Blaze watched each crested wave as it rolled effortlessly over the
surface of the water, strengthening and then crashing against the path
of another as it criss-crossed with the waking stream of the ship upon
which she was being ferried across to Ravens. She took a deep breath and
leaned over the rail slightly, careful with the positioning of her
broken arm, she gazed down into the depths, seeing tendrils of seaweed
swirling about surface, fighting the pull of being swept below. She knew
how that felt, trying to keep ones head up, stay afloat even when so
much was trying to pull you under.
The last days had been hard, harder than usual...so much had changed recently, both good and bad and all took some adjusting. The pack could be a comfort blanket and yet sometimes she just wished to be by herself. Still little could keep her from them for too long, she had bond to them all, in varying degrees, but of course none as strong as with Alastair. She smiled to think of him. Even after suffering so much, almost relentless testing of his leadership, his patience and his strength...he was still everything in her eyes, she loved even his flaws as they made him who he was...someone that she could not live without. He was the glue that kept her together, the reason for getting through the darkest of times and the underlying strength of all she achieved. She knew even being away a few hours she would miss him greatly and would look forward to being reunited on her return.
She had planned to find Teldon or perhaps even Neko, whom she had not seen for a long time for she sought some advise and after all the pack back in the Wilds had been through recently, she did not wish to burden them with all that was on her mind. Only a day she had planned to be away, hopefully back that same evening...usually she would have left word for Alastair, to keep him from worrying but foolishly it was a mistake she would likely long regret in not doing so.
For a few moments she let her mind empty of all thought, just feeling the refreshing salty breeze upon her pale skin. She could feel each rise and fall of the ship as it surged forward across the Ambrean Sea, bough cutting through the mildly choppy waters like a blade. But all too soon that strange feeling crept back, that unsettled feeling...it had been there for a while now, just beneath the surface eating away at her nerves; momentarily put aside with all the chaos of the last days. It was like something had changed somehow, something that she had no control of. It did not hold a sense of malice; rather something desperately longed for and yet unrealised and unexplained it felt unnerving all the same.
Blinking a few times she tried to shake it off, raising her dark eyes and spying the telltale landscape of the raven’s coastline in the far distance. Having caught the very first ship of the day the sun had only just broken free of the horizon to begin its climb into the sky, the hazy amber glow giving way to a bright sweep of sunlight that cast a sparkling turquoise glitter to each wave as it rolled past. She stood straight, wrapped her arm to herself, other still strapped tightly to her chest beneath her cloak, the most notable lingering injury evident from the ordeal down in the under dark after being captured by Nethya, though ironically this wound had not been by her hand.
The wind caught at her long hair and as she turned to sweep it aside it was then that she caught that instinct of being watched...it crept into the blood like an ignition of all her senses. Within a few seconds she could guess it was human, male, adult and nearby. She flicked her hair back from her shoulder, in order to sweep her eyes over him, half hidden back in the shadows, leaning back against the base of the ships mast, foot up on a large coil of rope and chewing on a pipe in a lazy arrogant manner as he stared unashamedly back at her. He tipped the brim of his wide hat to her and with a slight narrowing of eyes she inclined her head an inch before turning away to the sea view once again. She had no desire to find any company upon this trip and certainly not of his kind, having seen him earlier playing a rowdy and drunken game of cards with others of his kind...likely outlaws posing as merchants, perhaps even pirates trying a new guise upon ships that were not their own. She felt his eyes on her still, similar to leering and yet not necessarily in a sexual way, more a dark fascination...as if he knew her to be not as she tried to appear. He had guessed she was not human, she could pick up the subtle curiosity imprinted in the beat of his pulse as she sought and scrutinised it for her own knowledge.
“Aye lass...I be watchin’ ya” she heard his gruff voice admit. She turned to him again, hopefully looking uninterested and yet defiant. In truth she felt more vulnerable with her injuries where usually such journey alone would not worry her at all. She felt her eyebrow rise slightly but she did not reply, aware of another, a fellow card playing associate approaching from the opposing side of the ship. “Always so quiet? Pretty miss?” he spoke again, pushing off from his leaning poise to step forward. She caught the unmistakable scent of old rum and blood upon him, laced with a manly sweat and the faint undertone of leather. Her eyes followed his approach then flickered to that of the other. As with the first he too was heavily cloaked, his brow hidden beneath a wide-brimmed hat that was set upon his head at an angle, gracing her with view of just one grey staring eye; though unlike the first his gaze was not cast upon Blaze’s face, but the unusual aqua gems that were visible beneath her own cloak as the sea breeze caught at the fabric and gave glimpse of the elven armlet that graced her upper arm, the very first gift that Alastair had bestowed upon her, all that time ago not long after they first admitted their feelings for one another. It had been his mothers, brought with him from Ithil and it meant the world to her.
She felt her own pulse quicken slightly knowing what they were likely up to and she was really not in the mood. She knew more than well enough how to handle herself with the likes of such humans and was pretty sure they would be little more than a passing irritation. Still her fingers flexed in growing irritation and she narrowed her eyes further, feeling them darken and without much conscious thought for it, her fangs grew sharp behind her lips, tips more noticeable as the sun caught her face.
“Seems she be unable to speak!” came the input from the second man “Perhaps her tongue be missing...an’ if not...then can be arranged” he gave a gruff laugh with his threat and Blaze caught the quick glint of a blade at his side. She glanced quickly in both directions, but there were no others to be seen along the length of the ship. It being the first sail of the day it had been somewhat quiet and most were at the rear of the ship keeping watch over their goods where as Blaze had brought only herself.
The first man did not respond to this, unlike his associate he seemed to realise that perhaps she was not a frightened female, lost to speech through intimidation. He continued to eye her carefully and she saw what looked to be a spark of realisation as she turned to face them both full on, chin tipped up slightly as if to show she was neither amused nor afraid. “Go back to your cards...gentleman” she finally answered, voice smooth as silk and yet with a threatening undertone, dark eyes flashed sinisterly between them both.
“Oh we ‘ave a feisty one! Well then...let’s be puttin’ it differently. You can keep your pretty young tongue...in return for those there pretty green jewels” her pointed with the tip of his dagger towards her arm and she did not need to look down to know what he was demanding. She gave him a dry laugh though her uninjured hand snaked to her hip where she kept her own dagger and held it there firmly whilst seeming not to move at all. She knew her best weapons were in her mouth...perhaps even the blood of drunken seadogs would do her some good, though would be a last resort of course, not sure the captain would be too happy to find her feeding from some of his customers. “I...think not” she replied with a more pronounced accent and purposeful fanged smile, knowing there would be perceived a dangerous edge around her, for even humans pirates would surely be wary of a vampire...wouldn’t they?!
The last days had been hard, harder than usual...so much had changed recently, both good and bad and all took some adjusting. The pack could be a comfort blanket and yet sometimes she just wished to be by herself. Still little could keep her from them for too long, she had bond to them all, in varying degrees, but of course none as strong as with Alastair. She smiled to think of him. Even after suffering so much, almost relentless testing of his leadership, his patience and his strength...he was still everything in her eyes, she loved even his flaws as they made him who he was...someone that she could not live without. He was the glue that kept her together, the reason for getting through the darkest of times and the underlying strength of all she achieved. She knew even being away a few hours she would miss him greatly and would look forward to being reunited on her return.
She had planned to find Teldon or perhaps even Neko, whom she had not seen for a long time for she sought some advise and after all the pack back in the Wilds had been through recently, she did not wish to burden them with all that was on her mind. Only a day she had planned to be away, hopefully back that same evening...usually she would have left word for Alastair, to keep him from worrying but foolishly it was a mistake she would likely long regret in not doing so.
For a few moments she let her mind empty of all thought, just feeling the refreshing salty breeze upon her pale skin. She could feel each rise and fall of the ship as it surged forward across the Ambrean Sea, bough cutting through the mildly choppy waters like a blade. But all too soon that strange feeling crept back, that unsettled feeling...it had been there for a while now, just beneath the surface eating away at her nerves; momentarily put aside with all the chaos of the last days. It was like something had changed somehow, something that she had no control of. It did not hold a sense of malice; rather something desperately longed for and yet unrealised and unexplained it felt unnerving all the same.
Blinking a few times she tried to shake it off, raising her dark eyes and spying the telltale landscape of the raven’s coastline in the far distance. Having caught the very first ship of the day the sun had only just broken free of the horizon to begin its climb into the sky, the hazy amber glow giving way to a bright sweep of sunlight that cast a sparkling turquoise glitter to each wave as it rolled past. She stood straight, wrapped her arm to herself, other still strapped tightly to her chest beneath her cloak, the most notable lingering injury evident from the ordeal down in the under dark after being captured by Nethya, though ironically this wound had not been by her hand.
The wind caught at her long hair and as she turned to sweep it aside it was then that she caught that instinct of being watched...it crept into the blood like an ignition of all her senses. Within a few seconds she could guess it was human, male, adult and nearby. She flicked her hair back from her shoulder, in order to sweep her eyes over him, half hidden back in the shadows, leaning back against the base of the ships mast, foot up on a large coil of rope and chewing on a pipe in a lazy arrogant manner as he stared unashamedly back at her. He tipped the brim of his wide hat to her and with a slight narrowing of eyes she inclined her head an inch before turning away to the sea view once again. She had no desire to find any company upon this trip and certainly not of his kind, having seen him earlier playing a rowdy and drunken game of cards with others of his kind...likely outlaws posing as merchants, perhaps even pirates trying a new guise upon ships that were not their own. She felt his eyes on her still, similar to leering and yet not necessarily in a sexual way, more a dark fascination...as if he knew her to be not as she tried to appear. He had guessed she was not human, she could pick up the subtle curiosity imprinted in the beat of his pulse as she sought and scrutinised it for her own knowledge.
“Aye lass...I be watchin’ ya” she heard his gruff voice admit. She turned to him again, hopefully looking uninterested and yet defiant. In truth she felt more vulnerable with her injuries where usually such journey alone would not worry her at all. She felt her eyebrow rise slightly but she did not reply, aware of another, a fellow card playing associate approaching from the opposing side of the ship. “Always so quiet? Pretty miss?” he spoke again, pushing off from his leaning poise to step forward. She caught the unmistakable scent of old rum and blood upon him, laced with a manly sweat and the faint undertone of leather. Her eyes followed his approach then flickered to that of the other. As with the first he too was heavily cloaked, his brow hidden beneath a wide-brimmed hat that was set upon his head at an angle, gracing her with view of just one grey staring eye; though unlike the first his gaze was not cast upon Blaze’s face, but the unusual aqua gems that were visible beneath her own cloak as the sea breeze caught at the fabric and gave glimpse of the elven armlet that graced her upper arm, the very first gift that Alastair had bestowed upon her, all that time ago not long after they first admitted their feelings for one another. It had been his mothers, brought with him from Ithil and it meant the world to her.
She felt her own pulse quicken slightly knowing what they were likely up to and she was really not in the mood. She knew more than well enough how to handle herself with the likes of such humans and was pretty sure they would be little more than a passing irritation. Still her fingers flexed in growing irritation and she narrowed her eyes further, feeling them darken and without much conscious thought for it, her fangs grew sharp behind her lips, tips more noticeable as the sun caught her face.
“Seems she be unable to speak!” came the input from the second man “Perhaps her tongue be missing...an’ if not...then can be arranged” he gave a gruff laugh with his threat and Blaze caught the quick glint of a blade at his side. She glanced quickly in both directions, but there were no others to be seen along the length of the ship. It being the first sail of the day it had been somewhat quiet and most were at the rear of the ship keeping watch over their goods where as Blaze had brought only herself.
The first man did not respond to this, unlike his associate he seemed to realise that perhaps she was not a frightened female, lost to speech through intimidation. He continued to eye her carefully and she saw what looked to be a spark of realisation as she turned to face them both full on, chin tipped up slightly as if to show she was neither amused nor afraid. “Go back to your cards...gentleman” she finally answered, voice smooth as silk and yet with a threatening undertone, dark eyes flashed sinisterly between them both.
“Oh we ‘ave a feisty one! Well then...let’s be puttin’ it differently. You can keep your pretty young tongue...in return for those there pretty green jewels” her pointed with the tip of his dagger towards her arm and she did not need to look down to know what he was demanding. She gave him a dry laugh though her uninjured hand snaked to her hip where she kept her own dagger and held it there firmly whilst seeming not to move at all. She knew her best weapons were in her mouth...perhaps even the blood of drunken seadogs would do her some good, though would be a last resort of course, not sure the captain would be too happy to find her feeding from some of his customers. “I...think not” she replied with a more pronounced accent and purposeful fanged smile, knowing there would be perceived a dangerous edge around her, for even humans pirates would surely be wary of a vampire...wouldn’t they?!
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