In a medium-sized ship on a large river, the mood was celebratory as a small group of men and women caroused on the deck, drinking and talking and generally having a good time. Danica sat cross-legged on a crate, her knife lying sheathed in her lap. There was a faint smirk on her features as she surveyed the bandits around her. She wasn’t engaged in conversation at the moment, and while the others had grown more comfortable with her in the time she’d spent with them, the Naga was often left to her own devices when they weren’t pulling off a job. Some of them, including the leader, showed a wary respect when interacting with her—maybe they didn’t consider her one of them, but at least they trusted her and her abilities enough to hire her. And some of the others seemed to think that her race brought some sort of divine luck to their criminal activities; Dani had heard them whispering to each other when they thought she was asleep. The thought gave her some amusement and she’d never bothered to correct their ignorance. If they were more in awe of her because of some imagined ability, it would only give her an advantage.

Danica leaned back thoughtfully. Taking the ship had been no minor affair, and maybe after this haul she would have enough to comfortably take off and spend some time on her own. She didn’t mind lingering with the group, but she was used to the anonymity of living in a city, just another face in the crowd. On the other hand, out here among the bandits she didn’t have to hide all the time, nor wear her mask, since they all knew who she was. Although she noticed that without her mask on, most people tended not to make eye contact with her when holding conversation. Danica found it made her feel strangely detached from everyone around her. Of course, that’s generally how she was.

A raucous laugh nearby pulled the Magi out of her thoughts and she looked over to where three of the men were talking nearby. She tilted her head in a considering gesture. Today they were celebrating, and Dani could afford to unwind a little bit before whatever awaited her on the horizon. With a grin that showed off her fang teeth, she hopped off the crate and joined her companions in their banter.