Pirates of the Hard Nox [Open]

trandy
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Pirates of the Hard Nox [Open] Jul 9, 2023 15:04:25 GMT paperwork likes this

Post by trandy on Jul 9, 2023 15:04:25 GMT

With incredible speed, Naveen's hand got a hold of Alys' fist before it touched his precious face, or what was left of it.

"I think what you meant was 'thank you'" He ran his tongue over his bloody lip and smirked. "Not my favorite, too vanilla." Naveens eyes trailed down from her eyes to the scar surrounding her wrist. "I see you've met Helen. A fun one she was, real nut case. Delicious blood." He said, tugging it close to take a better look at the scar flattering her hand like a bracelet. He pulled her closer, close enough to whisper:

"You may fit for dessert." Letting go of her only after making sure Alys would've learned her chances at overpowering hin on her own were close to zero.

Last Edit: Jul 9, 2023 15:13:31 GMT by trandy

UmbraSight
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Pirates of the Hard Nox [Open] Jul 9, 2023 15:17:30 GMT paperwork likes this

Post by UmbraSight on Jul 9, 2023 15:17:30 GMT

It was just so — all so — everyone was still, why didn’t they leave? They needed to leave, they, they just — so close. All so close. They wouldn’t just — couldn’t just — she just didn’t want — She could feel her teeth against her lips. Jagged and wanting and… Nessa raised her head.

Warmth fell across her shoulders, heavy and yet… she aimed to speak, but words were caught. Warm, like a dream, or — her head fell on his shoulder as a bottle slid into her hand. Sweet and sharp on her nose, against her lips, and sliding down her tongue. Not too fast, fledgling. Nessa’s lips left the bottle for a moment, was Lucien really…? Her voice creaked out, tongue heavy.

“Just a storm… just a storm,” she repeated. For a moment, her eyes closed and Nessa —

The roof would always leak in the rain, so they would huddle together by the warmth of the hearth. She would lay her head on her mother’s lap, and her mother would run her fingers through her hair, weaving it into long braids. For a moment, the thunder would seem so distant.

“Mother always said flowers bloomed beautifully after the rain.” Nessa said, the bottle once more finding her lips.

//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//

Annasiel
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Pirates of the Hard Nox [Open] Jul 9, 2023 15:23:17 GMT paperwork likes this

Post by Annasiel on Jul 9, 2023 15:23:17 GMT

"You would do best to step away."

The wisewoman cut herself between the ice-faced man with the vile tongue and Alys. Her tone - tired and sharp - and her dark, accusatory eyes made it clear this was not a request, but an order. Was this the one who had killed Sinead? He'd been near where her body lay, and he'd been the first to speak the news of her death. She'd thought, perhaps, the wizened captain of that other ship, but anyone could have been behind the hand. She would - have to ask Caleb, later. When he was more ready to speak of it.

Torn as she was, she knew his heart had to be aching also. He and Sinead had their differences, but she cared deeply for him, and he knew she had given him a new chance at life.

Enough of that, though. The stragglers of the Truth Teller remained, and by the looks of their handiwork, were ill-equipped to help the wounded. That, or ill-inclined. Kneeling by Alys, she glanced between her and Hester, and gave a short nod to Juniper.

"Come, dear. I have some alcohol and cloth in my bag. Help me clean them. And you -" In a flourish, she held her silver knife, point levelled at the man. This one must be Naveen - she knew he was a lover of torment, and afflicted with the same curse as Nessa and Lucien. Beyond that, only first impressions - and those impressions were, at the moment, not helping his case. "If you deign to as much touch any of mine, I will make certain ground garlic finds its way into everything you own and eat for months to come."

She set about scraping the ice from the wound, setting her bag beside.

"Filthy water frozen in a wound. Staunch the bleeding? No, you were simply trying to poison her blood," she muttered, dabbing at it with a rag. Her head whipped to face Naveen again. "You wish to be useful, then leave. Your presence is valuable to none."

Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there!
He wasn't there again today,
Oh how I wish he'd go away!

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Pirates of the Hard Nox [Open] Jul 9, 2023 18:26:52 GMT

Post by paperwork on Jul 9, 2023 18:26:52 GMT

Mad-Hand Hettie is back.

There was a flash of something not quite like rage in Hester's stomach. She didn't know what to call it. Nausea, maybe. It took her a moment to get herself back under control.

"Call me that again, and I'll poison the whole ship against you. The first you'll know of it will be your lungs hanging out of your mouth." She wasn't sure if she was speaking loud enough to be overheard by anyone but Juniper, but saying it had made her feel better.

Oh, good, Emer was here. "Hello, Emer. Were you injured?" She wasn't walking right. And her face was doing things she hadn't seen it do before. That was comforting, somehow. It was nice to see her without that placid mask. Probably less nice for Emer herself.

“The only thing that ever stopped me being exactly who I wanted,” she said, “was the worry that I would soon be dead … and now I am dead, and I am sick of roses, and I am horny for revenge.”
-Harrow the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir

ShoddyProduct
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Pirates of the Hard Nox [Open] Jul 9, 2023 18:42:12 GMT paperwork likes this

Post by ShoddyProduct on Jul 9, 2023 18:42:12 GMT

Juniper took their hand away from Hester's neck, the wound sealed now. It had, admittedly, taken more effort than they had hoped, but... it was done. They had helped, at least a little. Naveen just kept talking though, and if it weren't for the intervention of Alys, and soon after Emer, they were afraid they might've done something stupid. Something stupid, like trying to punch a vampire. The changeling jerked, an attempt to stand, but paired with a wince and gasp, didn't make it very far. Right, shoulder. That was still bad.

Thankfully, the aforementioned wisewoman was there to administer some care. She started on Alys, cleaning her cut after admonishing Naveen. Amidst it, they asked for Juniper's help once more, to clean and tend to wounds. They gave a nod, but it was weak, lacking enthusiasm or energy in the moment, and they started to struggle to their feet. "I can't- ah, feel my arm. Nothing past... the arrow."

Golden
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Pirates of the Hard Nox [Open] Jul 9, 2023 19:15:10 GMT via mobile paperwork likes this

Post by Golden on Jul 9, 2023 19:15:10 GMT

The metallic smell of blood, her own blood, lingered between them as Naveen pulled her close, holding her fist in an iron lock. For a second, she struggled to release herself from his grasp but eventually gave in, glaring at his unnaturally blue eyes - eyes that seemed to glow.

At least she got some satisfaction knowing that Helen was gone, perhaps not by her hand - but Leo's. The memory of him ravaging the woman was enough to endure the vampire's insults in silence, but it'd take everything she had to withstand his presence for the foreseeable future.

I need him. Caleb needs him. She told herself, after he'd finally released her. For now.

Once the slash on her head was taken care of, cleaned and bandaged carefully, Alys turned to the other two, the two in far worse shape. "What can I do?" She asked Emer, gaze wandering between Juniper's arrow, and Hester's bloodied neck. Neither looked good, and the fae wasn't entirely sure what could be done here, right now. Would they need to be moved back to the ship? Or towards the glowing space that seemed to be garnering the attention of some of the crew?

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Pirates of the Hard Nox [Open] Jul 9, 2023 19:44:02 GMT paperwork likes this

Post by Annasiel on Jul 9, 2023 19:44:02 GMT

Emer gave Juniper another, longer look, and then shook her head.

"No - nevermind that. Sit. We'll all help each other, now. We're all we have," she said, slightly rambling, most of her attention taken by finishing dressing Alys' headwound. Wiping off her hands, she moved through her bag, pulling out the aforementioned tiny bottle of rubbing wine and bundle of fresh cloth, and instead pushed it into Alys' hands. "Clean Hester. Be careful not to reopen the burns."

She rummaged deeper.

"Your wound slipped by me. We should have - no matter. We're here now. We all came down." Gesturing with a pair of shears she'd pulled out, she shifted over, settling down beside where Juniper sat. She undid the wrappings around the arrow shaft, pressed the shears to the base, and clipped it away. "We should go back to the ship. We really should. You are all in no shape to stay out here, and - I think - I think this little adventure has far ran its course."

Her fingers pressed around the wound as she closed her eyes, breathing soft words. In between the muttered prayers, she sighed.

"Too much. It's all too much. Can you move your fingers, dear?"

Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there!
He wasn't there again today,
Oh how I wish he'd go away!

ShoddyProduct
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Pirates of the Hard Nox [Open] Jul 9, 2023 21:07:35 GMT paperwork likes this

Post by ShoddyProduct on Jul 9, 2023 21:07:35 GMT

Relief was palpable on their face, uninjured shoulder slumping as they slid down the rock again, once more sitting on the ground. "It's- it's fine. I wanted to help, if I could." Juniper knew they couldn't at least, no effectively, while hurt as they were. As the wisewoman began to press the shears to the shaft of the arrow, they winced, and shook their head. "Ow- can't go back. Ice wall... rebuilds itself. I don't think I can get through again."

At her behest, Juniper looked down to the fingers of their right hand. They felt nothing from them, but beyond that couldn't tell anything wrong with the appendage. Through pain, and with effort, they managed to close their hand, though the movement was slower than they had liked. It was a good sign by all means, but the fear remained. They should have returned to the ship, but what would have happened to Hester? King's pet vampire would have killed her then, surely.

It wasn't worth dwelling on thoughts such as those, though. They had made their choice, they were here now, and Emer was there to assist. She looked tired, though, and there was something else there as well, just below the surface and out of sight. They remembered the wailing, and the look on Alys' face from afar, just after the fighting had ended, and Caleb, hunched over and quiet. In a whisper, looking between the wisewoman and the fae, they spoke. "What happened?"

trandy
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Pirates of the Hard Nox [Open] Jul 9, 2023 23:17:00 GMT paperwork likes this

Post by trandy on Jul 9, 2023 23:17:00 GMT

Everyone seemed to be mad at him, which was entertaining at first but stopped being fun pretty quickly. Naveen smirked at an enraged Hester before obeying the aos gaotha and stepping away. It’d been years since Naveen last tasted one, and he took a mental note of her as one he’d try to take a bite off.

***

“Help me find an exit.” Caleb said, taking the baron’s silence as an agreement.

The hole Juniper had opened was long gone by now, but the theory was that if they slammed against the wall hard enough they’d be taken right back to where they came from. Caleb hated to admit that it would’ve probably been useful to have the master gunner and his cannon hand around, but with some effort, Emryk’s brute force and a couple pickaxes they eventually realized it was a wall of never ending rock.

“Fucking great.” Caleb muttered with heavy breathing. It seemed like the portal was the best bet for them so far, if they were well enough to walk or carry the ones who couldn’t. His body was starting to remember how exhausted it was and he finally gave up, walking over to the blood stained rock and the blood stained people with no context of what had just happened. They were all tense, but there was enough reason to be tense without taking the deserted vampire into account.

"We're going through that portal when you're ready." Caleb said. "It's what we came here to do and possibly the only way out." He added, before Emer could complain and say they had to go back to the ship.

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Pirates of the Hard Nox [Open] Jul 10, 2023 0:46:54 GMT paperwork likes this

Post by Golden on Jul 10, 2023 0:46:54 GMT

Gods, she smelled like death. Death and something else. Alys wasn't sure what; she'd spent a couple seconds trying to place it before forcing herself to focus on the task at hand. "Sorry if it hurts," the fae mumbled, dosing a section of cloth with the rubbing wine. Moving closer, she gently began to dab at the cuts on Hester's face, and then eventually, the larger cauterization. She worked silently, keeping her eyes on the wounds, until deciding to speak again. "By the way, I'll help you with him - fucking prick. Lungs, liver, balls - I'm good with knives." A grin momentarily spread across her features before she returned to her task.

When Juniper whispered their question, her focus seemed to intensify momentarily, before glancing up - first at Emer, then Juniper. "I don't know. He wouldn't say." An easy truth.

Alys was nearly done with Hester's face when Caleb arrived, announcing that they'd be relocating. And better yet, into the portal - how lovely. As if they hadn't had enough adventure for one day. "I suppose I can help someone through." Someone who could walk, or at the very least, carry part of their own weight.

Last Edit: Jul 10, 2023 1:15:34 GMT by Golden

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Pirates of the Hard Nox [Open] Jul 10, 2023 1:23:48 GMT ShoddyProduct likes this

Post by paperwork on Jul 10, 2023 1:23:48 GMT

Hester moved her hands away from her mouth as Alys began cleaning, a touch unwillingly. She could see Alys' nose wrinkle as she caught The Scent, but she didn't say anything. Very kind of her. And she was right; it did sting, a little. Which was probably a good sign.

As for the offer... "We'll talk about that later. Left all my--" she really couldn't mention where the curses were; she really, really needed to take this down a different path, "--penny dreadfuls aboard the Nox. No reading material. Hard to think of a good revenge plot without inspiration. Yes? Um. Thank you. For this. Know it must be--difficult, what with who I was, and who I am, and, um..." Even in this state of mind, she couldn't quite bring herself to bring up the smell. "All those other things."

"We're going through that portal when you're ready." Caleb said. "It's what we came here to do and possibly the only way out."

Through the portal! Lovely. Gates below, but it "feels strange to have people fussing over me like this. Must be more important things to do. I'm fine; I just need to remember how to walk. I've got plenty of blood left."

Last Edit: Jul 10, 2023 9:00:30 GMT by paperwork

“The only thing that ever stopped me being exactly who I wanted,” she said, “was the worry that I would soon be dead … and now I am dead, and I am sick of roses, and I am horny for revenge.”
-Harrow the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir

illirica
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Pirates of the Hard Nox [Open] Jul 10, 2023 18:40:45 GMT paperwork likes this

Post by illirica on Jul 10, 2023 18:40:45 GMT

...fucking prick. Lungs, liver, balls... I'm good with knives.

Now that was the right end of a conversation to walk into. Vena's eyebrows climbed up, not quite so high as their bloody bandana. "Oh, I like her. She's got the right attitude." Of course, hadn't they been the one trying to cut her up just a few minutes ago, before they'd gone to investigate the wall of ice? Vena raised their hands, empty of razors for the time being. "Sorry. Sorry. Bad timing? No hurt feelings, at least, not on my end. You ever take a job and then realize everyone you're working with is a right bastard?" They considered this statement, surveying the crew of the Hard Nox.

"Right. 'Course you have. Well. I'm headed in the same direction, it looks like, so I suppose I can help someone through. Don't worry about the blood, it won't bother me at all." This wasn't necessarily going to help their case, but at least they weren't... well. They'd spent a week with Naveen so far and it was already quite enough.

They gave a bow instead, to the medicine woman, since she seemed like the one in charge, even if the rest of them might not have realized it. "Vena Cava. Not at your service, but here anyway. Need a hankie?" They pulled one from inside a sleeve - white, not red, and in fact it was pristine, likely even by Emer's critical standards. Vena always carried several - one never knew when there was going to be blood to mop up, after all.

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Pirates of the Hard Nox [Open] Jul 10, 2023 19:08:46 GMT

Post by paperwork on Jul 10, 2023 19:08:46 GMT

Another member of King's crew had wandered over. This one she didn't recognize. Hester's eyes skidded over them, head to toe. Not exactly the usual outfit for the Good Captain's crew. A fresh recruit who hadn't gotten sorted, yet, or--

"You ever take a job and then realize everyone you're working with is a right bastard?"

Just a temporary hire, then. That explained why they'd been left behind, at least. One mystery down.

"Suppose it was the decor that tipped you off. Tacky. Too many curlicues and fiddly bits. What's wrong with your hair? It looks like you tripped and fell headfirst into an open pig." Something on the ceiling caught her eye--a mote of light, dancing on the ceiling. It was very pretty--probably refracted (or reflected, or whatever the word was) from one of the gems, or from what was left of the ice pool. This wasn't such a bad place to bleed out, if that was what was going to happen.

“The only thing that ever stopped me being exactly who I wanted,” she said, “was the worry that I would soon be dead … and now I am dead, and I am sick of roses, and I am horny for revenge.”
-Harrow the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir

trandy
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Pirates of the Hard Nox [Open] Jul 10, 2023 23:55:46 GMT paperwork likes this

Post by trandy on Jul 10, 2023 23:55:46 GMT

Caleb hadn’t noticed that person until they introduced themselves. With a quick glance he could easily identify what had pushed Nessa over the edge, but they didn’t seem to want to kill them, which was a good thing considering the crew of the Hard Nox was in no condition to fight. And then there was the vampire. Caleb had heard King’s instructions for him to keep him alive, which was far from tranquilizing.

“You go ahead, make sure Leo doesn’t get lost.” Caleb told Alys, who had already worn herself out enough. According to Hester she could stand, and Juniper had been shot on the shoulder not the leg, last time he’d checked. He waited for his crew to move before turning to the two odd ones out. “Stay away from us or we'll fucking kill you.”

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Pirates of the Hard Nox [Open] Jul 11, 2023 12:29:12 GMT via mobile paperwork likes this

Post by Fang on Jul 11, 2023 12:29:12 GMT

Leo was lost.

Caleb had asked if it was safe on the other side of the portal, and for a moment Leo stood in silence, save the howl of the wind through the hole above. They had walked that frozen corridor for hours, apparently safe after the battle against diamond behemoths that had already battered them. It was always safe until it wasn’t, and Leo hadn’t given thought to checking for traps or remaining enemies. He had just looked at the crystalline structures and returned, as instructed. His lips drew to a hard line as he turned back to the portal; Caleb had terrible communication skills.

The archer had passed him on the way out, and so Leo made to find her in the glittering maze of walls while carefully checking around each corner and rifling through every container he stumbled across. There were many places danger could lurk; perhaps too many as time ticked by and Leo caught no sight of young Beck. By the time he decided that any danger was unlikely to present itself with only his own eyes searching for it he had lost track of the turns and doors he had traversed and had no hope of retracing his steps.

Never one to dwell on his hardships he continued searching, wandering aimlessly and turning corners at random, certain that he would eventually return to the portal after enough time. The others had been injured and exhausted; physically and emotionally drained and recovering as quickly as could he expected in the aftermath of King’s trap. They were sure to take their time entering the portal, so time was something he likely had a fair amount of. If only it weren’t so cold he might’ve have found a nice corner to snatch away a respite of his own.