Furrae Chronicles: Webs of Destiny (IC) [M] {3}

[Paladin Sheppard]

"Rather drab looking place." Eph said looking at the horizon. She got up from her chair and went over the the railing, leaning over slightly.

[Sunblink]

Keaton spent most of her time loitering about the deck, meandering aimlessly in search of something to do. Being social was not something she was accustomed to, so it took her a great deal of courage to even approach even remotely near any of the other members of the party, especially after she had behaved so deterrently. For all she knew, just about everybody had an immediately unfavorable impression of her, which dampened her chances of succeeding in her and Stygian's little "good behavior" contest. After spending a very productive hour of doing absolutely nothing, Keaton finally succumbed to the nasty, curling sensation in her stomach and collapsed bodily in an armchair on the deck.

She frowned miserably to herself, then sighed, letting her arms hang limply from either side of the chair. This was going to be harder than she thought. And she didn't even do anything. Being near other people instead of making an effort to drive them away made Keaton feel uncomfortable. Or rather, since it seemed to happen on its own at times, maybe she was just imagining her discomfort because she was aware of the fact she had acted poorly before.

She had to reconcile with somebody in order to start earning people's trust, and start putting her ahead of Stygian. She just wasn't sure who.

It was then Keaton noticed that land was approaching, and the waters were rather eerily still, instead of rapidly churning like they were before. At first Keaton thought little of it, other than appreciating the fact they were finally going to get to explore someplace other than the boat's deck, but when she noticed the uncomfortable ambiance her attitude started to change. Was it just her, or did everything seem... duller? Judging by the tension of the other party members, this had apparently not gone unnoticed.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Stygian]

'Can you say "ominous", children?' Stygian's voice came, pronounced in a disguised and nasal voice with a bit of a mocking tone to it. The bat stepped forward, past Keaton and up beside Ephrael, as silently as ever, black eyes fixed on the horizon. He flashed a bitter smirk, then let his face settle into a more serious, concerned expression. Studying the waters and the sky for a few short moments, he turned his head to look at the rest of the group.
   'I think saying that one is having a bad feeling about this is... pretty redundant here', he commented. 'It's all I can think of right now though. Anyone else getting more?'

[Gareeku]

Hearing the bat's voice, the wolf turned to look and watch him step up beside them. Slighty raising an eyebrow at his seemingly mocking tone of voice, Gareeku listened as he commented at the fact that even saying one is having a bad feeling was basically redundant.

"Very true. And not at the moment, though I would prefer not to get anything else either." The white-furred wolf replied as he turned back to watch the slowly approaching land form in front of them. "Well, whatever it is, I think it goes without saying that we should stay on guard."

The ship's staff seemed to be equally confused as the rest of the passengers. This certainly wasn't what their destination was supposed to look like.
"Throw down the anchor." The captain, a gruff-looking german shephard canine, said to members of his crew that were stood near him, his eyes fixed firmly on the land ahead. "I'm going ashore to see what's going on."
Surprised at their captain's decision not to just pass the land by a look for a safer-looking spot to dock at, the crew also knew better than to disobey their stern captain, and so set about doing what they were told.

"Excuse me ladies and gentlemen!" the captain's voice then announced from the megaphone that the captain himself was holding, standing on the edge of the upper deck as he looked down to the confused passengers below on the main deck. "Although the situation appears to be other than fine, I can assure you that virtually everything is how it should be."

Pausing for a second, the captain wore a slight smile that displayed calm and collectiveness.
"I will be going ashore very shortly to see if I can find someone who can point us in the right direction. I-"
"-So we're lost?! Great, we are stuck with a captain who doesn't even deserve to step foot on a boat, let alone take charge of one!" An angry passenger suddenly shouted. Hearing this, the captain looked down and glared at the man responsible for the outburst.

"I can assure you sir, that I know the route that we have taken is the right one to lead us to the right destination." the captain replied, his voice sporting a light growl as he spoke, before turning to the rest of the passengers. "I will leaving you in the very capable hands of my crew while I step ashore."

"Huh...he would be a fool to go alone." A passenger near Gareeku comment under her breath. Glancing in the passenger's direction, the wolf took in her comment, before turning to the others.
"Personally, I suggest going after the captain and any crew members that go with him." he suggested to the others. "For one, I'm also curious as to what exactly is on that land, myself."

[Tapewolf]

"As you wish," Jakob replied.  "Though it occurs to me that this could possibly be a contrivance of our enemies."  He stared out into the mist.

"Perhaps I'm just being paranoid again.  Either way, I suppose we'd better gather our things..."

[Gareeku]

Listening to what Jakob said, Gareeku nodded his head in understanding.
"That may be, but I'm uncomfortable with letting the captain and any crew members that do go with him go on their own." The wolf replied. "If anyone doesn't want to depart for the land, then they are welcome to stay on the boat."

[Aisha deCabre]

For a small while, Aisha's eyes were fixed on the land coming up before them.  To say that she wasn't also concerned and curious would have been a lie; even the tip of her tail twitched as if she expected her ring to start glowing from the look of the place alone.  Her attention was only broken as soon as the bat finally came out of hiding and assessed the place as far as the others had.  It made her wonder all the more if the place was even on the map.

"Ominous, creepy, dark, strange; if you want more adjectives, I have them," the panthress muttered, still keeping a hand safely on the pommel of her sword while the boat stopped near the overshadowed shore.  Looking around, even the crew of the boat had a few looks of confusion.  The captain however did his best to convince them otherwise, as everyone turned to listen to his voice on the megaphone.

Aisha blinked after his announcement.  Out in a strange land alone?  I wonder how many of the crew even have anything to defend themselves with.

Gareeku had then voiced his concern; also taking the words out of her own head as well.  Staying on the boat for some could have been a good choice.  But if the captain and some of the crew were going, well...it was safe to say that someone should have had some sailing knowledge just in case.

"I'll agree on going along," she voiced, after his short discussion with Jakob.  "A few more good eyes and ears in a strange place never hurt."

Safe to say, the huntress was already quite prepared.

[Gabi]

Gabi wondered what the captain was really up to, but was it a good idea to follow him and try to figure out, or would it just divert the group from their real mission? How far were they from their real destination? Still, considering the mood among the group it probably wouldn't help to introduce more doubts.

"I think we shouldn't split up now," she said in response to Gareeku's words. "The way things are going, we might be unable to meet again. Even if following the captain may add more trouble to the ones we already have, I'll go where the group goes."

[Stygian]

Chuckling murkily for just a moment, the bat slid behind Ephrael and Aisha and over next to Gabi, where he could see both one of the smaller boats for landing and the entry where the gangplank would be laid out. 'Well, I won't say much about "a few more good eyes"...' he said, peering slightly sideways from behind his glasses, the obsidian spheres shielded by them barely reflective. 'Splitting up won't kill us, but all things considered it would create too much problem if we couldn't get back together.' He looked between them all, once over, then back, gaze lingering a little longer at Keaton and Gareeku than any others, even though this couldn't be seen, neither on his eyes nor glasses.
   'I won't say that I, personally, have any problems with going out alone, even. But the way you people stick together, it would be a shame to ruin that, now wouldn't it?' he said, after a brief pause, half in jest. Placing his hand on the deck railing, he looked toward the shore a bit more, before speaking again. 'And either way, the way things are, if this turns out to be where we're headed after all I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to just ditch right here.'

[Gabi]

"That's the thing, we don't know if it's where we're headed or not," replied Gabi. "Unless you know something you're not telling us, we don't even know where we are right now. Then again we can't be sure of where the ship will be heading either. You know the reason why I said we should be together, but if it's your choice to go out on your own, I personally wouldn't mind."

It would be quite a relief to get a break from him, she thought. But it wouldn't solve the bigger problems. Why is it that I don't feel any better about this whole situation than I did when I first got the letter?

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel came down the stairs from the upper deck to the main one where the group was gathering. With her pale coloring and grey outfit she was almost part of the fog aside from the softly glowing stones in her staff. "This place certainly feels unnatural enough to be what we are looking for."

[Cogidubnus]

 Inexplicably wearing his shades in the midst of such a fog, Cogidubnus Mithlome walked down from the second level to join the rest of the group, not even his hat disturbed from whatever it was he'd been doing up there most of the time. His jacket billowing out just slightly behind him, he walked past the two people talking, the bat earlier and the familiar-smelling fox, and leaned on a nearby railing next to them. The fog didn't really seem to bother him, although it was a wonder the wolf could see at all.

[Stygian]

The bat almost sighed, looking away from the fox next to him. I suppose that she won't let up her suspicions easily, he thought, but just voicing things aloud like that is about as irritating as it is pointless. No one needs the reminder that we're 'bad guys'.
   'Yes, right. I would have to emphasize Mel's comment there', he added, pointedly ignoring Gabi's comment. 'The chance of this sort of thing cropping up on a regular shipping route... Well. It's fucking Furrae', he said with a roll of his eyes and a sudden tone of resentment. 'But it still seems too unlikely to be a coincidence to me.'

[Gabi]

Stygian's comment about Furrae made Gabi wonder what he might be comparing it to, but she soon decided that was beside the point. In any case she was satisfied by the lack of a retort from him. She looked at Mel instead.

"There are many gloomy places around, but do we have any better clues? Something's clearly going on here. Whether it's related to our mission or not, I can't tell. If there's anything you know, it would be helpful to hear it. If you don't... we'll just have to hope we make the right guess."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel advanced to where Gabi and the others were watching the mysterious land. "While the island is most certainly gloomy, I said it was unnatural. I meant that literally, but I think everyone here can feel that."

[Gabi]

"Sorry if I chose my words poorly," Gabi replied. "Does anyone here have any idea of whether this place has anything to do with out goals or not, or at least whether it would do any good for us to leave the ship now?"

[Tapewolf]

Jakob, brooding, suddenly looked up and glanced at Gabi.  "It's not something we can easily determine," he said.  "If it is in any way caused by our enemies then yes, it is directly relevant.  Investigating it may provide a shortcut.  It may give us a vital clue.  Or it could easily be playing into their hands, to our downfall."

He paused.  "Personally, I'd say Gareeku has a good point.  Can we, in good conscience let the Captain and crew walk into such a situation alone where we might provide a crucial advantage?  In any case, ethics aside, we'll have a hell of a job nursing the ship to our intended destination if they die."

On the other hand, this will delay our mission.  Possibly beyond Gareeku's endurance.  But I'm sure he's taken that into account.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Walking back to her deck chair Ephrael picked up her bow. "I'm up for following Gareeku, but should we leave the ship unguarded? I'll stay if you ask me too but as I said I'd rather follow Gar."

Eph fidgeted a little unnerved by the strange environment the ship found itself in.

[Gabi]

Gabi sighed. She wondered if things would get any easier if she could read minds. Not that it would ever be an option, but imagination has no bounds.

"I just wish I knew what the captain was thinking," she said. "What he really wants. Can we be sure we can trust him? I may be starting to get paranoid, but someone is toying with us. It's hard to know whether we're doing the right thing or walking right into a trap."

[Stygian]

'Walking into a trap or not, what's there to hesitate for?' Ignatz broke in, looking between Gabi and Ephrael. 'There's no reason to guard the ship, and it can't be a trap if we know about it and we're prepared. Which, evidently, we are, considering how this looks.' He gestured toward the shore. 'That makes it a lead, not an ambush.'

[Gabi]

Gabi shrugged. "Okay, I know we'll end up going anyway. We might as well stop spending time on this discussion. Just be careful, everyone."

[Stygian]

The bat tilted his head, looked at the fox, then closed his eyes and shook his head slightly. 'Well, I apologize if you feel I've said something wrong', he said, then looked back up at the vixen. 'But it's not me who's pressuring or demanding anything here. Rather, it's the situation.'

[Cogidubnus]

"We leaving so soon?" Cog said, stretching somewhat as he pushing himself off the railing. His coat lay flat against him, in contrast with it's billowing in the whipping winds earlier. No breeze was there to lift the dense fog, and in the humidity the wolf felt a bead of sweat flow down his neck. He walked calmly towards the gangplank, seemingly unconcerned.

"Don't forget your sword, Ms. Gabi." he called back, adjusting his hat. He seemed to look around a moment. "Did anyone see where that basket of food went? Little hungry again..."
He continued walking forward, hand draped over his sword hilt.

[Gabi]

"Oh, I wouldn't," Gabi assured, wondering why Cogidubnus had said that.

She had the feeling he was trying to communicate with her, but what did he want? He was still a mystery for her.

She followed him while thinking of what to say to him, and finally spoke.

"I doubt we'll get the chance to have a meal right now. I can give you some cookies if you want. There's no telling which ones will come out, but they can fill your stomach."

That wasn't what she wanted to say. She wanted to ask a lot of questions, many of which she still didn't have words for. But this was not the time. There were more pressing matters to deal with. All she could do now was offer a solution to the immediate problem so that they could all get on with whatever it was they'd have to do.

[Stygian]

As if on call, Ignatz snerked and gave Gabi an amused look. 'Cookies. Healthy food...' he said sarcastically, then leaned back on the railing. 'Unless you happen to have any with blood in them', he joked, 'I think I at least will pass.'

[Gabi]

"Funny, you're not the first one to ask for that," Gabi remarked.

Not that she had offered anything to him, but she doubted any blood cookies would come out of her bag.

[Cogidubnus]

"Cookies?" Cog said, raising an eyebrow at both the bat and the vixen for a moment before shaking his head. "Eh...that's alright. I'm partial to oatmeal raisin, now, but I'll spoil my dinner, I think."
The wolf grinned just a bit, and adjusting his hat again walked for the gangplank, intending on making landfall. Water wasn't a place for wolves anyway.

[Gabi]

"Ok, then," Gabi shrugged. "I'd like to know why you said that about my sword. I keep getting the feeling that you're trying to tell me something, but I don't know what it is. Or maybe it's just my imagination. Anyway, I don't think we'll have the time to talk much right now. I wish I knew what we're going to do."

Gabi sighed as she looked around, trying to find out what the group's decision would be and how long it would take them to reach it, even though she suspected that everyone wanted to leave the ship. She also wondered when she'd have the chance to have a peaceful conversation with anyone.

[James StarRunner]

Noticing everyones preparations, James put away his earplugs and book. Listening silently for a few moments, he gathered from the conversations of what they were going to do.

Having had sailed near this area with pirates before, he would have thought he would recognize this island, but he couldn't recall anything about this place.

James thought about whether he should go or stay. He had some experience with boats if things came down to having to protect the vessel, but he also could certainly lend a hand to the crew going ashore to check things out. deciding on an action, James stuck a small device on the underside of the rail and put on a set of headphones.

"I'll be coming along too."

[Sunblink]

Keaton quirked her eyebrows curiously as she leaned over the railing, inspecting the unnaturally tranquil, murky waters. Amidst her examination, she heard Ignatz's voice and felt her hackles raise, the sudden paralysis of those erectile hairs spreading to the rest of her petrified furs. Out of impulse more than anything, Keaton felt her hands squeeze the railing until her knuckles bulged out against her skin and her flesh drained into a cadaverously pale shade. Damn bat scared the piss out of her. She didn't want to admit it, but he did. He probably knew it, too, which made his presence even more infuriating and unnerving.

Around the same time, James finally decided to join the group. Keaton captured the familiar blur of blue out of the corner of her peripheral vision, somehow compelling her to cant her head just slightly; enough to afford her a better glance. It was that Angel, she confirmed. Great. She forgot about him. Not only was it going to be excruciating to be in the company of a race she detested (Beings Keaton could tolerate; most of her prejudices regarding the supposedly-inferior race was for the sake of preserving the traditions of her clan, anyway), but he was another testament to the fact Keaton had already dug herself deep. Her repugnant behavior towards James was probably one of the main reasons people in this group had compunctions about letting her accompany the party.

Then, it clicked. Keaton nearly shouted her revelation. Of course! She said she needed to reconcile with somebody in order to solidify everyone's trust in her! This was perfect! The opportunity practically prostrated itself before her. The idea of being civil to an individual belonging to the Angel race made Keaton sick to her stomach, but she knew she could endure it. But she couldn't make it too sudden. She had to go with the flow. She had to curb some of her more emotionally-fueled instincts and let everything happen naturally. In the unlikely event that James decided to interact with her, she'd try to act rationally. Eventually she'd drop the apology for her previously rude actions, and then she'd be a mile ahead of Ignatz by having a new ally. As much as Keaton was loathe to admit it, Angels were capable fighters, as her experiences could attest.

It was foolproof. No question. Keaton hid a satisfied grin by turning her head back to the island, continuing to survey the scenery.

Not once did Keaton stop to consider that James might not accept her carefully-constructed apology, or would see right through her lack of sincerity.

~Keaton the Black Jackal