The other pirates and dragon riders recovered their balance faster than Hana, and she stumbled when Rio roared below decks. When she'd first lost her balance,her leg  shot out, heel hitting the wood deck hard and jarring her but keeping her upright all the same. Pinwheeling her free arm to keep steady, it worked almost like a pump as the hand that held the mug of wine, jerking up unconsciously as if by raising it above her it'd be safe from the treacherous shifting of the deck. She exhaled in relief now that she'd stabilized, and started to think, [i]Well that was a close one![/i] When the weight of the ship righted itself again and her newly found balance was thrown off completely. Her outstretched leg buckled, and the rest went with it. As she went down, the wine sloshed out directly onto Hana's face. She lay on the ground, spluttering wine and hoping nobody had seen her. A shadow crossed over Hana's face, and she heard a woman call out, "Yeah, y'know [i]The Shifty Goat an' The Goose Girl?[/i]"

"Need help up?" Millie asked as she loomed over her, fish in tentacle. Hana closed her eyes and groaned. So much for impressing the new people. 

---

Kaga-Met and Yawar stood together, and after offering polite noises in response to Berlin playing the role of temporarily embarrassed host, held a quiet conference with one another, Kaga-Met briefing Yawar on what he and Berlin had discussed, while Yawar asked questions and supplied information about what he'd seen of the pirates so far. The two had worked together for a long time and had the close professional rapport that let them strategize together and come out of any situation ahead. They were relieved to have the firepower of these strange pirates, but as Kaga-Met told Yawar about the shifters past, the flies looping around Yawar's head lost their orderliness. Still, these potential allies had fallen into their laps and they'd turn the tide in their favor, if only they could make it work. 

---
Wheel looked coolly into Berlin's eyes for a long moment. Some would have taken it as a threat, but he knew Berlin wouldn't be phased. He broke eye contact and drank from his wine, looking up at the white sails before he spoke. The curse had gone silent, it was like it wasn't there at all. When he spoke, his voice was flat, calm, "We were kids together. Grew up together, trained together, dealt with the same shit. After uh," He fumbled for words, "After a while I left Vyrm for some work. Stayed on the coast, fell in with you, you know the rest. Hadn't seen her or the rest of them in years. When I knew her? She was a mean bitch in a fight. Bookies loved whenever she went in the ring with a man twice her size. After she got the curse with the rest of us, well. Now? No fucking clue. She's still cursed, and those tentacles sure aren't for show." He drained the mug, looked at Berlin, asked, "Want me to top you up?" And went to get more wine.