Fresh Start

[Cirice Vaisha]

Verdant Row/Docks
Midday/Clear Skies



Cirice was anxious to get back on the water. The Harpy was repaired and ready to soar through the waves. Her crew was replenished and even now a few more were signing on. She hoped they understood what they were getting into. The only issue now was restocking her ammunition and supplies for the next journey, an endeavour that took forever to complete given the restrictions of the town's geography.

"That's the last of the food and rum. What's next?" Cirice asked her quartermaster as she watched the rowboat depart to ship the items back to the ship. After reading over his clipboard, the man glanced at Cirice with a raised eyebrow. "Second batch of ammunition." he spoke bluntly, knowing exactly what kind of reaction was coming.

She turned to glare at him with murder in her golden eyes. "Second... batch?" she asked with a growl in her voice. The quartermaster nodded silently. "How much ammo does that fucking ship take?!" she shouted in defeat. "You told me to restock that thing completely. She's a hunter. At least we won't have to make port right after our first fight like with the Hellion." he explained calmly. Cirice nodded with a sigh as she watched her men load kegs of powder onto a rowboat. "At least. Though our next haul better refund this bloody expense." she muttered, earning a slow nod from her first mate as they both watched a keg being loaded... then another... then another.

She turned and gave a light slap on his shoulder. "I'm going to hang around town. Try and catch us some leads." she explained as she walked away from the docks into the town. After drifting around for a while, Cirice's eyes caught sight of the marketplace and the fresh produce. She pulled her cloak tighter around her body and made her way to one of the stalls.

Khier Seafoam

[Khier Seafoam]

From the Heartbroken Sock Inn, a sudden burst of shouting can be heard - moments later, the door crashes open, a burly man barreling through and keeping his eyes pointed downwards, hands out as if chasing something. As he seems to realize his target lost in a crowd outside, he turns to face the door, catching a lithe, brown-haired human figure by the collar as he tries to slip past without notice. "OI! Yer no' gettin' away now, lad! Blame th' damned monkey all ye want, I want my money back!" The man bellows at the human, who seems somewhat panicked now that he is trapped up against the tavern's wall by a man much larger than him. He shifts his head, however, and the golden rings in his ear catch the light for a moment as he composes himself quickly. "Ah, truly sir! I've no money to give you, or els-" "Don't gimme tha'! I know's yer workin' wit' tha' damned monkey, it stealin' for ye and ye tellin' us it robbed you too te get outta payin' yer dues!" The thin human, however - still pinned to the wall by the collar - keeps his cool, a smile forming upon his face. "My dues? Good sir, I would gladly pay you what you won, had you not used loaded dice and tried to change the rules of the game!"

As the man splutters for a moment, outraged at the statement - the outright lie; though Khier had not intended it for truth - the brown-haired man twists quickly, his coat tearing off of him and remaining in the burly man's hand as Khier slips into the crowd, having pinched the man's wallet as he fled. He quickly begins moving to the market - he would have to buy a new coat, now, and something else to get rid of the man's coin. A bit of drink would do.

And of course, soon enough Jak, a tiny, brown-furred monkey appears from the crowd, jumping to crawl up Khier's leg and rest on his shoulder, making a sound that might be mistaken for laughter as he slips the man's dice into Khier's pocket on his way up.

[Cirice Vaisha]

The commotion at the inn caught Cirice's attention, however it didn't stay there for long as she simply shook her head and laughed it off. A kid getting beaten up after attempting to steal from a man three times his size wasn't anything new to her. He also likely deserved to be folded like a sail, anyway.

However as she stopped by a stall displaying some rather quality liquors, that same boy was weaving his way through the crowd around them with less clothing on. The sight and thought of what was going through the big brute's mind was amusing to say the least. She waited for the kid to come closer before she spoke up. "I would strongly suggest you and your pet pick your fights a little better the next time you try to steal." she spoke up with a smirk as she turned to face him.

From behind him, she could see the brute drawing closer as he searched through the crowd. Her golden gaze diverted back to him as her arms folded over her chest. "Tell you what. You buy me this bottle of rum and I won't hand you over to that oaf." she threatened with a toothy grin, feeling rather optimistic. Whether he had the money or not, she wanted to play around with some tensions in this particular moment. She hadn't had the chance to irritate someone in a while.

Khier Seafoam

[Khier Seafoam]

Momentarily taken aback - my, here was a pretty face - Khier laughs a bit, and slips a handful of coins from the freshly-stolen wallet, passing them over with a devious smile. "Perhaps a few more, and I'd buy myself a kiss, hm? It could be worth going without a coat for," he chuckles - as the small monkey suddenly squeaks in fear as it sees where the woman had looked, and hops back to the ground to avoid the burly man's gaze.

Khier, of course, continues avoiding the man's gaze as much as possible, turning so that his left ear faces the man, the one without any earrings that might draw his attention...and the turn of his head bringing into view a pair of other men, looking around as if searching for something as well. Oh, because one man hunting me wasn't enough, had to have his friends come out... He thinks to himself quickly, before looking back to the woman before him. "No chance you'd happen to have a ship I could, ah, rest on for the night? I do fear those men know which inns I prefer, and I'd quite like to wake up in the morn."

[Cirice Vaisha]

A very unimpressed glare met his gaze at his joke as Cirice took the money and slapped it down on the counter of the stall. "If you want a kiss, go find a desperate tavern wench." she stated flatly as her golden gaze scanned around them. Him and the monkey seemed to notice the extra men as well. Things were starting to look rather interesting as they neared their position.

Her gaze turned back to him as he asked about her ship. The enormous coincidence wasn't lost on her. Folding her arms over her chest, she glared down at the boy. "I'm not a passenger ship captain. You want to come on my ship, you sail it just like every other man on my crew. If you start trouble or slack on your duties, I'll slit your throat myself." she explained as the men drew closer.

She nodded off to the side for him to follow her as she took her bottle of rum. However before they could disappear in the crowd, a rough hand grabbed her shoulder and yanked her back. "Oi, hold up right ther-" the large brute was cut off as the bottle of rum shattered across his face. With a violent grunt Cirice landed a hard kick in his gut, sending him crashing backwards. "You owe me a bottle of rum." she grumbled as she grabbed the boy's arm and yanked him along.

By the time they reached the longboats, the rest of the crew were busy with the last shipment of items. Her quartermaster raised an eyebrow as she came marching towards him with the boy in tow. "Made a new friend?" he asked with a smirk. "New crewmember. He gives you a lick of trouble while he's onboard, you tell me. Now let's load up. There's a few rather pissed off brutes not too far behind us." she explained rather curtly, earning a snort from the man. "Aye, captain." he spoke as he turned to finish loading the men and items up.

Just as they launched from the dock, the other two brutes came to a halt by the edge. Their shouting and cursing was met with a smirk by the captain before she glanced at him. "So, boy. What's your name?" she asked him as she sat back and rested her feet on a crate.

Khier Seafoam

[Khier Seafoam]

Startled by the sudden yank, and by being dragged through the crowd by this woman - though perhaps he'd have to be careful about how he got that kiss - Khier lets himself be taken along, Jak darting away into the crowd. Hardly the first time Khier had been threatened with a slit throat, though he suspects this time the threat is far more real. That had been a damned powerful swing with that rum bottle, without a hint of hesitation for the fact she was protecting him, who she'd only just met.

Perhaps he had a chance with her after all. He smiles.

Once on the ship, his smile remains, though slightly subdued - until, of course, Jak reappears, slipping a coin into Khier's pocket, and hiding behind his leg from the woman and the quartermaster. As the woman asks the question, he replies simply - "Khier Seafoam, born of the seas. And yourself? I'd be loath to serve on a ship where I don't know my own captain as well as I can." He does, of course, leave a slight hint of... an implication, in the sentence, though it is far less forward than his usual behaviour. He remembered the comment about the tavern wenches; well, his sweethearts hadn't all worked in port city taverns. Perhaps just most of them.

Cirice Vaisha

[Cirice Vaisha]

Once they arrived on the ship, the boy finally decided to introduce himself. Cirice and her quartermaster watched with completely different expressions as the boy made his comments on knowing his captains as well as he could. The first mate smirked with a snicker escaping him while Cirice merely scoffed as her golden eyes glared down at him.

"You'll know your captain as well as your captain wants you to know her." she stated curtly as she took a step closer to him. "Captain Cirice Vaisha of the Harpy." she introduced herself, holding her hand out for him to shake. With the pleasantries over with, she turned to her first mate and gestured to the sails. "Cast off, get us underway. There's supposedly some fat prizes sailing past the Bay. I'd hate to not give the insurance companies some work for the month." she ordered him before turning back to the boy. "As for you, follow me." she ordered as she led the way to her cabin.

Inside, she locked the door behind him and waited to take a seat by her desk before sitting down across from him behind it. "You are by far one of the most arrogant sailors I've encountered in a while." she stated bluntly. "Now I need to be sure that I took on an asset to this crew and not someone who is simply going to waste my rations." she rose and walked around to sit on her desk in front of him. "This is a ship of war. We hunt down prizes, take their booty, and sell that off..." she leaned in close as a boot rested on the hand railing next to him on the chair. "Aside from a smooth tongue, what can you offer me that will keep you around on this vessel?" she asked him, keeping her face merely inches away from his.

Khier Seafoam