Waiting overhead, Tylluan couldn't hear anything of the interior of the ship.  The fog continues to blanket the ship, and the water of the ocean continues to ripple around it.

Finally, there is a sound.  A clatter and a strange noise, like that of a faint rasping.  A door leading belowdecks creaks open...

And a -thing- swarms out the door!  Swarm is the best word he can think of - it's like a tumbling bush of strands, rolling about across the deck.

And inside of it.  There's a hat, something large and black, with a big red feather.

The strands gather beneath the yardarm... and the hat slowly tilts back.  Beneath the hat, a face of wool and fabric is peering up at him.  With little black-button eyes.  The strands were gathering up beneath it, and Tylluan can make out a couple of large books that the... doll is standing on.

"Captain's can come and go, but big fishies are neither friend nor foe!"  A mouth parts, a kind of fabric maw hidden in the wool of the face.  The inside is just a reddish surface though - no food can go in there.  The doll-thing is staring up at Tylluan.

[OOC]A good point for the below-decks PCs to reach the top...[/OOC]

Light tracks the wooly wonder as she squid swarm air-swims over to below the yard arm and launches into a rhyme.

He sees her look up above and then spots Tylluan.

'Oh, hey, favorite passenger Tylluan. Look, we made a new friend. Anna? Tylluan. Tylluan, Anna.'

'So... Did we miss much up here?'

There was still the matter of the books, the consent to join their merry band, and That Which Knocks On The Hull That Swims Without. Honestly though, Light was just appreciating the fact that this encounter hadn't devolved into some kind of life and death fight.

It is at this point that he notes the fog and the distinct lack of a silhouette resembling The Darkmaiden's Dance.

Okay, don't panic. Rosanhi is likely on the ship, so it's not lost...

Rosa stays up in the crow’s nest as she tries to track the path of the titan swimming ominously below them. She trains her spyglass on the ship, trying to peer through the fog, wondering what’s taking them so long.

She looks down to her crew and sees them nervously waiting at their post, ready to jump into action as soon as the order is given.

“Steady as she goes, boys, steady as she goes.” She goes back to watching.

Tylluan watches the strange being appear from belowdecks, his golden eyes glowing in the dim light. What a singular-looking creature. It doesn't appear to be a monster, nor an animal. It moves with purpose. When it looks up and speaks to him, he tilts his head sideways. "Yes, well, there is a big fishie that is doing worrying things and I would like to retrieve the people on board and return to our vessel."

Tylluan switches his attention to Light, when he appears. "Finally. What in the name of the Four Winds have you been doing?" He swivels his head and bobs it in the direction the great creature was last seen before it dove. "There's a very large sea creature that is acting in a very worrying manner. I've already taken the captain back to her ship, but I had to come back for you and the cat. We should leave as soon as possible."

Light holds his hand over his eyes even with the fog, just in case the sun peers out.

'Worrying? In what way? Is it aggressive or just curious?'

He looks to Anna.

'I think I may have asked once before, but is the creature in the water a friend of yours?' assuming it was a creature and not another mystical construct or the like. Light smiled to himself at what was starting to feel like some 'old fish story' sailors told to get free drinks at their favorite tavern, and wondered if this might be what it was like to be living in the middle of the makings of one such tale.

'Murleena first or can you transport us all at once?' Light wasn't sure if Anna even weighed anything, she seemed to be quite literally a wool knit toy for a child.

'Get your books if you're coming with, Anna. Adventure awaits!'

The woolen doll tumbles to the side, off of the pair of books.  Picking them up slowly, her head lolls back to peer at Light.  If such a thing as 'her' and 'peer' fit.  Or 'head'.  The broad pirate/captain/shipman's hat topples off its head, and the doll has to pick it up.

"Nope!  It came up and I went 'yar there be a monster off the barn of me ship.'  But the old capt is dead, and I... hm.  Am not 'fred'?"  The doll looks up at Light.  "I got the books, but who's going first?"

Tylluan fluffs his feathers in irritation. "Worrying in the fact it's a giant sea creature chasing a ship, and now it's diving. I've heard of whales that do such things just before they attack ships. Which is why we should leave quickly."

He clicks his beak once. "I can only take one at a time. I'm not a Stryx after all." Tylluan tilts his head as he looks at the strange being. "I could possibly take this... this... other along with one of you. I leave it to you two to decide. Just do it quickly."

Light just gestures to the cat girl instead as his consent to go later.

If something bad did happen to the ship while Ty left, the water hating Murleena might panic and drown for all Light knew. He could maybe at least do something with his Eye-Borg powers while the ship sank perhaps.

He began looking for something sturdy and maybe buoyant to use in case the ship did sink... Something flat and big enough to stand or lie on like a door or crate.

He hadn't tried it yet, but if it worked, he might be able to levitate something and stand on it to keep himself up out of the sea in a pinch or even throw it while he held onto it... Though he wasn't so keen to try that last idea out without maybe practicing it first somewhere safe.

Murleena looked between Tylluan and Light for a moment, then over to Anna, considering everything for a moment. She would listen to what the other two said, and what Anna said before she finally speaks up. "Murleena feels that Light should go first. Then Tylluan can come back and grab Murleena and Anna-Doll." She said as she nodded. "Murleena and Anna together are lighter then Light. So Murleena and Anna going last would be better for Tylluan. Further, on his return trip Murleena can teleport to Tylluan with Anna so that Tylluan does not have to use energy to land and pick Murleena up, all Tylluan would have to do is catch Murleena when Murleena appears in the shadow of Tylluan's wing against Tylluan's body. Less effort to catch, then land and take off."

Light hits his forehead briefly before it dawns on him that they don't need to take turns.

'Wait, I have a better idea!'

He grabs an appropriate piece of material large enough for Murleena to cling onto, then sets it in front of him while switching lenses to use his telekinetic power.

'Murleena can hold tight onto this lid while I lift it with my Eye-Borg power. Then Ty only needs to carry me, while I move Murleena on the board ahead of us.'

He could probably stow Anna and her books in his shoulder bag, but Murleena offered to carry them, and they weigh barely anything...

Tylluan bobs his head at Light's suggestion. "That seems an acceptable solution to me. My wings are growing tired from all this back-and-forth, and I am not sure how much time it would take me to make another trip."

Once everyone has arranged themselves, Tylluan lifts himself into the air, before grasping Light's shoulders in his talons and rising into the air. "I should be able to find the ship easily, even with this fog. And once we're clear of it, there will be more than enough starlight for me to see clearly."

Into the air!  Tylluan hefts Light, not an easy task for the metal-augmented-and-still-otherwise-large 'battle chef'.  He takes to the sky...

And Light 'lifts'.  The platform of wood raises unsteadily, floating up after them.  Light finds it hard to control - it's pulling along at the same speed as them?  But it rocks and moves at the pace of Tylluan...

Tylluan rises into the sky, finding himself surrounded by mist.  Positively surrounded.  A burst of light shoots up into the sky... off on the direction of the ship?  He thinks so.  After a few moments, another goes up...

 ---

Rosa finally sees the shape of Tylluan coming through the mist, carrying her large battlechef from the looks of it. Another shadow lurches through behind them... some kind of platform?  One of her battle chef's myriad powers, it looks like.

Over the water, out of the mist, and soon Tylluan finds himself lighting down by the Darkmaiden's Dance.

"A ship!  A ship!"  The doll chirps from Murleena's arms, the platform coming down with a loud 'clack'.  Dolph cranes his head, and looks from Light to Rosa.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:49, Sun 17 Mar.

Rosa wonders what is taking them so long to get back. She can vaguely make out the silhouette of the other ship, but she can’t see any signs of movement. She stuffs some wadding in her pistol instead of a bullet and shoots it into the air. It shoots a line of fire into the air and goes off like a flare. She shoots off another flare, but while she is preparing a third shot, she sees Tylluan and the others coming in low across the water. She shimmies down a rope and gets ready to welcome them back.

Rosa blinks when she sees their new companion. “Welcome back! Welcome back! And... ahh, hello. I’m Rosa, captain of this ship, the Darkmaiden's Dance.”

Tylluan deposits Light onto the deck, before settling down, hiself, folding his wings in with a snap. "Yes, yes. Introduction time for later, yes? We should put as much distance between us and that creature as we can." He rolls his shoulders and emits a low, pained hoot. "Not meant for such strenuous activity. I look forward to a long rest and a good meal to recuperate."

Murleena would be gripping the doll tightly and now and then howling out in loud terrified mewls as she was carried over the water by that unseen force!

Even as they were set down upon the deck she'd still be gripping, holding, hugging Anna-Doll tightly and mewling in terror at having been flown over the water with nothing seeming holding her save for some unseen force. Muttering could be heard between mewls. "...never again....never again..." She said over and over, as she knelt there.

Black button eyes, a parted fabric mouth, and strands of red wool.  Fabric mitten hands on white woolen arms.  White and red stripes adorn a sleeve, but overtop it was a little blue dress.  Fake black shoes and a little grey scarf complete the odd ensemble...

It's not tall.  Maybe two feet and a bit at most, but it was hard to tell.  After Moft, this might be the smallest being she's met in some time... It looks wholly like some sort of puppet... or doll.  "Scardeycat, bravely brat!"  It speaks from where it was held by Murleena.  "Ship captain, hello captain!"

Tylluan's warning gets to the crew.  A few are looking out over the water, and everyone is clearly scrambling to be ready to bring the ship around.  "Captain?"

Welk is also visible from the doorway belowdecks... apparently peeking out to see the situation, but staying out of the way.

Light's green light 'tractor beam' stare shut off once he set the wooden lid down safely on the deck of the Dance, he was glad the idea worked, though the thought crossed his mind briefly to flicker the Eye-Catcher beam after setting them down as if it were prone to malfunction just to mess with Murleena.

He dismissed going through with the idea as cruel and potentially detrimental to future uses of the same tactic in case the hydrophobic catfolk believed his powers were faulty, and the lack of trust somehow cost them dearly due to some future circumstances that trust required doing it again.

Preying on her obvious anxiety would just make him a big jerk, which he felt a bit guilty just for thinking about it, even though he didn't go through with it.

Instead, he switched lense colours to red, then turned to the Captain.
'This... Is Anna. The only living(?) person (?) I found aboard the ship.'

Rosa blinks a few times as she looks at Anna, not quite believing her eyes, then she comes out of her stupor when the crew start asking for orders. “Right, yes, of course.” As she heads to the helm, she calls out, “Everyone to your stations! Dolph! Hugo! Full sail! We’re getting out of here!” She spins the wheel to get the wind behind them and watches as the sails billow out.

“Murleena! Stop your whining and get up into the crow’s nest. I need you to keep an eye on the beastie!”

Murleena after a moment would shoot the Captain a 'look', then a feline hiss, a mutter left her as she turned away, stood up still clutching Anna-Doll. She looked around for a moment, then walked into a nearby shadow later walking from a shadow in the crows nest with Anna-Doll. Still shaking, she would keep an eye, ear, and nose out.

Rosa chuckles to herself as Murlenna gives her a look. She does whatever it takes to get her crew to operate at full efficiency, whatever the circumstance. Now is not the time to behave like a kitten crying and looking for it's mother; mow is the time to act like the heroes they should be.
"That's it, me maties! We've seen the devil of the deep blue sea and now we're sailing away. Full sails ahead!"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:17, Mon 01 Apr.