Aether Shanties RP (PM if interested/Started)

[deathbydeath]

Drustan eventually made his way back to the section of the hall where alcohol was being dispensed, but deviated along the way to look out for tipsy dancers and to see those sandwiches Roy was talking about. While Drustan again had no luck with the former endeavor, Roy was in fact right about the food and Drustan tucked in the back of his kind the notion that he should finally try and enjoy fish in a meal. Sidetracks aside, Drustan maneuvered himself to where he could see he attendant and requested the same beverage he had the last time he visited. He retrieved his elder whiskey and found some of his shipmates after giving yet another generous tip.

Meeting with other Invincible crewfolk, Drustan gave brief greetings to those he recognized. "Hello Ciel, James, Anastacia." Drustan followed up with a curt nod to Annis, as he struggled with the quartermaster's name a bit. He had only met the quartermaster the previous night, and was terrible with learning names anyway, but he would be damned before he stopped trying to learn new ones.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

As Sheska went away to dance with Issac, Zach thought about what she'd said.

He probably wouldn't have made a very good father. It was the one thing the Elders had said about him that day that had been true. Killing things was easy, compared to keeping them alive, and he had only been 16. He would have had absolutely no idea how to raise his son on his own.

But he would have tried dammit! He would have done his best, and he wouldn't have walked away no matter how hard it got. He deserved that chance.

He knew he'd never be able to undo the situation now. It was something to do with the name, which was why the Elders had chosen to take him away so soon, before he had time to think about it. Because Zach had never given the boy a name, he wasn't really a father. He'd never had that connection, he hadn't given the child anything that was his. When he was a kid, the Father had just been a concept to Zach, an idea of something that he would never have, and now he was on the other side of that coin. If he went to see his son tomorrow, they wouldn't even recognise each-other, and they'd in all likelihood have nothing in common. It was Zach who spawned the child, but was that really enough to make him a father, or did it take something more than that, something that Zach could never get back now.

Zach took up a place at the bar and continued to keep watch. Better to stay in the here and now. These thoughts were just a distraction.

 

[Cybele]

Roy had just downed his fourth or fifth glass when he noticed neobeduin nearby.

"Why the long face? Girl refused to dance with you?" Roy gibed but in a friendly manner, his words starting to slur and flow together as the alcohol worked its magic and he spent less effort on speaking clearly. "There's not much point in being at such a fine party as this if you're not having any fun. Or if you don't feel like doing that then..."

Roy reached over the bar for an empty glass, earning another scowl from the barkeep, poured some seagull wine into it and slid it towards Zach.

"...at least have a drink."

 

[hiei82]

[HEADING=2]Adrianna[/HEADING]

As she slipped, Garrett grabbed her. At first it was just a hand to keep her up, but quickly it turned into more. As he pulled her up, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly into his chest. It had been a while since he'd held her like that - in no small part due to the dangers of being discovered - but surprisingly, it felt more like a familiar comfort than anything strange. A pang of sadness ran through her as she realized that the warm feel of her lover's strong arms wasn't something she would feel very often over the next few weeks, even as she relished in it. She managed to avoid blushing through an effort of will.

Even as she enjoyed the moment though, it came to an end; with an unexpected twirling. Garrett, seizing the opportunity, embraced his Skyfolk heritage, sending her into a dizzying series of turns and spins. Around her, the room seemed to be spinning, with only Garrett still in her clear view. She could feel her heart racing at the strange dance, only enhanced by her recent thoughts conjured by his embrace.

Just as she was beginning to lose her ability to keep up with the flurry of steps, he pulled her in once more, wrapping his arms around her again, and slowing to a more natural speed; giving Adrianna a chance to finally catch her breath. Of course, her ability to take that breath was severely handicapped by the tight embrace. It wasn't so tight she couldn't breath; it was the care-filled look upon Garrett's face and the rock hard muscles holding her in. She could feel his quickened heartbeat, beating in tandem with her own. Adrianna, despite her best efforts, blushed wildly; her only saving grace the small amount of makeup.

"So then, what did you think to that? In fact, I had saved that dance especially for you." Garrett said after a dazzling display of dancing prowess. "I get the feeling I'm repeating myself, but well played Garrett." she replied, trying to reorient herself after the dizzying affair - both physically and emotionally.

[HEADING=2]Ciel[/HEADING]

"Hello Ciel, James, Anastacia." Drustan said, arriving at the bar and drawing Ciel from her thoughts. She'd been distracted for the last few minutes and hadn't seen him approach. "Hey Drustan." she replied in kind before holding up the bottle of bourbon. "Any of you want some?" she asked, offering it as she stood up. After pouring out the precious booze to any who wanted it, she poured the last into her own shot glass. She downed the magic beverage in one go, turned the glass over, and placed it on the bar.

Looking at the three, she smirked and asked, "so anyone care to dance?" - it was a party and she wasn't going to waste a minute of it.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Zach took the glass and downed the contents in one gulp. The Seagull Wine was revolting, which made it the perfect ointment, allowing him to lose his current train of thought.

"You on The Mermaid?" Zach asked, grabbing the bottle and pouring himself another glass "Don't think I've seen you around so far?"

 

[Ruedyn]

James decided that while the dance floor had some interesting goings- on, he wasn't going to sit here all night. He hoped nobody would slip in Exeters blood, as there was a bit on the floor. It wseemed there was a wide circle around it, which made James smile. He sighed, slowly sauntering his way to the bar.

"Hello Ciel, James, Anastacia."

"Hullo, Drustan." James gave a curt wave, sitting down next to Ciel, raising a couple fingers to get the attention of the bar tender. Ciel got a bottle, though, and James graciously accepted.

"so anyone care to dance?"

James took a sip,

"Sure, just lemme finish the bottle."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

He could feel their hearts beat in sync with one another like drums playing a steady beat. Garrett could feel a great surge of joy from deep within himself, but with it came the sorrow that this would be the last time that they could act like a couple for a few weeks, having more so say 'important' matters to deal with. Nevertheless, he would cast such thoughts aside for now, and concentrate on what was more important, Adrianna.

"I get the feeling I'm repeating myself, but well played Garrett." Adrianna said as she tried to regain some sense of balance after all that dancing. Garrett thought he could see Adrianna's cheeks turning red underneath the makeup.

"Thank you. I learnt it from a former professional dancer among the Skyfolk, she reffered to it as a Tango if I recall. She asked why I wanted to learn such an intense and passionate style of dancing; and I replied that I wanted to show a special lady how much she meant to me. I hope you enjoyed it. Listen, how about we take a break from all this for a little while? We could go grab some food, some wine, and maybe step outside into the fresh air." Garrett said as he delivered a simple turn as they continued to dance slowly in time to the more peaceful melody that was playing.

 

[blaze96]

Samuel had finished dancing with his partner and decided it was time to grab a bit of food. Seeing some traditional Neo-Victorian food made his eyes light up to a certain extent. For the first time in a while he could eat without needing to vomit a few hours later as his body declared the food to unclean for his delicate stomach. He grabbed a plate and had to restrain himself from piling it high with food. Instead he took a socially acceptable amount and found a table near the bar and held his hand up for a drink.

Once it was delivered he began to eat at the table he sat at alone. He took a bite of the food and noted how bland it was.

'With every blessing there is a curse I suppose.' He thought as he continued to eat, a smile starting to break on his face. Much as he wanted to adjust to his new way of life, sometimes he just needed to revert back to old ways for his own sake.

 

[Cybele]

"You on The Mermaid?" Zach asked, pouring himself another glass "Don't think I've seen you around so far?"

Roy nodded, "I joined a few days ago although I've been holed up down in the engine room most of the time." He then took a closer look at Zach. Where had he seen him before? Roy was sure he had. It took him a few moments before he remembered.

"Ah! You're the one with the bow and parrot, are you not?" he smiled and held out his hand, "The name's Roy."

 

[Floris2123]

George waited with the other officers, he realized that pretty much everyone was a higher rank then him. So he kept his mouth shut, and made sure not to annoy anyone. "Very well, now that we're all present, lets get going...dignity and respect you would give to the Emperor himself." The new captain said. George silently nodded, he had to admit he was a bit curios though. He hadn't been to many parties, and this seemed pretty interesting.

They arrived outside of a massive building, the lights and sounds made it obvious that the party had already begun. A servant suddenly appeared, who opened the door and welcomed him to the gala. George stared at the servant surprised, he then thanked the man and quickly exited the carriage. He headed into the building, and made his way over to the food.

There were so many people here, it made him a bit uneasy. He took a spot inside one of the empty corners, he gazed around the hall. After taking a seat on a nearby chair he let his eyes wander. He made sure to observe everything that happend, and from the looks of it a lot of people were fighting. He wondered why though, especially Garrett he hadn't seem like the aggressive kind.

 

[deathbydeath]

"Sure, just lemme finish the bottle."

Drustan gazed at James, his hand still reaching out to the misplaced bottle that had been snatched up by James. The big man stood there, still longing for the beverage, with a reaching hand and a flat expression of muted indignation. Refusing to move, Drustan's hand dropped to his side as his face morphed from flat disapproval to a mere smirk.

"Hey James, look" Drustan leaned down my the beat dancer's shoulder and pointed in the opposite direction. When he looked in the direction Drustan was pointing, Drustan tapped the bottle of bourbon harshly from the bottom. "a distraction."

Drustan strode away from James, leaving the younger man to sputter and choke on the alcohol. While headed away from the bar, Drustan stopped by Ciel and offered his arm.

"May I take you up on that dance?"

 

[3quency]

-Isaac-

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything. Its your turn, Izzy."

Isaac looked at the Dr briefly and smiled at Sheska.
"Apparently not. Sure, why not."
As he stood, he cocked his ear slightly and looked bemused.
"My word, think I actually know this one." he said, offering his arm.


-Annis-

"Any of you want some?"
Annis frowned at the head engineer and tapped her mask meaningfully. She doubted the mistake was intentional, people weren't used to having somebody as impaired as Annis about so they forgot that she had an impairment at all. At least one officer she had spoken to tonight had assumed she wore the mask for intimidation factor for god's sake.
She remained silent momentarily watching the dancers and Ciel asked the men if either of them cared to. She watched the following events with a frown.

"May I take you up on that dance?"
The mercenary said, offering Ciel his arm. Annis' eyes narrowed.
"I believe that the young Assistant offered first, mercenary. You can wait."
Not that she doubted Ms Kriebel would say the same, but she had taken a disliking to the man. He seemed brash and impulsive. A loner, certainly not suited for a disciplined ship. She imagined she'd spend some time over the next few months reigning him in, provided the captain didn't first.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"Name's Zach." he replied, returning the handshake. If in their time on The Mermaid, Roy would be mostly in the engine room, and Zach mostly in the Crow's Nest, then the two would rarely see each-other. If he wanted to get the measure of everyone he'd be working with, he'd best take his chance with Roy now.

"So, you're the other new guy here, what do you think of our new ship-mates?" Zach asked. In truth, Zach had already made up his mind about everyone he'd met so far, and Roy's opinions were unlikely to sway his. If you want to know someone truly, don't ask them about themselves, unless it's a question you already know the answer to, in which case it's how they answer it that's important. Personal questions rarely invite the truth. Instead, ask them what they think of other people you know mutually, and where their views differ from yours will tell you much and more. There was also the chance that Roy had met others that Zach had not, and he might give Zach an idea of who to approach next.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

She managed a small smile as Isaac himself smiled at her, then stood up.

"Apparently not. Sure, why not.".

Then he cocked his head to one side and she swore that he nearly smirked.

"My word, think I actually know this one.".

"Really? Good to know.", she said, easily taking his arm and striding out to the dance floor with him.

When they got there, she put her hand on his shoulder and nodded, a signal for him to take her hips and go ahead and start. She had no trouble letting him lead the dance, but that was partially due to the fact that she was still distracted from her conversation with Zach earlier. And that reminded her of something that bugged her. So, she perked her head up and looked at him curiously. "By the way, do you smoke? Or was there some sort of subtext as to what Zach said to you before?", she asked, raising a brow.

 

[3quency]

Isaac gingerly took Sheska's hips and lead her through the steps he was slowly dredging from his memory. As he did, she spoke.
"By the way, do you smoke? Or was there some sort of subtext as to what Zach said to you before?"
He thought about mentioning their suspicions but it was just additional tension and paranoia, and judging from the encounter with the Officer earlier she already had enough of that.
"Smoke? From time to time, the one vice that doesn't fuck with my head you know?"
He looked away before awkwardly adding "Well excluding addiction and withdrawal and so on, but yeah. No, Zach was just making conversation. We've been trying to get accustomed to each other, looks like we'll both be spending a lot of time in the crow's nest and all that."
He made slight movements to steers them towards the centre of the group and when he could stole further glances out into the party. Nobody was obviously watching them but that was all he could tell.
"So you had another encounter with that officer." he said.

 

[Cybele]

Roy downed another glass before replying, using the time to think of an answer.

"Well, Sheska's like an angry cat left to sit in the rain," he said, smirking. "A sort of fluffy, angry cat," he added while pouring himself another glass.

"Jason, from what I've been able to gather, seems like the reliable sort," Roy continued after a moment. "Gruff but hard working. I haven't had a chance to chat with any of the others to really form an opinion worth sharing," he concluded. Perhaps it was best not to say too much right now, especially since he was starting to feel more than a little drunk.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

Sheska blinked in surprise when Isaac told her that he did smoke, and that it was essentially just something to get both he and Zach accustomed to each other, since they were both likely to spend time in the crow's nest. She nodded, and cocked her head to one side.

"Well, I may actually want to think about picking up smoking myself, since I might be dropping drinking. Replace one bad habit with another, especially since I'm not comfortable getting drunk anymore.", she said with a small sigh.

As she spoke, she relaxed and moved more naturally along with Isaac's lead, but the moment he mentioned the encounter with Exeter, her tension was back in full force. Fire leapt into her eyes, and they narrowed while her mouth spread into a tight smile.

"Yes, I did. I know his name now, Izzy. Exeter St. John. And killing him is going to be more satisfying than I thought. He's the worst swine the Empire has churned out yet, I can tell, especially since he used to be a pirate himself, the filthy traitor.", she murmured low.

"Stupid son of a whore tried to intimidate me. Thankfully, I managed to get some of my own back, and then some.", she added with some satisfaction, before shaking her head firmly.

"But I'd rather not think about that. I spoke to Zach. Asked him about his family.", Sheska told him.

She debated whether or not she ought to tell him, especially since what Zach had told her was a deep and private pain. Maybe it was best to be vague about it, but... There was no one she trusted more than Izzy. No one else that she would tell her own secrets to, and that meant something to her. But she couldn't help but feel conflicted.

 

[hiei82]

[HEADING=2]Adrianna[/HEADING]

"Listen, how about we take a break from all this for a little while? We could go grab some food, some wine, and maybe step outside into the fresh air." Garrett suggested and Adrianna wasn't up for complaining. After that particular "tango" she didn't know if she'd be able to keep up much longer anyway.

"Seconded." she said flatly, but with a slight smile. While the first glass Garrett had gotten her was likely too much as it was for a senior officer on an ostensibly diplomatic mission, the allure of the second glass was more temptation than she could resist. The food similarly looked wonderful, and given they'd likely subsist for the next few weeks on hardtack and weevil infested biscuits, it seemed a poor decision to go without the fresh food when they had it. Combine that all with quietly slipping outside to spend some time with Garrett and Adrianna was sold.

Taking the lead, she began moving toward the foods, Garrett - quite literally - in hand.

[HEADING=2]Ciel[/HEADING]

"Sure, just lemme finish the bottle." James said, accepting her offer for a dance. Nothing like kicking loose when they had the chance right? Before she could answer the offer however, Drustan stepped in. He first distracted James and made him choke on his drink. Then, ignoring the death glares of Annis, he turned to Ciel and said "May I take you up on that dance?"; offering his arm.

Ciel rolled her eyes and shook her head at the scene; thinking boys. Despite knowing it was wrong, she still couldn't help but feel a small amount of satisfaction watching the boys - or at least one of them - fight over her. Ciel was going to respond, but Annis beat her to it. "I believe that the young Assistant offered first, mercenary. You can wait."

Ciel, in turn, added "I would Drustan, I mean it, but-" she said, pointing to the now spilled bottle of bourbon in James's hand saying "but it appears James has finished his drink. But, once we're done, I promise I'm all yours." she said, trying to be a bit more diplomatic than Annis.

Reaching out her hand, she grabbed James by the wrist and pulled him to his feet, and (tried to) lead him toward the dance floor.

 

[Ruedyn]

James noticed the booze spilled on him after falling for a , rather cliche actually, distraction by the large red head. His incoherent thoughts drowned out the words, but he noticed the one in the gasmask with a stern look, and a laughing Ciel.

'Ironmaiden,brazenbull,thumbscrew,rack,stakes-'

James felt a tug on his hand, and decided to go with it before something graphic and horrific happened. Noticing it was Ciel, he stopped, a slight tug pulling her back. He caught her in a dip, leaning in close with his widest grin.

"I believe I lead. Trust me, I'm a master dancer." getting up, and helping her as well, he led them to the dancefloor, pulling her close for a waltz.

"I believe we should get to know each other a bit better, right Boss?"

 

[deathbydeath]

"... it appears James has finished his drink. But, once we're done, I promise I'm all yours."

Drustan accepted the result and took a step back from Ciel, sweeping into a light bow in the process. "Of course Ciel, I am eagerly awaiting it."

Heading away from the dance floor given the recent turn of events, Drustan tossed a nearby cloth napkin over the spilled alcohol as he walked by. [sub]"sonovabitch could have waited a second before snatching the bottle"[/sub] Returning to where Annis was loitering, Drustan began to loiter with her.

"You know, Miss Anastacia, I wandered over here in an attempt to break the surface of the rampant classism, and yet I clearly failed. Tell me, is such a thing possible, or should I just give up now and enjoy what there is to offer?" His question was nothing if not unusual and mildly confrontational, yet he hoped the informal setting and surrounding events softened up the woman so she would at least give him a straight answer.