Rohaan really was thinking about curling up in Pieter's lap and taking a little nap. The petting and scratches was so nice, so relaxing, that all he really wanted was to go back to sleep. It was something he doubted most humans would understand. People did not pet other people like they pet dogs or cats, and the sensation was quite nice. Humans would never quite know that joy, but then they would never know the joy of being many things and one, to have no part of the world barred from them, not valley, not peak, nor ocean depths or sky. Rohaan had all these things in his grasp; he could not fathom being only one thing, bound to the ground and to the surface of the sea. He had heard stories about enchanted steel that was capable of binding a vokurian to his one humanoid form, though he had never experienced it himself. By all accounts, it was painful, excruciating, and terrifying. Did humans not feel trapped in their single forms only because they had known nothing else? Or were they miserable too, being locked into a single shape...? His thoughts of naps were ruined as Pieter rose to assist with the canon; he actually meowed indignantly and sat with his black tail twitching for a moment before releasing the form and returning to his natural state, staying perched on the barrel Pieter had vacated. Oh, he was tired. But he was interested to see where this exchange was going, partly because he wanted to see what Uban could do and partly because he found himself looking at a very different Hana than the one he thought he knew. The boy, young but perceptive, had the inkling that she had been putting on a front, or at least was very guarded. People wore masks all the time and he had no time for them. They were all used to hurt and manipulate and he wanted no part of it. But this, this was something a little more real. He felt like he was seeing her unguarded for once, and he was curious to see just what kind of person she was. Berlin had faith in her and Uban liked her, Pieter didn't seem to mind her either. That counted for something. But Rohaan stubbornly held his doubts, for that was the only way to survive. -- Uban took the metal rod and inspected it, studying the markings on the surface of the ball as if he could decipher any of it. He couldn't. Not a lick of it, but he did marvel at how precise it was. Cast iron was not an entirely smooth surface to work with, nor a forgiving material. It was hard and brittle and he wondered how exactly she'd carved it. [I]She must have been up all night...[/I] He wondered also if she had proper tools or was managing with something made for another purpose, and thought idly that the next time they went into port, he would see if Rohaan would steal some to give to her. He wasn't exactly sure how, but that lad was impossibly good at pickpocketing and theft. He would disappear into a crowded square and return at the end of the day with a variety of impossible objects ranging from coin, clothing, interesting food items, or keys. "Hold it away from everyone eh? What's uh...what's it gonna do?" He asked without expecting or wanting an answer; he would find out soon enough. But he had a kind of giddy nervousness about him as he leaned over the gunnel and held the rod out over the water. His gold eyes looked at the surprisingly excited Hana for a moment; it was good to see her loosening up and Uban realized he had a solemn duty to get that woman drunk until she finally relaxed. They'd make a pirate of yer, yet. Uban grinned and brought forth a tangle of buzzing lightning that swarmed his hand a bit before transferring obediently to the rod and then the ball at its end. Holding a conductive object was easy to connect with, he could feel it as an open space to send the energy like an open dock in a harbor. -- Berlin's brows knit together a little. Not the big ship. That was easy enough, he could do that and would make sure everyone else knew the same. But it was the [I]why[/I] that unsettled him. Berlin heard rumors of Barizians and their dark magic, blood magic he thought it'd been called, but he hadn't actually seen or known it firsthand. What was waiting for them on that ship? His tone was measured, though his gray eyes betrayed his inner concern. "Something else I should know, Wheel?" he asked, arching one brow.