Trial of the Spades

[hiken]

Who: The Spades Crew + Anyone wandering by or onto their ship.
Where: Isla Empieza, The Sun
When: 12/15 - 12/21
What: Shenanigans! The Cold Curse, Sailing, Etc
Warnings: None so far. Possibly violence, given this crew.
Style: Prose/Action. Either or!
Status: OPEN

Threads below! Feel free to drop in your own, just remember to date them. More 'general' threads will come up after the crew sets sail.

Comments

[hiken]

[Shopping when drunk can tend to be stupid, but Ace had plenty of room for error. He slipped onto the deck of the Sun, carrying over his shoulder an impossibly large assortment of bags, trunks and containers, bound in rope. He set them down on the deck and stared at them, as if he hadn't seen them before. There had to have been a quarter ton of things in that huge mess.]

...Now, before anyone sees me--

[He spat, surprised as he saw Asami on deck.]

AH! SALAMI!

[ex_automobiles598]

[There were sure a lot of drunk people on this ship. Okay only two that she knew of. She looked surprised as she saw him, eyeing that huge pile of stuff]

You're...Ace? [Uh...] What are you doing?

[hiken]

[Ace suddenly stood himself of the gigantic pile, pretending that he could cover it, despite the fact that was hopeless. His panic somewhat died down when he discovered that all along, he had a brilliant backup plan.

Fire Fist sort of slyly leaned up against it with his elbow, pretending to look cool and aloof. Pretending it was merely an unimportant part of the landscape seemed to be a part of it.]

Oh, nothin'. What about you?

[ex_automobiles598]

[Asami just slowly blinked. She really didn't know what he was trying to hide, seeing as how the big pile of stuff behind him wasn't any of her concern]

Just trying to stay warm. [By standing there, yup. Regardless, she took a step forward, pointing at the pile] Dooo you need help with that?

[hiken]

[Ace turned away and dragged the pile of loot out of sight before returning to Asami, this time casually leaning against some of the rigging for the sails.]

...Help with what? Anyway, maybe you should layer up a bit more. I'm feelin' chilly, too. [He said, despite his clear display of loathing towards shirts.]

[ex_automobiles598]

[She blinked again as he did that. Alright then]

Uh, it's nothing. [She waved her hand] I thought about that, but I don't even think I'll be able to move if I put anything else on.

[Nevermind that she was still shivering]

[hiken]

Eh? Is it that weird thing, then? If that's the case, you could just sit next to somebody awhile and get warm. It's some weird thing goin' around, I think.

[Though, he was stubbornly avoiding it, because the night before he earned a few bruises with his time-worn night-time greeting in a number of rooms.]

Normally, Empieza's really warm. Hell, it's not even frosty out in the first place.

[ex_automobiles598]

Weird thing? You mean the cold? I guess it is, I was starting to think it was my imagination.

[She nodded before looking out behind her. Sure there was some snow, but she wouldn't call it frosty either]

It was when I first got here. Is this the first time something like this has happened?

[hiken]

New World islands tend to have weird conditions, so this might be one, too. I've never felt anything like this, though.

Usually it's not a small sorta weather phenomena like this. There's no storms or anything going on. [Admittedly, Ace's perception of 'weird' was more outlandish than most. Something was only 'weird' if it was a giraffe riding an elephant into war. Small, irregular things were nowhere close enough to his sense of limitation.]

[ex_automobiles598]

I wouldn't know about that, I've never been to any of these islands.

Should I expect a lot of them? [The storms that is. She already does]

[hiken]

Sometimes.

[Too normal, admittedly. The dangers were as real as the New World, but the sea itself was considerably calmer.]

Problem is, if you see too many storms, the ship gets battered. If you see too few, you don't get used to them. This weird stuff aside, we gotta get used to experiencing harsh conditions, y'know?

[ex_automobiles598]

That is one up side. But it shouldn't be a problem for me.

[Or Korra for that matter, her especially]

Have you been doing this for a long time?

[hiken]

[Ace let out a bit of an undignified grunt.]

Have I been doin' this long? I'm the Captain, ain't I? I've been doin' it long enough.

[ex_automobiles598]

[She smiled a little]

Point. You sound really confident about it.

[hiken]

[Ace threw himself onto a barrel and rail, sitting on them with a bit of a pout on his face.]

Hey, remember this:

A Captain has to be ambitious, strong and willing to protect their crew no matter what the cost.

You'll meet a lotta people who can claim they're all three of those things, but you're lookin' at one who's willing to die to prove it.

[ex_automobiles598]

[Asami leans against the railing herself. Somehow that sounds like something the Avatar would say]

But why do you feel like you have to prove it? If you already show you care for them shouldn't that be enough?

[hiken]

It ain't enough for me.

[Ace suddenly found himself smiling, leaning back and looking up at the sky. He felt like a child, talking the way he had been.]

'Talk' is good when you're a politician. Puttin' things off 'til you run outta time and you can fence things off on somebody else.

When it comes to pirates, 'talk' is only good for reputation--when nobody's around to argue with you face to face. Me, I prefer facin' everybody who'd disagree with me.

[ex_automobiles598]

No, I know it's more than talk. You have to show you care, but...dying just seems like it's going too far. It doesn't seem fair to your close friends.

[Or family. Asami knew she'd be devastated if Mako, Korra, or Bolin did something like that. Of course she was only talking from her perspective]

But I'm not a pirate, so I guess I really shouldn't say.

[hiken]

Maybe I'm just a coward, then. The thought of livin' at the expense of my crew is distressing to me. But, I don't think it's solely bein' a pirate that makes me that way.

[It was having a little brother who you were supposed to protect no matter what. Ace didn't mind being useful enough to sacrifice himself for Luffy's sake after all. It was only fair that he be that enthusiastic for everyone else, too.]

And, it could be that it's just bein' selfish. I've lost friends and family while I couldn't help 'em.

Not everybody feels that way, but I do. Even among pirates, most people would go on and count their losses. I'm too greedy for that.