Sarpedon

Tales of Eyreseum - The False King

That's okay, I still love you

Tales of Eyreseum - The False King

sooo pumped!

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

"I've never heard of an ex-marine. What's stopping you from turning me over? I've got to be worth a few hundred gold still, probably more, now that I'm out on the seas again." Octavius clearly didn't care that it had been fifteen years since the woman had served with the Royal Marines. No one just stopped being a marine. It was a mindset, a lifestyle. She said she was a deserter, said she got herself a bounty just to get away from her ship. But that could be all words. He wouldn't have been surprised, to be honest. Of course she had to get up and offer him her word and all that nonsense now. "The only good marine, is a dead marine." he said, even as he shook her hand, a hard look in his eyes. "I'm only going to tell you once. Don't fuck me, Ceres. Don't you ever try to fuck me..." he meant that in a figurative sense. If she really wanted to, he supposed a literal attempt would be acceptable, but he wasn't going to put up with her screwing around, or doing anything shady. He supposed everything they did was shady. It was probably the lawful things he would have to look out for.

Having built up sufficient suspicion, the pirate was now too paranoid to eat, and he figured he would probably go dine with the crew when they were done this meeting of sorts. Ceres had promised that she wasn't with the marines, and even offered to prove it. But that was an easy smokescreen to set. Now his mind was supposed to be at ease. But it wasn't. Captain Cuttlam hadn't gotten this far by being sane or reasonable. Psychotic paranoia was the way to go in his books. Especially around marines and their ilk. Unfortunately, he couldn't just kill this woman, she had made that much clear. She was probably some sort of albatross, manifesting in human form. He couldn't think of any other ways to explain her luck. He just wondered how her south winds might blow if he left her alive. He supposed they would have to brave the fog and find out. For now, he would cling to what worked. Not eating her cooking was probably an excellent start...

To Save a Life

Keeping this visible. Someone needs your help, Internet.

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

"You're a marine?" Octavius got caught on that fact, and didn't find the rest of Ceres' words terribly interesting. She invited him into her cabin, promising a proper meal and a reasonable conversation, and now she was telling him she was a marine? Full disclosure hadn't been part of the agreement, so why she felt compelled to tell him this was beyond him. Just because she'd killed some of her own, didn't make her any less of a marine. There was a reason that saying went around. Compulsively, the pirate produced his bayonet and stabbed it into the table. He wasn't aggressive about it, though. He calmly set the point against the wood and forced the thing a good half inch into the table, leaving it there to await him, should he have to fight this woman. She didn't seem terribly hostile, but he supposed there was more than one way to murder a cat. She set out the food and started going on about his plans, wanting more information. Meanwhile Captain Cuttlam was stuck on the fact that this woman was a marine. He didn't think they let women into the marines, but he supposed she might have been able to pass for a man if she kept quiet and cut her hair, and dressed properly.

Obviously she didn't realize the sort of impact her admission was going to have. The pirate lord was about ready to rescind his offer and start swimming. He was sure there would be no sleep between now, and when he got free of this woman. He would admit, she was good. But he was better. One didn't get good at this game by being slow, or witless. Having been one of the best, Octavius was neither. He failed to touch his food as he answered the questions fired at him. "I plan to use what crew I can. The realms of men forget my name, and my clout is not what it was. I'm not going to be be picky. I've got a proper crew, probably scattered across the whole Grand Line, by now, if they're alive. But I'll need some men to follow me while I collect them. And I'm sure I'll find some new pirates, just as worthy of my flag. You're welcome to go off on your own, seeing as it's a free world, and this is your ship. Looking a gift horse in the mouth is a good way to get your face bitten off though..." he couldn't help but chuckle. She had to pry, of course. He knew she wanted a guaranteed success. But she couldn't sail a ship by herself, not one big enough to brave the Grand Line. Far more likely they would all drown, but what was the point to life if others didn't suffer for your advancement?

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

Octavius chuckled. Ceres wouldn't let go of her desire to go to the Grand Line. And apparently she didn't want to be treated differently. "I've got ta find the ones who still remember me somehow... Aye, I'll be sailing the Grand Line." he replied after a moment. "And I'll only treat ya different when you attract sharks every month." he promised with a grin and a wink. "Just keep hold o'that luck o'yours. Come find me if ya make a decision..." the pirate turned and walked away then, his hand falling to his side. She still didn't seem big on the shaking of hands, so he figured she probably wasn't up for his offer just yet. If that was the case, she didn't need him standing over her shoulder, waiting for her to make up her mind. And if that wasn't the case, she needed to get better at shaking his hand when it was offered to her. Captain Cuttlam wondered if it was even worth trying to make deals with women, since they clearly didn't understand the etiquette behind it all. He shook it off, though, assuming he'd still be finding a new, better ship, and taking it out to reconquer the oceans. Best not to bank on anyone actually wanting to join him. He could start off with a gang of cutthroats for hire if he had to, and they'd turn into a crew to ruin the sea at some point. By then, everyone would remember his name, and his flag...

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

Octavius wasn't sure what to do. Ceres had gambled and won. That meant she wasn't bad luck. He swore violently to himself. This world was strange, and fate was fickle. But if this woman could survive sailing head-on into a waterspout, he supposed he didn't have much choice. Feeling sorely betrayed by the gods he'd placed his faith in, the pirate lord headed astern to confront his erstwhile rival. It seemed there wasn't much point in trying to thwart her further, so he supposed he might as well see if she was hell-bent on being a captain. He was far too proud to ask for anything. But he'd extend the invitation, and maintain his stitiousness at the same time. She wouldn't be allowed to bring any female friends along, but he supposed he could tolerate any pirate friends she might have that weren't of the unluckier gender. He managed to reach the helm without too much trouble, and Captain Cuttlam sighed as he approached the woman there. After a moment to get himself together, he spoke, just loud enough to be heard, and with more than enough reticence to show that he had no real desire to say all this, but no choice but to do so. "I was wrong. You're not bad luck." he offered to start. "You still attract sharks. But I could probably tolerate that if you ever wanted a spot on my crew." he added, almost managing a smile. "And I won't sink you if you won't sail next to me. Unless you try to sink me first, but that's a different story..." he offered his hand to shake, figuring that despite all the wind and rain and such, the captain could spare enough time to shake his hand. In a worst case scenario, he was probably more adept at holding on than she was. She would be safer holding onto him, if anything...

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

Octavius shook his head when Ceres announced his arrival. She said something about luck, and he muttered some things about luck that involved her and the storm. Then the storm really hit them. They lost a man to a punishing gust of wind, which picked up and tossed a sailor into the drink from near the top of the rigging. No one even bothered to try and save him. Having watched the man fall, the pirate knew there was no point, and it seemed everyone else was of the same opinion. So they kept working, with Captain Cuttlam leading the way. It didn't take long to secure everything, and make the ship ready for the storm, but they still had to be out and about, ready to respond to threats, or deal with unpleasantness. This ship wasn't big enough for them to cower below decks and ride it out. And then, because the storm wasn't enough, a waterspout sprung up off their port side. Feeling very vindicated, the pirate grinned, moving to the bow of the ship as they steered toward the thing. It wasn't far off, and their only hope was that the thing moved. If it didn't move the right way, the lot of them were dead. Octavius was more than happy to turn around and lock eyes with the woman currently steering the ship. He put on his best "I told you so" face, and dragged his thumb across his throat, before gesturing to the lot of them. There was no one anyone would hear him over the wind.

They were headed straight into death and destruction, and the pirate at the bow of the ship was ecstatic. He was right. Women were bad luck. So bad, that they'd get everyone killed by steering straight into a giant waterspout that sprang up almost out of nowhere. It was a relief, to know he had been right. It was almost worth dying, just to show Ceres that she was wrong. Such was the madness that the man had descended into...

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

((I do not recall that being mentioned. sounds shitty... Octo isn't big on swimming though, I can see him being unaware too))

Octavius was glad he wasn't bothered much during the "celebrating". After the initial offer, the sailor who'd offered him a tankard seemed to be more than happy to take advantage of his ability to drink twice as much at the same time. The pirate lord chuckled, watching the spectacle, and then shook his head, taking another wander around the ship to ensure things were, well, ship-shaped. Thankfully, they seemed to be. And once he was satisfied that nothing was going to explode or snap or get ruined in some other way, he headed off to find his cabin. While the rest of the crew celebrated prematurely, Captain Cuttlam did his best to prepare for the inevitable disaster. Using the munitions stores, he attempted a clean-up of his weaponry, but found the resources there to be limiting at best. He gave up eventually, not entirely satisfied, and not entirely sure what to do about it. But it didn't take long to realize that the Kraken wasn't going to try and swallow them. He was starting to bet more heavily on mermaids or sirens by the time dusk rolled around.

And then the storm started. The pirate exclaimed triumphantly upon returning to the deck, announcing his correctness with great pride. Going on about women being bad luck and some other utter nonsense. This was a man more than happy to be "dead right", if it would vindicate him. Not the most pleasant side of him, but that was what people got to deal with when they celebrated early, with a woman in charge. The wind swirled around him, picking up quickly as the clouds rolled in. The rain was poured down, increasing steadily in force and volume. And the clouds were dark, lightning flashed among them, and the man fully expected to watch the ship go down with all hands. And he would happily drown, declaring how right he was. But regardless of all that, he had the sense to actually help out, now. He could probably batten down the whole ship by himself, but the extra hands were nice. Even so, he took on the work of three or four men, while the sailors did their best. He was the only sober one, so he figured it was only fair to do his part. Some more effort had him working like five whole sailors, and despite his limited limb capacity, the captain was a relentless flurry of activity, preparing everything around for the storm that was settling in around them. But even as he worked harder than all the drunk men around him, he still prayed to watch the whole stupid operation go down in watery flames...

The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

She said she didn't expect anything in return. Then she said she did want something in return. Then, of course, she said it was up to him. Octavius wasn't one to make deals like that lightly. Considering he didn't know Ceres terribly well, he decided against it. Mostly because the woman had put it on him to come back to her and ask. He didn't want her charity in the first place, why would he ever ask for it? There was also the bit about liking to keep his options opened. She didn't want to be attacked if they met later. As far as he knew, she didn't even have a flag, so if she got sunk thanks to him, he wouldn't be breaking a deal or something. So, in the end, the pirate walked away satisfied. The onus was now on him, and he wasn't going to take it, which meant no pressure on anyone. And no more deals with the crazy woman. He heard her roughing up a sailor, as he wandered off, and chuckled.

With time to himself, Captain Cuttlam decided to be productive. He went around to all the swivel guns, dragging his powder and shot with him. He loaded all the deck guns before returning the munitions to the stores, and then headed up to the bow of the ship. He heard Ceres going on about celebrating, and he wanted to smack her. Talk about bad luck. There was a woman captaining the ship, and demanding celebration before they were free. Next they would see a Kraken rise from the deep, and tear their boat in half. And then a Leviathan would probably show up and eat the lot of them. And probably the boat, and the Kraken too. The pirate lord wondered what he was supposed to do about all that, and figured he would just have to jump a life boat and row away before anyone noticed. That obviously wouldn't work out. Thankfully, though, it wasn't necessarily his lungs that had to be sucking in air. His canine form could stretch ridiculously when he transformed partially. And while it might not work forever, he figured he might stand more of a chance with it helping him breathe. He probably wouldn't be able to see in the murky depths, and the trip to shore would be a long one. But Octavius figured he could make it if the ocean floor was close enough. A foolish hope, but better than nothing.

He flat-out refused to celebrate when presented with a tankard, declaring the whole ordeal a challenge which the gods would accept whole-heartedly. He would not be claimed by their ire at the arrogance of this woman...

((http://i.imgur.com/Nde2c1o.gif this is how I picture Ceres when she tries to give orders XD))