Aether Shanties RP (PM if interested/Started)

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Zach spied the Imperial Marine move through the crowd towards the bar. Tracking him, Zach was close enough to hear his remarks.

'Oh shit. We're going to have trouble.'

Sheska was surely smart enough to know that openly starting a fight at the bar was a bad move, which was probably why the Marine had dared approach her. However, she'd been drinking, and if this Imp had something to do with her losing her arm, then there was a good chance her rage would override her better judgement. Zach had to act fast.

Gliding like silk across still water, he came up on the other side of the Marine, so he was boxed in by Zach and Sheska. Leaning with his back to the bar imitated a casual pose, and also gave him an angle so that no one could see one of his blades protrude from his sleeve with a flick of his wrist. The Marine felt it though, as Zach lightly poked him with the tip just below his ribs.

"Now now, we wouldn't want to spoil this lovely evening with a ruckus would we?" he remarked to the Imperial. Zach's sly smile was in evidence, but above it his usually warm chestnut eyes spoke death. The crew might have been told no violence, but as Sheska had so kindly informed him yesterday, Zach wasn't part of the crew, not yet, and if the Marine so much as sneezed out of turn Zach could puncture his heart and walk away before anyone else in the room knew something was even wrong.

 

[deathbydeath]

After wrangling with his loose shoelaces for about two minutes, Drustan Cynwrig made his grand entrance at long last. And by "grand", I mean nobody noticed him, because the crowd of Imperials had already arrived en masse and he was but a single man. A massive, ripped, ginger mercenary man with a nice axe, but one man nonetheless.

Anyways, upon his fabulous arrival, Drustan stepped aside the doors and surveyed the crowd. His eyes washed over the ballroom, where couples twirled round and round in grand patterns (some of which he recognized from the book he bought), dressed in nothing but the most exquisitly crafted suits and gowns. The musicians as well were nothing short of dapper, crafting a lovely symphony that Drustan was sure stemmed from a drinking song somewhere. He started moving now, being sure to get a good look at where the food was on display. Drustan didn't even know that many of the colors delicately splattered over the table were edible until now. Lastly (but not least based on the size of the damn crowd there) was the place where the alcoholic beverages were being administered.

While it was true that Drustan first headed to the bar, he also wanted to get away from it as soon as possible. Tensions were already high due to the large concentration of irritable ruffians, and the liberal application of alcohol was doing anything but helping. Drustan dove in, giving small, polite greetings to his crewmates there, before catching the tender's attention as soon as possible. The large mercenary quickly received what he requested, a shot of quality whiskey in a morbidly ornate shot glass, and Drustan tipped the man semi-generously before downing it and backing away, eager to get away from a group of staring Neobeduins who were all wearing eerily similar masks.

On his exodus out of the alcohol-infused gathering, Drustan strode over closer to where the food was being served. Sufficiently loosened up by the whiskey, Drustan began to scan the room again, this time looking for someone of the fairer sex (preferably of Neovictorian descent) imbibed enough to politely agree to dance with him. His chances were slim, though, as the large congregation of ruffians surrounding the watering hole had driven many other non-ruffians away, and no rational and sober person would willingly accept Drustan's invitation to dance.

 

[Redryhno]

While some...well most, of the Mermaid's crew had cornered the liquor market at the party, Eddie was content with the food. The table, although it had appeared to be close to the breaking point, it was now easily holding the food piled atop it, with no small help coming from Eddie himself.

He'd had to give up his arms at the door, but thanks to his huge coat, he'd only had to give up his sword and dirk, allowing him to keep the gun beneath and basically hanging on his back by a leather thong that was now how his holster was situated.

As he walked nonchalantly through the dance floor, - much to the chagrin of many a dancer - pulling the last of the meat off a turkey leg and the other holding half a loaf of still steaming bread, he noticed Sheska and some Imp talking near the bar. Paying no heed to that he looked around the room again, and spotted a curious sight indeed. A Skyfolk, nothing strange there, they were up in the sky, after all. But then a Groundling came in, Imperial Navy prominent in every step. And the two met up soon after, whilst Eddie still stood on the edge of the dance floor. Finishing the last of the meat down to the bone, he threw it behind him and continued on, bread still in hand as he ripped a large chunk out of it and wandered to the two, more or less oblivious to her ranking beyond being an Imp. Seeing as he'd been below-decks during the fight with the Invincible, he didn't recognize either of them, and even if he hadn't, he'd probably forgotten about it by now.

"So,"He said to Garret around a mouthful of bread,"Wha's a good Skyfolk like you hanging around an Imp like this one?" He pointed at Adrianna,"Come on now, how much i'she paying you to guard her that when you're surrounded by all of these people where akidents-accidents are bound to happen? You're just a Navy person? Not like one less makes much difference, eh?"

He went back to Garret,"And why're you here when you could be out on a ship?"

He stuffed the last of the bread into his mouth after balling it up, giving him the most obvious appearance of a chipmunk.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

As she started to walk to the dance floor, she sniffed the air twice and stopped in her tracks when she caught the whiff of an infuriatingly familiar scent. Of dirt, filth, and piracy slicked over with Imperial regulations.

"Well well; if it isn't the lovely first officer of the Mermaid. Do you perhaps need a hand madam?".

She turned slowly and grinned wickedly as her remaining hand flashed out and grabbed one of his in a crushing grip. "Yes, I do, actually. You owe me one of yours, swine, and I plan to take it as the beginning of your payment. As well as one of your pets arms.", she said, before her voice went to a low hiss, "As a start.".

Her eyes were locked on her enemies the entire time, and they only darted away to glare at Zach as she heard him approach.

"Now now, we wouldn't want to spoil this lovely evening with a ruckus would we?".

"Zach, fuck off, now. This swine is mine, and if you kill him, I'll kill you for denying me my prey. And if you don't back off now, I'll start by kicking your balls into your throat, then reaching down that throat and ripping them out.", she snapped.

She let go of the mans hand and reached around him to grab the wrist of the hand that held the knife, and twisted it away. "You don't want to be my enemy, Zach. So don't deny me this.", she hissed, just loud enough for Zach to hear.

Then she let go and turned back to her nemesis, smiling once again. "Alright, swine, lets go someplace a little more secluded, so I can tell you just what I'm going to do to your mangled corpse once I'm through with you.", she told him.

 

[Cybele]

Roy ignored the glances some of the guests were casting his way and helped himself to another sandwich. He tried to stay to the side and out of the way but that only made him stand out more in some ways. Oh well, there was nothing he could do about that.

'At least the food's good,' he thought as he watched the gentlemen and ladies swirl around on the dance floor in their expensive suits and colourful dresses. It was sort of eerie, Roy had to admit, seeing them all step and turn in unison in complete silence but that was just him not being able to hear the music. He tried to guess what the musicians were playing, some sort of waltz perhaps, judging by the way the dancers moved, though Roy's knowledge in that field was pitiful to say the least.

He chuckled when on of the Mermaid's crew - Eddie he guessed - cut straight through the dance floor without a care. He looked around to see what the rest of the crew were up to. Most seemed to have gathered near the bar and were busy drinking. More guests had also meanwhile arrived - at least a few of them seemed to be imperials. He also spotted a giant of a man standing nearby and looking mildly bored.

"You should try the sandwiches, they're pretty good though I'm not quite sure what's in them. Some sort of fish I'm guessing," he said casually, trying to start up a conversation with Drustan.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Zach sighed in frustration.

"There really is no winning with you is there? Fine, he's yours. Just, whatever you want to do to him, do it somewhere quiet and out of the way. I'll keep a lookout, the Imps might notice one of their officers going missing."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

After he had grabbed a couple of wine glasses from a passing servant, Garrett had been spending his time over by the food table; at the moment he was more interested in watching the world go by then actively participating in it, though a part of him could help but smile at the possibility of dancing with Adriana later, how delightful that would be. His little daydream came to an end, when a man came up to him clutching half a loaf of bread with an obvious looking chunk taken out of it.

"So." The man said to Garrett in-between taking mouthfuls of bread. "Wha's a good Skyfolk like you hanging around an Imp like this one?" He asked, pointing at Adriana. "Come on now, how much i'she paying you to guard her that when you're surrounded by all of these people where akidents-accidents are bound to happen? You're just a Navy person? Not like one less makes much difference, eh?" The gentleman's gaze soon shifted back to Garrett after speaking what Garrett presumed was rhetoric.

"And why're you here when you could be out on a ship?"

After taking a moment to think things through, Garrett took an apple from a nearby fruit basket, tossing it in his hand a few times and taking a bite out of it before he spoke.

"The question of how much she is paying me, is none of your concern; suffice to say, there is more to it as far as money is concerned. She hired my services due to us being former acquaintances, having duelled one another countless times in the past, and that she knew I was rather handy with a sword, with our encounters often ending in stalemates." Garrett remarked, taking a moment to look back on all the times both he and Adriana fought over the five years, all the way back to the Conquest. He then took another bite of the apple in his hand.

"Whilst she may not appear different to many, she is special. As to why I am here instead of on a ship; to make a long story short, I go where the winds tell me to fly, its just so happens that they pointed me in this direction."

"So, what about you then. Why are you here?"

 

[Terratina.]

Vasco stepped tentatively in the hall. All were suits and dresses and one was the same as his. It was just another gentleman at the bar in the crowd of others who were insistent on enjoying this occasion by getting themselves drunk. But a faux pas was a faux pas. Dr. Roque quickly buttoned up his suit in haste, almost hyperventilating as he did so. He needed air, he needed his mask, he needed to get out of here. However, doing so would disappoint both his superiors and the host of this grand event. With a sigh, he sat down at a table and began to survey the crowd.

Garrett was busy being accosted by a drunkard, Exeter was his usual self - the very thing and all the others hated about the Neovictorians, Annis was just there looking quite fetching despite the mask, which only made him think of his own. Various misbegotten were around, though the fancy dress only served more in bringing out their... malformites than anything else. With naught to do, he began to fiddle around with the wine glass next to him, his finger circling the edge, creating a small sound, though it couldn't be heard over the bizarre music. He sighed again, it was too loud here.

 

[deathbydeath]

"You should try the sandwiches, they're pretty good though I'm not quite sure what's in them. Some sort of fish I'm guessing,"

Yanked out of his semi-drunk, disillusioned sulking, Drustan whirled around to locate his new conversational partner. Wobbling a bit from the sudden rotation, Drustan addressed the small man with strange hair and began to reply in kind. "I'll be sure to remember that. I've never been much of a fish person myself, but who knows?" Drustan accentuated his point by shrugging. "Today could be the day. In any case, I've yet to begin indulging myself in any of the luxuries here, but when I do I'll be sure to take your advice."

Finishing his response, Drustan turned back to his previous position and continued scanning for people with impaired judgement potential dance partners. Then, remembering his manners, Drustan turned around again to face the young man. "My apologies for the rudeness, I'm Drustan Cynwrig, associate mercenary and wanderer."

 

[Cybele]

"I'll be sure to remember that. I've never been much of a fish person myself, but who knows? Today could be the day. In any case, I've yet to begin indulging myself in any of the luxuries here, but when I do I'll be sure to take your advice," the giant said and turned back to scanning the crowd.

Seemed like he wasn't interested in chatting Roy thought, a bit disappointed - this party had been quite dull so far. He was just about to head to the bar to join the rest of the crew in getting drunk when the giant turned towards him again.

"My apologies for the rudeness, I'm Drustan Cynwrig, associate mercenary and wanderer."

"No worries," Roy replied, pleased that he would have someone to talk to after all, "I'm Roy...er...just Roy, gunsmith and occasional engineer," he fumbled. He hadn't used his last name for a long long time and didn't really even remember it. All right, he could remember if he tried but he didn't want to try. Best to leave the past buried.

"A wanderer? What brought you to Helium City and this lovely gathering then?" he asked, trying to make the 'lovely' part sound sarcastic.

 

[hiei82]

[HEADING=2]Exeter[/HEADING]

"As a start." she said, trying to be intimidating. Exeter merely feigned a yawn - his time as a pirate captain had hardly been without death threats, so the mere emphasis on a specific word or phrase wasn't nearly enough to rustle his jimmies. Still, it did beg a more profound response of nothing else.

"As much as I would like to make appropriate recompense with a... privateer such as yourself, I hardly think this is the best time or place for such an endeavor. However, were these not so, I should like to see you try." he said, putting up his trademarked smile to show his utter disdain for the woman. He'd hoped she'd be a somewhat more witty enemy, but then that was his error; what could he suspect from a scurvy-ridden pirate dog hungry only for blood, booze, and booty.

"Alright, swine, lets go someplace a little more secluded, so I can tell you just what I'm going to do to your mangled corpse once I'm through with you." she replied after some delay - yelling at one of her underlings no doubt. Apparently she was as good a first officer as she was with her left arm - pathetic.

"Now now, there's no reason to be uncivil; we are in good company after all. but, if you insist m'lady-" he said in a very uncivilized tone before taking her still-attached hand and pulling her toward a more secluded location - the dance floor. Nothing like waltzing with the enemy, one hand in the others hand while the other gripped the gun.

Especially when said enemy didn't have a gun or a hand to hold it with.

[HEADING=2]Ciel[/HEADING]

Ciel watched the exchange between the first officers wide eyed. On the one hand, she knew she should be worried about them, but then she knew there wasn't much to worry about. Neither could escalate the conflict without drawing the ire of ther respective captains (she hoped) and even if they could, not without the ire of the president whose mansion they were currently enjoying. Instead she reached over the bar, pulled out a bottle of what she hoped was bourbon and a glass and poured it - ready for a show. A moment later, she threw some Helios on the bar, expecting some bartender to take the hint.

Turning to the man closest to her - the one who'd been speaking with Exeter's new companion about Engineering and said offered him a glass, saying "ready for a show?"

Spoiler: OOC

She's talking to Jason, though anyone near the bar could overhear her

[HEADING=2]Adrianna[/HEADING]

Once the pleasantries with the president were fulfilled, Adrianna made her way over to Garrett, waiting to see f he'd found something with enough alcohol to dull the music. She managed to catch the tail end of a conversation he'd apparently struck up with a passing man. "Whilst she may not appear different to many, she is special. As to why I am here instead of on a ship; to make a long story short, I go where the winds tell me to fly, its just so happens that they pointed me in this direction. So, what about you then. Why are you here?"

Adrianna didn't have anything to add, though she found herself happy at the use of the word special. He was special as well, for much the same reason she knew. She did however release him of his spare wine glass, saying "Thank you Garrett." at the gesture. Since none of the other Imperial soldiers within earshot, she had no trouble reffering to him by first name - she preferred that name anyway.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

She relaxed, but only slightly, when Zach backed off.

"There really is no winning with you is there? Fine, he's yours. Just, whatever you want to do to him, do it somewhere quiet and out of the way. I'll keep a lookout, the Imps might notice one of their officers going missing.".

"Thank you, Zach.", she said, again, only loud enough for Zach to hear, and her voice rang with sincerity.

Then she huffed and spoke at a normal volume. "Besides, this piece of shit can't kill me here even if he wanted to.", she said, before she was tugged towards the dance floor.

"Now now, there's no reason to be uncivil; we are in good company after all. but, if you insist 'lady-".

Her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits, but she followed, though not before stopping to stomp on his instep with a surprising amount of force. "Don't you dare think to lead me around, you stupid son-of-a-whore. And if you try anything with me, I'll be wearing whats left of your balls in a pouch around my neck.", she said.

Then she smirked and snickered. "It's not like you're using them much anyway, right?", she asked in a low purr.

As they started to slowly and awkwardly dance, she kept her hand gripped firmly on his shoulder, and her eyes were locked onto his. She sniffed once and sneered in disgust. "So, tell me this, Imp. Why do you stink like a pirate? Not only that, but one who doesn't understand the purpose of a bath. I'm surprised the Empire even allowed your soggy ass into the Officer Corps, at least the pirates I know are clean.", Sheska added.

 

[Arcanist]

'Woa. WOA. Time to slow down a bit...' Righting his balance, he took in a short breath. This was nothing. He was a pirate, for fuck's sake! He wasn't about to let a few shots of whiskey take his cognizance. He managed to gather himself enough to regain some sobriety - or at least a facsimile of it - in time to see Sheska snicker and wave goodbye.

"Don't puke on any of the guests."

"Now, you're just no fun at all, are you?" Sheska walked off, heading down the bar to check on the others...

...Before being accosted by a familiar Imp. Even with his senses impaired, he could smell the man's rank stench from where he sat - the smell of a lifelong pirate. A twofold traitor, in other words. He managed to restrain himself - his usual sneer subdued to an angry glare - before turning from the scene. Sheska insisted on handling this herself - no words from him would change that.

He was broken from his stupor by a woman sitting to his right. An Imp, he guessed, so likely the crew on one of the IAN ships currently docked. She didn't have the build or demeanor of a soldier, and she'd be decked out in her colors if she were an officer, so it was just as likely she was part of the technical crew. 'I might have some intelligent conversation after all. Shame it's from a freaking Imp.'

"Ready for a show?"

Jason laughed and jerked his thumb back towards Sheska. "What, that? Depends on what you mean by 'show'. Though, to be fair, I'd consider Sheska Skulkhound feeding that coward his balls to be right good entertainment." Against his better judgement, he knocked back another shot. He'd had worse than a few over his normal limit - what's the worst that could happen? Taking another look at the Imp woman, he noticed something unusual - she was being tended to by an automata spider the size of a cat. His curiosity piqued, he took a closer look - something that small couldn't have been easy to design, let alone build. The inner workings were largely exposed, though, giving him a very good idea of the basic structure. His eyes darted back and forth over the device, the dull sheen in his eyes replaced by flashes of quick, frenzied thought.

"So, powered by a Heller gear, I take it?" He leaned back against the bar, partly to keep his balance and partly to ensure he was facing Sheska. If she did anything rash, he'd be ready to follow suit. "A workable solution, but something I always found to be more trouble than it's worth when it comes to maintenance."

 

[Ruedyn]

James enjoyed tried to enjoy the ride to the mansion as well as he could, but, he felt the need to use the bathroom before they were even halfway there. Being the gentleman he was, he remained stoic and quiet, though upon landing, he pushed his way out of the cab and tried to find the bathroom as quickly as possible. It required the help of a patient maid to show him where to go, and he made sure to do his business as fast as he could.

Upon exiting, he decided to mingle with the crowd, but was unsure who to start with. He saw someone who looked important debating with someone who looked dirty, a disfigured abomination yelling at people, and several people at the bar (where he wouldn't be going, at least not right away)

'You know how you get around alcohol there, buddy.' James nodded grimly, and decided his time would best be spent dancing, like what his career was supposed to be, but with less broken bear skulls (hopefully). James nearly strolled onto the dance floor, and realized he had no partner. Ciel was at the bar, watching the debate intently, and drinking till she was comfortable. James sighed, now was not his moment, and so he went to check up on his favorite engineer/ accomplice.

"ready for a show?"

'Nope.' James swiftly heel turned, perhaps he could find a dance partner. Until then, he simply sat next to the food, away from others, looking for anybody that seemed willing...

'10 minutes, then I go for the booze.'

 

[Redryhno]

"The question of how much she is paying me, is none of your concern; suffice to say, there is more to it as far as money is concerned.

"Riiiight,"Eddie said,"So what is she paying you in? If it's not coin, then it's gotta be something else,"He looked off at the table of food, but was mildly interested in these two, so instead he grabbed another turkey leg off of a passing Imperial brat's plate,but he looked like he could use the loss.

"So, what about you then. Why are you here?"

Eddie smirked,"You stuck too? And do ya really hafta ask why I'm here,"He waved the meat in front of Garret's face,"I'm here for the free food of course, not like I've got some Neovictorian ***** leading me around by the nose. Don' be givin' me that wind crap either, there hasn' been more 'an a light breeze in two days..."He muttered something about "Captains and groundling windless asses", but nothing more specific

The unpredictable young man ripped the last of the meat from the bone and tossed it behind him, onto the dancing floor, where he heard the quickening of steps as someone began to lose their balance, and smiled, he decided right now that he loved Imperial parties. Ripping the apple from Garret's grasp, seeing as he didn't look as if he'd be finishing eating it anytime within the next millennium, and bit into it after a quick polishing on his dirtied coat.

"So,"he said between chews, spewing small bits into both their faces,"You a man-whore then Garetteky-Tikki-Gravy? Heard of 'em, but I've never spen' enough time n' port ta see one o' ya in real li'e..."

 

[deathbydeath]

"A wanderer? What brought you to Helium City and this lovely gathering then?"

"More wandering, mostly." Drustan shrugged, oblivious to the sarcasm. "An arsehole of a pirate captain left me stranded on this Skyforsaken blight because I beat him at cards and kissed his sweetheart. I told him she wanted to, but noooooo, she'd never be unfaithful. She was loving, loyal, and pure, so I must have forced myself upon her, otherwise she wouldn't dare think of kissing another." Drustan's voice stopped resonating mock affection as he moved on to the next part. "I probably shouldn't have said what I did next, but I then informed the man that his 'sweetheart' had slept with at least half of his crew and that I was reasonably certain she was in some sort of sexual relationship with his favorite hound. Poor bastard picked me up and threw me overboard the ship. Thank the Skies he embellished a lot of money on docking locations, though." Drustan, remembering the fall, shuddered like a dog drying it's pelt.

"Anyways, one thing led to another, I was stranded here for three months, and I recently picked up a nice job on a beautiful frigate. I'm here because the Admiral of the vessel,who is quite a looker by the way, asked me to attend and keep fellows at this shindig from tearing each other apart."

Keenly watching the events around them, Drustan noticed a peculiarity and pointed it out to his conversational partner. "See that man there, Roy? He's an officer on the ship I'm on, and last I checked, he wasn't into crippled misbegottens of the fairer sex. These fancy balls always bring out the strange side of people.

 

[hiei82]

[HEADING=2]Exeter[/HEADING]

"So, tell me this, Imp. Why do you stink like a pirate? Not only that, but one who doesn't understand the purpose of a bath. I'm surprised the Empire even allowed your soggy ass into the Officer Corps, at least the pirates I know are clean." Sheska said, after several insults while they danced.

"Once you've killed enough pirate scum, it just becomes impossible to get the stench off." he said, unable to resist the dig at her chosen profession. "Though, I suspect my years as a privateer have left some mark upon me, despite my best efforts. I'm sure you can understand, being former Chuno Ggun." he said, letting slip the knowledge he's gained, still smirking. It wasn't hard to figure out after his conversation with Lt. Com. Ring.

"And incidentally; I don't intend to try anything; you're not worth the effort." he finished, twisting his smirk up into a contempt smile briefly before replacing his mask of civility.

[HEADING=2]Ciel[/HEADING]

b"So, powered by a Heller gear, I take it? A workable solution, but something I always found to be more trouble than it's worth when it comes to maintenance." the man said, while keeping an eye on what could only be described as the most tense waltz she'd ever seen.

And she'd seen a lot of tense waltzes.

Ciel took a moment to look at her spider drone; just to jog her memory as to which one she'd brought. "That's right, though I don't consider the maintenance trouble; it's more like play time." she said, truthfully enough. "Good eye though; was it the conical spring that gave it away?" she asked, more to make conversation then out of a real desire to know the answer. Remembering her manners, she held out her hand and offered her name. "Ciel Kriebel" she said, a genuine smile on her face, thinking "Finally, a decently intelligent conversation."

[HEADING=2]Adrianna[/HEADING]

Adrianna stared at the strange man, dumbfounded. In the course of a few seconds, he'd insulted the both of them - without provocation - and acted generally unfitting for a civil affair. Were they in the Empire, those alone would be grounds for honorable combat. Fortunately for the strange man, they weren't in the Empire and killing a foreign dignitary was just the sort of diplomatic incident she was trying to avoid.

Instead, she turned to Garrett, the flabbergasted look still clear upon her face, looking to see if he was in the same mind set. She then returned to the strange man, eating an Apple, and replied. "I believe you're misunderstanding the matter. Garrett is my-" she said, trying to find the right words. She could have used bodyguard, but that would have left the matter of non-monetary payments unresolved. Lover, of course was true as well, though that would have left the distinction of "man-whore" unchallenged in its own right. In the end, no better words came to mind that maintained the secrecy of their relationship, so she did the next best thing. She gave a half truth

"-bodyguard yes, but one retained by both money and honor." It wasn't entirely a lie; she believed that Garrett honored her, though the use of the word implied a very different meaning than the truth.

 

[Cybele]

"Sounds like quite the adventure," Roy said after Drustan had finished telling his tale.

"See that man there, Roy? He's an officer on the ship I'm on, and last I checked, he wasn't into crippled misbegottens of the fairer sex. These fancy balls always bring out the strange side of people."

"Just so you know, that crippled misbegotten of the fairer sex," Roy explained, grinning, "Is the first mate of the ship I'm on and possibly the toughest ***** you'll find in this city or the next." Possibly. He barely knew any of the crew.

"And not one to dance with Imps. Maybe they've had too much to drink," he guessed. "So you're an Imp too?" he asked nonchalantly, stifling a yawn. He wouldn't really mind a drink himself now. The walk to the gala had helped wake him up but now the warm room and lack of anything interesting happening was making him feel sleepy again. Nothing a few shots of something stronger couldn't fix though.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

"Once you've killed enough pirate scum, it just becomes impossible to get the stench off. Though, I suspect my years as a privateer have left some mark upon me, despite my best efforts. I'm sure you can understand, being former Chuno Ggun.".

She snorted softly in derision at his reply. She didn't even care if he knew that she was Chuno Ggun. It wasn't like she hid it. If anything, she dared the Ggun to try and take her back. She'd cut them down like everyone else.

"Bullshit. You don't stink of death, not like I do. You reek of filth and slime, so you weren't a privateer, but a full pirate, and a bad one at that if I had to judge. If you remember correctly, last I saw you, you were on your back beneath my boot, with my revolver pointed at your face. You would've died there if your pet Capricorn didn't catch me off guard. I won't make the same mistake again.", she said, before she bared her teeth in a sadistic grin.

"By the way, I know your pet's name, but not yours. Not that I really care, but I'll have to carve something into your charred husk so that your crew will recognize you after what I've done.", she said as her claws dug into his shoulder, piercing his suit and starting to bury themselves in his flesh.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Thank you Garrett." A voice said to him as Adrianna arrived soon after Garrett finished talking, and relieved him of the second goblet of wine he was holding onto. Garrett felt a bit more relaxed now, knowing that she was here. Speaking of wine, Garrett took a swig from the goblet he had taken for himself. He then listened to the gentleman's response to his own question.

"You stuck too? And do ya really hafta ask why I'm here." The man remarked, waving a piece of meat in front of Garrett's face. "I'm here for the free food of course... leading me around by the nose. Don' be givin' me that wind crap either, there hasn' been more 'an a light breeze in two days..." Garrett temper instantly rose after the man had called Adriana a '*****'. He wanted to punch the man right then and there, how dare he call her that. But he knew that would only cause trouble, and it was probably what the gentleman wanted. Garrett was about to take a bite from the apple he was eating, but it was ripped from his hands before he could.

"So." The gentleman said between mouthfuls of food, spitting out small bits into Garrett and Adriana's face their faces. "You a man-whore then Garetteky-Tikki-Gravy? Heard of 'em, but I've never spen' enough time n' port ta see one o' ya in real li'e..." This made Garrett even madder. Before he could respond however, Adriana stepped in, which gave him a moment to calm down. She looked completely dumbstruck by what was being said about both of them.

"I believe you're misunderstanding the matter. Garrett is my-" She said, stopping for a moment to choose her words carefully, as a misplaced word could spell trouble. "-bodyguard yes, but one retained by both money and honor." This made Garrett smile a bit

"You know I was in the process of eating that." Garrett remarked, pointing at the apple.

"Unlike some people however, I prefer to take my time, enjoy things to their fullest. As for that 'wind crap'; I meant it in a more metaphorical manner rather than being literal. The young woman is indeed right, I serve as her bodyguard via a mixture of monetary means, and also as payment for a debt or two. Keeping her safe is not all that I do. I provide the Rear Admiral here with an insider's knowledge of the pirate mind, being one myself." Garrett stopped for a moment, enjoying a nice, long swig of wine before he continued.

"Just because I appear tame, does not mean that I am declawed, there is still a trick or two up my sleeves. Isn't that right boss?" Garrett then asked, his head looking at Adriana.