[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/250324/b71cf5ab5cebec9b4e857200f7c42a8b.png[/img] [img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/250324/dc185f5e06aa08f3af9fbb79b4040da5.png[/img] [color=EBA536][b]Location:[/b][/color] [color=E579FF]Top Deck[/color] [color=E579FF][b]Race:[/b][/color] [color=EBA536]Dark Elf[/color] & [color=E579FF]Human[/color] [color=E579FF][b]Class:[/b][/color] [color=EBA536]Artificer[/color] & [color=E579FF]Rogue[/color] [color=EBA536][b]Interactions:[/b][/color] [@Tae] Meiyu [color=EBA536][b]Equipment:[/b][/color] [hider] [color=EBA536][b]Scratch[/b][/color] Medical bag Tinkerer's kit Arcane spindlelock (shortened) musket Spindlelock pistols x2 Hand axes x2 [color=E579FF][b]Val[/b][/color] First-aid bag Tinkerer's kit Spindlelock pistols x2 Steel daggers x2[/hider][color=E579FF][b]Attire:[/b][/color] [hider] [color=EBA536][b]Scratch[/b][/color] Dark brown, knee-length coat Black waistbelt Grey button-up shirt Dark brown trousers Heavy leather boots [color=E579FF][b]Val[/b][/color] Off-white shirt Red ribbon tied around left arm Brown hooded coat Brown trousers Leather boots Goggles on her head[/hider][color=EBA536][b]Gold:[/b][/color] 50 [color=E579FF][b]Injuries:[/b][/color] [hider] [color=EBA536][b]Scratch[/b][/color] NA [color=E579FF][b]Val[/b][/color] NA[/hider] [/center] Vallena’s muffled protestations buzzed against Scaerthrynne’s hand. She struggled indignantly against the dark elf’s grip, but he simply ignored her with the nonchalance of someone who had, quite evidently, been in this exact situation many, many times before. [color=EBA536]“We are, yes,”[/color] he replied to the woman right as Vallena hit him in the jaw with a flailing hand. Then, she chomped on his hand. Scaerthrynne cried out, more from the surprise rather than pain. His hold on her loosened, and the girl smoothly slipped away. [color=E579FF]“Why’s your face so hard?”[/color] She cried, cradling and rubbing her right hand. Scaerthrynne shot her a glare as he rubbed his aching jaw. [color=EBA536]“You hit my fuc–”[/color] It was close, and despite the irritation bubbling within him, he still managed to catch himself. [color=EBA536]“You hit my [i]jaw[/i]. It’s supposed to be hard. If it isn’t, I’m in trouble. More important, what was that for?”[/color] [color=E579FF]“You were suffocating me!”[/color] It took all of Scaerthrynne’s willpower not to roll his eyes. She was just a child, he reminded himself. It was normal for them to be ridiculous. [color=EBA536]“Oh, don’t be dramatic,”[/color] he said. [color=EBA536]“Only thing I did was to save [i]you[/i] from a hole you were so fuc–”[/color] He coughed into his fist. [color=EBA536]“A hole you were digging for yourself. Next time I’m going to just watch and fill it in after you’re done. How’s that?”[/color] Vallena stuck her tongue out at him before turning away in a huff. Scaerthrynne continued to massage his jaw. There wasn’t any chance that she had done any damage, but it sure stung, where she had hit him. [color=EBA536]“Does [i]that[/i] look like a frightened girl to you?”[/color] He nodded towards the girl and cast a sidelong glance at the woman. [color=EBA536]“I’m not saying that you are, but [i]if[/i] you are, don’t worry about her nonsense. Val speaks her mind easily and forgets things just as easily. She didn’t mean anything more than an observation by what she said earlier, and knowing her, she probably has a whole new impression of you, or a handful of them, by now.”[/color] Shaking his head, he chuckled. [color=EBA536]“And for what it’s worth, she’s called me scary before, and I’ve been taking care of her for…Well, for several years, now. Ungrateful little brat.”[/color] He folded his arms across his chest and watched Vallena make her way down the deck. She moved with a carefree sort of confidence, and a spring in her step. Like she owned the ship, and everything that had just happened – the boy’s broken arm, meeting new faces – was nought but a distant memory. A smile, wistful and thoughtful, tugged on his lips as he followed her, keeping himself just close enough to keep her within his sight. Every one of her actions exuded childish whimsy. Scaerthrynne could scarcely remember a time when he had been the same. Perhaps that was why he couldn’t ever stay annoyed at the girl for long. She was just a child. Let her enjoy immaturity and youth, and make the memories that he had long forgotten. Vallena continued on her merry way, and Scaerthrynne could tell that something up ahead, something that was hidden from him by the crowd, had caught her eye. Her steps became quicker, her head kept trying to look through, above, and around the people milling about on deck. Of course, that meant that she paid too little attention to where she was actually going, and it was only a matter of time before she walked straight into a passenger, a halfling. He watched Vallena apologise profusely, with several bows of her head. Then, he watched the passenger berate her. The smile on his face morphed into a smirk. Some lessons, she needed to learn on her own. But when the passenger’s berating went on for a little too long, and seemed to be going a little too far, he decided that it was time for him to step in. [color=EBA536]“Hey!”[/color] He shouted across the deck. Both Vallena and the passenger turned to him. [color=EBA536]“That’s enough. Leave the girl alone.”[/color] “Who’s she to you?” The passenger challenged him. [color=EBA536]“My daughter,”[/color] Scaerthrynne replied without missing a beat. As he expected, and as he had seen so many times before, the passenger’s anger slowly melted away, replaced by confusion. He looked at him, then at Vallena, then at Scaerthrynne again. “Your daughter?” Scaerthrynne shrugged. [color=EBA536]“She really, [i]really[/i] takes after her mother. What can I do?”[/color] “Oh, well…” The passenger glanced at the woman, then at Vallena, then nodded to Scaerthrynne, as if in understanding. “Well, you…You should be more careful with her!” He disappeared back into the crowd. Scaerthrynne grinned at the woman. [color=EBA536]“Works every time,”[/color] he said, but quickly followed it up with, [color=EBA536]“Most times.”[/color] Vallena returned to the two of them, her eyes shining with excitement. She looked at him first, then also at the woman, then at him again. [color=E579FF]“Scratch, it–I mean he–I mean they’re there!”[/color] Her words came tumbling out one after another, and were all buzzing with energy. [color=E579FF]“The Warforged!”[/color] [color=EBA536]“Yes, Gears has been with us for a while now. Glad you finally noticed.”[/color] [color=E579FF]“No, I mean–Hey!”[/color] Vallena gave him a playful slap on the arm, but then instantly continued as if he hadn’t interrupted her. [color=E579FF]“I meant the passenger Warforged! He’s–”[/color] she pushed her arms out to her side [color=E579FF]“–Big! And armed, too. Or they. I don’t know. I couldn’t tell. But they’re definitely not like Gears! Gears is prettier. This one looks like they’ve been places! A Warforged adventurer, isn’t that cool? I wonder if they’re using stock pieces or if they did any modifications. Do you think they’d let me–”[/color] [color=EBA536]“Easy, Val,”[/color] Scaerthrynne cut in. [color=EBA536]“You can’t just go up to them and ask to look at their insides. You wouldn’t do that to a flesh-and-blood patient, would you?”[/color] Vallena thought about it for a moment, and Scaerthrynne felt his stomach drop a fraction of an inch before she giggled and shook her head. [color=EBA536]“Right, well, as much as what everyone else believes, Warforged aren’t just machines. That means if you want to do anything, you need permission. And that means you’d better start learning how to ask for something incredibly ridiculous and get away with it really quick, if that’s what you’re after.”[/color] Vallena tapped a finger on her chin, then nodded. [color=E579FF]“Okay! Maybe after we’re done working, I’ll give it a try.”[/color] Scaerthrynne hoped she would forget. He could do without explaining to a Warforged why the girl wanted to, in what he expected to be her own words, ‘open them up and study their insides’. Certainly, it would be an interesting experience, but not the sort of interesting he liked.