Serious: The Milky Way Pirates Chapter 1: adventure in Windmill Village ((THREAD CLOSED TO EVERYONE EXCEPT MASQUERADE))

Arianne blinked, looking up from her book for the first time when the fishman stopped to talk to her. She flinched a little, not quite used to being flirted with and not really understanding what he was getting at.
"Am I...waiting for someone? Yes, you could say that. A rock star?" She shook her head, raising an eyebrow. "No...I've never met a rock star before. But I assume they must be interesting people."

Suddenly her eyes widened in realisation and she gave a small gasp, looking around. She snapped her book shut, realising that Jace and Adamand had already left and silently cursed herself for allowing her attention to be pulled away.
"Ah...my crew-mates will be waiting for me. I've just joined a crew this morning...and I...I appear to be a little late."
She smiled briefly to the fishman, bowing her head to him. "Thank you for reminding that I was supposed to be somewhere...I'm sorry, I'd like to talk for longer but I have to go right now..."

Arianne shrugged her coat up around herself, tucking her book under her arm and heading off towards the docks- however she was forced to stop and sigh in exasparation when she realised that she wasn't all this certain where the docks actually were.
She was running her fingers through her blonde hair, biting her lip in dismay when she suddenly heard a yell nearby. She jumped slightly and turned around, looking for the source of the yell. Was someone following her?

Arianne was surprised to see the young man from the bar walking towards her- the one that she had wanted to talk to.
She smiled at Avery. "Hello there...no, your yelling didn't bother me. I just got a little fright." She tilted her head. "It was gentlemanly of you to apologize though..."
She watched as Lawrence approached and suddenly beamed, her love of animals taking over. "Oh...this is Lawrence? Hello, Lawrence. Ah, what a handsome dog he is..." Arianne stooped to pet him, stroking his head, her red lips still stretched in a soft smile. "And he's so well-behaved...I always wanted a dog as a little girl but my mother was rather allergic..."

Suddenly her brows furrowed and she rose quickly. "Oh...I'm sorry. I really can't stay around and chat...even though I'd like to..." She quickly added, promplty feeling a little stupid for adding that. "I have to meet up with my new crewmates at the docks," she explained. "But..." Arianne looked a little sheepish. "I'm not really certain where the docks are."
She looked up at Avery. "I hate to to trouble you both, but do you think you could show me where they are? Or perhaps just give me directions?"
Arianne smiled. "How rude of me...asking something of you when we've only just met. My name is Arianne Greyson."

Grudge scratched his head in confusion for a few seconds, wondering where the woman was heading to as he watched he dash away. "Huh, I guess my famous face must of starteled her.", the guitarist mumbled to himself, as started to walk towards the docks. "Huh, why did I even head to a bar when I haven't even got any cash? Man being broke sucks, especially when you ain't got any groupies or roadies with ya. Well, better start swimming to the next island, hopefully someone will give me a ride though, it take ages getting there on my own." said conversationly to himself, as walked on, the dock's slowly coming into view as he mad ehis way there. He then started strumming again, this time just a boring blatant repeat of the same chords, probably to keep his mind preocupied.

As Lawrence was being pet, he leaned into her hand and let out a deep throated rumbling sound to indicate his pleasure. If she kept this up, he might just consider switching masters. But then she stood back up very suddenly and his reasoning abilities returned. Of course he would never leave Avery. He owed him his life, after all.

Avery smiled at her. “It’s no trouble. I kinda need to go down there myself to pick up some tools from my boat anyway. So…I’ll just show you. Oh, and my name’s Avery Crusher, by the way.” He reached up and began rubbing the back of his neck, a nervous habit of his.* “I think I already mentioned that back at the bar…but I guess I was talking to someone else, so you probably didn’t hear me…anyway, the docks are this way.”

He pointed towards the docks and then started off at an easy pace. He didn’t want to accidentally leave her behind. Lawrence automatically fell into step next to Avery.

(*It’s also one of mine.)

Genshi placed the leftover neat onto the skillet he had used to cook, in case other people were coming to join. That or if anyone else got hungry, always be prepared he told himself.

"I wonder what the world holds for us? What kind of adventures?" he thought to himself.

"Thank you for your kindness." Arianne smiled, bowing her head again. "It's nice to meet you, Mr Crusher. I saw you at the bar, alright. I was going to introduce myself earlier but...as you've said, you were talking to someone else...so I decided not to interupt. I think I got caught up in all the action later on...what with that wolf coming in."
She walked beside him, giving Lawrence a pat every now and then. "So, you have a boat? You're a sea-farer then?" She added in a quieter voice, looking down a little. "Not a pirate, by any chance?"

As they made their way through the docking area, her blue eyes scanned the towering masts for Saki's ship- the Andromeda.

“You’re very inquisitive,” Avery said, but he glanced over at her and grinned to show that he didn’t mind. “I’ll give you answers, but first, please do not even start with the whole mister thing. I can’t be that much older then you. Just call me Avery.” He then fell into silence for a few seconds as he considered her questions before saying, “I’m not a pirate. At least, not in the same sense as you are. I definitely don’t like Marines and I have, at times, associated with pirates. And I’m more sympathetic towards their ideals then the Marines. But yes, I do have a boat and I travel the seas, though my main area of expertise has more to do with weapons then ships.” He then looked at her again and asked, “So what about you? Why would you want to be a pirate?”

Arianne gave Avery a rather bemused smile and sighed. "I've been told that my inquisitiveness is one of my biggest flaws. Unfortunately, I can only blame it on my constant desire for new information." She looked up at him. "And I suppose I'm just used to being formal with people I've just met. I'll call you Avery though, if that's what you wish."
She listened to him, nodding slowly in understanding and then took a moment before answering him. "I see...well, I haven't really been a conventional "pirate" for very long." Arianne swallowed a little before continuing.

"My foster father...the man who took me in...was a pirate. He's retired now, but I suppose all of his stories and everything...all of the things he taught me about life on the seas...It just appealed to me. Also, I decided that I'd never progress in my scientific studies if I didn't get my head out of the books and start actually seeing the things that I was learning about..."

She shrugged and then added, her voice softening a little. "My late mother's second husband was an Admiral and I was permitted to spend a lot of time in the marine bases. So, you could say, I got to see things from the other side too. I decided a long time ago that I was more sympathetic towards the ideals of the pirates than that of the marines too..."

Arianne continued to look around the port but returned her gaze to Avery to ask. "You're interested in weapons then?" She gestured to the sabre, attached to her belt and hidden beneath her long red coat. "I can't say I don't share an interest there...I wouldn't call myself an expert though."
She looked up at the Andromeda upon finding it. "Ah...I think this is the ship." She looked up at Avery.

It was a simple enough statement, but Arianne only barely managed to disguise the heavy note of disappointment in her voice that she no longer had an excuse to converse with the interesting, admittedly handsome stranger that she had just met.

Avery listened very attentively. It was always interesting to learn why people wanted to be pirates. He had heard so many different reasons. Some of them had made sense, but others were hard to believe. Once, Avery had even met a guy who joined a pirate crew so that he could become a Marine. That one still made Avery smile when he thought about it. This girl was one of those who had a reason that made sense to him. Unfortunately, she both looked and sounded uncomfortable when she had told him about it and her family.

Then she surprised him by mentioned that she had an interest in weapons as well. Most people were more interesting in what weapons could do, rather then what they were.

And now they had reached Arianne’s ship and Avery was reminded of the fact that she was leaving and he might never see her again. It was how things went for him. Meet someone interesting and move on. It wasn’t like he enjoyed doing it, but he had accepted it as a fact of life.

However, as Avery stood there, looking up at the Andromeda, he found himself hating that fact with a passion. But he forced a smile on his face and turned his silvery eyes back to hers.

“Inquisitiveness should never be seen as a flaw,” he said. “As for weapons, yeah, I can make them, repair them, and modify them.” For a few seconds, he shuffled his feet, uncertain as to what to say next. “Anyway, I’d better go. It was nice talking to you. Maybe we’ll see each other again one day. Until then, stay safe and may the wind always be at your back.” Then, Avery leaned in slightly and said quietly, “And I apologize if I brought up any painful memories for you by asking about your reasons for becoming a pirate. That was not my intention.” He stepped back and gave her a little wave. “Come on Lawrence.”

As Avery turned and walked away, he had to fight to keep from running right back and begging to be a part of the crew. Never before had he met someone so…so…intriguing. Yes, that was a good word for her. It encompassed everything about her that had caught his interest.

Lawrence reached out with his muzzle and gently licked Arianne’s hand. Then he trotted away, stepping up to his master’s side as he always did.

Snow watched the man leave, Snow could tell that the other person in the crew wanted him inside as well. Saki wanted him in the crew as well, Snows mind was made up, after eating all that meat he was full of energy. Snow ran and jumped over the ship into the ground, standing in Averys way, he did not want him to leave but rather join the crew. Snow stood waiting majestically, as he straightened himself with his head held high and straight. Snow seemed to not be threatening him, instead looking at his eyes. Snow didnt understand what was going on with him, but he did know he belonged with them. He was not staring but rather looking at Averys eyes with an accepting look, he was not going to try and attack but he wanted Avery with them, Saki wanted him with them as well.

Hmm, they hadn't started eating, they were still waiting for a crewmate of theres? Was there one which he hadn't met yet? That was a really bad thing, Something no cook would be caught dead doing. Genshi slowly backed out of the room and ran onto the deck, looking around. He looked over the edge and saw a few people.

"Oi, are any of you guys Pirates?"he blurted out.

Even if they weren't, he'd be able to beat them up.

Still struming as he arrived at the docks, Grudge looked round carefully for any ships he could get on to be dropped off at the next island, afterall, stars had to travel in comfort or at least something more efficent than swimming. Probably best to go pirate, I can probably handle a few of them if they end up as evil jerks, or I could just swim like hell away from them, plus they won't rat me out to marines if they find out about my bounty., the musician fishman thought to himself, scratching his long shaggy blonde hair, with a pink ribbon tied round as a head band. He then started peering carefully at flags ont he ships, to check if any of them were jolly rogers, till eventually he spotted one that had a skull and a pair of swords printed on it. "That'll do fine, sometimes legends like myself can put up with some of the seedier buisnesses.", Grudge said to himself with a grin, as he headed over to the Andromeda.

"No, you haven't brought back any bad memories. Don't worry," she assured him quietly, looking up at him, her blue eyes meeting his silvery ones. "It was nice speaking to you too, Avery...may God bless you on your travels. I certainly do hope that we meet again someday. Farewell."

Arianne turned to begin walking up the gangplank, sighing a little to herself. She had never felt so inexplicably drawn to anyone before. Eric Greyson, her foster father, had warned her that when one is travelling the seas, meeting unique and interesting people is an everyday reality.
However another harsh reality of life travelling the seas was that although one met interesting almost people everyday, meeting the same kind of person twice had similar odds to being struck by lightning twice in the same spot.
She stopped in her tracks, something tightening unpleasantly in her stomach. Maybe she was a sentimental idiot for wanting whatever was growing between her and this man to last. Maybe she was a fool for allowing herself to become so enamored with someone who was virtually a stranger to her. But maybe at that very moment in time, she didn't really care...if this was the last time she was ever going to see him again, she thought, she might as well make it count.

Arianne turned around abruptly and headed after Avery, putting her hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Uh...I just want to thank you for showing me to the docks again. If it hadn't been for your directions, my crew might have left without me." She leaned up and lightly kissed him on the cheek before stooping again to stroke Lawrence's head. "And thank you, Lawrence. It was nice meeting you too..." She waved to them, her cheeks a little rosy, before she walked away again, heading up the gangplank into the Andromeda.

She headed up the plank, looking around and walking on to the deck. She didn't notice Snow jumping back down in front of Avery but she did spot Grudge approaching the ship.
"Did Captain Star recruit this man too?" she wondered as she watched the blonde fishman near the ship.

Avery had been so focused on just getting to his ship without turning back that he had not heard Arianne’s approach until she was right behind him. First he came to a stop as she placed a hand on his shoulder and then his heart nearly came to a stop when he felt her kissing him.

”Uh…sure,” Avery said in response to Arianne’s thanks.

He could feel himself blushing and his heart started beating so loudly he wasn’t sure why no one else seemed to hear it. Lawrence, on the other hand, simply wagged his tail in response to Arianne’s words. The two of them watched her walk away and neither turned to go until she had started back up the gangplank. Then, with a sigh, Avery began to turn…only to find himself facing the wolf again.

“Okay,” Avery said. “This is getting faintly ridiculous. Lawrence, I think I’ve had just about enough of this guy.”

In one movement Avery snapped his staff off of his back and then spun it around him before planting one end onto the ground. Lawrence dropped down low and growled threateningly at the wolf.

“Cyborg canine or not, if you don’t stop getting in my way, I’m going to find out just how much of you is made of metal,” Avery snapped angrily.

Snow didnt change his reaction, he stood still looking at him. Snow was not going to let someone go whom he believed needed to be in the group, That lady that walked away was obviously Fond of him... even Snow knew it and he was a canine. Snow Talked to Lawrence ((animal language))

"Cant you see that the women has feelings, she doesnt want Avery to go.... Your his Partner you should see it in his eyes he WANTS to stay. I do not want to do any harm but i am not leaving unless everyone here is happy, that includes him." Snow continued barking and howling at Lawrence,((Talking to him)).

"If you truely want him happy make him stay, master or not he is still your friend". Snow Sat down this time waiting for Lawrences response. Sitting down he showed him he had no intention to fight.

Genshi watched the woman walk up the gangplank, she must've been one of the missing crewmates. But there was another man down there, and he had a dog. It seemed that Snow had an interest in him.

"Oi, dog man, are you also a pirate? If so, get on board." he shouted.

Hmm? he took out a staff, and his dog was growling angrily at Snow. Was a fight about to break out? t seemed that Snow had no interest of fighting. Genshi stood where he was and waited to see if anything happened.

<Are you stupid?> Lawrence snarled back. <You can’t force happiness on someone! That’s not true happiness at all! Whether or not my master stays or goes, that is his choice. Not mine, and most definitely not yours.>

“Uh…what’s going on?” Avery asked, looking between the two canines.

This newest outburst of barking and growling had really thrown him off of his game. The wolf looked quiet calm while Lawrence was still acting as if he would like nothing better then to rip the wolf limb from limb. Dogs were so weird.

Lawrence glared at Avery, silencing the young man, before looking back at the wolf in front of him.

<We’re going now,> Lawrence barked. <If we return it’ll be because Avery wants to come. If not…well…I for one am not going to waste my time trying to stop him. He’s a lot more determined then he looks. A lot smarter too, hard as that is to believe. He’ll make the right choice for himself without any help.>

It appeared to Avery that whatever had passed between the dogs was over. Lawrence was raising himself back up and walking right past the wolf with his head held high.

“Hang on,” Avery said. “Wait up! Lawrence!”

As he jogged after his friend, there were a million questions he wanted to ask, but of course, how could he ask a dog?

jace was bored of waiting for the order to leave so he grabbed a book from his small library onboard his own ship and shouted to saki "HEY IM GONNA GO SEE YA AROUND MEET ON THE NEXT ISLAND" as he spoke he walked to his own sailes and tapped them twice and his ship started to sailed like the wind blowing it the other way was blowing it the right way he wanted with its power times five the ship shot of like a rocket but jace was not unbalanced he was unaffected he just read his book on the sail being affected by the wind nothing else of the ship

Snow Howled back at Lawrence "If you were a true friend you'd help him be happy... This is not something you can just follow him through knowing he'll be wondering about this day, but if you choose the path of blindness while its obvious to anyone that can see he's happy here, then go ahead im done with you." Snow said this before Lawrence had reached the point of being behind him, Snow walked past Avery reaching the boat. He walked towards the new lady on board. (Arianne) Snow knew she needed comfort, so he stood close to her and wraped himself around her, putting his head close to her so she can pet it. She seemed so sad, Snow was resisting the urge to try to help her.. of course snow gave in. He attempted to grab her sleeve and pull it towards the direction of Avery, this was his last attempt. If she couldn't convince him nobody could. Snow while pulling gently looked at her with his eyes, "Bring him back" Snow was hoping shed understand him.. but she wasn't an animal so the chances were slim to none.

"Dont give up."

Arianne blinked, looking down when she felt Snow wrap around her legs and she smiled faintly, petting his head. "Hello there...what a friendly fellow, you are..."
She raised an eyebrow as the dog started tugging her sleeve in Avery's direction and she sighed, furrowing her brow line. "I know...I know...I want him to stay too...I can't force him though, I..."
She looked down into the wolf's eyes, seeing the determination there and taking a breath. Eric had told her to pursue everything she wanted. She was a pirate now- she could afford to do that.

Arianne stroked Snow's ears before stooping down and writing a short note to Saki on the inner page of her book. The note said: "Gone to get new crew member. Will be back in ten minutes. Please pardon my lateness."
She handed the book to Snow. "Could you deliver this to Captain Star for me?"

Hardly waiting for a response, Arianne ran down the gangplank after Avery, breathing heavily when she finally reached him. "Avery," she panted. "You must be sick of seeing me right now...but I...I had an idea. Er...On mentioned that there are bandits in this area...you and Lawrence shouldnt leave port alone. Perhaps...I mean, I doubt Captain Star would mind...if you travelled with our crew to the next port of call...you could get off then and set off on your travels alone once more, if you wanted to." She shifted a little, looking up at him. "But for just this one time...you might feel safer with a crew..."

Snow smiled at Arianne briefly before she gave him the book, Snow grabbed the book with his teeth and traveled to Saki to hand her the note it had, it read:

"Gone to get new crew member. Will be back in ten minutes. Please pardon my lateness." Snow Ran towards Saki and jumped on her, he placed the book on her chest before he started licked her cheeks continuously, he wanted her to read the book.

The other man was walking away, guess he wasn't part of the crew. Oh well, he seemed fun. Wait, now the woman is going after him. Where they crewmates or not? Well, the woman was, surely, but the other man was a confusing case. Genshi decided to stop with this wondering and questioning and check how everyone was doing in the kitchen.

"Hey all, how's the food?" he asked when he got back.

A man sighed, face hidden from his hood looking at the docks. He needed a ride of this island, but didn't know where to go. He had many ideas. He could join a pirate crew, but people weren't really his thing, or he could keep living alone without a proper name. He didn't know what to do but for now he just needed to focus on getting a lift first. He kept walking around the docks, looking confused.

Lawrence rolled his eyes as Snow’s last words rang in his ears. Typical wolf. If you had to bully someone into doing something then obviously they would have been better off not doing it in the first place. That seemed obvious to him. Besides, Avery wasn’t stupid. If he really wanted to go with them then he would. No coercion needed.

Had Lawrence been able to speak like a human, he would have been muttering angrily under his breath. Even so, Avery could see that he was annoyed by something. But, once again, the language restrictions kept them from talking it over. Then Avery heard footsteps behind him and he looked back to see Arianne coming towards him, this time panting. Evidently she had run out after him. Avery grinned at her, his confidence having been raised somewhat by their last meeting.

“Sick of seeing you? Not at all,” Avery assured her. “As for the bandits, it’s no big deal. I can…” he paused. Actually, this would be the perfect opportunity to hang out with Arianne…and the rest of the crew, he supposed…without feeling obligated to stick around afterwards. Perhaps they would turn out to be stronger then he had originally thought. That would certainly clear up any of the objections he might have had to actually joining. “You know,” Avery said, after a few moments of thought. “It wouldn’t hurt to travel with a pirate crew, at least for a little while. What do you think Lawrence?” Lawrence wagged his tail and stepped up to Avery’s side. Avery chuckled at the implications behind the motion. “You’ll stick with me, huh? I get it. Thanks buddy.” Avery looked back up at Arianne and his eyes softened slightly. “I’ll guess we’ll be traveling with you all for a while…if your captain doesn’t mind, that is.”

''oh i am sorry i am not hungy''said adamand while looking a bit sad.
adamand walked out of the kitchen and walked to the steering wheel.
''hmmm...now it is just waiting for the sign to head out.''he said to himself while looking bored around.

Arianne couldn't prevent a wide smile from suddenly breaking out across her face and she shook her head. "I doubt Captain Star would mind. She seems eager to meet new people and if I recall correctly, she planned on recruiting you in that bar, anyway. The Captain also strikes me as a lovely, kind girl, so I don't think she'll have any problems with you staying with us until our next stop..." She bent down to scratch Lawrence's ears. "I don't think she'll mind you coming along either, Lawrence. What a loyal companion you are," she added admiringly before walking back to the Andromeda with Avery and Lawrence, keeping to his side and not wanting to lose him. "I certainly hope that they haven't stopped serving dinner yet..."
She walked up the gangplank, looking around.