(( haha, no problem))

Nikki watched the captain burn his hand, confused as to what caused it. And she didn't interfere when he stared at the boy, either. But when he and his new friend grabbed Feathers, she jumped on the pair of them, claws out. "What the heck do you think you're doing?!" she shrieked, for the kid was freaking out, and this was just totally not okay. "I didn't bring him over here for you to scare the living daylights out of him! Let him--go?"

Suddenly it was over, the boy was released, the bandages were fluttering loose, and she looked like an idiot. Not that she noticed or particularly cared. "Hey Feathers, you okay?" Nikki asked, bending down next to him. "Hey, so you /can/ talk! I was wondering." She gave the kid another broad grin. "Yeah, I guess he is, even if he's a little rough. Glad you're alright now." She ruffled the young man's hair and turned back to Rous. "So what the heck just happened there?"

Rous chuckled as the boy bounced away, flopping on deck as he fell. But, the bandages were off, and the kid was thankful. He full on laughed when the boy said he was kind. [I]"Yeah, guess I can be a bit of a nice guy, huh? You looked like you have skipped a few meals. Nikki will show you where to eat."[/i] He turned his ever burning gaze to Nikki. [I]"Someone had put a seal on those wraps, so they would never unwrap. It burnt me when I touched it, so I broke it!"[/i] He buffed his nails on his jacket, looked at them, then back to the boy.

[I]"We will find out why after he eats."[/i]

.

OoC// Gonna wait for everyone to catch up now!

Avery watched the activity, enjoying the view of the crew scurrying up and down the rigging. She was behind Wyrn so she was unable to great him as his crew boarded the Jester's Legacy. As Rous called to Nikki and an unknown person she was distracted by the sealife below. She thought she felt a shark of some sort in the water below, and focused on trying to identify it. She gave up without any luck, it wasn't a very large shark, but that's all she knew.

A small boy seemed to be cornered by Rous and Wyrn, she rose to help defend the poor boy but the excitement ended before she could get there. "I'll stick with him, I'm useless for the moment." she suggested, meeting the Captain's eyes, telling him she wouldn't be dissuaded. She was curious about their new arrival, but she also wanted to make sure he had enough food to eat. He seemed to be so small and malnourished.

Feathers, having accepted the name, didn't understand Captain's tone. He sounded suspicious of Feathers. He remained in the squatting position, his natural posture from years of hiding, as he gripped Nikki's pant leg. The motion of eating, however, made his stomach gurgle. When the other woman spoke up, he locked eyes with her. A warmth grew inside him as his eyes glazed over and went from green to red. He felt an energy that he only felt once before pour out of him and connect him to the woman. Her name was Avery. His own energy enhanced her for a moment. In his mind, he saw a fish. No. It was a shark. A young one. He saw it as clear as he had seen Nikki's smile.

Then the connection broke. The energy returned to him and his eyes were once again green. He had gathered some knowledge from the connection, but not much. He moved on all fours like an ape across the deck, and sat down next to the female. "Avery." He said with wonder. He had never seen a female like her before. She looked like a sage, but didn't act like one. "Are you a sage?" He asked warily. If she said yes he was prepared to return to Nikki and never stray from her again.

[yeah I'm gonna wait now too.]

Nikki tilted her head. "Hey so Feathers, what's your name?" she asked. She was curious about the mark under his mouth, but figured it was just a tattoo or something. She watched him meet Avery's eyes and go all weird. The nekomimi waved a hand in front of his face. "Hello~? You still there?" she asked, sounding amused. "Don't tell me you're crushing on Avery~" Her tail swished. "I mean, she smells like a doctor half the time!" Nikki wrinkled her nose in mock distaste.

And then the woman was off on another tangent. "Hey, if those wrappings wouldn't come off without fire, how did he even eat? Maybe that's why you're so light, huh Feathers? I bet you're really hungry. Hey Avery, I'm sure we have something. Tressa got supplies, right? I'll help!" Though by "help" Nikki was probably just as likely to mean "get in the way and ask questions" as "actually help you do the thing".

He turned, eyeballing Avery with a tiny grin. The woman and her damn attitude. It'll get her places, and he was glad to have her along.

[I]"See to it, then."[/i] He turned back towards the water, facing the way they were about to sail. Wyrn also faced the water.

[B]"Recognize the writing on lip?" [/B] Wyrn asked, looking sideways and downwards at Rous, who nodded. [I]"Sha'Tarian runes. Guess some got away when I glassed their country. Nasty people they are. 'White Stag' is what it said. What do you think it means?"[/i] He asked, looking to Wyrn. Wyrn frowned "That was YOU who destroyed Sha'Tar? I knew it was one of our group. THAT's why you laughed at the kid's 'Kind' words. But, I don't know. Guess we find out soon, eh?" Rous nodded [I]"That king corrupted his followers to the soul. They had to be eradicated. We shall talk about it later."[/i]

Fer went back top deck to see the new arrivals falling right in line with the crew around. And a curious looking white deer fella scrambling up off his back. Over hearing Tressa’s name brought a smile to his face, he hadn’t seen her for a couple days. He decided to go back down below looking for her. The first place he could think of was the kitchen.

Jack swung her other leg back around, her back now facing the water. She watched the little commotion. Deciding to move on, Jack got up on the wide rail of the ship, taking the balanced approach while it was still sort of stationary, just the occasional wave causing a sea bump. “Oops, pardon me” She smiled walking in front of Rous and Wyrn. Another ship had passed at the moment causing larger waves coming towards the Jester. Jack’s focus was in front of her and on the deck, not the water. Her balance was starting to be tested, loosing it towards the deck.

As Feather looked her way Avery flinched as she felt a jolt of energy pass through her, for a split second she could identify almost every aquatic animal in their vicinity. The sensation froze her in place. She watched him, a bewildered expression on her face. She had no idea what had just happened, it had been a weird but wonderful feeling. "Is that was Rous feels like with all of his power?" she wondered.

Her eyes followed the boy as he crawled over to her and sat down. "H-How do you know my name?" she asked, very confused. The boy's question was almost lost on her, "No, I'm not a sage. I'm a water mage or something like that." she replied a little hesitant. She didn't want to scare the poor kid off. The reminder of food brought her slightly back home, "Come along fella, let's get you food. What do you like to eat?" She offered him a hand to help him stand and lead him to the kitchen. This boy confused her, at least she'd have somebody on board that she could learn from now, or so she hoped.

Matthew simply stood by and watched as the boy was brought upon the ship, Nikki spanning the gap between the shore and the ship. He couldn't help but wonder how she was able to complete such a task with the boy on her back, but it was later revealed by his nickname that he was apparently very light. He didn't really care to get involved in the little fiasco the boy was raising by the captain, however it seemed like A very decided to finally come above deck. Matthew watched as she heroicly ran to the boy for some reason, just to deflate afterwards. The gunnery sergeant caught a good glimpse of the boy once again after Rous did something to his face. It seemed that the boy's wrappings were gone, and a small, barely recognizable symbol on his lip was revealed. When they didn't seem to be heading down yet from the wheel, the young man decided to head up to greet the boy instead of waiting any longer.

Matthew gave a quick wave to the group as he headed up the steps. He soon reached them, one of his hands resting on the hilt of his father's saber. "So, this is the new recruit, huh?" Matthew said with a smile, "Guess it feels great to have those cursed wrappings off you now, huh?"

[i want to wait for the others.]

"Ahaha, good," Blackfire sighed in relief. "Please, you can't tell the captain. He would put the poor thing down in the blink of an eye. The fewer people who know, the better, honestly." She tugged Tressa into the room, glanced to make sure no one else was around - by the sound of it most everyone was getting the ship ready to sail anyway - and then shut the door. "It's a little girl, judging on the visible egg tooth on the end of her snout. I haven't decided a name for her yet; I just know I'm gonna raise her to protect..." Her voice trailed off, as if she was unsure just who would be protected: her, or all of them. The little wyvern scrambled up onto Blackfire's shoulders and settled, staring with bright green eyes at Tressa.

((Sorry y'all I'm here for real this time.))

"What is 'Mage'?" Feathers asked, taking her hand and standing with a posture still somewhat hunched. He wasn't so used to being upright all the time, and she was by far the smallest person there. He was short, even in comparison to the smaller women, and thin. He wasn't quite malnourished, but the Forrest hadn't been too kind to him. It loved him as he loved it, but it was a harsh love. The kind of love that forces one to grow.. Figuratively speaking. He held onto her with both hands as he always did, and followed her along the way to wherever she was taking him.

When he heard Nikki's question, he answered with a fondness in his voice. He was fond of her more than the rest. "The Oak Tree calls me Spirit Child, but the sages called me 'Stag'." The part about the sages was where the fondness left his voice, replaced by pain. He remembered the many times they chased him, and he remembered the unkind things they had done the one time they came close to his capture.

The demon caught him off gaurd. Not all demons were bad, but he didn't realize they walked among men, who had hunted them for ages. That was what the Oak Tree had told him, and he knew a demon when he saw one. "Yes, demon, I feel good now. And I have a new friend!" He said, looking again to Nikki the way a wolf pup looked at its mother.

"Doesn't sound like those sages were very nice. And Feathers is just as good a name as Spirit Child, so I'm gonna keep calling you Feathers," Nikki said in a matter-of-fact tone. She ruffled his hair again, the pain in his voice making her want to reassure him. "Don't worry, we won't let those sages get you ever again. You're part of the crew now, and Rous takes good care of us," she assured the kid.

Nikki smiled at Matthew when he turned up again. "Hey Matt, meet Feathers. Feathers, this is Matthew. He handles the cannons!" The boy's simple worldview spoke to her. It wasn't quite the same as her own, since Nikki was far more interested in excitement and thrills, but it had the same sort of simplicity she liked in things. People you knew were either friends, or they weren't. There were good people, and there were bad people. Very few shades of gray existed in her view.

As Rous turned to give commands to the crew, he reached up and barely tapped Jack in the small of her back to put her balance in check.

[I]"Is everything loaded? Yes? Tied down, cargo hatch closed? Yes? THEN WEIGH ANCHOR, FULL SAILS OUT OF HERE! THE OTHERS FOLLOW OUR LEAD!"[/I]

To a chorus of "Aye, sir!" He strode to the helm, grabbing one of the spokes, spinning the wheel to point the ship away from the shore. The sails boomed open, and they began to move as the anchor finally rose out of the water.

Wyrn grinned "I'm impressed, Rous! You're a rightful old Captain! It's too bad, though. You don't laugh as much anymore!" Rous shrugged, adjusting their course slightly "I've seen too much. Done too much."

"Oh, uh, a mage is somebody who can use an element. At least that's what it means to me. I've heard other meaning as well. Some say they are any users of magic, others use it for more specific types of magic." Avery told Feathers. She was about to suggest that they go eat when they set sail. The boy needed food, but the pull of the ship through the water distracted her for a second. It was something she'd never really paid attention to before, but now it seemed the sense was a little bit stronger. She wondered if it had anything to do with Feathers, since he had taken her hand.

"Come on, Feathers, let's go get some food. What do you like to eat?" she suggested, gently tugging him towards route to the kitchen. She figured the others would follow, especially with food being involved.

((OOC: My face when I've been making deer jokes all day and I come back to this... Oh deer...))

Matthew's eyebrow raised a bit when the boy called him a demon. He gave off a small laugh, ruffling the boy's white hair, making sure to avoid the antlers, saying "I'm no demon, but you could say my powers come from something like that. Our first mate, however, is. I don't think you've met her yet, though." He turned to Nikki with a smile, simply stating "I guess you've become a bit of a chaperone then, huh?" After she had told him his name.

Matthew felt the ship begin to rock toward as the sails were opened. He steadied himself by grabbing the rail, trying not to jerk to much. He peeked up at Avery's mention of food. "Great, I haven't had anything since breakfast. Our little hart here can meet Tressa there, and maybe Blackfire."

(( Sorry ! >.< Somehow I missed the notification of new posts amongst all my others))

Tressa nodded. "Sure, sure. Well, let me know what it eats, I can smuggle you some scraps for it, I'm sure. As to why I'm here, I'm...sure you saw I was useless in battle, and I want to know how to fight. All I can really do is cook right now. I was hoping you could help teach me, too - Jack and Avery were teaching me to use knives a bit, but..." she trailed off.

Feathers returned to Nikki's side, muttering "Mage is like Sage." As he followed the others to this place of eating. He was overtaken by delicious smells that mad his stomach growl, but he waited. In the Forrest, if food was easy to find, it was either poison, or a trap by sages or otherwise. Still, he trusted Nikki would not feed him poison, so he effortlessly climbed to her back and waited for her to pick something for him. "Momma, what is this place?" He asked, both unsure and excited at the same time. He didn't even realized what he had just called the woman.

He smelled something strange, it was enticing and delicious. He didn't know what it was, but he wanted it. It had a smokey, slightly greasy smell that was rich like it had been made over a fire. He had to Lear of this new food.

[sorry about his trust issues with magic users! 🙃]

Avery deflated a little, she was not evil, maybe a bit rough at times, but never evil. "What exactly is a Sage?" she asked the boy, letting his hand slip out of hers. She didn't want the newest crew member to be afraid of her, but she wanted to show him she wasn't a threat. She wouldn't hurt a child.

ooc/ It's alright, it'll make things interesting

[especially since he's.... Lol not telling 😉]