressed Cane, her gaze dark and foreboding, "give me your name."

[Dreamwolf]

"C-Cane ma'am. Cane Malanoson. I-I'm here to join the crew ma'am!" Cane looked at the quartermaster, his eyes filled with awe, a pirate! A real pirate! He extended his hand, expecting to shake. If one looked closely at his face they would realize the shaking that was being done by his hands was not fear, it was excitement. All his life he had pretended to be a pirate, now he would really get to be one.

[Winters-Feather]

This bastard is getting more infuriating by the second.
At least he was proper enough to keep eye contact, Chris thought, approvingly.
Still, he couldn't help but to shake off the feeling that Hans was purposefully trying to insult him, or was dense enough to do it, naturally.
I asked him to point, not give me a tour of my own rigging!
Chris clenched his teeth together, a bit baffled as he found himself following the new surgeon to his own rigging. He tried to keep his murderous thoughts to himself.
We need him, Chris thought, sullenly. He sometimes hated it when he was right.

Chris expertly scurried up the ropes, climbing just a little bit higher than Hans. His eyebrows knitted together as his good eye inspected the job Hans had done. So the surgeon wasn't a total idiot when it came to these things. Though he was sore to admit it, the knot was properly done. He was surprised that Hans even knew this technique. In truth, the pirate himself never really thought of using it. Chris grunted as he properly perched himself so that he could work without falling.
"It's sloppy," he dryly replied as he began to undo Han's knot.
"You're dismissed. Watch your step. I don't want you  breaking your neck."

[zozee9]

A trick?! thought Sky, excitedly. She didn't even care that the eared man had run into her.

Sprinting to the wood, Sky smiled. She picked up some of the wood and her knees almost buckled beneath her. It was heavier than she had thought. Sky quickly readjusted her hold on the wood and stood up straight again. Now that she knew the wood was more than just a few pounds, Sky wasn't going to carry it recklessly. She wanted to show everyone on the ship that she had a use. And since she obviously couldn't clean, Sky figured that her strength would probably be her only saving factor.

Within minutes, Sky had finished bringing all the wood to the pile. It seemed that the eared man had finished most of it beforehand. Sky ran to the eared man since she had finished. Slowing down as she neared him, Sky asked, "Can I learn a trick now?"

[NightWind]

As the grizzled wolf-human hybrid watched the scrawny scrap of a cabin boy dash back and forth with the load of planks and such he nodded slightly to himself. Vagabonds always learned to pick up every little sign to read the people they met, it could mean the difference between survival and death. And Vladimir had just confirmed what the child's ratty, decrepit clothing had suggested- the stamina, that wiry, dirty frame, the confident efficiency with which he toted a load that would have toppled any lad of aristocracy, even some of the peasant boys used to long hours of farm labor would have staggered a bit under it. 'That one's a street urchin, or I've never been.' Absently he flicked his wrist as he thought, the hilt of a knife slapping into his palm from his sleeve as he reached back to slit a small hole in the cloak for his tail. Vladimir sighed languidly as the furry mass finally flopped into fresh air- he hated keeping it under his clothes.
   "Aye lad," He said aloud as he slipped the blade back into his sleeve. "If ya looked careful-like ye'll see how to make a runty cabin boy do yer work for ye. Haaa harr harrr!" He laughed raucously. "Nahr, jes havin' fun with ya. Lookie here," he said, slipping his hand into one of his many pockets and fishing out a few coins- he had cut a few purses since the fruit stand incident. He palmed all but one as he said "hold this'n fer me" and took the child's hand, pressing the visible copper piece edgewise into Sky's palm. Years of earning meager shelter and food day-to-day had pushed him to learn many sleight-of-hand tricks, the more he knew, the more he earned. Slipping it through his fingers to make it appear as though the coin had sunk into the child's palm and only a small red mark remained, Vladimir flourished his hand as he turned over Sky's, so that his palm faced down with his fingers open- meanwhile slipping the single copper piece back down his sleeve. "Arr'ight now, give 'er back." At the child's puzzled look, he said "well, c'mon now!" and clapped his hand down over Sky's, slipping the rest of the hidden coins through the child's fingers and sending them clattering to the deck- making it appear as though he had inserted one coin into the cabin boy's flesh and shaken out several in its place. "Oy! Lookit all that!" He barked with a laugh. "Been squirellin' bits away, eh?"
   With a small chuckle, he clapped the lad on his shoulder and strode over to where he stood beneath Chris, still up in the rigging. He whistled shrilly to catch the man's attention and reported, "Wood's all aboard, mate! Orders?"

[Zane]

Hans Climbed back down the rigging in time to see the 'trick', the main byproduct being a small cut on the kid's hand. An interesting trick it was, there was still a chance that the cut, even as small as it was, could get infected. Hans pulled a small bottle of alcohol out of his bag, it was a very strong alcohol that hans used for sterilizing, he then came up to the boy, "Let me see you hand real quick, I'm the new doctor and I would like to make sure that you don't get an infection."

[GoblinFae]

Morgan growled and yanked the boy tight into her space by his extended arm, her grip tight upon his wrist. "Listen up whelp, you better wipe that starry-eyed look off your face before I do it for you. I'm not your mother and I'm not here to coddle you. You have a problem you come to me but, if I catch you causing trouble or not taking trouble like a man I'll whip you myself with nary a flinch. What I need around here are hard-working men not boys looking for hand-outs. You want that, go down and take your pan out behind the baker's and the butcher's places, I'm sure they still have scraps to spare for the dogs."

She gave his arm one more squeeze before releasing but did not take a step back, forcing him to either stand and face her in their invaded personal space or to be the first one to step down. "If you're still interested in being part of this crew then step lively and get to work, otherwise toddle back down that plank before I send you rolling down there myself!"

[Dreamwolf]

It wasn't what he expect, it was like back home, on the big fishing ships, the men always had you prove yourself before they let you ride along. The only thing that took him by surprise was that it was a woman, but his mother made this woman look quite nice in comparison and he knew what this one was looking for was a hardened sea lad.

He held her gaze through the whole speech, when she let him go he snapped smartly into a deep sea sailors salute and turned to the dock, at first glance it might look like he was going to walk down that gang plank and leave, but t the bottom he took up two barrels of dried fruit and hefted them onto each shoulder. This was something he knew. He walked smartly up the gangplank without sparing a glance at his feet and walked to the storage below decks, setting the fruit where it would be easy to get to but not in way. His father was a fisherman on the deep sea vessels, he'd grown up on deep sea vessels, he could already feel how this ship would rock in a harsh storm, how it would roll in a calm sea, and most importantly, how it would tip if it took on water. It was one of those sixth sense a person developed when they spent a lot of time on different ships

He went for three more loads of equipment and gear before he stopped, not even sweating, the loading done.

[Thief]

Damon watched as the young man took the tongue lashing, and knew he would be next. Something told him he could never make this woman happy, no matter how good of a job he did. However, he was here to be helpful and do his best, not to get the approval of people he had never met before. He would be happy to just avoid making her angry. But at the moment, it was best to get this part over with quickly. With a bow, he introduced himself, "Damon Pyth, at your service. Miss...?"

[Winters-Feather]

Oh, bloody hell, there was another one.
Chris scanned the crew as he noticed Cane for the first time.
First there was that street urchan, and now this frightened mess. Well, at least the rest of his men were accounted for, and were doing their duties, more or less. The man sighed and waited until Hans was gone and not paying attention before redoing the knot that Hans had done. He had a keen eye for these things, and after a flustered attempt, Chris got it down.
There, he thought with a satisfied nod.
His linemen's set up looked exactly liked Hans.

Just then, a whistle caught his attention.  Chris nodded at Vladimir's question.  He appreciated the hard work.
"Good man," he replied.
Out of the corner of his good eye he watched as Morgan fearsomely pick up the small lad.
Easy,  he thought with a frown.
The pirate nodded towards Vladimir. He needed to check for frayed lines. Now was as good as a time as any to do so. With acrobatic grace, he scurried down the lines until he was at Vladimir's eye level. Morgan would probably have him scrapping barnacles off the side of the ship, Chris decided that would have to temporarily wait.
"What do you know about rigging?" he asked.

[zozee9]

Sky had watched the whole coin trick with wide eyes. In fact, she had wide eyes even before the trick started. After seeing the eared man's tail, Sky got excited. But the trick confused her. It must be some sort of slight of hand trick—she knew that much from her life on the streets—but what exactly did he do? But, after a second of thought, she decided that she didn't care.

This decision came from her disappointment. When the tailed man said he'd teach her a trick, Sky was thinking magic or fighting of some sort. Not a magic trick. Her good mood was ruined. Sky hated having her hopes raised and then crushed. But she was on a pirate ship now. Any sign of weakness or sadness could send her over the edge, and she knew that.

So Sky lifted her head up, laughed at the trick, and then looked the doctor in the eye as the tailed man walked away. After hearing what he had to say, she looked at her hand. It didn't really hurt or anything. But she lifted her hand up for him, anyway. She had some respect for doctors—after all, every street person knew that the smallest of cuts could kill them if they got infected.

Sky wasn't just going to stand there in silence, though. So instead she opened her talkative mouth and asked, "Do you know any magic?" After all, that was her favorite question.

[Zane]

"This may sting a bit" Hans said as he poured a little of the alcohol on the cut then pressed his thumb to it. He then began to push power into the cut, forcing it to heal itself. "Do I know magic?" He removed his thumb, the cut was barely a scar now. The entire healing process had been skipped. "Take a look then you tell me."

[Dreamwolf]

Leaned over the rail, sighing, he'd expected adventure, not the usual dull tasks of loading and prepping for the journey, he'd known it would be there, but he'd expected everyone to wear a cutlass or two and be ready for fights, not intimidating women who yelled. He'd hold out for the whole voyage though, he'd signed on and he had a sailors honor, if it didn't get more exciting soon he'd leave off in some port.