[IC] SoA-Ep1: Passage

[Sutoratosu]

The captain took another pull of the death stick at his lips, tapping away the ash against the railing before going in for another. He looked about as bored after Steele's attempt at confrontation as someone who had been forced to watch paint dry. His empoleon simply glared at the woman, the waves down below her starting to grow a bit choppier...

"So, gonna play the old game of 'It's none of your business, just shut up and give me a ride', eh?" He chuckled a bit to himself, flicking away another bit of cigar waste into the ocean below. "Well, kiddo, guess you're right; it really isn't none of my business and I wouldn't have two flying damns to give even if I wanted to. But it still doesn't change the fact of the situation. This ship, myself, and the men who work her, we are not free to decide our own destiny, have never been free. We have orders, girl, orders that if disobeyed, will cause nothing but trouble. Sure, those orders might've once had something to do with Arcadia at one point, but not now... not anymore. We're waiting for someone now, and not a single one of you is her. So get this through your thick heads, all of you: No one is going to Arcadia onboard this ship. Sorry to disappoint, kiddos, but that's just the way it is, and I have no power to change it." With all that said, he turned his back to all of them, and began walking away from the railing. This conversation was done as far as he was concerned.

"And besides, it would just be a massive waste of your time anyway...If you're intent on growing stronger, then go train somewhere else, why don't you? Like Mt.Silver or Victory Road..."

[Felicity]

"BirdJesus Christ, we just want a ride, no need to lament your bloody life story." Nikki snapped after the captains pointless speech. There were 50 quicker and politer ways to say 'No' and the man went out of his way to avoid all of them. "If you can't give us passage to Arcada, tell us where we can. Otherwise I'll have Aethor fry the whole ship so no one gets anywhere." Nikki threatened, releasing her faithfully exuberant Electrode onto the Dock, who immediately went rolling around, circling the others on the dock excitedly. Her threat was by no means empty. If the sailors needed desperately to get to Arcadia, they would find another way. And they would lead Nikki there in the process.

"You ever seen what a tree looks like when struck by lightning, Fishlegs? How about I show you with the mast of your ship?"

[Chim]

Joey panicked as he jumped back when he saw the incoming wave. His hand automatically slipped to his belt as he grabbed Ishmael's ball and held it in front of him. He breathed heavily as he assessed the situation and it took him a minute or two to finally calm down.

“I do like your style, girl!” he said to Nikki, “but maybe we're doing this the wrong way? So let me handle this one,” he said with a wink as he walked in front of the gathered group.

“Hey, Captain, ever had the feeling you just had to go somewhere no matter what? I can't exactly tell you my reason to go to Arcadia but I just have to, alright? So why don't we do each other a favor and help one another? If you can even take me a little closer to my destination, I offer my work spirit to you and help out on your ship. What do you say? Can we hop on?”

[Hiss13]

Yuzuki was definitely annoyed. While the trip over to Vermillion was was nothing dangerous or tedious, she had spent a considerable amount of time to get here after getting her hands on information that there would be a ship to Arcadia in Vermillion. Still, there was no point in exuding an aura of annoyance and even if she wanted to, her annoyance was nowhere near extreme enough for it to show on the subdued girl's countenance and words.

"There's no point in resorting to threats." She directed towards Nikki. "Just negotiate like a normal person."

She then turned to the Captain. "We all have our reasons for wanting to go to Arcadia. Whatever they were, they led us to over here. Whatever the reason, the information that the ship was repurposed came out far too late, leaving the seven of us here with no idea what step to take next. In other words, the ship's crew does bear a level of responsibility for this."

These were her pure, undiluted thoughts, unmarred by emotions and filler. It was simple, direct, and to the point. That was all that she wished to get out.

[Aurorix]

'Everyone's a show off.' Lloyd thought to himself as the he watched the man's little show of power. What was the point in having his oversized penguin use surf, other then getting their shoes and pants wet? If he was trying to get their attention their could've been better ways of doing it then this.

"So if you can't change it, who can?" Lloyd asked bluntly towards the man on the ship after hearing his explanation. "I assume it's the girl you're expecting to pick up." He would've never thought trying to get a boat ride would be this much of a pain. It didn't help that his feet and lowwer legs are now smelling like seawater and soaked. Arcadia better be worth all the hassle it takes to get there.

[Sutoratosu]

On the Deck

The captain turned back around at the threat, not seeing the dark skinned man leaning against the outer walls of the cabin and shaking his head half out of sheer disappointment and half out of utter amusement. this time though he came tossing his cigar to the deck and grinding as his teeth as he stormed over to the railing. He had tried just telling them to go home, but it looked like no one wanted to listen. No one wanted to just do what they were told, nope... they wanted to fight apparently- which was fine by him... he had always been better at fighting anyway.

"Alright, you little shi-" he could barely get out anything before someone else decided to step up... probably to issue a challenge.

“Hey, Captain, ever had the feeling you just had to go somewhere no matter what? I can't exactly tell you my reason to go to Arcadia but I just have to, alright? So why don't we do each other a favor and help one another? If you can even take me a little closer to my destination, I offer my work spirit to you and help out on your ship. What do you say? Can we hop on?”

"We all have our reasons for wanting to go to Arcadia. Whatever they were, they led us to over here. Whatever the reason, the information that the ship was repurposed came out far too late, leaving the seven of us here with no idea what step to take next. In other words, the ship's crew does bear a level of responsibility for this."

"So if you can't change it, who can? I assume it's the girl you're expecting to pick up."

...

...

Or apparently not...either way, they obviously weren't going to scram.

"God damn it... " He muttered. "I always did hate this type of situation...now what...?". As if in answer a hand clamped firm on his shoulder as it's owner finally sidled up beside him. He didn't bother looking. "How long have you just been standing there watching?"

"Long enough to be reminded of why you normally aren't the one allowed to do the talking." That much earned the other, far darker skinned man nothing but the same cold glare the travelers had received... but Recci might as well have just been staring into a mirror with how polished his subordinate kept his shades. "Don't give me that; you know it's true. This was something that could've easily been resolved if you had just tried and not be such a hard ass about it. You're not in the army anymore, orders aren't necessarily law here."

"Are you fucking kidding me? One of them just threatened to try to destroy the damn boat! And they won't-"

"Granted, that might have been a bit drastic, but again... you could've prevented things going down that road by starting out with a different approach. And you were about to complain about how they won't leave... well, did you ever stop to consider maybe their determination isn't so much a bad thing? And besides, that girl who spoke up has a point... we could've been a bit quicker about wiping the slate clean than we were, and we are, to a certain degree, at fault that they wasted so much of their time coming all the way here. They came here expected something and more or less had it torn out of reach before arrival... I for one think it's understandable to be frustrated and stubborn right now, don't you...well, no, that's probably not the right question to be asking you."

"Alright, fine, they're inconvenienced, so damn what? We're just wasting time, damn it! how long do you think any of them will last if they're still kicking, huh? She-"

"The argument is invalid. She is not here." Just to prove his point the dark skinned man scanned the docks, even going so far as taking off his shades for a better view... just as he thought, She wasn't. "But they are. The time it would take to just sit down and talk to them like civilized people instead of yelling at them from the bow of a ship like some old drunk veteran who's so afraid of failing all over again that he pushes away people unnecessarily and disregards all forms of common courtesy because of his own ever growing anxiety, is completely inconsequential."

Recci didn't say anything. He had nothing to say... he had just lost this argument, that much was clear. But damn did he hate it when Khan started analyzing him... "Fuck it." He said simply, turning and walking away. "I'm done. If you're so convinced that you know best right now, then how about you get rid of th-"

"I wasn't going to bother asking permission after watching their responses to you thus far."

"Whatever, you damn poindexter...Just don't tell them anything too sensit-"

Khan was already calling out over the railing before he could even finish.

On the docks

"Hello there, all of you," The new speaker called to all the travelers with a friendly wave and a smile warm enough to melt even the frost on the dock. This one was a black man with shades darker than black, with a flat top cut and shoulders draped in coat similar to the captains. Unlike the captain though, he seemed to have actually heard of a magical little something called a 'razor'. "Please, try to excuse the captain, he's not much of a people person...or even a very nice person. Infact, I couldn't really blame you if you didn't excuse him. Anyways... that's beside the point; I see you all are interested in Arcadia... well, unfortunately, there may be some complications about that, but please, come aboard and out of the cold, let's talk this out. I'll be happy to answer any question you might have- in fact, we even have hot chocolate and coffee if you'd like.

"You son of a bitch..." Recci muttered, edging a bit closer from behind, looking like he was going to throw him overboard. "is this your idea of getting rid of-" A kick, swift and true and shipped overnight right to his nether regions was all it took to not only silence the old soldier, but send him to his knees and spewing out profanities left and white in the most colorful display of langauge. Meanwhile Khan simply maintained the same friendly expression, as if he hadn't just had to assault someone to keep the peace.

"Please, I insist! He won't bite, I promise! and I'm sure we can work out something for this terrible inconvenience. The ramp up is just over there near our friend Tatsuya." He gestured to the giant, who... actually had a look of approval on his face, going so far as to nod at the travelers and beckon them aboard...

[Chevaleresse]

Yuuki's confusion with the situation increased by the second. Threats were being thrown back and forth, Pokemon released, and now the captain's family jewels had been struck by another crew member. It was like something out of a cartoon. He shook his head, as if the gesture would somehow remove the situation, and proceeded on board, minding the slick dock. When he was safely aboard, he turned to the friendly (to them, at least) one and asked him a question in a tone that lay somewhere between relief and confusion. "What, exactly, is going on? This vessel was repurposed and therefore couldn't carry us, but you are still headed to Arcadia?"

[Sutoratosu]

"Ah yes... that." The apparent man-charge-now began, making sure to keep his eyes on Recci the entire time...though all he was doing was groveling on the floor at this point. "That, my friend... has a long story behind it... which I'll be sure to tell you once we all get down below, I'm sure you understand, what with it being freezing out... for now though, the short answer is that the vessel hasn't been so much repurposed as much as it's just been reassigned...more or less just ordered to be used for a different task; again, long story. And to the second one, no, I'm afraid the captain here was correct, on our currently planned course, we aren't heading to Arcadia." He stopped monitoring the man who had almost thrown him into the frigid waters just long enough to gesture towards decent sized doorway in the Super structure of the vessel's deck, still wearing the same friendly smile as he met Yuuki's eyes.

"But I'll be sure to explain it in full detail once everyone is settled. Please. just below deck you'll there's a small conference room behind the first door to your right"

[Hiss13]

Yuzuki decided that all of Yuuki's protests were not going to help them in the least bit. If anything, the man who seemed to be the Captain's superior might rescind the offer if they were continuously hostile to him. So, Yuzuki simply headed over in the direction of the ramp where the large sailor from earlier stood.

"If he's willing to let us inside to explain the situation to us, the least we can do is oblige him." In the end, they were going to get an explanation so it was best not to look this gift Rapidash in the mouth. "Just get on the ship if you want answers." She said bluntly with the same neutral expression on her face.

She made her way up to the ramp and gave a quick, polite bow to the man named Tatsuya before walking up the ramp.

[Chevaleresse]

"Thank you." He nodded politely. It might have been a bow if it wasn't so hurried. He headed after the woman down into the ship, still trying to figure out what on earth was going on. They weren't headed for Arcadia, but this man at least seemed willing to carry them somewhere. More concerning was the power balance on the ship; after all, crewmembers didn't typically kick captains in the groin and get away with it. And who had hired this vessel, anyway? Yuuki's thoughts chased one another as he walked below the deck, not really paying attention to his own pace.

[Darvan Korematsu]

Felix immediately shoved his toolbox back in his backpack when the weird dude in the suit told him this ship had already been worked on. Pory must have mistranslated a small portion of that sign language from earlier. The remaining other three people who remained on the dock looked varying degrees of irked. The white-haired banshee-looking dude, this girl who mustered the gumption to release her Electrode and threaten the giant sailor, and the guy in the suit who talked Felix down.

Everything seemed to escalate when some of the girls argued with some guy with an Empoleon and this one guy who Felix had the pleasure of watching getting nut-checked. Felix winced as he felt that certain pain that only a guy could recieve from such a blow.

He hefted his backpack up and shunted aside the giant dude when he heard they all were allowed back on board. He boarded the boat and shouted to the people on the dock. "About time I tell you what. You Slakings gonna stand around all day looking dumb or you guys gonna come on?"

[Felicity]

Nikki was considering her options. They weren't heading to Arcadia directly. It was a risk to go on board simply due to the chance she may be taken further from her goal. As well as boarding a ship she had just threatened. Nikki was confident she could handle any threats. She would have to if she wanted to succeed in Arcadia. So she boarded the ship, lamenting having to spend time with these other passengers. So far they had proved gutless, annoyingly flirty or just plain unreadable. Nikki didn't like unreadable.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

The steely woman didn't really care much about what had just happened. It didn't matter too much to her if the captain received a nice kick to his "coin" purse. He kinda deserved it after all. Not that Steele would ever admit that out loud. It wasn't very ladylike after all. She yawned loudly, all the tension made her even more tired after a long day of traveling. That situation really didn't help. Conflict was tiresome, the main reason why she tried to avoid any that was unnecessary. Especially while Isamu was sleeping off his long day. She wouldn't be able to get too much done while the little bugger slept comfortably in his Pokeball. Hell, it was usually the only time he was ever in there. He slept more heavily than a Snorlax and ate like one too. But, he had to keep up his strength from all the practice and walking. Steele understood that.

Her diligence seemed to have payed off a little here. Normally she would have walked off immediately, her pride demanding she find a place that would deal with her like a person. That Captain clearly didn't have time for that. However, Steele knew there wasn't much else in the ways of getting to Arcadia without doing something insane like trying to swim the distance there. She could probably do it... probably. But it was best to not have to do so. Besides not knowing what the waters were like on the way there, there was plenty of other dangers in doing that. Hopefully she wouldn't have to resort to that.

Her cane clicked on the deck as she made her way towards the conference room that was below deck. She didn't have anything but silence for the others there. She didn't say a word, or make any acknowledgement towards the others or the man in the shades. Words were pointless right now. In the conference room she made the clear choice to sit as far away from any others as possible. It wasn't that she was afraid of, or hated people, she was just a drifter by nature. She didn't stay places long nor did she care much for the ways of people. She just figured she wouldn't get attached. It was better that way. You didn't hurt the feelings of anyone when you up and left if nobody knew who you were.

[Aurorix]

Lloyd couldn't help but give a silent chuckle as the man's groin was met with the woman's foot, and it seemed he might be able to get somewhat closer to Arcadia if all went well with that woman. Seeing as just standing around doing nothing in this cold would get him no where it'd be best just to go with her. Plus a hot cup of coffee sounded good right about now, and it had been a while since he last had a taste of some. With that he man his way onto the boat and into the conference room.Though he had a sneaking suspicion they might just leave the dock with everyone still on the boat, but they probably wouldn't.

[Chim]

“Finally, I thought you'd never ask!” Joey said as he hurried onto the ship and made his way to the conference room. “Now where is that hot chocolate?” he muttered as his eye fell on the woman with the cane who was sitting far away from everyone else. The young man's interest was immediately peeked. A sole woman, stranded on an adventure of her own, surely could use a knight in shining armor right?

“This one looks like an Ice Queen... but I do like a challenge!” the young man said to himself as he made his way over. “Hey there, mind if I sit next to you?” He asked as he approached. He gave her the friendliest smile he could muster in an attempt to defrost her a little bit.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Who is this idiot?" Steele thought to herself as a rather starry-eyed fool approached her. It wasn't often that people voluntarily came up to her. She didn't really know... or care why that was. She preferred it that way, she didn't need the company and she certainly didn't need companionship. She shifted in her chair pushing her tophat back to get a better look at the man-child in front of her. Her eyebrow raised she looked him over in a split second, after all... it was all a warrior needed to size up an opponent. She was still sort of shocked at the event, but she pushed that from her mind.

((going off your own Appearance thing from your app Chim. Let me know if anything seems... out of place.))

"5 foot, 6 inches about... average height. Green Eyes... Blonde hair. Bit scrawny looking... probably around 150 pounds give or take. I'm not entirely sure weight is nearly impossible to guess entirely accurately after all. Overly obnoxious smile on his face... probably an optimist. I hate Optimists....charm of some sort is hanging around his neck... can't really see what it is. Superstitious? Or is there more meaning behind it?" Steele's mind raced in the span of a few seconds. It was the quick first impression she got, and all she had to go on at the moment. She could tell she probably wouldn't like this person though. He seemed like he was trying to hard to be bright and cheery. It was frankly annoying. She knew him 5 seconds and was already felt the annoyance rising. But... she didn't feel like making some sort of scene. Otherwise she might have had Isamu hit him right in his smiling gob. Sadly, not only did she not want to make a ruckus, Isamu was definitely still sleeping. She sighed loudly, before finally answering the man-boy. Clearly she wasn't too fond of the idea as was evident in her tone. "If you must." she leaned back in her chair. "This is going to be a long day isn't it?" she thought to herself.

[Darvan Korematsu]

To Felix's unluck, after he'd settled down in the cabin, he'd kicked back and cracked open his halfway frozen bottle of water. The cold clear liquid rushed down his throat and quenched his unattended thirst. Soon after, two of the people from the dock showed up; the only other weird girl in the top hat who'd arrived after he did was sitting down and, next to her, the loud-mouthed hayseed guy whom Felix started suspecting was some sort of stalker or womanizer, or at least a creeper in some dimension, judging from his actions on the dock. He'd tried smooth-talking his way with the girl with her cold expression rejecting him quite obviously. Felix respected the guy with that sort of oblivious and persistent attitude, but that girl so badly looked like she wanted to drop him right there before he said another word.

The girl herself looked like she'd seen better days, definitely not the most gourgeous Felix encountered in his travels, but she did have that charm that athletic women seemed to possess. Felix remained impartial at her looks, at least for now. Felix would have enjoyed watching the girl drop-kicking the dude who looked like he was hitting on her, but Felix could tell from that look in her eyes.

"Hey buddy, I don't think she wants to be bothered right now." Felix said. "I may have at least a hundred pounds more on her, and Arceus knows muscle mass," he rolled up his parka and shirt sleeve to flex, showing a good amount of veiny muscle underneath his fatty arm. "But I still think she'd kick my ass, let alone your scrawny one." He rolled his sleeve back down, patting his belly. "I'm just telling you for your own good," he finished and resumed chugging water from his bottle.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Listen Kid, I don't need your help. I can handle myself quite fine." Steele snapped at the second kid to speak. A ship full of idiots... lovely. People just can't mind their own damn business anymore these days. The first idiot now and this this moron. Urge...to kill... rising. She took a deep breathe. And focused her thoughts... best not to bloody this ship right now. She made sure to at least have a gander if there was a mop lying about in case she did have to clean up some... unfortunate spills... tooooooooootally not of the blood variety. "The kid could spill his water after all... it'd be right after I knock his teeth in but still, it cooould happen." she thought to herself in regards to this.

"I can speak for myself and I certainly don't need somebody to think they can speak for me. So zip it and mind your own business." she added quickly. She was hardly in the mood to deal with either of these jokers. After all she just had a long arduous day on her way here... then got waylayed by that asshole of a Captain and then got bothered by these two idiots. Needless to say... her nerves were more than a bit shot.

[Felicity]

Nikki walked in to hear the angry little exchange between those present. Nikki decided to leave them to it, even if the chauvinist who thought Miss Cane needed protection irked her. Sometimes men like him pissed her off more than the persistent guys who bothered her. It was as simple as one man seeing her as desirable and one seeing her as something to protect. Of course there were thousands of other men out there but Nikki cut her male musings short as she sat down away from the other passengers.

[Darvan Korematsu]

Felix sat there fuming, trying to mind his own business, but he didn't take kindly to people who flat out disrespected him while he tried helping. His eyes quickly darted to the loose wrench in his backpack, but just as quickly averted back to the girl. He ignored the violent succubus tapping at his concious. He generally disliked violence to begin with, but what an uppity bitch.

He sighed. "Arceus Christ." He folded his arms in disappointment and sank deeper into the chair he sat in. He looked directly at her. "I can tell. You're thinking I'm acting pretty stupid right now. Look I'm not protecting YOU at all. You look like you could probably protect yourself from a raging Garchomp if you had to. I'm protecting buttwad who's sitting next to you, from you and whatever fifty ways you look like you could break a bone." He chuckled. "You certainly seem like you're breaking his bone."

Felix let out another huge sigh and turned away from those two, to see another girl standing, who looked equally annoyed as the one sitting down. The first one to the dock as a matter of fact. Nikki was her name, at least Felix thought. "Sorry you had to witness that...Nikki was it?" He patted an open chair next to him. "Take a seat if you want ma'am. I think it's rude if I know your name but you don't mine. It's Felix, for future reference"

Edited July 30, 2015 by Darvan Korematsu

[Chevaleresse]

"May I suggest a change in subject?" Yuuki volunteered, in an effort to diffuse the tension without stepping on anyone's feelings. "For example, we all seem to be here for the same purpose, but what lead to this coincidence? After all, Arcadia is supposedly the harshest place on the planet, but here we are." He wondered how willing everyone here would be to share their stories. Most didn't seem to be the overly trusting type.

[Felicity]

Nikki stared straight into Felixes eyes as she pointedly sat down across from him. Then the frail little buttercup spoke up and Nikki decided it'd be easier to explain herself now, however briefly.

"I want to get better and achieve more. What better way to do that than train in the harshest place on the planet? Maybe pick up a few new team members along the way, expand the team roster."

[Darvan Korematsu]

He sighed again and waved his hand dismissively at girl decked out in the suit. "That's nice having a goal in mind Nikki. I hope you'll accomplish something weighty over at this land of Arcadia."

He crossed his legs in the chair and sighed again - a longer breathy one this time - looking at the new guy in the suit who talked him down earlier on the dock. "Quite frankly anywhere other than this anus of a city is better than sticking around, and at this time of year nonetheless. I been region-hopping for the past 3 years. I saw a lot of each of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos. I particularly enjoyed Kalos, especially Lumiose City. A lot of history there. I'm currently taking my little buddy Pory," he revealed the Pokeball attached to his belt, "for a test drive if you know what I'm saying. I don't know what's so special about this Arcadia place, but to hell with it, I'd enjoy it."

He cracked open another bottle of water and proceeded to chow down on a cold hamburger he pulled out of his backpack.

[Aurorix]

Lloyd just stood back and watched everyone bickering in the room. He leaned against the wall on the other side of the room, the less he could be involved the better. Naturally he ignored the request to provide his reason for coming here, seeing as joining the conversation at this point would likely bring him into this fighting and make it worse. He did feel a little sorry for the girl in the business suit though. She obviously wanted nothing to do with the situation. If he were in her position he'd probably be just as annoyed, though probably be less verbal about it and just ignoring them entirely. The thing he was more concerned about is when they'd be handing the out the hot drinks.

[Felicity]

Nikki ruffled at Felixes words. "Anus of a city? Vermillion is one of the greatest ports in the world, the chief place for exporting and importing goods from various regions throughout the world. Commerce runs through the cities blood and patriotism is in it's bones, just look at it's gym leader. I'd say it has a hell of a lot more going for it than Lumiose, no matter how much history it has." Nikki was rarely one to get patriotic but she was hardly going to let such a crude comment about a city in her home region slide.