[sup]In collaboration with [@MacabreFox][/sup]

Heavy rains and crashing waves battered the ship, and no inkling of moon or starlight could penetrate the heavy cloud cover in the sky. Pitch black darkness shrouded the world around the [i]Tear[/i] that not even the ship's lanterns could breach, until a flash of lightning whipped itself against the sky and ocean. The brief bit of light streaking through the door was enough to catch the glint of a pair of eyes, and the slitted pupils which stared through a thin glass vessel, before the heavy crack of thunder caused the ship to tremble. A wooden cup was vibrating shaking itself off of the nightstand, until a hand placed on top the rim settled it's movements until the only movement of the [i]Tear[/i] was the drawn out rocking as it crested each wave. Ocean water was spraying all over the deck outside, and some made it even into the still air of this cabin, but Dar'Jzo could not smell it over the intense smell of the blood that dried inside his nose. The taste of it was still rich in his mouth, and although the ship's movements still did not do his stomach any favors, the blood gave his mind something to focus on...

Dar'Jzo peered through the thin glass vial, appraising the murky, milky fluid within.

...and although it did not show on the calm stillness on his face, so did his simmering rage.

It was not long before they left for this voyage did the Nord, Dumhuvud, decided to welcome him to the company by slugging him in the face, slamming him into the ship itself, and bury his face in his commanding officer's bile. Surely he didn't expect to get away with such things? Dar'Jzo's only purpose here was to find his grandson – he wasn't indebted to these [i]mercenaries.[/i] If someone was a threat to him or got in his way, they were his enemy. He doubted that even the infamous “Cat-Kicker” knew what kind of enemy he made. He wasn't too keen on wasting a poison on the slow-pawed shaveskin, but he had to remain inconspicuous during his time here. He couldn't afford to betray his identity.

He placed the vial back into one of the pouches of his bandoleer and collected his bow and his arrows.

[i]'Just in case.'[/i]

Leif had climbed the crow’s nest earlier that evening, while the wind and rain whipped around him, and the air chilled him, it wasn’t his first time enduring harsh weather in the crow’s nest. In fact, part of him joining the [i]Courtesan[/i], Captain Atgeir had given Leif the task of keeping an eye out for ice blocks his first year onboard. For two months, he practically lived in the nest, his eyes always searching, scanning for dangers. But not this night. Through the storm, Leif could not see farther than the prow of the ship, he had no idea the dangers that lurked overhead. With his arms wrapped tight around his chest, he thought of Sevine, of Do’Karth, and of the pretty barmaid, Brunhilda, that kept him company the remainder of the night after Maj left him. His heart still felt the raw pain, and he was certain that he would for months to come, but he knew he had made the right decision by letting Sevine go in peace. It caused him more pain than it did her, that he was certain. Even the last night in Solitude, Leif could not bring himself to lay with Brunhilda. No. He had invited her up to his room under those pretenses, but he found himself being held in her arms until morning come. He furrowed his brows against the biting wind, his lips pressed thin into a hard line. [i]‘Women…’[/i], they would be the death of him.

It was only just then, however, did thunder wrack the ship, jostling everything and everyone on board – only it wasn't thunder. There was no flash of light to be seen. The momentary sense of confusion and trepidation only subsided when he heard the sound of a sailor yelling up on the main deck: [i]”All hands on deck!”[/i]

Leif peered over the rim of the crow’s nest, scanning for trouble below at the cry. From so high up, he couldn’t distinguish much through the blinding rain.

As if the sailor's words had penetrated each and every sleeping sailor and laborer’s dreams, who were once peacefully resting below deck, they had sprung to life and jumped out of their beds and hammocks, donned their hats, and sprinted up the stairs before he knew it. Their response time was honed by years and years of experience of being out on the open sea, and Dar'Jzo found himself taking up the tail end and only stepped foot on the main deck as soon as the spotlight hit the ship from above. Followed by the deep droning sounds of machines and four golden chains penetrating the main deck as airship above anchored itself to the [i]Tear.[/i] Dar'Jzo hissed.

[i]'It would seem that this one's revenge will have to wait for now.'[/i]

The old cat was expecting pirates of some sort. Brigands, privateers – something that was at least human or humanoid. He didn't expect a handful of crustacean monsters to come falling from the sky, lead by an undead werewolf. They didn't have these in Elsweyr. How was he to know how to fight them? He instinctively fell behind cover, back behind the side of the doorway he had only just come through moments before. He reached into one of his pouches, grabbed a different vial, and shot all of its contents down his throat. Hopefully that should help him steady the nerves of his stomach as well as his hands. 

“Fuck.” Leif swore as the ship descended into a maddening whirlwind of chaos. He checked the buckle on his longsword, making certain it was secure twice over before he began his descent. The ropes and wooden pegs were slick with sea spray and rain water, but his calloused hands made short work as he descended to the beam below.

[i]‘Talos guide me.’[/i]

Soon, everyone was brandishing weapons or trying to get to safety. Dar'Jzo himself carried his bow and a few arrows in his other hand. One sailor was screaming out in agony as the werewolf tore into them until they were silenced by death, but it did not seem to faze the old cat one bit. The company's own soldiers swarmed around the monster, keeping it preoccupied - they seemed to have a handle on it for now. 
Leif hit the deck feet first. Swords clashed, screams arose, the chaos was all around him. Blood washed into the sea as the ship lifted and rolled in the waves. There were too many boots on deck, that he couldn’t find a way to pick himself into the fighting. He scrambled for a better vantage point from the upper deck.


Breathe in... breathe out.

Dar'Jzo spun around the corner of the door, fired a shot out into one of the giant crab-like creatures and disappeared behind the other side of the doorway just as quickly. As he did so, he heard the [i]clink![/i] of the arrow bouncing off a hard part of the creature's exoskeleton. Breathe in... breathe out.

He spun out once again and fired a shot that was aimed towards the belly – [i]clink![/i] – and disappeared. Dar'Jzo sighed. This was going to be difficult. He had to find a soft spot before he started wasting any of his poisons.

[i]'Let this one try its mouth.'[/i]

He spun out of cover once more, in front of the opening and held his bowstring, waiting to get a good view of one of their hideous faces. When one finally turned its head in his direction, apparently spotting him, he let loose his arrow. Almost immediately, he heard its disgusting scream of agony as it pierced the soft, fleshy inside of its cheek. As he fell back behind cover once again, he felt a pang of satisfaction. This was good, so they can feel pain. He withdrew the vial of poison he was inspecting earlier, undid the cork, and dipped a few arrows into its contents. It wouldn't kill these monsters right away, but maybe it will slow them down a bit. Now then...

He spun back out--

He was immediately met with the face of a screaming dreugh, shrill and shrieking was its cry, and the the front of its body was crackling with electricity. The khajiit's eyes instantly widened in surprise and he let go of the poisoned arrow which found a mark in the dreugh's throat before his momentum carried him away to the other side of the doorway - a blast of electricity scorched the wooden floorboards he was standing on just a second ago. The dreugh's painful screech cut through the air again as Dar'Jzo planted his back against the wall trying to stay out of the dreugh's sight and reach, but only a second passed before the creature’s upper appendages fished through the doorway and hooked around his torso. The sharp curved claw at the end dug into the wood, but the jagged barbs on the inside of the claw dug into his skin and gripped his body.

Before he even had time to think, the dreugh ripped him out from his cover inside the ship. Shards of splinted wood came out with him, and he was thrown through the air across the main deck of the [i]'Tear'[/i] before he hit the slick deck hard on his shoulder, causing him to roll and slide the rest of the way until his back hit a wall of the forecastle on the other side of the ship. His fist was still tightly clenched around his bow, but the arrows that were once in his hand were gone the moment his shoulder hit the deck and the arrows in his quiver had all fallen out during his flight and scattered across the ship. The old cat groaned as he pushed himself back onto his feet. His shoulder was in agony, but he barely had time to assess his surroundings before another, different dreugh came charging after him after apparently seeing a tasty, airborne meal.

Dar'Jzo immediately raised up his bow to block the attack from the two upper appendages, and the curvature and construction of the khajiiti-made bow was enough to catch them and withstand the force. The dreugh took advantage of the openings and aimed both of its clawed hands towards his sides. Dar'Jzo spun the bow around using the dreugh's weight to his own advantage, which knocked one of the dreugh's claws aside, and stuck his booted foot out between himself and the dreugh's other open palm. He was just about to stick the bow down the damn thing's throat until his maneuver backfired on him and the monster grabbed his foot, raised him into the air, and threw him back down onto the deck flat on his back.

The khajiit hissed in pain, and although slightly dazed, he anticipated what was coming next and threw his bow up to block the creature's next attack. The dreugh's claw went to hammer down onto Dar'Jzo's head, and though with the bow he managed to throw it safely to the side, the bow cracked and he felt it snap in half in his hand as the woodwork violently curled back into its original shape.

[i]'This isn't good. Dar'Jzo has to escape.'[/i]

From his position, Leif spotted one of the new recruits struggling to fend off a dreugh, he had remembered a tale from a Dunmeri sailor that he met in Solitude years ago. He had laughed off the weathered sailor’s tale of the monsters from his homeland. That sounded [i]outlandish[/i].

The khajiit braced his knee behind one of the dreugh's gold tipped legs, and with his other foot, he kicked one of the joints as hard as he could – he heard a [i]snap![/i] as the dreugh's weight suddenly shifted and fell to one side, giving the khajiit enough time to roll out from underneath the creature. With his broken bow in hand – two pieces of wood connected by a string – he swung it around the dreugh's neck, wrapping the string around it, and caught the other piece of wood as he dove backwards, over the creature's shoulder using all of his weight and gravity to bring it down with him.

The dreugh toppled over backwards from the sudden assault, and before it had a chance to scramble to its feet, Dar'Jzo had drawn his dagger in a flash, and made a deep score across its neck. The creature gurgled for a moment, and then went limp. The old khajiit panted deep and heavy breaths, finally finding a moment to breathe and let his adrenaline settle for a second – he winced as the pain in his shoulder flared up hotter than before. He had to do something. He had to get out of--

The pain in his shoulder was suddenly numbed as blood sprayed from the right side of his chest. All sensation was immediately gone

[I]“Wrraaaa!”[/i] Dar'Jzo roared as the surrounding area was flooded with unbearable pain. He squinted down, drool dripping through his teeth, to see a bloodied and golden bladed tip burst through his shoulder. Hissing, he took his dagger into his good hand and looked around, cutting into the joint of the appendage of the dreugh behind him. The creature roared in pain and reared up on its hind legs as part of its body was severed while Dar'Jzo weakly stood up and turned around – two arrows were sticking out from its face; it was the one from before – then pushed it away from him by kicking it square in belly before staggering away in the other direction. His pace was unsteady; he felt dizzy and faint. The claw was still embedded in his shoulder.

[i]'Mother Moons, I'm getting too old for this.'[/i]

Leif had found his opportunity, and he seized it with not a moment to lose. He rushed past Dar’Jzo as the dreugh struggled to right itself for a counterattack, and swung his sword at its head. He watched as the dreugh collapsed in on itself, head rolling along the deck before disappearing into the rolling waves. He turned about to find Dar’Jzo. The cat, well, Khajiit, had suffered a grievous wound to his shoulder, and if he didn’t help him soon, he would die from blood loss. 

“Hey! Khajiit!” He thundered, closing the distance between them in rushed strides, “Let me help or else you’re going to bleed to death.” He crouched down next to him, forcefully pulling the Khajiit into a better position. If he had the time, the right tools, he could heal Dar’Jzo better, but he had none of that, except his skill in restoration. He eyed the claw embedded in his shoulder, it would have to come out, but it would hurt. And there would be more blood.

Dar’Jzo did not resist being sat down, even welcoming the chance to sit down, but took great care in not letting the right side of his body touch anything - the pain was overwhelming. The chest was heaving with deep breaths, and his eyelids were growing heavy and weary. He raised his head to take a look at Leif’s face, albeit with some difficulty; it felt like he could barely keep it up and balanced on his shoulders. He grumbled to him with a voice that was coarse like sandpaper, “Get to it then. This one... does not have all night. Dar’Jzo has monsters to kill.”

“Right.” Leif said, more to himself than to the Khajiit. He would have offered the Khajiit something to bite down on, but this was not a routine amputation during the war. This was now. Now or never. Life or death. Leif didn’t give him a warning before ripping out the claw in his shoulder, prompted a painful snarl from his patient as he did his best to prevent any further injury. Thankfully, he didn’t have to worry about the complications of embedded armor or clothing as Dar’Jzo wore no upper garments to begin with. He took the Khajiit’s shoulder, pressing hard with both hands to help stop the blood loss, and concentrated all of his energy on healing. He pictured the muscles, veins, and skin knitting back.

“Hold on. Don’t let go.” Leif said, part of him hoping that he wouldn’t have Dar’Jzo die in his hands.

Within seconds, a pale green light sprang to life under his hands, he continued to apply pressure. Were it not raining, the Khajiit would have seen perspiration building up on his brow. Leif’s arms began to go numb from the amount of restoration he poured into him, but still he did not relent. He [i]knew[/i] that there was more in him, he just had to… focus. His fingertips tingled with what felt like electricity, and his feet felt cold, but not from the weather. He pulled away, gasping. He had done everything that he could for the Khajiit. Leif was no master healer like Wylendriel, but he had repaired as much as he could. The bleeding had stopped, and there was no more gaping hole in his shoulder.

Dar’Jzo’s breathing was no longer strained, but steady now, even if he was panting and trying to suck in as much air as he could. The bleeding stopped. The hole was closed; but he still wasn’t in good shape. He looked at Leif once again, his eyes looking into the Nord’s. “Smoothskin,” he said, “on my chest - top pouch.”

Fumbling with weak hands, he reached for the aforementioned pouch, his fingers brushing against a glass vial. He retrieved it to see the familiar red liquid of a healing potion. With the cork removed, he sat up on his knees, and pressed the vial to Dar’Jzo’s mouth.

“Drink.” He wheezed.

The khajiit must have not been too keen on being treated like a kitten, because instead of allowing himself to be nursed by Leif, he used his teeth to grab the lip of the vial and threw his head back, shooting potion down his throat and spitting the vial off to the side. He squeezed his eyes shut as he fought back against the potion’s bitter taste, but slowly but surely, the pain in his shoulder was beginning to numb a bit more. Dar’Jzo panted a bit more and nodded to Leif, apparently acknowledging the favor he has done him. 

“Not bad for a child.”