The Aquilla

Rose sat on the rigging chewing the inside of her cheek, they had docked in France a few leagues above spain and to be honest she wasn't really that thrilled about it. The French males had ignored her for some of the more pretty women of the ship which suited her fine, she had chosen to baby sit the ship and was waiting for the Fabulous Captain to return. She personally found the captain amusing and interesting, not many men these days were that flamboyant.

Joshua made his way out of a tavern, backwards. He gave a wink to the barmaid, a bottle of rum in his hand. He tipped some of the alcohol into his mouth, nearly backing into a man. He grinned a bit, "Sorry 'bout that, brother..." His Bahamian accent had returned, though it was subtle. The ring on his finger glinted lightly. He tipped the bottle up again, as one would a flask. He'd kept his drinking under control since the Viper, limiting himself to one bottle, and those bottles were always relatively small. Just enough to make him tipsy. He shifted the strap on his shoulder, adjusting to the weight of the bag. His white shirt's collar was hanging over, revealing a bit of a tattoo and a scar that barely missed it. He chuckled a bit as he walked, grinning, heading towards the docks to survey ships. He'd need another crew soon. Just one place to the next, he didn't intend to stay in any longer than that, forming bonds was something he didn't really want to do, anymore. It always ended badly.

Dropping down from the Rigging the pale eyed ginger who could easily be mistaken for a young boy scrambled up to sit on the jutting out prow of the ship. Stretching out to tuck her hands behind her head she sighed and let her left leg dangle off the warm wood, she half listened to the busy sounds of the docks the sounds of the seagulls above making her smirk slightly. Otis had mentioned that if anyone approached her about joining the ship she could look into them. For the moment she was fine, it was easier to dress as she was and let others make their own decisions, men tended to look down on her if they figured out that she was a female and that was something she couldn't stand. For such a short lass she packed in plenty of temper and spunk

Thea sat just outside of the local tavern. She wasn't drinking. After being poisoned by a guy in a tavern much like this, it had been a long time since her last drunken rampage. Instead she tapped her fingers off the wooden surface of her table in a practised, methodical rhythm like she often did now. It was a nerves thing, some little sign of how unsure she was that she should be in a place like this. Honestly, she had been debating returning home for several weeks. Her eyes were on the table in front of her, her eyes not really focused. One hand moved to her bag, as if checking it was still there. She'd been waiting for somebody to show up for the past hour, a captain of a ship. Now that she thought about it though, she knew he hadn't actually been a captain. Why had she even gotten her hopes up in the first place?

Joshua wandered towards the docks, head tilting as he surveyed the ships. He finished off the bottle and tossed it. He headed along it, glancing from ship to ship, reorganizing his thoughts to appear fully sober. His tongue was probably a little more loose than it should be, he was a little flirtier, and he found things funnier, but if someone was here and saw him, he'd prefer not to screw his chances of joining a crew.

Otis turned up sitting down opposite the woman with his dark brown eyes alert and interested, he had a couple of rings on his fingers yet none on hsi wedding ring finger. He ordered a mug of rum and watched her before he said in careful tones "you were looking for a ship then?" unlike most would expect the flamboyants voice was low smooth. He nodded as his mug appeared and took a gulp from it, he inclined his head toward the Aquilla several hundred yards down the docks "I am a... captain of sorts, looking for members naturally" he lifted a foot to rest on his knee leaning against the wooden back of his seat.

Rose had a bottle of rum in her hand, generally the person on duty got a quarter of a bottle of rum and well she was making use of it. It wasn't like there was anything for her on shore anyway, most of the men went off to get laid but personally she distanced herself from shore. An eye opened revealing a pale green eye that flicked around checking the ships to make sure that the dark green and black Man of War ship was not there.

Joshua came to a ship named 'The Aquilla', which, at first, he thought said 'Attila', as in Attila the Hun. Well, that would be a strange name for a ship, wouldn't it? He chuckled a little at his own thoughts and moved to the side of the ship, glancing over it. It certainly wasn't naval. Guess that meant it was fair game for him to join.

Thea lifted her head to eye the man who sat down opposite her. Her fingers gradually stopped their drumming. "Yeah, I'm looking for a ship," she replied, leaning forward a little to rest an elbow on the table. Her voice was monotone, no emotion showing in her facial features. "I used to work as a sailing master, a navigator, on another ship. Do you have any need for one of those? If not then I'm sure I can fit in as an average crew member anyway." She usually wouldn't offer the latter but she was eager to get away from France and its inhabitants. It was fair to say that her time here had not been pleasant. Once she got far away from this place then her mind would be better at ease and she would be able to concentrate a little better.

Otis nodded his dark fine eyes that were framed by black lashes inspecting the other inhabitants of the port before he flicked them back to the girl. Inspecting her via fashion sense he nodded "i Usually Navigate but i suppose we could always take you on and test it out" he stood flipping a coin down for his drink. His sleeves pulled up slightly revealing the intricate tattoo around one of his wrists, "Im Otis" he informed her.

Rose felt eyes on her, sitting up so that her feet were on either side of the prow of the ship she glanced over. Seeing a man staring at the ship she raised her eyebrows slightly pale green eyes narrowed and hard "What are you looking at?" her scottish accent was thick due to not really trusting him and well she wasn't much of a talker

Joshua's ever-changing eyes flicked over to her. They appeared to be a grey-ish hazel, for the moment. It all depended on lighting. He chuckled a little at what he took for a defensive tone, "Just studying the ship..." His own accent continued to lace his words. He'd fallen back into the habit of using it since leaving the Viper. It worked, well enough. He moved to where he was standing on the boarding plank, looking the ship over, not caring too much if the crew member watched him.

Thea nodded. "Thank you." Finally she'd found someone who would take her on. The lass had thought that she'd find a ship almost immediately but it had been a very long and painful quest. "I'm Thea," she replied. "Nice to meet you, Captain Otis." She sat back in her chair, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. There was a tiny, noticeable wince at the movement but she did her best to hide it. "So which ship is your's?" she asked as she nodded towards the ships in view from the tavern.

Otis's sharp eye caught the wince "my dear Thea, you appear wounded? come with me our ship surgeon is rather good he dosen't have the sense to dye his bandages other colors than boring white however" he sighed with exasperation as if it were obvious that everyone should be bright and colorful.

Rose rolled her eyes "whatever" she told him but she still kept a sharp eye on him, hopefully the captain would be back soon and then she could return to being by herself. It was nice being out at sea it was preferred to working in a town, her options were rather limited on land, basically becomming a prostitute was not high on her list of to dos. Not that any brothel would take her anyway.

Joshua raised an eyebrow at her. She was... an interesting character. Wouldn't stop him, though, if he did join the crew. Hell, the boy could carry on a conversation with a wall, one-sided as it was. His eyes trailed along the body of the ship.

Thea shook her head. "Trust me, it's nothing," she replied. "It's a few weeks old so it's fairly healed. It just twinges a bit, is all." It was the truth and she'd rather people didn't see it and start raising questions. She adjusted her brown waistcoat a little. "So which is your ship?" she asked again. Generally, Thea found that she was good at judging people by the condition of their ship so she wanted to see it before the time came to set sail.

Otis's eyes lit up with pride in his vessel, he lead the way walking rather oddly his gaze sweeping over the ships. His eyes spotted his prized possession, his baby, the Aquilla "There she is, can catch up to over 12 knots on her best day, not many ships can out run her either" he spoke as if the ship was a living breathing thing.

Rose perked up as the Captain arrived "Captain" she said respectfully before she shot an annoyed look at the ogler who looked like someone had smacked him with a guppy before she scrambled off the prow to stand on the deck watching her captain with clea reyes. The ship was neat and orderly.

Joshua gave a sigh at the look he was shot. His head turned from the ship and the redhead to the captain and... Thea? He blinked, head tilting at her in confusion. What was she doing in France? What was he doing in France? He still wasn't entirely certain on why he'd gotten on a ship to France. He ran his fingers through his dark blonde hair, "Well, fancy meeting you here..." His words were directed at Thea. His eyes then shifted towards the captain.

Thea walked with a light limp as she followed him to the ship. Her eyes ran over the masts, the rigging, the sails and finally the new people standing there. First, she looked at the woman- glad that she wouldn't be the only female on board. That made the thought of going out to sea again a little easier on her mind. Then she looked at the man and her eyes widened a little. "Josh?" she asked, her brows furrowing. "Didn't we leave you in Spain?"

Joshua chuckled a bit, watching her. His fingers ran through his hair again, his standard nervous or thinking tick, "Uh, yeah, you did. Lovely country, by the way." The part about the country came with a tone of dislike and sarcasm. He'd had his little confrontation with the prince of Sky's, gotten him to leave them alone, taking quite the beating, himself. It hadn't changed anything, though, he'd still been left. He tilted his head a little, "Are you part of this ship? Or joining?" If she was, it definitely raised the idea of joining in his mind.

Otis had noted the limp and the expert look on her face as she had inspected his ship, a look of greeting passed over his face "hello there Rose, gone through the quart of rum already, sometimes i think thats half of the reason that you stay on board" he grinned slightly before pouting slightly at roses retort.

Rose retorted instantly "no i stay on board so you don't attempt to give me a 'make over'" she tilted her head at the other female before she raised an eyebrow "you know this guppy?" she asked with slight intrest before she shrugged looking over at the captain before she muttered something under her breath in gaelic and stalked off.

"Yeah, I wish I'd gotten off there rather than here though," Thea commented on his first statement. It was official that she now hated France. "But, yeah, I think I'm joining." Thea glanced at the Captain. Then she looked over at Rose as she turned and left, raising an eyebrow slightly. Usually she would have smirked or laughed but the corners of her lips didn't move in the slightest. "Guppy?" she asked as she looked back at Josh. "What's she on about?"

Joshua raised an eyebrow at the redhead before turning back to the two. 'Guppy'? He she really called him 'guppy'? Weird. He shrugged a bit, "I have... absolutely no idea. Didn't seem to like me too much, though." He chuckled lightly, smiling. 'Guppy'. Just... strange. "I'm looking for a crew, as well..."

Otis looked amused "don't give her any mind, she'll come around, if you two know each other am i assuming correctly that you are fine with being on the same ship? if not then im sorry sir but the lady was the one to contact me first" to be honest he was off somewhere else assessing the fabulosity of his ship and the fact that several spots needed a good touch up

Thea shrugged. "I don't really mind..." she told the captain, glancing back at Josh. "What about you?" She shifted on her feet, really wanting to sit down. Most of her weight was centered on one leg and the other one was painful. She didn't want to just sit on the ground here though, that would surely raise some questions. Her hand moved to her satchel again, as it did very often. The movement was just second nature to her now and she never really thought about it.

Joshua smiled, fiddling briefly with the ring Thea had given him. "I have no issues working with her." They had been friends then and they still were now, as far as he was concerned. He did feel bad about having left the Viper without saying goodbye to her. He'd said goodbye to all of two people from that crew and only one of those had gone well. He smiled at the captain, bowing his head, "Joshua Harrison. I sail and I sail well. A rather able sailor, in skill." He smiled a bit, knowing what he'd said rambled a little. Oh well, he'd just... blame that on the rum, he supposed.