Thus the Student... [Hippo Cloud]

Jarek’s vision scanned across the beachside, studying every piece of eye candy his globules could devour. All the native women must have worked pretty hard because every single one of them was in excellent shape. He already helped a few of them carry a couple things from one place to another, doing what he could for the nice ladies. However, he couldn’t speak their language so there was no point in flirting with any of them. He quit after a while and decided just on examining their fine features for a while.

Suddenly, a waft of foul air sprung up his nose. The smell of it was horrible. He covered his nose and sneezed into his hands. He pulled back from his palms and winced at the snotty residue. He vacantly wiped the slime off on the rock he was resting on, but his sneeze wasn’t what bothered him. What was that awful stench? It smelled so familiar. A lot like sulfur, burnt ash, and brimstone. The thought struck him a little too late.

An explosion knocked him from his rock, felling him face-first into the sandy beach, his lower body now above his upper body. He groaned and flopped himself onto his back, rolling lazily onto his belly. He groggily dragged his eyes to the source of the eruption, and his suspicions were confirmed. The source of that smell was definitely not a figment of his imagination.

Ten demonic decrepit digits dug into the gray rock that was once Jarek’s napping spot. A frightening face loomed forward, two evil eyes spiraling into the fallen ninja’s face. “JAREK RUNE!” The figure bellowed.

Jarek cowered and covered his head, knowing all-too-well who this old man was. He was at least seven feet tall, his eyes red and bloodshot. Wrinkles only lined the parts of his face that made him look menacing, while his bald head was tattooed with various archaic runic markings. The bags under his eyes must have been several years old, his scowled nose displaying unspeakable anger and insomnia. His complicated clothing attire was outfitted with various amulets and charms, making him look like what he was: A master sorcerer. His jaw was gaunt, his ears were square, and he might as well have had devil horns protruding from his forehead.

“No, no, NO!” Jarek babbled, scrambling to his feet. He reached for his sword, but it wasn’t there. Neither was his crossbow, he couldn’t feel its weight on his back. Not even his smoke bombs were on his belt. Where did they all go?

“What are you searching for Jarek, hm? Your WEAPONS?” The man shouted again, causing the skilled ninja warrior to back off two steps. “If you learned anything during the full year I taught you, you would have prepared a technique that you learned from me! Not… groping for your sword.”

Jarek stumbled over his words for a moment, “But-but Leroy-”

“That’s Master Thoth to you, student!” The teacher growled.

“But Master Thoth,” Jarek continued, “if I used something you taught me, you would have blocked it.”

“Oh pish posh and poppycock, Jarek, you know full well that I’ve taught you to bend what you’ve learned to your own design!”

Jarek grit his teeth, “But listen, dude, I was captured by pirates at sea and only just recently been able to free myself—“

“How recently, Jarek?” Thoth cut him off.

Jarek paused for a moment, “About… three days.”

“LIAR!” Thoth screamed, thrusting his bony fingers in Jarek’s face, blasting a sphere of flaming magma into the front of his head. Using his other hand he quickly healed the lethal wound before he had a chance to die. “You’ve been free from that incident for four months, Jarek, FOUR MONTHS!” He grabbed Jarek’s neck and lifted him to his face. “Do you know how long four months is? You didn’t even try coming back to continue your training, did you?”

“I did! Several times!”

“Don’t LIE to me, Rune!” He tossed the boy back into the sand. “I can read your mind, or have you forgotten?”

Jarek really did forget. He forgot all the powers his mentor had, since he hadn’t even so much as written to him for more than a year, much less seen him. He had so many abilities that this man could pass as a magical genie. There probably wasn’t another like him on the planet.

“Okay, okay!” Jarek pleaded from his spot on the ground, slowly returning to his feet. “Uncle, uncle, mercy, mercy, okay? Don’t blast me anymore—“

“Don’t be a COWARD!” Thoth boomed, launching another ball of magma into Jarek’s chest. He quickly healed the wound before his student died, but that didn’t change the pain he felt.

Jarek winced from his burning agony as he fell to one knee. “C’mon old man, what do you want from me?”

“I want you to LEARN Jarek!” Another ball of magma erupted from the man’s hand. Jarek ducked low before it could hit him, the projectile singing the top of his hair.

“Dude, cut it out!” Jarek shouted just before the ball of molten rock turned around and exploded into his back, knocking him forward into the sand. Thoth healed him again before he could die.

Leroy’s tone changed to a more stern, yet calm tone. “Mr. Rune, I just killed you three times. If I wasn’t so kind you would have stayed dead.”

Jarek growled, “Listen, Thoth, I don’t think magic is my thing. I’d much rather fight with more conventional weapons, such as my sword and crossbow. I was originally trained by my uncle to be a ninja anyway.”

Thoth’s eye twitched. He walked slowly toward Jarek, brows bent inward, dagger-like and furious. “Fool.” He stopped walking, closing his eyes shut. He took a deep breath. “You FOOL!” He buried his fist into the front of Jarek’s face, knocking him backwards into the sand.

Jarek stayed on the ground, not bothering to get up seeing how he’d just get knocked down again. “Jeez old man, cut it out!” His nose started to bleed. Thoth didn’t heal it this time.

The master sorcerer knelt down to look Jarek eye-to-eye. “You’re part of a great prophecy, Jarek, and you know it!”

“Look, Thoth, I don’t even know if I believe in the prophecy or not.”

Thoth gritted his teeth. “Hogwash, Jarek.” He stood back to his full height. “You’ve witnessed first hand both your sister’s and your own power. That power doesn’t come naturally to just anyone.”

Jarek brought himself back to his feet, looking deep into his former master’s eyes. “You left out one vital detail, Leroy. The prophecy said that three siblings would stop the flow of darkness, not two.”

“So?”

Jarek sighed, “So Dehel’s dead. The prophecy is void. My sister and I are the only two left, the third sibling has died.”

“Do you know for a fact that he’s dead?”

That stopped Jarek for a moment. He always assumed his younger brother had died, but there’s a slight chance he could have survived on his own for all these years. It’s possible he could have found someone willing to raise him. He left at such a young age that the chances of survival were slim, but… there was still a chance. “So… what if he did survive? I don’t think he could have made it. It’s been far too long.”

“Tayler thinks he’s alive. She’s hunting relentlessly for him.”

Jarek’s mind was suddenly boggled. “Wait, Tayler’s searching for Dehel? I know she came to look for me after my incident at sea, but I didn’t—“

“Look Jarek,” Thoth interjected, “I know you and Tayler more than you’d like to think. I know you’ve always been rivals and haven’t always been on good terms. She searched for you, yes, but I personally believe that was merely a rest stop on the way to finding the only brother she cared for.”

Jarek felt a jab in his gut. He’d gone too far. “How dare you say such things?”

“I’m your mentor; I dare to say what I wish.”

“No, not while I’m here you’re not, you’re not going to say anything like that about my family, you hear? She cared for—“

“—you?” Thoth finished. “What has she done to show any compassion for you? You’ve always been against each other—“

“—but we still cared for each other! We’re family and—“

Thoth interrupted one last time by throwing a rolled up paper into his face. Jarek stopped himself mid-sentence and examined the exterior of the parchment. He studied it carefully before looking Leroy back in the eye. He took a sniff of it, relieved it didn’t smell like the flaming old man. “What is this?” He said through clenched teeth.

“This is a map to where I’ve stashed your weapons. Take who or what you want with you, but in the end you’re going to have to rely on your heaven-sent gift. Use what I’ve taught you, and go beyond that. This won’t be an easy task, so take it lightly.”

“Wait, you took my weapons!?” Jarek roared. “First you insult me, then you—“

“—actually I stole your equipment before I insulted you, get your order of events in correct chronological occurrence before you make the same mistake in a different situation, costing you your life.”

Jarek’s mind boiled with anger. “What the heck, Thoth? How could—“

“Just follow the map, Jarek.” Leroy finished with an annoyed sigh. Before Jarek had a chance to respond, his master was gone in a bright orange explosion of flame.

Jarek was left standing speechless, gazing at the scorched earth where Leroy Thoth stood merely seconds earlier. He gripped his map in hand, suddenly disliking his mentor with a new hate. He could have been true about Tayler not caring for him; at times he wasn’t sure if he cared for her either. However, hearing someone say it aloud made it sound so painful.

Unraveling his map, he looked around to try and find where the map led. It was marked by the typical skull with crossbones his teacher would use for similar tests back when he was in training. The crossbones stood for his goal, while the skull stood for a dangerous obstacle he’d have to overcome. Usually the obstacle was something like a wolf or a bear, the object he was searching for being in their den. However, usually that obstacle got worse and worse over time. Considering Thoth appeared very angry, the obstacle was probably no pushover.

Jarek just wanted his gear back. He’d have to get himself off this island and find someone capable enough to help him do so. That sword wasn’t just any sword, it was the family blade allegedly blessed by the same deities that blessed his family. He couldn’t let it stay missing for some treasure hunter to find.

He’d definitely need to find someone to help him soon. He didn’t want to require resorting to his magic; he wanted this done and quick. When this was all over, he had to find Tayler and talk some sense into her. He couldn’t have her putting her life on the line, searching for their brother who was most likely dead.

He set off for the docks, ready to hit the main land.

Ooc: Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. “Wow, huge post! O.o” Don’t worry, though. The majority of my posts most likely won’t even be half this long. I just got a little carried away. xP

So yeah, you can either try to find a logical reason for your character and mine to cross paths, or if you can’t think of anything… set your character up in a good location, and we’ll try to meld their paths together over a short series of posts (preferably the first choice).

OoC: Here you go, I hope it is alright.

BiC: There are certain instances in life where you will be required to follow a set of rules, which is easy because many of them are rooted in common sense, something that most people have. A good example is “Don’t steal from someone bigger than you.” However, when you are hungry, or greedy, these rules don’t apply. In Xavier’s case he was trying to pick the pocket of a rather large looking sailor with a rather large looking wallet. The man was loading a box of cargo onto the ship he worked for, and seemed distracted enough to steal from.

Xavier figured he would have the largest chance of succeeding in his crime if he struck when the sailor was halfway between the ship and the stack of boxes. The young man waited until the time was right, then leaped from his hiding place in the shadows and ran behind his target. He grabbed the wallet quickly and ran into the crowds that inhabited the busy docks. As soon as he felt he was deep enough in the crowd he stopped running and began walking so he wouldn’t make people suspicious. Xavier walked slowly through the crowd, occasionally pushing people out of his way as he walked. Sometimes one needs to push or nudge someone in a crowd, it makes them ignore you more, or at least that is what Xavier thought.

“Where is the ship headed to?” whispered a voice that wandered into Xavier’s ear.

“Some island, they say it is a paradise. The women are beautiful, the food is good, and all it takes to get there is some work on that ship.”

This peaked Xavier’s interest, and with the money he had stolen he would be able to survive on the island without doing work for a while. All he would have to do is get onto the ship and stowaway until the ship gets to its destination.

Several days later the young man named Xavier snuck off of the ship and began walking towards the beach while eating a banana he found in a crate on the ship. He was walking through the small crowd, occasionally pushing people, until he encountered something that was defiantly not supposed to be in an island paradise.

“Don’t touch me whelp, I could kill you with a single thought,” said a rather scary man whom Xavier had bumped a few seconds before.

Xavier would have said something to the man, but he found that his insides had frozen in fear. Instead of replying with a snotty comment he simply whimpered and was pushed away. Xavier stood still for what seemed like hours, and only returned back to consciousness after he heard something next to him.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Xavier said.

“I said do you know if that ship is headed to the mainland?” said the man next to him.

“I don’t know, to be honest with you I just got here.”

“Oh, thanks anyway though, what is your name?”

“My name is Thomas, what is yours?”

“Jarek,” he replied.

Xavier felt bad that he was lying to someone who seemed to be nice, but as anyone who has ever broken the law knows, you can’t trust anyone.

OoC: Xavier always assumes a false identity when meeting new people. This time his name is Thomas, I just want to make it clear.

Ooc: Since some people RPG by controlling the other person’s character a little, and others RPG by not controlling them at all, I’m just letting you know I could go either way. Seeing as how you made Jarek talk, I hope you don’t mind if I make Xavier talk a little.

Bic:

“Well Tom, if not that one, do you know which ship is headed for the mainland?” Jarek asked the stranger. “Surely if you just got here you may have at least overheard which one may be leaving soon.”

Xavier just stared for a moment, thinking through different events that happened since getting off the ship. He shook his head. “Nope.”

“I see.” Jarek sighed, glancing around for someone else to ask. However, his attention quickly snapped back to Xavier. He couldn’t help but notice the man’s sword, which was most definitely a good thing. Master Thoth would disapprove of him wielding a weapon on this quest, since he was supposed to use this time to exercise his magic ability. However, what Thoth didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. His face suddenly lit up. “Hey man, you a fighter?”

“I guess you could say that.”

Jarek nodded thoughtfully, eyes fixed on the blade’s hilt, his smile flattening out a little. “Don’t suppose you’d part with your sword for any reason?”

Xavier shifted his position, causing Jarek to look him back in the eye. “Are you in some kind of trouble? You seem kind of desperate.”

Jarek bobbed his head around as he searched for the right words, choosing them carefully. “I’ve been in better situations.” He finished with slight chuckle.

“Well I’m not parting with my blade.”

Drat. This would be harder than he thought. “Yeah, I wouldn’t part with mine either,” Jarek nodded understandingly, “… if I had a choice.” He finished under his breath, mind drooping back to his hatred for Thoth at the moment. He shook off the thoughts, returning to his original nonchalant smile. “Well, hope you have fun on this here island paradise, Tommy. The ladies don’t speak basic… so you might have some trouble in that department. Don’t drink the sea water, watch out for urchins… oh, and brush your teeth thoroughly, it’s easy to get tooth infections out here.” Jarek chuckled. “See you around.” He brushed past the acquaintance and on toward the docks without another word.

He trudged toward his destination, hopefully escaping without Thomas noticing his blade was missing. Having the skills of a ninja came with a few parlor tricks, such as sleight-of-hand. Swapping a stick for a sword came in handy for times such as this. Thomas would feel the weight of something in his scabbard, but won’t notice his blade is gone until he feels for his hilt, or… merely glances down. The unfortunate soul most likely wouldn’t notice the tricky maneuver for at least a few minutes, enough time for Jarek to make his escape. However, Lady Luck was Jarek’s arch nemesis. There was a good chance Thomas would find a stick in place of his sword at any moment, which only urged Jarek to walk faster.

OoC: Yes it is short, and yes I used your character again, and your what I assume to be villain again, and for that I apologize. I think I did pretty good for myself though.

BiC: To put it simply, Xavier was confused. First a strange man threatens him, then someone stole his sword, and now, to make matters worse, the same strange man from before was standing next to him.

“Hello, sorry I was so nasty towards you before. If you would help me with something I will repay you a thousand times over,” the scary looking man said.

“Sounds good, what do you want me to do?” Xavier replied.

“Just follow that person around and I will give you whatever you want,” the man said, pointing to the person Xavier had just spoken to.

Xavier thought that sounded too good to be true, but something about the man almost forced the boy to trust him.

“Very well.”

“Good,” he said, and began walking away.

Xavier was about to begin following Jarek when the man turned around.

“Oh, and make sure he doesn’t use any weapons, do whatever you must to stop him from doing so.”

Xavier nodded and began following Jarek, eventually catching up to him and grabbing him by the shoulder. Jarek turned his head toward him and saw the anger in Xavier’s face.

“What do you want?” Jarek asked with a nervous undertone.

“I want two things, one: my sword, and two: to help you out in your travels,” Xavier said, knowing that the best way to follow him without being noticed would be to join him in his journey to the mainland.

OoC: It is the high sugar diet that gives me the quick post time! ^_^

Jarek laughed aloud at the man’s words. He paused abruptly to look him in the eye. He thought his words through again, then continued laughing. Although Jarek thought his questions were hilarious, Xavier wasn’t amused.

“Ok, Thomas, so what were those ‘two things’ again?” Jarek asked back as if he were having trouble remembering. “You want your sword back, and you want to… help me with my travels?” He chuckled softly again, stepping forward to pat Xavier on the shoulder as if he were a small child. “Listen, son, you can’t ask for something that I’ve rightfully stolen, then request a position to help me on my… travels. It doesn’t work that way.” Jarek stepped back with a smirk. “Now if you want your sword back, and you want to help me, you’re going to have to choose one or the other. Personally I see that this sword would be much more useful than someone else weighing me down. It’s like asking me not to breath in exchange for a sandwich.”

Xavier growled a little, getting fed up with Jarek’s attitude. “Look, if you don’t give me my sword, I’ll make you regret it.”

“What are you going to do? ‘Not-say-which-boat-leads-to-the-main-lands’ me to death?”

Xavier’s hands slipped about his back, stringing an arrow into his bow and pointing it at Jarek’s head.

Jarek stood expressionless, blinking with his eyes fixed on the pointed missile staring into his forehead. Although he noticed the Tom’s bow and quiver, he didn’t quite expect that. He thought for an excuse, snappy line, or kickass phrase, but none came to him. “Damn you, Tommy.” He drew the sword, handing it to the archer.

“And whether you like it or not, I’m coming with you.” Xavier spoke up, putting away his bow and arrow before grabbing and sheathing his blade.

This man’s determination to help him was unreal. It was almost as if someone paid him to do so. A thought suddenly struck Jarek’s mind. “Leroy Thoth put you up to this, didn’t he? He wanted to make sure I didn’t use conventional weapons!” Xavier didn’t say anything, which was a flat-out ‘yes’. “By the gods, I hate that man.”

“Let’s go.” Jarek sighed, turning around. Walking down the beach, he scanned the shipping docks for ships to board, Xavier close behind him.

OoC: Sorry that took so long, I got caught up in World of Warcraft and some family stuff.

BiC: “Leroy? What kind of name is Leroy?” Xavier wondered out loud as the two walked onto the docks and began searching around the various ships.

Jarek didn’t answer him, he just continued walking. They walked for around ten minutes before they came across a small ship and its small captain.

“Excuse me sir, me and my friend here are looking for passage to the mainland. Do you know where we can find a ship?” Xavier asked the captain.

“Sorry man, the last ship left a couple hours ago. You will have to wait a few weeks until one comes back,” the man said as he adjusted his cap.

“How much for the ship?” Xavier asked.

“I’m afraid the ship isn’t for sale sir,” the captain replied.

“I wanted to do this peacefully, but you leave me no choice. Give me the ship,” Xavier said before creating a dagger and holding it to the man’s throat.

“Yes sir! Just don’t kill me!” he said in a shaky fearful tone.

“Get out of here,” Xavier said and pushed him off of the dock and into the water.

Xavier turned toward Jarek after watching the man splash into the dark water. He melted the dagger back into water and cleared his throat.

“You wouldn’t happen to know how to operate a boat would you?” Xavier asked Jarek.

Jarek stood motionless, save for his eye which twitched compulsively. He looked over the edge of the boat to see if he could spot the captain in the water, but returned his attention to Xavier. “What the hell was that, man!?” He shouted. “What if that guy couldn’t swim? What if he died? What if he died and he was a virgin? What if he died, was a virgin, and had a fiancé back home with whom she’s now separated from for eternity?” Jarek’s eyes almost swelled up at the last one. “C’mon dude, you could have just dashed the epic romance of the century!”

“Do you know how to operate a boat?” Xavier repeated, not interested in Jarek’s worries.

Jarek stopped himself in mid-thought. “Yeah, I do. I spent some time working on a pira—I mean a merchant vessel for some time.” He wasn’t sure if should boast his pirate past, so he thought it would be wise to keep that on the down low. “But first thing’s first: This is not a boat, it’s a ship. These things usually require far more hands than we have, so it’s going to be a little difficult.” Jarek took note of some commotion in the corner of his eye, his attention switching to it. Some people back on land looked like they were making a fuss over their commandeering antics, causing a rather large crowd to form. “Look, Tom, we’re going to have to set sail like… right now. Civil protection will be all over us pretty soon.”

“So how do we get this thing moving?”

Jarek thought for a moment, trying to decide whether he should waste precious time explaining, or do it all himself. “You know, on second thought just make sure no one gets on this boat—er, ship, I’ll lower the sails.” Jarek bounded off, pulling ropes and moving things, a bunch of junk I personally don’t fully understand, but somehow he got the sails down pretty quick.
(Ooc: Yeah, very un-canon for me xP)

Jarek ran back on deck, stopping next to his babysitter. He briefly studied the sails, making sure they were all in place. Jarek turned back to the shore, he could already see the local guards making their way through the crowd on shore, “Alright, Tom, brace yourself.” Jarek held out his hands, focusing on controlling the wind. A soft breeze began to pick up, but steadily grew into a gale. However, the ship wasn’t moving. Jarek pushed himself a little further, but still the ship remained in place. “Why the heck won’t we move?” Jarek shouted over the howling wind.

“Maybe you should try raising the anchor!” Xavier shouted back.

“Crap!” Jarek ran to the edge, frantically cranking the pulley in control of the anchor. As heavy as it was, Jarek pulled as fast as he could. “I have to get my weapons back.” were the only words going through his mind, just enough motivation to keep him moving in top efficiency.

Xavier faced the dock, sword drawn. The guards were already making their way onboard.

OoC: Sorry that took so long.

BiC:Three guards boarded the ship quickly; angry shouts springing forth from their mouths. Xavier swung his blade at the nearest guard and severed his hand. He kicked the now screaming guard into the water and turned toward the handful of guards that made it onto the ship.

“Jarek, get this ship out of the dock!” Xavier yelled as his blade entered the stomach of another guard.

The ship began to move quickly and Xavier felt the wind pick up some more. Three more guards attacked him and others tried to jump onto the ship before it got out of range. The young man jumped to the left and brought his sword up to block an attack from one of the guards while another one cut deeply into his arm and sent him to the ground.

“The Rat is down, kill him now!”

Xavier rolled to the side and kicked at one of the guard’s feet. He jumped up and cut another guard’s head off while another one swung at him. Xavier ducked and impaled the guard coming at him in the chest and then pulled his sword out and sent his elbow into the final guards gut.

“I know who you are Rat, everyone on the dock saw what you did,” the guard said after falling to the ground.

“Well they can’t get me now,” Xavier said as he lifted his sword.

“I know more about you than you think Xavier, your past, your present… and your future,” the guard said before getting up and walking over to the edge of the moving ship.

“You aren’t getting away that easy!” Xavier shouted as he ran at the guard and swung for his neck.

“Too late,” the guard said before jumping off of the ship; just missing the edge of Xavier’s sword.

Xavier fell to the blood soaked floor and began breathing heavily.

“So your name isn’t Tom?” Jarek asked as he operated the ship’s controls.

“Nope, Xavier, it is a bit of a forced habit to make up a name on the spot when I meet someone.”

Xavier got up and sheathed his sword. He looked up at the sky and watched a bird fly across his field of vision before turning toward Jarek.

“How long is this trip going to take anyway?”

OoC: I think that guard had brain problems...

“How long is this trip going to take anyway?” Thomas, or rather Xavier, asked nonchalantly as if nothing had happened.

Jarek huffed, wishing he had his sword. He clenched his fists. “Are you insane, Xavier?”

Xavier paused a moment, eyebrow cocked by the sudden and rather forward accusation. “Excuse me? I merely asked how long—“

“You just murdered about five guards!” Jarek’s face was red with fury, breathing heavy and forced, “That’s not something to take so lightly! Did you even consider the possibility of letting them live?”

“I did what—“

The ninja held out his hand in protest, “Whoa man, I’m not finished.” He looked Xavier square in the eye, making sure he heard every word. “I refuse to work with anyone who murders so carelessly. Those guards were doing what they thought were right, and in reality they were the ones doing more right than we were! Stealing is one thing, but ending someone’s life is a completely different story.”

“What would I have done then? Asked them to leave?”

“Well it sure as hell would have been better than killing them!” The Rune yelled. He glanced back toward the steadily distancing shore. He could see the mob of people moving about as violent as a storm, trying to figure out what exactly had just happened. “You have no idea who you could have killed, or what their future had in store for them. Who died and dubbed you Jolly Old Roger?”

Jarek kept the wind blowing steadily on the sails, but turned to the wheel and began steering the ship. He glanced at the compass built into a wood post, assuring that it lined up with the map’s coordinates. He didn’t want anything to do with this murderer, so he tried to drown his attention in the ship, wind, and water.

OoC: Yes, it is short and crappy, but I won't have time at all these next few days.

IC: Xavier stood on the deck and stared at the blood on the deck of the ship. He had never really thought about the consequences of murder. Then again, he never considered it murder; he just thought of it as… well, he never thought about it at all. How many people have I killed over the years? How many children have I orphaned? How many times have I ruined the chance for something great to happen, all because I wanted some money or didn’t want to get caught stealing?

“Am I a monster?” Xavier wondered out loud.

Jarek didn’t say anything, he just kept steering the ship. He is probably just ignoring me. Xavier kept looking at the blood on the deck; hoping that they would just finish their journey so that he could just take his money and leave.

They sailed in silence for a while, a good several hours in fact. Neither of them said a word until the sun was already low in the sky. Jarek just stood at the wheel, steering it in the direction of the mainland, staring out to sea. He would occasionally adjust the wind according to how he needed it from time to time, and other than that adjustment, he needed no help. He did have one main advantage gaining this ship: He could steer it toward any location he wanted to. He’d land the ship somewhere closer to their destination, having less time to walk on land than they would otherwise.

He was furious with Xavier’s behavior, but that wasn’t the only thing toying with his head. Watching the ocean ahead of him put him in a trance. He began to remember the days when he sailed under command of a pirate. He’d learned a lot then, even though he wasn’t out at sea for very long. He’d seen so many people killed then, many crewmembers with whom he’d gotten to know quite well during their voyage. However, he’d also seen those same pirates kill as well, the only reason being to steal. Watching people die like that never settled well with him, and it should never settle well with anyone.

Jarek looked over his shoulder to see Xavier staring out at sea from the back of the small boat. He briefly wondered what was going through his head. Am I a monster? That was what he said. Perhaps he was thinking through his actions, or maybe he was just bored and wanted to get his reward as quick as possible.

“We’ll be hitting the mainland within the hour.” Jarek said at last, shattering the long awkward silence. His power over the wind was relatively stronger than Jarek had first suspected. He though he would have begun getting tired having used it for such a long period of time, but somehow he didn’t feel fatigued. He didn’t want to exert too much energy, though, for he didn’t know what kind of effect it would have on him. While it may move them faster, it could drastically injure his mind… in theory.

OoC: Bam.

IC: “An hour? What am I going to do in that time?” Xavier said to himself while looking around the ship.

He had been wandering around the nooks and crannies of the ship to pass the time, but didn’t find anything interesting. He even tried cleaned the deck of the ship to pass the time, but it didn’t do anything to make it seem shorter.

Jarek had been doing everything on the ship, leaving very little for Xavier to do. He probably just doesn’t want you to sink the ship. The young man thought about asking if he could do anything, but figured that Jarek would still be mad at him.

“How much longer now?” Xavier asked; almost sounding like a small child.

“About… an hour.”

“… crap,” Xavier muttered.

He wandered over to the side of the ship and began looking at the fish swimming in the ocean. There goes a blue one… and a green one… hey, that one has two heads! Something about the fish enticed Xavier, and he found himself spending the remainder of the voyage staring at them and watching their scales glimmer in the sunlight. He was so enticed by the fish that he didn’t notice Jarek lose control of the ship and smash into the dock. The next thing he knew he had landed face first in the ocean.

Jarek rubbed his fist through his hair. Ouch, that wasn’t a smart idea. He wanted to get to the mainland faster, so he’d been steadily increasing the speed of the wind through the last portion of their journey. He’d forgotten how to slow the ship down, so attempted to pull the wind the opposite direction. However, it wasn’t enough, and the ship tore right through the dock. How stupid of him. He looked around to see if Xavier was alright, but… he wasn’t on deck.

He ran to the cabin door and threw it open, “Xavier, you in here?” He waited a moment but received no response. He sighed, running through the different rooms. “If you’re dead I’m not cleaning up the mess you made.”

Unsuccessful in finding him, he ran back up the stairs. He threw open the doors to see Xavier, standing dripping wet on deck. Jarek stifled a chuckle with a snort. “Nice.” Jarek said at last. “But uh… if guards come after us for the damages we did to the dock here…”

“I know…” Xavier cut him off, his feelings not quite detectable.

Jarek nodded, “Good then. Let’s just… get the heck out of here before we actually do have to contend with authorities. Good think this area is sparsely populated, though. Not many people life this close to the base of the mountains.” Jarek grabbed his map, rolling it up and sticking it in his belt.

Walking over to the wheel of their rather mangled ship, he tore the compass off its bolted place atop its wood post. They’d need it for their travels.

OoC: Short and whatnot, but I was unsure about what to do.

IC: Jarek jumped onto the torn up dock and began running away from the scene of the crash. Xavier followed closely, but was weighed down slightly by the water that sunk into his clothes. The town around the dock contained several small buildings that housed the poor looking inhabitants. They all looked interested in the odd pair, but none of them looked like they were going to act against them. They were not going to help them either, but as far as Xavier was concerned, not stopping them was all the help they needed.

The team ran until the huts and houses grew further and further apart and eventually disappeared altogether; replaced by the imposing figure of a large mountain that dwarfed the town it loomed over.

“I think we are far enough,” Xavier said in between heavy, forced breaths.

The young man sat down and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The run had taken more out of him than he thought it would, something he attributed to his fight and previous running.

“It is getting pretty dark, are we going to keep moving or set up some kind of camp?” Xavier asked while looking up at the rapidly darkening sky.