[ToxicShadow]

Actually, it wasn't so bad. Even if she'd managed her way up there and she still had her tail, how would she be able to hide it from them? Surely, once he was up on board, everyone would be surrounding him and questioning him. It'd probably be some sort of rare miracle to them. There would be no way to get away to secretly pull her back up on the ship and get her hidden long enough. And, as another thought, maybe if she was given credit for saving him, she'd be a little more welcomed as a member of the crew instead of being rejected...It was a kinda of selfish reason, but she couldn't help that it would come to mind also. Being alone and exiled was never a very good way to live.

"Okay, we'll do that then. It's less risky then anything else." She decided. Yea...After this, napping was going to be a good idea. He was tired, she was tired. She just pushed herself into being awake. "I'm going to have to disappear then, get back out of sight. If you can....Um....a pair of pants would be nice, if you could do it without getting too much attention...." A little bit awkward to say, or at least he'd think so. She still had skirts on, but nothing under that....so....it would be very awkward then. "Also, if you have a rope on one of the boats, you can have them tow you out. It'd be faster then rowing. They'll be able to track me too. It'll be a good way to get them seen for being useful to us." She stoked the head of the Werebetta that had towed her. She'd become attached, so she did kinda want to keep them...

[Kyrit]

A small blush spread across the male pirate's face as she asked if he could bring a pair of pants. He pushed any sort of odd thoughts aside and gave a small nod. "Alright. So a pair of pants and some ropes." He pondered on if he should grab anything to eat, and then figured they'd just bother with that once they were finally both safe aboard the ship.

"Go ahead and stay out here... I can make it the rest of the way. Go ahead and swim off a bit." He didn't want any chance of them seeing her, and thus played it safe. "I'll be back in just a bit." The back of his head stung as he went down under the water,  but other then that he seemed perfectly fine. Once Riphest was next to the ship he took hold on some of the loose roping, which seemed like something he would have gotten on to them for letting hang around, and managed to pull himself up onto the boat.

His teal eyes slid about, looking to see who all he was going to have to deal with before he could get back to Spearow.

[ToxicShadow]

That was the reaction... Looking on the bright side, past embarrassment of asking, at least the man didn't bother to ask why she made the request for pants. In assumption, she guessed some would understand and others wouldn't. In this case, it didn't too much matter either away, she just didn't want to have to have to explain herself. It could have gotten further awkward- something neither of them needed.

"See you then." Was Spearow's only words of parting. She trusted Riphest would be able to handle his own in the water now that the sea had tamed and he was actually conscious. As he went his way, she went her's, diving down to hide herself below the surface and off at a decent distance. Still, the Werebettas kept her company, which was somewhat surprising even to her. They were more known for being wild and yet, here they were! They stuck around.

As she moved about below, she would lazily swim in spirals or on her back instead of swimming in the usual, boring way. Her mind began to travel, mostly to what was all at hand. "Be careful too." She spoke to herself, bubbles rising up as she did. There were more meant for the other pirate. Rip would back back onto the ship by now, but that was also somewhat risky. He could have been met by plenty of people, or no one at all. It could have been the men to knock him overboard, or it could just be some of the other crew. Maybe his father. Everyone could even be no where in sight, possibly all stuck together in a room as they tried to sort out what happened to their first mate. All possibilities. If he happened to choose to enter her bunk room to get her pants, that would also be a task, if others were around. If found, it wasn't likely the crew would just leave him be without pestering him for a good while.

Just waiting around. What fun.

[Kyrit]

Lucky for him early morning hours, a bit before sunrise, weren't the hours of the crew. If he had been working them they would have been, but obviously they were already enjoying slacking off. What pirates he did see were sleeping at their stations, the only ones that seemed to actually keep to the work while he had been gone. The human form Draculi slipped into his own room, feeling it too risky to go to Spearow's, and grabbed a piece of paper and ink. He jotted down a note to his father saying that he was still alive and he would deal with the men later. For now though he had to go back and save the one that had actually saved him. The saving her part was part truth and part lie. If she came now they'd know what she was and she'd be killed, so it was sort of saving.

Once the note was written he slipped it under his father's door, hearing the soft snoring that meant the older man was still sound asleep. He let out a soft sigh and went back to his room one last time, to grab the pants she had asked for, and a few coils of rope. By then it sounded as others were beginning to stir, so he hurried to the side of the boat to drop one of the smaller boats that would be just big enough to carry both himself and Spearow.

From there was the journey of trying to find her. He put the ores down and looked over to the two Werebettas that were with him. He tied the ropes to the boat and managed to speak out, "Uh... Would you... mind taking me to Spearow? She said you guys would..." He'd have to trust them if he wanted any chance of actually finding her again. Of course, that's why they had been sent with him. If they were to agree, he held out the ends of the ropes for them to grab and tow.

[ToxicShadow]

As the waited for Riphest to come back down from the ship, the two Werebettas had encircled it, as if getting a feel for it. When the smaller boat lowered into the water, they made way for it, poking their heads out at him as he settled in. For a short moment, neither of them moved when the human Draculi made his request. The male was the first to take the rope into his jaws, holding it with care so as not to damage it, but tight so that he wouldn't loose grip. Just after, his mate followed in and did the same, without any hesitance. So Spearow was right, they were useful to him, as they started towing him back out. Perhaps he'd have a little more trust in them now, at least enough to know they listened to her requests for some reason.

The mermaid let out a yawn as she waited beneath the sea, bubbles rising up as she breathed out. She was in a posistion for sitting, though was floating a five or so hards from the surface. She watched them wiggle up quietly. The remaining Werebetta that went to keep her company was swimming slow circles around her until she extended her hand and started scratching it under the chin. For a killer fish, it sure acted a lot like a dog or a cat. More then likely, that was exactly what they were that, for these beings of the sea. You couldn't have most pets and live in the ocean.

Sometime after that, she wasn't sure how long, they were greeted by one of the Fighters that had been sent with the other pirate. Looking up, she saw the silhouette, and was quick to surface with them along side her. A couple feet from the boat, she shook her hair out of her face, trying not to get Riphest wet. And then she had both of her hands on the side. "Mind helping me up?" She asked, fearing to tip it if she got up just on her own self. Believe it or not, she was glad to see that he made it back without, seemingly, too much trouble.

[Kyrit]

By now he actually had started to trust them a bit more. Not a whole lot, but he didn't freak out when they took the ropes, and during the trip wasn't cowering in a corner of the boat. It wasn't a huge step, but at least it was a start. Maybe with time he'd be able to feel as free around them as Spearow was. Doubtful, but maybe.

The Draculi's tears eyes fell upon the mermaid now and he gave a soft smile. "Sure. No problem." He moved over to the side of the boat and leaned over, gently wrapping his arms around her waist. Nothing meant of the move, other then to help pull her into the boat without causing it to roll over and dump him into the water with her. Once he had gotten her out of the water and into the boat and gently let her go, figuring from there she'd be fine on her own. "Oh! They uh... aren't your pants... but I did bring a pair of pants. They're some of my older ones, so they shouldn't be too huge on you. A little large likely, but not too much."

[ToxicShadow]

Gripping both onto the boat and Riphest's shoulder, along with his help, she was able to crawl into the boat. After getting safely up, much thanks to Rip for making the task a whole heck of a lot easier, Spearow settled into her place opposite of him, pulling her tail close. She was trying not to smack the other pirate in the face with her fin as she moved, or something like that. She rather disliked people seeing her tail, even other mermaids, as it was a bit unusual from most, a differentiated fin and sharp spines starting just below from around where her knees would be all the way to the fin. If she actually was to hit someone, it looked like it would really hurt. Hey, at least she always had horns on her head, though they'd grown much larger, and it was seen why they did. They matched the other spikes lining her tail. Just what kind of mermaid was she exactly?

"Oh, uh, thanks." She held out her hand for the pants, and then sat them on her lap, staring down afterward. Uh, yea, this was going to be interesting... She honestly didn't care whose pants they were, just hoped that none of the others realized she was wearing his pants whenever they boarded the ship again. That'd be a tad awkward, and rumors spreading out of all those stupid males would be more then annoying, even risky. Her eyebrows furrowed unhappily, considering the prejudices of having a woman on board a ship.

"I see they did their job in helping you." The silence was broken as she glanced at the two Werebettas she'd sent along to assist Riphest. She smiled faintly at them, before turning to look back at the other pirate. "So, how'd it go up there?" Time needed to be killed until she transformed back and got her legs. Sitting silently would also probe awkward. Things were enough like that already. "Anyone awake, or what?"

[Kyrit]

For some odd reason Riphest hadn't really been looking at her, aside from when he first came up to her in the boat and had moved over to help her in. Maybe he was trying to keep himself from looking at her as a good bit of her body showed in this form, or maybe he was just thinking about something and had just been staring off into space. It was a bit hard to say why he wasn't. Although, it was more likely the first of the two. He'd be glad when she had her legs back on and could get the pants put on, as it'd make him at least a bit more comfortable. Women... he hadn't been too very comfortable around them, seeing as how until she joined the crew the only time he got to really socialize with women was when they were at dock... and those weren't always the best of times.

What about the other pirates..? What would they really think about this little event? After all, even if they didn't realize that those were Rip's pants, surely they'd at least know that they weren't Spearow's what with the size of them and all. They'd most likely find that some way odd, and there was just about no way getting around it. He started to wish, for her sake more then his, that he actually had gone to her room to get them. Then again, if someone had woken and seen him go into her room that would've caused a fuss. There was only so much that the poor guy could do that didn't run him in circles.

His plush ears quickly perked up, catching her words and snapping him out of his daze. "Y-Yeah. They didn't give me any trouble. And as for the others... Well it seemed like those aboard the ship were happily basking in the fact that I'm not there to bark orders at them, thus are still dead asleep. I did leave a letter for my father though." The Draculi's teal eyes were still looking far off into the distance.

[ToxicShadow]

"Humph. Won't they just love the pleasant awakening when we get back." She commented with a smirk of a grin, for once. If they were still, by some chance, asleep when they showed up once more, that would be one hell of a surprise for them to face. Figuring that first mate was gone and they could do as they pleased as long as the captain kept to his ignorant schedule and stayed in his room for a time. They missed one night of getting orders, but they'd be back to getting them again soon enough. Sometimes it felt like she was the only competent common crew member. She could have just never risked slipping up or slacking off. Her place had been well learned, and she kept to it.

Though it was almost as if Spearow was forgetting who she was actually talking to, seeming a little more, what was the word? Carefree. To the greatest extent she had been since she'd become a pirate, anyway.

She ran her fingers through her hair, wasting time with these trivial tasks. Then she twisted her hair to drain it, leaning carefully over the edge, forcing the clinging sea water back into the sea. "I hate water." Her complaint was grumbled. A mermaid who had it out against the sea; that was a new one. "I hope it warms up soon..." Still talking to herself, mostly. The faster she dried up, the better.

"Hey, um, Sir? One crew member is not allowed to assault another," which was exactly what stopped her before, she wasn't about to break the rules, "however, in this case..." She trailed off, hoping he'd understand what she was getting at.

[Kyrit]

Riphest was actually thankful that she was finally warming up to him and speaking her mind more freely. It was hard to have the closest person to you on the ship act iffy around you just because of your ranking. There was no need for her to feel at all below him in any way. Still, the happiness that he felt from that didn't keep him from being a bit distant still.

His eyes finally slid over to her when she spoke about hating water. How... was that possible? He knew that her getting wet around others wasn't the best of events, but why hate the water? Had she not grown up under the sea? He wouldn't pressure her for an answer to this though, knowing that it could possibly be a personal thing, and their relationship as friends still wasn't fully stable. It was growing though, and that was a good thing. They were going to need one another.

The draculi let out a small chuckle and smiled, understanding what she was getting at with her new words. "However in this case I wouldn't mind sitting by and watching you beat them to within an inch of their pathetic lives. Won't know at all anything about you doing it if they talk to the Captain and try to get you in trouble. Nope, not at all~" So basically he was saying that he'd let her almost kill them and then would over her back if it came down to her getting in trouble.

[ToxicShadow]

Even if it wasn't possible for her smirky grin to grow wider, it had, upon hearing the news. She clapped her hands together, her fingers interlacing afterward. "Most excellent. I almost wanted them dead, but I'll take what I can get." It was difficult to tell if she honestly meant that, or was just saying it. Then again, if she really decided that she wanted them dead, she could just feed them to her 'fishies' just as easily. That could be played off as an accident- they just slipped and the Werebettas happened to be around and hungry before they could get back up on board. Humm. A natural danger of the sea. Things happened. All pirates had to be wary of 'accidents.'
Either way, it meant she could stick up for herself now, instead of taking it. Not in front of the captain maybe, but yes, having Riphest on her side was nice.

Something else to kill time, something else to kill time. She was trying to will the sun to burn hotter to dry her tail faster, but it wasn't seeming to like the idea of complying with her wishes. Not fast enough for her liking.
"Hey, if you don't mind me asking, why exactly...are you a pirate? Any other reason then your father, maybe I should say." Suddenly, she felt curious. She didn't want to press him, just wanted something to talk about to keep the time passing by at a reasonable pace. "You don't have to answer if you don't want." She added. It just seemed, to her, that the Draculi was quite the odd pirate. Different from the rest. Not only cleaner, in more senses then one, but he kind of acted different then what would be considered the norm.

[Kyrit]

Riphest looked off to the side once again, away from the sun. His... reason for being a pirate? He grew suddenly quiet, head even hanging a bit low it seemed. "I needed to find my place. Life on land had no where for me, so when my father actually said I could join his crew... I figured I could find where my place was." Find his place? He seemed like such the odd on out when it came to being a pirate though.. Didn't fit in at all, and yet he thought he had it better out here then on land?

"Don't get me wrong, my life was fine living on land and helping my mother with her little tavern. I just... Didn't feel right being there. I know I seem a bit scared of many things out here, but I think that fear is also in a way what brings me happiness. I like to be surprised. I like to end up some place without meaning to. The sky... Day or night so long as there's not a story it's much more beautiful out here on the sea. No huge lights to ruin the gleam of the stars... no pollution to discolor the lovely shades of blue that color our sky."

He didn't know why he had actually chosen to tell her all of this. He could have given her some easy answer that she could be happy with, but he had decided to let her know all of it. "I may not be like them, but I'm surely just as much of a pirate anyways. Give me a treasure and I'll gladly try to steal it away from the world. Tell me of a way to find eternal life out here on the sea? Bring it on. I just... Know that I can't do that without someone by my side. In a way, I am little more then a cat. Cats don't like water, right? Well I may be afraid of many things out here on the sea... But I want to overcome that because I know I can find something amazing out here."

Something... or did he mean.. someone? Either way, he was on a search. It was possibly treasure, possibly junk. Could have been an item, or could have been a human. He just didn't know though... so he had to search
{21}

[ToxicShadow]

Pale eyes strayed between Riphest, the sea, and the three finned creatures around them before the beginning of the tale started, as if a little worried that the question was out of line. She would easily understand if it was. Often enough, she shied away from personal questions. Some of that reasoning being obvious, but it was deeper then the simple fact of hiding what she was. She wasn't just a mermaid, that wasn't who she was, but she had a life, like everyone else. So when he spoke, willing to answer, she listened intently, seeming as thoughtful as possible.

So didn't feel right where he had been? He was out searching for something more than he had before...Something that couldn't be found simply by staying in the place he was almost expected to stay. This way of life, the life of a pirate, was certainly more interesting, no? Rather or not he belonged. It was just the best way to find himself. In ways, their ways of thinking were similar. Very similar.

"And I'm a bit of a monster." Spearow pointed out, if they were going to compare themselves to their animal counterparts. She didn't seem like the type to always be fearful of something, but instead, she almost preferred to take charge of what was going on around her. She needed that kind of ambition to survive. But, to what extent was this personality? Was it dangerous?
"But I get where you're coming from. Living in the sea wasn't my thing." She gestured vaguely with one hand. There was nothing there for her. No reason for her to stay, but all the reasons to leave. So, she up at left, and went to pursue the unorthodox life of a pirate.

Suddenly, she raised her hand to her forehead in a two fingered salute to the one across from her, winking quickly in time with pulling her hand away. "You can't do it alone, I get stuck in a corner when alone. I guess I'll have to stick to you like glue. Better two freaks of the pirate world than one." Even calling herself a freak, it wasn't offensive.
Better off not alone. She already knew well enough what that was like. So why not be friends?

[Kyrit]

Monster? How could she use that word when talking about herself? Besides... Mermaids weren't... monsters. Okay, well the sirens were quite bloody well monsters in the fact that they liked to lure men to their death, but she wasn't one of those. "Spearow... Don't compare yourself to a monster." It was hard to tell if that was a command from a higher ranking member of the ship, or if he was just telling her as friends. There was a certain bit of info that he held within that did want to slip out. 'You're too beautiful for that.' But he knew that there were 'monsters' that could be beautiful. Beauty didn't matter... it was the heart within that did. And... to him he couldn't see her as a monster.

He then let out a small chuckle, by choice or forced hard to tell. Freaks. He couldn't disagree with that one right there. He was a cat that wanted to be floating on the water, and she was a mermaid that wanted to be out of that water. Kinda hard to find more of a freak then that, depending on how you thought of things. "Glue, aw come on. We can do better then that." Riphest spoke with a wink. "We'll stick together like... like..." it seemed to take him a few moments to think of anything, but then he let out another chuckle and continued, "Like stink on those other pirates!"

The human form draculi leaned back, looking up at the sky and using his hands to brace himself. "Y'know... even though we've been through so much trouble because I helped you... I can't say I'd go back and change anything about this for all the treasures in the world." It was good to finally have another 'freak' aboard the ship to get along with. Good to have someone that he could actually talk to. He knew all those others had only put up with him because he was the Captain's son and nothing more. If he had just been a regular guy they probably would have left him somewhere long ago.

[ToxicShadow]

That was...less then expected. Spearow blinked once, before her expression turned into that skeptical sort of questioning. It was rather difficult to read how his words were coming off. She'd so forced herself into the habits of obeying what she was told to do by those in a higher posistion, just so she could keep her place on a ship, that she wasn't so sure about saying anything more about being a monster once Rip had told her not to. But, she did anyway, if only a little. "I don't see why not." She shrugged. Mermaids were a sort of monster, after all. A good lot of them were awful to humans and even their own kind. "Wouldn't be the first time." Her words were spoken in such a light heart, it was a little unbelievable.
She moved on, after that, just making sure she still got out her protest in a more vague sort of way.
To his suggestion, she cringed, and made a face. "I'd rather not. Then one of us would have to be the stink, and the other would be a bunch of nasty men. I'm not willing to be either, so..." That idea was out. "We could be...super glue...or uh...jam and...what's that stuff...? Oh, peanut butter!" No, mermaids didn't have peanut butter beneath the sea, so it only made sense that she had to think for a moment.  

"Humm...Are you sure about that? A pirate's best friend is his own treasure, after all." What he said was nice though. She'd never really gotten something like that from anyone before. Never really was she wanted anywhere. She was just...there... "But...thanks." She'd been welcomed nowhere, ever. They wanted to get rid of her when she was in the ocean, they wanted to get rid of her when she was on the ship. No one had ever told her they genuinely wanted her around, save for... well, a friend.

She made a brief pause of that as she suddenly realized that her flesh was almost dry. She'd be able to return to her disguise in any minute now. "Oh! Did I tell you, they're named?" She was excited then, and she pointed to one of the Werebettas, still loyally around them. That was a little bit of a shocker when it came to this species, but she had been fully aware of being able to trust them when they agreed to helping her out earlier. "See that one their, the Goldclaw? He sort of acts like their leader. His name's Kring. Then that slightly smaller Fighter, " she pointed to said Werebetta, "her name is Szir?©na, but prefers going by Harp. She's the only female in the group. And that last one," again, she pointed, "is named Zappeln. He a Harp are actually mates."