Batten Down the Hatches [Mature]

Batten Down the Hatches!

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[Closed to Leoric.]

The chilled winds of the harbor city were something Felicity Rhyolite was used to, both due to living her early life in arctic weather and spending the last month here. Salvar was a brutal environment, both in nature and its people. The young woman was only too ready to leave for her home in Corone. Having been transported here against her will, it took Felicity an entire month to navigate the frigid landscape to find the port city of Tirel.

Reluctantly, Felicity had spent the night in an inn. She had only been able to book a trip a day after her arrival. This morning, she had eagerly awakened only to remember it was another three hours before the ship set off.

With a sigh, Felicity huddled in her fur winter outfit. She was sick and tired of Salvar. She was sick and tired of hiding her magical powers under the shadow of the Church of the Ethereal Sway. She was sick and tired of all the worrying, day and night, over the wellbeing of those at home.

Shinsou Vaan Osiris was alive. He just had to be. Felicity had to believe that. She was so desperate to see her mentor again. She was terrified for his safety every second they were apart. Now, Felicity was stuck in Salvar a final several hours before going on a boat trip that would likely take several weeks.

She needed to pass the time somehow; get her mind off of her anxieties.

Through the snow pounded streets of Tirel, Felicity blindly strolled through the red brick roads, numb to the throngs of people in this bustling trading hub. Felicity had grown used to her magical sense being buffeted by the different magical detections by now. It strangely reminded her of Corone, and how she had similar experiences there. The lack of magic in Salvar's towns had left her feeling empty and vacant.

Felicity walked up to the window of a clothing and fashion store. She looked through the frosty window at her own reflection. She had bought this fur outfit at the beginning of her journey here. It once had neat white, grey, brown, and red furs all combined in rugged colors. Now, unwashed dirt, grime, and blood had ruined the outfit. Her straight hair, rustled in the light harsh breeze, was kept under an equally messy fur hat. Her endomorphic, muscular body was well hidden and warm under the heavy outfit. She supposed, she should get another outfit to wear on the ship. Felicity strolled into the brick store, stepping out of the crunch of the snow and onto a wooden beam floor. A women wearing a purple dress with fur lining immediately noticed her and smiled, "Looking for something, dear?"

"I'm going to Corone," Felicity stated bluntly, "I need a new outfit to wear there."

"Well! You came to the right place!" She beamed, jumping a little. She reached out and took a stringy strand of Felicity's hair, "Ah, a redhead! Oh, you'll look glorious when I'm done with you!"

Well, some time had passed. Now, Felicity was standing in front of a mirror. She had no idea how it happened, but she had been suckered into paying for an entire makeover.

Felicity was wearing quite the outfit. A white, v-neck shirt was worn under a red utility jacket with long sleeves. Colored red, the quality jacket had an emblem of a Phoenix on the back. It was an inspiring animal, much more likely to be spotted in Fallien than here. It came to show how much cultural diversity was in Tirel. Felicity wore simple brown straight pants and brown boots; though the pants were enhanced with a red sash wrapped around her waist. Felicity also wore long, brown leather gloves as a safety precaution for her dark powers. She could not risk accidentally cutting her hand and setting her uncontrollable powers off. Felicity also wore a simple silver necklace with a small owl charm on it. Felicity had no idea how she got convinced to spend money on this thing. None the less, it was a good fit for the outfit.

Felicity also had been given a hair cut. The woman had begged Felicity to do something about the long length, blunt ends, and lack of style. This somehow evolved into getting her hair curled in the 2A design. The fronts were pulled back a bit and tied with a red ribbon. The hair still reached down to her waistline, but she had been told it looked great with her new hairstyle.

Felicity reached back and tossed her hair up, which had a lot more bounce now, and let it fall back down. Why did she pay for this? It no longer could be used to cover her neanderthal forehead! Still, Felicity had to admit that she... enjoyed... this shopping trip. It was strange, yet, delightful.

"Anything else I can help you with, sweetheart?" The stylish woman asked as she counted Felicity's money out at the counter.

"Yes," Felicity nodded, "What time is it?"

"Hmm," The woman shot her eyes at a clock with numerals Felicity was unable to read. "Why, it is eight thirty three."

"What!" Felicity cried, staring at the shopkeep in horror, "My ship leaves at nine!"

Felicity darted towards the door, "Thank you! Keep the change!"

A mad dash through the snowy town lead Felicity towards the ship yards. Crisp air and chilly fish stench met her as she darted through the icy docks. She was quite thankful that she already had her possessions loaded on the ship last night. Panting, Felicity kept on running until she made it to the ship. As workers loaded some last minute supplies onto the ship, Felicity leapt onto the loading ramp and ran onto the ship. Breathing heavily, Felicity took in the view. The dark oak ship was glazed in frost, but was sturdy and strong. As crew members shouted and ran amuck around her, the white sails were being raised. For the first time in quite a while, Felicity was flooded with joy. Finally, she was going home!

She raised her fists to the sky, crying out in excitement as she beamed, "Goodbye, Salvar! I won't miss you a bit!"

After one long month, she was finally leaving this stupid snowball. She was going back to Whitevale! She would finally be reunited with her beloved teacher! She was going home...

Nothing could ruin this moment! Nothing!

Leoric barely had his eyes open before the pounding began in his head. He groaned as he sat up and was overwhelmed by the assault to his senses. He had spent the night drinking his fill and enjoying whatever came his way. The sun beaming in through his window and across his bed warmed him up slightly as the small dust particles could be seen floating through the effulgence. The drunken brawler lazily through his feet over the edge of his inn bed and grumbled as the frigid wood floor caused his toes to curl.

“Where you going darling?” a groggy voice called out from behind him. Leoric blinked and turned around facing the naked woman still in his bed, she had shoulder length red hair that perfectly accentuated her face, her glistening blue eyes seemed to tell the story she was also drinking last night, although he doubted it was as much as himself as he had no recollection of sleeping with anyone last night. he did remember making the deal with her though, in exchange for the magical stones he needed, all he had to do was give her a night of passion and lust that her husband never could.

“Gotta get those stones out of here before the church finds us or them, so leaving as soon as the ship is ready.” Leoric huffed as he forced himself to stand, his head throbbing as the smell of fresh cooked breakfast hit his nose and his stomach demanded sustenance. “Go back to sleep, if i spot the church i will be back to warn you.”

The Brawlers clothing was never really suited for the Climate out here, Plain looking leather jacket, some plain pants, a slightly sweat stained white shirt, and some tar stained thick leather boots, but buying an obscenely large fur cloak seemed to keep him nice and warm. As he was getting dressed he noticed her clothing and thought to himself that they looked too nice for just someone out drinking the night before. But he was really too hungover to care too much.

Leoric grabbed his gloves in his hand and donned his cloak as he walked downstairs and across the sparsely populated Inn to get some breakfast. “The usual” he requested as he sat down at the bar and was brought this inn’s version of a coffee, although it tasted more like hot bog water then anything else. It wasn’t long before an oblong plate was placed down in front of him with a few eggs, some mystery meat that he was never able to really place and a dollop of some beans in a sauce that was oddly indistinct. It wasn’t the nicest tasting thing in the world, but in a frigid place like Salvar? Any hot meal was a beautiful thing to have.

As he stacked a bit of egg on top of the meat and tossed the last bite into his mouth there was a commotion outside, he sighed and stood up tossing some coins to the counter and thanking the man behind the counter. After the drink he had and his meal his headache had subsided mostly but his eyes still hated the light.

“You! Sir! You look like a trustworthy fella!” a slightly over eager man approached Leoric. “Please! You must know something, I am looking for my wife! She told me she was coming out this way last night to get a few things from the shops and she would be back, but she never came back last night!”

“What did she look like? And what was she wearing?” Leoric sighed as he rubbed his beard out of frustration and looked at the now established panicking man.

“Well, she has shoulder length red hair, deep blue eyes, like the color of water in the warm sun, she has a hourglass frame and she has a pleasant voice to listen to.”

Leoric resisted as much as he could from both laughing at the man and giving away that he had spent the night with her. But seeing as he was setting sail soon he didn't mind pointing him in the right direction.

“Last i saw her was at a tavern last night and struggling to walk so i offered to get her, her own room, at this inn. You can find her upstairs, third door on the left. But with how much she was drinking, you may want to lower your voice when you find her and talk slowly.” Leoric gestured behind himself to the door he just walked out of as the man thanked the hungover brute and walked inside. Leoric sighed and slid his leather gloves on over his fingers, and began walking towards the docks, he turned down a few alleyways so that if the man found out leoric had spent the night burying parts of himself into her guts he wouldn't be able to find him as easily as if he just walked straight towards the ship.

After about ten minutes he arrived at the ship as they were pulling up the last of the cargo, several of the ship's crew had some devices on their wrists that were letting them zip around the ship’s rigging, doing last minute inspections, while others were using them to help move large crates of cargo. A talisman would be slapped on a box and then two ropes fired off from each wrist, and then the large crate would act like it was completely empty and could be dragged and rearranged easily. Several crates were lifted up and lowered into the cargo hold using this method.

“Ah! Leoric! Right on time! We are getting the last of the cargo loaded up right now, we are just waiting on our last minute guest from yesterday.” the captain said as he welcomed Leoric aboard the ship, putting a satchel of gold in his hand. “Half as we leave, and half upon completion, as we agreed.”

“Well now I don't need to break anything to get the money at least. And what do you mean last minute guest? I thought this was a cargo vessel?” Leoric said as he pulled the coin purse back into his cloak and clipped it on his belt.

“Yeah, well, she seemed in a rush to get back to Corone, and that is where we are going. So I figured why not make a little bit more coin to recover some of what we are paying you.” the captain chuckled as he elbowed Leoric’s side. The hired muscle rolled his eyes and spotted another crewmember nearby just as they lowered themself down from the crowsnest with their wrist mounted doodad.

“Captain, What are those devices? They look quite useful and fun.” Leoric inquired as he nodded in the direction of the crew member.

“Ahh! Those, a wandering inventor and tinkerer sold a bunch to us, called them Mobility assistance devices, we originally purchased them to help with rigging and getting the sails ready. But one of the crew members found a purveyor of some of our talismans that when slapped on a small to medium sized object would make it almost weightless for about ten minutes before the magic wears off. So we decided to use both items together and it makes loading and unloading so much faster and easier, the crew doesn't work nowhere near as much and we can get a new load aboard and off to a new destination within hours as opposed to days.” the captain was practically beaming with pride as Leoric was tempted to ask for a pair as well for his services but he was already being paid and didn't want to deal with an argument or debate this early into his hangover.

It wasn’t long before the ship was ready to set sail and the captain noticed their late addition to the roster running up the docks. At first Leoric could have swore it was his woman from the night before, but as she ran up the boarding ramp he knew they were completely different people, for one, the woman he saw this morning didn't have a sail for a forehead. But as she was welcomed aboard the captain barked his orders and the sails came loose and they began their several week journey. But Leoric couldn't help himself, she was gorgeous, and he was hungover.

“Captain, if we ever need some more wind, just put her at the aft of the ship, that forehead of hers will catch enough wind to get us to Corone in a week.”

And... The moment was ruined.

A couple seconds after the captain had welcomed her, the man he had been talking to poked quite an insult. Her... forehead? Felicity lifted one of her gloved hands and grasped it as memories swayed in her mind.

In a snow laden village, Felicity rested her back against a pine wood wall. The Eiskaltian winds rustled the window shutters above, yet failed to drown out the horrific noise. The little girl, wearing a heavy fur dress and coat, was crying. Two girls, her age, stood in front of her, taunting her.

"Hnegh!" One of them stuch out her tongue, clenching her own black hair. "You are so ugly! Your hair is red like a bull's. Probably scruffy and smelly like one too!"

"Yeah!" The second one taunted, "And what about that forehead! It's so big, it could be mistaken for one of Eiskalt's mountain ranges!"

"And your eyes," The first scoffed, "Green like some sort of weird poison! No one else looks like that!"

It was true. Felicity had red hair, green eyes, and a big forehead. Why was she so different from them? As she huddled against the wall, tears falling, the second girl stalked closer to her. Felicity winced, raising her arm up in defense.

"My mother says she's neanderthal, just like the brutes in the mountains." She crossed her arms.

"Oh yeah!" The leader scoffed, "Why is she here? My dad says all neanderthals deserve to die!" Without warning, she kicked up snow and pebbles, hurling it at Felicity. The girl squealed, sputtering as debris splashed against her face and got in her nostrils. "Ack! Stop!"

"No!" the second girl closed the space and kicked her in the gut, "Your kind murdered my father! You monsters deserve to suffer! Each and every one one of you demon spawn!"

"I-..." The child looked up at them, only to be blinded by the cold winter sun.

Tears flooded her eyes as the young adult looked at the stranger in shock. Her... her forehead was too big. She had heard it before. She lowered her hand, eyes glazed in memories of pain. It hurt. Everything hurt. Indeed, it hurt... And it filled her with rage.

Clenching her fist, she took a couple steps towards the bully, pulling her arm back. She had enough of being mistreated her whole life. She would not be mistreated now. She was stronger. Of course, she also had anger issues and the temper of a raging bull.

"Who asked you, you jerk!" She landed a solid punch, obviously influenced by martial arts training, on his chest. She hit him hard, sending him flying back.

"Ah!" The redhead recoiled, grasping her fist. Her other glove had one finger flapping in the cold wind, due to that hand only having four digits. Beneath the other glove, Felicity was positive her hand was red. She was sturdy and durable, but man it felt like she hit solid metal! Then, she looked around.

The entire crew turned from their duties and grappling hook swinging to observe the scene. The captain himself kept glancing between his two guests; unsure of what to do. Felicity stood there, holding her fist, crying. Her cheeks burned red. A scene had been made, it was his fault, and Felicity had been humiliated for the last time. She turned and stormed off. Despite Salvar's cold, she was hot in embarrassment as salty tears leaked down her cheeks.

"I'm below deck!" Felicity shouted at the captain without pause, making way towards the door leading inside the ship. She needed to be alone.

Oof, That was a solid punch, he was glad he was wearing his Damascus enchanted leather jacket, it knocked him back and the wind straight out of his lungs. Within a minute or two he was back to his usual self and laughed off the punch.

“Well I expected a punch for something like that, but she hits like a runaway cart slamming into your ribs, holy shit.” he rubbed his side for a moment before leaning against the railing, you didn't tell me she would be so drop dead gorgeous Captain, you would think that would be one of the first things you tell someone. I almost didn't have any words to say when I saw her. Thankfully that forehead of hers had the words printed on it for me.”

“Wait. you picked on her cause you liked how she looked? Isn’t that going to do the opposite of what you intend?” the Captain asked as he dismissed his helmsman and took the wheel.

“Usually yes, but if you constantly point out something, and then reveal that you actually like what you have been pointing out. It will help when she reflects on it. So right now she may hate me for it, but in a week or two when i reveal i actually like her forehead? Give it a few days and she will be kinder towards me and things can progress from there. Its a bit of a long plan, but we have almost a month together stuck on this ship.”

It didn’t take long for Leoric to get bored on the ship, watching a horizon for tiny shapes that are slowly getting larger. He found a spare hammock and untied it from below deck, he then found one of the rowboats that were on the top deck and covered, and squeezed himself inside, it wasn’t the warmest area to hide and sleep in. but it kept him safe from the elements and using the hammock rolled up as a pillow, let him get quite comfy in there. He curled up like a lost puppy and got some sleep, waking up with it pitch black outside.

“First or second watch?” Leoric yawned as he got out of his little boat and asked a nearby crewmember.

“Second, were you sleeping in that boat?” the crewmember cocked an eyebrow as if it was the funniest thing he had seen in quite awhile.

“Well yeah, I need to always be ready for boarding action or sneak attacks, anyways, what the hell is your name?”

“Seamus” the crewmember said as he leaned up against the railing.

“Alright, Well, Seamus, any Rum on this boat? I need to warm up.”

“Head down to the Galley, the cook hides a bottle or two behind a false back on the third cupboard, help yourself.”

“Well then, I will be back and we will share a drink or two” Leoric smirked as he headed downstairs. Once he found the third cabinet it wasn't hard to move the few plates out of the way, remove the false back and grab a half empty bottle. Once back up top he found Seamus again, took a swig from the bottle and offered it to Seamus. “You know anything about the fiery redhead that's now part of our cargo?”

“You mean Crew? And no, I don't know anything about her.” Seamus raised an eyebrow again as he took a sip and passed the bottle back to Leoric.

“Is she working with us? No, she paid for passage, just like someone paid for all the cargo to get from salvar to corone, so until she works on the ship, she is just another form of cargo.” Leoric smirked as he tipped up the bottle and swallowed a few mouthfuls before lowering the bottle and keeping it in his hand. “I mean, a fiery redhead isn’t that hard to find, hell i spent the night with one before we left, apparently, but those gorgeous emerald eyes to go with it? Oof, its like she was plucked straight out of one of my fantasies and dropped aboard the ship.”

“Well, we do have a few weeks with her, maybe you can work towards fulfilling those fantasies?”

“I mean, that is always a part of the plan, but part of the plan is to expect the plan to fail, then throw it away and just wing it.” he took another swig and passed the bottle over to Seamus again.

“So you just expect everything to fail and to just do whatever anyways?”

“That is about the truth of it.” Leoric chuckled as he was handed the last mouthful of the bottle and downed it. “Well time to do my rounds, if you see anything not quite normal just call for me and I will be right over. Just… we have been drinking, it may take me a few moments to get here without falling over.”

"No!"

Felicity extended her arm, crying out as the nightmare ended. The groaning of the wooden ship met her as she found herself teleported to her small quarters in the ship. She had those nightmares again... Ghosts of her family's deaths again. She was sweaty and gross, wearing an oversized, loose fitting shirt as she continued to weep. She pulled herself into a sitting position and let herself cry silently. She could never sleep well.

Some time passed as the groggy redhead wiped her tears away. Eventually, she pulled herself out of the bed and walked over to the wash bucket in the corner. Peeling the shirt off her muscular frame, Felicity pulled the shirt off then took a towel and wetted it with water. She washed herself. The water was cold, just like Salvar. She was shivering, but she really did not care. She just needed to get the sticky sweat off. After washing up, Felicity looked over to the bag she had her clothes in. She considered putting on her workout outfit and getting above deck. Would the captain mind? Felicity was trying to be a considerate guest. Felicity sighed and pulled the bag closer, pulling out a yellow outfit.

She soon was standing in front of the small mirror wearing her breathable training outfit. She wore a yellow racerback crop top tank top. Tight black shorts were covered by an asymmetrical yellow short skirt. She had light, black socks reaching up to her knees and wore breathable, flexible yellow shoes. Felicity now placed several yellow sweatbands on her wrists and over her head. She was not used to wearing such a... revealing... outfit out. She had, once upon a time, only worn this in her back yard at Whitevale to exercise in the morning. Honestly, the thought of meeting that jerk above deck disturbed her. Still, Felicity needed out of the tight confinement of this room. She would be spending over a month on this ship. She should be trying to not go more insane than she already was.

Felicity pulled her headband down in a way to hopefully hide her big forehead and finally left the room.

The frosty air of Salvar's cold climate had not loosened its grip on the ship. In the dark, Felicity could feel the warmth of her own breath as she stepped onto the decks. With her arms, upper legs, and stomach all exposed to the cold air, Felicity was shivering. She needed to start exercising quick to get her temperature up. There was one man in the corner, leaning against the brim of the ship with a bottle in his hand. Felicity grimaced, there was bound to be drunken sailers on this ship. Without even acknowledging him, or noticing the way he looked at her through the darkness, she turned and walked towards the poop deck.

Making sure the space was wide and clear, and that she was alone, Felicity started with some basic stretches.

After what felt like an hour, Leoric had completed his complete walk around of the ship and making sure all cargo was secured. After all he was paid to keep the ship and cargo safe. So shifting loads would be a god awful thing to have. When he came back up to the top deck Seamus had gotten a little too drunk, and was solely focused on keeping himself upright along the railing of the ship while holding the bottle of rum. Leoric figured he could ask anything and got an answer, so he stopped and thought for a minute on what he actually wanted. Nothing was coming to mind, he looked up at the night sky out of frustration and remembered seeing the crew buzzing around just before they left using their Mobility Assistance Devices (henceforth referred to as M.A.D.s) So it was the perfect chance for Leoric to pry, and find out just where they were stored.

“Hey Seamus, where are those wrist thingies you guys have stored?” He asked as he walked about on the ship looking up at the crows nest.

“What, wrishts thingies?” He slurred as he stumbled slightly and caught himself on the railing again.

“The thingies, you know, that you guy’s use to check rigging and get up to the crows nest easily and what not?” Leoric began motioning to his wrists and clasping his left hand over his right to hopefully jog Seamus’ memory.

“Osha! Those welsh, the casptans keeps its outside his quart..” He interrupted himself with a hiccup as he continued. “..quarters, in a blue box. why?”

Leoric, grinned as he turned to the captains quarters and found the blue box, inside were several pairs of the Mobility Assistance Devices. Leoric reached in and grabbed a pair and attached them to his wrists like bracelets before closing the lid and turning around and looking up to the crows nest.

“Now how do i …” The confused muscle started saying as one of the wrists shot off, the stump at the edge of the rope smashed into a mast and locked itself there. “... Oh! Like that! Now how do i…”

There was a slight cry of surprise as the M.A.D. began to pull the surprised brawler towards the mast at a surprisingly quick speed. Before Leoric could begin chanting ‘No’ as quick as he could. The Connected part came loose and he slid to a halt.

“Naw, you needs to focusses, itsh all in the wrists.” Seamus said as he fell over on the deck. “Heh, I fall over go boom.”

“Wait, did you get that drunk from splitting half a bottle?” Leoric asked as he stood up and brushed himself off and re-adjusted his fur cloak.

“I am a Pre-gaming master!” the drunken sailor cried out before doing his best to back up and lean on his railing.

Leoric shook his head, he couldn’t believe how silly Seamus was being, but oh well, he had a new toy. Time to play with it. He lifted his arm and aimed at the top of the mast, near the crows nest and thought ‘fire’, the projectile fired off and hit the top of the mast and stuck. Then the brawler then thought ‘up’ and was pulled up to the top of the mast, at a rather quick speed. But no matter what he tried the dart at the end just wouldn't come loose. He turned himself upside down, put his feet either side of the dart, and pulled with all his might. After a second a quick fizzle and a pop sound was heard as the dart came loose and Leoric felt like he was free floating in the air for a second before starting his fall.

As he fell towards the deck he twisted his back and turned to face where he was heading. Unfortunately someone new had apparently come up onto the deck while he was struggling to get the dart of the wood. And he was about to land straight on top of her if he didnt do anything. Forget his childish flirting, if he landed on her from a fall like that, there wouldn't be much he could do to apologize. Almost out of instinct his right arm contorted in an odd fashion and a dart was fired upwards, he had no idea if it was going to hit anything but he had to at least try something. The fiery redhead seemed to have finished her stretches and took a step back getting into her beginning stance. Leoric mentally sighed as he wasn't going to smash into her but instead just the deck. He could take that humiliation, but crushing his crush? That was going to ruin any chances he had. But just as he was about to crash into the deck, his right arm went taught and his body ragdolled for a second as he was brought up right and swung face first into the erection of his affection, Felicity. After a few moments of rolling on the deck from the impact, Leoric caught himself with his left arm and stopped his roll as he winced in pain. His right arm was dislocated and he had probably pulled a few dozen muscles or so in the rolling.

As he opened his eyes from wincing in pain, he found the aggressive redhead he had been childishly flirting with, was now beneath him and between his legs. He quickly sat up right as best he could while enjoying the view. She definitely worked out, there is no way anyone got a body like that unless they trained every day for years, he would know he had done the extensive training to get his own body like that, and just as he was about to apologize he noticed on her left hand her pinky was missing, he would have to bring that up later.

“I'm sorry these things are hard to…” The humiliated bruiser tried to explain but was quickly and promptly met with pain of the testicular variety and quickly rolled over clutching his twiddle-diddles. “...Why, I don’t get it!”

Okay, that hurt.

She felt like she had been slammed into by a cart full of lead. Moaning, she struggled to open her eyes as she felt... was that someone on top of her!

This trip just kept getting worse and worse. The weather was as good as Salvar could possibly get, and the crew seemed like a good lot. Unfortunately, their hired security guard was single handedly ruining the whole thing, and they were only in the first twenty four hours of sailing! She was beet red from the position they were in after he oh so rudely wrecked into her. She could tell, even in the dark, that his eyes were wandering too. He was heavy, very heavy, resting with a look of pleasure in his eyes as he tried to excuse this intimate position. Years of training, and an explosive instinct, had guided her in jamming her knee into where it hurts. Anger flooded her as he curled into the fetal position. Now, scrambling to get up, Felicity berated her harrasser.

"And stay off of me, pervert!" She pulled herself onto her feet, "Serves you right! Leave me alone, already!"

No need to warm up by exercising now. Despite wearing a light outfit in frigid weather, she felt intensely hot - to the point where taking a swim was tempting. The waters of this sea sounded gentle and cool against the ship after all. Still, the thought of swimming in the middle of a large body of water was proposterios. She knew better. She took several steps back, swearing to herself never to wear her bright yellow workout clothes in public again. She felt too exposed to a man child she already was wishing she had never met. So, she darted off. She needed to be as far away from this man as possible. She did not know his name, and she did not want to.

Eventually, she was back in her quarters with the door slammed shut and locked. Felicity was once again washing herself to lower her body temperature. Of course, she was pretty bruised up now too. That man was way taller than her and met her bulk with his own. That collision hurt. Quite contrary to the phrase second wind, the events above deck had brought exhaustion back to her. She had no idea what time it was, but she had a terrible sleep cycle so why did it matter? She changed into a loose fitting, long oversized shirt and let herself drift back to sleep in her cot.

Once again, harsh memories took over. Dreams of losing her loved ones, and of a trusted mentor turning into a monster. Moaning, whimpering, and shouting started to echo across the room, and the whole lower deck, as she twisted and turned in the prison of her past once again. Her PTSD had loosened its grip a little in Salvar, due to Felicity's obsession with getting home. Yet, the nightmares still attacked strong as ever, robbing her of much needed sleep. As she shed tears in her slumber, crying out with outstretched hands, mumbled words and pleas could be heard. At this rate, the entire crew could wake up to this racket.

Pervert? he hadn’t done anything to be called that. He fell! He may have gotten a peak, but all the important bits were covered! That was hardly worth calling him a pervert for, I mean he was a pervert, but he didn't need to be called one.

“Oh rights! Them thingies don’t work well when you have been drinkins, they have a hards timesh determinings what you want them to do.” Seamus slurred as he struggled to stay up right.

“Seamus, you have been relieved of duty, too much longer and you may fall overboard, I will take the rest of your watch, who is the second watch? I will wake them in a little bit.” Leoric said as he winced and got to his feet and walked over to grab the still empty bottle and shoved the cold glass between his legs to cool off his Tiddly-Bits.

“I believish Aiden, he is second right in hammock.” he replied as he begun slowly stumbling towards his assigned sleeping hammock. The Bruised brawler leaned up against the railing and took a deep breath as he forced his arm back into the socket and let out a little whimper of pain. The stinging cold air felt beautiful across his face at the moment. It helped him focus on the moment and what was around him instead of just on the pain he was feeling, both from his kneed testicles and, from his newly relocated shoulder.

After what felt like hours of staring at the horizon for any ships or icebergs Leoric felt like it was about time to go wake up Aiden for his watch and then crawl into his little make shift room in the rowboat. On his way down the stairs be began to hear some sounds, not much at first but then a very sudden ‘NO!’ from the door to his right. He quickly channeled his magic and shoulder checked his way through the door. The door gave way surprisingly easy and Leoric found himself standing half way across the empty room. ‘Empty’ save for the barely dressed redhead that he seems to keep making a fool of himself in front of. He turned to look at her.

“You alright? I heard a commotion and you cry out.” Leoric said as he tried his best to turn his head away from her and not blatantly stare at her, after all his tenders were still rather … tender. “I’m uh, sorry, I will wait outside till you are a bit more dressed.”

Felicity's magical senses had alerted her, even in sleep, that something was amiss. Forcefully yanked from the deep, murky sea of terror, chills took over her as she awoke to harsh winds. For a moment, she had no memory of this room, where she was, or why a gust of wind usually found outdoors was swirling above her. As she shivered, her eyes turned to the small light outside the door. Seeing someone, cloaked in shadow, standing in her lodging caused her to grab a her knife from under the pillow and pull herself up. Her cheeks burned as she realized she was so lightly clothed, and he seemed to realize it too. He turned away and exited as the breeze fizzled out.

Upon his waiting outside, Felicity leapt from her bed. She pulled some fur pants and a cloak out. Hastily throwing them on, Felicity's memory slowly recovered.

I'm on a boat to Corone, my home. I'm on the ship that will be approximately a month at sea. So far, everything is good except for that jerk who keeps gawking at me...

Confused, she wondered which member of the crew had awakened her, and with magical powers none the less. He had sounded decent enough to leave her some privacy at least; better than another member of this crew...

Rubbing her eyes, exhausted, she tumbled barefoot towards the exit. Leaving her quarters, she turned to see that the person who had awakened her was...

... "Oh. It's you."

That same jerk.

With a long, heavy sigh, Felicity leaned against the doorframe. Frowning, she had to admit that he had been somewhat courteous. She was too tired to be that angry anyways. Annoyed? Yes. Angry? Well, maybe next time.

"Can't you just leave me alone already?" She grumbled before remembering his question on her well being. She rested her head on the doorframe, humoring him.

"I have nightmares a lot. I'm used to it though, they've been with me for, like, two years now. I just nap during the day." To think she had lost her family, and faced the abuse of a cold teacher, four years ago. The nightmares simply started further down the line than the breakdowns, stress, constant running from her own thoughts, and insecurities did.

Felicity's arm limply swung back and forth as she slouched, "Satisfied?"

“I was alone in the middle of a forest with my Master for years, he also suffered from night terrors, i know that when they happen you shouldn't be left alone with your thoughts…. Come on let’s go train, I got a few pointers for you.” Surprisingly Leoric was not his usual self, instead he was calm, comforting, and talked like he knew what he was talking about for once. He walked up to the top deck and took off his Fur cloak and shuddered slightly in the cold embrace of the arctic waters. However instead of stopping here, he also took off his leather jacket and shirt, leaving his chest completely exposed to the elements.

He looked back in Felicity’s direction and entered ‘First stance’ a defensive stance that his master had drilled into him. His right foot was about a foot ahead of his left foot, he was in a slightly bent forward position, his right arm fully extended and his hand contorted to the left with only his thumb, index, and middle finger curled slightly while the rest were curled up into his palm. His left hand was in a similar shape just turned to his right while his left arm was bent at the elbow and practically hugging his chest.

“This is what we call First stance, it is your general stance you take at the beginning of a fight or if you are unsure what is coming next. It is easy enough to defend yourself from, and you can easily fire out a left hook for an attack.” he brought his hands together and pushed them down as he came back to a proper standing position and exhaled slightly as the wind around him seemed to stop and then come outwards from himself instead of the direction of the wind. “Now, you get into First stance.”

He grabbed an oar from the rowboat he used as his bedroom and put the paddle side down. As she took to the stance he quickly flipped the oar and tapped her with the handle side at every region that she was off of.

“Suck in that gut! Straighten out that back! Right arm elbow 45 degrees, not this stupid 37 degree crap you are pulling. Left wrist should be at your left nipple! Now, slow deep breathes in, hold for a five count then exhale, keep your eyes on a swivel, absorb all the information around you, let your senses become filled to their limit.” he took a step back and began to ebb and flow with the motion of the ocean, his arms gently waving back and forth as he seemed to be collecting something in his palms. With a few flourishes of his wrist, they wind he had been gathering blew forward and gently surrounded the red head, swirling around her legs and gently rising to ruffle her hair, and then quickly dispersed.

“You need to practice proper form, if you are even slightly off and you train like that, you are only solidifying bad habits.” Leoric’s eyes shifted for a second as he saw a few people come up on top deck for the morning shift and his mind immediately reverted to that of a 14 year old bully. He couldn’t let anyone know how soft he could be. He was a hardened uncaring asshole, that was his reputation. He had to keep it that way. He reached out his left hand and held up a pinky. “I pinky promise I won't make fun of you anymore, kay?”

Felicity had been enjoying the lesson. When it first started, she had struggled not to blush at his bare chest. She struggled not to laugh when he used the ore to straighten her out, though she certainly smiled. As her feet caused the wooden boards underneath to groan, she had to ask, Is this the same man?

She was a fast learner, easily taking on the proper form and copying his moves. That was, until, he changed.

Felicity was taken aback when he motioned with his pinky. She... she could tell what this was about. Her left hand had the pinky removed.

The comment stung.

Felicity visibly flinched, taking a step back like a dog that had just been scolded. Why? Why has he just insulted her again? Had she gotten a move wrong?

Tears flooded her eyes, once again. Instead of lashing out, however, she simply turned around and dashed below deck. She was reminded once again that this was the jerk who mocked her forehead and pinned her down with no consent.

Once below deck, Felicity had made it to the storage room. Still feeling wounded, she huddled atop a long stack of barrels and started a light nap. She had barely slept last night, and she was so tired that she had fallen asleep without processing her very confused emotions.

Why had she snuck outside?

Standing outside her front yard, the three year old girl stood in front of an older looking man. Gruff and covered in grime, he glared through the falling snow with a face of spite. She had seen this expression before, aimed at her by countless people as her uncle lead her through town on a shopping trip. This time, however, something was different. She was alone, and she felt very, very scared. Furthermore, the man extended his hand towards her.

Everything inside her told her to run.

She turned, her heavy clothes swaying as she raced through her yard. However, she felt a hand grab her pinky. Terror and physical pain caused her to scream as the man shouted, twisting and yanking her by her pinky. How long was it, how short was it? Time seemed to break as she bawled, the man pulling her away from the door as she ate snow and mud. As soon as it started, however, it stopped. She looked up, mud coating her face. Her cousin stood over her, battle ready as she heard footsteps moving away from the yard. She was strangely numb as he looked down with panic and concern.

"How did she get outside! The door was locked!" Her uncle shouted from behind her.

Her cousin bent down and held up her ice numbed hand. Something looked very wrong, however. Her pinky was twisted and contorted. Panic rose inside her. It should not look like that!

"Who cares!" Her cousin shouted, "Something's wrong with her finger!"

Years later, Felicity had cut off the dead pinky that had been dead weight to her since she was a child.

And this cruel bully she had met on the ship called her out on it.

Tears fell from her closed eyes as she hid away in the barrels.

~~~

As the ship sailed along, the days fell into a regular routine. A routine which perplexed Felicity and made her feel so uneasy. No matter where she went, she could not escape him. The guard, who she learned was named Leoric Blackwell, was relentless in his insults. On a morning the clouds blocked the sun, he wasted no time in finding a way to insult her again.

"I think it's the redhead! Her forehead is so large, it's blotting out the sun!"

No matter how many times Felicity elbowed or punched him to shut him up, he never stopped. Of course, there were times he seemed to be... nice... In the mornings he was always waiting for her to wake up from her nightmares.

"I've noticed you never eat when you wake up."

"I don't need to. I need water and sleep, but I make my own energy through my magic."

"Here," he tossed her a sweet looking candy bar, "This will help with the morning jitters."

He took her above deck every morning. It would still be dark, and there he was forcing her onto a high beam to teach her better footing and balance in combat. He was stern, but gentle then. Eventually, of course, the insults would come. For the rest of the day, he would do things like rudely awaken her from a nap to humiliate her.

"Why can't you snore quieter? You sound like a constipated boar with a cold!"

She hated it. Why was he like this? He was so complex, and he soon was on her mind just as much as her haunting past and mission to find Shinsou.

What's wrong with you! It hurts! It hurts so much...

She simply could not wait for this trip to be over.

Aside Leoric's jabs, nothing major happened on this trip. At least nothing happened until the midday of the first Wednesday at sea...

“Hey old man! What are the poles in the water for?” a young Leoric cried out as he stared at the pond.

“Balance training, can’t be much of a fighter if you lose your balance.” the Old man said as he walked towards the pillars and allowed for his towel to slowly fall off his back. Leoric stared in awe at just the sheer amount of muscles on this man, and it was the ideal goal he had for himself. “And it’s not ‘Old man’ it’s ‘Master’ get it right or you will be so sore you will be unable to train for a week”

“Yes master, i apologize, but how are we supposed to get up to those poles? They are like twenty feet up in the air.” the young brawler said as he ran up and matched pace with his master as they began to wade into the water.

“You climb, it’s really not that difficult.” he flashed Leoric a knowing grin before leaping as high as he could and climbing his perfectly smooth, cylindrical wooden pole. The way he seemed to grab onto nothing and continue climbing was something that baffled Leoric. After his first few attempts he cried out in frustration.

“How did you do that?! It's not fair, i can’t do it!”

“You can, my young apprentice, you just got to use the right leverage, sometimes just flexing your muscles won’t get you everywhere.”

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

Leoric opened his eyes and was greeted with blackness, the canvas cover over the rowboat doing its job of keeping the light out and some heat in. In this moment it also was covering his tears from the cold and prying eyes of the outside world. He hadn’t dreamt or thought about his old master in forever, why start now? He wiped his eyes and raised the canvas and slowly climbed out. The cold air nipped at his damp face as he shivered and put back on his cloak to try and keep warm. He checked in with Seamus and continued on his way down to get something hot to drink in the galley. He just wasn't himself, and he could feel it. He knew he had roughly an hour or so before Felicity would normally wake up from her nightmares and figured he would do a bit of watch before heading down to drag her up to the deck for training.

“Leoric! Something on the Horizon, I can just barely make it out.

“Something? Well let's go take a look before we wake up the captain or crew” Leoric finished his hot water and walked up top with Seamus and scanned the Horizon. Sure enough there was a ship on the horizon, it seemed to be on an intercept course based on the direction the bow was pointing.

“Seamus, go wake up the captain, this could be nothing, but it's better to be safe than sorry. If you're afraid of being yelled at, tell him I told you to wake him up.”

“Aye!” Seamus said as he bolted off to wake the captain. Leoric still couldn’t shake a feeling that something was off about him. Maybe it was being so long out at sea with his usual vices or if the sea air was getting to him. But something was off. He contemplated waking up Felicity so that she was ready and prepared as well for the event if this was indeed a hostile ship but there was a part of him that said ‘she needs her sleep, she gets barely any as it is.’

“Mr. Leoric, I hear you have spotted something?” The captain groggily asked as he walked out still in his pyjamas with a fur coat draped over himself.

“Aye, look off the Port Bow and you will spot a ship that seems to be on an intercept course. From this range i can’t make out who it belongs to or what flags they are flying. So we figured it best to awaken you and let you make the final decision.”

The captain sighed and looked off in the direction the hired muscle pointed too and then hastily grabbed a spyglass and peered out towards it.

“Well, you have earned your keep, that is indeed a ship and based on some information i got while in town, a few drunken sailors were bragging about being ‘pirates’ with a ship that configuration. So if we were being astute individuals, it would be safe to say that is a pirate ship trying to cut us off.”

“Well then Captain, Leoric, maybe it's best we let the red haired one sleep in, her forehead would... '' Seamus started as he was quickly backhanded across the chest. His look of surprise at leoric was palpable even without leoric looking at him.

“This isn’t the time for Jokes, start getting the crew awake, geared, and armed. I will be in the crows nest keeping a close eye on that ship and any way we could maybe gain some speed and distance on them. Also let Felicity sleep in, she isn’t crew or hired muscle, just additional cargo, she doesn't need to be around for this.”

“Mr. Leoric, you do realize we are extremely laden with cargo, if that ship is out to attack vessels such as this, she is going to be very light, very fast, and very agile.” The captain said as he bundled up his coat as a strong breeze erupted around the three of them.

“Aye, but let’s say we have one advantage they don’t, the Wind” with this the Hired muscles eyes flashed a stormy grey color as a breeze erupted from him, wrapped around the three individuals and filled the sails for a moment before fading out.

“Well then, just in case the wind in our sails runs out, Crew! Battle Stations!”

"Felicity?"

"Aww!" Felicity muttered as she scooted towards the edge of the seat. She hated bundling up. Her family was on a long trip to the center of Eiskalt, and Felicity was forced to wear clothes that pretty much covered her head to toe. As the carriage bumped along, her uncle Fulcrum had considered them close enough to their next destination. Sure, it helped keep her warm in this country's frost, but warmth was not the issue. There was something... degrading... about this. From next to him, Fulcrum pulled out a long shawl and leaned forward, wrapping it around her frame.

"Remember the rules, dear?" He asked as he took a cloak and pulled it over everything else.

Felicity reluctantly recited from memory. "Never pull down your hood. Cover your hair and forehead so no one knows you are half neanderthal."

Fulcrum pulled out a scarf and gently pulled it over her head, pushing her hairline back. "And why is that?"

Felicity blinked, twitching her left hand. Two months after being attacked in her own front yard, and she still could not feel her twisted pinky. "Because humans hate neanderthals, so they'll try to hurt you."

Fulcrum pulled the hood of the cloak over Felicity's head. There was still a chance some could take notice of Felicity's green eyes, but it was a detail they simply could not hide. Felicity slumped, feeling a tremendous weight for such a small child. Her uncle nodded with a soft, sad look. "Good job, sweetheart."

"Hurry it up! Crow's nest! Now!"

Felicity awoke with a tiny jump. The sound of people running two and fro above deck clamored as the floorboards above moaned. Shouting and chaos flooded her senses as Felicity pulled herself up. What was going on? Trouble?

Felicity hastily jumped out of her cot and changed into the outfit she wore her first day on the ship. She strapped her arming swords and katana to her belt and scooped up her explosive metal bird. Dashing above deck, she was met with the dim light of morning as she swerved between people running around like frantic mice. Felicity noticed the captain and Leoric speaking to each other. Despite the feeling of intensity, she still had that moment to hope Leoric was in an agreeable state. She was lucky to dream of her childhood, and not her losses in her mid teens, last night. Yet, it was her childhood that made her so insecure about all the things Leoric teased her about.

"Captain?" Felicity asked, "What is going on?"

The captain glanced at Felicity then turned and pointed out to sea without missing a beat. "That pirate ship, lass. We're being attacked."

Alarm flared inside. Why did they have to attack the ship she was on? Shinsou was counting on her, and this would cause further delay! Even then, Felicity also remembered that this crew would need all the help it could get. Leoric Blackwell was a fine fighter based on the training sessions they had, but Leoric was one man. Felicity stared at the captain with intense purpose, "I will fight for you, captain!"

"Heh, forehead girl!" Seamus ran up to them and saluted the captain while glancing at Felicity. "Sir, we have all battlements ready! Is forehead fighting with us?"

Felicity did not like Seamus. She reached out and slapped him before barking, "It's Felicity!"

"Rhyolite, please," The captain stepped between them trying to mediate, "We are thankful that Miss Rhyolite is willing to fight for us without pay. Seamus, to your station. Rhyolite, you stick with Blackwell."

Oh no! What was worse than sailing with Leoric? Fighting with him. Felicity tried not to hesitate as she slipped alongside him. The captain nodded to them all, the sweat beads along his hairline obvious. "May the Ethereal Sway be with us..." He stepped away and attended to other duties, muttering to himself too loudly, Felicity could hear. "Ethereal Sway, help us!"

Felicity crossed her arms, speaking to Leoric as she glanced out to the icy seas. "I hope you're as good as a fighter as I thought you were..."

The black ship drew closer.

It was going to be one of those days, The pirate vessel crept closer and closer to them as the crew readied themselves for boarders, Leoric made sure his M.A.D. device was strapped to his wrists properly, he knew if he was going to defend the ship and her cargo he was going to have to board the enemy ship first and keep them preoccupied. If he could he would want to get to the captain and take them hostage, then he could force them to bring their ship to a dead stop. How he would get back to his ship after that? He wasn’t quite sure but he was paid to protect the ship and its cargo, so that is what he would do. Now, how would he distract everyone long enough to get the job done? He could go for the captain, but the cannon deck could still open fire. And if someone went below deck to keep them busy then the people on top deck could ignore them and try to capture their vessel first. So he would need three people to go over.

“Felicity, Seamus, we are going to board the enemy ship once they get close. I will head for the Captain. Seamus, you work on keeping the crew top deck focused on you. Felicity, go below deck and keep their cannoneers busy and focused on you, we don’t want them firing off a single shot.” Leoric shot Seamus a glance as he was about to stay something with a smirk on his face. “No Jokes about Felicity, only I am allowed to do that. And Seamus…. Don’t die, when you get attacked just dodge.”

It wasn’t long before the enemy ship was within range and just as predicted, their cannon ports opened up and a few shots were fired towards them, Luckily they were pretty piss poor shots as they all dove into the ocean just short of the ship.

“Seamus, Felicity, time to go!” Leoric cried out as he wrapped his right arm around Felicity’s waist and pulled her in tight as he aimed his M.A.D. and fired it off, Seamus’ M.A.D. was fired seconds later and before Felicity could say anything to retort to the close proximity her and Leoric were they were pulled off their feet towards the enemy’s ship. The cold arctic sea air biting at their flesh as they sailed through the air. Seamus stumbled and released his M.A.D and ended up falling face first onto their main deck. Leoric sighed as both him and Felicity barely missed their mark and kept swinging off the other way before turning around to come back down. “Be ready for a rough landing, I'm releasing once we are close enough.”

Sure enough, as they swung back around and were only a few feet above the deck, Leoric kicked out his right foot and connected with a pirate on the top deck as their device was disconnected and both him and Felicity skid to a halt on either side of Seamus.

“Well Ain't that just a kick to the face, you’ve been boarded!” Leoric joked as he stood up right and flashed a knowing smile at Felicity. “Now, Who's ready for round 1?”

Well, everything involving Leoric was turning into a land of confusion. As they had been swinging on the M.A.D. equipment, Felicity had been flooded with questions of what he had just told Seamus about her... and himself.

In the air it was easy to forget a battle and lock inside, but once they hit the ground, Felicity was back to earth. She could not help but snort at Leoric's pun, but was quickly reminded of the intensity of the situation. As fighting immediately broke out, Felicity stuck with her one free hand as she clutched her explosive toy in the other. Grabbing a pirate's sword arm and whacking his head with the metal bird, Felicity scowled, "Seamus!" Be useful for once!

As if her shout had reminded him of his purpose, Seamus reached into his pocket and pulled out some kind of small object. "I have a bomb! Go boom!"

Everyone flocked to Seamus like seagulls to a single piece of bread.

Felicity took the opportunity. Shouting good luck to Leoric, she darted for the entryway below deck. Okay, I have to disable the canons. But how?

Opening the door, Felicity was met with the dim lights of a constricting hallway. A single pirate stood guard in the hallway. Felicity slammed the door behind her as he shouted a warning towards the direction of the canon room and drew a sword. Felicity let her bird take flight, floating above them with flapping metal wings. Here, an idea entered her mind. Of course, she had to get through this guard first. Felicity pulled one of her arming swords out and in this tight hallway, half sworded it. Two hands safely gripped the blade as she closed the distance between them. Having seemed to have never learned this technique, the man awkwardly tried to swing his sword, but clanged it against one of the walls. As he grimaced, Felicity aimed a small slit for his leg, then immediately rammed the pommel into his thighs, hitting a weak spot.

The man crumpled, dropping his sword as he gasped in pain. She slipped into the canon room, commanding her bird to follow. Inside, two men were about to release a round! Images of everyone on board her ship entered Felicity's mind first, then memories took her further back. The moment she heard of her uncle's death. The terrible, bloody death of her cousin before her eyes.

"No!" Felicity cried, running up to them with her sword. Unable to defend themselves so quickly, each man was served a dish of pommel and crossguard bonks to the head.

As they reeled from the stars in their heads, Felicity wasted no time. She directed her bird to the fishing net in the corner, it snatched it up, gifted it to her, and Felicity properly tied the men up. Dragging them away from the canons, Felicity heard one of them moan about some bounty. Ignoring them, Felicity brought them to rest at the doorway as the hall monitor still tried to stop the bleeding in his leg.

Felicity could initiate her plan.

Felicity looked around the dark room. She needed something certain. It was hard to read the different barrels in the dark, but she squinted as she tried her best to read the fine prints. After reading enough tradespeech labels, Felicity came across a random elvish label. Felicity had been to Raiaera before, had gazed upon the lettering of signs she could not read. This appeared to be the same language, but the letters were more printed and refined than the elegant letters of the high elves. Was this Alerar produced? Could this be it?

Felicity pulled open the lid. A satisfactory smile spread across her face as she gazed upon her prize. As she commanded her bird to land on her shoulder, Felicity was assured that her plan would work.

Grabbing one of the iron shovels laying around, Felicity got to work. Hard labor for most people, Felicity was strong enough to effortlessly shovel and fling black powder across the room, specifically at the canons. Lining the entire canon set up with gunpowder, Felicity was sure to drizzle some into the canons and on top of them. As fighting could still be heard above deck, Felicity finally was happy with her work. She pulled her bird off her shoulder and stuck it into a large pile of gunpowder.

Felicity's bird was lined with gunpowder itself, and could be detonated at will. Knowing it would take a while for the bird to reforge itself and return to her, Felicity had rarely used this feature. Now, she knew she could set off a chain reaction by activating the explosion near gunpowder. With that small bird, the canons would go goodbye in a glorious flash.

Making way towards the door, Felicity snatched the three men she had beaten and made way towards the deck.

"Wha-" One of them muttered from within the net, "Where are you...?"

Felicity kicked open the door. Tasting sunlight again, she thought to herself. I'm disabling the canons, not taking lives. I'm saving lives. We're on opposing sides, but I won't leave these people to be caught in that explosion.

Stepping onto the deck, Felicity thrust the men onto the floor. Felicity looked up and saw another pirate glaring as he watched Felicity man handle three grown men. "Great job, Nicodemus! I bet you guys let her sabotage the canons too!"

Felicity smirked.

The man drew his sword and charged towards her, "That redhead sabotaged the canons!"

Felicity drew her sword again, speaking a single word as she blocked his blow.

"Boom."

Underneath them, the bird exploded. Followed by the chain reaction that caused the ship to teeter and sway like it was in a violent storm.

Several of the unwashed filth on deck began to swarm around the boarders as Felicity took off below deck. Leoric rolled his shoulders and started moving towards the back of the ship. There were a few pieces of trash that tried to get in his way but with a quick block and punch to the face most of them dropped to the ground or were staggered back enough for him to get to what he assumed to be the captain.

“You know, with all this trash aboard, you might as well be called the S.S. Sewer Rat.” Leoric quipped as he smirked with pride. He was always proud of his one liners, it made fights all the more interesting to him if he could get some good quips in. “So if they are the common filth, you must be King Shit, you at least smell like it.”

“Ahh, and there is the bravado, you must be Leoric,” The captain grabbed a pair of gloves out of his pocket and slid them on. “I was told you would probably be the one with the biggest mouth.”

“Well I am glad you said mouth, cause if we were talking about the biggest failure i would have had to hold up a mirror and i didn’t bring one of those with me.” The Confident brawler said as he entered his First stance. The captain then began to skirt around the outside just outside of what he assumed leoric’s range to be, once Leoric’s back was to the stern of the ship the captain began with a flurry of blows. At first they were all aimed at the same spot Leoric’s face but after a few dozen hits were easily deflected the captain began to spread them out and randomly throw a hook for the king of bravado’s shoulder, Leoric barely deflected as he swung his own right hook straight for the Captain, evoking his powers as a quick deformation in the air, much akin to a shockwave, could be seen blasting down Leoric’s arm and once it reached his fist exploded forward.

The captain at first grinned as he thought he had evaded the punch, but a split second later the side of his face got impacted and sent him sliding a few feet back and into his Helm. “What in the great Thayne’s was that?” The captain asked as he hunched over and held his cheek before spitting out a glob of blood.

“Hey now, that isn’t nice. Maybe the regular or minor Thayne's would like to know as well huh? Why do only the Great Thayne’s get to know?” Leoric stood up straight and re entered his first stance as he stared at the captain, waiting for him to make a move. He thankfully didnt have to wait long cause it seemed the captain was getting more and more infuriated with Leoric’s quips then a wet Caspiran murder hornet.

“Split! Three!” the angry pirate captain said as his figure shifted slightly and three copies of himself walked out of him and quickly circled the Confused brawler.

“Well, i guess that answers my question of how you ever get laid, you just fuck yourself. Which, ironically is what you have done by attacking the ship I am on.” The three copies launched themselves at Leoric from all three sides, Leoric was just barely able to block the hits, with a few getting through every now and then. There was such a flurry of blows he got confused and tripped over some rope next to a cleat on the side of the ship. One of the clones immediately cut the rope and it wrapped around Leoric’s ankle as the real captain spun the wheel hard to the port side causing the ship to lurch in that direction as the sail shifted in the new direction. Draggin leoric up and over the railing and dangling him just inches above the frigid waters.

“Now, while you are just hanging out down there listen up, I was paid to come and kill you, specifically you, I was told anything on the ship can be taken as a bonus if I wanted it. But I was already being paid handsomely to bring your head back for some Noble. But because of your quips and bravado, i think i am just going to sink your entire ship and take that red head with the big forehead as my own woman.” At this moment the captain gave a command and the ship lurched back to starboard, back to its original course, and with the sail turning to match back to its original position, Leoric was dipped down into the water, being dragged behind the ship in freezing waters. Leoric was struggling to get his bearings, but he knew he had a minute or so before he would start drowning, maybe less if his body got too cold.

With his left hand he aimed it up towards a rough image of the main mast of the ship, after a few seconds he felt it connect and he gave the mental commands to pull himself up just enough to get his head out of the water and he caught his breath.

“Oh! Leoric, be careful, you don’t want to catch a deadly cold!” the Captain quipped and laughed at his own joke. Leoric scowled and was getting ready to pull himself up to the ship when he noticed two things, one, his M.A.D. was connected to the top of the Mizzen mast, and two, there was a sizable chunk of ice floating between both ships in his direction. He used the mental command to his left wrist to start pulling him up at high speed while his right wrist M.A.D. fired at the ice block and started to pull it closer to him. Once he was in the air he could see the M.A.D. was struggling slightly with the ice but once he released his left wrist and was now descending towards the captain the ice block started coming to him at an alarming speed.

“Hey Captain, Catch this Cold!” Leoric cried out as he released from the ice block and over shot the captain just enough to slide on the bridge deck and spin around just in time to watch the ice block shatter over the captain’s head as an explosion ripped out from below deck, rocking the ship and tossing a few pirates overboard. Thankful leoric was already down on his knees or he might have been knocked over as well. “Give up, your ship is sinking and you have nowhere to go but down with it!”

As the explosion went off, Felicity and the man she had been fighting fell. Felicity's delyn sword slipped away as the entire ship tilted sideways. Hearing a growl from behind her, Felicity hastily pulled out her second arming sword and blocked another sword swing. Sliding along the wet, half frozen deck, Felicity lifted her leg and rammed her boot across the man's skull. Coming to a stop against the railing of the ship, Felicity exclaimed as the man, as well as several barrels, slammed into the railing next to her. She heard her swords clang above her, just within reach.

The girl hastily took her swords and sheathed them. Reaching up and curling her hand around the rail, Felicity kicked with her legs and was dashing up the steep, slippery deck. Upon noticing the gleam of a steel knife wedged into the floorboards, Felicity reached and grabbed the hilt, hanging on as the ship swayed.

As frigid water splashed against the lowering half of the ship, Felicity looked up to the helm. Well, Leoric knew how to get things done. The captain looked dazed, holding his water splashed head. Soaking wet, grasping anything he could hold onto. Three ethereal clones of himself dashed to surround Leoric. Leoric appeared to be in bad shape himself, shivering and looking like he had outright leapt into the waves below! Surrounded by chunks and shards of ice, the two opponents tried to collect their bearings, neither attacking the other.

As the clones crept closer, Leoric demanded that the captain give up. The captain spat.

I need to get up there!

Felicity looked down, the only other pirate at the ship's side was struggling to stand. Felicity aligned her footing and slammed her other hand against the floorboard, ripping the knife out. Kicking the lone pirate on the way down, Felicity slid and landed against the railing. Leoric's balance training paid off as she darted towards the helm.

As Felicity ran, keeping balance in the ship's awkward angle, the captain commanded his clones to attack. Fatigued but still strong, Leoric spun around with a round house kick, slapping all three with a boot. He turned to the captain again and demanded surrender once more.

Felicity ran up to the side of the hold, passing Seamus. Seamus weakly waved under a dog pile of pirates holding him down. Felicity grabbed ahold the cosmetic fishing net hung on the wall and climbed. As she pulled herself up, she heard the captain's first verbal response.

"Remember our mission men!"

Felicity heaved herself onto the helm, muscular frame bunching under her clothes. As the harsh winds blew in her hair, she looked up to see the captain standing tall for the first time. He pointed at Leoric like a judge accusing a defendant guilty.

"Our target is Leoric Blackwell!"

“Now focus on me” Leoric boasted “you are a coward who can’t even do his own fighting for himself, you need to create these weird copies to do any fighting!”

Leoric breathed heavily as the Adrenaline began to pump through him. He was starting to fully enjoy this fight and his aggressive side was starting to show.

“Oh, i can fight for myself, i never said anything about me raising a hand though.” he slapped his hands together and then slapped the deck as hard as he could. “Split! Forty!” Leoric stood up and braced himself on the railing as the captain just kept splitting. Soon the deck they were on was filled to the brim of duplicates and the brawler was beginning to feel a little claustrophobic.
"Are you from Salvar? Afraid of magic?" Felicity asked as she finished climbing over the helm and placed a knife against her hand.

"You think if I was, I would be able to make copies of myself? no I am not from around here" the captain said as he turned to face Felicity.

"Darn, it won't scare you that much then. But this will still scare you."

Leoric glanced over at Felicity as she climbed up over the helm, she looked around and seemed to slice her hand with a knife. Within seconds she let out a rage filled scream as her demeanor and body language shifted. Waves of warmth that began to tingle the extremities began to wash over Leoric, the pure rage coming from the redhead was so off putting and seemingly out of character Leoric took an instinctual step back before realizing if he was going to get into a fight he needed more ground. He quickly jumped down to the main deck and slid over to the dogpile that was Seamus. “You guys have Three seconds to get off of him before I send all of you into the frigid depths.”

Leoric began counting down as some of the men began scrambling, others who were more full of themselves took their time and got off but decided they were going to fight Leoric instead. There were still a few left on Seamus so Leoric shrugged his shoulders as a swell of wind began to wrap around him, kicking up dust, dirt, and shards of ice from the deck. “Look, I know you guys are pirates and all and probably been out to sea for quite some time. But come on, Seamus? You can find a more attractive partner. Hell if you think about it, your captain can service you all at the same time! Heck i bet he already does that, doesn't he. He seems like the kind of guy to receive from his crew.”

“Don’t you dare go talking about our captain that way! He is three times the man you are!” one of the deckhands cried out as the rest now seemed to be focused on him instead of Seamus.

“Well you weren’t wrong, he was three times the man I was earlier, but now? I would say your math skills are a bit off. He seems to be about forty more men than I am? But I still am a better man then he will ever be.”

Several pirates rushed Leoric, The Brawler knew these men were just crew. The crew was only there to get the ship to move, the captain was the only intimidating thing about this ship, and he seemed busy with the raging red flow currently. Instead of assuming his ‘first’ stance he took a deep breath and let the swirling air around him recede and focused the wind around his arms.

The first victim charged Leoric straight on, Leoric sighed and hit him square in the chest with a palm strike, the mix of full force palm strike and his wind magic sent him sprawling backwards across the deck, colliding with the few stragglers getting off Seamus and sending the group of them overboard.

“Thanks Leoric, you know I could have handled that right?” Seamus grunted as he got up.

“Seamus, you talked a big game as we kept watch, but now i don’t think you could fight your way out of a wet paper bag. Why don't you go help Felicity up there?” Leoric snarked and threw a punch at another three pirates as they charged towards him, something felt different about this punch. It may be that he did it subconsciously, or there was just a large lack of focus as he threw the punch. But as the punch connected with the intended target, the other two fighters charging in also recoiled in pain. Typically his quaking strike only slightly increased the range of his attacks, but to effect both of the other fighters would have been a significant boost. He paused and looked at his fist for a second before shaking himself back to the tense moment.

“Hell no! It looks like it’s that time of the month for her! Why would I want to get near her?” Seamus asked as he began brawling with one of the pirates.

“Well, you may want to say that quieter, imagine if she hears you right about now. You may become her new target.” Leoric flashed Seamus a smirk and kicked an assailant in the face as he grabbed another assailant behind the neck, knee’d him in the chest and threw him against the pirate he had just kicked in the face. Forcing both men to tumble in the ground and struggle to get back up.

It wasn’t long before water began to spill over the railings with the high swells of the waves. Both Leoric and Seamus looked at their feet, then to the railing and the incoming water before up to Felicity.

“Go! I will get her!” Leoric shouted as Seamus nodded and broke off from the same pirate he had been fighting the whole time. He reached the bow of the pirate ship, aimed his M.A.D. at the aft end of their cargo ship and fired off one of his darts. Within seconds he was pulled off of his feet and heading towards safety. Leoric pointed his M.A.D. up to the top of the mizzen mast and took off towards it, he stopped for a second to gain some momentum and swing around before calling out.

“Felicity! It’s time to go! Grab on!”

That had been one of the select few times Felicity had activated her powers willingly. She hated her powers, but also needed them. Now, she had more strength from them. All pain faded away. There was only anger, and targets.

The magic induced clones wavered and weakened under the effects of Felicity's radiation. Her magical energy sapped the energy of the clones, making them weaker as she grew in energy. It was easy, effortless. With her knife and fists, Felicity ran from clone to clone. The radiation poisoning caused them to recoil and gave her the ability to slice them down with ease. The world around her was blurred and distant as she stabbed one clone, then kicked another so hard it's rib cage shattered. In a flurry of knife, fist, and unnatural rage Felicity tore their life force like an intelligent yet infuriated bear, poked too many times.

As the last clone fell, she dashed towards the captain himself. If Leoric could not defeat him, she would. Yet, the pain returned to her hand. For a brief moment, she staggered. The captain, sweating from the effects of the radiation he was briefly exposed to, ran towards her with his fists. Felicity tossed the bloody knife aside and raised her fists, squeezing the wound on her left hand. As he came in, Felicity remembered Leoric's recent training. She ducked from a blow instead of blocking, then grabbed his extended arm with her right hand. She immediately followed this by opening her palm and reaching out, smearing her toxic blood onto his face. As he cried out in agony, Felicity wasted no time in curling the hand in another fist, slamming it into his chest. Felicity let go and he flew backwards, hitting his head on the edge of the ship.

She heard her name. Felicity turned to see Leoric swinging towards her with his M.A.D. Felicity lifted her right hand, grabbing his and being lifted from the ship. Felicity looked down and realized just how bad the ship was from up here. It was rapidly sinking, cold water flooding the ship from its side. Some of the crew were already running to life boats without the captain's order. Felicity could see... some bodies floating in the flooded parts of the ship. Eyes wide, Felicity with struck with the realization that her explosion had taken lives after all. It would probably take more.

Fear and anguish flooded her, causing her hand to weaken. "No-"

She felt her grip weaken, her hand slipping. Still up in the air, Felicity's chest jumped as she instinctively reached up and clung to Leoric with her other hand. Unfortunately for Leoric, the sudden, jerky movements completely messed up his balance. Furthermore, her hand was still bleeding. Felicity's blood smeared and splattered onto him, causing him to cry out in pain. "What the-"

Felicity had no idea they had been so close to the ship. Suspended in air, she had been lost in gravity. Leoric hastily pulled her closer and balled around her, letting his M.A.D. fail. Why-

"-Oof!" The two heavily slammed into their own ship. Leoric took the brunt of the damage, having shielded her with his own body. As he cried out in agony, Felicity shut her eyes. Her senses were flooded with the smells and sounds of shattering wood and wisps of bitter wind. She could smell rusted iron and blood as well. She hoped that the blood was her own. They came to a stop as Leoric choked. Felicity slowly opened her eyes again, still on top of Leoric. She moaned, reaching out and slamming her hand on the ground. This situation was too dire for Felicity to be upset about the violated personal space. Hair messily covering her face, she pushed herself up and reached for Leoric with her unbloodied hand. "Leoric! I'm so sorry! Are you alright!"

The short time she had been trained as a medic took over. She rapidly checked his vitals the best she could with one hand. Heart pounding in her head, she had been unable to hear what was going on beyond their small wreck in the deck. Panicked over Leoric's well being, she could not hear the battle taking place on their own ship...

As Felicity gripped his hand with her hand all the swinging saviour could feel was pride in a successful defense, he didn’t get hurt, Seamus wasn’t too hurt, and the only wound seemed to be a slight cut across Felicity’s hand, he looked up and timed his swing so he could release his M.A.D. at the peak of a swing only to fire it off towards their ship and grab on so they could get away.

“Well I guess now they are more like drowned rats then sewer rats now.” he said as they continued their controlled descent towards their ship.

The grip holding them together was slipping and Leoric couldn't do much to strengthen it, his right arm was already at its limit trying to pull both him and her to their ship, and the left one had gone a little numb from the cold. It seemed Felicity had already realized this and did one heck of a one armed muscle up and wrapped her other arm across him and held onto him as they swung.

Leorics mind went blank, first, she was very intimately wrapped around him as they swung through the air, and secondly, it BURNED, wherever her blood touched burned more then sticking his penis in a bonfire.it caused such a lapse in concentration that his M.A.D. released itself from their ship and they began to plummet straight for their ship at a high speed. Leoric reached back out with his hand to try and hook on to something, anything, but the only thought that entered his mind was

‘at this speed if i hook onto anything i am most likely going to get my arm torn off and we would still crash onto the ship.’ Instead he quickly wrapped his left arm around her waist, his right around her back and braced her head with his right hand and turned them so he would hit the ground first. He wasn’t sure why, she seemed like she could handle a bit of pain, but having her accuse him of purposely injuring her wouldnt sit well with him. After a few seconds that felt like minutes there was a sudden impact onto deck with the sound of splintering wood, shocks of surprise, and what Leoric could hear, splitting flesh as something entered his back with ease.

After a few seconds the battered and bruised brawler opened his eyes and Felicity had her hand out offering to help him up. He tried to reach her hand but could barely move it as he felt intense amounts of pain in his back as his muscles moved. With a grunt of effort he managed to grab her hand and she tried to pull him to his feet, instead he only got to a sitting position and began to lose his balance. If Felicity wasn’t there to grab him he probably would have fallen over again.

“Oh Shit! Leoric! Your back! You landed on the harpoon in the boat!” Seamus called out as he ran over and moved the harpoon to the side so that if Leoric fell back again he wouldn’t fall back on it. “Thankfully it looks like it was the side of the harpoon and not the tip.”

Leoric chuckled to himself softly and shook his head. “Captain! I am going to need double pay for pain and suffering!”

The captain chuckled to himself and pulled out his ledger and marked some things down. Before nodding in his direction. After what felt like ages he was finally helped to his feet and brought below deck to a table where he was laid down on his stomach and Felicity and a few other sailors helped clean and patch up his back. This is where the severity of the placement of the injurity was shown, it could have easily damaged his spine with how close it was and the angle it entered his back. But thankfully because he was able to be on his feet with help, they didn't think there would be too much trouble. He was helped to a hammock where the Captain gave him strict orders to rest until they needed him again. It wouldn't do the captain any good if they got attacked again and Leoric was unable to defend the ship. With that leoric turned to face Felicity and as everyone else left and he was left alone with her he turned back to the face the deck above him.

“You know, Your hair reminds me of when I was a little kid, helping my mom pick oranges in the forest. when life was simple, easy, and I actually felt something.”

Felicity was alone with Leoric for the first time since yesterday's training now. So much had happened since. The entire time Leoric's wounds were being tended to, Felicity had used her alchemist and medical skills to the best of her abilities. Ordering the doctors to run a salve in the best they would. Felicity was shocked that she cared so much for Leoric that she felt guilty for his injury. Then again, she felt guilty for anything. Still, as they stood alone, Felicity had been confused once again. Felicity grimaced as a memory stood out.

"Captain! I am going to need double pay for pain and suffering!”

Oh right, Leoric was still a jerk. The ship's boards moaned and echoed as the boat sailed onwards. Felicity looked down at her hands. She had quickly wrapped her cut hand in a thin bandage, but the drying blood represented her own lack of innocence. Had she really sentenced all those people to death in her recklessness? She had meant to stop the cannons, not drown the ship! Shaking her head, she took a step towards the door.

“You know, Your hair reminds me of when I was a little kid, helping my mom pick oranges in the forest."

She stopped as Leoric serenaded to her, "When life was simple, easy, and I actually felt something.”

Felicity turned to Leoric in shock. Her body temperature shot upwards as she stared at Leoric with wide, confused eyes. Had he just... complimented her? Physically? She reached up and touched her hair. Her hair had not been washed yet today, and the natural flatness of her hair was already causing the curling to lose its bounce. She grasped her hair and looked down at the man in the hammock. This man made her ask so many questions.

"Well-" Felicity blurted out, flustered, "It's not naturally curly! It's usually flat! So it's not that nice-..."

“Well I guess now they are more like drowned rats then sewer rats now.”

Felicity lowered her hand, cheeks still burning but from the conflicting anger. She stood across from him like a stone. He laid in that hammock; his tall and muscular body complimenting it perfectly as he casually leaned in it. Felicity was surprised he did not have that insufferable smirk on his face.

"I don't get you." Felicity finally muttered, staring into his ice blue eyes. "I just don't get you."

Felicity's fists tightened, she took a step forward. "You just extorted a crew of people for extra money! And those pirates could easily die. Die! How could you make fun of it like that!"

Felicity threw her arm as she took another step forward. The floorboards echoed under her. "You do nothing but antagonize me! You lure me in with promises of training, then you say something so stupid and hurtful! Do you have any idea why I only have four fingers on my left hand! And now you're complimenting me!"

Felicity gritted her teeth, tearing up in disbelief, "Why are you so..."

She failed to find the correct words to describe him.

“Heartless?” Leoric finished as he turned to face her again. “When the world turns its back on you, just because you exist, you learn not to give a damn about that world.”

Felicity crosses her arms, "Actually, the world hates me for existing too. But I don't see myself extorting people. Try again."

"Oh really? there is a bounty on my head to be brought back dead to my father, My mother and her husband have no idea or do they care that i am alive. I can't go back to the kingdom I was born in without being tortured or murdered on sight. and to top it all off, the only person i ever cared for is dead. not a soul cares about me, so i don't care about any other soul. I do what is good for me, or whatever sounds like fun." Leoric tried to get up but let out a pained grunt as his back protested against the movement.

Felicity looked down for a moment, in deep thought, then looked up. "I came from a country with two warring races. I was conceived in a violent assault in one of those wars. I'm an abomination, a hybrid who never should have existed."

She raised her left hand. "I've been brutally treated since I was a kid. My uncle couldn't protect me all the time, when I was three I was attacked in my own yard and lost my left pinky. I've had stones thrown at me, people with pickaxes and torches lined up at my house and demanded I be sent out to be tortured and killed. I was a child."

Felicity clearly shuddered, starting to hug herself, "I couldn't escape the scorn even when I moved to Corone. The last time I saw my uncle alive, we had been in disagreement. I learned over a year after our fights that he died from a stroke. My cousin was murdered in front of me."

Felicity carried a look of twisted anger and shame, "Every time I make a connection with someone, they die or leave me. Every time I actually make an effort, it's dashed. The reason I'm in Salvar right now is because I'm a failure who couldn't protect my current home."

Her fists tightened, teeth gritted, "Fate itself seems to hate me. Want to talk about being hated and abandoned by the world? I've spent my entire life learning to hate myself alongside it."

"And yet, you try to play the hero, you said it yourself you are a failure, why bother being a hero when you can just take a few jobs whenever you please to make the money to live and do your own thing? do what is fun! life is too short to get hurt for strangers." Leoric shrugged and tried his best to look around him without moving his back. "Where's my booze? i thought i had some left around here"

Felicity raised her hand, taking a step forward. She was ready to strike him, obviously. "Because I'll be damned if I become what they are! I refuse to become a self serving monster, then they were right! They win!"

Felicity tightened her fists again, body ramped up and energized by passion. "No! I'm going to make sure nobody has to go through what I did! I'll be the one kind soul who made a difference in someone's life. When I fail, I try again! I refuse to let them win!"

"Except, you decided to help this crew and myself in the fight, now look at me, i am injured beyond belief because of you. if that is what 'being a good person' means, then fuck that, i can protect people without getting those who stand with me hurt." He turned back to face her, his usual cocky smirk gone and instead a very serious look upon her. "You want to protect people, yet how many did you just kill? or how many did you leave to die in the frozen waters? how many of them had families? friends? that will now hate you cause of what you did?"

Felicity lowered her body, trying to calm her movements. "And I'll rise from nothing. I'll become somebody. No one will hate me when I'm the hero who saved the day. They'll finally respect me."

Felicity flinched, as if struck with too many arrows. She raised her arm as if defending from a physical strike. "I know! I know I make mistakes, I know I can be a failure already! I'm sorry already! I don't mean to hurt people, I swear!"

Tears flooded her eyes, "I didn't mean to destroy the ship. I didn't think the explosion would be that bad..." She looked down at her wounded hand again, "And I'm sorry I can't control my powers. I never can... Because my blood literally boils, you're here."

"Really? if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have crashed onto our own ship, impaling my back and making me unable to do anything, not to mention whatever rash or scar i am going to get from having you splash your damn blood all over my face." Leoric accused as he gingerly touched his face and seethed in pain. "Why would you blow up the cannon deck? to disable the cannons just close their hatches and seal them shut, and then we just have to disable or slow down the ship, which could have been accomplished by disabling the rudder chain, or shredding their sails. I thought you could handle an easy task to save lives. but i know now that you can't"

Felicity lashed out, tears falling from her eyes, "I was always taught the violent solution! My old mentor would have approved! I don't know anything else!"

Unable to deal with the guilt, she had tried to deflect. It still left her feeling that horrible shame. She grasped her hand, "I get it. You hate me. The world hates me. I..."

As her tears pounded on the floor like heavy rain, she turned and reached for the door.

"If i hated you, I wouldn't have begun to train you, I wouldn't have brought you over to the other ship with me. I know you have the potential to be great, to be everything I can't be. but you are failing, and it is very disappointing. If you want to do everything you can to save people, then save everyone, not just those on 'your side'" he sighed and turned away from her

"My mother was the King's main maid, out of fear of saying no to him she agreed to sleep with him. however when she found out she was pregnant she hesitantly told my father, and he ordered her execution. my step father, the captain of the guard couldn't murder someone just for being pregnant, so he ran away with her. he saved my life and my mothers. However the king eventually tracked them down, and instead of staying with my family for whatever was coming our way... I ran away, I was a coward. it was that day that I decided I would never be a coward, that no matter what comes my way i will deal with it, with a smile on my face."

"Of course I'm failing." Felicity mumbled, "Of course I'm a disappointment. Always have been."

Her hand was frozen inches from the door. Tears still fell, "The one who took me in said he didn't recruit losers. Then why did he recruit me?"

Still gazing at the door nob, she winced. "But I can't stay like that. Then they were right, they win."

Felicity turned to Leoric with a pained, infuriated look, "Good luck not being a coward. You're being brave alone with that attitude on life. Take it from one of the loneliest people in the world, it's a wretched path."

She opened the door with a sudden, loud crack.

"see you when you wake up from your nightmares for more training" Leoric sighed as he sunk into his hammock to get as much rest as he could.

Tears slipped down her face as she ran across the ship. The red sun bathed sky seemed symbolic of the blood Felicity had spilled. Leoric was right, she had failed today. She wanted to be a hero. She wanted to be adored and respected so she would never be shunned again. She genuinely wanted to help people. She hated the idea of anyone suffering what she had. Yet, she had failed today. She had failed at everything.

The wind swirled around her as she slowly walked the edge of the ship. Her hair, the hair Leoric had just complimented, flung into her face. She leaned against the ship's side, wincing at the pain in her cut hand. She lifted her hand for a moment, then gritted her teeth.

I deserve it.

She slammed her hand against the side of the ship with a hiss. She leaned against the ship, gazing out into the pale blue sea. Icebergs floated like ships in a bay. A herd of some kind of underwater animal swam beneath the frothy waves. She had just sentenced an entire crew to die beneath those waves. She thought of Shinsou. She thought of Whitevale. Had she failed to protect them too?

She heard footsteps creak the floorboards, announcing someone's presence.

"Can you leave a girl to her misery?" Felicity mumbled without looking at the figure.

"Thank you for helping us today."

It was the captain. Felicity could not say you're welcome. The images of the drowning ship kept flashing before her eyes.

"We don't have the money to pay you." Felicity turned to see the captain reaching into a bag, "The least I can do is give you this."

He pulled out a genuine, authentic, M.A.D.

Felicity turned to him, shaking her good hand, "I-I don't des-need your thanks, captain."

"Nonsense." The captain stepped closer. He attached the maneuvering device to Felicity's wrist. It was comfortable and light for such an advanced piece of equipment. The captain flashed her the smile of a gentle, caring old man. "This is yours now."

Then, he walked away.

~~~

Once again, the days rolled on. Once again, Felicity's struggles intensified. Leoric spent the days swinging on a hammock above deck, training his magical abilities. He would shoot gusts of wind into the sails, laughing when the wind caused his hammock to swing. Felicity would roll her eyes and resume her unarmed training. It was hard training in her normal, heavier clothes. Yet, she was not willing to let Leoric, or anyone, get a peak. As Felicity would swing another roundhouse kick, Leoric would call from the hammock, "You swung too wide! If you leave yourself open like that, you'll be taken down faster than Seamus was!"

"Hey!" Seamus would call from the rope he was pulling.

Felicity danced with her mixing guilt and stubbornness. "Can't handle an easy task!" She performed rapid successions of punches, followed by a would be grapple, "I'll show him!"

Felicity soon enough was helping around the ship to get her mind off of, well, everything. She carried a massive stack of heavy crates across the deck. Seamus dropped the cup he was holding, and his jaw, upon witnessing her insane strength.

"Doesn’t that hurt your hand, lass?" The captain called to her from the helm.

"Nope!" Felicity called, finishing stacking the crates as she tried not to wince from the stinging of her cut.

The weather steadily grew warmer. Icebergs disappeared. Felicity really struggled to train in her normal clothes now. Still, sweating and panting, she completed a karate kata. Leoric sipped rum from his hammock, watching. Felicity felt goosebumps ripple in the back of her neck when she turned to see his eyes narrowed with a smirk on his face.

She scowled, "So, does the kata meet your standards?"

Leoric's smirk grew, "Absolutely."

"I meant the martial arts, you idiot!" She burned beet red.

Felicity could not escape him. Not even while he was confined to his hammock. As guilty as she felt for his injury, she felt a sense of dread when he started walking again. He leaned on a crude crutch as she practiced her M.A.D. She was actually having fun, laughing as she swung from one beam to another. Then, she saw Leoric staring at her. She gasped, losing her balance and falling into the crow's nest like a fish tossed into a barrel.

The evenings were soon spent above deck, eating fish and drinking booze. Well, Felicity was not a drinker, she just drank water. Leoric sat across from her one night and kept gazing at her. She looked up to see him staring into her eyes.

"With those beautiful emerald eyes of yours, if I stare into them for too long I feel like I am in a verdant oasis." He chuckled, taking another bite as he stared into her eyes, "And they are my favorite shade of green as well."

"Your eyes, green like some sort of weird poison! No one else looks like that!"

Felicity nearly dropped her fork in confusion. Had Leoric just called her eyes... beautiful? Leoric of all people! Felicity's cheeks flushed as he continued to peer into her eyes. Felicity was strangely captivated by his own icy blue eyes.

Then, she blinked rapidly, snapping herself out of that daze. She stood up. She had no need to eat anyways, why was she here? "I'm not hungry."

As she darted away from the table, she heard so many voices. Leoric's, the Eiskaltian girl's, her own self loathing's... She covered her ears, trying to drown them all out.

One day, Felicity walked above deck. It was a crisp morning with a yellow sun. The waves were cascading against the ship in a serenade. Felicity stretched, wearing a white shirt and black pants. Her muscles rippled as she raised her arms. She closed her eyes, feeling the cool wind. She could not tell how, but something felt different. The sound of boots on the floorboards alerted her that someone else had come. She opened her eyes, then turned to see...

"Oh. It's you."

His long, messy black hair. His golden skin, tall and strong figure. That cocky look in his eyes, that agitating smirk on his face. The way he carried himself with overconfidence larger than a dragon. Leoric Blackwell. His back had completely recovered. He was now standing as if he had never suffered that injury in the first place.

As much as he annoyed her, Felicity was relieved that he suffered no infections and made a full recovery. After all, it had been her fault he was wounded in the first place. With that in mind, she took a step forward. Perhaps, she should apologize again.

"Listen-"

"-Land ho!" Seamus called from the crow's nest.

“-Land ho!” Seamus cried out from the crow’s nest. Leoric turned away from Felicity and walked to the forward deck spotting the familiar landmass on the horizon. There were some light footfalls behind him as the every familiar voice spoke out.

“Welcome Home Mister Blackwell, you did get what you went for right? We don’t have to worry about going back any time soon?”

“I may have to head back to tie up a loose end, but the church will be looking for me, I am impressed they never sent a ship or two after us, Or if they did it never caught up.” Leoric turned around and flashed his cocky grin at the captain.

“You are telling me, we could have been hunted by the church the entire time, and you never warned us?” The captain's face was twisted with shock and anger at the danger he had put them in.

“If i had told you, would it have changed anything? Besides, the loose end bought us enough time to get away.” Leoric offered out his hand to shake the captains. “Besides, i will leave you two bottles of Amber Glow. Should be enough as payment for that surprise.”

“Fair enough, you did save us from what came after us anyways. So i will accept the bottles as payment.” The captain shook the hired muscles hand as they continued on their voyage.

“Seamus, mind prepping my stuff for disembarkment first? I have a long day once we make landfall and I would like to get underway as soon as I can.” Leoric yelled up to Seamus.

“Yeah i can do that. Where are you heading once you are no longer with us?” Seamus asked as he lowered himself down and landed in front of Leoric.

“New brookeshaven, that’s my home, so if you ever need a break from sailing or want to learn how to actually fight, come look for me there.” as both men shook hands the captain walked away and came back with two pouches of gold and held them forward for Leoric. The Hired muscle grabbed one and hooked it to his belt before looking back at the captain. “Give Felicity that pouch, I was joking about double pay. This M.A.D. and the already agreed upon amount will do me quite nicely.”

“Are you sure? We have enough room in the budget to pay you your double price, which was already pretty small as it was.” the captain asked as he cocked an inquisitive eyebrow.

“Yeah i am sure, i just need my stuff, and to get off this boat so i can deliver the goods as quickly as possible. It’s already going to be a long ass day as it is for shopping.” Leoric smiled and walked away, after a few seconds he shot himself up to the crows nest and silently watched the ship pull into the harbor and expertly dock itself. Among the hustle and bustle of a new ship arriving, Leoric noticed the carts with horses for sale and rent on prominent display. He lowered himself from the ship and walked over to the man and after a few quick words Leoric pulled out the requested coin and brought the cart over next to the ship. It didn't take long before his two large crates were lowered into the cart. He walked over and said his farewells to the captain and any crew that were topside before walking back down to his cart and slowly set off into town.

Corone.

Felicity was home.

After growing up in Eiskalt, Felicity's uncle and cousin had whisked her away to Corone. Felicity had lived near Underwood until she was fourteen. The girl dashed to the edge of the ship, peering out to the green landscape dotted with trees. A deep smile grew on her face, excitement exploding in her chest. Within Corone, Whitevale and Shinsou Vaan Osiris were waiting for her. Her goal was nearly a reality now. It was August, and the summer air was quite the change compared to Salvar's bitter cold. Felicity usually loathed hot weather, but right now? Right now, she closed her eyes and soaked in the summer rays.

Only after several long moments did she remember that she had wanted to apologize to Leoric again.

Felicity spun around, trying to find Leoric in the chaos. Unfortunately and fortunately both, he could not be seen. Felicity sighed. She had looked forward so much to leaving this ship and Leoric behind. She had yearned for nothing more than to be the first one off this boat, never to see Leoric again. Yet, a strange sense of grief flooded her. Was she seriously going to miss this jerk once she left? She lifted her hand to her head. Giving her head a firm shake, she struggled to get her thoughts in order.

"Felicity Rhyolite."

Felicity stopped and turned to see the captain approaching her. Felicity instantly teared up. Well, the captain was probably one of the only people on this ship she truly liked. Now, they were parting ways.

"I'm going to miss you, capt'n." Felicity already was trying to wipe her tears.

The captain smiled, "It has been a pleasure carrying you. Whenever you need another ride, try to see if we can take you again."

Felicity smiled, "Thank you, capt'n. I appreciate it."

The captain reached into his pocket, "Oh, and one more thing."

Felicity was shocked when he produced a pouch of coin. "Blackwell said he had been joking about that double pay. Since I already had it ready though, he told me to give it to you."

What?

Leoric Blackwell had not only reverted to his original pay, but had money offered to Felicity? Felicity's hand shook as she half extended it towards the coin, "I can't take this..."

"Don't pretend you're not pleasantly surprised." The captain chuckled and placed the coin purse in her hand. It had healed from the cut a long time ago. The captain closed her hand around the patch and smiled, "Where are you headed after you leave us?"

With zero hesitation, Felicity responded. "Whitevale. My hometown. All I've ever wanted was to return there."

The captain nodded, "Makes sense. Need any help with your possessions?"

Felicity shook her head, "Thank you, capt'n. But I can handle it."

The captain extended his hand to shake her's. Felicity took his hand and they exchanged a firm handshake.

Soon enough, Felicity was packing her stuff. Felicity was not going to miss this tiny room. Although, she strangely felt that she would be missing training with Leoric in the morning. She gritted her teeth. Was she seriously going to miss Leoric? Leoric! She was so sure she never wanted to see him again before today struck. Now, she would have to say goodbye. Finishing strapping her weapons on, Felicity resolved to apologize to him one more time. Perhaps, her consciousness simply needed cleared. Flinging her bags over her shoulder, she turned and left the below deck behind once and for all.

"Bye, Seamus!" Felicity called to the strange man as she came above deck again. Seamus looked up from his current task and smiled, "I'll miss you, Felicity."

Felicity beamed, "You said my name!"

Seamus chuckled and returned to his tasks.

Felicity turned and walked towards the ramp of the now docked shop. Checking herself over one more time, she stopped at the top of the ramp.

She turned back to the ship and looked at it one more time. Felicity was strangely going to miss this crew. She even would miss Leoric. She had grown to... tolerate... Leoric Blackwell. Thinking of him, Felicity was unable to spot him in ship's chaos. Had he already left?

Felicity sighed. No closure, once again. It was strange, but she could relate to him. He and she both were unfortunate mistakes, growing up trying to find their ways. Their answers were different, obviously. Yet, they came from the same place. Felicity shook her head. He had so much potential, but only lived for himself.

Oh, like you? Felicity's inner critic berated her, You play hero, but he was right. You're only a failure.

Felicity squeezed the strap of one of her bags. She gritted her teeth, turning towards the docks. "Not today. Today, I'm one step closer to home. I won't be a failure to anybody once I save them all."

With boldness in her stride, Felicity walked down the ramp. She entered Corone, determined that she would not look back.

Done. Submitted for judgement.

Requesting spoils:
Leoric and Flamebird each receive one M.A.D. "M.A.D.s are mobility assistance devices. They have a dart that can be fired off with a telepathic command and it connects to the first non living thing it connects to. And it stays connected as long as the user stays focused. It can also pull up to 350 pounds either to the user or the user to the connection. If the weight is exceeded the mad sparks and fizzles and cant be used for an hour afterwards."

Flamebird receives 2,301 EXP, with her thread GP of 182 deducted for spoils.

Leoric receives 1,456 EXP, with his thread GP of 168 deducted for spoils.

***

The tier of your MAD spoil was not determined, so I have set the material as steel and calculated its price based on masterwork steel with a mid-level enchantment. The spoil's price works out at 600 GP each, so I have deducted the following from your GP accounts:

Flamebird: 600 GP - 182 GP = 418 GP

Leoric: 600 GP - 168 GP = 432 GP

Spoil approved.

All rewards added.