[IC] The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

[Sarpedon]

The pirate didn't get far when water started going all over the place. It seemed his new friend wasn't about to deal with the marines the same way he was. He watched the soldiers get washed out of the alley, and then laughed, turning to keep going. He was just in time to watch another wave slip around him and prevent him from going anywhere, though. That cut short his mirth, and the captain turned back to the woman who was the cause of all this. He was quite suddenly grabbed by a massive, watery hand, and yanked back to Ceres, who immediately grabbed and shook his right hand. She threatened to drown him, and he laughed in her face some more. "I like you, Ceres. I thought I wouldn't, but I like you." he admitted, grinning stupidly. "But deal or not, the plan is the same. And since they know where we are now, we need to get moving. Try not to drown our next hiding spot, okay?" Octavius didn't have time to waste hopping from one hiding place to the next like this. It was a good way to get caught. So he waited patiently for his partner to deal with her watery issues, wondering if she was going to take the lead. If not, she needed to stop complaining about how he seemed to run off on her, and focus more on keeping up. Piracy was a game of quick thinking, and she wouldn't last long if her goal became too fixed. And she really wouldn't last long if she couldn't keep up. Or at least not as long as he would.

Every pirate wanted all of the gold, but dead and rich didn't go together, so some if it was often better than none. In this case, she might have to settle for a boat, rather than a ship. Then again, what she wanted sounded like a boat, so he wasn't too worried about her being picky. And if it turned out that she was, well, he hadn't agreed to let her do that. He had only agreed to get her a vessel of the appropriate size. Speaking of picky. Captain Cuttlam wondered exactly how particular she was about escaping. He figured it would be easy enough now, to transform and wander off. It might be a bit more convincing if she transformed too, though. And since he was wet enough as it was, it wouldn't make much difference if the wetness was from real water, or magical person-water. He figured it was worth a shot, and in an instant, he went from dashing pirate to shaggy attack dog, Where his clothes and bag went would remain a mystery, but one for later. Ceres needed to deal with her water walls, and hopefully she'd get the same idea he had. If not, a quick roll in the mud would throw off any doubters, and then the pirate lord would head off toward his goal. He'd get his new friend a sailing vessel, of course, but if she wasn't around to claim it, he couldn't help her with that...

[sanquin]

Ceres let go after a few moments of thinking. They couldn't waste too much time there, and she needed something to get off of this island. Stealing large things wasn't exactly her area of expertise, so she had to rely on Octavius for that part of the plan. The rest was easy for her. Most soldiers didn't pose a threat, and it was easy to hide as water to hide from the stronger or smarter ones. "Fine, so we get moving. But tell me when you decide to suddenly change your plan of escape! Just a simple "this way!" would do!" She stretched her arm out to the wall of water that had blocked Octavius' escape, and it fell down to the ground, flooding the area around it a little.

As she did so the man changed in what Ceres guessed was his fully transformed form. A huge dog of some kind. She raised a brow, wondering what he was up to this time. But then she saw the dripping wet fur - something this form had plenty of - and got the idea. "Ugh...I'm going to smell like dog for days, aren't I..." She muttered to herself, quickly turning into water again and 'jumping' on top of, and then into, the beasts fur. The second water wall still remained in tact. And it was too turbulent to see or pass through. So Ceres would only let it fall down once they were out of the alley again. Just in case there were any onlookers at the other side.

[Sarpedon]

Octavius nodded when Ceres suggested he could try alerting her to sudden changes. It was a decent idea, he supposed. But they would see what happened. Then, the way they wanted to go cleared, and his partner got the message. She lamented about smelling badly, and he laughed at her, a quiet, barking chuckle. She should try smelling him, he would have suggested. As it was, they had places to be. Once the woman's watery self had settled into his fur, the dog then skittered out of the alley. No one paid it any mind. Obviously it was just a poor stray that had been startled by whatever was going on in the alley. The people continued to look on curiously, while the escaping canine soon slowed to a joyful trot. He picked his way through the streets very carefully, revealing a nimbleness that most dogs of his size didn't possess in such quantity. But even with such remarkable skills, no one noticed. And if they did, they didn't care. At least most of them didn't. The captain finally struck his downfall when he heard the cry of "Puppy!" from a group of nearby street urchins. His head whipped around in their direction, ears perking up, getting ready to do something about the situation.

When he realized exactly how many children were about to descend on him, the pirate started to move faster. The kids laughed, assuming it was a game, and Octavius figured it was the perfect cover. He led the urchins on a merry chase toward his goal, knowing that people wouldn't think twice about a gang of children hounding a stray through the waterfront. Eventually, though, he was going to have to lose the brats. But that proved a lot easier than he thought, when some fellow canines appeared. None of them were pleased to see the children, though, clearly having learned their lesson. The pack was all teeth and snarls, and the urchins cleared out quickly enough, even as the pirate lord was slipping through the other end of the alley. He made a note of which way to go if he was ever in the area and needing a distraction. And then, before anyone or anything else could take a liking to him, Captain Cuttlam slipped into the yard of the tavern he had been aiming for the whole time. There was a boy splitting logs in the mud, but not much else. It looked like the place was pretty empty, since there weren't any horses to be seen in the stable. This place wasn't a frequent haunt for many locals, but the man was hopeful he'd find what he sought. If nothing else, he'd get some decent gossip and an idea of what to look for.

He picked the cleanest corner of the stable, figuring it would be best to do this sort of thing out of the stableboy's view, and then he sat, wiggled a bit, and waited for Ceres to get off. "We're here. I'd like to shake, so I suggest you hop off." he growled, wondering if she could speak when she was water. As soon as she was reforming, the pirate would have himself a good shake, and then transform. The idea was to leave him mostly, if not completely, dry. Once they were ready, he would lead the way again, but he definitely needed a chance to shake first...

[sanquin]

And finally the real 'escape' started. As it wasn't much of an escape when you were still actively being chased. For a while things went fine, but soon the ride got pretty bumpy. As a group of kids decided it was time to play with the big wet dog. Ceres cursed in her thoughts while the only thing she could do was watch as Octavius kept on going to wherever he wanted to go. Finally the man shook off the kids with the help of some actual street dogs. And it didn't take long after that before they were there.

The man didn't even need to start speaking or Ceres was already reforming herself into a puddle, and then into her person. "Yup...there's the smell. If I do ever get my own ship a bath will be a requirement..." She had heard his words though so quickly got out of the way as the man did his thing. He almost looked cute as a dog, quite the opposite of the rugged look he usually had. And Ceres severely doubted this was the extend of his abilities. A dog arm and a dog form. Mythical zoan fruits were definitely more powerful than just that. Then again, it wasn't like she had shown the full extend of her capabilities either. As the need hadn't arisen.

"So, a tavern. Looks pretty empty. I'm guessing you know someone here?" The woman spoke softly after Octavius had finished. She hadn't been to this part of town yet, so she was indeed completely lost right now. Her only options left were to trust this man to keep his word, or spend the rest of the day running around and probably getting caught again.

[Sarpedon]

Octavius had never heard of a bath on ship, but didn't say anything, figuring he would leave Ceres to that and focus on getting himself a ship. First things first, though, he had to shake. It was a good shake, too, nearly all the water went flying off of him. Then, after a quick transformation, he led the way toward the inn proper, taking the side door through the stables, rather than bother the child out back. "Welcome to The Hanged Man. Quietest hive of scum and villainy you'll ever see." the pirate chuckled as he led the way into the building, unslinging his shotgun as he did so. He had the thing by the receiver, which balanced it nicely. He opened the door, and took three quick steps, which landed him on top of the bar. He scanned the room as he moved, and grinned. As he suspected. Several members of his crew were here, and the rest of the room was very sparsely populated with smuggling and pirating types. He thrust his weapon over his head as he spoke, getting the attention of everything, announcing his return. "I will strike down upon thee, with great vengeance and furious anger, those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers! And you will know my name is The Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon thee!" he knew his re-purposed line was a bit out of context, but anyone in the know would recognize it. And anyone who wanted a piece of that pie, would immediately speak up.

A ragged chorus of "Amen, captain!" rang through the tavern. Maybe half a dozen men stood up ready to go. One of them fell over, too drunk to manage much of anything, but the rest were good to go. Not wanting to waste any time, he grinned and waved his crew on. Only one member of his old crew had gotten up, though, that was the disappointing part.

"I'm going to remember this." he told the room, before turning to the one man of his crew that still had faith. "Welcome back, old friend. At least I got the most important of you." he chuckled, greeting the ship's doctor with a firm handshake. The man grinned back, obviously pleased to be back in business with a real pirate. They exchanged pleasantries, quickly catching up on what the captain had missed while in prison. But while they were deep in conversation, someone saw fit to slip out the door without so much as a glance backwards. They looked like they were in a hurry, and probably were, but to where was the real concern. Having not noticed, Octavius continued his conversation. Though his casual grip on his shotgun implied he was ready to fight at any given moment...

[sanquin]

Ceres watched from a distance as Octavius did his grand entrance. She wasn't a fan of such things, but had to admit that it worked on the masses. Pirates and thugs too afraid or weak to do their thing out in the open looked up to those who did manage to do so. And for anywhere else, there was your bounty. Keep it low, and the pirate hunters wouldn't go after you quickly, but pirates from other places wouldn't think highly of you. Get it high, and hunter, and eventually even the government would go after you more frequently. But you'd be able to instil respect or fear into pirates you had never even met before, if they knew your bounty.

Once the man was done Ceres started to walk into his direction as well. However as she did, a certain man caught her eyes. A hulking man, wearing a leather vest and a red shirt underneath. And not just that, there was a rather long looking longsword resting against the table just beside him. "That's...him! There's no mistaking it!" She thought, her expression turning into an angry glare. She changed her route, moving so she was standing behind the man. "You. You're the asshole that got in my way." She growled. "I think I should pay y-blbrrbll--" The woman couldn't finish her second sentence, as the man had already grabbed his sword and swung right at her head. Though that only resulted in him hitting water, and pretty much passing right through her. After a moment of silence, mostly because over half the bar was confused about what they had just seen happen, she continued. "pay you back. And that sword of yours won't do you much good."

"Fucking witch!" The man yelled. "This time I won't just capture y--" This time it was Ceres who did the interrupting. Her hand turned into a blast of high pressure water, taking the man with it, carrying him across the room, and slamming him against the wall on the other side. "Rude, isn't it? When someone interrupts you." Ceres spoke with a slight chuckle. She carried herself through the water to end up standing just before her ex-captor, the water pressure still keeping the man pressed to the wall. Now it was time to test her abilities a little. Ceres had already found out that she could change her water's temperature and pressure. The question was if it was enough pressure to work as a bullet, rather than a stream of water.

"Let's see if I can manage 500 psi?" She mused to herself, pressing her pipe against the man, and pushing water through it. "Wh-what are you doi--AARGGHHH!" The man exclaimed, barely realizing what exactly was going on. Not that many people knew about devil fruits, and even fewer believed they were anything but a myth. This guy knew about them, but not enough to understand them. The water effortlessly pierced right through his body, and even through the wood behind it after a few seconds. Water wat barely spraying anywhere, but the sound it was making sounded chilling to the people that hadn't fled the bar yet. The man slumped to the ground, now dead. Ceres then reformed herself, turning to the little group that Octavius had gathered, and smiled. "Now, about that boat...when can I expect it?"

The doctor standing beside Octavius had ducked behind his captain a little, mouth open and eyes wide as he witnessed what happened. He composed himself a little afterwards, but had to ask something. "Captain...where did you find someone like her? Why not ask her to join our crew? We could use someone that can't be cut by swords." He whispered, figuring it might be worth a try.

[Sarpedon]

Octavius frowned about as he realized something was going drastically wrong with his idea of how to behave in a tavern. His companion had spotted someone she didn't like, and was now taking out her rage and frustration on the poor bastard. The man was slammed across the room by a jet of water, and then a hole was bored through him by the stuff. The captain shuddered a little while she demanded her boat with a sick smile on her face. "We're working on it. Fuck. I didn't say I had one ready, I said I'd get you one." he then whipped around, shocked, when his old friend suggested that they invite her to join them. "Are you fucked in the head too? Is everyone around here just pants-on-head retarded?" the pirate lord was not about to invite Ceres onto his ship. "Did you see what she just did? She just murdered that guy. You know why? Because she was angry!" his voice was a little shriller now, obviously a result of his agitated state. "She's been angry and awful lot lately. And did to miss the part where she's a she?" Octavius couldn't believe that his friend would be this daft. "Why don't you ask to join her crew, and see how long you last before she starts freaking out because it's her time of the month, and the crab cakes aren't perfect!" clearly, he didn't have much faith in this lady just yet.

The doctor didn't have much to say when he thought over the points his captain made. They were good points. Crab cakes were hard to get right, and water boring a hole in him didn't sound appealing. "Let's go get her a boat, then." he suggested. Everyone smiled at that idea, the captain gestured, and the crew piled out of the inn, heading off toward the docks. The man in charge waited for Ceres to be ready to go before heading out as well. Most people steered clear of the group, fortunately enough. The average person probably assumed a group this large was a press-gang of sorts. The navy was always looking for more crew. Captain Cuttlam used this to his advantage, and had the group head toward the part of the waterfront dedicated to more civilian traffic.

"Is that dhow with all the swivel guns rigged out still around here?" he asked one of the sailors he had picked up.

"Just came in yesterday. Not planned to leave until tomorrow." answered a totally different sailor.

"How's that sound, eh? Little live-in boat for you, big enough to weather a storm, small enough to sail yourself if you like." Octavius figured it would do. Unless she decided she wanted a piece of his much larger pie. Such a piece would certainly dwarf her whole pie, and with the doctor behind her, it would be hard to say no. Wouldn't be hard to shoot her in the back if she fucked them over, either. He could see the merits in it. The pirate lord resolved not to invite her, since he wasn't fond of her attitude, but he wouldn't refuse if things came to it. He immediately had cause to curse his decision, though. A whole boatload of marines had just steamed across the harbour to check this side, just in case. And now the group was headed right toward them. With not real excuse to about face and run off, they didn't have much choice but to continue if they wanted to look inconspicuous.

"Them's marines, skip'..." suggested the lead sailor, unhelpfully.

"Alotta marines..." added another one.

"If you don't have anything helpful to say, please remain quiet." the captain was thinking hard now. He only had two people he really needed so far. And he didn't even really need Ceres. Tapping the good doctor on the shoulder, the pirate got ready to run. It was going to be another wild escape, he was pretty sure. And this time he had someone to drag with him...

[sanquin]

"I can hear you, you know." Ceres spoke, sighing softly. "And that's interesting, coming from the man who killed a dozen or so marines on his way here. The man was working with the marines, I think everyone's happier if he's not around this place. Also, I can't believe the notorious shotgun preacher is afraid of a woman, and is superstitious to boot." Octavius was in for a surprise if he believed women on board brought bad luck. In the months that he had been gone, since the government was cracking down on pirates, there were plenty of ships that had taken on female crew members out of desperation. And as far as she knew none of them got any extra bad luck or anything like that.

The crew and their captain discussed about a boat in the harbour. And then it was offered to her. But that wouldn't be enough for what she was planning. "I don't think you were paying attention. It's not about just getting any boat. I want to go to the grand line. There are untold treasures and adventures to be found there, far greater than in this dull sea." Ceres started, sounding a bit amused by their cute idea's of what her plans were. "I need a decent ship that can be manned by a crew of 5 or so strong sailors. Like a Caravel." It was the ship she had been a pirate on before. Her knowledge of the types of ships wasn't exactly up to par, otherwise. "The grand line? You're crazy, girl. Most pirates entering that sea are dead within a week!" One of the crew spoke with a slight chuckle. Ceres ignored him though. Weak-willed pirates like him didn't know what truly following your dream meant. She didn't either, yet. But she was determined to find out at least!

The group started to move soon after. Apparently it was time to go. Ceres grabbed the coat the man she killed had left hanging on his chair and put that on. It was two sizes too large for her, but that only helped now. As it was easier to hide her face. And to finish it off she took off her bandana, as she had to admit that her colour choice was easy to spot. However as soon as they were outside, a group of marines came storming their way. And the woman also noticed Octavius getting ready to run once again. This was getting quite tiresome now, so Ceres also tapped him on his shoulder.

"You know, I could probably easily flush those marines away so we can just run to the harbour. Or would you rather spend another half hour running around the place, giving them more time to mobilize even more troops? Trust me, I've estimated their numbers in the weeks that I've been here, this hadn't even been half of what they can send our way."

[Sarpedon]

((sorry about the wait, vacation's been a bit of a shitshow, I'll spare you the details, should be back on track soon.))

Octavius kept his arguments to himself upon being called out. This woman was incredibly aggravating, but he owed her, and murdering her now would be bad luck. Then they were on their way, and it didn't seem to matter. And if it did come up later, he would have all of his arguments primed and ready to go, so no one would have any reason to think he was a coward. But last he checked, the majority of seafarers were superstitious. And if they weren't, they were at least a little stitious. But while he was caught up in that, the woman he had promised a boat to, had declared the one he had on offer to be insufficient. He was pretty sure she didn't understand what he was offering her. But then again, she probably just wanted something with more, larger cannons. It was an understandable mistake on her part, but one he had to live with, since he had technically promised her anything. He raised an eyebrow at her demands and laughed at her desire to pirate the grand line on such a boat.

"Last I checked, caravels are big." he replied, confused. "And the dhow I'm thinking of could fit a dozen people if you wanted. Or fewer if you're inclined to go that way..." he shrugged. "But you did con me into this deal, so I'll get you a fucking caravel if that's what you want..." the pirate lord then sighed. Getting on their way didn't go much better. His new friend was convinced she could take on two dozen marines by herself. While he didn't entirely doubt it, he wasn't sure it was such a good idea. It was pretty obvious she wanted him to stop wasting time. He wondered if she was getting wise of his tactics, but Captain Cuttlam wasn't going to change things up, just to see if that threw her at all. "You do realize that if we waste time killing all the marines, we won't have any time to get any kind of sea-going vessel ready to go? And on top of that, we won't have anyone to steal from, preventing us from making any kind of a living..." he shrugged again, largely indifferent to what the woman did, despite his arguments. "Then again, if you get yourself killed, I won't owe you squat. Fuck it, lass, knock yourself out..." he chuckled and shook his head.

While Ceres made up her mind, the Shotgun Preacher pulled out his signature weapon. Unfortunately it was only signature in the way that it happened to be a scattergun, since it wasn't the actual fowling piece that had resulted in half of his nickname. That particular weapon was rusted out and useless. But this one would do. He just waited for the lady to start things off. "We're going to do this the hard way, boys. Rush the first caravel-looking ship you see, and we'll mark it off for our friend..." the man couldn't help but start laughing. This whole scene was just ridiculous. The marines were paying attention to the group, now, and everyone was on edge, thanks to Octavius' statement. It seemed there was about to be some violence. How much depended on how good Ceres was at her job...

((cue some randoms dying and ceres finds a buddy to join the all-star team? and then they end up stealing the ship that Octavius wanted? and then arguing, more crew, and a hasty retreat to the ocean?))

[sanquin]

Ceres smirked, turning her focus to the marines that were quickly approaching them. "Now you're finally talking my language..." She spoke, her whole body starting to turn into water. The water kept on swelling larger and larger until it was about 2 meters high and 5 meters across. Though it didn't touch Octavius and his crew, but rather went around them like there was some kind of barrier. At the very least Ceres wasn't so reckless that she would sweep up the people on her side as well. For as far as they were on her side at least. Then the huge body of water started crashing down the street. It looked a bit slow compared to actual waves yet violent and dangerous at the same time. Like no one could survive it. But instead, the people getting hit were thrown to the side and knocked against walls or into alleys.

A small part of the water had stayed behind, which quickly reformed into Ceres again as the wave started moving. She grinned, glancing behind her at Octavius. "See, this is quite a bit faster! Follow that wave!" Once the wave had passed the people that had been hit were mostly too dazed to notice a group of thugs led by two escapees. Quite a few were even knocked out. Though here and there a marine had managed to keep or regain their focus on the task at hand, and started charging towards the group again. Still, the number of enemies able to fight had been reduced by about 90%. That left only a dozen or so marines, whom had no time to regroup, scattered along the way to the docks.

(Sorry it took so long. Bought Space Engineers, and I've been binge-building together with a friend for the past few days. ^^;; The game's really addicting. We clocked in about 35 hours in the past 4 and a half days now I think? :P)

[Sarpedon]

((it's all good. no worries. You've been stupidly patient with me, so I figger you've earned a break XD))

Octavius wasn't so sure about Ceres' assumption that he was speaking in the same language as her, but he figured he would just be quiet, and see what happened. If she did die, well, he was no longer bound to their deal. If she didn't, well, he supposed they would all have to hop on the first caravel they saw and hope for the best. While the water did its thing, the captain had enough sense to double-check that the chamber of his fowling piece was loaded. And of course it was. He grinned, and did some quick grip-switching amongst his weaponry so that he had his shotgun in his right hand, and his revolver in the other. Then they all started running at the woman's prompting. Just about everyone the wave smacked into was knocked down and unconscious. If they were lucky enough to remain conscious, most of them weren't in any state to fight back. The toughest of the marines, however, were more than willing to try. The water rendered their weapons mostly useless, but they had no problem drawing their swords and charging the group, screaming bloody murder and threatening the same.

The ragtag crew that the pirate lord had assembled were kind enough to respond by producing pistols of various designs and opening fire on the charging soldiers. Captain Cuttlam himself, however, had no such luck. After his run-in with Ceres in the alley, all of the powder in his firearms was wet, and thus ruined. He groaned, and then tucked his pistol away, racking the slide on his scattergun until it was empty. He loaded two rounds rapidly, and discharged them just as quickly. The first was a dud, probably also wet, but the second went off nicely, violently removing a good solid third from the top of a marine's head. He chuckled and stuffed three more rounds into his fowling piece, finding two more duds before slaying another rapidly approaching enemy with a well-placed slug to the throat. The pirate then growled angrily, though he was delighted to see that his crew, having continued their rush down to the waterfront, had managed managed to finish off the rest of the enemies who had taken it upon themselves to rush headlong into madness. All except one, of course.

There was always one man thrown further into madness than the others. In most cases, that man was Octavius Cuttlam. In this case, though, it was one of the marines, washed into an alley. Sometimes that madness resulted in great success. This time, it ended in tragedy for the afflicted. Having spotted Octavius before the wave struck, this one was determined to be the hero of the town, and the slayer of one of the greatest pirate captains in history. But Captain Cuttlam hadn't become a pirate lord by being slow, or unaware. Even as his assassin was leaping from the shadows, bayonet fixed, and sword in hand, he was moving, turning, shifting out of the way, and opening his mouth as wide as it would go. Thanks to the magic of the strange fruit he had eaten so long ago, his mouth opened ridiculously wide, When the opening was big enough, which didn't take long, the massive dog head that had earlier exploded from within his arm, now ripped from his throat, rushing out and crashing into the soldier. The head of the beast lunged straight for the poor bastard's throat, and before anyone else could do anything, the marine was dead, his spinal cord severed, along with all of the vital blood vessels in his neck.

Satisfied, the now blood-drenched canine retreated, disappearing before every watchful eye, and the captain barely reacted, beyond swearing quietly at Ceres for ruining his ammunition. Then it was onward to the docks, a swift journey constantly accompanied by a near silent tirade from Octavius, regretting his decisions more as time passed. He resolved to get his revenge on Ceres in some way. For now, he would have to honour their deal...

[sanquin]

For once no bickering or Octavius doing his own thing. Instead they went with her plan. Which was definitely quite a bit faster than sneaking about. The group of pirates rushed down the street like madmen, not being sure if this was going to be their death or salvation. But the chance to be part of the Shotgun Preacher's grand return was too great to pass on for the time being. After all, even if things had changed quite a bit during his absence, and even though his unofficial title as a pirate lord didn't hold ground any more, he still used to be one of the most fearsome pirates around.

Ceres didn't have to do anything but run now, as the captain's rag-tag crew managed to finish off any that were still standing. Which was good, as she noticed that creating and moving such a large body of water was the limit of her capabilities at the moment. She was probably too tired to effectively use her water to attack again for at least half an hour or so.

And then suddenly a marine jumped out of an alley, attacking Octavius. But he wasn't alone. A second marine followed soon after him, though this one looked a bit weaker. And this one had noticed that she was the one that created the water. "Promotion, here I come!" He exclaimed as he fired two rounds at the woman. The first one was a dud, having gotten wet, but the second one went off. Ceres tried to dodge, but failed. Yet when the bullet had passed through her shoulder there was no wound to speak of. It had, of course, only hit water. "Don't fuck with me when I'm about to get a ship!" She yelled at the man, swinging wide and fast with her steel pipe. It hit the man with a metallic clang, probably fracturing his skull a little.

Soon they reached the harbour. And luckily, there were plenty of ships docked at the moment. Even several Caravels and some Carracks. Though Ceres had no idea about that name and thought the design looked kind of fat. So she ignored the Carracks and instead scanned for one that she thought would be the right size. "There!" She exclaimed, pointing to the far side of the docks that had several medium sized ships. One Carrack, a large Caravel, and a smaller one. This last one had three sails, and looked to be made for a crew of 20 to 25. It was even obvious that it was used as some kind of transport ship at the moment, as several sailors were loading barrels and crates onto the ship. A bit odd...but if they were illegal goods that would make sense. As you couldn't be too picky about your ship if you were a smuggler. "Looks like it can fit us all, and those people should be easy to get off the ship right?"

[Sarpedon]

The second marine was what really surprised Octavius. Thankfully that one was kind enough to go after Ceres. Unfortunately, Ceres was not kind enough to expire. The captain chuckled when the woman screamed about not fucking with her, and he shook his head. "No, please do fuck with her. Kill her so I don't have to worry about getting her a ship." he encouraged in a mumble, disappointed that no more enemies appeared to ruin his new friend. Unopposed, the group headed for the docks. There were more than a few ships just hanging out on the waterfront, waiting for crews or supplies, or what not. But of course, the one that the woman wanted was the one with people on it. At least it was being loaded up. That was nice. But it was too big. They had half a dozen sailors with them. He sighed and shook his head at the woman. "If anything untoward happens because of you, I'll make sure you drown." he whispered to his companion before leading the way toward the ship. He didn't have time to go get another ship and try to escape. The marines were all over the place as it was, and clearly Ceres was not about to put up with waiting.

"Who wants to be a pirate?" he asked casually, racking the slide on his scattergun as he approached the ship that his creditor demanded. About another half dozen sailors quickly joined his crew. The rest were smart enough to leave before anything got messy. "Keep loading then." he suggested, waving the muzzle of his shotgun at the last of the barrels. He gestured for his whole crew to help out, before heading onto the ship. While the men set about packing away whatever they were carrying, Captain Cuttlam moved to the aft of the ship to check the flag being flown. Satisfied, he turned to go find Ceres. The ship was hers, so he supposed everything was on her now. She hadn't gotten far, thanks to the size of the ship, and once the pirate lord had tracked down the new captain, he sighed. "Ship's yours, skipper. Take it away." he declared in passing, figuring he would continue his survey of the ship. He hadn't said anything about who would be on the ship, just that she would get one. So it seemed fair to join his escape with hers. He'd probably get off at their next stop and take his doctor with him. The crazy woman could take her bad luck to the grand line and get stuffed, for all he cared. Just as long as he wasn't going to be dragged down along with her...

[sanquin]

Once again the captain managed to round up some guys for his crew. Though they all looked like simple sailors, rather than real pirates. Except for the doctor, that is. He looked like a man that had known real freedom. Octavius ordered the men to keep loading, which was good. More loot for later, whatever was in those crates. She decided to find out quite soon.

The woman headed below deck right away. There she busted open the first two containers that looked interesting. And it looked like she had struck gold, figuratively speaking that is. The crate she opened was filled to the brim with rhino horns. Already a pricey item, but in these seas the creature was pretty rare too. And the barrel that looked interesting smelled of beer. Her two favourite things. A starter fund and booze. "Bingo~ I'll be going to the grand line in no time." She mused, looking around to see if there was something to put beer in so she could drink.

Before she could find anything though, Octavius came towards her, handing the ship over to her. Yet he sounded like a caged animal that was forced to admit defeat. She smiled a little, shaking her head. "I can't believe it. The great captain Octavius Cuttlam, passing up the first opportunity he gets to stand behind the wheel again. Besides, these guys are your crew, so you should be standing at the helm. Mind you, the ship is still mine. But it's not like I can get there by myself. I'll even take orders from you until we reach whatever destination you pick." Her becoming a captain was only a means to an end after all. Waiting a few more days before it happened wasn't a problem.

[Sarpedon]

Octavius raised an eyebrow as Ceres looked like she was about ready to start really rubbing it it. She'd gotten her ship before he had gotten one for him. Apparently that was cause to celebrate. The pirate was about ready to celebrate the woman right in the face, with the butt of his fowling piece. Then, of course, she said that he should be the one in charge. He just about tried to slap her anyway, his knee-jerk reaction being to refuse. Thankfully, just in time, he remembered that she was crazy, and that he had to share a ship with her. And she was a woman too, on top of it all. Bad signs, where he was concerned. He did his best to be polite, then, knowing that he last thing he needed was an angry woman on this vessel. It was bad enough she'd attract sharks for a whole week every month, he didn't want her flipping out on him now. "If you want the ship, I'd suggest you take command." he informed the new captain as politely as he could manage. It came out a little rough, but the effort was obvious. "If I'm in charge, this is my ship, but it can't be mine, because I can't go around collecting things while I still owe you. If I were you, I would get things under way before the marines show up..." He was quite proud of his polite tone, and left it at that. The thin veil of civilization would fade soon enough, he didn't need to tear it up in front of her just yet. As it was, this woman was becoming increasingly stressful for him, and he didn't need any more of her attitude, or her crazy notions. Ideally, her shark-attracting self wouldn't even be here, but that wasn't really an option now. He'd gotten her a ship. Now he just needed an escape. If it would have been safe to just step off the gangplank doctor in tow, he wouldn't be on the ship right now. But the section's worth of marines running down the docks said it wasn't safe to be wandering about. He poked his head up from below just in time to realize that these men knew where they were going. The psychotic woman was probably still checking the cargo. He decided something needed to be done, and the captain wasn't disposed properly to do it.

"All hands on deck. Prepare to repel boarders." he said calmly, smacking the nearest sailor as he spoke. The man relayed the order with gusto, shouting even as he ran to secure weaponry for the crew. The pirate lord was already armed, and he watched as the marines sprinted into range. Unfortunately, they had the nerve to change tactics before the Shotgun Preacher could start organizing things. That meant that his crew of men armed with scatterguns and pistols wasn't going to be terribly effective against the repeating rifles of the marines. He then designated four of the quickest-looking sailors to start things going. "Get us moving." he ordered, letting them figure out what actually needed to be done.

While the crew was loading up and taking up repelling positions, the marines had formed up in two ranks and were preparing to fire. Their usual, orderly manner had the captain starting to feel nervous. "Fire at will." he bellowed at the men who'd taken up positions on the swivel guns. They got off one shot each before the soldiers got themselves together. Four marines died, and then they volleyed back. Their rifles thundered as the hail of lead began tearing up the sides of the ship. Not enough to do any significant damage to the vessel herself, but concerning enough to get Octavius into a rage. He tossed his pistol into his left hand and then his whole left arm exploded. But the revolver was just gone, not detonated like the rest of the limb. When the canine head raced toward the marines, he saw them start to falter. Then their rifles ran dry. His human arm burst from the mouth of the dog the moment it was comfortably close to the enemy soldiers. They tried to take cover and reload, but found their opponent too swift on the trigger for that. His pistol barked violently, each shot ending a life. Only six of the shots went off properly, though. The section commander and a grunt both made it to cover, and from there, he watched them flee.

The pirate started swearing violently, most of his crew having been useless. One of them was even dumb enough to get shot to death. And the ship still hadn't started moving. "Everyone arm up. Get this fucking thing moving or I'm going to start eating people." he growled, finding himself a keg of powder, and a case of shot. He went up to the poop deck and found himself the largest of the swivel guns. He could keep watch better from here, and if anyone wanted to do battle again, he would be ready. And really, it was only a matter of time, since two of the marines had escaped. Hopefully that time wouldn't be wasted. It didn't look like it to him, which was good. Actually eating people was disgusting, but when you could turn into a massive, hungry-looking dog-thing, people believed you might actually eat them, and it was excellent motivation, even when death was chasing you down anyway...

[sanquin]

"For fucks sake, learn to accept some kindness." Ceres spoke with a sigh. "Fine, if I'm the captain then you're taking orders from me too for now. I order you to--" But before Ceres could finish the man had disappeared already. She frowned, turning to secure the two containers she had just opened again. "Men...for once I'd like to be treated as a fucking equal." She growled as she worked on the crates. Though it was more of an annoyed 'this bullshit again' thought than an 'I'm going to murder him later' kind.

Suddenly some orders were barked around the ship by one of the sailors. Though Ceres didn't catch what exactly was being said. She figured it was Octavius' doing. Him telling the men to prepare or something. However just about when she finished securing everything again gunfire started outside. It only lasted for about 5 seconds, but still. Something troublesome was apparently happening outside. The woman rushed up the ladder as quickly as she could, finding the aftermath of a short gun battle when she arrived. "This is my ship, yet fail to inform me of marines approaching?" She asked Octavius, sounding pretty annoyed by now.

Two of the sails were now lowered, but the third was still up. She sighed, figuring she would have to do something or this would end badly. "Listen up you wimps! This ship should have been sailing for open sea five minutes ago! Now put some backbone into it and get that last sail down!" She started, for the first time since Octavius had met actually sounding authoritative. The sailors had been panicking a little, as the great, fearless Captain Cuttlam was getting nervous. If something didn't happen soon they would all be doomed. So when someone spoke up whom sounded like they knew what they were doing, they were all to happy to listen for the time being. Even if said someone was a scary, and a woman. Or maybe it was because of those reasons? Ceres quickly continued, barking out a few orders. "You four!" She called, pointing at several agile looking men. "Climb up that mast and get that last sail down, now!" She turn turned to Octavius. "Cuttlam, at the helm! As soon as this ship clears the mooring, sharp to port!" Then she pointed to the group that was still taking cover. Still 7 people left. "You three, untie those ropes immediately, and you four keep on the lookout for marines!"

Everyone echoed the orders they were given back to Ceres and got to work quickly. It was up to Octavius whether he would throw another tantrum or help her get out of here faster than a normal ship would. That was the advantage of having the power over water. You could give your ship a little push if needed. Now it was time to test out if such a thing actually worked, as she hadn't tried it before. Her whole body burst into a stream of water, heading for the bow. Once there, all but her arms reformed into her normal body. The arm parts went into the water in front of the ship. Since it was docked with the front towards the harbour she would have to try this new idea from this side as well. As soon as her water touched the water below, it started swelling in size. As if a wave was forming right in front of the ship. At first this did nothing, but after a few seconds the wave was high enough for the ship to start moving. At first slowly, then faster and faster, allowing the ship to drift far away enough in less than a minute. This was where the trouble could start. If Octavius wasn't at the helm right now she would have to do it. As she didn't trust the other sailors to be capable manoeuvring while moving so quickly and unnaturally. But if she did that, they would stop moving so quickly...

[Sarpedon]

Of course Ceres had some words to say about how she hadn't been informed of the marines showing up. Octavius had no time for her silliness though. Yes, it was her ship, but if she wanted to know about enemies showing up, she ought to stay in earshot. It was very clear that she wasn't too worried about all that, though, since he didn't have time to answer before she was going off on everyone else, upset about the progress they had made.. The pirate lord just stood quietly by his cannon, waiting for someone else to show up and need shooting. That didn't last long, of course. He sighed as he was ordered to the helm. "Good job, skipper. You're a helmsman now. Good fucking work." he grumbled to himself, careful not to let anyone else here. Outwardly, he looked relatively calm, leaving his gun and heading over to the tiller. He fiddled with it a bit while the ship got moving. They just about ripped their moorings out of the docks while the crew took their time getting the hawsers reeled in. They hadn't even started until they were told what to do. He wasn't sure whose fault that was, though. Regardless, he already had the tiller cranked properly when magic started happening. It seemed that the captain was not about to wait for the crew to get themselves together, and instead she had her magical water powers get them started. That had them going places a lot quicker than he expected, and the Shotgun Preacher wound up using his left leg to anchor himself to the deck, letting it transform and bite into the nearest stable support. Knowing that he wasn't going anywhere made it easy enough for him to get the ship pointed in the right direction, since all he really needed to do was hang on.

Despite the urgency and the insanity of the whole ordeal, he still managed to look almost bored. "Let's go, cap'n, I've got it." he suggested, doing his best to hang onto his tone. He had seen Ceres glancing at the helm, obviously concerned about something or other. Given the amount of concentration her work had to take, she was obviously worrying about far too much. Probably wondering if someone capable was actually working. But of course, she was looking at a notorious pirate lord, of course he was capable. More than capable, even. And if she didn't believe in him, he supposed she could always get someone else to steer. Indeed, she would have to once he got his own ship. He looked forward to that, wondering if she would just have to sail the whole ship herself. He was pretty sure she didn't trust any of the sailors he had rounded up, based on the way she treated them. He wasn't saying he trusted them any more, but she didn't have the sort of faith that he did. That was the real problem. He chuckled, wondering how long it would take her to be satisfied with a crew, and how long it would take her to replace them, when they inevitably died or split. All these thoughts were happy distractions from the menial task he had been given. Used to steering his own ship, this was no effort for Octavius, who was more than capable of getting the tiny ship out of the harbour without any trouble, even considering the break-neck pace that they had started out on. The only real problem, was that this was not the way things were supposed to go. He wasn't supposed to be working for someone else. Just the thought of it sapped his motivation. Why should he care at all? Thankfully, he wouldn't have to care for long. They would get to some pirate haven or another quickly enough, and then he could just fuck off and find his own crew, and his own ship, and reforge his legend once more...

[sanquin]

As soon as the ship was turned the right way and had some proper distance between the dock and itself, the sails took over. That was probably the fastest disembarkation the marines had ever seen, as Ceres could see most of them looking confused, and some starting to scramble to their own ships. They were too late though. Caravels were made for agility. The larger marine ships wouldn't be able to accelerate enough before they were already out of sight. So Ceres finally let the water go, reforming her arms. And right after that she collapsed, panting softly. She figured that the wave through the street from before had been her limit. But this time she definitely felt even more tired. Was this the limit of her newly found powers then? Or could she go even further...

The crew cheered, both for Ceres and for Octavius. As most of them almost had a heart attack after realizing what was happening. Ships weren't meant to be sailed that way. Yet they had managed to pull this stunt off coming out unharmed. And now that the worst danger was over, and people had stopped panicking, everyone just started to do what was supposed to be done, amidst a few introductions since quite a few people didn't even know each other yet.

They were still sailors, after all. After taking a minute or two of rest, Ceres managed to get up again. She headed for the helm and smiled at Octavius. "So, I think it's time to divide the loot. This ship is carrying quite a few riches you could sell, or use. How does fifty fifty sound?" Technically all of it was hers, as it was her ship's cargo. But she wasn't a pirate for the money, so apart from needing some funds to start her off she didn't care for it really.

[Sarpedon]

Octavius sighed quietly to himself once he was sure they were not going to be caught by anyone. The marines just weren't quick enough, since they lacked magical powers. There was some cheering and some moving on, but the pirate lord didn't participate in either. He was still mostly stuck on the fact that he was here, actually working for someone else. It was an awful feeling. He wanted his freedom back. And then, of course, Ceres showed up, trying to get him in her debt again. He didn't care how much treasure she had in the hold, he was not about to make any deals. And he didn't need her charity looming over his head either. "It's your ship and your cargo, do with it as you please. I'm not asking you for anything." he said, managing to sound polite, but also like someone who'd just given away a good deal more than they realized. Even so, the last thing he needed was the threat of him owing this woman something. She was terrible enough as it was, he didn't need her giving him things. If she started expecting things in return down the line, he could see himself ruined. Having been ruined enough for several lifetimes over the past year or so, the pirate was not about to start accepting "free" offerings. If Ceres was any kind of a real pirate, she understood that the captain of the ship divided up the spoils. There was no deal-making before hand. This sort of thing had rules. Most of them couldn't really apply now, considering the way the looting had been done, but that didn't mean she could just start messing with the gold of other men. She had a crew to pay, whether they were hers or not, and just forking over whatever valuable nonsense she found in the hold wasn't going to do.

He supposed she might try to pull some "mine and yours" bullshit, about how the ship was hers, but the crew wasn't and all sorts of drivel like that. And technically she would be right. But that wasn't a very good kind of right. Indeed, he would be more than happy to dispute her little technicality until the ship was sunk and all hands drowned. Of course, he didn't mention any of that, or let it show. They hadn't even gotten that far yet. He was just antsy to be ruling the seas once more. On his ship, with his crew, sailing the various seas and striking his own personal brand of terror into anyone he came across. So the last thing he needed was someone financing such a thing. If he accepted this even split, and then Ceres tried to stake some sort of claim on his empire, well, things would get horribly ugly. It was just easier to refuse. He could get another ship, fairly or otherwise. One that wouldn't cost him a debt to anyone. One that wouldn't have any women on it...

((cue near disaster that proves Ceres isn't bad luck?))

[sanquin]

Ceres shrugged, moving to take over the wheel from Octavius. A captain should either sail themselves or have their first mate do it after all. She was terrible at finding her way, but she at least knew what island she wanted to go to and how to get there, even if it had taken several days of planning so she was sure she knew where to do. "I'm not expecting anything in return you know. Well, okay, there's one thing. I'd appreciate it if you didn't attack me if we ever met again after this. If I don't get in your way of course." A deal that was heavily in Octavius' favour. It was basically just a truce. And he would get cargo worth a thousand or two gold pieces in return. Plenty to pay for crew and get things started with his own ship. "Anyway, if you change your mind before we leave, you know where to find me."

What Octavius did next was up to him. She had never been a captain before, but knew that a true captain only wanted to give orders, not take them. And if the stories were true, Octavius was a true pirate captain. So unless he was needed, he would be treated as a guest on her ship, rather than a part of the crew. After looking at the compass she turned to starboard a bit. Once she was satisfied with their direction she tapped the first sailor that walked past her and put him in front of the wheel. "You're my first mate for now." She spoke with a smile. "Keep the ship heading South-East until I come and take over again." "I'm not your--" The man wanted to protest. He was stopped when Ceres smacked him against his head though. "I'm the captain of this ship. We all want to get to our next destination safely. You're free to follow Captain Cuttlam when we arrive, but right now you're doing as I say." The man was a bit taken aback by Ceres' forcefulness. She didn't have as commanding a presence as Octavius, but it was close enough for the sailor to stop going against her for now.

Ceres in turn made her way to the deck, where some sailors were still working to tie up ropes and the like, though most weren't doing anything at the moment. And who could blame them? The marines were out of sight, and the weather was still pretty nice. The woman then found one of the sailors that had sailed this ship already, and gave him an assignment too. "You. Get another guy and make me a full inventory list of what this ship has. Afterwards, bring the barrel I cracked open already and as many cups and tankards as crewmen. I think we should celebrate Octavius' and my regained freedom~" Booze was there to be drank.

(No cue disaster just yet...but next post it will happen! :P)