Ardent

After the minor incident, Thana was left alone at the rear of the ship. Leaning her back against the railing, she watched the others as best she could from her vantage point. She hadn't gotten to know many people aboard yet and idly thought she ought to before they placed their lives in her hands. Of course, she would treat them the same whether she knew them or not.

She thought well of Enris for defending her daughter. He seemed to have a good head on his shoulders- nice broad shoulders at that. Few people had had the chance to impress her thus far, but Enris had gotten the closest. It was nice to see someone else who would stand up for a child- especially one who wasn't even related. Perhaps she would attempt to get to know him better, if she found the right words to do so.

Thana was lost in thought when Abita returned with her bag. "I got your bag for you." the girl said as she handed off the red leather messenger bag. The embroidery on the bag was ornate, complete with bead work of multiple colors.

With a smile, Thana opened the bag and pulled out a small paper package lined with wax paper. Opening it, she pulled three licorice sticks from it. She handed the sticks to Abita, "Why don't you go share those with some of the crew."

The girl grinned broadly, dimples creasing her cheeks. She trotted off with the licorice sticks, putting one into her mouth and sucking on it as it flopped about like a bit of black rope dangling from her lips. She pranced over to Cas, "I have licorice," she said gloating as only a child can. She held one piece out to the elf. "I guess you can have one if you want."

Lia rolled her eyes as Andy began his little song and dance routine. He really was a child sometimes. But if she was honest with herself, she was biting back her own grin. To be this close to finishing one of the greatest milestones on history and to have played a key part of it? If she wasn't trying to maintain some sort of dignity before her colleagues than she would be dancing right along with him! It was a catchy tune...

She knit her brows together in confusion. "Scalpel...?" One of his weird, foreign words again. Sometimes she really wondered about him. She had never met anyone like Andy. Everything about him was just odd.

He snatched up the knife he wanted before she had a chance to hand it over.

As he made the first incision, Lia crowded as close as she dared, pressing up against his free arm and poised to jump back if she was in the way. She had to make sure she didn't miss any of this. Her green eyes sparkled with new energy as she soaked up every scrap of information he told her. "... Keep it intact. Remember the dendrites. If you forget, I've got this catchy little tune you should hear..."

Time vanished into hours as intense concentration swallowed both of them whole. It got to be that they were nearly unaware of each other, each one so absorbed that Lia handed Andy his tools without needing a request and Andy took them without realizing that they hadn't just jumped into his hand.

Occasionally pressure on her shoulder would break her out of her stupor long enough to remember that she still required food and motivate her to unstick herself from Andy. She didn't even taste what she swallowed as she ate as fast as possible; choking when she mixed up the breathing and chewing processes. Andy was so far gone into whatever trance he had got himself into that she kept having to smash his food into pulp and forcibly feed him by nearly downing him until he swallowed the foul mess. She might have been gentler if it weren't for her own impatience with the whole damn procedure.

After hours-- days perhaps?-- of work, when Andy finally stepped away from the doll on his own, Lia jumped into his spot, glaring at anyone who even looked like they might challenge her rights. This thing did have her face so naturally she was entitled to do as she pleased. Lia hummed tunelessly and contently as she carefully finished closing up the incision and made sure all the appropriate final touches were in place. When she was finished, Lia breathed a contented sigh and stepped around to peer into her own face. It still felt odd, but she was too tired to feel any misgivings about the doll anymore... no not a doll. Now she needed a name. Lia watched the tiny movements with fascination and no small feelings of maternal possession. Reaching out, Lia carefully stroked her fingers against her look-alike's cheek. Lia smiled broadly at the feeling of human warmth. "Hey there..."

Andy's voice broke into her little bonding moment. "Someone get Miranda some clothes."

"Miranda?" Lia's fingers froze and her pupils dilated in shock. Suddenly her brain was assaulted by wave after wave of images of Andy and a woman. Snatches of conversations, arguments and laughter invaded her skull like a piercing light. Lia stumbled back into a corner, her eyes blank and staring. That woman... THAT WOMAN! Hiding her eyes behind trembling fingers, Lia was forced to remember. She knew that face and that name. Miranda. Lia had seen her in dreams since Lia had been a little girl... those dreams. She jerked unconsciously. Had they really been dreams? Lia also remembered from before. She had talked about the dreams and the villagers had... Chills ran down her spine as she refocused on the newly renamed Miranda. What she had dreamed about that doll...

Her voice shook a little. "Andy, we really need to talk."

Hey. I'm talking to you, you can't just--Cas frowned at the rapidly descending face of Deryn, who took it upon herself to mumble some half-arsed innuendo before...looking at the boards. And then past Cas herself. She followed the aeronaut's gaze, peering across the sunny deck and towards...the captain and Barasa.

She swallowed hard.

They were speaking, and though she felt a distinctly different-feeling urge to hover around each, the deck of the retrofitted galleon was rather...open, in it's layout. She could hardly stand next to them without being noticed. Her hands trembled a little, eyeing the scholar, and it was an uncomfortably unwanted reaction. Maybe she could just stand next to Fortinbras, as usual, stiff her back and salute, pretend she was there to...

"I have licorice," said a little voice not far from Cas. Her face turned down slightly to give the medic's girl a puzzled look.

"Sorry? I don't understand? Why are you telling me th--" the elf bit her lip, canting her head and bending down just slightly to regard the curious little candy the girl was holding out to her. Now, if Cas had a weak spot--aside from, of course, that quintessentially elven pining--it was sweets. Oh, was it sweets. Deryn had her favorites, of course: the little cinnamon bread rolls they'd first encountered back home. And Cas had hers, the little chocolate chipp'd pastries, just like daddy used to make.

But this? Oh, now this was a curious thing. Though Cas really should have gotten out more in her seven or so years of living.

The elf plucked the licorice from Abita's hands, delicately, holding the barely transparent, black sweet up in the daylight. Fortinbras and Barasa forgotten, for the moment--it was a greater mercy than the little child could have imagined. Cas brought the edge of the sweet-stick to her lips and nibbled hesitantly, before that puzzled frown pulled itself into a slow smile. Finishing the last of the curious sweet, she regarded Abita thoughtfully while licking her fingertips.

"....Do you have any more?"

Abita grins, pulling on the rope of licorice in her mouth. The outside of the licorice rope sticky and slightly slimy from her saliva as she sucks on it indelicately, as if savoring it for as long as possible before taking a bite. A bit of transparent black drool coats to her lips as she sucks on the licorice stick. She watches Cas eat the rope of licorice offered.

"....Do you have any more?"

Swaying her childish hips from side to side and rocking on her feet, she giggles and nods, holding up the other rope of licorice in her hand. With her other hand, she pulls the moist, black rope from her mouth holding the (mostly) dry end. "I got one more. I am supposed to share." She grins. "My mother has more, but she says I am only supposed to have one at a time so it will last the trip. She also has peppermint dots that melt in your mouth. But those are only for a special treat. Except, sometimes when my tummy is upset, she will put one in some tea for me." She wrinkles her nose, "She always knows when I am fooling though, so I can't just say I have a tummy ache and I have to be extra good to get one."

She grins at the elf who isn't all that much taller than she is. "If you don't tell, we can split the last one she gave me instead of sharing with someone else." She bobs her head, her hat flopping slightly into her eyes as she does.

"It's been fairly uneventful. I took my time this morning, staying downstairs for a while and enjoying the quiet. I wrote some, came up with some more evil pranks. The usual fodder for me." Alcy grinned a bit as she cast her eyes to Enris. It must be frustrating, being so disliked by an entire race. The hatred ran both ways of course, but Alcy couldn't imagine having that much random hate for an entire race, it sounded completely exhausting.

Her eyes moved their way around the deck. Fort and Barasa were talking, a bit stressed though it seemed. Cas and Deryn had some interaction where Alcy couldn't tell whether they hated each other or were friends, and the young girl bounded over to Cas, offering her licorice. Alcy had never liked licorice, and so, seeing the candy made her remember the distinct smell of one of her least favorite candies. At this thought, the young woman crinkled her nose up at it. Thank goodness the girl hadn't offered it to herself, she wouldn't have wanted to make the girl feel bad, but Alcy couldn't stand the stuff.

"Well it looks like the children are bonding...." She grinned, givining Enris a co-conspirital look as she motioned to Cas and the little girl "I think they're probably around the same maturity at times...."

Opening her eyes slowly to the morning light, Rynn was quite surprised to see an entire change of scenery. Of course, it wasn't too terribly unexpected considering where they were but it was unexpected to be certain. What was more unexpected, however, was the fact that she was entirely alone.

"Shit..." She said softly to herself, running her tongue absentmindedly over her teeth and noticing momentarily that they felt a bit different shapewise. At least this morning, she felt at full strength again. So the weakness had been temporary for the time being. Getting up, she began to walk around, curiously investigating the outside of the ruins. Seeing no readily available pathway and knowing she needed to do something, Rynn decided to take a hesitant step into the ruins.

It was a bad idea, and she knew that, but Rynn couldn't just sit there and do nothing and wait for Boj to return, besides, in this place she had no idea if he was coming back in a minute or a week. And so, the woman walked into the ruins, taking the first cautious step inside.

A familiar face, at once translucent and somehow changed from the one which trailed Rynn in her dreams, now greets her in the waking world. The figure is something like a ghost, and if Rynn attempts to interact with her, the ghost will not appear to have noticed and Rynn's hand will only tickle somewhat.

The familiar face is already turned to Rynn when she enters the ruins. Boj is still nowhere in sight, but the woman speaks. Her voice is just as distorted as it was in Rynn's dreams, though the words come through unbroken this time.

"What you're seeking belongs to me. Your friend has left you in search of it, though already his insides harden with doubt. I must ask you to prevent him from getting it. The Ardent, as well. I will make it far more worth your while than mere gold. Will you do me this favor, miss Arokit?"

Rynn's nose will begin to bleed.

The ship stops briefly in An, a war-torn-and-rebuilt city in Kerria's north. Summer is beginning to end, and the continent's vast mountain range--the peaks of which reach far into the clouds above--can be seen even before the ship reaches the coast. The city is an unfriendly place, and the ship is in a hurry: the crew can briefly duck into the docks if they wish but will be assumed to have returned in the handful of minutes that it takes to resupply the ship.

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Andy peeked one lazy eye open to regard the commotion in the corner of the room, the eye wheeling about to pause momentarily on the half-dressed creation in the opposing corner. Gaze drifted between the two Lia's, trying to remember which was which, his head still muddled with exhaustion...Andy waved a hand vaguely. "You heard the woman, out you all get." He didn't need to bother telling the little flesh-doll she could stay, as she was still smiling at the wall.

The creation didn't nearly match the perfection of her namesake. Or look anything like her, Lia'd taken care of that bit. Andy couldn't even quite remember what she'd looked like...he sighed, laying his chin on the flat of his palm and looking up at his apprentice.

"Mhm?"

Cas watched the child like she might a feline might watch a feather on a string: not something to eat (usually), but something to play with. Extensively. Little Abida was swaying, and the elf's eyes followed every movement as she awaited her answer.

An answer which was, at first, not much of an answer at all. Cas appeared puzzled with the girl's ramblings, choosing to focus on the whole 'yes I have another piece'. And that she was supposed to share, that bit especially. The elf's hand lifted automatically, awaiting the candy she expected to be placed in her palm. Instead, talking. She sighed, lowered her hand, and regarded the girl thoughtfully.

And smiled that wicked little smile of hers. Cas clasped her fingers delicately behind her back, leaning forward and presenting that smile to Abida. "We could do that. Or, we could do this instead..." The elf leaned in to whisper her devilish little plan, and three or four minutes later, they were slinking off the deck together and onto the newly attached docks...

Port of An, Autumn 1131

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4190910/Ardent/an3.png

In the days of old, the port served as the hub of Tyrisian imperialism in the west. In the days of very old, it served as Kerria's grandest city. These days, it's mostly a commercial port. The old Tyrisian universities still litter the city's coastline, usually tucked away from views of the sea but a grand sight when approaching the air, as the Ardent does today. The ship coasts in to one of the more trusty refueling docks, a re-purposed church and lighthouse which now serves as a resting place for airships bound to the north. The docks are small, and largely private: there's some shops and inns along the cobblestone road parallel to the docks, and a bridge over the grand waterfall which connects the little outpost to the rest of the city. But the stop is planned to be a quick one, and most of the crew won't experience anything of the city besides the roar of the massive waterfalls lining it, and the telltale street babble echoing over its rocks.

Port of An, Autumn 1131

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4190910/Ardent/an3.png

In the days of old, the port served as the hub of Tyrisian imperialism in the west. In the days of very old, it served as Kerria's grandest city. These days, it's mostly a commercial port. The old Tyrisian universities still litter the city's coastline, usually tucked away from views of the sea but a grand sight when approaching the air, as the Ardent does today. The ship coasts in to one of the more trusty refueling docks, a re-purposed church and lighthouse which now serves as a resting place for airships bound to the north. The docks are small, and largely private: there's some shops and inns along the cobblestone road parallel to the docks, and a bridge over the grand waterfall which connects the little outpost to the rest of the city. But the stop is planned to be a quick one, and most of the crew won't experience anything of the city besides the roar of the massive waterfalls lining it, and the telltale street babble echoing over its rocks.

Two tiny figures slink off the deck of the Ardent, slipping through the little crowd that's sprouted up to view the awe-inspiring ship. Yes, yes, seen it all before. The ironwood beauty usually gave her pause--and should have, given the way the Kerrian rapids had such a way of forming frothing mists about the ship's base--but today, Cas had plans. Oh, she had plans.

Smoothing down the loose almost-curls around her ears and making sure they were as visible as possible, Cas turned to the younger--well, older--girl as she adjusted her bodice in such a way that would make her chest 'pop' just a little better. This really couldn't fail. Could it?

"Alright, you remember the plan? Just look cute and ask for treats. Or dance, or something. This'll work, I promise you."

And so Cas set about the task of slipping her fingers in every little cloth-opening on the passersby, their hands and eyes and attentions straying from their wallets to focus on one of the two lovely visages before them. The elf smiling and faux-fawning over each one of them in turn.

Abida grins and nods. "I know songs." She twitters a girlish giggle, spinning on her toes awkwardly, one hand on the hem of her dress, the other on the brim of her hat. She sways her little bottom back and forth, looking a bit wiggly, the dimples on her cheeks a sign of her enthusiasm. "I saw a man do this New Athlas... he got lots of coins from people." Her grin stretches into a broad smile.

She begins to clap her hands together and starts to sing. Her voice is a bit off key, but the girl's voice is sweet, like any child's tends to be.


In winter I get up at night,
And dress by yellow candle light.
In summer quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day,
To go to bed by day,
To go to bed by day.


As she sings the first verse, she claps her hands together in time. She hops from one foot to the other in a little dance as she sways her hips, making her dress brush against her knees.


I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown up people's feet
Still going past me in the street,
Past me in the street,
Past me in the street.


With this verse, she takes off her hat and sways it from side to side in front of her, making up the dance as she goes along. She hops on her toes and moves from side to side.


And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?
To go to bed by day?
To go to bed by day?


She grins as she finishes her song. Holding her hat out to any passers by that happen to stop and listen.

Enris chuckled at Alcy's comparison of the elf and child. He found her observation to be very true and very amusing. With an elf's long lifespan, it was bound to happen that their childlike nature would be prolonged as well.

He noticed Barasa and the Captain chatting together. He was glad the scholar had come out of his shell, if only but a little. Being shy just would not do on a mission such as this.

His attention was captured by their arrival to the Port of An. He had been here only once before and at the time found the sound of the roaring waterfall to be soothing. Although loud, it was constant and never changed and he found that reassuring somehow.

He turned back to Alcy with a friendly smile. "It seems we have arrived at a temporary stop."

Standing at level to the Captain, he couldn't shake the potential for inferiority. The man was taller, larger and certainly better suited for travelling than the lanky little book hermit, built similar to the brother he was closest in age to. Lithe but experienced. Childhood bitterness flaked, if only for a moment, stifled by his lingering intentions and the reassurance of his status. His hand, a reflex to a nervous habit, found the back of his neck, disrupting his initial composure as his eyes settled on the Captain who was certainly much more comfortable than he was. Though he imagined, the fact that this was his ship and his crew, that came about as more than easy.

Had he been holed away in an academy library he would have been at home with himself as well. Safe guarded by the power of knowledge and his status to let such simple things affect his behaviour. Perhaps even in his own corner of the ship, he would have been less cluttered by anxiety and more apt to get to the point. Whatever that was.

Now that he was actually speaking with the man, wording what he was supposed to ask seemed stuck, wedged deep within his throat. He swallowed, rubbing the back of his neck, “Uh... well,” He paused, gaze flashing towards a sound that was all too familiar. Refreshing. The rush of water, cascading, roaring in a fashion that couldn't easily be forgotten. The Port of An. He watched as they pulled up to the port, distracted and enthralled as a rush of relief, perhaps even excitement coursed through him. They were in Kerria, finally in his homeland. And better yet, in An.

“Kerria...” He breathed so quiet he wasn't sure he actually spoke it.

Only thrice had he visited the Port, all in relation to his studies on the koysqatsi. Being a fairly small port, backstage to the much larger ones that sat along the coast of Kerria, it had been perfect for receiving valuable shipments; his documents, the archives he studied. The university there was home to a large amount of information he wouldn't have found elsewhere. If only for that, the sound of the falls in the distance, while he analyzed the documents upon his few ventures north, remained well in his mind.

However, even though they were now docked, he couldn't brush it off to venerate just yet. Despite how distinctly eager he was to touch base with the Kerria's soil, once more feel land beneath his feet and the generous breath of his people. Turning back to the Captain he shoved off his apprehension and went for it, “Sorry. It's been awhile since I've been here...” He started, shaking off his daze,”Anyway, I... heard that you've come into the possession of some old writings. I've been meaning to ask about them. A curious notion if you will,” He said finally, attempting to dissuade questions on why he would know about them in the first place, “I don't suppose you would mind... discussing their content?”

Now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember if he was supposed to acquire them for himself or simply... confirm the suspicions. Impatient, he shrugged it off. There had been no specific instructions other than to simply ask. And he was hardly in the position to do more than that.

As she slung her body over the railing of the ship, she closed her eyes. It wasn't long before a faint but every growing sound made its way to her pointed ears, stirring the silence that held them previously. "Mm?" Arching her head up she watched in the distance as silhouettes began to form shapes in the distant clouds.

The sound was growing, and the curious elf walked along topside, keeping her hands on the railing as she made her way toward the prow of the Ardent. That distant sound was growing, becoming much more distinct by the moment, soon the powerful smell of salty waves crashing about, stirring up the sea air around the ship hit her nose.

The sight was beautiful, just like she had expected. Not once had the elf step foot on Kerrian soil, and the females lust for adventure and new experiences felt like it was setting her heels aflame. Deryn found herself in utmost joy and excited laughter as she approached the helm, guiding the ship into port. "There ya go!" An enthusiastic smile spread across her face, pleased with the sudden arrival as she pulled her gloved hands from the wheel and quickly headed for the dock.

Before Deryn could even step foot off the deck she was almost knocked back by the sudden shuffling bodies of Cas and the child she saw earlier. "Hey!" With not much of a regard it seemed her friend had found another playmate. Where were they off to in such a rush, huh?

Rushing off the deck as well she followed with intrigue, her boots slapping against the wooden dock. But it wasn't long before her attention was snapped back by the sites surrounding her. If she didn't feel like dwarfed by everything already, this was certainly the place to make her feel even smaller. Glancing back at the flowing water she looked off into the serene distance.

It wasn't long before she heard the far off charming voice of a little girl, walking back in the direction of the street she saw what she should have expected in the first place. If it wasn't Cas and the cute little child dancing about the streets. "What are those two up to?" A smirk appeared on her face as she watched them not too far away.

As the Ardent pulled into port, Thana found herself leaning against the taffrail of the ship, watching the sights that passed by the rear of the vessel. Her mind wandered aimlessly as she stared off over the lands of Kerria, the City behind her (as she was facing backwards). She pulled a piece of candied ginger from a small pouch in her bag and started to suck on it idly. The sugar and spice of the confection stinging her mouth. Her lips parted slightly as she pulled in a cold breath against the gentle sting of the ginger.

As the ship came to a halt and the crew went about their business, Thana found herself without much to do. Pulling herself away from the railing, she figured she ought to see who her daughter had decided to befriend. Walking around the deck, Thana frowned.

There was no sign of the girl.

Or the elves for that matter.

"Tit biscuits stuck in a bunghole..." she swears aloud as she makes another quick circle of the deck before heading below to search their quarters and other communal areas. Her boots stamp angrily on the wooden planks of the stairs as she heads down, her dark eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched.

------------------

By the time she finishes this fruitless endeavor, Thana is frothing. Her jaw works slowly, the muscles in her face tight as she works her way back to the deck. The Elves are missing as is her daughter. Her mind jumps to the worst first... then to the probable. She knows that they probably just went off ship for a jaunt about town, but the dark images of worse possibilities linger in her mind.

Her hand clenches the handle of her baton that has somehow slipped its way out of her belt. She taps the weapon on her thigh as she stalks about the deck. "If I was an elf or a little girl, where would I go if I was running about off ship?" she muses, trying to work out her anger. She draws a blank.

She smacks her baton on her thigh again with a heavy THWACK.

Taking a deep breath, she makes her way over to Enris and the woman with him. Her knuckles strain nearly white as she clenches her beating stick. Unworking her jaw, she finally speaks. "Have either of you seen my daughter and the elves? I think they have absconded with her."

Lia took a few deep breaths as the others filtered reluctantly from the room; shooting curious glances her way as they went. Once they were alone... well the doll still didn't count did it? Lia pushed herself out from the corner and nervously smoothed the front of her work-stained dress. She came to stand in front of Andy where she could see all of his reactions for herself. She was a bit afraid, but she had to see.... had to know.

"Andy, please tell me the truth... Who is Miranda?"

If this mysterious woman who haunted her dreams was as important as she suspected then she fully expected Andy to evade the question. But that in and of itself would be an answer as clear as if he had shouted it at her. No matter what he said... or didn't say...

Lia slid another cautious look at the 'doll'.

She now knew that she should have listened to her gut. That first night she should have questioned Andy more on the 'why' of this project instead of letting him off the hook in her intellectual greed. Now she couldn't shake the feeling that they all had made a terrible mistake. She needed Andy to tell her the truth, to tell her lies, to tell her something that would erase the dread in her heart. If only 'Miranda' could be an innocent coincidence; a person from a child's imagination and a name from an old man's fancy that just happened to cross paths here...

Rynn had to take a second look to affirm what she was actually seeing. Was it really the character from her dreams, before her in the flesh? For a moment, the fallen by choice noble stood there and processed the girl before her, simply staring.

"You can make it far worth my while than gold?" She asked, skeptically raising an eyebrow and taking a few steps closer "How so?" Rynn finished, though she suddenly felt a slightly wet sensation on her lip. Licking it absentmindedly, Rynn tasted the iron taste of blood. Emerald eyes widening, the young woman quickly grabbed a cloth from her bag and staunched the bleeding. She'd never had a nosebleed before, why would one be happening now? Rynn was liking this place less and less. Its beauty thinly veiled its dark intentions.

The specter seems at first unaware of Rynn's nosebleed, as her eyes don't seem to be registering anything new or unusual occurring with the young woman. But after a moment she pauses, and smiles apologetically. The bleeding stops, though of course the blood remains.

"I'll protect you from the effects of this area for the duration of your trip here, if you agree to my request. That will be proof alone. If you are able to help prevent Boj ma'Deu--or the old man on the ship bound for here--from obtaining it, I will do what I can to carry out some wish of yours. If it's gold you seek, I assure you I can produce more than the Queen is currently offering. Or will ever offer, for that matter."

She pauses. "It is not so much that I do not wish your friend to obtain this item, as I require it and I fear someone I am no longer friendly with will pry it from him. This is a dangerous place for anyone, but this is an especially dangerous time and place for a Kerrian."

The ship returns to the air, and begins to head further northwest, drawing ever closer to the vast expanse of mountains. In the distance, pockets of snow can be seen.

While at port, Deryn had managed to buy up a few supplies in secret. She had a few coins on hand, and purchased ingredients that the ships kitchen lacked. One of the main ingredients being cinnamon. But to be quite honest, cinnamon wasn't exactly something that would be used often on a ship.

Anyhow, after she had guided the ship in it's proper direction and spent a bit of time writing out the proper course for her ship hand to follow she slunk away into the kitchen through the dining room. It wasn't meal time, so the kitchen was virtually empty. It would have been an odd sight to see if anyone had walked on.

Deryn had been mixing and rolling the dough for one of her favorite childhood delights, gypsy bread. Oddly enough, the whole ordeal turned out to take much longer than she had remembered as a child, but to be honest she hadn't tried her hand in the culinary arts in some time. Flour had seemed to make it's way all over the elf in the process. Once placing the dough in its vessel and slipping it into the oven she stared into the glowing metal box and drew her hand to her chin, pondering how long the estimated time of completion would be.

She didn't realize that flour still covered her fingers, and managed to give herself a comical white powder goatee. Already the kitchen was alive with the sweet smell of sugary, cinnamon delight which that itself was sending her into a delighted state of nostalgia. Thinking back to the days that truthfully were not too far from the present day but the changes have made her childhood at home grow foggier and foggier. A slight smile crept onto her face as she reminisced about her dear friend and the others they played with, but that smile shortly faded as she remembered all the negativity that now followed her friends name. Those mixed and painful feelings the elf had been trying to bury since they step foot on the ship were managing to make their way back to the surface, pulling at her heart and mind. "What am I going to do...?"

The elf was so caught up in her little game, slipping fingers this way and that in people's pockets as the child danced and sang before them, that she almost didn't hear the little bell on the ship begin to ring. A few of the crew were slowly filtering back in, and she could tell they didn't have all that much time before the ship'd be ready to start off again. Though whether or not they'd leave without Cas and the kiddo, she wasn't sure.

"Alright, enough of that," she muttered, adjusting her trappings so that there was once again a lack of emphasis on their bust.

She hurried off--whether or not the kid followed her, she didn't care all that much--into one of the nearby sweets shops and after a rather rushed sale in which threats of violence may or may not have been used, she was skittering back onto the deck of the ship, arms all full of paper-wrapped pastry and candy parcels. Cas even let the kid carry one, if she was around and wanted.

Chocolate: it was always the chocolate, for whatever little emotional need it satisfied for her. She lowered herself and all her ill-earned parcels and shopping bags onto the deck, sitting back against the wooden edge of the ship as it lifted off into the sky once more. Legs splayed out, steel toes of her boots pointing up, she smiled to herself as she began unwrapping the things, entirely forgetting--for now, at least--the little girl who'd made the sweets possible.

Cas plucked a little chocolate from one of the boxes and placed it on her tongue, closing her eyes and mouth and leaning her head back with a growing grin. She had a certain scholar to try to ignore, after all.

Abida finished her song and dance and followed Cas into the shop with her own coins. She watched as the elf bought a plethora of sweets from the shop, then proceeded to buy what she could with her own; lemon drops, chocolate covered nuts, and her mother's favorite- cinnamon candies.

"That was fun! We should do it again at the next port!" the girl twittered as she and the elf brought their booty back to the ship. She pranced merrily through the street and along the wooden boards of the dock, a wide, childish grin on her face. She was so caught up in her haul of lovely candies and chocolates, that she didn't notice the scowl on her mother's face.

The girl's smile dropped onto the deck as she set foot topside, Thana standing at the entrance, her baton in her hand and a stormy look on her face. Taking a small step closer to the elf, the girl grimaced, knowing that look. That angry, angry look on her mother's face. She squeezed the bags of treats closer to her chest, "Uh...oh..." escaping as a moan from her lips.

Thana smacked her baton against her thigh, the dull slap of the weapon against her leather pants loud but not actually painful. Narrowing her eyes at her daughter, she took a small step to the side, pointing her nose to indicate where she wanted the girl to stand.

"I...uh... got you some cinnamon candy...?" the small voice offered as if trying to diffuse the obvious anger of the woman who glowered at her. A sharp glare from the dark skinned woman snapped the girl's mouth shut. She knew with one look that she was in trouble and there would be a lecture and possibly a paddling later.

Thana turned her attention to the elf who held her chocolate like it was ambrosia, "And what made you think it was a good idea to make off with my daughter without telling me?"

The elf was busy licking two of her lanky fingers free of the caramel she'd squeezed from her last candy when the shadow of Thana slunk over her lap. She paused and looked at the shadow for just a moment before starting to look up, musing out loud where the sun had gone to.

"...oh," puffed her surprise as she looked up at the unhappy-looking medic. The left side of her lip twisted with her own displeasure. "I...thought it would work?"

Her hand rose mostly of it's own accord to scratch the back of her neck, a small measure of discomfort rising in the elf. She wasn't sure what it was exactly she'd done that had earned the medic's annoyance, but it was clear she'd committed a...faux pas, of some sort. Her line of work--the line of work she'd been since the day she'd left the manor--didn't really lend itself to much time alongside parents and their children. It was beginning for show.

With a resounding THWAP, Thana's baton smacked on her thigh as she narrowed her eyes at the elf. Thana glared down at the elf, unsure what to say. A string of curses danced in her mouth, a tirade prowled around her brain, a rant of epic proportions clawed at her innards- all of these things vied for position at the front of the race to make their way out.

The medic closed her eyes, her jaw working slowly. Behind her, Abida stood, obviously recalcitrant and fully aware of the trouble she was in. In front of her, the elf simply seemed confused. Was the cocoa eating elf oblivious to social graces- a sociopath? Was the elf stupid or just clueless? Thana couldn't tell. She was leaning toward the idea that the elf was a bit dim.

Swallowing, she opened her eyes, letting her jaw loosen slightly. "Cas... it is Cas right?" she held up her baton, cutting off anything the elf might say in response to her rhetorical question. "Abida is a child and I am her mother. You do not take her anywhere without my express permission. No...you will not take my daughter anywhere, ever again. If something were to happen to her, I need to know who I need to hold responsible." She pauses, kneeling down to look at the elf on eye level, her dark eyes serious, "And by responsible, I mean the person I will have to show the pain of a thousand suns burning off their flesh. This is the second time you have done something that anyone with a shred of decency and understanding would know better than to do. I am going to assume for now, that I did not make things clear before, so I am going to do it now. If you do anything, ever again, that causes any sort of pain or trouble for my daughter or something that makes it so she could be put in a position where such things could happen to her, I will wait until the ship is aloft and then dangle you over the edge by your toes while I cut them off one by one and you eventually plummet to your doom."

Thana looks at Cas, her baton resting on her knee. She takes a breath, "Do I make myself clear?" She looks at the pile of sweets in the elf's lap, then back up to her eyes.

She was thankful once the bleeding had stopped. As the girl illustrated her deal, Rynn stared at her long and hard. It was not a difficult decision to be sure. She couldn't just turn her back on her friend, but the idea of being guaranteed safe passage was a wonderful thing indeed. She would like to remain as normal as possible, something she was losing. Rynn ran her tongue over her slightly chipped fangs, lamenting their loss for a moment.

"How is it that you can protect me from the effects? What are you?" Rynn asked, her voice completely unthreatening, she was not trying to offend the girl, she was truly curious. "And if you have the power to protect me, why can you not protect Boj from the person trying to take the item? Can't you allow him to use it and then keep it. Boj does not desire it for money, he desires its use. For what I do not know. And I do not necessarily want the money- I just want a way to be free, and money seems the most logical right now.."

"Lilly Langdon's girl, ay'?"

The voice was accompanied by the faint smell of alchohol--perhaps wine, perhaps ale, perhaps both--and the easily forgotten presence of the old man who so often haunted this fine ship. A withered hand crossed over his torso and scratched the whiskers beneath his chin, dark eyes on the elf.

He gave her a friendly, half-steady smile. Nostrils flaring, the old guide closed his eyes, clasped his hands behind his back and leaned forward to sniff at what she was cooking.

"You'll be giving me one of those when you're finished with whatever it is you're making, methinks."