Nyxia flew in circles around the area, partly out of nervous boredom and partly because AJ was gone. The commentary and speculation intrigued her, but she really had no idea. She was here primarily because of her father. While mom was no Princess, she never did anything that bad.

In her eighteen years, Nyx had learned a few things. Well, a few things besides fire is pretty. One of the top things was big people are weird. But also way up there, almost at the top, was that things happened in their time and forcing them always led to worse things. Like trying to fly through a pipe that wasn't big enough for your wings because you thought it would be faster than flying around.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:20, Tue 28 Mar 2017.

While the rest of the group had split off into varying pairs and groups, vying for attention, dominance, and good seats, Gisela and AJ had made decent time in changing their clothing.  AJ was the first to emerge from their self-induced isolation.  Her clothes were similar to the ones she'd worn originally, but she now wore red in place of the white.  Given the prior water fights, it could be considered more practical.

The same could not be said about Gi's new outfit.  She'd made the opposite shift, from dark green to white, though with black hemming and trim along her upper arms. The sleeves were long, tight until the elbow then fluting past the wrist.  Ornate floral embroidery in the same dark hue adorned the shoulders and a smaller one centered on the sweetheart neckline.  While her prior dress had covered her cleavage in its entirety, this one seemed to accent it with added lift and further accentuated by the off-the-shoulder cut.  The rest of the dress was made of silk in a variety of opacity, layered with black hemming.  It hugged her curves nicely, accentuating a long, lean silhouette by unable to hide the slender hourglass.  It wasn't until she grabbed AJ's arm to stop her and turned that one could see that the back of the dress was even more ornate and overstated.  The layers were accentuated and the ties ebony on the white, trimmed on either side of the hooks for the ties.

The dress was far too expensive and the fabrics too much for most to get on the island, even those with money.  Yet, somehow Gi's mother had managed.  It looked amazing on Gisela, though, bringing out yet another aspect of the princess she claimed.  And she had the regal bearing to own it, softened by the friendly smile.  If she'd been given half the chance, she'd have fit perfectly in with all the perfect pink princesses on the mainland.

After a few words, however, Gisela let out a sigh at AJ and fell back in step with her friend.  Instead of allowing the bodyguard positioning to stand, though, she matched her shorter friend's stride.  She paused a few feet out, looking at the new pairings as if to figure out whom to approach.  She apparently settles for staying with AJ, and seeing where she goes.  For now.

OOC:  Couldn't find a frontal picture so here's the back: 
This message was last edited by the player at 21:52, Tue 28 Mar 2017.

In reply to Gisela O'Cuinn (msg # 52):

It was kind of like watching a race... AJ would speed up, then Gi would, then AJ would get the lead again. The athletic pirate was very quick and could probably have kept going; but once her friend in the fancy dress was just about to have to break into a jog she eased up finally and let them just walk together.

Since she was still technically leading the way AJ headed for Chance and Lola. Chance should be used to seeing Gi stuffed into her mothers idea of Royal Barbie outfits..plus Henrick was not over there...yet... AJ gives the creep a preemptive evil glare.

"So you two worked out the odds on everything yet," She asks apparently deciding to finally acknowledge Chance existed even if her question was mostly to the lovely Lola.

In reply to AJ Rourke (msg # 53):

Drizz meanwhile reappears, rather miraculously dry given the short time he was gone. He was fluffy now so maybe wherever it was had included a local cat person with a towel. He slithers around Mims legs and purrs/meows for the crazy girls attention...at which point he drops a few pretty glass bead baubles out of his mouth next to her feet.

Apparently that cat person with a towel had also once owned some pretty glass bead earrings too. Drizz brought presents to his favorite people...and like all black cats he brought ruin and despair to those that he didn't.  He was ordinarily a lazy kitty so that list was usually rather short and contained most of the dogs or dog owners on the island...but Shere Khans kid was one of the exceptions and his presence was usually enough for Drizz to put aside his blood feud with even Bigby for a while.

Drizz didn't like the way the striped savage thought himself king of cats, and Drizz's father didn't much care for it either.

The pocketwatch was a masterpiece, a thing of a different time and place.  The lack of elaborate adornment on its face spoke of an unusual confidence of its maker in his craft.  The stark roman numerals, picked out in jet black against the white enamel face, seemed proud to tell the time.  It bore the unique scars of an implement often used but well cared-for, its few bumps and scratches worm smooth by worrying hands over decades of use.

He listened to the gentle, reassuring ticking, almost inaudible, as the clock struck six thirty eight.  The minute hand clicked with a sharp mechanical motion, quivering with the poise and precision of an arrow stuck in a bulls-eye.  The sound of its motion, a slightly sharper click, made his ear twitch.

He pursed his hare-lip with disappointment in himself.  He hadn't wanted to be late for this very important... appointment.

Tucking the watch in his vest pocket, he pulled the top hat from under his arm, carefully beating his sleeves and trousers with the back of a glove, straightening his long-tailed morning coat and trying to make it look as if he hadn't sprinted the last quarter mile.  Replacing the glove and adjusting his french cuffs, he slung his rucksack over his shoulder and lifted his suitcase, strolling casually through the forbidden gate, ominously struck open before him.

"Well," he remarked, as he came upon the misfit crowd forming at the foot of the dock, "it seems I haven't missed the boat."  One eye, ringed by a liver-colored spot, scanned the crowd, while the other, peering out from his otherwise pure-white pelt, seemingly settled on a few familiar faces.  "Quinten," he greeted, his voice lilting in a complex shade of mock surprise and deeper-spoken utter lack thereof, though he lingered for only a moment before scanning the rest of the crowd.  "What a strange crew."
This message was last edited by the player at 09:02, Wed 29 Mar 2017.

In reply to Jack White (msg # 55):

Chance watches AJ and Gi's odd procession with a mix of amusement and mirth.  However, he does keep whatever comments he's got to himself, as it's probably a good idea provided the Volatility of some involved.  Barring that, he responds, although it's mostly to Gi, "Yeah, the Odds are tallied... and we're both in agreement.  This will be hilarious, and someone is going to take a swim.  My bet will be the King of Spades... considering he's already trying to dig into the King of Hearts.  We're all waiting for the One-Eye'd jack to throw the first punch... and I'm not sure how the second Joker is going to fit into this deck... but, we're not the odd ones here."

He pointedly looks over at the Rabbit, "But, don't worry... Watership Down, we're not all that bad... Except Lola, she's just as deadly as she seems.  Isn't that right?"   He smirks mostly to himself... But that's a standard case.

Henrik seems to have completely ignored anything Quinten said; instead being completely taken with Gi as she returns in her splendorous new outfit. He drifts over toward her, smiling, and bows formally as she goes by.

Eva rolls her eyes and looks completely disgusted with the display. "Don't you just hate when people waste your time?" she replies to Quinten. Her tone left it unclear as to whom she was referring.

She reached out and took Quintens cigarette, taking a long drag before handing it back. "These will kill you, you know?" she asked with a smile.

"Kitty!" Mim squeals giddily as she hoists Drizz up. Clearly he had chosen poorly. He was now going to be hugged. "Awwww you're a pretty boy! Black, just like Eva's soul!"

"I HEARD THAT!" the girl shouts from her place next to Quinten.

Lola smirks at Chance. "You have NO idea..." she trailed off before turning at AJ. "Looks like we're getting off this rock together. I'll bet we have our fathers to thank for this... most auspicious opportunity."

She rolled the dice between her fingers and looked out at the water. The red sun was painting a bloody swath across the horizon and there was still no sign of a ship. "Fortune smiles on sailors when the evening sky is red, but red skies in the morning leave a sailing man to dread..." she recites in poetic rhythm.

Morgan looks over with a frown. "You're not funny," he states.

She ignores him, finishing "For one brings fair horizons and the other leaves him-"

Morgan cuts her off, grabbing her wrist. "Enough!" he hisses, clearly taking maritime superstition very seriously.

Lola just smiles, dropping the dice in her hand. They clatter to the ground near their feet. She casts her eyes downward; her smile growing. "Snake-eyes," she affirms with amusement.

Q gave White a nod of the head as he arrived; then rolled his eyes as Henrik played the fawning schoolboy.  Smirking he took his smoke back from Eva and shrugged.  "Why worry about what will kill you years from now," he asked as he took a drag, "when there's so much that can kill you right now?"  Quinn didn't exactly look to Shan as he commented, but he certainly wasn't referring only to the run of the mill dangers of the Island.

"Then again some of us have nine lives," he smiled giving CK a look.  "As for wasting time," he muttered before he looked back over his shoulder to Alameth and his translator.  "I wasn't actually talking to you but...wait no...that's it," he concluded rather dismissively.

"But seriously," he commented looking between Eva and his crew before glancing at a few others.  "I don't even see a ship.  So I think someone's clock is a bit off."

"Honestly, I don't think half of them make it up the gangway without being dragged home to mommy and daddy,"  he mused to Chance.  He plucked a fleck of gravel from his sleeve, the road debris clinging to him like mites.  He rolled it between forefinger and thumb, examining it as if it might hold some vital clue.  "Frankly, I'm surprised nobody's been knifed yet."

A look of concern momentarily crossed his face at Quinten's offhand comment, and he withdrew his watch from his pocket, looking at it again, "We are most definitely on time." he tapped the crystal with a gloved fingertip for emphasis, before closing the device with a decisive snap.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:03, Thu 30 Mar 2017.

In reply to Jack White (msg # 61):

This was in fact what Drizz was hoping for. He liked the whimsical and unfilter Mim, his purring rumbled through his body and he shamelessly rolled in her arms so she could scratch his belly. It took both arms to hold him to! Despite his ability to somehow squeeze into itty bitty spaces Drizz was not a small cat. In fact he was roughly the size of some bob cats and possibly able to eat small dogs.


His eagerness to be cradled and loved on my have had ulterior motives other than his sincere adoration of Mim however.  Another cat had slinked out of the warehouses, a medium sized but well groomed Siamese glared haughtily at the scene from the edges of the dock area.

In reply to Drizz (Cat) (msg # 62):

She was being really friendly to Lola and by extension Chance, until the girl points out the sailors superstition, AJ took those seriously too and while she does not shush the priestess like Morgan does...she does look worried now.

She turns and shades her eyes with a hand then extends her weather sense on the sky and horizon again...and there it was. Pretty far out and hidden under the curve of the earth for the most part but definitely a fairly nasty squall.

"Fishguts, Well there is the reason for it being late," She says pointing seemingly at nothing. Morgan might spot it too but most of the others would not be familiar enough with seamanship. "That nasty squall just over the horizon is probably what has us cooling our heels. I would not want to be that Captain out there."

She produces a nice looking natural pearl, "Put me down for the creeper getting sea sick first."  She says it glaring at Henrick as he bows to Gi... She really really wanted to just knee him in the face while he had so obligingly put it at the right level...but Gi would want her to be all Sweet and Polite.

Thankfully she is distracted before that impulse can take hold by the appearance of more people at the edge of the crowd of kids. The Goons that had gone with her father to raid Atlantis back before the island was created were not imprisoned here. They had turned over new leaves and made deals to betray her dad so they could stay on the Mainland. AJ did not blame them anymore. Not even a little.

These goons were just that goons. Most of them close to nameless and just as interchangeable as they come. But Anne Jouquet Rourke KNEW why they were here and the comment about Dad's making sure they got off the island burned in her ears when she saw them. Lola's father might have done it so Lola could have a better life or as a way of getting his tendrils back out into the world. Not Commander Tiberius Rourke though... this was Banishment for AJ and she knew it. Those Thugs were just here to make sure she got off the island. Her dad had made that clear last night when he put all the fresh bruises on her and cracked her ribs.

"Hold that thought," She growled dangerously and pulled her sword out to stalk straight past Henrick and up towards those watchdogs. Given the expression on her face, the liquid helium in her tone and the appearance of thirty inches of keen edged steel... Henrick would be justified in thinking he was about to die at least until AJ brushed past him brusquely anyways.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:31, Thu 30 Mar 2017.

"Case in point," he muttered, his ear twitching at the ring of steel.  In a single smooth motion, he unhooked his cane from the crook of his elbow, reaching out to catch AJ's sword arm.  It wasn't a true attempt to entangle her, just to give her pause.

He shook his head, his brows cresting slightly, pleading calm.  After all, some of those here had something to lose if this all went south before the boat even arrived...
This message was last edited by the player at 20:16, Thu 30 Mar 2017.

In reply to Jack White (msg # 64):

AJ looks down at the hooked cane and shrugs it off, "Try that again Bugs...and I will have a new lucky charm."

Seeing the worry also reflected in Gi's face she relents...a little...,"I am just going to go send a pointed perfectly clear probably lead free missive to Commander Rourke. Savvy?"

Alameth signs to Alani, "Get AJ attention, quickly please." before tossing his last unfinished ring for his chain, still red hot, at AJ's feet. Alani quickly hollers out, "AJ, Alameth has something to say to you."

He waits for AJ to turn around before he starts signing, "A strong person doesn't fight unnecessary fights. A stronger person walks away to show their strength. If need be, a stronger person brings allies to show they aren't alone...and that they won't lose." When he is done, he slings his lengthened chain over his shoulder with one hand still holding it.

While he is talking, Alani pulls out a dagger hidden on her outer thigh. It looks more like a decoration with all the jewels along the hilt but the light reflects just right along the edge showing just how sharp it is. Alameth grabs her along the waist and turns with her, making a point to show that they would follow.

Quinn took note of all the recent unsheathing, sucked on his smoke and leaned into Ilsa with a smile.  "And gamblers though the smart odds were on me being the instigator of any violence..."

Turning to Eva, Henrik, and a few of the others not brandishing weapons he spoke up.  "So am I the only one that just assumed the mainlanders wouldn't trust us enough to allow us to bring weapons with us...not that I need them...or is it just me?"

Gisela wanted to avoid and ignore Henrik.  It was almost on par with self-preservation given what she knew of him and the rare interaction.  However, training kicked in and she was curtsying before she had thought it through.  The only satisfaction was the fact that it wasn't as low as his, given that she significantly outranked him.  Technically, she outranked his father as well, even before he'd been banished to the island.  She was much further up the ascension line than even Hans had been, having half the siblings.  At one point, she'd also been the Heiress Apparent in line for her father's throne.

Not that she truly cared about ranking.  She was on an island of misfit children and evil adults.  Being a princess didn't do one any favors there.  Still, it was enough to give her some formal distance from crown-chaser.

This crossed her mind in the seconds between his bow and AJ's change of demeanor.  "No, not savvy," she countered aloud where as others had chosen to sign.  She didn't know if AJ would be willing to slow down and read their words.  And, understanding what they said, it gets the two Al-people a truncated glare.  Either the dress came with an extra set of ... confidence... or she was less timid than she appeared.  "It's reckless and fool-hardy and exactly what's expected of you."  AJ was hot-tempered.  If her father was thinking enough to send the guards for AJ's exile, no doubt he was smart enough to expect her temper to pop off at an inopportune moment.

"It also serves no purpose but to get out a bit of temper for five minutes, but can cost you the ticket off the island.  In fact," she states looking around.  "Any of these displays can cost us all the chance to leave.  So, why don't we put away our weapons," there was a pointed glare at Alameth, Alani, and, finally, AJ.  "Stop throwing things," she says, this time directing towards Alameth and AJ, "and put aside our tempers and egos long enough to reach the mainland?"

"And before you say it will only take a moment and no one will know, AJ, you don't know that.  It's a magical warship.  As far as we know, it could be sitting outside the barrier waiting for any reason to abandon us while keeping their consciences - and fancy white gloves - clean."

In reply to Gisela O'Cuinn (msg # 68):

The gun had come out as attacks and interference cascaded in, a sorrier lot of lily livered yellow bellied codfish she had never seen...but damn it all if they didn't have points.

That did not actually instantly make AJ a reasonable and compliant soul. In fact while she trained her gun on the big mute idiot who  had been THROWING THINGS at her AGAIN...she looked imploringly at Gi, "But... I really really want to gut something Gi? Please?!  What if I drag them out of sight first? What if I get them to attack first!! Then it would all be in self defense. Come on... throw a salty dog a bone here."

"Some of us are trying to get on this boat so we don't have to carry a knife everywhere anymore."

He sighed, as the galloping lance of violence was broken on the pauldron of reason and good judgement.  He reminded himself to thank Gisela for her intervention... though he quietly sighed, tragically used to not being taken terribly seriously.

He looked back down at his watch once more, then towards the horizon, where apparently a storm was brewing.  This ship couldn't arrive soon enough.

In reply to Jack White (msg # 70):

Wolf sighed.  He was not under the impression that the mainland would be some bastion of wholesome goodness.  Even if it were it would be some time before he walked around without a knife.  None-the-less the rabbit had a point.  The big man stood up and put himself in front of AJ's gun.  "If we make it to the mainland you never have to seee these people again."

In reply to Wolf (msg # 71):

Chance shuffles his deck and cuts once before drawing the Ace of Spades.   He sighs and makes the cards disappear... in another feat of prestidigitation.   The man glances over at Heart and responds, "Wrong again, Ol' Q.  I'm just putting odds that Shan's gear will be wetter by the time we make the other shore.  Barbossa, however... I'm guessing Lovely Lola has the way of it there."   He grins and points a finger gun at Morgan, "But, don't take it personally... It's called bettin' for a reason.   Not predicting."

As far as the starting edges of the scuffle are concerned, Chance meanders over to AJ and places a hand on her shoulder before stating, "Eyes on the prize, Hunny Bunny.  We been spending enough time and days over and over and over on this shore... if Blood were we what we wanted, we would keep hanging here.  Our fathers hanging over our heads like Damocles.  Time and time for Raising Cain once we leave.  And may this place rot to it's bones."

In reply to Chance (msg # 72):

AJ only got that damn quirked perfect eyebrow from Gisela in reply to her counter-proposal. Her arms sagged with acknowledged defeat and she took a deep breath; let it out slowly, and put away her weapons.  She looks back along the arm attached to the hand of the one ballsy enough to grab her shoulder after she warned the rabbit about touching her...if the shit head was not so fucking cute on occasion she probably would have killed him long ago in their on and off again relationship.

"You know what I have told you about calling me Hunny Bunny," Is all she says as the cold glare she had meant to throw him melted like usual. It probably would have lacked its usual ferocity anyways with that blacked eye and pulped side of her face. Then she swivels to Bigby and says half cryptically, "It is a good thing that you have big enough balls for her because standing in front of my sights like that proves you don't have enough brains. And your both wrong... This is not the last time I will set foot on this beach."

"This," She stamps her leather booted foot on the little bit of grass fire slowly crawling out away from that once red hot ring of metal the Alameth had so unwisely tossed at her. The duffus and his feline friend were trying to be allies but lord that was the wrong way. "...is MINE. And I will be coming back for it and to pay my father back for every single inch of hide he stripped off me."

She whistles for Nyxia and waves the little faerie close, "Since everyone here wants to be a wet blanket and insists that I not kill anyone, would you be so kind as to go over there and tell my dad's goons not to worry. That I am leaving but that the next time he see's me...it will be over the barrel of my gun. Thank you."

Alani  puts the knife away and her claws come out. She whispers to Alameth, "It would seem any killing will need to be done in private."

Jack folded his arms, a cross expression curling his lip.  This was going to be a disaster.  It wasn't even...

click

He glanced down.

snap

It wasn't even seven o'clock and someone had pulled a gun.  Sides would form by eight.  Fortifications would be raised by eleven.  Break for lunch, and at least three casualties before tea.  At least the Queen had the decorum to wait until midafternoon until she started threatening to execute people.

He sighed, carefully folding his legs to sit on his suitcase, the (apparently wasted) mad dash to the docks catching up with him.