1x1 with hollyglow and Consulting_Angel

[Consulting_Angel]

Ashton Rouleau
"Oh of course. That's all you care about - the money. What should I have expected from a pirate?" Ashton scowled again, though he was internally glad that he seemed to have affected the captain in some way. He did swallow slightly, hearing that his life would be in the control of some other guy. It wasn't a great thought, naturally, but he was determined to not let it get him down. He wouldn't let himself surrender to anyone, and he would fight back. He was about to reply again, when a particularly harsh jolt made him lose his grip, and he let out a short scream when he hit the wall that the bed was pushed up against. He stayed where he was for a few moments, then Ashton moved slowly so that he was sitting somewhat normally again, holding one of the bedposts. He wondered if he had already been sussed out, and he glanced away, leaning his head against the wall, steadying his breathing, silently raging to himself.

Loralei Waverly
A little surprised, Loralei wondered who 'Erek' was, but she held the young woman close to her anyway, able to keep her head above the waves. It seemed that she was about to go to sleep, but she had no idea where to go. She didn't want to risk going to the shore... but going underwater was no option, not unless she had the necklace made of reeds, which was said to be enchanted to grant the wearer the ability to breathe underwater. That, however, was still in her home. Maybe she could go to the sea cavern, an off-shore cave that was only accessible by swimming there, if you were a strong enough swimmer, with part of it underwater, but there was a space that remained dry. "It's okay... you'll be safe with me..." she murmured, then started to make her way to the cavern. Once she got there - the process being much slower than she remembered, because she was being incredibly careful with her passenger - she carefully placed the woman on the dry area, and she remained in the water, watching her quietly, making sure nothing else happened.

[hollyglow]

Elsa Alina Asbjornson

I was far enough in the haze of sleep and cold that I was certain it was Erek speaking those words to me. "Of course I will be," I whispered before a wave lapped over my face. I didn't speak for the rest of the journey, only curled more into the body that kept me afloat. It took so long to get to shore...was it supposed to take this long? I couldn't remember. Eventually, I was placed on rocks. Rocks? Was that right? I curled into a ball, wanting human contact desperately, but there was none. With a start, I realized this wasn't what had happened. Erek had held me in his lap until I was dry, and then we'd gone back to the palace. "Wait," I gasped, and finally opened an eye. "Where am I?"

Jem Laceburn

I snorted derisively, unable to help myself. "You wouldn't be much of a sailor," I muttered. "This isn't even close to the worst song I've seen." I cast my mind back. It was true, although in all fairness, those storms that had been worse had been truly terrible, storms that I wouldn't have trusted anyone but my crew to handle. I was aware that we weren't by any means the best crew in the world, but to some degree, I thought it didn't matter.

[Consulting_Angel]

Ashton Rouleau
"Well I don't know what to expect, I've never been on a ship this far out or in a storm before," Ashton replied, a little hurt, still holding onto the bedpost for dear life. He couldn't quite believe that storms out to sea could get any worse than this, and he watched the captain with a scornful eye. He didn't think that he could hate someone as much as he did right now - well, maybe whoever he was being delivered to, but he didn't know who they were yet, so he was going to focus it all on the captain for now. He felt a wave of dizziness, and he closed his eyes for a few moments until it had passed.

Loralei Waverly
While waiting, she had been humming under her breath, ceasing it when the young woman woke up very suddenly, as she seemed to have now realised that she was not exactly on shore. Loralei just smiled lightly. "It's a sea cavern. I couldn't take you back to the shore without risking someone seeing me, but I couldn't possibly leave you out in the ocean," she explained, carefully. She decided to remain in the water, figuring that it would be best not to deliver too many shocks or surprises onto her just yet, and she instead introduced herself, "My name's Loralei. Who might you be?" and she held out a hand for her to shake, if she wanted to. She had quite a number of questions to ask, but she didn't want to bombard to young woman with them, so she decided that she could wait.

[hollyglow]

Elsa Alina Asbjornson

I pulled my knees to my chest, shivering. The warmth and comfort that had come with the memory vanished, leaving me feeling lost and bewildered, like a newborn puppy who found herself lost, seperated from the safety of her mother and litter. "My name is Elsa," I murmured, not thinking to give a fake name, or that I would even need to. "Why are you in the water?" I asked. It was dark in the cavern, but I could see enough to be certain that she was mostly submerged, and I was hesitant to reach forward and take her hand, though I did. "Aren't you cold?"

Jem Laceburn

I had to make an effort to press my lips downward so as not to show a smile, and watched impassively as he closed his eyes. I was, admittedly, being a bit of a hypocrite, but I felt no need to mention just how miserably seasick I'd been my first few days at sea. I'd hardly been able to go five minutes without being sick. I'd become quite the nuisance, and that had been when the sea had been relatively calm. But that was all irrelevant. My current goal was just to see how much I could get the prince to dislike me. "Oh, I'm sure you haven't," was my response, raising a pointed eyebrow.

[Consulting_Angel]

Ashton Rouleau
He had convinced himself that he was never, ever going to get used to this. He wasn't even sure how long they'd be out to sea, and he didn't know if he wanted to know for sure. Ashton silently planned an escape, which had some very far-fetched requirements to be pulled off right, but he still kind of hoped it would work. He opened his eyes when he was spoken to again, "No, there was no point in it," he replied, grumpily. "People should stay on the land, like they're meant to," he added, and he glanced away again, wondering if he could find something else to complain about. There was surely an endless list he could make, just to try and annoy the captain.

Loralei Waverly
She watched with concern, wondering of she had made the right decision. No, she was sure that she had. Goodness knows what would have happened if she hadn't been planning on looking out for that first ship that she spotted earlier that day. Loralei smiled gently again,
"It is good to meet you, Elsa," she said, sincerely, though she wasn't expecting the questions that followed. Shaking her head, Loralei figured that it was best to answer truthfully and directly, "No, I'm not cold. I'm very used to it, and my body keeps itself warm internally anyway," she placed her hands on the rock, then pulled herself up, sitting next to Elsa. "This is why," and she lifted her tail up into view, the scales reflecting the faint light.

[hollyglow]

Elsa Alina Asbjornson

It took a few moments for my mind to process what I was seeing, and a few more for me to react. I should have been at least mildly surprised, but I was so chilled and exhausted, I only managed to push myself upright and give a nod. "I see." The truth was, I didn't express surprise much anyway, so this reaction was only slightly more muted than it would have been ordinarily. "I was always told you didn't exist," I added candidly. I wanted to lean against her, to feel the comfort of touching another living thing, but I did draw a line at leaning against a complete stranger whom I'd never met before. I settled for resting my chin on my knees. "So...what am I going to do? I---I need to find my ship. I need to keep traveling."

Jem Laceburn

"No point in sailing?" I raised my eyebrows skeptically. "Whatever are you talking about? If you knew how to run a ship, you could steal my gun," I patted my pocket, where the bulge of a pistol was indeed visible, "take me hostage, and force the crew to take you back to your beloved kingdom. Why, the possibilities are endless. I do believe you missed a valuable opportunity." I tsked sadly. "Ah, well. You'll just have to come up with another plan, eh? Preferably one involving you punching me, knocking me unconscious, locking me up, and coming to talk to me incessantly?"

[Consulting_Angel]

Ashton Rouleau
Unsure if it had been obvious, or if it was an expected thing, that he was thinking of an escape plan,
Ashton made a 'hmph' sound, then declared, "No. The land is where people should live and stay on. It's much better than being on a ship," he clenched his jaw. A perfect plan, if he knew how to steal a gun... or steal anything effectively. He felt his stomach clench, feeling as though the captain was mocking him. "I wouldn't talk with you apart from to tell you how much I hate you, and the crew," he said. Ashton wasn't even sure why the captain was talking to him, apart from to maybe just annoy him or drive him mad. But he didn't really like the idea of just being left alone either, especially as he didn't really have anything to do, apart from kick up a fuss.

Loralei Waverly
The last time she met a human, they had taken ages to accept and believe that she was real. This was a welcome change in reaction, for Loralei. Elsa seemed to be quite accepting of what she was seeing, and that did make her wonder what else the young woman had seen before. She did seem to be quite tired, anyway. Loralei let out a slight laugh, "Is that so? We merfolk do usually keep out of human sight," she replied. She then grew concerned, "Your ship? Where are you travelling to?"
she asked, unsure if she should say that the ship Elsa had been on was gone. She reached out, carefully placing a hand on her back.

[hollyglow]

Elsa Alina Asbjornson

Her hand on my back felt different than any contact I'd experienced before. It wasn't warm, exactly, the way a human's was, though I could feel it through the damp fabric of my shirt. It was something---not warm or cold, but electric, like being touched by lighting. Not in a painful way, but just the energy and light, like those things had been transfused into a hand. I found myself wanting to lean into it. "Well...I'm afraid pirates have stolen something very important. Without it, an entire kingdom may well be destroyed, and I feel partially responsible. I must get it back at any cost." It felt odd to talk about Ashton like he was an object, but I decided it was best to remain vague for now.

Jem Laceburn

"Ooh, really?" I leaned forward, feigning fascination. "How much do you hate me? Is your hate for me as bottomless as the ocean and as vast as the sky? Does it fill your heart with a burning passion?" I intentionally mocked him with my tone, as though I was reciting a love poem. "I'm afraid you haven't been the first to feel this way about me, and you doubtless won't be the last. Though it is unfair of you to hate the crew. I mean, I have ruthlessly slaughtered their families and threatened the same fate upon them if they don't wholeheartedly support me." If it hadn't been clear before, now I was obviously mocking him.

[Consulting_Angel]

Ashton Rouleau
Ashton leaned back against the wall, even though there wasn't really much space to do so, but it was somewhat instinctive when he saw the captain lean forward. He glanced away, figuring for certain that he was now being mocked. But he was determined not to break, he couldn't. Not now. He wasn't going to let him have the last word either. "You had them hurt me. And I hate you from the core of the Earth, to the moon, if you really want to know," his voice wavered again, "and I will never stop hating you," Ashton added, and he turned away.

Loralei Waverly
Once she touched Elsa's back, Loralei felt something odd. Not a physical thing, but rather a feeling through her hand. Confused, she considered moving her hand away, but she didn't feel like she wanted to, or that she should. She listened to Elsa tall, guessing that the description was deliberately vague, but it was quite clear what was happening, and what her quest was. "And you were following them?" she asked, though she already knew the answer. "We couldn't possibly allow for the downfall of an entire kingdom, could we?" she added, deciding that there was one thing for it - she would go along as well. This sounded exactly like the sort of adventure that she had secretly been craving for.

[hollyglow]

Elsa Alina Asbjornson

I nodded slowly, my lips pressing together and then lifting up to form a smile. "Well, of course not," I replied. My response was slightly more deadpan than it perhaps should have been, because to me, the question was completely serious. On one level, I was aware, conceptually, that it was probably a rhetorical question, but on another level, it was still hard to understand and reply accordingly. "So...will you help me?"

Jem Laceburn

I placed a hand on my chest. "Why, I'm touched. I'm sorry I can't say the same. I'm afraid it would make absolutely no difference to my opinion of you if you tried to kill me, tried to kiss me, or plunged into the ocean never to be seen or heard from again." I didn't reply to the comment about the crew. I was perfectly aware that not all of the crew agreed with my decision to take this job. Natasha, certainly, had been furious when I told her. "I was a slave myself once! When you took me on, you made a silent promise to stand against treating any human as a prize!" But I hadn't given her a choice. The prince didn't need to know that, though. It might confuse his delicate understanding of right and wrong.