¤ 24 - Pirates and Ninjas

[honorinflames]

[he'd spent all day scouting the city-- gathering information and listening to rumors surely... but, more importantly, watching. Gauging the security of certain sections of town, judging which stores and carts had a little extra to 'spare,' forming a plan in his mind. And, once the sun sinks and snuffs out into the black of the water, he sets said

Comments

[save_the_souls]

[Allen is spending the night in a city inn with Arthur after acquiring a great deal of wealth from the poker matches. He felt a bit hungry in the night, so he decided to go out and see what late night things were open. Though he is growing more increasingly disappointed that there's no sign of things open besides taverns]

I guess it's to be expected...maybe I should get back.

[honorinflames]

[annnd Allen just happens to be right where Zuko had been planning on swinging down from the roof and landing. He'd already been shifting his weight to do just that when Allen appears, and so has to quickly scramble to catch himself. Which, is all well and good-- except the goods in the satchel over his shoulder don't quite have his sense of balance. As he rights himself on the edge of the roof, there is a shift in the bag, causing a few metal tins to rattle together]

[save_the_souls]

[he hears that metal rattling and it makes him very suspicious. He'll draw his sword and look around in the direction he heard it]

Whose there?

[honorinflames]

[he first tries to just... shift the sack over his shoulder more securely and slip away, but those goods are unsettled enough now to make another rattling noise-- right over Allen's head.

Ugh. He better speak up now before Allen makes even more noise]

Shh! ...It's just me.

[soupbender]

[And, somehow, Katara manages to catch sight of Zuko with an arm full of pilfered goods as he sneaks back onto the ship. She straightens up from where she's resting, frowning and thumping her palm onto the deck of the ship.]

Zuko! What are you doing?

[honorinflames]

[he just... growls to himself at that voice. No one is supposed to be out on the deck at this hour]

...What are you doing out here?

[soupbender]

I've been practicing my bending. I'm trying to get back up to par, thank you very much.

[And stargazing for the better part of the past half hour, but she'll leave that out.]

And what are you doing?

[honorinflames]

Shopping.

[and then turning to try and head below deck before she can say anything else!]

[freila]

[ tatsuya steps into the cargo hold at the moment when zuko is depositing the food into its proper place. where do you even get that much...? pardon him for popping out of nowhere in his own quiet ninja way. ]

Did you hit it big in town?

[ he assumes he bought it all with his own money, of course ]

[honorinflames]

[he whirls a little at the voice-- damn ninjas. He relaxes again when he sees who is is... and he's not about to correct that assumption]

Yeah. [--continuing to put away the goods]

[freila]

[ no judging here, brah. he takes a few more steps inside and quietly observes that the cargo is much fuller than it was this morning. ]

That's pretty generous of you.

[honorinflames]

I don't want the 'captain' whining that I'm not pulling my weight.

[beltbucklerebel]

[Booth is doing a patrol on deck. It was natural, quietly pacing the shadowed recesses while others slept. Even without the attack, it would have been reassuring. After it, it was necessary.

His thoughts are on Bones and Ange and Sweets, all somewhere that is not here when a small sound draws him back to the present. Such a tiny creak..but one that shouldn't have been there.

Hand on the holster of his gun, Booth is surprisingly light on his feet as he moves carefully towards the galley and the quiet rustling there]

[honorinflames]

[it isn't until he's setting the last of this trip's goods on the shelves that something catches the corner of his attention. Or, at least he thinks something does.

He doesn't chance it. Dropping the empty sack, he quickly steps back into the nearest nook of shadows, hand hovering at the hilts of his blades and sensitive ears trained on the entrance to the galley]

[beltbucklerebel]

[Booth is careful as he edges into the doorway, eyes searching the shadows. He doesn't step further in, though he pulls his gun free from the holster.

There are a lot of kids and civilians on the boat. He's pretty sure it's one of them. Or, at least he is until he spots that empty sack.

...hey thief, there is an agent looking for you. What do?]

[honorinflames]

[he slinks back into the shadows between the shelves and the wall, silently maneuvering around, moving when the intruder does.

He waits, breath held, until he's got a clear path to duck out and dodge around to the man's back.

And then, a moment later, there is the soft hiss of blades through the air, as a pair of cutlasses whip out to poise themselves at the back of the man's neck]

--Don't move.

[haruno]

[ Oh hey Zuko -- whatcha doing? Have a silent ninja stalking you back to the supply hold. ]

[honorinflames]

[just doing some thieving-- no big.

He's way more concerned about watching for people on the street than watching his back for ninjas, so he misses her presence entirely as he makes his way back. Stealthily running along rooftops, swinging down from clothes lines, cutting a path back to the ship using the narrowest alleyways]

[haruno]

[ Sakura keeps a decent distance behind him, wondering how many times he's done this tonight. She'd eventually gone into town -- but as she'd planned, after hearing back from those who had gone into town.

When she's pretty sure he's heading back to the boat, she pushes herself fast. She waits on deck, watching for his approach.

8|a ]

[honorinflames]

[he's in no drastic hurry really, so he'll be showing up to the ship sometime later, sneaking back onto his own ship.

Moving just as silently and secretively across the deck and towards the stairs heading below as he'd been out in town]