Stowaway ?!

The regular shouts and calls filled the air as men glided up and down the masts, tending to sail, tightening sheets and checking rigging. A voice could be heard over them all as the captain directed his crew, effortlessly directing the ship out and away from the port until she was in open water. With a clear line Tray easily coaxed his ship into the sky, the keel and hull shifting and groaning as it left the water as tiny droplets of it fell away like liquid diamonds until only the glistening wood told of her birthing at port. Like an elegant bird the Stargazer rose higher into the sky, trees, building, even mountains fell away as she gained the altitude needed for safe travel. With the wheel in his hands Tray felt ever shift and movement of his ship and he imagined that the Stargazer herself was speaking to him through every shutter and groan. The captain shouted another order and two men hurried to trim the sails until the wind filled them out into a pleasant curve.

Instantly he felt the ship lurch as she picked up speak, aided by the wind she would need to use less power keeping the thrusters relatively cool until they were truly needed. As usual the Stargazer had just completed an honest day’s work, having delivered cargo of grains and fruit to town. Without a full haul the ship felt as light as the clouds that were kissing the bottom of the hull, some of the white stuff billowing over the gunwales and misting the entire crew. The sensation was truly refreshing after spending so long laboring in the hot sun. The voyage back to the supplier would be long and uneventful, very few things happened over the Argo territory. Flying a like blue flag with a simple embroidery of a sea bird resting on a barrel, the sign of a peaceful trade ship, the Stargazer was generally ignored by all. Leaving her free to fly where ever she pleased, allowing the cunning pirate captain to scout out the land bellow and find potential victims or weaknesses in the armor of Argo.

Whistling to a fellow shipmate Tray gave the job of handling the ship’s navigation to him while he walked the deck. He was soar to give up his place behind the wheel, he loved his ship dearly and rarely it in another’s hands, but the weather and skies were clear and the man was experienced enough not to manage to run her in the ground that seemed to crawl by thousands of feet bellow. With a stride befitting that of an agile jungle cat Tray walked the length of his ship, pausing to offer a hand or shout an order. Upon hearing a call for extra rope Tray ventured over to the Deckhouse, pulling the door open, its hinges giving a teeth grinding squeal as it swung open on the purposely un-oiled hinges. Grabbing a coil of rope Tray began to withdraw from the deckhouse when he suddenly bumped into a javelin leaned against the wall, knocking it to the floor with a loud clatter. Bending down the young man swiftly picked it up and as he rose his gaze locked with a pair of deep green eyes, leaping back the javelin falling from his hand as it reached for the handle of one of his swords, the young man paused mid draw. His eyes taking in the form of the young lady,

Tray slid the blade back into the sheath allowing his hand to merely rest on the handle. “Now isn’t this a pleasant surprise.” he said his voice friendly and conversational, as if he had stumbled upon a present hidden away by his parents early. “As much as I am flattered to have such a lovely women aboard by ship, I do not appreciate stowaways. If you needed to get away from someone, or simply wanted a ride all you needed to do was ask, I would have been more then happy to take you aboard.” As he spoke his eyes moved along her form, taking in the quiver and bow until he finally ended on her face. His eyes passing over the birthmark as if it weren’t even there, he had seen many disfigurements worse then a simple changing of the color of skin never once had he drawn attention or allowed them to bother him, even as a young boy he never saw a deformed humans as such. Blind, deaf, lame, it did not matter to the man, only the inner fire and spirit truly mattered in his eyes; the heart was what mattered. Sitting on a near by barrel Tray folded his arms, his eyes never leaving the women’s form.

A crew member entered the deckhouse, in search of the rope his partner had asked for, upon seeing his captain sitting across from the hiding form of another the man froze. Tray Tossed the coil of rope at him before waving him away, trusting that his captain could handle this the man backed out of the small deckhouse. “I suppose I’ll have to throw you over board, I can’t have people thinking that I allow anyone to get away with stowing aboard my ship, even a women as pretty as you. “ He gave nothing away, to anyone he would have seemed completely serious as he casually spoke about sending a young lady plummeting to her death. Fingering the hilt of his sword he went on. “So, what have you to say for yourself?” he patiently waited for her answer, his body relaxed muscles ready to move fluidly in reaction to a hostile advance.

Tag: Aurelia Moon
Word: 949

Every move every twitch of her lips, roll of her eyes all did not escape the scrutinizing gaze of the pirate leader. She had obviously not taken any of his words to heart, he made no move to help or stop he from rising regarding her in a calm manner. He politely listened to her onslaught of words as she answered his question in a rather long winded way, he was only curious as to why she wanted to be aboard his ship so badly, nothing more. But he let her talk taking the time to analyze her demeanor and cunning as she spoke, so she had somehow figured out that they were in fact pirates, it’s strange how some people could get that feeling around this ship even when they so effortlessly hid such actions. Most of his men were in fact merchants and other honest men who had been forced into this hostile way of life by the government, because of they slid into the act with ease as they carried about legal transactions by day, and less legal ventures at night. His face gave nothing away, the faint smile that had brushed his lips growing as the women went on more passionately. When she had finished he spoke. “I would have stopped whether you were man women or rabbit, I do not needlessly take another’s life.” He absentmindedly flicked a rope fiber off of his pants, this one was truly spirited and clever, if anything she was certainly out spoken. “Believe it or not you are worthy of the words that I have spoken and I am grieved to hear that they are such an insult to you, I do not give a compliment if I do not think it is true. As for special treatment because you are a women, I admit that I would go to any lengths to make a women happy, but I am the first to admit that your gender is the more cunning and vicious of the two. You have skills and mastery no man could ever hope to achieve, grace, poise, brain these qualities tend to grace a lady then a man. So do not take my lack of manners as strike against my character, I was merely being cautious in this world one must take care of their life or else they‘ll lose it. ”

He had removed his hand from his sword hilt, in such close quarters and small confides it would be useless. Only his large hunting knife would be an affective weapon here, he assumed the women had a knife or two hidde3n somewhere on her person, she certainly didn’t seem stupid enough to just rely on her finely crafted longbow. He took a moment to admire the weapon and its jade inlays, it was a stark difference to his humble but powerful longbow, he had never been one to make them sparkly. Elegant in the only way a truly well crafted longbow could be, yes but never adding any decorations. Never the less he greatly admired the bow, someone had taken a lot of love and care to inlay with jade and polish and sand until it lay flush with the wood. “As for putting an arrow through you, my bow is currently being guarded by a spiky fiend. But if you are so determined to dye by such a fine weapon I will brave the beast and fetch it, if not would you please indulge me and tell me why you wanted to come aboard my ship so badly?” He scratched his chin, his crystal clear blue eyes alike with a deep mirth that rarely left their depths, he was a light spirits as free and jovial as the wind that toyed with the rigging, sails, and sheets. Yet when provoked he could become a deadly hurricane, a fierce storm only seen by few (usually men who threatened his sister). “Tell me, why do you think we are pirates?” His voice was honestly questioning, why had she pegged them is pirates they had done nothing to suggest such a thing and the Stargazer’s color wasn’t all that threatening or unique. He had seen many green colored ship in the Old Kane territory and red sails were very popular there, to anyone else they appeared to be a trade ship that hailed from that area or was heavily influenced by their ships. What had given them away?

Tag: Aurelia Moon
Word: 742

➳Aurelia watched the captain warily for any signs of anger or of dislike after finishing her answer. It wasn't like she cared whether the man became angry, it was only for her own comfort. She might pull out a knife if she got uncomfortable, and no doubt the move would not go down well. Her lips twitched as she spotted the small smile on his face. He had better not be making fun of me, she thought with a grimace. When he spoke, her eyes narrowed. Not the type of pirate she had anticipated. Perhaps she was wrong, and he was not a pirate after all. He had yet to deny it though, so she kept up with her suspicions. As he defended his opinions about his complements she rolled her eyes. Get on with it, she thought to herself. She perked up when he told her that he had to take care of his life. Maybe he was different than most pirates.

➳When he tried, it seemed, to make a joke about where his longbow was, she sighed. Aurelia was never one for jokes. When he wanted to know why she came aboard she rolled her eyes to herself. Did she have to explain her every move? She shifted her position slightly, resting her hands on the barrel behind her. "I came aboard to find adventure, and maybe a job. Mostly just wanted to get out of town though." She winced when she recalled the woman and her child at the market, rubbing her birthmark absentmindedly. "As for why I think you are pirates, I'm not sure. Mostly a hunch I guess. You know, third eyes sort of stuff. I could be wrong for all I know, but I'm almost one hundred percent sure you at least are a pirate."

“Adventure, a wonderful word that many fantasies about,/ headless of the true danger it leads to.’ He mused absentmindedly to himself, before directing his next sentence toward the women. “ If you wanted to get out of this town then all you had to do was say so, however, forgive me for asking but what will you do about your loved ones?” At that moment that was a small scratching noise at the door, the tiny sound undetectable to most save for Tray who had become fine tuned to the sounds of his little friend, it was not necessarily the quiet sound that told him he was outside the door but a sixth sense that made him know he was out there. “Excuse me for a moment.” Standing he carefully maneuvered around the Aurelia, taking care to never let her out of his sight. He did respect women greatly, but like he had said earlier he knew they were deadly when they wanted to be. Not wasting another second Tray open the door a crack, just big enough to allow the medium sized spiny rabbit enter the small deck house. Mo hopped in like he owned the place his twitching nose held high as he sniffed the air, his constantly moving ears swiveling and flopping as he took in his new surrounding. His intelligent button eyes falling on Aurelia before turning to Tray with a look that said, “Seriously, again?” The young man responded with a chuckled, scooping up the spiky creature without hesitation, normally people avoided the tiny creatures due to their sharp quills that protruded from their bodies only daring to seek them out when they hunted them for their meat to supply fancy restraints. Yet the captain behaved as if he were a harmless fluffy pet swinging him up off of the floor and onto his shoulder where the hare lay draped a crossed them like an extremely short and point scarf. “It seems the little fiend has grown tired of hoarding my bow, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone has taken it from my quarters, and after I worked so hard to make it. “ he gave a disappointed shake of his head before once again making his way back to his spot, once again giving the women as much respectful distance as the tiny structure allowed.

Sitting down he pointed to the creature that now rested atop his shoulders, its tiny eyes regarding Aurelia with little interest. “This here is my first mate Mo, the fiercest warrior aboard the ship.” He introduced the rabbit, who wiggled his nose happily it wasn’t often that he was referred to as a fierce some warrior. “And this Mo is…’”he stopped realizing that he had yet to learn her name, with this a look of horror passed across his face. “Forgive me I have forgotten the very basics of manners, I haven’t introduced myself. I am Tray Daniels, humble captain of The Stargazer.” The amused light in his eyes returned as she spoke about a third eye, knowing all too well the natural instincts bestowed upon some people. “Women’s intuition, a powerful thing indeed. “ he said light heartedly, yet every word was serious. So far what he observed of this woman told him that she was either a very good actor, or someone who wanted to become a pirate. His instincts said that she could be trusted and by the way Mo reacted to her she wasn’t apart of the Government of Argo, he could smell one of them from a mile away. “Seeing as I cannot hide anything from you, allow me to introduce myself again. “ he said, standing up to take a bow Mo easily compensating for the sudden shift. “Hello it is a great pleasure to meet you, I am Tray Daniels, humble captain of The Stargazer, better known as the Phantom leader of the Jayhawks, captain of The Ghost Ship. Who might I have the honor of meeting on this fine day?”

Tag: Aurelia Moon
Word: 668
Sorry for taking so long!-cries-

➳Aurelia was just about to respond to his question when he stood, excusing himself and heading for the door. She noticed, not that it mattered much, that he never let his gaze leave her, making sure he could see her at all times. No wonder that this man made a good captain. He was attentive. As he opened the door and a small rabbit bristling with spines hopped through the door she sat up straight, her eyes betraying her emotions. They showed her wonder and curiosity at the creature, but also gave way to the small amount of fear that, naturally, everyone would have upon encountering this creature.

➳She watched as the man returned to his seat, chuckling as the rabbit seemed to judge her. He scooped up the spiny creature and placed it on his shoulder, where it promptly draped itself over him like a scarf, albeit a sharp and pointy one. She raised her eyebrow as he sat down and pointed out that this was the creature that had guarded his bow. He introduced the rabbit as Mo, declaring he was the fiercest warrior on the ship and also his first mate. How strange, she thought, as to have an animal as your first mate.

➳As he went to introduce her to the rabbit - Mo - he faltered, and she realized with amusement just as he said it that he had forgotten to introduce himself. It was one of her rules that she never spoke her name before she knew the name of the other person. She tilted her head as he went introducing himself, sounding like a merchant captain, not a pirate. She smiled at his remark about her intuition and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.

➳She smirked as he mentioned her ability to not miss a thing, and watched, mildly amused, as he bowed before her. Mo, atop his shoulders, easily stayed on, seemingly bored with his masters current position. She could clearly see him in battle. A fierce warrior indeed. Not one for curtseying or any ladylike greeting of the sorts, she simply stood and made her reply.

➳"Aurelia Moon, orphan and willing to-be-pirate." She smiled and tilted her head. "In reply to your other questions, let me see. As for loved ones, I have none. Been on my own for awhile. I don't think anyone has really gotten close enough to me to see what I'm actually like. All they see is the birthmark." She shrugged indifferently. "How did you come to be a Pirate captain? Nice title by the way, Phantom leader," she said with a mischievous gleam to her eyes,

-sorry for taking so long *dies* I feel so bad. And this table is beautiful <3-
Words: Dunno. Lots?
Tagged: Tray
Setting: Deckhouse of the Stargazer
Muse: Great

Aurelia gave a small shrug when he, yet again, mentioned her so called beauty. What she really wanted to hear was his tale of his entrance into the pirate business, a topic that he clearly had been asked about before. His answer sounded well rehearsed, and Aurelia wondered how many times he had been asked to share his story. While he spoke the spiny rabbit on his shoulder watched her carefully, its beady eyes never leaving her figure. Aurelia shifted her position on the barrel slightly, her dark green eyes focused on the man before her.

So he was a lawful merchant to begin with, she thought slowly, her mind churning. The government has no idea how many enemies they make each day. She tucked a piece of her hazel hair behind her ear and listened attentively. She had already gathered that he was smart, but this just proved it. He kept his enemies close enough that they had no idea what was going on. She nodded slightly once he was done, a small smile in her eyes.

“So, now that you know my story do you still want to come aboard my ship?” Aurelia cocked her head. Apparently he had not finished. She waited for a few moments then pursed her lips once she was certain he was done. There really was no question to how she would reply, but most people were suspicious if their questions were answered right away. Her eyes traveled along the dimly lit hold, filled to the brim with ropes and boxes. Turning her gaze fully back to Tray, she saw him petting his rabbit and thought again how odd it was. Mentally shrugging, she gauged enough time had passed and made her reply.

"Yes," she said simply, her words floating in the dusty air. "There was never any doubt. I came looking for adventure, and that is what I aim to receive." She smiled then, fully, and let it go to her eyes. "You wont keep that from me will you? And technically, I am already aboard," she added with a bit of cheek, suddenly feeling happy. She was overtaken by the urge to go outside onto the deck, see what it was like to be above the ground, maybe above the clouds. She wanted to feel the wind rush through her hair as she leaned over the side, her ears full with the sound of wind.

Muse: Good
Tagged: Tray
Setting: Deckhouse of Stargazer
Words: 404
Notes: Heheh, I actually got it up pretty quickly

Aurelia smiled happily as she was welcome officially on board. She stood also, her eyes bright with interest. She ached, almost physically, to get outside. "Thank you," she smiled, her green eyes darting over his face. As he opened the door for her light flooded in and he got hit with smells, the most prominent one of clean air. With one more glance at Tray she held her bow tightly and stepped through he doorway and into the blinding light.
-exit lia-

Muse: Good
Tagged: Tray
Setting: Deckhouse of Stargazer
Words: short
Notes: Would you like to start the next thread?