Thar Shaddin

As the cat was pried slowly from the fabric and chest of the man holding him, he finally seemed to calm at the sight of the dog being held back, and now that the shrill barking was not ringing in his sensitive ears. Cat suddenly realized that the suddenness of the situation had forced his claws outward and he was obviously hurting his hero of sorts, so he did the very uncat-like favor of retracting them and settling his soft paws over the man's shoulder. He really wasn't fond of being held by anyone, because it made him feel girlish and helpless. But, he would rather accept that there was a damn dog in the room and avoid the next barking session than be put down. Twisting his neck uncomfortably so he could see what was going on, he made a small grimace at the mention of brandy. The idea that alcohol of all things was actually necessary to treat a few cat scratches was laughable and stupid, to say the least. These were either idiots, or complete pussies (pardon the pun).

He couldn't help but watch the girl with mild interest while she picked her nails with a weapon which was clearly not designed for such a thing. He rolled his eyes out of a human reflex, which didn't really work because feline eyes are stupidly fixed in their position.

“Wipe your cuts with this. It’ll burn, but it will clean better than water.”

"Pussies..." he muttered under his breath, and licked his lips.

The irony of the situation, the strangeness of it all, might have baffled him if he wasn't still being bombarded with the scent of the dog and the luscious curves of the apparently handicapped girl at the same time. It was all too confusing and aggravating for him. But, it could have been worse.

He could be alone.

The claws suddenly and easily came out of his skin. Ko could feel a slight dampness, a stickiness that meant his shirt was done for. He had no problem handing over the cat. He took the rag, and held it limp-like as he bent his neck to get a good square look at the damage done. He weren't no tailor but he could mend some things, a man had to when he was on the road often. Ko couldn't afford to stay in one place too damn long. The shirt was ruined past his own abilities, the punctures puckering the cloth and frayed the edges up. Clean cuts were better. Always better.

He swiped a drink from the bottle of brandy, then pulled off his shirt. He used the brandy on the cloth to clean up the general area of the puncture wounds, no better ideas there. No reason to look a blood smeared horror. It would be stickier, soon. "I'm in." He said, gruff as he pointedly ignored the cat and the strange noise it had made, swaggering over to the table and sitting down.

"Cards?" Jin said. The gnome's face screwed up in a very uncomfortable looking expression.

"Yer the leader, hey? Go talk rounds with the Cap'n." Ko said with a snort, his dislike of the gnome showing plain and ugly. Jin glared back.

"Yes, you would like the man to be angrier with me, wouldn't you." He softened a touch as he turned to Selena. "I will, lady. It would be best to wait until they have finished the necessary tasks."

Even as he spoke the muffled thumping of running feet could be heard from the top deck, and the angry, muffled goading of the first mate as he yelled his captain's orders. The men of the ship were not sitting idly by. Except for Ko, of course, but it really wasn't his ship and he was feeling particularly sulky.

Jin bravely tried to take charge. "We can inventory the room in the meantime. See what we have."

~Emerald Hues relaxed on the brandy as it was taken out. She said nothing at the moment but merely took the last chip of dirt out of her nail. She placed her dagger away and merely leaned on the wall. She loved alcohol but this was no time for drinking. Selena sighed than as she moved forward. "There will be no need to place alcohol on the wound. I can heal it." She said softly, her steps barely making a sound as she moved over the wooden floors. Selena had learned how to heal minor wounds a long time ago, and once she was asked if she would ever do more into depth in the art of healing. She had once contemplated it, until she saw the raw power that true mages could wield without dying. Power was something that she had ambition for and that was the only thing. She drew her thoughts onto other things at that moment for those thoughts were for another time. She looked again at the brandy and merely closed her eyes. She felt a bit uneasy from all the previous tossing and turning of the ship.

She took a deep breath and merely waited to see if her offer would be accepted. Normally she wouldn't offer to use her magic to heal wounds because it would weaken her, although it was minor, she felt that she would always need herself at full strength. A smile crossed her lips as she looked at the brandy again. "A shame....drinking always helps....even if it is to endure the moment or to have fun." Selena said softly. The comment was more so to herself, but her thoughts carried into her voice. She regarded Shann with a slight smile.

Ceallach eyed the woman with some suspicion. She was a magic user. Even if her specialty was healing, this cast her character into a bit of doubt. He’d learned over the course of his life that they were an unsavory lot.

“My primary duty is to guard you,” He said as he faced the gnome. “But I am only a portion of my fighting effiency when I’m not properly equipped.”

He set the cutlass on the table and turned toward the door to the cabin.

“I’ll be back once I’ve gathered my effects.”

He then casually strolled out the door and slammed it behind him.

Shann pulled a chair up to the table. He then had enough sense to take the time to find one of the heavier boxes in the room and pushing it up against the back of his chair. If the room was going to rock again he was not about to go falling backwards out of his chair and make himself look like an ass. When he was satisfied that he was not going anywhere, he sat down in the chair and began to shuffle the deck of cards.

He split the deck, folded it back onto itself, split it again. Then he gave the lady a wink and his trademark smile that said, 'why don't you come on over here for a bit.' That's when he started showing off. He tried his best to look as if no effort or skill went into the artful way in which he played with the deck. He shuffled the deck using only one hand, then cards flew from one had over to the other while he kept his eyes focused on the girl. He fanned the cards out along the table, flipped them over by running a finger over them then turned them back only to shuffle them again.

When he was finally satisfied that he had indeed made his mark and quite possibly intimidated the others with his skill, he began to deal cards out to the others. He whistled to the boy when he was finished and pointed at the spot directly across from him at the table. "Tie the dog up and sit down." Zain did as he was told and the dog found himself chained up to one of the leg posts of the bed.

"Why don't you come sit over here miss," he reached over and pulled an overturned chair up next to his. "that is unless you require some place more comfortable to sit."

As he was set down, Cat immediately moved to and jumped onto the nearby table to avoid the dog out of the very instinctual fear that still plagued him. It wasn't a very large table, big enough to play cards on perhaps and organize papers, but didn't offer much leg room. No matter. His tail waggled with feline frustration off the end of the table, and he sat there regally with the intent to not take up too much space so that he would not be removed. He didn't realize he was sitting on a piece of paper, or anything that happened to be written on it. Something sticky was on the other side of it, hence why it had stuck to the table during their little toss and turn festival.

It was mildly peculiar behavior for a cat to seem oddly at home with strangers. To be fair, he didn't feel very comfortable, but any other cat who had just been attacked by a dog would have flew out the door when the large man opened it. Cat did not. He just sat there, staring oddly at the door and then turning to study the faces of his new temporary alliance-against-dogs.

Cards. He'd never really been a huge fan of those.

He watched with a vague interest while the elf shuffled the cards, keeping an ear trained on the dog despite the addition of the chain. There was some crafty trickery to those slender hands; it was something that made him jealous although he'd never admit to it. He missed fingers. He usually didn't think about it but it was actions like this, watching artful dexterity and talent with humanoid hands that made him remember, made him wish.

When the deal itself came he was tempted to raise a paw and get his own hand of cards but instead he took to staring at the girl and studying her chest.

Ko was on his way to a promised seat with an idea to get the woman to look real close at his wounds when Jinhuff made a noise at the shutting at the door. Ko looked at the gnome's hand -- ever conscious of the potential ugliness in his companions -- and could not misinterpret the rough gesture at the door. After Ceallach. He stiffened, and narrowed his eyes, but the gnome only pointed again with more firmness.

Ko swore, and glared, but changed directions to stalk out the door and after Ceallach like some nanny goat. He was not pleased at the notion, and had a mind to lark off to some other destination out of spite. But he wanted to stay 'round Shann, and he wouldn't be doing that if he stiffed the gnome's interests. So he did as bid, and followed the warrior man a few paces behind.

Jin watched Ko leave with no small satisfaction, and didn't spare a glance for the table. "If you'd be so kind, madam, I would appreciate my . . . wounds being tended to." He did not look at the cat, but it was in the tone of his voice that he wondered at the thing still being in the room. He stood waiting for the woman's move, unsure what form her magic might take.

~ *~

Selena gave a brief smile as she gazed over the face of the cat. It would seem that he held an interest in her. She couldn't at the moment contemplate what interest the cat would have in her, or even begin to understand where the cat's gaze fell but she smiled non the less. She had always preferred cats over dogs, even though she would deny neither one her hugs and kisses. Animals always held a keen sense of spiritual awareness and in time that would be useful for this group of adventurers. Selena then turned towards the door that was closed. That barbarian was always so rash and so quick to move on any notions he held in his mind. He brute strength was impressive but she hoped that he would learn to quell his inner anger and find a small sense of peace and tranquility. She had dreamed of a man like him before, and before this journey end, he may yet understand that no matter how many foes you cut out, he is but a slave to fate and destiny's hand. Her smile slowly faded as she regarded the man with the wounds.

She gazed over him, and she could feel the dripping in the back of her mind...drip.....drip...Her mana wanted to be used, it was fiending for it. It wanted her to allow it out of its control cage and to reach out and embrace the world she walked in. This was something she had always struggled with. Her elven mother once told her that when you learn magic, especially magic that manipulates any kind of element of the weather, mana turns into a type of power that always wants to be released. She had once read that this urge to use all of the mana is a way that many spell users had forfeited their lives. For once a sorceress or wizard uses all of their power, they then resort to draw upon their own soul for power and normally when you get to that point you cannot stop and that magic user dies. But by understanding oneself and that of nature itself, she could ultimately learn how to defy this power and bend nature to her will. When dealing with nature, Selena had learned a small bit of knowledge of the human body. Her mother was always hard on her studies and made sure she would not be ignorant of cuts and bruises she may obtain in her training. The subject of the human body always came naturally to Selena, and the breakdown and legends of what the body can do. Selena walked over to Jin and said nothing. She felt the drip of her mana again aching to be released, but she was the master of her mind and soul. Her body tensed and with that, she suppressed the urge to unleashed her power until she was well and ready. Her hands reached out and gently touched Jin upon the shoulder, very close to where those punctures marks were made. It was time for her to release her magic. She felt the urge and this time, she decided to allow it, she embraced the coming of her mana. Her emerald hues seemed to flare with a small white light, as she felt her wave of mana move from her heart, into her hands and out of her fingertips. The small light curled and twisted around the wounds of jin,and with that Selena closed her eyes. She could feel the small irritation and edema of the wounds. She could feel the breaking of the skin and the heat the abrasions were giving off. She smelled the scent of alcohol, its fluid destroying any type of bacteria that could have infected the wound. Slowly her mind began to imagine the flesh connecting back into itself. She thought of the skin, of the vessels that had been cut by the scratch, the withdraw of blood. She said nothing but only thought of it, but as she formed these thoughts her mana reacted, and slowly began to seal up the wounds as if nothing had happened. Selena's breath slowly dramatically and she opened her eyes, to stare at the wound. The skin has sealed completely and no marks of the wound was left to be seen. She struggled but withdraw her mana from the man's shoulder and absorbed it into her body to be locked away again. Her fingertips slowly moved over the once wounded site. His skin felt soft and with that Selena chuckled. "As you wished." She said softly, and turned towards shann and sat down near him. "Now, what do we do next?" She beckoned the cat to come to her, and offered her lap to him. They had to move onto the next part of their journey, wherever that may be.

Other than a few wary looks from the crew and more than a few of the passengers, Ceallach's journey to his rack proceeded without incident.

He discarded the cutlass, simply tossing the weapon aside as if its inferior manufacture offended him.

The warrior stripped off his tunic and used the garmet to wipe his brow. He folded it neatly and placed it on his mattress.

From within his knapsack, he produced another tunic, this one deep red just as the other had been.

He tugged it on, once again covering his heavily tattooed torso.

After that, he donned his scale mail and shuffled about until the weight was evenly distributed on his massive frame.

He picked up his short sword, and drawing the weapon from its scabbard, looked at his scarred visage in the reflection that stared back at him from the flawless blade. His blue eye winked at him and his brown one simply hid within the shadows cast by his prominent brow.

Involuntarily, he shivered and retched. The weapon was hastily rammed back home and, once his hands were again steady, Ceallach put on the sword and baldric.

With great effort, he slowed his breathing and strapped his caestus to his off hand and grabbed his shield.

He stood, keeping his head bowed so as not to strike it upon the overhead. He was a tall man and the sooner he could be off of this midget vessel, the better.

Shann wasn't one to get overly excited when it came to magic or its use in healing. Over the years he had watched more men, women and children cured of all sorts of wounds by both his mother and his sisters. It had been a long time since he had found what it was that they did to be even the slight bit interesting. In their rural village, it was a common occurrence to see all sorts of farming, hunting and event wood splitting accidents. Fingers got smashed, bones were broken, ankles were twisted and that's not to mention some of the more serious injuries.

More often than he could count, Shann could remember waking up in the middle of the night to see his father and other men from the village carrying an injured person into the house and laying them across the table so that his mother could heal them. Their kitchen often served as a makeshift hospital when it was needed. Where food was cooked and fed to the children during the day, at night the space often served this other purpose.

As a young man he had helped where he could. Though he never showed an ounce of magical ability, he could lift a hand and well...lift a near unconscious man onto a table. However, he always had this feeling that what he could offer as far as help was less than helpful. There were always too many people crowded into a kitchen that just wasn't large enough to fit everyone and with time he found himself standing further and further away until the young man standing in the doorway became the man who didn't wake up at the sound of knocking at wee hours of the night.

That was why when the girl left his side to heal the gnome, Shann took little interest in her actions. It was only through a sideways glance that he even watched her and that was more do to the fact that he found he attractive than anything. Magic was the least of his concern when compared to that shapely little body she had. He noted the change in her breathing as his eyes lingered on her chest and if he wasn't mistaken, that was a look of self-gratification on her face.

Did she just...?

The temptation to smile and even comment on the issue was hard to resist. Nothing short of putting his own fist in his mouth and forcing himself to look away kept him from making an ass of himself. However, that only made it harder not to think about it and ways he could convince the girl to use her magic later.

In an odd kind of instant in which several facial expressions and gestures were exchanged, his rescuer was suddenly out the door and gone in a wash of grumbles and curses. It seemed like a shame to Cat, but then he didn't think anyone would be terribly interested in staying simply because the feline wanted to stare at them and size them up. The gnome blathered some shite about his "wounds" and it was with that little note that the cat felt very much like smacking the idiot across the face again. These were some pretty pathetic men, to be whining so much about a few cat scratches. The gnome was actually the most understandable, as it was the succulent young peach that was offering her magics and he was smaller than the others by far, so naturally cat scratches would be more bothersome. And, to be fair, Cat's claws had never been trimmed and were as feral as the stripes along his backside, but they were still just fucking cat scratches.

It was only when the girl did her stuff that Cat understood why they complained as they did. He watched her as she stood from her seat, walked over to the little man, and made a series of gestures that made the cat ache with an odd form of jealousy. He stared at her breasts and kept very still while she performed the strangest magic he'd ever seen in his life.

It made him rather antsy.

And then she sat her fine little bum back down and he practically clambered over the table of cards to get into her lap as instructed. Cat had never been one to take commands, and generally he was an ornery little bastard as far as getting him to do shit was concerned. After being around Ardys, he had learned to make a game out of not coming when called, sitting on important documents, and leaving leftovers in inappropriate areas. Yet if the girly had wanted him to tightrope across the Argorine Chasm to get to her lap, he would have done so without much hesitation.

He tucked his paws under his wrists and laid in that funny cat position that makes their paws invisible. He then began to purr with the intention of vibrating in the girl's lap. It was just too easy.

Most activity was up on the weather deck, and down below deep as the orlop, which left Ko and Ceallach to their own business. Or, the murderer's business. Ko didn't take no pains to hide following the killer, slouched into a sulky walk with his hands shoved into his belt, and he figured the other man was just keen on ignoring. Ko didn't mind being ignored. Far as he could tell, not being on the mind of a crazy man was better for your health -- that weren't no lie! So he stood and watched as the other man did his business, and thought it mighty strange just how quick routine went back around for Ceallach, with no consideration for the dead man's things. If Ko were Shann he'd keep the young pussy-footer out of sight of the killer. Not that Ko cared.

He scratched at the scruff around his jaw, hating how it itched and how he'd not get to shave it any time soon. Phaw.

As for Jinn, he felt around his face with a sort of mild astonishment and pleasure. Though he still had smeared blood to take care of, and an itchiness around the newly healed skin, he felt surprisingly better off without a wound to irritate him. Somehow it made him feel as though he was better in control. His mind was off then, distracted with the need to be better prepared, and it churned steadily. His previous idle lecheries about the woman were swept neatly aside. Jinn had ever been a gnome to put work ahead of play, and not one to rely on others to do his own work for him. He began picking up scattered papers around the room, looking at each once and then stacking them into neat piles. Once done he bundled some and stuck others on a chair, irritated but not inclined to comment about the useless use for the otherwise useful table.

He righted things, pushed broken bits to the side with his well-shod feet, and sorted out items that had potential use. He was well aware of what their situation entailed, and that he might be put upon to solve problems with his innate genius. He prepared the best way he knew how, muttering to himself to keep his thoughts orderly, and ran a rough hand through his hair every minute or so. Jinn was not at all delayed or offput by his own short stature, using chairs as necessary to reach otherwise unattainable heights, unconcerned with his own dubious dignity.

At the end, the cabin was back into proper shape and form, so that it barely seemed possible it belonged to a shipwreck. He drew himself up. "I shall go to present my services to the Captain. If you wish to follow me you should be prepared to behave yourselves." He strode to the door.

~*~ Selena had always loved cats. Her mother always had animals roaming the estate. She had told Selena once that animals can see things that human and elves could not see. They can sense things that normal folk could not sense. Selena knew it would be wise to keep animals with them for they were always a great set of eyes. Selena felt the vibration of the feline and she flashed the animal a smile. She of course enjoyed the sound of purring and with that she began to comb the feline's hair with the softness of her hand. Her eyes took in the room and she gazed at each member of the group. Apparently the barbarian was no where to be seen but she was sure they would find him beating his hairy chest with his foot stomping ten innocent men to death. That man made her blood rage when she thought of how silly he seem to take things. Selena continued to pet the purring cat and focused her gaze on Shann. He seemed to be holding something in, and Selena figured she would ask him what it was but when she decided to speak up, she only heard Jinn's voice, which cut off her own. She nodded and stood up, sweeping the cat up with in her arms and keep the cat close to her breasts. "Well than, I guess we all should be going above." She smiled gently and offered the cat to Shann. " I"m sure you will keep an eye on this previous member while i go get my things?" Selena meant it as a question but she was sure it came out as a statement. She smiled again and winked, leaving the room to gather her things. It would seem that this voyage on the sea would soon come to an end......Or at least she hoped so.

Ceallach, now battle ready, strode to the cabin where his traveling companions made their residence with all haste.

The elf wanted to play cards, but if he was any judge of character, the gnome would have none of it.

He was somewhat satisfied with himself when he opened the door and discovered them all preparing to make their way out of the room.

“I grow tired of this foot dragging. I’d prefer we actually do something.”

Shann had been hoping that he was going to get some down time where he could alternate between showing off his skills at the card table and flirting with the girl. He had it all planned out. He was going to make sure that he won a few hands in a row and when she started to admire just how good at the game he was, then he would offer her his help. The ladies always did. They would pout, chew on their lips, bat their eyes or whine that they had the worst luck. That's when he would pull her chair closer to his and he would lean over and whisper into her ear things that could hardly be considered advice involving cards. It was the perfect plan, it worked for him so many times.

So of course his plans had to be interrupted. His perfect evening was not counting on the barbarian bursting into the room and claiming that he needed some action. He didn't imagine that the girl would jump at the opportunity to go explore the ship after it had crashed into whatever it had crashed into. The gnome didn't help matters at all by suggestion that they all go on this pointless expedition to see the captain. It was as if everyone was conspiring against him.

Then, the cat was trust on him. Had his night gone as he had planned, the last thing he would be complaining about would be Selena giving him her furry little friend but this wasn't what he had in mind. He pushed the animal up on his shoulder so it wouldn't get in his way.

At least it wasn't a dog. A cat he could deal with. He wasn't the kind of person who was particularly fond of such things but as long as it stayed out of his way and didn't tear into his back, he wouldn't feel the need to throw it across a room.

Before the girl had a chance to leave the room and escape his grasp yet again, he placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "If you're going to be leaving the group again, I should go with you. We don't know if the ship will rock again and the last thing we need is for you to be caught under an overturned crate and unable to escape on your own."

Sure he had an alternative motive for wanting to be alone with her, but he'd also regret seeing something bad happen to her if she were crushed under the weight of a crate.