[ToxicShadow]

Nothing had been going Detria's way as of late. She had thought that she had finally found a group, a gang, that she could belong to and call family. While they hadn't spent all that much time together, she trusted them, and she learned the hard way that she shouldn't have put her faith in them. In the end, they did nothing but try to use her. Where she had come from, she was widely known as an incredible fighter. It didn't matter that she was a woman, she was capable of taking out targets seemingly larger or more powerful than herself. Gender was no matter. It was for this reputation that she had been invited to join her most recent gang attempt.

As the sort of person that protected those precious to her, although she didn't necessarily openly act like it, Detria had put herself into many dangerous situations to protect those damn people. That's all they really wanted her for, though, to be the wall in front of them all, the sacrifice to their enemies. They were prepared for her to be killed if it meant that they could get what they wanted. When she realized this, she was furious, possibly furious to put every last one of them in the hospital, but she felt more betrayed than she did angry.

"Tender, give me another one!" The woman called out, pounding her closed fist against the bar in frustration as she recalled the betrayal. Being hurt like that, it was how she ended up way out here, far away from the sorts of places that she would normally be. A tavern in Sa'fir? Well, it could be called a vacation.

Shortly after she was passed another drink, only the gods knew made up of what, a man that had originally been a few chairs down slide into the empty seat next to her. "So, what'cha drinkin'? I see you can hold your alcohol, lil' lady."

Detria didn't give him the time of day, only glancing at him sideways briefly and back away again, blatantly ignoring his advances in favor of a good long swig of her drink.

[Mousen]

((I AM SO SORRY FOR LEAVING THIS FOR SO LONG. ;U; I AM HORRIBLE AND USELESS AND HORRIBLE.))

Things had been going well for the crew of the Fishmoth, after their trip across to Jawan, many merchant sailors had headed back to the little port to take advantage of their sudden disappearance. Unfortunately for those merchant sailors, they'd overestimated the time in which the "Scourge of Sa'Fir" was to be gone. When the mist had rolled in one evening, the crew had managed to plunder no less than four of the larger merchant vessels. (Admittedly, it helped to have a goddess on one's side, but the skill of the pirates in question couldn't be denied.)

So, they'd docked a little way down the coast and had come into the town to celebrate. Or, that was the plan, anyway. For whatever reason, Garrett wasn't quite in the mood to celebrate.He couldn't even end up properly drunk, the Captain had categorically forbidden this, mainly due to the fact that he had a habit of burning things down while intoxicated. Which, admittedly, wasn't good but people had insurance nowadays. He hadn't properly burnt anything down for ages, anyway.

In all fairness, the Captain was probably right, even if he didn't want to admit to it.

He turned the corner and walked into a small tavern. Garrett been here a couple of times previously, although, thankfully he hadn't burnt anything on any of those visits. He gave the bartender a nod and ordered his drink. Honestly, it would have been a lot more fun if Erskine was there, he was Garrett's best friend, and while a little bit harsh in his manner, he always had interesting insights. Especially after indulging his penchant for the green fairy.

Vaguely, he wondered what time was the earliest time it would be acceptable to return to the ship.

[ToxicShadow]

The man that attempted to make a move on Detria wasn't too pleased with being so blatantly ignored, nor would his pride allow things to end with him being brushed off without a single word from her mouth. As she was purposefully not giving him the time of day, indulging in her drink, he roughly grabbed her shoulder, the lack of gentleness toward the woman likely a sign of how much he had already had to drink. He forcefully tried to make her look at him.

Had she been in her non-human form, the woman's fur would have bristled from the sudden touch but, even without it, she growled in a fearsome way. His abrupt yanking on her shoulder had her spilling her drink, which really pissed off the already well irritated Detria. Meeting his gaze, she had a look of fury in her eyes. Casually setting what remained of her drink down on the bar, she roughly removed his hand from her shoulder.

"Don't you know better than to lay your filthy hands on a woman?"

She wasn't in the least bit interested in causing a scene, but she wasn't the sort to put with such bullshit. Gritting her teeth, she turned away from the man. This was the last thing she needed, and she was well aware of it.

However, the man still didn't let it go, especially because she was resisting and had gone so far as to insult him. Angrily, he returned the insult, "My filthy hands, eh? There's not a chance that you could do better."

It was the last straw for Detria's already short temper, she rising from her chair and clocking him straight in his ugly mug without a moment's notice, easily making the unprepared man topple off of his stool, painfully into the next and onto the floor.

As he struggled to get back to his feet after being laid out, the man's two friends from a few seats down stood up, obviously intent on coming to their buddy's aid.

(Sorry if this seems poorly laid out. I wanted to get things moving. Also, feel free to control the three random men as you see fit. Yay NPCs.)

[Mousen]

Garrett looked up at the altercation between the woman and the drunkard, and briefly he assessed the situation. She could take care of herself, he was a drunk moron. It was best to stay out of it.

Then, the woman punched the drunkard in the face.

For all his years at sea, Garrett had gained a rather good sense of self-preservation (occasional act of arson aside), and everything was telling him to set his drink down and leave, whatever happened next wasn't going to be pretty, and really he could do without the trouble. So, naturally, he stayed. Despite appearances, Garrett could be strangely moral at times, and there was something about two angry men turning against one person that really rattled him.

He stood up, set his drink down and turned to face the man's two friends. "Really now, lads. This isn't a fight you want to be getting into."

That was when one of the man's friends swung for him, on instinct Garrett ducked, then swung round and caught the man on the chin. It wasn't until the man shrieked, actually, honestly shrieked that Garrett realized that his hands were burning with a small, blue flame, only visible due to the dim lighting of the tavern. Fuck. He should have it under better control than that, bloody hell.

Still, the man had either had less to drink or was made of stronger stuff than his friend, because he was still on his feet and even more furious than he had been. From somewhere off to his left, he heard the noise of what seemed to be another fight. He simply assumed that it was the woman and the drunkard's other friend, before turning back to his opponent.

(I hope that's okay. uwu)

[ToxicShadow]

The last thing that Detria expected to find in such an out of the way place was help. She could hardly be called a people person, when it came to strangers, so it wasn't like her to expect anyone to come to her aid for any reason whatsoever. That being so, she was fully prepared to take on more than one person when the drunkards buddies confronted her, not doubting herself, even if the numbers were against her. However, when someone else, whom she assumed to be another patron, spoke up, the smirk that slipped onto her face could not be missed. She was amused and somehow excited by the turn of events.

Her gaze shifted sideways briefly when the stranger that came to her aid was swung at, she only confirming that he seemed like he could hold his own ground, before moving into action on her own. Her opponent seemed to want to underestimate her for being a woman, reaching toward her instead of swinging, which she would soon make him regret. She blocked his advance and slipped around him easily, being of smaller stature, and wrapped her arm around his neck while simultaneously shoving into the back of his knees. He struggled against her, reaching around and still trying to grab at her or pull her off, but she applied enough force to bring him to his hands and knees.

Once he was downed, she immediately backed away, unwilling to be pulled in and forced to grapple while tumbling around the bar floor. He was left coughing, trying to catch his breath.

Her interest temporarily shifted toward the man fighting alongside her, not failing to miss the flames emanating from his hands. How curious. More than anything, it made her curious about the man.

"Hey, we'd better get out of here, before we cause more of a scene," she pointed out. Detria enjoyed fighting, but she didn't want to stick around for anyone else to show up and get involved, be that another patron or someone more official. Everyone was already staring at them, the bartender looking particularly frantic, despite the scuffle being rather tame thus far.

[Mousen]

He noticed the young woman smirking out of the corner of his eye, and though his expression didn't change much, there certainly seemed to be an amused glint in his eye.

The man was more wary than he'd been before, especially with a nasty burn slowly appearing over the bottom half of his face. Garrett used this to his advantage. Rather than going for another punch, he simply grabbed the edge of the assailant's coat. It set alight. The man panicked, throwing off the coat and stamping on. This gave Garrett time to get his thoughts in order. The flames on his hands went out.

Then, he swung for the man. His fist collided with the man's jaw hard, and he fell to the floor beside his smoldering coat.

Garrett knew that he shouldn't find it amusing, but damn, it has been a long time since he'd been in a proper fight. Subduing merchants certainly paid well, but he couldn't say that it was a challenge. They were better at whinging and offering bribes than they actually were at fighting.

He was going to get so many disapproving looks from Erskine when he got back.

"Hey, we'd better get out of here, before we cause more of a scene,"

Garrett looked towards Detria and nodded simply. He dropped a few coins onto the bar (he'd generally found that bartenders were much less likely to get anyone involved if you'd already paid for the damages) and quickly walked out of the doors. Upon finding himself in the cool night hair, he turned to the young woman who'd also been fighting.

He was a man in his mid-thirties, weather-beaten, with dark curly hair and massively broad shoulders. He held out his hand, and upon doing so the many burns on his forearms were visibly. "Garrett Ashby." he said simply, by way of introduction.

[ToxicShadow]

Detria briefly watched as the man that had come to her aid dropped coins onto the bar counter, it dawning on her that she should probably do the same. The bartender had been good to her, after all, so skipping out on her tab would have sucked. Digging out the wallet from her pant's pocket, she tossed a handful of bills unceremoniously onto the bar top, and made her exit, returning the wallet to its rightful place as she walked.

The crisp, cool air of the night was refreshing, and she was found stretching her arms high above her head and sucking in a deep breath through her nose as the man turned to face her. Once she'd returned to her typical posture, she grinned, and reached out to shake his hand. "Detria," she introduced herself in the same manner. "Just Detria, since my family life is rather complicated." Compared to his, her hand was soft and delicate, what with being a woman, but she had a solid grasp and firm handshake.

Detria appeared somewhere in her twenties, likely somewhere in the middle, but it was difficult to place her exact age, for she had the eyes of someone who experienced more than others her age. She could have passed for older or younger, simply by saying so. Her unnaturally reddish pink was stylized as a wavy bob cut, just barely reaching her shoulders, with bangs swooped to one side. She wasn't remarkably tall, nor remarkably short, just average, but she was definitely physically fit and cursed with larger bust than she would have liked.

There was no way that she didn't notice the burn scars covering his arm, she offering them a briefly glance as she had taken his hand, and, although it made her a little curious, it wasn't all that unusual of a sight. Living the lifestyle she had so far, it wasn't out of the ordinary to see people with scars from all sorts of things. So she didn't make any remarks about it.

"Thanks, for having my back. Since you came to help, though, I wont apologize for involving you in the mess; I hope you don't mind." There was a very short pause in her words, before she continued on. "You seem like you're a pretty good fighter." From her, that was definitely a compliment, and her tone of voice made that somewhat evident.

[Mousen]

Garrett nodding in understanding. "Detria it is, then." He'd come across enough strangeness in his time to not be bothered by a woman who hated her family name. The ship's cook, after all, only went by The Duchess. He had a vague recollection of the Captain calling her... what was it, Anastasia, maybe? But, he couldn't be sure.

Now away from the hustle and bustle of the bar, Garrett had a chance to take in Detria's appearance. She was pretty to his eye, but Garrett couldn't claim to be an expert in female beauty. "It's not as if you asked," he said, shrugging. "I just can't stand arseholes." That much was definitely true, while typically very calm, the pirate did have something of a short fuse.

"Thanks. Same to you." He meant it, Detria was definitely no pushover. "I've had enough practise over the years. You'd think I'd grow out of getting into bar fights, but here we are." At least it wasn't arson this time, gods only knew what the captain would do if she heard about more accidental arson.

"What brings you here, Detria. You local?" He'd been to Sa'fir many times, but he couldn't recall ever seeing her before. Although, he didn't know the town in its entirety.

[ToxicShadow]

Well, that was good to know, that he had a thing against assholes. Generally speaking, that meant that he wasn't secretly one himself, assuming he was being honest. Which, for the time being, Detria was going to believe he was.

"I suppose its hard to grow out of something like that, when the idiots never stop provoking people." Some guys never grew up, never learned to take a hint, and leave people alone. Perhaps that was an influence of the alcohol, but most people that were decent sober were still reasonably decent drunks, maybe more emotional, loud, and so on, but not total assholes.

She shook her head. "No, I'm new in town. You could say I'm looking for a serious change of pace, so changing my environment was the best place to start." She paused for a moment, but went on. "Although, I'm not so sure that I'm liking what I've seen so far."

[Mousen]

Garrett smiled in amusement, a rare gesture for him. "Yeah, I suppose you're right 'bout that one." He'd have to use that next time he got chastised for loosing his temper at someone. It probably wouldn't wash, but hey, it was worth a shot, right?

"Sa'fir isn't bad, most of the time. Has it's moments, though." That being said, if Detria was serious about that change of pace... Anne had said she was looking for a bit more muscle on board... Well, he could only offer. "But, if you are looking for a change, I do have a suggestion for you," he paused, hoping that what he was going to say wouldn't sound too strange. "I work on a ship called the Fishmoth, and it's not a bad place to be. Fair amount of travelling, good wages, good people. It's hard work too, and dangerous, especially if you've never been to see before."

He shifted slightly. "I guess what I'm trying to ask is, you ever considered becoming a pirate?"

[ToxicShadow]

Detria cocked a delicate eyebrow at Garrett's proposal, curious, and quietly heard him out. "A pirate, huh?" she asked, after a moment, still seeming to mull it over in her head. It wasn't that far off from a street gang, which she'd been involved with on more than one occasion. Although, perhaps, more organized, and, perhaps, more noble, too. At least, from what she knew, pirates were at least more respectful of each other among their own crew. And, hell, an actual stable wage wasn't bad, either. It wasn't as if she knew what she was going to do for money now.

Maybe, just maybe, they'd end up being worth her loyalty, too.

After a drawn out moment, as she thought it over, she titled her head slightly to one side and grinned. "Hell, why not? It can't be any worse than my last gig. I certainly don't have sea legs, but I don't doubt that I could be of use. I happen to know my way around dangerous and risky situations." Seeing as she was being invited to give it go, she supposed that had to mean that he at least had an inkling that she might be able to handle it. That, or they really were desperate for extra hands. Either way, she might as well take it.

[Mousen]

That had gone surprisingly well. "All right, then. If you're all done in Sa'fir we'll walk down to the ship. We're docked a little ways out, there's a small bay a couple a miles down the coast." He gestured with his thumb. "Don't worry 'bout the sea legs, you'll find a set soon enough. Go see the ship's doctor if you think you might be getting seasick, though. 'Cause I'll get lumbered with cleaning if you're ill." He set off walking, keeping a reasonably even pace, assuming that Detria would follow. "I like you and all, Detria, but I have better things to be doing."

Was there anything else he should mention...? Oh. "We get a share from whatever we plunder, so, we work to eat. Our Captain is Anne Grey, she's a tough bird, but good to us. Just watch out for her wife," How in the world did he put this? "She-- You'll find out for yourself... Just-- Just don't listen to anything which has no right to be appearing or talking. She's some kinda spirit or other, can't step a foot on land, so likes to torment and terrify poor sailors. And, um, marry them too, apparently."

Perhaps he'd have been best leaving that conversation about Valerian to Anne? She was better with words than he was. "Rest of the crew are all right, bit strange, mind you, but I'm fond. Just don't tell them I said that."

[ToxicShadow]

So that was that, then. Detria nodded her head. "Yeah. The only things I brought to Sa'fir were what I could carry on my back. Everything I owned was left back in my hometown before coming here." There was nothing she was so attached to that she needed to bring it with her. Just clothes and a hefty pocket full of cash was all she needed to start anew.

She had moved to catch up to Garrett, falling in just a few paces behind him, and keeping the same stride. It would be a bit of a walk, but nothing she wasn't used to. "Don't worry. I'm not really the sort to get sick with regular mortal ailments. I've never even gotten a cold." Although she wasn't an immortal or anything like that, her father was something, some sort of magic user that was the doppelganger of an extremely powerful witch, so some strange things were passed on to Detria, not all of which she even knew.

Everything else he explained, she stashed away, making sure to remember. "Got it. I'm awfully familiar with all sorts of oddities, magic or otherwise, so I'm sure I'll manage." Detria wasn't sure she enjoyed the fantastical world of spirits and other magical creatures, in spite of her own peculiar lineage, but it was something she had been wrapped up in against her will for a long time. There was no escaping that she wasn't actually normal.

[Mousen]

"Lucky. 'Cause we all live in close quarters, if one of us is ill, all the rest are too. So, every November you have a crew of sad, sniffling pirates." The Fishmoth had first appeared around four years ago, with Garrett joining the crew just under two years ago. He'd had time to settle into the routine, but was by far the newest member of the crew. Well, that would be until he introduced Detria to Anne.

They turned out of town, instead taking an uphill path that ran along the cliffs. The sea wind had a definite chill as it blew through the sparse grasses that grew atop the headland. "Ah. You'll fit in, then. There's a couple of other oddities on board, but nothing you need to worry about. The Captain's wife won't hurt you, either, but she can be a bugger when she wants to be. I thought it'd only be fair to give you warning."

Detria was awfully cage-y about her past, and he understood that. Although, her willingness to run away with someone who was practically a stranger, and her lack of qualms about becoming a pirate made him worry what exactly she was running away from. Still, Detria would be far from the first or last person to run away to sea. The things people refused to discuss were not a measure of them. Erskine, for instance had only ever mentioned snippets of his past to Garrett, and Garrett was closer than most. Still, he was curious. "What kind of oddities? If you don't mind me asking," he said, his tone conversational.

[ToxicShadow]

"Sounds like I'd be stuck taking care of everyone, then," she mused. She had no idea who these people were, but, in time, she would, and she could see it going down that way. Detria followed along, just a few steps behind, as she was being lead out of town. Some women, perhaps, would be worried about following a man they'd just met anywhere outside of a populated area, but Detria wasn't the type to worry about those things. She had every bit of confidence that she could take care of herself, and it wouldn't have been the first time something similar to this happened.

"My life story isn't something I typically brag about to almost perfect strangers, but if we're going to be working together... I've crossed paths with a lot of... strange characters. Witches from other realms, an alien with foreign technology from another galaxy, a magic user that explodes into lights when killed and revives like nothing happened, a man that sold his soul to demons to become a demonic soul collector, the children of said man and a witch of death, a fire wielding vampire, you name it."

"My father, the one who actually raised me, while the other ran off, is an innate, but reluctant magic user. He's gotten himself dragged into all sorts of things over the years. I take after him, so." So she was dragged along, some of the time. She didn't go into all the details, but was certain her answer was enough to suffice, for the time being.

"I bet you're wondering why I would so easily agree to a life of a piracy, aren't you?" Anyone probably would. With these sorts of things, it wasn't all too surprising for one to  be curious about another's motives. "How did you end up with the gig?"