The Ruling Class
Wind Wild, GrinRaven and Akime
Day 1, Midday
Akime's dark pupils glided across the quietly bustling theatre. The sound that vibrated off the walls resembled the rustling of forest leaves so closely, that even just listening to that put her heart at ease. It was a relatively small place, a relic of the times past, where people dressed in old-fashioned gowns and kept their voices low and their expressions in check. The wood covering the walls and the stone laid on the ground bore intricate designs of old, each having received a craftsman's finest touch and memorised it for the generations to come. There were no holograms, no artificial intelligence, no bright luminescent lights and not even a sound-system beyond the acoustics of the construction itself. Really, the only presence this century was allowed in the establishment was in the shape of silenced communication devices and subtly masked ear-pieces.
It wasn't modern but by no means was it neglected or forgotten either. The Seven Cats theatre was one of the most popular establishments for the upper-class, boasting with over a thousand years of experience in feeding the crowd's every need. To be here was a privilege and one Akime had for the first time in her life. Her look was immaculate: perfect skin, dark make-up outlining golden eyes gleaming with excitement, just a little bit of blush. Her hair was collected in a beautiful side-coil, some of it escaping, running down her shoulder in lush curls. The dress she was wearing was made especially for the occasion, a sky-blue that draped down past her ankles, collecting on the ground like ocean waves. The natural sheen of her aura was completing the canvas her body had become, coating the dress like frost... white on blue, shimmering like an ever-shifting lace. She hadn't tried so hard in over a hundred years.
Of course, the invitation was for just one plus one, so Ibuki was the only one of her three companions that got to stay by her side. Not because she couldn't sneak the rest in. But because it was morally wrong to do so. In Akime's mind, this place was as holy as a shrine. Too many people had come here to leave an imprint of their emotions in the stone, too many tears were shed and too much laughter had seeped into the wood to have it tainted in any way. Judging by her serious yet soft smile, Ibuki even suspected that if she saw someone as much as chewing a gum in here, she might be pushed to murder. She rarely looked so peaceful and when she did it was a bad idea to interrupt. Too bad that was exactly what happened when a message got through the blocked list of his phone and his ear-piece started flashing a bright blue. Akime glared at him as if he'd just slapped her and he hurried to cover the light and look away while he listened to the message. Halfway through the message he turned to his mistress.
“Ak--”
“I don't want to know.” She hissed without even looking, making the man roll his eyes with annoyance.
“It's from the Tower.” He insisted. Instead of a response, Akime stared at the woman next to her, her look conveying a simple message “Silence him or I will”.
Search yourself, he decided and leaned back in his seat with his arms crossed.
The woman to whom she was addressing had a softer look than what people normally see her as. The strong goddess everyone knows her by was replaced, packed into the silhouette of something fragile. Raven held her hair up in a steady braid wrapped and woven with the golden sun colors, loose strands falling short and framing her face. For the special occasion she wore a neck-strapped wine colored dress to compliment her hourglass curves. Her eyes were their usual golden red, and as she stared at Akime they had many strands of thought woven into her stare.
Part of her arm shimmered with the spearmint metal underneath her skin, concealing one of her abnormalities for polite reasons, as well as create the illusion that one of her eyes, the one she hides behind fabric, looks relatively what it use to be to match the other. A simple fix using her vast well of wild magic. Raven placed a gentle hand on Akime’s shoulder as fire stared into gold.
“Akime, it’s okay, let him listen. It could be important.” it was a crawling whisper as the words dove into Akime’s consciousness, words only she could hear through one of Raven’s countless abilities.
The woman in question turned to look at Raven for a moment, then, having reconsidered being rude, shrugged and stared at the scene ahead.
“As long as he doesn’t interrupt. Right now there is nothing more important than this.” A gentle smile twitched over her lips, hidden from the man next to her.
“Would you not agree?” After all, even the Queen of Oceans herself had abandoned the love of her life for this evening.
The small pink corners of Raven’s lips gently curved upward as her eyes glanced at the stage absently. [i]”I’ve seen many things like this over the years, but they never got boring to me.”[i] It wasn’t a lie, Raven had always been fascinated with works leaning towards live performances. Her eyes ever so slightly glowed with childish wonder.
And so, without further disturbances the play started.
~ * ~
Amber lay in the sun, a blissful grin threatening to split her face in two. The sun was making her tanned skin tingle but the gentle breeze that was gliding across her wet hair kept her cool. Behind her Cole was reading a newspaper. He didn’t seem to realise how odd his activity might seem to an onlooker… not that there were any. The sun was high in the sky and the Pirate Queen was away, most of her crew were resting in their quarters… and Amber and Cole had quickly gotten bored. Well, mostly her.
So, while no one was looking, they had managed to steal a few planks off one of the life drafts and built a small raft that they could sunbathe on. Well, mostly her. Cole was just sat in the middle with his legs crossed and a newspaper spread over them, making sure his weight balances the raft out. The heat didn’t seem to bother him, although he had removed his jacket. Amber was honestly impressed by his concentration.
“Now can you read in this heat?” She marvelled. “Your concentration is solid, man.”
“I admit it’s hot… but this is a very interesting article. Apparently there’s trouble within The Stygian Blade, someone seems to be leaking information about them. One of their branches is being investigated for using homeless people for human experiments.”
“Honestly? That’s just sick.”
“It is. And that newspaper isn’t even the newest one, it’s from last week. I wonder if they have any newer ones on the ship...”
“I wouldn’t count on it. Everything’s online nowadays, that thing was probably meant as reserve toilet paper.”
The man’s brows came close together and he removed as many fingers from the paper as possible.
~ * ~
After the play was over and their coats were retrieved, Ibuki finally managed to deliver the message that in Akime's opinion could wait. Christian was summoning the Mistress of Sight to the Tower for reasons he didn't specify. And although it had been at least a decade since she'd last been there, she didn't seem surprised or unsettled in the least. Rather than asking him to find out more, or even questioning why Raven hadn’t told her herself, she was still hung up on the events from earlier in the evening. That was Akime for him, a princess that would never completely escape her upbringing. After having ignored him for the entire trip back to the ship, he spoke up.
“You should stop pouting, you know. I don't even understand what’s the big deal. Who are you even pretending to be, with all that makeup and such an impractical dress? Not even a week ago you were learning to be a plane acrobat, and three hours ago you were competing with the men about who can put up the sails of Blackwing first.”
“No, three hours ago I was getting my hair done, actually, thank you very much. Who I'm pretending to be? I'm not pretending to be anyone, I'm expressing myself and you know that. And for the record, it pains me that my own servant would use the knowledge he has of me against me. You are a world class traitor, you know that?”
“And your best friend.” Ibuki smirked unwillingly.
“No, I can assure you there are plenty of people I like better than you. For example Cole. And he's not even human. You should feel ashamed of yourself.”
Ibuki shook his head and gave Raven an apologetic smile. Despite everything, they all knew that Akime would trust him with her life when it really mattered. He suspected she just really enjoyed a little verbal spar now and again.
“I apologise, Lady Marrowblade.” He decided to retreat and turned to Raven instead. “I can only hope your evening wasn't ruined.”
Raven quickly shook her head strode up to him, putting her soft palm onto his shoulder. Her touch was cold, yet warm. “Not at all, Ibuki.” She then turned her posture back to the huge masterpiece that was blackwing. Home yet again.
“Raven, I don't know how you cope with so many people. How large is your crew? I've never counted but keeping them all in check is really admirable.” Akime waved a hand ruefully. “Maybe I should leave Ibuki in your care. Teach him how to show respect for authority and all that.”
The man shivered as he remembered Marielle and her foul mouth.
Please don't, he thought, eyeing Raven to see her reaction. He didn't fear the woman but that didn't mean she wasn't fear
some. He was certain that she could be more dangerous than any sea monster he'd encountered. After all, despite all the years he’d known her, he was certain she had a side to her that he’d never seen. Just like any powerful woman.
Raven’s mouth twitched into a slight smile. “After around two thousand years of learning and experience people tend to swarm to you.” She rubs her chin with her finger and thumb. “Hmm, my crew is what, six hundred? Something along that range, not including visitors.” Her smile creeped a little more towards an eerie vibe before she suddenly vanished in thin air. Before Ibuki would be able to tell Raven whispers behind him in his ear.
”Respect and authority, huh?” if Ibuki turned to face her he’d see that her skin glowed slightly purple, her face dark.
Akime tried to keep a straight face despite the sudden tension that gripped Ibuki's body. His eyes weren't going to pop out but she was certain she heard him take a very sharp breath and hold it in. She couldn't blame him either, six hundred was an impressive number and that was only the crew currently in service, not counting the men that went overboard for one reason or another. Ibuki turned his head slightly to Raven and responded in a very dry voice. “I can assure you I don't need any further training, lady Marrowblade.”
Akime decided that the man's expression is too precious to erase just yet and threw some wood into the fire. “You know, they say there are fates worse than death. I bet it's true. Not to mention how utterly symbolic it would be to have one servant killed by Christian and another – by his significant other.” She couldn't stop the grin. Ibuki threw her a sidelong glare but kept quiet.
Raven was very good at keeping back a snicker as her features evaporated back to their original place, her palm patting him on the head. “That’s okay, I’m
sure you’re a very nice man.”
Ibuki let out a small smile and started towards the ship. Behind him Akime engaged Raven in an utterly girly topic.
“A very nice man, just like someone else I know. Has Christian gotten to see that dress yet? I think you’re quite striking in it. You’ve seen him already, haven’t you?”
Raven smiled wryly at Akime. “I just saw him not too long ago, but alas I was going to be late so I didn’t have time to show him.” She ran her hands through her hair and sighed.
“I'm sure he doesn't mind waiting a few hours more. He's a patient man and it will be worth it.”
Raven nodded, her mind trickling away to other thoughts again. She had a look that made her eyes resemble red dust as they skimmed the ship in front of them. “We should head back” she suddenly stated.
~ * ~
“Aren’t you interested in current affairs?” Cole inquired a while later.
“No.”
“I thought you used to be a fighter for freedom?” He questioned. Amber didn't even think for a second before answering.
“That was put an end to. Modern people should lead the modern battles, I’m retired. That’s something me and Akime both agree on,”
“Yet we intervene sometimes.”
“On occasion.” Amber smiled and stretched, causing the raft to rock slightly. That gave her an idea. She carefully slid to the edge of the raft, toes extending to try and reach the water. The closer she got, the steeper the angle of the raft, threatening to flip over.
“I’ll hold you.” Cole suggested, grabbing the back of her shirt and shifting his weight slightly to regain some balance. Amber giggled happily and started dangling her feet in the water, enjoying the sweet sensation.
That’s how Akime, Ibuki and Raven found them. Their faces expressed their opposing feelings: a smile and a frown. Then Akime’s eyes darted to Ibuki… and he found himself flying, or rather, falling, head-first towards the raft. Luckily he managed to flip and landed on his butt shortly before water filled his world and drowned the screams of his friends.
Akime leaned on the rail of the ship, a Cheshire grin on her face. A few droplets of water narrowly missed her make-up. She wished she could join them… Maybe she should go grab a swimsuit? That sounded like a good idea, she decided, heading for her cabin.
“You are
such a child!!!!” Ibuki’s voice followed her.