Tylluan sighs as the captain begins giving orders and the ship turns away from the fog. With nothing better to do at the moment, he flaps up onto a yardarm and settles himself, fluffing his feathers out and giving himself a shake. A few feathers drift free, but he pays it no mind. Old feathers leave; new feathers grow in. It's the way of things. I hope we can FINALLY make it to our destination. I know I left home anticipating experiencing new things and seeing new places, but somehow I overlooked the possibility of the many hazards that could be encountered. Of course, being on a vessel with a captain and crew who actively seek out such things is NOT helping in that regard. He lets out a sigh and closes his great, golden eyes as he enjoys the flow of wind over his feathers. Still, these people seem competent enough to deal with said dangers. I suppose I could have been stuck with that incompetent captain who nearly got me killed in that storm. (HIS perception of the events, of course.) I'll see how things go, to decide whether I'll continue on with this ship once we reach Doghelm. The excellent food and the private cabin are certainly marks in favor of, of course.

"ACK!  WE MOVED, WE MOVED, WE ARE UP IN THE NEST NOW!"  The doll was shouting in a weird, shrill voice, and her(?) flailing arms(?) manage to knock about despite Murleena's grip on the doll.  Several times a fake boot or glove smack the cat-furfoot before the doll calms down.

The crew act fast.  The ship turns in the water, using the small presence of wind to move the Dance away.

It isn't an easy job, the wind being what it is, but the ship soon lurches clear of the fog.

Murleena... swears she sees light from the crow's nest, once, but after that all she sees is fog.  All she hears is the sound of the sails, the creak of the ship, and water...

For Tylluan, there was nothing left to be done but rest.  He spots the badger-faced Welk dithering about in a doorway, but he just scoots aside as things begin to calm down.  There is nothing about to bother Tylluan in his rest... other than the noise from the crow's nest above.

Light peers out over the water between the Dance and the fog shrouded craft behind it for any signs of the glowing whale thing the others mentioned, but shrugs his shoulders before returning to his beloved galley to prepare for the next meal time for all aboard.

The Hammerhead Islander began checking ingredients available, pre heating cookware, clearing the crew dining table, and numerous other check boxes in his mental list as he went about his work, humming to himself a tune he heard from Faqu around the campfire to the best of his memory.

He wondered if Anna needed food at all or some other source of sustenance, and whether it slipped his mind to ask or he had just assumed it was some sort of magic that meant she didn't need it.

What did a knitted animated being live off of anyway? She didn't seem to be starving when they met, so either Anna didn't need to, or she lived off bugs or something? Maybe she ate wool for all he knew.

He made sure his galley wouldn't burn the ship down before popping out on deck to ask Anna what was on his mind. Hopefully it wasn't 'souls of unwitting victims' or cat-furfoot.

'Hey, Anna, do you eat or drink?'he asked after using Blink to rapidly ascend the ladder to the Crow's Nest.

With the 'ghost ship' behind them Light had time to settle the deck, the kitchen, and the supplies.  Finding the doll where they left it (in Murleena's grasp or in the Crow's Nest)... and by now, with distance being made and time to rest resuming, the sun was already beginning to creep low.

Light's greeting was assuredly customary, as was the answer to his question.

"I EAT THE BONES OF MY ENEMIES AND DRINK THEIR TEARS FOR SUPPER!"  The shout was loud, high, and proud.  A glove flopped around in the air.  "THAT'S what adventurer pirate ladies eat and drink, right?"

At Anna-Doll's protest Murleena gave a hiss. "Anna-Doll Murleena is still walking, and always were. Murleena walks into one shadow, and out of another."

"Mister Light could you tell the Captain I believe I saw light in that direction." She said, oddly refering to Light in a more polite way then she usual does. Almost as if she's changed mannerisms again. She was pointing off. "Not sure how far because of the fog though."

Anna-Doll was most assuredly still in Murleena's grasp. The Doll's words actually made the cat-girl laugh. "Murleena does not eat bones and drink tears. She prefers milk and meat."

Rosa raises an eyebrow when she hears Anna’s reply, but she doesn’t say anything. She wonders what they have brought aboard? She hopes it’s not some sort of murderous spirit, but she figures it’s their responsibility. She’s certainly not going to let it sleep in her cabin.

She nervous while they are in the fog but starts to relax when the air clears and the wind picks up a little. She hands the helm over to Dolph, then goes talks to Light and Murleena about what happened on the other ship. “Did you manage to get the books, by chance?”

Light draws his lips into a pout as his eyes narrow at Anna's boisterous response.

'So... Chicken? Chicken.You get chicken. Tears .. Springwater with a twist of lemon. Don't get that in your eye or.. yeah.Then there'll be crying.'

If she did eat, she was getting chicken. he probably could see chickens as a good enemy for her too if she needed to fight it first.

In response to Rosa, Light looked to Murleena, as he believed Anna last had them in a bag that the catfolk likely clung to on the ride over from the ghost ship. He wasn't totally sure, but he had asked the doll spirit to grab what it could before they left.

When Rosa joins them in the crows nest Murleena perks a brow. "Murleena thinks two is company, three is a crowd in the nest." Then she nodded to herself. "But since Rosa is here, Murleena will tell Rosa what Murleena asked Light to tell Rosa. Murleena thinks she saw a light off that way." She said as she pointed.

"As to the books...  Anna-Doll came with the premise that the books stay hers, but lets Rosa read them, least thats what Murleena thinks Anna-Doll and Light agreed to." She said with a nod. Then if she does have them, she will hand them to Rosa. If she doesn't have them, she will ask Rosa to give them to Rosa.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:26, Tue 09 Apr.

Rosa hangs onto the rope ladder with one hand as she talks to Murleena and Anna-Doll. She takes out her spyglass and scans the sea behind them, looking for lights or any signs of the sea-monster.

“Good work. Keep an eye out and make sure we’re not being followed,” she says to Murleena, then turns to Ann-Doll and says, “Hello. I hear you have some books that I can borrow. Perhaps you would like to borrow some of my books in exchange? Do you like to read?” She wonders if this strange construction can read at all. She looks at the doll-thing and wonders if there is anything more to it than woven wool.

The seamonster... did not seem to be present.  Rosa can't find any signs of pursuit in the water.  Though, Murleena was pointing off towards the fog... growing ever distant, now.  If there was another ship out there... no one could see it.

The doll looks at Light, wriggling its loose arms around beside her.  Then her head cranes over at Rosa.  "Books for books!"  She was clutching a sack, it looks like, and indeed pulls out the two familiar-looking books from the sack.  As well as something that looks like... colored sticks?  "Reading of pirates and princesses.  That's my favorite book.  An' then the Captain's Log.  He had it with his breeches."

If Rosa had to guess, it had a 'wood' frame with fabric and paint layered over it.  It might have string for 'joints'... or it might be held together by the wool that wraps its body.  And the wool/fabric clothes over that.  And then the gray scarf around its neck.

The black-button eyes almost seem to flicker with inner light... which doesn't make sense.  The black buttons are clearly fixed atop of the doll's wooden head.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:31, Thu 11 Apr.

Rosa breathes a sigh of relief when sees no signs of the sea-monster or even the ghost-ship. She puts away her spyglass and talks to Anna-Doll. “I like stories about pirates and princesses too. I have a few books like that. You can read them if you promise to treat the books with respect. I’d like to read the captain’s log too. Do you know what happened to him? What happened to all the crew on the ship?”

Tylluan remains on the yardarm, using his superior eyesight to scan the surrounding waters. Have we really left that creature behind? Why in the world was it following that ship? Why was there a localized fog around the ship? Was it caused by something on the ship, or was it the creature's doing? He rustles his wings, which were aching from the strenuous activity, before settling down again. I should rest in my cabin, but I'm concerned there may be a reappearance of that creature. I'd rather not be trapped below deck should that happen, so I will nap here until the next meal is ready. With that thought in mind, Tylluan tucks his beak into his feathers and closes his eyes.

"I can share.  But I gotta have the Log book tonight!  I'm making it my diary."  The doll chirps.  "The crew?  The crew was a shrew.  But I saw the ship and snuck aboards!  They didn't find any food on my island, so I guess they all died."  She looks particularly proud.  "It's my ship now!"

...

Anna's pause in conversation is broken when she peers down at Tylluan.  "Is he for good luck?"

Whelk eases out from belowdecks.  The furfoot looks upwards gingerly, but seems more interested in Rosa.  "I take it everyone returned.  That's good.  We aren't far from Doghelm?"  Less than a day, Rosa knew.  They'd see it after the sunrise...

Assuming nothing else happened.

"Anna-Doll, Murleena is curious..." She said to the living Doll she was still clutching. "....what was Anna-Doll to Dead-Captain?" Murleena's tone did sound curious indeed. "And what is this about Anna-Doll's island?"

Rosa nods at Murleena’s questions. "The captain died in an unusual and violent way. Did you have anything to do with his death or how we found the body?”

“I will need to read the captain’s log, Anna. How about I give you a new book that you can call your own, and you can use that for your diary. You’ll also need a quill and ink. There you can write down everything that has happened to you.”

She chuckles when Anna asks about Tylluan. “I wanted a parrot but i got an owl instead. But yes, I’ve been lucky to have him aboard.”

Rosa says to Whelk, “We’ll be in Doghelm tomorrow. We’ve got clear skies and the moon is up, so we’ll sail all night. We should see Doghelm in the morning.”

"There was a scuffle!  But I was hiding away.  I bet there was a mutiny!  ...Or maybe it was the fish."  The doll looks up to Rosa.  "hhm... a new book.  ...  ...Okay!  Okay!  Will it be a Captain's book?"  The red-haired doll peered up at Rosa.  It was too hard to tell what 'expression' it must have, just that it was peering at Rosa with interest.

The doll doesn't seem to look to the other crew, nor to Whelk.  Just whatever interests it... er, her?  "A pet owl then!  A black owl!"

Whelk nods once, looking relieved.  "Be safe, then, Captain.  I'm sorry I am of no help."

“You were a stowaway on the ship?” Rosa asks Anna-Doll. “Where did you come from?”

She shakes her head. “No, it’s not a captain’s book. You have to be a captain to get a captain’s book, and you’re not captain of this ship, nor will you ever be,” she hastily adds. “This will be your diary. You can write down all your adventures in it.”

She says to Whelk, “Don’t be sorry; you’re a passenger. If you do want to help though you can take one of the watches tonight. You’ll be on with me, Dolph or Hugh.”

"My island!  That's where."  Anna seems to consider what Rosa says.  The head tilts one way...

...

...Then the other.  "But I have a Captain's Hat.  And it has a feather."

Whelk nods, glancing at the... spectacle, then chuckles quietly.  "I'll join you for the watch.  I should ask a bit about what's next.  And... good luck with.  This."

“There’s more to being a captain than having a hat and a feather,” Rosa says to Amma-doll. “Even if it does look good on you,” she says with a charming grin.

“Come with me and we’ll get you a book, pen and ink. You can write down your adventures in it, and maybe draw a map of your island? I can show you some books you can read too, but only you if you promise to promise to treat the books well.” She gives the doll a serious look, knowing full well she’ll unravel the doll and throw her unravelled remains overboard if she harms any books. She also wonders if the doll can actually read or write. Time to find out.

She gives Whelk a nod. "Good. I look forward to the company. We'll talk then."

Tylluan rests on the yard arm, lightly dozing. Still, his hearing, superior even to his eyesight, allows him to hear everything going on around him. Hmph. Yes, you people ARE lucky to have me aboard. Without my wings, not to mention my courage and morality, some of these people would have been stranded on that derelict vessel. Or pulled into the depths by whatever that creature was. He unconsciously preens himself for his heroism.

The exclamation from the ragged doll interrupts his self-congratulatory reverie and his golden eyes snap open. "A PET?! I am not a pet! I am a scholar and an entertainer. There are no others like me; resplendent in plumage, melodious in song, graceful in dance, and infallible in memory. Hah! To be called a 'pet' by a forgotten collection of knitting is an insult."

"Technically Anna-Doll is...was...the last living thing on that ship. Wouldn't that technically make her the captain of said ship?" Murleena decided to chime in on the 'captain' issue.

Murleena growled a small bit when Rosa asked Anna-Doll to go with her. She said nothing, but decided to loosen her grip on Anna-Doll a bit incase Anna went with her.

Rosa nods. “You might be right, Murleena. Should we take her back to her ship then? Do you want to go back, Anna?”

She grins at Murleena’s reluctance to part with Anna. Cats love playing with wool. “Don’t worry, we’ll be back soon.”

Murleena looked between Anna-Doll and Rosa, then she reluctantly lets Anna-Doll go. "Okay."

"But... adventures!"  The doll pulls up her hat.  "I wanna adventure! ...so no, I guess I will not be Captain."  Was Anna sulking?  The doll was not sulking long though - she rolls to the side a bit as she was released... and tumbles around just a bit in the crow's nest.

"Okay dokay, let's get a book.  Will the 'not pet' be staying here too?  He can fly!"  The last was in such a loud stage whisper that it shouldn't have been a whisper at all.

The doll begins to clamber up and over to the ladder of the crow's nest... not leaping down, but sorta climbing awkwardly down the ladder.  It was pretty clear the doll's limbs seemed to... unravel and reravel as it moved, giving it a suspiciously flexible reach.  And apparently a bizarre way to travel when they wanted to.

Night begins to settle, finally, as the fog disappears behind them... lurking only in memories.

Tomorrow, they will see Doghelm.  Most, for the first time...

Rosa chuckles at Anna-doll. “Yes, he can fly, and yes, he will be staying here. His name is Tylluan. You should start using that out of respect.” She scowls at the doll. “Now come on, let’s how well you can read and write."

They go Rosa’s cabin. It’s small but well designed, with all sorts of built in shelves and draws, as well as a fold-up desk. She clears a space on a desk and gives Anna a simple book to read. “Read the first page out loud, please.” If she passes that test, Rosa gets out a pen and paper and gets Anna to write some things down.

If she fails, then it’s “Away with you, you little scamp!”