Stupid merchants, both Jarl and Fahim seemed convinced of the fact that he was going to collapse at any moment. That if they looked at him in such a manner, he might take it upon himself to make his health fail suddenly and he might end up dying on the ship. The worst one, however, was Dendara. The sandy little street rat was actually being nice to him... She hadn't tried to push him over board, tangle him up the nets, hang him or push him of the crows nest in days, something was very wrong. Cole couldn't tell you exactly why they seemed to be convinced that he was about to drop dead, his heath hadn't always been the best of the best, but it shouldn't be of concern now. The only time they'd been this worried was when he'd first been dragged onto the little airship. He'd been as pale as a ghost back then, there'd been such a gauntness about him, it had worried Jarl no end.
"That boy," He used to say in his broken English. "Ees always lookink like... uh... dead. Like corpse! That's it, 'ees always lookink like corpse." Then he'd frown and mutter about the heat. He was from the north, where the Northern lights were often seen. He'd never approved of warm climates, they were unnecessary in his opinion.
There was no gaunt look about Cole now, it had been a few years since he'd first joined the crew of the tiny airship. After a moment's thought he decided they must have been spooked by that fortune teller back in Sa'fir, part of him was decidedly exasperated. Was he really the only one that didn't believe the words of a drunk fortune teller that they found in a grimy bar in the darker end of the coastal town? Besides, Cole was one of those that didn't really hold stock in superstition. If he really wanted to know what his future was going to hold he would have visited one of his sister's. She was a psychic and she made her living through holding fake seances in her living room. If she came back to the world of the living for a moment, and she dropped the ridiculous act she had, she was rather good.
To get away from the nervous glances of his crewmates, Cole had taken it upon himself to find a suitable hiding place for several crates of imports that shouldn't have really been imported. Most of the stuff they ferried around was perfectly legal, some of it was... less legal. Still, Cole Jax Campbell had never been one to let customs regulations get in the way of a perfectly good profit.
He'd only been to Nabias a few times previously, though he could remember his way around fairly well. An apparent tourist or merchant was nothing new, the quiet town often had the odd person passing through it. He went unnoticed for the most part, it was nearing midnight and very few people were about. As he walked to the quieter part of the town his thoughts drifted miles, coming to land in a polluted city far from where he was now. His thoughts flickered from family member to family member, he hoped they were okay. As it was, the place they were wasn't widely regarded as a safe place to live... Despite all appearances, Cole got terribly homesick. It was sweet, in a way, even if he'd never admit to it.
Settled on the edge of a street, windows broken and brickwork battered was a house. A house that was presumable home to nothing but moths, rats and other such creatures. Hopefully there'd be atleast one door with a lock on it, or perhaps a basement. No point hiding something only for it to be stolen from you, while this had never happened to Fahim and Jarl while Cole had been sailing with them, he'd heard the story enough times for him to know what would happen if a repeat incident happened. Inspite of himself, there was something about the house that set his teeth on edge. Perhaps it was the way the floorboards creaked under his weight, or the fact that he was now sporting a small wound from climbing in the window, but something about the place wasn't quite right...
Somewhere along the line, all those ghost stories must have burrowed into his head. Cole sighed to himself, it didn't really matter what he thought of the place, it would just have to do. The young man had always loved acting, or more specifically, he loved fooling people. If he thought he could get away with telling a tragic or dramatic story in place of the truth, he would. If he waited in the abandoned house before running back to the airship looking terrafied, they'd believe whatever yarn he spun for them. He wasn't really a cruel person, but Cole really needed to get back at them for that fortune teller incident. As much as he hated the house, it would be worth a few minutes of sitting in the dust.
(( Eeek, I rambled because I had no idea what to put. XP ))