Bound to the High Seas

[Derick]

"Wait, what?" Derick stopped in his tracks, confused. The crate hurtled towards him and he barely caught it. The hefty cargo slipped through his grip until his fingertips painfully dug into the edges of the crate. Just as he found a grip, the ship gave a particularly nasty buck. "Noooo!" Derick rocked back, landing flat on his back with a painful groan as the box crushed his chest. Derick jerked to the side, letting the crate slide off his chest. He rose slowly and fixed his hands firmly around the parcel before lifting it up. He struggled to stand upright with its weight pulling him forward. She...she made it look...so danged...easy!

Derick charged down the stairs leading to belowdecks...Not that he had much choice, the weight of the crate practically dragged him down the stairs. The most he could do was shout a weak warning before he came tumbling down. Derick did his best to follow Cefia's voice...he stumbled twice as much from the ship's movement combined with his unwieldy load. "ARGH! Watch where yer goin'!" Derick didn't even turn to meet the pirate's eye, he was completely focused on Cefia's voice, "I'm sorry!" Finally, he caught a glimpse of green around the box and shoved it into the spot Cefia indicated. "You could have..." Derick gasped in breath, "...waited." He rested his hands on his knees before sucking in two big breaths. He ignored the sweat beading on his forehead as he stood and faced Cefia.

[Cefia]

"Now where would be the fun in that?" Cefia asked with a boisterous playful tone. She even moved over and gave a few stern pats on Derick's back. A grin was plastered on her face and a sort of proud feeling seem to surface. The young man had did it, he managed to not get crushed by the box. This was a definite improvement but it was not enough.

"Look at the bright side, you're still alive," she half joked before humming a tune. There was plotting behind her eyes as she glanced around to look for a way to help the young man some more. She was at a loss but then once again she was called from the deck. So up she went and sure enough a new order came to.

"Go shift the sails a bit, ya know what to do," a man ordered before quickly shuffling away to do whatever he was going to. Cefia glanced over at Derick but said nothing but signalling him to follow. Even as she begun the climb there was another kick from the waves. It would be troublesome if she fell and even worse if one fell into the water.

[Derick]

Derick breathed raggedly as he sank under the force of Cefia's slaps. He made as if to respond, but saved his breath, focusing on pulling more into his lungs...His torso felt like a giant bruise from the weight of the crate crushing him. I sincerely doubt that'll be true if this keeps up all day... the sarcastic thought sparked an acid smile, but it subsided into a genuine one he followed Cefia to the deck.

Cefia's eyes seemed to be calculating as they reached the deck. Derick watched with more than a little apprehension as she scanned the working crewmates. She didn't need to look far, a burly sailor with plenty of stubble gave her a task before crossing the deck to do some other task.

Cefia motioned for Derick to follow as they made her to the side of the ship. As she mounted the thin network of rope leading up to the sails, Derick's eyes widened. "Y-you're kidding me, r-right?" It wasn't that Derick had a fear of heights...not beyond what was natural anyways, he just preferred not to risk falling to his death when he could...the unsteadiness of the ship didn't aid that feeling at all.

[Cefia]

Cefia gave a good hearty laugh with no sense of tension in her voice. She remembered her first time climbing the mast and how many times she almost slipped off and fell to her deaths... Actually those were horrible memories if she thought about it but she didn't. It was impractical and actually endangered her seaman life, more than just going ahead and climbing. It was strange actually, sometimes it is best not to think about it.

"Just be careful," she encouraged, giving her best reassuring smile. It was a gentle one before she began to climb upwards. Now that she thought about it, Derrick might have been better climbing up first. At least this way, she might have a chance to catch him if need be. She shrugged the thought away, there was no need to go out of the way. Sometimes it is better to learn in the midst of danger than to have a safety net before oneself.

Even though she worked carefully, she was climbing quickly through the ropes. It was easy thanks to her experience but she did turn to look to make sure Derick was still coming along. A few times she warned about the wind or to brace for another kick of the wave. Even if the young man fell, she wouldn't believe he would die. He was one tough cabin boy.

OOC: yes... you heard me. Cabin boy...

[Derick]

The laugh did nothing to ease Derick's nerves, he scowled at Cefia. He knew she meant well by it, and his glare was good-natured in its own sarcastic way. Inwardly, he was already rising to the challenge, his heart started to accelerate and the warm, fuzzy feeling that accompanied a combat reflex slowly began to work its way through his veins.

"I'll d-d-do my best.." Derick felt his heart race, quite unrelated to stress, as she gave him a soft smile. As she mounted the ropes and began to ascend, Derick limbered up on the deck, bouncing on his feet and rolling his shoulders. "Here we go..." Derick exhaled deeply and then leapt onto the ropes.

He trembled as he struggled to stabilize himself. The ropes were deceivingly loose, and his core muscles strained as he held on for dear life. After a moment, Derick mustered the courage to take the first step; he moved his right hand up first, then slowly followed with his left foot, shaking all the while. After a few steps, Derick had a rhythm established, and he began to climb at a steady pace, albeit much slower than Cefia, who was watching him from on high.

Derick was hyper-focusing--Cefia's warning about a gust of wind fell on mostly deaf ears. "What?! I can't--WAAH!" The ropes bucked, launching Derick away from the ladder. His feet and right hand slipped, but he managed to held on with his left hand. Derick's heartrate leaped; his vision faded into red as his full weight strained his left shoulder. When he reopened his eyes, he was climbing the ropes again in a secure position, and he had closed half of the distance between himself and Cefia. That was like what happens when I fight but..... Derick closed his eyes again, he could vaguely remember twisting to assert control and resume climbing, but it didn't feel as if he had done the action. More surprisingly was how comfortable Derick felt without the pull of his steel armor on his body.

"That was....." Derick pulled in a deep breath, he felt as if he had just sprinted, "...too close..." In his exhaustion, Derick didn't even realize how fluidly he was climbing.

[Cefia]

Cefia focused in on the sail and barely heard Derick call out from below. She didn't look down until she was on solid ground or rather wood. She even began to do the job before she stopped midway to look over by something out in the distance. Of course, in the worst possible time, the ship kicked upwards. She held her ground, even though it made her slip a little.

What troubled her wasn't the danger of falling off but what she saw out in the distance. It was the fact that they were already close to the island. She shouted down what she saw and many of the crew became far too excited about the prospect. Than again, getting back on land after a long sailing was always positive in their books. Instead of finishing her job, she held out the rope for Derick to do it.

[Derick]

Derick looped his arm around a cross-knot in the rope ladder and watched Cefia intently as she worked. A slight cramp set in his stomach, a byproduct of being up so high, but Derick did his best to avoid worsening by steadily avoiding looking anywhere else but Cefia's hands. Focused as he was, it took him a few seconds to realize Cefia was ordering him to finish the job. "W-wait you want me to..." Derick's jaw hung slack for just a moment before clarity returned. "Right, I'm on it."

Working the ropes took forever with such little experience, but Derick had watched just enough to know the rough idea of what was supposed to be done. "LAND HO!!!!" The gruff cry from the deck nearly made Derick drop his task. Derick tied off the knot, it was sloppy, but the crew was too occupied to comment on it...thankfully. With a displeased frown, Derick swept his hand, indicating his slip-shod job to Cefia before turning to finally see the land himself. The island no longer loomed on the horizon, it was less than a league away, a sheer rockface studded with greenery and bordered by a pearl-white beach. Such a sight should have been relaxing, but Derick felt his muscles tighten and his heart begin to pound. "S-so this is the place?"

[Cefia]

Cefia nodded, quite grimly actually. She did not feel as though this is the best place to stop but these people wanted something worthwhile. Hopefully whatever treasure was still there, it was a matter of survival for her. She paid no attention to Derick's job, instead she quickly slid and climbed downwards to the main deck. To her credit, she just wanted get this over with.

"Well, let's hope for yer sake, this be it," a voice called out that she was unable to discern. As far as she was concerned it could have been a mosquito buzzing close to her head. They had at the very least been relatively courteous to her and seemed to have taken a liking towards Derick. He had talent at the very least. Even still, she felt as though things were gonna go horrible wrong.

[Derick]

Derick huffed as Cefia ignored his work and instead descended down to the deck. Rolling his eyes, Derick started to make his way down the rope ladder as well, taking as much time as he dared. "OY! QUIT YOUR DILLY-DALLYIN', WE'RE TRYING TO LAND!" Derick cringed, so much for impudence... Derick rushed the rest of the ladder, noting the setting sun as his feet hit the wooden deck. "Isn't it a little late to be going ashore?" Derick pitched the question to the mass of pirates that had gathered around the life boats. One of the pirates, a thick man with hardly any chin, shot him an evil eye. "Ain't got time to wait...not when treasure's to be had." Derick frowned, how had he forgotten why they were here in the first place?

"Aye, let's get to work!" The captain strutted into the pirates' midst. "Aye aye, captain! We've got the first boat ready to go!" The captain nodded towards the pirate who had spoken. "Good, you, Dover, and Cliff will be in the first boat..." The captain's eyes wandered, settling firmly on Cefia. "You and the boy will be going as well." Somehow, the prospect didn't excite Derick, he just felt his combat reflex creep up a little more.

[Cefia]

Cefia let out a sigh, filled with uneasiness from the whole situation. There was so much that can go wrong from this expedition and one of the crucial thing missing is trust. It was difficult to come by for her out in the sea but understandable nonetheless. She looked silently for a moment after the order but jumped up over the edge and onto the small boat.

"Aye aye capt," she finally muttered but not with any form of spite. She was eager to get this over with if it meant getting out of this crew. After they got the treasure it was more likely that they would stab her back or leave her on the island. Hopefully this assumption would be proven wrong. Shane that only time will tell.

[Derick]

"A'IGHT, NICE AND EASY NOW!" Derick winced, how on earth was the crew able to focus on the captain's orders when his tone was so harsh? "Aye, aye, captain!" The deckhand's cheerily acknowledgement made the captain seem even harsher, Derick half-expected a mutiny right then and there. The crew roughly set the ropes into motion, the beams and pulleys over the edge of the ship began to shudder as they took on the weight of the three deckhands. "What're ya waitin' fer?!" Derick started and climbed into the small craft himself, the ropes holding the ship up creaked and groan as it reached its capacity. Nevertheless, the small boat descended smoothly towards the rigid waves of the ocean.

Derick's grip tightened on the side of the boat as the first wave tossed them. Memories of the small trade craft they had taken from Nabata crept in Derick's mind...At least there's no seasickness this time... Derick touched a hand to his stomach in a self-assured manner, but his eyes widened in shock as he did so. "MY ARMOR!" Derick bolted upright, rocking the boat in his direction. "I left my armor on the ship! We need to go back! We need--ungh!" Derick's knee popped and he sat straight down, wincing. The pirate who had chopped the back of his knee resumed rowing, "No time...ya don't need that stuff anyway." Derick nearly stood again, but putting weight on his leg hurt for the moment. "Don't need?...What do you mean I don't...need..." Come to think of it... Derick looked over the ship's occupants, no armor in sight, just weapons. Maybe he's right.....

[Cefia]

Cefia gave a grim nod towards Derick. It was true that not many pirates wore armor. There was never a need to, especially when you can rush ahead and smash down an opponent before they can react. That is how she saw it as well, but she did choose to wear a light leather armor just in case. Then there was also the part that the more armor you wore, the more likely you'll drown in the water.

"Hey Derick, you can swim right?" She asked, not quite knowing the answer. This was definitely an essential skill out here in the sea.

"The boat ain't gonna roll itself," a voice called out, distracting Cefia once again. So she had to roll it, that is fine by her. She grabbed the oars and began to pull it toward and away from her in a steady motion. As far as she was concerned, there was no rush to get there first. However the twinkle in the eyes of the pirates was another matter.

[Derick]

Derick self-consciously ran his hands over his light under-armor. The clothing had some leather, but was crafted for carrying armor, not serving as armor itself. "The boat ain't gonna row itself!" Derick started and snatched up the oar in front of him. "R-right..." He watched Cefia for a moment before clumsily imitating her motions. After a few minutes, Derick stopped rowing, per the not-so-friendly suggestion of the pirate he was rowing behind.

Derick nodded a little uncertainly as he surveyed the waves ahead. "Yes, I can." He HAD been one of the stronger swimmers around his village when they went out to the lake, but he had never dealt with such large waves. He was half-thankful he didn't have to worry about his armor serving as an impromptu anchor.

"LAND, HO!" Derick frowned and squinted his eyes to try to peer through the darkness, the sun set more rapidly than he expected. How in the world was that pirate able to--"Ungh!" The rowboat pitched as a wave crashed against the side. Failing to anticipate the motion, Derick folded over bringing his head cracking down on the side of the boat. The last thing Derick heard was a pirate's surprised cry and the sensation of being thrown before slipping into unconsciousness.

[Cefia]

Cefia hopped out of the boat with a heavy thud. She took in the fresh island air eagerly. Although she loved the sea, she still enjoyed the time spent on the islands. However it was not to last as she was pushed forward by another of the ruffians. That is not to say she wasn't a ruffian herself. Perhaps it was just a matter of double standards.

"Alright alright," she said, being force to move ahead of the group. They didn't point a blade to her back luckily...for them. It was a perfect ambushing time and she knew it very well. It was also why they were so quiet in the whole matter.