Pirates! Action, Adventure, and Romance

The sound of shouting and splashing of water brought him back to reality. He squinted for a moment and rushed into the cabians and came back with several candle sticks that he'd blown out. He took several pieces off and put them in his ears and started stuffing the crew's ears with the wax.
After he had done that he threw down a rope for the two that where over board. The mermaids would be on them soon. He didn't want anyone to die.

The water filled Ivelia's ears and the coldness brought her senses back. She surfaced and the water still clogged her ears, and she grabbed for the spare knife strapped to her leg. Before she could grasp it, a mermaid was after her.

Ivelia noticed Lilly and the rope Amari had thrown down. "Lilly! Get back on the ship! Man the guns, and blast them out of the water!!" She swam for the rope, keeping her ears full of water. Just as she reached out for said rope, the mermaid after her sank its claws into her back and tore through her shirt and flesh.

She whipped around and the claws met her chest, but her knife slashed across the creatures face. She grabbed the rope and was pulled to safety. The Captain collapsed on the deck, soaking wet and bleeding. The salt water stung her wounds and tears stung her eyes as brutal reality crashed down on her. She'd failed her crew.. Father was dead.. And she was in serious pain.

Nonetheless, the young captain struggled to her feet. She clutched the rags of her shirt closed in the front because, after all, she was still a fit nineteen yearold girl. "Man the guns!! Kill them and get us out of here!"

Still abosred in the soothing tune, Seamus began to wander towards the noise, hoping to find out what beautiful creature could make such a melody; when suddenly he was snapped out of his reverie by the First Mate stuffing candle wax in his ears and hands.

Bemused, he stared out at him, then down towards where he threw a rope.
"By Neptune! Mermaids!" Then he spied a woman paddling back yelling back towards the crew, along with Lily who'd jumped in to help.
His mind reeled for a moment as he took in the scene. Suddenly his ears caught the orders to man the cannons, and without a moments hesitation, his instincts honed from time in the Navy drove him into action. He rallied the nearest of the crew down below to the cannons, and immiedately started commanding them to load them as he too readied a gun and with all his might, rolled it forward to aim out the hatch.

Outside the captain had just managed to climb back onto the deck, and the mermaids, no longer singing their song, spat and hissed as they bared gnarled fangs and claws. he did not fire yet though. He was in his zone now, and with a ready fuse in his hand.

He heard a yell from above him, orders to open fire.
He let drop his fuse and the cannon let loose with a deafening boom, followed by a quakening as the rest fired in tune.

Soon after the first mate shoved some wax in his ears, Gale noticed the captain laying on the deck in rags. Unsure of what to do, he took off his overcoat and placed it around her. "There, cover up now while I find something to cover the wounds.. And stay still, movement could hasten the bleeding."

Hearing the order to fire, he ignored it and went to find aid. He wasn't going to let anyone die here, not to-day, and certainly not the captain. Death by a child's tale? How insulting that would be.

Captain Hawk ignored Gale's warning and pulled the anchor up herself. The sails were still open so she headed to the wheel. Within a few moments the mermaids were out of sight. Her wounds screamed in protest and bled quickly. She felt cold to the bone, but chalked it up to being soaking wet.

However, she looked down and finally noticed all the blood. "Seven seas.." she breathed. She leaned against the wheel, the pain finally registering in her mind. "Could someone get the doctor?"

Amari rushed to his Captian and quickly took off his jacket and placed it on her shoulders and gently moved her away from the wheel and to her cabin. Her state worried him and he looked to see if there was anything he could do.

He rushed over to the desk and studied the map looking for a nearby port. The next one would be half a days trip away. Amari sighed and looked at her again feeling very hopeless, but tried not to show it as she'd mock him forever after this.

"Try not to look so worried. I'll be fine. You know how hard it is to kill me.." Ivelia managed before she shifted on her bed. She hissed in pain. "Next ship or town we raid, we're capturing the doctor." She groaned a little and weekly a little bad about bleeding all over Gale's coat and now Amari's.

"I'll buy you both new ones. But get one of the women in here to check on these gashes." It was unusual for the Captain to admit that she was in pain or injured, but she realized that she could bleed out or get infected. She'd be damned if she died before she killed every last sailor aboard the Treader.

Amari chuckled. "I suppose you're right." He smiled at her but shook his head. "It's fine Captian. There's not need for a new one. It was old anyway." He said and turned to go find someone to put something on her injuries.

He quickly walked down the steps and looked at the ship. More or less it was in good condition. "Is someone able to use bandages?" He asked several of the crew members.

Lilly had barely made it back onto the ship when they started sailing away at top speed.
She heard Amari calling out for some one who knew how to use bandages.
"Uhm, well, I used to help the doctor in the town I'm from, I'm not really a doctor or anything but I think I can help..." She started nervously.

She was shown into the cabin where the captain was lying in her bed, bleeding. Lilly carefully inspected the wounds. "You're going to need some stitches..." She said. "I'm going to need a needle, some thread, and something to disinfect it with along with the bandages."

Gale finally made it back to the deck. When he arrived, he realized the captain and several crew members were not there. Following the blood trail, he saw that she had found her way to her cabin. he sighed, saying to himself: "Even Poseidon's wrath can be tamed.."

Walking down to the cabin, he heard voices inside, the first mate and another crew member were inside. "At least someone is treating her, I couldn't find a thing." With a sigh of relief, he leaned against the door. Gale wondered if the mermaids were still attacking above, but at the same time, he didn't really care anymore.

Seamus emerged from below deck, wiping the persperation off his brow with his sleeve. The ship had already gone full speed away from where the Mermaids had attacked.

On the deck he spotted blood, and it didn't take long to figure who it'd have been. The Mermaid's may not have got their meal, but they hadn't gone without dealing their damage first.

He glanced up in time to see Mr Reed leading Lily off into the Captain's cabin. There was a trail of blood leading in through the door.

This can't be good... He thought.

He stood on deck for a moment, wondering what he should do. Then his mind clicked, "Maybe this is a chance to try and reprimand my failed first impression from before? She did say "repay with hard work and loyalty." What could be show more loyalty than doing whatever neecessary to help the Captain?

As he rushed up to the cabin door, he spotted another crewmate standing out by the door already. For a moment, his awkwardness almost stopped him in his tracks, but he forced up some courage and took positon on the other side of the door, pressing his ear close to listen eagerly to the conversation within.
Inside he heard the familar voice of Lily. "Needle? Something to Disinfect?" He imagined the wound must serious if it needed stiching. The other crew mate seemed to be giving himstrange looks, and he wondered if he'd said something during his concentration. "... disinfect... God, I could use a drink right now to help me think..." ... As the lightbulb clicked on in his head, he smiled gleefully and immiedately rushed back to his cabin to find the strongest alcohol in his stash, leaving the now slightly bemused crew-mate standing by the door.

Ivelia pointed at a box on a shelf. "There's medical supplies in that." Once it was retrieved the needle was held in the flame of a candle. The young captain was fading in and out of consciousness. She vaguely remembered a make crew member coming in with alcohol to disinfect the wounds. Her vision was slowly tunneling and she was forgetting herself.

When the needle pierced her flesh she gasped as the sudden sting. Ivelia kept repeating nonsense until she finally passed out. After that, she was stitched and bandaged in a little while. A new shirt was slid over her head and she was allowed to sleep.

Amari hovered worriedly over his captain while she was being stitched up. He really shouldn't have because he was starting to look like a mother hen worried over a sick child. He had a feeling he'd be mocked for life over all this.

He sighed and sat on a chair before leaving the room and leaned on the railing looking out at the sea. Seeing all the blood made him remember painful memories that he'd rather not get back into.

Gale saw a crew member he had not seen before walk near the door. However, he had walked off before having a chance to converse. "Perhaps another time."

With no one to talk to, his mind slipped to worrying thoughts of the captain. Of if she died from a mermaid. But his thoughts were interrupted when the first mate opened the door, causing him to fall into the room. He didn't even seem to notice. "Oh, sorry about that"

After his apology, he found his way up to the first mate and sat atop the rail. "Perhaps a peaceful conversation would do both of us well.", He thought. "With everything, I don't think we've met. My name is Gale Blackwater. Chef and swordsman." He tipped his hat to the man before him.

Amari jumped ten feet into the air when a voice came beside him. He leaned on the rail keeping a straight face trying to make it seem like he wasn't jumpy today. He nodded in his direction. "Nice to meet. Amari Reed. I specialize in sword play and battle advice." He said with a slight smile.

Amari stared at him for a moment. "So, didn't think we'd run into mermaids." He said, trying to spark a conversation.

Gale returned the smile. "I didn't either. Why, I never thought they actually existed." Thinking of the creatures sent a chill down his spine and brought up images of blood.

"But enough talk of the tales of children." In a flash, gale drew his sword and placed it just inches back from Amari's neck. "Sword play, is it? Let's see how good."

He had no idea what he was doing, but a round with this man could do some good. Perhaps a few injuries, but those would certainly heal.

Captain Hawk woke up with a start, gasping at the nightmare she'd just gotten out of. She had watched her father die again and that was something she couldn't handle. She got out of bed, pulling off her shirt to adjust the bandages that covered her entire torso. They seemed fine, so she slid the shirt back on.

Ivelia tossed the bloodstained jackets in the corner and opened up a chest. She pulled out two of her father's coats that he never wore. After slipping on her boots, sword/gun belt and hat, she staggered out to the deck. Amari and Gale appeared to be sword fighting, so she sat back and watched.

Amari nodded. "Yeah. My father said he had a run in with them once when I was young." Amari didn't even flinch when a sword was at his neck, a wicked grin spread across his face and he for once looked amused.

He drew his sword and pushed it away and got into a fighting stance. "Alright then Mr. Blackwater, bring it on." Amari decided to wait for him to make the first move, hopefully his skills weren't to rusty as he was fighting someone older than him and likely more experienced.

Hearing those words, Gale took a bow and back-stepped a few feet. "I'll try to go easy. I don't want a dead crewman." He laughed and took a false lunge that he knew would miss Amari by roughly 6 inches.

"First step to swordplay, choose your blend wisely and keep your ingredients at the ready." The lesson he had in store for the first mate was already amusing him. At the same time, he was wondering if Amari would have a lesson of his own to teach. Perhaps even a new style for him to learn.

Amari jumped to the side a little at the false lunge. If it had been in a battle between several people, he could easily be dead. "I don't want anyone dead either." He said and held his sword up again.

"But you always have to keep on guard. The sword can be as nimble as the rest of your body." He said and spun the handle of the sword across his hand that made the sword sweep in a circular motion. Amari quickly ducked down at crouching level and lunged at his knees with the back of his blade.

After he'd tried to help out with the injured captain by handing over one of his stronger drinks for sterilisation, Seamus had spent the time after below deck cleaning up the cannons after they'd dispathed their earlier volley, and was no just emerging to the runging sound of metal.

Taking a hefty swig from a bottle, he spied up at the deck and saw the First Mate, and what he remember to be the man who was standing outside before. Now outside the cabin and observing the sparring, the Captain watched intently at the two swordsmen.

Seamus stared for a while in her directiion, then spying another bottle sitting idle, he thought that maybe with the essense of Liqiud Courage, he'd be able to spark up conversation.
So with a quick chug from the bottle in his right hand, he stood straight and marched his way over; this time more confident in his actions.

He slowed his stead a few metres from the Captain, offering the second bottle in the other hand.
"Good to see you're back up and going again, Mi' Captain. Care for a drink?"

Ivelia eyed the new crew member offering her a bottle. "Why not?" She took the bottle and uncorked it, taking a swig of the strong liquor. "What are your impressions of my ship so far, Mr. Finnigan?"

She had to admit, several of the new crew members were rather handsome, but she couldn't afford to think that way. She'd trown those luxuries away when she added the title of Captain to her name. She had wondered many times if she'd ever be able to love a man, have him hold her in his arms, and kiss her. However, everytime she thought that way, she shrugged it off and looked to her sails.

Seamus was a litle off gaurd on the question. He'd been on plenty of ships befre, but each craft was apart of the English navy. He thought for a moment as he savoured the taste of his liquor.

"Honestly, its a very fine ship I think. I've only been on a few vessals of similar design, but unlike regulation designs the Navy followed, I can tell the Empress has had its own custom tailoring over its years.
He glanced back at the Captain quickly, both to check he'd not said something he shouldn't have, or perhaps spoken too hastily once more.
"I doubt anything larger than a Frigate could keep up with her speed too; and even a vessal of the same class probably would have some trouble. She's got a lot of power behind her, and to outrun you'd need a decent Flag Ship, but anyone foolish enough to do that is probably suicidal enough to take on the ships armament headon. Can't think of any English ships that'd do that. Spanish, maybe? I'd heard they can be a bit outrageous with their ploys."

He finished his talk with a deeper drag from the bottle, hoping the Captain wouldn't catch onto his nervousness towards talking.

After the run in with the mermaids, Lilly thought she could finally be useful on the ship by trying to learn more first-aid. She dug through a small chest that she kept next to her cot and pulled out an old dusty book. "Here it is!" She said, blowing off the dust. The cover had "BASIC FIRST-AID AND MEDICINE" printed in large letters on it. She felt her stomach lurch again from seasickness. Maybe this book had a cure for it somewhere?
She grinned and put the book back down on her cot. She didn't know why, but she felt like she wanted to ask the captain's permission before she started such an endeavor.

Lilly pranced up the stairs, spotting the captain on the upper deck. "Captain, I wanted to ask you something--"
Suddenly Lilly's seasick dizziness got the best of her, and she stumbled right in the middle of a sword fight going on on deck.

Amari out of the corner of his eye noticed someone stumbling out into the reach of their swords. Acting carefully, he first turned the blade to the back to avoid much damage and tried to get his arm to stop before he hit her.
Finally, he managed to stop his arm right while the sword would have cut her if he had waited any longer.