* — enchantress!

yasmin berker. dependent rp account.

[reveriesques]

✧ ————  athena-thadd​

Athena shook her head. “Plenty of people have intelligent parents and can’t solve problems for themselves. Heritage is an illusion, an individual decides their path.” She looked at Yasmin with a softness in her eyes. “Regardless of your parents, you have made the choice to study magic. You might have more resources than the average person but that doesn’t negate the struggle. If magic was as simple a matter as birthright there would be a lot more sorcerers running around.” 

She offered Yasmine her hand as they walked along the beach. “It was smart of you to leave the book at the inn. Just because the book survived fire doesn’t mean it will survive sand and surf.” Athena considered what sort of power the grimoire itself held. She had always assumed grimoires were no different from any other book, just with more sensitive information. But Yasmine’s story implied the book itself was magic– which would explain a lot about the rarity of such books. 

“I have so many questions,” she admitted, looking up at the moon. “What language is the grimoire written in? Can only you read it since it’s a family book? Is the paper magic? The ink?” She looked at Yasmine with a sheepish smile. “I don’t expect you to have all the answers, I’m just thinking aloud.” She looked back up up to the sky. “I made be more of a novice than you at magic… but I have theories… about how it might work.” She perked up at the mention of nature and magic. “Yes, fascinating… that might explain why sorcerers flock to uninhabited islands, there would be a stronger connection to nature there.”

At the mention of a promise, Athena raised her brows. Then, as Yasmine spoke a smile spread across her lips. She stopped walking, turning to face Yasmine and taking her other hand in her own. The moon was like a spotlight overhead and she could see Yasmine’s features clearly in the moonlight. “I promise, no matter what, I will do any and everything in my power to help you decipher the book. Not just for myself but… well…” Her head cocked to the side and her features softened. “That book is all you have left of your family, yes? Then it is extremely important that you are able to understand it.”

Athena knew now was not the time to tell Yasmine the truth– how parallel their lives were. Orphans with no one who could properly teach them their family craft, left to speculation, and practicing under the cover of night. But perhaps someday the truth would reveal itself. 

Athena’s words were a balm to Yasmin’s self-doubt.  It kept her awake sometimes,  her inability to use the grimoire to its fullest extent,  her limited capacity to learn it because she had to learn in secret.  There was no one she could confide to then,  but now...  Yasmin breathed and she realized she felt relief.  Her fear had turned into a gratefulness so sharp and bright she thought it permeated her being like a shard of light.  “You’re right,”  she affirmed.  “It’s hard to learn alone,  even harder to learn inconspicuously.  At the very least I’ve made some small progress.  It’s better than nothing.”

Hand in hand they walked,  the rigger feeling more relaxed as they went.  She hadn’t realized she’d been wanting to talk about her magic with someone else,  and now that the opportunity is here,  it was like a dam had broken in her consciousness,  and the words came pouring out.  “It’s written in some sort of code,  I think,  so it’s indecipherable in the wrong hands.  There’s a key to decode but the instructions are in Turkish.  I can translate those for you.”  Yasmin had decoded a quarter of the book by herself,  but she still had leagues to go.  She suspected the code was magic,  and once it has been deciphered,  the grimoire would be readable in any language,  but she had yet to test that theory out.  Athena could help her confirm.

“What kind of theories do you have?”  She asked,  curious.  Moonglow bathed them both in silver light,  and for a moment,  everything felt surreal.  A weight had lifted off of Yasmin’s chest,  and she found that she wanted to trust.  Years and years of keeping people at arms’ length had brought her a loneliness that felt all-encompassing.  For the first time,  she felt the warmth of a friendship where she hid nothing,  where she could be who and what she was.  “I believe you.  I should think I’m a fool for trusting so easily...  this secret that I’ve kept for such a long time.  But for some reason,  I believe you.  And I’m grateful you found me out here tonight.”  Yasmin squeezed Athena’s hand and mirrored her soft smile. 

When they finally reached the inn,  the rigger ushered her companion into her quaint room,  gesturing for her to sit on the bed as she unearthed the grimoire from her neat box of belongings.  She held it tight in her grip and closed her eyes,  before handing it over to Athena.  “Here it is,”  she said,  watching carefully as the book exchanged hands.  Nothing catastrophic happened,  which was a fear she belatedly realized she had.  Yasmin exhaled a shaky breath.  “Feel anything?”  She asked.

[adelinedrxke]

After a brief moment of silence, Adeline turned to the other member of the crew sitting beside her, leaning forward so the other patrons in the tavern wouldn’t overhear her. “Do you ever feel like people can just tell that we’re up to something? We haven’t even been here for a full day and I feel like this whole town is looking at us like we’re about to murder the livestock and go parading about the place with torches,” she pointed out, looking back over her shoulder at a few of the locals. “Even if we’re not here out of malice or any sort of ill plotting, I just think they can tell we’re here for more than idle trade… Perhaps I’m just being too paranoid.”

[reveriesques]

Perhaps,  Yasmin thought,  but then again,  perhaps not.  The rigger looked around the tavern,  taking mental note of all the covert and not-so-covert looks people were throwing their way.  It was a shabby establishment  ( in comparison to the taverns of Port Royal )  but the food was not completely terrible,  and the drinks went down as it should.  Still,  there was a lingering discomfort,  brought upon by Westburgh’s pointed curiosity towards the Serpent’s crew.

It was a bit hard to ignore.  She can hardly blame Adeline for being so aware of it.  “We’ll prove them wrong,  then,”  Yasmin quipped,  sounding lighter than she felt.  “We’ll try not to murder any livestock or parade about with torches.  That should assuage their fears.”

She wasn’t so sure it would,  but if nothing goes amiss,  and they act as the pleasant traders they were assuming to be,  then the city’s inhabitants should stop being afraid,  right?  They should at least refrain from looking at them like that.  Yasmin sighed,  turning away from the woman whose eyes she caught.  “Try to relax,”  she told Adeline,  rubbing her back as an attempt at reassurance.  “We’ll be out of her as soon as we’ve traded our wares.”  The lie slipped past her lips with ease,  less for Adeline’s sake but more for anyone who might be eavesdropping.

[cleptaar]

The cold northern wind played with his hair. Sending a shiver down his back as he walked along the pier of Westburgh, past the fishermen who were busy with their work, yet they had enough time to stare in his direction. The curious glances had been easy to ignore when they first arrived in Westburgh, but as the day went by, the stares had become somewhat of a nuisance. “ The no fighting rule is starting to seem like a bad idea. “ Magni finally said to the person walking beside him. “ They’re acting as if they’ve never seen pirates before. “ 

[reveriesques]

The stares got to Yasmin,  too,  but she was a bit more adept at pretending not to notice than Magni was.  It wasn’t hard to understand why.  Westburgh was a city not frequented by pirates.  It held no candle to the temptations of Port Royal.  To its people,  they would seem like novelties,  characters they only heard of in drunken tales by sailors,  now in the flesh;  they can’t seem to help themselves but gawk.

“They’re looking at me,  you know.  It’s because I’m pretty.”  She smiled sideways at her companion,  meaning to ease the tension he was feeling.  From what she had gathered in the short time she spent in the place,  fighting was a big red flag.  It could earn them a reputation Yasmin would rather they didn’t,  considering their mission.  

“Perhaps they haven’t,  you know.  Not all of them but some.  Seen a pirate before,  I mean.  Maybe we’re the first.”  As they passed,  a man openly stared,  appraising Magni and Yasmin by his watery eyes.  The rigger stared right back until he was forced to look away.  “Do you think we intimidate them?”  She asked cheekily,  still sounding jovial.  “I sure hope we are.”

[reveriesques]

✧ ————  athena-thadd​:

From the ground, Athena looked up at Yasmine like a student looks at a teacher. She hung on every word of the story– but was surprised by how much Yasmine divulged. At first, she struggled to see what any of it had to with magic. If anything Yasmine’s life was far from magical. But then she went on about the fire and the untouched chest. Athena perked up then, moonlight reflecting off the whites of her eyes. 

“Well, clearly it’s rather powerful if a fire could not destroy it.” As she spoke another theory formed in her mind. From everything she heard magic was unstable– dangerous, a blight on humanity. Of course, she’d only ever heard these things from people who were human (as far as she knew) and so she was prone to doubt. But Yasmine’s story made her wonder where the fire had started and could an ignored grimoire lash out. Start a fire the way Yasmine had just done. Athena kept her theory to herself.

“… Nothing is ever easy,” she muttered to herself. Not even this conversation. There were so many things Athena wanted to ask but if she came on too strong Yasmine might suspect she was a sorcerer as well. Would that be so bad? Perhaps they could share each other’s secret or perhaps Yasmine would be so disappointed that Athena had nothing to offer in terms of magic she would hoard her grimoire and it’s secrets. Athena could not risk that. She stood up, dusting the sand off her skirt.

“I know nothing of magic,” she lied. “But I’m pretty adept with books. Could I… see your grimoire? I’ve never seen one before,” she lied again. For somewhere back home her mother’s book, bound in cowhide and dark wood, rested untouched for ten years. She raised her brows at Yasmine’s observation of magic. For her… magic seemed to surge with the tides and when the wind whipped through the trees. Storm surges made the magic within her bloom but she was much too afraid to test that power for herself. “It sounds like you are rather in tune with magic even if you can’t control it… yet.”

         Athena was not the first to suggest it.  Yasmin herself had speculated about the immense power of the grimoire,  though because of her lack of knowledge and experience,  she could not truly be sure about just how powerful the book was.  All she knew was that it called to her sometimes,  it appeared even in dreams,  beckoning her closer like it wanted to reveal all its secrets.  Come morning,  when Yasmin found the opportunity to squirrel some time away with the thing,  it remained stubbornly incomprehensible as ever,  and the rigger would always be left with nothing but itching frustration.

         “I suppose it is,”  came her wary answer as she watched Athena’s expression turn pensive.  What the woman was thinking,  Yasmin had no idea;  she could only hope it had nothing to do with exposing her secret to the crew.  “You’d think...  that because I have this  —  this magical heritage,  or whatever you’d like to call it  —  you’d think it would make it easier somehow...  But no.  I’ve had little by way of luck,  and look how much help I was when we were all in danger.”  There was a bitter edge to her tone and her usually soft features were hardened.  Helplessness was a bitter pill to swallow.

         The request took her by surprise.  Yasmin turned to Athena sharply,  forgetting her earlier train of thought.  “You...  want to see the book?”  She reiterated slowly,  blinking with an almost owlish expression.  The navigator appeared casual enough,  but the rigger could sense genuine interest in the way she was poised.  She decided it could be a token of trust somehow...  that if she showed Athena her curiosity of a grimoire,  it could appease whatever worries she had about Yasmin’s intent with magic.  “It’s with my stuff at the inn.  I was...  I didn’t want to bring it with me.”  She was going to add she didn’t chance the possibility of getting caught,  but it happened anyway,  grimoire or not.

         “Being out in the ocean helped me a lot with it.  I think nature is the true source of everything.  Come,”  Yasmin beckoned,  standing up from her perch.  “I’ll show you the book.  But you have to promise me something.”  She took a deep breath,  knowing she was threading shaky grounds.  “If you...  If it happens you could decipher it better than me...  Will you help me out?  Figure out the book,  I mean.”

[reveriesques]

✧ ————  satcrnalian​  ( tripp. )

          “I suppose you can’t have it all. That wouldn’t be fair, after all.” He smiled at her, a little softer than his usual cheeky grin, this time. 

          He’d gathered quite the amount of confidence over the years — his successful thievery and the admiring looks he’d receive from any passerby only adding to his heightened cockiness. “Never! I’m estimatin’ myself precisely right!” He lifted a finger as if to strengthen his certainty in the matter. “That goes without sayin’! Naturally, I’d miss you. Who else would banter with me the way you do?” He winked. “It’s a good thing I don’t plan on goin’ anywhere, innit?”

          The reaction was as expected — surprise, promptly followed by denial. A grimace pulled on his lips. His old name, although not a secret, felt like an ill-fitting glove at best. “That’s awfully harsh of you, Yassie,” Tripp replied, bottom-lip poking out in a pout. “Are you sayin’ you never get lonely like that, hm?” He cocked his head. “Never at all?”

         Beguiling  —  that was the word her mind had been frantically looking for,  the very same she’d choose to sum up his smile,  particularly the one he’d been directing at her.  It made Tripp look younger;  less than the debonair he paraded himself as and more like a boy.  There was nothing else for Yasmin to do but look away.

         He was quite right in his estimations,  however,  and despite herself,  she couldn’t help but grant him a reluctant,  tight-lipped smile.  Tripp was an excellent rigger;  his command for the task was borne out of instinct and experience.  More than anything else,  Yasmin appreciated his boundless good nature,  even as they worked late into the nights,  or during particularly harsh weather.  It made the grueling work so much easier to deal with.  With regards to his other gifts,  well...  It was beyond her to offer an opinion.

          "No one else,  I’m sure,”  she answered his question with some cheek of her own.  “I have a very unique sense of humor,  you see.  If I’m ever gone,  you’d be hard pressed finding someone like me in this big blue earth.”  

         “And awfully harsh,  eh?  Guess you’ve gotten used to being fussed over and flirted with and now it’s made you soft.”  Yasmin made a pfft sort of noise and stashed her coiled rope under a basin meant to catch rain water.  She always had a coil hidden there,  just in case.  When she caught Tripp’s next words,  she paused,  glancing back at him with a frown.

         “That doesn’t sound like your business,  is it?”  She questioned irritably,  color high in her cheeks and voice climbing down an octave.  Her eyes had hardened into two obsidian points.  “Besides,  that’s an awfully forward question to ask a lady,  don’t you think?  Even someone as low-born as myself do not wish to be asked such questions.”

[reveriesques]

✧ ————  luciien​ 

Lucien lifted a brow, a bit surprised he did not know that rope was stashed in that particular spot. Hm, well, now he knew. Taking the rope from her, he nodded his head once more in a curt thanks…or his equivalent. “Yes, this will do,” he replied after inspecting it for a moment, draping the coiled rope over his shoulder. He fought off any such urge to return to his post, attempting to give himself more social moments when they were at sea. Instead, he leaned against the railing. 

“The drinks may be nice at port, but I’d rather be sober at sea.” And, well, he usually was. Drinking at the helm and having anything less than sharp senses was a recipe for disaster. “Plus, I did not like dwelling in the same place our little friend was,” he continued, referring to their escaped sorcerer. 

         At the expression on Lucien’s face,  Yasmin felt inclined to explain.  “I always have a bit of rope hidden here.  You know,  just in case.”  She smiled and observed him.  The helmsman seemed to be torn about something,  though about what,  the rigger could not begin to guess.  He was not as much of a social creature as the others  ( six years of being on a ship with him had taught her that )  but he was nice enough,  in her experience.

          “That’s all the ports are good for,  I think.  Drinking,  gallivanting,  and all the other stuff.”  She looked out at the sea again and felt a soothing contentment fill her up.  “It’s nice to be on land from time to time,  but there’s nothing quite like this,”  Yasmin gestured at the ocean,  though the mention of their escaped enemy had her looking back at Lucien,  brows furrowed in a light frown.  “I have an odd feeling we’ll see him again at some point,”  she admitted,  feeling disconcerted all of a sudden.  “I don’t think he’ll magically forget about us,  as much as I want it to be true.”

[reveriesques]

✧ ————  satcrnalian​  ( trippie )

               “Is that so?” Tripp had a good look at her. She was older than he, had been on the crew longer, but he could not claim she looked old — or heavily exposed to the sea’s harsh impact. “You don’t look the part.” 

              The weeks spent on hold in Port Royal had felt both dreadfully long and awfully short. Dreadfully long, because of the threat hanging above their heads like a sword on a thread, and too short because now, they were diving into another adventure, trying to discover another piece to the puzzle that was the jewels and the power they held.

              “I don’t doubt that.” Tripp lowered his hand from where she’s pushed it away before tilting his head, a question swimming in his eyes. “But will you also be to completely fill in the void caused by the lack of my particular charm and humor, hm?”

              His lips parted as a sudden thought popped up in his head. “Why, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you are jealous.” And although the words were posed as merely a teasing remark, the rigger raised his brows ever so slightly. Perhaps a bit curious as to what her answer to that would be. “If you are lonely and wish for my attention, you need only say so, Yasmin.”

         “Your eyes are deceiving you,  then.  I feel the part.”  She was,  of course,  lying.  Yasmin didn’t know what it was exactly,  but she knew enough about her heritage to be sure it wasn’t natural.  Now that she thought about it,  her mother also looked oddly young for her age,  though at the time,  she didn’t truly notice it.  Still,  it unnerved her that Tripp could point it out.

         She rolled her eyes at him  —  fondly  —  and proceeded to re-coil a spare length of rope in her hand.  “Aren’t you overestimating yourself?”  The rigger asked with a raised brow.  It was true that she would miss his charm and humor if he ever did leave,  but it felt foolish to admit it now.  “In any case,  I’m sure I can make do.  Maybe you’ll miss me and you’re just projecting.”

          Her head whipped around so fast in his direction at his preposterous claim.  The use of her full name didn’t help things,  either.  Jealous?  Her?  Yasmin scoffed,  bravely meeting his gaze.  “I do not wish for anyone’s attention,  Tomas.  Much less yours.  I’m not willing to catch whatever it is that you’ve caught at these ports.”  However lonely it could get,  she would rather pitch herself off the side of the ship’s rails.

[reveriesques]

✧ ————  adelinedrxke​

Adeline looked up at Yasmin with a slight raise to her brow. “You think that’s all that it is?” She clarified before lying her head back again to take in the constellations above them. Maybe looking up at something so wide and expansive made it harder to ponder little possibilities, but the rigger certainly had a point. “I’d hoped being back at sea might settle my nerves sooner rather than later, but no such luck. Some part of me doesn’t like knowing that sailing about with one of the Jewels paints a target on our backs, so that’s probably part of it,” she admitted, allowing herself to slip into a bit of a ramble. It wasn’t out of the ordinary in terms of her interactions with the younger woman.

The question brought a small smile back to Adeline’s features, though. “Aren’t I the one normally asking people that?” She joked before shrugging from her spot against the deck. It wasn’t just one thing she could put her finger on. A lot of her current—and even recent—circumstances just painted a perfect sort of confusion for her mind to try and process through. “Hmm, I’m sure you’re selling yourself short with that assessment. Although none of us could hope to sound like Lyra, to be fair,” she pointed out before sobering a bit. “I never paid much mind to the idea of my future or what anything beyond the next few weeks might hold for me until recently… so the fact that it’s occupying my mind at an almost constant degree now is a bit daunting, if I’m being honest.”

          Adeline painted a grim picture with her words,  but Yasmin had to admit she spoke true.  Their hunt for the jewels made them targets,  and recent events certainly did very little to help their case.  Still,  it was a risk they were all aware of.  The moment they stepped on the ship and committed to a life at sea,  they were surrendering their fates to forces they couldn’t hope to control.  It was fair to worry,  though.  She couldn’t fault her friend for that.  “We’ll find a way to survive it,”  Yasmin claimed in spite of herself as she sat next to Adeline.  “We always do,  don’t we?  In any case,  whatever happens,  I have your back.”

          She was no force of nature,  so perhaps she wasn’t being as reassuring as she hoped,  but the sentiment was genuine nonetheless.  When Adeline’s face finally broke into a small smile,  the rigger felt a measure of comfort.  “Yes,  you are.  So I thought I’d ask you for a change.  And right,  that’s fair  —  Lyra’s on a league of her own.”  Yasmin watched as Adeline turned somber again,  listening intently to her words as she confessed them into the night.  She twined her arm against the gunner’s in a show of solidarity.  “It scares me,  too,”  she whispered.  “The future,  I mean.  So much could happen and I don’t think I’m ready for any of it.  I try not to dwell on it,  but it’s hard.  But after everything...  I think...  I think it’s alright to be afraid.  I’m trying not to berate myself so much over it.”

[reveriesques]

✧ ————  athena-thadd​

Yasmine had a look upon her face as if Athena had caught her burying a body in the sand. No, not quite, the crew wouldn’t mind if she killed a man– they’d probably assume he had it coming. But magic? That was a different story entirely. Athena pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest. “Alright, I’ll listen,” she said coldly in an attempt to hide her innate curiosity. Her eyes flickered between Yasmine and the surrounding sand as she looked for a grimoire.

Every word that came out of Yasmine’s mouth sounded like a leaf in the wind. Athena furrowed her brows, again trying to hide her true emotions. So Yasmine was a novice like herself but she had the confidence to attempt a spell. An interesting but dangerous line to walk. Athena considered that Yasmine must have access to a grimoire of sorts, otherwise, her attempts at magic would be random and likely in vain. But how did she ask Yasmine about the book without outing herself as well?

Athena stepped forward, closing the gap between them. Her eyes narrow and brows knit, she finally spoke. “I will speak of this to no one, on one condition…” the sound of the waves filled her ears, the water not far from the women’s feet. “I want you to tell me everything you know about magic. I don’t care how little you think you know, it pales in comparison to what a common person like myself knows.”

Then she walked away, just a few steps away from Yasmine before she sat on the sand. She looked up expectantly. “Well, go on, show me what you were working on. They say you can learn a lot from failure and I aim to do the same.” She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, sitting comfortably. 

         That wasn’t so bad...  right?  Athena did not seem to be entirely inclined to tell the crew about her,  on the simple condition that she divulged what she knew.  Yasmin knew so little that telling it all would take no time,  but then there was the question of how she knew what she knew,  little though it was.  The rigger was aware it was part of the bargain though no specifications were made,  and she didn’t think she could gloss over it or lie.

         “I don’t know much,  really,”  she began,  voice halting and dark brows furrowed.  It’d be best to start from the beginning [1],  she thought,  and so she told Athena about their house in London,  about her immigrant parents and growing up in the slums.  It was a rambling story of her childhood up to the time she was 15,  when a fire ravaged her poor neighborhood,  reducing everything to soot and ashes except that one black box,  which belonged to her mother.

         “ — I found it under what used to be her bed.  It was...  clean.  Untouched.  Not a speck of soot or ash or dust on it.  I thought it was strange so I took it with me.  When I opened it later on,  it contained a grimoire.”  She didn’t say anything about the letters;  those were personal to Yasmin,  just between her and her mother.  It would feel like a violation if those letters were seen by another set of eyes.

          “I’d been trying to make sense of the grimoire ever since,  but it hasn’t been easy.  My mother...  she had to hide what she was,  I understand that now.  Maybe that’s why my parents came to England and stayed despite the poverty.  And if she was a sorcerer,  then I must be,  too.  Only...  I don’t know how to make use of my abilities,  and that’s frustrating.  I’m sick of feeling helpless.”  Luna Island was a rude awakening  —  against the powers that ruled the world,  there was little she could do to save her friends.  Yasmin couldn’t bear it.

             She looked away just then,  blinking rapidly,  before facing Athena again.  “Aside from that,  all I can tell you is it seems to be affected by...  certain shifts in nature.  Magic,  I mean.  Or at least it is for me.”

[reveriesques]

✧ ————  doctor-durant​

Being above decks was often odd at the beginning of each voyage. As a, quite literal, farm child, Thaddeus became readjusted to the feeling of ground underfoot much faster than the movement of the ocean. Call it familiarity, if not also sentimentality, but the sea still never held any ill image in their mind. A bit of salt water air on the breeze and a few days of shifting along the waves usually brought them back to the routine easily.

There were several members of the crew scattered about above deck, but Yasmin seemed to be the only one not working at the moment. The trance she seemed to be in was a bit amusing to their outside perspective, and they even went so far as to wave a hand near her face before she greeted them. “Welcome back to the present,” they teased, settling down beside her in the offered spot. “Mmm, I’m getting back into the mindset of my sea legs. Guess that means I’m not as ‘built’ for this as you lot.”

         She smiled at the teasing,  quite used to it by now.  Yasmin had the habit of lapsing into daydreams,  or just getting too lost and absorbed inside her own thoughts.  The doctor wasn’t the first one to beckon her back to the present with the wave of a hand  ( it was quite the effective way of pulling her into reality ).  She blinked at them and smiled,  tucking her legs under her skirt in an effort to get more comfortable.

         “Don’t feel too bad about it,”  she responded.  The ship below their feet rolled along with the waves,  and there were days when Yasmin herself wasn’t so sure she could trust the deck’s flat surface.  After the stability of Port Royal,  it was something to get used to again,  and it came easier to some than it did for others.  “You should have seen me during my first year onboard,”  a light chuckle followed her words,  coupled with a look of embarrassment.  “I was a mess.  I was in the doctor’s quarter every two days.  I swear if I wasn’t so good at mending sails,  the captain would have gotten rid of me.”  Bradway liked to joke about it,  but Yasmin didn’t really believe him.  It still hurt to think he was gone at times.

        “Besides,  you’re still with us,  aren’t you?  I’d say you’re just as built for this as we are.”  The rigger bumped the doctor’s shoulder lightly.  Her face was aglow with a playful smile.  “You’ll get your sea legs back in no time.”

[reveriesques]

✧ ————  jax-harper​  ( captain )

“Don’t tell you?” Jax raised a brow, his suspicions heightened for a moment. He didn’t really think Yasmin was the traitor. She had never shown any traitorous qualities. Then again…did he really think anyone on his ship had what it took to betray them? No, he didn’t…and yet, someone had. “I will pitch them into the water when I discover who they are. Too much time has passed. I can’t be merciful now. Clearly, they feel no remorse for the fate they tried to force for us.”

         She nodded her head vigorously,  looking him squarely in the eye.  “I think the less people know about a plan to catch a traitor,  the better.  So aye  —  I would rather not know.”  Knowledge has a way of falling into the wrong hands,  and even the walls have ears.  Six years she’d been aboard this ship and it never occurred to her someone could betray them the way this traitor did.  She wanted them caught and fast.  “Whoever they are,  they showed us no mercy,  either.  And they almost cost us everything.”  It was hard to accept and even harder to forgive.  “I doubt they’d hold back on doing it again should the opportunity present itself,  and quite frankly I’m afraid to find out if I’m right.”

[reveriesques]

✧ ————  siren-scng​  ( lyra )

Lyra scoffed, rolling her eyes at the idea of peace and quiet. She used the bow to point at Yasmin, almost accusingly. “You won’t be saying that when we all go mad from too much peace and quiet,” she warned. Maybe she was the only one who couldn’t stand the silence for too long, though. “I just learned,” she announced, setting the bow to the string, she experimentally struck a few notes. Lyra wasn’t one for book learning, but when it came to music, it was like she could pick it up in her sleep. When the rigger asked for a lively tune, Lyra nodded obligingly, striking up a simple, but jovial tune –with a few screechy notes, to be sure. Nobody was perfect, right?

         "Too much peace and quiet with this crew sounds like a myth.  Unless there’s some type of supernatural intervention,  I highly doubt it’s a possibility.”  Though the thought of supernatural intervention was not at all impossible,  and Yasmin fervently wished it never had to come to that.  She nodded her head at Lyra’s response,  not at all surprised,  but definitely impressed.  “Well,”  the rigger began,  after the musician finished striking up a cheerful tune,  “it could do with a bit more polishing,  for sure.  But for someone who’s just learned,  it’s pretty great.  I think it would lift everyone’s spirits to hear you play.”  The sea had helped them a great deal when it came to that,  but music was always a welcome reprieve,  too.  “At the very least,  it could drive away the thoughts of... you know,”  the traitor,  though she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.  “Even for a short while.”

[reveriesques]

✧ ————  lachlanatsea​

“No complaints here,” Lachlan said. His manner had shifted the moment they’d left the port, loosening, a smile more often found on his face. He certainly felt better on open waters. Port Royal swarmed with humans, and for a mer hoping to stay unnoticed, it was impossible to relax. In a little more than a year, the ship had become more of a sanctuary than he could have hoped. He had friends here. One even knew him for who he was. Sorcerer on their trail or not, this was where he wanted to be. 

He took a seat by Yasmin’s side, rooting through his satchel before seizing upon a small object. He held it up to the sun; a pocket watch, backed with delicate stained glass. “I picked it up in a shop before we left,” he said, cheerful. “’One of a kind’, the owner said. Of course, I saw many more like it in the back room, but I’d like to think mine’s special. Have you brought back any souvenirs?” 

         The pocket watch glinted in the sunlight,  its dials hard to see from where she sat,  though Yasmin thought it did look like it cost a fortune.  Lachlan seemed to be happy with his acquisition,  and the rigger threw him a smile.  “Did the owner say why it is one of a kind?”  She asked,  curious.  She’d been to the shops at Port Royal,  sifting through various trinkets and wondering how could they be of use.  In the end,  she wounded up buying two simple dresses and some cotton undergarments to use at sea,  though disclosing it to Lachlan didn’t seem like the best idea.

         There was one thing though that felt appropriate to show him.  It wasn’t so much of a purchase as a lucky find,  though she supposed it still counted as a souvenir.  Yasmin reached into her pocket to show him a small cluster of light pink crystal.  “It’s rose quartz,”  the rigger explained,  offering it to him to hold if he wanted.  “It’s not exactly a jewel of destiny,  but it’s supposed to have some type of positive energy about it.”  She gave a small,  almost non-committal shrug.  “Could be something that we’d need at some point,  don’t you think?”

[reveriesques]

✧ ————  cleptaar​  ( magni )

“ They didn’t believe you? How dare they? “ He placed his hand on his chest, right over his heart in a feigned shock as if he was one of the ladies at the court of the kings and queens around Europe after hearing a particularly vulgar joke. “ My ma took one good look at me while I was screaming and hollering like a banshee and knew my middle name should be Ruckus. “ Soon, the corners of his lips turned upwards into his signature grin before he leaned back against the railings of the ship, closing his eyes momentarily while he listened to her speak.

The way the ship moved with the waves always seemed to be able to ease any worry that might be on his mind, even if it was only for a second. “ I agree, it’s good to be back, but how long do you think we’ll be able to sail before something will mysterious attack us? Perhaps it will be a vampire this time around or maybe even a ghost. “

          She laughed,  the sound of it like tiny tinkling bells dispersed to oblivion by the ocean breeze.  Talking to Magni always had the effect of cheering her up,  no matter her emotional state prior to their conversations.  Yasmin was glad to be sitting with him.  “I know,  I was quite offended.  Imagine doubting me of all people.”  The rigger returned the quartermaster’s grin,  pulling her legs underneath her skirts as she tried to make herself more comfortable.

          His words echoed some of her concerns.  It’s true that being back at sea brought her immense comfort,  but they were in more danger now than they ever had been,  and it will only be a matter of time before the next crisis crashed into their hull.  “A vampire?  You think we’ll encounter one of those?”  There was something comical about it that appealed to her Bulgarian heritage.  In Yasmin’s youth,  her mother had regaled her with tales of Vlad Dracul,  the Wallachian prince rumored to be one of the undead,  the very same who defied the Turks for so long.  Meeting him at sea would be outlandish  —  but that could be said of everything they’ve experienced thus far.  Yasmin thought she would not be very surprised.

         “Ghosts aren’t too scary,  though.  I think living people are far more terrifying. As for how long until we’re faced with another complication,  I’d say sometime soon.  I’d say we’ve got to be ready...  but really,  do we even know what to prepare for?”

[adelinedrxke]

Lying down on the top deck in the dead of night seemed as good of a solution to Adeline’s apparent insomnia as anything. Stargazing tended to clear her mind, after all, and could also pass the time, if nothing else. The sound of footsteps made her turn her head a bit to catch sight of her visitor, though. “How is it that we’re finally back on the open water, free of the intruder, and now is the time I can’t sleep?” The question was rhetorical, to be fair, but she still looked up at her crewmate as if she was curious to their thoughts on the situation.

[reveriesques]

          Yasmin smiled and sat down next to Adeline,  pondering her question.  Cool sea breeze blew around them,  though the water itself was barely visible in the darkness,  illuminated only just a bit by starlight.  “Your body might still be adjusting.  We’ve been on land for a while.”  She,  too,  was having trouble relaxing enough to get a decent night’s sleep.  They were back at sea,  where they belonged,  but Yasmin was plagued with worries.  So much has happened,  she thought.  Who knew what they’ll encounter next?

         She was fairly certain she wasn’t the only one who had the same anxieties.  “Anything bothering you,  though?  You know you can talk to me.”  Adeline had been like a sister,  a mentor,  and a friend.  She lent a helping hand to Yasmin on her first few months aboard the Serpent,  and had been a comforting presence long after that,  and the rigger was eternally grateful.  “Or we can just sit here,” she offered.  “I can sing you a lullaby to help you sleep... or maybe it’ll just piss you off.  I don’t sound like Lyra.  At all.”

[reveriesques]

✧ ———— cleptaar​  ( magni )

Countless thoughts kept running through his mind as they finally set sail towards their next great adventure or their next great catastrophe. Not only had they lost the sorcerer who knew way too much about their ship and the crew, who could be set on getting his revenge against them, but they still hadn’t found the person who was willing to betray them to save his own life. The uncertainty of everything that had been happening to them and their future had been far from his mind while he was on land, but now as they were sailing once again it came crashing over him. They had to get everything in order before trouble would find them again. 

Magni had been running around the ship the entire day, making sure everything was going according to their plan, he hadn’t even given himself a moment to relax, that is until he noticed Yasmin and despite everything that was happening, a smile appeared on his lips. “ Oh yes, everything’s fine. “ He told her as he sat down beside her. “ It is. While I did enjoy causing a ruckus on land, and occasionally being the reason a fight would break out at the tavern, I was still getting antsy being on land for so long. “

         “I was telling everyone who would listen that Ruckus is your middle name,  but I don’t think they believed me.”  A playful smile pulled at Yasmin’s lips,  happy to have made Magni sit after watching him run around the ship all day.  He was nothing short of meticulous when it came to his job.  Yasmin thought it was admirable,  though she sometimes felt exhausted on his behalf.  “No matter,  I’ll have my opportunity again at the next port  —  though I hope we don’t have to make land anytime soon.”

          Not until they found what they were after,  at least.  Since the events that transpired on Luna Island and their voyage towards Port Royal,  they have all the more reason to go after the jewels.  Yasmin could feel a feverish motivation driving the crew,  and an agitated curiosity about the traitor who walked among them.  “It’s good to be back,  truly,”  she reaffirmed,  not wanting to broach her darker worries in the light of day.  “I’ve missed breeze and the waves.  Nothing like the briny blue ocean to make one feel invigorated,  yes?”

[siren-scng]

Sea Shanties

“Don’t be too hard on me… I gotta try something,” Lyra gave a nervous, albeit excited chuckle as she brandished her latest land acquisition: a gently used fiddle. The old man she’d pawned it off of had given her some brief lessons, but she was still far from an expert. “The ship would get so boring without music, don’t you think?” She couldn’t sing anymore, so she thought this might keep the crew entertained. @reveriesques​

[reveriesques]

         “I don’t know,  maybe we could use some peace and quiet,”  Yasmin teased,  leaning against a wooden barrel and eyeing Lyra’s newest toy.  Her eyes sparkled with good humor as she appraised the musician,  who looked quite happy with the fiddle.  “Did you already know how to play,  or did you learn at Port Royal?”  She wouldn’t be surprised if the girl had just learned it.  Lyra had always seemed like a quick study to Yasmin.  “Let’s hear it then,”  she urged,  smoothing her skirts with her hand.  “I think a lively tune is in order now that we’re finally back at sea.  I promise I won’t be overly critical.”