"All right, Kei. Time for introductions." Ling pulled out an autoquiver and loaded it into her crossbow with a satisfying [i]click[/i]. The first bolt dropped into place automatically. Taking aim was rather more difficult than usual, what with the dozens of wings flapping about. Ling tried to focus: the ship's deck was the biggest concern, not the fascinating storm and its constant chaotic shifting. Drakes. Harpies. She'd never met either, but from their attitude towards the Jurai crew, she didn't expect they would sit down to chat.

Ling adjusted her aim slightly and pulled the trigger, punching a bolt into the wing of one of the drakes. A nearby harpy spun to face the alchemist, propelling itself forward with a push from its own pair. Ling just yanked on the reload lever and brought her weapon to bear. That second to reload was all she had before the fiend was up close and personal, screeching and swiping at her tunic. The physical characteristics of a harpy were best appreciated from a distance: it had a face only a mother could love, its skin was black-grey, its talons were filthy... and it stank to high heaven.

The harpy slashed at Ling, and she felt talons tear fabric and skin in equal measure. She winced. But she held on and rammed Kei into its chest, knocking it back a couple feet. The drastic measure gave her the opportunity to fire a bolt into the harpy, clean through the leather it presumably wore as armour. A second bolt was enough to kill it, leaving it bleeding on the deck. Ling scrambled backwards, having no interest in stepping anywhere near the reeking body. She quickly glanced down at the injury the harpy had caused: it didn't seem to be bleeding [i]too[/i] badly. Maybe she could ignore it for now, but it would need attending to later. Right now, there were more of the foul things to put down.

She reloaded Kei - twelve rounds left in the quiver - and began to look for a new opening to shoot something.