Re: Chapter 1 - The Captain
Captain Knight sighed, putting his hands on his hips. He was not as frivilously dressed as he usually was when he appeared among the crew; no colorful jacket or scarves with lacy trimmings, just a button-up white shirt, with the cuffs unbuttoned and rolled up loosly to his elbows. He wore a relativly plain pair of dress pants, black pin-striped, and brown leather loafers.
Raff wore his usual long, dark coat, with a slick, shiny covering to keep off the rain. He half-strangled Mordecai with a touch of satisfaction; he didn't like some of the looks the boy shot him. But Mordecai could still breathe.
The Captain regarded the brother and sister for a few moments, then sighed again. "Let's take this out on deck. I've been in my office too long; I need some fresh air." He walked past them, and Raff compelled them to follow, barely walking on their tip-toes.
Once they were out on deck, Raff loosened his grip, moving his hands to rest heavily on their shoulders as the Captain turned to face them, the horizon behind him taking on lighter tones then the rest of the sky, preparing for dawn. A sprinkling of bright stars still shone in the deeper blue, and the moon hovered close to the opposite horizon. The ship cruised at a moderate speed over baby-blue clouds, the dark landscape featurless below. The crewman on watch, J.J., watched them from the helm with great interest. He was up there to make sure no gust of wind blew them off course, keeping an eye on the compass and the instruments. But now he was watching the odd little gathering below him.
"Firstly, Jane," the Captain began, "I have absolutely no intention to harm you. Quite the opposite, in fact. If I understand correctly, which I'm sure I do, the night you joined our intrepid crew, you stole an item that was seemingly worthless, yes? Yet it's given you a great deal of trouble since then, I should think. You can't take it off." Gesturing to Jane's neck, he smiled kindly.