JVJll27.png

wUsiFI0.png

The sound of the water as it was parted by the ship and the slight flutter of the sails as the wind pushed up against them. These were two of Luro’s favorite sounds on the ship, the conversations were fun sure, but sitting on the edge of the ship, the sun high in the sky on a fresh new day and the wind tickling his fingers, there were few moments that measured to this kind of peace. Granted he could only relax because in his other hand was a bottle of half drunken rum, he was right at the perfect threshold between too drunk and sober, the middle ground surrounded by the sea. He couldn’t help but grin tapping his foot as he stared off into the distance.

Just as he was about to bring the bottle to his lips again he noticed a fast approaching dot, blinking a few times he narrowed his eyes noticing a ship was approaching them at a pretty decent pace. His eyes went to sails wondering who it belonged to, it wasn’t a pirate ship so that meant no necessary violence, and it wasn’t a navy ship so that didn’t mean more necessary violence. From what he could see it seemed a merchant ship was approaching them, on the deck someone was waving their arms trying to get their attention.

“Captain. That Merchant ship is approaching us,” Luro said standing swinging his legs back onto the deck.
Walking over to one of the cannon’s Luro adjusted them at the ship before patting it.
“So should we fire at em’ kill em and take all their stuff. That person is waving at us so I think they want to get their stuff stolen.”

Runali aimlessly walked around the ship, reading a few pages of a newspaper and what looked like other randoms papers. It had been a quiet few days and she wanted to properly plan. The captain had a destination in mind, but she didn’t want to head there just yet. Not without a plan and not without some time to prepare- which was saying a lot because she was so willing to jump head first into situations.
Hearing Luro and not really paying attention, made her hum a response before nodding. “Yeah, sure Luro you can do that.”
And after three steps away, she paused in her tracks and looked back at him, realizing what he had said. “Wait, wait, wait, wait!” Runali sat the papers down and hurried over to his side. She squinted for a moment before standing on the edge of the ship to get a higher view. “Hmmmm. Nah, we won’t kill them…yet. A good point though. Be ready to steal their stuff.” She whistled loud enough to get all of the crews’ attention.

“Looks like we’ve got company! They’re waving us down while we have a pirate flag up so they’re either desperate or it’s a trap. And I sure am hoping for the latter.”

Luro removed the gun from his back as Zilia quickly ran onto the deck, the merchant vessel slowed upon its approach, the bow a few feet from Lady Luck. The ship itself was a Schooner and with where they were it wouldn’t take much to do real damage to the ship, something that made Luro question if it was an ambush. Upon closer inspection the people on board seemed little more than normal sailors, though it was easy to tell by their fidgeting, averted gazes and general body language that they weren’t exactly pleased to be in the presence of pirates. The one who had waved them down however was already jumping off the mermaid figurehead. Landing on the ship they ran straight at Luro causing him to raise his gun.

Though when a pair of arms wrapped around his waist he froze in place, gun still pointed forward.
“…huh?” Was all Zilia had time to process as she watched the scene.
After a brief moment Luro looked down his head tilting as he took in the appearance of the person, the waver was a woman with long blonde hair, her face currently hidden in Luro’s rum soaked shirt. She was dressed in brown form head to toe, boots, trousers and a doublet. She easily stood out from the more simply dressed merchants above the ship. A cutlass rested on one side of her waist and a pistol on the other. It didn’t take much or Luro to realize who this person was.
“…Nura?”
The woman backed away from Luro and offered a small nod, crossing her arms over her chest, Luro stared at the woman’s face for a brief moment almost unable to accept the existence of the person in front of him. Seeing her lips were curved upwards into a smile seemed to confuse him even further.
“I’m glad you’re still alive Luro,” Nura said. “I feared the worst.”
Luro didn’t move looking at his Captain, then everyone else before looking back at Nura.

The moment the stranger jumped onto their ship, Runali braced herself for an attack. By the looks of it, with how fast Alicia was, their ship could sink in seconds, cutting the majority of them off before they could board their ship. And before they could get too far, the others could easily take care of them-
-Or at least that was her thought process until she witnessed the stranger hug Luro. Runali let her guard down, showing an earnest moment of confusion until Luro spoke the person’s name. “Nura… Nura…” Runali thought for a moment, trying to remember if she knew the woman- or if she was supposed to. Only to blink and snap her fingers. “Ah, right… the one we…” Under mumbled breath now she was trying to remember which incident they had encountered the woman in. ‘I.. think we tried to kill her at some point? Or maybe that was just Luro… but he tries to kill a lot of people... I think there was a kid involved… and other people…?” The captain waved her hand, pushing the thoughts to the side. “Uhh, crew? Luro’s… uhh, lady friend?”

When Luro looked her way, she could only shrug. She wasn’t sure what she was doing on their ship, nor was she really keen on finding out. At Runali’s failed recollection Nura brought a hand to her face, she seemed to take a few deep breaths while squeezing the bridge of her nose. She stayed like that for a moment seeming to regain her composure before lowering her hand from her face. Luro wasn’t sure what Nura really wanted but she was showing an awful lot of patience all of a sudden, though from her furrowed brow he could tell the Captain had touched a nerve.

“Well it has been two years I don’t expect you to remember. I’ve forgotten most of it as well, I faintly recall trying to help you, having my home destroyed, my expensive dress ripped, being taken hostage at gunpoint among other things by you and our eventual but thankful separation…but I don’t remember much.”
“I…think she remembers most of it,” Zilia thought taking out her notebook.
“I mean the swordswoman only wanted to take my hostage on the ship, who would remember that and Kadi...well he was pretty silent through the whole thing...but who would remember something like that.”
“...N-Nura...I think we got it,” Luro said rubbing his neck.
“Horrible first impressions aside,” Nura said turning to the crew. “All of you are in trouble.”
“Nura we’re pirates, we’re always in trouble,” Luro said grinning at her.
“Well you’re in a different kind of trouble, or to put it simply you’re about to be in more trouble.”
Nura made a motion with her hand and the men on the ship seemed to go below deck, probably to give the group a bit of privacy, Nura turned and sat on the edge of the ship before looking up at the members of Stardusk.

“The Red Ravens are back and they’re coming for all of us.”

ePApnDc.jpg
 
KPUlDyz.png

Once again, Sara stared blankly. At times, she wished she understood the wider nature of pirate society, as she felt like she was missing out on the sense of drama. Regardless, not only for her sake, she felt the need to ask the obvious question.

"... Who?"
 
  • Like
Reactions: SilentxChaos
wtgAgn5.png

Jack napped in the crew's nest when Runali's pitched whistle jostled him awake. He jerked up with a dagger in hand, blinking into full wakefulness even as he looked for whatever threat was coming. C.P. cawed in annoyance. The hawk flapped from where she'd been nestled in his hair onto the wooden railing and ruffled her feathers. She threw a wide, angry yellow eye at him and screeched again.

"Sorry," Jack mumbled. Sitting up, the cook slipped his knife back into it's sleeve and pinched the bridge of his nose. The quick doze had been the first decent sleep he'd gotten in awhile, between nightmares of giant eyes, Luro's talking, and the pain on his neck from his new tattoo. He rubbed it absently, working out the soreness. The ink had long since dried and his skin had dulled to its original color than flaming red. The Stardusk tattoo, accented by pink lotus blossoms and a golden ribbon, stretched from his jawline to collarbone, completely and permanently visible for the world to see.

Rubbing his eyes, Jack stood up to see what Runali's call had been about. He noticed then the merchant ship fast approaching. C.P. took to the air to investigate as Jack swung down on the netting, mentally preparing for a fight.

What he got instead was yet another bizarre turn of events.

He nodded absently to Sara's question while staring at the new blonde woman, trying to piece together her relationship to Stardusk... specifically, the tall, rambling, incoherent redheaded giant she'd just been hugging like an old friend. Is she a pirate? Strange she would be sailing on a merchant ship....

Jack cleared his throat. "I'd like to know that, too. And why do they want us dead?"
 
  • Like
Reactions: Eastwood
JVJll27.png


wUsiFI0.png


At the comment of the two faces, ones she didn’t recognize her gaze moved over to Luro who was digging in one of the barrels for another bottle. Squeezing the bridge of her nose Nura took a deep breath in before standing up from her spot.
“Luro...I’m guessing since your friends here don’t know who they are...you haven’t done any research into them have you?”
“Not really,” Luro responded opening the bottle.
Nura grabbed Luro by his shirt with both hands forcing his attention on her as he tilted his head at the narrowed gaze of his old companion. For her smaller stature the woman put off quite an aura of malice in that moment.
“Are you telling me I’ve been the only person for the last two years trying to keep us alive!” Nura exclaimed shaking him.
Luro leaned away a bit at her yelling but bringing a hand to his chin he gave a small nod which caused Nura to release him, stumbling back she sat back down on the edge of the ship putting her head in her hands.
“...tell them who they are...while I contemplate our friendship for a few minutes.”

Zilia felt a kinship with the trembling Nura for a moment, though it her body relaxed relatively quickly, more than likely she was accustomed to these moments, though she didn’t raise her head. Zilia had been in the same position before, contemplating a friendship with Luro was an almost daily occurrence at this point. Her attention moved to Luro as quickly downed the drink in his hand returning the bottle to the barrel, with a small laugh he leaned against the mast before speaking.

“The Red Raven’s are fun people I guess. There’s no real definition to what they really are, but Bounty Hunter’s work for now. They don’t really care about our bounties they just want to come after us. Not knowing their name isn’t too surprising they tend to work from the shadows, gathering information on their targets, watching them, sometimes for years before striking and slipping right back into obscurity. They’re very patient and tenacious, once you’re an enemy of them they’ll stop at nothing to find you. They’re the kind of people who can destroy whole cities with a few whispers. The only weakness they have is their Code I suppose. They follow it with a lot of fervor, if you know what their Code is then you can work around it and stop being their enemy. Which is good cause their numbers are essentially unknown, we probably have a few continents’ trying to attack us right now and wouldn’t know.”
Luro laughed at this and leaned off the mast, Zilia had fallen to her knees at this gripping her head in a similar effect to Nura, who had by now stood up with a heavy sigh.
“Why is nothing ever simple…” Zilia thought placing her hands on the deck.
“I guess I forgot to tell you guys they kind of want me dead, my mistake,” Luro said grinning at everyone.

Nura’s behavior made Runali snicker. The obvious frustration from her for ‘forgetting’ information made Runali nod. “Hm, yeah, that’s exactly how it went huh.” While Nura practically manhandled Luro, the captain took a seat on the barrel next to the one Luro rummaged through. She put her feet up and rested her head in her hands. “Aw Nura, if you weren’t planning on staying friends with him you wouldn’t have come lookin’ for him.” She grinned before raising an eyebrow towards Luro’s explanation, and then Zilia’s dramatic fall. “Huh, soooo,” Runali patted C.P.’s head as the falcon landed near her.

“Someone other than the navy is trying to hunt a pirate down and kill them?” She didn’t look too upset about the situation. “Honestly Luro, from how long I’ve known you I can believe a whole continent is after you. But, just like the navy,” Runali stretched her arms out in front of her. “They can try all they want. “ She chuckled and looked over at Luro. “Besides, you can’t die by the birds Luro, you promised me a proper fight. Along with getting to number one status.”

Luro offered a grin to the Captain and walking over helped Zilia back to her feet, he wholeheartedly agreed with her. He had little intention of losing to the Red Ravens, though as he was about to say something Nura spoke up.
“Well I’m glad you’re so confident,” Nura said sitting back down. “That’s all well and good but having faith in oneself isn’t going to help here and unfortunately I need you all alive. The Raven’s are throwing a lot at you and you Luro don’t get the option of underestimating, seeing how I saved you from one.”
Luro laughed and rubbed the back of his head at this.
“I’m not going to pretend I know what you’ve dealt with, but a word of advice from someone whose had to deal with them for the last few years, don’t let your guard down around them. They like that.”
Nura pulled out a notebook and flipping through a few pages started speaking.
“Jack, Zilia and Sara,” Nura said. “Three people who joined Stardusk on their visit to Tilea.”
Nura looked up from her notebook at this and motioned to the three new faces.

“There’s a mess of information about you three that they’ve gathered, the rest of you…well they’ve been watching you for two years so…use your imagination. It’s also why I wasn’t surprised to see new faces. In my gathering they mention you, along with the Captain’s stay at Kane’Arteum. Having you in one place was convenient Captain Lev, they got plenty of information there.”
Nura stood up and walking over to the mast Luro was leaning against and tapped it. She pointed at a small mark on it, a small crescent shaped mark had been carved into the mast, it was small but certainly stood out now that it was revealed.
“There’s one on my mast too…they’ve been on your ship...more than likely while you were sleeping. Looks like more than once too.”
Nura looked over at Runali and put her notebook away.
“The people you dealt with on Cerula were Renegades, those who went against the Code. They weren’t real Ravens, you’re dealing with proper Red Raven’s who already know how to get close to you. So can we take this a bit more seriously and have a proper conversation.”

“That’s all well and good,” Runali echoed Nura, “But can’t exactly ‘let our guard down’ when we don’t even know who they are.” Her head slumped back into her hands. “Besides, you make it seem like-” Her voice trailed off as Nura continued on, pulling out a notebook of information. At this point in her Stardusk life, she should have expected people to know more about her than she was comfortable with. It happened with three of the Worst Gen pirates, but then there was the one bounty hunter that found her crew in her own home. She didn’t like the idea of people knowing where her family lived, but she was also sure they were capable of handling themselves.

The mention of Kane’Artem sent a visible chill down her spine, making it obvious that she was still a little unnerved by that place. However, Nura continued on about how they had been everywhere- even on the ship. It was a little unsettling, but Runali raised a brow at Nura before looking over at her crew. “Why’s it that no one ever thinks I’m serious?” She ran fingers through her hair. “Is it the face? I thought I grew outta the baby face awhile ago.” She closed her one eye and hopped off the barrel. With a sigh, Runali crossed her arms and looked at Nura. “Like you said, there’s people after Luro. After us, apparently? And just like the navy, just like every other pirate that stands in our way, they can try.” Runali gave a simple shrug. “I mean, if they know so much about us already, there’s not much we can do yeah? Besides, give em a proper introduction if they ever show their faces.” Runali patted Nura’s shoulder. “Relax Nura, I’m taking this as serious as I need to. I mean, whaddya want us to do? Go up to their door and ask them politely to stop?”

Nura stared at Runali for a long moment after she spoke, ignoring Luro as he went through his notebook nearby. Her eyes lowered slightly until eventually she just closed them and let out a small sigh, at the end of it all this was all she could really do.
“Well I suppose being relaxed is good in this situation,” Nura said with a shrug. “I apologize for not thinking you were taking it seriously. However I don’t want Luro dying because I didn’t think you tried. Jack right, they mention a guy with dreads so I assume that’s you?”
Nura looked over at Jack pointing her quill at him before responding.
“They don’t want to kill you…not yet anyway. You only get a kill order after you become a problem. I’d say…kill one of their Hunters, then they stop holding back.”
A small chuckle escaped from Luro as he landed on a certain page in his book.

“Oh right that thing showed up a few months ago…I knew I forgot to tell the Captain something,” Luro said ruffling his hair.
Nura looked over at Luro but decided not to comment on it as she wanted to focus on what was in front of them.
“They’ll show their face to you,” Nura said looking back at Runali. “That’s why I’m here, I heard rumors that they’re sending Hunters after you. Hunter’s are…skilled members of their organization. Their job is…well to get you. Capture or kill mainly, they always do the former first. They’re normally not a threat at first… but the problem is…beating them doesn’t stop them. Luro and I learned that the hard way. If you beat a Hunter, they take the information they learned, apply it and send another after you…and they just keep doing it until eventually…they know everything about you. The three new faces are actually in a good place, the Raven’s don’t have two years of information on them.”
Nura opened her notebook again and ripped out a few pieces of paper.
“You guys are also smack dab in the middle of Red Raven territory so good job with that too. The only way to stop the Raven’s is to either stop being a pirate, which is what I did, or loophole their Code, which is what Luro does...that’s the only reason we’re still alive after all these years.”

Nura handed Runali a few pieces of paper, on them were Nura’s notes on the Red Raven’s, they were mostly incomplete which she explained their writing system wasn’t normal so finding whole pieces of information was difficult. There was a good chance they knew more than what she had learned but she had no real proof to back it up.
“That’s all the info on how to deal with them. I want you guys to survive them, the longer they look at you, the more time I have to figure out the loophole. They’re not paying as much attention to me as usual thanks to you.”

At Nura’s words Zilia brought a hand to her chin, her eyes widened after a moment and scribbling in her notebook she held a note out to the woman.
“Wait…so we’re basically bait!”
Nura looked at Zilia’s note and looking back at the rest of Stardusk gave a small nod.
“Yeah you’re bait,” Nura admitted without hesitation. “This isn’t a partnership or friendship, let me make that clear. I’m trying to survive, the only reason I’m giving you this info is so you can last longer. I’m tired of being stalked by these people and since I have little faith Luro will remember how to make them stop…”
Nura looked over at Luro who was dropping another bottle into the barrel, three of them resting on the edges of it. He seemed to be paying very little attention to the conversation which only worried Nura more.
“…I need you. In exchange for your assistance I’ll tell you how to make them stop once I figure it out…mainly for Luro and Kadi since they didn’t threaten me but if you happen to be nearby when I mention it, all the better. The Raven’s are honorable to a degree, they won’t use underhanded methods…so long as you respect the Code…I’m afraid only Luro knows it so I can’t help but my notes have advice on what I have learned. He’s the one who made a Raven talk…so...yeah your survival and that of your friends rely on Luro remembering very specific information…good luck with that one.”
Nura whistled and the men on the ship came back on deck getting ready to move again.
“Hopefully that answered everything, I’m going to get as far away from you as possible now since they want you all pretty badly.”

The captain took the pages, skimming over them a few times before promptly handing them to Kadi. Nura was giving out a lot of information and she was better off hoping crewmates like Kadi and Zilia remembered it. Runali would on the one hand remember the warning signs of when things got dangerous, or that this wasn’t going to be an easy one and done task.

Upon hearing that Nura was only giving them information to save herself, Runali smirked. “Hah, spoken like a true pirate.” She didn’t see Zilia’s note but by Nura’s explanation, Runali laughed. “Oh no Zil, she doesn’t like us one bit.” When she mentioned Kadi, she nodded. “Well yeah except him. Luro doesn’t really count, she knew him longer.”

When Nura was finished, Runali looked over at her crew, seeing if they had any questions or concerns- although she ignored most of Zilia’s concerns because she could guess them without looking at her. “Hah, never would have thought I’d hear ‘your survival relies on Luro’ but it’s a first time for everything. I trust him.” When she declared to leave, Runali gave a playful salute. “It was nice seeing you again Nura. Hope the birds leave alone!”

“Just make sure to stay alive long enough for me to find things about,” Nura said as she hopped onto her ship. “You seem to be good at not dying, keep it up.”
Just as she was about to move and help the others on the ship start to set sail she stopped and turned back to Stardusk, looking at Luro she offered a small smile before pointing in a direction.
“I almost forgot, not everything I have is bad news. Luro you remember Charlie, Richard and Zeke right?”
Hearing the names Luro looked up from the barrel and grinned at Nura.
“Oh course I do! I haven’t seen those guys in years.”
“Well they live in a town that way, working at the church. They haven’t really changed since we were kids.”
“Oh oh do you remember when Richard climbed on top of Charlie to get into the baker’s window. Zeke was supposed to be lookout but he ran the moment the guards came.”
The two laughed and Nura gave a small nod before motioning in the direction she had just pointed.
“I can say Zeke especially hasn’t changed he’s still a coward. Anyway I already paid a visit, they couldn’t stop talking about you once we got into it. It’d probably make their day if you visited. If you have a moment go see them, just…you know keep it short cause Ravens.”
Luro raised his hand to Nura who returned the gesture before the ship slowly turned before she went up and took the wheel, she started to give the order to unfurl the sails when Luro yelled at her.
“Hey Nura’s where William?!”
“Who?” Nura said looking over at him.
“William, the boy who you tried to trick me into thinking was my son. The one you tried to make me raise, that William.”
“Oh him…yeah that wasn’t my son, it was just the neighbor’s kid I paid to act like that. I can’t believe you fell for that one Luro.”
The smile on Luro’s face slowly faded and his hand lowered as Nura gave the order; the sails on the ship catching the wind as the ship started to move away from Lady Luck.
“Seriously Nura!” Luro yelled pumping his fist in the air. “Again!”
“Luro it’s been two years! You have to learn to let stuff go! I’ll see you later!”
The ship vanished into the horizon Luro watching it with his hands on his hips, though he watched Nura leave with a small pout, it eventually grew into a smile as he turned to the others.

“Hahaha I love that woman, I’d expected a dagger in my back from her hug like last time,” Luro said before looking in the direction Nura pointed. “Captain can we visit that island? It’d be nice to see those guys again. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss them a little. You guys don’t mind right? They’re really old friends and I got all kinds of stories, they’ll be so jealous.”

“Don’t die, got it.” Runali watched the rest of Nura’s interaction with the rest of the crew, her gaze going from contentment to curiosity. She almost forgot some of Luro’s wild tales of his past were… or could have been true. She did find him stranded on an island in a dress… so, there was that. Absentmindedly, she commented to the crew. “Can’t tell if Nura’s considered one of Luro’s mistresses or not… Hm.”
When Luro turned to her, she raised a brow and looked off in the direction Nura pointed. “Well yeah. Kadi? Do you mind changing course? Can’t say I’m not at least a little curious about Luro’s… escapades.”
 
Last edited:
wtgAgn5.png

Jack was smoking by the time Nura turned her, albeit brief, attention on him. The cigarillo trailed white smoke from the corner of his mouth as he twisted it between his fingers and listen with rapt intent during her entire explanation. He gave her a nod in understanding of his, Zilia and Sara's position. It was possible the three of them could catch the Ravens off guard but their current, half-blinded state didn't bode well. What information the Ravens did, or didn't, accrue on them was up in the air. Jack prayed it was little.

“Captain, I hate to interrupt but, shouldn’t we be doing the opposite of what she suggested?” Jack stepped forward after Nura left, his eyes never leaving her until the merchant ship started to sail away. “I mean, wouldn’t it be easier to evade the Ravens if we’re constantly moving at sea, rather than stuck on land?”

The cook decided not to mention his distrust of Luro’s blonde lady friend. If Stardusk was bait, what better way to lay a trap than to point the crew in a specific direction? He couldn’t tell if her dropping names of past friends was forced or not. He figured if she lied, they would know if they went there anyways, which was growing to be the probable, inevitable outcome.

Jack decided to press his point further, for the all good it did. “If the Red Ravens are after us we could be leading them directly to Luro’s friends, placing them in danger too.”
 
KPUlDyz.png

At the prospect of fighting competent foes, Sara's mood perked up. She was heavily disappointed by what Brass Island offered and was in the mood of variety. While sparring with Alicia was, for lack of a better term, fun, she still desired some variety. "What, no!" Sara turned at Jack's suggestion. "If we get caught at sea, we'll be vulnerable, helpless. If we stay on land and set up a trap, we can pick and choose the battlefield to our advantage. And come on, they call themselves "Luro's friends", I think they can handle danger."
 
Kadi_Banner_V2.png
"Well, both of your plans have a merit unto itself, true," the Navigator started as he sifted through the papers handed to him by Nura. "However, as Nura has mentioned, and her papers support that claim, we need to variate our tactics and keep ourself unpredictable, since these... Hunters will not be fool by the same trick twice. Captain, is it wise to head for the visit right away? Wouldn't that be outright too suspitious?"

He handed the papers to Zillia, and continued. "I mean, Nura here will want maximum shadow over her covert work. If we head there right away, it will be obvious we were contacted by someone close to Luro to know of his friends over at Wartburghaven. If I may have a suggestion, let's keep our current course. We wait for the first Hunter incursion and face it on our terms, on our ship. We gauge the enemy and they will gauge ours, or so they will think. We fake damage to the ship, and head for the closes harbor for repair and refit. That way, they will underestimate our strength, and we will have advantage next time they try something, plus we get a chance for Nura to get away."

He looked around. "Plus we can just try to kill all of them and leave the next kill team in the dark. As far as I'm concerned, if we kill all of them, they won't be able to try to assassinate us."
 
  • Like
Reactions: SilentxChaos
Location: Out at Sea

JVJll27.png

wUsiFI0.png

“I’m with Masu on this one Jack,” Luro said holding a hand up to the man. “The Lady’s reinforced but they have a lottt of ships. We’re in trouble if they attack us on two sides. Eventually they’ll wear us down. Oh and Masu so you know we’ll have fun they’re good at fighting anywhere, even in burning mansions!”

“I want to ask...but I feel like I won’t understand why it happened at the end of it.” Zilia thought opening her notebook.

Luro grinned and walked over to the side of the ship, he couldn’t help but feel a bit excited, getting to see those three again would be great. He already ran into Lily and he couldn’t help wonder about the others, he wondered if Nura knew anyone else who was still alive.

“It’s hard to play dead around them Kadi. I tried...they stabbed me in the shoulder to make sure I was really dead, they like to double check with violence...they might do that by sinking the ship like last time so that might not be a good idea…”

Luro stared at the three at their comments of the danger of his friends causing a small smile to form on his face.

“The Raven’s don’t hurt innocents. They only want us, hurting innocent people goes against their code. My friends have nothing to do with this, the Raven’s won’t hurt them. They never hurt my other friends to get to me. We’re pirates though so they’ll hurt you guys.”

Luro grinned at this waving his hand at them.

“They won’t do anything to do them.”


Nura’s notes essentially went over everything she had discussed but there were very specific entries that seemed to stand out, and upon closer inspection it seemed to be what little she knew of the code, from both her personal experience and from what Luro had told her.

The main part was just that Raven’s always challenge their targets to duels, as far as she can tell there’s no honor lost from actions taken during the duel so it’s not a formal one. It seems to be their way of giving fair warning of their attacks beforehand.

The second and what she considered extremely important was the acceptance of said duel.

If a Raven formally challenges someone to a duel, then they’re already surrounded. Nura can’t recount how many ships she’s lost to the Raven’s for trying to run. Accepting is the easiest course of survival, if the Raven is bested they’ll stop attacking, especially if they don’t have a kill order. In the end they want information, and they’ll attack whether the duel is accepted or not, the only difference is accepting it only gets you attacked by one, declining gets you attacked by everybody.

The third point was a reminder of Raven marks, that they rest on the right wrist of actual members, it’s the only way to tell them apart. However they do hire civilians to spy on others so not everyone working for the Raven’s will have a mark, Nura made sure to remind herself of that on each page.

She put an extra note at the bottom for Runali and Stardusk, that Luro is only safe because of the loophole, she requested Stardusk not give the Raven’s a reason to attack him. He won’t last five seconds again a proper Raven, especially the one that hunted him the past.

And Kadi’s comment confirmed it, although it did make her laugh. “You’ve got a good plan there. I like the way you’re thinking Kadi! But, I’d rather not ruin Lady.”

“And, well, at least we don’t need to worry about collateral damage? That and y’know, them not murdering people just to get to us.” She shook her head before glancing over as Jack spoke. “If we do the opposite of what she suggested…” Runali trailed off, looking at the note that she gave to Kadi. She wanted to commit a few of those things to memory- but to her it was mostly summed up as: When you see the Ravens, you’re probably going to have to fight them. “Well, what would be the fun in that?” She raised a brow at Jack, only to nod towards Sara and Luro’s sentiments. “See? More reason to go find Luro’s friends. Although I‘m sure that’s just a reason for Sara to get off a ship.” The last part about Sara was mumbled and she continued on, grinning at Jack.


“But anyway! Can’t be that bad if Zilia and Alicia aren’t saying, no.” She looped an arm around Zilia and laughed but before they could interject, Runali was in front of Jack again with a grin. “Don’t you wanna help me prove he’s half giant? Or possibly not half giant??” Her constant movement didn’t end as she walked towards the edge of the ship to watch Nura’s ship leave and then signalling for the crew to help adjust the sails.

As they did, Runali couldn’t help but mention, to Luro specifically but loud enough for the rest of the crew to hear, “Y’know, I don’t think I’ve ever trusted Nura since I met her. Maybe once, but it was short lived though. Anyhow, I trust you and you two are close- in some odd way. So,” She actually paused in thought and shrugged. “Actually, there’s no real point there. Just thought you should know.” Her attention turned back to the sails as she stretched her arms over her head. “Still, Jack’s probably right. But Alicia can vouch that I don’t listen very well.”

Luro tilted his head at the half-giant comment but didn’t pay too much attention to it, preferring to focus on the town, Nura’s notes mention it’s a small placed called Zivera. There’s not much too it from what she saw, a few farmers here and there, people living off the land and sea, the place is about the size of a small town. They don’t get too many guests or new faces so it was pretty easy to find their friends who were the newest people to arrive in years, much less stay.
When the Captain spoke to him about Nura he grinned and gave a small nod, he responded making no attempt to lower his voice as usual.
“I don’t blame you Captain, Nura’s stabbed me in the back hundreds of times, sometimes literally to slow me down so the navy catches me instead of her…but…well I can say nothing in the world was scary knowing Nura was out there, she’s all I had for a long time,” Luro said sitting down on the edge of the ship. “It really was good to see her again, I got you guys now though and no one here has stabbed in the back with a dagger yet soo….yeah that’s a good sign.”
“I doubt anyone here is going to stab you in the back.”
“I don’t know…I think Kadi wants too a little bit…Alicia’s too macho for back attacks, I expect one in the gut from her.”
Luro laughed after this making it hard to tell if he was joking or not.

“Let’s just head that way guys, who cares if it’s a trap I don’t want any damage to Lady Luck anyway.”


One -insert amount of time here- trip later
Location: Zivera



When the group approached the island there wasn’t much to necessarily look at it, the place seemed like a little side area of a larger town. It was easy to see the other side of the island from the dock they were pulling into. Judging by the small rowboats nearby it was more for the fisherman than visiting ships. A few people who were in the area raised their gazes to the new ship a bit of surprise on their faces from the new visitors, they stared at Lady Luck their eyes moving to the flag before they returned back to their tasks at hand. A few people went inside noticing the pirate flag but that was the extent of a reaction, the rest of the people continued messing around in their gardens.
A large dirt path rested just past the dock and following it led up a tall slope where a small church with a steeple rested where the path ended. There were a few houses resting on the side of the dirt path, enough to count on one’s hands. The dirt path split halfway forward one leading towards the other side of the island into a large forest, and judging by the faint presence of smoke coming from the tree’s, it was safe to assume there were houses in the woods as well.

She patted Kadi’s shoulder in thanks when they finally made it to their destination. “Huh. Looks pretty cozy.” Runali was leaning against the edge of the ship, watching as the houses and people came to view. “Looks pretty quiet here too.” She couldn’t remember the last time they were in a town, or a whole island, where things were… calm. There were no tourists attractions, no immediate signs of panic thanks to the the pirate flag, nothing. There were just people living their lives. “I’d say we can take the time to check our supplies, but after Brass Cape, I think we overstocked. Hmm,” Runali petted C.P.’s head as the bird landed by her side.

“So, Nura said something about a church. It looks like we could walk around this whole island in less than a day, but,” She looked over at Luro with a raised brow. “Do you wanna be in charge of leading the way? Unless of course you don’t remember, then we could just ask one of these folks for directions.

She began to usher the crew off the ship, only to pause and look at the bird perched off to the side. “Keep an eye out, will you?” CP bobbed her head, mimicking a nod before taking off to the skies and the captain continued after the crew.

The moment they landed on the island Luro leapt off the ship, he took a quick look around before turning to look back at the others.
“I’ve never been here before,” Luro said. “I think that’s the church at the top of the hill though.”
Luro pointed at the building resting in view a bit of a distance away, he wasn’t too necessarily worried about the Ravens, since they didn’t hurt people other than pirates he could visit all he wanted.
“Ah good you’ve arrived.”


When a voice filled the area Luro froze and Zilia stopped herself taking a quick look around, though it wasn’t hard to find the source of the voice as two people stood in the direct path of Stardusk. A man with bright red hair peered at them, his arm resting on one of the two swords attached to his waist. He was dressed a bit more extravagantly then the people around them, not so much as nobility but it seemed to be a uniform, his white coat fluttering in the breeze as he made no attempts to move out of the way of Stardusk. He offered a small smile to the crew and a small bow of his head, from a distant glance he seemed to be eye to eye with Kadi.

The woman next to him was considerably shorter than he was, standing around his chest level she was garbed in a black dress, white frill hanging off the edges of her sleeves and the bottom of her outfit, a large headband rested atop her silver hair which was the same color of unfocused eyes. A single large red rose rested on the item itself, its petals fluttering slightly as she moved. Unlike the person next to her she trembled at the presence of everyone, though she remained focused forward it was clear she was trying not to meet the eyes of anyone there. It was akin to a rabbit trying to act tough in the presence of a lion.

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance formally Stardusk. My name is-”
“Nikos!” Luro yelled throwing his hands up. “I missed you! How are you doing?!”
The smile on the man’s or rather Nikos’ face immediately faded as he glanced over at Luro who waved at him with both hands.
“Luro…kind of busy right now.”
“It’s been so long though I mean-”
“Luro how many apples are in a banana?”
Luro blinked at the question and started to speak only to close his mouth and bringing a hand to his chin looked at the ground.
“That should keep him occupied for about two minutes,” Nikos said. “My apologies for that, my name is Nikos and I’m a Red Raven, a Red Messenger to be precise. We’re here to challenge you Stardusk in a proper Raven fashion. First though, allow me to apologize to the ones given a horrible first impression. You met Renegades who went after you life without our formalities and though it’s not much I’m sorry such a matter occurred.”
Nikos and the woman next to him bowed their heads to Stardusk before raising them up.
“Allow us to properly greet you as Ravens,” Nikos said.


HemZFw3.jpg

The man turned his attention to Runali bringing a hand to his chest offer a formal bow to the Captain. He seemed to be a polite man and his actions weren’t grandiose but simple, offering respect to the ones who stood in front of him, it was clearly a practiced movement.
“I’ve waited over two years for this moment Captain Runali Lev. It is an absolute pleasure to finally meet you. I Nikos the Fallen Phoenix formally challenge you to a Duel of Conflicts.”
He spoke in a polite tone to the Captain as he issued the challenge before raising his body and looked over at the woman next to him, giving a small nod she took a small step forward, her gaze immediately moved over to Alicia.

9uuHaXR.jpg


“A-A-A-Alicia…T-T-Tashigi…I-I…c-ch-challenge you…to a…D-D-Duel of…C-C-Conflicts. M-my name is T-T-Tari….t-the..F-False…S-Saint.”
The woman who was apparently named Tari seemed to struggle with every word as she spoke it, having to take a breath just to catch herself through most of the sentence, stuttering and shaking nervously. She let out a relieved sigh her piece said took a step back. Though she was clearly nervous that didn’t stop her from glaring at the female swordswoman. Judging by the large blade attached to her back it was clear she was a swordswoman herself, and though the blade was easily twice her size she seemed to have no trouble moving about.

Tari turned her attention to the empty spot next to her, there was nothing there but dirt but Luro who had apparently figured out the riddle looked at it along with Zilia. After a brief moment a hand burst out of the ground causing Zilia to jump back. A cloud of dust and dirt exploded from the spot obscuring the crew’s view, a dark silhouette seemed to climb out of the dirt and as the cloud faded a young woman in a rather extravagant dress could be seen dusting herself off.


Vc7640T.jpg


The woman had long brown hair and wore a small hat accompanied by a veil over her face. She was in a simple brown dress that seemed akin to the outfits of Brass Cape due to the vest accompanied to it. The dress went to her legs white frills coming off the end of it similar to her cohorts. Her eyes seemed to move to each Stardusk similar to her, but there was something off about her gaze. It seemed…uninterested, at least as she looked at the others, however her eyes would light up when it passed over one particular person life flowing into them, though she only closed her eyes and shifted slightly after going over each face a few times.

The woman had seven swords attached to her, three on each side and large Zweihänder attached to her back, but she paid little mind to them as she dug into her pocket. Nikos and Tari stared at the earth woman and after a moment Nikos’ eyes narrowed slightly, she seemed oblivious to the stare of her cohorts stuck in her own world.
“Nina…introductions,” Nikos said motioning to Stardusk. “How we rehearsed…remember?”
The woman named Nina looked over at Nikos and pulling out a wanted poster with Kadi’s face on it pointed at it.
Nikos lowered his head and ran a hand through his hair seeming to take a moment to compose himself as he let out a long sigh and pointed at Kadi.
“No introduce yourself…then point them out so it’s absolute.”
Nina looked over at Nikos tilting her head at him; with a sigh he just shook his head.
“Let’s…just move on. I apologize Nina is…eccentric. Now ne-”
“Nina the Dark Goddess. I’m here to kill Mikchail Arcadius,” the woman said pointing at Kadi. “Wait that’s not right, I can’t kill you yet. A Duel of Conflicts.”
“…thank you Nina.”
Squeezing the bridge of his nose he raised his head seeming to look at the sky, the other two did the same which caused Luro and Zilia to turn and look up. What Zilia saw however caused a chill to run down her spine, someone was standing in the crow’s nest of their ship and they raised a hand to Stardusk before stepping off it and leaping over them. Turning their body in the air they landed directly next to Nina.


lZtizKy.jpg


“That was a bit much Kaim,” Nikos said.
The man named Kaim only grinned and rotated his shoulders, unlike his cohorts he was dressed a bit strangely, his white clothes seemed baggy especially the legs and a wrap rested on his head. It was clearly the garb of a foreigner, or at least someone who didn’t reside in the normal area; the golden necklace around his neck seemed to be the only fanciful thing on him as the rest of his outfit was rather simple. The man himself seemed a bit light on his feet hopping from foot to foot with a smile on his face, he didn’t really put off the aura of the others, at least the first two, he didn’t seem big on formalities.
“Haha you guys are pretty interesting. You really like discussing your plans out loud huh,” the man said smiling at Stardusk. “Sorry for spying on you, kind of my job.”
He spoke jovially, his tone light and playful. Raising a hand he gave a quick two finger salute to the crew.
“The name’s Kaim the Gentle Friend. I got dibs on Miss Sara Masuma there. Been waiting to have a go at you Thorn, I’ve heard good things.”
Kaim smiled at Sara shoving his hand in his pocket; though with his intro done he looked past Stardusk. Seeing the others do the same Zilia hesitantly looked behind her, though she looked back at the ship there didn’t seem to be anyone there, but after a brief moment bubbles seemed to form on the surface of the water.


SJhfj2e.jpg


Bit by bit the bubbles seemed to grow in intensity and eventually something brown poked out of the water, after a moment it was clear it was the top of a person’s head. The face of a woman came out of the water as she seemed to stroll out of her hiding place. Unlike the others she didn’t seem all that much alive, a sleepy gaze rested on her face, a few dark circles under her eyes as she continued to calmly and slowly walk out of the water. Her eyes seemed dead, almost empty and for being underwater for most of their introductions she seemed to be breathing normally which raised the question how long she had been waiting to be introduced. She was dressed in a simple brown cloak, the sleeves currently rolled up and as the rest of her body came out of the water she seemed to be dragging two sickles on a chain behind her. Once she was fully out she flicked her hand the sickles flying into her grip before she attached them to a belt on her waist. Calmly walking past Stardusk she took her place next to Kaim before raising a pale finger and pointing it at Jack.
“My name is Ria…The Enigmatic Gravekeeper…I’m here for you Jack. A Duel of Conflicts.”
Even her tone of voice seemed devoid of energy, monotone but she seemed sincere in her declaration.
“…why was I the one underwater?”
“Cause you lost the card game, I got top you got bottom” Kaim said folding his hands behind his head. “You have a terrible poker face.”
The blank faced woman stared at him and Kaim only offered a grin at her over his terrible joke, though a small smile came from her as a chuckle escaped.
“…that was a good one actually.”
“Right? Oh right Sara Masuma I challenge you to a Duel of Conflicts, forgot that part.”
Nikos’ raised hand seemed to stop their conversation and the group looked at the empty spot next to them for the next intro.
“Huh…where’s Kara?” Kaim said pointing at the spot.​


yBj6nhL.jpg


The door to one of the nearby houses opened and a woman carrying a case quickly ran towards the Ravens, though in her outfit it seemed rather difficult. Zilia’s eyes moved to the garment as she recognized it. Women she met in a convent during her travels had worn garb similar to that, though there seemed to be slight modifications in her own, she didn’t recognize the silver belt around her waist as she approached. The woman who judging by the narrowed look of Nikos was probably Kara set her case down.
“My apologies, Mr. Harold’s back was acting up, I’m here now,” Kara said.
She offered a small bow to the members of Stardusk, raising her body she offered a soft smile to the crew. There wasn’t an ounce of malice coming from the garbed woman, and clapping her hands together she seemed utterly delighted to finally make the acquaintance of everyone.
“My name is Kara The Mild Executioner, I’m afraid my Target is Zilia there.”
The woman pointed at Zilia causing her to flinch slightly.
“If it’s not too much trouble I challenge you to a Duel of Conflicts.”


The Red Messengers bowed once more to Stardusk and after raising their heads Nikos looked back at Runali.
“Though not perfect…that is a proper introduction. Attacking out of the blue like animals is not how we do things,” Nikos said with a small nod. “Let me make something abundantly clear however, there will be no manner of deception, and there is nowhere you can run where we cannot follow, even should you return to the Undersea. So let me end those delusions now to prevent future complications.”
Nikos said this and made a motion to his fellow Messengers.
“I would prefer a proper conversation, and a good clean fight…but don’t follow Luro’s mindset. We’ve hunted those two for over five years there are plenty of us around to attack you. Unfortunately a few years back I was given very specific orders not to kill Luro and Nura left our jurisdiction at least until recently. So long as you don’t interrupt the sanctity of the duel Luro or things don’t go terribly wrong I’m not allowed to hurt you.”
Nikos pat his sword and looked at the others.
“I’m sure you know we’ll attack you whether you decline or accept but…we can keep this nice and clean by your acceptance or complicated and messy by your decline…which will permit me to kill your friend here.”
Nikos nodded his head towards Luro.
“We’ve waited a long time to take you on, so we’d prefer fighting you one on one, but we have troops nearby if you want to test the ‘kill them all’ theory that Luro tried seven years ago. What’s your answer Stardusk Pirates?”

Runali counted four steps.Four single steps on the island before they were approached. One by one, those birds- the Ravens appeared. Her simple and content expression hadn’t faltered while each one introduced themselves. One for each of her crew. The only time there was the smallest of a reaction, is when Runali’s gaze turned to the one called Kaim. She didn’t like that he was on her ship, but she didn’t say anything. In fact, she stayed where she was at the front of her crew and said nothing until she was sure they were done. After all, she didn’t want to interrupt such… odd and formal introductions.

Runali’s eye closed once she was sure Nikos was done, and she heaved a small sigh. Her hand went up, in a ‘pause’ motion and she turned her back on him to face her crew, almost as if she had completely ignored them.

Before her crew could talk, she raised her hand up to shush them. “Now, before you give me the ‘I told you so’s, consider, I never said you were wrong. And to be fair… not like we ran into the Navy?” Runali’s eye opened again and she rolled her eye- never really effective with just the one. “But you gotta admit, the… diligence and uh, determination is pretty impressive. When do we ever get personally challenged?” She nodded over at Kadi. “The ‘kill them all plan’ is still a pretty good plan, but,” She looked over her shoulder, eyeing the Ravens for a moment, before once more turning back to her crew as if they weren’t there. “Let’s start with them. As if we really have the choice.” Runali looked between each of her crew and gave a small smirk. “Y’know, like the saying goes, kill...seven birds with- well, seven stones in this case- or six since Luro gets the short end of the stick and has to watch.” Runali snickered and turned on her heel. With hands behind her back and a content gaze once more, she took a few steps towards Nikos.

“I’m not going to lie to you, I’m not going to remember all of your names.” Runali flashed a smile and straightened up. “But don’t worry. Yours, I definitely won’t forget, Nikos.” There was an undertone of a threat hanging as she spoke, but by her facial expression alone it was hard to tell. “And seeing as you’ve given us no choice, and have been so… wonderfully polite, we-” Runali paused to nod at her crew, indicating that there was ‘no going back now’. “We all accept this challenge- or, Duel of Conflicts as you’ve called it.” She held her hand out to shake Nikos’ before adding. “And there’s no need to worry about Luro getting involved. If we’re going to play dirty, we’ll do it ourselves. A pirates’ life, y’know?” Over her shoulder, she called over to Luro. “Hear that Luro? No fighting, but you get front row seats to watch ‘em. Unless things go bad and I say otherwise, okay?”

Runali took a step back and looked up at the sky, only to hold a finger up. “One request though. You can give me one, yes? Actually,” Runali shook her head. “Never mind it. I’ll save it for later. But, I don’t suppose we get time to stretch our legs and have a nice lunch? Or is this a right here, right now deal?”

A very faint smile formed on Nikos’ face at Runali’s words, eventually a small chuckle even escaped from him as he approached the Captain. He reached out and shook her hand, a bit of a grip on it, almost like a silent response to her earlier words.
“You don’t disappoint Captain Lev, I’m honored you’ll remember my name,” Nikos said with a nod. “I’m happy you’re willing to accept our challenge. It makes things easier for both sides. Just because you're pirates doesn’t mean you’re not people. Not treating you as such makes us no better.”
With a small shrug Nikos backed away and looked over at Kaim who rubbed the back of his head.
“Though the challenge has been accepted we’d still like to hear agreement from our respective targets, it’s formal but we’d feel better hearing it from your own mouths,” Kaim said. “We did address you after all.”

Zilia didn’t like this but Kara’s eyes seemed fixated on her, and looking at the others each Messenger was staring at their targets in silence. Ria’s fingers gently ran over the blades of her sickles as she watched Jack and Nina…well she hadn’t stopped staring at Kadi so no real change there. With a sigh Zilia pulled out her notebook, she had to respond to them, and no wasn’t really an option anyway.

Luro on the other hand pouted and lowered his hand from his rifle, he gave a small nod to the Captain at her order. The moment his hand return to his side Nikos’ hands moved back to his own and his eyes moved away from Luro.
At Runali’s request Nikos held a hand up before motioning to the Messengers who took a small step back.
“Normally we would attack you right here and now but we have orders not to interfere with your business here, since it involves Luro. You’re visiting your friends yes? We will leave you to your business. Granted we’re permitted to defend ourselves but…”
Nikos looked over his shoulder at the people who had started staring at the group now.
“We’d prefer not to get innocent people caught up in our fights so we’ll just approach you later for the challenge. We’re always watching so we’ll see you very soon anyway.”​
 
KPUlDyz.png

It was hard to tell who was more ridiculous. These feared bounty hunters, or the miners back in Brass Cape. Sure, the former was indisputably more threatening but that effect was all but lost on just how stupid they all looked. "Really?" Sara held back a snicker. "You all had to actually rehearse this? What, did you all have to spend hours memorizing your lines?" Even then, her opponent still managed to mess that up. She shook her head in mild disappointment. What a waste of time this would be, she thought, when this was such a nice day and there were a thousand different ways to enjoy it.

"Very well then, if that is what you want. I, Sara Masuma, Fluffy-kin Bun Bun Bottoms, Commando of the Stardusk Crew, formally Thorn of the Harbor Island Coliseum, graciously accept your request.
 
Kadi_Banner_V2.png
"No hard feelings, Captain. You're the boss, and at the end of the day, the crew must maintain unity. Besides, now ve kan kill them all without risking Lady. Not to mention the arrogant bravado with which they have served themselves to us is amusing and refreshing, no?"

The Navigator was challenged. He grinned like a colony of flesheating bacteria that infested a roadside steakhouse. In one fluid motion, he shrugged off his longcoat, exposing to others another previously unprecedented figment of the man's bicameral personality. He was a small walking arsenal of firearms. Four flintlock pistols on bandoleer across his chest. Two very expensive cap-and-ball revolvers from Brass Cape on his belt, and another two nine-barreled pepperboxes in armpit slings.

His eyes met with Nina. There was something new in them, at least to those who knew him for long. Arcadius, a man who previously vomited and passed out from kneeling in pool of blood, and always advised caution and cool head instead of assault... The look in his eyes was almost sexual. Belen was far, far away for a long time, and during her absence and overall lack of excitement, the part of Arcadius that was the Navigator prevailed. Here, however, the Pathfinder very gladly took over the reigns, and he was out for meat and blood.

With flick of his thumbs, he loosened the revolvers in their holsters. "And I'm some Mikhail Arcadius, formerly known as The Navigator, lately known as The Pathfinder. Now, since we have this off the list, let's get the Duel of Conflicts out of the way too, so we can stop wasting words, and, eheheh, get to the violence."
 
Last edited:
eB44hrh.png

The entire time that everything had went on Alicia had just listened and waited patiently, releasing only a small sigh from the back when they'd learned about the upcoming conflict. By now she'd long since learned that no matter what she'd said in terms of sense, the crew would probably do the opposite anyway so she didn't bother wasting her breath or risking herself a headache trying to convince them otherwise.

During the majority of Nura's visit she'd remained seated, running a dark purple cloth embroidered in Fiean patterns along the black blade of Shusui, continuing in with her usual disciplines taught to her from home. Alicia would pause and look up every so often to pay more attention to specific details, but then would simply return to her sword or raise a porcelain cup of tea to her lips, taking a small sparing sip.

'Out of the frying pan again it seems' she thought to herself before tilting the flat surface of the blade towards the sun, the dark surface stealing light and reflecting it's promise of death. Shusui was indeed a monster, a Yokai that'd been tamed once by her mother and again by her own hand through the previous years. Alicia wondered to herself when the day would come it'd meet it's next challenger.

By the time they'd sailed into port she'd have everything packed away and she herself would be found at her usual place at the bow of the ship, her eyes resting gently upon the inhabitants whom watched them as they came to dock before turning to assist the others in mooring the ship to the dock arms... or at least ensuring it was done properly so the ship didn't sail off without them.

With the ship moored and their feet firmly upon ground once more Alicia stepped up beside Runali and Jack and was about to suggest they consider rotating the perishables within their stock while they're at land before a voice spoke out and caused her to pause, pulling her attention and returning her to silence once more as she listened to their introductions, which honestly surprised her.

She couldn't remember the last time any of their would be 'enemies' had to politely approached and declared their intentions to engage them. It was actually kind of refreshing, although the young girl who specifically challenged her caused her a little bit of concern, mostly because she appeared to lack confidence for the duel. Of course the swordswoman knew better than to underestimate her.

Alicia would respectfully incline her head forwards a little before she replied, "Acarim vos ila nemai" she replied softly in Feian, a form of respectful acknowledgement given between swordsman which translates to: 'By honor of blade'. "I Alicia Tashigi... actually I'm not quite sure what I am in this crew, but nevertheless I accept your challenge to duel" she replied softly with a small smile.
 
wtgAgn5.png

“It’s your call, Captain,” Jack said to Runali in a flat voice, which for him bespoke his uneasiness and distrust of what awaited them at their upcoming stop. Runali’s personal judgement on Nura solidified Jack’s own intuition yet they were still steaming forward anyways.

Disgruntled, Jack went for a smoke. He rolled a new one and took out a lighter he’d bought from Brass Cape after running out of matches. A little silver box filled with lamp oil. It struck a flame when you flipped open the cap and hit a small gear that made a spark on the inside. Supposedly, it was longer-lasting and more effective than matches. Jack found it worked about half the time. Cursing in his head, his brow creasing with frustration, he struck it again and again with no success. Finally, Jack flicked the cigarillo over the rail and pocketed the useless thing. He joined Alicia at the bow, hoping her serene presence to be a balm to his own paranoia.

They docked and one sweeping gaze had Jack strangely, visibly relaxing. The villagers ignored them and that told Jack all he needed know about where they were. Like bandits rolling in during the gold season, attracting gaped stares of dirt poor children while the adults barely made two glances. A casual danger, predictable, unwanted but a necessary evil. Jack didn’t know if this town had the same hazards, but their brief glances were just the same as the one his mothers would give the bandits while gripping his hand in theirs, just as another grazed a knife hidden beneath their belt.

Except he was the bandit now so to speak. His hand went to his shoulder, rubbing it briefly, before his fingers grazed along his Stardusk emblem.

“I accept your duel, Ria.”

Jack inclined his head to the Enigmatic Gravekeeper. He didn’t blink when Nikos stepped forward, merely sparing a glance to his captain and crossing his arms. With each member, Jack took the time to study and listen, committing them to memory. His eyes lingered on Kaim, the Gentle Fiend, the Red Raven spy. A moment past when he followed Zilia’s eyeline to Lady Luck’s crew nest and his blood ran cold and hot at once to see the spy up there. Jack cursed under his breath, hating the idea Kaim was aboard the entire without him the wiser. He was positive Kaim would target him as for the Duel of Conflicts, for surely he’d know the truth now, being aboard Stardusk’s ship, about Jack and it’d only be proper if--

The cook had to scoff when Kaim chose Sara. He covered his mouth briefly to hide a smile.

When it was said and done, future battles cemented, Jack breathed a sigh. He’d never openly accepted a duel before. It felt oddly refreshing to know the next fight would be a honest one. If the Ravens were as honorable as they claimed, it could also be their downfall. Jack scratched a cheek. He examined Ria one last time before they departed, already entertaining possible outcomes to their fight.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Winter and Eastwood
JVJll27.png

wUsiFI0.png

HemZFw3.jpg


“You guys don’t have anyone for me right?” Luro said tilting his head.
“Well no but-” Nikos started to stopped when Luro looked away from him.
“Guys I’m running ahead!” Luro yelled before sprinting past the Messengers and making his way up the hill.
Nikos watched Luro go heading towards the church at the top of the slope before shrugging his shoulders turning his attention back to Stardusk, he was actually content not to have him nearby anymore, it made the rest of this simple.


“I knew you all were different, it’s very refreshing,” Nikos said looking at each member of Stardusk. “Much better than the majority of pirates we deal with.”
A small smile found its way onto Nikos face and he started to speak further when a loud scream pierced the air. A few of the people pointed at Sara, their eyes wide and full of terror before they quickly ran back inside.
“It’s bun-bun!”
“Fluffykins! Hide the untainted!”
The people quickly left the area save for one woman who ran up to Sara and set a baby at her feet, she put her hands together and quickly backed away from her.
“There’s my first born please don’t kill me,” the lady begged backing away before running off.
Squeezing the bridge of his nose he made a motion with his hand and Tari ran over and carefully picking up the infant ran to return it to the mother.
“Try…to avoid saying your name in public Miss Sara. You and the Bodhisattva have quite the reputation.”
Nikos looked over at Alicia and Jack then at Ria and Tari who just seemed to stare at their targets in silence.
“…thank you for agreeing you two. The Feian language is very beautiful, we studied it the last two years. Especially Emil, since he’s in Yula Fei at the moment…what was he doing Tari?”
“H-H-he has o-orders t-t-to d-deal with H-H-Hanako,” Tari said looking over at Nikos.
“Ah right,” Nikos said. “Allow us to introduce Emil in his stead since he can’t be with us.”


lZtizKy.jpg


Kaim slammed his fist into his hand grinning at Sara the moment she accepted his request, though the most he could do was laugh at the people’s reactions to Sara. Shoving his hand back into his pocket he raised a hand to his opponent pleased both by her response and the entertaining reaction.

“I didn’t see you as the type to back down from a formal challenge anyway so happy to hear it Sara Masuma. Also yeah we rehearse it. I mean you’d be surprised how many people try to use that whole ‘I didn’t agree to the duel’ thing to stave off their demise. It gets old really fast. Now there’s no excuse. We both accepted so we both accept the end result with some proper pride.”


Vc7640T.jpg


Nina’s hands slowly wrapped around the hilt of one of her swords when Kadi accepted her duel, there was almost a sparkle in the woman’s eyes at the response of the navigator. Her body lowered slightly and her foot slowly slid forward but Tari’s extended arm gave her pause. Looking over at her companion she watched as Tari shook her head and pointed at Stardusk. Nina looked back at Kadi and straightened her body.

“We can’t fight again Arcadius. Nikos asks us to wait till later. Hold it in for now.”

Nina’s body was trembling as she said this, her hand still tightly gripped around her sword, though she still had the same calm expression on her face.

“N-Nina don’t push yourself. I-I know Kadi’s your one and only but let’s hold that in okay. No violence.”

“I’m perfectly fine Kaim. I don’t wish to talk to Arcadius that badly.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked over at Kaim causing the man to twitch.

“Y-you’re clearly not fine.”


Ria and Tari seemed to only give nods to their respective partners a bit less talkative then their companions, and during the conversations Kara and Zilia had been exchanging notes with one another, at some point they seemed to have come to an agreement before Zilia rejoined everyone. With the formalities out of the way Nikos had the Messengers bow to the crew again before making a motion with his hand for them to depart.

“Finish your business here then we’ll have our conversations,” Nikos said as they turned their backs to them. “We’ll see you in a bit Stardusk.”
The Messengers waved to everyone before walking away towards the other side of the island, though Nikos stopped as the others continued forward chatting amongst one another.
“I almost forgot,” Nikos said turning to look at Runali. “Miss Daya’s cooking is very good. If you don’t mind I’d like to get the recipes from Jack before this is over.”
With a small nod Nikos turned and walked to catch up with others.

Runali watched as each of her crew members accepted their respected duels, but she mainly focused on the responses. Each Raven had something peculiar about them, something different, and Runali couldn’t place a word to it. So instead, her one eyed gaze followed their movements, looked over their weapons- or lack thereof, judging them all for herself. Of course, her usual relaxed gaze mostly hid the whirring thoughts going through her mind.

She couldn’t really figure out what to say about a lot of things that had just happened, like the ‘Fluffykins’ situation… Or even the one in front of Kadi. However, hearing Hanako’s name made Runali’s brow raise. It sounded like a personal threat, but she stayed in her place. She started to tell Alicia to stay at bay as well, but decided to let her do as she saw fit. Hanako was her apprentice and that, even Runali had to admit, was a sneaky little trick.

Seeing that a fight didn’t immediately break out, Runali’s attention turned back to Nikos. Once more she had been focused more on her crew than the one right in front of her. Robin and Alton’s words echoed through her head for a moment and she turned to fully face the man once more. “Uh huh…” Runali started, signalling for the crew to head to the church Luro ran off to. She stopped in her tracks as Nikos called to her and turned so she could see. The statement about her mother made her stiffen, but she steeled herself and let out a small sigh. She wasn’t going to let Nikos get into her head so easily. She refused. As he turned away, Runali did as well, saying,

“We’ll see when the fight’s over.”

Turning to her crew, she gestured towards the church again, running fingers through her hair. “Alright, let’s go find the red giant before he gets into trouble- or gets into more trouble.”

The church itself wasn’t much to look at, it was clearly one of the older buildings in the small town, its wear showing in the cracks that lined the building and in the faded paint. Though judging by the old man sweeping up inside it was clear there was at least one caretaker, though Luro was nowhere to be seen inside the church. It was safe to assume he was on the other side of the building as there did seem to be a closed door at the other end of the building.

Footsteps quickly approached the crew from behind however and someone bumped into Sara with bit of force before a small yelp escaped from the person as they fell onto the ground.
“A-ah I’m sorry! Please forgive me I wasn’t paying attention where I was going.”
The person who was a young woman stood up and brushing off the back of their skirt looked up at Stardusk only to jump a bit, the lady seemed to look at the faces of two of the members before moving to the others. Her eyes trailed to the tattoos on their skin, the ones who had them before she pointed at them.
“Miss Bow! Oh and Captain Runali, it’s good to see you again,” the woman said. “It’s me Lily. We met on Utsukushi.”
The woman named Lily bowed to the members of Stardusk, raising her body she seemed to be clutching a letter which she held to her chest.

“I’m so glad I caught up with you. Oh and it’s nice to meet you all as well. It’s thanks to Stardusk I know not all pirates are scary, if you’re with them then I believe you’re decent people.”
She offered a smile and bowed once more to them before her eyes started to move back to the faces, seeing one was missing however the smile faded from her face.
“Wait…where’s Luro…no he’s not-”
Lily quickly ran past Stardusk into the church and towards the other door.

“Hm, hard to miss someone that tall.” Runali looked around the church, nodding towards the single old man in it. She spotted the door on the other side and pointed, only to look behind her when a small commotion happened.
“Utsukushi…?” Runali stared at the woman for a moment, tilting her head left and right with a confused gaze. “Utsu is where we picked up Tashigi… you are….” Runali snapped her fingers. “Oh right! You’re the girl that-”
And suddenly, Lily was running off after Luro as well. “..died.” Runali shook her head. “Well, not really. Uh, that was odd.” Despite looking at her crew, she knew they couldn’t provide answers she needed so once more she was leading them forward. This time, through the doors where Lily had rushed off.


Luro was on the other side of the door, his back to everyone as he stood near the edge of reasonably stiff cliff, Lily stood next to him though she fell to her knees when Stardusk made it through the door. The two’s gazes were focused on three things in front of them, a row of gravestones with names carved into the front of them in terrible handwriting.
Charlie, Richard and Zeke.
Luro rested his hand on Charlie’s grave lowering his head as he pat the gravestone.
Lily raised her arms only to hug herself, gripping her blouse tightly as she tried to hold in the emotions that were threatening to overtake her.
“…no…” Lily muttered the words staring at the graves. “She couldn’t have…Nura…Nura wouldn’t do this.”

Luro grabbed the letter on the ground which pulled Lily back to reality, he opened the letter and read through the contents keeping his back to his crewmates, at this point it may have been on purpose. His body seemed relaxed, his general stance the same as always but whatever rested on his face was known only to Lily who seemed bothered by what she was seeing.
“Nah Nura killed them,” Luro said reading through the letter. “It makes sense; she’s that kind of person.”
His sounded the same as usual, but there was something off about his tone. He didn’t seem to be forcing his general jovial tone but there was something in the way he spoke that wasn’t normal.

“Haha she even led you here so I’d know she can reach you too…that’s pretty good…Haha…Hahaha!”
Luro brought a hand to his face as he started laughing, holding his stomach he hunched over in front of his friend’s graves, laughing as if someone had told him a rather masterful joke. Tears rested at the edges of his eyes as he pounded his fists on Richard’s grave his laughter only growing more until he had to use the grave just to keep himself up. Lily climbed to her feet and backed away from Luro, standing next to Stardusk as Luro finally managed to collect himself and wiping the tears from his eyes, let out a content sigh.
“When did she kill them Lily?”

The sudden question caused Lily to jump as Luro handed the note to his Captain; she looked over at the graves and with a small shake of her head motioned to the letter.
“The letter says yesterday…I didn’t believe it until…well…” Lily trailed off not wanting to speak further on the matter. “I thought it was strange for Nura to send a ship to get me…”
“I see…fair enough. Captain Nura has coordinates on that letter. It’s probably where she’s at; I’m willing to bet a bottle the Messengers are there too. I’m afraid I gotta ask ya for another detour if that’s okay.”
Luro turned back towards his friends graves shoving a small hand in his pocket.
“I kind of have to respond to this in kind. She’s expecting it,” Luro said before looking back at everyone.
Giving the brightest grin he could he spoke again.
“I need to kill Nura for this.”


“Hey Lily, what’s the hurry-” The door was pushed open and Runali’s eye fell on to the gravestones first. She had stopped so suddenly that one of the crew bumped into her, making her move in closer to the two already there. Lily had broken the silence with her quiet pleas, making Runali lower her head out of respect for the fallen. The notion that Nura was the one to do it didn’t really surprise Runali, as she didn’t trust the woman to begin with, but it was still… There was a lot of unease in the situation. And Luro’s laughter didn’t help. Being on his right side, she couldn’t see him clearly, but the way his laugh echoed in such an… Runali wasn’t sure if she could call it ominous- way, she was sure she didn’t need to. Instead, she glanced over at Lily, giving her a small nod of sentiment, unsure of what to say to her.

Runali hummed an acknowledgement when Luro handed her the note, taking a moment to look it over herself. She read through it, only to glance up as Luro requested another favor.
Quiet for a moment, the captain folded the note and looked over at the graves once more. She was… disappointed she couldn’t meet those friends of his, but maybe Luro’d tell stories of them… one day.

“Looks like you’ll have someone to fight after all.”

Runali signalled for the crew to head back to the ship, offering to take Lily along as well. “Let’s hurry.” She gave Kadi the coordinates and almost as quick as they arrived, they were leaving the island and going to the next.

An island called Iurin.

Just like the last island there wasn’t anything too noticeable about it, save for the fact that this island lacked proper docking so they had to anchor in the beach. “Oh… how nice.” There in the sand, stood six Ravens waiting- no doubt for the Stardusk. “One step ahead, yeah?” Runali commented to the crew before climbing off the ship to meet them.

Luro thanked the Captain and pushed Lily a little more to come with them, informing her she wasn’t safe away from them anyway. When he brought up Mary that seemed to cement her decision and she apologized for the trouble before walking back to the ship with them. The whole ride over Luro was quiet, staring out at the sea with a small smile. Lily on the other side of the ship was trying to stay out of everyone’s way, but from her glances at Luro she seemed to be concerned about him.
The whole ride over Luro made no attempt to touch any of his rum, he just stared out at sea with a smile…waiting for something.

When they made it to Iurin Luro looked at the dense forest that lied beyond the Messengers who stood in a row staring at Stardusk in silence. The forest seemed to stretch on no matter how far one looked into it, Luro had a feeling Nura was waiting inside the seemingly endless woodland and the very thought made him chuckle as he stepped onto the beach.
Lily had chosen to stay on the ship but she watched the fight from the deck, folding her hands together and lowering her head, praying for Stardusk’s safety.
The beach itself extended a fair bit away was curving a bit further down, indicating that it circled around the entire island. There were no other signs of life save the Messengers and Stardusk on the beach, and save the crashing waves and the people present no sounds came from the island, not even from the forest.

“You can go on ahead Luro,” Nikos said once Stardusk were close. “She’s waiting for you. You know the rules right, no interruptions in the duel so you’re on your own. We’ll entertain your friends.”
“That’s fine,” Luro said taking his rifle off his back. “I wanted to have a small chat with her alone anyway.”
Nikos stared at the smiling man’s face, Luro’s slight slur was gone and his little wobble depending on how many drinks he had that day was gone. He stood straight tapping his rifle on his shoulder, seeing this Nikos’ eyes narrowed but he remained silent.
“My memory tends to be a little fuzzy when I drink ya know. Just a little bit. It was hard holding back…but I wanted to make sure that her pained expression is imprinted in my skull,” Luro said before his whole body shivered. “Just the idea of her in pain is getting me excited…I’m going to enjoy this one.”
Luro glanced over his shoulder at the crew, he smiled at everyone but there was a look in his eyes that betrayed the kindness behind his smile, there was nothing but murderous intent in his gaze.
“I’m going ahead everyone, Nura’s pretty strong so if I don’t come back I’ve had fun,” Luro said raising a hand before running past the Messengers. “Oh and sorry Captain. I have to break our promise for a little bit. Just remind if I com back!”

Nikos kept his attention forward as Luro ran past him, once the carpenter vanished into the depth of the woods Nikos started walking towards Stardusk.
Drawing one of his swords Zilia quickly lowered her body expecting an attack, but the man stopped a few feet from everyone and putting his sword to the ground, drew a horizontal line in the sand between them.
Content he took a step back and sheathing his sword retook his place next to his comrades.
Every Messenger’s hands went to their weapons once the intent was made clear.

Tari’s hand lingered near the hilt of her sword, her narrowed gaze focused on Alicia.

Ria hands gripped the handles of her sickles glancing sideways at Jack.

Kaim cracked his knuckles a grin on his face as he arched his eyebrows at Sara.

Nina was making a sand crab but it was pretty clear she was paying attention…probably.

Kara folded her hands behind her back and offered a gentle smile to Zilia.

Nikos had his thumb pressed against his guard watching Runali with a calm expression.

The Raven’s let their actions speak for them as they waited for Stardusk’s choice.
 
Kadi_Banner_V2.png

The man relaxed. The tension was broken. "Ah. I see. No, wait, I do not. Again? As far as I know, we've never met before. I don't recognize you. I've been to Brass Cape only once, but I don't recognize you." He cocked his head in curiosity, and tied the revolver holsters back. There would be no fighting after all, verbal or physical.

As for the rest of the events that followed, there were merely one thing he had to say. "Damn," he commented on the graves. "Damn it all."

Back on the ship, he carefully approached Luro. "Look... I know this is heavy stuff. But still, it is a matter of life, ours, and death, theirs. Be careful. All of this stinks. Too much premeditation. I mean, it's clear we're going to trap. I don't know if it even counts as a trap if they tell you they'll be there, but still. They could be planning on separating us, distracting us, whatever. Keep it together, Luro. Revenge is dish best served cold, because it lets you help keep your head cool and on target."
 
Last edited:
eB44hrh.png

~"I felt myself slip beneath the surface, I felt the sharp cutting agony against my soul beckoning me forth to embrace all the pain that'd burdened my mortal coil. It found me there and screamed at me to burn the world with every violent memory"~

Time drowned into a blur from the moment Hanako's name was mentioned, uprooting from within her a cocktail of emotions which flooded back into her mind. Images of her fathers body embraced in her arms kneeling upon cold stone painted red, The loss of her mother, her friends during the first invasion of Hurasai and then when she'd seen Satia unconscious at the feet of Odyn. The world had stolen so much from her over her short lifetime, taken everything without remorse as if to punish her, allowing her to survive to endure the ache of loss over and over again. How long would it be before fate snuffed the lives of each of the crew just to watch her writhe, how long would death let her walk in his shadow before he'd notice and strike her from existence.

Alicia remained silent and didn't appear to react at first, though something inside of her changed, twisted and snapped releasing an overwhelming feeling that suffocated the immediate space from the swordswoman as hate and loathing bled from her aura. Perhaps Sara among them would be the most sensitive to it, a feeling without an explanation to be found written in any book or tome. Yet still Alicia's expression remained to betray nothing as she simply followed silently with the others back to the ship after having witnessed Luro's revelation at the discovery of the very thing that was infecting her and perhaps had been for a long time now, kept locked away in the poorly constructed confines of her soul. She may not always understand Luro and she doubted many could, but this time was different.

After arriving on the beach the updraft from the ocean kicked gently against the Feian girls silvery ponytail, licking against the exposed skin of her cheeks as her eyes lingered over the Raven messengers. She didn't move even as Nikos drew a line in the sand with his sword, her eyes lingering upon the line before she blinked and inhaled a deep breath as they swept back to the so called Red Raven Messengers. "Ordinarily... " she began, some what quiet at first before her tone picked up as she spoke. "... I would approach such a confrontation with all the teachings and disciplines taught to me by my mother and father. But you've endeavored to threaten someone who not only remains to be a child, but someone who I consider to be family". Alicia closed her eyes as she exhaled.

Opening her eyes again, her expression darkened as her brow furrowed and there was a feeling of desire to bring misery and death emanating from her being. "Because of this, you've already crossed a line from which there is no return... and as a result I will burn you all from this world even if it means exposing you to every agony expelled from the depths of my core". As Alicia finished speaking her left eye erupted as power ignited from her soul, though unlike before when her eye would erupt into the blue reflecting the spirit of Antoine, this time it was dark and had it not been for the piercing red of her iris it might have perhaps eclipsed her eye entirely. The sand beneath her feet began to blacken and fade, grass and flowers wilted and died as the swordwoman ever so gently placed her hand upon Shusui, withdrawing it from the Saya slowly.

It's dark surface sucked in light and the very moment the blade released fully, the emotions infecting her environment became more potent. "If you insist on dueling separately, I suggest the rest of you leave. But rest assured, once your friend is dead... I will be coming for the rest of you, in the unlikely event that you have survived" she spoke without taking her eyes of Tari, one burning a bright red through the black flame while the other looked almost neutral in the swordswomans semi serene expression.
 
v9gGHBl.png

yBj6nhL.jpg

The last thing Zilia knew was how to comfort Luro.

The whole display had made her sick to her stomach, but it was the laughter that really hit her and judging by Lily’s reaction they seemed to feel the same. It was hard to know how to feel when the one who should be affected most by it seemed happy. She was able to offer some words to Lily that helped calm her down but Luro just hummed a jovial tune as always and returned to his normal life. In their line of work, especially her own death was common; she understood that all too well. She genuinely feared the idea of staring at a dead body and feeling nothing…but Luro…already seemed that far gone.
“…I don’t think I’ll ever understand Luro…sometimes I think that might be for the best.”

She wondered if he would feel anything if one of them died, would he laugh like he did if one of them didn’t come back. Zilia shut her eyes forcing such thoughts aside, such ideas were dangerous ones. Luro was a good person, strange…but a good person. In the end he wanted revenge…which meant he felt something at the loss.
She was more focused on the approaching island, and the Raven’s waiting for them.

Zilia’s kept her eyes locked on Kara as the woman continued to watch her; she knew not to underestimate the person in front of her. She may look nice but she didn’t know how strong she was and she couldn’t get a good feel from her. She didn’t feel threatened even though she knew what it meant to cross that line, that worried her the most. To be this calm and unthreatening with an intent to harm, underestimating this woman would be a bad thing.
“Zilia?” Kara questioned tilting her head.
Suddenly being called on called Zilia to jump, Kara’s eyes lowered a bit and worry played across her face as she brought a hand to her mouth.
“You have quite the expression on…oh…I get it.”
Zilia gripped her pants; she must have realized she was observing, she regretted making it obvious.
“You have to go to the bathroom,” Kara said smiling at her.
“…huh?”
Zilia stared at the woman as Kara let out a small chuckle and waved her hand.
“You don’t have to hold it in, I’m willing to wait. You can head back, make a snack and everything, make sure you’re well prepared. Oh and stretch too.”
Zilia eyes twitched as Kara folded her hands back in front of her and offered a bright smile to her. It was starting to become clear at this woman might just naturally be a saint…that or she was really bad at reading situations.
Zilia shook her head and walked forward, her foot inches from the line she looked down at it, then up at Kara who made no attempt to move only offering a smile as she waited. Zilia took a deep breath, the others were fighting, she couldn’t back down. Stepping over the line Zilia slid her foot in front of her and raised it up getting into stance.
“Are you ready?” Kara asked bringing her hands to her side.
Zilia gave a nod and the woman who was a few feet in front of her was suddenly face to face with her.
“Wha-”
That was the extent of Zilia’s thought as Kara’s foot slammed into her chest, the doctor flying backwards and after bouncing off the water, crashed into water with a large splash. Kara lowered her foot and brought a hand to her cheek.
“Oh my…did I hit a bit too hard?”


wUsiFI0.png
Luro ducked under a few braches walking through the forest as he searched for any other signs of life. He could hear battle all around him, and figured everyone was fighting the Messengers back at the island. He smiled a bit at the thought a little sad he couldn’t see everyone fight the Ravens. He always had fun fighting them, Nikos especially. He was the last Hunter to attack him and he left quite the impression, he was a little jealous the Captain got to fight him this time.

After a bit of wandering Luro picked up faint noises, turning he quickly headed in the direction of the noise and pushing through the wood stepped into a small clearing in the wood.

He dug his feet into the sand under his boots as he noticed a familiar figure standing a few feet away, blonde hair tied into a low ponytail and a rather bored expression on the woman’s face.

Nura was digging a hole in the sand with a surprising amount of fervor, after throwing out a bit more sand she wiped her forehead with a handkerchief and stabbed the shovel next to the make shift hole.

The clearing itself was a small circular area still surrounded by forest, but seeing a few stumps on the outskirts it was pretty clear this space was made intentionally.
“Whoever dies can throw the other one in the hole,” Nura said turning to Luro. “Nice and simple.”
“Haha you always think ahead Nura,” Luro said readying his gun.
“One of us has to think,” Nura said drawing her sword and pistol.
“Didn’t think I’d be keeping our promise this early, it’s a shame.”
“Is there a reason now is inconvenient?”
“Not really.”
Nura shrugged her shoulders and the two walked closer to one another stopping once they were a few feet away, Nura’s raised her eyes to meet Luro’s who offered a grin back at her.
“You do understand I love you right?” Nura said arching her brows at him.
“Yep, I love you too,” Luro said taking his rifle off his shoulder.
“Good,” Nura said closing her eyes. “Now that that’s settled let’s get started.”
“Ladies first,” Luro said grinning at her.

Zilia climbed out of the ocean coughing as she finally made it back to shore, she was pretty sure she swallowed a fish when she went under. Breathing heavily she gripped the sand letting it run through her fingers as she struggled to get back to her feet. She gripped her chest which still stung from Kara’s kick, the woman standing a few feet away seeming to wait for her to get back onto her feet.

“Are you sure you’re ready?” Kara called to her.

Zilia took a few deep breaths and moved a wet bang behind her ear, raising her head she looked at Kara who patiently waited for her response. She hadn’t anticipated the attack; her guard was up now she had to be more careful.

Zilia gave a small nod and Kara returned it before grabbing at the belt on her waist, giving it a pull the item came off and extended outwards a decent distance. Seeing she was holding a handle and the silver items attached to the ends of it Zilia’s head tilted at the strange object.

It looked like a whip with multiple lashes but judging by the glint coming off them and the color alone it definitely wasn’t leather, whatever was on the end of that was metal, and though it was curved Zilia had a feeling it was sharp.

“Sorry but I have to start attacking you again. I’ll avoid any lethal points so try not to move too erratically.”

The moment the woman reared the weapon back Zilia tensed her body the lashes flying at ger, she quickly moved out of the way only for Kara to shift her footing and fling the weapon at her once more. Zilia quickly ducked down though parts of the weapon struck her cutting her sleeve as she hit the ground rolling.
Kara twirled the weapon around as Zilia climbed to her feet touching her ripped sleeve, that weapon sounded like it was cutting the wind itself and she confirmed it was sharp. If she had moved a second later her arm would be lying a few feet away right now.

Kara watched as Zilia sprinted at her a smile coming onto the woman’s face.
The weapon whipped through the air at Zilia as she tried to close the distance, the silent doctor slid in the sand avoiding one swing, jumping she avoided the one that followed it.
However while her feet were off the ground Kara closed the distance herself, her body half spun in the air, Zilia’s eyes widened and she raised her arms as Kara’s kick collided with her block slamming her back down into the earth. Kara’s weapon lashed at Zilia immediately after, cutting through the thrown up sand and revealing Zilia who slid a few feet back away from the small crater.
A sharp sting caused Zilia to grip her right side and pulling her hand away she stared at the red on her fingers, two cut marks on her right side from that exchange, thankfully not deep but as Kara continued to twirl the weapon Zilia’s hands closed into fists.
“She’s stronger than me…she knew exactly what I was trying to do…but I don’t have a lot of options right now. I need to do something about that weapon, so long as I’m fighting her like this I’m not going to last long.”
Kara brought her weapon down once more and Zilia flexed her right hand before leaping out of the way the two continuing their one sided exchange.


Nura’s sword dug into Luro’s shoulder as she tried to force it further in, Luro’s grip on her wrist the only thing stopping her from shoving it straight through. A bright grin rested on Luro’s face as he shoved the barrel of his rifle into Nura’s stomach in response.

With a ‘tch’ the woman kicked Luro away and removing her sword quickly moved out of the way, forcing Luro to lower his gun. Sliding a few feet away from Nura Luro laughed and straightened his body, rotating his injured shoulder.
Luro’s clothing had all manners of tears in it from Nura’s weapon, and thanks to her recent attack blood ran down his arm, staining his once pristine rifle.
Nura on the other hand was practically untouched, minus a few ruffles in her clothing from Luro had managed to grab her.
The difference in the two’s appearance made it clear who was paying more attention to their fight, though Luro was covering in sword wounds he didn’t seem tired in the least. Nuro knew Luro only need one shot to end it, one chance she wasn’t going to give him.
Nura approached her sword raised across her body, Luro lifted his rifle and knocking away her attack with a large swipe, the two stumbled back for a moment only to regain their footing and lunge at the other again, sparks flew between the two as their weapons clashed repeatedly with one another, Nura ducking Luro’s swings and Luro narrowly dodging Nura’s sword. Their exchange shifted in Nura’s favor however as slipping through Luro’s guard she stabbed at his side, cutting it as Luro tried to move out of the way.

The redhead paid little mind to it however as he reared his head back, Nura spun her pistol and slammed the butt of her gun into his forehead to stop his attempt with little effort. Luro reeled back gripping his skull as Nura spun the pistol rightfully back in her grip.
“Haha…Gahahaha!” Loud laughter escaped from Luro as he lowered his head to face Nura.
Blood ran down his face at the new cut, the joyous look on his expression seeming out of place on his now red soaked face.
“Good Nura! Keep that going! That one really hurt!”
The crazed look in his eyes made her sigh as she spread her feet apart once more getting back into a stance.
“Very well.”
 
  • Love
Reactions: Capt. Blu
eB44hrh.png

KPUlDyz.png

9uuHaXR.jpg

lZtizKy.jpg


Alicia’s display of power held Tari’s attention, her hand gripping the hilt of her sword as she watched the world itself shift at her presence. Her body trembled at the power coming off the woman, but she didn’t turn her eyes away from her, even as her hand still trembling tightened around the weapon, the only real safety she had from the person in front of her. They had information on this ‘form’ of Alicia, but to see it firsthand was something else, in the end this was a necessity, anything they could obtain on their targets was a good thing, thus this was a victory.

The other Messengers unlike Tari however, paid no real mind to Alicia, their attention was focused on their own targets, this was more than likely due to the fact this response was expected, but given the last Ravens tendency to die for their cause, their actual disinterest was pretty plain.
These people didn’t fear death.

There was little time to contemplate as Alicia was clearly intent on attacking, though she hadn’t crossed their line just yet, Tari drew her weapon as Alicia had drawn hers. The blade itself was a long singled edged blade that was easily larger than its wielder. The handle itself was long and it was clear to see it was a two handed weapon from simple glance alone, though the blade was a bit thinner than common ones. Tari held the sword to her side, the blade shaking in her hands as she kept a grip on it. Closing her eyes she lowered her head and took a deep shaky breath to calm herself down.

At the mention of this Hanako, it felt like a switch had been turned on somewhere deep inside of Alicia, like an earthquake that preclude a vast tsunami. Sara had no idea what was coming and therefore could not guard against it. Her soul, sensitive to the outside world after focused training, resonated almost violently with Alicia’s emotions. Her chest felt tighter as every breath she took was labored, as if she had just run a marathon. She struggled to stay afloat on such powerful waves upon waves of a potent mixture of grief, anger, and sadness. Sara had no idea anyone, let alone Alicia, was capable of feeling anything this intense without exploding.

“Alicia…” She would feel a heavy hand on her shoulder, turning around to see Sara barely concealing her struggle. “Please, stop.”

The moment Sara approached Alicia Tari’s eyes shot over to her, the quiet one’s eyes widened at the scene and her body started to violently shake, the ground next to Sara seemed to shift slightly the sand starting to slowly rotate as if someone was drawing an invisible line in the sand. A loud ‘ahem’ seemed to cause the ground to stop shifting Tari’s gaze moving over to Kaim who moved his hands behind his head.


“Um...I know you guys are close...and you’re having a moment and all but...we’re kind of in the middle of something here. If you’re that bothered by it could you take that somewhere else? We kinda have a thing to do ya know.”
Kaim interjection seemed to cause Tari’s body to stop shaking, at least more than it had been, seeing it the man’s shoulder drooped and he wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.

The corporeal form of Alicia continued to burn with potent violent energy, the immediate area around her scarred almost as if the world itself recognized the volume of all that was negative coursing through the woman's frame. Destructive power such as this was usually difficult to control and to be honest this was new ground for Alicia, though for now it seemed the Feian remained in full control.

She tilted her head slightly, the crimson iris veiled behind the dark flame peering at Sara as her hand landed upon her shoulder. For the Gladiator it’d be like looking into the eye of the storm itself, as if Alicia’s gaze was reaching a hand around Sara’s heart and soul, crushing it angrily. Yet Alicia’s expression remained soft and serene and even offered sympathy as she reached her own hand up and placed it upon Sara’s.

“Forgive me, I haven’t prepared you for this and that failing is mine. But this transgression can not go unpunished” she spoke softly as she gently moved Sara’s hand away from her shoulder before she moved her attention to Kaim her eyes lingering on him for a moment without words before moving back to Tari, her opponent. She raised her sword out to her right side with the tip lingering inches above the sand, taking a few steps forwards.

“So be it” the swordswoman spoke, the blade edge of Shusui suddenly turning into a burning hot red as if it had been resting on a forge for hours. But that wasn’t the part which was perhaps most notable, for the blade itself let out a dull echoed scream that’d be noticed only to those trained and sensitive to the power of destruction, violent and angry. The sand beneath it’s tip burned, melting into glass as Alicia took a few steps closer.

A few steps more and the air around her exploded as she she blinked seemingly out of existence, fading back into visual reality once more in front of Tari before unleashing a violent upwards slash with the impacting force of a naval battleship, detonating the ground beneath her and cutting several of the trees down behind her.

Sara did not miss her opponent reacting the same way. “Give us a friggin minute!” She snapped back, welcoming the distraction. “I’ll kick your ass just as soon as my friend is done kicking your friend’s ass!” She then turned to face Alicia, not without her own difficulties. “Okay.” She said, quietly. “Just be careful, and try not to get overly baited. They brought up Hanako knowing your reaction, they might have a plan for doing it again.” She smiled a small, somewhat weak, smile, as she stepped back towards her crew.

Kaim watched the whole scene taking out his pocket watch with a small sigh, instead of fighting he was watching these two have some kind of ‘moment’, they had seen enough of that for one lifetime. He was more concerned about what was going to happen if this kept on, he could explain why all this was a bad idea, but he had a feeling these two lived in their own worlds, it felt like a waste of energy to try and explain. His attention instead went to Tari who remained still surprisingly patient for all that was going on. The small woman remained focused forward seeming to wait for Alicia to do something, which the swordswoman eventually did. The moment the blow came forward Tari had time to blink before her body went flying backwards into the forest, crashing through a few of the trees in the process before coming to a stop a fair distance away.


A careful eye could still see Tari within the brush, she was standing her sword in front of her and her hand placed on the back of it. Save for a few rips in her clothing she seemed none the worse for wear, the blade in front of her was completely black now compared to its earlier form.

The trembling in the young woman’s body had all but stopped and she held her sword firmly in her grasp, her entire body relaxed and straightening her form another breath escaped from her and she raised her head to looked at Alicia.

The shaking woman from before seemed nonexistent as the swordswoman spun the blade in her hand, holding it in a reverse grip against her body.
She brought her feet closer and her foundation came to match Alicia’s as she stared at the woman, her eyelids lowered slightly as she met the gaze of her opponent. There was no trace of fear or nervous ticks anymore, only malice and focus.
“Remember to hold back Tari!” Kaim yelled.
“I know,” Tari responded her stutter gone replaced with a calm collected tone. “She hit harder than expected...but that doesn’t matter if I can see her attacks coming.”
With a sigh Tari ran a hand through her hair and made a beckoning motion with her head towards Alicia.
“This is going to be a short fight if that’s all you have in you. Hurry up Tashigi. If that’s the extent of your ‘agony’ you haven’t endured much.”

eB44hrh.png

9uuHaXR.jpg

After having succeeded in placing Tari in an area where she could confront her alone, Alicia simply walked after her, passing the fallen clean cut trunks of the trees that’d fallen in the wake of her attack. “By all means hold back, it’ll make killing you that much faster” she spoke softly, continuing to walk as Shusui burned beside her. “And I assure you this is far from agony, of course you’re supposed to already know that, which means you’re either grossly incompetent or trying to taunt me… how very boring” Alicia’s attitude appeared at least somewhat affected by the emotion she was embracing, speaking as she continued to step forwards. She noticed a detail in Tari’s short conversation with Kaim, provoking Alicia’s curiosity enough to test it for herself.

Bringing Shusui to her side she rose the blade upwards over her head before nimbly rolling the hilt around her wrist, stepping as she circulated an arc in front of her. Shusui began to suck in light and soon a black fog began to bleed in from the surrounding trees as if it were its own living breathing entity. It was dense, thick and slowly it began to eclipse the space between them with her glowering red eye being the last thing to fade into the dark. For a few minutes there would be nothing, not a sound that would indicate Alicia was moving, however after a minute longer Alicia’s voice would speak sounding rather close behind Tari. “Fear is an interesting emotion” she began, the direction of her voice seeming to change whether or not Tari reacted to it. “It tells us when it’s time to be afraid, when we should seek our own preservation” it would come from as close as behind her ear to seemingly from above at a distance. “I wonder what you’re afraid of, if not death… perhaps pain?” the question was rhetorical. “Maybe suffering the loss of someone?” Alicia was playing a game here and it came for reasons more than simply trying to strip away at Tari’s composure. Alicia knew herself better than anyone and if they truly had studied her than they surely would have prepared for her to fight honorably and fairly, the exact opposite of the tactic she was employing now. She wondered how this swordwoman would react in the face of an unknown variable.


“Hah…you’ve always been idiotic but this is a new one. Still I expected this so it’s fine,” Tari said rotating her shoulder.
The woman kept a calm figure brushing the dirt and dust off her outfit, which almost seemed senseless since it was already ripped, but for some unknown reason she still made an effort to remove the collection of leaves and twigs off of her outfit.
“I know you have more, I’m just getting bored with your games. Play them with someone who has the time for it.”
Tari looked around at the darkness as it slowly encroached upon them, her eyes looking into the darkness for a moment. She could feel something in the air shift and it was pretty clear Alicia was the one causing it, though the woman had vanished into the darkness around them. Her expression remained the same however, her eyes lowering slightly as a small annoyed sigh came from her and tapping her sword against the ground the blackness around it faded as it return to normal.

“This is almost funny,” Tari said digging into the pocket of her dress. “You tell me I’m incompetent…but you can’t even see it can you? What I’ve already taken from you.”
Tari took out a small red cloth and raising it to her eyes tied it around her head, cutting off her vision with a small yank. The blindfold in place she raised a finger and pressed it to her temple, lowering her head slightly her body went completely still, even her breathing ceased as her existence seemed to almost fade into the forest. If not for the fact she was standing right in the open it wouldn’t be surprising to imagine the woman had faded into the depths of the forest. She remained still like that even as Alicia spoke to her, silent and unmoving and after a very brief moment she spoke.
“You lost your sword to hubris.”
Tari spoke and though she remained still her voice came from the left side of Alicia almost like she was standing right next to the woman.
“You lost Akiyoshi to weakness.”
This time from directly behind her.
“You’ll lose Hanako to foolishness.”
A hand wrapped around Alicia’s wrist that gripped her blade and Tari stood directly next to her, side by side facing the opposite direction of the swordswoman her attention focused forward. Her grip was tight her nails digging into the woman’s flesh.
“You threw away the only thing you had left…and all it took was a casual comment.”
Tari looked directly at Alicia her blindfold gaze moving to meet Alicia’s.
“I’ve done what I’ve came here to do.”
Tari released Alicia’s wrist and walked past her resting the sword on her shoulder.
“The funny thing is…I would have lost against you normally. Our differences are too great,” Tari said. “Like this though…I can see you clearly even without my eyes. What’s it like Alicia Tashigi? To finally be true to yourself?”


Tari's words did little to provoke Alicia further, words could be ignored and were nothing more than simple vocalizations. Her actions however provided Alicia with information, the particular information she was looking for which was quite simply that Tari could not be blinded. "Interesting response" she replied as the visual image of Alicia melted away, evaporating into nothingness. Either Tari didn't know the danger she was in or was playing well at pretending she was unaware of what was happening. Alicia had never moved from her spot and as Tari began to walk away there was a shift in the dark as it began to pull in towards the Feian swordswoman, just like it had done on the day she'd almost destroyed her soul in order to break their hold over her.

"Frankly It doesn't concern me what you've 'gotten' from me and your attempts to wound me verbally are laughable. Actions speak louder and your threat to my student and my home is beyond any mere taunt" the dark absorbed into the swordswoman amplifying her power to its next phase. "But to answer your question, it feels just fine". Alicia drew her blade up and stroked it in the air before her, the ground shattered and erupted as a traveling projectile of cutting air exploded towards Tari, expelling the trapped light within the dark as it viciously traveled, casting blinding light in its wake.

Tari remained stationary keeping her back to the woman as she brought a finger to her head once more, at the woman’s words a small sigh came from her and she returned her sword to her back. At the end of it all it wasn’t going to do much in this particular situation anyway, and she was required not to take immediate action anyway. She wondered how the others were doing moving her hands to her hips, there was so much to do and reports to write once all this was over.

“Your concerns don’t matter much to me; your very existence is a stain. The fact we breathe the same air bothers me more than anything else.”
Tari opened and closed her hand a few times; she could feel Alicia moving her sword and her head inclined in the direction of the swordswoman, but she remained still paying little mind to anything.
“You are right though actions do speak louder, I hope you remember that at the end of this,” Tari said. “Which begs the question I don’t get why you don’t just shut up and get this over with. Having to listen to you prattle on is the worst part of fighting you.”
Tari turned towards the energy before it crashed into her, her arms rising at the collision. The air around the woman seemed to shift slightly, almost as if she was shaping the fabric of reality around her, the air contorting and shifting slightly as bits of smoke came off the woman’s arms. Lowering them she shook off one of her hands before running it through her hair.
“Alicia Tashigi you’re not going to hurt me like this,” Tari said rotating one of her shoulders. “You can huff and puff all you want but it’s meaningless. I’m telling you so we stop wasting time.”

Seeing her attack molded and dispersed caused Alicia to be wary with a modicum of confusion. This girl by her own admission mentioned that she should have no trouble dealing with her and yet she couldn't even seem to land a solid hit with some of her more intense attacks.

The thought of using her trump card passed through her mind, the hard requirement of which would bring her to the brink of death as consequence. "Don't" Antoine's voice echoed in her mind, "This is not nearly worth that kind of sacrifice... and there are no guarantees".

Alicia exhaled out through her nose, "I know... " she replied in her mind before flicking Shusui in her wrist causing it to disperse its energy back into the world before she sheathed it, the dark flame and crimson iris fading away as she reverted to her base level.

Tari remained still and silent until she noticed the world was staring to change once again, she watched as the darkness faded returning back to its origin and she turned to look at Alicia. Her own weapon put away she stared at the swordswoman as she returned to normal, when she did Tari reached up and removed the blindfold from her eyes returning it to her pocket. Turning to fully face Alicia her hand reached up moving back towards her sword, though before her hand could get close much less touch the hilt a loud whistle echoed through the forest. Tari blinked a few times and straightening her body looked in the direction the whistle, than back at Alicia, then the whistle.

The color drained from the girl’s face and she immediately hugged herself as her body started trembling again, her eyes going wide. Whatever bravado was there had faded returning to woman back to her seemingly skittish self. She breathed heavily, a bead of sweat falling down the side of her face as all the adrenaline in her faded.

“T-t-t-took too l-l-l-long,” Tari stuttered before looking back at Alicia. “T-t-t-Tashigi…y-y-y-you’re strong…b-b-b-b-but I w-w-will k-k-kill y-you n-n-next t-t-time w-w-w-we meet. I-I-I w-w-was f-f-finally g-g-g-given t-t-t-the k-k-kill o-o-order. T-t-t-this I-I-I-I-I-”
Tari tried to talk but upon biting her tongue a small yelp escaped from her and she only waved a finger at the swordswoman before throwing something at the ground.
A burst of white smoke filled the area obscuring the two’s view and multiple blacks silhouettes jumped off in random directions.
“R-R-return t-t-t-to y-y-y-your s-s-ship. W-w-w-we’ll f-f-finish-”
The smoke faded away before Tari had a chance to finish talking but the message was pretty clear that they would finish their engagement some other time, her presence all but gone in the forest.

Alicia said nothing as the girl changed back to her former confidence lacking demeanor, watching as she disappeared from sight. "I'll be waiting... " she muttered to herself, certainly curious about how the girl had evaded her attacks. The air shifted and Alicia's eyes narrowed before her thumb rested at the guard of Shusui, her head tilting to the side a little, "If you're intending to attack I suggest you do so before I leave" she said, seemingly to no one as the cool wind blew past pushing dust and debris through the splintered and jagged rocks left devastated from her previous attack against Tari.


“I won’t attack you. I haven’t properly challenged you. I also dislike violence.”
A person garbed in a brown cloak stepped out from one of the trees, reaching up he pulled down on the tip of the cloak in a gesture of greeting to Alicia. The person from their voice and build seemed to be a man, but save for a pair of gloves on their hands they kept their appearance hidden from the swordsman.

Judging by his comment he was clearly another Raven though there was something different about him. There wasn’t a trace of malice or hate emanating from the man, in fact the animals in the area had all but gathered at the presence of the stranger almost drawn by him.
“Hanako is safe.”
The stranger spoke simply giving a small nod at this as a squirrel leapt onto their shoulder.
“Though we had an eye on her as a Cutthroat she’s outside our jurisdiction currently. There are explicit orders not to kill her given by Tari herself. You did not hear this from me however…”
The stranger kept their head lowered keeping a grip on their hood.
“I know it’s hard to trust the words of a stranger…but it’s our code. Harming innocents is bad. I also know it doesn’t make up that she was endangered in the first place…but since you cannot return to Yula Fei…just know that she will not be harmed by the Messenger…I know little more than that as I am not Emil’s boss.”
The stranger gave a small nod to Alicia and turning their back to them started walking away.
“It’s a shame we had to be enemies. I wanted to get to know Nolan and the rest of you…be safe.”

She listened, her expression remaining neutral even as he mentioned that Hanako would not be harmed. Perhaps what interested her more was why Tari would make that order, although Alicia was not so blind that she couldn't piece together that getting her angry may have been the intention. "Then it seems I've been played" she replied softly before inclining her head in thanks for the information before watching him walk away. Narrowing her eyes a little she exhaled before making her way back to the ship, today was shaping up to be a bad one.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Capt. Blu
Kadi_Banner_V2.png

Vc7640T.jpg

The wait was the easiest part for Nina, her boots dug into the sand and her finger tapped on one of her swords as the Lady Luck approached. It felt like hours had passed as she stared at the deck of the ship patiently waiting alongside the other Messengers. At a certain point she knelt down and started messing with the sand to pass the time, making small objects in it until footsteps started to close in. Looking up from her sand crab she immediately looked for Arcadius, and upon seeing him she raised her body and moved her hand to her sword.
“Hello again.”

That was the extent of her greeting as she looked over at Nikos as Luro ran past, the moment he drew a line in the sand Nina’s gaze moved back to Arcadius.
“I’m not allowed to attack you until something of yours crosses that line...so whenever you’re ready,” Nina said with a small nod. “Attack to kill please, if you hold back I might accidentally kill you.”
Nina knelt down and started messing with her sand crab again, patiently waiting for Arcadius to initiate their fight, she paid no mind to the actions of the other Stardusk, only one person was her charge.

The Navigator stared at her, shoulders slouched and arms at rest. Truth was, the sudden deescalation of the fight, and the rather unfortunate discovery of Luro’s late friends killed the mood for Pathfinder. That section of his mind was now at rest and lazing about. “Hi,” Arcadius said to Nina in a disinterested and tired voice, like if he was talking to a kid that was always tagging along, but noone really liked them. He looked at Luro dashing towards the treeline. He felt he should be with him in such trying times. Luro had issues.
“Look, I know this is important to you and all, but we’re kinda dealing with a thing here. I’m not really in the mood to murder you. Can’t we, like, do this some other time?” he said, tiptoeing the line in the sand.

“You agreed so we have to fight each other,” Nina said messing with the Pincers on her crab.
“Yeah. Right, uh, listen…” he said. Pathfinder wouldn’t give a flying feather about such words, but that layer of his was dormant and uninterested. The Navigator placed one foot forward and one back in a defensive gesture.

The moment Kadi stepped over the line Nina was in front of him, sword drawn and resting at her side, the falling sand behind her was the only evidence that she hadn’t just popped into existence near him. Her hand rested on his cheek and with a narrowed gaze she stared into the eyes of her charge.

He looked back. For someone with such secluded and distant demeanour, her touch was tender, loving and warm, and her eyes were so deep and beautiful this close. “Look… listen…” Pathfinder murmured. Dreamlands were short on intimate and personal moments. “I wanted to make your death be something special… all bloody and painful and prolonged as possible… but Luro’s in deep pain, and despite our differences, he’s a mate. He can’t be alone in times like this…”

“You’re not going to break any more promises to me… that’s not allowed,” Nina said before taking a step away from him. “With everything we’ve gone through… you should understand how this is supposed to go.”
Nina brought her other hand down and wrapped it around her other hand, her body relaxed and she turned her sword slightly.
“I’m not allowed to kill you…so I’m just going to take one of your legs so you can’t run anymore. Don’t worry, I don’t want to kill you so I’ll stop the blood loss. That’s what you do for someone you love.”

Arcadius took four steps back, calm and relaxed, his hand resting on the brass sixshooter. He started to circle in the sand, just far enough to be out of immediate reach of her sword draw, but not enough to get direct advantage from his ranged weapons. His thumb flicked the holsters open. “Nah, beautiful. Not how a romantic murder ballad goes. Love is killing someone so you get to carry them in your heart, unchanging and perfect eternal.”

Nina turned and matched Arcadius steps making sure to stand on the other side of him as she paced the sand with him. She made no attempt to close the distance between them, though she made an effort to keep him within a couple person distance; seeing him mess with his guns her grip tightened around her sword. She could feel the world slowly fade as Arcadius took over her senses, bit by bit the man in front of her became her world and her blade glinted in the sun as her emotions were made clear, she wanted to kill this man. It wasn’t fair that he was allowed to kill and she wasn’t.
“Knowing how much you care is comforting Arcadius…I feel the same,” Nina said stopping.

His footwork was slow and methodic. Meditative, even. First real test of his abilities. He had to focus and concentrate. The banter was all fun and games, but he already had a female nemesis, and he wasn’t ready for a love murder triangle. He closed his eyes, and let the universe tell him where he is. Where everything around him was, is, and possibly would be.
She closed her eyes for a moment.
“I want to keep you as you are forever. Without the corruption…without the change…without your betrayal…but…it’s too late for that.”
He opened his eyes and grinned. “It’s breakup, then!”
Nina’s foot slid forward and she closed the distance between the two of them, sword raised over her shoulder, her gaze locking with Kadi’s.
“You’re already dead to me Kadi.”

She brought her sword down wasting little time in trying to remove his right arm from his body, for a moment it seemed she wanted to remove his head but she had changed the focus of her attack at the last moment, it seemed her ‘not kill’ rule managed to suppress her killing intent for a brief moment.

The flicker in her aim almost screamed at Kadi, it was that much visible to his unnatural senses. A bit of a persuation to the local spacetime continuum, and the sword’s path just missed his right arm without actually changing its energy or trajectory. The sharp edge only shaved off hair on his right hand.

He countered with a dash to the left, lunging away to buy combat space. His left ripped the other revolver out, and in one fluid motion his right hand cocked it midflight, firing two lead slugs at Nina. With all his will, Arcadius guided them at Nina’s right hand, hoping for a quick disarm. She was imbalanced, distracted and holding back. Perhaps a crippling wound, followed by a sufficiently aggressive talk would shoo her away?

The missed attacked caused Nina to put her foot down, she was going to follow up but Kadi had already moved out of the way. The moment the gun fired Nina turned her body and drawing the sword on her other side cut one of the bullets as it approached, the other narrowly missed her hand and hit her dress ripping it. She held it up the now ripped fabric and returned her swords to their respective sheaths.
“Mean.”

Nina reached back and drew the large sword off her back paying little attention to Kadi, there was a decent chance she was willingly giving him time to reload or ready his guns as she didn’t seem in any particular rush to attack him suddenly. Gripping the large blade with both hands she raised it and slammed it into the earth, the force of the blow threw sand up between the two of them obscuring Nina from view.

“I apologize!” the Pathfinder shouted at the wall of sand, picking himself up. He holstered the revolver and pulled out one of the pepperboxes instead. “I’m afraid I aimed to shoot off your hand. You’re harder target than you seem to be, with all that cutlery you lug around!” He pulled off his coat, again revealing the small armory on his body, and held it in his left hand, the multifire pistol in right.

She didn’t stay out of sight for too long as she burst out of the sand her body low to the ground near him, her eyes glanced up at Kadi two swords in her hands as she swung both at Kadi’s legs.

He didn’t have time to take aim, but the pistol was not the only tool at his disposal. The sand, so many heavy particles swirling around him, made it hard to perceive the spacetime around him. Instead, he let his instinct act, and jumped just in time to avoid the low cuts, the blades catching only the coat and slicing it to tatters. He dodged over her and landed on his belly behind her. Quickly, he rolled and blindfired the pistol roughly in Nina’s direction, the nine bullets filling volume of air in front of him with lead.

The dodge forced Nina to look up at Kadi flew over her, regretfully due to the fact she was carrying seven weapons on her person, high mobility wasn’t exactly an option. The most she could do was sheath her blades and straighten her body to turn and meet Kadi’s response. Spreading her feet the moment she heard him fire she drew her sword and slashed at the air, she repeated this action drawing a new sword as she put the other one away in a practiced motion, though from the speed of the act it appeared she was swinging one sword randomly in front of her.
At the end of it she stood arms at her side, all her weapons put away. Red ran down her left arm and glancing over at it, she noticed there was a cut on it, more than likely from one of the bullets.
Eight shots had fired, which meant she had only stopped seven of them.
“Hmmm, you’ve gotten stronger,” Nina said nodding at him. “It’s hard to hold back.”

Arcadius picked himself up and looked at the pistol in his arm. “Well, that’s your opinion. I’m the guy with a nine barrelled pistol who only fired eight times. Pretty piss poor performance, if you ask me. Pretty sure it would’ve been the last bullet that killed you. The eight one got through your defenses, anyway!”

Nina grabbing her swords started taking them off, tossing each blade to the side until each one lay in the sand around her, Nina rotated her shoulders and flexed her fingers a few times.
“Kay let’s get serious Arcadius.”

He threw away the empty pepperbox and pulled out the other, still loaded one. Then got rid of the underarm slings. “Please. Serious? We dealing with death here, dear. Might as well make it fun. Your funeral will be drab and dull enough by itself, doesn’t have to make the process leading to it too!”

A loud whistle pierced the air drawing Nina’s attention, glancing in the direction of it she looked at Kadi then back in the direction of the whistle.
“Oh…we ran out of time,” Nina said grabbing the larger sword off the ground. “We’ll have to finish another time.” Nina returned the sword to her back and waving to Kadi turned and walked away from him to go rejoin the others.

The Navigator stood there, still holding the pistol, looking quite confused. “What. Wait, what do you… it was supposed to be duel till death! I refuse to be dumped at a duel till death! Come back and let me kill you!” He grumbled and started picking up his stuff thrown around into the sand.
"Pff. Women.”
 
  • Love
Reactions: Capt. Blu
SJhfj2e.jpg


wtgAgn5.png


Ria remained still staring sideways at Jack with a sleepy gaze, closing her eyes a small yawn escaped from her and reaching up she wiped a bit of sleep from her eyes, mumbling something to herself.

Lowering her hand she placed it back on her weapon returning her attention to Jack, it seemed the waiting part was rather hard for her. Her half-lidded eyes could easily have been from boredom than her natural state at this point. She stood relaxed and a bit lazily occasionally shifting from one foot to the others, but the grip on her weapons betrayed her carefree stance, and the fact her gaze remained locked on Jack was enough to indicate that she was prepared to attack a moment’s notice, even if she seemed on the verge of taking a nap.

“Jack…taking too long….hurry up.”

The woman seemed to be in a rush, but it was hard to tell from her tone. Lethargic was a polite way of putting her current disposition, a weighted snail had more energy than she did at the moment.

Jack stood casually in front of Ria, partially mimicking her stance as he took out a knife and let it dangle loosely between two fingers. His eyes were unreadable; his body slouched in a relaxed posture as if they were about to have tea rather than duel. He started flipping the knife into the air. Point over hilt, he caught it without looking, observing Ria the entire time. Waiting.

When she spoke, a faint smile crossed his face. “Then by all means, make the first move.”
Ria tilted her head at Jack and removing her hand from her sickle pointed at the line at his feet.
“I want too…can’t until a part of you crosses it,” Ria said.
That seemed to be the only thing really stopping the woman from attacking; the tiny line made by Nikos was the invisible barrier separating the two. The wall that kept Ria firmly in place, her commitment to her orders kept her from taking a swing at Jack.
“So long as you stay on that side…and don’t interrupt the others…you’re not an enemy…can’t attack.”
Ria dug in her pocket and started unwrapping a piece of candy, fiddling with the end of it as she grumbled to herself.

Jack looked down. “Oh.”

He considered it a moment. Part of him wondered what would happen if he stayed put. His eyes drew towards the forest, where Luro disappeared. These duels were as much a distraction for him as Stardusk defending themselves. Who was it to say Ria wouldn’t simply change her prerogative to Jack’s crewmate if he didn’t act? A tentative step carried him across the line. The casual grin marked his face as he shrugged and looked back at her. “There. Would you care to make the first move now?”

The moment Jack stepped over the line Ria looked back at him, tossing the candy in her mouth she chewed on it with a content expression, or the closest thing to one that could rest on her face.
“Kay.”
Stuffing the wrapper in her pocket Ria took her sickles off her waist and making sure she was facing Jack fully she released her weapons letting them dangle as she held them by their chains. Ria’s body leaned forward until she was hunched over and she lowered her head before her body started to rock back and forth slowly, her hair covered face keeping her expression hidden as she continued to casually rock back and forth, her chains clinking with her movements.

With a heavy sigh Ria’s hand twitched and her sickles rose up towards Jack, aiming to cut across his torso as Ria kept her head lowered, almost as if her weapons were attacking for her. He grip remained tightened as her body moved forward into the attempted cut.

A knife sailed towards Ria’s chest when the sickles twitched upward. The chains hit, sent it flying, and Jack cartwheeled to avoid her sickles. He managed to throw three more knives while simultaneously acrobating away from her attacks. Well this’s unfortunate, the thought flashed through his mind as he bent backwards to avoid another sickle. Somehow, she was controlling them without moving herself. This indicated she had some magic to her attacks but it remained too early in the fight to determine if that magic was her own power, or lay within the sickles.

Distracted by these thoughts, one sickle hit home across his his back as he backflipped. Jack grunted as it cut through shirt and waistcoat, then blocked by his haki. He stumbled on his landing, crouched, then spun around with one lasting throwing knife sent at his opponent. He removed a knife from the bandolier and waited a heartbeat, observing the sickles and their anchoring chains.
Jack charged. He switched from defense to offense and dodged his way straight toward Ria herself.

Ria’s body twisted and turned as the sickles continued to fly every which way dragging their resistant owner here and there, she stumbled on the ground narrowly dodging one of the knives and with a strong sweep she knocked the other knives away. Her movements were like a puppet’s pulled by invisible strings, her body contorting to match the movements of the weapons as they swung around at non-existent enemies around her. Ria’s head remained lowered her face hidden as her arms continued to be pulled by the sickles. However the movements eventually caused her to stumble a bit the last knife narrowly missing her shoulder, cutting her clothes and her skin, her whole body twitched as the pain coursed through her.


Ria fell to her knees as Jack forced distance between them, a heavy sigh escaping from her as the sickles went lifeless falling back onto the sand. She stared at the ground and started slowly pulling the sickles back towards her, inch by inch as if she was afraid they might wake up if she pulled too hard, even as Jack ran towards her she made no attempt to stand.

The moment her hand gripped around her sickle her body was up and she lunged at Jack the moment he was within striking range, one of her sickle shot at his side, but the one in her right hand remained firmly asleep, and that was the one she stabbed into Jack’s shoulder making no attempt to dodge his attack. The blade was covered in black while the other fell to the ground lifeless again. Her other hand having released the scythe kept a firm grip on Jack’s clothes and Ria brought her face closer to his, her half-lidded gaze remained fixed on his as made no attempt to remove her armament sickle.
“So this is your scent…fascinating,” Ria muttered. “You’ll probably taste good.”

“F-funny...most people say that only about my cooking. Should I be flattered?” Jack gasped through gritted teeth as he twisted his knife into her side. The Armament surprised him somewhat, but not enough to unhinge him.
Yanking out his knife, Jack used that hand to aim a punch at her face. At the same time he yanked out the sickle from his shoulder. His own haki, which had spread in an attempt to stop the oncoming blade, now solidified over the wound to staunch the blood. Jack knew he could only keep that up for so long before it drained; beyond a doubt, Ria’s haki was superior to his own, her strength proven, which likely meant her endurance would outlast his too. Jack pushed back the worries and shoved at her, attempting to detach her from his waistcoat. There was a ripping sound from where her weapon had cut into it. He quickly wrapped the sickle’s chain around his wrist, letting out enough to swing away from his body. Jack pushed back on her again this time with her own weapon, and his own haki fueling its edge.

“Your cooking is good too…Kaim brought me a bit when I asked him too,” Ria said with a small nod.
Ria’s expression remained stoic even as the knife dug into her flesh, the strange woman only revealing she was aware of it by eventually looking down at it. Due to the casual distraction she ended up taking Jack’s punch her grip releasing on him as he moved away. Her hand gripped the chain on her other sickle as she stumbled backwards eventually regaining her footing. She raised her gaze to Jack only to see her own sickle coming at her. Her eyelids lowered slightly and the weapon slammed into her own Haki her body reeling at the force though the blade remained pressed against her own Haki. She blinked a few times glancing over at the sickle, her brows arching slightly, though she still looked half-asleep this seemed to be her ‘surprised’ face..

“…you almost broke through…” she said. “You’re strong Jack.”

Ria gripped Jack’s waistcoat with both hands and fell backwards pulling Jack with her, falling onto her back she raised her foot and slamming it into Jack’s stomach rolled backwards and letting her Armament flow into her foot she used the momentum and kicked him sending him flying directly behind her towards the forest. She quickly climbed to her feet to attack the now airborne Jack but her eyes moved to one of her chains which was suddenly moving in the direction Jack had gone.

After a moment it clicked that she forgot to remove the sickle.
Ria’s body went flying as the chain yanked on her hurling her forward. She crashed through a few trees in the forest, small ‘ow’s’ escaping from her with each tree she went through until she came to a sliding stop a few feet away, a row of fallen trees in her wake.
Ria lay perfectly still face first on the forest floor, her other sickle stuck in a nearby tree and her form motionless.

Jack’s face darkened when she mentioned eating his food. When she gripped his waistcoat for the second time, he did the same to her, wrenching so close their noses nearly touched. “How?” he whispered. He fueled the pain in his shoulder into his anger. The idea of her and Kaim spying on them for months or longer was getting under his skin. He should have seen it; he should’ve known. “How did you spy on us all this time?”

His anger blinded him to her next strike.
Within a half second, Jack felt more pain, and then he was flying through the air. He tucked himself into a ball and managed to devote all his haki to his back just before hitting the first tree. He bounced off it, veered to the right, and went through three more before he twisted and made contact with the ground. He rolled several feet before coming to a stop.

Jack hovered on unconsciousness as he faintly registered more crashing behind him. Groaning, the cook rolled on to his back and gripped his shoulder. Blood stained his shirt after he removed the armament shielding from the wound. He felt collective bruises along his arms and legs, but for the most part there was no significant damage. Carefully, he got up. He looked around and saw the damage wrought by him and Ria, leaving dwindling leaves a sudden gape of sunlight shining down on them. His butterfly knives, snuggly sheathed at his back until now, came forward as he made a few tentative steps towards the fallen Raven. He stopped several feet away, wary and on guard.
“You still alive?” he called, and coughed. The feeling of bruised ribs, maybe one or two cracked, from her powerful kick started setting in.

Ria remained still even as Jack spoke to her, to a point where birds were actually starting to land on her. She didn’t appear to be breathing either, and her body was even cold. By all means she seemed deceased…at least until her head suddenly popped up. Taking a look around she seemed to take in her surroundings and slowly climbing to her feet she stretched her arms above her head letting out a small groan.
She rotated her body a few cracks coming from her almost as if she was casually setting bones back into place, finishing with her neck she raised her gaze to look back at Jack.
“I think so…” Ria said in response to his question.
Pulling her hair over her shoulder she started combing the leaves out of it, paying little mind to the still armed Jack a few feet away.
Content with her cleanup she pulled her sickles back and placed them back on her waist.
“Kay Jack I’m going to attack you for real now. I got everything I need.”

Ria turned to face Jack and turning her hand over palm facing upwards a white glow surrounded it. Something started forming in Ria’s hand as she stared at Jack, the shape starting as a small round orb but slowly taking shape, bit by bit until a stark white mask formed in her hand. Ria took hold of it once it manifested, the lazy look on her expression was immediately replaced with focused one, her gaze narrowing slightly.
However before she could make another move a loud whistle filled the area and Ria glanced in the direction of the sound, her brows arching she gave a small nod before looking back at Jack.
“Seems we’re out of time,” Ria said as the mask vanished from her hand. “…boo it was just getting fun.”
Ria brushed a bit of dust off her clothes before she spoke again.
“That was the kill order…I’m allowed to kill you know Jack…so I’ll do that next time…but for now I gotta go, you should head back to your ship…everyone’s waiting for you. I’ll see you again…real soon.”
Ria’s eyes opened fully for the first time since she had made herself known and her body seemed to phase out of existence, her presence and all signs of her vanishing with her, save for the destruction of the forest.

“Don’t!” Jack threw his butterfly knife at her with its blade black as the abyss. It flew clean through, Ria already gone, cutting down one last tree in its wake. A host of birds rose up cawing with outcry.
Shuddering, the cook placed a hand on his shoulder. The way she got up...like she was replacing bones, reviving herself from death. The mere inclination she could’ve been dead, maybe a ghost, or walking corpse, chilled Jack to his gut. This wasn’t like when Kadi lost his soul. It felt like something worse. That can’t be it. he thought even as he walked stiffly to his weapon. A kill order meant you killed the person standing in front of you, not vanish into thin air. He replaced the haki on his shoulder to restem the blood flow. It was clotting by now, but it was better to be safe than sorry. It felt wrong. All wrong. His eyes narrowed and darted around, like a wounded predator, looking for the alpha he was fighting for territory. He approached the forest’s edge and looked around.

Where are the others? I don’t hear fighting... Jack crept out and cautiously returned to the ship when he witnessed none of his mates locked in their duels. It wasn’t until Lady Luck came into view, and activity could be seen, that he breathed a sigh of relief.

It begs the question, what was this all for?
 
  • Love
Reactions: Capt. Blu
KPUlDyz.png

lZtizKy.jpg


Kaim knelt down in the sand drawing circles with his finger, there was no point yelling at him. They were the ones being rude, this was a duel after all. He was her opponent so why did he feel like the third wheel in this engagement, or rather the fourth one. Tari was more involved in this then he actually was, with a heavy sigh Kaim laid on his side and rested his fist on his cheek tapping his finger in the sand.

He ended up rolling on his back since Tari was doing her own thing, and folding his hands behind his head he looked back over at Sara. He wasn’t sure what to really say at this point, she had accepted the duel, it was pretty clear what had to be done to start it, but now she wanted him to wait, what was the point of coming here if they weren’t going to throw down.

“So...are you gonna kick my ass or…” Kaim said trailing off. “I mean...my orders are to leave you alone till you cross the line or try to interfere so….”
Kaim shrugged and left it at that before turning his attention back towards the sky.
“Besides telling her not to get baited won’t do much now. We already got what we wanted, she can change back whenever. I am jealous Tari gets to have all the fun though...wink wink…”
Kaim glanced over at Sara.
“Got all this free time on this side of the line...and candy.”

Sara paid no attention to the man or his ramblings. She focused on the duel between Alicia and Tari, utterly entranced by the flowing attacks and fast-paced movement exhibited by both women. This was the first time Sara had seen Alicia duel someone other than herself so she was determined to enjoy it for while it lasted, which was never enough. She frowned at how Tari cowardly forfeited the fight which spoiled the ending.
“That was fun.” She said, standing up to her feet. “Now I’m ready to fight you.”

Kaim was flipping through a small book as Sara continued to watch the fight, Ria had recommended this book to him but her selections were always weird. He wasn’t a big fan of reading but he knew she was going to approach him again about it. If he up and lied to her he feel all kinds of guilty afterwards, she’d given him the ‘I know you’re lying face’ which is only slightly different from her “I don’t know if you’re lying face’ so it was hard to know when he was really caught.

A loud whistle filled the air and Kaim looked up from his book before closing it and climbing to his feet. He brushed the sand off his clothes with a small hum and put his book away before he noticed Sara turn to him. He arched a brow at her before stretching his arms over his head, fun as that would be he gave a small shake of his head.
“Nah out of time. That was the kill order,” Kaim said. “You behaved yourself and didn’t answer the confrontation. Got other obligations now, we’ll fight to the death next time.”
Kaim rotated his shoulders and waving a hand to Sara turned and walked back into the forest.
“Your friends are back at your ship. Later.”

Sara blinked. “Wait, what?” She stood still, confused. What had just happened? “Where are you going?” She asked, staring at his back. “Come back, I haven’t fought you yet! What was the point of all this?!”

Sara stood there as her opponent walked away, not moving, stupefied as she felt whatever excitement that was bubbling up from within fade away to nothing. “Come back.” She said, quieter this time before sighing and slumping her shoulders.
“What a waste…” She mumbled dissonantly to herself as she made her way back to the ship.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Capt. Blu