Change is Just Around the Corner (open to any and all)

It had been years since papa died. Years since she took over the crew. Years that it had been dying a slow and painful death. Not many people were left to help her run a crew and her own brother had run off, bent on finding another crew, or even starting one of his own. It was a dark time indeed for Oceana. Everything her father had left behind for her, everything she had worked for-- it all amounted to nothing.

Brooding in the darkest corner of the saloon, she took a sip from her flask and sighed, staring dismally at the crowd inside. With the way things were, she should have been recruiting as many people as she could. However, she had lost motivation a long time ago. Maybe... maybe it was time to disband the crew. Sell the Ethereal, retire the Jolly Roger and find someplace else to go. It was time to figure this all out once and for all.

"God, give me a sign." she muttered under her breath.

It had been quite a while since a certain particular got off of a boat and onto this town to earn a few coins for another boat to another random island, like he had been doing ever since he lost contact with his first pirate crew. Probably all disbanded and went their separate ways. A somewhat depressed Alek thought to himself. People in that crew were so unique and worth talking to, such a shame I probably won't see them again... He sat there by the bar, left hand holding up his metal jaw while sipping a bit of alcohol. He never really thought of himself as a drinker, but lately, some old, nostalgic thoughts were pulled out of his subconscious and in came the feelings that came with it.

Alek just sat there, eyes and red, tinted glasses staring into his drink as thoughts overrun his thoughts. He wanted to forget that he was ever in a crew, yet at the same time he still wanted to remember. He sighed deeply and proceeded to down his drink and order another, slapping down some of the money he had earned the day before. He put his head on the table as the bartender gave him his drink. [i]Maybe I just need to join another crew, that should get all these sad nostalgic memories out of me. He raised his head and looked around at who was in the bar. Nobody in particular stood out, but there was this one sad lady at the corner of the saloon. Nah, she couldn't be a captain. No hope at all in this saloon, no hope at all.

"Damn." she muttered under her breath, "Empty." Tucking the now hollow flask into her coat pocket, she rose to her feet, staggering ever so slightly. The night was still young. Perhaps she could waste away a few more hours with a few more drinks. Making her way to the bar, she leaned heavily against it and flagged the bartender down and placed her order.

"Evening." she said, taking a seat next to the pale, bespectacled man. Normally, she didn't strike up conversations with strangers, but tonight wasn't a normal night. She already knew she was going to do a bunch of stupid things that she might end up regretting the next day. "I'm Captain Edwards. How do you do?"

Alek took off his bandanna and scratched his shaggy, jet black hair before putting it back on and adjusting it a bit. He barely noticed the woman sit down beside him until she spoke up to him. He looked at her briefly before clearing his throat. "Good evening." the metal jawed man said rather awkwardly. "A captain, eh?" Alek stopped talking briefly to take a sip of his drink. "Heh...How do I do...I'm not doing so well, old memories came back up recently. And along with those memories came the sad thoughts that it carried like a criminal record. Ohhh boy~. Do I miss those days..." Alek took off his tinted spectacles and placed his face into the palms of his hands.

Alek took a long, deep breath before trying to get some more awkward conversation out of the way. It's not like there was anything better to talk about. "Anyways, enough about me. So, Cpt. Edwards, I saw ya bummed out about something over in that corner over there? Something on your mind? No, wait, lemme guess. Something about the past? Family member? Close friend?" Alek sounds almost too ecstatic trying to guess, it almost was offensive. Before he could screw himself over any further, he decided to shut up and get back to drinking and waiting for an answer.