MRDRHAWK

Oh, this was… definitely not what Nyx expected. She’d figured Syndra would have just rolled her eyes and gave her a snarky remark, but instead she made this frankly beautiful rose out of ice, and Nyx… really didn’t know how to react. So, naturally, she simply stood there admiring the faux flower while she turned so red steam was probably coming out of her ears. ”Syn, I-“ Nyx cut herself off as the skinny lad started talking, and the mood died out. Right, she forgot the lanky little chastity belt with legs was still here. Nyx had half a mind to toss him out, but he did help her get the box open, so… she refrained. Huh. Look at her, being a considerate adult for a change. But when he mentioned people in Hecatia to relay info to, it set off alarm bells in Nyx’s head - ones she didn’t know could still go off, given how long ago it was that she’d left this sort of thing behind. ”Wha’ kinda lads in Hecatia we talkin’? Y’ain’t wit’ any o’them traffickers n’ lookin’ t’stock up wit’ the girls in the Tigers, are ye?” Nyx leveled the man with a hard gaze, uncharacteristically serious. He’d struck a bit of a paranoid nerve in Nyx, intended or no, and now she wanted info and answers. “No ‘fense, lad, but m’not too keen on trustin’ anyone wit’ people in Hecatia n’I don’ know what they do. Not wit’ th’kinda people I know’re still snakin’ round them parts.”

Nyx squinted at the lock, then spared the skinny lad a glance, then back to the lock. Then a loud THUMP resounded through the captain’s quarters as Nyx rubbed her forehead where she’d dropped it onto the table. Damn, this boat was messing with her. ”Ah, one o’ them fuckers…” Nyx replied quietly, not actually knowing the significance of that sort of locking mechanism. Certainly sounded fancier than anything she had to deal with before… Nonetheless, following his advice, combined with her own skill in picking locks, Nyx managed to pry open the lockbox for real! Go her! ”Hell yeah! M’the best, ain’t I, Syn?” Nyx pumped her arm in satisfaction before, as she is often want to do, practically draping herself over Syndra’s shoulder. “So, how’s ‘bout a lil’ reward fer ya girl Nyxie, eh Syn~?” Oh, Nyx, you tease. In all honesty, though, she’d settle for someone to share a drink or two with; much as Gean made for good company, she wasn’t much for the bottle, and Nyx figured she’d be too young to get into it too much anyways without being a little bit of a lightweight. Maybe. Gean did seem like she could hold her own in a lotta things… Hm. Something to think about this evening.

Hey, wait, that skinny boy looked familiar. Wasn’t he the one that was with the hot dancer lady earlier? No, no, can’t let her gay thoughts distract her from this! Nyx had a feelings she was close, so close to getting this lockbox opened…! ”’Lil’ bit. Now hush up, m’almost done ‘ere.” Nyx grumbled, but Syn had already taken the liberty of introducing herself, which meant she was being polite and letting him stick around. Great. Apparently now she had a skinny silver-haired chastity belt. And this damn lock was taking forever, which was only aggravating Nyx further. ”How th’hell’d this lad get such a fancy lock fer ‘is shit?!” Or maybe she was just horribly distracted and still out of practice in this sort of thing. But no, Nyx needed to not think about her own potential shortcomings right now; she had a job to finish, dammit!

Oh, hey, she did it! Look at her go! Clearly, Nyx was the absolute best at this whole finding shit thing. Of course, the lack of a reaction from Syn mildly stung, but Nyx figured that not getting turned into a lady-sicle would have to do. Or maybe Syn was offering to make her an ice sculpture… like, not from herself? Well, whatever. ”Aye, I’ll take a crack at ‘er.” Nyx motioned to the mage to step back and leave the lockbox to her, already feeling around in her handy chest pocket for her set of lockpicks. Never leave home without them! “Lessee here…” And with that, Nyx’s deft hands got to work, as she leaned over the lockbox while swaying her hips idly once more. Damn her for getting that tail idea in her head! And, come to think of it, damn Nattie for actually having a tail and being hot with one! Nyx groaned as she quickly lost herself in petty thoughts, before refocusing on the task at hand. ”Y’think ye could make me a tail? I betcha I’d make a pretty cute catgirl~” Nyx teased as she kept working, trying closely to hear that little click that told her she was done. “Betcha I’d be cuter than Nattie wit’ it, at least.”

This search wasn’t going very well. Admittedly, Nyx wasn’t trying too hard to find these documents or whatever, but it was still vexing. Not to mention that, adrenaline having worn off, she felt tired and sweaty from all the running around the boats she did. Plus, it was hot as shit in here, and this was including the ice mage! Deciding that, rather than simply opening a window like a normal person, drastic measures had to be taken, Nyx sat back up atop the desk and undid the buttons of her vest, tossing it away with a grunt and laying atop the desk with her gaze directed to the sky. ”Oi, Syn. Y’think I’d make a good fancy art piece?” Nyx teased, turning herself to face the mage with her partly opened shirt, propping her head up with her one hand as she - perhaps a bit too dramatically - fanned herself with her other hand. “Cuz I betcha ‘m way better on th’eyes than anythin’ that punk wit’ th’bow ‘as in ‘ere any day~” Really, Nyx just wanted an excuse to stop looking for this stuff and fluster Syn some more. Oh, to put a little heat on the ice queen’s cheeks, and get her to open up a little… It would make dealing with all these closed-off kids so much more bearable to have someone willing to open up.

Oh, Syn took the teasing a bit too seriously. In hindsight, that’s probably Nyx’s fault for laying it on a little thick with the teasing, but even still… well, only one thing for it. “Ah, don’cha worry, Syn. Y’don’ gotta tell me too much, jus’… lemme know if y’ever need a gal t’talk ta, y’know? I may be a lil’ bit o’a drunk, but hell if I ain’t been through some shit too. Hell, we’ll swap stories if ye wanna.” Getting back to rooting around, Nyx thought to check inside the drawers of the captain’s desk, hoping to maybe find some carelessly hidden ledger in the drawers. “Betcha if th’lad was so prepped as t’cart ‘round those Clouded-killin’ weapons, t’ain’t so simple. Might hafta look ‘round a lil’ harder fer it.” Hmm… speaking of, maybe there was some funky mechanism under the desk? Might have to leave that for Syn to check up on.

Well, Nyx tried to lighten the mood a little. Alas, Syn just didn’t seem like the type of gal to get too relaxed over this sort of thing. A shame, given that Syn would be so much cuter if she learned to loosen up a lil’ bit. Nothing doing, Nyx supposed, even as she kept swaying her hips from side to side as she sauntered around the captain’s quarters. Damn, she really got into the tail thing, huh? ”Oi, Syn.” Nyx called out, her voice kept low even with proximity taken into account. “Th’hell d’ye think we’re lookin’ fer? Some kinda fancy book or somethin’?” A question for the ages, probably, until they found it. Then Nyx decided to tease Syn yet again, as per usual. “Or were y’just tryin’ t’get me ‘lone? Cause, lemme tell ye, y’don’ gotta go t'all o’ this trouble jus’ fer that, Syn~” Oh, Nyx, you silly goof. “Heh, guess we’ll figure it out when we find th’damn thing, eh?” Nice save! It would help if she wasn’t simply parking herself onto a perch atop the desk, where they might actually find such a thing, but… well.

No, she didn’t know what the other thing Syn wanted was about. But Nyx still got the rest of it down, and nodded before following Syndra to the captain’s quarters. Still, something about the whole thing with those anti-Clouded weapons left a bad taste in her mouth. ”M’not sure why people give so much a shit ‘bout how Clouded folk’re diff’rent than us that they gotta make fancy ass weapons t’kill ‘em. Hell, if I could ‘ave a tail, ‘d take it.” At the thought, Nyx smirked, darting in front of Syndra and swaying her hips from side to side. “C’mon, I betcha I’d look real cute wit’ a tail o’ m’own, eh Syn~?” Nyx, you clown. “‘Sides, m’more int’rested in where th’fuck they came from, so we know if we’re in fer some shit when we ‘it port.” A rare moment of logic, but the battle seemed to have shaken most of the hangover from Nyx’s head. “N’if I mighta known any o’ these lads back in th’day. Prob’ly not, since I ne’er went out t’sea or anythin’, but who knows anymore?” Certainly not Nyx, at this point.

Wait, this was… Oh. Well, now Nyx just felt silly, or as silly as she could feel on a normal day, anyways. Nonetheless, though she didn’t quite get the metaphor, she got the rest of the statement clear enough to head back down below the deck of their own boat and toss the axe into Nattie’s room - haphazardly, mind, but still. Glad that she got that out of her grasp, wanting no part of those kinds of weapons, Nyx’s mind drifted back to the Clouded from all those years ago, back in that caravan. She hoped they were doing okay after they got free of that carriage, but some part of her doubted that. The underworld was full of some persistent shits, and Nyx knew they wouldn’t take it laying down. Shrugging it off as something merely in the past, Nyx went off to find Syndra. “Oi, Syn.” She called out as soon as she found the other woman, winking at her with all the usual playfulness before schooling her face back to something vaguely neutral. “Th’fuck kinda pirates cart ‘round them kinda weapons? Sure as shit ain’t like anythin’ I e’er saw yer average thug swingin’ ‘round in my ol’ outlaw days.”

This thing in the chest… looked vaguely familiar. Admittedly, the hectic nature of the battle made it more difficult for Nyx to poke around in her own head to remember what it was, aside from some… odd-looking axe. She had half a mind to just toss it back in the chest, but maybe Nattie’d know what this thing was? She knew axes, right? ”Oi, boss.” Nyx grumbled out towards Natalya, still not keen on getting too close to the draconic grouch that… was now collapsing onto the deck. She wanted to go help, but considering how angry she’d been at her before, Nyx hesitated - it probably wouldn’t be good for her to try and drag Alvira over to the infirmary when she’d be liable to get out there too by the little dragon clawing at her for being a filthy human touching her pristine scales, or some shit. ”I foun’ dis ‘ere axe in tha’ chest back there. Y’know wha’ kinda weapon dis is?”

Nyx was rejuvenated, against all logic! At least, from the perspective of a drunken ex-outlaw. “Ah, yer a real peach, y’know? If this chest got some gold in ‘er, I woul’nt mind sharin’ it wit ye~” With a playful parting wink of her own, Nyx darted over to the chest, and got to work doing what she used to do best. Wonder what goodies awaited her…? Nyx moves to 17-16 and unlocks the chest!

With Alvira presumably done calling her old - seriously, what the hell? - Nyx zeroed in on that which she’d noticed earlier - a shiny chest, ripe for the picking! She needed to get closer… and closer she would get! Along the way, she gave Syndra a little pat on the head - a silly gesture, but one she’d hopefully not mind coming from the bow wielding woman. Nyx moves to 13-15!

All this shouting was making Nyx’s head throb. Honestly, the kid really wasn’t worth dealing with right now - better to have her nice and motivated to kill a bunch of enemies rather than setting her off on her right now. That said, there was the little matter of the chest on the boat. Hm. Might be a bit of a conundrum dealing with that while Viry was so mad. Thankfully, whether intentionally or not, Nattie seemed to agree, and marched right over to give Viry a stern talking to. “Ye, y’get ri’ on t’at un, Nattie. M’gonna stick t’ gettin’ th’chest o’er there, in a minute r’two.” With a half hearted thumbs up, Nyx let her bow clatter to the ground and pressed both fingers against her temple. Thirty thousand was definitely not going to be enough to get rid of this headache.

Even with a hangover, Nyx knew she had a damn good eye for this sort of thing, as the swordsman fell limp to the ground. And Nyx, true to form, was primed to gloat over it - until Alvira started shouting at her for the shot. Well, Nyx supposed she couldn’t really blame the kid - she was definitely the competitive type, that much she could tell. And sure, she was getting a little too pissed off, but surely that would- Wait. The fuck did she just call her? ”Oi, y’lil shit! I can excuse a lotta yer bitchin’ a’ev’ryone who ain’t Nattie, but now yer crossin’ th’line!” Besides, Nattie was older than her! Wouldn’t that make her even more of a grandma by Alvira’s apparent standards?

Huh, Alvira didn’t actually die horribly there! Wild. And she looked real pissed off at the lad that tried it, to boot. Wouldn’t it just be a shame if someone decided to steal the kill from her? A damn shame. It’d probably cause a lot of problems between her and whoever did it. Nyx, regrettably, lived to cause problems on purpose. Nyx stays where she is and does the funny bow thing on the Mercenary

Well, that’s just fuckin’ rude! Nyx was just minding her own business - and one hell of a headache - when these damn pirates showed up. Were they anyone she knew…? Nah, probably not. Shame she couldn’t remember, though - damn this hangover! Nyx moves to 9,15! ”Ooh, protec’ me, ‘Viry~” Nyx teased as she slipped behind Alvira, trying to gaze over the shoulder of the swordsman on the other ship - was that a shiny lil’ treasure chest she saw? Well, don’t mind if she does~!

Aw, Syn really did care! Still, Nyx was in one of her rare modes of actually acting her age as one of the elder stateswomen of the group, so she still felt like she had to say something. At the very least, Syn did keep from causing an incident, so she probably could just leave it - especially because, even though she was trying to be responsible, she was still… well, herself. ”Ah, why’d’ye think ‘m gonna get pissed when I know he ain’t right?” Nyx replied, tossing an arm over Syn’s shoulder and giving her a side-hug. “‘Sides, m’pretty sure that e’er since we heard ‘bout this job, I ‘ave been drinkin’ all th’time - lot more than usual, at least.” And then Nyx dropped her voice - and her head - a bit, trying not to make a scene again. Once was enough for today. “I mean, hell, can y’blame me? One lil’ fuck up n’ I might get y’all locked up fer bein’ me friends, all cuz I was dumb as shit back when I was a wee lil’ thing.” Huh. Either she was too drunk to be hearing herself say these things, or sober enough to finally let some sense of regret pass over her. Whichever it was, Nyx knew it didn’t suit her. “Ah, whatever. ‘E ain’t such a bad lad anyways, jus’ a bit… stuck up. N’hey, we’re used t’that from some o’ these damn kids already, ain’t we?”

Well, that could have gone better. A part of Nyx felt sick, like a pit in her stomach was forming at seemingly chasing these new folks off. On the other hand, that may have just been whatever was left of the booze in her system bugging her stomach. Either way, it wasn’t a very fun feeling. Not that she particularly had the time to ruminate on that, or the lovely lady she’d just seen take off in a tired heap; not when there was the burgeoning crackle of something in the air nearby. That something seemed to be… a cloud? Or, at least, the start of one - right over Ingverd’s head. Poor guy - she liked him, even if he did kinda insult her there, albeit with just a hint of truth. Only question was, who would… oh, that’s who - their other other resident hot girl, Syndra, giving her a little wink as she was starting to cast. As Ingverd went one way, Nyx went the other, and waved Syndra off, hoping to keep her from casting her spell - given that her hands at least stopped for a moment, it seemed to do the trick. “Oi,” she whispered in a low hiss, “y’tryin’ ta get us canned from a thirty thousand job? Why’re y’even tryin’ t’piss ‘im off, anyway?” She… had a feeling that she knew the answer, but it was still one she needed to her from the mouth of the babe herself.

Rude! She wasn’t drunk all the time - she had to sleep at some point, after all! Even still, Nyx couldn’t muster up a proper comeback to Ingverd’s snark, instead concentrating instead on the whole ‘magic dance’ thing he’d mentioned. Nyx hadn’t seen anything like it before… was it magic in terms of luring people in, or could she actually cast spells like that? ”Huh. ‘m pretty sure I’ve never heard’a some’un dancin’ t’magic. Did someone teach ye, or‘re ye th’self-taught type?” Nyx asked, genuinely curious - and trying to keep her composure about her. “Offer’s still open, m’not mind in’ a lil’ payment fer a show.” Nyx gave a little wink, but schooled her face back into a neutral one for her next question. “N’hey. Don’ overdo yer dancin’ if it takes a lot outta ye, aye? S’not a good idea if ye end up crashin’ n’ burnin’ cuz y’went too hard. Gotta relax sometimes, y’know?” Maybe not the best advice to give with a bottle of ale in hand, but Nyx figured it was advice she was nonetheless uniquely qualified to give.

Finally through griping about her current course in life - that being to Hecatia - Nyx found herself at a bit of a loss. The dragon fella may have left with ‘Gean to go meet up with the boss, but his compatriots didn’t, and Nyx was finally getting a look at the duo. The pretty boy wasn’t much to write home about - she never did care much for someone that looked like she could use them like a toothpick - but the other one… hot damn. She was drawn in right away, and for once, it wasn’t with her vision tinted with a bit of ale. So, naturally, Nyx did what any normal person would do. She shouted across the boat at her. ”Oi! If yer a performer, ‘d like t’see yer fancy footwork!” Nyx shouted with all the tact of an axe to the testicles, and probably embarrassing poor Ingverd along the way. Thinking about it, if Nyx made too much an ass of herself, maybe she could get this pretty little number together with elf boy? Nah, probably not. “Is yer buddy ‘ere a singer or somethin’? Betcha he makes ya some good coin wit’ yer shows. Wait, shit, d’ya even do this for money, or…” Oops, she’s losing herself already. Looking over at Ingverd for a brief moment, Nyx practically pleaded with him with her eyes. Help a girl out here, elf boy!

Nyx groaned at a frankly obnoxious level. It was bad enough that she was going back to Hecatia and probably getting locked up; but to keep her from bringing more of her stash to dull the pain? Now that was just uncalled for! Not to mention that her and boats never really mixed… The salty sea air made Nyx want to throw up over the side of the boat. ”’Geaaaaaaaaaaaan, this suuuuuuuucks.” Nyx said, very loudly, in the most eloquent way that she could have physically mustered. “S’not fair… n’I don’ even know who ‘m roomin’ with!” Honestly, she didn’t care too much, provided they could deal with Nyx flopping all over her bed. Wait, did they even get separate beds? And, to top it all off, now they had company in the form of some fancy performer and her little dragon buddy, who somehow already pissed off ‘Vira. Greeeeeeeeeeeeat. There wasn’t anywhere near enough alcohol on this ship to get her through this goddamn mess she’d found herself in now.

Well, that sucked! Nyx was really hoping for a bit of advance pay to make the trip more worth it in the short term. Oh well, so it went; at the very least, the new folk didn’t seem to be too prickly, unlike some of the kids they had. Though, given some of the circumstances they might’ve come from, Nyx could hardly blame them - although maybe she was just projecting, and by that point she knew she wasn’t anywhere near drunk enough to be having an existential crisis at this point in the day. ”Well, I mean, s’been a few years since I’ve been in Hecatia… hopefully s’not a pro’lem when we get there. Unless one o’ those loonies I used’t work wit’ got a lil’ crazy wit’ power.” Especially if it was her old running buddies. They’d probably get a little testy if their old boss suddenly showed up out of the blue with crown backing, while they were still in the muck. That… would be less than ideal. Probably. But there’s no way that would happen, right?

Nyx tucked a hand under her chin as the other rested on her alcohol bottle, as per usual. There were several things on her mind, but only one was seen as fit to be asked about in a prominent manner. ”Oy, so, like. We gettin’ any of this big-ass thirty thousand gold pay up front? Might be a good thing if we can buy weapons n’ shit with some o’ it, if we gotta.” And she’s definitely not considering using any of it on booze! Definitely not. After all, Nyx was a good girl! Especially with some fancy folk on their side. ”Oh, yeah, n’ like, if ye need some’un t’ help figure some shit out ‘bout Hecatia, ‘m here, n’ I can try n’ remember some shit ‘bout who t’avoid if we wanna keep a low profile.”

Ah. So there was the catch; for 30 thousand gold, Nyx would have to risk getting arrested all over again by going to Hecatia. Unsurprisingly, this brought the normally rowdy woman to a pause, as she contemplated her decision while gazing into her reflection in the murky ale mug she held before her face. It wasn’t something she was keen on doing, but she also didn’t like the idea of leaving the kids to deal with this, either. ”So, uh, are we gettin’ some kinda diplomatic protection or somethin’ fer this? Cuz, uh, I might still be wanted over in Hecatia fer th’shit I did in my teens.” Tactful way to put that, Nyx! That surely won’t turn away potential clients in the biggest job the group has ever gotten or anything!

Thirty thousand? Holy shit. Well, maybe she wasn’t cutting back anytime soon, with all that money! But Nyx had no idea who these powerful mages supposedly were, and Nattie’s snapping didn’t clear it up much aside from them being strong as hell. “Nattie, y’remember ‘m from Hecatia, right? I got no clue who anyone is over ‘ere.” For once, she was actually attempting to make a sound point! What a concept. Although, the point may have been undermined by the fact that Nyx was still holding her pint glass - and, thankfully, she was still sober enough to recognize that, setting the glass on the table. ”’I mean, hell, I’d still take the job. I just got no clue who these mages are, since I ain’t from ‘round ‘ere.” Oops, she’s repeating herself! Oh well, maybe Nattie’d get the point faster that way.