Closed [Tranquil port]Get off of my ship! (Cassandra)

[Brandon Blackwing]

x

Her expression changed once more, her features that had softened up at his response were now displaying some surprise at the unexpected monster of a knot he had tied. He laughed awkwardly while looking the other way. Some rigging was placed in his hands and with a whim of her hand Cassandra made clear he had to take the rudder, again something he had never done before. She seemed to forget his inexperience all the time, not that he minded, but it was slightly uncomfortable. Fortunately she seemed to realize and explained his task. “You got it, Capt’n!”

As instructed, the bat positioned himself at the back of the ship, right next to the bar that was the handle for the rudder. When he was comfortable, he lifted the rudder out of the holding piece where it had been resting in for a while now and pulled it under his armpit, letting this arm trace it all the way down, supporting it. Whit his other hand he pushed against the bar when needed, or pulled it closer to him. The rigging was held in the fingers of his resting hand.

keeping the ship on course was less hard than he had expected, of course there was the occasional zigzag movement when he couldn’t keep the ship steady, but most of the time it went well. The bow cleaved through the surface of the water, spraying mist of droplets to port and starboard, smoothly and seemingly without effort . It was quite nice at the back actually; the wind, although cold, was pleasant and the smell of the sea was just so unusual to the bat that it was lovely for a change. The whole rhythm of the boat, of the ocean was fairly relaxing, not only for him, he saw, as Cassandra was entertaining herself with the knot.

She seemed very amused, trying to figure out where she had to put it through to untie a small part of the knot work. A smile formed on his lips as he watched her, they were itching to make a comment on her actions, but it would ruin the atmosphere, so he didn’t. Instead, he fixed his gaze on the sky, dark and packed with clouds, hiding the Sun goddess from sight once more, but that didn’t matter. The Lioness was headed towards her anyway, and the thief’s hand was making sure they did.

The silence of both parties was broken by the Svefra girl who, still busy with the knot, did so without looking up. “Do you feel it now?” In all honesty the bat had not a clue what she was talking about, what he had to feel. The wind, the waves, the droplets against his face perhaps? “You can go to any place, fast. Or no place. You can chase the horizon.” Ah, she means the freedom, dawned it on the bat. As a matter of fact he did, the sensation and the ecstasy of sailing on the vast ocean, going wherever you wanted, was indeed a form of freedom.

The thief nodded slightly at her words, letting the meaning of her words and the unique sensation given name sink in. The honesty in her words, the sensitivity they held, the emotions hidden under them touched him. Was this why the Svefra called the sea their home, why they never wanted to stay at one place for long? “That’s quite poetic…” His voice trailed off at the end, words faded, but the feelings locked away inside them or rather the longing pulsing through them remained hanging between the persons sitting on the deck.

Brandon was roughly pulled out of his musing and brought back to reality by a rain of salt water showering him, the sound accompanying it didn’t escape his ears, the soft splash with which the culprit disappeared neither. Promptly he turned his head to the side it came from, but saw nothing for a couple of ticks, until he looked below the surface. A dark shadow, smooth and slender, shot through the water, matching the speed of the boat. Suddenly, the animal broke through the surface, causing Bran to falter back to his position at the rudder, heart beating wildly in his chest. By the time he could even think about what had happened, the creature had disappeared again.

Soon enough he saw it again, but now he was prepared for it, he wouldn’t let it scare him a second time. Sailing through the air, the sea creature locked eyes with the bat, one black orb staring into two of the same kind. Over and over it happened, until he sternly fixed his gaze on the mast in front of him, although he could feel the stares of the animal thrown in his direction burn on his flesh. “What is that?”he inquired, a little worried, “It’s watching me.” Only a vague response was uttered and that’s all the information he got. Apparently, that thing was called a ‘tavan’. Needless to say that the bat had never heard of a tavan. Also, the girl claimed it was ‘her’ tavan. So it was a pet or something? “ Yeah, well tell it to stop staring at me like that, it makes me nervous . I don’t like to see eyes similar to mine gaze at me, it feels like a reflection in a mirror plotting my demise.”

x

credit goes to Euthisa

[Cassandra Southwind]

"She," Cassandra replied, emphasizing that the creature was no It. "Likes you as much as I do." The sailor knew that the statement did not mean much. She had intentionally kept herself at a distance to this man, whom she had been foolish enough to let board her boat. Sure, he had proven well enough that he was kind and useful, but to be worthy of her trust was another matter. She could not trust him with the knowing of her amusement, else he take advantage of it. No, she much preferred to keep him on his toes. Valory, on the other hand, was not concerned with petty nuances. She chattered at Bran in her next leap, never hesitating to meet his eye. Cass did not know if the dolphin understood what made him uncomfortable, but probably still suspected that he was. In her next leap, she sprayed him again. Whatever the result, her intention was to calm his nerves the way Cassandra never could. The human could not resist a chuckle at the display. She hid it behind a bowed head, loosing the last of the rope and the headsail with it. It luffed again, but with one strong pull she brought it back into place and tied it down with a proper knot. The extra wind pulled them faster, forcing Valory to stay beneath the water to keep pace. Cassandra used the rigging to balance herself on the leaning deck as she approached Bran at sternside. "My mother was poetic," she clarified, and there was a sort of kinship in the mentioning, as if her gigantic family were some secret to share. "I only say what she says. But you--a reflection plotting your demise--you have some poems in you, too. Here." Sitting beside him, she took the rudder and rope from him. To the latter she gave a generous amount of slack, pointing at the bar which held the bottom of the mainsail. "That is the boom. It swings when you change direction, so when I say Boom, you must lower your head. Oh, and hold on to something." A beat passed to prepare him before she cried, "Boom!" And suddenly she was pulling hard on the rudder. The Lioness made a sharp turn, tossing the whole deck at a steep angle and swinging the boom out over the water. Salty water sprayed over them, the tail of a wave protesting her meager warning. Cassandra rose again as quickly as she had ducked, and the little ship slowed significantly. They were facing the wind now, so that it could not push on the sails and Valory could catch up to them. She chimed happily at them, coasting alongside the boat. "Tavan means friend, or companion," Cass would explain, if her company were not otherwise occupied. "This is Valory, my Tavan."

[Brandon Blackwing]

x

OOCSorry for being a little late

So you don’t? Well, I should have expected that, the bat though, but he didn’t speak his mind. If she didn’t like him than she didn’t like him, and there was nothing he could do about it. Of course he could try to be different, but that would be an act and it wouldn’t feel the same if someone liked him because of who he wasn’t. So he said nothing, but his brow and the corners of his mouth did the talking for him. The thief turned his gaze back to the water and looked the Tavan in the eye again.

The animal leapt out of the water once more, merrily chattering at him with her high pitched voice. The short squeak-like noises she produced reminded him of the ones he made himself when in bat form. It was strange to hear a sea creature emit the same sounds, maybe she could even use echolocation. Ha, what was he thinking? There was no way any other animal apart from the many species of bats could use that technique. Brandon smiled at his own foolishness. The next moment a new fountain of salt water rained down on him, the culprit nobody else than Cassandra’s Tavan.

“Cut it out will you? I could catch a cold like this. Look at me, I’m soaked!” There wasn’t any anger present in his voice, rather some sort of amusement mixed with slight annoyance, but the dominant emotion was amusement. For one or other reason he got the idea that this creature didn’t mean to cause him harm, but just was enjoying itse- herself. The chattering in combination with the leaps and the spraying made the bat feel like this Tavan was of the playful type. The bat shook his head and focussed on his task, slightly pulling at the rudder to bring them back on course.

Eyeing Cassandra, he saw that she had succeeded in untying the knot and was busy knotting the rope the way it should be done. The rope tightened the sail, which stopped luffing as if content with this, and the wind blew itself into the slightly curved state of the sail. The lioness sped up, waves preparing to take on the incoming bow and bursting into mist when they lost the clash. The Tavan was forced to stay below the surface to keep up, only her dorsal fin indicating she was still there, but even then the boat was too fast.

Cassandra positioned herself next to him, taking the rigging from his hand and retaking control of the rudder as well. Then she pointed at a bar at the bottom of the mainsail and said something about it. The bat didn’t know what, he wasn’t paying much attention since he was staring at the fin cutting through the surface, and with the wind blowing in one and the friction of the air raging in the other ear he couldn’t really understand what she was trying to tell him. The only thing he did hear was: ‘Hold on to something’. He grabbed the railing in response to that advice.

“Boom!” the captain yelled and Brandon had not a clue what she meant with it. The boat turned sharply, the deck becoming steeper and steeper, eventually causing the thief to sled down a little, and he would have tumbled down if he hadn’t hold on to the railing. Then, as he looked up, the bar Cass had been pointing at earlier swung his way, it was rather close to his face already. “SHYKE!!!” he screamed while he ducked as fast as his reflexes could manage. That was not fast enough though, with a audible and painful smack the bar hit his forehead and laid him on his back rather roughly. The force created by the momentum of the boom was enough to knock him out for a couple of ticks, the multicoloured blurs dancing in front of his closed orbs fading to black momentarily.

The thief regained consciousness along with one hell of a headache. His whole forehead was red and with a single touch, stinging under his fingers, he felt a bump forming. He sat back up, covering his forehead with his hand, the coldness of his skin soothing the pain a little. “Tavan means friend, or companion. This is Valory, my Tavan.” the girl explained. “Ah, nice to meet you Valory,” the bat crackled “Ugh, I’m going to lie down for a bit…”

The thief added deed to the words and let his body fall back on to his back, closing his eyes while trying not to think of the burning sensation on his forehead. It was rather impossible, his attention was drawn towards the spot again and again, and although the pain was fading away slowly, he feared his head might have sustained some serious damage. But there was no point in whining, so he opened his onyx orbs and sat back up. The good old tactic of ignorance would be employed, nothing better for getting rid of headaches than that.

x

credit goes to Euthisa

[Cassandra Southwind]

By the time he was sitting up again, Cassandra was gone. Time had slowed as she watched the boom collide with him, witnessed the Lioness nearly bite his head off while she could do nothing to stop her. She comforted him with reality, talk of friends, and after tying down the mainsail so that it could do no more harm, rushed below deck. She and her siblings played rough sometimes. They learned rough too, much in the sort of haphazard way the Svefra girl had tried to teach Bran. But while he may have been a good sport on land, he did not have the talent for seafaring shenanigans. She should not have expected him to, and she should not have tested him with such dangerous amusements. She could hear her family now: Mona chiding her on the failings of cityfolk, Connor glaring pridefully at the ineptitude of it all. But it wasn't Bran's fault. It was hers. And when things were her fault, she fixed them. Cassandra returned from beneath the hatch with a fish in hand, a day or so old but still good over a fire. In her other hand was a blanket from her own bed. Like Cassandra's conscience manifest, Valory was weaving in a nervous pattern alongside the boat, no longer leaping or chattering or blowing. Her human sat beside the injured one, waited for his eyes to open and see what she had brought, and spoke lowly. "I am sorry." Certainly an apology was uncharacteristic of her, but only because she did not say what she did not mean and she did not mean it often. Immediately she went to work on fixing her mistake, raising the fish to the growing bruise on his head. It was cold, as dead things are wont to be, but the blanket was warmed by the humid, insulated air of Cassandra's hold. She would not ruin its effect by getting it wet. "Your shirt will dry better if we lay it down under the sun," she offered, setting the blanket on the rudder between them. He could retrieve it when he was ready. "I am heading toward shore, around a mile off from port. But if you like to head back to port, only ask and it is done." The sails flapped uselessly in the headlong winds, as if annoyed at their slowed pace. Cassandra herself would not hold her generous patience long, but she did not know that for now. She knew only that she had gotten used to this new acquaintance, his honesty and his diligence, even if she had trouble showing it. Liking him was perhaps another matter, but losing his company would feel like cutting her day short.

[Brandon Blackwing]

x

Her expression was filled with regret and worry, she was sitting next to him, apologizing for his own stupidity. Though, it didn’t feel like it was a not honest, on the contrary, Cassandra really seemed to be sorry that he was now growing a two feet (slight exaggeration) bump on his forehead. “Don’t be,” he muttered “It’s my own fault for not listening to you, but I couldn’t help it. I was a little to occupied with watching your…” [i]What was the word again? “Tavon? Tovan? Tovon?” That crash hadn’t done him well, the foreign name escaped him, and he couldn’t recall the right pronunciation.

“Valory,” he decided and continued. “Well anyways, it was my own fault and I paid the price. It seems stupidity runs in the family.” He gave her a weak smile. Only then he noticed she was holding a fish in her hand. What did he need a fish for? He wasn’t hungry, and he couldn’t really think of any other uses it could have. Then Cass pressed it against his sore forehead. The cool scales were pleasant to feel and though the pressure caused by her hand hurt, the bat let her do as she pleased.

The cold would probably stop the forming of a bump on his head and if that was indeed the case, he would endure a little extra pain. He sighed as his shoulders dropped an inch and he thought about the trouble he was causing her. He really was a troublemaker, wasn’t he? The bat brought his hand to the fish and took over, keeping the coldness seep in his skin. A blanket was set on the rudder, and advice to take of his shirt was uttered. It would be foolish not to take it.

The thief laid the fish on the deck for a bit, quickly undressing his upper body. Well, quickly was the wrong word. He tried to be quick but due to the moisture of his clothes, they stuck to his body and only with effort he was able to free himself from the sleeves. When done he wrapped himself in the blanket Cassandra gently had provided and picked up the fish and pressed it against the bruise again. “No, no need to change course for me, besides I am quite curious where you are going… we are going. I probably won’t be able to help you out with the sails or so anymore, so sorry for that, but I wouldn’t mind to give it a try if you want me to though.”

Bran kept silent for a while, letting the warmth from the blanket wrap him in a cocoon of rest. “Hey Cass?” he voiced “Thanks. Then he closed his eyes and let the slow rhythm of the rolling waves bring him into a state of half-slumber. He heard the noises from the outside world faintly echoing in his mind, but they didn’t make much sense. He didn’t want to think about the meaning of them either. He was exhausted, pain and sailing had drained him of his mental strength and while his body would have been able to go on, his conscience wasn’t, so he drifted off slowly, waking up only when given a reason to.

x

credit goes to Euthisa

[Cassandra Southwind]

There were no words to give to his gratitude. Even the basic Common phrase for it seemed contrite under the circumstances. She had compromised her strong and stoic image enough by apologizing, and she was ready to have the whole ordeal behind them. Valory breathed half a spray before she remembered that he did not find it comforting and cut herself off, slinking beneath the water's surface. All Cass offered him was a look--he seemed good enough at reading looks--which lasted a moment too long. Then she resumed her place at the tiller and turned the last of their momentum toward the western edge of Shinyama Peak. They sat in silence for near on a half hour. The sailor tacked on the northerly wind, comforted by the slow rhythm of the swinging boom and the quick pulse of The Lioness as she bobbed over shallow crests. Perhaps the time would pass quickly to Bran and his heavy eyelids, but to Cass it was a beautiful eternity. Those quiet, thoughtful chimes were her favorite of the lot; when she looked back on that day, it would be this bit of rest that she remembered best. Slowly the wisp of smoke in the distance became a flame with a flickering base, and in due time it grew into the welcoming hearth that it was. The Southwind pod had prepared a bonfire, to warm against the Winter winds and to signal its members as to their destination. Their shelter was strategic, just where the shimmering sands turned into riverbed rocks, so that they could still keep their little grove of masts in deeper waters while having personal access to fresher ones. Valory skipped on ahead to tell of their arrival and Cassandra stood to peer at her makeshift port. Without stirring her passenger, she dropped the mainsail, hoisted the jib, and pulled the keel. Even before they coasted to a stop beside the small fleet of parked Svefra ships, there was a trio of Southwind cousins charging toward them. "Bran," she said, touching his shoulder if he had dozed. "We have come to the mouth of the Amaranthine. You may rest here or come to shore. Another crew will return to Tranquil Port in a few hours." She hesitated as she reconsidered speaking further, watching Marina and the children approaching rapidly. What would they think of her guest, whom she had trusted too readily and brought without warning? Certainly they knew that she would not bring danger to the camp, but only as she considered her answers to their inevitable questions did she realize how foolish it had been to assume it. Only The Etain stood between them and a short walk to the shore. She jumped aboard Thom's deck before she was reminded of something else to say. "There will be warmth there, and maybe food. But you will have to step in the water to come ashore. And... and my family does not often take kindly to cityfolk. I can bring something back to you here, if you want." But that was all the time she had before she was forced to greet the small party that awaited her, splashing into the shore face and stomping into the sand. As she neared them she realized that Bran had already been spotted. Nyla was just old enough to be curious, but Richie launched a familiar glare from behind Marina's leg. Marina herself was a wall of careful analysis, wearing a pleasant but hesitant smile. "Who is this?" She inquired in Fratava, too polite to shoo her young charge from approaching the strange man. The nine-year-old girl skirted the water's edge, unabashedly attempting to meet the man's eye. "This is Bran," Cassandra answered in the same language, without looking at him. "He's from the city."

[Brandon Blackwing]

x

A soft touch woke him from his slumber, though the meaning of it didn’t quite reach him, his sleepy brain was focused on catching up some sleep, as it was one of the few chances he had gotten to sleep during daytime. However, daytime wouldn’t last that much longer than a couple of bells: Syna had dropped from her high position and was slowly striding down towards the sea, causing the sky to glow with vivid reddish colours. When words accompanied the hand on his shoulder, lightly shaking it, his dark orbs did open, slightly, and reflected the face in front of him.

“Ah, I see. Thanks for waking me,” he managed to speak before a huge yawn forced its way out of his mouth, covered by the back of his hand. The bat stretched his hands above his head, yawning once more, though his face was aimed at the sky and so was his gaping mouth. He stood up while smacking his lips to rid himself from the slimy saliva gathered in cave inhabited by teeth. Though he had risen too fast and lightheadedness overwhelmed him, compromising his balance, hell, he couldn’t even feel his feet. His body seemed to rock back and forth, though that might not been visible. It did feel like he was going to fall on his face, but after a few ticks the sensation was gone and he was in control again.

It was pleasant to find that his headache had been cured, but when he touched his forehead he noticed two things: first, touching his now sensitive forehead made a giant needle of pain pierce his skull, and second, despite the fish a bump had formed, quite a large one too. Though maybe because of the fish it hadn’t become as big as it would have if Cass hadn’t treated him. The bat hoped his forehead didn’t reek of fish, though.

“I’ll come along. I have slept enough for now, besides, I don’t think I’ll get much rest whether I come with you or not. And it would be unwise to leave a stranger alone on your boat, though I am honored that you trust me this much. I wouldn’t, but well, I know myself better than you do.” the bat chuckled in amusement. “Not that I’d try anything stupid, mind you. I’m not the one to stab the ones that help me or offer me their hospitality in the back. Or the chest for that matter.”

His feet crossed the gap between the two decks with relative ease, stepping from railing to railing with a small jump to create some extra momentum so he could reach the slightly up and down rocking hull of the other ship. He landed quite light footed, just the way he liked it and followed Cass, who was warning him for her family, to the other side of the deck. He warning was something that stopped him in his tracks. It didn’t stop his lips though. “I’m not afraid to get wet feet, but how bad is ‘not take kindly’? Is it like hating strangers or dislike strangers?”

A reply he did not receive, the Captain had jumped into the water and splashing through the small waves crashing down on the sand to go talk to a small group of people. Two were small however, so he guessed they were children and the tallest was or a parent or a sibling. Their eyes were fixed on his figure standing on the deck, so the bat doubted the possibility of him being able to stay there and let Cass get him something to eat or drink. He sighed and plunged his boots through the water surface and into the mud underneath. The cold liquid poured into his boots from above, flooding his feet in salt water.

A young girl ran by the waterline, back and forth, looking his way all the while, probably trying to stand out or something. Though the thief reckoned she was far younger than the two taller girls conversing, he didn’t know how old she actually was. Never mind her, he couldn’t even tell how old any of the people in the vicinity were. His guesses were always far off, except when the other was a Kelvic and even then it was hard because of the difference in longevity of the species of animals. If he had to make a guess though, he’d say that the girl captivating his attention was about one year of age and Cass about two.

Heading in the direction where Cass was speaking with a member of her family, he heard his name coming from the Lioness’ captain’s voice. Actually it was an abbreviation of it, which he couldn’t remember her using before when addressing him, but he didn’t mind her using it. The strange language the two of them were speaking in prevented the bat’s good hearing from picking up more of what was discussed, yet there was reason enough to assume he was the subject. He sighed once more, increasing the amount of breaths he had let out like this, and stared down to his feet which splashed the un-deep water up. Then he noticed he’d left his clothes, or at least his shirt and vest aboard of the ship, it explained why it was rather chilly out here. “Maybe I should go back to retrieve them…” he muttered as he reached the spot where Cassandra was standing, positioning himself somewhere diagonally behind her.

“Er… Hello?” he greeted the one conversing with the girl, while raising his hand to neck level.

OOCI really did forget Bran wasn't wearing clothes myself :/ Well, now you can admire Bran's chest and trained belly Some fanservice for you~

x

credit goes to Euthisa

[Cassandra Southwind]

oocOops, I forgot Bran didn't introduce his nickname. Sorry about that. Cass wouldn't have otherwise used it so I'm just going to retcon that part. Marina gave him a look of brazen distrust, but she was not uncivil enough to reply. "Hello," she said, and even the single word weighed heavier than Cassandra's accent. She looked him up and down, eyes lingering on his bare chest. "Hello," Nyla said as well, stepping toward the stranger and mimicking his gesture with her hand. "He-oh!" The boy at Marina's side tried to imitate the word, but he was not old enough to have grasped much of the Common language. "Why is he here then?" Cassandra's elder cousin immediately turned to her, clearly unprepared to be as oppositional as she ought to have been. Marina was protective, but she was not experienced in the art of negotiation. Cass, on the other hand, got her way when she wanted it. "He is my charge," she replied sternly. It meant that she claimed responsibility for him, and that her trust in him was to be shared by her pod. Still, his hasty claims of honesty nagged at the back of her mind. Cass was less worried about her things--as a Svefra, she was not particularly attached to any item she owned because she had a only a vague, foreign understanding of ownership. No, she simply found it strange that he would be so concerned at all. She could only hope that he would not be an embarrassment to her word. Without changing her inflection, Cass spoke no longer in Fratava. "And in his company, we speak in Common. Brandon, this is Marina, Nyla, and Richard." She gestured to each as she said their name, then gave a wave to Bran. She explained to her family, "We came a long way. It is time to rest. I must speak with Lia Regina about the day's profits." She passed Marina's invisible wall and made her way toward the camp. Marina gave a show of hesitation, but eventually she followed, making sure to keep herself at Brandon's back. Nyla walked beside the Kelvic, staring. After a few moments of self-debate, she took Brandon by the hand and inspected it. It was not quite as soft as the hands of other cityfolk she had seen, but it lacked the distinctive callouses of a man who worked with weirs or nets for a living. "A fisherman no," she observed, tracing the ends of his fingers with her own as they walked. "What do you, in the city?" Cassandra considered correcting her Common, but she was too busy being forthright and stubborn in Marina's presence. Leading them back to camp, she was the first to catch sight of the group that surrounded the bonfire: three women and two men. Connor and Salas must have been out catching dinner. Richie said something in Fratava, which Nyla translated quickly before their caretaker could object. "Why is the shirt gone? Feel you cold? Cassie!" Struggling with the language, she reverted to Fratava. "Give him your coat!" oocHeh, starting to think this whole colored text thing is too confusing. Let me know whether you prefer colors or not? I'll just do whatever is easiest for you to read.

[Brandon Blackwing]

x

OOCOh, don’t worry 'bout the colour scheme. I get it. But maybe you shouldn’t use different colours for different NPC’s? That's the only slightly confusing thing. And it takes less coding as well

Also, this seems like quite a long post, but there’s not much I could give you to work with. Again. Apologies for this.


The look he was given by the oldest of the people Cass had been talking to, wasn’t one of welcoming warmth, instead the bat could feel the hairs on the nape of his neck stand straight up. Though that could also be because of the chilly wind and not necessarily of the glare he’d received. Well, not taking kindly to strangers was quite a bit of a euphemism if all her family was like this. At least he now knew what he was up against, and the thief was grateful for Cassandra’s warning.

The younger ones were less unkind and greeted him with what he experienced as a greeting from the heart, no feelings of distrust hidden in it. Bran’s mouth turned into a small smile. The older girl then turned back to Cass and said something in that strange language of theirs –what was it called again? The thief recalled the Svefra girl had mentioned the name earlier, something with an R. Or was it a P? he couldn’t remember, but it was either one of those two.

His captain replied in the same language, something that didn’t make her sibling, Cousin happy. Actually, she didn’t seem to like it all that much, though she kept up that smile of hers. Her eyes however betrayed her true feelings, like those always did. They weren’t called ‘the windows of the soul’ for nothing. The bat had to suppress a grin and stared at the wet sand they were standing on, his boots had sunken down a bit. All of a sudden the words Cass spoke were understandable and the bat observed as each of the new faces were given a name. “Nice to meet you,” he answered simply and with a voice void of emotion.

Brandon followed after a couple of ticks as the captain of the Lioness took off with long strides, an air of uncertainty stayed behind. The thief got the feeling he’d just witnessed some sort of rebellion, but he couldn’t tell when or why it had happened, though it was obvious he was involved or most likely the cause. He sighed, trouble always followed in his footsteps, like an army of rats chasing bait of some sort. There wasn’t anything he could do about it now though, but he’d try to be as less of a troublemaker as possible, he didn’t want to bring even more of a burden on the Svefra girl he’d acquainted.

One of the children grabbed his hand, after she had walked by his side for a while, and ran her small fingers over the skin of his palm. The thief raised an eyebrow in a quizzical expression. What was she doing? Examining it perhaps? Why, out off curiosity? That was the incentive for most children, he knew, so he shouldn’t been surprised. Though it was impressive she could tell he wasn’t a sailor just by studying his hand. And then it rolled off her lips. The dreaded question, always asked and he still hadn’t found a good lie that could satisfy the asker. Nor was there one he felt comfortable telling, one he knew enough about that it sounded like the truth.

What should he do, or rather what shouldn’t he do? He wasn’t the best liar around, and wasn’t very skilled in it either. So maybe he shouldn’t try to, but that meant trouble. He’d never met anyone who didn’t make a problem of his occupation… except Enggy. But she’s a strange one, one of the few he could really befriend without the fear they would scrap him from the people they saw as friends because of that. It was something he didn’t quite understand, but he did at the same time. People were afraid he might steal their belongings and decided they couldn’t trust him, though they hadn’t had any qualms with his company before they found out. He wasn’t one to speak though, he didn’t like thieves for the very same reasons.

That said, he couldn’t lie either, if they’d notice he was petched. He would be marked as a liar and wouldn’t be trusted either, and he didn’t want to shame the trust Cass placed in him. Then there was one option, dodging the question. Or politely refusing to answer it. Okay, those were two options, but still, it was quite the dilemma. After a chime of thinking, which seemed to last a bell or four, he decided for the latter. “I… I don’t … wa- feel comfortable … sharing that matter. It’s a … well guarded secret only few know.” Bran felt his confidence growing with every word, and he was more and more convinced this was the right solution. “But does it really matter? One is who he is, what one does doesn’t really change that.” Though it did sound a bit suspicious, not that it would matter to this family, in their eyes he already was, he knew.

The amount of steps taken by his feet in his squishy boots increased quite a bit, but after a period of silence a source of light came into vision and so did the five shadow people around it. The bat moaned internally at the sight and wrapped his hands over his bare chest to preserve the warmth slowly stolen from him by the icy fingers of the wind bellowing on the shore. More people, more unfriendly looks, more people which would keep him in the center of attention. Great, just great. He regretted his decision to come with the captain, this meant nothing but trouble, for both of them. The bat could just resist to cast a longing glance over his shoulder towards safety of the boat he’d left chimes ago.

The youngest of their small party, the male who had kept silent since his awkward greeting, spoke something in Fravata. Ah, that’s the word! Fravata. It certainly didn’t start with a P nor with an R, the bat frowned in thought, but it did have an R in it and that was satisfying on it’s own. It was quickly translated into a language he could understand and he frowned again, though now it was not in his mind. Shirt? Oh yeah, he wasn’t wearing one. He couldn’t seem to remember such a detail, but it would have come in handy to offer some warmth and protection from the roaring winds. The thief wrapped his arms tighter around his chest, Goosebumps making up the largest part of his skin.

Soon he’d be near a fire, so it wasn’t that much of a problem. He shrugged. “I forgot I wasn’t wearing one,” he spoke simply “That’s not unusual.” He shrugged again, now staring at the back of the girl who had been called and connecting the dots. The kid didn’t just have…? That question… Oh gods, please don’t let her have said what I guess she just said. Now this too, like he wasn’t enough trouble as it was. But he wouldn’t accept the coat if she’d offer it to him. He’d insist she’d keep it on, using the bonfire they were nearing as the perfect excuse why it wasn’t necessary. His instinct told him that things were about to get hard on him and complicated, so he’d try to be as less of a nuisance as he possibly could this evening.

x

credit goes to Euthisa

[Cassandra Southwind]

Cass's arm retreated from where it had been stretched toward Bran, her unworn coat hanging in her hand. It was strange that he did not seem to feel the cold, as strange as it was that he did not want to share his profession or, apparently, much else about himself. The nagging notion that she had trusted him too soon began to pull more heavily on the back of her mind. It was, perhaps, more suspicious that he had not answered Nyla's question than if he had answered truthfully. To the Southwinds, as with all Svefra, theft was a nebulous crime. Nothing they had did they really own, using what excess they made in bartering. Sometimes they traded for money, but only because it was a commodity to the cityfolk who might have had materials they otherwise needed. They kept little which could be described as profitable, and anything with an emotional attachment was kept from wandering eyes when it was not attended. The only dishonor in his profession might have been that he did not do anything else of value, to his community or to any god. But any reservations she might have had were quickly stolen by the nearing warmth of the bonfire. She removed a pouch of money from her bag and offered it to Wiley, Lia Regina's man, who proceeded to open it and count the kina. "This is Brandon of the Black Wings," she said in Common, and only the crackling fire applauded his presence. The rest looked at him quietly, some distant and some curious. In an attempt to lighten the hushed mood of the hearth, she added, "He gets on my boat and does not step off. So I teach him some ways of the sea and I invite him to dine." It was not entirely the truth, but it was enough to light a smile on a few faces. Any that disapproved did not say much; Cassandra had most recently come of age, and she was entitled to experiment with the role of a leader and decision maker. The best that could happen was a bit of drinking and merriment, the worst a short fight and an offering to the all-father Laviku. A girl who might be eventually introduced as Maggie giggled, her eyes on his bare chest. Nyla ran to her and whispered something in her ear, which elicited even more giggling. A woman named Mona, with more wind-worn wrinkles than her age should have allowed, smiled and invited him to an empty space on the fallen log beside her. She met Brandon's black eyes and said, "Welcome!" Lia Regina was one of those who were less inviting. After a long moment examining the intruder, she shifted where she sat. "He is not a man," she said in Common, more a question than an observation. Cassandra furrowed. What in the ocean's black depths was she talking about? She turned at Brandon, her expression angry and inquisitive. Seeing her reaction, Mona tried to ease a laugh in. "Look at his eyes, and how he moves." "I am thinking now that you are a liar, Brandon." "Not a liar. A Kelvic." Mona looked at her Lia. She did not continue until she had Regina's approval. "His people are borne of magic, but that is not his fault. He is no danger to us, unless he is bonded to one who would do us ill. Are you, Brandon of the Black Wing? Do not lie and prove our Cassie here right." The smile never left the woman's face, she who was clearly most versed in cityfolk and their diplomacy. Cassandra would not sit until Brandon did, and when she did she would be sure to sit beside him. Her expression said that she needed to keep an eye on him, but her eyes revealed a secret curiosity. Eventually the chorus of eyes on him would stray and the pod would resume its individual conversations, though of course a few would have leaned toward the topic of their latest company. In the meantime, Marina was spooning stew into bowls and handing them out to the family. oocFeel free to control any of these NPCs to further the story. They're still new and underdeveloped, so it will be difficult to write them wrong! But if you do have any questions about their reaction, you can PM me.