Game Mode. Disembark Seabound Youth. - Tumblr Posts

-`.  @bransles​ \\ sc.

         An odd sight it may be, the questions it invited, that girl many years junior of her rowdy peers looked right at home in a bar. If asked, she'd argue her comparatively diminutive visage appeared less out of place than the so called attire inherent to that which the man claimed as his profession. Equal parts amusement and annoyance encompassed navy hues as they stared the man down  ( or up, seeing as he’s a fair bit taller ), the sharp, squinted gaze sizing him up for any measure of salvageable worth.

         A  ❛ bard ❜  huh. Should Tetra then expect flowers to spew out instead of words when he speaks ?

         Whatever the case, she knew not what abilities this strange bard might carry within his sleeves, but she's not impressed. Hell, Niko could take him on in a fist fight and probably have a good chance of coming out the other side the victor. The only easy admittance she'd allow herself was the fact she'd never seen a person with a complexion like his before  ( ashen gray, the tint of overcast skies )  throughout her years of sailing. Though he still held pointed ears instead of rounded ones, a simple trait hailing a line of connection somewhere along the land's descendants scattered about the sea.

         Hands upon her hips, fingers tapped an idle rhythm against the cutlass draped from her belt as her tongue clicked in correction. 

         ❝ I'm not some tag-a-long kid. I'm the captain of this here crew. ❞  Extra emphasis on the prestigious title, a silent warning to not make the same mistake twice.  ❝ And you, Mr. Bard, are fresh out of luck if you don't have so much as a decent boat to cart you from isle to isle. Much less the other dangers waiting out there. You’re liable to find yourself at the bottom of the ocean if you don’t know what you’re doing. ❞

➤ ` BARD. (  bransles  )

somehow,  somehow,  this is not the first time octavo finds himself being stared down by a child  —  truly,  what was becoming of the world for kids to be so bold and disrespectful?  although,  the stare she was giving him was different than the children who scampered around the island.  perhaps because while,  at the end of the day,  they ended up back home in their beds,  knew nothing other than playing with dolls,  she apparently ran with a pack of bilge rats.  the daggers were sharper behind those eyes,  sizing him up,  as it were.

however,  she was quick to correct his presumption  —  she claimed herself as the captain of the motley crew before him.  octavo honestly wouldn’t have believed her,  except the way she proclaimed it so confidently was met with no resistance from her group.  evidently,  either she was well - respected despite her age,  or these men truly had no dignity to allow a child to declare leadership over them.

well,  fine.  so she was the captain of a pirate crew.  so she seemed a little … young,  to have an accomplishment  ( if one considered being a pirate really an accomplishment,  he supposed )  like that under her belt.  and?  he was not the type to think children could never do anything of importance  ( once again,  the importance of pirates would be debatable ).

it was surprising,  nonetheless.

“ my mistake then,  miss captain, ”    he conceded.  although,  the flat tone of his voice might have suggested it was far from sincere.

ah,  he was being scolded on the ways of the sea.  looking so down at her while being spoke to in such a manner was almost humiliating,  to be frank.  not that she was wrong.  he didn’t know much about sailing or anything of that sort.  but,  his roots begged to branch out!

“ well,  i do imagine it isn’t easy  —  no profession truly is  —  yet,  i feel my mind may crumble under the weight of stagnation if i do not leave this terribly dull island, ”    he sighed,  heaving a heavy breath,    “ … i don’t suppose we started off on too wrong of a foot for me to hinder you for advice? ”

          ❝ Hmph. ❞  A huff was all the acknowledgement he received for referring to her as she rightfully should have been from the start. She’d let him off easy this time, and only because of the earlier pity that watching those island kids almost run circles around a grown man could instill in someone.

         As she continued listening, that distant sense of pity only grew, marginally she might add. Tetra couldn't say she related to the feeling of being tied down, rooted in one place, unable to cross the vast expanse stretching to the horizons. The sea had always been her home, the taste of sea salt tinging her first breath. Being landlocked for any extended amount of time, any period spanning longer than the few weeks sometimes required to resupply or carry out a job, was downright unfathomable.

         However, this wasn’t the first time someone’s spun this story for her. The captain had long lost count, the amount of times she'd seen those drunk on ignorant ideals, fantastical illusions of childish grandeur shattered as the world strapped up to backhand them with a sobering dose of reality.

         The life out on the sea wasn’t for everyone, sad as the fact may be.

         Navy eyes rolled at the question, but her mind still mulled on it for a lingering moment. Hm, she supposed she was nice enough to hand out the info ( it’s not like it held enough value to sell it off, too common to be worth more than a few coins that could be swiped off someone ), and let the bard do what he would with it from there.

         ❝ You either commission your own vessel or commandeer one from someone who has one. It’s as simple as that. You can also call in a favor and get a pal to pull a few strings for you to gain a safe passage that way. ❞

         Given that he was asking advice from a pirate, people of questionable reputation and not exactly seen with the highest standing amongst commoners  (  she could see it in him too, the same look directed towards her every time she made her profession known  ), she doubted those avenues of access were available to him.  

         ❝ If you're too broke and have no connections, then you may as well look to the life of a stowaway or join another's crew. There are usually merchant ships willing to take on passengers, so they’d probably be your best bet. Most of the other seafaring sort... you better hope you're good at endearing them to your plight and that they are feeling mighty charitable that day. ❞