Here Be Monsters

The home of Nephy's many Alamerians.

[alameresmanipulators]

Jonar and the Whale

“Uh..yeah. I feel fine.”

It was a lie. He felt like someone who’d escaped from hospital after waking up from an overdose. But as terrible as he felt right now, he wasn’t going back unless he was unconscious.

Besides, there wasn’t anything that time couldn’t fix and he knew some of it was just withdrawal.

But he could still see concern in her face and she knew him enough to know he’d bullshit his way through this so he felt he owed her something. She’d stayed with him when he had no right to expect anything from her.

He tried again. “I’m…. withdrawal is a bitch.”

The honesty was more than she’d expected. She put her hand over his and smiled reassuringly. “You’ve done it before, you can do it again. At least you’ve got the vomiting out of the way this time.”

That settled the matter though. If she didn’t stay with Ben tonight, he’d just buy some more drugs. After the shit his body had just been through, there was no way he could be high on his own. It was an emergency waiting to happen. She could just sleep on the floor. It’d be fine.

“You wanna get something to eat? Some food will do us both some good."

[alameresmanipulators]

Jonar and the Whale

“You should be,” he said. “It’s disgusting. That’s the whole point of it being in here for people to stare at.”

He took the glass of water when it arrived and after much convincing that Sasha just needed a few minutes to collect herself, the gentleman went back to his post at the doorway.

Ben passed her the glass with a reassuring smile. “Makes the Whale easier to live with though.”

She smiled a little, finally prising her hand off his leg to take the glass. The guilt was starting to set in now that Ben was out of immediate danger. She’d stayed with him in the hospital because he was afraid, and while it made sense at the time to agree to let him leave as long as she could take him back if anything happened to him, she was now faced with the very real likelihood that nothing would happen at all.

Leaving him now would be irresponsible but explaining it to Jon... it wasn’t going to go down well. She’d been like a lioness protecting her cubs in the hospital but now that she was out of it, she could see his point. He’d found her sleeping beside Ben for fuck’s sake. It was insulting and totally inconsiderate on her part.

Except she had considered it - and then did it anyway because she still loved Ben and was selfish. She’d have to make it up to him somehow.

“Guess it’s not the size,” she mumbled, when she realized Ben had said something to her. “Just how ugly it is.”

She took another sip. “So.... how are you feeling?”

[alameresmanipulators]

Jonar and the Whale

It wasn’t pretty, but Ben hadn’t expected her to be terrified of something so dead.

“Relax,” he laughed, prising her fingers from his shoulders but sliding her hand into his for support. “It’s not like it can do anything to you.”

He took a few step towards it, Sasha gently tugging from behind. “Can you imagine meeting one though? All the way down there.”

He pressed his free hand against the cold glass and stared into the creature’s mouth. The rows and rows of finely jagged teeth went back as far back as the eye could see. “Once you were in there, you’d never get back out.”

It was as if she could feel the blood draining from her body with the picture Ben was painting. The thought of being trapped in the heavy, black ocean surrounded by horrible creatures made her feel sick. The hand Ben was holding was going numb, tingling like she had pins and needles. The fish was all she could see and all she could imagine was it opening it’s massive jaw and eating her alive.

“I think I’m gonna...”

Be sick.

But she was saved the embarrassment of having to run to the nearest bin and empty her stomach into it by collapsing on the ground instead.

[alameresmanipulators]

Jonar and the Whale

“Whales?”

He felt her hand brush his and curled his fingers around it to steady her.

“I don’t know. In the whole sea - hundreds, maybe thousands?”

A little girl started screaming just seconds before her mother scooped her up and ushered her down a side corridor.

“This isn’t the one I was telling you about anyway,” he said, tugging her in the opposite direction. “Come on.”

Sasha allowed Ben to pull her from the room, grateful when the whale was out of sight and she could finally turn away.

Thousands. Thousands of those monsters surrounding the Sister, just waiting for a meal. She prayed they liked to swim deep.

She tried to ignore the pictures on the walls of huge creatures with sharp teeth. The fish in the tanks were fine, as long as they were small and stayed behind glass. There wasn’t enough money on Veros to bribe her to put her hand in there with them though.

As they rounded the corner and finally found what they’d come here to see, she let out a sound that she’d honestly never heard come out of her own mouth before. As much as she wished there was any other word to describe it, it was a scream. She screamed and darted behind Ben, peering over his shoulder at the shriveled... thing behind the case of glass.

It wasn’t small. It had silvery dead eyes that stared right at her and a jaw that jutted out far beyond its face, with more teeth than any animal had a right to possess.

[roleplaycafe]

Jonar and the Whale

It felt like they were running away together. 

They were, sort of, but a museum wasn’t exactly the first place you thought of when you found yourself in a tight spot - especially one as busy as this.

The entrance hall was busy; it made Ben’s head buzz with the effort of filtering it out. Children were the hardest, the high pitched squeals cutting through him as they marvelled at the massive Whale suspended from the ceiling. It wasn’t what they’d come for, but it was impressive none the less.

He could lie to others but he couldn’t lie to himself - he felt rough. It wasn’t so much the headache and the pains - it was withdrawal. He’d felt it often enough to know. 

He’d spent the last week living on a continuous buzz and now it was all out of his system, his body didn’t like it. He’d been so busy wanting to leave the hospital, he hadn’t noticed how truly shit it felt. 

He focused on the information board while Sasha looked up. The biggest fish in the sea fed on the smallest apparently, and if that wasn’t a metaphor for life he didn’t know what was.

[postjezebel]

Sasha couldn’t tear her eyes away from the monster above her. It wasn’t as big as the Sister. Maybe about half the size, but half the size was still terrifying.  She felt herself butting up against Ben’s chest as if the model might spring to life and swallow her up.

“How many do you think there are?” she asked, reaching back to try and find a rail or something to steady herself on.

[roleplaycafe]

Night Shift - Cleriden

[roleplaycafe]

"Someone doesn’t want to get caught with her hands were they shouldn’t be."

“Some of us aren’t so keen to run headlong into a trap,” said Jon. “I don’t know about any of you but I want to stay alive to get paid for this.”

"Honestly, I don’t know," Ben said to Sasha. "We only saw two today and that was in the middle of the day. The warehouse itself is about half an hour from here, on the far edge of town. There’s a small river that’s used for cargo so we’ll use it to load up rather than carry the stuff back through town. We’ll be harder to spot in the dark that way. 

Will’s going to break us in and you, Aaron, Jon, Ryan, Harry and me are going to sort through what we’re taking and load it onto the boat.”

"I’ll man the boat with Cross," said Cal. "Painter will stay on the sister with Two-man, Nate, Charlie and Daniel. We’ll bring the supplies to you and you’ll unload as fast as possible so we can get back for more. A couple of loads should do it and then we’re home and relatively dry."

[alameresmanipulators]

Her heart sunk a little when she heard that Ryan was going to be in their group. She got on with everyone else -- and then there was him. But still, she could be professional about it. She wasn't going to let him stop her having a good time.

Besides, the way Cal spoke distracted her. She really couldn't have asked for a better captain. She knew beyond any doubt that she'd fight to the death for him if she had to. The way he acted was inspiring, and she was beginning to hold him in as much esteem as she had Ben.

"Alright, sounds good," she said, purposely ignoring Ryan and his vulgar comments. She took a mouthful of ale. "So when are we leaving?"

[roleplaycafe]

Night Shift - Cleriden

[roleplaycafe]

Aaron tried to imagine how royalty ate. The best of everything he supposed, and clearly Sasha thought it was worth getting excited about.

“Still,” he said, “It’s risky. If they catch us we’re heading straight to the gallows. It’s not like they just let you off for stuff like that.”

“Well we’ll have to be careful not to get caught then won’t we?” grinned Cal.

“If we don’t go crazy,” said Ben, “we’ll be long gone before they even realise there’s food missing. The place is crammed.”

“Wait,” interrupted Liam. “You’ve actually been inside?”

“I have.” It was Will, returning Sasha’s smile.

The men stared at him like he’d just told them he was going to fly to Rassau.

“We went earlier today to take a look around,” Ben explained. “Just to get a better idea if it was even possible. Only… Will found a way in. There’s a hole, looks like maybe a foxhole, but it’s there and he’s small enough to fit through it.”

“Well,” prompted Oli, “What was it like inside?”

“There’s food,” said Will with a shrug. “Lots of it, and Ben’s right. They might not even know we’ve taken any if we spread it around.”

“This is all well and good,” said Cross, “but how are we planning on getting it out? Will isn’t going to push it though a foxhole piece by piece.”

“No,” Cal said. “He’s going to open the door from the inside.”

“What if there’s no key?”

“That’s where Harry comes in. You’re going to lend him your tools and show him how to pick the lock.”

Harry smiled at Will. “He knows,” he said, “but yeah, I can give him what he needs.”

“I don’t want to be the one throwing water over our little party here,” Nate said, “but this is food for the Queen’s fleet right? I mean, it’s not just going to be sitting there unguarded. There’s going to be at least one person patrolling the place.”

“Two actually,” Ben said, “during the day at least. But I doubt it’s that many at night. It is just food after all. There’s a guard post, so we’ll have to keep him busy. Create a distraction.”

At those words, Ben saw Ryan glance at Sasha but he intervened. He knew exactly what Ryan was thinking and although it may be the easier option, throwing the only woman on the crew at the guardsman the first chance they got made him uneasy.

“Jack, Oli, Tom. I want you on that. Give him the runaround and draw him away. The rest are with me to get the stuff out as fast and quiet as possible and back to the ship.”  

[alameresmanipulators]

At first she thought she'd been the only one not worried about this, but Cal's grin said otherwise. He was confident, but behind it was a glimmer of excitement as well. The more she got to know him, the more she really liked him.

At the suggestion of keeping the guard busy, Ryan caught her eye and they stared each other down. There was no fucking way she was reducing herself to a pretty sight and attempting to flirt when she could be with the rest of the crew actually having some fun. It turned out she didn't have to worry though, because Ben gave the orders away before Ryan could interject.

"How far away is the warehouse?" she asked, finally tearing her eyes from Ryan. "We likely to run into any other guards?"

[roleplaycafe]

Night Shift - Cleriden

[roleplaycafe]

Despite her dig at him, Ryan was acutely aware of Ben and Cal’s presence at the table and reigned himself in. She was annoying. Like a wound that refused to heal. But underneath it all there was something about her that he was drawn to. Like a moth to a candle or a grain of sand in an oyster. It irritated him. She irritated him and he couldn’t tell if he wanted to fight her or fuck her.

"Urges aside," he said with a half genuine smile. "Touch me again - lady - and I’ll return the favour.”

"Are we done here?" asked Jon, "Because as much I love talking about breasts, I’d really like to know why we all have to be here."

"Here here," mumbled Cross to sniggers from the others.

Cal stood up and glanced over his shoulder briefly to make sure they weren’t being overheard. “We have a job to do,” he said, “We’re running low on food and it’s looking like we’re not going to have enough to get us to Scarrow. There’s payment coming from Garrett’s woman once we get there but until then, we’re going to have to solve the problem ourselves.”

"You want us to all steal food?” asked Jon. 

"I’m not stealing food like some fucking begger," said Little Jack. "We’re pirates. We steal things worth selling."

"If you want to eat," said Cal, "you’ll do I as I damn well tell you."

"So where are we taking it from?" asked Daniel, "Markets, shops, breaking into houses?"

"That’s just it," Ben said. "We won’t need to because we can get it all from one place. There’s a warehouse. I took Will to look at it today. It’s… well, it’s private supply for the royal fleet."

Aaron nearly spat out his beer. “We’re taking food from the Queen’s fleet?” 

[alameresmanipulators]

Sasha was almost bouncing in her seat, eyes bright and alive. She batted Aaron's arm, an excited grin spread across her face.

"We're going to eat like fucking royalty, Bren. You have no idea how good they eat. It's one of the perks because their chain of command is shit. A half-assed attempt to stop people going pirate. Fuck!"

She could imagine the stew already. Cramped with fresh vegetables and tender meat. A wider array of spices than they usually had. Even the biscuits were made with oats, which made them a little softer and much more palatable.

She winked at Will and smiled, "Good job."

[roleplaycafe]

Night Shift - Cleriden

[roleplaycafe]

"I’ve seen my fair share," Harry said with a smile. "I’m not complaining."

He liked Sasha, or at least he thought he did. He still felt he had to reign himself in a little bit around her so it made it a little difficult to relax completely but he was getting used to her. She didn’t seem to be easily offended, at any rate.

"Anyone would think you were ashamed of them."

The voice had come from Ryan, sat further down the table. He’d been sitting quietly observing the conversation, something he had a habit of doing before he waded in.

"Why would she be ashamed?" asked Jon. Ben and Liam finally arrived to join the group after securing the ship. They both sat at the far end with Cal.

"I didn’t say she should," was Ryan’s answer, ignoring the new arrivals. "I said it looked that way."

[alameresmanipulators]

Sasha snorted, and flashed him a grin. From anyone else, that would've been funny. In a way, it sort of still was.

She had to be careful though. The whole crew was here -- Cal included -- and she didn't want to be seen as the one causing problems. Ryan had a habit of making things uncomfortable with his misogyny, and Sasha was so focused on him that she hadn't noticed Ben and Liam join the table.

"Aww, cute change of tactics Ry but I'm still not showing you my tits. Your manly northern urges might take hold and I'd have to pretty up your face again."

[roleplaycafe]

Night Shift - Cleriden

[roleplaycafe]

"You ever think maybe she’s not my type anyway?” Aaron said.

"She’s my type," said Harry from the edge of his drink. He was sat between Aaron and Will, who was looking a little out of place. "What about you," he added to Will with a nudge. "You like girls?"

"Girls are alright," Will answered. 

"Alright?" said Harry. "That the best you can do?"

He shrugged. “Some of them are nice.”

"You’re a lost cause, you are," laughed Harry and rustled Will’s hair, much to his annoyance.

"He’ll figure it out," said Jon from beside Sasha.

"When I was his age I was already chasing." Harry said. "He doesn’t seem to be bothered either way. Probably wouldn’t know what to do with himself if one of them flashed him her tits."

Will scowled at Harry. “I’ve seen them before you know? They’re not that special.”

Aaron suppressed a smile, always amused by Will’s matter of fact opinions on the world. He wasn’t rude, just… blunt?

"And when have you managed to see a pair of tits?" Harry asked.

Will shrugged again. “I dunno, ages ago. I lived on the streets remember?”

"Prostitutes you mean?"

Will nodded and took a mouthful of beer. He liked it but couldn’t drink as fast or as much as the others. He didn’t like feeling drunk because he wasn’t sure what was happening.

"Prostitutes don’t count," said Harry, shaking his head.

"Still breasts though. I’ve probably seen more than you have."

[alameresmanipulators]

Sasha had been trying to conceal her grin behind her mug, and she'd picked the worst time to take a slug. Will's comment almost made her choke and her eyes watered as she coughed for air, still laughing.

"Course they count! Anyway, breasts are only special to men who don't see enough of them," she grinned. "Guess Will has a point, Harry."

[roleplaycafe]

Night Shift - Cleriden

Beer was always welcomed, especially if it was provided by pretty young women, and the Emerald Wave did not disappoint on this blustery and chilly evening in the sprawling trader town of Cleriden.

The Emerald was a place well known to seafolk, not only for it’s range of fine beverages at reasonable prices, but it’s somewhat chaotic layout.

The building had started life two hundred years ago as a jewelers specalising in the gemstones that spilled across the sea from the shard isles and into Alamere. It’s success soon put Cleriden on the map as luxury goods from the north flowed into the country and the business began rapidly expanding. It began absorbing the surrounding buildings, gobbling them up like a monster of commerce until King Meyran, in his infinite wisdom, decided to seize control of the import of Gems from the Shards and redirect them through the Capital. When he eventually lost his mind and his young daughter took the throne, it was already set in stone and the beauties from the north profited Trevarn before anywhere else.

It didn’t stop people trading in them, but outside of Trevarn it had to be done away from prying eyes, and the building was sold to the Merryvale family who turned it into the busy tavern known and loved today. The only reminder of the buildings past (apart from the name) was an emerald the size of a fist cut out of green glass and set above the bar.

The addition of the surrounding buildings meant the Emerald was unconventional to say the least. Filled with corner nooks and private annexes, it was perfect for less law abiding citizens to conduct their business away from prying eyes and straining ears. For a few silvers, you could even have a private room and as long as no blood was spilt, no questions were asked.

Nearly every criminal conducted business in the Emerald at some point or another but not one of them would admit it. They all just came to have a drink in good company.

And that’s exactly what the crew of the Little Sister were doing when the barmaids set the laden mugs down on the table and smacked away a few stray hands. They’d pushed three tables together in a quiet nook, tucked away around a corner from the main room but close enough to still be able to hear the music.

Cal had made it clear that everyone was expected to be there this evening with no exceptions and although the atmosphere was jovial, everyone knew there was more to it than an evening of revelry.

[alameresmanipulators]

Sasha couldn't be any more excited. In fact, she didn't think she'd ridden such a high since her dad told her she could be whatever she wanted, sailor or not. She'd been about six but the memory had stuck with her. At the time, it had been the most important moment of her life.

But this was the first shore leave she got to spend with her real crew, which was the best thing she'd ever achieved. No lurking in either grotty or grossly overpriced taverns to avoid being discovered. She was on land, sitting beside Aaron, and something was happening.

Only a few weeks ago, this would've been a task she'd have to undertake as Blair. An extra night of bandages and staying quiet on the job. But now she was free. Free and spending the evening with a mug of good ale, trying to guess which woman Aaron would get lucky with before shore leave was over.

"Yeah, hate to break it to you Bren," she laughed as the others talked among themselves, each taking their own drink. "She's checking me out, not you. Maybe you need to pout your lips a bit more."

[alameresmanipulators]

Had your fill

[roleplaycafe]

Jon hesitated for a second and then nodded. “As fair as we’re going to get. But if I find out you’ve crossed us, your little spat with Ryan will be nothing because I’ll take it personally.”

He held out his hand for her to shake, taking note of the look on relief on Aaron’s face. He clearly knew more about this than anyone else. “Got that?”

[alameresmanipulators]

Sasha looked down at his hand and felt a small pang of panic that she didn't understand. She wasn't a threat to them. She loved this ship and its crew, that was the point, so why did she feel nervous?

She felt Aaron's body relax beside her and brushed the feeling off, reaching forward to shake Jon's hand with a smile, "Got it."

[alameresmanipulators]

Had your fill

[roleplaycafe]

"So what?" Jon said, chewing on a lump of potato. "You expected to die? You came on this ship ready to just give up and die for it? Why bother fighting Ryan at all? Why not just let him finish you off if that’s what you were thinking?”

He waved dismissively. “You’re being over dramatic. You weren’t going to let yourself die any more than I’d let Two-man fuck me in the arse.”

Clay started laughing. A deep throaty laugh that filled the room. “You’d be so lucky.”

Jon winked. “It’d be less painful to be fucked with a tree branch. Stick with cooking mate.”

He turned back to Sasha. “You’re right, I don’t like it, but you’re here now and there’s not a lot any of us can do about it. I don’t have a problem with you being a woman, women are strong, but I do have a problem with trusting a liar.”

[alameresmanipulators]

From the way she'd fought Ryan, she couldn't blame him for not believing her. Jon hadn't been there when Ben fought her corner just as she'd been about to give up.

"Fair enough, but there aren't any magic words I can say to change that. It'll take time, and when you trust me again it'll be because I've earned it. That fair?"

[alameresmanipulators]

Had your fill

[roleplaycafe]

"Maybe you did, maybe you didn’t," he said. "I don’t know what it’s like to be a woman. Am I meant to feel sorry for you? That you couldn’t get something you wanted? Or maybe we should feel grateful that guilt finally got the better of you and you told the truth."

"It wasn’t like that," started Aaron.

"She can talk for herself, Aaron.”

[alameresmanipulators]

No it wasn't like that, but what had Bren called it? Painful, sad, pathetic and lonely. Something like that. She couldn't exactly share that with the group. That she'd come clean because she felt left out and her ribs were fucked. Because Aaron had convinced her Cal wouldn't kill her. It wasn't exactly the excuse they were looking for, but maybe nothing was.

"I don't want your pity and I don't expect you not to be pissed at me. But you're intelligent Jon, so I hope you can at least understand even if you don't like it. I thought I wouldn't come out of this alive so I was making it last as long as I could."

[alameresmanipulators]

Had your fill

[roleplaycafe]

Jon looked down at his bowl and smiled sarcastically. She wasn’t shying away from it, he’d give her that.

"The one about you being a woman, or the one about you being a liar?"

[alameresmanipulators]

"Well, I guess they're the same thing," she answered in a softer voice. Truthfully, she was glad he hadn't brushed it off. It meant he was at least giving her a chance.

"I meant what I said to Ryan though; it was the only way for me to get on a ship. I didn't just wake up one morning and decide it'd be fun to bind my chest. I tried for a long time before I got to this point."

[alameresmanipulators]

Had your fill

[roleplaycafe]

"The sky sisters," Clay explained. "Sun and Moon."

"They protect travellers," Jon interjected. He grinned. "And I wasn’t praying for you. I was honouring them because they’ve protected me. If they pay attention to you in the process,” he shrugged, “so be it.”

[alameresmanipulators]

She smiled to herself as she took another mouthful of stew.

Blair had worked with Clay a lot. It was important she was good in the kitchen so she'd have more chance to dispose of her rags. And Jon... well, he'd pretty much taken her side over Ryan's tonight.

The plan had been to prove her worth by standing up to anyone who questioned it, but now it was just the four of them left in the room and they'd earned some honest answers.

"So... do you want to talk about the issue we're not mentioning?"

[alameresmanipulators]

Had your fill

[roleplaycafe]

"Heth has her merits I suppose," Jon shrugged, "but you seem to be the kind to make your own protection so I don’t think you’ll be needing her graces in a hurry."

He kissed his middle and index fingertips and held them up for a second before grabbing Ryan’s bowl. He was able to remove the blob of his own spit nestling on the surface and dump it into his blood splattered bowl before eating in earnest.

"What was that?" Aaron asked.

"What?" Jon said through a mouthful of food. Aaron emulated Jon’s gesture with his fingers.

"Prayer," said Jon. "To the sisters".

"Saana and Talene," said Clay, doing the same.

Jon pointed at Sasha with his spoon. “She might not need Heth but it never hurts to have someone on your side.”

[alameresmanipulators]

"Saana and Talene?" She repeated, glancing at Aaron. He shook his head, like he hadn't heard of them either. It was easy to forget that Rassau had their own deities besides the Four. Especially since they honoured Lyr on this ship.

"Wait, did you just pray for me?"