Sarpedon

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

It's his thing, the handshake is the final frontier in deal making. if you can't trust a handshake, you can't trust the deal. at least for Octavius. he's a crazy pirate, but he's a man of his word, and he expects the same of others, within reason...

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

aight, I got it. marines storm the alley, because why not, and then octavius freaks out because his new friend is being loud, so then they run off again, and the continued escape results in a third opportunity for Ceres to save the captain's life, and then once they make it to their destination quietly she bitches him out until he admits that his life was saved, and agrees to honour his end of the deal they hadn't made because of that.

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

I fucked up just about everything today, though...

Yup, you were all like, aight bud, this is simple shit, and then I shit the bed...

how to fix this...

gimme a bit, I'll cook something up, maybe it'll even make sense.

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

Only a little? That means I'm improving, right?

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

he did say she was supposed to shake his hand or it wasn't a deal...

and his head is pretty firmly attached...

I dunno what you want me to do about it.

I fucked it up again didn't I?

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

she should have just shaken his hand. Then it would have been an investment, and not an act of charity. but I see what you're saying. Then again, I've never met a pirate captain who didn't need an attitude adjustment...

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

I fixed it!

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

well, I got further than I expected before fucking up. I'll go fix it I guess

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

Octavius was feeling quite confident that his escape was assured now. All he had to do was wait until nightfall, and then make his way out of the city. It would be easy enough, and no one would be the wiser. He was even almost comfortable in this pile of rags. Apparently, he had missed a memo, though. Or something of the sort. That, or Ceres had. It seemed he wasn't allowed to wait comfortably. He had just been settling in to a nap when he was suddenly soaked in something cold, the whole pile drenched by the descent of what was apparently his new friend Ceres. It wasn't so bad, when he realized it was water, but he had no desire to be friends with this woman any longer. She had some words to say about his escape, it seemed, and he laughed in her face, entirely unafraid. "You can't intimidate me, for one. What are you going to do, kill me?" the pirate laughed some more and shook his head, clearly unafraid of death. "I'm not going to say I tried to ditch you, as that is not entirely true. But I will admit to paying little attention toward how you managed your own escape." he shrugged, obviously convinced that he shouldn't have to drag her along like a child. She was a grown woman with her own magical powers, after all. "We didn't shake hands, so I don't see why I should have to carry you. And I'm still a real captain, just so you're aware, and I'm still great. Never stopped, even." He was clearly disappointed by Ceres' comments, and he got up quite suddenly, looking down at his newly-soaked clothes.

"Thanks for fucking up my hiding spot, that was really good of you." he added, getting up. He wasn't going to bother trying to deal with laying about in wet, cold rags for several hours. He would be better off finding somewhere else to go. Ideally it would be some place quiet, and one that served alcohol. It didn't seem like the best plan at the moment, though. The notorious Captain Cuttlam had just escaped, the marines were not going to just let him get away. The last thing they needed was a veteran pirate on the loose, gathering his old crew and hitting the open sea once more. Indeed, these men were so determined to catch him that a whole half-dozen stormed the alley. Octavius' immediate reaction was to flip them teh bird and take off running in the other direction. If Ceres was smart, she would just stay hidden, but he couldn't tell what level of intelligence that girl managed to uphold. And then she was also pretty dedicated to the deal she was convinced they had made, despite the fact that they still hadn't shaken hands. He had issues with that. But maybe she would just go away if he spent enough time escaping...

Tales of Eyreseum - The False King

Gram was enraged by the threats being leveled at him by this upstart of a girl. She seemed to think that threatening godlike weapons at least ten times her age was totally acceptable. He said nothing, though, deciding that at this point, it would be best to just be quiet. He didn't want to risk actually getting thrown to the bottom of a lake. People didn't tend to frequent the bottoms of lakes. Indeed, he didn't know of any beings who did, except maybe Naiads, but they were only interesting in luring weak-minded adventurers to their deaths. They had no use for a sword, and he feared being ignored more than anything. Boredom was so close to ceasing, now that he had a wielder. He just wished he could have one that wasn't so mouthy. A strong, violent owner was what he needed. Someone with real potential. He supposed this one would do, though. At least until someone bested her. Then he'd convince whoever that was, that he was superior weapon, and be off again. Hopefully on real adventures.

Having mastered the slow thought, the weapon found itself in a village before he knew it, and very soon he felt hands on his hilt. He would have shuddered with excitement if such a thing were possible, but being a sword, all he could manage was a groan of anticipation. Then he heard the word slaughter. This was definitely going to be that. Surtr shouted in triumph when he was pulled from his scabbard, and he whole-heartedly agreed with Tikki's statement. "Oh, I'll work very hard, my dear. You'll never find a more satisfying weapon." he promised in reply to her thoughts. Already his magic was working, tendrils of violence winding up her arms, gripping her with skill, a mastery over killing that only a weapon could have. Then, because he thought it was a good way to set the tone, he caught on fire. The blade burst violently into flames that shifted from green to purple, to gold, and then began shimmering between golden and electrical blue as they burned.

"Now shift your grip." he commanded his wielder. "You're not big enough to wield me like a normal sword. Your good hand goes just above my pommel, that's the metal part at the end. Your other hand goes just below the pointy things that start the blade off. Those are called quillions. Your good hand provides the power, and your other hand steers. You can swing me like a sword, or wield me like a spear, this way." eager to get started, the flames around the blade got bigger. They couldn't hurt Tikki, but her opponent would find that the fire burned flesh quite nicely, being hot enough to actually start burning the meat that these poor beings were constructed from. "Whenever you're ready, run him through." he added, wishing he had a mouth to grin with. Nothung was thrilled beyond words, and its bloodlust was palpable, radiating off the weapon like an air freshener, slowly overtaking all other emotions in the vicinity. But it was subtle enough that anyone not actually wielding him probably wouldn't feel it for a long time. And if this one died, he'd probably settle down for at least a day.

Unfortunately for his new owner, Gram lived on a diet of violence and death. And while he didn't actually need to eat, he was more than capable of irritating her to no end if she wouldn't feed him. And now that she knew exactly what he could do, she'd likely want him around. Not many would face off against anyone wielding a giant, flaming sword that could impart to its wielder the necessary skill to slaughter their enemies. Or murder them while they slept. He wasn't picky, so long as blood was spilled by his edge...