Ashley side-eyes the drug-peddling mage in absolute disbelief. [color=#ff39d6][i]Is this girl for real? Did she already forget that I'm Captain of those knights standing just out of earshot?[/i][/color] As she ponders what she should do about it, though, she realizes how powerless she is in this exact moment, as she can't afford to have this ship delayed, too. [color=#ff39d6][i]She already fooled me once at the tavern, and now... I can't tell if she's an idiot or a genius. Doesn't matter—as long as she waits until we reach international waters, it's... technically legal. If there's any left over, I'll just confiscate it later,[/i][/color] she reasoned.

[color=#ff39d6]"My sincerest apologies for the inconvenience, good captain,"[/color] she says to Ted with a short, gentlemanly bow and handsome smile. [color=#ff39d6]"It seems I have a talent for herding cats,"[/color] she adds with a fake chuckle as she follows the captain's gaze toward the blonde noble lady. Before she can spare a thought for her, though, Samara makes herself known. Ashley does her best to maintain a friendly face. [color=#ff39d6]"No, I'm the one who should have properly introduced myself before being nominated as the 'boss' of this... group,"[/color] she manages to finish before Kavius took center stage. [color=#ff39d6][i]These kids sure are lively, huh? Not that my presence here sets the bar very high...[/i][/color]

Ashley gives Sam a look that almost seemed like pity after Kavius' "introduction." [color=#ff39d6]"Well, you have a bow, and the eyes of a girl who can handle herself out there. And a good judge of character, if I say so myself,"[/color] she japes, giving her a "thanks for the compliment" gesture.

Listening to Aleria boldly introduce herself early, Ashley stares with what could have been admiration. She was surprised that the refined-looking beauty even managed to get on board the ship without losing so much as an ounce of her charisma. She gives Aleria her best "handsome lady" smile, and bows. [color=#ff39d6]"The pleasure is all mine, my lady. We would be privileged to have your aid,"[/color] Ashley said sincerely, offering a hand to the lady—as a "gentleman" does. [color=#ff39d6][i]Yes! I won't be the only noblewoman on board—I'm safe![/i][/color] she thought. But, wouldn't a woman of her standing rather take the Santa Lyrica? And then it hit her. [color=#ff39d6][i]The Goddess really is looking out for you, young lady.[/i][/color] Ashley looks out toward the sea and wipes the sweat from her brow with a kerchief, trying to chase the thought from her mind. [color=#ff39d6][i]Alright. Let's get this over with.[/i][/color]

Not to be outdone, Ashley turns back to the others and puts her foot down with flair, standing at just the right angle for her cape to billow in the wind before beginning her own introduction. [color=#ff39d6]"I am Dame Ashley Wycliffe, Knight Captain in the service of the esteemed Carradine family—and the so-called 'most fearsome lady' of all of Mokata's knights,"[/color] she boasts, changing her nickname as she pleased.

For those privileged few who had regular access to the gossip of the noble courts, the name "Wycliffe" occasionally still came up. Rumors abounded about the late Marquess Robert Wycliffe's only surviving daughter. For the vast majority of the uninitiated—and mostly uninterested—common folk, though, the disappearance of the Wycliffe family's children eighteen years ago—and the Marquess' murder five years later—was swept under the rug as much as possible. The name might ring a bell, as most noble family names do, but the story behind the name was almost surely vanished from memory, especially for those too young to remember.

[color=#ff39d6]"I am called a cursemaker, but do not let that title concern you—for even as a man who fixes clocks is called a clockmaker, though he has never made a clock in his life, so too am I called a cursemaker, though I have only ever reversed curses, and have cast not one."[/color] Ashley delivers this declaration with a divine air, as though she were reading scripture. Perhaps she did this because of Aleria's presence on board, or perhaps she was just like that. Perhaps it was a bit of both.

Her introduction over, she takes on a more casual tone. [color=#ff39d6]"And as an insider of the industry, so to speak, let me give you all some sound advice. Most curse-reversal services are offered by the same witches and warlocks who cast them in the first place. To put it simply, they're scam artists, and I consider it my mission to run them out of business. If you find yourself cursed, come to me. I charge far less than what my services are worth—and yes, in gold and silver—nothing so gauche as eyeballs, or whatever a witch would ask for,"[/color] she says with a smile and a dismissive hand gesture Troe was quite familiar with. It was the body language of a specialist whose field was commonly misunderstood.

Having said her piece, she turned her attention to Mikhail. [color=#ff39d6]"That brooding blonde over there is Mikhail Feldunn,"[/color] she says, leaving out the "Lord" as she figured he'd want. It made Ashley feel a bit scandalous, referring to him as though he were an equal, but for the moment, she was relishing in the feeling. She got a bit of a scandalous look in her eye, too, as she thought through the list of ways she might tease him. [color=#ff39d6]"He's my [i]second in command[/i],"[/color] she decides, opting to go a little easy on him. [color=#ff39d6]"Don't underestimate him. I may be biased, but as the most fearsome lady knight in Duke Carradine's service, I must say that his lance is quite frightening."[/color]