Welcome newbies to the Alcyone

[delugional]

Who: Crew of the Alcyone
Where: The Alcyone
When: October 21-Nov 1
What: Simple crew mingle with contemplations on life, the universe, and everything this world, what's to come, and maybe even home. Oh, and a boatload of supernatural weirdness following. Literally.
Warnings: Possible violence, undead, and blood-lusting.
Style: Prose or brackets, either is fine
Status: Closed to the crew

The night before...(21rst)

All was quiet for the night, the cleaning finished, the crew in bed, except for one. It was still fairly warm, much cooler than it had been in the southern seas, but they had only left Isla Empieza that morning. The waves to weave and crash upon each other in a soft lull. Clear skies for the most part, the not quite full moon overhead cast some excellent mood light where the lantern nearby wouldn't suffice. Anyone else having trouble sleeping tonight, feel free to go find Archie chilling out on the deck.

Fog, phantoms, and the RPG norm...(22nd)

Being out on the water, fog was a pretty normal occurrence. Warmth of the day with the cool of the night, casting vapors at dawn and dusk. Usually it was quite ethereal. This fog... even more so. It possibly wouldn't be nearly as worrisome if it weren't for how quickly it came rolling in, covering everything in a faded bone chilling haze. And speaking of bone chilling, what was that coming closer.... A ship...? And those figures on board.... PREPARE YOURSELVES!

The morning after...(23rd-end)

Its not all that hard to believe the attack from the night before. Considering the crew, stranger things have happened than mere ghost ships (although ghost ship isn't exactly something they've all had to face before) appearing from nowhere. Perhaps that was what Dog had mentioned about something coming and by sunrise they would.... hey has anyone seen the sun today? And it still feels like something isn't right to the magically sensitive. Something is still going on, and that moon sure doesn't look too friendly either...

Comments

Open

[jadethenecromancer]

Oct. 26

[Most people would be horrified to find themselves turning into a vampire. Jade was not most people; it was somewhat alarming, yes, but it was difficult not to be fascinated as well. The colonel paid close attention to the changes -- the paling skin, the sharpening canines, the heightened senses -- and even took a blood sample in one of the test tubes he had borrowed from Trucy. It was a shame he had nothing to analyze it with, but old habits die hard.]

[Then he had started to get thirsty. Thirsty for his crewmates' blood. That was probably a bad sign.]

[It was a few days after the battle and Jade had gone rather quiet, staring off into the fog-covered sea. He seemed to tense whenever someone passed by; perhaps it was fortunate that no one had approached him that day.]

[Perhaps you should stay away, too.]


Nov 1

[The dawn broke at last, allowing Jade to leave the Captain's cabin where he had locked himself up. The precaution seemed to have kept him from attacking anyone, though it also meant he hadn't had water or food in... He wasn't sure, actually. Being driven mad with bloodlust makes a man lose track of time.]

Anybody else hungry? I'd kill for a good steak about now.

[...He might faint. Help.]

26th

[lost_sailor]

[The quietness on his crewmate's part was as unnerving a the fog that still lingered over the sea, in Piers' opinion. In the aftermath of the battle, where Jade had taken the forefront by grace of his experience, the changes in his demeanor were quite obvious to Piers.

Perhaps he noticed because of his concern for his crew, especially since more had gone missing in the fog. Or, perhaps he noticed because of his instincts as a healer.

It didn't matter.

The fog was so thick that he could stare into eternity and not find anything.]

Jade.

[His tone was low, as if he were trying to quell a storm before it bubbled forth.]

Do you see anything out there?

[jadethenecromancer]

[Piers' voice brought him back to present -- unfortunately. The emptiness of the fog had helped keep his mind in a kind of meditative state, away from the constant smell of blood.]

[By now he could practically hear his crewmate's blood flow. It made his hands twitch in his pockets.]

No. [His tone was curt.]

[lost_sailor]

[Piers didn't move, stubbornly holding his ground in the face of a potentially volitile encounter. It dawned on him that he barely knew anything about the other man-- just that he was a Colonel and experienced fighter, and that he covered these traits with heavy layers of snark and dry humor.

He couldn't guess anything about Jade's current condition without knowing more, but the tone of voice in which the man had answered told him plenty.]

I see. [He settled back against the wooden mast and listened to the plaintive flap of the sails that they had left open in a desperate attempt to catch a breeze. The cold mist in the air sat on his skin, soaked his headband.]

...I've sailed in fogs like this. We should be glad that there are no spires around. Or whirlpools.

['haste, make haste without waste...lest you meet a watery grave.']

[jadethenecromancer]

[It seemed Piers wasn't just going to leave. Jade sighed, rubbing his temple in resignation. He wasn't sure if the beginnings of a headache came from the lack of blood -- something like dehydration, maybe -- but whatever the cause, it wasn't improving his mood.]

Indeed. Now if only we could avoid any more scuffles with the undead, this trip might almost be worth it.

[It was a fine mess they were in, with even less crew members than they had started with... and this. The curse.]

...Have any of the others reported anything unusual?

[lost_sailor]

Other ships have reported similar conditions, if that's what you mean.

[The fog, the odd ringing, and the eerie red light were frighteningly common throughout these seas. It made no sense on a spherical world, unless there was another power at work.]

We are all stuck. With luck, we'll avoid crashing into eachother.

[jadethenecromancer]

I know. I meant our crew -- is everyone else feeling well?

[It wasn't very common for him to ask about the others' well-being, but if anyone else was dealing with the same thing he was, they could have trouble. Most of them didn't seem like the type to hide it, though...]

[lost_sailor]

I haven't heard any complaints.

[There were so few of them on board that any complaints would have been impossible to ignore.]

...How are you feeling?

[It was a hesitant question that he didn't expect a proper answer for.]

[jadethenecromancer]

Oh, I'm fine. The chill is just making my joints ache. Old age, you know.

[The lie didn't come out quite as light-hearted as intended. If this got any worse, he might have to come clean or he'd just wind up putting the others at risk.]

[lost_sailor]

[The lie, hollow as it was, earned a small smile in reply.]

Believe me when I say that you're not old.

[Looks weren't to be relied on in any world. Piers' smile dropped at that point, and the jokes fell with it.]



I am more skilled than you realize. But, I cannot help if people do not tell me. [His tone lightened, briefly.] I don't read minds.

[jadethenecromancer]

[Jade gave him a long, calculating look. Opening up was never his first instinct, but...]

...You recall the Dog's warning, correct? About not letting the ghosts touch us?

[lost_sailor]

I do.

[Piers met that gaze, as open and fearless as he always was.]

Something happened, didn't it?

[jadethenecromancer]

The first wave had us cornered. We were forced to fight at close range.

[Jade had tried to take the brunt of the attack. It had seemed like the logical choice -- his spear had better range than Ivan's short sword, after all.]

It was only for a moment... but I think one of them touched me during the confusion. It seems that was enough.

[lost_sailor]

Just a touch?

[Suspicions confirmed, his tone leveled and his brows furrowed in concern. The Dog's fate was alarming enough, but one of his own?

He went over the possibilities and what he could do.]

Are there any other complaints beside what you've already shared?

[jadethenecromancer]

[Hm. How to put this tactfully...?]

I'm fighting the temptation to tear out your throat and drink your blood. No complaints otherwise.

[So he said with a completely straight face.]

[lost_sailor]

[...

What?]

There are legends of sailors gaining immortality by eating the flesh of mermaids, but you can be assured that the same cannot be said for Lemurians.

Please, do not take me for a child.

[jadethenecromancer]

Piers, you wound me. Do you honestly think I would joke about something like this?

[...Yes. He absolutely would.]

26th!

[brbvirmire]

[Ashley was looking a bit hairier since the battle. Today found her out stalking around the deck again, as she'd been doing for much of the past few days; belowdecks was nearly unbearable. The wolf side didn't like being penned in, apparently. Even outside, she was a bit twitchy and irritable.

Certainly it would be wiser to stay away, but Jade's presence on deck annoys her. He doesn't smell right.]

Well? What are you looking at?

[jadethenecromancer]

[Jade found himself involuntarily wrinkling his nose. Ashley was the only one in the crew whose blood he felt no craving for, but that wasn't much of a comfort -- her smell had turned unpleasant since the fight, even more so as his senses had begun to pick it up from further away. It was irritating.]

Obviously I'm looking at the fog. There isn't much else to look at, you know.

[brbvirmire]

[It was worse at close range. Ash could practically feel her fur stand on end (and wow, just having fur was still all kinds of weird and Not Okay.)]

Oh, excuse me. I just thought there might be a reason you're sitting around.

[... besides the fact that they were going nowhere in the fog, so there wasn't much to do. Really, it was just an excuse to hassle him.]

[jadethenecromancer]

Why not? The view is less of an eyesore than certain faces on this ship.

[Not that he was referring to her or anything.]

[brbvirmire]

[Oh yeah, she saw what he did there.]

Oh, I know. It gets pretty bad having to look at that. Lucky for you there aren't a lot of mirrors around here.

[jadethenecromancer]

Indeed, I would feel terrible knowing my less lucky companions had to be constantly reminded of their shortcomings. Not everyone is blessed with my looks, after all.

[He was giving her his best smile now. See, he was totally being nice.]

[brbvirmire]

[Ash growled, the sound low and threatening and not quite anything a human throat should produce.]

You think you're funny?

[jadethenecromancer]

[It didn't show on his face, but Jade was bracing himself for a fight. Curiously enough, the prospect didn't particularly bother him.]

My my, someone's in a bad mood today. Your face is going to freeze like that if you're not careful.