[i]17th Suns Dawn Daggerfall, High Rock A collab with [@Stormflyx][/i] [hr] It was always a good omen to nearly be late to boarding a ship, at least, that is what Drujha would tell herself as she had pushed her way through crowds of people to merely make it in time. The lass had justification for such near tardiness, however, having spent the night compiling notes and omitting facts from those notes that merely did not help her in the slightest. After all, what good was knowing what strange name a daedric went by when she could refer to such by the more common and well-known name. It lowered the likelihood of forgetting the name and confusing one daedric name for another, though that was but merely a task that she frequented as her notebooks increasingly became more akin to scribbles as she omitted information. However, such information was not important when one had to be somewhere at a certain and she knew that the frantic pace could have been avoided had she just taken a night away from the obsession… but how could she resist when there was so much to be done? Drujha was merely happy to make it, panting as leaned against the railing to gain her bearings before she realized a most crucial fact. “Kaoc,” the lady cursed as she pushed herself off the railing to bring her hand to her chin, thinking of a way to get the private room that she would need in order to continue her study without arousing notable suspicion. Drujha looked around for a moment before she began to mutter to herself, “Perhaps walk in and take it? No, would likely be kicked out.” She looked to the sky, “Beg? No, might as well be a soft-skin.” It seemed for a moment that the argonian would not have any ideas before her right hand had drifted to feeling against the bandages on her forearms, feeling the places where she had carved or burned symbols into her skin. “The captain,” Drujha muttered to herself, looking in the direction of the upper deck and for a moment she bobbed her head back and forth as she weighed the options. Then, a sweet, innocent smile came to her face before she began to skip into that same direction. She seemed to be cheerful and in good spirits as she made her way over the Main Deck, even letting out a slight giggle as she stopped right before the stairs to the upper deck. “Oh captain, may I speak with you?” Drujha called to the upper deck, not daring to intrude without permission. [i]An argonian[/i] Ravana thought to himself as he eyed the woman at the stairs. There had been a number of argonians on the list - two male, one female, and this one in the cloak was a female. She was quite a curious thing with big eyes, and even if the beastfolk were not his flavour in the opposite sex, he was not above being generous with a paying customer. “Madam,” he began, walking towards the top of the staircase, a hand on each hip. And his legs parted in a powerful stance. He gazed down at her. “Of course you may, come-“ he said, waving his hand as if to beckon her. The argonian eagerly skipped up the stairs, her cloak flowing as she did so. She stopped two steps below him before she moved her hand forward to offer her hand in formal greeting. “I extend the claw of greeting, captain,” she said with a bubbly voice. “I wanted to talk on the matter of private rooms,” Drujha started, keeping her voice happy as her wide eyes peered into the captain. “As far as I am aware, they are all booked…” he answered curtly, shaking her hand as he did so. He could already sense where the conversation was headed, and after having shook her hand, he turned on his heel and made his way across the upper deck towards the railings - a favoured spot. “I am not in the business of pulling strings my dear… But, do share your concerns…” “Well, you see captain, I am a researcher!” She announced proudly as she followed the captain, “However, my studies are something that are best left away from prying eyes.” Drujha stopped for a moment to fiddle around in her bag before taking out one of her notebooks to show the captain, however, she did not open it to show what contents lied within. She threw a look over her shoulder before stuff the book back into the satchel, seeming paranoid about having the contents of her studies being seen. The argonian looked the captain up and down thinking of the best way to convince the man that she needed the room, rather than some other individual. “Why, Captain, perhaps you could even help in my endeavors! After all, a seasoned man of the sea is likely to have great insight as to what kind of warfare is raged on it, no?” Ravana’s eyebrow raised, the woman certainly had some nerve behind her, and he only half disliked that about her. She was obviously an upstart, he had once been one too… And so he continued to entertain her. “I understand research, yes.” His golden gaze squinted at the sight of her book, he was slightly curious as to what this woman was doing. She was… [i]twitchy[/i]. He chuckled from the bottom of his throat, “you’re not a researcher, are you?” He asked, moving his arms behind his back, hands interlocked, his posture was graceful and he deliberately straightened up for Drujha - not to intimidate, but simply to make his silhouette more impressive, to cut the shape of a confident Captain. The man he absolutely was. “Do you work for a newspaper, miss?” He asked, his eyes glittering. This wasn’t the first time a reporter had tried to sneak on board and get insider information on him, on his crew, on his lifestyle. The man behind the curtain. “A reporter?” Drujha echoed to herself, her smile and wide eyes disappearing into a look that could only be described as cold as her now narrowed eyes peered emotionlessly into the captain. She took a step forward, her short frame stretching to what height she could muster as she lowered the hood of her cloak. A palpable tension formed into the air as silence overcame Drujha, trying to pin words to this offense and trying to think of something to say that would not get her thrown off the ship. Then, she began to speak very quietly, in an unnatural cold tone. “You take me for some cheap reporter? You must be a hatchling to make assumptions with people that you have just met, Xhu. An egg spent too much time in the shade. I have spent years attaining what spells and power I have today, and while I can understand denial for my request, I will not be compared to some lowly reporter.” She paused for a moment, allowing her words to sink in, “I am a mage, soft-skin. A mage that has been studying too much and too long to be compared as such.” Her hand drifted over her satchel and held it tight as her yellow eyes glowed with offense, bringing it closer as another silence came over her. Then, that same innocent and coy smile came back to her face. “It is rude to make assumption, captain! I did pay for this voyage and I think an insult like that is bad for future business!” Her words, though in a tone of that of an innocent girl, seemed cold as she warned him from making such an insult, “Anyways, I believe a mage such as myself and an astute captain can come to an arrangement on lodgings, xhu?” Ravana did not flinch, for why would he? The deck was lined with his crew - men and women who had sailed with him for years. They were each in tune with each other because heads closest to the upper deck did turn, and activity slowly ceased as eavesdropping began. The hand of the redguard Captain flexed instinctively over the hilt of the sword but he did not need to touch it, instead, he tipped his head back and laughed up towards the sky. A loud laugh too, from his stomach - his hands returned to his hips. “A good reporter isn’t cheap, my dear,” he said to her with a shrug and easy smile, finding himself again. He could go on, but to cause any more of a scene wouldn’t go over well, but his interest was certainly piqued in the Argonian now, he’d be making note of this one. “I meant no insult, as I’m sure you also meant no insult to me…” His head cocked to the side, and his smile became rather more devious in its harshness, his own gaze glowering down upon her from above. His lips were slightly parted and he drew in a sharp breath. “The private suites are taken, perhaps you’ll have more luck in convincing someone to share with you, or give up their lodgings to you. What kind of Captain would I be to deny them of that which they have paid for? Hmmm?” The argonian continued to smile for a moment before she let out a sigh, though keeping a lighter smile as she looked up to the captain, “I suppose you have a point. No captain I know would do such a thing.” She cocked her head to the side before continuing on, “Though, do you know how hard it is going to be to convince let someone allow an argonian into their quarters? Rapid rivers are less hard to swim against.” “Though can you blame me for trying the easier way?,” Drujha laughed lightheartedly as she gave a small shrug. He held a silence for a while, he was as responsible as he could be but that didn’t mean he was above stirring the pot when he could, it was quite a trip to Anvil afterall, and he needed his entertainment too. He thought to the list of passengers and he smirked, deciding that yes, he would throw his dip a toe into this endeavour after all. “Two Dunmer and a Nord.” He said quite abruptly, taking himself back to the ship’s wheel. He couldn’t give names, but if this Argonian was truly the type to research, this would at least give her something to occupy herself with - and he could enjoy the show from afar. “Maybe start there, miss.” The argonian allowed a hand to hold up her chin as she thought of what the captain had just said, before she bobbed her head left to right. “Dunmer are right out…” she said very softly to herself before her eyes snapped back to the captain, her smile returning as she let out a laugh. “Thank you, captain! May rains be ever on your back,” she stated before turning and skipping away.