Mokley

Underwater Fire of their Eyes

@Eventua I wasn't expecting that last one, hahaha! Any of these could potentially work -- whatever interests you most, really! I should mention, though, that if Sorn knew the Angry-Lady wanted to kill the Anima there's no way he'd let her onboard ... or at least it'll be a whole lot more difficult to fold her into the group. If you choose her, she might want to keep her opinions on the down-low. ;)

Underwater Fire of their Eyes

Sorn had been far too distracted by the twitchy guy with the musket to be much concerned about anything else -- until a screamy girl on the other end of a very pointy spear startled him into raising his hands in surrender. The first thing he noticed was the uncertain shake in her grip. The second was the tremble in her voice. This girl had obviously never been in a real fight in her life. He wondered, in the back of his mind, when she'd last seen another person.

It took him half a second to comprehend what she'd just said. How was she speaking two languages at once?

"Hah?" His face twisted, confused. His posture relaxed slowly, certain now that she wasn't about to take any initiative to draw blood. His mouth curled in a sneer. "Who'd want it --?" The quiet click-hiss of Smelly's musket sounded from a distance. Before thinking, Sorn twisted forward, grabbed the girl's hands and the spear together and flung her with her weapon to the ground --

BOOM-CRACK!

-- just as the tree behind her exploded in a shower of splinters.

"I know you're there, Sorn!" Smelly called with a slightly manic lilt in his voice, as he stuffed more ammunition in his hot musket. "Come out and get yer head blown off like a good sharky-boy!"

"They'll kill you easy," Sorn snarled down at the girl, "and eat or burn everything before they leave." He peered at her, and his mouth stretched in a knowing smirk. "But I'll distract him, if you've really got the nerve to use that thing." He gestured to her spear, watching her steadily while he stepped away from the tree -- into sight of the musket.

"I got you now, Sorn!" the pirate howled.

Dragon's Mask

The fox had remained quiet, wide-eyed in confusion, while Arthur and the window-smasher -- Riley, it seemed! -- exchanged their hellos. Her ears swiveled to catch their meanings, her chin pressed against the ground, until Arthur addressed her directly. The tears had already begun to dry on his face, which was heartening at least. The fox smiled with a glimmer of small teeth, in an attempt to be encouraging.

"Then yell good and loud," she suggested. "Show 'em your teeth, make as much noise as your little lungs can muster. The guests'll happily snatch up anythin' that runs away quiet -- but they'll think twice about swallowin' somethin' loud and sharp." The fox offered a wink. "There's more'n one way to be courageous."

She lifted her head a little and flicked her ears at Riley, her nose wriggling. "You smell like them. You've met 'em and lived, then!"

"Let me go!" the little mouse rioted, wriggling in Riley's grip.

The flying-fox jumped slightly; she hadn't noticed! "Dooa, there ya are! We were lookin' for ya, to help lil' Arthur here git home. He Fell just recently, he did."

Dooa the mouse stopped to glare beadily from Arthur to Riley and back. "It's true the Gold Lady can send ya home, if she wants. If she doesn't want, she'll put you to work or turn you into something terrible and you'll be stuck here forever like the rest of us. The better way is to kill her -- we'll all still be stuck here, but at least we'll all be human again and free."

The fox lowered her head again, ears back against her skull. "I don't approve of killing."

"I don't approve of being imprisoned!" Dooa squeaked defiantly. "Don't you want to be a little girl again? What about the kids in the restaurant, working themselves weary day and night?"

"I ..." The fox paused, looking away. She did want to be human again -- but she couldn't ask it of Arthur and Riley. It was too horrible. She brightened and looked to Riley and Arthur. "Don't worry about us! I know the Gold Lady will like ya and help ya, if you give her a chance!"

Underwater Fire of their Eyes

@Diexsmiling Awesome ideas! Perhaps by the time your intro comes up, one of those options might jump out at us as the best one for the group. From a personal standpoint, I'm most interested in how his kindness and goodwill could be taken advantage of. xD

Perhaps he would agree to help them expand their crew -- and with that expanded crew, come back and conquer that emperor. But then, we'll have to see how things develop!

A thought just occurred to me. Might this emperor also have ties in other islands? Perhaps he's expanding his empire to other locations, and we might see traces of him elsewhere.

Underwater Fire of their Eyes

@Diexsmiling Awesome! A long-term quest or two is really great to have! An introductory problem, I think, would be something more immediate that he might need help with -- a situation he is in at this present moment that would be very difficult to get out of alone.

The other PCs should have the chance to build some trust with Hatori before they'll even let him aboard, let alone agree to help his quest. A smaller, maybe even mundane problem would help start that interaction. Maybe something having to do with a subject he's not very good at? What are his weaknesses?

Underwater Fire of their Eyes

Chapter One: Reflections

---

"There's no food, Cap'n Howler, Sir."

A raggedy, tattered pirate stood with a rifle over his shoulder and a petrified look in his round eyes. Behind him the others made camp: cutting trees, clearing brush, setting fires and building shelters out of long fronds and branches. One of the last casks of booze had been cracked for the occasion -- solid ground, for a couple days at least! -- and already there was raucous laughter while blades flashed in the forest, searching for signs of gold or gems or something to hunt.

The cove was perfect for their purposes: sheltered and remote from the common trade routes, full of high rocks and surrounded by crystal-blue water. It was pristine, untouched, undiscovered until they'd first marred the smooth sand with their boots.

There was a certain undeniable pleasure in the destruction of perfection.

The captain raised his bearded head, his eyes piercing and his ringed rough hands clenched. "What d'ya mean, no food?"

The smaller pirate quaked. "Well -- there're some fruits that look all right to eat, but other than that just little birds and monkeys." He took in a shaking breath. "The men were p-p-promised meat, Sir --"

Captain Howler sneered, showing his browned and gold-marked teeth. "Did you search the shores? Seals and the greater waterfowl will do just as well."

"Nothing, Sir -- except." The pirate shifted in the sand. "There was a sighting of -- some kind of snake. In the water. It was enormous."

"Well." Howler squinted daggers at him. "Why are you here and not hunting it?"

"W-well, s-sir, um, it seemed they might be ... intelligent."

The cruel grin reappeared on the captain's face. "Do these intelligent snakes have guns?"

"What? N-no --"

"Do they have sabers and spears?"

"Uh ..."

"Survival of the fittest," Howler hissed. "Take Riot and Smelly and bring back enough meat for the crew." The captain watched his subordinate rush off in a terrified flurry. Howler was proud of his intimidating appearance: broad shoulders, a scraggled reddish beard, layers of fine clothes stolen from dead men and a small arsenal of blades and firearms at his ready access. He patted a small box in his coat pocket -- to ensure it was still there and safe -- and he set off to shout at the lookout for his laziness. They couldn't afford to be discovered, now that they had pulled off a heist that promised to make all of them kings of fortune.

Sorn watched from between the rocks. He shifted his view as the captain strode across the sand, shouting orders at the scurrying pirates. Good -- it seemed the box was still in Howler's left pocket. Maybe in the night, Sorn would have his chance.

For now he retreated, returned to the fishing boat he'd brought ashore and finished concealing it under long fronds and vines. His stomach rumbled. A few found fruits sated his hunger before, with a sharpened stick as a weapon, he leaped into the wilderness to explore this new island. One never knew what assets one could find just by looking.

He dodged the sight of the dispatched hunting party -- Black Eyes, Riot and Smelly, once Sorn's own best comrades -- and ducked through the thick bright forest, quiet and barefoot. He was looking for potential weapons or distractions, maybe a frightening rodent to take the captain's attention away from the little pocket-box -- but instead, a voice caught his ear.

For a moment Sorn stood listening; this was a voice he was very sure he'd never heard before, speaking in a language that sounded like nothing he'd ever heard, but that he could understand nonetheless. Slowly, carefully, he crept toward the edge of the trees -- and with his pointed stick he pushed aside the leaves to see someone leaning over a still pool of clear water. A girl?

BOOM-CRACK!

A musket-shot whizzed by his ear and tore a gash into a tree just behind Slee, showering her with splinters.

"It's Sorn!" yelled Smelly, his musket smoking. "Come out you rat!"

Sorn pressed his back against the tree and froze, his sharp teeth bared.

Black Eyes wrenched the musket out of Smelly's hands. "You idiot, he's not here! He's swingin' from the gallows!"

"I saw 'im, it was him!"

"We got meat to catch," Riot hollered over them both; he was the strongest of the three, carrying a small boat over his head. "Black Eyes, where'd you see that lizard-thing?"

Black Eyes growled, but he motioned a direction and resumed hiking toward the beach. "You got the harpoons?"

"Plenty," Riot agreed, clanking with each step.

Smelly stayed behind, peering into the forest -- waiting for movement.

Underwater Fire of their Eyes

@CollectorOfMyst Brass is great! Totally copy him over to the characters tab! Sounds like he's wandering wherever the wind takes him, looking for what he wants?

@Diexsmiling Hatori is definitely awesome. Approved! Copy him over to the characters tab if ya don't mind! Is his last problem meant to be the subject of a mini intro plot? It seems more like an overarching ambition. If it's the latter, do you have an idea for the former? :D

Ok, as for starters! Thanks for all your input! :D I think from a logistics and story standpoint, @Sisyphus first still makes sense. After that we can play it by ear, especially if @Loki Odinson is away for a bit. The order of characters that we have now -- Slee, Ven, Zeku, Dengi, Brass, Hatori -- seems to alternate a bit between general character types. It's a well-rounded and extremely interesting bunch though! And there are still more in the works!

@Sisyphus How do you feel about first? If you're up for it, would you rather I set a scene or do you want to say what Slee is doing? Would you rather post IC or do a collab? :D

Underwater Fire of their Eyes

Ok there's something up at least! :D

It definitely looks like you're up first @Sisyphus! Would you care to make an introductory post? :)

Underwater Fire of their Eyes

prologue

---

The water pressed close, cold and green-dark. The world was gone.

It thrummed in his ears.

Below, like lanterns out of the murky black, its eyes opened --

The high screeching cackle of a seagull in his ear jolted Sorn back to the present. He winced; he was still tied tight to the piling where his traitorous shipmates had left him, rope and wood digging in where he'd rather it wouldn't. The damn bird stood proud atop the piling with webbed feet and a dumb stare, to announce his humiliation in a series of squeals and shrieks that echoed in the still gray morning.

He was almost glad to see the local guards march up the dock with their feathered hats and manicured mustaches. He met them with a fangy, thirsty grin.

"Captain Howler Swailes left me for your gallows," he told them through his teeth, and he watched the guards' faces slowly shift at the mention of the infamous pirate whose billion-stone bounty could feed the island for years. "But I've got something better: where to find him, how to catch him, how to kill him. Easy. I'll help you, I don't even want a cut -- all I want is revenge."

They were even dumber than they looked.

The moment the ropes slackened Sorn threw himself into the water, much to the shock of the mustachioed guardsmen. They screeched and they shrieked and they stabbed at the water with their spears. They splashed into the water after him, waving bludgeons, their soaked feathers sagging -- but he dove deep, and they never saw him resurface.

Sorn held his breath long enough to make it into the shadow of a huge tree whose roots twisted out into the water. Among the branches of the tree -- soaked and shivering, his stomach snarling -- he waited until nightfall.

The sun rose higher, dried his clothes and lulled him to sleep. Afternoon waned wearily. Crickets announced the twilight; stars peeked between the moving leaves. Sorn crept down to the grass, hidden by the night, and stiffly hobbled along the shore.

It was relatively easy to find an unattended fishing boat beached alongside a little house there, where two bright children chased fairy-sparks in the yard.

The kids stopped when he approached, and they ran when they saw the teeth in his grin. He picked up the half-eaten apple they'd dropped, secured it greedily in his mouth, and put his shoulder to the stranded boat.

By the time the fisherman came running, the boat was on the water with Sorn at the oars, an apple in his teeth, the stars shimmering in his wake -- and round white eyes watching from deep below.

Underwater Fire of their Eyes

We're all monsters, y'know. Maybe some more than most.