(no subject)
"Oooh, a mouthy one, are ya?" the sailor jeered, segmented tail lashing against the deck with a crack that Kevra managed not to wince at. "The captain doesn't like mouthy little bitches--"
"I should think, Seaman Briggs, that you could stand to listen to your own advice."
There was a perceptible change in the air pressure over the deck. The sudden vacuum was, Kevra suspected, caused by most of the crew immediately taking five steps back from her. Interestingly, Briggs had deflated, the scorpion-sting barb of his tail doing its best to curl between his legs.
When Kevra turned, the last thing she expected to see was a little girl with hands on her hips, giving her a hard look from under the brim of a captain's visor.
"I don't mind mouthy little bitches, as long as they're smart." The captain's human guise was badly frayed; her eyes glittered in a way that suggested facets rather than emotion, and the shadow she cast on the deck had more limbs than what she appeared to have. It was also larger-- which explained, at least in part, why the crew had taken such a large step back.
The rest of their apprehension could probably attributed to the sharpness of the captain's glare. "You the shipsinger, then?"
Kevra nodded quickly, fumbling for the letter of introduction that Aves had tucked into her bag. "Yes, I am. I was sent here to--"
The captain waved an impatient hand. Kevra froze as she felt her hair stirred by the movement of an unseen, giant limb passing overhead. "I know what you're here for. I'm the one who called for one of you, after all."
She grinned, unpleasantly. "There's a traitor on this ship, girl, and it's shaking the poor wee thing up something terrible. That's no way to run a business." She flicked a finger, and this time Kevra felt the itchy prickle of something not-quite-human tapping her forehead.
"Find it. Or I'll throw you to the sharks myself."
"I should think, Seaman Briggs, that you could stand to listen to your own advice."
There was a perceptible change in the air pressure over the deck. The sudden vacuum was, Kevra suspected, caused by most of the crew immediately taking five steps back from her. Interestingly, Briggs had deflated, the scorpion-sting barb of his tail doing its best to curl between his legs.
When Kevra turned, the last thing she expected to see was a little girl with hands on her hips, giving her a hard look from under the brim of a captain's visor.
"I don't mind mouthy little bitches, as long as they're smart." The captain's human guise was badly frayed; her eyes glittered in a way that suggested facets rather than emotion, and the shadow she cast on the deck had more limbs than what she appeared to have. It was also larger-- which explained, at least in part, why the crew had taken such a large step back.
The rest of their apprehension could probably attributed to the sharpness of the captain's glare. "You the shipsinger, then?"
Kevra nodded quickly, fumbling for the letter of introduction that Aves had tucked into her bag. "Yes, I am. I was sent here to--"
The captain waved an impatient hand. Kevra froze as she felt her hair stirred by the movement of an unseen, giant limb passing overhead. "I know what you're here for. I'm the one who called for one of you, after all."
She grinned, unpleasantly. "There's a traitor on this ship, girl, and it's shaking the poor wee thing up something terrible. That's no way to run a business." She flicked a finger, and this time Kevra felt the itchy prickle of something not-quite-human tapping her forehead.
"Find it. Or I'll throw you to the sharks myself."