RP:From 'Dawn' to 'Dusk'
Characters
- Kasyr, vampiric tiefling paladin.
- Riss, human slob.
- Satoshi, vampiric feline mage.
- Trey, human pirate.
NPCs
- Mutiny's Crew
- A muscle-man sailor.
- Julienne, the Contortionist
Reaching 35 meters, the length of the east indiaman was hardly the ship's best feature. Built up from the lowest, five decks lay. The weather-worn ones were kept in proper order, a tight regiment of repairs and cleaning kept the entire ship in pristine condition. Three masts supported the square rigged sails, currently lashed securely to the ship's booms. The sails themselves had been made of a bleached canvas, white as the outdoors would allow and showed no signs of rips or tears. Various barrels and crates sat on the main deck, not littering, but rather in a well thought out order. Without a figurehead to signify it’s title to the illiterate, the only form of identification for those unfamiliar with her was a simple name carved into her woodwork, claiming it as ‘Mutiny’. Nailed to the side of the vessel-- easily viewed from the dock or from the ship’s gangplank-- lay a sign informing seasoned sailors as well as folk without their sea legs that adventurous men were encouraged to sign the ship’s roster and to join their next trip out.
It was mid-day, the weather was nice, and Mutiny was a-buzz. Up in the rigging, the bosun, Sakahna, was checking lines on the main sail. One sail back, the captain worked up on the boom, checking lashings on the square sail and keeping an eye on the sailors below, who were moving crates down to the lower hold.
Satoshi , like the rest of the crew, has her hands full as she strolls up the gangplank. Albeit she isn't carrying crates but rather has a kitten nestled in one arm while the other is linked to her favorite tiefling. Once onboard, the feline places herself directly in the flow of traffic, earning a few dark looks from sailors, and looks up toward Trey. "Ahoy! ...That's the word, right? Anyway~. We leaving soon, right~?"
Kasyr is dragged along, his expression alternating between an amused sort of affection reserved for his 'tour guide', and an unpleasent look ranking between worried and annoyed- the likes of which was majoritarily fixed on the location. "...Avast...ou something. Is this really the best time to be visiting Rynvale?" It's only after this remark that the the hybrid even takes note of the fact that he's holding up other people- something he moves to correct by gingerly coaxing Satoshi along to the side with tug disguised as a hug. "War time vacations et such were what I chewed out Christian for..."
Trey glanced down at the ahoy and avast, a rather large grin popping onto her face, "Aye, finally!" The captain tied off a line, tugged another, and made her way to the mast. Most of her attention was on the newcomers now; she had walked across booms enough times that she didn't need to focus on balancing consciously. "Get yourselves settled, we're heading out immediately!" The woman's cry was directed towards the feline and her companion, but it was a warning to everyone on board. Sailors picked up the pace in finishing any tasks they were in the midst of, Sakahna left the rigging and stood on the main mast's upper platform, and a few select men headed up the ratlines, passing their captain on her way down. Dusting her hands off, she balanced her fists on her sides and approached the final occupants. "Shall I show you to your quarters, or you remember them, cat?"
Satoshi waves a hand dismissively at the captain, replying with a peevish, "I remember. Just below the feathery snacks. Which shall die if they keep me awake with their clucking again." Leave it to the cat to find a way to complain about having an officer's cabin. However, her attention shifts from Trey with the response to settle on the tiefling with an affectionately amused grin. "Oh? You mean like slaying dragons in Rynvale to have a picnic~?" Grin widening, the mage leans up to place a kiss on his cheek. "We're not going to be in Rynvale for long anyway. Right, Cap'n?" Obviously, the last words are meant for Trey.
Kasyr briefly leans in towards the feline to return the gesture, before simply tilting back on his heels, a curious look upon his face, "Clucking..? Erm, anyways. I was just..erm..making sure this wasn't a...drawn out trip? Brisk like the picnic, oui..." Unforunately, the tieflings unable to keep the hint of embarassment out of his tone or off his face... which is why a rapid change of subject worked perfectly, "So..just what es the occasion, anyways?"
Trey pulls her arms across her chest, letting them rest in the grooves of each other. "Not long, no. In fact, we're heading out now, and we won't be out long. As to the purpose..." the grin on her face lessened, and with a mischievous glisten in her eyes, she continued, "Well, the purpose a pirate always has." It was as if the sailors had heard the captain say that they were heading out at that very moment, for the crew had grown restless, the stores were no longer at their freshest, and at last Mutiny set sail. All would have been replaced and made new if their voyage was not as short as it was, but the captain had set their goal close by. Men rose in the rigging, releasing the sails and triple checking the lines. Cutting through the water came slowly the anchor, hauled up by four men rotating the capstan. The first and Quartermaster were making rounds, rechecking everything once more to ensure their voyage would commence without a hitch; and because he was versatile and not swamped with injured or ill, the surgeon Jyun manned the helm.
Satoshi hastily settles the kitten in the front of her coat, his tiny mottled paws hanging out to bat at the air blindly, before the mage is deftly climb upon the starboard railing without even a precautionary grip on nearby ropes. With the anchor up it finally feels like a proper start of an adventure, and the cryomancer can't keep the enthusiastic grin off her face or the bounce from her stance as she watches the waters ahead eagerly. At some point she recalls that Kasyr had asked a question, one that was hardly answered by Trey, and she looks back to him with a gleeful expression, "Ship-hunting~! Chaos and fun, all that good stuff." All right, so she wasn't any more informative than the captain, but could you blame her?
Kasyr raises one eyebrow, before alternating to the other one- doing his utmost to maintain a neutral expression, "Et just who..or rather what, are we ransacking, mon cher? ..Or would razing be a better term, en fait?" And at about that point, the hybrid couldn't keep the smirk off of his face, "Which es to say, I'll be wholly participating in the events to follow, of course. I'm just curious if there es any sort of rules to this particular engagement- or if I can consider it an all you can eat buffet with a complimentary bonfire at the end." That said and done, the tiefling simply moves to sidle up beside the feline- if only to peer at her little companion. "Heeey. It's ears..hers..his? Um.."
The ship lurched forward as a gust of wind picked up the sails, pulling the ship from the dock and into the vast sea. The steady splashing of waves upon the side of Mutiny's hull and the flock of gulls that followed for a short time, cawing all the while, made the scene peaceful and serene, and yet the sailors and cabin boys were tense with anticipation. Most of the usual crew were down below decks, keeping the upper deck from being cluttered. They played games of chance, or listened to each other's tales of adventure, but all activities were only halfhearted, everyone having an ear cocked for that cry they knew was coming. Above deck, Trey followed Kasyr over to Satoshi. He was right, there were rules that needed to be followed. "Aye, I've gone through rules with my crew, not that they need it." A jab in the two's direction made clear who did. "Last venture I took the lot of you on, we got nothing out of. Burned a ship, sunk a few, but got nothing. Therefore," she motioned for them to look at her, not the cat. The captain wanted her point made -very- clear, "No. Destroying. Ships." Each word was said slowly, strongly, and with an alternating jab between the two. "Not even a little. I want them sailable."
Satoshi is at least mannered enough to give Trey the requested attentive look, just not polite enough to keep the scoff quiet once the pirate is through talking. "Taking away all the fun! But," she makes a sidelong glances at the tiefling before smirking. "I suppose a challenge can be fun too. Keep them sailable... I think I can do that. So... aye-aye, cap'n!" Tossing Trey a salute, the mage stumbles a bit against Kasyr as if thrown off balance by the lurching ship. The maneuver most likely a furtive attempt at simply pressing closer to him, but it serves its purpose well as Satoshi smiles up at him, a hand stroking Solace's ears while the other slipped around her hybrid. "-His- ears. And oui~. Like yours. It's why I picked him out."
Kasyr is all ears and eyes, in the sense that he gives Trey his undivided attention for a few moments. Unforunately, his tongue seems to have a bad habit of doing it's own thing when he's off the clock, and so he finds himself blurting out not even a moment after she's done talking, "Any et all ships we encounter, or just specific ones? ...You know...Theoretically. We can't scuttle a single one? ...I think that's the word...erm." And about then he'd abruptly cease talking and focus upon the feline bumping into him, both arms slipping about her waist to give her a simple affirmative squeeze, "Well, I suppose it does mean my cat will have someone to keep her out of trouble. Ish. Sorta. Well. Out of the trouble I tend to wander into. j'pense.. Probably."
As your voyage east continues the gently rolling waves give way to choppier sea weather as the ship is furiously beaten by harsh ocean waves slamming against its wooden hull. The loud creaks of the ship fill your ears but are suddenly drowned out by the thunderous crack of a larger wave slamming into the ship's front sending up a cloud of water vapor quickly followed by a small wall of water that slams down onto the deck of the ship washing away a child's toy left carelessly on the deck dragging it from ship into the seemingly angry ocean depths. The crew scrambles around tying anything that could be swept from the deck, in a desperate attempt to hold onto their cargo, each and every one of them saturated to the skin in freezing cold icy water. Suddenly, you see a sailor thrown overboard, getting sucked under by the bounding, thrashing waves. You pause, seeing if he comes up for air or not, but alas, he does not. The ship still does not turn back, however, pressing further and further on relentlessly.
They sailed west, the sails picking up more wind the further they went. The flock of gulls that had accompanied them earlier turned and abandoned the ship, and the gentle splashing of waves turned harsh. Trey glanced at the sea, which had become much choppier than when they set out. Clouds had closed in while the three talked, and she knew what was coming. Multitasking was something a captain had to be good at, so while she determined their situation, the conversation continued. "I'd like to get any loot from a ship before sinking it, but remember this. When you sink a ship, they can't go get more goods for you to loot from them again." Jyun fought with the helm, keeping it on course. The captain made a note to have someone take over for the surgeon. "This one, this ship we're going after, especially. No harm should come to the ship. You got that?"
Satoshi carries a mixed look, caught between disappointment at the order against destruction and excitement at the approaching storm. Rainfall does tend to be a useful tool for a cryomancer, after all, and most especially if there is a need to eliminate a ship's crew without harming the ship. Too much. With a glance toward the darkening clouds, Satoshi tucks herself more securely at Kasyr's side while pushing all but Solace's closed-eyed face into the warmth of her coat. "This'll be interesting~," the mage comments to no one in particular, eyes focused on the waters ahead in hopes of spotting their quarry soon. An anxiously twitching tail makes it obvious she wants to start this game soon. Kasyr lets out a long drawn out sigh, before finally nodding, "I understand. I'll limit myself so as not to cause any ..unncessary damage that might hurt your profits...d'accord?" Pausing for a moment, the hybrid couldn't help but follow up with a genuinely curious, "Any other things of note? No important personnel or anything of that sort? I don't want to...commit any sort of faux pas on that front, either. I don't mind, really. Not much, anyways." Beyond that quiet query, the tiefling simply falls silent, another squeeze offered to his companion.
The Dawn lurched against the harsh waves, but the crew was skilled, and they kept her in check. The captain and his sailors had gone this path hundreds of times now, and made good money after raising the cost of ferrying folk from Cenril to Rynvale and back. Approaching fast from the east and heading right towards the ferrying warship, another ship appeared, though difficult to see in the storm. A man in the crow's nest extended his spyglass and his eyes fell upon an ominous flag, as black and cliche as the abyss; stitched onto it in a harsh inverse of color, white fabric in the shape of a skull and crossed by a falchion and a noose. The cry came as soon as his eyes fell upon it. "Pirates!" From the poopdeck, the helmsman clanged the bell, and a rush of sailors came from below decks. They were undermanned, for the trip between the mainland and the island was generally short and uneventful. None of them were fully prepared, and they had lived a cushy life for quite some time now, not the life of the pirates they once were.
Trey cursed her luck and misfortune, for The Dawn was out and away from Cenril, but the two ships would meet in the midst of a storm. Her crew had now been amply informed, and with the sight of The Dawn, the captain hastily answered Kasyr with a "Just the ship," rushed up to the helm--glad to see that Jyun had been relieved and her first mate Harry had taken over. "Ring the bell, we've got company!" Men streamed up from below deck, men who had been waiting, tense, for this very moment. "Man the swivel guns, I don't want damage to the ship!"
Satoshi 's ecstatic grin falters just a moment as she glances toward Trey curiously. She's uncertain what a 'swivel gun' is but, after the pause, the mage decides she can ask questions later. After all, the pirate didn't have her on board to man any weapons... the cat was a walking one. And currently well-supplied with ammunition at sea and with rain pattering off both decks. "It's time to play, love~," the words are for Kasyr of course, and followed up with a swift kiss before the little cryomancer begins her work with a predatory glint in her eyes, choosing to remain in the tiefling's arms for the sake of the balance it provided during spell-weaving. Her string of half-sung whispers are lost to the wind, but that's the intention. Let the breeze carry her magic to the clouds above the Dawn, transforming a simple downpour into a frigid sleet with an unnatural persistance to cling to the deck and spread with an ivy's crawling pace.
Satoshi gave 1 Ice-Rink to The Dawn.
Kasyr doesn't have any complaints when it comes to the orders given by ...the captain (Of a long line of captains known, no less). ..So, the ginger Captain. There. But, certainly not red beard...that'd likely get him slapped or pushed overboard...Right! So...When the tieflings mind ceased focusing upon oddball commentary, he became altogether aware of the felines continued proximity- and his impromtu roll as her anchor. At heart, it was a role he didn't mind, and yet- due to the immediate lack of proximity between the ships, he couldn't help but feel somewhat hindered in what he could do. At least, until a certain thought crossed his mind. Whilst he was adept at using magic- due to both his nature and his occasional meals... He preferred dealing with his problems in a much more personnel manner. And yet, it occurs to him that such potential going unused is a terrible waste. And thus, he'd simply focus. Needing to do little more than tighten his hold upon the feline, the hybrid simply began to see if he could focus those energies which naturally resided within him to the feline- a subtle transfer of energy...with the simple intention of seeing just what might occur. Thus situated, there was perfect deniability, as for all intents and purposes, it seemed like he was merely holding his beloved close. "It's so nice to see you take the lead."
Experienced men wrapped their hands around the small cannons, mounted on the railing earlier in the day. Swivel guns were great for attacking ships that you didn't want sunk, ideal for taking out men before boarding, and maneuverable enough to aim in almost any direction. Cabin boys and some crewmen newer to the sea paired up with the cannoners, waiting to reload the next cannonball. Two swivels had been mounted on the fo'c'le, making Mutiny able to attack before The Dawn could. The two frontward cannons spun to point at the ferrying ship, then waited. Satisfied that all was ready for their battle, Trey roared above the waves, "Fire!" Boom Boom! In rapid secession two cannonballs burst from the ship and flew across the short distance, one landing on The Dawn's fo'c'le, the other barely passing it and slamming into a sailor on the main deck, who slid with the force across the deck, which had become icy with the sleet falling. A slight adjustment to the wheel turned them from their head-on course just in time, and slowly the ships slid side by side. Again the captain let out a roar, "Fire!" Six cannons let ammo fly, knocking more sailors-- and a passenger or two, from their feet. Others merely hit the deck, rolling across the larger ship until hitting the railing on the other side. The captain would have liked one more pass with the cannons, but turning and following The Dawn in the same direction was not a good idea. Though the ferry was larger than Mutiny, it had less cargo and more sails. It would be faster, and to turn now would be to lose her prey. That was exactly why the sails were being drawn back up by men who had climbed into the rigging as soon as The Dawn was in view. "Grappling hooks, now!" The fight was about to get personal. Sharp metal hooks flew across the short distance from deck to deck, only one falling short due to the ferocious wind. Other men joined the throwers and tugged the sturdy ropes, pulling the ships together. A slam and a jolt knocked the land legged passengers of the ferry, and a few unseasoned sailors on both ships, to the ground. Men on The Dawn stared in awe at the boarding party ready to attack. A hundred and fifty bloodthirsty sailors, swords drawn, with their intent all but hidden on their faces.
Satoshi has time enough to reply to Kasyr with a sing-song, "Long-distance is my specialty, after all~", and a brief, questioning glance up at him. She was feeling markedly energetic all of a sudden, and she couldn't quite be sure if it was the thrill of a ship battle or not. The tiefling did have an odd effect on her most of the time, after all. Still, that could be pondered over later, for now the mage has a Dawn to harry and an impressive amount of magic to do it. A shift in tone and precipitation goes from sleet to hail, pellets like that of grapeshot to leave the ship harassed by ammunition from the side and above. Each sphere of hail that strikes flesh immediately burst and spread, frosting over limbs of foe and passengers alike and producing a rapid onset of hypothermia onboard. Yet, oddly enough, not a single piece of hail fell upon Trey's crew or decks, the mage showing a bit of consideration for the allied sailors and keeping her magic away from them--while keeping the hail from punching through the Dawn's deck, too. With her focus deadset not even the sudden lurch as the ships drew together was enough to throw off her casting, with thanks also going to that excessive supply of fuel and knight in armoured-trenchcoat keeping her steady.
Kasyr is looking decidely more impish at that sudden shift in Satoshis' magic, a fair bit of malicious satisfaction granted by the simple act of observing those results. The chaos iss simply a sight to behold, really, as every passing second proves more entertaining then the last. And yet, with the clank of grappling hooks, and the distance steadily closing, he knew that this particular bit of mischief was at an end. "Mind yourself, Cherie." is muttered but a moment before the shock of the ships meeting makes itself known- though it had little to do with the warning. No, with the hybrid hardly phased by the motion...(thankfully)- the comment's aimed more at his careful disentanglement from the feline. After all, she would be deprived of an energy source, her tiefling having taken up a position atop a rail- perched in a manner akin to a cat; as he tried to pick out any personnel of importance. "I wonder if there's any imperials to play with...par chance..."
Trey eyed Satoshi, or rather, the back of Kasyr, and gave a smirk, thanking the sea that the feline was on Mutiny's side. Unfortunately, the captain was not about to send her men into a hypothermic ice storm. "Let those cannons fire!" She roared, this time above not only the wind and crashing of waves, but also above the crashing of ice on wood and the cries of men-- and women-- who cradled their arms, legs, and other body parts which were hit with the unbearable ice falling from the sky. Passengers scrambled to get below The Dawn's deck, though several were pushed aside by two men. One, a scrawny looking man, though tall, who's fierce gaze made him more terrifying than the monolith of a man next to him. Only slightly taller than the thinner man, the bulky, red bearded man held out an arm thicker than Trey's head, which his companion leapt up, only to then sit atop the man's beefy shoulders and grip onto tightly. The roar that exploded from the muscle man made several of Mutiny's crew eye the sky for lightning, and with a powerful leap, both enemies were aboard. A dangerous move, and yet neither man seemed to worry. Pushing off the larger man's shoulders, the thinner one thrust his legs into the air, and fell forward, tumbling onto the deck. In the blink of an eye, a sword and dagger were drawn, matching a grin that begged for someone to give him a chance to kill them. He cracked his arm, twisting it in an impossible angle. The contortionist was here to play.
Satoshi stumbles sideways without the bracing hold of the tiefling, as well as the sudden depletion of energy. The latter is the reason for a noticeable softening of the hailstorm barraging the Dawn, stones of ice becoming half-frozen rain. Frigid, clingy slush is still a dangerous factor, but not nearly as damaging or impressive as the prior assault, most especially when the sheet of ice on deck begins losing its solidity as well. Either way, Satoshi doesn't have the energy or focus to keep up her earlier spellwork and simply leaves the weather to its own design as she turns toward the crash not far behind her. Slowly, carefully, Satoshi backs herself up to the railing the tiefling is perched on, nudging at him earnestly. "Kassy~. We might have a small problem. And a big one," the mage states simply, not caring if her small voice is loud enough to be heard over the chaos, her attention is a bit too intent on the disjointed man and his hefty companion. As a precaution, the frost-katana is drawn and held in what she can only hope is a believable defensive stance. But, for now, the feline is just going to wait. No need for her to charge the smaller fellow, inexperienced with weapons as she is.
Riss had been sleeping soundly underneath the deck of The Dawn before all the commotion had started-- well, hell, most of the way through the commotion, to be honest. Eyes opened groggily, 'Just a few more minutes,' leaving his lips with every toss in turn. Alas, Christian wasn't granted the peace and quiet he desired on the trip back to Cenril. Standing, he rubbed his eyes and scooted his feet towards the stairs up to deck. "The hell? When'd it get so damn cold?" he asked, the bitter chill waking him up considerably; the chill caused him to cross his arms and halfway consider going back to sleep. Eying his resting stop, he decided that he had gone too far already. The lethargic shuffling of his feet caused him to slip upon setting foot on the deck, falling clear on his rump and sliding halfway to the mast. Out of pure, untarnished laziness, it was there that he sat, despite the crew and passengers of the ship bustling all around him.
Kasyr ,whilst intrigued by the sight of someone(s) jumping from the Dawn into the thick of things on the mutiny, had a bit of a nuiance to contend with. His perilous proximity to the ferry left him right within arms reach of one of those myriad sailors, one who had managed to remain relatively safe by virtue of someone having fallen atop him. It's during those moments the ice storm abates that the fellow finally manages to dislodge himself from under the unforunate passengers and crew who had served as an umbrella- if only so that he could slide over to the perceived interloper that was the tiefling. Accurately perceived, no less, but anyways. "Avast! ...No..Ahoy? Er..Scury...land flubber, mutinous..Mon dieu, why bother." Offering a dejected side at the dire lack of nautical banter in his vocabulary, the hybrid simply waits in place until the sailor finishes skidding over to his position- curiously watching as blade is unsheathed and swung in what could be described as an almost competant motion. Unforunately, what follows is the hybrid simply hopping to his feet, with his left moving to pin the mans sword to the railing.And of course, the tieflings right moving forward to pin his hand still didn't help things either. But really, what served as the coup de grace, was the hybrid catching sight of Riss sliding to the midst of the dawn- by which point that left moved once more- albeit this time in the form of a kick with enough force to dislodge our poor sailors head from his shoulders. This improvised projectile is sent hurtling across the ship to invariably crunch into the mast above Riss' head, accompanied by a, "Christian, You're on the wrong ship~!" And, of course, from there, the hybrid finally hops back to where Satoshi is, to glance at the pair that were present, "Okay...I see the small problem, where's the big one?"
Trey saw the ice storm thin out, and ordered the bulk of the crew over the railing. The two men who had invaded Mutiny would be taken care of, but the east indiaman's crew would need to secure The Dawn. Some were relieved to avoid the certainly fatal fight, while others reluctantly rushed the other ship. It was easy for them to secure the passengers, already wounded or half frozen men were easily coaxed into surrender. Some of the crew they had to beat down, or even kill, forcing some of them into the brig. Casee, the dirty blonde weapons master, had leapt across the ship as well, eager to ensure the security of The Dawn despite the two fierce enemies aboard his own ship. There Riss sat, and the sailor approached him blade first. "Surrender yourself, or face death."
The burly man let the puny sailors rush past. They were unimportant. His companion and himself had joined The Dawn for mere desperation. They had no commitments to it, and he hardly cared if it went under. What he did care about was a good fight, and his eyes fell upon it. With another mighty roar, the behemoth charged Kasyr.
From behind his large companion, the contortionist leapt, having hidden from view until the last moment. Sword at his side, he rolled forward through the air and landed behind Satoshi. "'Ello there, my little popsicle." Licking his lips with a tongue perhaps too long, he brought his blades forward, "I will make so many holes in you..."
Satoshi is in the midst of answering Kasyr's question by pointing out the charging rhino of a man with her katana when she's interrupted by the light patter of feet landing upon the railing the cat leans against. It's an instinctive reaction that has the little mage moving forward and whirling around at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, ultimately putting her back to the behemoth's charge--but she's trusting her tiefling to take care of that aspect, to face the newcomer. Or rather, to lash out at the newcomer in a reflexive swing with the frosty blade, magically honed edge and meager feline strength making a relatively clean slice through the contortionist's right ankle and embedding itself an inch into the left. And it's a few seconds after this, both human and cat blinking in stunned surprise at the sudden event, that Satoshi smirks and finally manages one of those odd lines others used in such situation. "Frost bites~."
Riss wasn't surprised at all by Kasyr's use of a dislodged body part as a projectile, and considered kicking it back as a game, but the sword-wielding sailor interrupted before he could. "Surrender?! Why the hell are you ascossiating -me- with--" he takes a moment to point several times "--THEM! I'm no-" he was cut short by the sailor's attempt to get rid of his head as well, resulting in a swift flat-fall to deck accompanied by sweeping of leg. Of course, after this was done, Christian attempted to get away from him as quickly as possible, running back to the mast. Turns out the head would be a good tool against an obviously mistaken sailor. "I ~tried~ tellin' you that I'm a ~good guy~. But no." If the sailor would get up from his position, Riss would bounce the head up to knee-level and launch it towards the sailor with a kick of his own. "Wrong ship. Psht. I'm headed back to Cenril. This is the -right- ship," he muttered, still a bit angry about his sleep being disturbed.
Kasyr is quick enough to take in the situation, and even hastier to act. All it takes is a simple flick of his arms, and serpentile Tattoos that normally rest coiled about his arm surge forth- solidifying into a pair of wicked looking ebon Katanas. And yet, rather then rely upon that cursed steel, the hybrids next action would be one of a peculiar nature- with a shrug, both blades would be hurtled skywards by means of the tieflings supernatural strength. With blades twirling upwards, the hybrid really has nothing left to do save take a few more steps forward, brace himself downwards, and wait for the colossus of a man to collide with him. ...The hybrid had no intention of evading after all- more curious as to what might come as to a meeting of strength. And what better way, than to catch any fists that might be thrown with all that built up impact- if the intention wasn't merely to tackle into him. Whatever the case, the hybrid was curious as to whether what he assumed to be a human could match the strength of a vampiric tiefling.
Ham-sized fists lurched forwards towards the tiefling, and he pummeled them into Kasyr one after the other. Human indeed. Behind their fight, the contortionist gurgled, swooned, and did a back-breaking bend over the side railing, hoping to rip the blade from his ankle, before twisting himself so his hands were on the rails. Again he pushed off with them, clinging to the hilts of his weapons with his forefinger and thumb. The man landed on the deck balancing on one foot, wobbling slightly with its wound, his other foot no where to be found. He could have been a great foe, he could have been hard to kill, he could have left a mark, unfortunately for him, he eyed a tiny little kitten in the crease of the feline's arm. "You brought me a snack, to replace the foot you took." He eyed it with hunger, and reached a sharp dagger towards it. The captain noticed the two adversaries entangled deep with two more than capable companions, as so Trey leapt across the railing and onto The Dawn, catching the head before it hit her prone officer. "Good guy? I hardly think that either side qualifies." Turning her attention to the gunner, the captain ordered him, "Casee, go ensure they've secured the rest of the sailors, we can take The Dawn as soon as it's secure."
Satoshi finds herself suddenly without her katana, the damnable thing pulled from her light grip with the man's sudden twisting away, leaving the blade to disappear into the waves below once dislodged from his ankle. The mage is hardly bothered by the lost weapon, as it has a nasty habit of always returning to her when least wanted. No, what upsets the feline now is the man's remark as he eyes the--somehow still--dozing Solace. Bad move. Dubbing a cat's kitten edible is certainly the quickest way to provoke her wrath, a fact made evident by the contortionist's dagger finding itself suddenly knocked aside by the curved edge of a freshly manifested Asorial, its glacial edge glinting with a frosty fury mirrored in Satoshi's eyes. "You want a bite? Come and get it~," the little mage snarls, features set in a feral smirk of bared fangs as she advances toward the man, the scythe swiping out in small arcs to nip at him in a slow, steady herding toward Mutiny's railing. "Let's see how many more limbs I can take before then, shall we~?" For all other going-ons the cryomancer is blind, her attention for the twisted fellow only.
Well, the siblings are certainly an easy going pair. There's Christian who, after waving dismissively at the pirate he assaulted, quite neatly allows himself to be herded beneath the deck so that he could find a cabin to snooze in. And then there's the tiefling who, albeit the violent barrage focused upon him, couldn't look any more bored if he tried. Some blows are deflected, others merely blocked, whilst a sparse few even slip through and slammed against the aberrations body. And still, he can't muster an ounce of amusement at the proceedings. "...Mon dieu- es that all? ...I expected more after that drama...." And minus an interruption that comes from an especially irate punch slamming into his cheek, the tiefling finishes his remarks, "Dramatique entrance...you know?" And with that, the hybrid abruptly hops back, hoping the sudden gap provokes a loss of balance in the fellow. Not that it matters too much. Not a second passes before the hybrids secondary weapons materialise about his arms- a pair of luminous vambraces shimmering platinum and aureate. Like Gospel, these weapons are of a mutable nature, and it is the guise of wire gloves the hybrid seeked. All that is required upon their appearance iss a simple flick of wrists, wires of an unnaturally lively nature lashing out to ensare those hurtling katanas from before. Well, beyond a brisk drawing of arms down to his side- the likes of which sends Gospels twin blades screaming through the air in an arc that threatens to both sever the large mans arms from his body and rejoin the tiefling with his weapons. ...Quelle Belle Joie.
The contortionist hardly flinched at the comment, bending forward at the knee and shooting his dagger again towards the frost feline, slashing at her legs. His other arm came up from his back, arching up in an almost full circle from its original position, to attack Satoshi from above with a long blade. The turn made his shoulder joint pop loudly in protest. He just smiled his wicked grin. Not far from the two, the large man kept himself from stumbling, staggering a foot forward just as his foe leapt back. Despite the swift move to keep him on balance, a look of horrible surprise etched on his face as both arms came clean from his body. Frozen, he could not turn to look, but he could feel the blood gushing from the open shoulders, he could hear the arms thump lifelessly to the ground, and he could taste copper in his mouth. Dizziness overcame him, and he with a less than mighty last attempt at a roar, he slumped to the ground, not dead, but inevitably so. Back on The Dawn, Trey, Casee, and the rest of the crew covered the rest of the ship. Most of the worthy fighters had been subdued already, now it was a matter of finding anyone that was hiding and gathering them in one place, to keep a better eye on them. With a grin and a wink to her weapons master, the captain inquired, "What do you say we charge these passengers double for this ferry trip?"
Satoshi doesn't so much as wince at the deep wound running across her legs following the dagger's swing, in fact her wicked little grin becomes all the more predatory at the addition to the heady scent of blood in the air as she carries on with her approach. Only a late sidestep, provoked by the ship moving with a swell, prevents the dropping sword from delivering a more serious blow, instead slicing a line from shoulder to elbow on Satoshi's left arm and eliciting noting more than a hiss from the raging little feline. "My turn now, right?" With that, the hold on Asorial is reversed as it swings upward from its resting position to catch the man's sword arm before it could completely retreat, the momentum of the swing turning Satoshi full circle. One limb~. And with the feline's continued inertia, she's brought back around with the scythe slicing through the wind in an downward angle, cleaving clean through the man's thigh to remove the rest of the leg she'd already dismembered before embedding the tip of the weapon in Mutiny's deck. "Two down. Two to go~," the cat sings as she leans temporarily against Asorial's staff, still smirking through bleeding wounds and frosted sweat mingling with rain on her brow.
You dropped 1 human leg.
Kasyr just can't let a meal that big go to waste. And so, with little more than a glance cast to either side, the hybrid leaps upon the bleeding behemoth- biting and tearing out chunks of the man. There's no care towards the scene made, or the mess produced- the hybrids seemingly solitary focus settled upon just how rapidly he can make the man dissapear. And yet, It's still more than providence that a now -mauled- and severed arm would be flung towards Satoshi and Contortionist, just moments before the hybrids normally dormant aura of shadow would proceed to help in the rapid shredding and consumption of the poor human laid to waste. At that pace, the tiefling was blood soaked and standing in but a few more moments- and seemingly indifferent to the fact that he was soaked with more blood than a butcher after a long days work. "aaaah~ Much better."
The contortionist staggered, hopped on his one leg, and looked blankly at his limbs on the ground. Any sane man, including his defeated companion, would swoon at the sight of their disembodied limbs lying next to them. He just turned his head and licked some of the blood gushing from his missing arm. The only weapon now his off weapon in his off hand, and his balance on his left leg, he was certainly a sight. Balance though, he certainly had. He had been standing on the one leg for minutes now, a feat not easy to do. Even more surprising, he let himself fall backwards, unbelievably strong leg muscles stopping his body's fall so that he hovered a foot over the deck, his hand switched the angle of his dagger, and he slashed his arm backwards at Satoshi, blade first. Then a leg hit the back of his calf, and that was the cherry on the proverbial ice cream. Down he fell, leg twisted awkwardly below him. On The Dusk, Trey's own sailors rose up the ratlines and into the rigging, fixing anything that Satoshi's hail had rendered unusable. Her icy stunt had all but exhausted the clouds, and it had almost completely stopped raining by now. Though the wind was still somewhat ferocious, it wasn't difficult for the sailors to do what they needed to do, and soon Trey was confidant that The Dawn was sailable. The captain returned to her ship only to see more damage done to it than to the ferrying ship. "Hey!" the lungs of someone used to shouting over gale force winds brought her words easily to Kasyr's ears. "What in the seven seas is this bloody mess? Keep the enemy ship in working order doesn't mean to go staining my deck! It'll be taking weeks to get that out!"
Satoshi 's wearing down quickly, physical exertion not her strongest attribute by a long shot, and this time the second slash for her legs forces a growl of pain from the feline as she limps back from the dagger's bite. With a heave and groan, the feline tugs the scythe back out of the deck, while leaving a hefty gouge in the fine wood, before stumbling forward once more. With legs set far enough apart to support her wavering balance, the mage lifts Asorial over her head for a fleeting second, taking just long enough to give the mangled man one last fanged smirk and a quiet, "Eat this~" before she lets gravity do the last of the work. With a sickening crunch and thud half of the scythe's blade is buried in the man's chest and the deck beneath him, effectively pinning his corpse to Mutiny. And with that, Satoshi reaches the end of her strength, leaving her with nothing more to do than slump to the deck in a half-faint--retaining enough awareness to not land on the unhappily mewing Solace, at least.
Kasyr offers Trey a cherubic, and bloodstained, smile- before the shadows which had been radiating from his being abruptly snap back to their rightful places. Which was to say, every crease and crumple within his trenchcoat. And thus having resumed his guise of normalacy, the hybrid simply shimmys across the deck towards Satoshi, if only to carefully kneel down behind her- arms returning to their position about her. "Mon dieu, that looks rather unpleasent.... Though I would wager being eaten alive was worse..."Glancing over the mages wounds, the hybrid can't help but add, "And I suppose whilst a quick bite es out of the question, you'd have not a qualm about a careful bit of hand laying, n'est ce pas?" It's about this point the tiefling looks up to the ginger captain, to gesticulate frantically with one hand, "Nothing sordid...here anyways. Erm. Oh...et er. To answer the prior thing....He wasn't important personnel."
Trey motioned Shoadie, her Quatermaster, over. "Make sure everything is good to go on The Dawn. I'm giving full control over to you. Harry!" The shout carried over to the poop deck, where her first mate was. As Shoadie crossed to The Dawn, Harry made his way towards Trey. "Aye Cap'n?" He inquired. "Shoadie's in control of The Dawn now, so you're quartermaster here. I want you to split my crew up amply so that both ships can make it back. Help Shoadie weed out The Dawn's sailors, see who we can keep, and who we dump off at port. Oi!" Her attention now went to a group of her sailors and Harry headed off, "Push those bloody carcasses off my deck!" It didn't take long for everyone to mobilize. Sailors unlashed the ships from each other after the proper splitting of crew took place, and with another groan they were free. Harry and Shoadie gave each other a knowing look from across the way, and then headed off to man their duties. Shoadie would never let Harry live down that Trey had not given her first mate the ship, but her quartermaster. Sails were dropped on Mutiny--The Dawns had never been raised, and slowly the ferry was turned about.
Satoshi isn't one to complain about being back in the tiefling's hold, most especially when she lacks the strength to move about on her own at present. Still, being as weak as a newborn kitten (for lack of a better or more apt analogy) doesn't quite stop the mage from the bit of squirming that comes with mention of healing, and a half-whined reply of, "But that tiiiiickles~!" From there the feline nuzzles more comfortably against the hybrid and looks in Trey's general direction somewhere in the going-ons, her focus just a mite off with the dizziness of bloodless, to frown weakly. "By the way... what in hellfire is a swivel gun?" Obviously she hasn't forgotten to ask despite the day's events.
Kasyr idly goes about the task of removing his gloves and laying his hands about the felines shoulders- the mention of it tickling likely having served as a secondary reason to continue. Nonetheless, the tiefling had a query of his own that needed to be answered, "...You know, it strikes moi as sort of wrong that the claimed ship still has the same lousy name. Shouldn't you ....rechristen it, ou quelque chose?"
Trey laughed, relaxing now that the ships were secured and on their way. "A small, short range cannon used for taking out men, not ships. They're great at maneuverability too!" That reminded her. Another order was snapped to dismount the swivels, and the men who weren't busy scrubbing down a bloody stain began that arduous task. "A new name we've got time for. I'd let you two name it if I didn't think I'd regret it." Once The Dawn had turned, both ships set towards Rynvale. Soon the ships were out of the storm, and the captain felt comfortable ordering the rest of Mutiny's sails down. She was pleased to see that Shoadie had done the same without a signal from Trey. Rynvale's port was already in view now, and coming in closer and closer.
Satoshi has a terrible habit of wriggling and squirming when being healed, not to mention the fit of giggles such a thing tends to induce. And it's while the cat is being an unhelpful patient that she notices Rynvale's approaching docks only to grin in a perfectly giddy fashion at the tiefling, "See~? Didn't take long at all, did it? Left with the break of dawn, came back with the rise of dusk~." With an amused little sound the feline simply curls up against her hybrid, with a once more dozing Solace held up close. After a pause, the mages adds sleepily, "Not a bad day at all, hmm?"
Kasyr mumbles something affirmative about meals on the go, though, his attention remains fixed upon the felines well-being.It's only when the felines wounds are relatively dealt with that he actually starts to pay attention, and respond with any real degree of enthusiasm, "All in all, it was rather fun...I wasn't exactly certain that trick with the swords was going to work. erm, but, even then, it was rather pleasent." And then, of a sudden, the felines words click within the hybrids head. First Dusk, and then Dawn...and then finally, "Twilight~! It sounds...no...no wait. It sounds far too romantic. What kind of tales would be related to a name like that.... Terrible idea..."
Trey gave Kasyr a distorted look. "Sounds like a book about faeries or something. I'm not naming a ship after faeries. That'd hardly strike fear into enemies." Satoshi's words sunk in too, for The Dawn had been broken, and from it rose, "The Dusk. I like it, feline." The captain gave The Dawn, or rather, The Dusk, a signal to anchor offshore. Any passengers could be ferried to shore in lifeboats, but as of right now, the captain wanted no alarms being raised due to the ship's change in ownership. Mutiny, on the other hand, glided comfortably into her usual home. The gangplank was set, and many sailors made their happy way to the Broken Barrel, laughing and shouting, rambunctious from the fight.
Satoshi very likely didn't even hear the renaming of the ship, for it wasn't long after her last murmured remark that the mage simply fell asleep--or unconscious, difficult to tell. But, when you've spent the day using up both magical and physical energy it's an easy thing to doze off. Especially with the security that comes with having a tiefling doubling as cozy pillow and guardian. Yes, the renaming of the Dawn is certainly secondary to a well-earned catnap at the moment.
Kasyr offers Trey a genuinely helpless look and a shrug, before wiping as much blood as he can off of himself in an offhanded matter- seemingly intent on not disturbing the felines slumber. "...It's not going to be too long before you sail back to Cenril, es it? ...I think I'm stuck.."