Shadows: Whisper | Assassin's Creed

[Dusset]

Cullen grabbed a hand of cards and eyed Ceto, giving her a sly smile. "Don' be a wanka', aye?" He said. "Not like' yer language makes much any sense 'te us." He looked at his hand and slid it into his robes, just to be sure, unknowing Ceto would use Eagle Vision. "But I suppose I can, captain." He added a couple seconds later. "I didn't learn a whole language just to not use it." He'd grabbed five cards. A standard in most games, and what Ceto had grabbed. "What are we playing, anyways?" He asked. "Can't win if I don't know the rules."

[RainDash]

Theresa stared at the ceiling, tracing the perfect wooden lines with her eyes until she couldn't stand it anymore. She had to get to the deck and move about. Yet, she couldn't tell if it was the ship rocking back and forth or if it was the illness, testing how long until she could stand it. She slid on her assassin's dress, wanting to be in a dress should she die today. At least she would go out dressed fabulously.

 

[Tech week for the play I'm in.]

[Mousia]

Abe chuckled at Ceto's comments. "I have brown hair. He's the different one." She shrugged halfheartedly and picked out her own five cards. "Depends. What do you all want to play? I've got enough to gamble right fine." She glanced at her hand, memorized the cards, and tucked it into her shirt to a place no sane assassin would dare look as a means of cheating 'less they leaned that way, and Abe doubted that was Ceto's creed. "You're a dirty fox, Ceto. A dirty fox," the woman joked with a grin as she held an old flintlock in her dirty hands. Cleaning it as she often did when there was a lull to busy her hands, Abe looked around, able to operate the gun's systems without looking for the most part. She'd had that ol' thing since...well...for a long time.

[TwilightMoonDragon]

Ceto

 

The two people that were her opponents hid their cards in their clothing. Ceto sighed, not expecting that they would have to hide their cards. Her blue eyes watched them closely, a smile on her face. Abe called her a fox, and that made her bark a laugh. Oh, that was good! She had been called many worse things before... Suddenly, someone walked in. Ceto looked up to see thatit was Castiel. The man looked dashing, she had to admit. He hardly looked his age and yet he was as wise and strong as a pirate that was at sea for many years. The man had his hair tied back in a low ponytail, and his eyes glimmered with curiousity as he watched them. "Cards? Oh, Ceto, I thought that you outlawed gambling!" he said with a grin.

"Well, they're under supervision." Ceto commented, looking at her cards.

[Danniphantom]

((So I should put Aero somewhere so anyone free can interact with him!))

 

Aero inspected the ropes and riggers of the boat, mast and sails. He needed something to keep him mind occupied so he didn't think about the fact that he was on a boat surrounded by water. When he was finished he began wandering aimlessly and found himself sitting on the bow of the ship sitting on a barrel tying and untying a rope just to keep his mind off the slow gentle swaying. The breeze came in and blew against his face pulling his hood off. He didn't bother adjust it, there was nothing for miles. The only thing he found comfort in was the smell of the salty air and the sun against his face.

[RainDash]

[Just gonna put this here.]

 

Theresa managed to scrounge up enough strength to hobble to the deck, leaning over the railing. She was using it more for support than in case she had been sick, but with all of the rocking, she wasn't certain if she was going to be sick or not. Back, forth, up, down, it felt like it was happening all at once. She found herself on the prow of the ship, hoping that seeing the waves ahead would settle her stomach and head. The wind cooled her fevered head and whipped her dress around. She'd barely registered Aero there as well, but she noticed and tried to be as polite as possible while not being sick. "Oh, hello. Sorry about not greeting you earlier."

 

[still in school.]

[TwilightMoonDragon]

Robb

 

The day was unusually gray that day. The sea tossed and turned, crashing against the bow of the bow. It roared and hissed as it sprayed up in his face, feeling cold and... wet. Robb rubbed his face with the back of his hand, making him groan. Sometimes he just got tired of feeling wet. He dreamed of the time where he would be dry, lying in the middle of a beach while drinking the milk of a delicious coconut. But now he was cold and wet... With no beach or coconut in sight. His brown eyes looked down at the ropes again. Robb hated pulling them, since he cut himself more than once. He hated the sea life, the tossing and rowing of the God damned boat. More than once he had vomited, throwing up all of his food. One day, he would leave and never come back. One day he would be dry and warm while drinking a cup of wine and having a lady in his lap. But today wasn't the day. He sat at the railing, eyes gazing out at the ocean. He was in the middle of nowhere... Surrounded by water. Would that day ever come..?

[RainDash]

Mary loved the seas. The freedom, the closeness to other people, it was better than what she had before, and that was absolutely nothing. Even on a grey, cloudy day like this she couldn't be unhappy. So what if the seas slapped her face and the ropes bit her hands? She was content, happy to be somewhere where she wasn't scum of the earth. Her brown eyes glinted in delight as the seas churned. Then they turned to Robb, who was he biggest, most boring person she'd ever met. He hated this, she knew, and was probably dreaming of a life beyond the ocean. On pure impulse, Mary leapt onto the railing, balancing on the thin bar of wood like a tightrope walker. She came close to Robb, smiling and keeping herself on the railing pretty well.

 

"What's wrong?" Mary asked. Mary grew up on the streets, but her once caretaker had been French, and thus beat the language into her. She'd known that Robb didn't speak a whole lot of Italian, or even much at all, but she still wanted to speak with him. He was interesting, the boy on the ship who hated to be there. She wanted to know why he hated being there, because it was so great for her, she couldn't imagine anyone hating it.

[TwilightMoonDragon]

Robb

 

The young pirate sighed as he looked out over the ocean... again. The sight of the endless stretch of blue made him sick to the stomach. He wished that he was still with his mother. Castiel told him about his mother, saying that she was a woman that he had when he was drunk. But Castiel said that he was a blessing. Robb didn't think that he was a blessing in the eyes of his father, justa nusiance. Robb perked up when Mary appeared on the railing of the boat. She was balancing precariously on the little strip of wood. "Just kind of sea sick." Robb murmured, rubbing his cut up hands. They stung horribly from rubbing them against the ropes. "I don't like the sea much. I just wish that I was on stable ground." Robb quirked a brow at her, frowning. She was going to fall... And the sea was tossing and turning. "Get off the railing... You're going to fall, and I'm not going to jump after you."

[RainDash]

"You ain't missin' much on stable ground. Just a lot of flatness and you can't really do much besides run on it." Mary said, laughing. "And I'm not going to fall, I've had too much practice walking on stuff like this on land to fall." secretly, she did think about getting down. She couldn't swim. It wasn't that she didn't want to learn, it was more like she hadn't the time. She'd barely learned that you could much less how to. Mary windmilled out her arms, pretending to fall before righting herself and sticking out her tongue. "See? I won't-" suddenly, a huge wave rocked the ship, knocking off her balance and sending Mary plummeting head first into the sea. She wasn't even aware she was screaming until water filled her mouth and nose. Clawing her way upright, she used every bit of strength she had to break the surface of the water, gasping violently for breath. All too soon, she was dragged under again, deeper this time, and her crawl to the surface was slower, more desperate. "Robb! I can't swim!" Mary cried, hoping that Robb would hear her.

He wouldn't let her just drown would he? She worried before she felt herself slip into nothingness, her fingers mere inches from the surface.

[TwilightMoonDragon]

Robb

 

"You're missing the grass. The pure sunshine and the feeling of earth between your toes. The feeling of the cobblestone beneath your feet." Robb said, looking away. Why did he become a pirate again? That was right- his father had taken him away from his mother when he was three. Castiel loved him, or so people said. But he didn't love his father. Suddenly, Mary spread out her arms and pretended to fall. Robb's heart leapt up to his throat. It was all a jest, and he was about to yell at her before a giant wave sprang up. It was so big that it completely rocked the ship, sending Mary overboard. "Mary!" he screamed, diving after his friend. He aligned his body vertically, so he could easily reach her. But the water... The water was a huge shock. It was freezing! Robb had to force his body out of the shock before swimming to Mary. He wrapped an arm around her as he choked on water. He would have yelled at her, but his mouth had filled with water. "Help!" he screeched, trying to fight against the waves while keeping Mary's head over the water.

[RainDash]

Just before slipping away completely, a force grabbed her and hauled her to the surface. She coughed, spitting out the salty sea that had managed to crawl into her mouth. Through the rocking ocean, she could hear Robb. She thought he was going to just let her drown, let her fall into the sea like he had said he would. "Thought you weren't gonna grab me if I fell?" Mary said, trying to feebly kick -which looked more like her legs flailing around underwater- and help Robb keep them both above water. From the ship, some sailor knocked down a rope ladder, and tried to slow the ship. They needed every hand possible, and losing two at once would be crippling to the ship.

 

[Performance.]

[TwilightMoonDragon]

[Good luck!]

 

Robb

 

Thankfully, she provided a bit of warmth. More than he expected... Robb coughed and spluttered as he struggled to stay above water. God, was this the end? Saving someone that was drowning like this? Not only anyone, but... A woman, a woman that bothered him so? His black hair was slipping out of the ponytail that he had and spilling into his face, but he could see a rope ladder. With a sudden push, he swam over and grabbed it. The rope made his hands sting a bit, but he grabbed harder and made sure that he would not fall. He couldn't climb the ladder with Mary in his other hand. His brown eyes gazed down at her and then back up at the sailor. "Pull us up!" he said, grinding his teeth some more and muttering under his breath. He didn't even answer Mary's question. He was that pissed off. All of the things he did for this woman. She was a year older than him but she still got into trouble. Like now. Oh God, it was so cold! He would have to charge to the barracks and slip into something more comfortable. And dry. He couldn't afford to get sick, not now. If he did get sick... Like Theresa... Oh, he wasn't sure that he ould make it. Theresa was a strong woman and she didn't seem to be getting any better.

[Mousia]

(Not, TMD. It's "break a leg". Wishing someone good luck is said to jinx it.)

 

Duncan looked down and sighed. Silly children, always getting themselves near to death. It seemed they were fond of it, really. Pulling up the rope ladder steadily, he rolled his eyes was they ascended. "Oy! Robb! Should'a let someone else make the jump. You're the half-medic, remember? Can't afford to lose you, can we?" Pulling them up inch by inch, he steeled himself as they were almost at the railing. "Can you get off yourselves or are your joints stilled by the chill?" His question was a genuine one. While most thought him absent-minded, he really was rather compassionate. He'd do much for someone to call a bona fide friend, and even more to save a stranger for the sake of his conscience. Besides, the bodies would deform the sea!

 

Abe looked up at Castiel and grinned up at him. "Wanna play?" she asked with gusto, truly enjoying herself. Ah, these Irishmen and their misplaced pride. It truly got her in a good mood to think about just how wrong them were. Yet, to an outsider, the Scots and Irish weren't so very different. They were both of Gaelic origin and both spoke a broken kind of dialect of English, yet they both knew Italian right fine. Both more adept at speaking it than would be necessary to just get by with the Italian captain and largely Italian correspondence. "I could deal you out quick, we haven't started yet."

Edited November 9, 2013 by Mousia

[RainDash]

Mary felt herself being lifted up, and saw the man who she had learned was named Duncan. She crawled onto the deck, sitting in all fours as she gasped and sputtered. She dripped into the deck, feeling like a drowned cat, laying down and trying to stay warm again the cold wind. Why did she even think for a moment that she was going to stay perfectly on the railing? Intermixed with the water in her face were tears. She would have died if Robb hadn't saved her. He was probably not even going to talk to her now. She'd messed up. All she wanted to do was show off for him, but now he hated her for such stupid stunts. She just thought he looked so lonely, and just needed someone to talk to. Now she'd ruined her friendship with him and ruined her chances with him for anything more.

"I'm sorry… I thought that I… I'm so sorry!" she yelled, burying her face in her hands. "But next, maybe I'll learn how to swim so you don't have to fish me out…" Mary tried to recover from her weakness. She had appear like she always had, because maybe then she could salvage something out of their relationship. Robb was one of the few people she actually talked with on a regular basis on this stupid boat, and she'd been stupidly overconfident.

 

[it went well regardless of TMD's almost jinxing it. ]

[TwilightMoonDragon]

Robb

 

Oooh, it was so cold. Robb trembled wildly as he was hauled onto deck, arm firmly wrapped around Mary. Why had he done it? He should have let her drown. He should have let her mouth and lungs fill with water. But as he tried to imagine him ignoring her as she drowned... He couldn't. Mary was his only friend. She was the one that spoke to him. Without her, he would have been more lonely and aggressive. As he was dragged onto the deck, he flopped to the ground and wheezed. Every wind chill was like a knife that was cutting through him. It knocked the breath out of him. "Are you touched in the head?!" he yelled at her, his brown eyes bright with anger. As he looked up, he noticed that most of the crew had stopped what they were doing and stared at them. It was then that Robb flushed a color deeper than red and stood up. He had to get changed. It was freezing and he was trembling too much. Robb left the deck, shoving past Duncan and storming beneath deck.

 

Ceto/Castiel

 

The woman glanced at Abe. Why didn't she keep her mouth shut? Ceto sighed and rolled her eyes. Castiel was a bigger cheater than her. He was clever, cunning. "We don't even know what game we're playing yet. Just talking and stuff." Ceto said, looking at her hands.

"Oh?" Castiel murmured, sitting down across from Ceto and grinning. "What's wrong, Ceto? Afraid that I'll beat you?"

Ceto grumbled under her breath and looked at her hands again. Castiel bobbed his head at Abe, signalling to start playing. While he looked down at the table, he caught sight of the riddle. Bringing the paper close, his brows knitted together. "Curious." Castiel murmured, rubbing his chin and feeling his facial hair. "What is this, exactly?"

[Mousia]

(Duncan's just gonna walk away, so yeah. Not enough for a post that's worthwhile.)

 

Abe shrugged and dealt Castiel a hand absentmindedly. "It's just a riddle we got from the Italian shore people. Don't know what th' hell it means, but we're probably gonna figure it out sometime if we don't think about it that much. 's how it works, no?" She shifted her body a little and rolled her neck with a soft sigh. "Say, Cullen... 'r ye man 'nough t' loo' at' m' ca's?" she asked in English. Winking suggestively she mocked him. "I wo' 'ol 't 'gainst ye. Jus'...curious. Wan' see 'at kind'a man ye'are. 'aven't been to 'relan' in ages. Don' qui' 'member jus' how chaste ye'are."

 

(Translation: Say, Cullen... Are you man enough to look at my cards?

I won't hold it against you. Just...curious. I want to see what kind of man you are. Haven't been to Ireland in ages. Don't quite remember just how chaste you are.)

[Dusset]

Cullen had sat silent while Castiel, Ceto and Abe spoke. He was watching. Keen eyes searching for a tell. Something they did to signal the quality of their cards. Of course, he'd have to play a few hands to be sure, but he had to start looking eventually. Abe spoke and his cheeks gained a little color. Her cards? In her cleavage? "M'dear, I don' know what kinda men 'ye spend 'yer time wit', but I pride m'self on m'proper behavior about w'men." He said, covering his ass. He was not the kind of man to sleep with women he didn't love, or think he was in love with. He didn't * around and he didn't flirt meaninglessly. No man can be said to never steal glances at women, but he only did so rarely and discreetly. The idea of openly staring into Abe's shirt made him a bit nervous, more than you'd imagine a would-be pirate to be.

Edited November 10, 2013 by Dusset

[Mousia]

"Ah, c'mon! Ye'll ne'er ge' yerse' man frien's 'at 'ay, 'ate. 's a pir'te's 'ay. Ye 'ight 's well ge' use' t' 't whi' ye ca', 'r ye may be ge'in co'fus'd fer a...ah, ye kn'w 'at 'm ta'in 'bou'..." Pausing briefly in her speech, she twisted a dreadlock about her finger absentmindedly, lost in thought for a quick moment. Snapping back into gear, so to speak, she cracked her knuckles out of habit. Sure, she was a tough, seafaring girl, but she'd go a long way to see a rival of her countrymen red in the cheeks. Besides, he was making it all too easy. "Ye ge'in' 'pset a' m'? Jus' let th't rage bui' up in ye, jus' let yerse' wan' to put m' in m' place. 'm try'n' t' he' ye 'ere, ye see. N' s'lf 'esp'ctin' man 'n th's boat's gon' le'cha g' 'long wi'ou' a goo' laugh 't th's. 'ike I sai', 's th' pir'te's 'ay. 'ay's well ge' use' t' 't. Yer n' gon' ge' mu' varie'y 'n th's shi'."

 

(Translation: Ah, come on. You'll never get many friends that way, mate. It's a pirate's way. You might as well get used to it, or you may be getting confused for a...ah, you know what I'm talking about.

Are you getting upset at me? Just let that rage build up in you, just let yourself want to put me in my place. I'm trying to help you here, you see.No self-respecting man on this boat is going to let you go along without a good laugh at this. Like I said, it's the pirate's way. May as well get used to it. You're not going to get much variety on this ship.)

[Dusset]

((I don't know what you're talking about, Abe. That was vague.))

 

Cullen's blush faded when he started to realize she was just getting under his skin. He offered a grin, as if he were in on a joke. "Lassie, I'd tuck 'dem mosquito bumps back in 'yer shirt b'fore 'ye get mistak'n for a twelve year old boy." He jabbed in almost instinctual rebuttle. "I'll kindly take m'respect from m'skills and not from how I conduct m'self about a lady. Though, the more 'ye talk, the less 'ye seem like 'un." He decided to be bold, something he likely wouldn't have done is national prides weren't battling each other. "Oi'll tell 'ye what." He slid a card from the hand in his shirt and slid it behind and past his belt buckle. "'Ye snatch that card, oi'll take a peek at 'yer's."

[RainDash]

Great. Mary sat up, watching Robb vanish below deck. She'd messed up, she'd messed up so much. Now he was mad, but now she had to go below deck to change... Oh well. She had to do it otherwise she'd end up sick like Tessa. With a deep breath and all the dignity she could muster up, she marched down to the barracks -she didn't know what to call it on a ship. She was shivering, violently.

 

[it's late.]

[Mousia]

(What now? I can't brain today. I've got the dumb.)

(And I literally can't read Abe's dialogue without the translation anymore. I've created a monster!)

 

"All ye seen 's a bi' o' m' ches' bone. Ye ain't seen no'in." Abe retorted quite truthfully. Her jacket was usually buttoned rather high to steel herself from the chill. The high seas really were nippy, especially on the upper deck, where her cannons were. She only felt worse, though she'd never admit it, for Cullen himself, for he had to spend his days up in the crow's nest, touching the frozen clouds. Yet those thoughts were mere distractions. "Ye thi' 'm firtee'? I bee' do' 'ere 'fore." Making eye contact with him for a full second, she reached out towards the card. "If yer s're." Making a quick thing of snatching the card, she tried not to draw attention to it, as she'd inadvertently made her own self a little fluttery in the heartspace. ...

 

(Translation: All you've seen is a bit of my chest bone. You haven't seen anything.

You think I'm fourteen? I've been down there before.

If you're sure.)

[Dusset]

((you may be getting confused for a...ah, you know what I'm talking about.

I wasn't sure what she was alluding to.))

 

Cullen was not a stupid man. Granted, he felt a little hot-eared when she grabbed the card, he hadn't exactly expected her to back down, and she took his bait. When she reached over he made made use of his nimble fingers and pried her whole hand of cards from her shirt and used his other hand to cover his own. He leaned back in his chair and laughed, looking at his nine cards. "'Ye be as foolish as a new born calf!" He said. "Like oi said erl'r. Don' count 'yer eggs b'fore tey hatch. 'Ye might be surprised whatcha get." He handed back four cards, of course, the four that were the least valuable to him in a card game.

 

((I watched a video on the distinctions in Irish accents. If it becomes the point of Abe's gibberish, lemme know.))

[Mousia]

(A gay person, Duss. They weren't widely accepted back then.)

 

"Na' I know. Th'ks, laddie. Ye've bee' a dear." Leaning over the table, she kissed him lightly on the cheek, refusing to be beaten. "C'mon, boy. Just let it stay a game. No need to get defensive." She put effort into dissolving her accent, speaking clearly enough to get every sound out, though she still did sound distinctively Scottish to the trained ear. "I love a good game, don't you?" Recoiling, she rejected the cards. "I memorized my hand anyway. There's no need to get nasty and cheat me. Besides, I'm treating you, remember?"

 

(Translation: Now I know. Thanks, laddie. You've been a dear.)

[Dusset]

((Thought so. Wasn't sure.))

 

Cullen smirked and placed her proper cards on the table in a show of good faith. Suddenly, he felt a fool. Like he'd been set up to fall and just had. Has he taken it too seriously? He thought it was all in good jest. Perhaps she was angry he outsmarted her? Or maybe he'd tried too hard? Regardless, his cheeks were ruby again. "Aye, let's leave it a game." He agreed absently. He had little else to say as he wished to not look the fool again. Abe may be a gunner and a pirate but she knew how men worked, and she knew how push an Irishman's buttons.

Edited November 10, 2013 by Dusset