[IC] SoA-Ep1: Passage

[Sutoratosu]

Cold. that was the one word that could accurately describe Vermilion, Kanto in the first few months of every year. Cold, nearly miserable. The pungent scent of salt hung seemed to hang heavier on the air than usual, the only thing breaking the silence of the Early morning hours being the occasional sloshing of the choppy waters against the bow of a moored vessel and the even less frequent hiss of sea spray against the docks themselves; coating the entire place in a low mist that seemed to swallow up the feet of all who passed through.

And all the while, the blanket of grey, dejected clouds overhead gave physical manifestation to the chill of air, white, steady drifts of fluff constantly floating down from the heavens and taking up house wherever they so pleased to land, apathetic to the fact of how many of their fellow flakes had already descended to claim the space, or of how much ice slicked the stone walkways and the boardwalk of the city.

Few people were out and about this morning. A strange sight, given that most men of the sea preferred to get an early start. On the docks one would be able to count barely six people working in the mist, all tending to the same vessel; loading cargo, undoing mooring... seemingly the only vessel out all it's neighbors that was intent on setting sail without a weather delay. And for good reason; the sign on the dock infront of the craft read like a billboard, the words "Passage to Arcadia, quickest run time in Vermilion- price negotiable if willing to work" sprawled across it's broad face in bold crimson lettering, like an angry blood spatter among the otherwise pure white and blue backdrop of fog and sea, shouting out it's significance to all the world like some child who had just conquered the hill...

((This is a basic introduction phase for the player characters. go ahead and have yourself arriving at the docks, give details on the journey over to vermillion, etc... I don't really care too much what, just so long as you do something to introduce your PC))

[Felicity]

Nikki stifled a yawn as she approached the ship, looking for any indication as to a specific person to approach for passage. She was wrapped up nice and warm, donning an old scarf as well as her standard travel wear and glad for her long hair to keep the rest of her head warm. Years living in this region had made it an almost subconscious habit to adjust to the seasons accordingly.

She had arrived noon yesterday after cutting through Diglett's cave, one final part of a journey with her old team before sending them home for the time being. With only Aethor by her side, Nikki decided that a night of luxury would be a good idea to start the journey off right, well rested and ready. Besides, camping in this weather made no sense. So she paid for a room in a nearby hotel and slept in comfort.

Now Nikki approached the nearest of one of the six sailors. "Hello there. I'm here for passage to Arcadia, My names Nikita Lucivia, most call me Nikki." She said calmly. Aethor was in his pokeball for now and she was reluctant to let him out until her place on the ship was secured.

[Hiss13]

The early months of Vermillion always seemed to produce a nice chill for most people. However, the warmth was relatively refreshing to the girl from Snowpoint. Even though the chill in the area was enough for her to see her breath, Yuzuki really found the feeling of the weather, even at the port, to be far nicer than the weather during even Snowpoint City's autumns. She even ended up leaving the hood of her longcoat down seeing as it did not seem necessary to have it up.

She had been in the region for one night beforehand after arriving at night at Vermillion's port by ship from Snowpoint's own port. She ended up staying in a hotel connected to the city's Pokemon Center to get some final few hours of sleep before starting the next leg of her voyage.

The girl gripped at the Pokeball in her hand as she made her way to the port area from the Pokemon Center. It contained Natsuki, the partner who had been with her for seven years, and the only Pokemon from her team which she did not leave behind with her family.

Yuzuki's longcoat fluttered in the winds of the port as she made her way past the sign with crazy lettering.

'Price negotiable if willing to work.' She observed on the sign. It probably meant that whoever was going to take the ship had to do some odd jobs around the ship as compensation. It was not the best type of arrangement but Yuzuki really did not want to nor could she complain. After all, this was the only ship crew she found that was crazy enough to go to Arcadia.

So, she made her way down to one of the sailors she saw in the mist. "Yuzuki Kuroyoru." She said in a straight and blunt manner. "I'm here to take this ship to Arcadia."

Edited July 23, 2015 by Hiss13

[Darvan Korematsu]

"Damn I'm freezing my ass off," were the words uttered by a nearly hypothermic Felix, standing out on the Vermillion docks, overlooking where the S.S Anne usually lay in docked. He now regreted skimping out on a thicker set of long pants before he left home. He packed his fuzzy parka, sure, but he carefully considered all he required whilst divying priority to the goods in his backpack. Not that he hated the cold, he just hated his lack of foresight on the bone-numbing climate of Vermillion. That and he'd spent long hours in Shoal Cave back in Hoenn. But Hoenn was a warm region for most of the year.

Felix spent the previous night in the Pokemon Center. Sure wasn't comfortable, although it didn't cost him anything except the time and effort to ask Nurse Joy. Camping in the cold, without firewood, would sign his death warrant. He wouldn't want to cut up and gather wood.He thought about home, and his dad, and his mum, and particularly his dad's workshop. Man he missed home. Maybe a little too much.

He watched in amusement as a young woman walked along the docks to a pitiful looking boat with an advertisement in front of it. It read about some faroff place called Arcadia. The name sounded familiar to him somewhere in the back of his mind but he couldn't put a finger on it. Wherever it was, it was probably better than the miserably cold Kanto region. He shrugged to himself. Prices negotiable if willing to work? Felix snickered to himself. If the boat looked as shoddy in the engine room as the exterior, he'd have no problem putting in some work alright.

Felix grunted and made his way down to the boat, only to see another woman, maybe around the same age as the first go in front of him. He followed closely behind the other one, as he stopped yards of the boat and observed the two girls asking for passage on the boat, with the one from earlier calling herself Nikki. Felix found a sailor seperate from the other two and asked: "You got room on this boat? I'm willing to negotiate if you do."

[Chevaleresse]

Yuuki headed to the docks as quickly as possible. He had waited as long as possible in his hotel - a bit below the standards he was used to, but nothing worthy of complaint- wanting to stay in the cold for the shortest amount of time possible. He had a heavy, formal-looking coat for the weather, but that didn't mean he was particularly tolerant to the cutting chill of a Kanto winter. Growing up around ocean currents and volcanic heat tended to do that to a person. As he briskly walked, however, he was barely aware of the cold except to note that it was present. The researcher mentally logged everything he saw, starting today. He would record it later, but Yuuki wanted to ensure he had the words memorized, as to change the tone as little as possible.

He noted the presence of a few others that had reached the dock before him. It seemed the ship was still preparing, which was inconvenient; he had hoped they could depart immediately. A woman - it was hard to make out much else, though she certainly seemed prepared for the cold - another who didn't seem bothered by it at all, and a gruff-looking man despite his spectacles that all seemed to be speaking to one of the sailors. Once he reached the dock, he made a small gesture that indicated the other three. "I'm here for the same reason I presume they are." He eyed the boat suspiciously. He wasn't sure if it would have the specs to reach Arcadia; but then, there was really no reliable data on where Arcadia was in the first place.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Hmmm, Winter. A beautiful season. The cold was a welcome feeling, though it wasn't cold to the Blade. To her it was just right. It was the temperature she was most used to, and was most fond of. It had taken a long amount of time to get to this place, the City of Vermilion. It was a rather quite place for a city, not too big like a traditional city. But it wasn't too small either. The whole place smelled of the sea. Salt and sea water was the prevalent smell that hung about the place. It was as if the whole city was a fish market as it smelled as such. She had been in worse conditions and places, none of which bothered her. While she had a sense of class and an air of nobility to her, the woman cared little for that. She upheld that honor but she wasn't afraid to go to places many others such as her wouldn't. She wasn't just some haughty noble, she really didn't even have any money to her name. No, she was a warrior. It was evident by the fact she traveled this far on foot to get here. She mostly walked from the Unova Region around the world until she reached Kanto. It was a long trip, but one she needed to take. She would soon arrive at Arcadia... A place for real warriors.

She wore a fine suit, somehow still immaculate after her journey. One had to take good care of the things they had in this world. They wouldn't be handed anything else they didn't get for themselves. She also had a plain black walking cane. She didn't really need it, but it helped to have a third leg when you traveled over the mountains like she had to get here. It matched her suit, matte black, with hints of grey. Her suit echoed this, being black with Grey pinstripes. She wore a small top hat over her long black hair tipped to one side. She definitely looked fancy to anyone who would have seen her. She definitely looked out of place on the docks. She didn't wear any sort of gear fro the cold weather, she was used to this. This cold? It was nothing. She was a warrior after all. She had been in this weather in much less clothing before. Not that she would tell anyone that. She did a lot of odd things to train her tolerance and ready her body for nearly anything. Her partner was much the same. For now he rest in his Pokeball. He was tuckered out for all the extra training he did along the road as Steele was walking. He deserved the rest. After all, walking was a lot of walk over that amount of distance, let alone practicing your swordsmanship while you did it. Isami was a bit of a card as such and was highly prideful. He didn't like down time where he could be doing something. As such he was constantly working on his form striking, and learning about his blade. He worked on his footwork, his stance, everything. It was that diligence that Steele respected. The Farfetch'd wouldn't be ignored and he certainly wouldn't ever go down without a fight. He had a high sense of Pride. He was a true warrior. Even though many thought he was weak he would make them regret those thoughts. For only the weak though that way. Only the weak underestimated others. Because they believe they are strong and that no other could possibly be stronger than them. That was what made them weak.

Steele kept walking though, while reflecting on her journey here. It was long... and not quite over, but it was worth it. Or at least she hoped so. She noticed others gathering around the ship, perhaps they meant to go to Arcadia as well. A quick inspection of them merited nothing of interest. 2 women and 2 Men. None of which were any interesting to her. At least not at first glance she payed them no heed as she stopped to wait for them to clear out. They probably weren't actually headed to Arcadia... they would all be fresh meat for a place as legendary as that.

[Aurorix]

Lloyd wasn't planning on heading to Arcadia, he was actually heading through Kanto heading to Johto's Mt.Silver. He had heard of powerful trainers looking for challengers up there. On his way through Cerulean City he over heard a couple of people conversing about Arcadia. Since a whole region is way bigger then some mountain he changed course towards Vermilion. Along the way he always kept Silver by his side as the two wandered the lands. Though for some reason something about this morning put her in a uneasy state. She really didn't want to enter the city and wanted to keep their time there to a minimum. Lloyd seeing that put her away in her ball, they'd came all this way and going back towards the Mt. Silver just didn't seem worth it at this point.

As he made is way towards the boat heading to Arcadia he noticed that the docks were empty. In his travels he'd been to Canalave City and Iron Island, both had docks that had sailors working early in the morning. He brushed off this, seeing how it's pointless to dwell on why they're not there and just go over to the boat to do what he came there to do. Lloyd noticed four people huddled around a man who seemed to be a crew member of the boat he was going to be traveling in, as well as a woman in a suit standing behind them like she was waiting for them to be finished. Why a business lady was here of all places was beyond him but like with the emptiness of the city he brushed it off and decided not to worry about the details.It seemed to be a line of sorts from what he saw. those four were probably just journeying together like most people do. He made his way behind the woman in the suit, paying here no mind only starring off into the sea, or whatever he could see of it through the fog.

The sign about prices didn't really matter to him. Everyone has to do their far share in life, and if that mean doing some manual labor to get a boat ride it didn't matter to him. A cheaper boat ride is cheaper and it would give him something to do on they way there so it was a win-win in his mind. Now he waits for this line to end which should be short since there's 2 other groups in-front of him.

[Chim]

“Ugh I hate this weather!” Joey complained out loud. The cold, chilly snowflakes made him feel down and a little moody. It didn't help that his shoes weren't made to withstand the muddy watery substance that covered the ground. His feet were soaked and felt like they would freeze off any moment, resulting in Joey fastening his pace. The sooner he could find a boat to take him to Arcadia the better.

He walked alongside the water while keeping his gaze onto every ship he passed. Joey didn't look forward to travel across the vast and deep sea, but if it was the only way to reach Arcadia... Besides, he still had Ishmael in case anything happened. That thought alone was the sole reason that kept him going. The safety his Gyarados offered and the memories of his devastating loss in the Unova League's finals. At least he knew his rival wouldn't travel all the way to Arcadia.

It took Joey a few more minutes to reach the dock where a sign told him he had reached his destination. He quickly cheered up and got to the small waiting line. “Yoo, is this partyline to Arcadia?” he asked to no one in particular.

[Sutoratosu]

The giant tugged his cloak a bit tighter around his shoulders as he he kept watch over the five hired hands tending to the ships needs, the Jackal standing erect at his side keeping an eye out as well. It was always strange to him why out of everyone in the operation, it was always him who got stuck with the task; what the hell was he supposed to do if one of the vagrants happened to slip up or pull something devious? Grunt? Look sternly at them until they noticed? Perhaps he was supposed to have Koba blast them away with an Aura Sphere and send them tumbling straight into a watery hell? Well... whatever. At least he wasn't the one having to do the lifting, and it gave him a way to get some fresh air from that damn red head's constant jabs...

"Hello there. I'm here for passage to Arcadia, My names Nikita Lucivia, most call me Nikki." The man whirled around with surprising speed as he heard the young woman's voice from behind, his eyes raising in pure perplexity as twin spheres of dark, chocalate brown scanned the trainer up and down. He easily towered over her, nearly 6'10 with a frame as big as a freight train and arms like pythons hidden behind nothing but the thin layer of leather cloak to protect against the elements. There were more than a few snow flakes that had decided to make their new home coating the silky surface of his short cropped, jet black hair, not to mention even more accumulated on his beard and shoulders... almost as if he had been standing there like an absolute statue...

"Yuzuki Kuroyoru. I'm here to take this ship to Arcadia."

Again, he whirled at this new voice, fixing the new arrival with an equally questioning stare. Neither one of them were the young woman he and the others had been told to expect, didn't even look a single bit like her, and he didn't see any dragons with them either... strange, why would they have any interest in the boat-

"You got room on this boat? I'm willing to negotiate if you do."

"Where the hell are all you people coming from?" He just stared at Felix as the younger man attempted to start up a session of haggle. "What's this about Arcadia, I thought we got reassigned-" He felt the jolt of his own pondering slamming on the mental brakes the moment he spotted the sign nearby... "Of fucking course...that loud mouth Ellis didn't get rid of the god damn advertising like Captain told him to..."

"I'm here for the same reason I presume they are."

“Yoo, is this partyline to Arcadia?”

"Good God, two more for the wood work and two more just standing off in the distance watching... this is getting ridiculous." The mountain of a man let out a sigh as he rubbed one of his temples. He brought out the other hand from under his cloak, soon firing off with a few quick flourishes of signs and gestures, trying to generate as much body heat as possible in the frigid weather while, all the while, his eyes burned with a subtle desire to kill the idiot who had caused this gangle of confusion in the first place...

It was a simple, if a bit rushed, message:

Who among this group was versed in sign language?

[Chevaleresse]

"Oh." Yuuki had studied a bit of sign language in his spare time. It was an excellent way to examine nonverbal communication, and it had the added benefit of removing potential communication barriers. It was quite a while ago, but he thought he remembered enough for most casual conversation. "I know some. What do you need?" The scholar's signing was a bit unpolished, especially so as he executed the message as quickly as possible to keep his hands in the frigid air for the shortest duration possible before returning them to his pockets.

[Sutoratosu]

The giant let off with another string of signing, this one slower to accomdate the young scholar. Though he still looked like he was intent on killing someone after this was done, at least this wasn't going to be as difficult to communicate as he had feared. That was just about the only thing going for the situation though...

"Tell your friends the sign's offer is no longer being held. This vessel has been re-purposed."

[Chevaleresse]

Yuuki's consternation was evident on his face. He looked back at the others for a moment. "This man claims the vessel has been repurposed, and the offer on the sign no longer stands." Turning back to the sailor, he signed a reply. "Why? What is this new purpose? There must be a way to work something out." He hadn't come all this way to meet with a dead end. Yuuki wondered if it was possible to speak with the captain and resolve this...

[Darvan Korematsu]

Felix wasted no time in pulling out his Pokeball, and pressing the button on it, with the red light ejecting his partner, the Porygon-Z. He pointed to his Porygon-Z and then the sailor and the young people fluently signing. "What are they saying," he asked in a voice just above a whisper.

The Porygon twirled around, making random noises, beeping and twitching in every which direction, communicating with it's maker. Felix nodded and harumphed, evidently to the others, at least making sense of what the Pokemon conveyed. "I see. Can't say I'm fluent in their language. That's kind of dumb. Ok Pory. Return." He pulled out the Pokeball from his belt and pressed the button, the ball opening and accepting the Porygon back to it. "Don't understand why they'd use sign language in the first place," Felix said as he repocketed the ball to his belt. "These guys are being kinda stupid," Felix muttered to himself.

Edited July 26, 2015 by Darvan Korematsu

[Sutoratosu]

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss that." Was all Yuuki got out of him in the next round of signing. "To be honest, hat sign was supposed to have been destroyed and any references taken down. One of my co-workers lacks the intelligence to follow basic orders however..."

His eyes flicked away at the sight of someone releasing a capsule, honestly hoping that this hadn't devolved so quickly already that he would have to wreck some poor fool... though it seemed as though the one who had done was simply conversing about something...for now.

Out of all the people who had to put up with the effects of Ellis, why did it have to be him?

"Look, if you want to know more, it's best to talk to the captain."

[Felicity]

Re purposed? "Son of a bitch...." Nikki muttered under her breath, what now? She saw several paths to continue on, most more than likely to end up backfiring. She didn't think stowing away would be appreciated and she wasn't about to take the risk when she didn't know how long the trip would be unless she truly had to. Better test out other options then.

"Do you know any other vessels that might be offering transport?" Nikki asked of both the person translating the sign language and the giant they were talking to, somewhat uncertain who to really address.

[Sutoratosu]

The mountain shook his head at Nikki's question before turning his eyes back to Yuuki, signing "You should tell all of them too that they should go talk to the captain rather than me..." He kept a look out on the others all the while though...some of them looked on the shifty side, especially the man with White Hair who was just standing over yonder like a freaking scarecrow...

[Hiss13]

Yuzuki merely shifted her glasses and watched as the gruff-looking sailor and the other girl signed back and forth. It was annoying, to say the least, that she had zero knowledge of sign language. It was never something she saw the need to learn. After all, languages were meant purely for interactions and as Yuzuki had minimal interactions.

She observed as the girl had reported that the ship had been repurposed before returning to her conversation with the sailor.

She was mildly annoyed. If anything, it was an inconvenience. But she still wished to go to Arcadia somehow. Luckily, the girl who seemed to have gotten to him before her voiced her own complaints and the sailor responded by signingsomething very similar to what he had signed in response to the other girl's complaints. There were a few signs that were definitely repeated from his response to the other girl. It was likely that he was trying to redirect them to a higher-up.

"He's probably saying that we should not direct our complaints to him as he is a lower rung in the crew but towards a higher-up, who I'm guessing would either be the captain of the navigator." Yuzuki spoke in a calm voice.

[Chevaleresse]

"The captain," Yuuki clarified. "Where is the captain?" The scholar signed this as he visually scanned the boat, looking for someone who seemed to be some sort of authority figure. Perhaps someone better-dressed, or not engaged in hard work like the others.

[Felicity]

Nikki was starting to get annoyed with the lack of actual communication, She was not one to accommodate things like sign language. "So we find the captain? What are we waiting for then, let's find the guy." She said, declaring the obvious course of action as she walked off briskly, looking around the dock for someone looking more important than Big Boy Blue.

[Chim]

Joey got a little annoyed when someone translated the sign language. It was hard enough to keep his feet from freezing off and all the young trainer wanted was to find a place he could warm up and find a new way to reach Arcadia. He started to move around a little to regain feeling in his frozen limbs, when a woman in front of him spoke up and went looking for the captain.

“Going straight into action, eh? That's my type of woman!” he grinned as he followed the yet unnamed female.

[Darvan Korematsu]

Felix sighed when the giant sailor continued to sign as soon as he pocketed Pory. He didn't understand sign language himself, but Pory definitely could "read" it and "translate" it to him in it's usual motions. Felix felt no need to bring out Pory again for a single string of signing. He didn't care that much about what they were saying, although one of the people on the dock caught his attention. He heard one of the girls he first saw on the dock stating with an obvious irk to her voice the need to find the captain. She stormed off and some seedy-looking guy who came after Felix, followed the girl swiftly, assumingly to look for the poor bloke who headed the boat.

Felix hatched a bright idea on the spot out of their actions. "So you're repurposing the boat right? I'd like to speak with either your ship's captain or, even better, the engineer. I think we all could work something out."

He set his hefty backpack down on the dock with a loud thunk. He unzipped the backpack, starting to rummage through it's contents. He rifled through the backpack for a good 30 seconds, and pulled out a large, black, plastic case, shaped in what could only be described as a briefcase. Felix laughed softly to himself as he got on his knees looking at the case. "My folks and friends told me I'd be stupid bringing this. Oh they'll eat those words." He laughed softly again as he turned the black case around to give the giant sailor guy a good view and unlatched the two metal snaps holding it shut, and pried the top open. He removed the top and beheld to the guy a small plethora of various tools: a cordless drill with a few different bits, some screwdrivers of various sizes, a stereotypical hammer, a couple of adjustable wrenches, and a bunch of screws, nuts, bolts, and other fastening agents.

He stood up and showed the giant guy his collection of tools and smiled. "I got tools. If you can get your captain or engineer, maybe we can help speed up the process. But I'd prefer talking to either of them to discuss it further." He closed his toolbox and sat down with the case in his lap.

[Aurorix]

Lloyd let out a sigh. It was bad enough that it was cold out, but now his boat ride was canceled. It wasn't cold enough for him be shivering, he'd been through worse when went he went through route 216 and 217 while trying to get to Snowpoint City for a gym badge. Though it was enough to annoy him and that he didn't like. Soon after the translator revealed that they should go meet the captain and tell him about their complaints, some people wandered off in hopes they might find the man. While it might be possible for one of them to find him, it'd better just to be guided to him by someone who would know where he is. Since the closest man to show them where the captain is can only speak with his hands he hoped the man translating him would ask where the captain is. He preferred to keep to himself and let others do the talking. If the man happen to walk away and not ask the sailor the question he'd simply just ask him to, though he'll wait till it's necessary to speak. If worse comes to worse and the captain refuses to change his mind, he'll just give up on going to Arcadia and go back on his way to Mt. Silver.

[Chevaleresse]

Yuuki turned toward Felix upon hearing his words. "I don't think that's going to work. He said 'repurposed,' not 'in the process of repurposing.' Regardless, neither implies that they will continue to Arcadia." The young man tilted his head, thinking for a moment. "I must say, you look familiar. Were you a Devon employee, by any chance?" Remembering why there were there, he stopped. "Nevermind; we can speak later." He started after the others boarding the ship to speak with the captain. "Well, this is just going swimmingly, isn't it..." he said to no one in particular.

[Sutoratosu]

On the deck of the vessel...

"Alright... what do you think?" Jack said to the massive penguin standing at his side in the frigid storm of ice and wind that was brewing. He took another deep draw of his cigar as he eyed the group that had gathered around the Mute of a Giant in the distance, letting a sigh mixed with smoke and the condensation of his own breath before long. It never failed... Ellis always did something to try to piss off Tatsuya, even if he was fully aware of how easily the Asian could've picked him up and snapped his spine in half. And this right here was probably no different.

"I tell you... with the crap he pulls, he acts more like a child sometimes... Quiet, I'm gonna make a mental note to kick his ass when I get the time, don't let me forget." The Empoleon gave no sound, only nodded her head briefly while she watched the scene on the docks steadily unfold. There seemed to have been some sort of diffusion; a few of them were venturing off on their own... "Well... I've seen enough of this. What do you say we send our regards?"

* * * * * *

The was little room for conversation on the docks as the group went about their own searches for some form of higher authority. Or rather... there was little attention paid to trying to talk given the sizable swell of seawater that had somehow not only violently raised itself meters above the surface of the barely raging waters, but was also sent surging right for the assembly of planks and pillars like a tidal wave, making impact with a massive crash and threatening to wash away Nikki and Joey both if they had taken even another step further. The entire walkway seethed with the cold fury of the winter waters as the attack receded back to it's origin, Ice already beginning to form a thin glaze over the sun-beaten wood... and the sign was nowhere to be seen.

"So, I see you've met Tatsuya here." A gravelly, booming voice called out from the fog."Now, how about someone here start explaining why the hell they would want to go to place like Arcadia during the coldest and most brutal season of the year?"

Anyone who looked up at the bow of the vessel would've spotted an Empoleon and a man at least near his forties standing there, the latter covered from shoulders to tow in a pitch black longcoat that moved and swayed in the wind like some wind-chime. A patch of fabric just as dark sat where his right eye should've been. His hair had been slicked back in a completely dated style while most of his face seemed to be kept warm by the beard he sported on his mug, just as deep a brown as the Cigar at his lips as he scanned the travelers each one by one with an Eye colder than the ice that covered the barren earth.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

The clack of a cane on the deck came padding in from the silence after the man spoke. The woman who had stood back waiting before had approached now, rather than sit back and wait for things to resolve them self. She didn't typically do confrontation, she was the type to live and let live. Go about her way separately and wait. This time she felt spurred to do something. Why? She didn't really know. Sometimes even you didn't know yourself entirely. Sometimes you even surprised yourself.

Johanna returned the man's icy gaze. She slung the cane she was carrying over her right shoulder and held it there. "Does it matter the business they have in Arcadia? I don't know when Sailors started turning away travelers that were perfectly willing to pay them and be on their way. Not to mention... you don't have to stay there you know? You don't have to go to Arcadia. It doesn't matter though. That's not what I care about. I don't really care where this ship is going so long as it takes me further towards my destination. Where that destination is... isn't your business. I also have no money to offer you. So. I'll work as one of the crew while I'm aboard. Unless you sailors still have that stupid superstition that women are a curse out at sea. I hope not... it's really five centuries out of date way of thinking." Steele said. She not once let her steely gaze stray from the Captain. Steele could care less about the others really. She needed to get where she was headed to, even if she only got a little bit further. While she had walked a long way on this journey... it was hard to walk over the ocean. She could swim it... but that'd be a long distance. She needed to get aboard some vessel. She figured this was her best shot. She wasn't worried for a second though. She knew she would get there it was just a question of when and how. It'd be nice if it was now, but one never knows. As such there was no evidence of desperation, no air of frantic need from her. She just stood there clearly intent to get what she wanted and fight for it, but she wasn't going to fight a losing battle and one she had no chance at. She waited for a response, silently, jsut as she had waited before.