Consequential Sea [R]

[Ladie Luck]

A roleplay by Bou.


The creaking of boards sounded above the heads of the prisoners located in the dark and chilled holding. Prisoners having grown accustom to a life of little water, meager scraps of rancid food and cramped settings take little to no notice of the movement. The chains holding said prisoners to the iron rungs in the hold are long enough to allow arms to lie lankly by sides and legs to fold tightly before a body. The chains were positioned to allow prisoners the ability to stand and dance in place—more fun for the pirates than for the prisoners. The smell of squander still perfumes the air from the waste bucket’s earnings. Earnings that had been carried above and dispelled by a skinny and tanned, short, brown-haired woman mere hours ago. Even the animals found caged along the wall feet away from spices and drink, found the scent dissatisfying but had learned to keep silent in their gloom.

As the sound of creaking boards become louder, the entire chamber suddenly becomes filled with grime and dust floating down from above. Many of the various slaves and prisoners are forced to close their eyes and squint around to see within the grime floating about.

A tiny flicker of the candles through the smoggy air only just shows the facial expressions on the two roughed up pirate wardens stationed near the only exit. If one had a better, closer view he or she would note that both men wear the customary red shirt and have darkly tanned skin, but only one—sporting a large, black eye patch and standing at least five-feet-seven with a lanky frame—wears plaid green and blue trousers. He or she may also note that the other man is shorter by four-inches and has a much more burly build looks to be in his late teens. This man wears simple black trousers and a multitude of hooped earrings and beaded, silver bracelets. The expressions on both had changed and were no longer jeering at the attempts made by the distraught woman. Both guards wore expressions of excitement.

There was a tension felt upon the ship, seeping into pores and keeping everyone on edge. The feeling of not knowing what was going on, yet knowing that something big was coming suffused the air. A small part of many could feel the stirring of hope in their hearts—perhaps their savior had come! Had stormed the endless Black Sea in search of them and would sweep him or her away back to her beloved homeland. Though many others—without family, without friends—had nothing to hope for and would have preferred a quick death instead of the life waiting wherever they were headed.

The crack of guns! An abrupt sound that shattered the stillness that had settled upon the ship. The sound of snapping wood and pounding feet flooded the recesses of the large ship as screams just as suddenly were heard through the trapdoor leading above and out of the hold. The boat rocked to one side at a sudden impact and the sound of more blasts and screams continued to pierce the air.

The lights of the candles had not managed to stay alight; though, the smell of burning flesh and black smoke already beginning to choke the inhabitants had no need for illumination. The sense of smell was not the only thing that would start to plague the imprisoned, as blood started to drip through the cracks in the boards above. Needless to say, the inhabitants of the hold were now in full blown panic and the once wailing woman now found herself screaming for her life.

Suddenly light from four evenly spaced, six-inch balls were magically switched on and could be found hovering fixedly near the ceiling of the hold, giving off a soft blue, steady light. Once again, light was unnecessary when a loud explosion was heard and a large hole was blown into the side of the hold where the trapdoor was found. Said hole was filled with black smoke, splinters and—if one were not too weary eyed to see through the darkness—endless black sea. The explosion was met by silence as the pretty, blond woman found herself impaled to a large crate of spice by a large, two-foot-long splinter of wood through her neck. No others were harmed, other than the two guards lying limp on the floor.

The bangle of keys used to man the chains on most of the prisoners found themselves next to the feet of a short, black haired, pale-skinned, green-eyed woman known to the pirates as Mai. She was chained against the first iron rung, and in turn was attached to three other prisoners: that of the strikingly pretty Nye, an oddly horned man and an oddly silent woman. Many other prisoners were also chained in threes at the legs along the wall. On the opposite wall held many more captives but more animal cages, bins and tubs of drink. Further down, but not quite at the very end of the hold was where many of the prisoners had heard low growls and even more swore they had seen red, demon eyes peering from the murky darkness. A slim, harmless, female Centaur takes up resident in a large cage near the animal cages nearest the trapdoor exit—directly in front of the woman, Mai. In having the keys, they had the first glimpse of freedom since the moment of their capture.

There are four keys on the ring, one which is damaged and beyond repair, another that fits the lock that chains the captives on Mai’s current side together, one that fits into all cages, and another more reinforced key. There are two cutlasses: one on each of the dead guards laying a dozen feet from the nearest exit. The exit is located at the northern end in the form of the drawdown, staircase/trapdoor. As of right now, no-one has been noticed by either of the decks above.

Although now filled with their various feelings of freedom and fear, no-one can help but feel somewhat attracted to the still dark corner of the hold. The heavily chained figure still sits cross legged with its head down, the light only just outlining the shape of its large, bulky body.

[Ladie Luck]

Momohubo:

A tear went down Nye's face as he continued to do as he always did sit. It was in this sick belly of a horrid ship that held men and women of disgusting intent that he began to understand, began to know that this is home; that there was nothing beyond this and that for the rest of his life this is the most free he would ever feel. The others might try to be optimistic, or defiant of their master but Nye was already broken... already use to taking commands...being slapped across the face for the person's amusement...taking in the pain and never, ever fighting back.

His brown eyes, with angelic green dashes continued to dilate to the lack of any real light. His small body adjusted lightly, having his smooth legs cover himself and his arms clung to his body as he continued to shiver.'This world, these people... so cold'. His thoughts were slow, noncomplex and quite to the point for he is one of the many down in these dark depths who was starving, having nothing but the very minimal rations to live on and although his passive healing allows him to stay alive through starvation he still felt the pain. Even when having an ability to save himself from death from lack of nutrients his mind still begged for food, begged for something to eat.

However he was not sure if his peers had such an ability as him, to heal their own bodies and live past this phase of hellish torture, he doubted it. Nye's black medium length hair marked with blond stands looked to his peers. The hybrid of three species doubted that they could do the things he could... he was 'special' or at least that was what his mother would tell him.

The male closed his eyes and began to imagine her face; it was strong, beautiful, with fierce eyes and jet black hair. She never had problems gaining the attention of men or women. But, that did not matter, she is dead and that was many years ago. In his opinion if he was smart he would just let her go. But he only thought himself to be a stupid fool for someone with intelligence could have come up with a plan to save themselves when they were someone’s sex slave for nine years. But then again the constant beatings, tight chains, and easily breakable will did make it difficult to formulate a plane of liberation.

He heard a woman walk by; bucket creaking as it lightly swung with her walking motions. Nye dare not speak what was in there for it was improper, disgusting, and yet another aspect of his life that he could no longer escape and it was such items such as the sickly bucket that made him question if his life would have been better if he continued to be a weak concubine to his former mistress the rest of his life.

The things he made her do; another tear down his cheek.

It taught him to let go of emotions, to detach during sex, to deny the spiritual joys that such physical bonding could contain. It taught him to deny shame for if he did not he would have been burdened with an insurmountable amount that would force any being, of legendary strength or not, to seek redemption for the rest of their natural lives and even perhaps in the spirit world.

He continued to shudder as he kept his body closed, salty water droplets broke free from his ill-willed eyes and it was then that he opened them allowing them to absorb the darkness once more and to join the rest of his senses in confirming that this nightmare was more than a sick dream but a cruel reality that the higher powers allowed to continue so it may tickle their sick ideals of what is funny about this plane of existence.

Creaks began to roar and moan in his ear. The beautiful man found it painful to his ears, showing this with the placement of his hands over his ears and he huddled still displayed to the world his fear. Suddenly he felt his eye shut as particles descended onto his level of the boat. His lungs did not enjoy whatever was invading the body for he began to cough.

"What is...going on?" his soft and weak voice spoke accidently out loud as he pondered about the same question. Instantly he jumped as he heard gunfire. This was it; Nye assumed that it was merely another group of pirates who were trying to board this ship. Once they controlled this ship he had no doubt in his mind that they would kill him and the rest.

'This is it...we're done'. His shining optimism continued to radiate.

Wood began to yell and scream and break as the violence continued above and the boat took a dramatic shift. Nye flailed his body to keep balance for there was nothing else he could do to save himself.

The woman's screams that have raged on all this time continued to remain non-existent to Nye as he struggled to keep his sanity as some warm liquid landed on the tip of his nose. Startled he made a little noise that others would find 'cute'. The drop welcomed another, and another, and on and on until a small stream ran down the nostrils of his nose, he tried his best to smell what it was as it moved down to his chest.

'Blood...' his crying grew a little louder as he began to wave his hand in some stupendous attempt to free himself and as he knew it was no help. He panted, but as he gulped for breath he tried to move away from the downpour of blood but his chains allowed him to go nowhere and so he sat, slumped.

He no longer cared that his body was exposed for anyone to look at, all he cared about was the fact that blood continued to drip on his body. It landed on his chest, and slowly moved down his slim and soft skinned stomach until it moved into his belly button. Soon his body part that showed his very humanoid birth became a well for the DNA of a person he did not even know.

His eyebrows loomed over his eyes giving him a depressed look as his observing spheres watched keys move to Mai's feet. As he shifted in excitement gravity forced the blood to move from his belly button and poured down his body once more continuing the long light red river on his body.

"The keys" he said with absolutely no excitement as his body continued to starve and conserve all the energy it could. The vivaciously curvy beauty king became a limp observer to all that happened all around him until he finally close his eyes... he felt so...tired.

[Ladie Luck]

Auki:

Lyia’s eyelids flickered as she regained consciousness, a small moan escaping her lips. Ivory-coloured fingers felt their way down her body, looking for signs of damage received while she’d been knocked out yet again. There were fresh whip marks down her back, matting her white fur and she lifted her head groggily to look. Foolish humans, her thoughts hissed. They considered her as dumb as the horse body she carried – They feared she would overpower them physically, but it never occurred to them that she would have other powers. Her fingers drew various symbols in the air over her back and she murmured various words as she healed the wounds that criss-crossed her – Both movement and chants did nothing to improve her healing powers but they provided a helpful focus for her magic when she was weakened. Soon, the whip-marks had disappeared, the flesh re-stitching itself together, leaving just the dark streaks of blood in memory. A small part of her mind hoped it didn’t stain – Female centaurs should take pride in their appearance. They did not paint their faces like humans, but they were expected to take proper care of their body. A mother should not be damaged in any way else it affects the development of her child. Bloodstains would teach the child of battle and pain at a far too early age.

Lyia sighed.

Her head still spun from where she had been clubbed and she slowly lifted her hand to brush her hair from her eyes. Long hair was a sign of femininity, essential if one was to produce healthy girls. The men were expected to laden themselves with muscle and strength if healthy boys were to be born. And that was why she looked over in detest at the man who could only be described as ‘pretty’. She could see why foolish humans would fall for him but she remained unaffected. The centaurs were knowledgeable; She had long analysed his heritage and had sneered when new passengers had taken the time to glance his way. She also felt pity for them – Almost all races were affected by a Succubus’ looks. Only the most ancient of the races, those that did not hold appearances in such high esteem, were able to escape delusion…most the time at least. She was intrigued by his naked body however – She had lived her life solely among the centaurs. She had never thought of what the lower half of a human might look like. It was less impressive than she’d expected but interesting nonetheless.

Her eyes diverted to the woman in front of her, attempting to meet the human’s unnaturally green eyes. Lyia had spent many nights musing about the tattoo on the other’s back – She recognised the sign of Ruy in the middle but was lost as to why the girl had it etched across her back. The small writing that surrounded the sign fascinated her – She could only guess at a couple words, none that would be of use anyway, and the rest were a mystery. She wished she could take the girl back to the elders – Lyia was sure they would be able to translate such an ancient language or at least attempt such a feat. They could read fate in the stars and decipher intentions in the smoke fire; she did not doubt they would recognise such writing.

What lurked in the shadowed corner, Lyia didn’t know, and she would only start caring when she could gather more information. She could wish for such knowledge now but knew it would not come with reach until the journey’s end.

She stretched her four legs tentatively, trying to make sure they didn’t seize up. Lyia had a herb to soothe sore muscles but it had been taken from her possession. The relaxation of tense muscles was not something her healing could cure, purely because of the diversity and simplicity of it. It was never the cause of life-threatening situation so there was no need or benefit in her learning how to cure it unaided. She had never expected to be without her herb pouch anyway.

She attempted to stand but deemed it a worthless effort and lay still. She was not optimistic of her future and made little attempts to hide the fact. She tried to pass as much her time as possible observing the other prisoners but would nervously shift her gaze when they caught her staring, afraid that in their current state they would attempt to lash out and draw attention to themselves. However, most her time on the ship, she had been unconscious. She never attempted to resist her beatings and whipping, although albeit such actions were encouraged when she refused to humiliate herself for their amusement. She could heal her body after all, but she would not willingly dent her pride. And the less she resisted the less of a threat she appeared. Many assumed she was harmless – In truth, she was weak for a centaur, but her lower body strength matched that of the average horse. Her upper body was as weak as the average human female, but light and easy to carry, helping her remain agile and swift. She snorted from inside her cage and shook her blood-matted hair behind her shoulders. Her abuse had diminished her usually captivating beauty.

A strange banging sound came from overhead, like small stuttering explosions, and Lyia looked up in confusion. The ship rocked to the side and Lyia threw her hands over her head in protection, looking up to find a gaping hole in the ship. “Fuent ke lesnt en?” She shouted over the noise, almost begging the others for an answer. Her knowledge did not cover such weaponry and she momentarily panicked. When she turned round, she instantly noticed the keys at the tattooed woman’s feet. Her heart beat quickly inside her chest and she attempted to calm it, calling out to the green-eyed woman in a confident voice, “Kerf dern ah! Kerf dern ah quekly, aye?” Delicate fingers indicated the keys as well as the padlock on her cage. Her heart yearned to heal those who had been injured on the journey as their cries and screams became something she could help, “Je de opan iv Moj et Tohq, Kerf dern ah.”

[Ladie Luck]

Iwanami_Kitsune:

Mai was hungry. Not hunger as in the absence of food in one's stomach, that was only a nuisance. This hunger was deeper, it was the absence of energy coursing throughout her body, it took so much effort to move, to live. Her whole life Mai had a perpetual supply of energy, this was the first time that reservoir had all but run out.

She had done her best to hide her suffering. She had been beaten many times for her past defiance. And even now they beat her just for play. She was pretty sure she had a few broken bones, though it was hard to tell because her whole body seemed to hurt equally. She never let them see her broken, and tried to be strong for her fellow captives. If she was free she would free as many people as she could before escaping. She had watched them throughout her stay and knew that she wouldn't leave without at least freeing those she was chained to. The naked one beside her bothered her, because he was so broken he seemed to have forgotten what it was like to be free. That alone made her determined to get them out of there. She wasn't sure what to make of the silent girl and the horned man but that made her all the more curious she wanted to know who they were.

She looked up and saw the centaur looking at her, she managed a week smile and said "We are going to get out of here." It was something she frequently said, not many believed her. The centaur was another one she wanted to free, she had seen her taken time after time and she always came back bloody and unconscious.

The collar didn't take her energy away, it sealed it inside her. In the beginning she simply burned the energy she stored, it kept her alert and allowed her mind to stay sharp. Within the last month she stopped burning, what little she had left she stored, waiting for this very moment to make her escape.

At first she thought that the shuffling above her could be the pirates preparing to dock. That alone filled her with excitement. It would be the best chance she had to get off the ship. Unfortunately there was the chains she had to get out of. She was still stumped on how she would manage to get out of those.

Next came the awful dust that filled the air. Mai coughed a little, and suppressed the urge to gag. She could handle some pretty potent aromas, however this one took the cake. She wondered what could possibly cause such a vicious odor to descend upon them.

Gunshots interrupted her musing, something was definitely going on. Blood dripped from above, running over her face like rain sent from Ruy himself. One drop landed on her cheek and ran down her face, causing the part of her that was Ruy to stir a little.

The next moment was the one she was waiting for.

Four balls of light entered the room, Mai watched them desperately hoping that someone was trying to free them. Not even a minute later the hull exploded, Mai ducked and covered her head dodging the shrapnel from the hull.

Mai heard the keys before she saw them, she was already diving for them before her fellow captives could finish their sentence. She looked at the keys, one was useless. The other was too fancy to go to their chains. That left two. She tried the first without success, the lock protested with a series of unpromising clinks. When she switched to the last key the pins in the lock turned. Mai smiled a wolfish grin. She was free...well close anyways.

She turned to her fellow captives "It worked, but we aren't free yet. The good thing is chaos and surprise are on our side. It would be best to move quietly and speak softly." She separated their chains and smiled. "I'm going to try this other key out."

With the chains gone Mai moved quickly and quietly to the dead guards she took one of the cutlasses from one of the guards, then moved to the Centaurs cell. She marveled at the freedom of movement. She found the lock and tried the last key, if it didn't work then she would know that it went to one of the other sets of chained prisoners. "See, I knew we would get out of here." She said happily even though she didn't think the Centaur could understand her. She put the last key in and the lock turned and Mai opened the door.

[Ladie Luck]

Bou:

Huddling in the far corner of a rusted, iron cage, Blue’s bright amber eyes were the only thing that gave away her presence. As the loud booming of chaos sounded, lights went out and on and the air filled with a choking smoke, Blue got to her feet shakily. It had been so long since she’d been brought here, she had lost track of time. The bits of scraps that they threw in the keep her from dying was not fit enough to sustain a mouse—let alone a small red fox. The guards had been horrible to her, using their swords to poke at her in their boredom, she had always been careful to stay as far away from the front of the cage, after one unfortunate mishap with the point of a sword tip—It had taken so long for her neck to heal. Peering out at the world around her, she slowly inched her forequarters cautiously to the front of the cage, dragging the tattered remains of her clothing, as she tried to make out what was happening on the ship.

Suddenly, before she knew it, something slammed into her cage and sent her reeling off of her already unsteady feet.

What was that? She wondered in a panic, trying desperately to turn back to the font of the cage, having been sent rolling to her side by the impact.

Whatever had impacted her cage to send her flying had placed a large dent in her prison, she noted. If she had been standing at the front of her cage just seconds past, whatever had slammed into her cage would have more than likely cracked her skull open with it forceful impact. She had been lucky for the first time in this nightmare. She also realized that her cage door had been jarred open.

Getting shakily to her feet, the taste of freedom ran through her blood. That alone was enough to give her the strength to crawl out of her cage minutes later and observe the world around her.

And what a destructive world it was. There was a dead body at her feet, next to the caged centaur female that had been placed next to her many, many days before. Some of the prisoners seemed to have gotten keys and were currently freeing some of the others. She glanced behind her and took notice of the animals—some dead in their cages and some near death—that had been housed around her own. She wondered if they, like her, had been destined for the spell pot—their fur, appendages and organs used as ingredients.

It seemed that whatever had happened to the ship had caused one of the cages on the side of her own to slam into her cage, killing the poor creature inside it and saving her own, suddenly fortunate life. She prayed that her luck would hold and she would would be able to find a way off the ship. Then again, she had absolutely no idea where the ship had been headed—her fox mind jumbling with her human one, preventing her from making sense of most conversations around her—or where she would go.

It is my own fault that I am in this mess, She thought to herself, if I had just left that magic book alone…

At least she did not have to be molested or goggled at while she was in her cursed form. But the instincts of the fox were harder to control the longer she stayed in the body. Right now it was telling her to run, run until she found a nice quiet, grass filled area with the sun or moon shining on her red, brown and white fur—it hated the choking, sickening smells, the noise and utter sense of exposure of the ship. Of course, to run with no destination made no sense to her human mind—though hiding was such a calming thought.

For some unusual reason, her eyes were drawn to a figure sitting chained in the dark corner of the hull of the ship. Making sure to leave as much space as she could for the other prisoners—she had no idea how they would react to a fox since no one knew of her real form, shakily making her way to the chained form. Why? Because curiosity called and had been eating at her since she'd first laid eyes on that dark corner. The opposite end of the hold she knew held a dragon caged like the centaur presently being freed, as she had seen the beast being brought in. But the being nearest the rear had been there since before she had been dragged aboard, or at least brought on when she had been. The fox wanted to sniff around it and figure out what it was and try not to get eaten while doing so.

The enemy of my enemy, is my friend, was her reasoning and the pirates were most defiantly all their enemy—surely if they’d gone through all the trouble to chain the person down to the extent that they had…the person was their worst enemy?

Of course…she could be wrong, but with fear and freedom drumming in her veins, she was more or less willing to take a gamble. If nothing else, maybe the being was crazy with blood lust and would look to her as a snack—if that were the case, hey, it was chained down so really could not pose a threat to her. Right..?

Slowly, weighed down by malnutrition, she made her trembling way towards the being in the back.

[Ladie Luck]

Caminus:

Caminus had put himself in a hibernation state after going a week without food. He paralyzed everything but his neck and head, this way if food was given he could eat it and slowly digest the meat over time. But now he was board. All he could do was wait for some one to be an idiot and waiting did not come easily to Caminus yet. He did play with others fears by staying out of the light and making his nostrils glow red. But that brought little relief.

He took the time to observe what was around him. A human with weird markings on her, he wondered if they were permanent or not. A naked human, Fair haired with nice soft looking meat, like a cafe.(that last bit made him drool) A horse human... No a CENTAUR. Caminus had never seen a Centaur before. They are legend among the dragons. As old and as wise a race as they were. The legends, supposedly, date back to when the continents were closer and easier to reach by flight. He often wondered if the the humans also drove her race to near extinction. Another human, kind of small and meek to him, and finally a strange horned man. Maybe a Minotaur or something. He couldn't quite see him. Then there was the cage further in that he couldn't quite see into. All he knew was that it was heavily chained and more than likely collard like he was.

After so long on the ship he had begun to drift in and out of sleep many times over. Until he heard Cannon shots in the distance. Living among and waring with humans he recognized cannons when he heard them. It wasn't soon after that a Giant hole was blown into the ship. He instantly smelled the blood vaporize when it splattered on the deck. He realized he needed to wake up now, and fast if he ever wanted to get out. His whole body began to tingle as his body began to stir. He brought his two arms up and slammed them on the deck to both wake them up and begin to hoist his body off the floor. He instantly heard a few pooping sounds come from his shoulders and back, but they felt wonderful. The woman with the art on her back was saying something he couldn't understand, because he had almost blacked out at that moment. Once his heart had caught up with the changed in demand his vision and hearing came back. She was suddenly free and freeing the Centaur.

He looked around and three of them were freed, although one was kind of just laying there. And there were glowing orbs... Magic he assumed. But what was so important down here. He then remembered the chained thing in the cage a little further down the hold. He quickly moved to the door of the cage and as the woman with art opened the Centaur's door he spoke out for the first time since capture. "Free me." He said sternly. "I can help you, but you must let me out of here." When the Centaur noticed him he bowed his head in respect and continued. "Please."

[Ladie Luck]

Auki:

"See, I knew we would get out of here."

“Donmo neh te ne evera ponu me karn dubti te,” She murmured in relief as the key clicked within the lock. Her fingers trembled as they gripped the metal bars, waiting for the door to be opened fully. Manoeuvring out her prison was more difficult than simply stretching her legs. The cage roof was low and she could only stand if her upper body was bent towards the floor – At the moment, such a position would have caused her legs to collapse beneath her. Instead, she contented herself with crawling out the door as best she could, using her hands to propel herself forwards as well as her four hooves. “Donmo te, Donmo te,” she murmured to the girl again in fierce gratitude. Although her forelegs were heavily bruised, she forced herself into an unsteady sitting position, wavering where she sat. Having been lying down for so many months, she had forgotten her true height was so much more. Just sitting as she was made her slightly light-headed – Funny, what one could so easily forget after so long without it. Looking back at her cage, she wondered how she could have lived in such conditions. Staring at the metal prison made her realise how truly desperate she was to escape. Physical and sexual assaults had been the least of her troubles.

A small part of her wished she was already off the ship, that she had already managed to escape, and that the bad memories had long disappeared. What would her elders think of her if she relayed what she’d been through? Would they think her tainted? Would they deny her mothering rights? She would have to keep her memories hidden; she couldn’t let what she’d experienced affect her wisdom or judgement. She must trust in the earth and the fire and the stars and not in the humans who had attempted to break her. She shook her head, causing her white hair to shimmer in the dim light there was – Centaurs were not so easy to break. They had the wisdom of the Gods on their side. One day, she hoped to be Tribes-Mother – The only female in the Xian Gu tribes to hold any power. That position however would only come with experience and determination. She rubbed her bruised arms gently, gazing round, trying to take in as much of her surroundings as she could.

"Free me." A voice commanded from the hull of the ship and Lyia’s dark brown eyes focused darkly on the large cage lurking in the shadows. The light only helped her make out the creature’s general form, the details of its appearance lost in the shadows, "I can help you, but you must let me out of here." She could however see the beast as it bowed its head and even saw its mouth move moments later to form the word "Please." She edged closer, half-walking, half-crawling – Even in such a state, she continued to move with the natural grace of a centaur. Her steps might not have been as elegant or as seducing as one of another race, but there was definitely a distinct beauty in the way her upper body co-ordinated with her lower, her hair trailing down her back, the blood that tangled it a minute detail in her eyes.

When she saw the creature before her clearly, she dipped her head slightly returning his respect. They were both young and neither stood higher than the other in status as far she knew – For now, she saw them as equals, if only for the sake of simplicity.

She had heard the stories of course. It had been a while since her race had made true contact with the dragons – Tales had been told of the battles fought side by side with the Great Lizards, when their race was still new. If the dragons knew the centaurs for their wisdom, the centaurs had renowned the dragons for their courage. Some had dismissed their nature as brash and hot-headed but Lyia had always marvelled at the fierce elegance and power they had represented. She wondered if the dragons had evolved into something different by now, if their temperament had changed over the rough years they had suffered.

She also wondered if the dragon knew the words of the ancients that which so many races had forgotten in ignorance and intolerance. “Son of the Ancients,” she whispered in her own language, praying she would finally be understood, “What irony that two such as ourselves have been imprisoned in a place like this. Of course, I will free you, and when I have regained some of my strength, I will heal your wounds if you’ll allow it.” It wasn’t often that a Centaur healed someone not of their race, despite her desperate desire to do so. However, she considered that the Elders would deem the Dragon worthy of her aid. Her eyes swept over a fox and dismissed it as she looked back for the tattooed girl, “Avero helf me, minu ami. Avero helf.”

[Ladie Luck]

Momohubo:

Free... he was...free, and for a moment that actually disturbed Nye. He now only imagined the pirates getting angry, chaining them him up again and cutting him into little pieces while he was defenseless.

His brown and green eyes looked up to Mai, as if she were his savior.

"Tha...thank you" he muttered to her, he slowly rose up using the side of the ship as support. He felt weak, and drained of any energy to do even the most simple of tasks. He looked at the Minotaur man next to him. Nye betted he was just fine, for it seemed that those people were always lively if not aggressive.

Having nothing to clothe himself with he held his arms together and shivered while leaning up against the side of the ship. He watched Mai move to a cage proclaiming she would free whatever is inside.

Easily distracted due to lack of energy to fuel his mental focus it took a moment to see what was inside in the cage. Inside was a very majestic and elegant centaur.

wow he thought to himself. He has never seen one before and he was so drowned in his misery that he must have never noticed her. She spoke gibberish, for he has absolutely no idea what-so-ever of what she was talking about.

He watched her stand to her full high while speaking more gibberish and realized she was tall...really tall. He wondered how easy it would be for her to kill him, she looked liked she could do it.

He sneezed as she walked off to another talking cage. He kept to himself as the others began to liberate more people that seemed would be trying to become free just as he was.

He felt somewhat useless at this point; unable to help anyone for his powers were only about vanity and beauty. His heritage did not leave him with much. He knew angels and succubus could do a lot more than what he could do but it seemed that the higher powers just wanted him to just stand in a spot and look pretty. Which, now that he thought about it, was okay. Nye was not a very violent person and preferred to keep quiet and to himself.
He began to wish he had some clothes. He looked at the pirates on the ground. Nye shook his head, there was no way in hell that he would wear their clothing. Some might call that being picky but he did not know what was on the clothing, where it's been, and how it smelled. In a choice between their clothing and nothing he decided nothing was best.

[Ladie Luck]

Iwanami Kitsune:

She turned to the pretty one and smiled warmly, "Don't thank me yet, we still have a while until we are free. We are out of the chains and cells, but if we have no way off the ship..." She trailed off not wanting to think about what the pirates would do to them if they didn't escape. "...Now let's get some clothes on you" She gestured to one of the dead pirates.

"Free me" said a voice sternly. "I can help you, but you must let me out of here."

"Ha cha!" Mai started. One of Mai's quirks was that on occasion she made some strange sounds. She looked beyond the centaurs cage and barely made out the outline of a dragon. She met the most interesting beings on this ship. She eyed him wearily, she was pretty sure dragons ate people, and she knew this one had to be hungry. Then saw the centaur walk up to his cage and she began talking to him.

Even though she didn't understand what the girl was saying she guessed at the meaning "As long as he doesn't eat us or burn the ship." She said walking over to the dragon's cage. She then found the lock and inserted the proper key in the lock and turning it. In the middle the key seemed to get stuck, Mai turned it every which way to get it to work. "Ummm...." She jiggled the key, no dice. She took the key out and gave it a death stare before jamming it in the lock and turning with everything she had. Finally it turned. "Aha! It just needed a little persuasion, that's all." She swung the door open and let the dragon out.

Mai felt the the collar around her neck, trying to find a clasp or a buckle, or any way to get the damn thing off.

[Ladie Luck]

Anonymous:

Kai had, unlike any other passenger below deck, been peacefully sleeping. Or, well, she'd been sleeping much more peacefully than any one else in her condition. It was a long time since she'd been on the ship. Too long. Her eyes had permanently adjusted to the darkness. She could not see everyone's features, but she was aware of just how many people were captured alongside her.

For some reason, the guards let her wander around sometimes. She was still chained, but hers was longer than most of the other captives' chains. Sometimes, the guards would be nice to her. They'd throw her a bug, sometimes even a rat pet to play with. Always, they would smile when they gave her gift. The other prisoners didn't smile. They frowned, as if they didn't like roaches and rats. But Kai didn't mind. Kai made friends with the little animals on ship. They were fun to play with. Too small to be in chains. And, when she was hungry, very yummy to eat.

Someone, an old man who was now gone, used to call her a name. Kitten. Kai didn't have the same posture many others had. Her knees were red, always, from crawling around on the ground. Her feet might have been red, too, but they were tough. She hated shoes. Sometimes, she stepped on little critters and they squished underfoot, but she prefered gooey toes over wearing shoes. Kai liked crawling around on her hands and knees. It made her smaller, and sometimes she would crawl around the other prisoners. They didn't like it very much.

When she wasn't exploring or playing with tiny, crawling friends, she liked to sleep. It passed time. She couldn't tell what was darkness or light outside the ship. She was sleeping, like she did a lot of the times, when she was woken up by something gross and wet. She stirred and touched the moisture that had fallen from above onto her face and smelled it. It smelled funny. Different. More dripping came from above and landed on Kai's head.

She sat up and tilted her head towards the dripping. In curiousity, the girl stuck her tongue out and caught a drop. Instantly, she wretched and tried to wipe the blood from her face. Kai got on her hands and knees, ready to scope around when the boat rocked and she was thrown to the side. Loud, hurtful sounds pierced her eardrums and there was screaming, a lot of screaming. Kai even joined in. She kept up screaming, like a lot of other people, until she began coughing violently. Thick, grey powder surrounded everything. It got in Kai’s hair and stuck to the liquid on her face. She pulled her tattered robe in front of her face and tried to navigate through the haze.

But things began happening quickly. There was a "BOOM" and a lady dropped to the ground in front of Kai. The scary men in front of the door who threw crawly foods to her were facedown, too. She blinked and crawled over to them cautiously, poking them. At first, Kai thought they were sleeping, until she'd seen the sticky, dark red liquids seeping from beneath them.

Kai froze in fear as a memory flashed before her. She couldn't remember a lot, but images of a woman who resembled Kai was lying like that. Her face was down, and there was a dark red liquid seeping from her body. The poor girl felt hot tears falling from her eyes. She wasn't aware of much around her. She hadn't realized that the chains binding her wrist had fallen, nor had she paid attention to everyone else's chains becoming unbound.

"MOMMY!!!" She screamed. A fit of coughing overcame her and she was forced to cover her face with part of her minidress. In her mind, Kai saw an image of a small girl with red hair and green eyes and freckles. Was that Little Kai? The girl looked around the ruins and bodies surrounding her and focused in on the person she had been closest to. Lyia. Kai ran, in that graceful way she had, somewhat like a cat, towards the centaur. Kai almost tripped on the way there, but the image of the dead female prisoner - and her mother - were still fresh in her mind. Yes, Kai had grown up amongst warriors, but she hunted animals when needed. She couldn't stand dead people. Her earliest memories were of her deceased mother, and then being found by a hunter.

The small, child-like hybrid clung to Lyia's waist and buried her bloodstained, gunpowery face into the girl’s skin. They were, perhaps, the two most primitive captives. It was just natural that they had a bond. Lyia was mature and motherly, while Kai was curious and young spirited. Lyia had not shoved Kai away - like many of the other prisoners - when she came to examine the part horse creature. Kai had come to Lyia in her sleep, petting her beautiful long hair and staring at her, right in the face, until she'd woken up.

"Lyia okay?" Kai asked, trying to breathe normally. Something about being near Lyia made Kai feel okay. She felt safe. Like she used to with the tribe, before she was called a curse. Her emerald eyes turned upon Mai, who had previously struggled to unleash a large, pretty dragon in a cage. Well, she couldn’t tell if the dragon was really pretty through the haze and her own tears, but she liked large creatures. They fascinated her.

Her green orbs turned towards Mai in gratitude.

"You freed Kai," she realized. "Kai thanks you."

Kai cocked her head to the side and crawled over to Mai. She stood up, back arched so she wasn't quite at her full height, and leaned back as she gripped Mai's collar with both hands, determined to get it off for her.

[Ladie Luck]

Gravewar:

Argo sat legs crossed, chains binding and restricting his movements with his eyes closed. He was reminiscing about his old life… the hunt. ‘Yes.’ he thought to himself, this was his new life. His new life consisted of long days followed by restless nights, endless screams and hours upon hours of agonizing wailing from women and men alike. Still after countless days of being at sea in this prison he had never adjusted to his new life. He longed to be back on solid land, hunting the beasts of the wilds. Oh how he missed the thrill of the chase. He noticed that many of the other prisoners had adapted to their punishing new life, each finding their own method to deal with the pain.

His pain wasn’t as bad as the others. Though he was prodded with pokers and whipped many times his scars were few. The lashes and marks that had not faded away only added to the tapestry of scars that he had received during his hunts. The scars were the least of his problems; the hurt of his mother’s betrayal had wounded him more deeply than any wound he had received. Though he had never seen eye to eye with his mother, he never expected her to betray him to his enemies. It was her who had led his captors to his favorite hunting ground. It was her who looked at him with shame, with hatred as they chained and knocked him unconscious.

Argo opened his eyes. He glanced around the crowded hold where the prisoners were bound. The place was a wreck, slaves and chains hung from every wall in the hold. Argo could not get used to this place. He hoped for the day they reached their destination. At least then they would be able to breathe fresh air, and not the foul stench that emanated from every prisoner. The prisoners were all in terrible shape. All were emaciated; the food, if they received any was disgusting and not nearly enough to sustain anyone. Argo had lost a lot of weight while eating the sparse rations they feed him. Every day he kept his eyes closed for hours at a time trying to keep conscious and preserve his energy.

He didn’t see how the naked human male kept warm during the night hours. The seas brought chilled, frigid air into the prisoners hold and even with his thick skin Argo was stung constantly by the icy air. Argo hadn’t spoken to the other prisoners very much. As most of the prisoners were female, he didn’t trust them and rarely uttered a word to them when they spoke to him.

As he was about to close his eyes again the ship around him changed. The air became thick with smoke and the smell of gun powder. The ship rocked heavily, slamming him against the wall each time. Above him were cracks in the ships floorboards. From where light would usually shine from time to time came blood. Argo was revolted as blood dripped unto his head, running down the right side of his face. He noticed that the girl next to him had caught a drop of blood on her tongue. She had been here for about the same amount of time as he had, and since the day he had watched the pirates drag her onto the ship, she had always seemed strange to him. Activity and the sounds of loud commotion pushed the thoughts of dripping blood and the girl from his mind, as he stared at the scene in front of him. Bodies littered the wooden boards, prisoners and pirates alike from what Argo could tell.

He looked around and saw that some of his fellow prisoners were being freed by the tattooed female. The keys in her hand she worked to free the others. She freed him. He thought about saying thank you, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it so he stayed quiet. He was free and, from what he saw, so were many of the others. . The others moved away toward the centaur’s cage and the dragon’s cage. Free of his chains, he vowed to himself to be free of this bondage for good. He spotted the recently deceased pirate, still sporting a cutlass, and pulled the sword from his scabbard.

Cutlass in hand he began to search the body for anything that may come in handy.

[Ladie Luck]

Auki:

“Donmo, minu ami,” Lyia said with a grateful smile, moving backwards so as to give the dragon room to move out. The smoky air was beginning to get to her, her lungs being used to her island’s uncontaminated air. She made a rough horse-like cough, pain wracking her body at the movement as she did so. With the door open, the tattooed girl set about trying to pry the collar off herself. Lyia simply watched, curiously observing her attempts. She had found the girl’s previous statements fairly amusing. Admittedly, she could not guarantee her flesh would not tempt a starved dragon and that she was safe being this close – It was obvious that Lyia would step in the way of such an event though. The fact that he might burn the ship with them in it was ridiculous however – He was too weak for one and too intelligent for another. She shifted her hooves carefully, trying to move as little as possible will retaining her balance.

This proved somewhat difficult as Kai attacked her waist. The force of her hug caused Lyia to flinch but she tried her best to hide it from the child-like woman now clinging to her. The centaur was not experienced in guessing a human’s age from their appearance but she doubted the girl was as young as she acted. Regardless, a child needed comfort and protection, no matter their age as well as encouragement to mature. The girl was sweet as well, if unusual, and had never meant any harm with her actions.

“Oh mi, O sinti, Kai, O len dhesu sa ouite Dragon amoga asi. O jafen rer sear te. Avero relev dun, oit ke leti ke ravnti sun et oit ne evera te ahventi, aye? Itt ke shadvo et sear; te ave len sne shose.”
She blinked in surprise when the girl expressed concerns for her health and gave a small chuckle, replying fondly, “Oh, ke biun, minu un.”

When Kai was distracted, she breathed a sigh of relief, rubbing her sore side. Her stomach gave a low grumble but such a thing was not uncommon. Perhaps it was time for then to get moving.

Tentatively, she attempted to stand.

[Ladie Luck]

Caminus:

Surprised Caminus looked at the Centaur as a child like girl slammed against her."Daughter of the Ancients" He finally said in what he considered a dragon language. "Our elders were indeed wise to keep the old languages. And it would be a great honor, once your strength has returned." He moved into the hold. He saw the Horned man searching through the body of one. Caminus' stomach growled at him and everybody started looking tasty. He quickly searched around for something that wasn't alive and spots the younger pirate. He charged down the hold of the ship and quickly started devouring the other former guard, now food.

After quickly eating the good parts and leaving the rest, he looked out the hole in the hold trying to spot what was going on. Who was fighting and why.

[Ladie Luck]

Bou:

The sound of heavy movement and screaming continued above them, along with the blasts of cannon balls and the rain of blood and other liquids. Suddenly, the whole ship shuddered and rocked violently.

The remaining prisoners still in chains had been quiet as they had observed Mai using the keys to free a very select few of them. Most fantasized about their immediate freedom, while others sat defeated against his or her wall. Little did a large majority know that the certain key to their specific lock had been rendered useless, only those being held on Mai’s side were destined to taste freedom. Still, no one above had descended below to announce the prisoner’s escape. And, as time ticked on and the centaur was set free, most of the remaining prisoners began screaming for freedom—surely they would not be forgotten! Begging and shouts ensued when many noticed the girl freeing ‘the beast’ from its confined recesses. She would free the beast before them?! And screaming soon followed when a beast burst from the recesses and seemed to storm towards them with a hunger gleam in its eyes. Even when the beast began feasting on one of the two guard’s bodies, the screaming did not die down and would surly draw the attention from the pirates above…

Taking in the panic and bloodshed around it, the chained figure in the corner began chuckling in a low growl. It mused to itself as it watched the feeble attempts of those before it. It refused to be left behind—if only to gain satisfaction from watching them die. However the being remained still, sitting cross legged on the floor in its chains, waiting—until a small red furry creature wandered over to it. It was not the fact that it was an animal that caught its attention. It was the stench of raw magic that barraged its senses that forced the entity to look up—a slow movement.

The crew of the ship had been proven stupid, even though their knowledge on magic and technology had pushed them to the top. It tilted its head, and leaned as far forward as its chains would allow—a mere few inches. Its face was still covered by the darkness and hidden from the escaping prisoners. It opened its eyes to show deep red and slightly reflected iris, rigged in yellow. The figure stared into the eyes of its new audience, tasting the mix of aromas that came with it: the magic, the fear and the curiosity.

[Ladie Luck]

Bou:

Unnoticed and unharmed by anyone, Blue’s luck had stayed true. She made her way to the being in the back slowly and did not panic when it took notice of her and slowly tried to get closer. Its slow movements and interest in her only helped to peak her curiosity.

Perhaps it does not intend to hurt me…? Its piercing red eyes seemed to glow as they took in her small, matted frame and shreds of clothing.

The loud, violent sounds from above had her itching to run and hid and the smell of gun powder and unclean bodies was surely killing off her brain cells, but nothing could turn her away from the being sitting chained before her. From this distance—about six feet away—and the smokey, dark air, she could not make out its features. She just noted its glowing red eyes rimed in yellow and its silhouetted form sitting. A chill ran down her spine—something about this thing did not sit right in her gut. There was something evil about this being..

If only she were free… She ripped her gaze away from the glowing eyes and weakly snarled to herself. She wanted to rip her dirty, red fur out! How in the world was she supposed to get off the blasted ship while she was a fox? And what in the world was this thing? Her curiosity was eating her alive. The power this creature had was amazing in that it drew the eyes of a majority of the prisoners and ate at her senses.

Glancing at the being, her amber eyes were sad as she struggled to stay steady on the rocking ship. Lack of food had left its mark on her poor body and standing alone was a struggle—how was she going to avoid being recaptured in this state?

Her morbid thoughts did nothing to help feed the hope that had once run rampant through her blood. There was no way she would be able to gain freedom herself, and the prisoners were in no shape to fight. With that thought, she decided that appeasing her curiosity would be the most helpful thing for her to do—since she surely couldn’t magically poof the chains of the other captives off or go running atop the deck to rip the throats out of the pirates that tormented her dreams.

But before she could move a step in the direction of the chained creature, the sound of something large moving towards her had her quickly glancing at the other prisoners.

A dragon was heading her way!

Fear of the fox had her turning towards it fully before inching towards the wall furthest from both the chained being and the dragon.

When she noticed the dragon had begun eating a pirate, a thought slammed into her mind, Perhaps I have a chance of escaping after all! With all of the prisoners helping and a dragon eating pirates… She glanced up to the ceiling, watching as blood continued to fall in a mixture of grim and urine. The obvious trouble stewing above deck is also surely a sign for the good.

Once again hope streamed in her veins as she made her way, tentatively towards a naked man's side.

[Ladie Luck]

Momohubo:

Nye still shivering was starting to feel somewhat convinced about putting on the pirates clothes when without hesitation a dragon moved by and began to devour one of the bodies. He sneezed once more and he looked away at the awkwardness of the situation. He tried his best to walk a step away from the wall of the ship when he coughed and hit the ground hard.

Nye closed his eyes tightly to fight the pain of his bones clashing with the wood. Being skinny as a stick from starvation he had no padding to protect his innards. He tried to push himself up but his arms gave way and he plummeted back to the ground. He couldn't do it, he had no energy in him to lift a finger. He was so hungry, so tired... he just wanted to close his eyes...

When being a concubine he at least was fed properly which, compared to this life, was great and as he laid there on the cold, blood covered wooden ground he wondered what was going to happen to him now. Would the rest of the group just walk over him and leave him here to die? He hoped someone would notice his sickly self on the floor.

[Ladie Luck]

Anonymous:

Kai was almost sure she'd gotten Mai's collar off until it began glowing.

"Pretty," she breathed. A smile began to light up the young girl's face until she felt a sudden buzzing in her hands. Kai let out a small "eep!" as she fell backwards onto her bottom, right in front of Lyia. The red head stuck her lower lip out and examined her slightly red palms. "Tingly hands."

There was a warm feeling in her hands, like she'd touched something hot and forgot to pull away. Kai began to blow on her hands, to no avail, but instead put them on the cool floor. Whatever sticky liquid she stuck her hands in cooled down the burning, but it was too dark to see what it was.

Despite the burning in her hands - and the one in her tummy from lack of food - she was glad to hear that Lyia was okay.

"Okay. Kai can quiet," she nodded at the slightly older female. "Finally, Kai will play hider this time." Oftentimes, she played hide and seek with the rodents. It was fun. No one else would play with Kai... no one else could hide. But when she played with the rats, Kai always had to do the seeking. The rats never came to find her. It made Kai mad.

Her mind wandered off the subject of crawling animals, and two curious green eyes swept upwards as a deep voice said something. Kai looked around, confused, for a few moments until she realized that the voice was in a different language. A dragon language. He said something about an ancient child... That was silly, Kai thought. How could a child be old? She wanted to go and talk to the dragon, ask about the ancient child, but he left to go... eat... the pirate.

A scream almost escaped her lips, but Kai remembered what Lyia said. She had to be quiet or else someone would find her. Two thin, bloody hands clamped over her mouth and she continued to look around. It was unfair that Kai had to be quiet when other people were making a lot of noise. She made "shhh" noises and wandered around, on her hands and knees, until she saw a thin, nude boy fall to the ground after a shuttering cough.

"Oh," she gasped, crawling towards him. She plopped down on the dirty ground so that she could examine his face. His eyes were closed shut, and he was shivering. He was very pretty for a male. On Gugi Island, most of the boys were lean or very muscular. It was unusual for her to see such a feminine looking male. Kai sat up, legs crossed, as she hovered over him. He was very sleepy. Blinking, she ran a hand over his short, multi-colored hair and then looked towards the broken parts of the ship. Lyia said they would escape, and Lyia always told the truth.

A small, graceful animal seemed to be making its way towards Nye, as well. Kai turned her head.

"Pretty animal." Fox, a voice in her head informed her. "Pretty fox," Kai said. Her attention focused back on the exhausted Nye.

"You will escape with Kai," she said quietly. She did not mind his lack of clothing. Quite honestly, she didn't have any care towards his nudity. Kai liked to go nude sometimes, but other people gave her funny looks. Plus, it was cold on the ship sometimes.

She bent down to pick up the boy, trying to get him onto her back so she could carry him to Lyia.

[Ladie Luck]

Caminus:

After eating the better part of the corpse, he peered into the hole in the ship, in an effort to see what might be going on. It seemed to shimmer white, as if underwater looking up at its surface. He then looked beyond it and saw the other ship baring down on them. Cannons blazing. "A ship," He said in the human tongue. He pushed away from the wall and looked to the others that were free. "Another ship is coming right for us. Coming for... thi..." He started to stagger, the darkness was coming back. Threatening to overcome his senses. "Its th- Att-ack-ing Shi-..." Caminus began to collapse. His mind, losing the battle with exhaustion. It was only as he fell did he realize how folly it was to charge after the corpse, that wasn't moving, in that state. He cursed in the Ancient tongue, just before his head hit the deck.

[Ladie Luck]

Auki:

Standing proved painful but at least she was able to do it. Towering over 8ft, her height surpassed even that of the dragon. Looking up, the ceiling seemed a lot closer than it had been before. Had she really always been this tall? She felt self-conscious as she took a few cautious steps forwards. Lyia quickly realised the warning signs, as they appeared, a numbness that crept slowly up her legs. Carefully, she lowered herself back into a sitting position, a sigh of disappointment and weariness escaping her lips. Pins and needles tickled her fetlocks and she used her hands to pick up her forelegs and attempt to rub some feeling into them. All this movement was leaving her more and more exhausted. A part of her doubted she would be able to leave the ship at all if she could not even stand unaided.

The screaming that surrounded her was beginning to give her a headache and she glared round at those making the din. Her glare became darker when she realised what it was they were actually screaming. A particularly disgusting man spat at her and screamed “Filthy beast deserves to be locked up! Free us humans, stupid girl.”
She was exhausted, in pain, frightened (even if she refused to admit it) and such a comment caused her usually ever-lasting patience to snap. With Kai preoccupied, she made no hesitation on showing her rage. She moved – half-crawling, half-walking as before, seeing as it was all she could manage at the moment – towards the man. He spat again at her, the saliva hitting the tip of her hoof. She used that same hoof to pin the man roughly to the wall, bending herself over so she could whisper in his ear. She kept her voice lowered so that no one would be able to overhear. Her accent was rough and awkward but her anger was clear in her voice

“Little boy,” she hissed, cringing as she used the language of these stupid, insolent creatures, “You’re an ignorant fool to put a race such as yours above mine. I knew more than you by the age of five, than you will know in all your entire pathetic, little life.” At this point, she felt a stab of pain in her stomach, and was forced to hug her side to reduce her suffering. Her hoof remained firmly on his chest however. She gave a small mirthless chuckle, “You call my dragon friend a beast as well? If you truly think that is so, perhaps I should offer your flesh to him, so that we can rid the world of small-minded idiots such as yourself, aye?” Removing her hoof, she was thankful to have it back on the floor, relieving the pressure on her other leg. She had the strong urge to kick the man in the face but shook her head softly – Woman were not made for violence; she would lose her mothering rights in such an act. “Rot in hell, little boy,” she murmured as she turned away, realising that everyone was making their way towards the exit. Slowly, painfully, she followed. Reaching the pirates, she looked down at the remaining one in interest.

“Limpre basant…” She muttered, reaching down to tear a strip of clothing from the pirates. Her forelegs trembled and she lowered herself into a lying position, grateful for the rest. The red material did not look particularly tasty, but she was hardly in a position to complain. She had tried to rip off a piece with as little blood as possible but it had been almost impossible to avoid. Her strip had only a few drops on but she could still taste the sharp, metallic sting of blood as she chewed on the fabric. Her stomach could digest anything, excluding meat or metal and she was fairly content with what she could gather from the pirate’s clothing. She didn’t think she would gain much in the way of nutrients from her food, but it stopped her stomach from growling so loudly, if only for the moment.

"Another ship is coming right for us. Coming for... thi..."

Lyia looked up sharply as the Dragon spoke and almost choked as he collapsed right beside her. “Mena liza?” she called to him cautiously. “Mena Liza, Fuent ke ne biun?” Even as her concern for the Dragon mounted, her mind made her look round for Kai in worry. Perhaps she had also collapsed? The girl, however, seemed to be struggling with the pretty boy and at another time, Lyia’s cheeks would have flushed. With the male’s nakedness and the pair’s position, Lyia wondered how the boy could not be getting aroused in the slightest. She felt like stampeding over there and ripping the human off her poor Kai’s back but repressed such urges. She wasn’t Kai’s mother after all and now was not the time to get overly protected about such things. “Mena liza?” She called again, returning her attention to the Dragon, nudging him with her hands. Her concern was plain on her face.

[Ladie Luck]

Iwanami_Kitsune:

The collar gave Mai a light shock and she pulled her fingers back reflexively. "Hm, well I guess we can't have our cake and eat it too."

She said just before Kai reached up and began relentlessly tugging at her collar. "Wait, Kai." She said trying to stop the girl from being shocked. Unfortunately she didn't say it soon enough as Kai was similarly shocked. Though the girl didn't seem to be any more affected than Mai was. Mai had been worried that the shock might have been worse a second time.

Suddenly and without warning Mai began shaking, the pain that she had previously forgotten about during the commotion suddenly came back full force. She held onto the bars or the dragon's cage for support trying to stay conscious. Was the world spinning? What was going on? Just a second ago she wasn't feeling all that bad all considered, but now she didn't even know if she could stand.

Then the room burst in the cries of the chained. She watched dumbfound as the prisoners caused an uproar. One prisoner spat on the centaur, and Mai was glad that the centaur seemed to pay him back for it. Mai was shocked that they would behave like this, it was a miracle that the pirates weren't already pouring through the door with swords armed. If they were going to act like that Mai didn't know if she could afford to save them, they would get her killed. She wasn't sure how she could quiet them.

Kill them, then they won't be so noisy. The voice rang in her head. Ruy, of course. She hated him. More than she hated herself for being his child.

"No." She said seemingly to no one. "I'm going to free them."

Mai held up the keys and addressed the prisoners "I won't free any of you unless you settle down." She made her way slowly to the side of the hull she had previously been chained to. She took the key that opened her side of the cells and slipped it in the lock of one group of prisoners, "Yes!" She exclaimed as the lock turned. She unlocked the remaining prisoners on her side of the wall, crawling between them instead of mustering the strength to stand.

After Mai freed the prisoners she used the hull of the ship to support her as she stood, then meandered over to the other side of prisoners. She tried the key that freed her own group without success. She tried the cage key, it didn't work but she already knew that. Mai looked at the one destroyed key and her heart sank. She vainly hoped that the key that released her would release them. She then tried the ruined key. It would fit, if it wasn't ruined. "I can't free them... the key..." She said in a broken voice.

Mai then realized she hadn't even thought about the fourth key, it wasn't even close to fitting in the other prisoners lock. Then where did it go?

She scanned the room, cages, her chains, their chains... Her eyes locked on the dark corner of the room, glowing red eyes peered from the darkness, drawing her in.

Go there. Ruy ordered. The tattoo on Mai's back became warm, a threat.

Mai found herself putting one foot in front of the other, heading into the darkness. The noisy prisoners, the pirates, the pain, the weakness, the thick air, her common sense, all was forgotten in the darkness that beckoned her and her god who pushed her forward.

[Ladie Luck]

Gravewar:

Argo immediately spotted a small pouch tied to the loosely hanging belt of the dead burly pirate. He untied the drawstring, and began rummaging through the bag, his fingers digging through a small amount of coins. Taking some out he examined a few. ‘Gold and silver, this should help once I’m off this ship.’ He finished his thought putting the coins back in the pouch. He then noticed that the dragon was bounding through the ship rushing toward his direction. He raised the cutlass in his free hand but quickly lowered it once the dragon sunk its teeth into the other dead pirate. He'd seen animals eat each other on his hunts so it didn't phase him that much. He tied the pouch to the string on side of his loincloth and returned to the corpse splayed in front of him. Searching, this time in the pockets of the dead man’s trousers, his fingers grasped a small brown box. Pulling the box out and opening it reveals a small bag of tobacco, a small wooden pipe, and three matches. Argo chuckles. He didn’t smoke, and since he didn’t have any pockets or a place to stash the box he leaves it down by the pirate’s body.

Walking away from the body slowly he feels that the search didn’t produce the results that he was expecting. He was hoping that guards down here held the keys or whatever device they had for removing these collars around their necks. The collar greatly reduced his abilities, and coupled with the terrible treatment that he had received his body was broken. Walking was starting to become a problem and so he leaned against a wall and took a break. He heard the dragon say something about another ship making its way towards their ship. Sighing heavily, he wished he had some food to eat because he'd need the energy if there was a fight. He wished he could eat the pirate like the dragon had, but he didn’t have the stomach for that. Whatever was happening on top of the ship he knew was dangerous, so he continued to rest, trying to recuperate.

He noticed that the stairway was close by. He also saw that the free prisoners were all trying to make their way towards the doorway. He’d wait for them right here. They all seem to be struggling. The little one, Kai, was trying to get the naked man on her back and carry him. The dragon had fallen out and the centaur was trying to nudge him back into consciousness. Argo noted that the tattooed girl wasn’t amongst those headed for the exit. He looked around and saw that she was making her way towards the back of the hold. Argo knew that a creature was held back there. Kept in the dark all the time, Argo had never seen the things face. There were other dangerous beasts on the ship such as the dragon, but the dragon spoke their language and he seemed to be an ally. The same couldn’t be said of the creature in the back. Argo didn’t know what it was and wasn’t sure if the girl should be going back there alone.

Gathering all the strength that he had, he let the cutlass hang loosely from his right hand and began to make his way towards the darkness in the back. He would gauge whether the creature back there was friend or foe.

[Ladie Luck]

Bou:

Blue paused as she noticed a figure crawling towards the naked man. She stared into the dense air and tried to make out the figure as it came closer.

Kai.

The pirates’ dysfunctional pet was making her way towards the man as well. Hairs still standing on end, Blue continued forward, not fearing the unusual woman as she prodded and stared at the man. She was not alarmed, even as the woman turned her way and called her pretty.

Nose dripping, eyes watery, fur matted and bloody, Blue paid the woman’s untrue comment no mind as she drew her body closer until she was beside the two—and nearly broke her neck as her head swung around at the sound of something large hitting the ground.

The dragon. The dragon was down. And with that, her hope died a horrible death—yet again.

Why!? We were so close! Was her erratic thought as she stared at the downed beast. Common sense began to reason that all of the captives were doomed to die—they were all so weak and the pirates, so many. But the sounds of screaming and running and all the blood raining on them… there was something going on, another ship was obviously attacking their own. But what would attack this ship? It was unlike any other she had ever seen. Until she had been bagged and dumped into that horrid cage, she’d never seen a hold as large as this one’s… They were doomed. All of them. Even if they got to the deck, there’d still be the pirates and the cannon balls to contend with.

Shouts of glee and cries of anger drummed her eardrums from the back and she turned to find that the woman with keys had managed to free even more prisoners. Most were trying to stand while others remained where they had been previously sitting. Many of them refused to go near the dragon, instead choosing to try and help the other chained captives across from them. The sounds of grunts, curses and rattling chains accompanied their useless attempts.

I wonder if they will all get out... Maybe we have a chance after all! Perhaps -

The tattooed woman slowly crossed into Blue’s line of sight, disrupting her train of thought, as she made her way towards the front of the ship. Following her slow progress, Blue’s blood ran cold and she drew herself nearer towards Kai and the nude man—she had seen the keys in the woman’s hands.

She would not…

Turning quickly to find Kai still struggling with the man, her eyes were drawn back to the dragon. The centaur was tending it.

Glancing back towards the front, she noticed the horned man was also heading in the direction of the chained being.

Unable to voice her thoughts and concerns, she could only stare and tremble as she watched their progress.

[Ladie Luck]

Momohubo:

While on the floor Nye got some time to...reflect on the situation and it was with Nye's wise but very hungry judgment that deemed this situation as a sticky situation. He felt a little paralyzed and perhaps he was right due to the fact he was actually paralyzed. He desperately tried to wiggle a finger but it would not move. His breathing was heavy due to the contents in the air and his eyes would not open regardless of how much he told them to open.

Suddenly a person was touching him and by the sound of the voice he thought it to be a female. Suddenly he felt himself being lifted, and by the way his legs were spread apart and being held by two arms while his chest was lying on her he could assume she was on her back. Nye was not up for arguing or mentioning the fact that the fabric was very...scratchy to some certain 'parts' of his body which created enormous discomfort.

However he was in luck for his eyes began to lightly open, they were now looking at the hair of the woman who was holding him. It was a very nice red color, and he would normally complain about the possibility of it being dirty just like the pirate clothes but given the circumstances and again due to the fact that he had no energy to do a thing he remained motionless and silent. Suddenly his eyes began to notice something odd about the female's hair, a section of it was...moving.

The rest of the hair fell down as normal; however a small part near the top of her skull began to move all on its own, creating a lump in her hair. Something began to pop out of her hair. Nye could not tell exactly what it was yet but it was squiggling with fierceness and it seemed to have no intention of stopping anytime soon. Finally his wavering vision finally got to see it.

"A.........worm" was all he was able to say before he sighed and went back into a nearly passed out state, his body still feeling the uncomfortable scratching of the girl's clothing.

[Ladie Luck]

Bou:

"I can't free them... the key..." The girl with the keys to the prisoners freedom cried, unheard by a majority as the booming and screaming above drowned out most sound.

The chained prisoners could not believe their eyes as the girl left them to their doom: they would be stuck while others would be free? A few slumped in defeat while others feebly threw themselves against their chains, cursing all those that were free. Even as some of the other prisoners tried to find a way to free them - a vain attempt - the chained captives refused to stay quite.

The sound of smashing wood being blast to pieces rent the air as a cannon ball crashed through the hold of the ship, leaving yet another smoking hole in the back of the ship, and then exploded into a cage once home to a dragon. The explosion darkened the air with powder and magical smoke. Pieces of metal flew through the air at the impact and one chained woman was not able to avoid being pierced in the stomach - her scream encased the air in an otherworldly cry of anguished pain.

Another crash sounded as another cannon ball tore another hole into the ship and landed into the mist of chained bodies. Landing and exploding to kill three prisoners - one chained, two not.

Panic arose and many of the freed prisoners - now covered in gore, blood and powder - began racing for the stairs as quickly as their weak bodies would allow them, not caring what they found on the next deck.

The chained captive's screams pierced the air more shrilly as they watched their only means of escape leaving them.

[Ladie Luck]

Anonymous:

After a bit of struggle, Kai finally managed to get Nye on her back. He was heavy for being so thin, but Kai didn't have food. She knew that she was capable of carrying a leopard, if only for a short amount of time, if need be. Kai was not weak, Kai was just hungry. That was the thought running through her head as she shakily stood up.

"Pretty fox," Kai called softly, still trying to keep her voice down. "Want to ride on Kai's head?" The girl was shaking under Nye's weight alone. She was frail, weak, and hungry, but she refused to give up. Lyia said they would escape ship. Kai wanted to get off this ship. She wanted to eat real food and see the sky turn pretty colors before the stars appeared. She wanted to feel clean and smell like flowers and sunshine. It was this that kept her from giving up. She wanted to be free, but there would be no fun if she was free alone.

Her eyes wandered around the ship as there was a loud “thud”. Oh no! The dragon was sleeping now, too. That wasn’t good. Kai couldn’t carry a dragon out the door. Lyia was trying to speak to the dragon, but he wasn’t responding very much. The man with the horns, the hunter, was working his way towards someone else. There was a lot of screaming. Kai thought it was unfair, when she had to keep her voice quiet. But Lyia told her to. Kai would not disobey Lyia.

Nye let out a barely audible groan, but stayed still, almost lifeless. It scared Kai. He had to be okay if Kai carried him out. He had to be. Just when she began to fear for the worst, he said two small words. A worm. A worm? Kai didn’t know where he could have seen a worm, but he gave a small sigh and then became silent. The girl felt movement on the back of her head that she hadn’t realized earlier, but she pursed her lips. This was not time for eating yet. She had to help Nye and, if she would let her, the Pretty Fox.

“Lyia,” Kai called hoarsely. She took a shaky step towards the centaur and dragon, but the loud, painful sound of splintering wood held her back. A big, black ball collided where the dragon had just escaped from, and she heard the screech of the cage’s impact. More grey dust rose in the air and made Kai want to double over coughing. Kai turned towards where the cannonball hit so Nye would not be hit by the rain of metal. Kai gasped and felt a sudden sharp pain in her arms. Tiny sharp things cut tiny holes in her clothes and stung her skin. She felt various small burns and cuts on her arms.

“Lyia,” she repeated. Her voice could barely be heard over the screaming. Lyia was too far away, and she was helping the dragon, like Kai was helping Nye. Right now, the Dragon needed more help than Kai did. Her green eyes scanned the ship for someone free who could help her, and she found the horned man. He was big. Not fat, unhealthy big. But he was tall and strong looking, like some hunters on Gugi Island. Kai began shaking, and her legs threatened to give out on her. Maybe if she could just eat that worm… No, she had to help Nye first!

Kai slowly began to make her way towards the darkness in the back. Towards Argo and the girl with marks on her skin. The large man could help her. The large man would be able to help Nye. She just needed to make it close enough to capture his attention.

“Mister Horny Man,” Kai said loudly. “Please…” she asked, still struggling towards him. “You have to help Kai…”

[Ladie Luck]

Caminus:

The first sound Caminus heard was 'phump' followed by a bunch of white noise. Then again another sound but this time louder and more defined like a crash, this time. He willed his eye open as his senses returned. He saw the Centaur. He wondered if this is what it was like for the Dragons of old. Waking up to a centaur woman healing the wounded. It was no wonder their tales spoke highly of them. She was saying something... But what. Then he realized she wasn't healing him. How could she. She's in as bad or worse condition as he was.

“Mena liza?”...“Mena liza?” The centaur woman said.

His senses finally came rushing back like a tidal wave. The Screaming, the prisoners rushing out to the unknown, probably getting cut down. He looked over and saw that three chained prisoners were gone, and another dead... Not worth eating though she was all skin and bones. Then he focused inwardly. The Metal collar chafing at his neck, his stomach still growling but not as painful anymore.

He put one arm out onto the deck and shifted his weight to allow the second one to free itself from his weight. He cast a thankful look to Lyia for helping to rouse him. Even though he more than likely didn't use her powers he liked to think she helped bring him back.

He took a deep breath and realized how much gunpowder was in the air. He was sure they were in the lowest deck, because even pirates didn't want slaves peeing on their food. That would mean the gunpowder stores were also up there. Only one dragon was folly enough to use his flame in such an environment and he never lived long enough to regret it. This whole place was one big bomb waiting to blow up at the slightest spark in the wrong place.

Canimus helped the Centaur up on her feet and said in the ancient tongue, "Dig deep and be ready to fly." It was an old dragon saying that was meant for the young who had just learned to fight. It had many meanings but all were apt for a coming battle. It had saved his life only twice before and if it could help anyone else survive then he would tell it to everyone.

[Ladie Luck]

Auki:

Large metal balls blasted the hold and Lyia had to look away as one exploded among three prisoners. She shifted backwards, just avoiding the blood that splattered across the floor. “Oh Deit,” she murmured, still holding onto the Dragon beside her, muttering a shaky prayer from their loved ones. Fear gripped her stomach and clawed its way up her throat, giving her the feeling that she was about to vomit. She had seen battle before, even at her young age, but never something as brutal as innocent people exploding. Lyia had never seen technology like this – Centaur battles were fought with spears and magic. She could not understand why humans would want technology like this.

The Dragon roused beneath her and she used the movement to distract herself, "Donmo de deitar, Mena Liza. Te ke biun!” She held the Dragon by its shoulder as it helped her to get on her feet and she murmured a “Donmo te” for his efforts. How long she’d be able to stand this time, she did not know. Adrenaline was pumping through her, stimulated by her fear. She felt like she could run full speed off the ship right now. Common sense told her that even if she could, her sprint would most likely end with her dead from exhaustion. Walking however, seemed possible, as long as she kept her fear and anger at its peak.

“ Tuena shenra et ke prepa fleli,” the Dragon said to her and she nodded in agreement. Her fingers tapped lightly on his shoulder and she drew herself closer. She lay her hands flat against his scales and took a risk. The simplest spell she knew was how to rid one of exhaustion, used by wives when their husbands returned home from war. She muttered a string of prayers, asking for strength from the Gods, as she attempted to cast the spell upon the Dragon. She cast the spell as weakly as she could, not even attempting to remove all his exhaustion and as she finished her legs began trembling violently, not from weakness but because they knew what was coming. She coughed violently, blood dripping heavily from her mouth, and she knew she had likely damaged herself internally. Adrenaline still raged through her, but now the cause was partly fear for herself. Damn, she needed her herbs.

Finding the situation called little for modesty, she tugged at her cloth wrap, causing it to fall from around her body. She used the material to wipe her mouth, the fabric staining a dark crimson. When the flow had stopped, what felt like minutes later, she let the cloth fall to the floor without a second glance. Realising she was still holding on to the Dragon, she apologised for her rudeness – After all, he was male and she was female; she had no right to be using him for support without expressed permission. Letting go, she lowered herself into a crouch, searching round the place for the tattooed girl and Kai. She wanted to get off the ship…now. Oh Kai, where have you got to? Why do you always run off?

After much staring through the gunpowder-filled air, she noticed them moving towards a shadowed corner – Although she couldn’t make out details of the figures, she could recognise Kai simply from her silhouette, similar to how a centaur mother could recognise her foal among thousands. “Oh Deit,” she murmured, fear for the girl tingeing her voice, “Mena Liza, te ave helf mi am-…te ave helf Kai. Oh Deit, avero.” Her fingers indicated towards Kai’s shadowy figure wandering further back into the hull.

[Ladie Luck]

Iwanami_Kistune:

In the dark corner sat a bulky man who was held down by three different chains. The huge lock which held them together had intricate designs all around it and looked striking similar to the key Mai now held in her hand. His charcoal colored body was unadorned but was covered in engravings that glowed silver. They were the same engravings that Mai had seen on the other captives collars.

He looked up at Mai and grinned, showing a mouth full of large, sharp white teeth. It reminded Mai of Ruy.

"Finally..." He said in a voice that only Mai and Argo could hear "Free me..."

You heard him Ruy said to her. Her back began to get a little warmer. When Mai hesitated her back began to burn, the tattoo was almost unnoticeably glowing red.

Mai, don't play this game, you cannot win. Mai knew that if Ruy wanted this so bad, it would most likely end in bloodshed. She didn't want to free him, she had a bad feeling. There was no choice.

"I hate you." She said to her god, not caring if the beast thought she was talking about it. She took a few steps closer however she was brought to a stop by a large hand on her shoulder. Looking to see who it was she recognized the horned man, Argo she remembered the pirates saying.

Shoving her back, Argo made his way slowly towards the beast, the thunderous sound of the cannonballs smashing through the hold caused him to quickly look back to see what was going on.

Seeing all the destruction and panic and hearing all the screaming, he quickly turned back to the chained beast. The noise prevented him from hearing Kai's cry as he raised his cutlass in a defensive position and stopped before the creature. "What purpose do you have on this ship? Surely you are no ordinary prisoner from the way the pirates fear you. You are different then the rest of us."

Kill him, he's in the way. The tattoo glowed just slightly brighter, one would only notice it if they were standing right next to Mai. Her back burned even more, usually the level of pain wouldn't be a problem, however combined with her weakness it was almost too much to bear.

"No" Mai whispered under her breath, this was perhaps the first time that no one knew who she really was, she would rather keep it that way. Besides, without her power he would probably kill her first, he was bigger and stronger. With her sword hand she gripped the cutlass tightly.

Grin still in place, the beast turned towards Argo, "I help the ship survive." It stated with a snort of it's thick nose, eyes shining.

"You help the ship survive?" Argo said under his breath. What did that mean? The creature looked so smug. " If we let you free of your chains, what will happen to us? Will you kill us?" Argo asked to gauge whether or not he could defeat the creature now that he saw what it looked like.

"I will not kill you. Or the others. I will gain my revenge. You will win with me." The beast stated, closing his eyes and mouth in a smile, "Already the ship dies without my aid. Aid that has too long been rendered without proper appreciation." It opens its eyes to stare back at the girl, "Free me."

See, I'm looking out for you. Ruy relented, the tattoo went back to normal, the burning stopped. The relief Mai felt nearly caused her to faint. Mai then walked around Argo, who was tensely standing and staring at the beast with distrust and probably now thought she absolutely out of her mind. Mai wished she could explain to Argo why she had to do this, but instead she simply said "Thanks."

Key in hand Mai strode over to the figure and placed the key in the lock and turned.

[Ladie Luck]

Anonymous:

Kai stopped a few yards behind the Horned Man. She felt a chill run through her body that was completely unrelated to the temperature. She hadn't realized exactly what Argo and Mai were making their way to. Kai gasped as a sharp pain shot through her mind, like a warning. It was brief, but it still hurt. She gasped and took a few steps backward. Whatever was in the corner... it wasn't nice. That person, that thing gave Kai the chills. The only other time Kai could remember feeling this way was when she saw that bad man kill her mom...

The Thing in the corner said something that Kai could not hear. There was so much noise, but she saw his mouth move. He had big teeth. Big, sharp teeth, like a shark. Kai felt goosebumps on her arms and she took a few more steps back. She couldn't get near that thing. No, Kai would not get near that thing. That was the new resolve in her mind.

Despite the moans and cries for help, Kai could have sworn she heard something about her. Pursing her lips, she adjusted her position so Nye's arms fell over her shoulders. Her eyes fell on Lyia, who had removed her cloth from her upper body. Lyia was going nude, too. Kai wanted to go nude. She wanted to get rid of her itchy clothes and jump in water... but Nye was on her back. It would be mean to drop him just so she could get out of her clothes.

The centaur was no longer completely focused on the dragon. A bit of happiness swept through Kai's body, and a smile lit her face as she began taking step after shaky step towards Lyia. Kai had Lyia's attention again. No more attention for the Dragon.

"Lyia," she tried calling again. She wasn't sure if the centaur could hear her just yet, and she didn't want to scream. Kai's chest rose and fell quickly, and hot liquid was dripping from Kai's head. Sweat. Sweat was dripping from Kai's head. She felt the sticky blood on her bare feet, and then she began to leave bloody tracks in the layer of gun powder and dust.

"Lyia!" Kai cried when she was in earshot. "Lyia, can we escape now? Kai's arms will get tired," she said in her musical voice. She spoke articulately, and pronounced each syllable similar to a child beginning to speak. Kai wants to get away from Demon Thing in dark corner, she wanted to say, but that would not be nice.

[Ladie Luck]

Caminus:

Canimus knew something important was happening. But something told him to stay out of the way. For the moment he knew his place was with the Centaur. Though he was not quite sure how he knew. He assumed it was the will of the ancestors. Then he felt the Centaur place her hands on him. then he muttered a prayer. He knew she was taking a huge risk, whatever she was doing. As he watched the child like girls figure move closer to them he realized he wasn't as tired as he once was. He looked back at the Centaur and began coughing... Blood began dripping from her mouth. He admired her courage and strength for what she just did.

After a few minutes She apologized... But he didn't understand. He thought for a moment or two and then he remembered some of his teachings. But this was no place for manners. He said to her in the ancient tongue. He then moved closer and extended his wing over her head to keep the blood from the upper decks from hitting her. It was the least he could do after what she had done for him.

Finally the child like girl came up to them both and asked the one question they all were thinking. "Lyia, can we escape now?" Caminus did not open his mouth. He did notice that she was carrying a full grown male on her back. Upon further scruteny he realized that it was the tasty looking one from earlier. He tried not to drool this time as he instead looked to the dark corner where the other two were located. "Its about to happen." He said in the Ancient tongue.

[Ladie Luck]

Bou:


The being grinned as the key turned. Both its body’s inscriptions and the large key began to glow an eerie white. A white that did not vanish as the being stared at the woman with a smile that threatened to crack his face in a way that exposed every single pointed tooth he owned.

The heavy chains hitting the floor was not seen or heard by the other prisoners—as sound was disrupted by cannons and screams, and sight was disputed by the hazy, fog coating the hold. And, as the chains hit the ground, he stood. Slowly stretching his seven-foot, three-inch frame, he seemed to ignore the hybrid man and his sword.

With a slight bow of his head towards the woman, his attention finally fixed on the hybrid. He glanced at the sword before looking back at the man, shaking his head - a head housing triangular eyes, a long pointed nose, and small pointy ears, “I will not require such, hybrid.” Raising black hands, he displayed to both the man and the woman his razor-sharp, two-inch long, ivory claws, “I have my own.”

He turned and covered the short distance to the woman before lowering his head, bringing his face closer to her own as he drew out his tongue. Slowly it extended and he languidly licked the blood off of her right cheek, “I will serve you well…” It whispered to her before shoving her back with his arm and striding forward. His glowing white inscriptions illuminated his coal black body and caused most prisoners--previously making their way towards safety, to head in the opposite direction with a scream and curse to the rear of the hold.

The beast strode towards the now empty staircase but paused at the base. Turning his large form around, he addressed the unchained prisoners, “If you want to live this day, I advise you follow me now.” His growling voice seemed to boom over them. He began to turn back to the exit but again paused as something drew his attention once more.

Turning his face to skim over the inhabitants of the ship, he quickly made his way to the fox he had found amusement in earlier, easily seeing her in the haze of the hold. He quickly grabbed it by the scruff of the neck as it tried to take off—realizing it was his prey. Turning towards a small group surrounding a downed dragon shielding a pretty centaur, he languidly approached a blood-drenched woman struggling to hold a male. A male, he noted, just as naked as he was but nowhere near as large. He grinned.

Deftly grabbing the man up by his left arm, his claws accidentally pricked the man’s skin as he threw him over his own shoulder. With a toothy smile to the woman, he handed her the fox, “An exchange. I think she will suite you better.”

Turning, he made his way to the stairs and deftly climbed them. His body quickly followed his head out and onto the middle deck of the ship.

---

On the middle deck, the nude man found himself being dropped, none-to-gently, onto the ground. A ground caked in blood—among other things. Bloody corpses littered the ground—ten women, six men—and judging from the tattered uniforms on them, they all seemed to belong to the ship’s crew. Gender, skin tone and height all varied in size for the deceased and some prisoners would remember many as frequent tormentors—if the haze of gunpowder, still thick in the air, did not disrupt their eyesight.

The grinning, glowing man quickly disappeared down the small hallway, not bothering to step over the dead as he used their bodies as bridges. He exited through a door located at the very end of the hall. A hall holding twenty-four doors—twelve on either side. All doors are flung open to display bedrooms: each holding one bed and a small dresser. There were no mirrors found or toilets; though, a look through some may have revealed half eaten food, books, shoes, cups of water, and other things. Some may even hold bottles of various concoctions. Moonlight could be seen thinly in the large holes found in five of the rooms - third, fifth, sixth, tenth, and eleventh - located to the right of the stairs.

At the end of the hall, where the man had previously made his exit, the door was slightly ajar and seemed to be where the majority of the screaming and destruction came from. Though, the sound of ruin still sounded all around and blood still seeped through the ceiling.

Through that door it was obvious a gory battle awaited them…

[Ladie Luck]

Momohubo:

Thud

"Owww..." Nye said lightly as pain shot into his skull. Laying on his side he slowly lifted his head and began to open his eyes.

"Oh...My..." he said as he quickly covered his nose, the fumes of the dead bodies got to his scenes before he even realized. His eyes now spotted the corpses and he jumped into a sitting position.

"ACK!" he screamed as more pain shot into him, he looked down. He was bleeding from his arm. He put his free hand over the wound near his wrist responsively to the site.

He looked left, and right...nothing but corpses and it made Nye feel nauseated. Instinctively he tried his best to stand, but to do so would mean he would have to move his hands from his nose and wound for he was too weak to not use them to help him us.

Making the sacrifice he worked to stand and as he was in a bending position the fumes began to invade his nose. The rotting flesh, the sweat, blood and human waste all danced inside his nostrils in an scented dance that one would call an abomination of what nature stood for.

He vomited as if he has no choice, as if the smell was controlling him and he bared witness to the fact that his contents, which was next to nothing, landed on a corpse and that made him gag more. He began to cry in horror of the situation and at the same time he winced in pain as he was standing now. Both his stomach and arm screamed as his world began to spin. Tears flew off his face as he lived in his delusional nightmarish reality.

Where was the girl with the worm in her hair? Where was anyone? With hand to wound and hand to nose again he began to shudder as he wept dramatically. Nothing was making sense and he lost any little comfort he had from before. The only he knew was his wound would heal and soon but beyond that everything was in the air.

He took a few steps back trying to move from his mess and tripped on another body, falling on the back of his skull in a very powerful thud. Making sounds of pain he rolled over to his stomach, blood joining the massive pools already there as he worked to get on his fours he began to crawl down the hallways he was in. He had no idea where it went but he hoped that Mai was somewhere near by, or someone he kind of knew for some help.

As he moved to the unknown on his hands and knees the wound began to patch up and suddenly it was gone as if it was never there, however he still had a pounding headache.


While crwaling down the hallway he began to discover that the sounds of agony were much louder here however it was still a distant whisper to him for every time his heart pounded his vision wavered. His mind died over and over in pain.

Using the wall he worked himself up to a standing position. Panting he used the wall for constant support as he walked forward, going past rooms that seemed pointless at the moment, or at least his mind was unable to think clearly and thus many things seemed pointless.

Walking still he used his free arm to wipe away his tears and he stopped and almost shrieked when he saw what stood in front of him. It was a very, very, very tall figure. He remained silent as best as he could, however the pain got the best of him as he fell to a kneeling position making light shouts of pain as he held onto his head.

He wished his mother was here, she was so strong. He knew that she would already have a plan to use to get out of here, he knew that she could have fought off all the starvation he faced, she was so strong and he was so weak. He needed her now more than ever. But she was gone, dead, more so than the bodies whose blood he was covered in.

[Ladie Luck]

Iwanami_Kitsune:

As the lock turned, Mai was shocked with a sudden power that flooded through her body. She felt paralyzed by it, left gripping the key whose intricate engravings now glowed an eerie white, along with the being before her. When the transfer completed she stumbled back and cried out in shock in a cry that sounded painful. Though in reality, it was quite the opposite.

She felt refreshed... No, powerful, unstoppable even. Although her magic was still locked away from her. Suddenly a voice, not her god, rang through her mind Finally...a new master...

Eyes widened, muscles tensed Mai stood dumbfounded, staring at the now freed being who just declared her master. He bowed his head to her, before his gaze wandered to Argo.

In her mind's eye Ruy's smile was just as wide as the white toothy grin of the being. Well done, my child. He will most definitely serve me well. He rejoiced, and left. Mai knew he could only stay for so long. Mai knew that somehow there were rules to his influence over her.

The beast then strode over to her, and suddenly the world seemed to come back to her. He leaned down, his face level to her's and slowly licked the blood off her cheek and whispered "I will serve you well..." before shoving her back.

She stumbled back and caught herself on one of the cages. Then watched in horror as he picked up a fox, and then Nye, giving the fox back to Kai. Once he left the room Mai finally felt part of the world again.

Nye... she thought as she sprinted after the being, with unexplainable speed and dexterity, considering her previous condition.

Mai found him standing at the end of the hall looking into an open doorway with light shining through. She sprinted across the hall to where he was standing and stepped over the various dead bodies, the dead things ceased to bother her a long time ago. She was more concerned with the living "Nye..." She remembered him called, "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" She said, though she knew none of the prisoners were exactly alright. Mai looked him over seeing the wound on his stomach from where the being gripped him. It looked shallow. Mai wished she could have at least given him strength if she had her ability. He looked like he could pass out any minute.

Mai heard the screaming and death coming from the other room. She coughed a little, partially from the thick air, partially the smell. She knew she needed to go to the being but wouldn't leave Nye without doing something for him. Mai looked in one of the rooms for anything that may help Nye, she found a cup of water and tore a piece off a blanket on one of the beds. She brought them back to him and handed him the water saying "here drink this, if you don't take care of yourself you are going to die." Then she went back into a room where she had spotted some concoctions, she quickly scanned them, seeing if there was anything that may at least make him more alert.

[Ladie Luck]

Gravewar:

Standing there as the tattooed woman freed the dark creature, Argo waited silently. He kept his sword raised defensively; ready for the beast should he make to attack them. As the creature rose, so did Argo’s anticipation. He steadied himself; the heavy chains slid slowly off and thudded loudly unto the floor as the creature continued to rise. When the beast was up he made a quick bow towards Mai, then he glanced at, Argo noticed, his sword, before looking squarely at him. “I will not require such, hybrid.” Did he think that Argo would give him his sword or was he saying that he would keep his promise and not attack them? The glowing creature displayed to both the man and the woman his razor-sharp, two-inch long, ivory claws, “I have my own.” Argo noticed how sharp and deadly looking the fiends claws were. Still with his intentions known, Argo couldn’t bring himself to lower his weapon.

Slowly the beast’s eyes turned away from Argo and towards Mai. Argo stared at the white symbols as the beast made his way towards Mai and licked the blood from her face. He saw the creature mutter something into her ear, but he could not tell what was said because of the explosions and screams all around him. The creature moved away, its luminous insignias creating a trail through the darkness as it made its way towards the stairway. It spoke to them all before making its way back up the stairs. Then the creature stopped and, by the light it gave off, Argo saw him walk and pick up a fox before exchanging it with the naked male that Kai was holding. ‘Why pick up a fox?’ Argo thought to himself. Where he was from children learned to hunt foxes at early ages. There was no prestige to be gained from hunting a fox when one was older. So surely there was little reason for slavers to sell one scrawny fox.

The creature made its way up stairs carrying the male along its shoulder. Shortly after Mai then ran off up the stairs. She would be alone, with an injured man and the creature and possibly some danger, so Argo figured he should keep an eye on those two. He still didn’t trust the creature. He started to make his way towards the stairway when he noticed that the others all were standing but were clearly winded. They would make their way up the stairs at their own pace. Argo would go on ahead and make sure that the way was clear. He would scout ahead and catch up to Mai and the creature.

Argo climbed the stairs slowly. His fatigue showing as he entered the next deck. He looked down the long expansive hallway. Its many rooms possibly containing hidden dangers or various items that the pirates kept in their possession. Maybe one on the rooms had food Argo told himself. He was tempted to search some of the rooms, but the constant threat of cannonballs and explosions rocking the ship helped him keep his composure. He couldn’t see the ivory man or the naked man anywhere and neither could he spot Mai. She could be in any room. All he saw was bodies, a few dozen corpses littered the long hallway, and he saw little movement among them, the stirring of the dead he contributed to the movement of the boat. He saw that his only option was to make sure the deck was safe for the others who would be coming up the stairs soon.

Heading towards the nearest door in the hallway he walks through the doorway and looks inside the room.

[Ladie Luck]

Auki:

Lyia sighed in relief as Kai diverted her course towards her, “Aye, aye, oit ke ravnti kon. Te ave ke bastant u biun ami, Kai.” She stumbled forward, ready to help the woman carry her burden, when she noticed movement in the corner. The air was still thick with powder but she could see something was happening – A subtle white glow was tinting the dust furthest from them. The centaur’s hand tightened on Kai’s arm as a monster emerged into view, making its way towards them. The creature did not quite match her height but he was the tallest non-centaur Lyia had witnessed – In addition, where she was slim, he was well built.
Why? Why did they let a thing like this free?
She glared darkly at beast, shifting slightly so her flank touched the Dragon – She felt safer with him near after all – Unlike him, she was not built for fighting.

As he handed the fox to Kai, Lyia growled silently, concerned that his acts may carry ill intentions. Lyia observed the animal now in Kai’s arms, watching for any kind of threat it might pose. Discovering quite the opposite, the centaur cocked her head curiously, “ Ne ven u vix ke vakcti ah mas iv u tantur uvn ness? Acun tam itt ne ven ke ness ukepti iv de perditam.” She paused and fixed her gaze on the child-like woman, “Ke nica al de vix, minu un. O ke vunda ind al vhi itt ke snarsa ke mas mena oyr iv itt relavly ne snarsa srekia.”

She wanted to watch the creature as it took its exit but her stomach cramped suddenly and she was forced to bend herself over, accidentally holding the dragon for support. Clenching her teeth, she waited for the pain to subside before irritably waving at Kai and the Dragon. “Agn Oit le,” she grunted, watching everyone follow the beast. She eyed the stairs dubiously – Centaurs did not have stairways. “ Te do evera le ah uni,” she murmured, waving them on. Her inconvenient pride did not want her to be seen ungracefully attempting to make it upstairs.

[Ladie Luck]

Caminus:

Canimus watched at the thing walked through. He felt it was not a kind creature. But being a juvenile dragon his character sense had not been honed yet. As he witnessed the creature grab the fox and trade the child like girl for the naked man he growled audibly and bared his teeth, as the centaur moved closer to him. He knew he was in much better condition to fight.

The thing offered a chance to live, but they had to follow. The thought of following such a thing made him sick, but the thought of revenge urged him on. Revenge upon the pirates for locking him away.

Canimus worried for the Centaur. He had hoped to bring her to the dragon council one day. Surely that would bring him much honor. As the centaur urged him and the girl to go first, Canimus folded his wing back and began moving forward. He hated the tight spaces on this ship. No adult dragon could ever squeeze himself through these stairs and hallways. If it wasn't for this collar he could just tell them to hang on and he would fly through one of the many holes in the hull of the ship. He pushed his form up the stairs he was greeted by the smell of pee, poo, and vomit. He saw the naked one being helped by the one with markings on her back. The Minotaur, searching through rooms.

He stopped and looked into some rooms for clothing for the naked one, and for the girl, as well as food for the centaur.

[Ladie Luck]

Anonymous:

Kai gave Lyia a weary smile. Yes, Kai had tried hard to be good for Lyia. But Lyia seemed preoccupied with something else. Frowning, the girl turned slightly to see what everyone one else was staring at, and she paled. The Monster from the corner was slowly making his way towards the front of the room. Kai felt despair as he reached down and grabbed the Pretty Fox, but that didn't last long. Her despair changed into full blown fear as he turned around and locked eyes with her. No, no, no! The Monster couldn't walk towards Kai... but he was.

Slowly, she began taking a few shaky steps, but there was no way she could get away. He was not a nice monster. She felt the Evil coming from him when the Tattooed Woman unlocked his chains but now... Now it was different. There was still Evil in the room, but it felt like it was contained, somehow. The Monster walked towards her and gruffly ripped Nye from her back. Kai gasped and tried protesting, but nothing came out of her mouth. Instead, he shoved the Pretty Fox in her hands.

“An exchange. I think she will suite you better.” Kai held the Pretty Fox like she saw women sometimes hold small children and babies and shrunk back, so that she was crouched on the ground. Her scared, curious eyes watched the monster leave and go up a flight of stairs until Lyia distracted her. The girl nodded and put the Pretty Fox on her shoulders so that she could use her hands to walk around as well as her feet.

Kai nodded and followed Lyia to the stairs. After Lyia mentioned going last, Kai looked between the dragon and the centaur. Kai was the smallest of them. She knew how to go up and down stairs, but it seemed kind of strange to her. Dragons and centaurs did not normally use the stairs... She took a deep breath and stared up, wondering what she would find. The girl almost volunteered to go first, but the dragon did instead.

"Kai will go now," she mumbled, not sure of what she would find. She waited until the dragon was off the stairs before, slowly, Kai walked up taking two steps at a time, similar to how a cat would. As she neared the top of the stairs, a sick, disturbing smell reached her nostrils. Something gross... like an animal that had been dead too long. Kai covered her nose with both hands, but it didn't smell any better. All she managed to do was smear the sticky red liquid and gunpowder on her face.

As soon as she reached the last step, she stopped a little bit and gasped. Dead bodies littered the area, and there was more sticky blood along the floors. Kai felt a shiver run through her body, and she nearly tumbled over, but grabbed herself at the last moment. If she fell, the Pretty Fox would have fallen with her, and Kai would have either tumbled down the stairs into Lyia's way or fall into the pool of blood on the floor. She didn't want to do either, but she fell onto her hands and knees, which were now covered in fresh blood.

The girl groaned and let out a whimper. Tears threatened to fall down her face, but she was too messy to wipe them away. She would just get more blood on her face. Instead, Kai took that last step, shakily, and tried to hold her breath. She was rather surprised to see a lot of doors down the hallway, and curiosity overtook her.

Lyia still had not made it up the stairs yet, but the dragon and someone else went to search one of the rooms... Perhaps she could find something to wear, or maybe something to eat. She crept forward and pursed her lips as she entered another one of the rooms with an already open door...

[Ladie Luck]

Bou:

Blue found herself thrown over shoulders. Shoulders caked with blood and things that had her grateful that her sense of smell was being killed off by the gun powder. But, though Kai was such a filthy child, Blue was grateful to be in her arms as opposed to the arms of the creature.

God! It is going to KILL ME! had been the first thought in her mind when she had noticed the glowing man making his way towards her. She had lost all power in her limbs, as she’d stood transfixed by fear and horror. One moment she was cowering in consternation and fear, slowly trying to move away from the being, the next she was being grabbed up by the scruff of her neck.

Was he going to break her neck? Eat her? Perhaps he intended to throw her into a wall and break her dirty, smelly body—soaking the rags she still wore in her own blood?

She had struggled once the idea of death came to her—but it only took a moment for her to figure out that she was not going anywhere in his viselike hold. Her struggling ceased the moment that realization dawned in her mind. She went limp in his arms—awaiting her fate.

The giant turned around with her still in his hand and she closed her bright amber eyes tightly in preparation for her death—she had seen the claws on his hands…

Suddenly, the wind was ruffling her fur and, when a jarring impact to her frame did not come, she snapped her eyes back open to see that the giant was carrying her towards the stair case. In that moment she realized that he was not going to kill her. And that surprised her. Was he not mad with blood lust? Did he not want to see her drowning in her own blood? Then again, he had not killed the woman or man. Surly he had enough strength to take down the others in their half-starved state—why had he not? Perhaps he too wanted to taste freedom? That made sense to her.

But why is he taking me? She wondered to herself as he made it to the door, What use am I to anyone?

The smell of gunpowder, death, and blood was stronger near the staircase. The smoke, which had been hazy in the hull, was much denser on the other side of the door, where it originated from. Screams, blasts and metal resounded in her ears. Her heartbeat sped up considerably and she couldn’t stop herself from struggling once more, wanting the freedom to run the opposite way—away from the chaos spewing from the open door. Surly they could find another way out! Of course she knew there was no other way than through the hell taking place mere feet from her, but the thought of going into it terrified her.

“If you want to live this day, I advise you follow me now.” He spoke in a growling voice that held command and her struggling stopped as she realized again she was not capable of breaking away from the man. As he spoke, Blue could only wonder how he had gained the knowledge he had about the ship. Obviously he knew where he was going, or he would not be so quick to jump into the fray. Or perhaps he was just crazy. Still, out of all the years of entrapment on the ship, Blue had never seen him. And that was strange.

Suddenly they were moving again. But, instead of going up the stairs, they were heading towards the dragon, Kai and centaur. She watched as he grabbed the boney, naked man on Kai’s back by the arm—intentionally pricking him while doing so—and threw him over his shoulder. Just as suddenly, she felt herself being moved through the air and then grasped within Kai's bloody arms.

“An exchange. I think she will suite you better.” The being growled before going up the stairs.

Not having the strength or the heart to move, let alone struggle, Blue could only lay limply as Kai adjusted her over her shoulder. She felt as Kai made her way up the stairs and could only wonder why the young woman was moving the way she was.

Odd creature… Was her only thought as she drew her attention to the centaur following behind. I do hope she’s able to make it up the stairs… She wished she was not in the body of a fox; she would be able to help the centaur up the stairs, if only she had arms and legs. But, as Kai quickly made her way up the stairs—leaving the centaur behind, she found herself staring down at dead bodies littering a long stretch of floor and was glad that her belly was empty. The sight and smell alone would have had her hurling up any food previously consumed.

Will I ever get used to the sight of death…?

She turned her head around as best she could and watched as Kai made her way to a room. Please God, allow us to make it away from this horrible place.

[Ladie Luck]

Caminus:

Canimus uses his long neck to spy into a room. He sees a large pair of boots set near the door way. It appears that they were forgotten when the fighting started. Or they belonged to one of the dozen corpses on the floor of the hallway.

He moves his neck to get a better look at the room and found a plate of food, sliding back and forth on a dresser.He was surprised that it hadn't fallen to the floor yet considering the violent forces the ship has endured so far. Maybe the Centaur or the girl could eat what's there he thought to himself. I've had enough to keep myself standing.

He tried to move into the room but something held him back. He was surprised at first and decided to take a look. The door way is too small He thought. He turned his head just as the ship shifted yet again. The plate slowly slid toward him and nearly fell to the floor. He held his breath as the ship leveled off and the plate stopped. With a sigh of relief he remarked "If I'm going to do something nice it will have to be soon or that food will be worthless." He reached his arm out to grab the plate only to find that his arm was too short to reach the plate. He couldn't believe it. He tried again but did only marginally better. So he decided to use his neck and mouth. He stretched out, bit down on the plate and lifted up.

He realized only then, when the plate began to wobble, that his teeth were not meant to hold things in this manner. What was a simple task now became a balancing act as the ship again shifted, making the plates contents move to put more weight on the wrong end. After a few seconds of this he decided that it would be best to start pulling away from this room. He pushed off with his front claws only to find that nothing happened. He pushed again and muttered a curse, which could not be understood due to the plate in his mouth, as this time he felt a tightness around his shoulder area. He couldn't believe he put himself into this position. He was stuck in the doorway... How embarrassing. He sunk one shoulder down to try and give himself a little wiggle room. This had worked to some degree. He proceeded to wiggle out of the doorway just as the ship again shifted, this time in a more friendly manner.

He took the plate from his mouth and looked back to see Kia walk into a room. It was at that moment he decided that this food would be for the Centaur. He looked to his sides, now more conscientious of his size, and realized it would not be a good idea to turn around. He decided that he would try and hand the food to the Centaur once she was up here.

While he waited he decided to mention the boots to the group. Surely somebody might like the boots. Perhaps the naked one would like to not be walking in filth... Unless he liked such things. That of course he had no way of knowing. "Hey Guys, There are a pair of large boots in this room in anyone cares."

[Ladie Luck]

Zhengy Zhengster:

Jangles used the wall as leverage to regain his footing again after stumbling over his own two feet. As he stands up his legs buckle and he crumbles down to the ground breathing hard. He tries again, but leaning hard on the wall this time for balance and support to keep him from falling. He walks around for a few minutes to try to get the numbness out of his legs from the imprisonment with the pirates. He smiles weakly seeing himself this tired and weak was a shame to him after all the hardwork he put to be in good shape.

Jangles shuffles towards the stairs, sits at the bottom, and wipes his forehead of sweat. "This is gonig to be hard like this...." He thought and stood up again only for his legs to buckle yet again crumbling to the floor. He smiles and says aloud, "Maybe just a small nap here and I will try later..." his voice trails off from there as he falls asleep, but only to be awaken as a small cage rams into his head causing him to awake with a start. The cage left his head bleeding scarlet red blood and blood was something Jangles couldn't lose at the moment. He teared off a piece cloth from his already ruined shirt and bandaged the wound on his head.

As the blood continued to soak through the piece of cloth tied to his head, his vision starts to become all twisted and hazy from the lose of blood. The loosing of blood added to his already mangled position was really stacked against him. He leans on the wall slowly sliding down it as his vision starts to become hazier and hazier. He blacks out soon after he was sitting on the ground, luckily for him though the blood flow started to recede. He lays down on the floor and passes out.

[Ladie Luck]

Auki:

Lyia stood contemplating her predicament for a few moments, forcing herself to disregard the crashing and banging of human weaponry around her, attempting to permanently block out the screaming of those still imprisoned. Her gaze was fixed on the staircase in front of her as she watched both the Dragon and her girl climb their way up. Her stomach still ached – Having been trained in the medical field, her mind began to think up a thousand possibilities for the pain. She wouldn’t be able to discover the true cause however until she had rested – She worried that if she did not recover soon, the damage would become incurable. Where did those bastards hide my herbs?

A herb bag was given to each female when they reached their age of learning. She wondered if loosing it would result in banishment. Having disgraced her tribe enough in her life, she doubted they would allow another mistake to slide.

Unsteadily, she pushed herself to move up the stairway. Placing her fore-hooves a few steps up, she wondered how to move her hind legs whilst retaining her balance. With a sigh, she bent herself over, grasping at one of the higher-up steps with her hands. Using all six limbs, she was able to make her way slowly and awkwardly upstairs. Damn it, I must look ridiculous…

When she neared the top of the stairs, she stood up straight again, using the wall for support. With her front hooves at the top, she was forced to half-jump the rest of them, unable to think of another way to bring her rear off the damned staircase. Relieved to have reached the next level, she lowered herself into a lying position, scared her legs would give way with the impact. Her mouth open, she panted for air, oblivious for a minute. Then her eyes managed to focus on the ground in front of her and she almost gagged as the smell hit her. Leaning against the wall, she pulled herself upright, standing to avoid the blood that sloshed towards her with each rock of the boat. The sight of so many bodies made her nauseous but she felt no remorse for the crew – The things they had done to her would psychologically scar her for life. Her stomach cramped and she squeezed her arms around her. The gunpowder that clung to her body was turning her pearly white fur a dark grey, her sweaty torso and face also coated in the dust. She licked her cracked lips but her tongue held no moisture either.

The doors on either side of the corridor were flung open – Unable to see Kai, Lyia hoped the girl had only ventured into one of the bedrooms. Beyond the end of the hallway, she could hear screaming, and her stomach twisted. In her state, she was reluctant to move forward. I need…just a few moments…to recover…

Distracted by the commotion before her, she had failed to notice the Dragon rear that faced her almost directly to her right. She blinked at it, pulling herself taller so she could see over the reptile’s body. “Ummm…Mena Liza?” She called in confusion.

"Hey Guys, There are a pair of large boots in this room in anyone cares."

She blinked again and spoke a little louder, “Oi, Mena Liza?”

What in the Gods’ names is he doing?!

[Ladie Luck]

Caminus:

Canimus Turned his neck around and saw that the Centaur made it. Relieved he pushed himself against the wall and tried to turn enough to hand her the plate. His arm only made it to his rear end. He really hoped that the Centaur could reach the plate.He was holding the plate on the underside, so as to not soil the food before she or anyone else ate it.

He saw her clutch her sides and thought that her stomach was really bothering her. "Here" He began in the ancient tongue. "The girl stepped into a room... Eat what you can. The Bread will reduce stomach pains." He thought for a second and realized she might think he would need it more. "This small portion would not help me at all. Please eat what you can."

He held out the plate as best he could. On it was some bread and Grufle meat.

[Ladie Luck]

Auki:

Lyia saw the plate of food and smiled as best she could, moving ever closer. She almost tripped over a corpse that lay awkwardly on its back, having to go round it inside of over it. She didn’t want to lift her legs too high in case she lost balance; with her nausea came a faint light-headedness.

"The girl stepped into a room... Eat what you can. The Bread will reduce stomach pains."

“D-Donmo te,” she stuttered, finally getting close enough to reach the plate offered to her. She retrieved it and slumped into a laying position, her horse body curled beneath her, “Te ke mas nica…” Where she had grown up, a male would never offer its food to a female so casually – Woman had to earn their right to such luxuries. The situation confused her but she did not want to complain – She was far too hungry to refuse a meal. A twinge of pain in her stomach made her wince visibly and she tore off a chunk of bread.

"This small portion would not help me at all. Please eat what you can."

“ O ke opehti O vash leiro mase te ambre ciom mi majik,” she replied with a weak smile before throwing the bread into her mouth. As soon as the food hit her taste buds, she realised how much she had missed it. Without pause, she tore at the food on her plate, wolfing it down, small moans of pleasure escaping her mouth as she appreciated the taste. The pirates had kept her starved near to death – When they had offered her food, it had been those horrid stinging nettles the humans seemed to cultivate so well. They mocked her due to her body, the foul bastards, and she hated them for it. Ignorant humans did not understand the majesty of her ancient race.

She paused at her thought. Was it not ignorant of her to stereotype humans as such? Ah, the irony. She should allow humans to prove themselves individually, yes? But then what was the difference between that and eventual naivety? She shook her head – Surely some stereotypes were all right as long as they were justified, no matter what the elders argued. Regardless, Kai was a human, albeit an odd one. Lyia would have to start being more open-minded. Ah dear…

She continued to finish off her food happily, gulping down the last few bites with a satisfied sigh. It was not enough to fill her up per se but she wondered if the food would affect her aching stomach.

Still met with the Dragon’s read end, she cocked an eyebrow quizzically. “Mi mas ami, te ne veh cer itt ke ora al ravn oyr habik?”

[Ladie Luck]

Iwanami_Kistsune:

Mai spotted something that looked promising in the twenty-fourth room. She walked into the room and found found three vials of liquid: Otum, a golden-yellow liquid that was a pain reliever, Llue, a frost green liquid which dispelled dizziness, and... well Mai wasn't sure what Letea was, though the liquid was clear. Her life with the priests had not been kind, and she had used Otum and Llue many times.

She then searched the drawers, and found clothes, male... thank Moj, though she had gotten used to it, she would prefer Nye to be clothed, being naked made him an easy target. She shuffled through them, finding many red shirts and multiple colored pants. She took a shirt and a pair of dark brown pants. As she closed the drawers, she spotted a box underneath the dresser. It might be nothing, then again it might not.

Despite the screaming and the battle that was taking place just at the end of the hall curiosity overwhelmed her, and she pulled out the box and opened it.

[Ladie Luck]

Momohubo:

As the very intimidating creature remained unaware of his presence Mai approached him. She began asking questions but he felt unable to speak. She walked off only to bring him water a torn blanket.

Being desperate for anything he quickly drank the foul tasting water. His healing ability allowed him to live through any sickness leaving him not having to worry if the water was infected or not. He still did not have much energy to work with and began to use the blanket to wipe off the blood from his drenched body.

Since the creature continued to display signs of distraction Nye moved backward slowly as to make sure he did not draw any attention. He turned to the nearest room to see Mai looking at something.

With hands over manhood he stood there as the ship continued act as a mobile horror house.

"What...did you fi-" he shuddered for a moment, he found the temperature to be quite low. "Find" he finished.

Nye stood still waiting to see what Mai had discovered in the little box he could see her holding

[Ladie Luck]

Iwanami_Kitsune:

Mai opened the box and found a terqoise cloak, neatly folded.

"What...did you fi-" Nye said from behind her. Startled, Mai grasped the cutlass and turned her head. "Find" he finished.

Upon recognizing Nye's voice she relaxed. "A cloak." She took out the cloak, messing up it's neat folds. "It's big, but maybe you could wear it. It will keep you warm." She handed it to him, then grabbed the clothes and the three bottles she found. "I also found these..." She handed them to him "These two bottles are Otum and Llue. Otum..." She pointed to the golden-yellow liquid, "...is a pain reliever." Mai pointed to the green liquid "Llue, will get rid of dizziness. One drop each is enough for anyone. This third bottle... I'm not really sure, it might help, maybe someone else will know what it is."

Mai heard more screams from the dying and sounds of battle and was excited. Parted her hated herself for that, but she knew it was simply the way she was. She couldn't wait any longer, she need to find out what was going on. "I think I can stop him." Mai thought aloud, looking at the door that lead to the battle. She did, after all, feel unstoppable.

Mai walked from the room and through the door that lead to the screams.

[Ladie Luck]

Caminus:

"Agreed." He said to the Centaur, but in the common tongue. He wiggled out of the doorway and squeezed past anyone still standing in the hallway. He was beginning to feel closed in, though not too different than being in a cage, at least the cage had room to turn around in.

He heard the screams and could smell the blood being split, his stomach growled. He was going into a Blood rage, he could feel it. But this was why he was sent to guard the boarders, wasn't he?? The thought swam around in his head for a minute. It was like it was there but not there. He pushed it aside and calmed himself. A good dragon knows when to let instinct loose.

He stopped and took a deep breath. He thought about what it would like to fly... Again??? The thought again rolled around in his head, like something was missing. He pushed the thought aside again and focused on the task at hand.

He came behind the girl with the painted back (Mai) and followed closely up the stairs.

[Ladie Luck]

Momohubo:

Nye quickly changed from holding 'himself' with his hands to the objects Mai gave to him. He looked at the vials with hope that everything would feel better. However the back of his mind still continued to show its depressive self thinking about their inevitable defeat and recapture.

While Mai walked out of the room. He placed down the items in his hands and picked up the dark brown pants. He quickly worked them on himself and buttoned them closed.

"Pants...nice" he whispered to himself still struggling to think many complicated thoughts at once. The headache still thumped as he placed on the shirt.

He kept the cloak on the ground and decided he would put it on in a moment after relieving the pain.

He first grabbed the Llue. Doing his best to only get one drop out of the bottle he slightly tiled it over his hand. The liquid lightly seeped out and hit his palm. Licking it off his palm the spinning began to go away, however the pain remained. Doing the same procedure with the Otum the pain in his body completely vanished.

He smiled for he had not felt so good in a long time. Now able to really think about everything, and everyone around him he knew he must give these to the others.

However, the cloak seemed handy.

Putting on the cloak that draped on him he waited to see if it did anything special.

[Ladie Luck]

Anonymous:

Kai gave a small 'ooh' as she entered the pirate's bedroom. She'd never seen anything like it. The messy bed was made out of strange, very soft material. It rippled in the candle light and felt soft and smooth, like air when she ran her hands through it. Some peddlers sometimes came to the island and tried to sell soft things like this. Was it silk that they called it?

"Kai is going to see other things," she told Blue, setting her down on the soft but messy bed. Kai kind of thought that the bed smelled, but there were a lot of other worse scents floating through the air, she couldn't really tell. There was a large, wooden boxlike thing with drawers next to the bed. Kai walked towards it and gasped as another girl showed her face. A hand went up to shield her face, and the girl did the same thing. Kai frowned, and the other girl frowned, too. Her head turned the side, and her green eyes watched the image do the action as well. Her hand went out to touch it. It felt like glass, but was not like glass.

Kai knew that face. She'd seen it in the reflection of the water. That was Kai! And Kai did not look pretty. Sometimes, when Kai would go hunting and find a stream, she would see a girl with pretty red hair, and self woven clothes. She also liked to wear feathers and animal teeth sometimes. Kai usually looked pretty in the streams. But this Kai, the Kai in the reflecting glass did not look pretty at all.

Her hair was longer than she remembered. There was dark red, caked blood on her forehead and around her mouth, where she'd tried to hold her nose. What used to be a nicely woven dress was now torn and tattered. There were no pretty feathers in her braided hair, nor was there any jewelry showing off her latest hunt. This Kai was not pretty. A sad, sad frown came upon the girl in the mirror. Sometimes, people would say that she looked like her mother. But Kai's mother was tall and strong and very, very pretty. She looked nothing like that now.

A sigh escaped her lips and she turned her attention towards the things on the dresser instead of the girl in the mirror. There was food. Food! There was rice, and soup, and meat, and even some bottled drink. But it wasn't that that caught her eye. It was the four vials next to it. They were all in little containers no longer than Kai's thumb, and maybe just a little bit wider. There was an ice blue one, a dark gold, a murky grey, and a light pink one that Kai recognized to be called Oul. It was rare on the island, and very valuable. Only the elders and the head chief and his family could use it. It was supposed to help you poop. But Kai thought it was funny that someone would want to drink something to poop.

Her tiny fingers wiggled and she wanted to take the shiny vials and eat all the food. But not now, there wasn't a lot of time. Instead, she forced herself to look at more things and she opened up the drawers. There were a lot of clothes. They were mostly the same. Kai furrowed her eyebrows. When she made her clothes, they were all different and decorated in their own ways. Why would someone wear something that looked exactly the same.

She dug through the over sized shirts and dark colored trousers until her fingers grasped something small and cold. A box, made out of a hard, grey material. Kai opened it up and her eyes widened at all the shiny jewelry. Kai loved jewelry. She used to make her own, but the people in her village could not afford the shiny kind. Instead, they used bones and teeth and what they could from hunting. Kai pursed her lips and realized how yucky she felt. Her clothes were sticking to her skin from blood and sweat, and her hair was always in her eyes.

"Kai can make clothes from these," she told no one in particular. A quick glance in the mirror told her that no one in the hall could see her, so she took this opportunity to pull out some of the clothes. Liquid in the largest shiny bottle next to the food caught her eye, and she poured the remaining amount of drink onto a red shirt. It only took a few moments to wipe most of the blood from her face and limbs. She didn't smell so bad anymore, she smelled really sweet. Like alcohol? Kai nodded at the voice in her head.

"Alcohol," she repeated quietly. Her now clean, alcohol smelling hands picked up a pair of black trousers and expertly tore the seams so it was now a long, awkwardly shaped peice of black material. Kai was not what you'd call a prude, in fact, she had very little shame in nudity, so she removed her own, blood matted clothes and used the black cloth as a pair of tight shorts that wrapped around her upper thighs and also served as underwear.

Kai was wearing nothing but her makeshift shorts when she ripped a red shirt apart. Expertly, she draped it around her torso and made five little ties along her side, so it hung from her left shoulder, snugly fit around her bodice, and then connected under her right arm. It was a long shirt, so it looked more like a dress than she aimed for it to be, but that was fine. Kai used a little bit of material to tie her hair back.

"Almost done," she said aloud. Using some left over material from the shirt, she grabbed a few earrings and used them to connect the material to form a small pouch of sorts. Her hands quickly grabbed the four small vials and shoved them into her bag. Kai also grabbed the bread, which had one bite taken from it, and all of the shiny jewelry and stuffed them into her little pouch. Kai tied the bag with a large knot, and then ripped a little bit of her shirt to form a knot to hold her bag, so it wouldn't come undone. Now Kai had a little bit of food, new clothes, AND shiny jewelry.

"Come on, Pretty Fox," she said, walking towards the bed. "Kai will help you escape."

[Ladie Luck]

Zhengy Zhengster:

As Jangles awoke from unconsciousness he stood up shakingly, while holding his head as if it will help with the spinning. He scanned the room to see if much had happened....it hadn't so he braced himself and took a step forward when a wave of nausea hit him. Jangles doubled over and let out a viscious hurl of vomitt all over a dead body on the ground. As he stops barfing what was left of his...whatever he ate on the ground he noticed that the centaur had moved away from the stairs. Though he swore he can still see the centaur's behind, but he wasn't really trusting his vision at the moment.

Jangles shuffles towards the stairs and started to climb it slowly as each step sent a new wave of nausea through his body. His head started to more with each step up the stairs and as if on cue he slips and drops down bottom of the stairs. Jangles groans with agony as he started to climb up the stairs with great discomfort. At the edges of his eyes were streaks of black and he hopes that it doesn't go any farther then that for if it did he feared that he willl pass out again. About halfway up the stairs (Which isn't a lot.) he gets on his knees and started to crawl the rest of the way up. When he reaches the top of the stairs his whole body was screaming with pain and exhaustion.

Jangles thought, ' I just need a minute to catch my breath...' After a few minutes his breathing evened out, he closed his eyes for a second wishing sleep would just overcome him right now. Jangles is completely oblivious to his surrounding as he lies on the ground with his eyes closed. He tries to imagine a happy place, but failed as he feels the ground and looked at it. He jumped with a start forgetting for a few seconds that his whole body was in pain when he found a dead body beside him. Jangles was too horrified to remember he had nothing and didn't search the body, but instead just slowly sliding the wall as his legs felt like jelly. At that moment he remembered that he had just climbed the stairs with great ordeal. He smiles at his efforts and hoped that he doesn't look stuipd right now.

[Ladie Luck]

Gravewar:

Walking through the doorway Argo moved cautiously into the room. His eyes searched the room moving from side to side. At first glance all he saw was that the room was furnished with a small bed and a small wooden dresser. He moved toward the bed first, noticing that many pieces of paper lay scattered across it. Picking up one of the papers, Argo’s eyebrows rose. A look of shock on his face he puts the paper back down. ‘Nude men drawings.’ A quick glance shows him that all of the papers contain various nude men drawn in scandalous positions. Argo then drops to his knees, pain raging through his body, and scans under the bottom of the bed. Finding nothing he stands back up and moves on to the dresser.

Immediately he sees a bowl filled with some kind of liquid with pieces of white and green in it. ‘Must be soup. Well if they didn’t finish it I will.’ Putting the bowl of soup to his lips before the ship rocked again, he drinks and slurps down the leftover soup. It goes down his throat cold, taming his rumbling stomach somewhat. Looking back at the dresser he spots three books and by them a glass of strong smelling rum. ‘Must be my lucky day, finding soup and rum that wasn’t spilt by the crumbling of the ship.’ Argo downs the glass of rum in only a few seconds. Warmth spread throughout his limbs as it went down.

Setting the empty glass back on the dresser he picks up two vials of colored liquids. ‘Must be potions.’ Not knowing what they might contain he looks at the labels. The silver one is labeled Deof, and the odor coming off of it smells strongly of rotten wood. The other vial is labeled Orj, and it is filled with tan liquid. Putting the vials into the small pouch he found earlier he tells himself that he would ask one of the survivors if they had any idea of what type of potions these were.

Securing the pouch, he opens up the drawers. Pulling out a shirt, he sees that it is a small red blouse. So the person in this room was a female which would explain the naked men sketches Argo thought pulling out another blouse, also red, a pair of patched blue and black trousers, and a pair of brown trousers. Putting the clothes on his shoulder he gets down to examine under the dresser. Feeling the pain in his body again as goes to his knees he spots a pair of small boots. He grabs them and sets them aside for when he leaves the room. He’d give all of these clothes to the women when he got out of the room.

Reaching his hand under the dresser he pulls out what seems to be a chest. There was no lock on it. He put the chest down on top of the pictures on the bed. He knew that pirates hid all types of swag in these and he wondered what would be in this chest.

Pulling the latch down Argo opens the lid of the chest and finds…

[Ladie Luck]

Bou:


Prisoners, for the most part, were now crowding the hall, pushing their way past the centaur. Obviously, the fear gained from the glowing man had vanished and now the prisoners from below were taking all that they could find. There was no longer any food to be found in the present hall, and many captives now wore the garbs of the pirates that had held them captive. Some prisoners, in their haste, gulped potions down in acts of desperation—which ended with the death count in the hall adding up. More than one drop was fatal, and many prisoners learned this the hard way. Two prisoners found themselves bumping into a solid form, invisible to the naked eye and quickly ran out of a room, obviously inhabited by a ghost. Others shied away from the girl wearing awkward clothes and talking to a fox, while others tried to crowd around the large horned man, curious to see what was inside of the large chest. The site of a medium book covered in weird lettering drew frowns from all around before the captives began rummaging through drawers, dismissing the book and male. And, though many of the captives were hesitant to approach the dragon blocking the doorway out, they crowded behind it, ready to make a break for it once the beast moved. What was on the other side of the door? Perhaps all they would need to do would be to jump over the deck. Unbeknownst to them, a deck was nowhere to be seen past the door. They watched with anticipation and fear, as Mai pushed open the door.

It was a picture of bloody corpses and equally gory battles, as Mai pushed pass the threshold and entered into a battle of carnage. The fighting took place in large clumps that had scattered across the floor, both groups struggling to overpower the other. Spells were being fired from the opposing group and being met by flintlocks and swords used by the pirating crew. White, red and blue streams of wind, fire and water magic colored the dark, cool air. Many of the prisoners were hesitant to enter the fry, as one false step could be their last. Upon the captive’s first glance, no one could guess at which group was winning. It seemed an equal number of the ship’s crew—evident by their red shirts—were decapitating and blowing holes into opposing crew’s torsos just as quickly as they were having their heads and limbs blown off. The opposing crew could be pointed out by their darker clothing of blacks, grays and browns. The room was full of the same smoke and screams as it had been below, only now each cry had a face to it; each scream had a face to fade out. It seemed that the ship’s crew had their hands full and had no time to waste on escaping prisoners.

On the other side of the deck, a loose cannon sat against the side, unmanned and loaded. The box of fuses was no-where to be seen however, and the others were right on the side where the main fighting between both frigates had broken out. Beside the cannon was a flight of stairs that led up to the top deck, that's scene was just as pretty.

The middle deck itself was like a large rectangular room, the cannons all lined up on the starboard side between large, vertical support beams. Looking to the left, one would find five other doors leading to halls just like the present one the prisoners found themselves in. Straight-ahead through the ragging battle, were another six doors just like the doors on the prisoners’ side. Obviously this ship was huge. The room was covered in shrapnel and debris from what used to be the right side, along with the corpses of the cannon crew that had been unlucky enough to have cannonballs rip them apart. There was a large square gap in the center for where cargo was lifted up onto the top deck; the roped pulley system was long out of action.

It seemed both of the fighting crew were oddly oblivious to the glowing being stationed on the pulley system. He stood there, in all his naked glory, seen through the smoke by the odd lettering adorning his body. His expression was still jovial as he peered through the mucky air and nodded his head to the prisoners finally making their presence in the mess of violence that was the ship.

“Come.” His guttural voice bellowed. His voice drew the eyes of both the prisoners and many of both crews. Seemingly, the crew men and women of this ship seemed to shy away from the being; terror coloring their faces and, for most, were the last expression made once their organs were ripped out by ghastly spells. It was palpable that the opposing crew did not share the terror of the naked, glowing man, as one of the crew’s fighting women threw a white ball of hot fire at the seemingly unguarded target. Her ashes were soon among the others as her spell ricocheted off the being’s torso to detonate on her.

The woman’s death meant nothing when the pirates decided to take advantage of the other crew’s distraction. The battling continued, and death ensued for both sides.

The sun had just started to wake up on the horizon, the mist only just beginning to thin out and an orange glow appearing off in the distance. With a last glance in the prisoners’ direction, the glowing being jumped from the lift and disappeared into the square located twelve feet above.

[Ladie Luck]

Zhengy Zhengster:

"Damn gun powder!" Jangles shouted as he walked towards the open doorway. Jangles was in the middle of the group and was getting knocked all over place. Even though the crowd were all prisonors who were about half-starved, but big enough to be able to push people aside when in a rush. Jangles continued to push people aside trying to make for the door when he tripped over a foot and landed on his face. He moaned quietly as he stood up slowly using the floor to give him a push up into a upright position.

Atlast he made it to the door and was shocked at the sight of the violence with all of the crew memebers fighting. Though he felt no pity for them he actually felt a little bit sorry for those fighting in this bloody battle. Losing ones life is depressing, but to him though losing ones life means a fresh start in the afterworld or atleast that is what he thought. Jangles walked next to the girl with the strange markings on her back and asked, "How and what are we going to get through this battle without dieing in the cross fire of the enemies? I just don't see anyway wee can make through this alive..." As he finishes all hope that was left disppeared at what he was seeing in reality.

Jangles sat down not waiting for the girl to answer he, but to wait for a stray bullet or spell to kill him and end his miseries once and for all. He covered his mouth as he started to cough up blood. He smiles weakly and says out aloud to no one in particular, "Well....looks like this is the end of the road after all the work and we still end up dying...."

[Ladie Luck]

Momohubo:

Nye put on the cloak and waited....nothing. However Nye did come to the conclusion that it was very comfortable. Since the cloak was a big on him the sleeves slightly extended past his hands, the tail of the cloak draped onto the ground and the hood itself flapped over his eyes. Using his hand to lift up the cloak he noticed two people entering the room.

The group of people looked around and seemed to ignore his existence. The prisoners continued to walk forward to Nye and before he could say anything they both bumped into him and knocked him down. He made a light sound as he hit the ground with a thud.

The two people looked left and right, cried 'ghost' and quickly moved out of the room.

"But I am right here...." he said in confusion now alone in the room. He looked to his right to see the vials. Remembering he needed to get theses to the rest he picked them up and began to walk down the hall.

People stared at the flying vials moving down the hallway.

Walking in the opposite direction of the crowd he expected to be bumped into however all of them stared at him strangely as he walked by. They all seemed focused on the potions he was holding up to his chest.

Going back down the hall he once struggled to move through he looked in door to door until he saw the girl with the red hair. He ran up to her with bare feet.

"Thank you carrying me before" he began to speak. "Here take a drop of the gold and green liquid. They will help you feel better." His tone carried an odd tone of calmness to the surrounding chaos.

"Mai said she did not know what the third does though, so don't take a drink of it." As he spoke again he began to notice that the girl smelled bad. He wondered if the thing from before was still in her hair, too.

Unnoticed to Nye he was invisible and now in front of Kai were three floating vials that seemed to have Nye's voice as they spoke.

[Ladie Luck]

Gravewar:

Argo hardly noticed when other prisoners began crowding into the room. His focus was on the chest. The chest seemed to be the focus of everyone in the room. All eyes on him and the closed chest made him anxious; he could hear the anticipation in the breathing of those around him. He threw the lid open and peered inside it. The only object the chest seemed to contain was a book. At the site of the book, and the discovery that there would be no treasure to behold the prisoners sighed and began rummaging through the dresser for whatever Argo had left.

The book drew Argo’s eyes. For a book it was somewhat thick, Argo guessed that it was a few hundred pages. The cover was in bad shape and it was covered with strange symbols which Argo did not recognize. It felt like any other book in his hand; still it had to be of importance because it was hidden in a chest. He picked it up and flipped through some of its pages, diagrams and the same strange lettering adorned the inside of the book. Taking one of the blouses from his shoulder he wrapped the book up. He knew that the prisoners all came from different locations, maybe one of them would be able read the book.

Holding the book in one hand and the scimitar in the other he walked back into the very crowded hallway. Bodies littered the floor and the living climbed and scurried over the fallen, most heading toward the stairway and the door. A few were running in all directions screaming about a ghost. His height and size put him above the other prisoners. He could see over most of the prisoners and he spotted the crowd that had stopped behind the dragon. Hopefully those he sat by would be in that direction. He intended to ask one of them if they could read the book. Argo at least hoped that someone would know what the potions he had in his pouch did.

Walking forward, the sounds of battle, the screams of pain, and death rattles grew louder. Argo knew that stepping through the doorway would enter him into a bloody melee. He would have to find someone to read the book or he’d leave it. Books were little use on his hunts and this was defiantly not the hunt. The hunt was predator chases prey; this was war; pure chaos and mass death. Even though he couldn’t understand the book he hoped that he’d find someone who could. He continued on his way.

[Ladie Luck]

Iwanami_Kitsune:

A truly gruesome scene was behind the door. Magic and steel alike tore through their victims, horribly dismembering their targets. She had not yet known a battle such as this. While it was true that she had taken part in some fights, and killed many, the fatality of this one was almost too much for Mai. Adrenaline flooded her body, her breath became heavy, her muscles tensed. She wanted in.

"How and what are we going to get through this battle without dieing in the cross fire of the enemies? I just don't see anyway wee can make through this alive..."

The unfamiliar voice broke Mai's reverie, she turned to the speaker, one of her fellow prisoners. Mai smiled reassuringly despite the horror before her, "No we will survive this. Let them fight. The chaos helps us, it hides us. We have more of a chance of surviving now than we could have ever hoped for." her smile fell, "Thinking that way will only get you killed sooner, if you're going to die, let it be because you fought to the very end to live."

Mai looked back that the carnage before her and couldn't tell who was winning through the whir of light from magic that was thrown haphazardly across the middle deck. Without having access to her powers, Mai wouldn't be able to absorb one if it hit her which made her nervous. The pirates always wore red, and their enemies wore black and brown. Well, the enemy of my enemy... She thought to herself. Through the chaos Mai couldn't tell who had more people.

She hard coughing behind her and turned to see her fellow captive coughing up blood. "Well....looks like this is the end of the road after all the work and we still end up dying...." he said.

"No you won't, there has got to be someone who knows what to do. Down the hall there is a centaur, I'm not sure but I think she may be able to help you. If not then there should be a man with multi-colored hair, at the very least, he has a pain killer."

"Come." Said the being, causing several heads, including Mai's, to turn. When one of the women from the opposing crew shot a ball of light magic at the being, it rebounded off the creature, ending with another death. Mai had to fallow it, she was the one who let it go and was responsible for the evil she unleashed.

She planned her path through the carnage and said "I'm sorry, I can't help you, I have to go." She said before disappearing in the gory scene. She made her way through the battle, having a few close calls and reached the pulleys. Being from a town of tree homes, climbing was second nature to Mai. Hoping no one noticed her, Mai attempted to climb up to the platform by the rope from the pulley system.

[Ladie Luck]

Anonymous:

Kai had put Blue on her shoulders, although it seemed a little bit like the Pretty Fox didn't want to go on her, she knew that there wasn't much else to do at this moment. After the fox took a perch around her neck, Kai quickly downed the soup and put the empty bowl on her head, taking a deep breath and preparing to see the gruesome scene she could sense ahead. There were people, a lot of people, and there were many who were dying. She could sense it.

Whatever lay above her, she knew it wasn't pretty. Kai would rather look a little funny with a bowl on her head than have more sticky red liquid drip into her hair and onto the Pretty Fox. She almost walked out the door when she sensed a presence coming her way. Of course, she could feel it before she could see it, but it wasn't a particularly strong presence. Stronger than a normal human, but not by a ton. Kai was a little confused when she saw three floating vials floating towards her.

"Thank you carrying me before," a voice said. Kai knew that she'd heard the voice before... somewhere. "Here take a drop of the gold and green liquid. They will help you feel better." The voice talking to her was calm and collected. It didn't seem like it fit in with the current setting. Kai saw a little flash of white - skin color white - as two bottles came closer towards her, almost like someone was holding them up.

"Mai said she did not know what the third does though, so don't take a drink of it." Kai raised an eyebrow and scratched her head. As she did so, her fingers ran through a little crawling figure through her hair. A... worm? She pulled it out and her eyes sparkled. A worm! Kai liked to eat worms sometimes, they tasted better than the little rats on the ship. But she tore her eyes away from the wriggling pink critter and towards the vials. Her hand grabbed them, and when she rubbed against something smooth and warm, she realized something.

"You were Nude Boy," she said to herself, stepping forward and reaching her hands out, like a blind person trying to feel an object in front of them. She could feel a cloth, first, and then the features of a person. Kai reached where she thought a face would be and adjusted the material until a familiar head came into view, and she gasped.

She knew about magic cloaks before. No one on the island had ever gotten a hold of one, but many travelers and merchants had come bearing tales of magical clothing that could not be torn, some that could turn you invisible, and even others that doubled as armor. She couldn't believe that someone was wearing one right in front of her.

"Very valuable," Kai breathed. She pulled the hood back over his face and stood in front of him. "You are... welcome," she said quietly. "Be careful with cloak. It will keep you safer." she pursed her lips and decided to take a tiny bit of whatever the gold liquid was, but refused the green one. She didn't like taking medicine, and the gold one made her stick her tongue out. Kai then lightly pushed Nye out of the way and peeked out of the door, trying not to wretch at the scents of blood and death.

Here we go, warned a voice in her head. Kai looked down at the worm she'd kept in her palm and decided to slurp it down like noodles. Kai pursed her lips and took a few steps into the hallway when she felt a wave of nausea wash over her. Was it the dead bodies littering the floor? She tried hard not to look, but it was like trying to avoid the sky. It was there, all around her, and she couldn't look away if she wanted to. Kai thought that it might have been the medicine, but it was supposed to make you feel better... not worse. Then pain suddenly rang through her skull and Kai nearly fell against the wall.

She gripped her head and began to hyperventilate. Somewhere, inside of her, she could feel herself being laughed at. Foolish, foolish child. Kai clenched her fists, grabbing handfuls of hair and squeezing her eyes shut. She staggered into the next room, which appeared to be empty but she was no longer surrounded by blood. Kai could feel a sense of darkness taking over her, engulfing her mind and body, if only for a little bit. It took too much energy to fight, she remembered, but given a little rest, she would be able to banish the demon soon. He hadn't come in almost three years... why now? Lyia promised they were almost out of here, and then the Demon had to come...

Kai felt herself fall to her knees. She wanted to scream, but she felt weak, much too weak to call for help. "Oh, no," she whispered. Kai only knew that the ground was coming closer and closer before she blacked out.

[Alright, Bou, Kai is all yours.] :AWSM:

[Ladie Luck]

Auki:

The food seemed to calm her stomach if only for the moment. With a groan, she stood, stretching her legs to try and shake off their aching. Something touched the top of her head and glancing up, she noticed the splintered ceiling tangling with her hair. She gave a brief grunt as a particularly large prisoner butted against her in his desperation but for the most part was unaffected by the swarms of people crowding the hall. Pressing herself against the wall and trying her hardest not to be jostled around, she stared after the tattooed girl. With so many people and corpses filling the hallway, the smell was beginning to cling viciously to her nostrils – She wondered if such experiences would ever leave her memory. The thought repeated itself as a female, only a few years into her womanhood, collapsed before her, empty vial rolling out her limp hand with a series of clinks.

The dragon had abandoned her and Kai was nowhere in sight. She felt isolated and trapped in the masses of prisoners – She felt the longing urge to reunite with people she knew. Firstly, the other prisoners she had acquainted herself with. Then once she’d escaped, her family, her friends, her husband… Well, the longing bypassed her partner but she dearly wanted to see her mother again. She had spent far too much time apart from her species – It made her feel empty.

Determinedly, she waded through the others that filled the corridor, using her added height and weight to her advantage. Her eyes darted from person to person. The Dragon was in clear sight, the tattooed girl had just exited into the room beyond the door and the hybrid of what she assumed was a Minotaur cross something had just followed after her. Should she also leave the hallway? No…

“Kai…?” She shouted as loudly as she could over the deafening noises, “Kai!?”

She could not live with herself if she abandoned a child in a place like this.

[Ladie Luck]

Bou:

Blue yipped as she found herself being crushed under unmoving weight.

She had allowed herself to be carried, since it was obviously going to be the only way she would be able to make it off the ship. She had seen those stairs—there would have been no way for her to make it up those godforsaken stairs on her own in her condition. She had been grateful for Kai’s help. That is…until she found herself suddenly being crushed under the young woman now.

She weakly clawed her way from under the weight of the downed woman, confused and afraid.
People did not seem to care that the woman was facedown on the ground, as they ran through the room looking for whatever they could find.

Blue pawed at the woman for a moment, unwilling to abandon one who had refused to abandon her. Only when it was obvious that she was not going to move did Blue decide to take action.

Quickly searching the room’s floor, she found the remains of spilled rice and pea soup—she lapped it up quickly, along with the small piece of meat found within the mess. It did nothing to fill her stomach but she hoped it would provide a boost of energy once her body absorbed the delicacy.

She found herself back at the woman’s unmoving side and, as quickly as she could, made her way towards the stairs that had led to the hold of the ship.

Perhaps the Centaur will be able to help her. Was her frantic thought as she recalled how much the two seemed to care for one another. If I cannot find her I will just have to leave Mai on her own, there is only so much I can do!

“Kai!?”

Blue saw the centaur before she heard her calling out—and was thankful. She had been right, the centaur would not abandon her friend!

Quickly making her way towards the tallest figure in the hall, Blue did her best to avoid being trampled on—unsuccessfully—as she stayed close to the right wall. She forced herself to ignore the mess her paws were wallowing in along with the bodies she found herself stepping over. The shinny sword adorning one body caught her eye but she ripped her gaze from it. A dagger in one of the dead pirates belts also caught her eye but again she forced herself on.

I am not a humanoid, She told herself, It would be no use carrying it.

Finding herself before the centaur, she yipped as loudly as she could as she stared up—and up at the tall figure. Noticing how uneasy the tall being seemed, Blue realized too late that she should have grabbed the bag full of vials from Kai.

Please be able to help me and Kai…


Meanwhile…


A round bowl rested, forgotten, near a redheaded woman.

Pale, pink eyes snapped open before the small, weirdly dressed woman pushed up from the ground. Pausing, she slowly gained her bearings as she saw the world in the dullest of colors. Her body shook with glee as she placed both hands onto the wall nearest her before she dug her nails into the wall and used them to claw her way to her feet.

Finally standing and seemingly uncaring of the damage inflicted upon her now bleeding fingers, Kai took one step towards the door leading to the hall before she stopped and suddenly brought her hands to her face.

She stared at them, seemingly perplexed at the dark, bloody tips before she placed each finger into her mouth. With a quick grin on her now expressionless face, Kai continued to make her way shakily into the hall.

As she entered it, she eyed the dead bodies littering the floor and squealed in glee before pouncing on one dead victim.

Ignoring the flintlock the stout man had worn she used her suddenly sharp teeth to gnaw the bloody arm off the man. After plying the limb off and using her own arm to wipe the blood off her face, she stood and gripped the bloody, limb by the base and brandished it as though it were a sword.

That is when she noticed her arm. It had cloth on it. Itchy cloth...
"Clothing no fun," she said as she dropped the limb to grab at her clothing and relieve herself from the itchy, hindering fabric.

"No more." She said as she quickly dropped the last cloth to the floor and regained her limb. Turning towards the doorway, she made her way towards it.

Many of the captives who had stared at her as though she were possessed quickly made way for her to move towards the large dragon still partially blocking the doorway out.

She pressed her way past the dragon with a grin towards the man cowering by the exit.

She paused, pink eyes still dull, as she smelled his fear and anxiety, curiousity for the man had her turning towards him. Obviously he wanted to leave the hallway, why else would he be sitting near the exit? Perhaps he needed help getting to his feet...

“Sad man. Fearful man. Death fun! Come!” She told the man before she grabbed the man by his left arm and attempted to drag his body towards all the violence and shinning lights flying in the next room, “Pretty lights. Pretty death. Come!”



The dragon, having watched Mai make her way into the battle, had debated leaving the safety of the hall, had finally made up his mind to move when Kai had made her sudden and nude appearance at his side. He watched her attempting to pull the human to his feet and quickly turned back to the chaos that was before them all. One moment he was there contemplating, the next his bulk was no longer crowding the front of the hall.

He tried to stay close to the darkest areas of the ship—as it would be hard to see his dark coloring in the gloom fogging the ship, even with the balls of fire littering the air. Though he managed to avoid being blown into reptilian bits, he was unable to completely avoid people and found his fangs, tail and claws useful as tools to defend and fracture.

As he made his way towards the platform, he could only watch as Mai flew from the ropes she had previously been climbing. He cursed the collar wrapped around his neck, as his ability to breathe fire was disabled because of it. What he would not give to be able to honor Rusva by toasting the ship’s inhabitants. They deserved to face his Death God’s wrath! He quickly made his way towards the downed woman.

[Ladie Luck]

Zhengy Zhengster:

"Thinking that way will only get you killed sooner, if you're going to die, let it be because you fought to the very end to live." Said the girl with the markings on her back. Jangles let those words sink into his mind and deep within his heart he knew that the girl was right.

He covered his mouth as he started to cough up blood. He smiles weakly and says out aloud to no one in particular, "Well....looks like this is the end of the road after all the work and we still end up dying...."

"No you won't, there has got to be someone who knows what to do. Down the hall there is a centaur, I'm not sure but I think she may be able to help you. If not then there should be a man with multi-colored hair, at the very least, he has a pain killer." The girl said to him.


Jangles started to answer when the girl said, "I'm sorry, I can't help you, I have to go." Then she disappeared into the bloody fight. Jangles stared into the mass group of people and thought of how brave that girl was who has just ran into the fight. He admired her courage, but thought it was a foolish ideal for her to think like that. He did not see much hope in escaping, but back to what the girl said earlier he though, " Well, it wouldn't kill me to die trying."

Even though seeing the being say, "Come." right before being shot by a ball of light, though Jangles was more interested in the girl on why she is still so full of hope even when at their position to make no move into the fight still had the courage to say such things. Jangles stood up slowly with the help of the girl next to him muttering, "Thanks." With a light smile on his face as he spoke aloud in sarcastic tone, "What a damn bitch doing that to me."


Jangles turned around, started to make his way through the crowd again, and stopped in the middle of the group of people to take a short break.

[Ladie Luck]

Iwanami_Kitsune:

Just as Mai was reaching the top of the platform her world went white and the moment Mai realized she was falling, she hit the ground back first. She cried out in pain, her whole body felt broken. Dazed, Mai shook her head trying to clear her vision. She rolled herself over and pushed herself up, as her body screamed in protest. Then quickly looked around, and noticed a short pirate slowly gathering energy, and he was heading straight for her.

Mai looked around her and saw a flintlock two feet away, and a sword under the platform, both covered in blood. Mai had never even held a flintlock, much less used it so that was out. Mai didn't trust herself enough to have the speed and balance to grab the sword though it would be an improvement from the cutlass she took from the dead pirate. Instead Mai waited until the pirate was almost upon her and drew her cutlass hoping he would run straight into her sword.

[Ladie Luck]

Auki:

At the sound of yipping, Lyia balked, hooves digging into the wooden floor at her sudden urge to rear. Her heart seemed to stop momentarily only to thump wildly against her chest seconds later. The lump in her throat was painfully swallowed as her eyes rolled down to view the fox at her ankles. She would have edged backwards from the canine if not for the mass of prisoners pushing in the opposite direction. Her legs trembled, not through exhaustion but through fear instead.

It was irrational – She could trample the beast under foot without a second thought, she had been next to the fox just minutes before without reacting and yet…as it began to bark at her, she grew ever anxious. She saw rows of sharp teeth and gave an involuntary shudder. Reaching down, she grabbed it by the scruff of the neck, her other hand leaving the wall to be placed around its throat. Holding the fox at arm’s length, she could barely meet its eye – Her attention was kept diverted by its teeth and claws.

Mind you, wasn’t this the fox Kai had been holding? Lyia lifted her nose, staring down its length at the beast in her hands – Its fur was digusting – and yet she couldn’t help but be interested in the way it looked at her. “ Te ke ne u nemel vix, ke te?” She murmured, arms still tensed, cautious of every movement the fox made. Lowering the animal, she dropped it to the floor as far away from her as she could. “Kai?” She asked, feeling awkward as she tried to speak to the beast. Even if it was more intelligent than its form, she was sure she looked like an idiot to those around her, “Kai?”

[Ladie Luck]

Momohubo:

Nye wondered why Kai had to remove the hood to realize why it was him. He wished for her to get better but it became apparent that she did not wish to cure herself fully and took only one of the medicinal potions. He watched as she walked away.

Standing there for a moment he tried his best to remain somewhat optimistic. For once in a long time he was healthy, not in horrid amounts of pain and had on clothes! However it was at the same time he was also surrounded by corpses, bleeding floorboards, cannon fire, and horrid screaming.

Deciding to follow Kai he turned around in his cloak and walked out. His eyebrows rose high in the air as he looked at Kai, she had freakishly changed. And at this time as he took a step back it looked to any on looker to be a floating head moving backward. He accidently bumped into Lyia as he moved back in shock.

"I..." his eyes could not move away from Kai as he spoke to her. "Sorry...." his voice trailed off 'what has happened to her?'.

[Ladie Luck]

Caminus:

Caminus was ready to get out off this ship. Though he was in a bigger space now he still felt as if he was inside a cage. As he clung to the dark spaces he watched the battle progress. Human killing human was a sight to see for him, they deserved nothing less. One human got a little too close to his tail and he opened the club at the end and pooped the mans head off. Blood spilled out and covered his club like tail as well as the floor. The one that was fighting him stared at the mess as if he didn't understand what just happened.

Caminus brought his tail over to inspect it. The sight was very familiar to him. As if he had done that before. The smell of the blood came to his nose and he had the urge to kill every last humanoid in the room. They were an infestation. Crawling across the deck, fighting for something they deemed had value. They were despicable.

His head began to ache with horrible thoughts, or memories of humans slaughtering a dragon while it still lived. The pain of lossing his.... someone. He couldn't remember who. All he knew was the pain it brought him. The pain of losing a loved one. The screams, the screams of agony. He covered his ears with his claws to try and drown it out, but it was coming from inside him. His agony, his loss, his pain.
*Bump*
A man had backed into the shoulders of Caminus, at the wrong time. It made him snap. The man turned to see the thing he had backed into and saw Caminus' form in the shadows and began backing away from him. Caminus looked at the man with a blood fury in his eyes as the man turned and tried to escape. Caminus growled as he took his tail, now opened, and stabbed the man in the leg and drug him into the shadows kicking and screaming.

As he ripped the man apart pieces of the former human were flung everywhere. He then moved to the next human to slaughter him as well.

[Ladie Luck]

Bou:

Blue was terrified.

She is going to kill me! She is going to kill me! Was the only thought running through her head as she was brought up by the scruff of her scrubby neck to the tall being before her. If she had had any room in her mind, she would have chastised herself for not being more self-preserving.

When the taller being did nothing but stare at her—in the most disgusted, terrified manner—Blue’s panic slowly resided, though her fear remained.

Why is she looking at me like that..? She pondered as she stared at the centaur curiously. She wiggled, trying the grip of the female, and found herself stuck.

Her ears perked when the tall being spoke a language she could not decipher before lowering and dropping her to the ground as far as she could before her. Blue instantly backed further away, believing all her efforts in vain. She stared up at the centaur as she huddled near the wall, further dirtying her fur by the blood painting it but not seeming to care.

I am doomed…

“Kai?” The centaur asked awkwardly before repeating again, “Kai?”

Ah! She did understand! Slowly getting to her feet with a yip, Blue turned and slowly made her way back down the hall, pausing, she turned to make sure the taller female was following her before yipping again and making her way to the room she had previously left Kai’s body.

She noted the majority of the freed captives were—If they had not already—arming themselves with swords and making their way to the exit. Many were huddled there, much too fearful to attack on their own. She found herself moving away from the wall as she passed a female captive curled in on herself. The girl seemed to be speaking to no one as she rocked back and forth on the wall and Blue could only hope she would not find herself in the same predicament: without an ounce of hope.

Blue made it to the room finally with a yip and was dismayed to find it empty.

Where was Kai!?

….

Grateful for her lack of clothing, her body perspiring from a source unknown to everyone, Kai found herself smitten.

Severed arm still in tow, Kai had grinned at the young man as he had thanked her.

“Bitch.” Kai had repeated the word, not used to hearing it as she had allowed the man to make his way towards the grouping of people. She had pondered why he was not heading out of the door, but found that she could not find a suitable reason now that he was up. She had found herself following him, curious.

He had stopped in the group of armed captives and she stopped right behind him, sniffing his back. He smelled of joy and happiness and she found herself smitten.

She stared up at his back before declaring to him, “I protect you!” and, placing the arm in her mouth, began climbing up his back.

It was obvious he was afraid and, as he had not shied away from her as the others had, she found that she liked him even more. The only reason for fear from any mortal would be bodily harm. In an act of friendship and a show of love, she had decided to become his shield and help him enter the pretty room.

“Room!” she cried out in glee as she awkwardly placed the severed arm back in her right hand and hugged herself to him, “I protect!”

[Ladie Luck]

Auki:

The fox seemed to…understand. Lyia shook her head sadly – What a poor being to be trapped in an animal’s body. She herself knew such pain – Humans looked down on her for the horse body she carried. She did not dirty her tongue trying to demonstrate her intelligence in a way they would understand. Sometimes, she thought humans to be the source of all ignorance. Sometimes, all she could treat them as were children, still stumbling blindly through the world. She sighed.

A sharp yip brought her back to earth – How had she allowed her mind to wander at such a time? “Aye, aye,” she said nervously as the creature barked at her urgently, I’m coming, damn it. Following through the crowds, she used the heads of fellow captives to keep her balance as she pushed them from her way. Noticing the great amount of weaponry held by those around her, she too reached down to pick up something to protect herself with. Unable to take her eyes off the fox, she didn’t know what it was she had picked up, but held its damp handle firmly within her grasp.

When the beast finally paused, Lyia could not see Kai. Stupid animal lead me nowhere… She grumbled in her thoughts, scrapping a hand through her hair, transferring grime and drops of blood to her pearly mane. She did, however, notice a horde of trinkets peeking out the pile of abandoned clothing that littered the floor. A vial also caught her eye. Her everlasting curiosity took hold of her and moving towards it, she picked it up to delve inside the pocket.

Four vials, bread and jewellery. Quickly as she could, she analysed the vials in an attempt to work out their contents, weapon still held awkwardly in hand.

( Weapon picked up. Vials analysed. )

[Ladie Luck]

Iwanami_Kitsune:

Mai hadn't been expecting the man to pause. He stopped just short of her sword, determination in his eyes, exhaustion showing on his face. He backed off, his magic was beginning to fail him. The magic in his hands would fade in and out. Mai knew this man was on his last legs.

As he withdrew Mai advanced, closing the gap between them. But suddenly after bumping into a shadowy figure he began to back away. Intending on taking advantage of the situation Mai thrusted. Unfortunately she was beaten to the kill, when out of nowhere the man was stabbed by a tail and drug off into the darkness, where she made out the figure of the dragon. His vague silhouette tearing through the screaming man.

How dare he take the kill that was rightfully hers? She almost moved to attack him but then realized what she was doing. She chided herself for almost losing control. Shin would have been disappointed. She needed to stay focused, she had to stay normal.

Now what had she been doing? Right, the platform. This time she would need cover. She did her best to get within earshot of the dragon and yelled "Oi, dragon Sama... cover me alright?"

[Ladie Luck]

Caminus:

Caminus snapped at the one talking, tears streaming down his face in agony. He locked eyes with her. Her eyes seemed to bring him out of the memory, "Frayer" He said as he came out of the the memory and back into the present.

It took a moment before he realized what she had said. He turned his head and looked back as three men noticed the mess he had made. One, not of the pirate crew, was preparing some magic spell that was forming spheres and two pirates turned each with a sword. He turned back to the girl and said, with urgency, "Hurry."

He looked at the three and knew this would hurt. The reality of his condition (being starved and all) began to sink in. The Swords were closer than the magic and were therefor a bigger threat, as they could slice him many ways, were as the magic would hit him only twice. One pirate he slapped clear across the room with his left arm. His claws piercing his chest. The other he bit the arm, took his right claw put his shoulder between the middle and ring finger and pulled the arm off that was holding the sword. The collar chaffing as he moved his neck. The man died quickly as he went into shock.

Still holding the arm in his mouth, he spotted the Mage as he threw the first magical sphere. The Mage was aiming for Caminus' head, which was still low after ripping the guy's arm off.

Caminus turned his head and tried to get the sphere to hit the collar. The other Sphere was thrown to his body. Causing his scales to burn and then bleed for the 3rd degree burns he received from it.

[Ladie Luck]

Gravewar:

Argo made his way steadily forward with the rest of the crowd of prisoners. Many of them were arming themselves as they made their way forward towards the exit. As he strode forward his mind wandered and he started to think of how many, if any, of the prisoners would survive this three sided conflict. Would they be killed by the invading ship or would their new captors keep them alive and sell them as their already captors were planning on doing. Probably the later he thought, but either way many prisoners would die right here and now. He continued forward with the crowd of prisoners.

The book he was carrying was really starting to become a burden. The dragon had moved forward and something was causing the prisoners to give pause by the doorway. Maybe they were over come with fear; maybe something was preventing them from walking through the doorway. He did not know. He saw that the centaur had ducked into a room. As far as he could tell she was the only other prisoner that knew. She also spoke a language that he didn’t recognize. Not knowing how he would effectually communicate with her he made his way towards the room she had gone in

Stopping in the room when he first came upstairs had been helpful to his grateful stomach but it had slowed him down. He didn’t know what the black creature had done when he went ahead of everyone and he wasn’t sure what would happen once he went to other side of the doorway. Was the creature on the other side fighting against them? Had he already escaped and left them to whatever fate their captors would impose on them. Argo didn’t have time to worry, he would check and see and if the centaur knew anything about the strange book then go on into the fray.

Taking the blouse off of his shoulder and removing the one from the book he tied the two ends together and then wrapped the make shift sash tightly around his body diagonally. He then put the book between the sash, securing it to see if it would fit snuggly. It did so he took the book back out. He was now ready to go into battle with the book in his possession if need be. He walked into the room with the centaur and tried to get her attention, presenting the book as if he wanted to give it to her.

[Ladie Luck]

Auki:

“O spekul nesse cul ke helfvil…ne vakjul je sneti dern,” she murmured absently to the fox with a small sigh as she turned over each of the vials in her hand. She had seen all the liquids before, of course, although in varying quantities and it did not take her long to recall their purposes. Essentially, they were useless for now. Goue, used to make sight better, was rarely needed by her tribe. Oil, a gargle to prevent gum disease, was generally more common for all races. Pulre, used to encourage hair growth, she had only handled once – After all, baldness was not an issue for centaurs, even in their final years. The final vial held Oul, known to help bowel movement. All together, it was nothing compared to the herbs she had amassed over the years…but at the end of the day, it was a start. She dropped the containers back in the pouch, which she had already tied over her right shoulder in a way that it crossed over her body and fell against her left hip. She was left-handed after all and it was instinct to have her medicine bag where she could reach it most easily.

“O spekul oyr ke ayall vken,” she mumbled, turning to face the door again, her eyes avoiding the fox she shared the room with, “Oit ave al le en.” Both the Great Lizard and Kai have advanced…I cannot linger back here any longer.

She made to exit the room when a man, larger than normal, blocked the door. Startled, she moved the dagger in her hand up in front of her before she recognised the individual. Her eyes flickered to horns on his head to the scar beneath his left eye and she cocked her head. The horns were undeniably that of a Minotaur – There were a set in the tribe’s treasury, although how they came to be there she didn’t know. Her tribe had been hoarding things for thousands of years – She just hoped they had come across the horns peacefully. It was clear the male was not a pureblood Minotaur, and although she could speculate about what other races were in his blood, she was unable to pinpoint them. Not that it was relevant now anyway…

Why did she always let her mind wander? She blamed curiosity.

She stared blankly at the book he offered to her for a few moments. “Oh! Sinti,” she apologised. Her fingers flicked a centaur gesture asking for forgiveness before she realised that he would not understand its meaning. “Sinti,” she muttered again without thinking, before remembering how unlikely it was he understood what she was saying either. A small part of her wanted to speak the tongue of those around her – Just that minute urge was enough to shame her. The elders would banish her if they knew.

Reaching down, she took the book delicately in her hands, observing it with interest. It was thick and fairly heavy for her – Her fingers traced the symbols over the cover before flicking through a few pages.

[Ladie Luck]

Iwanami_Kistune:

Mai jumped back as the dragon snapped at her, trying to get out of range of his strike. He seemed to stop, tears streaming down his face, he looked in her eyes. She didn't waver, she looked in his eyes and saw tragedy in them.
"Frayer." He said. Frayer? What was that suppose to mean?

The dragon looked over his shoulder, seeming to realize where he was and said "Hurry"

"Right" Mai nodded, sure now that he was on their side.

Then she ran for the ladder. She needed to know what she had unleashed, and what it had done for her. Ruy wanted this her to release him, which couldn't be good. Not only that, being master of the vessel she was sure he could help them. Her hole life was about destroying life, and for the first time ever she finally had the chance to save them. She had to save as many as possible.

Once Mai got to the broken pulley system she once again attempted to climb up the rope.

[Ladie Luck]

Caminus:

The Final orb hit the collar. The pain was incredible. He let out a painful roar as he backed back into the darkness. Praise the Elders, it hit the collar. he thought. But to his chagrin the collar did not fall off like he had hoped. Now it was glowing slightly, making him an easier target to see now. Not only that but the area around the collar was singed and now in pain. Making the collar all that more intolerable.

The battle had worn him out. His legs, and arms were feeling like gluten. He willed his legs and arms to move again, and went to where the girl this the painted back had gone. He looked up where he saw the girl climbing up the rope. A rope just my luck. He knew his hands wouldn't be able to grip the rope properly, because of his talons. Plus he didn't trust his weight to the rope or pulley.

He thrust his hand, with the talons out facing out, into the wall that was obstructing his path forward. Hoping to create a hand/foot hold with the motion.

[Ladie Luck]

Zhengy Zhengster:

As Jangles was about to start walking something climbed onto his back and he started to panic thinking that it was blood at first. That thought disappeared as soon as the words, "I protect!" came out of a girls mouth. Jangles was a little bit wierded out by what this strange girl is doing, but for another strange reason he felt safer inside with the girl on his back. Jangles smiled and said, "Alright then." Jangles could not seem to find a weapon that was not already being carried by his prisonmates so he decide to do something very rashinal.

Jangles whispered, "Hope your ready little lady." Jangles tooked a deep breath, dashed into the fray, and shouted, "I will survive!" Time seemed to be standing still for him at this point of the time. Though what truly was happening is that every few mintues Jangles body would end up getting slashed somewhere on his body, but he completely ignored it and kept running.....