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| − | After throughly, yet gently (insomuch as one can be gentle when it comes to criminal acts) bilking Rio of some hard-earned coin, provisions are refreshed and matters are quickly taken care of. The crew's more than happy to get away from stinky, crowded Nexus, and get back to open water. Tian's requested destination is an odd little place, somewhere roughly between Chiaroscuro and Yane on the Southern Threshold coast.
| + | #REDIRECT [[DarkheartOne/IdeaDump]] |
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| − | The wind is with Rio's ship, and things are going smoothly. It is a bit after noon, and the crew's breaking for a quick snack. West is busy chewing on some jerky, while looking sour. Perhaps he's still upset about their 'special guests'.
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| − | Rio... Rio is annoyed. She's very annoyed. She's especially annoyed at Tian (... although he has cute companions), but she's a woman of her word, and so she's taking them as agreed. She's currently on deck, near West, staring into the distance.
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| − | Tian couldn't be happier. He's sitting up with the lookout, taking in the expansive vista with a content sigh. The young man is surprisingly agile for a person of his age and education, though Rio can almost feel like he's.. holding back? Jade and Lily, for the record, are keeping a close eye on West... that, or they're making yet another wager on what happens to him in the near future.
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| − | Rio ... takes a bite of some jerky, and glances up. "... has he come down from there at all?" West rolls his eyes. "The kid's acting like a monkey that just learned that he could see. He was there with the goddamn watchboys. I didn't even see him come down for chow."
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| − | "Hmm... has Gull said anything about it?"
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| − | "Does a string of cursewords count?"
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| − | Tian leaps down from the lookout's post as if on cue, a short little hop that lands him on a hanging rope. He slides down, landing easily in a crouch next to Rio and West. He stands quickly, straightening those simple, monk-like garments of his. "That's such an amazing view. How do you manage to stay down here all the time?" He's still calm and collected, but excitement definitely peeks through.
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| − | Rio looks at Tian for a moment. "... probably. And quite simply, being with the topsmen is not my thing... most of the time."
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| − | West hmphs. "I leave all the highwork to the men who have the knack. I'm a leader, not a showman."
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| − | Tian glances over at West, grinning a bit. "Who says you can't be both?" He seems almost at home on the rocking ship's deck, twirling gracefully. West just grunts and goes back to eating his jerky. "Beh." Rio rolls her eyes a bit and stands up, stretching.
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| − | Tian idly pirouettes around one of the sailors, still grinning that not-quite-mocking grin of his, robes fluttering in the wind. "This is much better than I expected. Sailing, that is."
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| − | "Well, you certainly don't get as sick as some of the land-lubbers we get on board from time to time... then again, this region doesn't have bad storms," Rio notes.
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| − | "Are we going to be passing through one of those regions?" Tian almost seems to be looking forward to it.
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| − | "Not likely. This place is taaaame. Now, the West... now there are some nasty storms."
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| − | West chuckles. "He's daft, I swear."
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| − | Tian hops up onto the railing in a casual fashion, balancing easily as he walks down its length. "That's too bad. Maybe some other time."
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| − | Rio sighs. "Watch it, if you fall, no sailor is diving after you."
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| − | "Oh, I'm fine."
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| − | "... So, why do you wanna go to that place anyway?"
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| − | Tian does a full heel-turn on the very edge, flawlessly executing the graceful maneuver and returning to the place he started with a grin. "Why do you care?"
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| − | "Because it's my damn ship."
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| − | "Haven't we gone through this already?"
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| − | West, not-too-politely, cuts in. "You'll learn fast that Rio here's stubborn when it comes to the risk of her crew getting into trouble. Don't wanna get in her way there."
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| − | "See, I'm a woman of my word. You did get us out of that port, and I'll take you there... but if I suddenly get the navy on my ass, I want to know why. Just so I know if I have to throw you overboard. You understand." Rio smiles brightly.
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| − | Tian barely resists the impulse to do a backflip, hopping off the railing. "I'm not being chased or.. well, not wanted by anyone with a <b>navy</b>, anyway. You've got nothing to worry about." He grins faintly. "And I definitely know we've gone through <b>this</b> already."
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| − | "I don't care." Another big smile from Rio.
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| − | "You're still welcome to try if you're so inclined."
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| − | West goes back to grunting in mild disgust. Jade cocks up an eyebrow at Tian, sharpening her spear. "Tian, you're being pretty up-front. You sure the sea isn't getting to you?" She smirks, slightly, before Lily lightly baps her on the head.
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| − | "Kid, I'm getting tired of this game. If you cannot say why the hell you want to go to the middle of nowhere, you can get off my ship."
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| − | Tian tosses a cocky grin to Jade, returning his attention to Rio. "It's not that I can't say why I'm going, it's that I won't. Only one person knows what I'm thinking, and that's not going to change with a few empty threats." The crew starts to filter back to their stations, and the lot of them give Tian a wide berth. A few of the topsmen look surprised that he's not up there himself.
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| − | Rio rubs her temple, muttering something low under her breath.
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| − | "Anything else, fearless leader?"
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| − | "Don't get smart with me, boy."
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| − | Tian laughs, hopping backwards a bit. "It's a long trip, there's not much to do."
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| − | West finally clears his throat. "Hoi. Rio. Easy. Let's just humor the boy and get this all overwith so we can get back to doing things we actually want to do. Faster he's gone the better."
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| − | Rio gives Tian a glare. "No. I may owe him something, but this is MY ship, and he will show the proper respect."
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| − | Tian responds with a full-on mocking smile, hands on his hips, lightly bouncing on the balls of his feet. "...Oh, fine." At that, Lily taps Jade on the shoulder... and Jade snorts, handing over a couple of jade bits.
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| − | Rio opens her mouth, closes it, and looks towards the two. "... and what were you betting about now?"
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| − | Tian glares pure death over at his sisters, gritting his teeth. Both of them go about looks like nothing occured. Yep, completely innocent.
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| − | Rio shakes her head, and glares around at the few sailors staring. "And WHAT are you looking at? BACK TO WORK!"
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| − | They snap back to work with a speed born of mild fright. West relaxes himself and pops a fresh piece of jerky into his mouth. "Time for someone to have a bit of personal time, eh?"
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| − | "Now that our little ego-boosting ritual is done, can I get back to watching my view?" Rio waves the questioning Tian off, not really looking at him. "Yeah yeah... I'm going to see if Seran knows anything of that city."
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| − | Tian snorts. "Good luck with that." Cryptic statement thrown out, Tian takes hold of the rope once more, rapidly ascending to the bird's-nest. He catches a few unhappy looks from the topsmen, but they let him by. Meanwhile, Tian's twin 'guardians' share a momentary smirk before going back to busying themselves with anything that'll make the day go by faster.
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| − | Rio grumbles to herself, and looks at West. "Next time something like this happens, remind me to throw that person off board immediately, would you?"
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| − | West simply laughs. "If I can, I'll toss them myself."
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| − | * back to [[/RisingForce|Rising Force]]
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