The coast...it had certainly been a while since he'd been to one. In fact, he hadn't even seen the ocean or sea since he'd arrived in this new land of Arda, by wing, which was an easy enough task for him. But for now, though, he didn't exactly want to be disturbed, given that he'd had eventful enough times at each of the other places he'd been in this new land thus far. So, stretching his own demonic senses out somewhat further than their normal range, he only detected a few animals and maybe one other...overall, nothing that he was particularly concerned about.

Thus, he sat down near the edge of the water after removing his cloak and boots, leaving only his dark blue pants and headband, the latter of which covered his right eye, and his white sleeveless shirt and black open-fronted T-shirt. Spreading out his jet-black, almost dragon-like wings and tail, he leaned back against his hands, which were covered in fingerless black, strapped gloves reaching halfway to his elbow. Figuring he'd at least make something of this time to relax, he sat up slightly and pulled out his flute that was strapped on his left, by his waist, and held it up to his hand, playing a peaceful melody on it, one of the many he'd learned in all the time he'd initially acquired it, his black hair simply blowing back in the light breeze. It certainly was peaceful out here, by the coast...he'd have to come here more often instead of going to the bar to get away from everyone else that would bother him.

Tiny droplets of water sparkled as they bounced off the high cliffs, the sun high in the bright blue sky. Waves took over the sandy beaches, only to make their retreat a couple seconds later. Birds soared over the never ending blue, soaking up the warming rays. It was peaceful here. There were no monsters to battle, no foes to conquer, not even another soul to make a sound. It was not only nature in true harmony; it was almost heaven on the Eastern Coast.

It wasn’t often that humanoid creatures visited this section of the coast. That is why the soft imprints on the beach seemed so out of place. Flapping its feathers, a native seagull landed right in the middle of one of the imprints. Birds are stupid things, at least most. But they also have another trait: curiosity. Having filled itself already on shrimp, it couldn’t help but wanting to know where the prints led. Carefully it hopped along, kicking up sand behind it. It didn’t take long for the white bird to make its way to the water, where the prints suddenly disappeared. The bird was lost only for a moment, but in that moment a large wave crashed up on the sand, soaking the innocent bird. Surprised it squalled and quickly flew away from the dangerous water.

“Stupid bird.”

Not far from where the bird took to flight stood the thing that created the footprints. The young Chatuc was tempted to throw sand at the feathery creature, but held herself back. However, she couldn’t help but find a metaphor in the bird’s actions. Too many times had she seen smarter creatures get so caught up in one goal that they are blinded to dangers around them. She let out a sigh as the seagull was finally out of sight. Too many times had she seen herself get caught up in one goal.

Tired with the world she laid back down in the comforting sand. Her red jacket was half buried next to her, as were her brown leather boots and white scarf. It was too warm on the beach to wear such clothes. Even her red shorts and blue tank top that she wore were starting to get hot from the sun's rays. Luckily for her, she didn’t have to worry about the sun burning her tough yet smooth looking skin. Her long fingers reached up to run themselves through her short light purple hair as her bright red eyes admired her new hair cut. Another wave crawled up the beach to tickle her bare feet.

“Man, you really forget about life out here don’t cha? I feel almost happy. No…not happy. Peaceful.”

She took a deep inhale of air, savoring the salty smell. It did hurt her to know that she wouldn’t be staying here long. She had things to do, treasures to seek. However, there was nothing wrong with taking a few hours to just relax. Slowly her eyes closed. Now she could really hear all the sounds of the ocean: the waves against the rocks, the swooshing of the waves. She could even hear a soft flute. Wait…

Her eyes snapped open as she sat up. A flute? She looked around for the source and found it. A little ways down on the beach there was a dark figure. Though she couldn’t see it in very great detail, she knew that it was creating the sound she could faintly hear. She let her head fall into her palm. I didn’t know someone else was on this beach. I let my guard down again dammit. Now what do I do? I guess it wouldn’t hurt to move over so I can at least hear the music a little better.

Taking her time, she slowly took up. Seeing all the sand that had made its way onto her clothes she brushed herself off and then her belongings that had been laying in the sand. Hoping that this wouldn’t turn some sort of fight, she made her way slowly towards the figure. Her feet barely sunk into the sand this time, since she was on her guard.

He must be miserable in those dark clothes, she thought as she got closer.. Dark shirt, dark gloves, and some sort of cloth over his eye. In his hands was the flute that was producing the sound she heard before. And is that a cloak behind him? As she continued to walk she noticed that she was wrong about the cloak. It wasn’t cloth at all that she saw. It was a pair of wings. She stopped in her tracks. She was only a few yards away from him, standing still. Wings…

It wasn't long while Lance was playing before he felt one of the birds from nearby begin to approach where he was sitting, his right leg extended out partly into the water, and his left bent so that his foot was flat on the ground, just past where the water was drifting slowly in and out. Then something, or it would be more accurate someone, seemed to follow the bird for a few moments, also coming to within the range of his senses where he could easily pick out everything within it, both what and where it was. This one was...well, surprisingly, he wasn't completely sure, but he didn't feel any danger at the moment, so he simply kept playing unconcernedly, switching to a different melody as he finished the one he was playing shortly afterward.

Then he felt whoever it was slowly approach where he was from accross the beach, seeming to him to not want to be spotted or anything. Of course, it was a bit late for that, but it wasn't as though they would know right off the bat, at least unless they noticed his wings and tail. His red eye would also be somewhat of an indication, but at the moment it was closed in concentrating on the flute and the music.

Feeling he may as well, he opened what was now his single remaining eye, glancing over in the direction of where this person was coming from in curiosity, though still focusing mostly on the tune he was playing so that it didn't get off-track at any point. A girl wearing rather light clothing...well, she didn't seem to have much weapons, so it was probably no big deal. The things he noticed most were the red eyes, and light purple hair. Definitely not any sort of human, that was for certain...

A cold wave washed up to her bare foot. Reacting to the sudden tingle on her foot, she snapped her foot up and looked down. Only then did she realize the small trance she had gone into while looking at his black wings. She felt slightly embarrassed about that. Hopefully he hadn’t looked over and found her gawking at his wings. Slowly she looked back over at him. He was still holding that flute in his hands. It seemed out of place with the rest of him. He looked dark and possibly evil, yet the flute was such a light and delicate object.

A small pain was beginning to grow in-between her shoulder blades. Great. This wasn’t an uncommon thing for her to experience, and it was never pleasant. No one really enjoys phantom pains. The way she figured it, if she was going to have the pain she might as well have parts that hurt. But her wings were long gone from her back. Only the memories and occasional pain remained. That’s why his wings shocked me so much. It’s weird to see others with the gift of flight after its been ripped away from me. Hm...literally.

He obviously knows I’m here now though. Oh well, I guess ill just turn back. I don’t really feel like talking to anyone anyway. She turned around and took a few steps back to where she had been relaxing before. But then a thought hit her. He was strong looking was he not? And he surely didn’t seem like a good law abiding citizen, dressed in black and what not. Maybe…maybe he would help me out. Ugh, but I hate asking others for help. I know I can’t really do this alone but…Dammit I need someone’s help. Might as well be him.

Slowly she turned around to face him again. How do I do this? She wasn’t exactly the best with people, and usually avoided them. Even if she needed a little help with something, she rather do it all on her own. She was independent and proud of it. However, even she knew her limits. One person couldn’t possibly steal a ship on their own, at least not the one she was looking at. She took a deep breathe as she began to approach the stranger.

“Having a good day of relaxation are we?”

It was obvious in her tone that she wasn’t used to greeting others. It wasn’t warm, it wasn’t kind. It lacked almost any emotions. Half of her wished that he would just look at her and turn back around. Then the other hoped that he would be willing to lend her the aid she so desperately didn’t want.

“Having a good day of relaxation are we?” Lance heard the girl speak out. But her voice lacked...well, anything, really. Any emotions, anything that could even slightly indicate that what she'd just asked was something she actually cared about knowing. Certainly a strange person, though he'd met plenty stranger, so it didn't bother him. The thing was, though, when someone made a comment like that, in such a tone, it often meant they were after something else.

A few more moments passed, with him turning his attention back to his flute, re-closing his eyes, almost as if he was ignoring her, but in truth he was simply finishing this particular melody he'd been playing. As soon as he was done, he set his left hand down on the ground by him, the flute under it, and glanced back over to the girl.

"I suppose so...always nice to get away from the cities and such every so often. Especially the coasts, where it's so often peaceful, and I can just sit and think about things..." he started, looking out to the small waves coming in, and the blue sky littered with only a few clouds at random points. "So, mind if I ask what you need exactly? Because from what you just said, and the way you said it, it seems to me you wouldn't have bothered talking to me if you didn't. And I may not've been a merc for some time, but I'm usually up for helping others out, depending on what it is."

Her fist was slightly clenched after she spoke her words. It had taken a lot for her to just speak to a stranger…let alone anyone. Being alone was what she strived for. Making acquaintances would just ruin that. And here she was asking a rather odd character how his relaxation was going. She would love to just turn around right now and walk off. However, the thought of why she was even talking to him stuck. She needed some help.

She thought for a moment that she really would get her wish to leave. He seemed to be ignoring her. He was still playing his light flute and looking out at the waves. She couldn’t really be mad at him for it. After all, she couldn’t count the number of people she ignored when they tried to make conversation with her. Maybe he was just as unsocial as she was, and wanted to just enjoy his peace.

She shrugged it off. Maybe it was for the better that he wouldn’t reply to her. He could go on thinking his thoughts while she went off happy that she wasn’t stuck traveling with another. Her red eyes looked at his black wings again. Yes…it would be better if they didn’t end up stealing the boat. She would be constantly thinking about her long lost wings, which would only distract her. Blocking off the past was one of her strong points, and she didn’t want some stupid bones with feathers attached to ruin that.

But then he finally put down his instrument and spoke. What came out of his mouth took her by surprise, though she didn’t show it. He knew exactly what she wanted. So he wasn’t some naïve traveler. He must have some experience then. Maybe this would turn out better then she thought. It was one thing to enlist the aid of a new fighter. It was a completely different matter to enlist someone that had seen the goods and evils of the world.

“Well, allow me to be as blunt as you. You’re right, I really couldn’t care less if you’re enjoying the beach or not. And yes, I really rather not be talking to you at all. It hurts my pride greatly but yes, I do wish to have your help. I might as well come out and tell you what I need right? I plan to be stealing a boat. It’s a beautiful boat, strong and powerful…but I can’t take it alone. However, you don’t need to know why I want this boat.”

She didn’t bother to skip around what she really wanted like some. If he really was even at all interested in helping, he would want to know what for. It would save time and breathe for her to just tell him like she had. She didn’t bother to plead for his help either. For starters, pleading was something she would never do. If he wanted to steal a ship for someone he didn’t know it was his choice and she would be happy with whatever answer he gave.

“Well, allow me to be as blunt as you. You’re right, I really couldn’t care less if you’re enjoying the beach or not. And yes, I really rather not be talking to you at all. It hurts my pride greatly but yes, I do wish to have your help. I might as well come out and tell you what I need right? I plan to be stealing a boat. It’s a beautiful boat, strong and powerful…but I can’t take it alone. However, you don’t need to know why I want this boat,” the girl said, apparently just coming out and saying exactly what she wanted without beating around the bush at all. He had to admit, he respected that, even if it did involve stealing, which he was slightly against. And of course she didn't tell him why she wanted to steal it...it wasn't a merc's duty to know, only to do their job.

So, chuckling softly, mainly to himself, he responded. It looked like he was back in the business to an extent...for now at least. It definitely sounded fun. "Well, I'm generally against stealing, I'll admit, but these days not much really concerns me, so I suppose you've found the guy to help. In which case, all I really need to know is where and when; I can find out whoever owns or is guarding the boat when we get there and it won't change my decision to do this little task at all," he said, getting up and stretching out a bit, placing his flute back in its holder at his left side. "Oh...and it also might be nice to know your name," he continued, looking over to the girl. "Mine's Lance."

He laughed a little, and that made her wonder. Was he laughing at the mere notion of helping her? That’s what her response would have been if someone had come looking for her help. She would have laughed, or scolded, or sometimes just glare at the person…depending on her mood. Helping others wasn’t a big thing in her morals. Its not that she thought she was too good for other people. She simply wasn’t concerned about their dear Aunt Betty who needed saving from her tax collectors. More important things were calling her name.

The current thing that was just begging to be found by her was a rare item. Only currently she had taken up the item hunter business. She had had a few finds, but didn’t get to keep what she managed to track down. This time, she would have full control over her find. That’s why she needed the boat, to get to the location of the artifact. Though she wasn’t exactly sure what it was, she had heard enough rumors to want to seek it out. It wouldn’t bring her power, it wouldn’t bring her beauty. But it would give her money, which she desperately needed, and hopefully her fame as a hunter could grow.

Because of his earlier giggle, his response wasn’t what she expected to hear. Something along the lines of ‘go away and leave me be’ or possibly ‘I don’t steal, and I’m tempted to turn you in’ is what she planned on. However, he said almost the complete opposite. He agreed. Now why would he do that? Now instead of wanting his help, she was somewhat skeptical about it. Did he have larger plans then just stealing a boat? Or maybe he expected her service in return for his. No…the most likely reason was he wanted money. Sadly, she didn’t have much of that to spare.

“Uh..well..good. So Lance, if you’re expected money in return for all this, which anyone in their right mind would, you’ll have to wait a bit. I don’t have the gold to pay you with, but in a few days time I expect to. You can wait at the docks for me to return with the gold, you can just trust my word, I don’t really care. But you will get it. Oh, and call me whatever you want. I’m not big on names.”


(sowwy its short, I gotta run to work and i didn't want to keep ya hangin)

(don't worry too much about it, it's still longer than mine x.x and sorry for the delay, wasn't around this weekend)

“Uh..well..good. So Lance, if you’re expected money in return for all this, which anyone in their right mind would, you’ll have to wait a bit. I don’t have the gold to pay you with, but in a few days time I expect to. You can wait at the docks for me to return with the gold, you can just trust my word, I don’t really care. But you will get it. Oh, and call me whatever you want. I’m not big on names,” she said in response, apparently not seeming to have expected him to accept. He probably wouldn't have near a year ago, but a lot had happened, and he'd again distanced himself from people in general...thus, he had no issues taking on a job. For that matter, it was just like old times, back when he was still a merc, times which he somewhat missed. One thing got him, though, and he looked over to her in mild curiosity.

"Well, you must at least have a name, I'm sure...it would be strange just calling you some general name or whatever. And as for payment of any kind, don't worry about it. I already have more than enough money, though quite realistically for me even having one little coin could be considered more than enough money...it's not as though I actually need anything, such as food, drink, or lodgings. And anyway, it's been a while since I was a mercenary, so while I'm rather certain I still have all my old skills, I'll sign this one off as practice...just in case I want to return to the business," he said, then remembered that she hadn't actually told him anything about the job itself. "So...where or who should I be looking for for the ship? If it's a person, then even their race and a general description will work, and I can take it from there."

(Meh, its fine. I understand that life gets in the way sometimes)

If she had taken all of the things she had seen over the years, if she took all that she had learned and all she had been taught, he had just smacked it in the face. He didn’t want anything in return. She just couldn’t accept that. He had to have a hidden agenda, even if it wasn’t gold. Though she didn’t trust him much before, now she completely didn’t. No one in this greedy world did illegal favors for nothing. A select few good-doers might, but he certainly didn’t seem fit that description.

Then he mentioned that he didn’t need things like food and water. That explained a little about him. There were a few creatures in this world that didn’t need nutrition to survive. And only a few out of those had wings such as his. As much as she didn’t want to, she had to think of races she knew that had wings and didn’t need food. He looked young, yet his attitude made it seem like he was older. So a race that had wings, didn’t need food, and had unnaturally long life. A few things came to mind.

“Hm. Well, whether you want it or not, you’ll get a reward for helping me.”

She didn’t bother to explain to him why she would give him something anyway. He didn’t say he wanted it, but she would make sure he got it. It wasn’t in her nature to use people, and she often punished those that did use others. She would feel as if she had done such a sin if she didn’t give him something in return for his services. It might not be gold, since he didn’t want it. But who could say no to a nice new weapon? Or perhaps he the kind of man who wouldn’t mind some armour. There had to be something he wanted.

“As for the ship, its not far from here. There’s a town on this coast just a little north. In that town there’s a great ship whose name will soon be changed if I get my hands on it. The captain is a little off his rocker if you ask me. He has untidy gray hair, a face that needs dearly to be shaved, and is missing his right ear. No doubt cut it off himself in a battle, the stupid man. His crew is small, smaller then you’d expect for such a boat. I’ve been watching the boats patterns for a little while now. If it keeps on its regular schedule, it should arrive back at the docks tonight. They will have to unload and load first, since I figure a boat that is without rations is like suicide. Id like to help out as well, so if you start plotting in that little head of yours don’t exclude me from the plans.”

(well, more Special Olympics events recently...but yeah)

“Hm. Well, whether you want it or not, you’ll get a reward for helping me," the girl said, seeming to ignore the part about his asking about her name, but oh well. That was just a minor detail, he was sure...though he'd have to call her something at some point, it seemed like. Shrugging to himself, he got rid of the thought for now, considering what the reward might be, and if it would even be of any real use to him. Of course he didn't show this, being relatively good-natured if seclusive, but it was still a consideration. Then she seemed to get to the details of this little job, and he listened intently.

“As for the ship, its not far from here. There’s a town on this coast just a little north. In that town there’s a great ship whose name will soon be changed if I get my hands on it. The captain is a little off his rocker if you ask me. He has untidy gray hair, a face that needs dearly to be shaved, and is missing his right ear. No doubt cut it off himself in a battle, the stupid man. His crew is small, smaller then you’d expect for such a boat. I’ve been watching the boat's patterns for a little while now. If it keeps on its regular schedule, it should arrive back at the docks tonight. They will have to unload and load first, since I figure a boat that is without rations is like suicide. Id like to help out as well, so if you start plotting in that little head of yours don’t exclude me from the plans,” she said. So it was at the port not far north, was it...that wouldn't be any big deal. There'd be plenty of people going in and out of it, so with his cloak on, he could simply walk up to the ship fairly unnoticed, most likely. Thinking through a few things for a moment, including her desire to help out, he quickly enough came up with a good enough plan of action.

"It's been so long since I've done this sort of thing that I'm surprised I'm still good at planning for it...anyway, though, since there are two of us, then we can potentially hit at two points, which makes things slightly easier. I've come to know a few people around the area that supply ships, so if you dress up a little, I can get them to let you help load things onto the ship, considering for the most part it's the workers, not the crew, that do that sort of thing...not sure why, but the owners of the supply businesses have a thing about that. Then since it'll be nighttime, I can simply slip onboard without anyone noticing me and go straight for the docking plank and ropes while you're loading everything up. I can put the ship out into water with most of the crew still off of it, and from there it'll effectively be all yours."

Her surroundings seemed to disappear as he spoke his plan. The soft blue waves turned into polluted ones. The hot sandy beach became the rotten wooden planks of a dock. No longer was the sun shining brilliantly in the sky. It was night, and the blinking stars were making themselves known to the world. Even the sounds seemed to change, except for his voice. It was quiet where she was, all she could hear were a few crew men and the water. There wasn’t however, any smells. As a matter of fact, the entire thing seemed distant. It was because it was all in her mind. She was running through his plan in her head.

Her dream self was cloaked, looking rather like a slob. This helped her blend in with the rest of the crew. Then the picture switched as Lace made his way unnoticed onto the ship. Slowly he undid the ropes the held the ship in place. Slowly the boat started to drift further into the ocean and farther from the dock. Quickly she made her way onto it, a few men coming off. There only remained a few, which could be dealt with easily enough. They were free to set off. In the best case scenario.

She doubted it would be like that. So many things could go wrong. She could be caught, he could be caught. What if the boat set off and she was unable to board it. Too many crew members would be stuck on the boat and they wouldn’t hesitate to cut off her head. And even if they, by some miracle, did manage to get the boat into the ocean without incident it wouldn’t be long before the authorities were called. She would have to elude them almost the entire way. Most the trip would be spent watching over her shoulder for another boat. That could be fun.

“Well, it sounds simple enough. It also makes me look like a petty fool for not being able to do such a simple thing on my own. However, I’ll have you know that it’s because I’m not much of a thief. I do a different sort of plotting.”

Of course she didn’t know if she could trust what he said. What if he was truly some sort of paladin and planned to turn her in the second they got to town? That didn’t scare her much. If he tried such a thing, she could get out of it easily enough. He had no proof that she tried to get him to steal a boat. It was his word against hers. And if he tried to betray her in any other way, she would be ready.

“Right, well…whenever you’re ready I guess.”

With that she put on her jacket, not wanting him to see her back, and turned around to face the water, not really wanting to say anything else to him. There wasn’t anything really to say. Small talk wasn’t something she enjoyed much. Talking in general wasn’t something she enjoyed much. It was necessary in some cases however, and she knew that. Hopefully he wasn’t one who talked like he couldn’t shut up.

Shrugging to himself after she spoke, Lance kneeled down, picking up his cloak from the sand and shaking it off a bit, causing particles of sand to fall off almost unseen back onto the beach where they belonged. Then, folding his wings somewhat, he tossed it over himself easily enough, to the point where the only part of him that could really be seen was his left eye. It was around midday...they'd have to get there now if he was to be able to set up everything perfectly for the plan to work. It seemed to him that nothing could go wrong...the place was a major port for supplying ships and transferring goods, but aside from that, few people used it, much less for any recreational purposes. Peaceful, with hardly a care...no problems at all.

"Well then...we should probably get going over there now, so that I can get everything set up so that it'll all work," he said, hating to disrupt her from seemingly thinking about something, but knowing that if this was to be done, it had to be done soon enough.

(bah...short...)