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[[Louis : Black Pearl : Cargo Hold]]

With a deep breath, Louis lightly inclined his head in a nod, "You're exactly right. Light can not be understood or appreciated without darkness, and darkness is nothing if not set in contrast with light. They are both sides of the same coin. People stare, blinded in sweet ignorance at the blissful glimmer that side of light portrays, and ignore the fact that the hidden side of darkness rests comfortably against the palm of their hand. The true value of the coin is lost." Louis dropped the symbolism and shrugged, "Most people just don't realize the potential they have and shy away from the fact. Blinded by the light."

Louis slid down from his position on the crate and stood up straight, talking each step slowly and with an otherworldly poise and grace.He approached Anthony without a sound, as if levitating over the floor till he stood face to face with the other boy, his eyes sharp, cutting into him like the cold breath of winter through broken window.

Upon meeting his gaze, Anthony would watch the world around him start to sink away, "One more thing... a word of caution." Veins of black pulsed in the walls, climbing up the scenery, over Louis and finally across the ceiling, covering every surface until everything vanished into the abyss, "The dwellers of light live in ignorance. The concept, 'nothing left to lose,' does not exist here." Anthony would notice that despite the overwhelming darkness around him and the eerily resonating voice, his body still remained illuminated and clear, cutting a solid line between himself and the rest of the world, "Here, in the darkness, when all is lost... nothing is left behind."

The boy's veins in his arms turned black, spreading across his skin, bleeding out and pouring off him like water onto the floor collecting as a red puddle in the form of his shadow, "No body." The red shadow rippled and shifted, moving on its own and taking shape before standing up in front of Anthony, "No soul." Features took shape quickly and a second later the figure was like staring into a mirror for Anthony, it was himself, only with a disturbing grin on his face matched by the eyes of a blood thirsty mad man. It opened its mouth, fangs lining the inside forming a far more demonic appearance as the eyes went completely black, "No heart."

"As warriors of darkness, vangaurds of the abyss, those who wield darkness for the sake of others stand on the edge of hell, teetering on the unstable cliffs of our soul fighting an endless battle against both our enemies and ourselves. And when we lose that battle, should we fall to ourselves and lose track of who we are..." Anthony's doppleganger changed shape once more, this time in the image of James, "One wrong step... one slip up..." A sudden and heavy push against Anthony's chest would cause him to stumble back and the image of James to rip away as if jerked by some unseen force into the darkness, lost forever. Another heavy push, enough to knock Anonthy off his feet, returned the world to normal in a snap, "one mistake... and you fall. Just like James."

Louis was silent and extended a hand to Anthony to help him up(if he fell). The arcanist smiled softly, "Think about it for awhile. Come and talk to me when you've made your decision after we arrive at Shipwreck cove. To use darkness, you must know yourself. If you truly wish to help James in this way, then I'll teach you."

Louis turned away and walked out of the cargo hold to leave the boy to his thoughts.

[Anthony ~.~ The Black Pearl ~.~ Lower Deck]

When the vision had faded, Anthony sat on the floor, staring before him with large, fearful eyes. His body trembled and his breathing was shaky. Beads of cool sweat graced his forehead as they slowly slid down the side of his face.

"That grin... those eyes...," the young man thought as the image of his sinister doppleganger flashed in his mind. "Was that... was that me? Will that be me?"

Anthony raised his trembling hand and took a hold of Louis', who helped him back onto his feet. The warrior-knight stood still, the same fearful expression present on his face, as he listened to Louis' footsteps fade away. Bits and pieces of the conversation he had with the boy repeated in his head.

"Here, in the darkness, when all is lost... nothing is left behind."
"No body. No Soul. No Heart."
"...those who wield darkness for the sake of others...
fighting an endless battle against both our enemies and ourselves..."
"...one mistake... and you fall. Just like James."

The young man pulled on his collar and forcefully gulped as he slowly turned around and dragged his feet out of the cargo hold and began to wander the halls, lost in his thoughts. Did he truly know himself well enough to embark on this journey? Would he be able to keep the right balance between light and dark, or would the darkness overwhelm him and he'd be lost forever? Was it possible to survive such an internal turmoil, as it is against his nature to even consider housing darkness within him?

Shuffling sounds from a nearby room interrupted Anthony's thoughts as he drew nearer. The young man peered around the door and took a look inside. It was the galley. Inside sat a seemingly upset Noelle. Standing within the doorway, he knocked on the wooden frame as to get the girl's attention. "Hey," he said softly, his voice cracking once again. He paused and cleared his throat before speaking again. "Are you alright, ma'am?"

[Noelle ~ The Black Pearl ~ Galley]

Noelle twitched her head up as she heard the knock in the doorway. For a second she was afraid it was Dawn, come to see why she'd been angry, but when she saw Anthony there she relaxed a little. Sighing, she rubbed her neck.

"Hey," The agromancer said distractedly. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just . . ."
Losing my cool, freaking out, scared as hell, ready to give up, tired of this crap, stressed out of my mind, not feeling right, out of sorts, not ready for this, having a mood swing, being stupid, not being strong enough, ready to suck it up and move on . . .
"I'm just trying to sort some things out."

Noelle sat up straight, feeling a little tired. She had tried napping a while ago, but her mind was so busy with so many different things that she just couldn't doze off. She hoped to get to land soon so she could grow herself an elixer of some sort to get her energy back up.

"What brings you down here?" She asked, trying to avoid looking like she was bothered.

[Anthony ~.~ The Black Pearl ~.~ Lower Deck]

Anthony couldn't help but feel Noelle wasn't being totally open with him, though he wouldn't expect to her be. It hasn't even been a full day since they met. He walked into the room and slid an empty bucket towards him with his foot, flipped it over, and plumped himself on the bucket. He sat a few feet from the girl, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable by getting too close.

"Same thing as you," the young man respond, resting his hands on his thighs. "Trying to sort things out... Been thinking a lot about James." His eyes drifted to the side and sank to the floor as he mentioned the man, his mind wandering back to the conversation he had with Louis just moments ago. "But, uh... nevermind about that," he said, clapping his hands together as he lifted his gaze back at Noelle and smiled. "Do ya need help sorting things out?"

[ Sora ; Kyle ; Kuja : Black Pearl : On Deck ]

Sora looked down at Dawn, having observed most of the conversation but not heard much. What he did notice was Noelle storm off after her conversation with the girl. If Dawn had an attitude like her vibes, then she wanted to talk about whatever it was that frustrated Noelle.

Sora was oblivious to the deeper things, and he was sort of clueless about pretty much everything else. But he was good at reading people's hearts.

"Heya. What's up?" he asked, giving her his trademark grin.

[Noelle ~ The Black Pearl ~ Galley]

Noelle laughed softly and shook her head, "I've been sorting things out for myself since I was a tween, I've got a handle on it. Life gets harder and I just get better at it. But thanks for asking."

. . . You're right, Titan. I really am a mess.
'And?'
And I should probably go tell Dawn I'm sorry for being such a crazy.
'Nobody's perfect, human.'

The agromancer leaned back a bit and rested on her hands. She just wanted to get to the cove already so they could get a move on already. Some action might calm her nerves a little.

"So, uh," She said finally, "What was it that you were thinking about James? Any ideas on how to get him back?"

[Noelle ~ The Black Pearl ~ Galley]

Noelle looked at Anthony with a ". . . What?" expression on her face. She wasn't quite sure how to respond at first because the way he phrased the question was a little weird. It was obvious he had something on his mind but wasn't trying to let her on to it.

"Well it's a relief that you explained that well," She said sarcastically in a very light, joking way. "Because I don't know where I'd be if you were vague. Please don't tell me you expect a yes or no answer. Because that's a hell of a question. There is so much that ties into it, and for me to not know the circumstances I very well can't answer it. Yes, I would take certain risks, ones that I probably would never even consider otherwise, but there's a line that you have to draw. Is this opportunity dangerous to other people? I mean, I could care less if it were myself and face the lecture about how stupid it was later--but if it puts other people in danger then I'd never do it. And there's just so many other factors to consider . . . Could you tell me what you're thinking? Because I'm trying to wrap my head around what you want to decide but I'm missing the important information. I don't do cryptic."