~Aiyenna's Island in Ruins~ ((Semi-lit ~ Always Accepting))

[~Erica~]

Ali tisked at him, shaking her head. "Come now Nio, what makes you think I'd teach you all my tricks?" Ali asked, inching towards him until she was just a tiny ways away. She had to tilt her head back to look up at him, since she was unfortunately short compared to Nio, and most other people for that matter. But she winked at him in a sly manner, wiggling the hand he had clasped in his a little teasingly.

[Vanendra]

The princess found a cotton nightgown to slip into. After she changed Vane removed her boots and quickly brushed her hair. She used a black ribbon she had in her bag and tied her hair back before reaching for her dagger. The princess was going to find that panther whether the captain agrees or not. She wasn't just going to sit there like a waiting duck. Vanendra unlocked the door and got ready to leave, prepairing to step around the blood.

[Wildmagic_warrior]

A small boy with unruly reddish hair flinched away from the princess's door when he heard it unlock. Holding up his mop defensively, he squeezed his eyes shut and cried out, "Don't hurt me I promise I was just cleaning up the blood and I'm sorry but I heard the captain tell you to stay down here so if you try and go past I'm going to have to stop you!" The words came out in a rush and the child continued to cower in the corridor, not looking at the entrance to her royal majesty's cabin. In her tiger form the princess could have eaten him in two bites; foxes were not large people, on the whole, and their children were very small. The boy was twelve, perhaps thirteen, and didn't weigh ninety pounds soaking wet.

Up on deck, the captain found his first mate playing a game of cards with several other crewmembers. Drawing Willkes away from them, he asked in a low voice, "What happened, Shaiden? You were supposed to be on watch." The black man met the captain's gaze squarely and replied, "Something came up. Just a little mess that needed taking care of; nothing big. You know how it is." The captain nodded, then said to him, "I doubt that a game of cards is a mess that needs taking care of." The first mate cracked a wide grin. "It is when one of your mates has been filching your clothes because-" here he rose his voice enough to be heard by his friends at the table "-because he's too damn lazy to wash his own laundry!"

[Vanendra]

The princess opened the door with her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. She let the kid's words sink in and tilted her head,"Why on earth would I hurt you?" Vane asked, keeping her tone gentle. If she scared the boy any more he might wet his pants. "what's your rank on this vessel...ummm...I'm sorry but I didn't catch your name..." She carefully walked towards the poor boy and rested a hand on his shoulder, showing him that she wouldn't bite...Well not him anyway.

[Wildmagic_warrior]

The boy opened one eye when the princess asked a question of him, and the other one popped open when she walked forwards. He shifted into his fox form and back again, so terrified that he could hardly control his already unstable abilities. He clung to the mop and shivered, keeping his eyes on the floor as he answered, "The n-name is F-Fitch, your r-royal m-m-m-majesty. F-Fitch Fletcher. If it puh-pleases your r-royal huh-highness, y-your muh-muh-majesty." He had never been this close to a tiger in his life and he couldn't say that he enjoyed it. What would his mother say if she saw him making a fool of himself in front of a member of the royal family? Especially a Tiger. His mother said Tigers were the proudest animals, and that their queen was the proudest of all. A right good woman, his mother described her as. And as fierce a soldier as ever there was. Fitch hoped her nieces were kinder than the woman his mother described in her stories, the woman who was like a goddess of fire and death.

[Vanendra]

"Well Fitch is a lovely name." Vanendra smiled at the boy, "Why are you so frightened of me? Do I look scary?" The princess knealt down so that she was level with the boy. The poor thing was shaking like a leaf. She had so many questions that she wanted to ask Fitch but she figured she might make the boy even more nervous if she kept asking him questions all at once.

[Wildmagic_warrior]

"If you think you're scary," replied Fitch in a bold rush of bravery, "You should meet my sister! She's taller than you and-" His face paled and his knuckles turned white from clutching the mop so close. "I-I-I- Your h-highness, I m-m-meant n-no disrespe-spect. Puh-please excuse m-my i-i-insolence."

Sometimes it was like that with foxes; in a moment of extreme boldness, they'll speak their minds and then suddenly regret it. It comes from having an advanced fight-or-flight response, one that makes foxes always choose to flee. It's like a boost of adrenaline, except, instead of translating to wittiness, it gives over to foolish speech when in human form. Unfortunate, yes. This is why foxes never go to war, and also why their kingdom is so prosperous. They work for themselves and in the end they always get both what they need and what they want. However, for a small boy named Fitch Fletcher, stuck in a bloody hallway with a tiger twice his size, this technique is less than appealing. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if he melted into a puddle of terrified goo all over the floor he had been trying to clean.

[Vanendra]

Vanendra chuckled, a little amused by the boy. "You can say anything you want and I won't be disrespected." the princess smiled at Fitch. "Now tell me why I should be frightened of your sister." She grinned at him, genuinely interested with what he had to say. So interested infact that she'd rather sit and talk to the boy than go off to find the panther.

[Wildmagic_warrior]

Fitch took a deep breath and said, "First off, your majesty, and I mean no disrespect, but she's taller than you. And she's beautiful. I mean, not that you're not beautiful, 'cause you're a princess, so I guess that means you have to be the prettiest girl because isn't that how they choose princesses? But my sister should be a princess because that's how beautiful she is."

It was obvious that the child was close to his family; the way he spoke about his sister was loving, if a bit past-tense. Truth was, he hadn't seen her in a long time.

"And she's a hero, your majesty. That's what mother said. She went off to fight in the Great War and she's still fighting, and someday she'll come home and tell me about all of her adventures. I want to be just like her. That's why I'm here, your royal highness. That's why I'm sailing. Someday I'll be a hero, too."

Another thing that was blatantly obvious was that this child had no idea what the Great War was. He was thirteen; if his sister had truly fought in that battle, he wouldn't be able to remember her, even if he tried. The War had ended some ten years previously. In reality, his sister had been drafted and then killed in action. Fitch's mother hadn't wanted to force a tragedy on her son, though, so she burned the condolence letter. She let Fitch believe that his older sister was a hero. She let Fitch believe that she was coming home someday.

[Vanendra]

Vanendra had to think first beforre answering, clearly the boy didn't know the war had ended some time ago. "Well when the war ends I'm sure she will be honored by the fox princess herself!" she smiled at Fitch, "but if you want to be a hero like your sister, you must have courage. You can't be frightened by a tiger princess. Granted you're still too young to be on the frontlines...But Fitch, I want you to try to be brave for your sister and I...You think you can do that kiddo?" The princess usually acted like she could care less about people when really, she absolutely loved getting to know people. Especially kids...Vane just didn't want everyone think she was such a softy.