Serious: Recruiting A Crew (Open to first 3 other posters)

Jess knew the North Sea like the back of her hand, she grew up here. And so there she was in one of the smaller towns, headed towards the local tavern. She'd been looking for crew members for about the past week, but no one had so far been willing to dedicate themselves to the point Jess would accept them as a member of her crew. It was frustrating, and Jess need a break, time to relax.

[Srry short post. Most of the time my posts are longer >>]

((Imma post as a npc first until my character is approved then it will be full time character))

Grace moved her hands delicately as she made sure the chips fried just right. The boss would have her hide if she didnt do this right. She had spent her time working here now of course and the boss was kind enough to teach her cooking. Grace could cook quite well, the boss with a tear in her eye commented that she got it from her mother. Grace didnt really know her mother , but she loved the fact that she was like her in some ways according to people. Grace was grateful at the fact that the boss let her have this job. But for Grace this was a stop gap. She knew that this was no life for her. A life of sailing on the open sea, as a pirate, living her dreams. That was more of a life for her. Grand adventures. Finding treasure. The wind in her hair. That was what she wanted. Not living on this island for the rest of her life. She did feel for her beloved Grandpa though who would feel lonely without her. She knew this. Her grandfather had thought her everything she needed to know about navigating, a trait she had inherited from her father.

Grace then heard her boss yell " ORDER UP!!!!! Grace,table 10 , NOW!! An order of beer battered fish and chips and 5 ales , get it to them!!!" Grace sticked out her tongue "Yeah, yeah, i got it, ill give them the food...." Grace picked up the glasses and the plate. She was able to hold all 5 glasses with one hand , she had trained herself physically for the life of a pirate and built some fighting ability. Well not real fighting ability, just some decent strength. She laid the ales and the food on table 10 where there were some rough looking guys there. The guy smiled "Hey there gorgeous.... well done bringing our food... hows about you have a sit on my lap eh?" Grace sighed "You wish ... sorry your just some lame ass guy i dont know.. i got to get back to work."' The guy extended his arm and grabbed Graces hand "Oi bitch, do you know who we are? We are pirates.... so we can easily force you down here......" Grace didn't give him a chance to finish is sentence , she slammed her fist into his face and sending him flying out of the tavern window. His friends at least 5 of them looked pissed "This god damn bitch is going to pay for that..." Two of them took out knives. Grace was nervous, she had never fought this many people at once. She had fought with some kids in her town, but never fully grown adult males. She took off her aprons and pulled out her brass knucks from her pocket. The boss was sighing and Grace said "Sorry about this boss.. ill pay you back when i get money ...." The boss simply shrugged "Try not to make a mess dear.. and be careful...."

Upon seeing a fight was about to start, Jess smiled, getting up and getting out her sickles. "This is why I detest men." She stated, walking up to be alongside the cook. "5 on 1 isn't fair guys, how about you share the fun?" If any of them had paid attantion coming in they would have noticed Jess's face on one of the wanted posters. She was wanted for 500 Dinar, mostly for involvement in her Dad's schemes. She stared down the biggest of the 5 momentarily with her black draconic eyes, before rushing at him, thrusting both sickles forward with that characteristic twist. If her got hit, it would likely leave a lasting scar.

[This is about average length for me]

The pirate was hit by Jess's attack, and screamed in agony as he scarred. The other four pirates got pissed "Oi, now another one?!!!! SCREW THIS KILL THEM BOTH!!" Grace was already dashing towards the man who screamed that, she then grinned "Who said i needed back up? Im plenty good on my own thanks!!!" Grace then aimed a straight power punch to the pirates gut, sending him flying back. The other pirate tried to stab her, but she kicked his hand with her leg and smashed his chin with a uppercut with her brass knucks. She was now moving fast ,adding more power to her punches until it looked like a flurry of punches. The three men surrounding her were hit by this storm of punches and were getting really bruised. Grace then shouted "HAMMER SHOWER!!!" She sent two of the pirates flying into the notice board nearby. A bounty poster floated into the air and landed right near Grace and Grace saw the face of the person on the bounnty poster and was shocked , it was the girl who helped her "YOU!!!??? Your a pirate?!!! WOW!!! i MEAN WOW!!!!! Jessica K Freeman? Still i didnt need help though.... but its awesome that you are a pirate!!!" Grace in all her enthusiasm forgot that there was one pirate remaining who was sneaking up on her.

"Yeah. Watch out fan girl." Jess said, rushing over to the man sneaking up on Grace and taking a swing at him. "From that, I beg to differ..." She looked at the guys all bruised up and then back to Grace. "Still, you have potential. What skills do you have, eh?" She smiled. "I could use a good navigator, or a cook. All you have to do is duel me and take a small burn willingly to prove yourself." Then Jess remembered. "Oh, your name? I can tell you hate it here... Well this is your chance out."

Grace was stunned for a bit because she didnt know that guy was behind her. She breathed normally after a while and then looked to Jess "I am a navigator and a cook, but you have a pirate crew? That is so cool... and hey who are you calling fan girl?!! Duel you? Sure and what do you mean take a small burn? Still i dont mind dueling you, ive never fought anyone strong before... My name is Grace O Malley, and i dont hate it here, but i still dont want to spend forever here, i want to be a pirate, ill duel you...."

"To be honest you're the first member of my crew, or will be. And the small burn thing... Youll find out after the duel, if you're up to my standards." Jess sized up Grace carefully, taking a mostly defensive stance as she swung with her left sickle. She would just test Grace carefully for weaknesses in defence now, then go in for the win once she found one she could exploit. If anything being over a foot taller than Grace meant she would find Grace slightly harder to hit if she went for a headswing, so Jess instead was trying to disarm.

Grace was about to complain about brawling in the bar and wanted to insist to take it outside but it was clear Jess wasnt playing around. She knew that size was a advantage for her thanks to her speed. Grace kicked the floor and propeled foward dodging the sickle by a fraction. She immediately kicked the floor again to keep herself within range "HAMMER SHOWER!!!" She aimed a flurry of powerful punches at Jess's torso and chest area hoping to cause some serious damage and gain momentum.

Jess frowned as Grace dodged the blade, and then she felt the punches... Desperate due to having still underestimated Grace, Jess quickly manuvered her sickles to try and catch Grace's punches, and if that worked Jess would then use the momentum to circle around and get Grace in a headhold. But for now she remained uncertain if the manuver would work... Still. Hesitation was not a good thing to do, so Jess didn't waste a split-second.

Grace gritted her teeth as she squatted down quickly to dodge the chain sickles. The sickle still managed to cut her slightly but Grace had already dodged in time. She then held her palm to the ground and aimed a kick at Jess to throw her off balance followed by a straight right hook at an awkward angle to Jess's temple.

Jess took the kick without losing her balance, but did lose one of her sickles in the process as she fumbled with it, and it landed in some fellow's drink... But that freed up Jess's hand, which she instinctively used to grab Grace's wrist, which she twisted around painfully as she tried to get Grace into a neckhold...

Grace was stuck in a neckhold unable to move. She felt stupid for being so careless and leaving her hands exposed like that. she felt the neckhold and it hurt like hell. She then gasped "Looks... like you win...... damn.... and i thought i was going to become a pirate too.... i bet you dont want weak people in your crew huh....."

"Are you kidding? Best fight I've had in a while... You have a lot of potential, and I'll make sure you're able to find it by sparring with you when we aren't fighting others on the high seas." Jess smiled, putting away her weapons and walking around to face Grace. "Now there is one last matter of business. The burn... Follow me." And Jess went outside after signaling for Grace to follow, headed towards the docks.

Grace was surprised as she was let go. did she say she wanted her to join? this was news to Grace, this was a dream come true, to finally become a pirate like this was great, she then got up "Yeah, ok..... let me go pack my things and say bye to my grandpa first!!!" Grace ran out straight away and headed for her house. Before she left she turned and bowed to her boss who simply wiped a tear out of her eye and said "You go and become a great pirate Grace,... just like your mother....." Grace grinned "I swear it boss!!!" Grace dashed for her house and crashed in. She cleaned up her stuff in her room and packed it all up, including maps and compassses she had, along with telescopes. She packed her cooking utensils as well and headed for the door. And in the living room was her grandfather. A wizened old man with a white beard and white hair. "So.... its finally time for you to go eh....." Grace bowed to her grandfather "Grandpa... i know you didnt like all the pirate stuff..... but im glad you didnt stop me..." "Your father was like that too.... i knew that i wouldn't be able to stop someone who was receiving a call from the ocean...... it was the same for him too...." Grace walked up to her grandfather, sat on his lap and kissed him on the cheek "You know i love you Grandpa..... please dont think less of me...." Her grandpa had tears in his eyes but held her hand "I know dear... i really do.... just promise you will come to visit sometimes....." GRace gave her grandfather a big hug "Ill do better... ill write everyday....... i promise...." Grace got up and headed for the door. She then stopped midway "Dont forget to go and see the boss if you want food or anything like that , dont starve yourself Grandpa, otherwise you wont be able to read my letters!!!" Her grandfather chuckled "Get out of here you silly girl... go and live that dream of yours......" Grace walked out the door. And just as soon as she walked out the door, tears were streaming down her face. No looking back now. She was on her way. Most likely she wouldnt be coming back, but that was fine, she would miss her Grandpa but that was fine too. Still , even with it being fine, the tears just would not stop flowing.

Once she got composed, Grace raced to the docks to find Jess, she saw Jess and motioned to her "IM HERE!!!! i made it!! Im ready now!!"

There Jess was just outside her ship The Black Dragon, having been waiting patiently... "I wish I still had family to write to, but... No matter... Getting this burn done to you is my way of ensuring my crew's dedication to a single cause, now where would you like it done?" Jess began transforming into her Dragon form. "Now try not to get scared." She added before her vocal chords were incapable of human speech... She waited patiently for Grace to indicate where she wanted the burn. She knew what she was doing, once Grace indicated the pain would last only a moment.

Grace nearly fell backwards , she was blown out of her mind. A Dragon? Seriously? a Dragon? This was freaky, and did she just say she wanted to burn her? What? Burn her? for real? Wouldnt she die? Grace was getting a little frightened. However, she then realised, she had sacrificed alot to reach this point. She had left behind alot of precious memories and loved ones behind to chase this dream, and even if her brain was telling her that maybe the dragon wanted to simply eat her. Her heart told her that resolve was neccessary here. And she followed her heart more anyway. Grace didnt want the burn mark to be too visible. She then pulled up her shirt and showed her back to Jess "Here......, i dont mind here, or lower a bit......"

If Jess's dragon form had been cabale of the experssion, she would have raised an eyebrow as she carefully sent a thin line of dancing fire at Grace's back... She stopped when she knew the burn would be sufficent to last, then returned to Human form. It was fairly quick, and Jess looked at her new crew member with sorrow in her eyes. "It might be a wekk... or more than a month, but at this time I do not have the resolve to tell you the tragic story of how I came to be capable of that." She remembered having to kill her father to survive, and it was obvious the memories were painful even if Grace didn't know what they were.

Grace felt the sting and heat. It wasnt a very pleaseant experience and it had hurt quite a bit, but she was glad she was now part of the crew of... well two. Still it was a wonderful thing. She then heard Jess taling about some story, and Grace shrugged "Meh... youll tell me whenever, i have no interest in stories people dont want to share, so when do we leave? Where are we going?"

Jess smiled. "We leave in a few hours, once you get settled in well enoiugh... As for where we're going... I know about a nearby town where there's a good chance we could get a doctor recruited... A good doctor is next on my priority list for a reason." Jess self-consciously looked at the scars on herself that she could see as she explained... She boarded her ship, forcing the memories that had come up the the back of her mind.

"Would you rather explore a bit yourself or should I give you a tour of The Black Dragon?"

Grace ran onboard the ship and clapped her hands together "Tour, a tour sounds fun!!! This ship looks really cool!! Wheres the kitchen? and the steering wheel!!! Its called the Black Dragon? WOW thats so awesome!!!!" Grace was very excited, so this was the ship where she was going to begin her pirate career upon? It looked really cool to her.

Trying to be polite, Jess did her best to ignore the headache Grace was giving her as she did a tour of the ship she'd grown up on. Really it almost was like a home to Jess, Grace probably picked up on that as she showed the steering wheel, captains quarters, crews quarters, and the kitchen... And basically any other place she knew Grace would frequent. Once she knew Grace was settled in and aclimated some, she would tell her new crew member it was time to head out. "Now I won't have to give myself a headache with all those charts, since you're the navigator."

Grace then looked through the charts, she then looked to the sky and the sea "Its fairly calm.... we should be able to sail now in my opinion, half a days journey from here to the island you talked about... still you say there is a doctor there? thats pretty amazing..... how do you know him? And will he be interested in joining a pirate crew?"

"He kinda stiched me up when I bit off more than I could chew... Though he's a young lad, he's always wanted to be a field medic. stowed away to get away from his smothering Father heck." Jess's memories of first meeting Evan were quite vivid, she would answere everything Grace asked about him to the best of her ability. "Heck, in doing so he's already seen the Grandline, got his medical training in Brum."

Grace then organized the sails and took the helm "GRANDLINE?!!!! NO WAY!!!! THAT is HUGE!!! WOW!!!! i mean that is the greatest sea in the world!!1 The grandline is where pirates live and breath, ok then,Aye , Aye captain.... itll be a bit of a while , but in this weather, ill get us there!!" The ship began to move out of the docks and began sailing to the near islands in the distance/

Soon they were to the Island, And Jess found Evan at the docks suturing someone's ankle. "Ah, Jess." He said, as if he'd been expecting her to come. "Had the feeling you'd be returning soon, no this won't be but anothewr moment..." And he carefully cut the bit of wire he'd used for the surgery. "There."

Jess snickered. "I figured I'd give you a second chance to prove yourself, Evan. Meet Grace, my Navigator and Chef. This time I think I'll watch the fight." Though that would have seemed lazy to anyone else, Grace and Evan likely knew both that Jess was actually somewhat of a workaholic most of the time, if you called pirating work. "Grace, this is Evan. Remember what I told you about him on the way here? I'll let you two get to know one another a bit before you fight..."