The Fox of Storms

[Doomsday]

(Solo)

It shouldn't have come to this. Jineh wasn't the kind of girl to visit such a free town. She was a nice girl and one who was law abiding at that but here she was with business in a free town. This one free town was called Fallow Port and if you look at it on a map you'll be surprised that it is landlocked, the port was for airships used by smugglers or even just those who had one with no affiliations to Alerar. Free towns are those that are ruled by criminals that think themselves better than average criminals, a place where protection of trade met the lawlessness of smuggling. It was the kind of place where things were supposed to be safe but weren't and that one found trouble.

Jineh had no business here except that she needed special crystals from the floating isles that dot Althanas and those crystals are important to Alerar that they claimed ownership of all known floating islands and forbade trade to those not of Drow blood and Jineh was a cat girl. So with every bit of trade that the law stops there is an illegal trade born and for that one went to the free towns. These towns owned themselves and were remote, as well as doing business with most nearby nations to keep the law from stamping them out.

Jineh went to the tavern for business and while it is expected for a cute girl to have to fend off some desperate drunk looking to mate with something of the other gender the fact that free towns had legal prostitution and the fact that those that weren't prostitutes might just be the girl of some ruthless bandit king meant it wasn't worth the gamble, even for a strange cat girl.

Still Jineh felt uneasy as she moved from the rough men playing darts to the handsome but petty man feeling up an equally pretty and shallow woman who was sure to get paid well. Jineh Doomsday just wanted her crystals. "Excuse me sir. I need Faric Crystals for my work. would you know where to get them?" Jineh asked the barkeep who had only one eye and a dark glare that made Jineh blush and almost cower with how it bore through her.

"Sorry lass but you really need to get your head out of your tail and look around, I'm not your guide. I pour drinks so you better have a drink or don't expect to be very welcome in my house."

Jineh felt her heart sink as she wanted to flee from the room at that moment and give up. but she came so far already. Her tail sank as the girl stammered in attempt to order a drink so that she could stay.

[Doomsday]

Jineh wasn't sure what she ordered only that it was bitter and warm on the tongue and in the end she realized that she disliked the drink and wasn't happy so far with her trip. Het kitty eyes scanned the way to see the typical tavern scene with people drinking and laughing but not much else then her ears perked up to eavesdrop in a desperate attempt to hear a clue.

At first it was nothing but banter and bad jokes, even one that would not have happened if she wasn't there. "Why do cat girls say meow?" The man started as he winked at Jineh as he told his poor taste joke and went for the punch line: "Because they're so small it hurts when you..." This caused Jineh to blush and turn away only to see a stranger sitting in front of her.

"Sorry miss for the surprise, I heard you're in the market for special minerals and for some coin I'll set up a meeting with my contacts."

"Oh!" Jineh said as she thought as quick as she could since she was a tad fuzzy from the strong drink finally setting in. "Oh yeah! Thanks, you're really what I'm needing. I was looking all day."

The shadow man laughed. "Good thing you're in a free town, if the law here wasn't made by smuggling lords then I'd have to dissappear for how loud you're being."

"S, Sorry! I didn't mean to be too loud. It's just such a relief."

The man smiled and held out his hand which the cat girl placed some coin in right away.

"Perfect, I know just the man for you, I'm sure you'll love him." The shadow man laughed and left.

The kitty girl felt worried as a little bit of her nervous human side caused her to sweat a little bit.

"Don't worry, he'll be back. Wren there is a good businessman and won't steal your coin like that. But he isn't quick so how about another drink."

Jineh twitched her tail and looked at her unfinished glass. "Umm, I still have plenty left but thanks."

[Doomsday]

Jineh waited and waited for the man to return and she even blushed a little thinking that she was such an idiot to give her coins away in a place like this and even though it wasn't much gold it was just the point that she was foolish to trust such a man. She grew more fidgety and even leaned in her chair a little to much and crashed on the floor causing many of the patrons to roar with laughter and the barkeep to sigh but since the chair wasn't broken he didn't have to throw her out.

The kitty girl groaned as she got up and rubbing her soar head.

"So you're the neko looking for crystals?" came a voice that made Jineh yelp and turn trying to hide her surprise and soreness but ended up looking even more surprised than she was. The man laughed and wagged his fluffy tail while perking up his ears. Copper red hair and feline, no vulpine ears perked up as the man grinned. "I get that a lot, most call me the Fox of Storms. Coarse not because I'm clever but their lack of creativity. Guess by the way of naming things you're the Earthshaker Cat." He laughed a bit.

"Umm I'm Jineh Doomsday."

"Must have been quite the warrior woman, come down from the mountain and level armies all by yourself."

"N, no! I'd never!" Jineh stammered. "It's just the name I'm given, it doesn't mean anything." The kitty girl really wished she was right about that but it was a part of her holy name and meant something of her destiny that she would have something to do with a great calamity. But the Fox of Storms didn't need to know that. "I'm just a girl that likes to make things, I'm kind of an inventor."

The fox nodded. "Ahh so that explains the crystals. I think I might have what you need little lady. We'll have to take it back to my ship so we can see what you need."

Jineh smiled but she felt a little worried. This fox boy seemed to have the wit of the fox and could be a trickster wanting her for something else but then Jineh looked in his eyes and wondered what could he want her with if it wasn't to sell crystals.

[Doomsday]

The Fox of Storms made a bow to the feline lady as he removed his hat. "This way oh stunning madam." The rogue said as he took Jineh's hand and led her out of the tavern and through the city. The town was really similar to Alerar except that the people were human and everything was a bit brighter and more cheery. It was a town of rogues but one could see that the normal people lived without fear for free towns have a law all their own and protect their citizens from the more violent crimes. Jineh felt a bit easier thanks to seeing children playing and the easy manor that the Fox held her hand, so gentle that a single misstep could break it and he wouldn't care. The rogue was not kidnaping her and Jineh was sure of that.

And any thought about fleeing left Jineh's mind as she saw the airship fields. The great ships of the sky glistened in the light and some growled in anticipation of returning to the freedom of the sky. The cat girl had to gawk at each one and she wanted to take a closer look.

"There's nothing quite like them. No ship at sea could match their elegance or speed. Am i right?" The Fox of Storms said with pride in his voice.

"Ye, Yes Mr. Fox." Jineh said as she was set before one with a great blue blimp holding a great ironwood ship that carried 12 guns. "Is that one yours?" the kitten said with her tail wagging.

"Yes it is. The Typhoon Dragon. She's not the biggest or the fastest but she's as good as I need and with the right crew she's as good as the Aleran Sky battleships. She's good at everything you can put her to."

"Can I see her?" Jineh asked while forgetting about her crystals.

"Oh you can my lovely lady, She would not stand to have such a beauty and smart lady pass her by. But right now we shall trade, my crew took the trouble to bring the crystals down. Now anything particular that you would want?"

"Umm I need a mana crystal." Jineh answered and The Fox nodded.

"Those are kind of expensive."

[Doomsday]

Expensive wasn't a word Jineh liked but it was expected. Of coarse the crystals wouldn't be cheap but the way the rogue said the expensive part had hinted that he didn't think a girl like her could afford the mana crystals. "Umm How expensive are they sir?" Jineh asked hopeful that they were not too expensive.

"Little miss the best deal i can cut for a lovely girl like you is 500 gold for a little one."

The cat girl really wished she had more money but she had spent it on her current clothes and they were part of the reason for the need of another mana crystal. Sure she probably could trade her mana gun but that wasn't worth it to the girl. "I can't afford that, Sorry for wasting your time." Jineh found her eyes attracted to the floor and her head and tail wanting to droop low.

The Fox hated seeing that look. He really did, normally he could say "no" with no thought but a part of him just demanded that he try something that would make her happy. "Ok, I can't lower the price but perhaps if you help me. My engineer had ran off with an Elfin floozy when he came in, guess if you can prove to me that you are an inventor and can be useful in my engineer's place during my next voyage I'll give you a crystal as payment."

Jineh's ears perked up as did her tail. "You mean it? I think i can handle the machinery, I don't know but I can try."

"Yes kitten, I do mean it. Though I have to warn you that you are going to be part of my crew. The 32nd most dangerous crew to sail the skies and we don't tolerate crying or whining. You think you can handle that, not many cat girls can be pirate of the skies." The Fox wagged his fluffy tail as Jineh nodded.

"I'll do my best!" The cat girl cheered out as she smiled widely, it meant that she would get an intimate look at the ship.

[Doomsday]

The rogue smiled at the kitty girl. She seemed like she could handle herself in the role he had for her. Heck even if she only knew the basics he was out ahead being able to define his price and one mana stone was cheaper than anyone that hardly had any skills would cost and it would be nice to have someone like her on board, heck even if she didn't know anything she could serve drinks or clean up and the girl would liven up the place like some well placed flowers.

"I am glad you like my arrangement. Vogo here can show you around the ship, I still have some trading to do." The fox of storms took Jineh's hand and kissed it to be a gentleman. He wanted to show his ship himself but he was not lying about other business, he had to sell some of his smuggled goods to the people of the free town.

Jineh blushed when her hand was kissed and she really wished that the Fox wasn't going to leave. Mostly because Vogo was a rather rough looking dwarf but his smile seemed kind but he wasn't the charming type of rogue his captain was and Jineh was a tad frightened. "Um, Mr. Vogo, I really need to go and get my things, since I'm coming with you I need my things." Jineh bowed to the dwarf who looked stern for a moment.

"Aye you may lass but I'm going with ya. I'm gonna inspect ye things to make sure ye ain't up to no good. Captain trusts ya but still we be."

"Okay, I just need my clothes and Arachne." Jineh said and left to her tavern to grab the things. It wasn't a long trip or eventful save when Jineh entered her room and Vogo followed her which caused Arachne to overreact when he was turned on.

"Jineh, Beware! There is a dangerous man behind you!" The machine warned as it brought it's crossbow to aim at the dwarf who sneered but Jineh got in the way.

"Don't worry Arachne, he's a friend. We're serving on a ship together."

"Miss Jineh? What have you gotten us into? Please i begged you to take me with you when you went into town."

"Don't worry Ara. It'll be fun." Jineh smiled to her companion and turned to the dwarf.

"Are ye Done little lassie? I gonna hafta have shown ye the ship before the captain come back."

"Don't worry, I'm almost done." Jineh said as she grabbed some bags with her clothes and her tools that Arachne would carry and Vogo helped too since she wasn't strong and would slow them down.

[Doomsday]

It was fortunate that the trip was a small one as while Jineh barely had to carry anything, Vogo seemed to burn patience like it was fuel and if it was a long while the dwarf would be fuming before they got to the ship let alone have the luggage stowed safely away but there were lesser crew man that met Jineh, Vogo and Arachne to take the girl's things.

"Fox says that she gets her own room since there aren't many girls and she's not as strong as girls in the crew." One boy said with a wink at Jineh as he took her stuff to it's new temporary home.

"Thank you." Jineh smiled back with a blush, not sure what to make of the wink though she didn't really care for the boy. No Jineh closed her eyes and had her mind focus a vision of the Fox of Storms. The thought shook Jineh up a little and she wondered why her mind went to the Rogue captain. He was handsome enough and he was really nice to her and he had lots of charm and he was very nice looking. The kitty girl blushed deeper as Vogo started to drag her on through the hallways and decks of the ship into its belly.

The kitty girl couldn't help but smile widely as she saw alla the machines. There were lots of gauges and lots of pipes and quite a few buttons and levers.

"This lever manages pressure, the gauge near it better not hit red. If it does pull the lever and the ship will lose power but nothing will break. And these buttons select fuel types for various powers, choose the right one or pressure might build." Vogo lead Jineh all over the room and while it seemed complex the girl was able to make sense out of it and was sure she could do the job since nothing was too advanced and then Vogo left leaving Jineh alone with Arachne.

"Mistress, this seems quite the tall order. And to think he choose you and not even knowing you."

"Yeah, maybe I give off a feeling that I know all about this kinda stuff. It won't be hard though I wonder how he knew about me." Jineh mused as she thought about his strong eyes and the softness underneath. "I think I can tell he's a good man despite being a scoundrel of sorts." Jineh smiled and Arachne tapped a claw.

"Miss, please be careful. The man's a scoundrel none the less."

[Doomsday]

"I don't think I'm that bad of a scoundrel."

Jineh's face flushed white for a moment as she looked up and saw the Fox standing in the doorway with a cheeky grin and a playful swish to his tail. Jineh's face then started to flush pink as blood came back up and the feeling made the kitty girl raise her tail fur even though she wasn't frightened of him, just surprised.

"I'm glad you found this place. It's very important and I really am trusting you quite a bit to be down here so I would like to be trusted in turn."

Jineh blinked and bowed her head. "Oh sorry. I trust you. Arachne's kinda like a mother hen even though I made him." The Felin smiled and looked up with a bit of pride though she almost could get lost in the Fox's eyes.

"So you made this? quite the accomplishment. I knew that you'd be a good girl to have down here keeping the ship in the air. I just had a gut feeling about you and you keep proving yourself to me and you haven't even started."

"Oh, well I'm not that great but I'll do my best and I think i can run the ship." Jineh was being modest because while she had a good feeling and she wanted to do her job and get the crystal as well as please the Fox of Storms; She wasn't sure if she was fully capable of running the engine room.

She just couldn't say 'no.'

[Doomsday]

"Well that's great." The Fox made a bow. "I pardon my having to leave but the ship needs her captain at the helm." His tail twitched and he smiled. "You'll have to stay down here to make sure things go smoothly but you'll notice there are some windows to see the world from. it's not much but when Vogo takes over you can see it from up top before going to bed." And with one more bow the Fox left as well and Vogo had disappeared when the captain entered and Jineh failed to notice and now she was alone with Arachne who was much more open now that the captain was gone.

"I hope you know what you're getting yourself into." Arachne squeaked as it went around the room looking for any possible hazards and pointing them out to Jineh.

"I know Arachne. I know what's hazardous." Jineh giggled and then stopped when she heard the cylinders at far side of the room hum as they started to glow and all the other machines sprung to life. The room was filled with soft noise as everything began to move. It was strange especially the feeling of the room lifting into the air with the rest of the ship.

"Wow, this is great!" the Kitty girl cried out in true excitement as she rushed to the window to see the buildings far below with all the people doing their business shrinking until they looked like toy models as well as the trees and buildings. It wasn't the only ship in the sky as well but Jineh was more focused on the ground. "We're Flying Arachne, we're really flying!" Jineh was excited as she went between the windows to see the different views.

[Doomsday]

Jineh kept at her job though it wasn't much as everything in the room was functioning properly and seeing the world through little windows was rather boring. It was hard to keep from pacing and fidgeting. The place was kind of feeling cramped and the kitty girl was looking out the window wishing she could fly on her own power.

"I really thought this would be more fun but I don't have anything to do." Jineh whined.

"At least Be thankful that you have an easy job." Arachne responded though Jineh could only pout.

"I don't know. It isn't easy being this bored."

"I'm sorry mistress." Arachne said flatly.

But then there was a heavenly sign when the com opened up and The Fox spoke through the machine. "Hey Jineh, is everything fine?"

Jineh perked up and went to the com unit with a smile. "Everything's A-OK." she chimed glad to hear his voice and happy that it broke the monotony of the engine room.

"If that's the case then join me in the controls. We're high enough and everything is working so you can come up. Just be sure to move your tail into that room if something goes wrong."

Jineh's heart beat faster and she cheered out glad to be somewhere more fun than this. "Arachne, please watch this place for me, okay?" She asked the mechanical spider knowing that Arachne like things to be boring as it seemed to give him time to think about whatever his gears made him think of but he had unlimited patience.