"What?" Jared said, approaching the edge of the boat. "We were just in water a few moments agooooooo...." He said, trailing off as he viewed the surrounding area.
She shrugged, and turned back towards him, passing him the matchbox. "I don't know, I guess they just seemed festive. I have a real fondness for Urela, though, so maybe I'm just biased." She frowned and rubbed her arm. "Maybe I'll settle down there after all this is over. Although I can't imagine leaving the ship." *** The area was hard to see, but from what they could tell, it seemed to be fairly mountainous. The rocks were a deep blue, and the ship seemed to be wedge between two walls. There was water on the ground, but not much else. There seemed to be a small glow in the distance. "What.. is that?"
"Ship life is hard to get used too, but even harder to leave." He pocketed the match box, and looked off the port side of the ship, taken aback by the sudden presence of azure mountains. "My eyes aren't playing tricks on me, are they?" He out the ship. "You see that, right?"
Avice was about to speak, but was cut off as the boat landed. She frowned. "No! I can still fight," she insisted, fidgeting. It did not take long before the scenery caught her and she silenced, taken aback.
"Yeah, I do..." Jade said slowly. "What is going on down here?" A part of her wanted to explore, to get out of the ship and see the area, but another part of her wanted to stay inside the ship forever and ever. This place was too different from the world she had known. It was another country, another planet, another galaxy. * * * "Well, hopefully we won't have to test that," Jack said following her gaze to see what she was looking at. "Oh. Well. That's something." * * * Natalia paced. Her footsteps clicked against the wooden floorboards as she walked back and forth, back and forth. When the ship landed, she felt it, although she did not stumble. She glanced up briefly, and then looked down at the body in the room. She frowned, drummed her fingertips on her leg for a moment, thinking. Then, she sighed, her heart heavy, and she left the room, closing the door tightly behind her. She paused when she left her room, confused by what she saw. The crew had all hastened to the edges of the boat, each of them trying to see through the goop. She walked to an empty space and scanned the area. Taking her dagger from its sheath, she cut into the material, not enough to break through, but enough to make a small gash. Working quickly, she tested it, seeing how it could be patched together and how much force it could withstand. She nodded to herself, and then returned to the center of the deck, clearing her throat to catch everyone's attention. "Listen up, please. The material that surrounds our ship is easily fixed if there is damage to it. We are going to be distributing masks that will convert whatever air this place may have into breathable air for us. These are very delicate and very expensive machines, and if you break it, you will not get a replacement. It is entirely possible that you will not need it, but we'd rather not test that theory until we're sure. We are going to make a hole in the material when we have gathered all of our supplies, and we are going to explore the area." She cleared her throat, looking to the ground for a moment. "The attacker has been found and dealt with," she said. Her eyes almost turned darker and her face was shadowy. "Partners are no longer necessary. Please return here in fifteen minutes with your weapons, a mask, and a bag that you will be able to carry around."
Avice listened. "The attacker? Now? Huh..." She stood up, a bit wobbly. "And there's no more partners." She offered a hand to help him up.
Jared looked at Ellia and then decided to speak up. "Er. Captain!" He said. "What about Mr.Plinx? Will he be joining us?"
"I should go talk to her," Jack mused. He noticed Avice's wobbling, and he tilted his head in concern. "I really don't doubt your strength, Avice," he said. "But please at least be careful out there." *** Natalia cocked her head, and went quiet for a moment, considering Jared. "No," she said finally. "No, he will not." Her voice was low and soft, but it thinly masked a deep anger mixed with disappointment. She paused, and then moved on. "Any other questions?"
Avice nodded. "Just don't worry about me! I'll be fine," she said reassuringly, "unless I die, that is." A joking grin crept along her face. "Teasing."
Cobiah turned to Jade. "Your attacker? Dead? While I'm relieved, I'm a bit taken aback by how sudden this was. Did the captain kill them personally?" Cobiah wondered for a moment. They were getting pretty close to the treasure... now seemed as good a time as any to tell the captain his secret. "I'm going to have a word with Natalia for a moment."
"Not funny," he said, nudging her playfully. "You're really not helping your case, Rohesia." *** Natalia nodded, and departed without another word, silently dismissing the crew to go collect their supplies. She climbed the steps to her quarters, and shut the door behind her. *** Ellia turned to Jared, a questioning look in her eyes. "That was weird..."
"I thought it was pretty funny, Curnow," she said, saying his last name in a mocking yet friendly way. "I'll leave you to it, then." She nodded her head to where Natalia had gone.
He hesitated, and then nodded. "I guess I don't have to worry about an attacker. I'll be right back." He moved quickly through the crowd, dodging rushing crew members, and he went up the stairs two at a time. He nudged open the door, paused, and then entered. He returned about ten minutes later, and his normally lightly tanned skin was so pale that Avice would have been able to count his freckles.
While he was elsewhere, Avice had taken a device. She immediately noticed something wasn't right. "What happened? Is everything alright?" Her tone was serious, and she leaned toward him with a worried look.
He stood next to her, pinching the bridge of his nose as he thought. "I... I guess Rhys just tried to poison Natalia," he said finally. "She was able to kill him before he succeeded, but his body is just..." He gestured up towards her quarters. "It's just sitting up there, and she isn't really talking much. She's writing in one of her journals, and packing some materials. She barely spoke to me." (Proxy, you can go send Cobiah to talk to her at anytime!)
Avice was quiet, just gazing in disbelief. It to her a moment before she spoke, but even what she uttered was simple. "Really?"
"Yeah," he said quietly. "I went in, and I asked her what happened, and she just stared at me for a while. Then she just said that he had tried to poison her, and so she had to stab him. She just sat down after that and started making notes, and she was kind of pacing the room. I tried to talk to her, and she responded a little bit, but she trailed off most of the time. I guess she has a lot to think about."
Avice thought about it for a moment, then frowned. "I'm a bit surprised, but to honest, I don't think much of it." She said, turning around to look at the scenery.
