(Collab with [@AtomicNut])

Layali was relieved when the fighting was finally over. She was no coward and she could defend herself... if she had actual a weapon on her. Seeing as she only had her sling, she made the wise decision of staying outside the hideout, partially hidden in the shadows, partially behind some empty and broken barrels that stunk of alcohol. Thankfully the wait wasn't too long before Visenya and others exited the hideout and headed for the ship, Layali following along. It seemed like forever since she had been at sea, even though realistically she knew it was no more than a year, perhaps even less.

The docks and ships were a lovelier sight than she had ever seen before, and she couldn't help the grin on her face.

Seran leant against the edge of the ship's board, sighing. His face still throbbing and swollen, fruit of his idea and endeavour still hurted. They said that it'd go back to normal in time, but would it truly? Nevertheless, it had probably been worth it. The deception had saved the poor acting of others during the mission. And the assault on the Maiden's Men had been a success. Even if he did not fight to his best of ability, merely content with scrambling to defend himself after the princess cut his ropes.

He had that pirate captain on his sights, all that he needed was a blow to crush that scoundrel's throat, but no less than two others had ventured to claim such a prize. Seran wisely decided to stay out of greedy thoughts, and let Aerion have his share. He, well, he had used gentle words when talking to him. And he was a man of word and a good sword. Sir Aerion deserved to also be content.

Even if personally, he would have twisted that harlot's neck. Better not to leavy any stray ends to drag one's down. Aemon had sanctioned the Essossi knight's actions, leaving no shadow of doubt. Oh well, the less fighting the better. He grimaced, exhausted as he eyed one of the two ladies they also "recruited". That friend of her acquaintance, Layali. He wondered if by the end of the tale they'd have enough room to pick up all the strays in the ship.

"Looks like you punched something with your face." Layali had caught one of Visenya's men look her way and took the opportunity to intergrate herself with the rest of the group, even if for now it was only one person. She walked over to where the man stood, recognizing him as the one her friend had been rather chatty and affectionate with. 

"I'm Layali," she added in as an introduction of herself. She thought back to Lira's words, grinning a littl when she remembered what this man's name was. "And you're the one called Seran, right?" She also remembered the other girl mentioning he had a soft spot for her. Not that it made a difference to Layali.

Seran eyed the cheeky woman with suspicion, but with his face in his sorry state it was hard to judge if he was frowning or not. He gripped the ship's rail hard, and opened his mouth, one blue eye that still struggled to be open piercing her with a stare.

"Tits." The magpie said nonchalantly, perching by surprise on Seran's shoulder.

"Oh for the love of.the lady... I though a pirate had eaten you!" Seran uttered before quickly cursing in Lyseni. The bird tilted its head slightly, before attempting to reply something.

"Tits!". It cawed, before the vexed swordsman batted his pet in annoyance. "Tits! Tits, tits!" 

"...one word it learns... and..." He grumbled, trying to compose himself and ignoring the bird's display for the time being. "I am indeed the one called Seran, and looks like you're really desperate for conversation, Layali." He retorted back. 

It took a moment for the young Meereenese to return her focus on the man, the bird being so much funnier with its one word vocabulary. "Truly you know the finer things in life," she said to the magpie, a laugh escaping her. "Or your master has been around many brothels and women." 

That said she looked back at Seran, raising her shoulders in a shrug. "Desperate? Not exactly. I simply feel I should become acquainted with those I'll be journeying with." She put her hands on the railing, leaning forward and taking a deep breath. "Besides, you don't look like the type who'll want favours, at least not at the moment."

She stepped back, a lingering smile on her face. "However, if conversation's not something you wish for, I will take my leave, truly." She hardly wanted to impose herself on anyone who didn't wish her company.

"Do as you please, I have no power over you." Seran huffed and grumbled, still flayed with the dull ache of the wounds he had sustained in the past hours. He stared at the cheeky woman for a few moments, pondering. "But there are far better people to get acquainted with. Like what Lira's doing. But I doubt you... have the talents required for that." He shrugged as he grabbed a sponge of vinegar besides him and applied it to his wounds.

"Oh, there's no reason to doubt that," Layali replied with a chuckle, once again shrugging her shoulders. "She has all the talents I don't have and don't want." She let out a breath, shaking her head a little before distracting herself with the sight of the magpie. Being in that brothel had been the worst time of her life, and if she had been bad at what she had been forced to do there, she was perfectly fine with that.

"Maybe you should take something to dull the pain," she suggested after a moment. "There's no reason to suffer. I'm sure a drink or two may help."

"No thank you. It'll dull my senses. And I'd rather be alert here." Seran added. "This is no place for relaxing. Last time I was warring war here, we lost one fifth of our company to wounds and one fifth to maladies. And that's not counting that half of these new recruits don't have even sea legs."  The mercenary sombered, as his eyes darted to one of Layali's hands.

There was something simply off with that hand, as he snatched the woman's hand swiftly to examine it. Those calluses were suspicious. "I'll be damned. So I wasn't seeing things." He muttered, before awkwardly letting loose of the hand.

"What weapon?". He asked, ponderous.

For a moment Layali tensed, everything in her being telling her to pull her hand back. Thankfully a year's worth of whoring kicked in and she kept quite calm, looking at her hand as well. "Heh... well I had always wanted it to be a sword, but my father wasn't in favour of that. I learned how to use a bow... I was decent enough at it. Lost it when the pirates attacked the ship I was on. I have this for now." She reached under her tunic for her belt, pulling out the makeshift sling she had made days ago in the tavern. 

"I'll try to get you a bow. Every bit helps." Seran added mentally, as he applied yet another dose of vinegar and cleaning salves to his face. "That way you can use that damned bird as target practice." Seran clenched his teeth, as his pet innocently stared at them. "Although i am afraid the bows we have here are a bit too... powerful for you." He muttered under his breath. "Dragonbone. A stupid amount of them. They're property of others though." He finished as he eyed the sea.

"Thanks for the offer." Layali was surprised by what Seran said, not having expected him to say that. It was something nice though, and she appreciated that. "I'm sure when the time's right I should be able to buy my own and return any bow I've borrowed." Visenya had promised her a bag of silver with her freedom, after all. 

"Dragonbone though, never held a bow, or anything made by that." She blinked and tilted her head to the side, a little unsure. "Uh, that's why they're called that, right? Or some other reason or something?" She laughed sheepishly before shrugging. "I'm good with a normal weapon anyway."

"They're supposed to be made of dragon bones. Hence the name. I've never seen any up close before either, nor in such quantity. I can't recall a single company based in Essos who had more than one of them. And even so, it's just because we've got elite archers with us. They'd probably not hand that kind of thing to a nobody. That's how long the shadow of our backers is." The mercenary rocked forwards. "It'll have to be battle spoils bows. You don't mind, right?". Seran began to walk near some cache of weapons, piled like garbage, and he began fiddling with the assorted junk, until he produced a bow.

It still had some blood and bits of its former owner but was serviceable. Seran didn't want to risk discouraging a potential recruit so he cleaned the shaft convincingly before handing it out to the woman. "Just remember to shoot the pirates. Not us." He added, approvingly as he handed the shortbow to her. Probably the scurvy fool who claimed ownership of that piece was about the size and build of the woman.

[i]The shadow of their backers... the crown, right?[/i] Layali kept the thought to herself, watching Seran walk for a moment before following after him, curiosity getting the better of her. She paused in her step, looking at the weapons, eyes brightening when she saw him pull out the bow.

"Oh, don't worry about that," she replied with a grin, taking hold of the bow. It felt good to finally hold the weapon in her hand. She had been afraid she would forget the feel of it, but it seemed she was wrong. "I'm sure when you're all cleaned up you won't look much like the pirates do." Even now it was easy enough for someone with sharp eyes to tell these men and women were no mere pirates or mercenaries.

She positioned herself away from Seran, lifting the bow and pulling back the bowstring. She had no arrow of course, but it was nice to simply stand like this... for a moment. She relaxed her hold, bringing the bow back down to her side. "This is good," she said. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. If you have fangs to begin with it, use them. I'm doing this so I can focus on protecting myself more." Seran duly noted as he shuffled towards the rail, gazing once more into the sea. "Plus your expression. You're a survivor. You want to bite back. Same as someone I know." He shrugged..

Layali nodded, her grin lessening a little as she was hit with a sudden wave of nostalgia. She supposed she should have expected it, but the bittersweet pain of times that had already past stung the same. "The same could be said for you," she replied. She was quiet for a moment before bowing her head a little. "It was nice to talk to you, Seran. I'll leave you in peace now." She figured he could use the rest from conversation, what with his injuries. And she too could use a little time sorting her own thoughts.

With that said, she gave a small wave and headed somewhere more secluded.