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Please sit still...



[[OCC: Indeed! Zephyr has been a bad influence on Sven! Now they're both Ne'er-do-wells.]]

...This will only hurt for a moment.

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(At work again, hope you guys have a fun weekend, Im going to drag the story out a bit until Neon can come back)


Zephyr had raised a brow at the maid who had offered her services as a new cook. His tankard hovered near his lips as he looked her up and down. She was petite, and a life of a voyager was a hard one. He was about to turn down her offer when her eyes caught his attention.
They lit up with sheer determination, and for a moment she looked like his sister Ria.
He felt a knowing smile cross his face. His eyes flitted down to his drink, this woman clearly wanted to prove herself. Just as Elyria had wanted to prove herself capable of being a Captain.
Suddenly he growled when Daneria's tail had flicked in his face, tickling his nose. He batted the horrid thing away.
"Go roll in some cat grass would you?" He teased to the Ka woman.
Turning back to the elf girl he nodded his head, "Well I haven't seen that look on anyones face in a long time. Alright miss, you think you have what it takes, then come sit with me for a bit." He offered the empty chair nearby.
John opened up a tin of tobacco and stuck a pinch into his mouth. Beginning to chew he raised his hairy chin to the new woman.

"What's your name there lassie?" He asked.

Meanwhile Zephyr caught a whiff of Daneria, she smelled faintly like the Doc's cologne. A terrible grin spread from ear to ear as he eyed her levelly.
He had an idea of what had happened.
"Huh, never knew a cat could be curious enough to play with a Doctor's reflex hammer, eh?" He chuckled, enjoying the expression Daneria was glaring at him.
After a bit he wiped a bit of ale froth from his lip and cleared his throat, turning to Ddendyl.
He unraveled a small parchment and offered her a quill.

"This here contract states that you agree to the terms and services of the Seeker." He said, lowering his chin as his amber eyes bore into hers.
"If you sign it, them from this point on the ship will be known as your home. You will not be granted pardon from it without the Captain's permission. And..." He rested his arms on the table, leaning in to lower his voice.
"You are to never speak of whatever we see along this voyage. Is that clear?"
At the look of confusion she gave him Zephyr leaned back into his chair and snickered. "There's other treasure out there besides gold and silver miss, and we aim to find it. You'll learn more along the way."
He waited until she finished signing to take the paper and roll t back up, stuffing it into his coat pocket.

~Two months and nine days later~

The Captain was overly happy to have big John join their ship, she had a deep respect for the man who had shared adventures with her grandfather.
And to have an elf on board in place of the old chef was just as equally exciting. Elyria had Daneria help the elf woman pick out a room for herself and settle in when it was time to leave Torkistead.

Running a ship full of pirates looking for a lost treasure wasn't easy. And the men needed their weekly payment.
However money was running short, so the Captain decided a few raids would be in order.
Merchant ships were attacked, and everything from gold to edibles and gunpowder was taken onto the Seeker, those who didn't resist were spared and dumped off on the nearest habited isle.
Those who fought back...well their corpses were tossed overboard.

And within those two months, the Captain didn't have her monthly moon cycle.

This worried her immensely, if she were pregnant, and had the child during the voyage. It'd slow her down and her priorities would change from finding the lost legend, to raising a child.

Time was running out.

There was no way the Captain could tell the Navigator. She feared what his reaction would be. And his behavior that would follow. She didn't doubt Sheik would be happy. But he would become overbearing. And would insist that she take it easy.
And a Captain who didn't present herself daily on the deck would quickly lose respect.

If Zephyr were to find out, he'd say the same thing...and hang Sheik by his neck up on the mast.

The Captain couldn't risk telling anyone really, the only two who knew were Daneria because she confided in her when the woman had found her in the bathroom cursing at the lack of bloodflow that should have been happening.
The second was Bracken, the corgi must have smelled the change in Elyria's hormones because he followed her around constantly. Always sleeping at her feet and tailing at her heels on deck, and if the Captain dared to sit down he would whine until she let him get in her lap, curling around her belly as if to protect the child within.
Daneria had gently suggested she speak with Madrid in private to be sure she was indeed pregnant and to see if the baby was developing properly.
Elyria had reluctantly agreed.

Porting at a merchant isle, she sent Sheik, Zeph and Sven off with a list to gather supplies for the day. While they were gone she met with Daneria and the Doctor in his quarters.
Not exactly agreeing with the cold metal instrument he used to detect another heartbeat inside her.
It was true, the Captain would definitely be expecting.
Madrid had explained the baby was growing at a healthy rate and that everything would be okay.
Elyria had sworn them both to secrecy. Not wanting a peep to escape their lips about the child.
Within the weeks that had followed Elyria started to spend more time in the kitchen with Ddendyl, snacking here and there until the elf would chase her out, not letting her step foot inside until the meals were ready.
And to keep Sheik's bedroom rendezvous at bay she would go to bed early, excusing herself immediately after dinner.
The Captain knew within the months to follow keeping the secret would be a breeze. Until her belly would start to gently round, then she would have to resort to wearing Zephyr's baggy shirts to hide the evidence.

But for now, no one could tell.


The Captain stood at the helm with her Navigator, arms crossed over her chest. She was speaking to him about the locket's map. Pip was checking its lateral coordinations to pinpoint the next island with them. Bracken at their feet, yawning lazily in the sun he lolled his tongue and closed his eyes, slumping over to sleep on the warm deck.

"We must have passed it then, perhaps it was hidden amongst the clouds?" Elyria watched as Sheik knitted his brow, scratching at his bristly chin in thought. Somehow they were having a bit of difficulty finding this location. John had come on up, his barrel like chest inhaling at a fat cigar in his mouth.
"Avin' trouble there lassie?"

Elyria smiled at the man, trying to softly hide the frustration in her face.

"A little, but I'm sure Sheik can figure it out." She said, glancing at the Navigator with a hint of pride in her amber eyes. John blew out a plume of thin smoke, it was strong. And Elyria's senses were growing heightened thanks to her hidden pregnancy. The smell of smoke was heavy in her nose and made her eyes water, coughing a bit.

"Aye, let me ol' eyes take a look it that eh?" He swiped the locket from Sheik's hand and read the map carefully. Mumbling to himself he tossed it back with a shrug. He didn't have a clue.

Zephyr had dozed off in the sunlight, boots propped up on a table, he was balanced in a chair knocked out. His head slumped over slightly. Sven had quietly approached him, coming up for some fresh air out of the engine room.

Elyria had mouthed silently to the Mechanic with a shake of her head;
"Don't you dare" threat, placing a hand on her hilt and raising a brow to him.
She was in no mood to hear Zephyr's whining about not getting enough sleep.

Tristan stood at the wheel with pip and Elyria examining the new map. It was unlike any other map they had seen. It was essentially a puzzle they needed to solve. "In a cloud or not we would have seen atleast a glimpse..." He rewinded the map over and over before john showed up blowing his cigar in their face. In all honesty Sheik did not like this man, he seemed too nice to bea pirate. Infact he even seemed to fit perfectly in an old saying he once heard.

"Fear the old who work as those who typically die young"

There must have been an apt amount of experience and cleverness to bring him to where he was now. No pirate does what he does without a reason. What is johns reason?

Sheik was rather ticked off when john snatched the map from his hands. He eyed him down as he examined the map, it was brief but Sheik noticed something peculiar about the man. He didnt look at the map so much as the contraption creating the map. Hebseemed rather uninterested with its actual information as he twisted it upsidedown to examine its mechanics. Curious... very curious...

Once he got the map back he did not look to it instead looked to John as he walked away. Something didnt feel right about this...

> > > Sven saw his opportunity. He had to go for it. To do it now, or to hit himself mentally for not doing it later. He focused in on his target, walking over to it slowly, so-as not to alert somebody to what he was doing. Zephyr's chair, a light tap would be all it took to-

Sven felt the piercing glare on the back of his head. He looked out of the corner of his eyes he saw Captain look at him and mouth something he assumed to be a threat. He rolled his eyes and decided to go back to the engine room. He stopped when he heard the good doctor's voice. He spun around quickly, his wrench accidentally bumping into the table Zephyr had his feet propped up upon, causing it to scoot closer to the quartermaster. Sven looked in horror as the angle the table had slid to had caused him to tip over. He then looked at Elyria and bolted down to the engine room without a second's hesitation.

Once in the engine room, he began to upgrade their oil filtration system.

[[ OCC: Oh come on, why do you always have to post Sven as a troublemaker now? Seriously, he's a cheeky one, but he doesn't like to play practical jokes THAT much. *Huff* ]]