Yo ho ho, exploring we will go. (Closed)

[Alexis Whitewave]

Alexis pursed her lips and shook her head. She had meant to get some rum, to calm Dira, but it had slipped her mind. That and she really didn’t have the means to get some at the moment. When the woman, Lia Trochkie, started to tell the story Alexis listened intently. She had heard of the cavern, but only passing comments from sailors and svefra alike. All she had known before was that it existed and was supposedly haunted.

When the story was finished and the other Lia had gone Alexis turned back to the other two with a small grin. ”If I didn’t go after that you’d all think I was scared.” she said, half jokingly. She hadn’t even considered not going though. If anything the story made her want to visit even more.

OOCSorry it’s so short

[Aluria]

“That woman… Well, are you both up for the trip still?”

Again, Aluria could not help but roll her eyes, this time not caring whether they saw or not. "Well, isn't that to be expected when we go on expeditions such as these?" she said, with her tone of voice slowly becoming more sarcastic, and her feelings of wariness were disappearing quickly. She was becoming comfortable, and she almost felt that she wouldn't be embarrassed by these two. Alexis seemed kind, and Sable was almost like a fun mother figure. She didn't say this out loud, careful not to offend anybody. She may have gotten their personalities all mixed up, but she didn't care. That was how she interpreted them.

The story of Black Beach Cavern only excited her. Although the old woman wasn't very good at telling stories, she still displayed a fine picture in her mind. She was all the more eager to go, but she didn't get ahead of herself. There was still the chance that Sable wouldn't allow her. If that was the case, she would just disguise herself and stowaway onto the ship, and then appear when there was no reason to turn back to drop off a little kid. Besides, Sable didn't seem to be the type to throw a kid off a boat, anyway. She looked willingly at Sable, her eyes pleading.

[Sable Baggywrinkle]

Idly fingering the red handkerchief, the Droplet Lia had been sure to wad it up into a ball and negligently toss it over a shoulder at her, Sable returned Alexis’ grin. Her smile held nothing back, just a pure indication of that she understood the younger woman perfectly and was happy to have her aboard. Oh, and maybe there was the hint that Sable had indeed picked up on her sincerity regarding the joke…and maybe also the feeling that the Baggywrinkle filed that little tidbit away for later use. They were both young in themselves, but didn’t seem to be anything she couldn’t handle. Clapping Alexis on the shoulder, those sparkling baby blues turned to Aluria just in time to catch that eye roll. Eyebrows shooting up, the Lia regarded the girl inquisitively. “What do you mean? Getting verbally abused and ridiculed for being a lousy seamstress?” Though her tone had dried out in the end, smile turning mildly sardonic, the warmth never left her eyes. She was sarcastic, she teased, and she was probably going to pull pranks on them, but there wasn’t a single hint of malevolence involved. Maybe a healthy dose of insincerity, but maybe not. She snapped the little red cloth out, regarding it like a traitorous friend. “Clearly, we can’t barter any of my sewing talents or creations for rum. What skills do you guys have to offer? I think we should take enough rum for each of us to leave an offering.” Getting ready to settle on a plan of acquisition, Sable gathered up her little flock and herded them toward the gangway—this time successfully. Damn presumptuous Lia, sneaking aboard her vessel like that. Though she hadn't given the younger girl any indication that her position on the trip was secure, deliberately so, at least she hadn't denied her either. No matter how pleading those eyes were. She was willing to give her a chance, at least, but if she didn't perform acceptably then when the two older girls set out she could be left behind. As they crossed a myriad of decks, heading deeper and deeper into the Flotilla, and consequently back in time it seemed like, Sable continued on their conversation only intermittently. The vivacious woman spent more time bantering with any and all crewmen she came across, but carefully extracted herself and companions from conversation before getting bogged down. They were on a mission! But she never could saunter on to someone’s vessel without addressing them, it was just rude. When they made it to a certain large barge that looked like it hadn’t disengaged from the Flotilla in fifty years, Sable charmingly introduced her companions to an elderly gent with milky blue eyes. His voice rumbled like thunder, but was only about as loud as an oyster. “Found yerself a crew after all, eh, Bag’o’winkle? Cute little things,” he leered, revealing a beautiful array of empty teeth sockets. She hadn’t spoken to him about her trip, but word traveled fast around here. As he made it quite clear that he was a dirty old man, a young whelp brought out three bottles of rum and two two-gallon wooden rum kegs. At the sight of the little baby kegs, Sable’s eyes expanded beyond normal parameters and complete adoration painted on her face. Hands digging into her companion’s arms, she turned an almost pleading expression on them and looked about ready to gush, but the horny old man was watching this with great interested. Frowning briefly, she realized that he now thought she’d be willing to pay anything for them. He was right, but still, her arms shot out, encompassed her companions shoulders like barrel bands, squishing them to her, and she whirled them around to have a private conference. “What do you guys think? I want the kegs, but the only service I can offer would be a cruise around on my ship…” Exaggerated disgust distorted her features, it was quite clear that the old man would take that offer to be of a ‘pleasure cruise’ variety. A prepubescent squeak, which was probably supposed to be the whelp’s equivalent to clearing his throat, interrupted their scheming. The boy, with his hair in baby dreds and an expression too angelic to be sincere, waited for acknowledgement before entering their proximity. “You’re supposed to hear the prices, the first terms, before making an offer.” Even though he didn’t seem terribly trustworthy, it appeared as though that little bit of advice was genuine. “We need pure water“—the girls would feel Sable’s spine stiffen, the boy’s eyes staring intently at the Lia—“and that’s all.” He disappeared again, but not before whispering, with a neophyte’s grasp on subtlety, “now you make your counter offer, whether or not water is on it.” Sable eyed her companions inquisitively. OOC : Okay, so what I’m thinking here is that this is a trading barge, so we could use items that would conceivably be onboard to create products worthy of trade. I have ideas for both of you if you’re stumped. Generally, bartering has to be a modded transaction but since it’s the Svefra’s main method of commerce, it seems we would be an exception. However! Let’s make this good and give Trident no reason to intervene. I’m going to make sure he sees what we’ve come up with before finalizing our acquisition. Any questions, concerns?

[Alexis Whitewave]

Alexis frowned, trying to think of something to offer. Her eyes travelled around the ship, taking in everything that was in sight. It was then that she noticed the small group of rabbits kept in a little cage among other items. They were small and quite sickly looking. They were skinny, more or less skin and bones. The corner of her mouth twitched at the sight in a little bit of contempt. She brought her gaze back to the two others. ”The only thing I can think of is telling them how bad they are at raising rabbits.” she said, motioning her head towards the cage. While she spoke jokingly she knew that it could be used to barter with.

She had only ever seen rabbit raising before and that was a good while back, but it had taught her something. She had stayed with a farmer in Sylira and he raised rabbits. In exchange for lodging she helped out with them and learned a thing or two about farming them. She had to admit they were much easier to care for than cattle or goats, so she had gained a little bit of harmless judging whenever she saw them raised badly. She did try to keep that out of the way when giving advice however.

She turned her gaze to look at Aluria. ”You got anything to add?” she asked her with curious eyes.

[Aluria]

"You got anything to add?"

Aluria looked at the scrawny bunnies curiously. Sure, they could make a fine meal, but if they were that skinny, nobody could make anything out of it. However, she knew that if Alexis had offered some animal husbandry, they were going to need a cook. She gave the boy a wry smile. Of course, she wasn't the best, but she knew how to cook. She looked at the old man, and then at the boy. "They look like they need a cook."

Aluria considered this. Sable wasn't going to wait around for her to cook up some bunnies, so she dismissed the thought. "Ah... Never mind." She sighed. What else was there? She could give them a few recipes... on how to cook bunnies. "How about some recipes on making a fabulous hare meal?" She smiled at the boy. "And, I could go and find some medical and cooking herbs and plants for you, if you'd like." She winked. She looked at Sable. Was that good enough?

OOCBah, the post is pretty short. I'm sorry, I'm busy today. Anyway, I'm not sure if this is good enough. If you think it isn't just let me know, and I'll edit it. But I can't really think of anything else at the moment. Becaaause I'm pretty sure I'm not understanding this topic too well. >:c

[Sable Baggywrinkle]

Sable’s mind reeled. How had they known? Or did the old man know at all? Just barely she contained the urge to throw a glance over her shoulder to gauge the old man’s apparent acuity. Maybe they just needed water. Maybe they knew. This was no longer fun. They needed to wrap this up and get out of here. No one was supposed to know. It was dangerous. Sable nodded briskly at the girl’s suggestions before sticking two fingers in her mouth and summoning the boy back with a whistle. “We’ll tell you how to improve your rabbit livestock for longer lives, more muscle mass, and shop appeal, and give you two hare recipes as well as some herb knowledge.” She could already see the rejection of their offer on the boy’s face before he returned to the old man. Indeed. Just a tick later he was back. “Animal husbandry tips, recipes, labeling all the herbs in our back room, and two barrels of pure water,” he informed them firmly. Those dark blue eyes, like the ocean when Laviku was angry, pinned Sable once more. He knew. He had to. Jaw clenching, the Svefran woman drew herself up to her full height. “Tips, recipes, labels for the two kegs, you can keep the bottles.” She dismissed him with a negligence she wasn’t feeling. Once more, he was back before she’d even been able to blink. “Tips, recipes, and labels for one bottle.” Sable didn’t even bother answering this time, she just waved him away and turned a stormy gaze on her new crew. “What do you guys think?”

[Alexis Whitewave]

Alexis’ brow furrowed and her mouth turned downwards into a frown. ”I think we need more than a bottle of rum, and that we have more than enough for that.” she said, her tone unusually serious but somewhat frustrated. She normally found trading to be fun, but something about this time had drained anything enjoyable out of it. She just wanted to get what she came for and leave.

”Tips, recipes, labels and half a barrel of pure water for the three bottles?” she suggested, now wanting to speed up the purchase.

OOCSorry it’s very short, I’m lacking in time lately.”

[Aluria]

At this point, Aluria had no idea whatsoever of what was going on. It had grasped her knowledge at one point, and soon, it all just flew away. However, judging by the look on Sable's face, it wasn't going smoothly.

“What do you guys think?”

Her sullen eyes almost frightened Aluria. She thought hard, something she didn't usually bother to do. She knew that something was wrong with their demands, something that Sable obviously wanted to keep. Or maybe it was something that shouldn't even be bartered with? Like, an heirloom.

"Maybe we should call it off..."

OOCAgain, this was a short post. Because of school. DARNIT. When I've finished my homework, I have to go somewhere, so I don't have much time to do this... WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN. Promise!

[Sable Baggywrinkle]

Sable shook her head at the youngest girl. “We need the rum. All right. Tips, recipes, labels, and half a barrel of water for the three bottles.” Blond curls bounced as she nodded firmly and gave their latest offer. The boy returned and gave a tentative agreement. They had to produce their end of the bargain and prove the information was satisfactory. The old man hid is expression well, but the boy had a smirk that indicated the men had come out ahead in this deal. Sable didn’t care, except about the final term. “Go ahead and fulfill your parts of the bargain, make the boy find pen and parchment and dictate to him whatever you guys need to. Don’t dally. I’m going to go get the water.” With that, the lanky woman tucked an offered empty water container under an arm and jogged toward the gangway. She tried to skirt by a big fellow boarding the trade vessel, but another two burly men were on his heels. The blond waited impatiently to the side, but that attitude of hers changed completely as the men engaged the old trader. “Little late, but the water’s in. Being hauled over right now. Had a bad storm, knocked half the cargo overboard, what we couldn’t salvage had to replace," explained the leader. His lips curled in a nasty frown, he wore the look so well that it must have been genetic, and his red-rimmed eyes bore the glaze of apathy. “Ye’s supposed to deliver eleven days ago,” the grumpy old salt replied. “It’s here now. Pay me.” The old man looked ready to balk, and tension reared through the small group. From the state the three men were in, it was clear they hadn’t had an easy time of it. Sable skirted the group to keep an eye on Aluria. Alexis she knew could handle herself. She was no fighter, but the Captain positioned herself to keep the girl’s out of the fray should anything happen. The silence dragged on and just as one of the men hanging back shoved forward aggressively, the old fart capitulated. “Fine,” he barked, motioning the boy forward. The boy took the three men aft, showing them a series of crates cordoned off in preparation for pick up. Sable turned back to the girls, eyebrows lifted and in considerably better spirits. They hadn’t known, just needed water really badly. She could have whooped with relief. Returning to the crusty old trader, Sable set the water container back down and put her hands on her hips. “Alexis will show you how to take better care of your rabbits, and Aluria will tell you how and with what spices to cook them for tasty meals. Three bottles,” she bartered sternly, even snapping out three fingers to point at him. He just waved a hand, fuzzy brows drawn low over his eyes. Beaming, and thinking herself quite the skilled haggler, Sable turned back to her companions. “Well, get crackin’!”

[Alexis Whitewave]

Alexis nodded firmly and walked over to the rabbit cage with confidence, motioning the young boy over as she went. When she reached the cage she turned round to look at the boy. ”I’ll tell you what you need to know but don’t expect me to be nice about it.” she murmured as she dragged the cage out from where it was nestled, between various other items aboard the large trading ship. The cage was small but seemingly well built, however it was not sufficient to Alexis’ standards. She bent down and peered into the cage, which had not more than six rabbits inside. She scrutinized the herd of wriggling fur.

”For one thing you need to separate males and females.” she said as she got back up and straightened her spine. The boy nodded, not entirely pleased that they would have to spend extra. ”They’re territorial.” she informed him, gesturing to a couple scars on one of the weaker bucks. She leaned back against a large crate as she continued on. ”Also the meat deficiency you’re dealing with is not genetic.” she told him, bending down once again and opening the top of the crate. She scooped out a dusty brown doe and pointed to it’s mouth, where a long white tooth poked out of it’s furry muzzle. ”You don’t have any chews inside you’re pen, so they’re teeth are getting too long. That means they can’t eat.” she continued as she placed the scrawny rabbit back in the pen.

Her eyes darted around the ship before spotting something. A couple planks of wood lay dormant on the floor of the ship. ”You could cut those up smaller and they’d do.” she said, motioning to the planks. She was starting to walk away when she turned back, remembering something else. ”Also, you might want something on the floor of the cages. A sort of bedding, or something like that.” she said and then went to join her companions.