All that Glitters

[DragonSong]

Ah. Leverage.

Marvelous.

Morgana tsked and leaned back from him, letting the amulet drop back to her chest. "What do you have to offer, brave one? A meal? A song? Treasure of your own? What do you think would strike my fancy?"

[Paladienne]

Kasim paused to ponder her words. What did he have to offer? The thought of giving her a meal had crossed his mind before and it crossed his mind again. He could offer her his unwanted guest on his ship, the original owner of the map, but that would be a trade he would feel guilty about. He didn't like the guy, but that didn't justify handing him over to a siren to get him eaten. But, other than the trade he couldn't make, he didn't have much to really offer her.

So he lifted his hands in surrender.

"I've got nothing. Unless you want to come with me and experience the adventure. You would get a share in whatever we found, and I wouldn't argue if you found a meal somewhere. But you can't eat anyone who's part of my crew, if you do."

[DragonSong]

Morgana's eyes widened. "Go...with you?"

Her mind began whirling, weighing the benefits of such a situation against the obvious drawbacks. Her tail flicked back and forth through the water, fingers tracing absent circles around the amulet.

She narrowed her eyes at the sailor. "And what guarantee do I have that this is not some elaborate plot on your part? I am not as naive in the ways of the world above our oceans as some of my sisters-- I know a mermaid can fetch a fine price. Alive or in pieces."

[Paladienne]

Kasim blinked, a flare of anger rushing through him. He felt insulted, incredibly so. Never before in his life had he sold another soul, no matter how rich it might make him. Never before had he taken a life for reasons other than self-defense. But that flare of anger and the insult soon faded in the wake of understanding. Here she was, a rare creature, just trying to survive in the only way she knew how, and what could be a potential meal was offering to take her away from everything she'd ever known for something unknown. He could make her no promises. She had to trust his word, if she agreed, and she knew nothing about him in order to warrant such trust.

So Kasim took a deep breath and said, "I can't guarantee you anything, but if you choose to believe me, believe that I will never allow any harm to come to you. No one will hurt you. I won't allow them to. But I swear to you, Morgana, this isn't some scheme to sell you. Or pieces of you."

He focused on her eyes, his own unblinking. If she didn't believe him and chose to stay behind, he would take that amulet somehow - something he hadn't figured out how to do just yet - but he didn't want to fight her over something that was, ultimately, hers.

"And if anyone tries," he said with the utmost sincerity and conviction, "I will kill them before they touch you."

[DragonSong]

She considered that a moment, tilting her head from side to side. Abruptly, she straightened up and flicked her hair back over her shoulder.

"Very well then. I will go with you."

[Paladienne]

Kasim blinked, surprised by her answer. "You will? I mean... Great! Perfect!"

He drew back with a wide grin. He couldn't have imagined this going any easier and less violent than it had, and he wasn't about to question his good luck. He hadn't wanted to fight her and he definitely didn't want to hurt her. That she was coming willingly was the best outcome he could've hoped for.

"You'll like my crew. They're good people. The only guy you gotta watch out for is... well... you'll see him. He's the only one that stands out. It's his map we're following." Kasim moved to get back in his boat, pleased. "And he might be the only one who gives you trouble."

[DragonSong]

Morgana chuckled a bit at his clear surprise, unable to help herself. "I suppose I will take your word for that," she murmured, slipping back into the water.

The siren circled the little rowboat he'd used to enter her cavern, waiting for him to board. Her eyes flashed dangerously and she added with a bright smile, "I make a vow not to harm your crew-- so long as they don't attempt to harm me."

[Paladienne]

Kasim picked up the oars as he settled into the small seat of his craft and slid the paddles out into the waters. Yet he didn't start rowing. Instead, he looked toward Morgana and smiled.

"My crew won't hurt you. I swear on my life they won't. But I'll warn you, the one you'll have to watch out for is the guy who owns the map. If he bothers you, well, you can do what you please with him."

Then he began to row, pushing his boat out toward the entrance of the cave and back toward his ship, and his crew waiting there for his return. He could only imagine how they would react when they discovered his new companion. He grinned at that thought and could already imagine the lectures about to come his way.

"Come on, then, my Lady Morgana, lets go on an adventure."

[DragonSong]

The siren grinned, fully flashing her sharp, serrated canines. "I'm no lady, bold one. Morgana will do just fine."

She ducked below the water again, following his dinghy at a careful distance.

[Paladienne]

Kasim rowed back to the ship, grinning at the relieved shouts that came from the deck. Of course his crew thought he'd be dead, why didn't that surprise him? And yet they'd stuck around on the hope that maybe he'd come back to them.

He caught the ropes as they were thrown down to him and tethered the dinghy to the larger craft. Then he shifted, looking out over the water for his newest companion. Since he didn't see her, he leaned over the edge of the rowboat and spoke directly to the water.

"Morgana? Do you need something special to get you up onto the ship, or are you just going to follow us from the sea?"

[DragonSong]

Hovering just beneath the surface of the water, Morgana hesitated, debating.

She could simply leave now. Not take the risk. No human vessel could catch a siren out on the open sea, not if she didn't want to be caught.

But that just wasn't in her nature.

Smirking to herself, Morgana sank a few lengths further under the water, then abruptly propelled herself forward, out of the water, up the side of the ship, latching onto the rail with webbed, clawed fingers to pull herself up.

She tossed her hair, curling her tail up over the rail even as the ebony scales began to shimmer into salt water and drip away, sluicing off until she had two rather surprisingly human legs-- save for the faint webbing between her toes.

She tilted her head to one side as she looked over Kasim's crew. Her hair was the only thing affording her any amount of modesty; she didn't seem to care much, but luckily the silvery curtain was enough to cover most of her body.

"I do just fine on my own, sailor bold," she said to Kasim with a smirk.

[Paladienne]

Kasim grinned at her, knowing that her nakedness wouldn't bother him or his crew. They were too used to each other, too used to being naked around each other on the ship. There wasn't one person aboard this ship that had qualms about being naked around the opposite sex, or being naked with the opposite sex, except perhaps their unwanted guest.

"Everyone," Kasim said, turning to face his crew even as he gestured to Morgana, "meet the Lady Morgana. Yes, she's a siren. No, she won't eat you. Not unless you give her reason to, anyway. She's going to be joining us for our adventure."

The crew eyed Kasim as if he'd grown a second head, but no one protested. Still, their eyes shifted from their captain to their newest guest, as if each man and woman was sizing up Morgana.

"Okay," Kasim called, clapping his hands, "let's get moving. We've already lost quite a bit of time."

"Yeah, because of you, captain!"

Kasim grinned wide. "But it was such a good use of that lost time!"

The crew burst out laughing before heading to their stations to get the ship moving. Kasim, however, turned to Morgana and offered her his hand. "Shall I show you around the ship? And would you like something to cover yourself up with?"

[DragonSong]

The siren tilted her head, considering that. After a few moments, she nodded-- much as she normally detested coverings of any kind, she wasn't so proud that she would pretend she didn't feel the chill of the sea air when she was above the surface.

"Yes, thank you. To both." She grinned, flashing her sharp teeth again, and jerked her head beyond the captain's shoulder. "Shall we, then?"

[Paladienne]

Kasim laughed and led her toward his personal cabin, which was near the aft of the ship, and currently occupied by their unwanted guest. But it was an accommodation that Kasim didn't mind giving. He didn't keep his precious things out where just anyone could see them to take them, and if anyone decided to steal from him, they'd be lucky not to become shark bait once he caught them. Thankfully, the cabin was empty when he arrived, so he didn't have to do introductions just yet, and he was more than willing to kick the man out of the cabin in the event Morgana wanted it as her own.

"Explore as you please," Kasim told her as he opened the door to the closet in his cabin. Within were a number of silks and satins, linens and cottons, sheers and opaques, that Kasim had either been gifted with, taken, or discovered at some bazaar and bought. He hadn't thought half of them would come in handy for a situation such as this, but he was glad he'd kept a majority of the things. Normally, he would've given them to an orphanage to clothe the children or sell as the proprietors pleased. "Whatever you want, you can have."

[DragonSong]

The siren quirked one eyebrow and wrinkled her nose as she looked around. "I... I'm not exactly well-versed in landwalker fashion," she said after a moment with a careless shrug. "Whatever you think is best, I suppose."

[Paladienne]

"Whatever I think is best, huh?"

Well, that was a first. Kasim was honestly shocked. Morgana had been so confident about herself before that he'd just assumed she'd dive headfirst into the wardrobe and start picking and choosing whatever pleased her the best. He certainly didn't know anything about dressing females. And he didn't know anything about what she might like. He scratched his head and studied the closet, before he began to pick through the garments.

He pulled out a sleeveless blouse and several short-sleeved shirts, a pair of silk pants, two skirts, several wraps, and a few other choice pieces that he thought she might like, and strove to put together an outfit for her. He was rather uncertain as he set the outfits out for her to choose from, stepping back to allow her closer to the clothes.

"Well..." Kasim started, his voice fading for a moment. He tilted his head to one side, studying her. "You can't go wrong with one of these. They're suitable for the kind of weather we'll be encountering and for life upon a ship. I mean..." He trailed off again, again uncertain. "If you want to wear these, that is."

[DragonSong]

Morgana paced almost warily around the fabrics he'd laid out, eyes flickering over them with a combination of curiosity and caution.

Carefully, she reached out to run her hands over a pair of loose breeches, humming softly at the feel of the fabric. And suddenly her attention began darting from one piece of clothing to the next, eagerly pressing her webbed hands to any she could reach, smiling slightly to herself.

Eventually, she settled on a simple enough skirt and blouse that were easy to pull on and, she hoped, wouldn't hinder her shifting back to her tail should the need arise.

"Alright." She turned to face Kasim again, fidgeting a bit at the alien feel of fabric against her skin. "Where to now?"

[Paladienne]

Kasim grinned. She really was quite beautiful, even when she was attempting to dress like a human. He eyed her from head to toe and nodded. "Not bad, if I do say so myself."

He gestured for her to follow him. "Now," Kasim said, "I'll show you around the ship, so you can get used to it. And I'll introduce you to everyone. Once we do that, we'll take a look at this treasure map of ours and see how your pendant comes into play."

He led her from the cabin and began to walk with her all around the ship, heading belowdecks to show her the galley, the hold, and the crew's quarters. He showed her how to navigate from one end of the ship and to the other without getting lost. And he introduced her to the crew, from his lookout high up in the crow's nest to the cook and her assistant. He even pointed out their unwanted guest, being as casual as possible as he gestured toward the man in the expensive robes.

Finally, he led her to a small table set up by the helm, upon which were several instruments and a tightly rolled scroll settled in a wooden chest so it couldn't blow away in the wind. Kasim carefully lifted the scroll out of the box and unwound it, anchoring the corners with heavy stones. Once that was done, he stepped back to allow Morgana to look at the map with him.

"See?" he said, pointing at a symbol on the map that was similar to her pendant. "I told you I'd seen that image somewhere before."

[DragonSong]

The siren kept her distance from most of the crew-- not noticeably, necessarily, just being cautious. She followed Kasim without complaint, though when one of the sailors gave her a curious look that lasted a bit too long, she grinned her sharp-toothed grin and licked her lips.

The map was intriguing, in a way. She leaned low over it, pulling the pendant off over her head. "Mm." She tilted her head, then the amulet in her hand, twisting her wrist so the stones caught the light. "It may be a coincidence," she said with a little shrug, unconvinced.

[Paladienne]

"I doubt it's a coincidence." Kasim said, folding his arms over his chest. "Treasure maps are notoriously misleading, sure, but they also have clues hidden in them so that treasure seekers can actually find the treasure. There wouldn't be a point to having maps if just everyone could follow it to the treasure, you know?"

His eyes went from Morgana to the map, studying the drawings on it, especially the drawing that looked like her amulet. The way the drawing was situated was odd compared to the rest of the map. And, Kasim noticed, it was upside down, as if the mapmaker had been drawing the amulet's likeness from a mirror.

Kasim studied that image for a minute longer, then shifted to hold his hand out for the pendant. "May I?"