Just swimming

[Kaiko Marina]

Searing 90, 122 

Sun reflected off the water surface far above her.
Light came down like fingers reaching for her.
Unaware of the door that would soon be here.
Going through she would not fear.

Kaiko found herself needing time to herself away from people. So she decided to go for a swim as she did when she needed to think. Sure she could be home on her ship but she much preferred being in the water than staring at it. So here she was in her beast form supporting a shark tail and dorsal fin. The giant blue and black slug was having fun simply swimming and floating without any actual goal in mind. Her eyes remained closed as she felt the water with her feather-like appendages. She was completely relaxed in her element until she striked something with her head causing her to crumple

Eyes open, front limbs rapid around her head, she turned to see a large vertical piece of wood. A mast and upon further inspection she found ripped sails. She glided around the mast looking at the wreckage. As she started circling the hull of the ship it became apparent that the ship was sunk in a fight. Intrigued and thinking of making a song or poem, she swam around counting cannonball holes. The name of the ship came into view. The Emerald was painted in big swooping letters. But between the two words was a door. A simple wooden door with the most simple handle. It did not belong, it was not weathered and coral coated like the rest of a ship. If anything it still looked dry.

Curiosity struck and like she always had in the past she decided to investigate. She shifted back to her human self with her slug skin remaining over her ribs so she could breathe. She reached for the handle and turned it. For the most part the room within is what one would expect seeing a wooden table and chairs in a simple wooden room. What was unexpected was the candles that held dancing flames. She immediately swam to the entrance and stepped through the doorway.

Regular gravity and fresh air met her on the inside so she switched her small skin for her human lungs and took a deep breath. Salty air met her but that would make sense with the water on the other side of the door. Talking of, the water not coming in was messing with her so she closed the door.

"Welcome to The Duck. I am Kynne. Thank you for coming. Please, what is your name?" A man's voice. She jumped startled. There was none in the room she had checked. But as she turned she was greeted by an elvish man. "And if you would be so kind, surprise me." He continued.

"Kaiko's my name and I thought the ship was called the emerald. Sunk by cannon fire. She pointed towards the door, completely confused. She shook her head deciding the ship name was none of her business. Instead she smiled and asked for a surprise. "I can make a man regret life with a simple touch as easily as I can sing the shanties."

[Aegis]

Twinkling, amused eyes watched Kaiko closely. "A pleasure to meet you Kaiko."

A somber look crossed his face, "The Door presented to you from the Emerald?" His smile fell, and he sighed. "I met her once. She was a beautiful ship. Her crew loved her so much. Captain Loka, fierce on deck, gentle below. That crazy woman took the Emerald all the way up to Zaichaer's doorstep once just to say she could." He coughed, clearing his throat, "Apologies. I am no fan of ships meeting their eventual fates, no matter how many times she tells me its inevitable." He touched at the corners of his eyes with his fingertips.

"Does your regret only work on men?"

Having composed himself, "I'm a man who has once regretted life deeply and now I'm simply a man who enjoys every breath I take." Something in the air shifted, a bit of a bristling, but from all around them. He looked up at the ceiling, "Be nice to her, I want to see what happens." The feeling would ebb a bit but not disappear entirely.

He stretched out a hand, large, course and calloused. He looked her directly in the eye. "After, we can pop down to the pub, share some of them shanties you can sing so easily. Maybe share a drink for the Emerald if you'll amuse an aching heart such as mine."

[Kaiko Marina]

"The pleasure is mine Kynne" She would give a slight nod. Then his emotional state changed to one of sadness. This was never an emotion she intended to invoke. But she understood. A sunken ship is almost always a sad occasion.

"I understand and feel the same. But the brave Emerald will live on through story and song. Actually I was going to write a song for her." She replied. In a somber tone "if it helps she was not sunk by a mere storm. She died fighting bravely."

"Apologies I meant the general as in all people, most critters and a few plants. And by regret I ment." She stopped releasing the room was reacting. It was jealous, no protective. It responded to him but she could still fill the glaring.

She looked up at the ship. "Apologies mighty Duck, I meant no threat. Just a warning as I have no knowledge of what he or you may intend." She would give a full bow. "See I have a tendency to sting when threatened, a painful sting like that of the man of war jellyfish."

He simply stretched out his hand. He wanted to be stung? She looked back at the ship. The filling is quite unnerving. "A drink is always welcome, the ship deserves it." She would reply She reached her hand out the markings turning white and blue. She would touch his hand only allowing a very small amount of the stored poison to sting him. Normally this would be met with a scream and immediate reddening of the skin. Even some swelling. She just hoped the duck wasn't going to kill her for it.

[Aegis]

Captain Kynne grasped her hand firmly and immediately his eyes widened. The next instant his jaw was clenched and sweat was breaking out upon his brow, but he continued to keep his grip constant. His nostrils flared and his breathing was growing a bit ragged, his arm beginning to shake a bit. A couple more agonizing seconds and he let go, his hand flinging upward away from Kaiko.

"FUCKING HELL! SONOFABITCH MOTHERFUCKING SHIT!"

He shook his hand wildly, the swelling already starting as he fought to get control of himself. His breathes were coming through grit teeth now. "Woo shit! Yep that still smarts just as bad as the last time I ran into one of those critters. Sheesh."

Shaking his head, "Phew. Thanks for that. Better than a cup of coffee, that's for damn sure. Come, let's grab a drink, I could use a few."

A door appeared behind him on the wall, and as Kynne walked toward it, it opened of its own accord, unleashing the boisterous cacophony of a tavern in full festivities. The room was vast, with many tables, chairs and stools, and people of many different races, colors, and origins. It was warm and smoky in here, just as a pub ought to be, and Kynne led the way through the tables to the impossibly long bar, with dozens upon dozens of people upon stools at it. A goblin in classic sailor garb wandered over, "Ey Cap'n. What'll it be?"

"Sangen Bog Rum, the '88."

Looking at Kaiko, "Anything you'd like."

The captain sat upon a stool, "So the Duck brought you here for a reason, if you'll accept it. She wishes to go home, a difficult and dangerous trek. We've been building a crew for a while now but we still need a few more competent people." A glass was set in front of him with the deep brown rum inside. He brought it to his lips, draining the entirety of it as though it were simply a shot glass.

"Perfect."

He set it down, giving two taps indicating a refill.

"I'd like for you to join us. The Duck already picked you as well. We'll be gone for a while, and it is quite possible that all of us die in the process, with no promise of reward."

A human woman, tanned skin and scantily clad came over, leaning against the bar, eyeballing Kaiko, whispering into her ear, "A siren on a ship is good luck." A silent moment as she grinned, "And great fun.."

"And if that doesn't interest you, so be it. I'll send you back on your way and the Door will not appear to you again. I do not wish to recruit anyone who doesn't want to be here."

He sipped at his refilled drink, "But I think you'd enjoy it here. And would help keep the Duck from joining the Emerald and so many others for just a while longer. Poor girl is growing sadder with each passing season. She seems to long for the hullbreaking waves and the storms no sane sailor might sail."

A soft chuckle, "But how about that song? Something new is always welcomed, I think we all know all the old."

[Kaiko Marina]

She had hurt him. But to be fair he had asked her to. She half expected retaliation from the ship but it seemed to not care unlike it had before. She watched wincing as he kept a tight grip on her hand. Not from the grip but from sympathy pains. By his reaction even the small dose was causing extreme pain. A pain she would never be able to fill. Then he released her hand. And like a true seamen, started cursing. She had immediately stepped back giving him the necessary room to come to grips with the pain. Apparently a pain he had felt before and she did not know how to medically help if he had a bad reaction. This man was an odd one. But he was strong. She could respect that.

She smiled seeing him thank her for a non caffeine boost. Her hand would return to her normal color as she followed Kynne through the magic door into a tavern. A very festive tavern. She relaxed taking in the sound and smell. It was cheerful and Lively. Like a tavern should be. She took a seat at the bar and looked around. She noticed the sailor calling the man captain. It's interesting he had not referred to himself as such.

"I'll have the same." Never can go wrong with rum. She listened as he explained why she was here. She sipped the dark drink as he continued. No reward, high chance of death, the beginning of a great story but not one most sane people would take. She on the other hand is a songwriter and storyteller. Impossible made for a great story.

She looked at the human flirting with her. "As lucky as a siren may be, one must be careful to not get charmed. It will only end badly." OK maybe there are nicer ways of telling a girl she was not interested but hey she had better things on her mind.

"A ship belongs to the open waters near a fermilur port, with a gallant caption and a skilled crew. Not on the seafloor collecting coral and fish. I accept the job offer, and will bring my skills to the table. As of the song" She looked around. Spotting a Mandolin. She got up and asked to borrow the stringed instrument. She would return to sit on the bench. She would test and tune the strings. "As of a new song I'll save it until the end of our voyage. For now a recruiting shanty comes to mind." She began to play the Mandolin. She began the familiar tune humming to it.

" A recruiting sergeant came our way
From an inn near town at the close of day
He said my Johnny you're a fine young man
Would you like to march along behind a military band" She sang. A siren she was called. Her voice only helped prove the point. She would continue singing.

Ok maybe a song were the solder loses his limbs may not be the best. But that's the song that came to mind.

[Aegis]

Kynne could only smile devilishly as Kaiko accepted his offer. And as she sang, the entire tavern stopped to listen. And when she finished, Captain Kynne himself started in on a repeat performance, adding a few lines of his own on the end of the song. And when his version finished, another woman did the same. The crowd joined in, singing the parts they’d heard so far, then growing silent as she added the new lines.

And so the song continued for hours, both a memory game and a method of communal storytelling. Drinks and food flowed as freely as the laughter and friendly banter. Deep into the song that was now being called “A Man Named Johnny.” Captain Kynne had disappeared from Kaiko’s presence for a while but he now found her once more, teetering under the weight of his flagon of rum, it seemed.

“Shtay ash long ash ya like. The Duck’ll shend ya back whenever ya want. When she callsh again, anshwer and the journey shall begin!”

He then cheered loudly and everyone joined in with him, as he drained his entire flagon. He turned and hobbled back into the crowd, and once out of sight of Kaiko, his gait straightened, his back tightened, and his flagon shifted into match, lighting a cigarette that appeared in the lips of his mischievous face.

He was staring up at a dull and unadorned sword, chipped and rusted with age, mounted in the hallway.

“It’s time to take you down a notch.”

And he knew his words would be heard by him.

!	Message from: “Aegis”
	Feel free to wrap this thread up as you see fit and I’ll review when ready. Apologies on the massive delay, but time to get this moving.

[Kaiko Marina]

With every new version, verse and line she would play. She would try to remember but after an hour of singing she knew she would not remember them all. But that was not the point of the night. Tonight was about the song and just like the rest of the bar she would sing. Unlike when she stung the captain she was enjoying this.

This was something she desperately needed. After the loss of her grandfather she had been too sad to leave her ship. Honestly this was the first swim she had done since that day. This was the first bar. First drink. And somehow this all was making her feel better.

By the time Captain had found his way back to her she was smiling and cheering. She had downed at least four tankards of various drinks that she could name and a couple that she had no clue what was. However she remained on the more sober side of being drunk. As Caption downed his drink, she downed her own. She found his drunk and slurred way of talking to be funny but she understood most of his words and gave a nod as a response. Some time and a few more songs would pass before she returned the instrument to its owner. When she grew tired she walked to a door and made her request to leave. As she opened the door to the sea, she would turn and wave farewell to the crew. She changed her skin as she went through the door. So that she could breathe. She was still in awe at how the water did not pass through the door but she was too tired to stay curious.

As soon as the door vanished she swam around the ship named Emerald. It took her very little time to find a soft bunch of sand to sleep on. Once she found the right place she took in her full beast form and went to sleep deciding she would find her ship when she woke up.

[Aegis]

REVIEW TIME

Kaiko

Lores: 8 Skill Lores

Loot: None
Injuries: None

Points: 15 Exp, may not be used for magic

Comments: Kaiko is always a hoot and a half

Aegis - 3 Posts = 6 Exp granted to Norani