A Pirate's Life [Job/Liber]

Spoiler:

It had been a few days since Ayero had landed in Reim, quickly setting to work seeking out provisions and gathering her bearings. It was exciting to be back in her homeland once more, a wave of familiarity and nostalgia settling over her the moment she’d stepped off the boat. But as she departed from her traveling companions and set out for her home, her thoughts sobered and she became anxious over Kou’s conquest of the great empire.

At the moment her mind turned to earning as much money as she could, wanting to have a nice financial cushion for the long journey ahead. She didn’t know how much Reim had changed or if she’d be able to find stable work in the capital, hence why she was hovering around the port town’s job board. She wasn’t really interested in spending her time on tasks with a lower payout, instead searching for something that paid better and put her experience in battle to the test.

Pirates…? She tugged one of the flyers from the board, eager eyes scanning over the job description. She’d been lucky enough not to encounter pirates on her sea travels, but she thought them quite exciting. In her mind she pictured dashing, swashbuckling rogues living a free life at sea. A grin curls at her lips as she clenches the flyer in her hands before folding it nearly and slipping it into the armor of her breast plate. She hastily made her way toward the docks, intent on finding the captain who had requested the job. Hopefully her romantic image of pirates wouldn’t be shattered.

[269/1500]

Running through the streets of a port city, a young Fanalis man with an exposed nipple made his way through a crowded dock laughing at the top of his lungs. Liber Aurelius had earned the spite of a group of sailors and was currently fleeing from them. His feet carried him swiftly, but not at top speed so as not to completely escape. The fun was in the chase itself and he was buying time for someone else. Not too long ago he had come to this town with the intentions of finding work, but found these thuggish scoundrels bullying a young woman instead. It seemed like they wanted her to come "play around" with them, but they lass wanted nothing of it. Their persistence was admirable but their forceful manner was not. Coming upon the scene Liber knew it was currently none of his business, so he made it his own with deft hands and quick thinking. One of the sailors was giving a fanalis strength  assisted wedgie before being hung upon a protruding nail on the wall like some sort of stocking. When one of his mates broke a bottle and retaliated with a lunghe, Liber stepped aside and stuck out a single foot to trip him.

The chase ensued shortly after and now Liber had simply been dragging out the ordeal so the girl had time to get home safely lest these wolves in men's clothing go back to take their frustrations out on her. Once it seemed as though he'd run these thugs around the port town for long enough, it was time for Liber to lose the tails. He could have easily beaten the men up or even taken their lives, however he was already causing enough of a scene and there was no point in escalating things to a point where the guards would need to get involved. Turning down an alley way, Liber had about three seconds before the first of the sailors would turn the corner and spot him. But in that time, Liber moved from his jog to a sprint and easily cleared the length of the alleyway. As he did, the fanalis jumped into the air pulling a cloak off of a laundry line and wrapped it around his body tucking his hair back into the hood. As he turned the corner at the other end of the alley Liber spotted a horse and swiftly cut half of its tail hairs off and tucked them into the hood giving him black fake hair. The disguise was far from perfect, but as he leaned against the wall and looked down it would do the job well enough. The sailors emerged from the alley looking from side to side finding the red haired man had seemingly vanished.

The sailors didn't give up of course, and ran onwards in hopes to pick up Liber's trail. After waiting for a short while, Liber pushed off the wall with a smirk and turned down the street while looking behind himself at the backs of the sailors as they turned down another street. Not looking where he was going had its risks and they manifested themselves most splendidly as Liber bumped into a woman. Toppling over on top of her, Liber reached out to catch something for his balance and found his hand grasping something soft and squishy half encased in something hard. "This sensation..." Liber said aloud to himself as he tried to tell what he was holding onto by touch. Squeeze, squeeze. The man picked himself up to find that he was looking down at a beautiful red haired woman and his hand was in a most inappropriate place. The squish was from an ample endowment of breast and the hardness was from a breastplate that protected the nearly overflowing teet. Horror at his own blunder spilled across Liber's face and he prepared himself for rather unpleasant consequences. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

~636/1500 Word Count~
110/120 Stamina

Abilities Used:

Attempting a shortcut of sorts, the red headed woman weaved in and out of streets and alleyways for a short while before she’d realized that she didn’t really know the town’s layout as well as she had thought. Sighing somewhat in frustration, the woman pauses to peer around at her surroundings, rubbing at the back of her neck as she searches for any familiar landmarks. She was vaguely aware of the patter of running feet heading in her direction, but before she had the sense to turn and see what was heading in her direction the halfling woman had found herself knocked flat onto the ground.

Laying there in a momentary daze, it took Ayero a few seconds to comprehend the situation. Laying atop her was a cloaked figure with strange dark hair that seemed to be…shedding? Her gaze traveled down to her chest where a handful of dark haired strands had fallen, right on top of…hands? Her eyes go back to the person’s face, seemingly that of a woman, but her hands…were rather large. And then she felt motion, looking down once more to see the “woman’s” hands squeezing at her bust while muttering someone about “sensations”. A man’s voice. Her eye twitched.

Past the initial few seconds of shock, Ayero’s teeth clenched along with her fists, eyes reflecting a hellstorm of anger, pupils dilating in a sea of fire. In an instant her hand is at his throat, clamping down as she uses the heel of her palm to press into it feeling for his Adam’s apple. Definitely a man. Tightening her grip suddenly, she shifts her hips to allow her leg freedom of movement from under him only to draw it back, bending at the knee. A swift knee of punishment is delivered to the mystery man’s stomach. Should he buckle under her assault, Ayero would take advantage of his surprise and prop herself up on her free elbow before hooking her leg onto his and rolling the both of them over so that she had pressed the man onto the ground.

Now ontop of him, Ayero’s hand remained at his throat while the other unsheathed the talwar at her waist. She pressed the blade against the man’s groin, not hard enough to hurt him but enough to signal that she wouldn’t hesitate to make him into a eunuch should the need arise. ”Looks like you chose the wrong woman to grope, pervert. How many other women have you assaulted on these streets? Perhaps I should make it so that you’ll have trouble simply walking these streets. The blade at his loins would shift slightly for emphasis.

[709/1500]

Finding himself in a terrible situation, it was all Liber could do to try and explain himself, "Ah! Ah! Ah! Hold on a second, this is a misunderstanding..." Liber pulled his hand away from the blessed bosom and snatched it with his other hand as he attempted to express that it wasn't an intentional groping. But it was far too late to defend himself after three squeezes to the miraculous melons. The woman was understandably upset, perhaps even more so now that Liber's disguise was falling apart as horse hair's floated from the cloak hood down onto Ayero's chest. He could see the fire of anger light up in her eyes and knew instantly that this was not going to end well. "...Hey, wait a sec-"

His words were interrupted by a hand moving to his throat and vice grip of pressure sealed any speech rendering it to a muffled choking sound. The next punishment for Liber's unintentional crime would be a knee to his stomach but thankfully the Fanalis man had his Swordsman's Cloth wrapped tightly around his abdomen. The thin metal blade would absorb most of the force of the blow and give Ayero the sensation that his abs were made of literal steel. But while the damage was taken by his unorthodox weapon Liber still felt the superhuman force reverberating into his gut and realized that this red head must be a fanalis.

The knee to the guy didn't surprise him so much as the lineage of his supposed molestation victim. Either way, she had the opening she needed to entangle her with Liber's and roll him onto the ground pinned beneath her. The man's eyes fell onto her other hand as she reached for her blade and moved it against his genitals threateningly adding words to back up what her movements were already saying. As if Liber's jollys hadn't had enough abuse over the years, here he was about to lose his manhood over a mistake. The situation was made all the more ironic considering that Liber had just SAVED a girl from being truly violated by the worst of scum. Now here he was suffering retribution to which they had been more deserving.

Liber tried to speak in response to the woman's words but her grip around his throat was too tight to get anything legible out. Liber realized that if he left himself in her hands and at her whim then he may very well not survive the day as a full man. Not wanting to let himself rest at this angered woman's mercy, Liber performed a Slipping Freedom techniques to break free of her grasp and slip out of her leg hold. The fanalis man pushed himself off the ground and away from Ayero at 15m/s and rolled onto his feet. Rubbing his sore throat, Liber held up a hand as the cloak fell away revealing his crimson red hair and exposed nipple. "I just bumped into you and accidentally touched you! I wasn't looking so I didn't see that I was grabbing...well, anyways, I apologize!" He quickly bowed his head down into the ground with such force that he made small cracks in the pavement.

100/120 Stamina

500+/500 Training Slipping Freedom:

Ayero soon found that the captive man had somehow wriggled his way from beneath her, despite being held down by the throat and the threat of her sword at his groin. ”Wha—“ Her teeth clench and her eyes reflect her irritation, annoyed at how inhumanly quick the mysterious groper had escaped from her hold. Growling, she scrambles quickly into a standing position with her blade still clenched in her right hand. Seeing as how the bastard had the nerve to escape his punishment, Ayero planned on making him suffer far worse for his transgression.

”If you think…” Her words trail off as the man’s cloak falls away, her dark brown eyes drawn towards the exposed nipple. Her gaze lingered for a few awkward moments before she realized what she was doing. Blinking to tear her focus away from the nip, she hardens her gaze and examines his face. Her eyes flicker in surprise upon seeing that the man had a head of scarlet hair. So he’s a Fanalis…? That explains why he was able to move so quickly…

Quirking a brow as Liber bows in apology, the Fanalis woman begins to question him. ”Was it also an accident that you were shedding?” She scoffs, cringing as she uses her free hand to brush some stray hair still clinging to her chest. ”Why on earth were you running so quickly? There are some dangerous people that wander these streets, you could have run into them.” It seems almost as if she’s scolding the man while not recognizing her own actions as aggressive.

[971/1500]

Lifting his head up from the ground, Liber's forehead began to drain a single trail of blood down his face from the impact of slamming it upon the ground. His magenta eyes would seem to glow with a strange brightness and took on a serious and earnest gaze up at the woman. "That was an improvised disguise..." he answered as Ayero brushed away the strands of horsehair. As she continued to speak Liber's starred up into her brown eyes unwaveringly and slowly stood to his feet when it was time for his response. "I was running away from the dangerous people of which you speak. I angered a few sailors who were treating someone poorly, they didn't take my interference lightly. Please believe me, why else would I be wearing horse hair? It smells foul."

With his apology and explanation complete, Liber made a deep bow introducing himself, "My name is Liber Aurelius, I'm here looking for work. Once again, I am deeply sorry for what I just did to you. It was not something I wanted to do..." A bit of genuine embarrassment and shame would bleed through the man's voice and body language as he looked off to the side and frowned slightly. But this was quickly replaced with a smile and a polite posture as Liber stood tall once more and extended his hand as he offered to make up for it. "I'd be willing to work off any debts you feel I may owe but..." If he had thought he didn't notice the way her eyes had fallen upon his exposed breast for longer than was appropriate, Ayero was about to have such delusions burnt away, "...Considering that you looked without touching and I touched without looking, I'd say that makes us almost even." It was meant more as a joke than anything else and Liber laughed softly following it hoping that it would lighten up the mood a bit, his eyes still locked upon Ayero's own.

~967/1500 Word Count~

”Hm…”  The Fanalis woman regards him with a hard stare before finally sheathing her sword and letting a bit of tension drop from her shoulders. But her “assailant” wasn’t quite off the hook just yet. ”Ayero Shiiba.” She offers her name in return, stepping closer to the other Fanalis. Crossing her arms over her chest, the woman looks him over this time taking in the man’s physique and trying to avoid catching sight of that devilish nipple. A scowl overtakes her features at his mention of them being “almost” even, clearly having noticed her lingering gaze on his exposed nipple. ”Hardly.” She scoffs, but chooses not to elaborate more on it, lest she anger herself.

”You are a Fanalis, are you not?” As she speaks, a hand retrieves the job flyer from within the confines of her breastplate. Unfolding the paper, she holds it up so that Liber can see it. ”You’re lucky you caught me in a good mood. I was just on my way down to the port to take this job. It might go a lot smoother with two Fanalis instead of one.” She frowns, a thought suddenly occurring to her. ”You…can fight, right?” She noticed upon her closer inspection of the man that he wasn’t carrying any visible weapons and lacked the usual hulking frame of a male Fanalis.

[1194/1500]

Liber could tell that despite his light hearted joke, he'd not quite gotten out of the woods yet. While the woman named Ayero had introduced herself she still had a general air of tension about her, albeit much less than before. Thankfully her blade was returned to its scabbard and no more threats were coming his way. Her scoff at his joke was a fair enough reaction though and Liber didn't let it bother him. He nodded in response to her question about his race and listened further to hear that she wanted him to help her with a job. Looking at the paper Ayero produced, Liber rubbed his chin and took note that the job was to take on a few pirates and rid the port town of their meddling. It sounded simple enough and he honestly could say the he preferred the straightforward good of such work over his usual work in the shadows.

"Sure, I don't mind helping out." He said at last only for Ayero to express concern as to whether or not Liber could actually fight. The red headed fanalis man's smile widened a bit and he spread open palms, "I could hardly call myself a fanalis if I couldn't. Besides, if I can't handle myself then you can just let the pirates cut me down. Either way I'll be paying my dues, right?" With that, Liber placed his hands on his hips and looked Ayero up and down briefly noticing a few scars here and there. "You're clearly a fighter yourself but uh...you do know the port is that way right?" Liber pointed past her in the direction she had been coming from before their mutual crash.

~1251/1500~

”I see.” She says plainly before refolding the piece of paper and fitting it back into her armor to once again be lost in a sea of fatty tissue. ”I suppose I could use a distraction.” She mutters loud enough for him to hear before running a hand through her hair with a thoughtful look on her face. As Liber hints that she’d been going in the wrong direction, Ayero keeps a straight face. ”Of course I did.” She waves a hand at the notion of her being lost, but offers no explanation as to why she’d been wandering in the opposite direction. ”Let’s get to it then, shall we?” She’s quick to change the subject before setting out in what she now knew to be the direction of the port.

Sure enough they happened upon the port after a short while of walking. After locating the Shark’s Fin and working out a deal with the captain, the pair of Fanalis settled aboard the ship. ”Are you from Reim?” Leaning against the side of the ship, Ayero fixes her companion with a curious gaze. A mate had informed the pair that the boat would be leaving shortly.

[1391/1500]

Liber wasn't sure if he'd interrupted business Ayero had elsewhere or if she was simply downplaying the fact that she was lost, but decided it was best not to pursue the issue. This woman was already upset enough with him as it were. Instead, the fanalis man followed Ayero and sped up a bit so he was walking side by side with her in a manner that would let him lead them both to the docks should she have indeed been unsure of where to go. Upon arriving there Liber let Ayero handle negotiating with the captain. He didn't know her or how well she could bargain but Liber wasn't doing this for the money, he was doing it to make up for what he'd done to her. Whatever reward he could hope to get for his participation in this pirate hunting job would be more than fair compensation for his efforts in his eyes. Once that was done they were all set to get going and the ship would depart from port shortly.

As they waited, Ayero asked Liber a question that seemed to be small talk. It was loosely related to his past which was a bit of a touchy subject for the man. He didn't want to remember those days when his life belonged to someone else. "Y-Yes...Yes I grew up in Reim. Although I have been away for many years until recently. After hearing about the incident with Zou I returned hoping that I could do something for my home country. Alas, I feel pretty powerless to do anything. I don't even know what really happened here yet. It hardly seems like an invasion took place...Whenever I hear that Zou has taken over it just seems so unreal, so hard to believe." A bit of his frustration at how he hadn't made any progress in his investigation showed as Liber spoke but less in a manner that made him seem upset and more like he was disappointed. But those emotions softened quickly as he looked to Ayero and returned her own question back at her, "How about you?"

~1500+/1500~

Ayero closes her eyes as Liber speaks, listening to his answer patiently. The slight stutter at the beginning did not go unnoticed by the woman and she had enough tact to know better than to press the other fanalis for details. She respected one’s right to divulge the more intimate details of their past should they so choose; though her own story wasn’t too painful compared to others, she still disliked being probed about it.

”Then I suppose we are in the same boat.” Not even noticing her own double entendre, she turns her gaze to the open sea before bringing her eyes back to Liber and folding her arms over her chest. ”I’m originally from Reim as well. I’ve been traveling for the past ten years or so. I’ve returned to visit my family and to ensure that they’re…” She trails off, suddenly not wanting to imagine the fate of her family at the hands of Kou soldiers. ”It certainly doesn’t look like an invasion took place, does it?” She muses, unfolding her arms from her chest to brace both of her hands on the ship’s railing as she faces the sea once more.

Several hours after the ship had left port, Ayero was curled  against the side of the ship, sitting on the deck with her knees raised to her chest. Her head rested on her knees, eyes closed as she tried to ignore the gentle rocking of the boat that seemed to want to lull her to sleep. A few hours had passed without so much as a single pirate attack. A sudden shout from the mate at the lookout jars her from her semi-slumber to her feet. Squinting in the distance, she could make out the form of an approaching ship. More shouts erupted around her and the men scrambled, preparing themselves for an assault. ”Remember. If you’re dead weight, I’m letting the pirates have you.” A single glance to Liber is thrown over her shoulder, echoing his earlier words before she turns her attention back toward the enemy.

[1500+/1500]

Leaning against the ships railing and turning his face into a comfortable sea breeze, Liber listened to Ayero speak with somber silence. It didn't take a master of the mind to tell that something was troubling her. He too didn't make any attempts to pry into her past or present, instead accepting what she had been comfortable sharing. "Well, that's part of my goal right now...I want to learn what really happened to my homeland..." Liber said to pull the subject away from the uncomfortable issues if only a little. But the talk subsided to silence for the remainder of the trip until at last they neared their targets and Ayero brought up a comment that seemed to challenge Liber's confidence.

The fanalis man would push himself off the railing and turn his face away from the sea with a grin, "I'll keep that in mind." He said confidently as he cracked his knuckles, "Just try not to regret those words too much after you've seen me fight."

An affirming grunt is her only response to his statement. The fanalis woman was still struggling on what she wanted to accomplish while she was here aside from checking in on her family. Despite the danger she was putting herself in with the intent to hunt pirates, Ayero was actually rather comfortable for the first time in a few days. Even if only for a couple of hours, she’ll be directing her focus into fighting for a living. The familiarity of the situation was both relaxing and energizing, causing the woman to lapse into silence in favor of concentrating on her breathing and keeping a lookout rather than continuing the conversation.

After the pirates have been sighted and Ayero throws a partially serious, partially taunting comment Liber’s way, the fanalis woman can’t help but smirk at his response. Her eyes that remained glued to the rapidly approaching enemy ship held a spark of excitement signifying that the woman was both ready for battle and jazzed about meeting some real life pirates. Poising herself on top of the ship’s railing, Ayero inhaled the thick sea air deeply as the breeze played with the red waves of her hair.  ”Right. I’m not fishing for your corpse in the ocean!” With a laugh she springs from her perch, leaping into the air and over the side of the other ship as soon as it had become close enough to allow her to. Landing on the deck with a thud and a few cracked floorboards, the halfling straightens and flourishes her weapon.

”Alright you—huh..?!” Prepared to take down some pirates, Ayero’s confident look fades into a disgusted sneer. ”Wha…you’re nothing but a bunch of ugly, smelly men!” She exclaims in surprise, dropping her sword her side as he shoulders slump slightly in disappointment. Where were the handsome, swashbuckling rogues? These men looked like they hadn’t had a good bath in weeks.

As the pirate crew encroached upon the dejected Ayero she'd find a pressure upon her shoulder as Liber jumped from the railing of their ship to the pirate vessel. He had used his hand to vault off of the depressed fanalis woman and grinned mischievously as he shouted a playful taunt. "If you stand around like that, it'll be you who ends up in the ocean! Hahaha!" Liber's vibrant smile glanced back at Ayero as his crimson hair waved in the wind. Turning to face the fighters of the pirate crew, Liber rushed forwards causing his many braids to dance behind him. The handsome swashbuckling rogue had been beside her the entire time, but he had not the chance to shine until now. Currently Liber was in his element when he could feel most alive as his fanalis blood began to course adrenaline through his body at the excitement of a good fight.

Rushing headlong into a wall of blades and confident criminals, Liber seemed to be running to his death. There were no weapons visible in his hands and yet there was an excited grin plastered across his face. Liber entered the range of the first pirate and came to a sudden halt stepping back a single time planting his foot firmly against the deck. The pirate men seemed to think this was a cowardly act of second thoughts and moved to capitalize on the opening but if they had been paying attention to Liber's expression they'd see that their move to attack only served to excite the man further.

As a Sword Swipe aimed for Liber's chest began, he performed a Rising Leap as his leg muscles flexed and burst into shape showing far more toning and definition than before. With a single powerful kick, Liber would launch himself into the air over the attacking pirate just in time to avoid three different attacks from the various men. Liber flipped in mid air and turned as he reached behind his back and drew the Swordsman's Cloth causing the supposed "bandages" around his waist to unravel. As the assassin landed he flourished his hand side to side a few times sending the flexible blade whipping into the pirates dealing C-tier damage to whomever its edge met. The unorthodox movements of the blade were impossible to block consistently for the unskilled pirate lackeys and they fell one after the other in surrender as the strange weapon dealt them various wounds of decent measure.

"I told you I'd do my fair share of work, but it looks like-" Liber began to speak as the bodies of the pirates fell to the ground. But his words were interrupted by the shouting of another Pirate Lackey who was swinging down from the mast on a rope. Without turning his head Liber's maroon eyes glanced to the side and his free left hand swept through the air like lightning sending a single senbon needle flying through the air. It would pierce the Lackey's wrist where he was holding the rope causing him to loose his grip due to the painful penetration. Liber stepped back just in time to avoid the pirate's tumbling crash onto the deck and his left hand lashed out once more sending a second needle into the pirate's ass. The sea dog yelped and looked back at Liber in fear before screaming out as he ran for the railing to jump overboard and try his chances at the ocean's mercy.

Sighing before turning back to Ayero with a confident smirk Liber began to finish his comment. "As I was saying, it looks like you're gonna owe me your half of the pay." He said jokingly. But Liber spoke too soon. The Pirate captain emerged from below deck just behind Liber and looked towards him with a gleaming red magic tool eye. A Rustic Shot of furious flames was unleashed and blasted Liber in the back sending him sprawling forwards through the air only to crash into the ship's railing to Ayero's left. It would be clear from the way the fanalis was slowly trying to get up that he was alive, but horrible burns covered his back and he was bleeding from his head here he'd impacted against the wooden ship's hull. He was not likely to be of much more help against the captain who was now stepping from the ladder-well up onto the deck, one eye still smoking from the blast it had fired.

90/120 Stamina

Ability Trained 250+/250 Word Count:

Caught off guard by Liber’s words, Ayero can only blink and stare dumbly as the man rushes head-on into the sea of pirates. Even a fanalis should have approached with more caution and she opens her mouth to bark a warning, wary of Liber’s overconfidence. But she holds her tongue after witnessing the fanalis man send a pirate sailing through the air with a single kick, landing on the deck some feet away with a painful crunch. Such a feat was not abnormal for a fanalis, however a brow of curiosity was raised when Liber began to unwind the bandages from his side. ”This is no time for—“ The halfling finds her voice only for Liber’s actions to once again halt her words as he felled a handful of pirate peons with what appeared to be simple cloth. She briefly remembers sending her knee into his stomach and the hard resistance she had felt which was so unlike human flesh. She hadn’t paid much mind to it at the time, but it became apparent that these bandages were not simple fabric, perhaps a magic tool of some sort.

A few simple slashes with her sword and a handful of quick blows are all she needs to fell the few enemies that came her way, the majority of their efforts focused on the attacking fanalis man. She turns back to see how her companion is fairing in time to witness him sending a needle into the backside of another man. Strange cloth? Needles? These were rather unorthodox weapons, especially in the hand of a fanalis who generally relied on their immense physical strength in battle. After it appeared that all of the pirates had been taken down, Ayero notices movement out of the corner of her eye. ”Behind y—“ She tries to shout a warning to the young man but it was in vain. Lowering her arms she had raised to cover her face from the heat of the Rustic Shot, Ayero nearly gawks at the damage the flames had done to the other fanalis. A bit of anger welled up within her at the sight of one of her brethren injured. Despite the need to go and tend to the injured man, Ayero turns her attention toward the captain. ”And you must be their leader. You’re uglier than the others!”

Charging toward the captain with her blade outstretched, the fanalis woman approaches her opponent and raises her sword in preparation for a downward strike. But One-Eye was prepared, blocking her weapon with a horizontal blade of his own. Pulling back swiftly, Ayero brought her blade toward the man once again in a parallel strike. This too was blocked by One Eye’s quick movements, and the pair entered a short duel. Maybe if I corner him… Eyeing the edge of the deck behind the captain, Ayero focuses on using powerful strikes in an attempt to push the man back. She keeps sure that she’s constantly moving, not lingering in one position in case he tried to use his magic tool again. After seeing what it had done to Liber, Ayero didn’t want to risk taking a bout of flames.

As their clash reaches the mast, One-Eye suddenly grins and reaches out behind him and grasps the netting of the mast. ”Nice try lass, but you won’t be backing me into any corners today!” winding his hands into the rigging, the pirate captain scurried a few feet up the mast quickly with use of his Acrobatic Sea Legs. Ayero growled in irritation, annoyed that the man had seen through her plan easily and took hold of the rigging as well, only able to hoist herself up about a foot before One-Eye’s Trusty Balde swiped down at her. Despite her fanalis blood, Ayero was unaccustomed to fighting on a sea vessel and wasn’t able to maneuver about it as quickly as One-Eye. Taking advantage of his slower opponent, the captain wore a crooked grin as his first strike cut into the woman’s right breast, his blade blocked from hitting the rest of the appendage by the hard metal she wore. With a yelp of pain Ayero’s hand nearly unclenches from the rigging as blood seeps from her open wound and wells in the cleft of her breastplate. Now alert to the danger, she’s able to bring up her own blade in a Parry effectively blocking the scoundrel’s blade and pushing it to the side. This movement afforded her the bit of time she needed to re-establish her grip on the netting. Seeing that he hadn’t been able to shake the woman, One-Eye continues to scramble up the mast. ”Oh no you don’t!” The fanalis woman growls from under her breath, clambering her way after him. Hoisting herself upwards, Ayero manages to grasp the pirate’s ankle in her iron grip. Smirking to herself as she feels the limb squirm in her hold, she jerks her arm down, not only loosening her opponent from his grip on the rigging, but throwing him down towards the deck with force. His body hit the deck with a crashing thud splintering and cracking the wood beneath him.

Letting go of her own gasp on the mast, Ayero lands swiftly onto the deck in a lowered crouching position just as the captain was standing. With a practiced hand, the woman keeps her lowered position and rushes forward toward the slightly disoriented man with her blade held out to the side to perform Devil’s Graze. She feels her body jerk in pain at the sudden intrusion of her talwar digging into his right thigh, her assault drawing a roar of pain from the man as she rapidly spirals around his body, dragging the blade as she goes. As she reaches his shoulder, Ayero pushes back off of the man in order to send herself back a distance of a few feet while withdrawing her weapon. Panting, she sheathes her blade as she watches the man crumple in pain, confident that she’d done enough damage to take him down.

Straightening, she peers around the ship in order to scout out any more lingering pirates. Seeing nothing that posed an immediate threat, the red headed woman makes her way toward her injured companion. The sound of scuffling of feet against wood tickle her ears and causes her to pause, glancing behind her at what she thought was the defeated captain. The man had been severely injured from the woman’s blade, but he was still conscious and by the look on his face, he was very angry. She frowns, wondering why One-Eye had even bothered to get up. He couldn’t attack her as his ligaments were likely severed and his body too weak from the pain and blood loss. Hesitating for a moment with a critical gaze cast toward the pirate, something clicks and Ayero’s eyes widen. She immediately drops to the deck just as another Rustic Shot is fired her way, barely dodging the fiery shot as she covers her head with her hands. The heat passes over her body and explodes against the side of the deck behind her, flames teasing the wood.

Standing a bit shakily seeing as how she’d almost had the same fate as Liber, Ayero checks herself for burns, a bit incredulous that she’d escaped the attack unscathed, saved for the ache of her elbows as she tried to brace her fall against the hard wooden deck. She approached One-Eye with a stern look, prepared to finish the job so that she’d avoid being roasted again, but a smell akin to burning rubber makes her pause in her steps. Narrowing her eyes at the realization that the smell was coming from something nearby, she reaches behind her and yanks her hand away at the touch of something hot. ”You…you lit my hair on fire!” She yelps, furiously trying to swat out the flames that assaulted her mane of crimson hair. Luckily the flames were rather small and were quickly smothered, but they had eaten a good two inches of her hair and left a black singe of ash. Furious, she stomps up to the pirate captain and sends an armored foot into his face, turning on her heel before she even hears his body hit the side of the deck. His slow moans of pain are ignored as Ayero turns her focus to Liber, approaching the injured man. ”That’s a bit of a nasty wound…c’mon, let’s get off of this ship. Can you stand? I need a drink.”

[Stamina: 100/160]

Spoiler:

The burns were severe and had Liber's face overtaken by an agonized expression of pain. But the assassin resisted his bodily urge to yell out from the torment and grit his teeth down hard managing to muffle it into a growling groan. His fingers put cracks in the deck from how hard he was grasping for the wooden deck with the lone arm that was trying to life his body up from the deck. Looking up from his torturous pain Liber struggled to his feet shakily. Liber was going to have to look for a life magician after this little bout of recklessness. Grunting, Liber tried to take a step forward to help Ayero as he watched her engage the captain but fell to one knee and barely caught himself from face planting into the deck for a dirt nap. Resigning himself to an indisposed state, Liber gave up on trying to move and simply watched as his hand flexed and a few more needles appeared in hand ready to be thrown if needed.

Watching for an opening Liber thought to attack the captain when there was a good chance but none showed themselves. At least none he though he could really take advantage of considering his injuries. Liber cursed himself under his breath for having made such a mistake as to have been caught off guard from behind. Helpless, he could only watch the duel take place in silence. When the woman impaled the captain's limb and turned away Liber shouted with worry as he could see the flames of retaliation had not yet died out from the Captain's one natural eye. Rather brilliant flames were gathering in his magic one. But even when faced with the same surprise attack that had bested Liber, Ayero managed to dodge and reply with swift brutality.

As the woman came to Liber's side he brought a hand to his chest, fingers outlining his exposed nipple as he tried to check his pulse. The man's heart was still pumping from the battle and it was less painful than reaching for his wrist. Liber could tell from the irregular beating and his dizziness that he would soon be falling unconscious. Smiling, Liber laughed at himself and his sorry state despite his pain and his eyes began to fall shut slowly, "I take back what I said. You're a pretty capable woman, Ayero. You can have...the full rewa-" The fanalis males words could not be finished as he passed out and fell lifelessly face first into Ayero's breasts unintentionally violating her personal space for the second time this day.

-Exit-

Eyeing Liber a bit nervously, Ayero examined his wounds up close. She shakes her head at his words, growing a bit more worried as the man’s speech begins to slow. ”I suppose I’ll drag you to a doc—“ Her words are cut off as he passes out, face planting into her chest. Rolling her eyes, the fanalis woman grumbles something before hoisting the unconscious body into her arms. ”Oi!” She waves over to the nearby ship that had brought them out here, signaling for the boat to pick them up. She was too afraid to try and make the jump while saddled with Liber’s body.

Safely on the trading vessel, Ayero props Liber’s body against the side of the ship, snapping at a mate to fetch her some salt water and a cloth. ”Shouldn’t you leave this to a healer, ma’am?” He asks tentatively only for Ayero to bark at him again. ”His wound still needed to be cleaned out and the salt water will help. Besides, I know someone. Just take us back to shore.”

[Exit]